I Became the Academy’s Genius Shikigami Summoner – Chapter 260

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟔𝟎

After falling into this era, I’ve seen quite a lot of spells, but the ones that interested me the most were Jang-sam’s clone spell, and Shin Pyo-eul’s Eight Trigrams and Celestial Heavens Art.

The Eight Trigrams and Celestial Heavens Art spell, in particular, was honestly shocking.

It was so powerful that I thought it was on a higher level than the user, Shin Pyo-eul’s, abilities.

That was why I guessed that she already had a master-like figure, even at that time.

Of course, I didn’t know that we would meet face-to-face so soon.

“Ah, the Eight Trigrams and Celestial Heavens Art spell?”

“Yes. It’s quite fascinating to me as well.”

As someone with extensive knowledge of the exorcism series, I could tell.

This Eight Trigrams and Celestial Heavens Art spell was a spell formula that was extremely close to the source of spells.

Shin Pyo-eul definitely called the Eight Trigrams and Celestial Heavens Art an immortal method, and I agreed with that as well.

It was a spell formula that was worthy of such a title.

“Ha, but since I learned it from my master, I can’t just arbitrarily pass it on to someone else. . . . . . .”

“Of course. It’s fine if it’s difficult.”

“Eeee. . . . . . .”

Shin Pyo-eul’s eyes held a considerable amount of greed, but as she surveyed the situation, she soon showed signs of giving up.

I had been subtly watching her and quickly added on.

“She doesn’t seem to be that attached to you. Rather than that, it’s closer to the fact that she doesn’t have any lingering attachment to being a disciple or to the world itself.”

“. . .That’s probably true. My master has lived for a very long time, and I was only taken in by her on a whim.”

“I understand that Miss Shin Pyo-eul wants to uphold her duty as a disciple, but is that really right?”

“Yes?”

Shin Pyo-eul made a blank expression as if asking what I meant, and feeling that the other party had wavered, I continued speaking without stopping.

“You’re Seo Cheon-ye’s disciple, but before that, you’re a Taoist who chose to fight yokai on your own. In that sense, this is more like a cooperation between us to deal with a powerful and evil enemy, a realization of righteousness.”

“. . . . . . .”

“In the end, when you strip away all the pretense, it comes down to what Shin Pyo-eul wants to hold onto deepest inside. At least, that’s how I’ve lived.”

At my words, Shin Pyo-eul seemed to be greatly shocked for a moment.

To her, who was trapped in the giant shadow of a great master, this must have been a way of thinking that she had never even considered.

“I can tell. She’s not someone who lives in this era. In reality. . . . . . She’s closer to being a bystander.”

I’m definitely not saying this to try to provoke her or just to say something.

There was also that reason why I didn’t trust Seo Cheon-ye completely.

“Ultimately, it’s you who is living in this era. It’s also your choice to follow through with your will, and I’ll just bear the responsibility behind that. And I don’t think that our exchange is something that betrays righteousness.”

“. . . . . . .”

“I’ll say it again, but it’s fine if you decline. I’m just throwing a tantrum because it’s frustrating.”

Shin Pyo-eul was able to grow so quickly because of her outstanding master, but ironically, that’s why she has stopped improving for now.

There was no one else’s footsteps in front of her anymore, so ultimately, she had to leave her master’s embrace and move forward on her own.

Earlier, when I brought up her duty as a disciple, I felt like she was close to evading and avoiding it out of fear.

“Won’t Shin Pyo-eul also want to find a disciple someday and pass on what you’ve learned? It might sound strange, but I’ve never understood the reason for clinging to formalities from the beginning.”

Well, if it doesn’t work even after talking this much, then there’s nothing I can do.

At my indifferent attitude, Shin Pyo-eul hesitated before asking a question as if to confirm.

“Are you saying that if I want to practice righteousness as a Taoist, then I don’t need to be reluctant about exchanging spells?”

“It’s not as extreme as that. I’m just saying that there’s no need to get tied down.”

Shin Pyo-eul thought in silence for a long time.

And then, as if she had come to a decision, she nodded her head.

“Yes. I’ll teach you the Eight Trigrams and Celestial Heavens Art spell. It’s true that I’m reluctant. . . . . . But it seems fine to tell Mr. Kang-yoon.”

And so, Shin Pyo-eul taught me the Eight Trigrams and Celestial Heavens Art spell, and at the same time, I passed on various spells that I knew.

Like that, days that felt shorter than half a month passed, and we finally arrived at Yeocheon, the city known as the city of pleasure and revelry.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

“This is amazing. . . . . . .”

After entering Yeocheon and parting ways with Sangdan, Shin Pyo-eul and I looked around and observed the appearance of the streets.

The last time I saw it, Hubaek and Cheongra were also considerably developed cities, but Yeocheon had a different atmosphere from those two.

It felt like a city that had been made to be enjoyed properly from the beginning.

“Is this your first time in Yeocheon?”

“Yes. It’s actually only recently that I started staying nearby. I’ve heard of its reputation before, but I didn’t know it would be this much.”

Nodding at her words, I glanced at Shin Pyo-eul.

As expected, Shin Pyo-eul didn’t sense anything strange.

She probably wouldn’t have dreamed that there was a powerful great yokai staying in this city.

「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙤𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙨 𝙨𝙚𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙖𝙨𝙩, 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙞𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙖𝙞𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙞𝙩 𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙡𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙖 𝙝𝙪𝙣𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙙 𝙮𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙨, 𝙨𝙤 𝙞𝙩 𝙢𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙬.」

The reason I came to Yeocheon was for no other reason.

If the rest of the group were looking for each other, then it was natural that they would be traveling mainly to big cities.

Moreover, since the consumption of supplies was brisk, there were numerous merchants coming and going in Yeocheon, so it was that much more likely that we would be able to obtain good information.

Even if it was just a one in a million chance, there was also a slight possibility that we could target the great yokai that was either visiting or hiding in this place.

Since it was a city that Yoo Ha-on’s group had also passed through in the original work, it wasn’t a completely baseless story.

“But what do we do from here?”

“First, we plan to stay for about a month and exorcise the nearby yokai. We should also gather information in the meantime.”

Even so, if we still can’t find any clues, then there’s nothing we can do.

We’ll have no choice but to give up and head back to Jinyeon Mountain.

Of course, when that time comes, we’ll also think about confronting the great yokai here after looking at the situation.

“Hey everyone! If you’re looking for a place to stay, then why don’t you come and check this out!”

“Oh my, what are you saying. You can tell just by looking that you’re all noble people, so wouldn’t your rank be too high for you to stay here?”

As expected of a city of pleasure, the people here were competing to attract visitors.

Of course, Shin Pyo-eul and I didn’t like being bothered, so we found an old inn that was far from the busy streets and unpacked our things.

“I’ll be in the room right next door, so just call me if there’s anything you need.”

“Yes. Should we start moving in earnest tomorrow?”

“Let’s do that.”

And so, Shin No-eul and I stayed in Yeocheon and hunted down all the nearby yokai for a while.

As expected, since they were targeting travelers, there were quite a few of them, so we had a better time than we thought we would.

Of course, it was a bit disappointing that there weren’t any special-grade yokai or above.

“You worked hard today too. Are you okay with the time for dinner?”

“Should I continue teaching you the sea spell formula?”

“Yes. I think I’ve got the gist of it, so it’ll probably be enough if I look at it a few more times.”

Hunting yokai during the day and exchanging our knowledge in the evening.

Funnily enough, to me, who had borrowed the power of the Mental Spellbook, this kind of orthodox training felt quite different.

Perhaps that was why I was able to achieve many small accomplishments these days.

“It’s become quiet around here now. . . . . . .”

“Since we’ve been hunting them so much, the yokai aren’t stupid, so they must have realized the danger and left.”

It wasn’t like there weren’t any yokai that were worth targeting anymore.

Well, the reason was that there were humans everywhere they went, so there was no reason for them to be fixated on this place.

However, it was around that time that I was also able to achieve a great accomplishment.

I had finally gotten a lead on someone who was presumed to be one of the scattered group members.

“The Water God has appeared. . . . . . .”

“Is that person really Mr. Kang-yoon’s comrade?”

“I think it’s almost certain.”

Information that we heard from merchants who had come from far up north.

If it wasn’t the act of a yokai that had transformed into a human, then there was a high probability that it was Seo Ji-an.

In the first place, there weren’t that many humans who had an affinity for nature-type spells, so it was almost as good as a hundred percent.

“Then are we going to leave for there?”

“Yes. It seems like it’s about time we wrap things up here.”

If that’s the case, then there’s no reason to hesitate. Since I had already hunted all the nearby yokai anyway, I had been looking at the estimates for a while now.

Feeling that the time had come, I carefully told Shin Pyo-eul the information that I knew.

“Is that real? I didn’t notice at all. . . . . . .”

I know.

That’s why I didn’t tell her on purpose.

She might have given herself away without realizing it.

“If they were able to deceive my senses so perfectly, then they must definitely be a very high-level yokai.”

“It’s not certain, but they probably have power that could be called that of a great yokai.”

At that, Shin Pyo-eul made a somewhat flustered expression.

“H-Honestly, if it’s at that level, then I’m not that confident. . . . . . .”

“I don’t plan to overdo it either. For now, it’s closer to wanting to scout them out.”

I’m also curious to see how far I can go right now, but there’s no need to deliberately invite danger.

If we judge that it’s too difficult right now, then we can find a few more group members and try again.

“. . .I think it’ll be okay if it’s at that level. To be honest, it’s something that’s on my mind. So should we move out tomorrow?”

“It’s not certain, but it probably won’t mean anything if we do.”

“Then. . . . . .?”

“If you’re willing to come with me, then it would be better to rest up during this time.”

I was also aware of the existence of the great yokai, but even after looking around the city while the sun was up, I couldn’t find even a trace of it.

I only got a very, very small sense of its existence during the short period of time between midnight and dawn, and even then, it was only for a moment.

「𝙏𝙤 𝙗𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙘𝙞𝙨𝙚, 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙊𝙭 𝙩𝙤 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙗𝙚𝙛𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙏𝙞𝙜𝙚𝙧.」

In other words, between 1 and 3 AM was the only time when the great yokai’s hiding place shook ever so slightly.

I didn’t know if it was just once, but during the more than half a month that I stayed here, it repeated at least ten times.

That meant that this was a regular phenomenon and that it was also closely related to the great yokai.

“Perhaps the great yokai is likely doing something during that time.”

And today was the second day that I hadn’t felt the great yokai’s presence at all.

Up until now, the great yokai had never broken that pattern for more than three days.

“That’s why tonight is the right time.”

The only chance to approach the great yokai and grasp its true identity.

That time was drawing near.

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