For three days and nights, the group ran without rest until they finally found a suitable mountain to settle down.

If they were pursued even after this much effort, there was nothing they could do about it.

From what he had heard, the leader of the Huashan Sect had reached the Hwagyeong stage. If he had wanted to catch up, he would have done so long ago. So, it was likely that Jong-in had acted on his own.

Seojun, having nearly succumbed to inner demons, laid Chunbong down, who wasn’t in good condition, and casually sat in front of the campfire.

“Get some rest. I’ll stand guard tonight.”

“Young master, you haven’t slept for three days.”

“You’re the same, aren’t you? Just get some sleep.”

While they were running, there was little else to do but chat.

Seojun felt grateful to Namgung Sua for risking her life alongside him in battle, so they had shared various stories and grown fairly close.

Or so he thought. At least, that was Seojun’s perception.

“By the way, how long are you going to keep speaking so formally? You’re older than me…”

“Shh. Don’t talk about age.”

“Got it.”

Namgung Sua smiled faintly and wrapped herself tightly in her blanket.

“I’ll take over in a little while.”

“There’s no need…”

Who am I? The great master, Lee Seojun.

Staying up for three nights straight was no big deal.

“Just keep that in mind.”

“Alright then.”

Crackle, crackle

The sound of the fire crackling echoed loudly.

Seojun glanced behind him to see that Namgung Sua had closed her eyes.

As for Chunbong? She had fallen asleep ages ago.

“Hmmm…”

Seojun absentmindedly stared at the campfire, his mind still swirling with unanswered questions.

‘As I suspected... that woman must have sent me to the martial world.’

He didn’t know much else, but given her words about him being the seed of the Demon Lord, that seemed likely.

Manmajongju. If he guessed its meaning correctly, it likely referred to a ruler or lord standing above all demons.

Wasn’t that basically the Heavenly Demon?

Was he actually the Heavenly Demon?

Crackle

The campfire sparked, as if telling him to stop spouting nonsense.

Seojun let out a small laugh and poked at the fire with a stick.

One thing was clear.

After reaching the peak, whether through proper means or not, his energy, mind, and spirit had achieved balance. As a result, long-forgotten memories from his past were slowly resurfacing.

Even memories from when he was very young were coming back faintly.

He could vaguely recall the time in his mother’s womb, the cold and warmth he felt when he was born, and the bright smile on his mother’s face when his vision first cleared.

‘Could it be that my mother...’

Was also a victim of that bastard’s schemes?

The woman who laughed gleefully, even with her head smashed in, was definitely no ordinary human.

And all of this happened, not in the martial world, but in the modern world.

If she had indeed sent him to the martial world, could she be some sort of divine being?

But if she was divine, why go to such lengths to find him? Was it all just a game to her?

Another question lingered.

If he was truly the seed of the Demon Lord, why didn’t she take him herself?

If she had been that eager to find him, she could have taken him directly.

Was it because she couldn’t?

Perhaps there were restrictions on crossing into other worlds or dimensions, whatever they were called.

If that wasn’t the case, he would have seen martial artists in the modern world.

Maybe someone at the Hyeongyeong level could take on the entire modern world and still win?

Who knows? He had never met anyone from the Hwagyeong level, let alone Hyeongyeong.

In any case, with his current abilities, tearing apart dimensions to return to the modern world was impossible.

So, that woman was at least Hyeongyeong level, or even higher.

Or maybe she had accomplices.

Well, whoever she was, she probably wasn’t from Hwagyeong. His instincts told him that even though he hadn’t reached that level yet, someone at Hwagyeong couldn’t pull off such feats.

That damned woman.

She had said so little, and now all he had were questions.

Still, the conclusion was simple.

It was all that bastard’s doing, so he’d crush her skull again. If she didn’t die, he’d keep crushing it until she did.

“Damn it…”

Smack! He slapped his trembling leg to calm it down.

At least now that he had reached the peak, his emotions weren’t spiraling out of control like they used to.

He calmed his anger and took a slow, deep breath.

“One Chunbong… two Chunbong…”

Counting the number of Chunbongs inside him quickly brought peace to his mind.

Seojun closed his eyes and accepted the energy of heaven and earth.

Through the Baekhoe point at the top of his head, the energy of the heavens flowed in, while through the Hyeom point at his perineum, the energy of the earth seeped in.

As the energy circulated smoothly through his meridians, Seojun’s body began to float slightly.

Having just reached the peak, he now had to tread an entirely new path on his own.

Only after reaching the peak did he understand. The stars imbued within his energy were not merely enhancements to his martial strength.

The stars were his Mental Image.

Seojun exhaled and slowly spread his internal energy outward.

At the same time, he took a river from his mental image and placed it on top of his energy, as if it were a star.

Rumble!

The internal energy flowed around Seojun like a turbulent river.

Sensing this through his martial perception, Seojun smiled faintly.

This time, he withdrew the river and formed a plum blossom tree, which he sent flowing atop his energy like a star.

Whooosh!

The energy scattered and swirled around him like falling plum blossoms.

The tests were complete.

Seojun half-opened his eyes and this time, he used the heavens and the earth as stars.

The energy of the heavens, pouring in from his crown, and the energy of the earth, entering through his perineum, found their places, and Seojun sat at the center, forming the human element.

Heaven, Earth, and Man.

Building upon the Samjae technique he had learned at the beginning, his accumulated achievements began to stack up one by one.

Crack!

As the process continued, Seojun’s body began to change.

The incomplete transformation he had undergone during the battle with Jong-in was now being fully realized, reconstructing his body to match the martial prowess he had gained.

Seojun understood now.

This process could be stopped at any time and resumed whenever he wished.

His martial perception, extended outward to monitor his surroundings, detected the slow transformation of his body.

 

When the moon, which had hung low in the east, reached the center of the sky, Seojun’s body, which had been floating, slowly descended to the ground.

He felt an overwhelming surge of strength coursing through his body.

As Seojun stood up, he was suddenly hit by an awful stench that made him pinch his nose.

“Ugh… What is that smell!”

It was coming from his own body.

The impurities that had accumulated within him had been expelled through his pores.

Seojun gathered his internal energy and burned the impurities away, inspecting his body as he did so.

The childish physique he had once possessed was gone, replaced by a lean, muscular body fit for combat.

“Oh…”

His clothes had all been torn during the rough internal energy circulation, leaving him able to thoroughly examine himself.

Satisfied with his new form, Seojun turned to grab a new set of clothes.

“Oh my…”

Namgung Sua, her face flushed, covered her eyes with her hand.

Her eyes, however, were clearly visible through the gaps between her fingers.

“Hehe… don’t mind me, just continue what you were doing.”

“Ahhh!!!”

 

After hurriedly putting on clothes, Seojun distanced himself from Namgung Sua and glared at her.

His growth spurt had caused his clothes to feel tight, but that wasn’t the issue.

His reliable Chunbong shield was still fast asleep, snoring softly, completely unaware of the current crisis.

“You pervert…!”

“Oh my, you’re the one who showed it to me.”

“Oh my god…!”

Seojun slapped his forehead.

Namgung Sua, her face bright red, smiled and placed a hand on her cheek.

“Impressive…”

“I’m seriously going to tell Chunbong about this. I’m telling her everything!”

“Of course.”

Namgung Sua chuckled as she stood up, only to flinch and clutch her chest.

“Ugh…”

“Are you hurt?”

“A little. Still, considering I fought a master at the peak, I’d say I’m in pretty good shape.”

Seojun cautiously approached her.

During the fight with Jong-in, if it hadn’t been for her, Chunbong might not have made it.

Feeling some sense of responsibility, he couldn’t help but worry about her discomfort.

“Well, if it’s an internal energy issue, I can help with that.”

Namgung Sua blinked at him, then quietly lay back down.

“Hmmm… it hurts.”

“So where does it hurt exactly?”

“My chest.”

Mountains. No, wait. Seojun glanced at her chest and scratched his head.

“Is it muscle pain?”

“Something like that.”

“Aha.”

It made sense. Carrying something that size around could definitely cause pain. Seojun nodded in understanding, while Namgung Sua gave him a sly smile and a mischievous look.

“If you give me a massage, I think it’ll heal right away.”

“Wow… Have you lost your mind?”

“Such a shame.”

Ignoring her flirtatious advance, Seojun gestured with his hand.

“Are you fully awake now?”

“Yes.”

“Well then, how about a little chat?”

“Anytime.”

Namgung Sua got up and sat beside Seojun.

He poked the fire as he glanced over at Chunbong, still fast asleep.

“What do you think of Chunbong?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well… Since you’re a woman too, I thought you might notice something I don’t. She’s had a rough life, and I’m worried she might have emotional scars I’m too dense to notice.”

“As far as I can tell, she’s doing quite well. In fact, I’d say she depends on you a great deal, young master.”

“I see…”

Namgung Sua smiled softly, covering her mouth with her sleeve.

“By the way, I’m sorry. I ended up learning that Chunbong is the last survivor of the Shin Sword Golden Clan.”

“There’s no need to apologize. It’s all that bastard Jong-in’s fault.”

“True. I knew he was sly, but I never imagined he was such a wretch.”

Namgung Sua, who had been keeping her eyes half-closed, now opened them slightly wider.

Her clear blue eyes reflected Seojun’s image.

“Young master, are you familiar with the grand techniques of the Black Lotus Sect?”

“No.”

Honestly, he was more curious about why someone with such big eyes always kept them half-closed.

“The Black Lotus Sect has several grand techniques, but the one Elder Jong-in sought must have been one that extends one’s lifespan.”

“That’s what it seemed like.”

“Yes. Such techniques always require human sacrifices. It’s a form of dark sorcery where one extends their own life by taking the lives of others.”

“So that would definitely be difficult to practice within the Huashan Sect.”

“Difficult? That would make them public enemies of the martial world.”

True enough.

Seojun nodded in agreement.

After a brief silence, Seojun, who wasn’t the best at conversation, awkwardly prodded the fire, glancing around for something to talk about. Namgung Sua suddenly leaned forward.

“Ahh! You scared me…”

“Young master.”

“Yes?”

“What do you think about visiting the Namgung family after we stop by Hubei?”