A roaring sound echoed—Kuwooo—!

After the sweeping heat passed, the cold spring breeze quickly settled the intense heat. More accurately, the heat had been withdrawn back into the dantian before it could fully spread.

Crack... crack...

The sound of burning embers could be heard.

Traces of flames still flickered gently on the ground, remnants of the earlier chaos.

As I calmed the rampant internal Qi, I checked the condition of my body.

'Do I still have more than half of my Qi left?'

Unlike before, when using secret techniques would have left me wrecked, this time, even after using Cheokcheon and recklessly unleashing multiple Yeomok, I still had more than half of my Qi remaining.

This was because, after reaching the Hwakyung stage, the upper dantian opened, and my capacity expanded, making it much easier to apply techniques efficiently.

I surveyed my surroundings.

The sky was still covered by a black veil. Even the parts I had pierced through earlier using Cheokcheon had quickly been filled back in, leaving no gaps.

‘What is this power, exactly?’

I focused my senses, but I couldn’t identify it right away. Strange.

It was too subtle to be a formation, yet too foreign to be a martial technique. Could it be the power of a Guimul?

It was possible.

I shifted my gaze.

Crack.

The Sinryong Hall building, which had been cracked and on the verge of collapse, now had half of its structure blown away, making it hard to even call it a building anymore. The large explosion caused by Yeomok had completely destroyed it.

'...'

A cold sweat ran down my back, wondering if I had overdone it. Hopefully, they won’t demand compensation later.

Crunch.

I stepped forward, crushing a charred branch beneath my foot. The aftermath of the explosion was evident everywhere.

Dust covered the ground.

I waved my hand, generating a gust of wind.

Whoooosh—!

As the dust was blown away by the wind, a massive crater filled with the remains of flames came into view.

I walked towards it.

At the center of the crater, something black and twisted writhed. It was the Hwakyung martial artist I had been fighting moments before.

‘Not dead yet.’

Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t died. After all, I hadn’t intended to kill him.

If there was any mistake, it was that I had just recently ascended a stage and couldn’t control my power properly.

It would have been troublesome if he had died.

I hadn’t learned anything from him yet.

“Keuh... keuh...”

The old man continued to cough up blood. Fortunately, he must have dodged the critical blow since it seemed he had avoided fatal injuries. However, despite his protective Ganggi, it was clear that he wasn’t in a normal state after being caught in the explosion.

“You... you bastard...”

The old man, with half of his face melted, glared at me with murderous intent.

It wasn’t that the old man was weak.

In fact, he was quite strong. One could tell just by the fact that he had turned Cheonghaeilgeom into such a state, and from the moment we faced each other, I could tell he was no ordinary opponent.

Even at the same stage, there were vast differences between individuals. And when you reach the Hwakyung stage, those differences become even more pronounced.

Considering the gap between the old man and me, it was significant.

And yet...

And yet the reason I was able to reduce him to such a state was ultimately because...

‘Even Hwakyung martial artists can be affected by Magi.'

The Magi I had sealed in my dantian had seeped into the old man.

‘...I’m not exactly unscathed either.’

When I fought against the Hwangbo assassin last time, it hadn’t been difficult to infiltrate the opponent’s dantian since he had only recently reached the Hwakyung stage.

But this time, it was different.

‘It was close.’

While battling, I had to ensure the Magi wasn’t detected. The old man’s strong martial stage made it harder for the Magi to invade.

If I hadn’t broken through my wall, the Magi wouldn’t have penetrated so easily.

This means...

‘The Magi has strengthened with my advancement.’

Upon breaking through, the Magi within me also grew stronger.

Is this something I should be happy about?

‘No, it’s definitely not something to celebrate.’

Thanks to it, I won the fight, but the main reason was the Magi’s assistance, not my own prowess.

There’s no denying the unsettling feeling it leaves behind. Moreover, the residual effects of using the Magi still linger in my body.

‘Although there’s no internal injury, there’s a faintly cloudy feeling remaining.’

It hasn’t yet blended with my Qi, but if I’m not careful, it might invade. Especially after ascending to the Hwakyung stage, the Magi’s corrupting nature feels particularly stronger.

What happened to the purification speed of the Guyeomhwaryeonggong?

I’ll need to investigate this more thoroughly later.

For now, I approached the old man.

“What are you?”

“Keuh...”

I grabbed his hair and lifted his face.

There was no respect for the defeated.

Especially when it came to those from the Sapa. To be honest, I didn’t differentiate much between the Jeongpa and the Sapa, but a dog is still a dog.

“What are you doing here?”

“You... bastard...”

The long scar on the old man’s neck caught my eye.

A sword wound? It looked severe, judging by how deep it was.

Why had a martial artist of this caliber attacked Sinryong Hall?

“You’re not going to talk?”

The old man’s body trembled violently in response to my question. Was it from anger or fear?

It didn’t seem like fear—most likely the former.

Not good.

This means I’ll have to resort to torture.

‘I need to assess the situation. He couldn’t have been the only one attacking.’

I didn’t have the luxury of time.

In truth, I didn’t care much about what happened to the other attackers, but...

‘...not the kids.’

I couldn’t be indifferent to the ones I was connected to.

The reason I had fought so desperately and pushed my martial level higher in the Magyeong was for them.

For myself, and for them.

Now, with the situation getting more complicated, I had to figure out what state the others were in.

As I thought about this, I couldn’t help but frown.

‘It’s not good to have so much to protect.’

Contrary to my original plan, the number of people I needed to protect had increased.

While I appreciated this different life compared to my previous one, thinking about the future made me feel somewhat stifled.

Time was running out.

‘Should I resort to torture?’

It was difficult to decide quickly. Torture takes time, and my newly gained strength made it hard to apply fine control.

Especially on someone already beaten to this state.

As I pondered what to do—

“...heh... heh.”

The old man suddenly laughed.

“Why are you laughing?”

Was he losing his mind, knowing death was near?

That can’t be allowed. He has to talk before dying.

“You... have such terrifying eyes.”

“What?”

“Those eyes, contemplating how to kill me... I’ve seen many with those eyes. Of course, they were all Sapa.”

“So what.”

Was he trying to insult me by commenting on my fierce gaze?

“Children with such eyes... I’ve buried them all myself. And now... I am the one facing death... heh heh.”

“So, what? Should I spare you because you’re pitiful?”

Is he senile? The old man’s words were ridiculous.

Whoosh.

I ignited a flame in my hand. Unlike before, the color and intensity were clearly different.

Looking at the flame, the old man spoke with a hollow voice.

“Are you truly a member of the Jeongpa?”

“Of course. Where else would you find a more upright Jeongpa practitioner than me?”

I’m cleaning up these Sapa scum—if that doesn’t make me Jeongpa, who is?

I made a decision.

‘Kill him.’

Instead of torturing him, I decided to kill him. The situation wasn’t favorable, and he didn’t seem like someone worth extracting information from.

Besides, I could sense the pressure of multiple strong presences, and one of them was poking at my crown chakra.

I reached out.

“This Heukryonggeom... to die at the hands of a mere child, not even a warrior like Wihyo Gun.”

‘Heukryonggeom...?’

I almost hesitated at his words, but I didn’t stop. Instead, I accelerated.

My hand was about to reach the old man’s face.

Just before it did—

“That won’t happen.”

Crack.

“...!”

I felt a change.

Retracting my hand, I widened the distance between us, gathering my Ganggi and raising my alertness to the highest level.

Something within my dantian stirred, reacting to the unfamiliar energy.

[Gr... grrr...]

“You...?”

At the sound of the growl, my eyes widened in surprise.

The creature, dormant even through my time in the Magyeong, had suddenly awakened.

[Grrr...]

The growling sound was rough, almost feral, and it was clear that the creature was baring its fangs at something.

And that something was—

‘…Is it that?’

It must have been that old man who had just called himself Heukryonggeom.

“Heukryonggeom, you say?”

It was a name I felt like I had heard somewhere, but for the life of me, I couldn’t place it exactly. If it were a famous title, I should have remembered it immediately.

It was strange that a martial artist of his level would have such a nickname, and yet I knew nothing about him.

But now wasn’t the time to dwell on that.

“What the hell is that?”

The old man’s body began to change.

“Keuh... keuhh…”

Starting from the scar on the back of his neck, something began to ooze out of his body.

The sight was revolting, almost as if giant worms were crawling under his skin.

Whoosh!

I summoned flames to my fingertips.

There was no way I could leave things as they were—letting it be would clearly lead to something dangerous.

I could feel my Qi draining quickly as I prepared my martial technique.

Even as I prepared, I watched the old man's transformation closely.

‘What in the world is that...? Is it a monster?’

If it was, it wasn’t like any monster I’d seen before. A parasite that could infest a human?

I didn’t know exactly what it was, but one thing was certain: it was dangerous.

The flames gathered in the palm of my hand.

I intended to use Yeomok once more and burn the thing down completely.

The creature’s form was gradually taking shape—it was grotesque, to say the least. Even the aura it emitted was tainted, dark.

It wasn’t exactly the same as the Magi I was familiar with from other demonic creatures.

Whoosh—

Yeomok was fully prepared. I was just about to unleash it when—

[Grrr!]

Snap—!

“What?”

I felt a sudden jolt inside my body, and in an instant, the flames gathered in my hand vanished.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

That damned beast inside me had interfered, dispersing my Qi without my permission.

Could it really tamper with the energy I was controlling?

I knew it could interrupt, but I hadn’t expected this.

More importantly, why was it suddenly acting up now?

“Why the hell are you waking up now and getting in my way—!”

I was about to demand answers when—

Screeeech!

A deafening, ear-piercing screech rang out.

The old man, or rather, the thing that had taken over him, shot a massive tentacle toward me. It was fast, incredibly fast.

I tried to gather my Ganggi to defend myself, but—

‘…Huh?’

Suddenly, my Qi felt blocked, unresponsive. Could I have run out of energy? No, that wasn’t it.

Just a moment ago, I’d confirmed I had more than half my reserves left.

Even as I processed my confusion, the tentacle flew at me with alarming speed.

I had no time to think, no time to react.

Just as I braced for impact—

Thunk!

The tentacle was suddenly severed, dropping to the ground with a heavy thud.

As it hit the floor, it melted away as if it were being absorbed by the earth itself.

“What...?”

I barely had time to register what had just happened.

From the center of the crater, there was movement.

I focused my gaze where the creature had been.

‘Someone’s there.’

A figure, someone I hadn’t noticed before, was driving a sword into the creature.

It seemed this person had been the one who saved me from the attack just moments ago.

‘How did I not sense them?’

Even with my Qi being blocked, my senses should have been spread out enough to detect them.

But I hadn’t.

That could only mean one thing—this person was an extraordinary master, someone of terrifying skill.

‘Who are they?’

I couldn’t see clearly.

There was a hazy quality to the figure, as if their presence itself was hard to grasp. They were deliberately concealing both their energy and their existence.

They wore pure white robes, and their hair was equally white, blending in with their attire.

Screeeeech!

The creature, impaled by the sword, let out another ear-splitting scream. I couldn’t even tell where its mouth was, yet it continued to shriek.

The man, who I assumed was a swordsman, didn’t react to the noise. Instead, he moved his hand.

Slash—!

The sword, still embedded in the creature, sliced through its body with ease.

Watching the movement, I couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.

Even though I could see him with my eyes, it felt like I wasn’t fully processing what I was witnessing.

The white-haired man, having split the creature in half, reached out his hand toward the writhing remains.

A thick, oily liquid coated the creature’s body, but the man touched it without hesitation.

And then—

“…What?”

It wasn’t the man who moved, but his shadow.

I could see his shadow squirming, creeping out from under him and wrapping itself around the creature.

• Screeeech… grrrr…

The creature, large and imposing, was completely ensnared by the shadow. It thrashed around violently, but that lasted only for a moment.

Soon, all movement ceased.

For a brief moment, I couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. I could only stare at the man in silence.

What the hell had I just witnessed?

Sensing my gaze, the white-haired man slowly turned his head toward me.

His eyes were as white as his hair, and his skin was pale, almost unnaturally so.

He looked less like a person and more like some kind of ghostly figure.

For a second, I lost myself, staring at his appearance in awe.

“Are you just going to keep watching?”

His voice was much deeper than I had expected, and I flinched when I heard it.

“…Who are you?”

Though he had saved me, I didn’t know who or what he was, so I stayed on guard, my Qi at the ready in case I needed to defend myself.

Seeing my tension, the man slowly began to speak.

But just as he was about to answer—

Hummm…

“What?”

I felt a sudden surge of energy behind me.

It was coming from the direction of Taesan.

The intensity of the energy made my body tremble involuntarily.

And it wasn’t just that.

Sweat began to form on my forehead.

“…Why now?”

I didn’t even bother to think about my own words.

Leaving the creature and the white-haired man behind, I immediately summoned my Qi and leaped into the air.

My sudden movement was unplanned, but the white-haired man made no effort to stop me.

I picked up speed, moving as fast as I could.

The reason for my urgency was simple.

From somewhere within the towering Taesan, I felt a power that was all too familiar.

A power I had hoped to never sense again.

‘No way… that can’t be...’

I wanted to deny it, but my body, already imprinted with that energy, had confirmed the truth for me.

It was undeniable.

Somewhere, far away in the mountains of Taesan...

I could feel the Magi of the Heavenly Demon.