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The pitch-black background filled my vision.

Even when I tried to see something, there was only the suffocating dark, like a thick layer of soot.

What the heck is this?

Suddenly, what’s this weird background supposed to be?

Just as I was wondering about this unexpected situation—

“Ah….”

I belatedly realized what was happening.

It seems I was closing my eyes.

“…When did I close them?”

I was pretty sure I had just been touching the demon stone.

How did I end up like this?

I felt something strange.

“…Hmm?”

As I attempted to lift my eyelids, they oddly wouldn’t cooperate.

They weren’t completely immobile, but with some force, I managed to open my eyes.

“Ugh.”

Only then did I see the familiar ceiling.

The ceiling of the storage room I had just entered.

This means…. I must have been lying down.

“What the heck happened?”

I couldn’t remember the situation at all.

The last thing I recalled was using the Demonic Absorption Technique on the demon stone.

“Back then, surely….”

The demon energy had poured out of the demon stone as the technique activated.

After that, everything is a blank.

“…”

What in the world happened?

First, I tried to get a sense of the situation by moving my body.

At that moment.

Woom-!

“…!”

When I attempted to place my hand on the floor to rise, I felt a vibration throughout my body.

The starting point was my heart. A sudden sensation spread all over me in an instant.

“…Ugh….”

I swallowed a groan amidst the dreadful pain. What the hell is going on?

The energy was coursing through my blood qi.

Trying to pull some control over it felt weird.

‘What the hell….’

I couldn’t even manage to control it. The energy spun all around like it was going wild.

It was rough and fierce.

If it weren’t for my strengthened body, I would have exploded on the spot.

All I could do was endure.

“Ugh….”

After writhing in pain for a while, I began to feel the pain gradually subside.

The energy didn’t calm down, but the turbulence in my body began to slow. The vibrations from my heart also decreased.

Thanks to that, I was able to move my body a bit.

“…Damn it.”

I spat out a curse and cautiously inspected my surroundings.

Nothing particularly seemed to have changed…

Crackle-!

“Huh?”

As I moved, I felt something under my foot.

Looking down, I spotted something scattered all over the floor.

“What is this?”

There was a bunch of something transparent strewn about the floor.

I reached down and picked one up.

The first thing I noticed was its slippery texture.

Though I couldn’t identify the translucent object, it felt familiar.

“This….”

Where had I seen this before?

‘Isn’t this a scale?’

It resembled the scales of snake-type demon beasts. However, I had never seen such transparent scales, and it was strange to see them lying all over the floor.

Also—

‘Where did the demon stones go?’

Aside from this unknown scale, I couldn’t see the white demon stone I had tried to consume earlier.

It wasn’t just the white one.

‘Where did the red demon stone go?’

Not a trace of the red demon stones, which had been scattered everywhere, either.

I might have eaten the white stone, so it could be gone, but where did the red stone go? Did someone come while I was unconscious?

‘There’s no sign of that happening.’

I was baffled by the situation.

As I tried to figure out everything one by one, I turned my head.

And then—

Crackle.

“…!”

I suddenly felt a reaction from the scale in my hand.

Though it was translucent, it had been stable, and now it crumbled into particles in an instant.

Not just the one I held, but everything scattered on the floor disappeared.

“What the heck….”

It vanished before I could even properly analyze it.

This situation was utterly ridiculous.

What in the world happened while I was knocked out?

And why did I faint in the first place?

Only questions filled my mind.

However, what’s important now is—

‘Did I actually consume the energy properly?’

The energy I was supposed to absorb from the white demon stone. Did I ingest it at all?

That was the real question.

From the pain I felt, it seemed like I had eaten the energy flowing through my blood qi.

‘Then how’s my internal injury?’

What was my body condition like?

I’d likely need about three months of rest for recovery. When I ate the demon stone, I expected that duration to be cut down to one or two months.

So, I attempted to evaluate my condition before checking.

‘Hmm.’

I hesitated for a moment, fearing that using my energy might cause another surge like last time.

That gave me pause, but—

‘Still can’t ignore it.’

Since there was no other option, I decided to gently pull up my energy.

Woom.

The energy gradually emerged, intertwining with my blood qi. Slowly, I began to survey my body. Fortunately, I felt no pain.

Moreover—

“Uh?”

As I assessed my condition, my eyes widened in surprise.

How much had my internal injury healed? But this was—

“I’m fully healed…?”

It was beyond mere healing; my body felt even better than before.

“Huh?”

What in the world is happening?

“Did I somehow undergo a transformation?”

It wasn’t shocking since I had experienced it once when I became a dragon, but could ingestion of the white demon stone really trigger such a transformation?

I wasn’t entirely convinced by that thought.

I raised my arms to sniff my clothes.

‘No foul smell.’

One of the common signs of transformation is the discharge of waste.

Usually, when the impurities in the body are expelled, the clothes absorb the foul smells. But I didn’t have such odors.

‘Maybe since I didn’t accumulate a lot of impurities in the first place.’

While I became a dragon, the impurities in my body naturally cleansed themselves.

Pejon had jokingly referred to my body as perfect.

So, if I had transformed, surely there would be some bad smells.

Or perhaps it wasn’t a transformation at all?

Regardless of what it was, something definitely changed.

‘Now I’m not sure if I got any benefits from the bet?’

Having consumed quite a lot since my reincarnation, my inner strength had surpassed my previous life.

Having experienced this, I knew that after reaching a certain level, increasing energy only enhances firepower but does nothing for realms or physical bodies.

That’s how it usually was.

“…What the heck is this?”

What kind of opportunity is this?

I couldn’t fully rejoice without understanding why.

I repeatedly clenched my fists, rotating my head.

Given my condition, I also needed to know how much time had passed.

Squeak.

I opened the storage room door and stepped outside.

It was still just before nightfall.

Though the sunset was faintly fading, referring to it—

‘If it’s not been a full day, then it means not much time has passed.’

It couldn’t have been more than a day or a few.

My bodily sensations agreed. If that time had indeed elapsed, I wouldn’t have woken up in the storage room.

At most, perhaps only an hour had gone by.

While I estimated the time…

‘Then why did I suddenly faint…?’

I stood upright, gathering information as I took a step forward.

After just one step, I froze in my place.

Swish.

I raised my hand to my head.

It was unavoidable.

—Grr. Grgrgrgr!

-So, what I’m saying is….

—Mom! Mom, you know…!!

—No, seriously this time, Hyun said…

“…”

Sounds came from all directions.

Not only sounds but sensations from my skin had also amplified greatly.

Whoosh—

The feeling of the wind had become clearer. I could feel every texture brushing against my skin.

Feeling this change, I instantly reached a conclusion.

‘My Qi Perception has grown.’

Much more than my original sensitivity.

It seemed to have increased by at least double.

Quickly, I rotated my energy to tone down my perception.

I was deluged with information all at once, and my body struggled to adapt, causing a rebound.

If this continued, I might end up throwing up.

So I had to temporarily dampen my perception.

As the sounds lessened and the sensations settled down, I finally felt okay.

“Ha….”

What in the world is happening?

Was it just from consuming the white demon stone that all this came about?

‘It doesn’t seem like I’ve leveled up, but this drastically increased Qi Perception?’

The range and clarity were both different.

‘It’s not bad, though….’

The wider and deeper the perception, the better.

As one’s realm grows, their Qi Perception also develops, providing many applications, so this is a definite advantage.

But I couldn’t understand why this was happening.

It should follow a sequence where an increase in realm leads to improved perception.

The fact that my perception grew so much perplexed me.

‘Could it be… I leveled up without realizing?’

That couldn’t be true.

When I assessed my body earlier while rotating my energy, I confirmed that there were no changes in my realm.

However—

‘It might as well be worth checking again.’

Since I hadn’t seen it properly, I wondered if I had miscalculated.

So I shifted my hand ever so slightly.

Rather than revolving energy through my body, it was quicker to ignite a flame.

And just as I was about to try and produce the flame—

“…”

I didn’t manage to ignite a flame in my palm.

Was it because the flame wouldn’t come out? No, that wasn’t it.

‘This… if I ignite this, it’s not going to be good.’

I sensed it instinctively.

If I unleashed the flame now, everything would be scorched.

It wasn’t a problem with my body, but—

‘It feels like I can’t control it.’

I could sense that the firepower had significantly increased.

Since I had a hunch about this, I couldn’t risk producing a flame.

‘What the hell kind of nonsense is this?’

Though my realm hasn’t improved, I can tell my firepower has skyrocketed.

What in the world is going on?

I didn’t understand it.

But my body said otherwise.

Just how much has the firepower increased?

I desperately wanted to ignite a flame to test it, but not being able to control it was too dangerous.

‘This area might get completely incinerated.’

Normally, one would control the output of the flame to avoid any damage.

But if I couldn’t control it, it’s like unleashing fireworks uncontrollably.

To confirm this, I’d probably have to go to a secluded area.

“Hmmm….”

What the heck happened?

Something surely changed, but not knowing what it was felt incredibly annoying.

‘…If I don’t know, then I should at least investigate.’

Yes, if there’s been a change, the best course would be to find out.

As I thought about heading to a more secluded area to confirm everything.

Suddenly—

Woom.

Something caught my ankle in my Qi Perception.

Someone was approaching.

At first, I thought it might be Nahi.

‘No.’

Nahi doesn’t act that blatantly. Plus, if she was coming, her demon energy would have reacted before her presence did.

Then who could it be? My curiosity didn’t linger long.

Thud.

Someone lightly landed near me.

“There you are. I’ve been searching for some time.”

“…What brings you here?”

A middle-aged man with flowing white hair appeared.

The figure was none other than Nangong Hyeong, the Master of Wudang, and Woo Hyeok’s mentor.

An unexpected visitor.

“Have you been looking for me?”

Nangong Hyeong searched for me. That alone was odd, but his expression was even weirder.

There was suspicion and something akin to pity in the way he looked at me.

A combination of sentiments that seemed tough to share.

What kind of expression is that?

“Master, what’s going on?”

“Ah, well… um….”

“…?”

“I wanted to ask you something first. Gu Gongja.”

“Yes?”

“How old were you when you did that?”

“…Huh?”

What kind of question is that?

How old was I at that time?

I couldn’t grasp the intention behind the question.

“…Master, your explanation seems rather lacking?”

“Hmm, well, that’s the thing… um… no, I suppose I shouldn’t say it so bluntly… it’s better if you see for yourself.”

“What are you….”

“Oh, and if you try to run, Moyong So-jah told me to relay a message.”

“What did you say…?”

“She specifically said to tell you that if you don’t come quickly, she’ll really kill you.”

“…”

I had no idea what he meant.

I didn’t understand what Master was saying, nor did I grasp the situation at all.

“…I guess we should go then.”

For now, moving seemed like the right choice.

As I thought that, I began to walk.

Following Master, we arrived at none other than Shin Yi’s residence.

While it was called a residence, in reality, it was a place Shin Yi used for his treatment sessions; it was also where Nangong Bi-ah and Wi Seol-ah were located.

Since I often frequented the place, I knew it well…

‘What is this?’

Unlike before, the residence felt unusually crowded.

It usually had about five people at most.

But now, I sensed more than ten presences.

What could be happening to gather this many people?

“What on earth is going on?”

I immediately asked Master, but—

“Hmm. It seems something interesting has happened.”

Master replied evasively, as if he found it hard to express.

Meanwhile, I noticed countless curious glances cast toward me.

‘What is up with this?’

What on earth was happening inside?

And why was I brought here?

The whole situation was baffling.

Especially since Moyong Hi-ah, who had been avoiding me recently, had sent a message saying that if she didn’t come, I’d be dead, implying it wasn’t a good situation for me.

‘Should I just run away?’

This wasn’t just curiosity; running would probably be the better option.

Instincts were screaming at me to do so, but it was too late.

As soon as we arrived, Master opened the door to the residence, and the scene inside immediately came into view.

Familiar faces crowded around.

Of course, there was Shin Yi, who was the owner of the place, along with the seldom-seen Baek Cheon-gyeom, Wi Seol-ah, and Nangong Bi-ah, who was undergoing treatment. Additionally, Tang Soyeol and the very Moyong Hi-ah who had called for me were present.

‘…She’s angry, huh?’

It was evident that Moyong Hi-ah seemed furious.

Even Wi Seol-ah and Tang Soyeol looked unusually displeased.

What on earth could have upset them?

Could it be me?

As I felt a slight cold sweat trickle down my back—

“…Huh?”

That was when I witnessed the unbelievable scene.

Seated calmly on Nangong Bi-ah’s lap was a child.

The child appeared light and easy, suggesting they were very young.

An odd revelation: what child is sitting on her lap?

But more importantly—

“…What is that?”

The child on Nangong Bi-ah’s lap bore an uncanny resemblance to someone.

Its glaring eyes and the impression of being poorly raised felt profoundly familiar.

The expression of utter dissatisfaction and the raised eyes were…

‘…That’s me!’

It was remarkably similar to me and not just to some extent.

It could be described as a copy of my childhood.

Was this an illusion?

As I rubbed my eyes in disbelief, that was when—

“Ah….”

The child sitting on Nangong Bi-ah’s lap locked eyes with me.

In that instant—

“…Ah…Pa….”

“Huh?”

The child spoke to me like that.

All the murderous stares in the room converged onto me.

 

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