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Time passed as our eyes locked.

I took a breath, trying to conceal my creaking body.

‘Why?’

Why is ‘that’ here?

I spotted a woman, gracefully waving her hand after noticing me.

With hair radiating a purple light and eyes shining even brighter.

Her striking appearance resembled someone I vaguely remembered.

It meant this wasn’t mere illusion.

Then—

‘Why are you here?’

I needed to know why she was in this place.

‘I was looking for you anyway.’

Heavenly Demon.

I was aware she was in Hanam. I’d even met her before, which led me to send people to gather information.

That information was the second task I had asked Pildu Ma to handle.

However—

‘The information was incredibly scarce.’

What Pildu Ma handed over wasn’t high quality.

Naturally, I didn’t rely solely on him; I had been collecting information from other sources as well.

But—

‘That was no different.’

Information about the Heavenly Demon in Hanam was far too little.

Had she hidden herself upon realizing I was investigating? Or had she already vanished from Hanam?

It was not surprising to think of those two possibilities given how little information there was despite the King of Demons being active…

‘Are you saying I couldn’t find her even when she’s right there?’

The Heavenly Demon hadn’t left Hanam.

From her appearance, she seemed like she hadn’t hidden at all.

Had she left and then returned?

That could be a possibility, but as I knew the Heavenly Demon, she was someone far removed from fleeing.

So let’s think this through.

The most crucial thing here.

‘Can I kill her?’

Is it possible to kill the Heavenly Demon right here?

I couldn’t do it the last time I saw her in that forgotten noodle shop in a back alley.

How about now?

I had regained the realm of my previous life.

Now, with the proper moves, defeating the protectors of renowned clans or sect elders shouldn’t be very difficult.

This was an objective self-assessment.

I was at the level of the upper-class masters and the leaders of the Gu Sect.

This meant unless they were among the top ten martial artists in the Central Plains, I should have had the upper hand.

‘Then, what’s the Heavenly Demon’s level?’

As I recalled our encounter in the Shinryong Temple.

At that time, she seemed strong enough to toy with someone like me.

If she had the same level as in my previous life, I would lose.

Should I withdraw then?

Kiiing-!

Though rational thought said yes, my body’s energy leapt me into a battle stance.

The demonic energy surged within me.

What was I holding back for, after all this? Would I stop now when the opportunity was right in front of me?

As the demon energy bared its fangs, my heart thundered, and just as I was about to charge—

“Prince.”

“…!”

The voice beside me froze my blood in an instant.

“What’s wrong?”

I momentarily forgot someone was next to me.

Moyong Hi-ah asked worriedly, prompting me to take a breath.

There was something I needed to protect right beside me.

Thus, I had to be careful in my movements.

Would I have the luxury to fight while protecting Moyong Hi-ah?

There was no certainty in that.

The more uncertain I felt, the more cautious I had to be.

“Ah.”

Amid all this, Moyong Hi-ah, realizing what I was gazing at, slowly approached.

“Wow, so you know her too, Prince?”

I frowned at her words.

‘Even you’ implying I didn’t know?

When I looked at her, she continued, “That person. She was brought by Gu Bon (Sword Phoenix).”

“…What?”

Her words turned my body rigid.

“Who brought her?”

“Gu Bon.”

“…If it’s Gu Bon… you mean our sister, right?”

“Yes, your sister.”

Are you seriously talking about Gu Huibi?

“A few days ago, Gu Bon came and said to give her a job.”

I kept hearing her words, but it took a while to sink in my mind.

It was utterly incomprehensible.

“She’s said to be a martial artist and quite strong… and since I was supposed to look for a table today, I just put her in. So you do know her now?”

“…”

Not only had Gu Huibi brought the Heavenly Demon here, but she had also included her in this place?

‘What kind of insane situation is this?’

What on earth was happening?

I was both confused and uneasy about this nonsensical turn of events.

“…Hey.”

“Yes?”

More than this, I sensed something strange.

So I pointed at the Heavenly Demon, speaking to Moyong Hi-ah.

“How does she look to you?”

“What?”

Moyong Hi-ah frowned as if my question was absurd.

However, understanding I had a reason to ask, she didn’t add further words but simply stared at the Heavenly Demon.

Then she spoke.

“…She’s a person, a woman.”

“More specifically.”

I knew it sounded strange, but I had to ask.

Independent of the Heavenly Demon being here, I had noticed the odd aspect in Moyong Hi-ah’s response.

“She’s probably shorter than me. And her hair is black.”

The person brought by Gu Bon. And someone I seemed to know of.

That was all Moyong Hi-ah could muster.

“And she has black eyes and slightly tanned skin… Should I also describe her features?”

In fact, the most crucial detail I needed to observe was something else.

“No, that’s fine.”

After hearing Moyong Hi-ah’s words, I felt confirmation wash over me.

Something was indeed off.

“Why?” she asked, puzzled.

But I couldn’t easily answer her.

And rightly so.

‘She’s not mentioning how she looks just like Wi Seol-Ah.’

No one could deny it; she looked just like Wi Seol-Ah.

The only differences were the hair and eye color, everything else was indistinguishable as twins.

Yet Moyong Hi-ah was asking no questions.

Moreover—

‘Her description sounded different.’

The height was vague, the hair was black, but not purely black.

There was still a hint of that purple light, and her eyes were not black either.

Let alone her skin color…

‘If she’s said to be slightly tanned, then her eyes are sunken.’

Her skin was so pale, it was almost sickly.

It didn’t make sense to say she looked tanned.

So why had Moyong Hi-ah described it this way?

As I pondered the reason, I surmised.

‘She’s perceiving things differently.’

This meant that Moyong Hi-ah’s gaze toward the Heavenly Demon was dissimilar.

‘Are others the same?’

Was it just Moyong Hi-ah, or was it everyone here?

Or—

‘Is my vision incorrect?’

Was Moyong Hi-ah’s perception correct, and was my sight flawed?

Though doubts arose, I believed in my vision.

No, I trusted the energies coursing within my body more than my eyes.

I continued watching the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon also looked back at me without evading my gaze.

There was an air of dullness to her expression.

It was a far cry from the prideful, condescending gaze from my previous life.

Just knowing this made me wonder if I was mistaking her for another person altogether.

An uneasy silence enveloped us as time passed.

I made my decision and turned to Moyong Hi-ah.

“…What do we do first?”

To confirm the identity of this lingering discomfort, I decided to observe for now.

The number of personnel counted to not exceed thirty.

Among them, I needed to sort seven.

That was what Moyong Hi-ah had requested of me.

“Seven, precisely.”

“Correct. You can choose as you wish.”

“Basically, I can do as I please.”

While listening to her explanation, my gaze drifted somewhere.

To the woman leaning against the tree, looking dazed, staring at the Heavenly Demon.

I was concerned about her intentions for being here and what she was up to.

Thinking of this, I stepped forward.

As I moved ahead, the gazes of those around me turned towards me.

Every face wore an expression of discontent.

It seemed like they had been waiting for quite some time.

Just then, as I was about to take action, a voice called out.

“Hey there.”

I pointed to one man with my finger.

As the chosen man looked puzzled.

“Accepted.”

“…?”

“I said you’re accepted.”

The blunt tone shocked the man into widening his eyes.

Disregarding his reaction, I waved my hand.

It was a signal to withdraw.

The man looked perplexed but made no further objections as he moved aside.

The person I pointed out was the second strongest martial artist present.

Excluding the Heavenly Demon.

Immediately after removing one person, I began to sift through the crowd.

“That left-side uncle is disqualified; the one with the ponytail is disqualified as well.”

Disqualified. Disqualified… Disqualified. And more disqualified.

I rapidly eliminated people one by one, within the time it took to take half a step.

A total of eleven individuals were qualified, while the rest were disqualified.

Nodding at those haphazardly chosen, I noted:

“Seems like I’ve cleared out the first round…”

“What in the world are you doing?”

Just as I felt satisfied with my clean work, someone shouted at me.

Looking up, I saw a martial artist with a strong presence.

“What are you doing, just appearing out of nowhere and judging for yourself?”

He was clearly enraged, a middle-aged man with a long scar on his face.

In terms of ability, he was—

‘Accomplished Peak.’

A perfect candidate to be treated with respect anywhere. Among those who had come here, he was the strongest and was the very first individual I disqualified.

I nodded at him.

“Why?”

“Huh?”

His expression scrunched up further at my relaxed demeanor.

“Is that the kind of question you’re asking?”

“What’s wrong with what I’m doing?”

As I questioned him, anger surged in his voice.

“It’s been over an hour since we’ve been gathered here. We’ve been sitting under the scorching sun, and some unknown bum’s just come and started disqualifying us; you think we’d be okay with that?”

I suppressed laughter at his words.

“Did you not hear what the branch leader just said? He said to do as I please.”

“Don’t joke with me!”

Kuuuwng—! The man flared up his energy, and the pressure swept across the area.

“Ugh-!!”

“Gah!”

Everyone around was taken aback by his unexpected show of strength.

In particular, the first person I had accepted seemed to recognize the danger immediately.

“I’m someone important! You dare to be so bold? It’s amusing that a child thinks he can judge me!”

Hearing his rage, the expressions of the others also twisted.

“Right? What the hell does this guy know to even conduct an interview?”

“Is Baekhwa Sect out of its mind? Recognizing us through someone of his caliber?”

They were all swept up in the mood.

It was already discomforting enough to be eliminated so rapidly, and now with a strong presence leading the charge in their discontent, it wasn’t surprising.

Plus—

“Even so, an exam should be conducted properly.”

“It’s a bit… harsh.”

Even the ones I had just qualified weren’t fully satisfied.

Most likely, just like before.

‘Those with martial pride cling to their status and evaluation.’

Wouldn’t it be nice if everyone could just be pleased with an easy acceptance?

The world sure is inconvenient.

In any case, I was unhappy.

Realizing the attention on him, the man smiled amidst his fury.

“I never imagined I would be treated like this. Branch Leader, is this really the stance of the Baekhwa Sect?”

“…”

Moyong Hi-ah said nothing.

She was simply staring at me with an expressionless gaze.

It meant to continue without concern. Seeing that relaxed me.

“Being treated this well may have tempted me, but you dared to have the nerve to do this…”

“Just like always, the loudmouths are the real troublemakers, even when they have nothing.”

“What…?”

“Not to mention the fools who blindly follow them.”

As I laughed at his expression, he glared back at me.

“Being disqualified must’ve had a reason. What’s there to question? If you don’t like it, just walk away!”

“You impudent little brat…!”

Guuuuuuh—!

The air trembled with killing intent and Qi.

It was a heavy energy befitting someone at the Accomplished Peak.

“Clearly, you seem to be part of this sect; you might want to adjust your attitude. No matter how esteemed the Baekhwa Sect may be, my sword is much closer to you than they are.”

The implication was that if this went badly, I could kill him.

The way he spoke indicated he’d back that up with action.

I nodded internally.

He was really not a bad martial artist.

It wouldn’t have made sense to eliminate him in a normal context.

He was the strongest martial artist here besides the Heavenly Demon.

At least, this was his standing.

If there hadn’t been a problem, I likely would have accepted him first.

Fine, ‘if it weren’t for the problem’.

“So, what? Are you gonna try to scare me with that? Ooh, how scary!”

“Hah, for a little brat like you…”

“Anyway, all you martial alliance guys draw swords the moment there’s a problem, don’t you? You’re all such punks.”

“…!”

I could see the fury welling up in his eyes as I mocked him.

Then I could see the others deflate.

“Yeah, that guy sure is clueless to be judgmental about the situation!”

“The Baekhwa Sect has lost their minds if they think we’ll be evaluated by that jerk!”

The atmosphere turned desperate.

His grumbling only made the demonic energy swirl higher.

“Even if it’s backed by a name, you should know I’ll defeat you with my sword!”

He enunciated as the malevolence gathered on his blade.

With the signs of violence brewing, I nodded in acknowledgment.

That guy really was a decent martial artist.

In terms of ability, dismissing him felt utterly ridiculous.

He ought to be treated with respect!

That was his position.

But as for problems independent of that…

“Then what? You can pull your sword as much as you want? So scared, so terrified.”

“Hah, do you really think you can keep that attitude?”

“Ah, the martial alliance people are just terrific.”

“…!”

The air slicing wisdom drove the man speechless.

It was easy to tell that his eyes were slightly trembling.

“You should know why you were disqualified. Why are you questioning it? If you don’t like it, you can just leave!”

“Damn it…!”

In that instant, he stepped forward.

The sight abruptly changed around me.

I found myself right in front of him in no time.

“Wh-huh…!!”

In his surprise, he attempted to react as if wanting to swing his sword.

But before he could do that, I seized his wrist and crushed it with a single motion.

Crack—.

“…!!!”

He faltered mid-movement, letting out a strangled scream without a sound.

And with that—

“Your attitude is too bold.”

Crack—!

A similar sound erupted from his lower body.

Immediately, he crumpled and knelt down.

“Arghhhh—!!”

At last, a true scream emerged.

With his bones shattered, he finally let loose a cry, but—

“Shut up.”

Crack—!

I knocked him out with a swift punch to his head.

He seemed large, but his scream was disproportionately loud. How annoying.

Thud.

The accomplished peak martial artist collapsed unconscious into the grass.

As his screams faded, a thick silence enveloped the surroundings.

The atmosphere turned significantly calmer than before.

When I glanced around, I noticed the remaining martial artists gaping at me with their mouths hanging open.

First, I tossed aside the fallen man.

Swish—!! Thud—!

The sound echoed as he dropped beyond the grass.

“So?”

Afterward, dusted my hands off, I asked.

“Anyone else have complaints?”

“…”

“…”

Thanks to my polite explanation, no one dared voice objections.

What a relief!

 

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