Climbing the Tower with Multidimensional Avatars - Chapter 73

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 73. Galaxy Martial God Hall – Fateful Encounter (3)

Cheon Ga-ryeong’s words left me momentarily speechless, and I asked for clarification.
“…So seniors from other clubs are also under that senior’s influence?”
It wasn’t an unreasonable claim.
A family with such a solid foundation within the clan that they’re a driving force in factional disputes, and among the top-tier in strength.
As I mentioned, not all direct descendants are wealthy.
Unfortunately, poorer students could certainly be swayed with money.
It was possible that not just classmates, but perhaps fifth-year or third-year students had been brought under their influence as well.
“So that senior wants to join our club because they can’t exert influence there?”
“Exactly.”
Of course, assuming what Cheon Ga-ryeong said was true.
“Isn’t it possible you’re just worrying for nothing if it’s just bad blood between families?”
At my words, Cheon Ga-ryeong’s voice rose sharply.
“You haven’t seen that bastard, so you’re talking like that! That insufferable jerk, the way he normally acts…!”
“Ga-ryeong! Calm down!”
Cheon Gong-hu called out her name and tried to settle her down.
“Tch! Anyway, that bastard….”
“Ga-ryeong. That’s not nice language.”
“I know.”
The usually timid Cheon Gong-hu seemed to be playing the role of a brake on Cheon Ga-ryeong’s outbursts.
I’d gotten the impression that Cheon Ga-ryeong was unilaterally looking out for her, but their compatibility seemed better than expected.
“That guy probably throws money at the teachers too.”
Cheon Ga-ryeong criticized bluntly, apparently unfamiliar with euphemisms like bribery or kickbacks.
Cheon Gong-hu nodded, seeming to agree with her to some extent.
“The teachers probably wouldn’t accept money even if offered. If they openly took money and showed favoritism, the teachers would get fired.”
They might sell student information to higher-ups without anyone knowing, or accept under-the-table payments, but it wouldn’t translate into actual favoritism or special treatment directed at the children.
This was a school attended by direct descendants,
and with the Family Head watching over it, one wrong move could cost them their head.
By the way, “head” here doesn’t mean being fired—it means what sits above your shoulders.
What do you expect from a martial clan that shows torture videos of traitors during teacher orientation?
Then what about the special treatment and favoritism Cheon So-yeon receives?
If you’re jealous, either be born as a Heavenly Martial Body or make friends with one.
Teachers are employees too—if their superiors tell them to do something, what choice do they have?
If you’re envious, either be reborn as a Heavenly Martial Body or befriend one.
“Have you consulted with the Teacher about this problem?”
At my question, Cheon Ga-ryeong and Cheon Gong-hu exchanged glances.
It wasn’t easy for students to report something to a teacher, after all.
Moreover, I suspected the teachers might be accepting bribes as well, which made the situation even worse.
“There are several ways to handle this. First option: tell Teacher Kim Do-hwa. At the very least, Teacher Kim Do-hwa isn’t the type to accept bribes—money from students, that is.”
“…But.”
The two children hesitated at my solution.
It was true that Teacher Kim Do-hwa wasn’t the warm, approachable type with children.
Though once you got to know her, she had a surprisingly easygoing side to her.
“Second option: you distribute money yourselves. That’s the most certain and best method.”
If Cheon Gong-hu’s parents had enough power to stand against that senior’s family faction, then they wielded considerable influence.
Scattering money among those brats would be nothing to them.
If fourth graders were the problem, we could simply win over the fifth and sixth graders.
“You’re telling us to become just like that bastard?!”
Cheon Ga-ryeong flared up with her fiery temperament.
“W-well, that’s true. And we don’t have any money anyway….”
That senior probably wasn’t using his own money either.
What kind of money would a fourth grader be making to distribute like that?
It’s not like they were trading stocks or funds like I was.
But they seemed reluctant to tell their parents about the situation.
“Third option: you convince me and Cheon So-yeon that you want to join the club.”
“Isn’t that what we’re doing right now!”
At Cheon Ga-ryeong’s outburst, I nodded.
“Exactly. Since persuasion hasn’t worked, keep trying to persuade us.”
“Huh?”
Did they really think I’d just let them join if they explained their situation?
“As I said before, you have two other methods and solutions besides joining our club. In fact, consulting with Teacher Kim Do-hwa—the first method—should have been the very first thing you did. Failing that, you should have told your parents.”
Letting these two into the club was something I’d only consider after they’d tried the first method and nothing changed.
“Just as you have your circumstances, we have ours. We can’t simply accept you just because you’re in trouble and asking us to. Do you think the school approved a club with only two members for no reason?”
Once I admitted new club members, everyone would start eyeing the club as a way to get in. How dare they try to invade my school sanctuary like this.
And if clan politics somehow seeped into the club because of this, who would take responsibility?
“…So what would make you accept us?”
Cheon Ga-ryeong really seemed to hate the idea of telling the teacher or her parents about the situation right now.
Was it because she didn’t want to make a big fuss? Or was she worried her parents would be concerned?
A child her age shouldn’t have to worry about such things.
But being young didn’t mean she was thoughtless.
“Well, it’s one of two things: either you try the first solution and it doesn’t work, or there needs to be some benefit to the club if you join. Of course, since our club advisor is Teacher Kim Do-hwa, if you join the club, she’ll learn about your situation anyway.”
At my words, Cheon Ga-ryeong and Cheon Gong-hu asked me to wait a moment and stepped into the building.
At that distance, I couldn’t hear them, but Cheon So-yeon would be able to.
“What do you think? Do I seem too cold?”
At my question, Cheon So-yeon shook her head.
“No. I think you were fair. Adult problems should be resolved among adults—I hate seeing children dragged into them.”
She was right. It was a problem the adults needed to solve.
Whether it was their parents or their teachers.
It was a terrible habit to hide things among themselves and try to solve problems they lacked the ability to handle.
No, it wasn’t just a bad habit—it was downright foolish.
If they didn’t have the strength to solve things on their own, they should seek help from adults even if the situation grew worse, not arrogantly attempt to handle it alone.
“Heh, how adorable.”
Cheon So-yeon laughed, watching the direction the two had gone.
“What? What are you saying?”
“Cheon Gong-hu thinks he has a way to persuade us?”
“Wow, so he really can hear us from that distance. I need to be more careful with my words.”
“Oh! Ah, no! It just seemed that way! It’s just a feeling! A hunch!”
Cheon So-yeon panicked at my jest.
Just then, the two of them finished their conversation and returned to us.
Cheon Gong-hu spoke in a timid voice.
“I, I have something that might help.”
“What is it?”
What I lacked now was physical training—I didn’t particularly need elixirs or advanced martial techniques.
As for Cheon So-yeon… I couldn’t say.
How could a sparrow understand the will of a phoenix?
“My older brother told me there’s the Family Head’s insights hidden somewhere in this school.”
“The Family Head? You mean the current Family Head?”
The current Family Head, Sword King Cheon Ja-su, was among the finest masters within the top five in the entire history of the Cheon Family Clan.
Among all past Family Heads, only five had ever reached the Star-Crossing Realm, and of those five, one died centuries ago, one disappeared without a trace, one ascended to the Heavens Beyond Heaven and became Sword Sovereign Cheon Seung, one of the Five Sovereigns, and one became the First of the Galaxy, the Martial God Cheon Yu.
I nodded at Cheon Gong-hu’s confirmation.
“That’s right.”
The current Family Head, Sword King Cheon Ja-su, was the fifth Star-Crossing Realm master of the Cheon Family Clan.
As far as I knew, the Martial God Academy Foundation, which includes our school, was established nearly a thousand years ago by Cheon Seung, who was the Family Head at that time.
That meant this school’s history spanned nearly a thousand years, and naturally, the direct descendant Cheon Ja-su would have attended this school as well.
The current Family Head was probably around 686 years old.
The problem was that the value of those insights depended on when they were recorded.
If they were insights from our age group, they would certainly be at most first-rate level insights.
Come to think of it, Cheon Ja-su had apparently served as a teacher at this school for several years in his youth.
The fact that a photograph from that time was proudly displayed at the school’s main gate made it certain.
Even then, he would have been in his forties, which was roughly 640 years ago from now.
At best, he would have been at the peak or early transcendent stage, or at most at the Hwagyeong level.
Teachings below Hwagyeong could be learned from Siu or even from Cheon So-yeon’s parents.
Moreover, Siu doesn’t teach with unkind insights—she teaches logically and kindly.
Of course, that didn’t mean I needed insights containing enlightenment beyond Hwagyeong.
The level had to match reasonably well to gain insights and achieve enlightenment; what use would a mere second-rate like me have in seeing such exalted insights?
While I was thinking such thoughts, Cheon Gong-hu spoke.
“My older brother was in the Sub-Family Head Guard Unit before, and he said that when the Family Head was the Sub-Family Head, he had many memories of this place and used to come here secretly often.”
“Is that so?”
Unlike my indifferent tone, Cheon Gong-hu spoke as though sharing a secret.
“Back when my older brother was on guard duty, the Family Head—who was the Sub-Family Head at the time—entered some building, and suddenly an incredibly powerful aura erupted from it! When the Family Head came back out, my brother said he’d become tremendously stronger!”
If that story was true, it had to be at least an enlightenment of the Life-Death Realm or higher.
Below the Current Realm, there were far too many people to become a Sub-Family Head, but the numbers dropped sharply from the Life-Death Realm onward.
In truth, even the number of Life-Death Realm cultivators was greater than expected. It might very well be an enlightenment beyond the Natural Realm.
“When did that happen?”
“Um… my brother… my brother… oh! He said it was about a year before the Family Head became the Family Head!”
It had been nearly forty years since he became the Family Head.
Then it might have been an enlightenment of the Star Realm or the Star Moon Realm, beyond the Natural Realm.
But if his brother was part of the Sub-Family Head Guard Unit forty years ago, how old was this kid’s brother anyway?
You were quite the late-born child, weren’t you?
I began to understand why he’d been reluctant to inform his parents about the current situation.
If his brother was that much older, his parents had to be even older still.
As I was thinking this, Cheon So-yeon’s eyes sparkled as she gently tugged at my school uniform sleeve.
“What? You want to search for it?”
Cheon So-yeon nodded eagerly.
Encouraged by Cheon So-yeon’s enthusiasm, Cheon Ga-ryeong and Cheon Gong-hu’s expressions brightened.
“Alright then. If we find it, you join the club, and if we don’t, we forget about joining and honestly consult with Teacher Kim Do-hwa. Those are the terms.”
At my words, Cheon Gong-hu shrank back slightly.
“But I’ll come along to the consultation and help as much as I can.”
These little ones had asked for help—I couldn’t turn them away now that I was grown.
Besides, the children would likely ramble nervously, and Teacher Kim Do-hwa didn’t seem as skilled as I was at coaxing out the truth gently.
Well, helping them wasn’t difficult anyway.
“…Yeah!”
At my promise to help, Cheon Gong-hu grinned and nodded.
“Alright then, let’s go. Time to search for the building.”
Oh, but first I needed to explain the situation to Siu, who was waiting.
I’d send her a message explaining.

(To be continued in the next chapter)

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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