When I awoke, Seo Daeryong was tending to a campfire next to the parked carriage.
“You’re awake?”
“How long was I asleep?”
“Long enough. Really, how can a martial artist sleep so soundly that you wouldn’t even notice if someone carried you off?”
“I was on guard even in my sleep.”
“While snoring like that?”
I truly had slept soundly without waking once.
Of course, Seo Daeryong wouldn't know.
The Heavenly Demon Body-Protecting Art would have woken me if I sensed real danger.
“You must be hungry. Have some of this.”
Seo Daeryong brought out food he had bought at an inn before we departed.
He had even thoughtfully picked out my favorite dishes.
“After this meal, we’ll have to hunt for our food.”
Eating my favorite foods after a great battle felt wonderful.
It might seem like a small thing, but people are often moved by such simple gestures.
Thank you, Daeryong.
After eating my fill and drinking some cool water, I couldn't help but say, “Ah, now I feel alive.”
As I sat warming myself by the campfire, Seo Daeryong handed me some golden salve.
“Then you should treat your wounds now.”
I took off my blood-soaked clothes and the Ghost Guard Robe.
Then, I unwound the Supreme Heavenly Silkworm Thread and wrapped it back around the hilt of the Black Demon Sword.
The thread was gradually turning red as it soaked up the blood.
I thought about washing it but decided against it.
The hilt of the Black Demon Sword, wrapped in a bloodstained cloth, had a certain charm to it.
I applied the golden salve to my wounds.
Although I had avoided any fatal injuries, my body was a mess, covered in cuts, scratches, and dark bruises.
“You’re still so young, what will you do with so many scars on your body? The ladies will all run away when they see them.”
“I’ll undergo a Rebirth and Reconstruction later and get a whole new body.”
“Such a fortuitous opportunity… I was about to say it wouldn’t come easily, but now that I think about it, with you, Pavilion Lord, who knows.”
After applying all the medicine, I changed into the new martial robes Seo Daeryong had bought.
“It’s a perfect fit. I like it.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Our first mission was a success.”
“You mean our last mission was a success.”
There’s a certain point with some people that just makes you feel good.
For example, when my father sits on the Grand Advisor's seat and looks down at me with a displeased expression, or when the Blood Heaven Blade Demon plunges his great Heaven-Slaying Blade into the ground and leans against it.
With Seo Daeryong, it’s when we exchange silly jokes like this.
“Honestly, while waiting in the carriage, I must have debated whether to go in at least ten times.”
“If you had, I would have had to work even harder to rescue a hostage.”
“Then you would have grown even stronger. Maybe I should have gone in?”
Seo Daeryong laughed as he said it.
I laughed with him.
After a round of pleasantries, Seo Daeryong spoke about what he had felt during the mission.
“I keep dreaming of matches. I can still hear the cheers from the tournament stage. I miss that moment. Seeing that, I think I want to be a martial artist who stands in the spotlight rather than some hidden master.”
“You’ll have to walk that path anyway.”
“Pardon?”
“Because you will become a Demon Sovereign.”
Now that the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had passed on his martial arts, his path as a successor was set.
At that, Seo Daeryong's expression turned serious.
“Pavilion Lord. Do you think I can become a Demon Sovereign? Can I really handle such a position?”
“Does your master look like someone who would give up his position easily?”
“No.”
“Then what are you worried about? If you don’t believe in yourself, believe in your master’s judgment.”
“Still… it’s hard to believe. Me, a Demon Sovereign.”
It made sense.
He was just an Underworld Pavilion investigator becoming a Demon Sovereign.
It would be stranger if it felt real to him right away.
“I will, I will work myself to death.”
To the fired-up Seo Daeryong, I said calmly.
“You must work hard, of course, but keep this in mind. It is said that when you climb uphill, you can only see the peak, but when you walk downhill, you can see the world. Look back once in a while as you ascend.”
Seo Daeryong looked at me with a peculiar smile.
“You say such things so well for someone ten years my junior.”
I lay down by the campfire, and Seo Daeryong lay down on the opposite side.
Lying there by the fire, looking up at the starry night sky, felt wonderful.
“I should just travel like this later on.”
“Please be sure to take me with you.”
“You have to go around receiving applause and attention.”
“I can just go after I’ve received all the attention.”
“No. I’m going to take Lee Ahn with me.”
Seo Daeryong pouted.
You fool, if it were that easy, do you think my father would be cooped up in the Heavenly Demon Hall?
That night, too, I slept soundly.
The tension and fatigue that had built up for a long time were finally melting away.
*
The carriage journey continued until my body had recovered.
As soon as I was better, I sold the carriage, carried Seo Daeryong on my back, and ran back using Swift Step.
At first, Seo Daeryong had cried that he was going to die, but later he adapted perfectly, even joking while on my back.
It was a moment that made me appreciate the adaptability of humans.
And so, we ran and ran until we reached the Main Sect.
The first place I went was the Heavenly Demon Hall.
Beyond the red carpet, far in the distance, my father sat on the Grand Advisor's seat.
Seeing him there, unchangingly holding his position, made me feel incredibly grateful today.
The moment my eyes met my father’s, who was looking down at me sternly, I felt a surge of emotion.
Fearing I might show too much of it, I quickly bowed.
“I have dealt with the leader of the Heavenly Fate Society and returned upon completing my mission.”
“You’ve done well. You may rise.”
When I rose, the Grand Strategist, Sama Myeong, who was standing beside him, offered his greetings.
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
“I heard that dealing with the Heavenly Fate Society this time was not easy.”
I had sent dispatches from time to time to keep them informed, so my father and Sama Myeong knew about the process and the outcome.
Of course, the dispatches couldn’t convey the kind of exaggeration I was making now.
“Don’t even mention it. I can’t count how many times I almost died. This was too difficult a trial. No, it was an impossible mission!”
“I admit it. It was my miscalculation. I was unaware that the organization known as the Heavenly Fate Society had grown so large.”
Sama Myeong readily admitted his fault.
After all, it was the Heaven-Reaching Pavilion, led by him, that had assigned the mission.
Just then, my father, who had been watching, suddenly spoke.
“So, you tried to kill my son.”
Sama Myeong and I looked at our father in surprise.
Of course, we were both surprised that he would make such a joke in this situation, but I was surprised for a different reason.
My son.
It was the first time I had ever heard those words from my father.
Perhaps he had said it when I was too young to remember, but this was the first time in my memory.
I should have responded with a joke, but my mind went blank.
Sama Myeong smiled and said to me, “How about it? With this, can you find it in your heart to forgive me?”
He knew it too.
He knew that I had heard the words ‘my son’ for the first time, and that I was moved by it.
“Send me again. Where to this time? The World Society? Or the Heaven and Earth Society?”
Sama Myeong smiled at my words.
I felt good.
It was just one phrase, but it was a moment I would never forget for the rest of my life.
Calming my trembling heart, I asked Sama Myeong, “What happened to my brother?”
“The First Young Master has already completed his task safely and returned.”
Just like before my regression, my brother had finished his mission without incident and returned.
The destiny that had changed was mine.
A clandestine organization called the Heavenly Fate Society had vanished from the Martial World, and I had passed the trial.
“So we both passed the trial.”
“That is correct.”
“My trial was much more difficult, so shouldn’t that mean I won? Please make me the successor!” I demanded boldly.
“That is a reasonable demand, but wouldn’t it be unfair from the First Young Master’s perspective? We must also consider the possibility that he might have chosen the more difficult path.”
You both probably expect this, but my brother would never have been able to solve it.
He probably would have lost his life if he got too deeply involved.
In that sense, it’s a good thing I chose this path.
I couldn't bring myself to say such words aloud.
“Then isn’t that too unfair for me?”
“Therefore, it seems we should give you a reward, separate from the results of this trial.”
It seemed he had already discussed this with my father.
“Is there anything you desire?”
Without hesitation, I looked at my father on the Grand Advisor's seat and said, “For my reward, let’s go hunting one more time.”
My father wore a surprised expression.
“Every time you receive a reward, you ask to go hunting with me.”
The wish I had asked for after winning the tournament after my first regression had also been to go hunting.
“We have to catch the tiger we couldn’t get last time.”
“Very well. Let’s go.”
My father readily accepted my proposal.
“We depart tomorrow morning.”
*
After leaving the Heavenly Demon Hall, the first place I visited was Lee Ahn’s Training Grounds.
I expected to find her sweating from martial arts practice, but surprisingly, Lee Ahn was reading a book.
Her beauty, which startled me every time I saw her, exuded a different kind of charm as she read.
She looked like a vision that would make every scholar in the world fall for her.
The thought occurred to me again.
I really had to show Lee Ahn to Jin Ha-ryeong at least once.
Wondering what martial arts manual it was, I used my Divine Eye Technique to get a closer look, but it was unexpectedly a book of poetry.
I said as I entered the Training Grounds, “Have you given up being a martial artist to become a poet?”
At my words, Lee Ahn glanced up briefly before returning to her book and saying, “You’re here?”
She acted as if she had seen me just yesterday.
No, even if she had seen me yesterday, she would have greeted me more warmly than this.
I immediately sensed that she was teasing me.
I feigned ignorance and sat down beside her.
“Congratulations.”
“Congratulations for what?”
“I heard we’ll be eating wedding noodles soon?”
Only then did I understand.
That loose-lipped Seo Daeryong must have come and told her everything about Jin Ha-ryeong.
“So your fated love is the Martial Alliance Leader’s daughter?”
“Not love, an encounter. Not daughter, granddaughter.”
“She must be incredibly beautiful, being the Number One Beauty of Hubei.”
“Not as beautiful as you.”
“What about her personality? Is she nice?”
“She’s decent enough. She wasn’t raised to be rude.”
“A perfect match, then. I’m truly happy for you.”
“Are you done being jealous?”
“I told you, it’s not jealousy, it’s congratulations.”
“Then you should look at me when you say it.”
“I don’t want to.”
Lee Ahn looked so cute being jealous.
“I told her, you know. That when I return, someone much more beautiful than her is waiting for me.”
I could see a smile forming on Lee Ahn’s lips as she kept her head down.
“So what did she say?”
“She didn’t believe me. That’s why I plan to show her next time. I’m leaving now.”
As I stood up and started to walk away, Lee Ahn shot to her feet.
“Where do you think you’re going! After making me wait for so long.”
Lee Ahn sprang up and ran to me.
She threw her arms around me in a tight embrace.
I could feel her tears falling on my shoulder.
I could tell how much she had worried about me while she waited.
“Just a moment.”
I stood there for a moment, holding her.
Feeling her warmth, my heart grew calm.
It felt like all my complicated thoughts were disappearing.
How lucky I am to have at least one person like this in my life?
A moment later, she pulled away from me.
Lee Ahn’s cheeks were flushed, as if she herself thought she had been too bold in running to embrace me.
She quickly changed the subject.
“The Blood Heaven Blade Demon lent me this poetry book.”
“The Elder? Why?”
“I went to see him. There was a rumor that the Demon Sovereigns had been involved in your mission, Young Master. I asked the Blade Demon if you were all right.”
I could imagine how much she must have hesitated before going to see the Blood Heaven Blade Demon herself.
“What would you have done if he said I wasn’t all right?”
“Then I would have gone to find you, Young Master. I would have gone no matter what. The thought that you might die because I didn’t go would have made it impossible for me to eat or sleep. I would have had to go, even for my own sake.”
“Such a worrywart. If you had come, I would have left you at the Martial Alliance.”
“Then I could have opened a soup restaurant near the Martial Alliance and lived without any worries.”
“If you opened a soup restaurant, there wouldn’t be a single day of peace.”
She laughed heartily.
Her bright personality had never changed, not when she was overweight and not now.
The fact that she was unshaken by any external factors or changes was her greatest charm and strength.
“That’s when the Blood Heaven Blade Demon told me not to worry about useless things and lent me a book to read. The book he lent me was about human life and death. I mean, how could he tell me not to worry while lending me a book about life and death! Anyway, I’ve been borrowing and reading them one by one since then. But there’s something strange, you know? It feels like my martial arts training is going better now that I’m reading books.”
“That’s because your martial arts have finally connected with your life.”
“My life and martial arts are connected?”
“At first, martial arts improve with talent and effort. But once you reach a certain level, your martial arts begin to reflect your life. You know how people often hit a wall in their training and can’t break through?”
“That’s the case for most.”
“The reason is that they can’t change their lives. A person must change for their perspective on martial arts to change, but if the person remains the same, they can’t overcome the wall blocking their path.”
“Ah!”
It seemed Lee Ahn had found some sort of answer.
It was the moment her question of why reading poetry and books about life and death felt helpful to her martial arts was resolved.
“Let’s talk more later. For now, I have to go meet the master of life and death.”
As I was about to turn away, Lee Ahn said brightly, “Young Master, I’m so glad you’ve returned safely.”
“It’s good to see you.”
With that, I left Lee Ahn’s residence and headed for the Southern Path Sect, where the Blood Heaven Blade Demon resided.