Chapter 729
I’ve never fished in my life, and I don’t know how to do it.
But I do know how to catch more fish.
‘Bait.’
That was what we needed.
Scatter bait about a major announcement in every direction and draw out as much attention and focus as possible.
Of course, persuasion was necessary along the way, too. What Team Leader Choi and I wanted from this fishing trip wasn’t just to fill the buckets we brought—it was a boat overflowing with catch.
And to make that dream real, we needed excellent crew.
President Baek Hanseong, the first person Team Leader Choi contacted, was one of them.
“Excuse me?”
After clawing his way through all kinds of hardships to enter the Blue House in his early forties, his eyes widened at the words “Mana Cultivation Method,” and he spilled his coffee when he heard the name that followed.
“I-Is that true? Really… that person?”
“Yes. My maternal grandfather created it personally. And he expressed his wish to share this Mana Cultivation Method with everyone.”
“T-This is unbelievable.”
Who was Cheon Tae-min?
The living savior. A hero who’d accomplished something unparalleled in human history.
Before the name of the Slayer who ended the Great Cataclysm by defeating the Demon King Asmodeus, everyone had no choice but to bow their heads.
“But why is the Mana Cultivation Method’s title Smil—”
“…I brought the wrong one. Please forget what you just saw.”
Honestly, if it were known I was the creator, it wouldn’t matter whether the title was “Smiley Smile” or “As-salamu alaykum.”
But the moment the name Cheon Tae-min was attached, Team Leader Choi and I shared the same opinion.
The title [Smiling Mana Cultivation Method] was a problem.
“This is it. The Mana Cultivation Method created by my maternal grandfather.”
What Team Leader Choi placed on the table was a neatly bound booklet, and the cover bore the new name of the Mana Cultivation Method.
“Heaven and Earth Heart Method……”
“The Heaven and Earth Heart Method is broadly applicable—stable enough that even low-rank hunters can learn it without difficulty. The effects may not look dramatic the moment you start, but it will undoubtedly be a great help to hunters.”
Of course it would be.
That was the whole point of making it.
The name had been changed for adult reasons, but the new name was also one I’d come up with.
Feeling a faint flicker of pride, I added,
“In short, it’s a fucking amazing Mana Cultivation Method.”
Team Leader Choi cleared his throat in warning, but President Baek Hanseong didn’t care.
No—more accurately, he didn’t have the leisure to care.
He stared at the booklet holding the essence of the Heaven and Earth Heart Method as if possessed, and only after a long while did he finally snap back.
“B-But why are you bringing something this important specifically to me……?”
“We need an ally.”
A Phoenix Chair wasn’t something you picked up used at a secondhand market.
President Baek Hanseong immediately understood why Team Leader Choi and I had come to him.
“You want a breakwater.”
“We simply hope to be a source of strength for each other.”
“But even if a major guild steps forward, it’ll be difficult as long as that person is around.”
An accurate judgment.
As long as it was based on facts.
Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
Avoid external interference as much as possible.
That was why we were even selling the name of Cheon Tae-min—who was in a coma—to publicize the Heaven and Earth Heart Method.
And Team Leader Choi had no intention of telling the truth to President Baek Hanseong, who had always treated us favorably.
After all, he was still a politician.
“Of course, neither I nor my grandfather wants conflict or noise. To prevent that, we need the government’s cooperation.”
“Are you saying the Blue House will directly announce the existence of this Mana Cultivation Method?”
Team Leader Choi shook his head.
“It’s enough to state that there was cooperation between both sides and that a major announcement will follow in two days. That alone will pull public attention.”
“A weathervane……”
“This Mana Cultivation Method announcement will be known as a kind of national policy project. If that happens, the nation’s prestige will rise as well.”
The unprecedented public release of a Mana Cultivation Method.
And the four letters “Republic of Korea,” along with the President’s achievements, forever attached to that historic event.
A faint smile crept onto President Baek Hanseong’s lips.
“Today of all days, that Taegukgi looks particularly pleasing.”
Someone once said the most potent drug in the world was national pride.
Flutter.
Cheon Tae-min.
Public release of a Mana Cultivation Method.
National policy project.
Those three keywords boiled like a cauldron over charcoal, and the ignition point was the Republic of Korea.
– Beloved and respected citizens. I stand here today to make one major announcement……
President Baek Hanseong showed his promise of full cooperation through an emergency Blue House press conference.
His passionate figure—speaking before countless reporters and cameras, including foreign press—was broadcast live, and soon transmitted worldwide.
It caused an enormous stir.
[Public Release of Mana Cultivation Method. Unprecedented in History!]
[Humanity’s Savior Saves the World Once Again!]
[The Living Legend, Finally Revealing Himself?]
Just the mention of Cheon Tae-min’s name—hidden away for so long—was enough to shake the world.
But the fact that the Mana Cultivation Method he created would be released to the entire world?
The response was explosive.
No, the media had already exploded.
“Hey! Reporter Park! Contact the Peace Guild! Get me the Peace Guild!”
“I-I tried, of course, but nothing comes out no matter how much I poke.”
“Then what about Ares? Don’t they have obvious sources there? We got leads from them a few times before!”
“That person is in a detention center right now. You know—because he got tangled up in that Seok Gojun incident a while back……”
“This is driving me insane. What about Choi Min-woo?”
“Ugh. Don’t even say his name. It’s nearly impossible to even get through to him, and poking around there won’t get you a single drop of blood.”
“Then what about Jin Taekyung?”
“……If I mess with him, I’ll be the one bleeding. Chief, do you want to see me beaten to death?”
Sources of unknown origin leaked from all over, but you couldn’t verify anything without direct contact.
The media, on the verge of losing their minds and jumping up and down, mass-produced speculative articles.
And the internet was even worse.
[Current Situation Summarized in Three Lines]
1. Cheon Tae-min created a Mana Cultivation Method.
2. His grandson and an amazing hubae are pushing for public release, and the government stuck its spoon in.
3. Apparently there are hunters who didn’t even know what a Mana Cultivation Method was, but the one Cheon Tae-min made has insane versatility—so even low-rank hunters can learn it.
– You crazy bastard.
Public Release of Mana Cultivation Method
Author: Cheon Tae-min
Compiler: Jin Taekyung
– Isn’t the compiler Kim Kyung-sik?
– What? Who is Kim Kyung-sik. There’s an earthquake here too.
– Even if there’s an earthquake, I’d survive.
– I was watching the Blue House press conference with my guild members and we all lost our minds.
– I’m a civilian so I don’t really know, but what exactly is a Mana Cultivation Method?
– Simply put, it’s like a secret technique only a very few can learn. Like the Violet Mist Divine Art or the Blazing Divine Art from martial arts novels. Those things are usually only passed around among themselves, but they’re saying they’ll just give it to everyone.
– I don’t read martial arts novels so I don’t know.
– Then think of it like a food recipe. Michelin restaurants have specific recipes, right?
– What’s Michelin?
– Then think of it like a cooking secret your mom always has one of. My mom is really bad at cooking. I think she only knows the secret to making things taste awful.
– Hey. How old are you?
– I’m nine years old. I can’t even swear comfortably.
– You swear very comfortably at nine. Piss off.
– I’m a martial arts enthusiast, but what’s Blazing Divine Art? I know Violet Mist Divine Art.
===
Netizens, usually split into two camps that fought nonstop, were uncharacteristically united.
They poured unanimous praise onto every article related to the public release of the Mana Cultivation Method.
They were releasing a secret technique others clutched and hid with everything they had.
And doing it with no restrictions at all.
Driven purely by the desire to do it for everyone.
And to the public, this wasn’t just a benefit for hunters.
If hunters became stronger, they could suppress the unsettling incidents that had been happening more and more often.
Which meant ordinary people would become much safer.
Of course, separate from all that, there were also those who couldn’t hide their disappointment.
“It would’ve been nice if you’d given us a bit of notice.”
Ares Guild.
In response to the cautious complaints from the remaining internal executives—amid a rapidly shifting internal situation—Choi Min-woo gave a light bow.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you in advance. But I thought it was right to handle it quickly before the information leaked.”
– ‘Since he admitted fault first and apologized, he handed us a justification.’
– ‘Now it was time to press him down a little, so he couldn’t act unilaterally again.’
– ‘But the problem was the terrifying legitimacy held by that young Vice Guild Master—still practically green.’
– ‘For that person to step forward personally…’
– ‘I haven’t even seen his face once…’
– ‘Does he cherish his grandson that much?’
Cheon Tae-min had stayed out of sight for a very long time.
Some executives recruited from outside had never even met the Guild Master since joining Ares.
Even long-serving executives had harbored vague suspicions since Lee Jeong-ryong’s funeral.
– ‘Something happened to the Guild Master.’
A reasonable suspicion.
Cheon Tae-min hadn’t shown his face at the funeral of Lee Jeong-ryong—someone like a sworn brother.
He hadn’t stepped forward even when his own grandson was effectively exiled to overseas branches by Lee Jeong-ryong.
But now the situation was different.
No—no matter how much doubt lingered in a corner of their hearts, showing it would be sheer stupidity.
To them, the name Cheon Tae-min was still respect itself.
And that green Vice Guild Master’s trump card wasn’t just his maternal grandfather.
“You’re all very quiet.”
A gentle voice broke the silence.
Jin Taekyung, who had been reading a webtoon on his phone, continued.
“When someone apologizes, you’re supposed to respond with something, right?”
“Aren’t you?”
Dozens of pairs of trembling pupils and quivering Adam’s apples.
Just as the executives—who had been trading looks—forced smiles and bowed their heads.