Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Rejected by the Immortals
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All year round, the Heavenly Mountains lay buried under eternal snow, with only biting cold drifting through the air.
Ha Huyeong sat cross-legged, gazing up at the sky.
Warm sunlight poured down onto the pristine eternal snow.
It was a warmth he hadn't felt in ages.
As he watched the majestic, winding peaks of the Heavenly Mountains bathed in gold in an instant, it felt as though not just the mountains, but the entire world, was enveloped in that warmth.
A gentle smile graced Ha Huyeong's face.
"Nice."
The warmth after a hundred days lifted his spirits.
The sky was clear, without a single cloud.
Below the snow-covered summit, lush greenery bloomed.
He could feel the energies of yin and yang filling heaven and earth.
It was a rare day on the Heavenly Mountains.
Rare made it precious—a perfect day.
Ha Huyeong closed his eyes softly, savoring the warmth with his whole body.
From the darkness, memories of the past crept up, drifting hazily by.
From the days wandering the streets like a beast, scavenging food from the ground, to now, sitting cross-legged.
To survive, he took up the sword and became a wandering ronin, roaming the world.
He encountered countless masters and survived innumerable brushes with life and death.
He was a genius.
He had begun training in martial arts at the late age of fifteen, yet he grew stronger faster than anyone and endured.
At first, he learned martial arts to survive, but later he fought to prove himself.
He fought as if that was the only reason to live, fighting again and again.
From a mere worm, he became a dragon soaring above the clouds.
No one could stop him.
He stood alone, unrivaled, reigning supreme.
The Nine Great Sects and Five Great Clans, called the order of the world, could not block him. Eight of the Ten Great Masters of the world knelt before him.
It was the moment the order of the world was realigned.
And around that time, the demonic path rose like wildfire, shaking the world.
He was curious about demonic arts and demonic masters.
To prove himself anew, he fought the demonic path as well.
Everyone held their breath at his steps and bowed their heads.
In the end, after ten years of war, he proved himself by claiming the Demon Lord's head.
The hero who shattered the demonic heavens and saved the world.
The supreme under heaven.
The Sole Conqueror, Ha Huyeong.
That was him.
A name no one beneath heaven dared to defy.
But was it because he had become too great?
He looked around, and there was nothing.
Ha Huyeong felt a profound emptiness.
Even the Demon Lord, said to be close to supreme under heaven, was no match for him. Who in the world could stand against him?
No faction or warrior met his eyes.
As time passed, futility and emptiness gnawed at his body.
To escape it, he secluded himself.
He wanted to know his realm, how far he could reach.
After wandering in search of answers, he arrived at these Heavenly Mountains.
And upon reaching them, he found the answer.
Ascension.
Through the ascension spoken of by those old Taoists, Ha Huyeong sought a new realm.
The end of martial arts.
To achieve the ultimate pinnacle.
To shed the shell of the flesh and ascend to a new rank.
Ha Huyeong focused.
'This is the last chance.'
During the ten years preparing for ascension, he had failed five times.
Because of that, his body, once harder than diamond, was now cracked and on the verge of shattering.
He could instinctively sense his lifespan ebbing away.
'If I fail this time... will it be the end?'
He thought he was detached from worldly concerns, but the word "last" still gripped his ankle.
'Focus.'
Ha Huyeong shook off stray thoughts.
The sixth attempt.
Perhaps his final chance.
He needed to concentrate more than ever.
His lower abdomen, the lower dantian, stirred.
The inner energy he had built over a lifetime flowed out through every pore, enveloping his body.
The power rising from his lower abdomen climbed against the flow to his heart, then surged to the crown of his head.
'It's happening.'
He felt his body lighten.
'Don't get careless yet.'
The first time he reached the realm of ascension, he had lost composure at this very sensation and tumbled.
He calmed his mind steadily and waited.
He lengthened his breath, feeling the flow of energy.
The energy from his heart seeped into the crown.
The life force wrapping his body pulsed like a blooming flower.
Three black flower buds formed above his crown, and the resulting wave of qi instantly withered the surrounding pine trees.
Storm clouds roiled, disturbing the peaceful sky.
And then the turmoil subsided.
With Ha Huyeong's serene face, all the phenomena centered on him vanished in an instant.
A single beam of golden light descended from the heavens, granting Ha Huyeong boundless freedom.
Carried by a wind from somewhere, his soul slipped free from his worn body and ascended to the sky.
'Ah! Finally, finally!'
Ecstasy lit Ha Huyeong's face.
"Ahh, ascension. It's ascension!"
All the vexations filling his mind emptied, replaced by vast emptiness.
In contrast, his chest filled with profound fullness.
His soul rose into the air, heaven drawing near, the Heavenly Mountains shrinking to the size of his palm.
His final wish, ascension, was within reach.
Above the mysterious clouds.
The realm of immortals began to appear.
"Hahaha! Finally, finally I've reached this place! I've become an immortal and achieved a new realm!"
As Ha Huyeong burst into wild laughter, about to set foot in the immortals' realm.
Other immortals poked their heads out above the immortals' space.
From an old man with a flowing beard to a young boy and a beautiful woman in fairy garb.
Eight immortals stared down at him intently.
'Haha, even the immortals recognize this lord and have come to greet me!'
Ha Huyeong smiled warmly.
In a way, they were now his peers.
Then it happened.
Mysterious voices of the immortals echoed in his ears.
"Huh, that guy's actually made it up here."
"Reeking of killing intent—how could that be an immortal? It's worse than last time."
"He's tasted too much blood in the mortal world. With that much karma, I can't tell if it's a ghost or an immortal."
The immortals furrowed their brows.
"But what can we do? He's got talent that shatters the natural order."
"True. He'll shatter the natural order and probably smash your favorite immortal stew too."
"What? This damn bastard! Send him back! We have to send him back!"
"Huh! Wouldn't that be shattering the natural order too?"
"That guy's climbing up is already against the natural order—what are you talking about!"
The immortals stirred, exhaling faint anger.
"Hmm! The evil karma on his shoulders is so heavy."
"That temperament shouldn't be accepted. Send him back."
What the hell are they saying?
Something's off about this.
"For another one like him to show up."
"Let's drop him quick! He's getting closer while we talk."
"How about giving him one more chance? If he washes away his past sins, he'll earn the right to ascend and uphold the natural order, won't he?"
"Hm... Not a bad idea."
Ha Huyeong frowned as he listened to the eight immortals.
'What the fuck are those bastards babbling about?'
His doubt was brief. One immortal jabbed a finger at the empty air.
"Huh?"
His body, ascending to the immortal realm, suddenly tilted.
And then the sensation of endlessly falling downward... no, he was really plummeting.
Wh-what?!
"Uwaaaah?!"
The immortals' voices pierced his ears.
"Disgraceful. Wash off that blood stench and come back."
"Huh, demonic qi too—it's a real mess!"
"We'll give you one more chance. Start over."
What?
Wash what?
As his soul fell toward the earth, the lifelong aspiration vanished in an instant, emptiness piercing his body.
At the same time, rage exploded.
Who the hell are they to knock me down from ascension?!
Ha Huyeong desperately craned his neck to look up, seeing the eight immortals who had cast him down, smiling contentedly.
Smiling?
"You fucking bastaaards!"
* * *
Boom!
A heavy impact rang out, his head throbbing with a dull ache.
His stomach churned, limbs numb.
He tried to push off the ground to stand, but his hands had no strength.
Even his eyes wouldn't open properly.
Pain wrung every muscle, his mind spinning dizzily.
"Kuaaaagh! Y-you fucking bastaaards!"
Ha Huyeong screamed amid the agony.
The sensation of falling from the sky still felt vivid.
The faces of those eight sneering immortals were etched clearly in his mind.
'These motherfuckers! Smiling? Smiling?!'
Daring to mess with me, the Sole Conqueror Ha Huyeong?
They want to go at it with me?
He thought he was detached from worldly affairs, but no.
No, not mortals—immortals messing with him made his rage boil over.
They dared touch me?
He'd pay them back in full.
Tenfold, a hundredfold.
The Sole Conqueror Ha Huyeong would show those immortal bastards he wasn't one to trifle with.
Ascend again, ascend again... but to ascend again, he needed a body?
...Huh? What?
Ha Huyeong stared at the hand draped over the bed.
He could vaguely see the back of his hand; wiggling it, it was definitely his.
The impact of the fall must have left him disoriented, but sensation was clearly returning.
His body had surely reached its limit before?
Ha Huyeong's eyes gleamed.
'They really gave me one more chance?'
These idiots even gave me a shot at revenge!
What fortune!
Strength surged where there had been none.
Dizzying joy flooded him.
He wanted to leap up and roar.
If not for the dizziness and weakness, he would have already.
Ha Huyeong ground his teeth.
"You fucking bastards! I'll smash you all. All of you!"
"...Calm down, calm down, Young Master! You'll collapse again!"
"Collapse? Me?"
"Yes, exactly. Please, calm down."
"Ridiculous. The ones collapsing are those immortal fu—"
Ha Huyeong paused and turned his head.
Was there anyone else on the Heavenly Mountain summit besides him?
No... Were the Heavenly Mountains ever this warm?
He rubbed his still-blurry eyes vigorously.
He rubbed until moisture welled up in them.
A unfamiliar voice spoke again.
"Are you feeling a bit better? No dizziness? Can you see me? Here, take this—quick!"
"...What's this?"
"Medicine."
"Medicine?"
"Drink it, all at once."
"What?"
"I figured you'd say that, so I got a straw. Suck it down, go on."
Something long was placed in his mouth.
Instinctively, Ha Huyeong sucked on it.
Slurp.
Tangy medicine flowed down his throat along the thin tube.
A bitter taste spread in his mouth.
Gulp gulp!
"There you go, good job."
"..."
"What is it?"
Ha Huyeong sucked on the medicine—slurp slurp—while straining his eyes.
His blurry vision cleared, revealing the face of the one holding the medicine bowl toward him.
Slurp slurp slurp!
"No pain anywhere else? Speak up if there is. Sigh, why'd you push yourself like that? I told you not to walk. I said it was cold out, right? After this, wash your face."
"..."
"I nearly died of fright. You collapsed again out of nowhere—I thought something terrible happened. Slurp slurp! One more sip left. Drain it to the bottom, go on!"
"Who are you?"
"...Pardon?"
"Who are you, I said."
The pupils of Geum Cheomsang, supporting the medicine bowl, shook.
"...You don't remember me? Did you hit your head when you collapsed? No, I checked—no external injuries."
Geum Cheomsang jumped up, muttering as he examined the back of Ha Huyeong's head.
Ha Huyeong furrowed his brow.
'What the hell has this bastard been yapping about?'
No, what? Young Master?
"Who are you, I asked?"
"I'm Geum Cheomsang."
"Who's Geum Cheomsang?"
"The eldest son of the Nangong Clan's chief steward, and your personal attendant. You really don't remember?"
Ha Huyeong furrowed his brow again at Geum Cheomsang's words.
Because of the familiar yet unfamiliar terms.
"Nangong Clan?"
"Yes, Nangong Clan. Remember now?"
A hollow laugh escaped him.
So...
'Those immortal bastards threw me down here?'
To the Nangong Clan?
"This is insane..."
"Young Master?"
Ha Huyeong whipped his head to stare at Geum Cheomsang.
Seeing Geum Cheomsang's pupils shake wildly, he asked quietly.
"Who am I?"
Geum Cheomsang answered immediately.
"You're the second young master of the great Nangong Clan."
Ha Huyeong's gaze shifted to his smooth, unlined palm, then back to Geum Cheomsang.
Staring silently at Geum Cheomsang, Ha Huyeong blankly lifted his head.
The eight immortals' faces floated one by one against the stuffy ceiling.
Ha Huyeong's expression slowly twisted.
"You motherfucking bastaaards!"