Sword Energy was the essence of inner arts that only those at the threshold of first-rate—and more commonly, Pinnacle-level masters—could wield. Its destructive power was incomparably greater than any attack Ha Jin had faced so far.
He didn't have nearly enough mana left to deploy a Shield. And even if he forced one out, it would be torn apart like tissue paper before that monstrous Sword Energy.
'......There's no blocking that.'
Warning bells shrieked inside Ha Jin's head. Every hair on his body stood on end. Pride be damned—survival was the only priority now. There wasn't a second to waste.
The lunatic before him fully intended to kill him. No excuse, no half-hearted resistance would work. His options in this situation were few.
'I need to get out of here somehow. If I'm going to run......'
Faced with the razor menace of Sword Energy, Ha Jin's brain began spinning at breakneck speed, driven by raw survival instinct. He instinctively turned his head and scanned the area around the training yard.
The nearest escape route was the path leading down from the sparring platform.
'That way!'
If he squeezed out every last drop of mana for a Haste spell and ran like hell, he might be able to get away. Or maybe a Teleport......
'No—in a situation like this, there's no time to calculate spatial coordinates. One mistake and it's over......'
In the span of a heartbeat, countless thoughts tore through his mind. Not that he had the luxury of deliberation. Cheon Ha-rin's blade was already hurtling mercilessly toward his skull.
In the end, he had to choose. It stung his pride a little, but there was no other way. Ha Jin screamed at the top of his lungs and threw both hands into the air. He was utterly desperate.
"I—I surrender! I lost! I surrender! So the match is over. You win!"
"What......?"
Simultaneously, Ha Jin hurled his body toward the edge of the platform.
The instant Ha Jin's wretched cry rang across the sparring platform, a nearly imperceptible hitch broke Cheon Ha-rin's ferocious swing. Her eyebrow twitched.
'Surrender......?'
She was momentarily taken aback. The man who had been brushing off her attacks as though they were nothing had suddenly declared surrender?
'What's his game?'
Cheon Ha-rin's thoughts deepened. But she couldn't fathom what possible scheme lay behind it. Then, one possibility occurred to her.
'Could this be a ploy to catch me off guard and exploit an opening? As if I'd fall for such a transparent trick!'
There was no way Ghost Hand's disciple would sincerely surrender. He wouldn't have been taught that way. So there had to be some other plot at work. That was her suspicion.
Suspicion unabated, she leveled her sword at the spot where Ha Jin had thrown himself. But all her eyes met was empty space.
"......?"
Ha Jin had clearly rolled toward the corner. He should have been right there. And yet, his form had vanished without a trace.
'Where in the world did he go? Did he sprout wings?'
Only then did Cheon Ha-rin realize something had gone terribly wrong. She instinctively raised her head and looked toward the far end of the training yard—the exit.
And there she spotted Ha Jin's retreating figure, vanishing like the wind. He had shouted his surrender and, in the same breath, bolted at full speed!
At first, Cheon Ha-rin couldn't accept reality. But as the situation gradually sank in, her face began to flush crimson with rage.
Just moments ago, Ha Jin had blocked her ferocious swordwork as effortlessly as though he were humoring a child's play-fighting.
Without ever crossing blades, he had deflected or redirected her razor-sharp strikes with nothing more than a few strange hand gestures.
Cheon Ha-rin surmised it was probably some form of profound claw technique passed down from Ghost Hand.
And yet a man possessing such formidable inner arts and exquisite skill had suddenly screamed surrender and turned tail to flee.
Wasn't this essentially the same as saying he was bored and couldn't be bothered with her anymore, so he was leaving? It was a flagrant display of contempt.
"That bastard! How dare he humiliate me like this?!"
Cheon Ha-rin howled in the direction Ha Jin had disappeared, unable to contain the fury surging through her. She wanted nothing more than to chase him down and drive her sword into that brazen face, but Ha Jin's form had already vanished without a trace.
"Nrrgh......!"
Trembling with rage, Cheon Ha-rin suddenly felt a wave of dizziness and staggered. Perhaps it was the backlash from forcibly drawing her energy up to first-rate levels to overwhelm Ha Jin—her body lurched sharply.
The strength drained from her body all at once, and unable to hold on any longer, she crumpled where she stood. Complete exhaustion.
Collapsed on the ground and gasping for breath, Cheon Ha-rin glared resentfully at the empty space where Ha Jin had disappeared. Crude profanity burst from her lips, fury unspent.
"......Son of a bitch! I will not let this go!"
***
Ha Jin ran for his life. Without so much as a backward glance, he tore along the winding paths of the training yard. Only after sprinting for what felt like an eternity did he finally slow to catch his breath and look behind him.
'Surely that lunatic won't chase me all the way here?'
Given that she'd drawn Sword Energy on their very first meeting, it was entirely possible she would. Thankfully, not a single shadow stirred behind him. Only then did Ha Jin release a sigh of relief.
"Phew, doesn't look like she's following. I'm alive. I'm alive......"
The tension leaving his body, Ha Jin felt his legs wobble as he leaned back against a nearby tree. Truly, today had been a nonstop spectacle of experiences he'd never had in his entire life.
"Maybe now I can get some peace and quiet......"
He was muttering to himself and steadying his breathing when a man materialized before him, sliding into view.
Black martial arts uniform, a face almost devoid of expression—an impression as sharp and honed as a well-whetted blade.
The man stared at Ha Jin, then asked in a low, cold voice.
"You. What did you just discuss with Cheon Ha-rin?"
"Excuse me?"
"Did you not speak with Cheon Ha-rin? I'm asking what you discussed with the Sect Leader's daughter."
"I'm sorry......?"
Ha Jin couldn't hide his bewilderment.
I'm sorry, whose daughter did I just have a conversation with......?
***
The instant the words "the Sect Leader's daughter" left the man's mouth, warning bells flared inside Ha Jin's head. He could hardly claim to know the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect in detail, but he had at least a vague grasp of the basic power structure.
The Sect Leader was, of course, the master of the colossal organization known as the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect—the figure standing at its absolute apex.
And the Sect Leader's daughter? That meant royalty! In other words, the owner family of Heavenly Demon Divine Sect, Inc.!
'Hold on. Then just now, I......?'
Ha Jin's face went white. Just moments ago, he had hurled the words "insane woman" at someone with that kind of staggering background, and then run away.
'What have I done......?'
He clutched his head in despair. This wasn't some minor friction. This was the kind of incident that could thoroughly derail his Demon Path Hall career. Hadn't he sworn to stay inconspicuous? Things were veering in the exact opposite direction.
'No, wait. Let me think. Let me replay what I did. There might be some misunderstanding I can clear up.'
Ha Jin rapidly replayed the situation in his mind, searching for any way to navigate this crisis.
First, he had been the one to request the spar. He'd simply needed a casual training partner. But Cheon Ha-rin had suddenly flown into a rage, come at him with murderous intent, and all he'd done was desperately block with magic before fleeing.
'Right, if I explain this properly, there might still be room to resolve things......?'
Just as he was running through his own rationalization and hope circuits, feeling a sliver of relief, the man before him shattered his delusion with an icy voice.
"You seem to have forgotten I exist. I'll ask again. What did you discuss with Cheon Ha-rin?"
"......Why should I tell you?"
Having just been trying to smooth things over, Ha Jin found the situation absurd. This man had appeared out of nowhere, speaking in a commanding tone, without even identifying himself. Typical Demonic Sect manners.
The man, on the other hand, fell silent for a moment at Ha Jin's defiant attitude, his expression unchanged. Black pupils bore into Ha Jin as though piercing straight through him. Then the man spoke.
"Fair enough. Let me introduce myself first. I'm Cadet Nineteen, Do Gyeong. I'm someone who intends to elevate a candidate other than Cheon Ha-rin to the position of Young Sect Leader."
"......Hm?"
"Now that you've entered the Demon Path Hall, you're either aiming for the Young Sect Leader's seat yourself or looking to back another candidate. One or the other. I'm the latter. Think of me as someone working to make the candidate I favor into the Young Sect Leader."
"And why are you telling me this......?"
"To determine whether you're an enemy or not. If you're the latter, wouldn't you like to join hands with me?"
Ha Jin was momentarily speechless at Do Gyeong's shocking proposal. His mind filled once again with complex calculations.
'So in short, he wants to stab the royal family in the back? No matter how much the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect preaches the Reverence of the Strong, she's still the Sect Leader's daughter. Wouldn't Cheon Ha-rin have more supporters? Or is it the opposite—does she have more rivals precisely because of that?'
Not everyone in the Demon Path Hall could realistically aim for the Young Sect Leader's seat. Whether it was a matter of skill or practicality.
In any case, those who weren't directly competing for the title would, like Do Gyeong, be working to elevate their preferred candidate.
Just then, a different thought sparked in Ha Jin's mind.
'If I relay what this guy just said straight to Cheon Ha-rin, wouldn't that help clear up the misunderstanding? Like, "Actually, this man is plotting to bring you down!" Something like that?'
He felt bad for the man in front of him, but his own survival came first. Ha Jin probed Do Gyeong with a testing look.
"What if I'm on her side? Why would you say something like that?"
"If you were, you wouldn't have fought with Cheon Ha-rin on the very first day. Isn't that right?"
Do Gyeong's face split into something close to a sneer at Ha Jin's question.
His tone made it clear he had already observed Ha Jin's actions. He must have been watching the whole time.
'How long was he watching?'
The Demonic Sect was the Demonic Sect, alright. Not a single normal person in the bunch, it seemed. Ha Jin's discomfort showed on his face despite himself.
Seeing this, Do Gyeong shifted the subject.
"Let's set this aside for now. I have no desire to maintain an unnecessary relationship with you."
Then he said something Ha Jin hadn't expected at all.
"Rather than such unpleasant matters...... I'd like to learn more about you."
Ha Jin's expression turned even more openly uncomfortable. His brow furrowed deeply, and all manner of unpleasant scenarios bloomed in his imagination. Surely he wasn't... into that? The Demonic Sect really did have every kind, it seemed.
Ha Jin instinctively took a step back and, packing as much wariness into his voice as possible, addressed Do Gyeong.
"I'm not sure what you mean by that. I also don't see why you'd want to know about me. And frankly, that's quite a rude thing to say to someone you've just met."
His voice carried suspicion laced with a hint of revulsion. But Do Gyeong, wholly unfazed by Ha Jin's reaction, answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"You're Ghost Hand's disciple, aren't you? Wanting to know about his only disciple is a perfectly natural thing for a member of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect."
Only then did Ha Jin let out an "Ah!" as he realized his mistake. He broke into a sheepish laugh.
"Ahaha, so that's what you meant! Man, the way you phrased it! I almost got the completely wrong idea! Tch! Got all tense for nothing!"
The embarrassment caused him to slip back into polite speech before he knew it. Ha Jin patted Do Gyeong's shoulder, trying to mask his awkwardness with bluster.
"Let's drop the formalities. We look about the same age."
"Sure. And here I thought you were the two-faced type—almost got the wrong idea myself."
"......Ha ha, as if."
But Do Gyeong's expression was deeply shadowed. Like someone whose secret had almost been exposed.