He learned a lesson.

Before spouting nonsense, make sure to check your surroundings.

But seriously, isn’t eavesdropping just as bad? Now I’m mad.

Anyway.

Shaolin martial arts are impressive, but blurting out “What are you going to do if I’m the Heavenly Demon?” might have been a bit reckless.

Sure, being an expert at the pinnacle level means you can get away with a lot, but provoking the entire Shaolin sect is a bit much.

Seo-jun scratched his head innocently, pretending to know nothing.

“What do you want me to explain?”

Reverse Baldy Ji-am squinted as he approached Seo-jun.

“Benefactor, I definitely felt demonic energy here.”

“Isn’t it because of this guy?”

Seo-jun pointed at the broken-headed Soul-Stealing Demon.

Ji-am, who had been observing the corpse closely, let out a low hum.

“Amitabha... But it's still suspicious. We didn’t take long to corner this Soul-Stealing Demon here, yet you managed to defeat him in that short amount of time?”

“Exactly. It’s not like he suddenly decided to commit suicide, right?”

“Then why did you just claim to be the Heavenly Demon?”

“Me? When did I say that? Maybe you misheard. I said ‘that guy,’ not ‘Heavenly Demon.’”

“Hmm.”

Ji-am furrowed his brow, tightly pressing his lips together. His gaze was sharp.

At that moment, Hye-un, who had come with him, stepped forward.

“Martial Uncle, there’s no way this person is a demon. Haven’t you heard of the name Guang-ah-lang? Also, the young lady of the Namgung family was present as well.”

“But you also saw it. He clearly used demonic energy.”

“That’s…”

This time, Hye-un fell silent.

Ji-am’s eyes widened as he approached Seo-jun.

“I apologize for the intrusion, but may I ask you to extend your wrist?”

“My wrist?”

Is he planning to check my internal energy?

It’s considered extremely rude among martial artists, but for Seo-jun, it’s actually welcome. There’s no way they’ll find demonic energy.

Just as Seo-jun was about to extend his wrist, Namgung Sua stepped in, her eyes slightly trembling with anger.

“Monk, what kind of rudeness is this? Asking a martial artist for their wrist based on mere suspicion?”

“To be certain, that’s the best method.”

“Are you doubting the Namgung family now?”

“No, but if you’re confident, why refuse to show your wrist?”

“And how can you guarantee that no harm will come to this young man?”

“Are you saying you don’t trust Shaolin?”

A chilly exchange of looks passed between Ji-am and Namgung Sua.

Seo-jun, scratching his head, quietly listened.

Their words were polite enough, but the meaning was basically, “Are you accusing me?”—a childish argument at best.

Seo-jun quietly stepped back and poked Chunbong in the side.

“Ah!?”

“Oh wow, you’re really responsive today, Chunboy.”

“You idiot! Don’t you see how serious this is right now?”

“Why does it matter? I don’t mind the examination.”

Shaolin? Even if Ji-am’s grandmaster showed up, they wouldn’t be able to detect the demonic energy I’ve fused into my True Qi.

It’s a natural fact—it’s no longer demonic energy.

But it would be awkward to just offer my wrist for examination right now. After all, Namgung Sua had stepped in to defend me, and doing so would be a bit rude…

“If you keep resisting like this, Shaolin will have no choice but to doubt your intentions.”

“Namgung won’t stand idly by.”

“This is Henan, not Namgung territory, but Shaolin’s. Besides, Shaolin doesn’t intend to persecute the benefactor based on suspicion alone. There will be no conflict with Namgung.”

“If this isn’t persecution, then what is?”

Wait, should I step in now?

Seo-jun gently tapped Namgung Sua on the shoulder.

“Nuna.”

“Young Hero?”

“It’s okay, don’t get too heated. Too much stress leads to hair loss.”

In this argument, Shaolin clearly had the upper hand—bald monks have no more hair to lose.

“But…”

“I said it’s fine, really.”

Seo-jun gently pulled Namgung Sua, and she followed without resistance.

“Oh my…”

As she subtly added her own strength, she leaned into his chest. She was a woman who wasn’t shy about expressing her desires.

“If you say so, Young Hero…”

Namgung Sua cast a cold glance at Ji-am with her blue eyes and quietly stepped back.

Even though she had seen me using demonic energy, she still defended me. I’ll have to explain everything to her properly later.

Besides, the fact that Ji-am was being this civil was largely due to Namgung Sua’s presence.

No matter how powerful Shaolin is, they can’t ignore the prestige of the Namgung family.

Without her, they wouldn’t have found any demonic energy anyway, but the situation would’ve been rougher. If I had accidentally broken Ji-am’s head, that would’ve been a real disaster.

I owed Namgung Sua quite a lot.

“You’ve made a wise decision, benefactor.”

As Seo-jun stepped forward, Ji-am, who had been arguing fiercely just moments before, folded his hands together with a peaceful expression.

He really was an impressive person. This is what a martial arts master should be like.

Older martial artists are usually stubborn, but since he’s a monk, he wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

At least to this degree…

Suddenly, Seo-jun felt fear about his own future. A stubborn Heavenly Demon? That would be a disaster.

“But there’s one condition.”

“And what might that be? If it’s reasonable, I shall oblige.”

“If no demonic energy shows up, can I touch your head?”

“My… head?”

Ji-am frowned but then nodded.

It seemed he was confident.

“Very well. I agree.”

“Promise?”

With a wide smile, Seo-jun extended his wrist.

“Go ahead, do whatever.”

•  

Of course, no demonic energy was detected.

“How is this possible…?”

Ji-am’s internal energy thoroughly searched through Seo-jun’s body, bewildered.

Seo-jun subtly guided his Qi to ensure that Ji-am wouldn’t sense the Neidan within him.

After all, no normal martial artist would have something like that inside them.

By discreetly analyzing Ji-am’s internal energy through the Absorbing Star Technique, Seo-jun quickly grasped the nature of Buddhist martial arts.

‘How odd.’

It wasn’t that Shaolin’s techniques were bad. Ji-am’s internal energy was heavy and stable, clearly formidable.

But Seo-jun found Buddhist Qi didn’t quite suit his taste.

‘It’s not cute.’

Maybe it’s because I’ve gotten used to cute and obedient demonic energy, but this stoic, manly energy just doesn’t appeal to me.

Not that I couldn’t use it, but I didn’t feel the need to put in the effort to analyze Ji-am’s techniques.

“…I sense no demonic energy at all. It seems I’ve made a mistake.”

“Right?”

Seo-jun smiled and pulled his wrist out of Ji-am’s grip.

Ji-am let out a frustrated hum, but that wasn’t Seo-jun’s problem.

“So, we’re done now, right?”

“Yes. By the way, your accomplishments are truly remarkable. To have reached such heights at such a young age… If word gets out, the entire martial world will be shocked.”

“You’re going to spread rumors?”

“Of course not. Shaolin would never disclose anything about you.”

“Aha.”

Seo-jun grinned.

“So, then… you remember the deal, right?”

Ji-am fell silent.

With a sly smile, Seo-jun spread his hand wide.

“Alright, let’s touch that head.”

“Ugh…”

The veins on Ji-am’s smooth scalp throbbed.

To have his head touched by a much younger martial artist? For an elder of the martial world, it was a serious blow to his pride.

Slap!

Seo-jun patted Ji-am’s head.

“Hoo.”

Slap slap!

“Hmm.”

Slap!

“Oh-ho…”

After a few strong pats, a red handprint appeared on Ji-am’s scalp.

“Oh right, Nuna, do you want to try? It’s kind of slimy, but not too bad.”

“Hehe, I’m good. Instead, how about I touch your head, Young Hero?”

“Uh… maybe later.”

She really emphasized the word “bald.” Clearly, she wasn’t too fond of Ji-am.

“How about you, Chunbong?”

“I’m fine. I touched it last time and I’m satisfied.”

“Hmm.”

Slap slap slap!

After delivering a few final slaps to Ji-am’s head, Seo-jun withdrew his hand.

The throbbing veins on Ji-am’s scalp, along with the red handprints, made his head look like a takoyaki.

“Pfft…”

Laughter came from Chunbong behind him.

Seo-jun awkwardly smiled and clasped his hands together in prayer.

“I’m done, Monk.”

“…I see. Then I’ll take my leave.”

Ji-am swiftly disappeared, moving through the air with a mystical technique.

“Benefactor.”

“Oh, Monk Hye-un.”

“Though my Martial Uncle may be stubborn, he is undoubtedly a good person. I just didn’t want there to be any misunderstandings…”

“It’s fine. Everything’s cleared up.”

Actually, it wasn’t entirely a misunderstanding.

Seo-jun raised his hand and slapped the air with a snap.

Hye-un smiled softly and brought his palms together in prayer.

“I suppose this isn’t the last time we’ll meet, benefactor. Our paths seem intertwined.”

“Yup. See you later.”

Hye-un left as well.

Watching his departing figure, Seo-jun grinned and looked up at the sky.

The dark night sky, barely visible through the thick trees.

It was already night.

“Shall we camp out here and head to the inn tomorrow?”

“Wh-what…!”

Chunbong, having picked up Seo-jun’s habit of speech, screamed.

“I hate bugs!”

“I’ll make sure to keep them away.”

“Ugh…”

And so it was decided.

•  

Seo-jun waved his hand over a flat piece of land.

Crash!

Trees were shattered.

At the cost of some serious environmental destruction, the group secured a comfortable campsite.

Now familiar with building campfires, Seo-jun watched as Namgung Sua cooked and spoke up.

“Now that I think about it, Nuna, I don’t think I’ve told you yet.”

“What?”

“I’m actually a prodigy.”

It wasn’t a long story.

He calmly shared tales of this world, meeting Chunbong, and his talents. Chunbong, beside him, gaped.

“No way… you’re telling her everything?”

“She already knows you’re from Shin Sword Gold Family, and that’s way more important.”

“It’s not! Nothing serious will happen if that’s revealed. I was just hiding it in case…”

“Wait, what?”

Seo-jun was surprised. So Chunbong being from the Golden Sword family wasn’t that big of a deal? He had laid everything out, but this was unexpected.

As Seo-jun blankly stared at Chunbong, Namgung Sua softly approached and leaned her chest on top of his head from behind.

“Yap, Taesan’s Pressure.”

“What…”

Taesan’s Pressure (太山壓頂). The weight of Mount Tai pressing down on the crown. Just like it sounds.

‘What is this…?’

While Seo-jun was lost in deep contemplation about the truths of the universe, Namgung Sua wrapped her arms around his head.

“You must have had a hard time. Thank you for sharing with me.”

Her warmth, touch, and scent left him dazed.

Chunbong, watching them, absentmindedly groped her own chest.

Pat-pat.

In the empty night sky, the hollow sound echoed sadly.