Moments earlier, So-yeon had entered the dining hall for a meal. As always, she intended to find a quiet spot—but the boisterous commotion from across the room caught her attention.
'Is something going on?'
She shifted her gaze toward the noise. A dense cluster of cadets she hadn't seen at the Transcendence Hall's orientation—unfamiliar faces, clearly Thousand Days Hall cadets.
'Nothing worth worrying about. Nobody's dying.'
The Transcendence Hall cadets had also been briefed on the cooperative trial and would need to form teams, but she decided now wasn't the time. She was about to look away and walk past when, amid the packed crowd, one face stood out.
Ha Jin.
Eating in silence, utterly unbothered by the surrounding chaos. In that instant, her father the Blade Demon's voice echoed in her mind.
-Keep a close eye on Cadet Four Hundred. That one may be the greatest enigma in this entire class.
The Blade Demon never spoke idly. He always had sound reasons behind his words. So-yeon deliberated briefly. Then, as though she had made up her mind, she rose quietly from her seat.
'I should go have a look.'
She began walking toward Ha Jin at a measured pace. As she drew close, the murmuring around her intensified.
"Why is Lady So-yeon here?"
"What business does the Blade Demon's daughter have over here?"
Despite the Demon Path Hall's rule that all cadets were equal, an unspoken hierarchy inevitably existed among them.
As the daughter of a Demon Lord, So-yeon's standing was considerable by default. Not that the murmuring affected her in the slightest.
Her eyes were on Ha Jin alone as she asked in her plainspoken way.
"Would you join my team?"
A brief silence followed. The cadets were stunned, but the most taken aback was Ha Jin himself. He blinked several times before the question slipped out.
"Just like that......?"
At his genuinely bewildered reaction, So-yeon realized she had jumped straight to the point too hastily. Conversations were supposed to follow a certain order, weren't they? She tried again.
"I'm preparing to form a team for the second-stage trial. That's why I'm asking."
"No, I understand that part. But why are you proposing this to me, out of nowhere......?"
Ha Jin's confusion was entirely warranted. A team-up proposal was the kind of thing you normally broached after at least some acquaintance. Coming from someone who was, for all intents and purposes, a stranger made it deeply disconcerting.
Unfortunately, So-yeon was even more lacking in conversational finesse than she appeared. She had no talent whatsoever for lengthy explanations, and so she had always been the type to lead with the conclusion—a fact almost no one knew.
She simply stated the truth. In severely condensed form.
"I'm interested in you."
Having said this and nothing more, So-yeon told him to think it over, then turned and walked away without a backward glance.
After So-yeon departed, the dining hall erupted into the kind of chaos that follows a detonation. The surrounding cadets descended on Ha Jin en masse.
"Hey! What's your relationship with the Blade Demon's daughter?!"
"Interested? Did you two know each other before?!"
"First the Mad Demon, now the Blade Demon? What even are you?! Oh right, Ghost Hand's disciple......"
Amid the deluge of questions, jealousy, and awe-tinged stares, Ha Jin could only gaze blankly at the spot where So-yeon had been. Who was that woman, and why had she barged into his peaceful mealtime like this?
"Interested"—what was that even supposed to mean?
The cadets, meanwhile, were in a frenzy around Ha Jin. Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, Demon Path Hall, cutthroat competition—all of that aside, they were still young men in their twenties with blood running hot.
The attention of a woman renowned enough to be counted among the Demonic Sect's Three Flowers was more than sufficient to ignite their curiosity, and the dining hall devolved into something resembling a marketplace in seconds.
Amid the uproar, Do Gyeong was lost in entirely different thoughts.
'So-yeon personally expressed interest......'
He replayed So-yeon's shocking statement, trying to bring order to his scrambled mind. At the same time, his eyes sharpened.
'Why did So-yeon approach Ha Jin......?'
So-yeon was obviously one of the leading candidates for the Sect Leader's seat. Considering that context, several possibilities intersected in his head.
'Ha Jin carries the symbolic weight of being Ghost Hand's disciple. Since he applied to the Thousand Days Hall, the chance of him becoming a direct rival is low. So she's trying to make him hers preemptively?'
Moreover, proposing this in front of everyone was excellent optics. Some might even wonder whether the two had a prior relationship. Reaching this conclusion, the scattered puzzle pieces began to click into place.
'A shrewd move, admittedly. This alone will likely deter some people from trying to approach Ha Jin.'
Do Gyeong revised his assessment of So-yeon. He had regarded her as merely a capable warrior riding on the Blade Demon's coattails, but it seemed her political instincts were sharper than he'd given her credit for.
Upgrading her from Medium to Upper-tier, Do Gyeong carefully gauged Ha Jin's reaction. Ha Jin was an asset he could not afford to lose.
Of course, if he couldn't have him, ensuring the other side didn't get him either was the next best thing. Do Gyeong gently tapped Ha Jin's shoulder. Continuing the conversation here was pointless.
-Let's step outside for a moment.
He mouthed the words silently, and Ha Jin nodded. The two rose from their seats.
"Where are you going?"
"Just stepping out for some air. We have something to discuss in private."
Do Gyeong met the questioner's gaze evenly and answered.
At the unmistakable dismissal, the cadets who had been about to follow hesitated and sank back into their seats. The two walked outside alone.
***
Leaning against the cold wall, Do Gyeong dispensed with preamble and went straight to the point.
"Are you planning to go with So-yeon?"
A probing undertone ran beneath the words. Ha Jin considered for a moment.
'I was caught off guard at first, but......'
Her manner hadn't been arrogant, and compared to Cheon Ha-rin—who had immediately drawn a blade and tried to carve him up—
'She's practically an angel.'
Perhaps the bar for comparison was too extreme. But So-yeon genuinely struck him as a decent partner.
'Teaming up with her doesn't seem like it would hurt.'
Ha Jin arrived at his conclusion internally and answered with composure.
"Probably, yes."
The moment the answer landed, Do Gyeong's mind grew even more tangled.
'Has Ha Jin decided to back So-yeon?'
It was at least a relief that it wasn't Cheon Ha-rin—the worst-case scenario for the orthodox sects. But So-yeon was no pushover either.
'This is getting complicated. In that case......'
Do Gyeong's eyes narrowed. A new board was already being drawn in his mind. The plan: engineer Yun Geom and So-yeon into the same team, and use the combination to keep Cheon Ha-rin in check.
A dangerous play, to be sure. But since both appeared to be gunning for the Young Sect Leader's seat, nothing else had better odds of sidelining Cheon Ha-rin.
And so the dilemma deepened. Yun Geom and So-yeon—both were thorny opponents. But this was a time for focus and commitment. He reached his decision swiftly.
'Even if it means tying those two together, the priority is getting Yun Geom closer to the Young Sect Leader position. Checking Cheon Ha-rin comes first.'
Having Cheon Ha-rin become Young Sect Leader was a worse outcome than absorbing the variable of So-yeon while binding her to Yun Geom's team. So Do Gyeong settled on the plan of placing Yun Geom and So-yeon in the same group.
He looked at Ha Jin.
"In that case, I'll approach Yun Geom and see if he's open to forming a team. You give So-yeon your answer. We put together one big team—two Transcendence Hall cadets, six from the Thousand Days Hall. You and I just need to fill the remaining four slots."
An attractive proposal. Ha Jin nodded. From his perspective, there was nothing to lose.
'Yun Geom is a bit of a concern, but judging by Do Gyeong's reaction, he seems like a decent guy. Better than teaming with some random Demonic Sect member I've never met.'
It was a reasonable offer. He had to form a team for the trial anyway, and this composition would let him pass without fuss.
"Then we're done here?"
For Ha Jin, passing the Demon Path Hall with stellar marks wasn't the point. Passing smoothly was enough. What actually filled his thoughts was something else entirely.
'When do I go see my master?'
The Mad Demon had told him to come find her once he entered the Thousand Days Hall, and she'd have the extra spiritual medicine. His mana wellspring had partially recovered but was far from whole—this was the most urgent matter at hand.
Do Gyeong, for his part, interpreted Ha Jin's response as a sign that trust had been established between them. He nodded with a satisfied smile.
"Sure, let's catch up later. I have things to take care of too."
With that, Do Gyeong disappeared at a brisk pace. His retreating figure looked somehow anxious.
And anxious he was.
'I need to report the variables immediately.'
So-yeon's intervention and Ha Jin's choice. All of it constituted critical intelligence requiring immediate escalation to his superiors.
After parting with Ha Jin, Do Gyeong didn't linger in the Demon Path Hall. His steps moved without hesitation toward the exit.
His destination was a small, inconspicuous inn tucked away in a corner of Black Wood Cliff. Do Gyeong walked in as naturally as if it were his own home and opened a small door at the back.
The door creaked open to reveal a space that looked like an ordinary kitchen. In one corner, an old man sat on a worn chair, trimming vegetables.
The old man glanced at Do Gyeong, then lowered his gaze. To all appearances, he was nothing more than an inn cook. Without pausing his knife, he asked in a dispassionate voice.
"Another report, is it."
A voice that didn't belong to an ordinary cook. Do Gyeong closed the door behind him and bowed respectfully before the old man.
"Yes, Branch Chief. I believe a matter has arisen that warrants a report to the Alliance."
"......To the Alliance? What is it?"
At the gravity in Do Gyeong's tone, the old man set down the vegetables and looked at Do Gyeong squarely for the first time.
"The Mad Demon's interference caused a sudden change to the second-stage trial. As a result, contrary to the original plan, the Transcendence Hall and Thousand Days Hall will be taking a cooperative trial. I've been forced to maneuver Yun Geom and So-yeon into the same team."
The instant the old man heard this, his expression turned ice-cold. A keen light flashed in his eyes. He asked the most critical question.
"Is the check on House Cheon proceeding without issue?"
"Yes, it should be. I'll make sure of it. Also, regarding Ghost Hand's disciple—he chose the Thousand Days Hall and has been placed in the same team as me."
"Is that so? Wait a moment. There was something I've been meaning to give you regarding Ghost Hand."
After a brief, thoughtful hum, the old man handed Do Gyeong a small box.
CLICK. The moment the box opened, Do Gyeong's eyes went wide.
"What on earth is this?"