The inn was noisy, as always.
Baek Woon scanned the interior before gliding over to a table where a man was seated.
"Brother Namgung. I heard you had something to discuss."
Namgung Yeon, who had been devouring his food with abandon, spoke without even lifting his head.
"Why don't you have some?"
The dish of white noodles, made with oil, egg, and milk, was utterly foreign to Baek Woon.
"I'm fine. And where are your chopsticks? What is that strange utensil you're using?"
"You're supposed to use this when you eat this dish."
Namgung Yeon twirled the noodles with a peculiar utensil that split into three prongs at the end.
Every time Baek Woon saw that bizarre utensil and that greasy-looking dish, he felt a surge of irritation. He couldn't understand why he disliked them so much.
Suppressing his feelings, he continued.
"Did you find the information?"
"Of course. Has this Namgung Yeon ever called you here without information?"
The man before him, Namgung Yeon, was no ordinary figure. His ability to gather information in specific fields was said to rival even that of the Beggars' Sect.
"You've heard of the 100,000 Great Mountains, I presume?"
The 100,000 Great Mountains. It was a place no martial artist could be unaware of.
Especially not for Baek Woon, who belonged to the Mount Zhongnan Sect.
"Of course, I have. Isn't it the stronghold of the Demonic Cult?"
"Tsk, tsk. Demonic Cult? You should call them the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."
Baek Woon frowned.
A man of the Namgung Clan, calling the Demonic Cult the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
For Baek Woon, who had been raised on the rigid teachings of Mount Zhongnan, it was deeply unsettling.
"Heavenly Demon Divine Cult? How can you say such a thing with the name of Namgung?"
"Hehehe. I'm already on the outs with them, so what does it matter what I say?"
Namgung Yeon downed a bowl of unfiltered rice wine.
"Ahhh. This wine is good."
"Enough. Just get on with your story."
"My story. Right. The information you requested was about Spirit Beasts, wasn't it?"
Animals or plants possessing spiritual energy.
By taking their power, one could reach new realms at a speed incomparable to mere cultivation.
And yet, most martial artists had little interest in Spirit Beasts.
They dismissed them as beings of fantasy.
But they were real.
With their sudden, seemingly endless appearance, martial artists were now desperately trying to secure Spirit Beasts for themselves.
If even the damn monks of Shaolin were said to be roaming about to capture them, one could only imagine what other martial artists were doing.
Baek Woon was also searching for such a Spirit Beast.
He had sensed that he could not reach the next realm through cultivation alone.
"That's right."
"I've confirmed that there are Spirit Beasts in the 100,000 Great Mountains."
Tsk.
Baek Woon clicked his tongue.
That information was meaningless.
The 100,000 Great Mountains was not a place one could enter at will.
The distance was one thing, but considering the group that occupied it, it was a place one wouldn't even dare to approach.
"I can't just invade the stronghold of the Demonic Cult for a single Spirit Beast."
"It's not just a single one."
"You mean there are more?"
Namgung Yeon gave a slight nod and held up his right hand, fingers spread.
"Five? That's nowhere near enough."
Namgung Yeon shook his head.
"Don't tell me there are fifty? Hmph, it's tempting, but…"
Again, he shook his head.
"Five… five hundred?"
The number that left Baek Woon's lips was absurd.
"Five digits."
What Namgung Yeon said was even more absurd.
"There are at least a five-digit number of Spirit Beasts there."
Baek Woon silently picked up the rice wine on the table and drank it down.
"I thought you were a prude who only drank Shaoxing wine. I guess I was wrong."
Namgung Yeon chuckled as he watched Baek Woon wipe the wine from his lips.
"Brother Namgung. I did not come here to trade jokes."
"A little disappointing. Do you still not know this Namgung Yeon?"
Namgung Yeon continued in a low voice.
"The 100,000 Great Mountains is a natural fortress that no one has ever breached. That's why the Spirit Beasts have gathered there. Humans and Spirit Beasts are incompatible, after all."
"…If that's true, wouldn't the balance of the Central Plains collapse if those Demonic Cult bastards took all the Spirit Beasts?"
"It might, if they were to do that. But, Baek Woon, I distinctly said that no one has ever breached the 100,000 Great Mountains."
"Does that mean…"
"Yes. It means that not even the followers of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult can enter."
Baek Woon couldn't understand their actions.
"Why in the world would the Demonic Cult do that?"
"I don't know the details, but I heard there's a prophecy."
"A prophecy?"
"That the Heavenly Demon will be born in the 100,000 Great Mountains."
The Heavenly Demon.
A fictional god worshipped by the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
"They're just leaving all those Spirit Beasts alone because of a mere prophecy?"
"That's the kind of group they are."
"No, I don't understand."
Thump.
Baek Woon lightly slammed his hand on the table.
"No matter how much internal energy a ten-thousand-year-old carp accumulates, it's still just a carp. Same goes for a Golden Frog."
When a carp accumulates internal energy and forms an inner core, it is called a Hwari. When a toad with potent venom possesses an inner core, it is called a Golden Frog.
But despite being called Spirit Beasts, their own power was not that great.
Namgung Yeon picked up where Baek Woon left off.
"They are so weak, yet why is the internal energy in their inner cores so powerful? Have you ever thought about that?"
The inner core held by a Spirit Beast was truly a treasure of the highest order.
Obtaining just one was considered a fated encounter, allowing one to break through a blocked realm. It was an object coveted by anyone who revered martial arts.
"It is the limit of a carp, the limit of a toad. Even with immense internal energy, if they cannot surpass that limit, they are nothing more than a carp and a toad."
"That's my point. They should be thinking of taking the power of those Spirit Beasts. How can they just leave them be? What, is one of those Spirit Beasts the god those Demonic Cult bastards are waiting for?"
"Who knows. There's a rumor that a creature like that exists at Mount Hua, too."
"Mount Hua… You mean the one called the Dragon Person, that, Liza…"
"Say no more."
Namgung Yeon warned Baek Woon.
There was a rumor in the streets.
That a Dragon Person with crimson scales and massive wings had entered the Mount Hua Sect. That a new master of Mount Hua had been born, one who could freely wield a great mass of flame in the shape of the character for 'great' (大), capable of incinerating all.
And that the moment one uttered its name, the world would end.
"Are you really scared of a mere street rumor?"
"An information broker like me must be wary of everything on the streets. The sword of the marketplace, the fist of the marketplace."
"I didn't know you were afraid of marketplace power."
Namgung Yeon silently drained his wine.
"Still, I don't get it. To just leave mere Spirit Beasts…"
"As I said before, Spirit Beasts are weak because they cannot overcome their individual limits."
Tapping the empty wine bowl, he continued with a serious expression.
"But what if they undergo a metamorphosis?"
"Metamorphosis!"
Meaning to change one's bones and be reborn, it refers to the body transforming into a form more suitable for martial arts in order to achieve a higher realm.
"How could they possibly undergo a metamorphosis!"
"The conditions are perfect. Immense internal energy accumulated over tens, even hundreds of years. And a body that cannot handle it. It wouldn't be strange at all for them to undergo a metamorphosis."
Namgung Yeon smiled, baring his teeth.
"Aren't you just dying to know what would happen if a Spirit Beast, possessing such immense internal energy, shattered its limits?"
"Over ten thousand Spirit Beasts, all taking each other's power. Every time they hit a wall, they'll consume the power of an inner core and be reborn into a new body…"
Baek Woon closed his eyes and imagined it.
A battle among more than ten thousand Spirit Beasts. Each one coveting the inner core of the other. The image of a great green dragon, roaring atop a mountain of corpses.
It was just like… making a Gu-poison, wasn't it?
"A Demonic Realm."
"Khuhuhu. I'm truly curious. To see if a being worthy of being called the Heavenly Demon will truly appear."
"…You're insane."
Baek Woon shook his head in disbelief.
He had simply wanted to know the location of a Spirit Beast, but he had ended up hearing a much larger story.
The information Namgung Yeon had shared was monumental enough to shake the entire Central Plains.
"So, what can I do?"
The entire inn had gone silent, everyone focused on Namgung Yeon's words.
"They haven't set up a perimeter around the entirety of the vast 100,000 Great Mountains. There are a few paths that only I know of."
Despite being a master capable of using Sound Transmission, he hid his skill and spoke in a loud voice.
So that as many people as possible could hear.
So that they would take an interest in the 100,000 Great Mountains.
The skills of the people in the inn, aside from Baek Woon, were pathetic.
But the rumors they spread would be faster than anything else.
"Now, the first path is…"
Namgung Yeon's goal was to turn the eyes of all martial artists, including the Five Great Families and the Nine Factions, toward the 100,000 Great Mountains.
*
The lizard, having completed its metamorphosis without even realizing it, floated motionlessly on the water.
As if he had mastered the pinnacle of footwork, he had his eyes closed with a profoundly serious expression. No, he had covered his eyes with leaves.
Tap.
Even when a dragonfly flying through the air bumped into him, he didn't stir.
He had entered a state of selflessness.
After some time had passed, his body sank slightly into the water.
Simultaneously, the leaves were swept away, and his red eyes were revealed to the world.
Swoosh!
Water splashed.
Like a dragon soaring through the sky, his tail shot out of the water.
Seeing the fish biting his tail, he let out a satisfied cry.
"Gekgek!"
This little lizard, who knew nothing of martial arts or chivalry, was simply overjoyed to have secured his next meal.
Of course, there was the minor issue that the fish was a bit bigger than he'd thought, and the trivial problem that its teeth were as sharp as blades and were currently munching on his tail, but he paid it no mind.
"…Ge-ek?"
The green lizard flinched in surprise.
He erased the images of spicy fish stew and sashimi from his mind and glared at the opponent before him.
[Black Piranha LV8]
__________________________
[Black Piranha]
Grows up to 60cm and is nicknamed the King of Piranhas.
Its bite force is stronger than most sharks, and it is an extremely aggressive species.
__________________________
Even though the lizard had already consumed three inner cores, he was still at a level where he had to fight a life-and-death battle with a single fish.
Nevertheless, he let out a mighty roar and charged toward the piranha.
"Gek-ge-gek!"