Volcanic Age - Chapter 17

Editor: Imagine

SURPRISE DOUBLE CHAPTER (to make up for not posting on Tuesday) and to make sure i edit more and dont become a lazy ass

“It’s a misunderstanding, fellow brother.”

Ju Seo Cheon put on an annoyed expression for a moment but then shook his hands and smiled bitterly.

Nak Seo Wol was an exception but Ju Seo Cheon also wasn’t childlike either.

“How will I ignore the words of my senior brother? I was just relaying a message from the instructor.”

Ju Seo Cheon spoke as if he was appealing.

“Is that true?”

Lee Geon asked with suspecting eyes and didn’t forget to shake Ju Seo Cheon from his collar.

“Yes, it’s true.”

“…..Hmph.”

Only then did he let go of his grip.

Lee Geon glared at Ju Seo Cheon once and turned around. His steps indicated that he was still enraged.

“He’s so loud.”

Lee Geon didn’t see Ju Seo Cheon in a good light, since the day he entered. It was because of the interest Nak Seo Wol had shown to Ju Seo Cheon.

Nak Seo Wol has been famous since she entered Mount Hua Sect. Part of it was because of her talent but it was more so due to her beauty.

She set the hearts of the male disciples on fire and because of that, she received stricter education on moderation and self control.

Lee Geon was also one of those boys. He didn’t like Ju Seo Cheon at all as Lee Geon was someone that had fallen in love with Nak Seo Wol. That’s why every time Ju Seo Cheon shared a conversation with Nak Seo Wol, he immediately noticed that and would constantly pick a fight with Ju Seo Cheon.

He got angry at times because of his actions but he was able to endure it because Lee Geon didn’t cross the line.

Lee Geon was also dreaming of becoming a Plum Blossom Sword Examiner just like most disciples in Mount Hua.

Committing a mishap inside the Lotus Peak could mean hurting his chances at becoming a Plum Blossom Sword Examiner.

Maybe it was because of that worry that he didn’t directly inflict any harm.

If he had crossed the line, Ju Seo Cheon wouldn’t have endured it and was planning to teach him a lesson but he hadn’t.

His relationship with the other disciples of the Lotus Peak besides lee Geon wasn’t good or bad either. He just had no interaction with them.

At first, he received gazes of contempt with the reason being that he had dirtied the holy place of the examinations grounds.

But that was only in the beginning, after a year passed all of their gazes turned into indifference.

It would have been a different story if he couldn’t catch up in spars, but Ju Seo Cheon followed up well so they didn’t say anything.

The only one that showed dislike openly was Lee Geon.

But besides that, life at the Lotus Peak was calm. He passed his days without any accidents.

He spent most of his time in training martial arts, and after he trained his daily training he thought about the treasury of the Three Eyed Immoral God in his meditation.

‘There’s not much time left.’

There were two years left now. He had set up his plans diligently until now, and now he only had to put them in action.

‘When will it be.’

The disciples of the Lotus Peak moved faster than normal disciples in everything. The same went for going out to Kang Ho. They got to go out before they were even twenty years old.

Even if their skills were lacking they would still go out with a guardian by their side in the name of accumulating experience.

This was a tradition of the Lotus Peak and a way of education. It was something that would certainly happen.

Ju Seo Cheon hoped for that day to come and waited patiently.

There was a saying that if you looked in front it would be slow, but fast if you looked back.

After getting a hold of himself, one more year had passed.

“Ha, there is no one that matches him at least for his internal energy.”

Young Jin, one of the Five Elders, finished taking the pulse and got surprised.

Ju Seo Cheon was now twelve years old.

He accumulated six years of internal energy everytime he practiced the Plum Blossom Life Arts for one year and thanks to that, the total amount of internal energy he had was fifty one years worth.

In a little while, it would get to sixty years worth of internal energy. No other disciple of the nine factions would be able to show this much progress.

“You are only twelve but are close to what would normally take sixty years to reach. Fate must love you, it looks like you’re quite lucky to have found that miraculous medicine .”

There were not many people that were interested in Ju Seo Cheon inside of Mount Hua sect. The elixir maker Young Jin was among those people.

Two years ago, Young Jin had raised his hand on accepting Ju Seo Cheon saying that he would observe him.

Even if he said that he would observe, there wasn’t anything great about it. It was only checking the state of the body periodically.

‘It’s not thanks to the Water Spirit Fruit but the Plum Blossom Life Arts.’

Ju Seo Cheon smiled bitterly inwardly. Young Jin saw how Ju Seo Cheon’s internal energy increased exponentially with the passing days and misunderstood that it was thanks to the Water Spirit Fruit.

It was obvious as he didn’t know about the secret of the Plum Blossom Qi Arts. The Plum Blossom Life Arts.

“For you to have shared that good thing with that weakling. You are so cheap. You should have taken care of the elders of the sect first.”

Young Jin smacked his lips in a regretful manner.

“He’s not a weakling.”

“Ha, look at how your eyes changed when I brought up your master!”

Young Jin’s tone increased.

“Stop teasing me. Is it that fun to tease a twelve year old kid?”

Ju Seo Cheon let out a sigh in a tired manner.

“Of course it is! Kukukuk!”

Young Jin was the person he had the most interaction with because he visited him to take the pulse periodically. They had become quite close in the past two years.

That’s how they were able to exchange jokes like this.

“If you have finished taking my pulse I will be taking my leave.”

Said Ju Seo Cheon quite grumpily.

“I came with news about your master.”

“Elder Young is the number one in Mount Hua.”

Ju Seo Cheon was about to stand up when he sat down again. He gathered his knees and placed his hands on top of them.

Two years ago, after Yu Jong Mok went out to Kang Ho, he spent most of the time outside of Mount Hua.

There was a time he returned but he received another order after a month and descended the mountain once again.

Ju Seo Cheon didn’t like that but he couldn’t do anything about it.

It was because Yu Jong Mok had all the good conveniences until now because of his weak body and it was now time to repay that debt.

“It’s not anything amazing so ease up.”

Young Jin relayed about Yu Jong Mok’s situation with a tired expression.

It really wasn’t anything great.

It was something like what kind of mission he was on and where he was at.

As he got close to one of the Five Elders, he was able to hear news regarding his master even before he wrote his master a letter asking.

“That much is enough. I’m always grateful to you.”

Ju Seo Cheon bowed deeply and expressed his gratitude. Sincerity could be seen in all of his actions.

A warm smile grew on his face. That was a really cool relationship between master and disciple.

“Ah, and you should also start to prepare to go out.”

Young Jin wrote down something on a paper and spoke.

Ju Seo Cheon’s eyes opened widely.

‘Finally!’

Boom! Boom! Boom!

His heart beat wildly and his breath became faster. Something got released from his brain and released heat.

Young Jin didn’t know what kind of reaction Ju Seo Cheon was showing and continued to speak while still looking at the piece of paper.

“You should also know that you are going out to Kang Ho faster than the other disciples…”

Young Jin explained something but he couldn’t hear well.

Ju Seo Cheon calmed down his excitement the most he could.

‘Finally, the time has come.’

There was only one year left until the time limit so he had been really anxious. But fortunately, that anxiety came to an end now.

Dispatchment to Kang Ho. These words filled up Ju Seo Cheon’s heart.

Not everyone in the Lotus Peak got out to Kang Ho. Only a few selected members did.

The priorities were set up with the time they could still spend at the Lotus Peak. All the members that hadn’t been able to go out to Kang Ho before they turned fifteen were set up as priorities.

After that, it was by recommendation or level of martial arts. In the case of recommendations, one needed their master or an instructor to accompany them and after that the next priority was age.

Ju Seo Cheon had requested it to Yu Jong Mok through a letter. Yu Jong Mok seemed to be really worried but he agreed unavoidably as his master, that hadn’t acted spoiled until now, pledged him.

He would go out to Kang Ho the moment he was allowed to anyways due to the fact he was in the Lotus Peak. There was no need to hurry.

In addition, disciples of the Lotus Peak that already had experience in going to Kang Ho naturally got removed from the priorities.

There was no need to worry about competition.

The members going out to Kang Ho were already set.

“Nice to meet you. I am Gu Pung, the one that will be taking care of you starting today.”

The Fourteenth Gallant Sword, Gu Pung.

He would be the leader and protector of the dispatchment to Kang Ho this time.

His skills were preeminent even among the third generation disciples. He was a pinnacle ranked expert whose reputation spread even in Kang Ho.

It wasn’t only his martial prowess that was high, but his generation in the clan was also high. There was no one among the third generation disciples that called Gu Pung as their fellow disciple.

He was also an uncle for Ju Seo Cheon.

“I will check the members before we go down.”

Gu Pung called out the chicks in front of him.

“Jang Hong, Jang Seo Eun, Ju Seo Cheon.”

“Yes!”

The three of them answered at the same time and their voice was filled with strength.

Gu Pung smiled bitterly at this and then patted the shoulders of the three people and spoke in a soft tone.

“We are not going to die anywhere, there’s no need to be that nervous. We are merely descending Mount Hua.”

The hard atmosphere became soft.

“Now, let’s go.”

Gu Pung took the front and they followed his back.

‘Fellow disciple Jang Hong and Jang Seo Eun.’

Ju Seo Cheon stood at the back of the line and looked at the boy and girl in front of him. The two of them had faces filled with expectation and nervousness.

Jang Hong was fourteen years old and among those his age and generation he was peerless. Jang Seo Eun was thirteen and was also the sister of Jang Hong.

Ju Seo Cheon got relieved when he heard that these two brothers would accompany him. Their relationship in the Lotus Peak wasn’t that bad.

It didn’t mean that they saw him in a good light,  but they didn’t despise him either. In other words, they were apathetic.

Nak Seo Wol had said that she wanted to follow him but she gave up because she was aware of Shim Ok Ryeon, who didn’t see him in a good light.

“Senior uncle, I’m curious about something, may I ask about it?”

Ju Seo Cheon asked Gu Pung.

“Ask whatever you want.”

“What is our destination?”

“We will advance southward to cross Chongqing and get to Guizhou.”

“Gui… Guizhou?”

Jang Seo Eun asked with a tense face.

“Right. That’s the boundary between the Righteous Faction and the Death Faction.”

Guizhou was a place where battles never stopped.

It was because the influences of the forces of the Righteous and Death Faction were split in half.

They fighted endlessly to try to expand that force even by a little. Dozens of scuffles occurred even when they were in a state of ceasefire.

It was the so-called region in dispute. And at Guizhou, fights that weren’t wars also occurred so huge factions sent their disciples over there to make them accumulate experience.

“I told you this before but you are not going to die so don’t worry. I’m here with you and Guizhou is filled with experts of the Righteous Faction as much as it is a dangerous place so you won’t get hurt or die.”

A martial artist appearing in Kang Ho meant that they would use the martial arts they had learned until now to use it in real battles and accumulate experience.

It looked like they had come to sight see but that wasn’t the case at all.

‘Chongqing!’

Jang Hong and Jang Seo Eun were really nervous at the fact that they were going to Guizhou but that wasn’t the case for Ju Seo Cheon.

What was important to him wasn’t Guizhou but Chongqing.

The thing he was finding for so long was hidden there.

‘The treasury of the Three Eyed Immoral God!’