Multivers, Leveling Up in the World I Created

Chapter 433: 433 Return to the Volcano 19

After the bloody battle with the Heavenly Demon, I led them to the place where I had laid the bodies of the fallen Mount Hua disciples to rest.

It was a massive rocky mountain rising deep within Mount Hua.

Because of the sheer cliffs and rugged terrain, ordinary people could not even dare to set foot there, and even those who had trained in martial arts had to reach a considerable level to climb it.

The summit, shaped by long-term weathering and erosion, was wide and flat, looking like a huge altar prepared in the sky.

I chose this place for a clear reason.

From here, the entire view of Mount Hua was visible, and the warm sunlight shone all day long.

Also, grass and trees had taken root, so even if strong winds and rain swept through, it would not easily collapse.

"Here it is, Sect Leader.

I will go up first and connect the ropes."

"I’ll leave it to you."

I took the prepared ropes and used my lightness skill.

After flying up to the summit in an instant, I securely fastened the ropes to a large rock and lowered them down.

Then, the Mount Hua disciples began to climb up one by one.

"Wow, I never knew a place like this existed.

The scenery is amazing."

"I know, right."

"Don’t just stand around, help the Sect Leader come up."

Hyeonjong panted heavily throughout the climb, but thanks to his consistent breathing exercises and training, he was able to set foot on the summit.

"Phew... What a fine place.

Now, where is the place you found?"

"This way, Sect Leader."

When I led them to the graveyard, the neatly lined graves on both sides gradually came into view.

However, because they had been untouched for a long time, weeds were growing sparsely on the graves, and vines had spread thickly around them, intertwining with each other.

"Oh, it’s true.

Hmm... The headstones are still here.

If we clear away the vines, we can check whose graves they are."

As soon as Hyeonjong finished speaking, Hyeonsang immediately gave orders to the disciples.

The disciples moved in unison, cutting down the weeds and vines covering the graves, and the long-neglected cemetery slowly regained its original appearance.

After a long period of cleaning, the cemetery was revealed, and Hyeonjong stood quietly in front of the headstones.

He carefully read each character engraved on the stones, taking them in.

His expression had already turned somber.

"Let’s see... The grave of Cheongmun, the 13th Sect Leader of the Great Mount Hua Sect... Th, this can’t be..."

"If it’s the 13th generation, aren’t they the ancestors who led Mount Hua during the Demonic Cult Massacre?

I heard they never returned from Cheon Mountain... Huh?

But what is this pattern?"

While Hyeonjong and Hyeonsang were exclaiming in surprise, Cheongmyeong pushed through the crowd with a shocked face, checked the headstone, and suddenly collapsed in front of it, beginning to shed tears.

"Sect Leader, Elder Brother... You were buried in a place like this..."

Cheongmun was the person who served as the Sect Leader of Mount Hua during the time Cheongmyeong was active as the Plum Blossom Sword Master.

He was also the one who led the Mount Hua disciples with Cheongmyeong into the final battle against the Heavenly Demon.

Above all, he was the person Cheongmyeong respected the most and feared the most.

Having raised Cheongmyeong like his own son since childhood, he was one of the few people who could control Cheongmyeong, who would listen to no one.

That was why their bond was special.

Beyond the relationship of Sect Leader and disciple, they were like family, cherishing and relying on each other.

When Cheongmyeong suddenly broke down, Hyeonjong cautiously asked.

"Cheongmyeong, what is the matter?

Calm yourself."

At that, Cheongmyeong composed himself for a moment and spoke.

"I know about this pattern.

This is definitely Shintu’s pattern."

When Cheongmyeong said that, everyone present seemed utterly shocked.

"If it’s Shintu, you mean the legendary righteous thief who operated a hundred years ago.

But why would Shintu’s pattern be carved here?"

When Hyeonjong called him a legendary righteous thief, Cheongmyeong’s expression twisted in an instant.

"That bastard is no legendary righteous thief... He’s just a damn thief."

"Huh?

What did you say?"

"Ah, nothing.

Anyway, it seems Shintu laid the ancestors to rest here.

I’ve heard rumors that Shintu was also present during the Demonic Cult Massacre..."

Cheongmyeong, having seen me back then, seemed to roughly guess and fabricate the story like that.

"I never knew there was such a story.

Truly astonishing.

Then it means that those buried in this cemetery are the ancestors who gave their lives for the martial arts world during the Demonic Cult Massacre.

Then there’s no time to waste.

Baekcheon, listen."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

"Immediately lead the 2nd-generation disciples down the mountain, inform the Chief Elder of this fact, prepare for the ancestral rites, and then return."

"Understood, Sect Leader."

"And the 3rd-generation disciples will stay here with us and finish cleaning the ancestors’ cemetery."

Under Hyeonjong’s command, the 3rd-generation disciples took up sickles and began to neatly clean the surroundings, while the 2nd-generation disciples followed Baekcheon back down Mount Hua.

However, Cheongmyeong couldn’t take his eyes off Hyeonsang’s grave for a long time.

Then, Jogeol found something and informed everyone.

"Here, there’s a peculiar grave!"

Everyone gathered around to check the grave.

"Hmm... Let’s see... ’The grave of Cheongmyeong, the Plum Blossom Sword Master, 13th-generation disciple of the Great Mount Hua Sect, who lost to Shintu’... It is certainly peculiar."

"If it’s the Plum Blossom Sword Master Cheongmyeong, isn’t he the hero of Mount Hua who helped capture the Heavenly Demon!?

But it says he lost to Shintu..."

"I don’t know if Shintu wrote this as a joke, or if it’s actually true."

As Hyeonjong and Hyeonsang examined Cheongmyeong’s grave with a questioning look, Cheongmyeong, who was standing behind, had his face turn red with anger.

Trembling as if about to explode at any moment, he finally couldn’t contain his anger and walked briskly to the edge of the cliff, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly.

"You damn thief!!!"

You damn thief... you damn thief...

His shout was so loud it seemed to echo throughout the entire mountain, and the reverberation continued for a long time.

Everyone present was startled.

Even I thought Cheongmyeong had unleashed a lion’s roar.

Overwhelmed by his momentum, the 3rd-generation disciples dared not even open their mouths.

Then, Sect Leader Hyeonjong, sweating coldly, asked Cheongmyeong.

"Cheongmyeong, what is the matter with you?

You seem a bit strange today."

"Ahahaha... It’s nothing.

I just thought that since we’ve come up to such a high mountain, it’s human nature to want to shout at least once."

"Is, is that so?

But it sounded like a curse..."

"You misheard."

"I, I see... But this is a place where our ancestors rest.

So be quiet."

"Yes..."

Hyeonjong, also overwhelmed by Cheongmyeong’s momentum, seemed to just let it slide.

As time passed and the cleaning was finished, the 2nd-generation disciples returned with the preparations for the ancestral rites.

The Mount Hua disciples performed the rites with great care and then returned to Mount Hua.

But even after shouting like that, Cheongmyeong’s anger didn’t seem to subside, and he spent the entire day with an angry face, grinding his teeth.

It looked like his jaw would break before his teeth did.

Thanks to that, no one dared to speak to him.

It was an instinctive certainty that something bad would happen if they provoked him.

"Why is that person acting like that?"

"He’s especially crazy today, isn’t he?"

"I think it’s best to stay away at times like this."

"Right, he looks like he’ll bite."

"Treating him like a mad dog."

"Well, it’s not wrong."

While they were like that, I prepared with Yui-seol to return to the manor.

Everything I had to do here was already done.

Moreover, most of the future original episodes were set to take place outside, and staying at the manor was much more comfortable in many ways.

Then, in the evening, Cheongmyeong suddenly came to find me.

"Huh?

What brings you here?

Coming all the way here."

"Um... Master Jin.

I was wondering if I could get some alcohol?

It’s not for me to drink, but I wanted to offer a drink to someone I knew in the secular world who passed away."

Cheongmyeong bringing this up was likely because he wanted to pour a drink at Cheongmun’s grave and talk about things they hadn’t been able to say.

For that reason, I couldn’t refuse him.

"Really?

I see.

Wait a moment."

I stepped out for a moment, then used [Matter Copy] on two bottles of Yeonhong that I had previously obtained from the Silver Merchant Guild and brought them to Cheongmyeong.

"It’s quite good liquor, so this should be enough.

And..."

I also took out three silver coins from my pocket and handed them to him.

"You might need money if you go to pay respects, so take this."

"Thank you, Master Jin."

The reason I gave him money even though I knew it would be wasted was partly because I felt sorry for the 3rd-generation disciples who would be extorted by Cheongmyeong, but also because I had taken a fair share of Cheongmyeong’s opportunities for my own benefit.

’Since I’m leaving Mount Hua, I can give him this much.’

Cheongmyeong took the alcohol and money and seemed to head straight to Cheongmun’s grave.

Judging by his expression, he seemed to intend to spend the night there.

He probably wouldn’t return until the next morning.

The next day, Yui-seol and I greeted the Sect Leader and were about to leave Mount Hua.

But somehow, all the Mount Hua disciples had come out to see us off.

Thanks to that, it took quite a while to leave.

"Thank you for everything, Master Jin.

And Yiseol, always stay healthy."

"I will never forget the kindness you have shown us, Master Jin."

We received the disciples’ farewells and goodbyes as we came down Mount Hua and were able to return to the manor safely.

While I was at Mount Hua, I thought I had kept my promise with Cheongmyeong quite faithfully.

Well, I got cursed at a bit, but it was closer to a compliment, I’d say?

I first reset my clone and reviewed its memories.

In the meantime, the manor had expanded repeatedly and grown much larger, and in addition to managing the businesses in Huayin, new shops exclusive to the manor had opened, making it much busier than before.

The household members were also immersed in their new work, full of vitality, and fortunately, there were no major problems.

Since Yui-seol and I had come to Sichuan for the first time in a while, we rested for a few days, eating Sichuan cuisine.

After that, I began creating a new sword technique.

The basic framework was Mount Hua’s Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique, but I modified it to better fit the Jeokmyeong Divine Art.

And now, I planned to resume my activities as Shintu.

Cheongmyeong had returned safely, and Mount Hua was stable, so I thought that even if I acted as Shintu, the original flow wouldn’t change significantly.

’Of course, the first target is the imperial palace!’

The reason I targeted the imperial palace was that it was the perfect place to announce that Shintu had resumed his activities.

Besides, by now, the imperial palace felt very familiar to me.

Having robbed it so many times, I even wondered if my personal vault wasn’t actually the imperial palace.

At night, I created another clone and left it at the manor, then used [Teleportation] to go to the imperial palace’s treasure vault.

Again, since the nation could collapse, I only swept about a quarter of the treasures into my inventory.

Even that amount was truly enormous.

It was only natural, since it was the imperial palace’s treasure vault.

After that, to leave Shintu’s mark, I casually threw a Shintu card in a conspicuous place and leisurely left.

Once again, the world was turned upside down.

Wanted posters for Shintu were posted all over the country, and a bounty was offered.

The amount was a staggering 20,000 gold coins.

That was twice the bounty that had been placed before.

Converted to modern value, it was an astronomical sum exceeding 60 billion won.

The emperor must have been truly pissed off.

"Hey, did you hear?

Shintu reappeared and robbed the imperial palace’s treasure vault."

"Who hasn’t heard that story these days?

But since a hundred years have passed, I think it might be a successor or an impersonator."

"No, it isn’t.

According to rumors, it’s the very same Shintu who was active a hundred years ago."

"That can’t be... Then he would be well over a hundred years old.

Does that make sense?"

"I know, right.

That’s why some are even saying Shintu might not be human, but a demon."

"Hmm... Hearing that, it does make some sense."

Because of that, even our manor was abuzz with talk about Shintu.

’A demon... Well, I suppose it’s understandable to be misunderstood like that.’

Moreover, the Nine Great Sects, One Sect, and Five Great Families were in an uproar.

Having been robbed so badly a hundred years ago, they couldn’t help but be tense at the news of Shintu’s appearance.

"We should at least unite the sects in Sichuan."

"Well said.

If we obtain any information about Shintu, we will share it."

"We will do the same."

An elder from the Sichuan Tang Clan personally visited the manor to request cooperation, and even the Beggar Sect came.

"I’d be grateful if you could spare a spoonful for a passing beggar’s empty bowl."

"You must be from the Beggar Sect.

Understood, we will prepare a meal for you."

When we tried to offer them a meal, the Beggar Sect members took their places in the courtyard and asked for the table to be set there.

As beggars, it seemed they found it more comfortable to eat outside rather than entering the house and making a mess.

So I instructed the servants to prepare a generous and hearty meal so they could eat well before leaving.

"Oh~ The Jin Manor is quite generous.

We’ll eat with gratitude.

And by the way..."

While eating, they made a request similar to the Sichuan Tang Clan.

I nodded silently.

But their expressions showed more of a sense of formality than expectation.

Our manor wasn’t a major power like the Nine Great Sects or Five Great Families, it was located on the outskirts of Sichuan, and didn’t have many businesses.

From their perspective, it must have looked like a place Shintu would have no reason to target.