Chapter 109
"Hmm... The biggest issue will be how the Chairman and other committee members interpret the current situation."
It wasn't just Li Huning himself.
All the officials affiliated with the party held strong Sinocentric views.
There was no way they would accept that China was falling behind Korea.
Tap. Tap.
Seeing Li Huning tapping the chair of the dining table with a hardened expression, Wei Zhigang cautiously opened his mouth.
"So, I hope that you, Standing Committee Member, can help China make a wise decision."
"Ahem..."
Normally, he would have drawn a firm line, saying not to interfere in political and party affairs.
However, because the person speaking was Wei Zhigang, the Lord of the Eight Dragons, he couldn't act as he usually would.
Wei Zhigang was a person with strong pride.
After all, Wei Zhigang was a living legend who had built the current Eight Dragons City from the bottom up, without any foundation.
For Wei Zhigang, who had such strong self-pride, to directly make a request?
It was hard to believe even while seeing it with his own eyes.
His current attitude was so unprecedented.
This meant that it wasn't something to foolishly stand on pride about.
Li Huning, who quickly organized the situation in his head, nodded.
"I understand everything you've said, Lord of the Eight Dragons. I will do my best to ensure that the Chairman and other party members can accept this well."
* * *
When he first returned home, his family welcomed him more enthusiastically than anyone else.
Kim Ji-young, who had been standing at the front door, suddenly rushed to embrace Lee Sung-joon and even shed tears.
This was because Lee Sung-joon's battle with Razaka had been broadcast live nationwide in real-time.
In other words, they had directly seen Lee Sung-joon fighting.
As it was their first time seeing a fight, despite having only heard about it before, the shock was bound to be tremendous.
The battles of hunters were far more brutal and terrifying than they had imagined.
Especially at the moment when it seemed like Razaka's hand had pierced through Lee Sung-joon's body, she couldn't help but scream.
Having heard about these situations through his sister, Lee Sung-joon had been worried that his family might change their attitude and oppose his hunter work.
Indeed, unlike usual, their eyes were full of concern.
However, no one expressed direct opposition or voiced it out loud.
This was because the emotions the family felt while watching the video of the fierce battle with Razaka weren't just worry and fear, but also pride.
In that short video, there was a son and brother fighting to protect the surrounding hunters and citizens, more splendid than anyone else in the world.
He was shining so brightly that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to call him a hero.
Of course, it wasn't just because of his heroic aspect that they didn't oppose.
As mentioned before, this was what Lee Sung-joon himself wanted to do.
It was the path that Lee Sung-joon, as an adult, had chosen.
No matter how much family they were, they shouldn't oppose his dreams.
Therefore, the family quickly put aside their anxiety and worry, and instead focused on supporting him.
Thanks to this, Lee Sung-joon was able to rest and enjoy a happy daily life without much discomfort.
After one night passed, the next morning.
His parents had gone to work, and his younger sister, Lee Seo-yun, was spending her day immersed in studying.
However, unlike usual, Lee Sung-joon didn't go out hunting at the gate, but was sitting in the chair at the desk in his room.
The reason was simple.
'Self-check.'
The growth achieved through this Razaka subjugation could be said to be quite significant.
To exert 100 percent or more of his true self's power, he needed to clearly know his current strength and his own abilities.
Therefore, there was a need to clearly go over his own body condition.
[Status]
Name: Lee Sung-joon
Job: Sacred Spirit Artist
Title: Monopolizer
Level: 120
Strength: 49 (+32), Agility: 48 (+33), Vitality: 49 (+32)
Blood Energy: 64 (+41)
Bonus Points: 15
First, the biggest change was in the level.
By hunting two named boss monsters, Lyudmila and Razaka, his level had jumped from 105 to 120, rising by fifteen levels at once.
It was a growth that could be called a welcome rain amidst the somewhat slowed leveling speed compared to the initial stages.
'Not bad.'
In fact, it wasn't just "not bad".
If others saw this, they would be unable to contain their astonishment at such growth.
This was because after the 100 level mark, where the unit changes, it typically took a minimum of 70 days on average to raise one level.
In other words, he had achieved in just one day what would normally take nearly 3 years.
Therefore, just the level up alone could be said to be an enormous harvest.
But it wasn't just the level that had risen in this Razaka subjugation.
The level of the growth-type skill, Metamorphose, had also increased.
SSS-grade, Metamorphose (Lv2)
Can materialize and summon individuals existing in user 'Lee Sung-joon's' memory as summons.
The summon's abilities are 35% of the user's.
Currently, a maximum of 2 individuals can be summoned.
Lee Sung-joon's eyes gleamed as he read the description of Metamorphose, which had changed after rising to Lv2.
'As expected of a growth-type skill.'
Not only had the percentage of stats applied to the summons increased to 35%, but the number of individuals had also increased to 2.
The increase in the number of summonable individuals meant that he could now handle one more of the Demon Lords who were pillars of the Blood Sect from his memories.
'Who would be good?'
His thoughts were deep, but the deliberation wasn't very long.
'There's not much to be desired in terms of combat ability.'
He could steadily grow through leveling up.
The hunting speed was also nothing to be desired.
'It could even be said to be at a leisurely level.'
To add a bit of exaggeration, with just Hyuk Cheon-man and himself, they could exterminate all the monsters in the gate.
'Then what's left is...'
The power of auxiliary abilities like sorcery or techniques.
Of course, as a Blood Demon and Demon God, there were numerous techniques in his accumulated experience and knowledge.
However, regrettably, unlike martial arts, he didn't have much talent in sorcery, so apart from a few techniques that he had practiced for a long time and received direct transmission of, he couldn't use them properly.
'If I could utilize sorcery and techniques as much as I think, it would be convenient in many ways.'
In fact, even when conquering the Thousand Continents, he had received great help from sorcery and techniques.
As Lee Sung-joon was going over his past experiences and memories like this, he nodded.
Finally, he had chosen the Demon Lord to materialize with Metamorphose this time.
'Annihilation Demon Lord, Bi-hyeong.'
The figure who had made the greatest contribution to conquering the world among the Eight Great Demon Lords, and the Blood Sect's greatest technique user.
No, not just the Blood Sect.
Bi-hyeong was a being praised as the world's greatest technique user, even called by the alias 'Eternal Technique Emperor'.
In other words, he had the ability to prepare for any possible contingencies.
As he was currently the most necessary figure he could choose, Lee Sung-joon reached out his hand without hesitation.
Whoosh-
The red energy gathered in the air instantly recreated the appearance of Bi-hyeong from his memory.
'It's still amazing to see again.'
The red jewel embedded in the tall staff, the dark atmosphere exuding an eerie feeling, perfectly recreated the appearance of the Annihilation Demon Lord, Bi-hyeong, who had dyed the Thousand Continents in fear.
'With this, I won't have to worry about trivial things anymore.'
He had already clearly proven the ability through Hyuk Cheon-man earlier.
The individuals created by Metamorphose can definitely handle their original abilities as long as they don't exceed their limits.
This meant he could handle the numerous techniques of the Blood Sect with various abilities.
It meant he could deal with situations much more flexibly than in the previous fierce battle with Razaka, where he had to experience some inconvenience.
In other words, he could now focus solely on combat.
"Excellent."
The level that had grown by as much as 15 stages and the increase in the skill level of Metamorphose.
These were truly satisfactory achievements, but what was most pleasing was that the harvest gained from this Razaka subjugation wasn't just the growth achieved so far.
With a smirk on his lips, Lee Sung-joon recalled the account he had checked last night.
'850 billion won.'
Moreover, it was money that had been cleanly processed for taxes, which is the biggest headache for hunters and businessmen.
The balance in his account had explosively increased as the existing accumulated money, the reward for subjugating Razaka, and the additional contract money from the Hunter Association that had been pending were all deposited.
Thanks to this, the balance in his account was filled with a parade of zeros, almost unbelievable even to himself.
He could be said to have accumulated enormous wealth that most wouldn't even dare to imagine, but Lee Sung-joon, who had once grasped the world, couldn't possibly be satisfied with just this much.
'This is just the beginning.'
All the income earned so far could be said to be just the foundation.
'...I guess I can move on to the next plan now.'
He was in a position of leadership against many factions.
However, it couldn't be seen as entirely his own, Lee Sung-joon's.
'To complete the path of the ruler I desire, I need to create a force that can move solely for me.'
This meant he needed to establish an official guild under his own name, Lee Sung-joon.
He had been thinking about it continuously, but due to lack of initial activity funds, he couldn't directly implement it.
In other words, now that he had sufficient funds, there was no reason to hesitate anymore.
'A building to use as a guild building and... while I'm at the real estate, it would be good to move the house to a safer place too.'
Was it because he had made up his mind to spend money in earnest?
Things that he had only kept in his mind until now kept coming up.
'It's not that the current house is bad, but it's not completely satisfactory either.'
As they say, people spend as much as they earn, his desires were growing bigger and bigger.
Of course, it wasn't just personal greed.
If he starts building his force in earnest by establishing a guild, there would inevitably be unnecessary noise.
So he sets the conditions clearly.
'A quiet neighborhood with few people, but located in Seoul.'
At the same time, it must be a place where safety is absolutely guaranteed.
Given these quite demanding conditions, it will require an enormous amount of money.
However, it was a necessary expense to erase his, Lee Sung-joon's, weaknesses.
'To walk the true path of an emperor, one must also solidify the internal affairs.'
Therefore, there was not a moment of hesitation in Lee Sung-joon's actions in looking for an incredibly expensive house.