The Wizard Who Endured the World of Murim - Chapter 94

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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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Surviving in the Martial Realm as a Mage: Episode 94
Since ancient times, before the Upper and Lower Realms were even distinguished, the Hwashin Order Celestial Watchers had been revered by humans as demigods.
In fact, shrines dedicated to the Hwashin Order Celestial Watchers still remained in the Lower Realm.
The lifespan of a Hwashin Order Celestial Watcher was estimated at roughly one thousand to fifteen hundred years.
This was a span long enough to witness the rise and fall of even the mightiest empires multiple times over.
Consequently, their numbers rarely diminished.
Unless they were caught up in wars against demons or factional conflicts between the Righteous and Demonic sects and fell in battle.
Death was virtually nonexistent among them.
Because of this, once one reached the rank of Hwashin Order practitioner,
they typically knew the names of all peers of equal standing living on the same continent.
A single vast continent usually harbored around five hundred Celestial Watchers at the Hwashin Order level.
Even if they didn’t know each other’s faces, it was customary for them to at least know one another’s names.
‘Yet here stands someone completely unknown to all.’
This alone was extraordinarily strange.
If a new Won Young-gi practitioner suddenly appeared among their ranks?
That could be overlooked.
After all, Won Young-gi practitioners were so numerous that a Hwashin Order Celestial Watcher would consider them beneath notice.
The emergence of a new one among them would barely warrant acknowledgment.
Even rogue cultivators—those without respectable backgrounds, practicing alone in the wilderness without any support—
could somehow ascend to the Won Young-gi level.
With exceptional talent and favorable fortune, they could scavenge resources from the world as needed.
‘But the Hwashin Order level is different.’
Why else would Hwashin Order practitioners be called Venerables instead of mere practitioners?
They possessed the strength to govern at least one region—
in other words, an entire nation.
In fact, most Hwashin Order practitioners used territories the size of small kingdoms as their bases.
Why?
Because without such a foundation, one could never become a Hwashin Order practitioner in the first place.
One needed to squeeze and accumulate every resource a nation could produce just barely to reach the Hwashin Order level.
In short, a Hwashin Order practitioner operating without any foundation or base?
Such a thing could not exist.
So if an unknown Hwashin Order practitioner had appeared?
There was only one possible explanation.
“Hmm, could he have come from another continent? If so, I must apologize for my rudeness today.”
As Qingyun Venerable offered his apology first, Leomyeong Zenja couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.
‘That’s right! If he truly came from another continent, he might well be unfamiliar with local affairs.’
With the critical stronghold of Hyeontcheon Holy City on the verge of falling to the Demonic Sect Alliance,
an outsider might not have grasped the delicate situation.
That would explain why he was being so particular about propriety.
After a moment of contemplation, Ilhyang glanced back at Jeok Yang-jin, who was fidgeting nervously, then answered with a wry smile.
“I’ll accept the apology, then. Since it did come from elsewhere, as you suspected.”
“As I thought! So that’s what happened!”
The Jayun Sect Master.
Jeok Yang-jin could finally ease his anxious heart at Ilhyang’s response.
The tension surrounding them visibly dissipated in an instant.
“But what brings you here?”
“Ahem, we didn’t come unannounced without good reason, I assure you.”
“Before that, would it be alright if we sat down to discuss this? There’s quite a bit to explain.”
“Of course. Please, have a seat here.”
As I gestured somewhat reluctantly toward the seats in the Mage Tower Reception Hall, the two Hwashin Order Venerables sat down side by side to my right.
The moment they were seated, I summoned teacups and a teapot from the empty air, observing the minimum courtesy toward my guests.
After that.
I glanced from my seat at the upper position, inviting them to speak.
Qingyun Venerable brought the teacup to his lips, and then.
He explained in detail the power struggle currently unfolding in Hyeontcheon Holy City.
“…So that’s how it stands.”
“Ahem, what do you think? Isn’t this reason enough for us to seek you out? We need our Jeongzong to unite its strength as soon as possible. We had no time for such formalities.”
I glanced briefly at Jeok Yang-jin, who was waiting at the entrance, then turned my gaze back to Qingyun Venerable and Leomyeong Zenja to ask.
“So if Jeongzong takes the initiative as you say, which of you two intends to claim the Fifth-Tier Spirit Vein?”
There was only one Fifth-Tier Spirit Vein available.
So with so many people involved, clear arrangements needed to be made beforehand.
“Ahem, we’ve decided that the Hwashin Venerables of Jeongzong will take turns using the Fifth-Tier Spirit Vein. Ten years each is somewhat unsatisfying, but everyone can benefit equally. Of course! Only those who lend a hand in this matter will receive such benefits.”
As I listened to Qingyun Venerable’s stern words, I chuckled inwardly.
Ten years was but a fleeting moment to practitioners of the Hwashin Order.
They were proposing to rotate the Fifth-Tier Spirit Vein among themselves for such a brief span?
‘I wonder if this will work out.’
It might, but it seemed far more likely that problems would arise.
‘The Hwashin Order practitioners in this region all seem to be of comparable mediocre caliber.’
I’d heard that the previous Jeongmyeong Jonja was a mid-stage Hwashin Order practitioner.
Even with that alone, he had completely controlled and maintained territory the size of an entire empire as his base.
Now that such a being was dead, these mediocre fellows were squabbling over who would sit on the throne.
“Didn’t you say the Demonic Sect Alliance has already claimed their position? Do you think they’ll back down just because Jeongzong pushes with numbers?”
“We intend to appeal to our elders. If we ask the elders of our Upper Sect, surely they’ll at least put in a word for us, won’t they?”
As I listened to Qingyun Venerable and Leomyeong Zenja’s explanation.
I recalled a conversation from a few months ago with Man Chong, the patrol leader of the Jayun Sect.
‘He said that currently, Spirit Veins only exist up to the Fifth-Tier on this continent.’
Sixth-Tier and Seventh-Tier Spirit Veins didn’t exist on the Common Continent.
The places where they existed were the Dao Yuan Realm and the Cang Qiong Realm.
They existed only in the so-called Deep Three Continents known as the Gui Yi Continent.
The Deep Continents had long been shared with the Demon Immortal Realm, making them dangerous regions where battles erupted constantly.
The minimum requirement to enter the Deep Three Continents was the Won-yeong Order, but in reality, the Won-yeong Order Practitioners had no desire to venture there.
Every year, countless Immortals perished in the Deep Three Continents at the hands of demons.
The higher-ranking Celestial Watchers, fearful of death, preferred to remain in the safety of the Common Continent.
They had no wish to expose themselves to such peril.
The problem was that as this situation persisted over a prolonged period, the Deep Three Continents gradually transformed into a realm dominated by demons.
Concerns arose that our forces might be pushed back unilaterally, and eventually, the elders who had been observing stepped forward.
They proclaimed a single rule.
The Thirty-Six Ancestors—thirty-six Hapdogi Grand Immortals whom people commonly revered and praised.
The rule they declared was simple.
‘The five-tier spiritual veins existing on the Common Continent are permitted only for Hwa Shin-gi Order Practitioners to claim.’
Due to this powerful rule, realms beyond the Hwa Shin-gi Order—from the Yeonheo Order onward—could not possess spiritual veins on the Common Continent.
Yeonheo Order Practitioners had to venture into the Deep Three Continents, battle demons, and pioneer new spiritual vein outposts themselves.
It was a form of bitter remedy to prevent our forces from being pushed back unilaterally by the demons.
In truth, this rule proclamation proved remarkably effective.
Of course, countless Immortals perished in the process, but the demons suffered equally devastating losses.
“In any case, we must absolutely secure the five-tier spiritual vein of Hyuncheon Holy City for Jeongzong this time. It seems the Demonic Sect Alliance schemed from the shadows and killed Jeongmyeong Jonja. We cannot allow such cunning creatures to profit from this—it would be unjust.”
If one wished to speak of justice, shouldn’t one first rid oneself of the greed gleaming so obviously in one’s eyes?
Ilhyang clicked his tongue inwardly but nodded along.
“If you send word separately, I shall visit and lend my strength.”
“Excellent! You are a person who understands justice!”
As Leomyeong Zenja praised me with a flushed, hearty laugh, Qingyun Venerable wore a satisfied expression before suddenly posing a question.
“By the way, what is your epithet? Come to think of it, I never learned your title.”
“You must have had an epithet by which you were called on other continents?”
An epithet—a kind of alias, in other words.
From the Won-yeong Order onward, practitioners were called by epithets rather than their given names, symbols of their own essence.
I pondered for a moment.
And then.
“You may call me Hyeonma.”
I combined Hyeon, meaning black, with Ma, meaning magic.
Upon hearing that epithet, Leomyeong Zenja tilted his head slightly.
“Hmm? It carries the scent of those Demonic Sect Alliance dogs, doesn’t it?”
“Hehe, indeed. Had we not witnessed your clean and transparent declaration of territory, we might have been misled.”
The two nodded in understanding without particular alarm.
Then Qingyun Venerable withdrew a small tome from his sleeve, inscribed characters upon it, and returned it to his robes before speaking.
“Then I shall record Hyeonma Venerable’s joining in the Alliance Registry. I will send word later, so please do come and lend your strength. We must crush the momentum of those Demonic Sect Alliance bastards.”
“Hmm? For some reason, this star name reeks of the Demonic Sect Alliance.”
“Heh heh, you’re right. If I hadn’t seen your clear and transparent territorial declaration, I might have easily misunderstood.”
The two of them nodded in agreement without showing much surprise.
And he took out a small booklet from his sleeve, wrote something on it, put it back, and spoke.
“Then I’ll record the Hyeonma Sect’s joining in the Alliance Registry. I’ll send word later, so please come lend a hand when the time comes. We’ll need to dampen the Demonic Sect Alliance’s momentum.”
“Understood.”
At that moment, I harbored no particular thoughts about the matter.
What it truly meant to take a stand between Jeongzong and the Demonic Sect Alliance.
How monumentally this incident would spiral into something far greater.
I could not have foreseen any of it.

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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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