Two days later, as he had informed me in advance, Hyuk Dojin left the cult early in the morning, not even having time to eat breakfast.

Even in a situation where he had to personally step into a dangerous place, he held my hand until the end, worrying about me.

“You don’t have to worry too much. Eun Do is by your side, and Martial Uncle is also staying. Yoo Doha is the only one coming with me, so you don’t need to be too concerned. If there’s an urgent matter, tell Joo Jonghak. He will take care of everything.”

In the midst of leaving, he was more worried about me than himself, so I had no choice but to console him like a child.

I had to forcibly send him away, thinking he might tell me not to go at this rate, and after sighing deeply, Joo Hwarin chuckled.

“The Young Cult Leader seems to have become more relaxed. His atmosphere wasn’t particularly scary or stiff before, but recently, he gives off an even more comfortable vibe. Others also say that the Young Cult Leader has changed.”

“Is that so?”

Has Hyuk Dojin changed?

I recalled the image of Hyuk Dojin I first met in the pavilion when I arrived at the Demon Cult. He was sitting calmly, waiting for someone.

Contrary to his position as the Young Cult Leader of the Demon Cult, he was very quiet, calm, and neat.

If there was a scholar who had only lived reading books, Hyuk Dojin’s appearance would have been just like that.

He was surprisingly good at hiding himself and was accustomed to controlling his own aura.

Hyuk Dojin was a quiet and tranquil man to the extent that it was hard to understand why the Protector Dohyul was trembling under his feet.

He was always by my side and was kind to me, so I didn’t really think much about whether he had changed.

I tilted my head, smiled brightly, and turned around.

I returned to my room, ate breakfast, changed clothes, and as always, stopped by the training ground. In the morning, I always trained with Yoo Doha, but today I was alone.

I quickly scanned the empty training ground and moved to the center.

I had always trained in the way Yoo Doha or Hyuk Dojin guided me, so it felt awkward to have to train alone for a while.

I took a seat in the center, awkwardly took a stance, and let out a small chuckle.

What am I doing alone? I exhaled softly, sat down cross-legged, and slowly exhaled the breathing of the Primordial Origin.

I set aside complicated thoughts and emptied my mind. Feeling the energy of nature, I repeated the breathing that now felt as natural as breathing.

Time became distant, and I recalled the things I felt during the sparring these past few days. Time passed slowly. Or maybe quickly.

After gathering the flowing internal energy to my Dantian, I opened my eyes.

As the bright light entered my eyes, I saw Man Do leaning against the opposite wall.

He met my eyes and smiled lightly.

“You’ve become skilled now.”

“I’m still lacking.”

“Is that so? From what I see, you seem to have the air of a master, as if you’ve trained for about 10 years. Aren’t you going to become stronger than me at this rate?”

At his teasing words, I straightened my shoulders and raised my chin.

“Train diligently. If you slack off, I’ll surpass you.”

At my response, Man Do laughed out loud. The training ground seemed to flow with his loud laughter, and I also laughed lightly, then picked up the wooden sword hanging on the wall.

Man Do quietly watched me move and slightly raised his eyebrows.

“You’re using a wooden sword now. It seems like you’ve gained quite a bit of strength.”

“Strength?”

I blankly looked down at my wrist holding the wooden sword. Although I had gained some flesh and muscles compared to before, it was still a bit lacking.

“That’s right. I heard that even a wooden sword weighs as much as a real sword… I didn’t know it was heavy at all.”

“Hmm, it’s a good sign. It means you’ve been diligently training. No matter how much internal energy supports you, if you neglect training your body, you can’t exert your strength properly.”

I lightly shrugged my shoulders at his praise. Man Do smiled gently, also brought a wooden sword, swung it a few times, and faced me.

I took a stance while looking at him. Man Do also leisurely took a stance, matching my movements.

I quietly looked at him, envisioned the image I had recalled during the earlier meditation, and quickly approached him.

I demonstrated the Plum Blossom Path technique with all my strength. Unlike Eun Do, he didn’t deflect or block it, but instead raised his wooden sword and received my attack. I met his eyes at close range and opened my mouth.

“Did Dojin ask you to do this?”

“Yoo Doha asked me. Rather, the Young Cult Leader said you could rest. He said you should rest because you seemed to be overworking yourself lately.”

“Hearing that makes Yoo Doha sound like a bad teacher.”

“Originally, there should be two teachers: a strict teacher and a gentle teacher. Considering that, Yoo Doha is an excellent teacher faithfully fulfilling his role.”

Plum Blossom Path, Plum Blossom Waterfall, Plum Blossom Mountain.

As I swung the variations of the first technique and unfolded the techniques following Plum Blossom Folding Dance and Plum Blossom Earth Flame, my breathing gradually became labored.

I bit my lips firmly, retracted my sword, quickly thrust it, and demonstrated Plum Blossom Full Bloom. It was the strongest attack I could currently demonstrate, but Man Do leisurely blocked the traces of the sword that scattered like blooming flower petals and smiled brightly.

“You’ve become strong. You’ve also become skilled at infusing internal energy into your sword.”

Man Do casually deflected my blocked sword, lowered his wooden sword to the ground, and lightly bowed.

We exchanged swords for a total of fifty seconds, but I was the only one out of breath. I wiped the flowing sweat with my sleeve and exhaled deeply.

“You’re all monsters. Dojin, Yoo Doha, Eun Do… and even the Vice Cult Leader, you’re all like monsters.”

After exhaling deeply, I stretched my waist.

In the meantime, Man Do handed me a water bottle. I swallowed a mouthful of slightly lukewarm water, calmed my breathing, and glanced at him.

Although he looked like a man in his late twenties on the outside, he was a monster-like man who had lived for over a hundred years on the inside.

He was a man who had reached the Transcendent Demonic Realm and had undergone the Rejuvenation process. He was truly one of the top masters of the Demon Cult.

“Man Do. Can I ask you something?”

“As much as you want.”

I handed the water bottle to him. I followed him with my eyes as he leisurely took the water bottle and placed it on the table, then opened my mouth.

“Are the Transcendent Demonic Realm and Flowering Realm different realms?”

“If we make a precise distinction, they are different. The Flowering Realm is a supreme realm that can be achieved when one accepts the principles of nature and unites the Three Realms (Heaven, Earth, and Man) and Five Elements into one, while the Transcendent Demonic Realm is a realm that can be reached when the demonic energy within one’s own body reaches its peak.”

“Then are they the same?”

“If we have to express it, we can say they are different. The walls to overcome and the enlightenment are different. However, when one reaches the Transcendent Demonic Realm, they can drive people mad or even kill them with just their demonic energy or voice alone.”

It’s difficult. I just feel like there’s not much difference between the Flowering Realm and Transcendent Demonic Realm, but making this distinction is probably because of the nature of the martial arts they learn.

“Well, if you’re done resting, pick up your sword.”

“Pardon?”

I widened my eyes and looked at him, and Man Do smiled brightly.

“In the morning, I’ll be strict like Yoo Doha, and in the afternoon, I’ll be gentle like the Young Cult Leader.”

* * *

It was an afternoon about three days after Dojin left.

It was a leisurely day, repeating treatment and training as always. However, the pavilion that should have been quiet as usual was particularly chaotic today.

“What’s going on?”

“Right now, people from the Murim Alliance have arrived at Purple Sky Hall, and it’s a mess.”

“Purple Sky Hall?”

“It’s a place prepared for the Murim Alliance people to stay this time… But there are more people than expected, so they need more servants to attend to them. That’s why they’re in a frenzy trying to allocate maids from this pavilion as well.”

“Didn’t the Murim Alliance people bring their own servants or maids?”

Joo Hwarin also shook her head as if she didn’t know. At her reaction, I let out a small groan and closed the door. I approached Man Do, who was looking at me, and told him what Joo Hwarin had said, and he smiled faintly.

“It’s a shallow ploy. The fact that they increased the number of people but didn’t bring any servants or maids means that all the members are composed of martial artists. That is, they are also prepared to escape in case of emergency. It’s good to be prepared, but they’re foolish. Don’t they know that once they set foot in the Demon Cult, it’s impossible to escape even if the Murim Alliance Leader comes?”

After hanging the wooden sword he was holding on the wall, he picked up his outer garment that he had taken off. Following his movements, I turned my eyes and asked:

“Are you going?”

And Man Do lightly shrugged his shoulders.

“The Cult Leader is not taking the front stage, and the Young Cult Leader is absent. The Protector has a strong aversion to the Righteous Sect, and most of the other Demon Cult members tremble at the mention of the Righteous Sect. So I’ll have to go personally.”

Man Do smiled brightly, put on his outer garment, and opened the door.

“Then, keep training.”

I followed his back as he closed the door and disappeared, then brushed my hair up. The visit of the Righteous Sect.

It was ultimately thanks to the Moyong clan and me that they were able to set foot in a place where the Righteous Sect had never been allowed in the history of the Demon Cult.

Somehow, I felt like my current position had become ambiguous. Right now, as neither a member of the Righteous Sect nor a perfect member of the Demon Cult, where do I belong?

I clicked my tongue lowly and shook my head.

Let’s not worry about it. They were people who would leave in two days. I just had to quietly wait for them to leave as Hyuk Dojin said, without getting involved in any strange incidents by accidentally running into them.

However, even when the evening came and the next morning arrived, the pavilion was still noisy. Wondering what was going on, I asked Joo Hwarin. Joo Hwarin sighed deeply and told me the story she had heard.

“Yesterday, the Vice Cult Leader personally greeted the representative of the Murim Alliance. We thought they had made appropriate arrangements since the Murim Alliance Leader didn’t come, but they didn’t think that way.”

“What do you mean?”

Joo Hwarin frowned with a complicated expression, moved her lips a few times, and spoke softly.

“…It seems they think they can’t be greeted by anyone other than the Cult Leader’s family. In fact, I heard that the current representative is Namgoong Danghwi, the older brother and senior of Alliance Leader Namgoong Baek. He is also the current clan leader of the Namgoong clan. He expressed displeasure, saying that at least someone from the Hyuk family should have come out to greet them, not the Vice Cult Leader.”

“…”

At Joo Hwarin’s words, I was so dumbfounded that I couldn’t even react for a moment. Since I was also sick, I didn’t know exactly who the clan leader of other clans was and what kind of person they were.

However, I had actually seen Namgoong Danghwi before. The Namgoong clan didn’t have a particularly good relationship with the Moyong clan, so Namgoong Danghwi, who wasn’t the clan leader at the time, had personally visited the clan to negotiate.

I remembered him looking at me like a very strange animal. For someone from the Namgoong clan, which had grown based on martial arts, he was a very sensitive and sharp person.

But what were they thinking, sending such a person as a representative? Moreover, the Vice Cult Leader, Man Do, had personally come out to greet him, but he was dissatisfied with that.

Currently, within the Demon Cult, the only people who could make him bow his head were the two individuals from the Hyuk family.

To make such an unreasonable demand in front of Man Do. Do they not know the ways of the Demon Cult, or are they being forceful? Somehow, I had a feeling that this wouldn’t end well.

Knock knock.

I raised my head at the sound of knocking on the door. As I looked towards the door, Joo Hwarin moved first to check who was outside, and she flinched. Wondering what was going on, I got up from my seat, and as the door opened, a man appeared.

An old man with long white hair. It was Shin Hohyeol, the head of the Cliff Rivers Shin clan, whom I had met at the banquet before.

As soon as he saw me, he quickly approached. Just as I was about to step back, startled by his overwhelming presence, Eun Do appeared, tearing through space, and blocked my front.

Shin Hohyeol frowned at Eun Do’s sudden appearance, but Eun Do calmly faced him and opened his mouth.

“This is the room of the Young Cult Leader and the Young Madam, and the person in front of you, Elder Shin, is the Young Madam. Show courtesy and keep your distance. If you rudely step forward any further, I will subdue you.”

A murderous aura swirled between the two.