novelraw Chapter 139 : Divine Flame (1)
Chapter 139 : Divine Flame (1)
Chapter 139: Divine Flame (1)
Everyone in the room immediately stood up and began moving toward where the furnace was located.
However, instead of heading to the place where the furnace had originally been built before Sewoon left for the Southern Barbarians, they were now heading somewhere completely different.
They soon arrived at the Tang Clan’s forge, the Ten Thousand Iron Hall.
“This is…!”
Sewoon’s eyes widened as he threw open the doors to the Ten Thousand Iron Hall.
It was no wonder he was shocked.
Before Sewoon had left for the Southern Barbarians, the furnace had only been about eighty percent complete—but now, its exterior stood perfectly finished.
He had thought the work couldn’t possibly progress without him, but as it turned out, Hwa Wolyung had taken the initiative and completed it before his return.
Sewoon bowed his head to her in gratitude.
“There’s another thing I must thank you for.”
“No need. Think nothing of it. I only did it to repay you for the tea and hospitality I’ve enjoyed in your guest hall.”
Sewoon’s eyes gleamed.
With this, he had gained at least half a day’s worth of time.
“T-Then shall we begin right away?”
“Yes, let’s.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll make sure no harm comes to anyone.”
“Th-thank you.”
Umun Tak stepped forward to stand directly before the furnace.
Just like before, he slowly closed his eyes.
Everyone else fell silent to help him concentrate.
“Phew.”
As he took a deep breath and drew up the Wildfire (野火)—
Fwoosh!
Wooooong!
A wave of intense heat burst forth, and a deep, rhythmic vibration like the heartbeat of life instantly filled the forge.
Hwa Wolyung soon stepped up beside Umun Tak.
A mysterious gleam had risen in her eyes before anyone noticed.
‘I must receive the seed of flame that will be transformed into the Sacred Flame.’
Clack!
Forming hand seals with both hands, she activated a sorcery formula.
Her voice followed—soft yet resonant, like that of a high monk chanting a mantra.
Sswaaa!
An extraordinary sorcerous power began to surge from every part of her body.
In that instant, she extended both hands, now brimming with auspicious energy, toward Umun Tak.
Whoosh!
Her sorcerous power, faintly visible like white mist, connected to him.
At the same time, the energy of the Wildfire began gathering furiously at a single point above Umun Tak’s head.
‘Phew, it’s working. The formula is functioning properly.’
Swish!
It was the moment the Art of the Foreign Flame Stone—a sorcery that crystallized another’s extreme Yang energy—was activated.
Normally, energy released externally would instantly dissipate, but this sorcery stabilized and crystallized it.
And using that crystal, she could amplify her depleted sorcerous power and ignite the Sacred Flame.
However, since it dealt with the energy of extreme Yang, it was by no means an easy process.
Sun, Moon, and Stars.
Heaven and Earth Spirits.
Among sorcerers divided into eight ranks just like alchemists, only those of Earth rank could use the Art of the Foreign Flame Stone.
In the entire history of the martial world, the only sorcerer to have ever reached Divine rank was her master, the Musan Divine Nun.
At present, only Hwa Wolyung and the Heaven-Piercing Sect Leader (通天方主) could possibly perform such a ritual.
Yet just when it seemed everything was proceeding smoothly—
Fwoosh!
An anomaly occurred.
“Urgh…!”
“Master!”
With a pained groan, Hwa Wolyung’s face contorted.
Seo Surin, startled, instinctively tried to rush toward her.
Clack.
“……!”
“You mustn’t.”
Sewoon raised one hand to stop her.
The activation of a sorcery was just as delicate and intricate as a martial artist’s control of Qi.
Interrupting it suddenly could cause even greater harm.
“B-but if this continues, both of them will be in danger…”
“I’ll handle it.”
“W-what do you mean?”
While Seo Surin faltered at his unexpected words, Sewoon stepped toward Hwa Wolyung.
A thin line of sweat rolled down her forehead, but Sewoon’s expression showed no trace of worry.
‘As expected… The Wildfire is too much for a single Earth-ranked sorcerer to handle.’
Indeed, he had anticipated this.
The Wildfire, a divine relic of the Southern Barbarians, was vastly more powerful than any other extreme Yang object Hwa Wolyung had ever handled.
To control it, at least two Earth-ranked sorcerers were required.
And he himself was the second one.
‘Go.’
Ssaa!
From Sewoon’s hands, the Heavenly Net began to stir and pulse with a gentle light. Within its sacred radiance, the power to subdue demons shimmered.
Paaat!
As Sewoon spread both hands, the Extinction Threads rippled like waves and softly touched Hwa Wolyung’s entire body.
The sight of dozens of threads connecting them resembled a puppeteer manipulating a marionette.
Swish!
Through the Extinction Threads, Sewoon infused her with Innate True Qi, Golden Bridle Qi, and Demon-Subduing Power.
Though different from sorcery, all the energies Sewoon sent were those closest to the natural world—pure and stabilizing.
They caused no harm, only aiding her recovery.
‘What is this?’
Hwa Wolyung was astonished.
The Wildfire that had been rampaging wildly was instantly subdued by those energies.
As the danger vanished in a flash—
Sswaaa!
* * *
Soon after, Hwa Wolyung opened her eyes, having completed the first stage of the work.
She immediately turned her rabbit-like eyes toward Sewoon and spoke.
“Y-you have knowledge in sorcery as well?”
“No, not at all. It’s just a crude skill I learned on my own.”
“Crude, you say! With this level of power, you must be at least at the Chen rank—or perhaps even at the Heavenly rank!”
“Ah, Heavenly rank? That’s impossible, I’m nowhere near that level…”
Sewoon waved his hands frantically in denial, but Hwa Wolyung’s excitement would not subside.
Her words were spoken with complete sincerity.
The way she looked at him—her eyes sparkling like the stars in the night sky—left no doubt.
‘Ah, so this is why the Alliance Leader went so far as to visit him twice to take him as a disciple. I understand now!’
Martial arts and sorcery were not things that could be learned together.
Qi and sorcerous power were completely different in nature.
But the energy that had entered her body from Sewoon was unlike any other.
‘It was pure natural energy itself!’
It was natural energy without the slightest impurity—a perfectly refined essence that could easily be converted into sorcerous power.
And even that was impressive enough, but what truly shocked her was how Sewoon had analyzed and assisted her in controlling the Art of the Foreign Flame Stone.
He had accurately perceived the point where her sorcery had weakened and seamlessly reinforced it.
Such insight into the workings of sorcery would be impossible unless his understanding was nearly equal to her own.
A single thought kept rising in Hwa Wolyung’s mind as she gazed at him.
‘If I were to take this child as my disciple and teach him the basics of sorcery from the very beginning…!’
A strange desire—unsuited to the current situation—began to surge within her.
But she couldn’t help it.
For a boy who had never properly studied under a master to achieve this level of mastery…
‘If he were to study properly, who knows how far he could go…!’
If he cultivated under her guidance for ten years, perhaps he could reach a realm beyond even her—and even surpass her own master, the Musan Divine Nun.
Yes, that realm was the dream of every sorcerer and scribe alike—
The ultimate level of sorcery no one had ever attained before: the Realm of Clarity.
‘Tch, Master never said I couldn’t change the sect’s rules…’
At that moment, she seriously considered renaming Shrine Maiden Sect to Divine Human Sect—and breaking the long-upheld rule of Forbidden to Men.
Clack.
Sewoon bent down and picked up the crystallized Wildfire from the floor before speaking to her.
“Here, Sect Leader. Shall we now use this crystal to kindle the Sacred Flame?”
“Y-yes, let’s.”
After letting the exhausted Umun Tak rest nearby, the two of them stood together before the furnace—Sewoon behind, Hwa Wolyung in front.
Swaaa!
As Sewoon’s Extinction Threads glimmered once again, Hwa Wolyung clasped her hands together, holding the Wildfire crystal between her palms.
“Heaven and Earth Fire Flow.”
She chanted an incantation and unleashed the final sorcery.
Chwaaa!
Paaat!
“Creation of Sacred Flame!”
The extreme Yang energy within her amplified her sorcerous power.
A tremendous backlash surged out, yet unlike before, she didn’t even let out a groan.
Swaaa!
It was because Sewoon’s Extinction Threads perfectly supported the circulation of her sorcerous power.
‘Ah…!’
She gasped inwardly.
Never in her years of wandering the martial world had she met another sorcerer of equal standing with whom she could perform sorcery in perfect harmony.
This experience granted her an indescribably deep sense of realization.
Just then, the flame they had created together flowed into the empty furnace—
Fwoosh!
Hwaaa!
A massive flame, reminiscent of the blazing sun in the heavens, flared up.
At last, the Sacred Flame was born.
Thus, the Heavenly Flame Furnace (天炎火德) now existed in three places across the Central Plains—the Murim Alliance, Baekya Steel Workshop, and the Sichuan Tang Clan.
By tomorrow, when this news spread throughout the martial world, it would send shockwaves through the entire realm.
However, as the furnace blazed with radiant white light and heat, Umun Tak, Moomyeong, and Seo Surin’s reactions were peculiar.
“Whoa! It’s really complete!”
“That’s the Heavenly Flame Furnace…?”
“…No, it’s different. Completely different. What in the world…?”
Umun Tak, who had never seen the other Heavenly Flame Furnaces, was merely delighted.
But the other two were utterly stunned.
The reason was simple.
The furnace created by Sewoon was one step above the Heavenly Flame Furnace—a mysterious artifact of an entirely new class.
‘Hmm, it’s even better than I expected.’
Sewoon instinctively realized that the flame he had forged far surpassed the original Heavenly Flame Furnace in every way.
As his eyes gleamed with curiosity about what kind of power this new furnace might hold—
“I-I really… created something greater than my master’s…”
Drip.
Beside him, Hwa Wolyung shed tears of joy, overwhelmed by the fulfillment of her lifelong wish.
Hmm, perhaps it’s time to begin.
Glancing at her tearful face, Sewoon slowly spoke.
“Sect Leader, congratulations—and thank you as well.”
“It’s all, all thanks to you.”
“No, I’m just glad we could help each other. And… I hope we can continue working together.”
“Hm? Continue…?”
“Yes. In truth, I still have countless ideas I wish to realize with the Shrine Maiden Sect Leader. This furnace is only one of them.”
“?!”
At Sewoon’s words, a fierce emotion flickered in Hwa Wolyung’s eyes.
It was desire.
Seeing that, Sewoon inwardly smiled in satisfaction.
Without question, the Shrine Maiden Sect’s new foundation would no longer be its main temple.
‘The common trait between a blacksmith and a sorcerer… is the curiosity and creative urge to forge something new.’
From now on, he alone could satisfy her curiosity and desire to create.
And that bond would become the chain linking the Tang Clan and the Shrine Maiden Sect.
Smirk.
Hiding his true thoughts, Sewoon smiled warmly like a kind gentleman.