The phrase “Seed of the Ten Thousand Demon Sovereign” caused the faces of everyone who heard it to harden.

Seo-jun, however, paid it no mind. No, to be more precise, he no longer had the rationality to care. Something closer to nature itself gazed at Chun-bong.

[Leave that body.]
“No, isn’t it already beyond a seed? It’s more like a budding flower.”
[If you don’t leave, I’ll cut you down.]
“How fascinating. How can you maintain a physical form in that state?”

The conversation, with each side simply saying what they wished, didn’t last long.

As Qi rose from Seo-jun’s body, his sword moved. It was Qi-Controlled Swordsmanship.

Simultaneously, the three blooming flowers behind his head unleashed hundreds of streams of Reverse Celestial Sun and Moon Art from their countless eyes.

“Lord…! Please, wait…!”

Jang Geuk, alarmed, threw himself forward. Regardless of what was possessing her, the body belonged to Seo-jun’s sister.

If she were struck by that, there wouldn’t even be a trace of her left.

But it was too late. At Jang Geuk’s speed, he couldn’t hope to match Seo-jun in his current state.

Just as Jang Geuk’s eyes widened in desperation—

“Well, now.”

Chun-bong laughed.

Thunk—

The hundreds of streams of Reverse Celestial Sun and Moon Art and the flying sword halted. It wasn’t Chun-bong’s doing; Seo-jun himself had stopped them.

Chun-bong smiled warmly at the frozen attacks before her.

An extraordinary feat.

While Qi-Controlled Swordsmanship was impressive on its own, stopping hundreds of unleashed Qi streams mid-air was not something achievable by any ordinary means.

Chun-bong lightly pushed away the sword hovering near her eyes.

“There’s not even a hint of killing intent. Hardly a real threat.”

The countless streams of Reverse Celestial Sun and Moon Art, now condensed into dots, began to orbit around.

What exactly was this man’s identity? The presence residing within Chun-bong’s body stared at Seo-jun.

The sensation of being watched by hundreds of eyes wasn’t particularly pleasant, but the individual before them was far too intriguing to dismiss.

“So, who are you?”
[….]

There was no response. The hundreds of gazes continued to fixate on Chun-bong—not her, but solely on the entity within her.

A chuckle escaped from within Chun-bong.

“Very well, I suppose introductions are in order. I am Geum Hwi-je, known in the martial world as the Sword Saint.”
“The Sword Saint…!”

Gasps erupted from those who overheard.

Geum Hwi-je was the one who had elevated the Geum family to the ranks of true divine clans. A figure who had already ascended—a literal divine being.

But Seo-jun’s expression remained unchanged. He simply stared at Chun-bong with calm, sunken eyes and spoke.

[I don’t care if you’re a god or anything else. I’ll say it one more time. Leave that body. If you don’t, I’ll cut you down.]

His words were not mere threats. The streams of Reverse Celestial Sun and Moon Art orbiting nearby began to blur.

They weren’t vanishing. The Qi, imbued with intent and given form, reverted to its purest state, reaching a higher echelon.

Voom—

Qi that touched the infinite formed into countless swords.

Even the Sword Saint couldn’t hide his surprise.

“Well…! To aspire to such heights at this level? Truly a prodigy for the ages!”

The result of reaching far beyond one’s means was rarely favorable.

Most of Seo-jun’s body turned to Qi, becoming semi-transparent, and his existence began to blur as he fused with the world.

Still, he could reach.

The moment Seo-jun willed it, hundreds of Qi swords rained down upon the Sword Saint.

“This is troublesome.”

The Sword Saint chuckled bitterly. The attack targeted not the physical body, but solely the presence residing within Chun-bong.

As fascinating as this was, he couldn’t just stand idle.

Shing—

The Sword Saint drew the sword from his waist in a slow, deliberate motion. Yet no one saw what followed.

Swoosh—

Something was cut. The approaching Qi swords vanished all at once.

Among the group, only Namgung Hyeok, who had reached the highest level in swordsmanship, managed to catch a glimpse of it.

“Guh…!”

Even seeing it defied common sense. With a single swing, something had been severed. That simple truth became an inexplicable anomaly, twisting Namgung Hyeok’s Qi and blood.

Eventually, he coughed up blood and collapsed unconscious.

The Sword Saint laughed heartily.

“You’ve got good eyes.”

Seo-jun charged forward. The moment he focused, he appeared right in front of the Sword Saint. The Qi imbued in his six hands caused the Sword Saint to click his tongue.

“You need to calm down first.”

The Sword Saint’s sword moved. Chun-bong’s body, at best, was merely at the Peak Level. But for the Sword Saint, that was enough.

Swish—

Seo-jun couldn’t avoid the lightly swung sword. It sliced through his chest.

However, no wound appeared on his body.

The Sword Saint’s blade forcibly balanced Seo-jun’s essence, Qi, and spirit.

Slash—!

“…Damn it!”

What the Sword Saint hadn’t anticipated was Seo-jun’s innate talent for manipulating Qi.

Even with his perception limited while inhabiting Chun-bong’s body, the Sword Saint—a man who had ascended to the realm of gods—had failed to detect the strike that grazed his side.

“Hmm…!”

The connection between the Sword Saint’s true body in the celestial realm and Chun-bong’s mortal form wavered.

The Sword Saint barely managed to stabilize the connection and exclaimed,

“Haha, you insolent brat. If you’ve come to your senses, at least show some respect!”

Seo-jun charged again, his restored rationality glaring daggers at the Sword Saint.

“Respect? Sword Saint or not, you bastard…”

Though his memories were hazy, Seo-jun vaguely recalled what had happened. He knew well enough that Chun-bong’s body was being occupied by another entity.

Suppressing his dizziness, Seo-jun clenched his fists.

—But he couldn’t strike. The Sword Saint had forcibly balanced his essence, Qi, and spirit, making it impossible to target him directly again.

Grit—!

In that case, he would push beyond his limits once more.

If a god was trying to take Chun-bong from him, he would rip that god apart and bring her back.

As Seo-jun’s eyes gleamed dangerously, the Sword Saint raised a hand.

“Stop. If you push any further, my granddaughter’s body will suffer. You don’t want that, do you?”
“…Granddaughter?”

Seo-jun’s clouded mind processed the words. Chun-bong was his granddaughter? Come to think of it, if he was the Sword Saint…

“Chun-bong’s grandfather?”
“Chun-bong?”

The Sword Saint blinked in confusion. Seo-jun scratched his head awkwardly.

“Huh.”

The murderous intent that had filled the space vanished in an instant. Seo-jun immediately twisted the forced balance of his essence, Qi, and spirit imposed by the Sword Saint.

Boom! Suppressed Qi exploded outward, disrupting the equilibrium.

“What a shame, I had just fixed that.”

The Sword Saint sighed, but Seo-jun had more pressing matters to attend to.

His Qi materialized, coalescing near his middle dantian, and he balanced his essence, Qi, and spirit anew, reinforcing them with his inner core.

“Oh-ho.”

The Sword Saint was impressed. Balancing essence, Qi, and spirit using an inner core? That was closer to a yokai’s method than a human’s.

Seo-jun then exhaled deeply.

Hoo…

With that breath, the demonic energy that had dominated his body vanished as if it had been washed away.

His dantian filled with Mixed Origin Qi, clean and pure, akin to that of orthodox sects.

“What in the world…?”

Even the Sword Saint was shocked this time. To completely transform the nature of one’s internal energy?

“Wait, hold on. How exactly did you do that?”

Of course, the Sword Saint could do it himself if he wanted to. It wasn’t his area of expertise, but as someone who had ascended to true divinity, altering the nature of internal energy was within his capabilities.

But this man? He hadn’t even reached the Transformation Stage, let alone ascension. He wasn’t even at the Extremity of Demonic Qi.

The seed or budding flower of the Ten Thousand Demon Sovereign? Those concepts didn’t explain this impossibility.

The Sword Saint’s eyes wavered with confusion. Seo-jun, on the other hand, feigned nonchalance.

“Hm? What’s the matter?”
“No, it’s just….”

The Sword Saint quickly pieced things together from Seo-jun’s response.

“How absurd.”

It seemed Seo-jun himself didn’t fully understand the details. He was simply doing it because he could. Pursuing this line of questioning would yield no answers, the Sword Saint concluded with a sigh, returning to the main topic.

“So, I’ll ask again. Who are you?”
“I’m Chun-bong’s older brother.”
“…Who exactly is this Chun-bong you keep mentioning?”
“Oh, right.”

Seo-jun smacked his palm with his fist.

“Goldie. Geum Hui. Geum Chun-bong. My sister.”
“Ah, I see now. You’re not entirely sane, are you?”

The Sword Saint seemed to accept this explanation. Seo-jun, however, wasn’t about to let it go.

“Can I ask you something?”
“Ask whatever you like.”
“Why are you in Chun-bong’s body?”

Though the question was casual, the Sword Saint could sense the terrible killing intent beneath the surface.

It hadn’t manifested yet, but if provoked, it would all be directed at him.

“Haha…! What an amusing fellow!”

The Sword Saint laughed heartily and clapped Seo-jun on the shoulder.

“I understand your concerns, but there’s no need to worry. The only reason I could descend to the mortal realm was because Hui, my descendant, unconsciously desired it. I can’t stay here long, and when the time comes, Hui will awaken naturally.”
“Ah….”

So it was like that. The grandfather had rushed to help at his granddaughter’s unspoken request.

It must have been possible because of the Divine Blood that Shihyeol Mancheon had been so obsessed with.

If the Sword Saint’s words were true, there was no need to remain wary. In fact, gratitude was more appropriate.

“Even from the celestial realm, you came to help our Chun-bong…. Thank you.”
“Haha, I didn’t do much. No need for thanks.”

By the time the Sword Saint had possessed his granddaughter’s body, the situation was already resolved. He didn’t feel he deserved any gratitude.

“By the way, where is that Geum Baek-yu? What was he doing to leave Hui all alone in a place like this?”

The Sword Saint clicked his tongue.

“Geum Baek-yu? Who’s that?”
“Who else? Hui’s father.”
“Ah….”

Seo-jun’s eyes darted nervously. Seeing this, the now-relaxed Pae Jin-gwang answered in his stead.

“Senior, the Geum family was destroyed.”
“What?”

The Sword Saint frowned deeply.

“Has it really been so long since my ascension?”

After a moment of silent contemplation, the Sword Saint spoke again without much reaction.

“Well, that’s that. I don’t have much time left. Normally, I could have stayed a little longer, but….”

The Sword Saint fixed his gaze on Seo-jun, who laughed awkwardly.

“Ah, my bad….”
“You imbecile.”

Was this truly the same terrifying figure from earlier? The Sword Saint clicked his tongue in disbelief.

“If you have any questions, ask. I’ll answer as much as the heavens allow.”

Seo-jun made a peculiar expression.

“You don’t care? About the Geum family?”
“I was never particularly attached to them. My only lingering connection is Hui. No one in the Geum family ever properly mastered the Heavenly Cloud Divine Sword, so their destruction doesn’t surprise me.”
“Ah….”

With that, there was nothing more to say. Since things had come to this, he might as well gather useful information.

But first—

“What do you mean by ‘as the heavens allow’?”
“I can’t answer that.”

Even a divine being seemed bound by certain restrictions. Without a clear explanation, it was hard to draw conclusions.

“Then, what do you think I need to reach the Transformation Stage?”

That was what Seo-jun was most curious about. Why hadn’t he reached the Transformation Stage yet?

‘I don’t feel like I’m lacking anything right now.’

Even the unknown realm he had touched earlier—he felt he could reach it again if he wanted.

So why couldn’t he reach the Transformation Stage?