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“Looks like I’ll put my Arctic trip on hold for a bit and figure out this Fire Spirit technique instead.”

According to Mangnyang’s words, I could rush over to the North Pole and plant some blood into the Water Element Divine Sword right now, but honestly, that seemed like a one-way ticket to trouble. Suddenly kicking the bucket was not exactly on my to-do list, so I decided to gather everything I might need beforehand.

“My direct master is Han Baek-ryeong, the Dharma Guardian of the Fire Spirit techniques.”

“Wow, she’s the Grand Master of the Fire Spirit techniques, and you’re already her direct disciple?!”

From what I knew, there were quite a few peak experts within the Fire Spirit sect. Some of them were likely as skilled as Lee Kwang or Jin So-cheong. Standing at the pinnacle of those legendary masters was Han Baek-ryeong herself, and being her direct disciple was, without a doubt, a fortuitous encounter.

“The sect master must really appreciate the effort I put into curing Young Master’s strange illness. Thanks to that, I can easily master the Fire Spirit techniques.”

Flame Spirit Energy!

Mangnyang demonstrated that by unleashing the Fire Spirit Energy from his hand. Even though it wasn’t actual fire, his internal power had turned into vapor, glowing brilliantly. I could tell just by looking that its size and shape were incredibly impressive, and I couldn’t help but gasp in awe.

“Amazing! You’ve reached this level of True State in just a year!”

Having learned the Thunder Dragon One Qi Technique and acquired the Thunder Spirit, I understood just how tricky it was to wield Natural Spirit Energy. Unlike normal internal power, Natural Spirit Energy was incredibly pure and dense, meaning it required a whole lot more training to refine and utilize it properly.

Mangnyang kept explaining.

“The internal power of the Fire Spirit sect has various forms, but the most mainstream is the Flame Spirit Divine Art. It’s likely comparable to the Thunder Dragon One Qi Technique, and a key feature of the Flame Spirit Divine Art is its instantaneous acceleration capability.”

“Instant acceleration capability?”

“Watch closely. I’m going to demonstrate the Flame Spirit Divine Art now.”

Mangnyang grabbed a stance for the fist technique and calmly focused ahead. I realized, despite him not having much martial training, his stance was solid and composed, without any gaps. Considering it usually took an ample amount of time for beginners to eliminate their stance flaws, Mangnyang’s martial talent was undoubtedly impressive.

Bam!

In an instant, Mangnyang moved rapidly, extending a punch toward the front. I observed the change and speed and couldn’t help but comment.

“That’s incredibly fast… and there’s a ton of transformation techniques packed into that punch.”

“Yeah…”

Mangnyang wiped the sweat off his forehead, looking like he had exhausted a bit of energy.

“This technique is known as the Flame Spirit Divine Art’s ultimate secret, Dragon Fang. It ignites the inner Fire Spirit, allowing for a temporary speed boost.”

Dragon Fang!

Of course, compared to those who are truly called peak experts, Mangnyang’s instantaneous speed still had room for improvement. But at his current martial level, the sudden increase in speed was visible to the naked eye. His basic punch technique could mix in three different transformations, making it highly likely that someone of the same level as Mangnyang might take a devastating hit.

It was clearly a practical technique.

After pondering for a moment, I said, “It feels like a technique similar to Thunderclap.”

“That’s probably the case.”

“But it seems quite different in several ways. It looks like it consumes way less internal power compared to Thunderclap, but its acceleration capability seems lacking.”

This wasn’t just me seeing my own sect’s martial arts as superior because I practiced the Thunder God lineage. Dragon Fang was a fundamentally different technique, one with different aspirations from Thunderclap. While Thunderclap was about breaking through the level gap and aiming for lethal strikes, Dragon Fang appeared to be a technique with a bit lower of a limit.

Mangnyang nodded in agreement.

“Thunderclap can be called an ultimate secret technique in itself. Compared to it, Dragon Fang is undeniably a lesser technique. But the true essence of this technique is that it can be mixed freely with regular techniques.”

After a while, he drew forth the Qing Steel Long Sword that had been lying beside him.

“This is the Ultimate Dragon King’s Sword technique I learned from the Fire Spirit sect, so watch closely.”

Whoosh!

With that, Mangnyang began to demonstrate the Ultimate Dragon King’s Sword technique. He strung together the moves fluidly as if conjuring an imaginary opponent in the air. Watching him, I couldn’t help but shudder, recalling the time I fought Han Baek-ryeong.

‘I see… Han Baek-ryeong mastered that too!’

Though the levels were different, the similarity was unmistakable. Every single move Mangnyang executed transformed into a fearsome attack capable of killing peak experts with a single hit as he leveled up. I was calmly observing his Ultimate Dragon King’s Sword moves when I noticed something strange.

“Hmm…”

Finally, after 24 seconds, Mangnyang finished demonstrating the Ultimate Dragon King’s Sword. He stared at me blankly and asked, “Did you feel the power of Dragon Fang?”

“Yeah. With that instantaneous acceleration, you can generate new techniques between basic moves, which means the variation is virtually infinite.”

“Well said. While the pure Ultimate Dragon King’s Sword has its limits, Dragon Fang is a concept of igniting the Fire Spirit and can be mixed with any martial arts.”

“Hmm…!!”

It dawned on me what Mangnyang meant.

Igniting Natural Spirit the Fire Spirit!

That implied that from a basic move, I could suddenly expand the options to two or three cuts, and when I needed to strike at a fixed angle, I could gain a broader angle. Theoretically, if I could freely wield Dragon Fang, I could operate techniques from an entirely different dimension, even if it was the same martial art.

‘This must be an ultimate secret technique on par with Thunderclap.’

As I mulled this over, Mangnyang chimed in.

“How about we compare the secrets of Thunderclap and Dragon Fang? We might even birth a greater technique from it.”

“Sure!”

I learned everything Mangnyang knew about the Fire Spirit techniques and the characteristics of his internal power over the next three months. While he was away, I tried to study the Fire Spirit techniques on my own too. After quite some time, I finally got a feel for what the Fire Spirit martial arts were like.

Mangnyang asked, “Have you made any progress?”

I shook my head vigorously in response.

“Everything is great, but it’s impossible to create a better technique by comparing Thunderclap and Dragon Fang. Both techniques are world-class martial skills, and I can’t pull just the advantages of two with my current insight.”

Can a genius even do such a thing? Thunderclap aimed for extreme speed enhancement for short-term decisive battles, while Dragon Fang improved the power and universality of regular techniques through instantaneous acceleration. There were aspects that each chose to sacrifice in order to gain their strengths. I felt that merging both into the ultimate technique was simply overreaching at this stage.

Mangnyang thought for a moment and suggested, “How about incorporating the Ultimate Dragon King’s Sword into your Ten Thousand Success Sword technique?”

“That’s not exactly easy either. Simply adding basic moves doesn’t control the power of martial arts effectively. Even if I learned the deepest insights of both sword techniques, that alone isn’t enough.”

“Huh… So all you discovered was the weakness of the Fire Spirit techniques.”

“Exactly.”

I sighed and added, “The weakness of the Fire Spirit techniques… I found out they have poor defense.”

The martial arts of the Fire Spirit sect packed a serious punch. So much so that in terms of destructive power, they were even more formidable than the Thunder God lineage. In fact, I had sparred with Mangnyang whenever I could, and when he unleashed Dragon Fang, utilizing the advantages of his moves for continuous attacks, blocking or dodging was a real hassle. If it were a peak expert from the Fire Spirit sect, a fight with me would definitely end in death for one of us in a short bout.

However, they sacrificed that power for weaker defense. While it was possible to boost their defense using Dragon Fang, doing so would mean losing the edge of their strength. Consequently, right after launching a powerful strike, they’d show an extremely vulnerable side if a counterattack came.

In other words, to easily deal with the Fire Spirit techniques, strong defense and excellent counterattack capabilities were essential!

Mangnyang cautioned, “Don’t jump to conclusions too quickly. What I’ve learned from Han Baek-ryeong is just a tiny part of the Fire Spirit techniques. The deeper you delve into it, the more secrets might be hidden. Didn’t you feel the same during your long training with the Thunder God lineage?”

“That’s absolutely true.”

I nodded, agreeing with Mangnyang’s statement.

The White Lotus Sect’s Four Great Families had been passed down for over a thousand years, refined by geniuses and masters into a colossal martial arts lineage. So there were countless techniques and realms to explore and never-ending depths to plumb. I keenly felt this while studying under Lee Kwang.

Mangnyang, feeling the heat, lounged on the Great Hall and remarked, “By the way, I wonder when Miho will stop being so shy.”

I silently gazed at the nearby hill in Jinrang Valley. A bright, full moon illuminated the mountain peaks, and I saw Miho standing there, swishing her tail atop a tree. Although the distance was over three miles, my martial prowess allowed me to see her clearly.

After showing me the memory, Miho lingered around here but never easily approached me. Whenever I carefully spoke to her as she crept into Jinrang Valley, she’d often get startled and quickly flee. I had never seen this timid side of Miho before, so I was completely perplexed about how to handle it now.

I couldn’t figure it out, so I asked Mangnyang.

“Is it really that embarrassing for her? What’s up with Miho?”

“Hahaha… You need to understand what emotions are mixed into the feeling of embarrassment.”

“What do you mean…”

“By now, Miho has likely calmed down, so why don’t you go talk to her yourself? Right now, she might be willing to hear you out.”

“Alright.”

Whoosh!

In the next instant, I used Thunderclap to dash towards the peak where Miho was.

“Ah!”

As Miho stood on the tree, she seemed startled upon seeing me and attempted to flee using her transformation technique, but I had no intention of letting her go, so I quickly used Thunderclap and the Soul Removal Technique to catch up to her at maximum speed. As I wrapped my arms around her waist, she froze in shock.

I brought Miho down from the tree and questioned, “Miho, what’s going on?”

She stuttered, avoiding eye contact and staring at the ground. Taking her hand, I pleaded sincerely, “This is not the time for this. I desperately need your strength. Please come back.”

“… Baek Woong.”

After hesitating for a long while, Miho suddenly wrapped her hands around my neck and pulled me into a tight embrace. While this wasn’t the first time she had hugged me, this embrace felt different. Miho spoke while holding me.

“Do you understand what feelings arose in me after seeing that memory?”

“……”

“That obsidian conveyed all the emotions you experienced, felt, and shared from your perspective. It also transmitted the feelings you’ve had thinking about the ‘Miho’ up until now.”

Then her voice quivered as she continued, “You foolish boy. Just how many decades have you… been suffering alone? How long have you lived, embracing everything by yourself?”

“Miho…”

“Realizing that you were always sincere to me, I just couldn’t stand it…”

I remained silent.

Miho had always treated me affectionately in her previous lives, but I knew she had rarely held genuine romantic feelings. Most of the time, she approached me as a human she was supposed to protect under the Queen Mother’s orders. Aside from that, she had maintained her noble demeanor as a great demon.

Still, I liked Miho.

I’ve liked her until now, and I would continue to like her in the future.

No matter if I get no reciprocation, it doesn’t matter. Because my feelings of affection won’t vanish until I take my last breath. If just looking at her is enough, perhaps that’s a blessing for someone like me, a reborn person.

Miho released her embrace and slid slightly away, sitting back down on the ground. I also sat across from her, looking into her eyes. As she gazed at me, Miho spoke.

“Baek Woong. Let’s go to the Celestial Realm together.”

“The Celestial Realm…?”

“Yes. Once the ten-year contract protecting you expires, this Maiden can return to the Celestial Realm. At that time, let’s go together.”

As I stared blankly at Miho, she smiled with a somewhat sad expression.

“If you stay in the human world as you are, you’ll just drift about aimlessly like a dandelion, won’t you? Instead, after everything is done, let’s go together.”

“……”

I embraced Miho quietly. I could feel her warmth.

“Alright.”

Thinking about going to the Celestial Realm with Miho didn’t seem so bad. A new goal had formed within me.

 

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