Multivers, Leveling Up in the World I Created

Chapter 426: 426 Return to the Volcano 12

Hyeonjong was out of it for a while, so I had to use magic to wake him up.

"Ah... I was having a good dream... Wha! It wasn’t a dream."

"Are you feeling better?"

"Y-yes... How long was I out?"

"About fifteen minutes."

"I see. Ah, this is no time to be standing around."

Hyeonjong got up and tried to rush off somewhere with the ledgers, but I stopped him.

"Sect Leader, there’s something you need to see."

"Huh? What is it?"

In fact, there was another hidden space here. It contained gold, silver, treasures, various swords, and martial arts manuals that Huashan had amassed a hundred years ago. I knew about it from the original—I’d also visited it before via the Divine Treasury, though I’d entered from above rather than the entrance.

"There seems to be another hidden area below. When you nearly fainted, I reached out to catch you and accidentally nudged an empty bookshelf—and I noticed a space underneath. Since I’m not a Huashan disciple, I didn’t want to enter without permission, so I waited for you to wake up and tell you."

"What?! Which bookshelf are you talking about?"

Hyeonjong asked, and I lifted the bookshelf concealing the hidden space and moved it aside. Below was a hidden chamber—it was dark, but I could see something glinting. As in the original, it was Huashan’s collected treasures reflecting light.

"Hah... A space like this..."

Hyeonjong, steadying himself to avoid fainting again, descended. But the unexpected sight shocked him once more.

"Gasp! Gold, silver, treasures, martial arts manuals, and even precious swords!!!"

While Hyeonjong was in awe, I glanced inside. There was less treasure than in the original—probably because I’d taken a significant amount before. Still, plenty remained.

In the original, Cheongmyeong would later stumble upon Huashan’s treasury and solve the sect’s financial problems. But Cheongmyeong, still adjusting to Huashan and focused on training his body, had no time to worry about such things. So even if I found the treasury for them, it wouldn’t cause any issues.

And Cheongmyeong, in the original, only returned the gold bars to Huashan, keeping the gems and smaller gold nuggets for himself to buy alcohol and meat. It might actually be better if I were the one to find the treasury.

"Huff... I can’t move all this by myself. This place is only accessible to the sect leader, so I can’t call for help—could you assist me?"

"Of course."

Hyeonjong asked, and I helped move the contents of the treasury to the sect leader’s quarters. But Hyeonjong didn’t empty it completely—probably because Huashan’s financial situation had improved significantly after the Hwajong Assembly.

"Since you helped find Huashan’s treasury, I can’t let you leave empty-handed. Do you need a sword?"

Hyeonjong offered to give me a precious sword as thanks. But I knew they were made of thousand-year cold iron, which held no value for me. I was about to decline, but fearing Hyeonjong might feel indebted and uncomfortable, I took two swords and left the treasury. I could give them to someone who needed them later.

From then on, Huashan’s elders became extremely busy, discussing how to handle the ledgers day and night. In particular, the finance elder, Hyeon-yeong, was working tirelessly, verifying the authenticity of various documents.

Eventually, Hyeonjong summoned all those related to the Hwaeumhyeon business ledgers to Huashan. They seemed to have reached a decision.

Things moved swiftly. The merchants who had been running the business establishments—ones that couldn’t be reclaimed due to lack of evidence—were shown the ledgers. Those who had exploited Huashan’s businesses and charged exorbitant interest had their assets confiscated. Those who had supported Huashan and lent money at low interest during difficult times were allowed to continue managing the businesses on behalf of Huashan.

Of course, there was resistance. Some merchants vehemently protested, claiming the ledgers were forged. But the ledgers had already been verified as authentic by government offices, so their arguments held no weight.

Moreover, since all the merchants were gathered at Huashan at once, the officials were able to raid their businesses simultaneously, leaving them with no way to respond. This was a carefully planned operation that Hyeonjong and the elders had prepared over several days and nights.

However, the soft-hearted Hyeonjong showed mercy to the displaced merchants, allowing each to take one cartload of belongings. From my perspective, that wasn’t mercy—it was foolishness.

There was one hidden truth behind this incident: the Zhongnan Sect, which had hoped for Huashan’s decline, was behind it all. After Huashan took a devastating blow from the Demonic Cult remnants, Zhongnan secretly planted agents to slowly take over Huashan’s businesses.

At the time, Huashan had only young disciples left and lacked the strength to respond. Worse, no ledgers remained as evidence, so they couldn’t prove their grievance. That was why Huashan had been forced to walk the path of decline for so long.

Knowing this, I couldn’t let them go. They would surely appeal to Zhongnan or go to Luoyang to bribe those with more power to pressure Huashan. I wanted nothing to do with such troublesome affairs.

The expelled merchants left with grumbling faces, loading their belongings onto carts. I waited quietly until they left Hwaeum and headed for other towns.

When they reached a secluded spot, I used the [Bat-Bat Fruit Model Vampire] ability to drain their lifespans instantly, turning them into mummified husks. Then, with the [Glint-Glint Fruit], I incinerated the bodies and all traces.

After finishing, I stored their carts and goods in my inventory and left as if nothing had happened.

’This should take care of any loose ends.’

This episode concluded much like the original, with one difference—there wasn’t a single coin left of the slush fund Cheongmyeong could have taken in the original. From now on, no matter how much he craved alcohol, he wouldn’t have money to set foot in a tavern.

’Surely he won’t resort to stealing to buy drinks...’

On second thought, I couldn’t be sure—because it was Cheongmyeong.

A few days later, Huashan began large-scale renovations using the newly secured funds. Buildings that had burned down were gradually rebuilt, with disciples even pitching in to help.

Meanwhile, I pretended to be restoring the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique. Though I already knew it, I didn’t restore all of it—I had to maintain plausibility by only recovering parts that could be reasonably obtained. As a result, some techniques were missing, making it difficult to reach completion. Still, it wasn’t entirely unusable—just incomplete.

’I’d like to teach them everything, but I can’t. Hopefully, this will be enough.’

Still, it was stronger than the Seven Plum Sword, so it should serve them well for a while.

When I stepped outside, I saw Cheongmyeong surrounded by first-generation disciples, doing weight training.

"No, that’s not how you do it—you’ll throw out your back. Move aside—I’ll show you, so watch carefully."

Cheongmyeong silently continued his workout despite the nagging. Normally he’d complain, but this time he didn’t seem to mind—he must have realized that strength training was the best way to build muscle.

The hired workers, however, didn’t understand the scene at all. They awkwardly averted their eyes as if saying, "We saw nothing."

Unlike the original, Cheongmyeong didn’t gather the third-generation disciples for separate training. He seemed to think the current regimen at Huashan was sufficient. More importantly, rather than leading others, he was focused on improving his own skills—though he still beat up his senior disciples whenever they annoyed him.

’It’s definitely because I stabilized Huashan.’

But not everything was perfect. While kicking out the corrupt merchants was good, Huashan now had no one to run the businesses. The sect leader and finance elder were at a loss.

"Hah... This is a problem. We’ll go bankrupt at this rate."

"Indeed. Any ideas?"

"I’m good with numbers, but I know nothing about business..."

Just then, I stepped in.

"I can help with that."

"Really? How?"

"You can use people from my estate. Since they already run businesses, they’ll adapt easily."

"That’s perfect! You’re a real blessing!"

The finance elder was delighted, but the sect leader looked apologetic.

"But this is far from Sichuan, and we’d be indebted to the Jin Estate again..."

"Don’t worry. Sichuan is tightly controlled by the Tang Clan, so we can’t expand our businesses there. We have surplus staff, so this actually benefits us."

"Oh~ I see. Then I’ll leave it to you."

With Hyeonjong’s permission, I contacted the clone via telepathy, explained the situation, and asked him to send people. I thought it was better for us to handle this than to leave it to others—expanding would risk provoking the Tang Clan again, so this was a good opportunity to look outward.

The estate quickly sent people. They had business experience, so normalizing operations shouldn’t be a problem. However, since it was a new venture in a foreign region, it would take some time to turn a steady profit. Still, with ample funds, Huashan’s support, and even the remaining merchants pitching in out of guilt, it shouldn’t take too long.

Good news didn’t stop there. Soon after, a letter arrived at our estate from the Eunha Trading Company. It stated that the head of the company, Hwang Dae-in, was bedridden with an unknown illness, unable to rise.

The Eunha Trading Company had called numerous physicians, but none could help, and they were seeking someone knowledgeable in Western medicine—hence, the letter to us.

’Turns out being mistaken for a foreigner has its perks.’

I considered this good news for a reason. Hwang Dae-in was one of the wealthiest men in the world. With his life in danger, the Eunha Trading Company was offering a massive reward to anyone who could cure him.

Moreover, this event was a key turning point in the original story. Cheongmyeong cured Hwang Dae-in and formed a connection with the Eunha Trading Company, using the enormous support he gained to resolve Huashan’s business issues—and even expanded their operations, laying the foundation for Huashan’s revival.

But now, Huashan wasn’t in dire straits, and thanks to me, there was no crisis. So it shouldn’t matter if our estate took this opportunity.

I immediately took out Western medical tools from my inventory and packed them in a bag, heading to Seoan where the Eunha Trading Company was located. The tools weren’t strictly necessary for treatment, but I needed to look convincing since I’d be watched.

Thanks to [Jack Sparrow’s Compass], I found the Eunha Trading Company quickly.

"Hello?"

When I called out, a servant came out and asked,

"Huh? A Westerner... How may I help you?"

"Tell them the young master of the Jin Estate is here. Say I’m well-versed in Western medicine."

"Ah, I see. Please come in."

Following the servant inside, I saw that the Eunha Trading Company’s buildings were lavish, reflecting their immense wealth.

"Please wait here. I’ll inform the young master that you’ve arrived."

The servant guided me to a grand guest hall and asked me to wait. I spent the time admiring the hall or looking at the trading company through open windows. Soon, the young master of the company arrived, performed a fist-and-palm salute, and greeted me politely.

"Welcome, young master of the Jin Estate. I am Hwang Jong-ui, the young master of the Eunha Trading Company. Thank you for coming all this way."

"Nice to meet you. I am Jin, the young master of the Jin Estate."

The young master was middle-aged but very courteous—less out of desperation for his father’s sake and more from inherent politeness.

"Normally, I’d let you rest after such a long journey, but my father’s condition is critical, so I must be rude and ask you to examine him immediately."

He seemed urgent.

"Understood. I’ll do that."

"Thank you. I’ll guide you. This way..."

Following him, I entered Hwang Dae-in’s room. His entire body was red and hot to the touch, yet cold, with dark energy concentrated between his brows and the back of his neck. He’d been unconscious for a long time—this was demonic energy corruption, just like in the original.

I feigned shock.

"Th-this is..."

"What is it? Do you recognize the illness?"

I put on a grave expression and asked the young master,

"Has Hwang Dae-in ever visited the Ten Thousand Mountains?"

"No, never."

"Has he been attacked by anyone?"

"No. What kind of illness would prompt such questions..."

"Hwang Dae-in has been afflicted by demonic energy."

The young master looked utterly shocked.

"D-demonic energy? You mean demonic arts?"

"Yes. Do you know how the Jin Estate was founded?"

"I’ve heard it was built from refugees after the Demonic Cult massacre."

"During that time, there were people with similar symptoms. They were said to have been struck by demonic arts while fighting the cult."

"That can’t be... Can you cure him?"

"Please wait a moment."

I touched Hwang Dae-in’s wrist and pretended to examine him.

"Hmm... It seems whoever did this only had a crude grasp of demonic arts. The demonic energy inside isn’t too severe—it should be treatable."

The young master’s face lit up.

"Is that true? Then please—"

"However, to save him, I must use our estate’s secret elixir. It’s a precious item that takes ten years to produce just one pill. To expel the demonic energy with pure energy, that elixir is essential. This is beyond my authority—I’d need permission from my father, the lord of the Jin Estate."

"I see... Then I’ll pay any price to buy it. Please write to him immediately!"

"That would take too long. Huff... It’s a life we’re saving, so I have no choice. This was originally made for me as the young master, but I’ll have to use it here."

I said that and took out a small wooden box from my bag. Opening it, a clear fragrance filled the room, revealing a lustrous white pill.

"Oh!!! Is that the elixir you mentioned? Even at a glance, I can tell it’s extraordinary."

The young master admired the pill. To ordinary people, it looked like a genuine elixir—but in reality, it was just white chocolate from the modern world, shaped and coated, with a pleasant fragrance added.

"Then I’ll begin the treatment immediately."

I said, carefully helping Hwang Dae-in sit up. I fed him the fake pill, placed my hand on his back, and began the treatment.

The treatment itself wasn’t difficult—I just infused energy, gathered the demonic energy spreading through his body into one place, and used [Energy Manipulation] to convert it into pure energy. It was all a show to extract more from them.