Chapter 348
However, what Lee Changsik said was completely unexpected.
“Hah.”
‘I have to go.’
How could Choi Yeonseung let go of an opportunity to expand his power as a constellation?
Choi Yeonseung told Han Seha, “Something came up, so I think I will be joining them over there...”
“I thought you would,” replied Han Seha, casting him a look that said, ‘I knew it.’
Even though Choi Yeonseung had said that he wouldn’t go because he had other things to do, he was still worried about the people over there and ultimately decided to go help!
Choi Yeonseung was frustrated by Han Seha’s misunderstanding and explained, “It’s not because I’m worried about the people over there. It’s because the Bulgae clan requested it...”
“If you say so... Anyway, let’s go.”
“...”
Choi Yeonseung felt it was unfair but he couldn’t help it. He had to go.
Han Seha looked at Aine and asked, “Can I accompany you?”
“Certainly. There might be several rare seeds in the area where the erosion has occurred. There are also many untouched alpine areas over there...”
Aine admired Han Seha’s plan. Of course, the Chinese government would denounce her as a thief, but who cared? If the Chinese could steal stuff from their own country, the Korean side could do that as well.
‘I just said I would accompany them, but I should keep my mouth shut,’ Han Seha thought to herself.
***
The atmosphere within the Bulgae clan was pleasant. Everyone had known each other for a long time, so it was only natural that they got along well.
‘I like it.’
It was hard to find an American clan with such a positive atmosphere. In the US, clans were established for the purpose of making money, and the hunters joining them had the same goal, so everybody was rather distant and kept to themselves, not interfering with each other.
Results brought them rewards and power, but the lack of results caused them to be immediately expelled. As such, it was understandable for the hunters to focus on themselves, but at the same time, such a cold atmosphere made it hard for the clan members to evolve.
It wasn’t for nothing that Hwang Gyeongryong had created and managed several clans in an unusual way.
In that regard, Bulgae was a warm, friendly clan. The sight of a D-grade hunter casually chatting with a B-grade hunter without hesitation was a rare sight even in South Korea.
“Speaking of which, who’s the leader of Bulgae?” asked Choi Yeonseung.
“Don’t you know? It’s Ahn Seongwu.”
“...Wait.”
Choi Yeonseung frowned upon hearing a familiar name. From what he remembered, that person wasn’t a hunter...
‘Who was that...?’
Lee Changuk explained, “Ahn Seongwu is an analyst who has been active since the first generation. I’m sure you’ve heard about him before.”
“Ah... Wait, wasn’t Ahn Seongwu criticized a lot?”
“...”
“...”
The hunters of Bulgae looked at each other with strained expressions, as though it was difficult for them to reply to that. Indeed, they couldn’t just openly criticize the clan leader...
“Uh... Uhm... Well, we’ve heard some allegations about him in the past...”
“I see... So it’s that Ahn Seongwu.”
After the Abyssal gate opened and the first generation of hunters was formed, regular people didn’t just sit still. Humanity’s brightest minds, starting with scientists, proceeded to analyze this new phenomenon and come up with methods of dealing with it.
As a result, all sorts of theories appeared and disappeared overnight.
-In order for hunters to become stronger, they must repeatedly go through life-and-death situations!
-What crazy nonsense is that? That would just get our few hunters to die!
-We need to collect more and more artifacts and arm them...
-We have to receive the power of a constellation.Why not have the whole country worship a constellation?
-It’s insane to sacrifice our country to a crazy alien being!What if the alien tells us to change the laws?What type of country would that be?!
-I’m the son of a constellation! Blessed be those who believe and follow me. Now that the end I have spoken of is upon us, I... Aaaack! Ugh! You monster!
‘In retrospect, those were crazy times...’
It was a time when all sorts of crazy theories came out and lunatics ran wild. That was the first generation. There had been so many theories about hunters and monsters that turned out to be wrong...
Ahn Seongwu had come up with such a theory himself.
-We need to artificially create harsh environments in order for hunters to get stronger.
-...What crazy nonsense...?
-This is a training room I built. As you can see, once you go in, you won’t be able to get out for a week.Hunters who enter have the opportunity to gain skills through tough training that forces them to exceed their limits...
-......
-......
Ahn Seongwu’s theory was one of the craziest theories that had come out during that time. Of course, Choi Yeonseung had thought that the theory seemed plausible, but most hunters brushed it off as nonsense, saying, “Crazy bastard. We’re going to work less and earn more.”
Choi Yeonseung had thought that Ahn Seongwu had been buried after that scandal, but apparently he was the leader of a clan, which was pretty impressive. After all, not just anybody could become the leader of a clan as a non-hunter.
“How amazing. Does Clan Leader Ahn still insist on the same theory as before?”
“Uh... No, it’s not to the same extent. He’s more lenient about it than before.”
“But we still train the hardest out of the three largest clans.” The Bulgae clan hunters nodded in agreement. If nothing else, the Bulgae hunters could say wholeheartedly that their training was the harshest. They would snort every time they saw the members of other clans groan in pain and complain.
-What do those who haven’t trained in our clan know?!
-What about us?We barely even use the Otherworld!
Sometimes, during such exchanges with other clans, Ahn Seongwu looked like a training fanatic!
Hearing this, Choi Yeonseung said with an impressed look, “Oh yeah, he knows things.”
“...”
“...”
“...Huh?” Are you joking?”
In reality, the hunters of Bulgae had wished that Choi Yeonseung, an A-grade hunter, would say something like...
-It’s a rather primitive way of training.Looking at various clans in the United States, it can be seen that they use the Otherworld to train in various ways without difficulty. Shouldn’t the clan leader also adapt to the times and have a smarter approach?
However, contrary to their expectations, Choi Yeonseung actually condoned Ahn Seongwu’s training policy.
“Even though it’s not as effective as a real life situation, I think this simulation can still be very effective for pushing your limits and getting stronger.”
“...”
‘This is a big problem. He’s more of a madman than I thought,’ one of the hunters thought to themselves.
The Bulgae hunters vowed to never let Hunter Choi Yeonseung meet the clan leader. He was an A-grade hunter who deserved the utmost respect, but...
Respect and cruel training were two different things!
“...!”
As the plane approached Chongqing, Choi Yeonseung suddenly felt his strength increasing.
‘The rumors were true!’
The wide-area erosion that started in Chengdu had just reached the western tip of China. People had been saying that the erosion was spreading quickly, but he hadn’t thought it would extend all the way to Chongqing.
“There are quite a lot of foreign hunters in Chongqing right now. Maybe you’ll see someone you know.”
Sure enough, there were dozens of private jets at Chongqing International Airport, all from foreign clans. Many hunters usually refused to go to China, saying that they didn’t want to get kidnapped, but the right amount of cash quickly made them reconsider.
“This area is still intact. The erosion hasn’t affected it?”
“Yeah, it hasn’t reached this far, but even so, how is it spreading so quickly?”
The hunters of the Bulgae clan nodded in agreement after hearing Lee Changuk’s words.
As for Choi Yeonseung, he felt a bit uncomfortable at the fact that his martial arts powers had been amplified. Even though it was a good thing, he couldn’t help feeling that something was wrong.
It was just that the city hadn’t changed noticeably despite the fact that the erosion had spread this far.
‘It’s really amazing. How is the erosion happening so fast?’
As a constellation, Choi Yeonseung knew how difficult it would be to erode the land like this. After all, it implied changing an area where hundreds of millions of people lived according to one’s will; it required a lot of power of existence, but the tremendous amount of mental power was what made it so difficult.
Could Choi Yeonseung use all of his current power of existence to transform this area if he wanted to?
Actually, the evil god constellations who occupied the countries of Earth hadn’t transformed their territories overnight. Rather, they had transformed them gradually, brick by brick.
***
“Yo, check out my martial arts. Know what this is? It’s the Wind King Fist Method.”
“Wind King...?! What’s Wind King?”
“Eh, isn’t it just alright? Look at this instead. This is extraordinary, right?”
Choi Yeonseung moved to the area where hunters were staying only to be greeted by a bizarre sight he had never seen before.
‘What? Did I come to another world?’
No matter how he looked at it, he really was seeing hunters from all over the world seriously showing off their martial arts and bragging about who was stronger.
Just then, a well-dressed Chinese employee ran up to them and greeted them warmly, “Welcome! You must be the new hunters!”
“Isn’t it amazing that they have learned martial arts so quickly and to this level? What do you think the secret is?”
“...I don’t know. What?”
Choi Yeonseung guessed that it was probably due to a realm. People hadn’t noticed it, but the power of martial arts had naturally increased due to the influence of the realm.
Thanks to this, even the hunters who were learning and using martial arts for the first time in their lives were surprised by how powerful they were.
‘By the way, what’s up with this guy? He looks like a public official...?’
Only government officials or party members would come to an area full of overseas hunters.
Choi Yeonseung was puzzled by this person. Why had they come here and asked questions like this?
“It’s all thanks to the mysterious martial arts that came out of China.”
“...?!”
“Didn’t you know? Martial arts were originally used by Chinese cultivators. As such, it can be said that the martial arts coming from China encapsulate the mysteries and wonders of our country from over three thousand years ago.”
‘Is he crazy?’
Choi Yeonseung was dumbfounded. Martial arts and magic spells were influenced by people’s perceptions, and as such, the names and descriptions would inevitably vary. An example for this was the magic that gathered powerful energy and fired it after turning it into a sphere.
Goblins called it ‘Balkaceres’, but the people of Earth usually perceived it as a fireball.
Similarly, the perception of martial arts was heavily influenced by their depictions in novels; many martial art names came from such novels.
“Recently, it has been revealed how great martial arts are. The reason Choi Yeonseung is so strong is his martial arts. Rumor has it that he got a powerful secret item from somewhere in China.”
“Oh, really? That’s new!”
“In fact, there is an opportunity to get these martial arts for cheap. There’s a black market around here. If you leave it to me, I will bring you some secret techniques for martial arts that you can never get overseas!”
“...”
“...”
The hunters were stunned. The Chinese official was so verbose that they wondered what he was trying to say...
It turned out that he was a black market vendor!
‘What...?’
Choi Yeonseung felt like a fool for actually listening to this crap.
-Humans are really amazing.
-Yeah, they’re something else...
They were trying to take advantage of this situation to make money from overseas hunters. They couldn’t miss this opportunity to make an extra buck.
Choi Yeonseung got up from his seat, to which the official was surprised and asked, “Why are you getting up?”
“In the future, you should remember people’s faces when trying to commit fraud. What’s with this sloppy scam tactic?”
Choi Yeonseung walked out into the square and shouted so that all the hunters around him could hear, “Listen up! If there is anyone who wants to learn the secrets of true martial arts, please come out!”
“Some crazy guy is making a scene... Gasp.”
“...Ch-Choi Yeonseung!”
“Choi Yeonseung is going to teach us?!”
Han Seha cocked her head. ‘Was there a secret...?’
Hadn’t Choi Yeonseung said that the only secret was to train very hard...?
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