A strange situation unfolded. Cheong-o was the conductor, and his awkwardly outstretched wings were the baton. However, what he was conducting was not the performers, but the emotions around him.
When his wings grew calm, the joy subsided, and when they began to flap violently, the corners of one's mouth would rise. But contrary to the twitching corners of his mouth, Jaekyung's eyes grew cold. The joy he was feeling now was similar to the laughter from being forcefully tickled.
‘This wave is interfering with the spirit soul.’
Jaekyung was continuously plagued by the waves emanating from Cheong-o. Thanks to that, he had finished a rough assessment of how these waves were affecting him. He did not know how such a thing was possible, but the emotions Cheong-o felt in his dream were being transmitted to him. How should he describe this?
Diffusion? Contagion?
Neither seemed to be the right word. But one thing was certain. This bizarre phenomenon originated from the mind and soul, that is, the spirit soul.
Since Jaekyung had once received and learned the Soul Searching Technique from Gwak Jeong-shin, his senses regarding the spirit soul were developed to some extent. 'I can sense it, but I cannot resist it. What a foul feeling.'
The irregularly spreading waves became regular from a certain point, and after a while, they began to subside little by little. Cheong-o's expression, which had been like a child who had just arrived at an amusement park, also softened. Jaekyung sensed that Cheong-o's transformation was nearing its final stage.
'This ability... is it something like that fellow Cheong-o's innate divine art?' Regarding divine arts, Jaekyung understood them as a kind of unique spirit art. He could not be blamed for this ignorant understanding.
After all, even the senior cultivators of the Garden of Remembrance could not offer a better explanation. At best, they would just phrase it in slightly more elegant words. Using spiritual power to cause mysterious, bizarre, and powerful phenomena.
How was that any different from a spirit art? If there was a difference, it was that most spirit arts could be cultivated one way or another, provided one met the conditions and dedicated enough time, but divine arts were not like that. Woo Do-baek had said this about divine arts.
The cultivation of a divine art depends not on a cultivator's Dao Heart, but on the will of the heavens. He did not know how much exaggeration was mixed into those words, but he could tell that a divine art was a skill that could not be learned with mere talent or aptitude.
Divine arts alone were this strange, but innate divine arts were a step beyond. A divine art one was naturally born with, without any effort, like flesh attached to the body. The question of how that could be was meaningless.
Did they say the acquisition of a divine art depended on the will of the heavens? Innate divine arts perfectly matched that description. 'It is truly unfair.'
He knew that seeking fairness in the cultivation world was one of the most effective ways to reveal his own foolishness, but he still wanted to look up at the sky and lament. He breaks through the Great Spirit barrier while having a sweet dream, and upon becoming a Great Spirit Beast, he obtains an innate divine art.
How can this be? Is this even allowed? Just what great good karma does that fortunate crow fellow have?
Is this also related to that being called 'Immortal master'?
“Ugh.”
Jaekyung calmed his uncomfortable mind and watched Cheong-o's breakthrough, which was now in its final stages.
* “Caw!”
With a cry that was somehow distant and sulky, Cheong-o opened his eyes. The first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was Jaekyung, coiled up and sending him a look that was for some reason not very kind.
“Jaekyung.”
“You are finally awake.”
“Huh?”
“If you have slept enough, how about you get up now.”
Cheong-o, who had been lying flat on his back just blinking his eyes, pushed himself up with his wings.
“Did I... become a Great Spirit Beast?”
“Yes. Absurdly so.”
“Huh?”
“It is nothing. How do you feel?”
“Mm... good. Really good.”
Cheong-o, who had flown up powerfully, slammed his head right into the ceiling and faltered. Jaekyung watched the falling stone debris in silence.
“You certainly look good.”
“I am! So good!”
Most of the demon races, upon crossing the Great Spirit barrier, would have their spiritual wisdom opened, and although there were individual differences, they would become smarter to some extent. But Cheong-o was the same as before. Still innocent like a child.
For some reason, Jaekyung found his unchanging appearance satisfying.
“You will have to get used to the changes.”
“Yeah. I have changed a lot. I have gotten stronger. It is hard to adapt.”
Nodding, Cheong-o picked out his slightly ruffled feathers one by one from where he had hit his head on the ceiling.
“But it is okay. I think I can adapt quickly if I fly around a bit. Jaekyung. Can I go outside the island and come back now?”
His sparkling eyes were filled with anticipation. The corner of his mouth twitched for a moment, but Jaekyung soon turned away wordlessly, as if annoyed. He had originally wanted to talk about the innate divine art Cheong-o had awakened, but it seemed he would have to postpone it.
* Cheong-o, who had left excitedly flapping his wings, returned a full ten days later. He said he had flown continuously without a single day's rest, but perhaps he had been casually sightseeing, as he was still full of energy when he just got back.
“Jaekyung. This place is really huge. It is endless even if I keep going.”
Although he had become a Great Spirit Beast, Cheong-o had not changed at all, other than gaining a bit more confidence. He was still flighty and made a big fuss.
“I told you before. The Western Twin Lake is vast.”
If this were the world of his past life, this place would have been called the Western Twin Sea, not Lake. More than ten years had passed since he settled here. But Jaekyung still had not fully familiarized himself with the geography of the Western Twin Lake.
It was not because he was lazy, nor was it because he had no interest in the outer regions. It was because he could not, even if he wanted to. Most of Jaekyung's knowledge had been obtained through Gwak Jeong-shin, through the humans.
However, there was a limit to the knowledge that could be obtained that way. He did not think Gwak Jeong-shin had been deliberately stingy with him. Perhaps geographical information of the entire Western Twin Lake was unavailable not only to Gwak Jeong-shin but also to the other high-ranking humans of the Western Twin Lake.
After all, in the Western Twin Lake, there were not only the demon races who were hostile to them, but also the Horned Insect Tribe, who could be called the true rulers of the Western Twin Lake. Could the humans possibly go into their territory to grasp its geographical information?
Such a provocative act could immediately trigger a war between the races.
“Do not get too excited. As you said, the Western Twin Lake is very wide, and there are plenty of scary fellows who can easily hunt a big crow.”
“Caw!”
Cheong-o, who let out a dissatisfied cry, habitually returned to his nest to lie down. But when he was halfway down, Cheong-o had no choice but to stop awkwardly.
“You have gotten fat. Well, it would be strange if you did not gain weight after lazing around for so long.”
At Jaekyung's sarcasm, Cheong-o cried “Caw!” again to express his dissatisfaction, but that did not suddenly make the narrow nest any wider.
“Caw!”
Cheong-o fidgeted, not knowing what to do. His sparkling nest was a home he had painstakingly built piece by piece over a long time. Cheong-o's attachment to his nest was close to an obsession.
Jaekyung had once accidentally damaged the fellow's nest slightly a few times during his Cultivation, and each time he had to endure Cheong-o's complaint-filled nagging for days. 'I wish that uselessly sparkling monstrosity would just collapse completely this time.' Since it had been his fault, he had no choice but to silently endure the nagging.
But that was then, and this is now.
“Caw!”
Cheong-o, who did not know what to do, finally flew up in a hurry. And then he looked at his slightly tilted nest with complicated eyes, before glancing down at his own protruding belly. Gloom was added to his already downcast face.
“It is okay. You can lose weight quickly if you put your mind to it.”
Jaekyung once again showed off his excellent acting skills. In truth, Cheong-o had not gotten fat; his body had naturally grown larger as he was reborn as a Great Spirit Beast. A chubby belly?
He had that even before he became a sleep addict.
“Haa. I will have to make a new one.”
Cheong-o's sigh-mixed mumble almost broke Jaekyung's concentration for a moment. Hasn't he given up yet? Is this fellow only satisfied when he sleeps in such a gaudy nest?
That is it. Let us give up.
“Whether you build a new one or not, that is up to you. More importantly, it has been ten days, so you must have figured out your new ability to some extent, right?”
“Huh? Ability?”
“Yes. The ability you used to your heart's content while you were sleep-talking.”
“Uh?”
Cheong-o tilted his head left and right as if he had heard something incomprehensible.
“You do not know?”
“Yeah. I do not know what you are talking about.”
Jaekyung's eyes narrowed. It was unlikely that Cheong-o would try to deceive him with something like this. Then does he really not know?
Jaekyung slowly and detailedly explained about Cheong-o's innate divine art that he had experienced and understood.
“Innate divine art?”
Hearing the story, Cheong-o's eyes widened. He was clearly happy and excited, as if he had received an unexpected gift.
“Hup!”
The fellow forgot his sadness about the tilted nest and began to flap his wings diligently. At first, he swung his wings at the empty air, but when there was no effect after trying for a long time, he later extended his wings towards Jaekyung.
“…It is not working?”
Jaekyung looked at Cheong-o with eyes as if looking at an idiot.
“Logically, a divine art cannot be that simple.”
“But I do not know what to do.”
“If you do not know, how would I? Anyway, you definitely have such an ability. You will have to figure out how to draw it out and use it yourself.”
Jaekyung got a rough idea while watching Cheong-o's foolishness. Cheong-o had certainly awakened an innate divine art. This was something he had witnessed himself, so there was no mistake.
But it seemed that even if one awakened an innate divine art, one could not immediately use it freely. At least, Cheong-o was not even aware of the fact that he had awakened such an ability.
‘Is it originally like this?’
Because the concept of an innate divine art was so illogical by his standards, this logical situation felt strange instead.
“I do not know. I do not know at all.”
Cheong-o's declaration of giving up was no big deal. It was because he had not expected that birdbrain to find the answer in the first place. As always, the worrying was his share.
“Your divine art is related to the spirit soul. So let us try that way.”
Jaekyung took out the Soul Searching Technique he had previously received from Gwak Jeong-shin. Among the cultivation techniques and secret arts he possessed, this was the only one related to the spirit soul. However, he had only learned this useful secret art to a basic level, for the same reason as the Blood Contract Restriction Art.
His aptitude and talent did not follow. On top of that, the Soul Searching Technique was even more difficult than the Blood Contract Restriction Art. A small mistake could easily turn the opponent into a cripple, so he could not even try it recklessly.
“Try learning this.”
Jaekyung did not have high expectations. The Soul Searching Technique was likely too difficult for a birdbrained Great Spirit Beast to learn. I will give it a try for now, but later I will have to find something easier…
“What is your name?”
“It is Bu-mak.”
“Why did you come here?”
“I was caught while smuggling.”
When the crow asked, the person answered. His unfocused eyes seemed to have given up on thinking, and his limp body was like a puppet with its strings cut. Jaekyung silently looked up at the sky.
The clear sky without a single cloud felt particularly unpleasant to look at today.