My vision remained dark, and my senses, blurred and faint, still hadn’t returned.

How much time had passed? With my senses dulled, it was hard to tell.

The only thing I knew for certain was...

Thud!

“Urgh!”

This was the ninth time.

Nine times, to be exact.

That was the number of times I had died.

Feeling dizzy, I staggered and collapsed onto the ground.

Blood began pouring from my neck as if it had been slashed open, and I lost consciousness for a moment.

It only lasted a few seconds.

“Hah…!”

I came to, bolting upright.

What had just happened? It felt like I’d been stabbed in the neck.

I cautiously ran my hand over my neck, but there was no pain and no wound.

‘…Damn it.’

This was the ninth time I’d felt like this. The ninth time the Dark King had killed me.

I scowled as I looked around. I was still on the same field where I had been with Paejon moments before.

‘What is this?’

Maybe it was an illusion, but the sensations of my neck being sliced and my heart being pierced had been so vivid.

The sharp pain of my neck being punctured had felt real. I was certain that I had died nine times.

The problem was...

‘But how am I still alive?’

How was I still here, breathing, after all that?

‘Shit.’

I cursed involuntarily.

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t wrap my head around the situation.

Paejon, that wretched old man… What the hell had he thrown me into?

After he left me with only the command to endure, I had been dying over and over at the Dark King’s hands.

It was a terrible sensation.

I was dealing with some cursed illusion or formation in the middle of the night, and it was getting exhausting.

“I really feel like quitting.”

To hell with Cheonma, to hell with everything. Maybe I should just disappear into the mountains.

The idea, at least, was tempting.

Clenching my teeth, I took a deep breath.

I knew I couldn’t actually walk away. It was just a fleeting thought.

I refocused and scanned my surroundings. The tension lingered in the darkness.

There was something I needed to do before I could even begin to assess the situation.

‘Where is he?’

I tried to gather my ki.

Even though the backlash was still affecting me—or maybe something was blocking my ki—I couldn’t extend it very far, but it was better than nothing.

‘Where are you?’

I spread my senses as wide as I could and focused on feeling him out.

Paejon had said it was all part of the training. To complete this training, I only needed to catch the Dark King once.

‘I don’t understand the purpose of this training, but...’

I knew that not doing it wasn’t an option.

I clenched my teeth and pushed forward.

“Huuuuu…”

I let out a breath, steeling myself.

The Dark King kept attacking me, and I was trying to time my moves to catch him, but it wasn’t easy.

Crack—

“…!”

I turned my head towards the sound, instinctively reaching out.

But there was nothing there.

Was it my imagination?

Thud!

“Urgh!?”

A blade pierced into my thigh, and I let out a cry of pain before I could stop myself.

Where had that come from?

The direction suggested it was from behind.

Did that mean the presence I’d sensed earlier had been a diversion?

It was only a thigh wound, but the pain was sharper than expected.

Was this also part of the Dark King’s martial arts? I thought I was familiar with pain, having trained in Tu A Pa Cheon Gong, but this was on another level.

‘Where is he?’

I judged that finding the Dark King was more urgent than dealing with the immediate pain.

Ignoring the throbbing in my leg, I turned around, searching for him—

Crunch!

“…!”

But before I could react, I felt the tip of his sword dig into my abdomen. Blood surged up into my throat.

The searing pain shot through my bones, and I felt tension tighten around my eyes. In the dimness, I couldn’t quite see him, even though he was right there.

But still—

I reached out, unable to evade him.

I hoped to touch him, just for a moment, but before my fingertips could reach anything, I saw something closing in on me.

The tip of his sword.

Just as I registered this and tried to move my head—

Freeze.

The Dark King’s dagger halted just before piercing my forehead.

It stopped right at the edge.

Why?

My head was filled with questions.

“It’s over.”

The Dark King withdrew his dagger and took a step back. I was about to ask what he meant, but—

Sssssss—

As if answering me, the surroundings suddenly brightened.

The sky, which had been pitch black moments before, quickly grew light, and I saw the sun rising in the distance.

I thought to myself,

…Is it morning already?

‘Then what was all that about?’

It had been so dark that I could barely see in front of me, and now everything was bright in an instant. It was bewildering.

‘Could it be...’

Then I realized. Not just my recent deaths, but even the darkness had been the Dark King’s doing.

Recalling that gave me chills.

‘He’s insane.’

They said no one could defeat the Dark King at night, but he could even create the night.

An assassin who could manipulate the time and place to his advantage.

‘…Moreover,’

The wound on my thigh was completely gone. As with all my previous deaths, there wasn’t even a scar.

No matter how I looked at it, this whole ordeal was absurd.

‘Is this even martial arts?’

It felt closer to an illusion, a formation, rather than simple martial arts.

I couldn’t dismiss it as just a hallucination, not with pain that real.

Was this really training?

It seemed more like torture.

‘Though it’s too clean to call it torture.’

It was almost too clean, too precise for torture.

I swallowed hard and looked at the Dark King.

“This is it for today.”

With those words, the Dark King dispersed like mist before my eyes, vanishing without a trace.

It was clear that no further discussion was needed. Only then could I exhale in relief.

“…Is it really over?”

This training was supposed to only happen at night, so was that why the Dark King disappeared with the dawn?

This meant…

“Does that mean I have to go through this every night?”

I would have to keep dying by the Dark King’s hand until morning came.

“...”

As I thought about it, I wondered,

‘Should I just quit and run away?’

For the first time, I seriously considered it.

 

   ******************
   

As Gu Yangcheon seriously contemplated escaping, the Dark King arrived quietly somewhere within the forest. By the time he revealed himself, he had reached his destination.

“You’re here,” Paejon greeted him.

Paejon was sitting on a rock, sipping from a cup of wine. Judging by the two cups beside him, he had anticipated the Dark King’s arrival. With a flick, he tossed one of the cups towards him.

The cup, mid-air, abruptly changed direction, slowing down before landing neatly in the Dark King’s hand.

Paejon chuckled and remarked, “You could’ve just caught it normally. Why bother with the extra effort?”

“It’s easier this way.”

“Tsk, tsk.”

The Dark King took his place next to Paejon, sitting down with a heavy thud.

Paejon poured wine into the Dark King’s empty cup, watching him as he asked, “So, how did it go?”

There was no need for the Dark King to ask what he was referring to. Their conversation had already been predetermined.

Paejon was asking about the time the Dark King had spent with Gu Yangcheon.

The Dark King took a sip of his wine before replying, “Strange kid.”

“Oh?”

Paejon’s eyes lit up with curiosity. For the Dark King, who rarely described things as good or bad, this was an unusual answer.

“What do you mean, strange?”

“He’s unusually calm.”

The Dark King recalled his impressions of Gu Yangcheon.

Paejon might not have known it, but Gu Yangcheon had already piqued the Dark King’s interest.

A talent that would go down in history? That wasn’t particularly what intrigued him.

What held the Dark King’s attention was that Gu Yangcheon possessed something that was both similar to and different from him. It made the Dark King wonder if Yangcheon might hold the key to breaking the curse that bound him.

Most importantly—

‘Taechun has taken an interest in him.’

The Dark King was certain that the very entity he had been chasing for so long was interested in Gu Yangcheon.

But that wasn’t the only reason he found Yangcheon peculiar.

‘He never changes.’

Even after the Dark King had killed him for the third time, Gu Yangcheon had persisted in trying to catch him.

That much was expected.

After all, he had been told that the training would end if he managed to catch the Dark King.

However—

‘He kept trying until the end.’

Even as dawn approached and training was about to conclude, Yangcheon continued trying to grab hold of him.

If there was anything truly remarkable, it was that—

Despite dying nearly ten times, Yangcheon had shown no fear of death from start to finish.

The Dark King had noticed this clearly.

Yangcheon tried everything to detect the Dark King’s presence, tirelessly attempting to catch him without the slightest hint of fear or exhaustion.

In such a situation, most people would have been terrified, begging for mercy.

Even with the knowledge that death wasn’t permanent, Yangcheon’s attitude was unusual.

Even the King of Assassins, the Dark King himself, thought so.

It was strange.

One might expect a martial artist to have a high threshold for pain, but Yangcheon felt different.

He exhibited no signs of dread toward death or pain. He was unnaturally detached.

‘And—’

As he thought of Yangcheon, the Dark King turned his gaze to Paejon.

“You already knew, didn’t you?”

“Hmm?”

Paejon looked at him, feigning ignorance, but the Dark King was convinced.

Paejon had to have known about Yangcheon’s peculiarities.

‘So, that’s why you asked me.’

If Paejon was aware of his disciple’s strange condition, it made sense why he’d entrust him to the Dark King for such brutal training.

If that were truly the case—

‘You’re still as twisted as ever.’

The Dark King understood that Paejon, when it came to mastering martial arts, was far from ordinary.

Whether it was the master who pushed his disciple into harsh training with the Dark King, or the disciple who endured it without question, both of them were peculiar in the Dark King’s eyes.

Turning his gaze from Paejon, the Dark King looked down at his wine cup.

‘It doesn’t matter.’

Regardless of what those two sought, the Dark King only cared about achieving his own goals.

He was merely fulfilling a request. With that thought, the Dark King spoke up.

“Just remember your part of the deal.”

“Don’t worry; I won’t forget,” Paejon replied, a hint of exasperation in his voice as he got to his feet.

Having drunk enough and spent the night watching over things, it was time for him to attend to his own training.

“Oh, right,” Paejon said, pausing just before leaving. He looked back at the Dark King.

“How long do you think it’ll take? Until the boy succeeds?”

The Dark King gave him a curious look.

How long until Gu Yangcheon could reach him?

After a moment’s consideration, the Dark King answered firmly, “At his current level, it’s impossible.”

“Blunt as always,” Paejon remarked with a smirk.

“He’d be better off finding another way.”

It might be hasty to judge based on one night, but with his current approach, Yangcheon wouldn’t be able to reach the Dark King no matter how many times he died.

Whatever Paejon’s intentions were with this training, from the Dark King’s perspective, it seemed pointless.

However, despite the Dark King’s firm dismissal, Paejon merely chuckled, a sly smile forming on his lips.

The Dark King didn’t like that smile. It was enough to make his famously expressionless brow crease slightly.

Whenever Paejon wore that grin, it usually meant some unforeseen chaos was about to unfold.

“Well, if you say so. I’ll be counting on you from here on,” Paejon said.

The Dark King ignored his words, vanishing from sight.

Paejon, watching him go, turned to walk away, his thoughts lingering.

‘Impossible, huh?’

The Dark King had declared that Gu Yangcheon wouldn’t be able to reach him, but Paejon thought differently.

‘I don’t think it’s that simple.’

Although he hadn’t spent much time with him, Yangcheon always managed to surpass his expectations. Paejon was hoping this time would be no different.

   ******************

The time was nearing noon as the caravan prepared to set off again. I was in the middle of a quick training session after a rushed breakfast. The exhaustion from last night's chaotic ordeal still lingered, but skipping training wasn’t an option.

Thud.

I decided to take a brief break when I saw Pa Woo-cheol approaching. Setting down the enormous boulder I had been lifting, I asked him again to clarify.

“Who did you say arrived?”

“The Moyong family has arrived,” he replied.

“Oh, finally here, huh.”

I nodded, realizing it was likely Moyong Heea who had joined us. She was supposed to join us in a few days, but it seemed she’d arrived within a single day.

Since it had been a while, I figured I should go greet her. Just then, I noticed Cheol Ji-seon lying on the ground, panting as if he was completely worn out.

Pa Woo-cheol gave me a curious look and asked, “Uh… what happened to Ji-seon?”

“Well, he looked pretty feeble, so I decided to put him through some training. Turns out he wasn’t quite up to it. Tsk, tsk, he’s supposed to be a man, but he’s so weak,” I replied with a hint of disdain.

“Oh, I see…”

“If you’re planning to train, you could just join in here. He’d make a good partner for you.”

Pa Woo-cheol glanced over to where I was pointing. There, Woo-hyuk was moving steadily, lifting a boulder slightly smaller than mine without showing any signs of stopping.

Despite the sweat pouring off him, he kept going without any breaks. Even in this sweaty state, his good looks somehow made him appear heroic. I, on the other hand, looked like a drenched rat.

Life really isn’t fair. Woo-hyuk had it all—good looks, and on top of that, he trained diligently. Other than his lousy attitude and the fact that he, as a Taoist, eats meat, he didn’t have any flaws. Well, those two points might be big enough flaws, but still.

Not that it mattered—he was already engaged, so it wasn’t like he was competition. Even if I wanted to pick on him, his face always gave him an advantage. It was annoyingly perfect.

“Damn it.”

“Pardon?”

“Not you. So, can I go now?”

“Oh, yes… but, well…”

Pa Woo-cheol seemed hesitant, like he had more to say. He looked at me with an uncertain expression.

“It seems someone else arrived besides Lady Moyong.”

“Someone else? Who?”

I raised an eyebrow at this. Who would’ve come with her?

From his tone, it didn’t sound like a servant. Could it be Lord Baekcheon himself?

‘No way, as impulsive as he is, he wouldn’t come all this way… would he?’

It didn’t make sense that the head of one of the noble families, a man of his stature, would follow his daughter all the way here. Then again, with his personality, nothing was ever completely certain.

Pa Woo-cheol finally revealed the identity of the unexpected guest.

Thankfully, it wasn’t Baekcheon.

But it was someone even more surprising.

“White Lotus Sword senior has arrived.”

“Uh… what?”

The name caught me off guard, and I just stared at him, dumbfounded.

…Why would she be here?