Seo-jun and Chun-bong hastily packed their belongings and left the inn.

This was their last day in Huayum Town, a place where they had stayed for quite a while.

“I really hate camping outdoors...” Chun-bong grumbled.

It felt like just yesterday she was lying in back alleys, but now she had grown accustomed to clean living, and wasn't too happy about returning to rougher conditions.

“Camping’s not so bad,” Seo-jun said. “Roll yourself up tight, and it’s warm and cozy.”

“Yeah, except for all the bugs.”

“That’s true.”

Seo-jun suddenly had a bright idea as they walked.

“Why don’t we invent a martial art for getting rid of bugs?”

Using sound frequencies or smells that bugs hated—it sounded feasible, but he wasn’t quite sure how to figure that out.

“Hey, Geum, do you know of any scents that bugs hate?”

“Hmm... I think I’ve heard of mugwort? Something like that.”

“Oh?”

Seo-jun made a mental note to experiment with it later.

As they were gradually leaving Huayum Town, a familiar voice interrupted them.

“Well, what a coincidence.”

It was Namgung Sua.

Seo-jun, who had anticipated this, debated whether or not to draw his sword but ultimately decided against it. After all, Namgung Sua wasn’t a bad person.

“What do you want?” he asked.

“I was about to leave Huayum Town as well, but running into you like this? It must be fate, don’t you think?”

“Probably not.”

More like stalking, really.

Completely unfazed, Namgung Sua walked up next to Seo-jun, peeking over his shoulder to look at the map he was holding.

“If you’re going that way, it’s faster to cross through that mountain over there.”

“Really?”

“Yes. You’re headed toward the Wudang Sect, right?”

“That’s the plan.”

“Great timing. I’ve heard the Wudang Sect and the Tang Clan have been getting along recently, and their cuisine has become quite popular.”

Seo-jun scrunched up his face.

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“What do you mean?”

“You’re saying the Tang Clan and Wudang Sect are working together? Their philosophies are completely opposite; I don’t see how that would work.”

“Philosophies? Sure, the Tang Clan gets a bad rap sometimes, but they’re still a legitimate sect. I don’t think their philosophies would clash that much.”

“Oh, right.”

Seo-jun turned to Chun-bong, who understood his joke immediately, raising her eyebrows in frustration.

“You damn idiot!” she yelled, smacking Seo-jun while he laughed. Namgung Sua tilted her head in confusion but smiled gently as she leaned in closer to Seo-jun.

Squish.

“Eek!”

Startled, Seo-jun instinctively threw a punch.

Thwack!

Namgung Sua clutched her stomach where Seo-jun had struck, her face flushing red as she breathed heavily, her gaze intense.

Tears welled up at the corners of her narrowed eyes, and Seo-jun, genuinely horrified, retreated.

“Th-this is harassment!”

“I... I’m sorry... I didn’t mean to...”

Her tongue peeked out as she licked her lips.

Is it really safe to travel with this woman?

Seo-jun hid behind Chun-bong, trembling in fear.

In the end, Seo-jun decided to let Namgung Sua travel with them.

An irrational, nearly paranoid fear that Elder Jong-in might suddenly show up haunted him. Of course, it was unlikely the old man would actually follow them, but if by some miracle he did, having Namgung Sua around would discourage any strange behavior from the elder.

After all, Namgung Sua was part of the Namgung Clan. If anything inappropriate happened, it could lead to a full-blown conflict between the Namgung Clan and the Huashan Sect.

And nobody wanted a war over something like that.

“So, this is the right way?” Seo-jun asked.

“Yes, it is,” Namgung Sua replied.

Following her suggestion, the group made their way over the mountain toward Hubei Province.

They were all powerful martial artists, with three of them at the pinnacle level. Chun-bong’s condition had improved significantly, so crossing a few mountains wasn’t a problem for them.

However, one thing was bothering Seo-jun.

“Yin-Yang Tigers, huh? I heard there’ve been more monsters around lately.”

The group occasionally encountered monsters along the way. In this case, it was a pair of tigers—one radiating a fiery red aura, the other a chilling blue one.

“These two shouldn’t be much of a challenge for us,” Namgung Sua explained. “However, Yin Tigers are resistant to Yin energy, and Yang Tigers to Yang energy. Some people find that difficult to deal with.”

Of course, they could just overwhelm them with brute force, but Seo-jun wasn’t concerned.

Grrr...

The Yin-Yang Tigers growled as they eyed the group warily. Seo-jun, however, smirked.

“I’ve always wanted to try something.”

He’d been meaning to test this technique back when they were still in Huashan territory, but the opportunity hadn’t arisen.

Seo-jun gathered Yin energy in his left hand and Yang energy in his right, then slowly brought his palms together.

Goooooong—

Yin and Yang energy tried to harmonize but began to destabilize. If it continued like this, it would explode.

Of course, if Seo-jun held on to it too long, he’d be the one exploding. So he had to release it before that happened.

Taking a deep breath, Seo-jun twisted his body, hands at his waist.

“Ka—!”

Namgung Sua shouted in alarm.

“Be careful! That’s dangerous!”

But Seo-jun paid her no mind.

“Me—!”

Chun-bong, watching from the side, simply shook her head.

“Just leave him. He always does stuff like this.”

“Ha—!”

The Yin-Yang Tigers weren’t about to just sit and watch. Sensing danger, they lunged at Seo-jun, their massive paws aiming for him.

“Me—!”

Just before the tigers could strike, Seo-jun released his attack.

“Hwaaaaa!!”

Ka-Me-Hwa-Hwa (Beautiful Coal Calamity Plum Blossom)

A devastating blast erupted from Seo-jun’s hands, unleashing a beautiful, dark plume of energy resembling plum blossoms.

Most of the Yin-Yang Tigers were obliterated by the blast.

“That’s...”

Seo-jun noticed something strange as he examined the remains of the tigers. He kicked one of the corpses and uncovered two glowing orbs.

“Hmm?”

There was a core inside the Yin Tiger, and another inside the Yang Tiger.

He picked them up and turned to Chun-bong, who stroked her chin in thought.

“Hmm... I think I heard something about monsters forming cores like that when they’re ready to evolve. In the case of Yin-Yang Tigers, they merge into a single, stronger creature. It’s called something like... Thunderbolt Tiger of the Mixed Heaven, I think? Supposedly, it’s as strong as a pinnacle-level martial artist.”

“Wow, that’s a terrible name.”

“I don’t make the names. But yeah, it’s supposed to be really strong.”

Seo-jun scratched his head as he held up the two cores—one ice-cold and the other burning hot.

“These are like medicinal pills, right?”

“Medicinal pills? No, those are just masses of demonic energy. If you eat them, you’ll go mad. Don’t even think about it.”

At that moment, Namgung Sua, still trembling from the earlier display, finally caught her breath and spoke.

“W-wait... What was that technique? I’ve never seen anything like it before...”

“Oh, that was just ‘Beautiful Coal Calamity Plum Blossom,’” Seo-jun replied with a grin. “Chun-bong can explain it.”

Chun-bong sighed heavily.

Meanwhile, Seo-jun swallowed both cores in one gulp.

“What the hell!? Are you insane?!”

Chun-bong was furious.

Seo-jun had his reasons for swallowing the cores.

He could feel the strange energy coursing through his body. Chun-bong had called it demonic energy, but to Seo-jun, it felt familiar.

‘It’s not that different from regular energy.’

While demonic energy was new to him, it was still just another form of energy. Martial artists refined energy through their cultivation techniques, and monsters did something similar with demonic energy.

So it wasn’t difficult for Seo-jun to absorb it.

Less than a minute later, Seo-jun opened his eyes and grinned.

“Chun-bong! I’m totally fine!”

“You idiot!”

Chun-bong drop-kicked him, sending him flying.

It hurt.

Rubbing his aching back, Seo-jun checked on the cores now lodged within him.

‘I think this could work.’

His idea had been half-baked, but now that the cores were inside him, Seo-jun was sure of it.

Using energy to replenish essence and spirit, he would stabilize his internal balance.

Essence, energy, and spirit.

With these cores, Seo-jun felt he was one step away from breaking through to the next level.

“Everyone, stop fighting and come eat.”

While Seo-jun was still reeling from Chun-bong’s kicks, Namgung Sua had somehow prepared a meal.

“Huh?”

Food? How did she manage that?

Looking around, Seo-jun noticed a small campfire, a few knives, and cooking supplies. It seemed that Namgung Sua was quite the cook!

“Oh, sorry, I got distracted... Was it tough doing everything on your own?”

“Not at all,” Namgung Sua said with a smile. “I’m a pinnacle-level martial artist. This is nothing for me. And besides...”

She pointed to a pile of ruined ingredients that had been left discarded.

“Sometimes it’s better if people don’t help.”

Chun-bong stiffened, feeling guilty.

“It’s okay, Chun-bong. So what if you’re bad at cooking? You’re still cute, and that’s enough.”

“Shut up!”

To everyone’s surprise, Namgung Sua’s cooking was delicious.

After dinner, they set up camp and added more logs to the campfire.

Flap, flap.

The birds flying overhead were bothering Seo-jun. Something about them felt off.

Seo-jun gathered all the energy he could muster into a small orb in his hand.

His intuition had only sharpened since he began cultivating, and now his senses rarely failed him.

Besides, replenishing his energy wouldn’t take long anyway.

As Seo-jun molded the orb, Chun-bong peeked over his shoulder.

“What are you doing?”

“Making a bomb.”

“Wait... what?”

“I’m going to bury it.”

Seo-jun mixed Yin and Yang energy, placing a neutral layer of energy between them. He wrapped the orb in a tough outer shell of energy to slow its dispersion, then buried it in the ground.

“There, done. It should last about six hours.”

“And after that?”

“It’ll just fade away.”

Chun-bong stared at Seo-jun in disbelief.

“Have you lost your mind?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You’ve been doing some crazy stuff lately! How are you even doing this? Mixing energy like dough?!”

Seo-jun proudly pointed to the spot where he’d buried the bomb.

“Because it works.”

“Argh!”

Chun-bong threw a fit while Namgung Sua giggled from nearby.

“You two seem really close. I wish I could join in on the fun.”

“Go away, will you?” Chun-bong grumbled, now on informal terms with Namgung Sua after bonding over cooking.

“Don’t be like that...”

Suddenly, Seo-jun stood up, eyes fixed on the dark forest beyond the firelight.

Boom!

Without warning, Seo-jun obliterated the mountain with his attack, leaving Namgung Sua speechless.

Meanwhile, Chun-bong was already on her feet, sword drawn.

“What’s going on?” she asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Of course.”

She clicked her tongue but began to gather her energy regardless.

“Ah, how reckless.”

From the now-cleared forest, a figure emerged from the darkness.

“Elder Jong-in?” Namgung Sua frowned.

“Yes, Namgung child. You should leave now. I must quickly deal with these two criminals.”