## Chapter 2577 – 2577. The Ascension To Light
The grand banquet celebrating the thousandth year of the Jin Empire’s founding had concluded.
The Martial Alliance Lord and the Sword King were set to return to the Martial Alliance and the Namgung Clan, respectively.
“Now, instead of the Eight Factions and One Clan, only the Eight Factions remain. The Beggars’ Union was in charge of the Martial Alliance’s intelligence… sigh. I’m worried about the future,” the Martial Alliance Lord lamented, loud enough for me to hear. I looked at him with a nonchalant expression.
“Don’t talk nonsense. The Emperor only ordered the beggars to be killed. In short, if you’re not a beggar, you won’t die. If the Beggars’ Union’s faith in being beggars was so strong, they would have been annihilated… but that’s not the case.”
“You speak the truth. The Beggars’ Union was destroyed, yet not destroyed. I’ve heard that most of the Beggars’ Union members have become waiters. It’s a profession where information can be easily obtained, even without being a beggar. Thanks to that, there are some conflicts with the Hao Clan… well, at least the worst-case scenario has been avoided.”
“Tell those Beggars’ Union bastards, if they loiter around me one more time… I’ll lead my soldiers and kill them all.”
“Your relationship with the Beggars’ Union is already at its worst. I can’t stop the Beggars’ Union from resenting you. But they won’t dare to touch you. You are the Lightning General of the 2nd Rank, directly appointed by His Majesty the Emperor.”
“Alright. Do well in the future.”
2nd Rank.
In an instant, I had become a high-ranking official. In modern terms, it was equivalent to a minister-level position. Well, the Empire was so vast that there were quite a few minister-level officials.
The Emperor valued martial prowess more than literature, and generals were treated with even more respect, making it all the more significant.
Seong Ji-gon, who had followed the formal military route, had the background of being the former Crown Prince’s teacher, Guwol Seonja, and was endlessly supported by several wives, was still a 3rd Rank Junior General. I had received the Emperor’s favor and had become a 2nd Rank official in one fell swoop.
The officials were silent. They dared not to criticize the Emperor’s decision. Instead, they were watching my every move. Even the Crown Prince.
“Son-in-law. I am proud of your success.”
“Yes, Clan Head. Please return safely.”
“…You seem to have become arrogant. Have you forgotten our last duel?”
“Are you now disregarding a 2nd Rank high-ranking official?”
The Sword King frowned, then seemed to remember something, shut his mouth, and turned his head. He must have thought of the Emperor.
Since the day they had an audience with the Emperor, the Martial Alliance Lord and the Sword King had become extremely cautious about anything related to the Emperor. They couldn’t even speak easily.
I asked the departing Martial Alliance Lord, “Didn’t you say you would have a private audience with the Emperor to gauge his intentions? I can help you. The Emperor wouldn’t ignore my request.”
“…It’s alright. Even if I have a private audience with the Emperor, I don’t have the confidence to figure out his intentions. I’m afraid I might make a mistake. I just hope our relationship doesn’t end here.”
“Alright. Take care on your way back. Thanks to you, I learned the Gwon-gak martial art well. Clan Head, if you have time, I’ll visit the Namgung Clan. Please give my regards to Rin and Seol.”
It was just a casual remark. If I wanted, I could return to the Namgung Clan anytime using a space-shifting scroll. Of course, I had no intention of giving space-shifting scrolls to the Sword King or the Martial Alliance Lord. Honey is only valuable when I’m the only one sucking it.
The Sword King and the Martial Alliance Lord left.
I remained in the Imperial Palace. The Imperial Palace was where all the ley lines of the continent converged and intersected. I couldn’t miss the opportunity to train here.
There was a special training ground for generals in the Imperial Palace. Since I was here, I should use it.
I took out 10,093 Heavenly Jade stones in the training ground. A mountain of Heavenly Jade stones piled up in the center of the training ground.
Heavenly Jade. A bead containing spiritual energy. It was also used as currency, with one stone being worth about 100 gold taels. However, it wasn’t something you could just buy with money. 100 gold taels was just the average price. It could be more expensive depending on the situation.
‘If it was easy to obtain with money, my inventory would be overflowing with Heavenly Jade.’
Since it was made by condensing pure spiritual energy, most of it was naturally formed. Only a few practitioners could create it artificially. And even then, they couldn’t create it haphazardly.
‘The Emperor just gave me 10,000 Heavenly Jade stones. His class is different.’
I checked the Heavenly Star System.
My current VIP level was 4.
To raise the VIP level, I needed 1,500 Heavenly Jade stones.
『Achieved VIP 5.』
『To raise the VIP level, 2,500 Heavenly Jade stones are required.』
『Achieved VIP 6.』
『To raise the VIP level, 5,000 Heavenly Jade stones are required.』
『Achieved VIP 7.』
『To raise the VIP level, 8,000 Heavenly Jade stones are required.』
9,000 Heavenly Jade stones disappeared in an instant. What was left was 1,093. But I didn’t regret it at all.
“Wow.”
Rather, an exclamation escaped my lips.
『Achieved VIP 7.』
『To raise the VIP level, 8,000 Heavenly Jade stones are required.』
『VIP 7 achievement benefits are granted.』
『Martial arts power increased by 140%.』
『Growth rate increased by 120%.』
『Elixir effectiveness increased by 75%.』
『Attendance rewards are improved.』
『Stamina and internal energy recovery rate increased by 120%.』
『Acquired 5 Star Fragments.』
『The Space Shift System can be used twice a day.』
『A total of 7 locations can be designated with the Space Shift System.』
『The Light of the Heavenly Star is enhanced. Two Lights of the Heavenly Star can be maintained simultaneously.』
『Acquired the Elixir of Immortality.』
『Acquired a Summoning Scroll.』
『Acquired the Eight Extremes Pill Refining Furnace.』
I had become stronger just by using Heavenly Jade stones. My martial arts power alone had increased by 30%. Enemies at the same level were already no match for me, but now I could completely overwhelm them.
‘I can maintain two Lights of the Heavenly Star at the same time? That means I can use the power of the Heavenly Slaughter Star and the Earthly Darkness Star at once.’
The additional items I received were also incredible.
First, the Elixir of Immortality. I held the golden-glowing elixir.
『Elixir of Immortality.
Increases lifespan by 100 years.
Makes you younger and prevents aging.
Increases vitality.』
‘Doesn’t not aging mean that your lifespan disappears?’
I briefly thought about this world. In this world, there were limited ways to transcend lifespan. The most well-known way was to become an immortal. If you couldn’t, you couldn’t escape your lifespan even if you reached the realm of myriad phenomena.
‘It might be applied differently in other worlds.’
It was an item I didn’t need right now.
‘If it really increases lifespan… it would be the ultimate treasure for Elena.’
I put it in my inventory for now.
『Summoning Scroll.
Randomly summons a high-ranking spirit beast and forcibly contracts with it.
Consumes energy depending on the summoned spirit beast.』
‘Forced summoning and forced contract? This is another absurd item.’
And it even had randomness.
‘It feels like I received a one-time gacha ticket.’
My hands were itching. I wanted to use this summoning scroll right away.
‘It’s a loss to use it now. I’ll put the summoning scroll in the Ascension to Light.’
I unfolded the Ascension to Light and put it inside. I stared blankly at the Ascension to Light for a moment. Items placed here were enhanced. It was a simple yet tremendous ability. What exactly was the identity of this item?
I was pondering for a moment when the light in the Ascension to Light painting disappeared. It meant the enhancement was complete.
‘This is crazy. The enhancement was completed in 30 seconds? Could it be that it was enhanced poorly?’
『Summoning Scroll.
Randomly summons a top-ranking spirit beast and forcibly contracts with it.
Consumes energy depending on the summoned spirit beast.』
‘It got so much better.’
A top-ranking spirit beast meant that I was guaranteed to summon an SSR-grade spirit beast. I held back the urge to summon a spirit beast right away.
The last item, the Eight Extremes Pill Refining Furnace, was a 1-meter-sized brazier. The brazier was octagonal overall, with a yin-yang symbol at the bottom and trigram symbols on the angled brazier walls.
『Eight Extremes Pill Refining Furnace.
Automatically creates elixirs when materials are added.
Can identify the materials for elixirs.
Once a creation is successful or a pill-making method is identified, it is recorded.』
‘It automatically creates them. That’s awesome. I have a lot of low-grade elixirs, so I needed to make them into pills… I don’t have to go to a pill refiner.’
I pondered for a moment and took out the Elixir of Immortality from my inventory. This was also an elixir. Then, wouldn’t I be able to learn the pill-making method through the Eight Extremes Pill Refining Furnace?
My prediction was correct.
『Elixir of Immortality Pill-Making Method
1. Elixir of Immortality Grass.
2. 3 drops of Azure Stone Oil.
3. 2 Black Pearls.
4. Vermilion Bird Feather or Fire Serpent Leather.
…….
23. 12 Heavenly Jade stones.』
‘Even if I know the materials, I can’t get them. Where am I supposed to get the Elixir of Immortality Grass?’
I shook my head and took the Elixir of Immortality out of the Eight Extremes Pill Refining Furnace. I was about to put it in my inventory when the Ascension to Light caught my eye. I put the Elixir of Immortality into the Ascension to Light.
‘I have a lot of low-grade elixirs, so should I experiment?’
I poured as many elixirs as I could into the pill refining furnace. I put in 50 types, and they all went in, as the capacity was larger than it appeared.
‘Do I have to light the fire myself?’
I closed the entrance of the pill refining furnace. The elixirs that were inside the furnace fell to the ground with a thud. Then, flames began to blaze inside the furnace. The heat was so intense that I involuntarily stepped back.
‘I can feel the heat, but the elixirs that fell below the furnace aren’t burning.’
『Elixir creation in progress… 14 hours 55 minutes 21 seconds until completion.』
‘That means I just have to wait 15 hours. I heard that pill refiners had to constantly monitor the pill refining process, so they couldn’t leave the furnace… but this is just a click if you have the materials.’
I stared blankly at the burning furnace and thought about the remaining Heavenly Jade stones. There was another use for Heavenly Jade stones besides raising VIP levels.
‘The Light of the Heavenly Star. If I consume Heavenly Jade stones, I can randomly learn the power of other stars.’
It seemed like I could get more Heavenly Jade stones from the Emperor, so I decided to use them.
『You can use 200 Heavenly Jade stones to randomly learn the power of another star.』
‘200? It was 100 before. Why did it suddenly go up?’
Was it because my VIP level went up? Or was it because I knew more star powers? Both were possibilities, so it was hard to be sure. I pondered for a moment and decided to use it.
‘Let’s do it just twice. That should be fine.’
『200 Heavenly Jade stones are used.』
『Heavenly Craft Star』
I realized the power of the Heavenly Craft Star.
It was a shapeshifting technique using a medium. As long as the condition of a medium was met, one could shapeshift into a monster or an immortal.
‘I’m not sure how to use it right now.’
『200 Heavenly Jade stones are used.』
『Heavenly Chief Star』
My eyes sparkled. The Heavenly Chief Star was quite a famous star. In terms of rank, it was on par with the Heavenly Slaughter Star and the Purple Star. Of course, I had only heard about it, so I didn’t know much about the stars.
‘The power of the Heavenly Chief Star is… the expansion of spiritual nature and talent for sorcery?’
I was both bewildered and curious. I had no talent for sorcery at all. Since I was gaining something I didn’t have, I couldn’t resist. It didn’t seem particularly dangerous, so I used the power of the Heavenly Chief Star.
『Using the Light of the Heavenly Star.』
『Heavenly Chief Star』