The room was empty.

While Seo-jun had postponed his training, Chun-bong hadn’t.

Seo-jun sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, placing a wooden box in front of him.

“I should try it first…”

Chun-bong and Namgung Su-a would end up taking the Cheonin Elixir rather than the Cheonma-shin-dan.

Since the foundation of the Cheonma-shin-dan was the Cheonin Elixir, his experience now would help him guide them when they took the elixir.

There was no need to worry about the supply of the Cheonin Elixir.

The Cheonin Elixir was originally created with the intent of mass production, so there shouldn’t be any shortage unless it was distributed across the entire Namgung Family.

Namgung Myung would also receive a Cheonin Elixir, and he imagined even Uncle Jang-geuk might get one.

As for his father-in-law, well, he probably wouldn’t need it.

Anyway, that was a matter for later.

“Hm.”

After organizing his thoughts, Seo-jun picked up the box. When he opened the lid, a sweet yet slightly metallic aroma tickled his nose.

He gazed at the shiny, metallic-looking Cheonma-shin-dan for a moment before placing it in his mouth.

Gulp—

The pill melted the moment it entered his mouth, sliding down his throat.

The essence of reverse Heaven’s principles spread throughout his body, and Seo-jun roused his internal energy to assist its effects.

Crack—!

The energy from the Cheonma-shin-dan moved not toward his dantian to boost his internal energy but instead fused directly into his body.

The reverse Five Element Array embedded in the pill drew his body toward reversed principles, causing a rebirth that aligned his body with the martial arts he had cultivated, evolving him into a new path.

The aim was somewhere between order and chaos, a unity that could be described as both existence and non-existence.

The core situated at the center of his body maintained balance, restructuring his entire being around it.

The main goal was to use this neutral energy to lead his body closer to unity with the essence of existence itself.

“Hoo…”

Only the sound of his long exhale lingered in the room.

 

“Uhh…”

He opened his eyes to see something soft and white right in front of him. Instinctively, he moved his mouth toward it.

“Nom.”

“Eekyaaak…!”

Chun-bong’s scream filled the room.

Realizing what had happened, he saw Chun-bong furiously rubbing her cheek, now marked with bite marks.

“W-what are you doing…!”

“Wow… almost ascended to heaven.”

Smacking his lips, he savored Chun-bong’s taste. That chubby cheek—he was tempted to just…

Suppressing the urge, Seo-jun activated his inner energy throughout his body, burning away the slight impurities that had surfaced.

He clenched his fist and felt a peculiar strength surging within him. It wasn’t exactly Demonization, but it was close—about halfway there.

Emboldened by the confident sensation, he mixed yin and yang energy on his fingers.

Flash—!

Reverse Heaven’s Sun and Moon Energy briefly enveloped his fingers.

“It takes a bit of time to form, but… this isn’t bad.”

The time it took to shape Reverse Heaven’s Sun and Moon Energy didn’t matter; he could set it up using other martial techniques as cover. Feeling assured by his hidden trump card, Seo-jun grinned.

“Behold, Chun-bong, I am the Heavenly Demon.”

“I told you to cut the crap! You almost got in big trouble last time!”

Wasn’t it Grandmaster Ji-am? That reverse monk with long hair.

The face that popped into his mind made Seo-jun chuckle.

“This time, I’ll crush them completely.”

“You’re planning to crush Shaolin?”

“Well, maybe not…”

Even if he doubted their reputation, Shaolin was still Shaolin. If a bald master from the supreme stage appeared, it would be a serious problem.

At that moment, he felt something heavy press down on his head, leaving him momentarily dazed.

“Hoho, looks like you made some progress?”

“W-what a mountain crush…”

“So? Feeling powerful?”

“…Maybe in other ways.”

As Seo-jun scratched his cheek, Chun-bong flared up.

“Are you gonna move that off or what!? What’s with the shameless behavior!”

“Want a little extra training?”

“N-no…!”

Pacified under the weight, Chun-bong’s expression softened.

“Well… anyway, it’s good that it worked out. If I take it and boost my essence, then my spirit and mind will naturally follow, so I might actually reach the supreme stage quickly…”

“That’s exactly the plan.”

Seo-jun nodded.

A backdoor method to open the Life and Death Gates. He named it the Art of the Open Life and Death.

Once refined a bit further, it could be used immediately, meaning that, before long, there would be two new supreme-stage experts within the Namgung family.

“Hey, but what’s up with your eyes?”

Seo-jun tilted his head at Chun-bong’s words.

“My eyes? What about them?”

“They’re red.”

“Really? Maybe I’m tired?”

“No, I mean your irises are red.”

“What?”

Seo-jun drew his sword from his waist and looked at his reflection. Sure enough, he could see a faint red hue mixed in his once-dark eyes.

As he stared at Namgung Su-a with those eyes, she blushed slightly, seemingly getting some idea.

“…The Supreme Yin-Yang.”

“Huh?”

“Red and blue, right? The Supreme Yin-Yang. Hehe…”

Her eyes gleamed with mischief as her blue eyes narrowed with a smirk. Namgung Su-a whispered slyly.

“Want to harmonize Yin and Yang with me?”

“Eeeekyaaaak…!”

Having just calmed down, Chun-bong freaked out again.

“Get out, sis!”

“Oh, come on.”

“How can a direct member of the Namgung family have no sense of chastity!?”

“But Seo-jun is my husband, after all.”

“W-what…?”

Chun-bong froze, and Seo-jun stiffened too.

“Now that I think about it…”

With all the talk of “acting,” it had kind of become a reality, hadn’t it?

“…H-honey?”

“You bastard!”

“Guh…!”

Chun-bong landed a dropkick, and Seo-jun collapsed.

He got beaten for quite a while after that.

 

The Cheonin Elixir meant for Chun-bong and Namgung Su-a was supposed to be ready in a few days.

After successfully calming down a sulking Chun-bong, Seo-jun climbed up to the roof.

The night had fallen. As he gazed up at the night sky, his usual insights swirled through his mind.

He briefly organized his rather chaotic thoughts, then lay back, following the faint trace of enlightenment, taking another step within his inner self.

“The supreme stage…”

He’d been progressing at a ridiculous pace, placing his level somewhere in the late peak stage. However, he still had some gaps he needed to fill in along the way.

He could just raise his level without much thought, but Seo-jun was aiming for something a little more.

The supreme stage. And the path of extreme demonic cultivation.

Despite being similar in rank, they bore different names due to the inherent differences.

Up until the peak stage, there wasn’t a huge distinction between those who practiced orthodox techniques and demonic arts, but beyond that, the paths began to diverge.

The paths of Righteousness, Demon, and even Evil as a minor path.

Choosing only one path might make things easier, but did he really need to?

After all, the reason he created the Cheonma-shin-dan was to maintain balance.

Somewhere between the supreme stage and extreme demonic cultivation. A name…

“Supreme Stage of Perfected Demonic Harmony? Seems a bit off.”

As he mulled over it, Seo-jun shrugged off the thoughts. It was too early to be worrying about names.

Instead, he focused on something closer at hand. A certain idea had struck him.

After creating an elixir tailored to his own body, he couldn’t help but wonder.

“What if I created a martial art exclusively for one person, like the Cheonma-shin-dan?”

At the moment, Chun-bong was the only one for whom this would be possible.

After all, Seo-jun knew her body better than anyone else.

The art beyond the New Blue Cloud Technique… Chun-bong’s Martial Art…!

Chuckling to himself, Seo-jun loosely outlined the concept for Chun-bong’s Martial Art and etched it into his mind.

With a few more moments of inspiration, he could probably have it mostly complete soon.

“Not bad.”

Satisfied, Seo-jun stood up and hummed as he returned to the room.

He saw Chun-bong sprawled on the bed, limbs stretched out, sleeping soundly.

“You brat…!”

He snuck over and gently poked her cheek.

“Mm…”

Chun-bong swatted at the air, scratching her own cheek. Seo-jun smirked and pressed her nose.

“Sniff…”

She scrunched her nose and rubbed it with her hand.

“I am the master of Geum Chun-bong…”

Seo-jun continued pestering the sleeping Chun-bong, carefully timing his retreat so as not to wake her, and slipped in beside her.

“Hehe…”

Still smiling, Chun-bong snuggled into his arms, warm and cozy.

Seo-jun closed his eyes.

Deep sleep.

He drifted into a sound slumber.

 

Blood and corpses.

Standing atop a mountain of flesh, Seo-jun gazed up at the sky.

Something bumped against his foot. Picking it up, he recognized a familiar face.

Some nameless guy. Wasn’t he from the Black Lotus Sect? He’d killed him on his way to Mount Hua.

He started rummaging through the corpses, driven by curiosity.

Familiar faces, familiar faces. This one, too.

Thanks to his supreme-level body, he could vaguely recall even the faces of those he’d barely glanced at.

“I’ve killed a lot.”

Digging through the bodies, Seo-jun scratched his head as he found himself buried among them.

What kind of dream is this?

He didn’t feel guilty, nor had there been any particular trigger for such a bizarre dream.

Awakening his mind while keeping his eyes closed, he snapped out of the dream in an instant.

“Uhh…”

From the lack of light beyond his eyelids, it seemed to still be night or perhaps dawn.

The strange dream had left a lingering scent of blood in his nose.

“Wait, is that… real?”

Sniffing carefully, Seo-jun’s nose picked up on the smell.

His keen sense of smell, especially sensitive to blood, quickly confirmed that the scent was real.

But the Namgung family estate occasionally smelled of blood.

It wasn’t uncommon for martial artists to get injured during training.

As Seo-jun pondered this absentmindedly, he felt something odd.

“Training at this hour?”

It didn’t seem likely.

The smell of blood continued to bother him even as he lay there half-awake.

It was particularly annoying because it seemed to be coming from right beside him.

The only person next to him was Chun-bong, but there was no reason for her to smell like blood.

That’s right. It was just Chun-bong.

Half-asleep, Seo-jun smacked his lips, then his eyes shot open.

“Chun-bong!”

The smell of blood. Chun-bong. His mind went ablaze.

Seo-jun’s eyes glowed red in the darkness as he looked at Chun-bong through the shadows.

“Mm…”

Murmuring in her sleep, Chun-bong smacked her lips as if eating in her dream. But the scent of blood still hung thick around her.

“Hey, hey! Wake up! Chun-bong! Hey! Geum-hee!”

“Huh!? Wh-what! Are we under attack!?”

“Are you okay?”

“What’s with you all of a sudden!”

Hoisted into the air mid-sleep, Chun-bong flailed her limbs in confusion.

Seo-jun’s gaze swiftly scanned her entire body.

She seemed fine, so why was there a smell of blood?

Relieved, Seo-jun ran his hands over her, and Chun-bong, who was about to react, noticed his serious expression and asked cautiously.

“What’s going on…?”

“There’s a smell of blood.”

“Blood? From where? From me?”

“Yeah.”

Sniffing, Seo-jun followed the trail of the scent.

And the source was…

“You son of a…!”

“Ugh…!”

Seo-jun flew back, kicked squarely by Chun-bong.

Chun-bong quickly curled up, her face beet red, her eyes welling with tears in her embarrassment.

Hugging herself, she shrieked.

“Get out, now!”

“But this is my room…”

“Just get out already! Please…!”

Realizing the situation, Seo-jun scratched his head as he left the room. As his heart calmed down, he couldn’t suppress the giggles that escaped him.

Unable to hold it in, Seo-jun poked his head back in through the door, grinning.

“Are we having red bean rice tomorrow?”

“Eeekyaaaaak…!!”

I got beaten. Real fucking hard.