Call Of The Spear [EN]: Chapter 442

Tales of Nangseon – Part 2, Episode 151

“Nothing in this world is constant. Whether it’s external or internal, everything is bound to change.”

In a dark, cavernous space.

A woman wearing a half-white-gold mask stood amidst what appeared to be a collection of the world’s treasures.

The masked woman gazed at another woman before her, a strange smile playing on her lips.

“You may be beautiful now, but you too are destined to change. In this meaningless war, your bones may turn to dust. Or, as time passes, your mind and body may tire, altering even your appearance.”

The masked woman plucked a round fan from the bound woman’s hand, fanned herself with it, and then returned it.

It was a round fan with a reddish hue, embroidered with a Hwagirin [a mythical creature resembling a phoenix].

“There’s no need to tremble so much. I’m merely binding your future, where you’ll transform into something ugly, right here.”

Thrum, thrum.

Before the bound woman knew it, a deformed, giant stone pagoda began to rotate behind her, scattering powders of iridescent colors.

“There’s nothing to fear.”

With those words, the masked woman let out a satisfied laugh and vanished.

* * *

Mangakjeong (萬覺亭).

It signifies a pavilion where one attains ten thousand awakenings.

Cheonbeom nodded, finding the name quite grandiose.

Upon arriving at the location the Moryong sisters had described, he indeed found clouds of gold and silver spread across the area.

Numerous beings, seemingly Gwiseons [celestial beings] from the Four Realms, were nearby, many with horns or floating torsos without legs.

However, the most numerous were goblins, impressive with their burly muscles and long, protruding horns.

The Gwiseons gathered there were all eager to enter Mangakjeong. After grabbing one and roughing him up a bit, Cheonbeom readily extracted the reason for their gathering.

“As the Divine Immortal knows, a major war is about to erupt, isn’t it? The Gwiseons of the Four Realms enter Mangakjeong to gain small insights or pay a price to obtain valuable treasures…”

“War is already happening now. What makes this one so major?”

“This humble one misspoke…”

“Speak.”

“Keuk! I, I will speak! Th-this… some… some air…!”

As Cheonbeom loosened his grip slightly, the Gwiseon began to spill everything, even information he wasn’t asked for.

The Salsuns [powerful warriors] of the Four Realms had not yet fully assembled, nor had the Bunggye [a powerful faction], so the *real* war had not yet begun.

The Seonsal War was also intended to deal with the Salsuns, but the higher-ups of the Bunggye and the Four Realms harbored separate ambitions and had placed significant bets on this war.

“That’s enough. Do I have to wait in line to enter Mangakjeong?”

The gold and silver clouds enveloped all sides, obscuring the interior.

But seeing the Gwiseons gathered and lined up, it seemed they adhered to a specific set of rules.

“Of course! Those golden and silver clouds serve as a kind of test. The test becomes easier if only one person enters at a time, so everyone is waiting their turn.”

The more people who entered simultaneously, the more challenging the test became.

It was referred to as a test, but it simply meant that the number of formations increased, so they were entering one by one over time.

“What kind of formations are deployed?”

“Well, I don’t really know…”

Cheonbeom strangled him again, and the Gwiseon coughed and hurriedly answered.

“Inside the golden and silver clouds… some say fierce thunder and lightning strike, others claim they felt close to the stars, sun, and moon when they regained their senses, and still others say they were buried in the sea. If not, beautiful fairies might gather and create a forest of meat…”

The accounts were inconsistent.

It seemed impossible to draw any conclusions until he experienced it himself.

“What should we do?”

Huhae asked.

Sabi also looked at Cheonbeom with a similar expression.

Seeing so many Gwiseons outside, there must be a considerable number inside as well.

He knew that he had to fight his way through them, deceive the owner of Mangakjeong, and rescue the Salsun Sinjang [a powerful divine general].

It was quite a tricky and difficult task.

“Who is the owner of Mangakjeong?”

“Don’t you know Mangak Elder?”

“I’ve only heard of him; I don’t know him well. Who is he?”

“Don’t you know Manbyeongakgwi [a title], Mangak Elder, one of the Sangcheon Haewol (上天垓越) [transcendent beings who have surpassed the limits of heaven]?”

He didn’t know.

“Do I need to know him?”

“No, not knowing that is… Keuk!”

Cheonbeom strangled him again, and the Gwiseon repeatedly apologized and slapped his own cheeks.

“This lowly goblin is ignorant and clumsy and has disturbed the Senior’s mood!”

Cheonbeom left the self-harming Gwiseon alone and asked Sabi.

“Do you know him?”

“Yes, I heard a story about it a long time ago, but I know what Sangcheon Haewol means.”

Among those who had crossed the boundaries under the heavens of the Upper Realm, the strong were called Sangcheon Haewol, and they were all equivalent to Wonseon Taesa [great celestial masters].

“Does that mean the owner of Mangakjeong is a Wonseon?”

“Yes, of course!”

Cheonbeom’s worries deepened.

“Great Uncle, shouldn’t we observe the situation a little more first? If we just go in and get caught as Suseons [cultivators] from the Suye Gye [a lower realm], we’ll just die…”

“Unfortunately, Huhae is right. Even if we cause a commotion in Wonseon Taesa’s residence, we won’t have enough lives even if we had twelve.”

That was right.

No matter how strong Cheonbeom was, he had to be careful if the opponent was a Wonseon.

No matter how high Beom’s achievement was, he was still only in the early stages of Hyangseon [a stage of cultivation].

Even that was not balanced, and he still hadn’t sealed his Wonshin [original spirit], had he?

“But we have to go.”

The Gwiseon dangling from Beom’s grasp spoke up.

The current owner of Mangakjeong had been away for a long time.

Then who took Saha away? Instead of Mangakbyeonwang [Mangak Elder], one of his children was ruling Mangakjeong.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Mangak Elder is not in Mangakjeong! I know it’s been a hundred years, so I’m sure!”

That was fortunate.

The owner of Mangakjeong was not there.

Inside were just a few Hyangseons who were the children of Mangakbyeonwang.

Then it was worth a try.

“Are you thinking of going in?”

“Yes.”

“Then shall we wait outside?”

They didn’t seem to want to go in at all.

Beom stared at Huhae and let out a smirk.

“Can’t you see the Gwiseons gathered there? I’m concealing your auras, so they don’t notice. If I remove my aura, thousands of Gwiseons will know that there are Suseons from the Suye Gye. Do you think they will leave you alone in the current war situation?”

It was natural for them to attack, seeing it as a good opportunity.

“We can hide ourselves…”

“I’ll follow you.”

Huhae spat out as if making an excuse, but Sabi unexpectedly said she would follow.

Then Huhae sighed as if he couldn’t help it.

“How are you going to get in?”

“Like this.”

He immediately took out the Ssangmyeol [a pair of twin blades].

As Cheonbeom’s tremendous Seonryeok [divine power] was imbued into the Ssangmyeol, the purple lightning of Bulcheonbulbyeok [indestructible power] crackled in all directions, and a thunderous roar echoed.

At the same time, he threw the Ssangmyeol like a spear.

Peeying, the sound was heard first, and then Kwakwakwakwang! A huge roar erupted.

Right towards the golden and silver clouds.

“Heok!”

The Gwiseon who had been caught widened his eyes in surprise, his jaw dropping, and so did Huhae and Sabi.

They were wondering if they could sneak in, but he suddenly attacked Mangakjeong.

“If you do this!!”

The Gwiseons in Mangakjeong wouldn’t stay still!

“Follow me.”

Cheonbeom wrapped the group in golden light and flew along the path where he had thrown the Ssangmyeol.

The golden and silver clouds were neatly pierced, revealing the inside.

The scenery changed momentarily, but it only flickered, as if something was wrong.

The formation in the golden and silver clouds was shattered by Cheonbeom’s attack!

As Cheonbeom took out his wings and spread them, his Dunsul [movement technique] became infinitely faster, and he quickly arrived at the place where the Ssangmyeol had landed.

The Ssangmyeol was crackling and half-destroying a palace, stuck in a pillar, and the Gwiseons nearby were all spitting blood or collapsing.

“Are those the Gwiseons of Mangakjeong?”

Beom glanced at them and pulled out the Ssangmyeol stuck in the pillar.

“Ah, doing this…!”

The Gwiseon who had flown in, grabbed by Cheonbeom’s collar, wore a desperate expression.

Beom threw the Gwiseon away as if he didn’t need him anymore and looked around.

He had thought so since he passed through the golden and silver clouds, the test of Mangakjeong, in one go, but this place called Mangakjeong was quite large.

He thought it would be a pavilion, but it wasn’t.

It was a palace-like structure for Gwiseons, connecting huge floating islands.

He thought it would be gloomy because it was made by the Gwiseons of the Four Realms, but it wasn’t.

It was quite a splendid palace.

But as expected of the Four Realms, all kinds of bones were gathered, and bizarre plants that were not commonly seen in the Suye Gye or Seon Gye [celestial realm] were the main feature.

‘What are these?’

There were many sculptures resembling beasts or people inside the palace, and the sophistication made them seem alive.

Just in case, he unfolded the Dallyeongeumjeong [a technique to perceive illusions] and examined them in detail, but they were just sculptures made of a slightly unusual metal.

Beom carefully examined the sculptures and walked around Mangakjeong as if taking a stroll.

It was an audacity that was hard to believe he was the one who had destroyed Mangakjeong.

“Why are you so relaxed? If you’ve come in, shouldn’t you quickly find the Salsun Sinjang?”

Instead of being so relaxed, he should quickly find it and leave. Sabi nodded as if she agreed.

“It’s meaningless. If it’s in the hands of the one who rules Mangakjeong, it’s useless. The probability of that not being the case is low, and they wouldn’t have left it easily in a visible place. Then it’s faster to ask the person in charge directly.”

“But…”

Tadatadatdat!

“Those who disturb Mangakjeong will surely be punished with death!”

Mangakjeong’s soldiers appeared and surrounded all sides.

Most of them were in the form of goblins, and their eyes were red Gwiseons.

Seeing that the aura of each Gwiseon was strong, he could tell at a glance that Mangakjeong’s level was high.

Moreover, the Beopgis [magical artifacts] and armor they were holding were of considerably good quality for ordinary Sangseons [high-ranking celestials] to possess.

“The crime of disturbing Mangakjeong will be punished with death! No questions asked! Kill him!”

Roughly three hundred.

A huge number of Gwiseons thrust their spears in unison and attacked.

Kaang!!

“Heot!”

Something semi-transparent that had surrounded Cheonbeom perfectly blocked the Gwiseons’ attack.

Something hexagonal was densely gathered to form a round sphere.

It was Cheonbeom’s Hyeongakbulgoe [a defensive barrier technique].

“Break through it!”

The Gwiseons, whose attacks were blocked, competed to thrust their spears and attack using Sintang [divine power], but the Hyeongakbulgoe didn’t budge.

“Such a solid Beopgi…”

Admiration came out involuntarily.

But Beom flicked his finger with an expressionless face, and soon the Hyeongakbulgoe, which had formed a perfect sphere, cracked, and fragments bounced off in all directions and attacked.

“Kuaaak!”

The Gwiseons who had gathered to break through the barrier formed by the Hyeongakbulgoe were bounced off all at once, smashing walls here and there in Mangakjeong.

“How long are you going to keep watching? Stop watching now.”

When Beom suddenly shouted, the air rippled, and a woman wearing fluttering winged clothes and a palace dress decorated with black and gold appeared.

She was wearing a half-mask made of iron, and even when looking at the parts that were not covered, it was immediately clear that she was a beautiful woman.

Only the lower half of her face was visible, but her beauty was so great that it could not be hidden by that.

“I was just watching for a moment because it was an exciting thing to do. In the three thousand years I’ve lived in Mangakjeong, you’re the first person to fly in and throw a spear first.”

Her voice was also beautiful.

It felt like his ears were being pampered.

She looked at Cheonbeom with great interest, but she didn’t seem to have any hostility.

“I should introduce myself first. I am Hwayang, the daughter of Mangakbyeonwang.”

At that, Cheonbeom simply said after slamming the Ssangmyeol into the floor.

“Just a Nangseon [wandering immortal] passing by, Yujeong.”

Hwayang’s eyes curved like crescent moons.