When Namgung Jin opened his eyes, the sun was beginning to set. Considering that it had been morning when he first arrived, he could tell just how much time had passed.

This lunatic had devoured all the time, sitting there blankly all day, which meant I had to waste my time as well.

Ah, I really should have just left him there.

'Of all times, she had to show up now.'

Namgung Bi-ah was squatting beside Namgung Jin, watching him. Just as I was about to leave him behind, she appeared.

And now I couldn't leave.

To be precise, this wouldn’t have happened if I hadn't declared that I was standing guard. It’s always my mouth that gets me into trouble.

As the sunset deepened, Namgung Jin finally came back to his senses.

A faint but distinct energy could be felt in his eyes.

'It’s grown stronger.'

A martial artist at the Flowering Level doesn’t break through to a higher level with a single moment of enlightenment. Namgung Jin probably felt a sense of calm.

How significant that calm was to him, I couldn’t say. But as I watched his blank expression, Namgung Jin eventually closed his eyes and bowed his head to me.

"...Thank you…"

His voice was filled with sincerity.

He didn’t even seem to care that Namgung Bi-ah was sitting right there. Or maybe he was so absorbed in his enlightenment that he wasn’t aware of his surroundings.

"...Well, congratulations."

There wasn’t much more I could say.

Honestly, I had just stumbled upon this by chance.

All I did was repeat what I’d heard from the Demon Sword Empress in my past life.

In the end, he got what he wanted, and I got the justification I needed to leave.

‘Is it really resolved, though?’

I knew that things weren’t completely fixed.

The swordsmanship of the Namgung family, said to have been lost or diluted over the generations, wouldn’t be restored by just a few words from me or Shin Noya.

There’s no way they could rediscover the truths of a sword art lost over centuries so easily.

'...Though, maybe.'

I glanced at Namgung Bi-ah.

It wasn’t entirely impossible. Somehow, through some event I didn’t know about, the sword wielded by the Demon Sword Empress I had seen in my past life seemed to have reached that truth.

Looking at her, I spoke to Namgung Jin.

"...Just don’t forget our agreement."

Hearing my words, Namgung Jin seemed to finally realize that Namgung Bi-ah was there. His eyes widened in slight surprise, but he soon nodded.

The agreement.

At the very least, he promised to pass on what he had learned to Namgung Bi-ah. It was one of the conditions I had set for him.

"I understand."

Only after hearing Namgung Jin’s response did I turn to leave.

In any case, it seemed everything had worked out well.

But then—

A sharp pain shot through my core.

'Tch.'

Feeling the constant, intermittent pain from my empty dantian, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

It seemed it would take longer than I thought to recover my depleted energy.

'Or rather.'

It would be more accurate to say I had lost that energy.

This was the result of using too much energy to turn Namgung Cheonjun into a demon. I turned to Namgung Jin and asked,

"You’re planning to continue swinging your sword, aren’t you?"

"...Most likely."

Namgung Jin nodded at my question.

Of course he would.

Having just gained some insight, he would want to swing his sword immediately to test the difference.

"Then I’ll be leaving now."

With that, I left.

As expected, the sky was already painted with the hues of sunset. We had truly spent an extraordinary amount of time here.

'Oh, right.'

It suddenly occurred to me that I had told Namgung Cheonjun something before being dragged out by Namgung Jin.

'Does it even matter?'

It wasn’t anything important, so it probably didn’t.

I kept walking.

Namgung Bi-ah, who had come out of the training hall, seemed to be following me, though her gaze remained fixed behind her.

I glanced back and asked,

"What’s wrong?"

It seemed like she was concerned about her father’s enlightenment.

'Now that I think about it, she hasn’t asked me anything.'

She could easily deduce that I had helped Namgung Jin reach his enlightenment, yet Namgung Bi-ah hadn’t questioned how it had happened.

It was as if she didn’t care about the details.

At my question, Namgung Bi-ah shook her head.

"No… It’s nothing…"

With that, she resumed walking behind me, but her eyes continued to glance in the direction of Namgung Jin.

Eventually, I returned to my quarters.

I sent Namgung Bi-ah back on her way and returned to my room. Normally, I would have gone straight into training, but I was still too drained to do that.

'How long will this take?'

It wouldn’t take too long to fully recover my energy, but—

Even a few days was a significant amount of time for a martial artist. It meant that if anything happened during that time, I wouldn’t be able to fight properly.

Given that I was at the Namgung family’s residence, I doubted anything major would happen, but—

[...Grr…]

The grumbling beast inside me was the real problem.

It was complaining of hunger, making noises from within.

'As if things aren’t complicated enough already, stop whining.'

But there was nothing I could do about it for now.

I couldn’t go out and hunt for demonic beasts right now.

Not when the Namgung family, a prestigious martial clan, was guarding this place. Even if the family was in decline, their martial artists were still formidable, and the area was well protected.

No trace of demonic beasts could be found nearby, so I would have to travel far to hunt them.

'Just hold out for a few days. I’ll feed you as soon as we can get out.'

[Grr…]

Ignoring the pitiful growl of the beast, I entered my room.

As soon as I stepped inside, Hongwa approached and asked if I wanted to eat, but I told her I’d eat later.

"You didn’t enter the room, did you?"

"No, I followed your instructions and stayed out."

"Good."

After confirming this, I sent Hongwa away and entered the room.

Whirr.

As I took a step inside, I set up a qi barrier around the room.

Drawing on what little energy I had left caused my core to scream in pain again, but there was no helping it.

“Kkgh… Urgh.”

The moment I entered the room, I was greeted by a strange figure groaning in pain.

Head pressed against the floor, drenched in sweat, it looked as though he had been enduring punishment.

That figure was none other than Namgung Cheonjun.

Seeing this, I couldn’t help but let out an awkward laugh.

"Sorry, I forgot."

"...Ugh... You... damn…"

Smack.

I clapped my hands lightly, and Namgung Cheonjun finally released his stance and collapsed to the floor.

He was completely exhausted, lying on the ground and groaning in pain as I approached him.

"How could I have known your father would suddenly show up and drag me away?"

"Huff… Huff…"

That morning, Namgung Jin had appeared out of nowhere, and Namgung Cheonjun had been thrown out of the room. Just before leaving, I had given him one last order:

'Go to my room and keep your head down.'

So Namgung Cheonjun had obediently spent the whole time doing just that.

'This is kind of annoying.'

Even though I had given him the order, the thought of someone sitting in my room, sweating and pressing their head to the floor, made me feel a little irritated.

Whack!

I kicked Namgung Cheonjun in the shin.

“Argh!”

"Sorry, I was feeling a bit annoyed."

"...You... bastard…"

"Still got that attitude, huh? Want to press your head back to the floor?"

"...."

At my words, Namgung Cheonjun shut his mouth.

Seeing that, I smirked.

"Rest is over. Get up."

"...It hasn’t even been half a watch yet. Ugh!"

Despite his complaints, Namgung Cheonjun’s worn-out body obeyed and began to rise.

Seeing this, I grinned and said,

"Let’s conduct a little experiment."

"..."

Hearing my slightly excited tone, Namgung Cheonjun’s face darkened with dread.

Though I called it an experiment, I didn’t do much.

I merely wanted to confirm a few things:

Whether Namgung Cheonjun had truly become a demon. What kind of side effects might arise from that. And how much control I had over him.

It was a light experiment, really.

'His physical abilities have improved.'

Namgung Cheonjun’s body had grown stronger than before.

Maybe it was because his body had been saturated with blood energy, but for now, it seemed the benefits came from the demonic energy.

'And I’ll need to monitor the side effects.'

The side effect of demonic energy was madness.

Though it granted power beyond one’s original limits, it gradually consumed the mind.

Of course, once someone surpassed a certain level, they could escape its influence.

But at the very least, they would need to reach the Flowering Level.

And blood energy?

What were its side effects?

Every power comes with a price.

For qi and levels of cultivation, the price is time and effort. For demonic energy, it’s the mind.

So what is the price of blood energy?

'The exhaustion and pain that follow its use.'

Given the way it leaves cracks in the core and body, it seems that the price is—

'The depletion of innate energy.'

At least, that’s how it looked to me.

If it’s not a mental toll, it must be something more fundamental.

Innate energy, the very foundation of life. This energy can’t be increased through effort or practice.

'It’s not permanently depleted, though…'

Like any other form of energy, it can be restored with time, but because it’s the very essence of a person’s vitality, it can’t be used recklessly.

Moreover, a low-level martial artist wouldn’t even have the capacity to use it.

'If blood energy draws upon this as its price…'

Then using blood energy would indeed mean staking your life on the line. That’s why it offers such overwhelming power.

"This crazy bastard actually infused his body with that power."

I prodded Namgung Cheonjun’s unconscious body with my toe.

He had passed out after the experiment, but I had learned a lot in the process.

Namgung Cheonjun had become capable of using demonic energy.

'It directly enhances his lightning techniques.'

I could see that his lightning energy had subtly shifted, now infused with the glow of demonic energy.

It had become stronger, more intense. But the color was a dead giveaway. Anyone could tell at a glance that something was off about his energy.

Fortunately, he seemed able to suppress it when he wanted.

This meant—

'He can control it.'

Namgung Cheonjun had looked at his newly empowered lightning energy and marveled at its strength.

Even he could tell how much more powerful his energy had become.

But—

I had ordered him not to use it, so he wouldn’t be able to flaunt it anytime soon.

This foolish kid didn’t seem to understand that, though.

'As for the level of control…'

To see how much control I had over him, I had tested it.

I gave Namgung Cheonjun an order to die, and without hesitation, he tried to end his own life.

Judging by his expression, it wasn’t his will, but—

'He obeys.'

That was all I needed to know.

If I hadn’t stopped him in time, he probably would have died.

The compulsion was strong.

And all of this was possible because of one thing:

The expenditure of my demonic energy.

Every command I gave, every enhancement to Namgung Cheonjun’s power, was drawn from my own energy reserves.

'When I ordered him to die, I could feel my energy draining rapidly. It depends on the severity of the order.'

The moment he began to act on my command, my energy was consumed.

Even when Namgung Cheonjun tried to use the demonic energy himself, it had the same effect.

“This is so messed up.”

These were my thoughts after experimenting with everything.

This is truly messed up.

I didn’t want to know any of this.

I hadn’t expected to discover it either.

Clicking my tongue, I stared down at the unconscious Namgung Cheonjun.

As foolish as he was, Namgung Cheonjun was still a Peak-Level martial artist.

Even his sturdy core had been breached to allow the demonic energy in, and I had used a considerable amount of energy to corrupt him.

Looking at it now, I doubted I could corrupt someone who was stronger than I was.

Would the side effect of madness be the same as in my past life?

That, I still didn’t know.

But what mattered now—

In the end, Namgung Cheonjun had become a demon, or at least was in the process of becoming one.

And I had gained the ability to bring about such transformations.

'…'

That made me wonder.

Was this how it had been for the Heavenly Demon in my past life?

And what did he want from me now, that he was granting me this kind of power?

I wanted to ask someone—anyone.

'To find out…'

There was no point in asking the beast inside me. All it could do was growl.

And I had no idea where the Heavenly Demon was.

So, I had to go to someone who might know.

Luckily, there was someone I could think of.

Someone who might have some understanding of this situation.

I had met him in my past life, and because of that encounter, my life had been ruined.

The being who had called himself the World Tree, a colossal tree.

Even now, that tree was likely still trapped in an illusory realm, waiting for someone.

That tree might know something.

'To get there…'

I needed to find a way to access that illusory realm quickly.

Fortunately, I knew someone who could help with that.

'I don’t know where he is right now, but…'

We would meet soon enough.

If my prediction was correct, he would be entering the Sinryong Hall, which meant I would meet him once I went there.

In other words—

I now had one more reason to join the Sinryong Hall.