***
It was a moonless night of the new moon.
It happened to be the day for our squad’s night patrol.
Even for veterans who had spent several years at the front, night patrol was always a continuous series of tensions.
Demons like Owl Ghosts that lurked in the pitch-black darkness, and the Blood Cult’s masters who occasionally targeted unit members for essence absorption or lust, were sufficiently threatening even to peak-level masters.
However, our squad was a bit different.
Because we had Squad Leader Seol Poong in our squad.
“Wait.”
As Squad Leader Seol Poong, who was leading us at the front, muttered lowly, we all stopped in our tracks and became alert to our surroundings.
He muttered.
“It’s an Owl Ghost.”
As soon as those words ended, a demon sprang out silently from the darkness.
Snap!
It was an ambush that would have been incredibly threatening if one had been caught unaware.
However, the head of the fellow who vaulted toward us was crushed midway.
Splat!
This was because Squad Leader Seol Poong’s kicking technique, which shot out much faster than the Owl Ghost, crushed the fellow’s head like a watermelon.
Squad Leader Seol Poong, who returned after killing an Owl Ghost in a split second, spoke to us.
“Situation cleared. There are no more.”
He was a reliable figure no matter when I saw him.
Even as a man, I found myself admiring him.
To Squad Leader Seol Poong, who usually trained with his eyes covered, night patrol was merely a common task that was no different from any other patrol.
Young Lady Na Seo-yu and Young Lady Cheon Ju-eun spoke to him with bright smiles.
“Good work today as well, Squad Leader.”
“As expected, our Squad Leader is the best! You are so cool, Squad Leader!”
At their words, Squad Leader Seol Poong became visibly flustered and waved his hands.
“N-n-no. W-what do you mean cool. It-it was nothing. L-let’s keep going quickly!”
As Squad Leader Seol Poong stepped back to the front as if fleeing after saying that, Young Lady Na and Young Lady Cheon giggled. In fact, we all knew that he hadn't just moved away as if fleeing, but that he had truly run away.
It was a clumsy appearance that completely erased the cool image from a moment ago.
Honestly, the Squad Leader would have been truly perfect if not for that phobia of women.
Squad Leader Seol Poong, who said he had only trained in the mountains since childhood, found dealing with women very difficult.
No, rather than difficult, it seemed more accurate to say he was afraid of them.
Anyway, because of that side of him, he was a person who made me confused whether to feel regret that he wasn't perfect or to feel relieved that he was at least human.
Suddenly, a memory of the past came to mind.
In my previous life, that behavior was only corrected after one person died.
Recalling that bitter memory for a moment, I shook my head.
I just had to make sure things didn't turn out that way in this life.
To do that, I first had to deal with that fellow who had been the cause.
I stole a glance toward Ju Tae-gyeong, the Sword Beetle of Jeomchang, and his lackeys who were following far behind us.
Ju Tae-gyeong, who did not recognize Squad Leader Seol Poong, always acted separately like that with his lackeys.
He even followed behind us like that when he could have just gone ahead of us if he were truly confident.
He was indeed a snake-like fellow.
Of course, that didn't mean the danger disappeared completely.
I had heard that the two people who were killed by a Spider Ghost before Young Lady Cheong-yeon and I arrived were ambushed from the rear while acting in that manner.
As I was looking toward them, Bi Sa-yeong asked me.
“By the way, it will be time for the duel with that guy in two weeks. Are you confident?”
“Well. Do I have confidence? I’m just working hard.”
“Hmph! What kind of talk is that? You must turn him into a pulp. I’m counting on you.”
Then, Squad Leader Seol Poong, who was walking at the front, joined the conversation.
“If only your internal energy were equal, Jin’s skill would obviously be superior. Internal energy is the problem. It would have been good if you were at least at half a cycle and could use Sword Qi.”
“Mmm.”
Indeed, internal energy was the problem.
Currently, my internal energy was roughly between twenty and thirty years. Considering that the minimum internal energy required to use Sword Qi was half a cycle (thirty years), it was a problem that was difficult to solve in just two weeks.
Suddenly, Young Lady Na Seo-yu asked with a worried face.
“That’s true, but isn't it also true that not everyone can use Sword Qi just because they exceed half a cycle of internal energy? One must gain enlightenment and cross the wall of the Sword Qi realm.”
Her words were also correct.
If the wall of the first-class realm was the Sword Qi realm and the wall of the peak realm was the Astral Qi realm, there were some people who said that creating Sword Qi was harder than creating Astral Qi, depending on the individual.
Of course, that was an irrelevant point for me, as I had already crossed the wall of the Sword Qi realm in my previous life.
Young Lady Cheong-yeon answered for me.
“That will be fine. Young Master Sunwoo is a strange person whose spirit has already surpassed the first-class realm, but whose internal energy is just not yet at the first-class level.”
…As expected, she was sharp.
Then, Bi Sa-yeong asked again as if frustrated.
“From what I see, it seems you have something up your sleeve; can’t you just tell us clearly? It’s only us listening anyway.”
Hmm, could I tell them first?
It was something everyone would find out in two weeks anyway, and I could trust everyone here.
After hesitating for a moment, I finally decided to tell them.
“Actually, there is a spirit elixir that my father gave me before I came here. It’s an elixir that can provide roughly ten years of internal energy.”
There were actually two, but I decided to hide one for now.
Then, Bi Sa-yeong, whose face brightened significantly, asked again.
“Oh, that’s great. Then why don’t you eat it now?”
At that moment, Squad Leader Seol Poong spoke.
“It seems there is an issue with purity. Is there a lot of external energy?”
I answered bitterly to his sharp question.
“Yes, that is correct.”
“By how much?”
“If I consume the elixir, it seems it will be roughly fifty percent.”
“Mmm.”
When Squad Leader Seol Poong closed his mouth with a serious face, Young Lady Cheon Ju-eun, who couldn't follow our conversation, asked.
“What are you talking about? Am I the only one who didn't understand?”
As Squad Leader Seol Poong looked a bit troubled at her words, Young Lady Cheong-yeon answered instead.
“If the external energy from things like spirit elixirs is more than fifty percent of the total internal energy, the risk of Qi Deviation increases. It seems Young Master Sunwoo is saying that could happen if he consumes the elixir now.”
“Ah, Qi Deviation.”
That was it.
This was the reason I was delaying the consumption of the spirit elixir until the last moment.
Of course, even now, I was rapidly purifying the internal energy in my body with the outstanding capability of the Primordial Limitless Internal Art, so I intended to consume it after it became as safe as possible.
Unless more time passed and Ju Tae-gyeong reached the high level of the first-class realm, I felt I could handle him somehow with that much since he was currently at the mid-level of the first-class realm.
Young Lady Cheon Ju-eun muttered with her finger in her mouth.
“Hmph, I thought eating spirit elixirs was all good, but there were problems too.”
When Young Lady Cheon Ju-eun, who was short and had a baby face, made such a gesture, she looked incredibly cute.
While everyone was smiling at her cute appearance, Bae Jong-gwan, who had a fatal weakness for cute things, couldn't hold back and cut in.
“I-I have never eaten such a thing either, Young Lady Cheon.”
At Bae Jong-gwan’s words, Young Lady Cheon replied with a giggle.
“Ah, I see. Young Master Bae is the same as me.”
“Ugh!”
As Bae Jong-gwan clutched his chest at her cute appearance, we all shook our heads and looked away from him.
Young Lady Na Seo-yu suddenly changed the subject.
“By the way, there will be a lot of work for a while. There is Young Master Sunwoo’s duel, and right after that, there will be the summit between the Alliance Leader and the Blood Demon. It feels strange. I’ve had many instances of fighting demons since coming to the front, but I’ve never experienced events like these.”
Come to think of it, there was that too.
About a month after the duel with Ju Tae-gyeong ended, the summit between the Murim Alliance and the Blood Cult happened to be held at the 13th Unit.
It was a summit where the Alliance Leader, Chivalrous King Moyong Geom, and the Leader of the Blood Cult, Evil Wisdom Blood Demon Jeon Mu-gwang, met; many people worried that it would not be a summit, but rather the start of a Second Great War between the Orthodox and the Blood Cult.
However, from what I experienced in my past life, they unexpectedly met very peacefully, only talked, and then parted ways.
Bi Sa-yeong suddenly grumbled.
“Tsk, it’s horrific to think about Deputy Leader Heon making a fuss to look good. Why on earth are they doing that at the 13th Unit of all places?”
Everyone nodded at Bi Sa-yeong’s words.
Deputy Leader Heon Yeong-bo, whose head was filled only with thoughts of leaving this place by looking good to his superiors, was already making a fuss about tidying up the unit and cleaning.
At that moment, Young Lady Cheong-yeon, who never considered the flow of the surrounding conversation when she grew curious about something, suddenly asked.
“But isn't it strange? The risk of falling into Qi Deviation increases if external energy exceeds fifty percent, so how on earth are the Blood Cult masters still alive when they consume most of their internal energy through essence absorption?”
“Huh?”
“That is... true, isn't it?”
Usually, when Young Lady Cheong-yeon asked such questions, the atmosphere would turn cold, but it seemed she had succeeded this time.
Indeed, I was also a bit curious.
That’s right.
Those fellows accumulate internal energy mostly by absorbing the essence of others, so how do they stay alive and well?
Everyone thought deeply about it, but unfortunately, no one knew the answer.
The next day, while the other members of the 7th Squad were gathered and training, the Sword Beetle of Jeomchang, Ju Tae-gyeong, was also focused on his training.
“H-ha-a-a-ap!”
Shu-ha-a-a-ak!
Misty Sword Qi stretched out like a spear tip and pierced the air.
He was indeed worthy of being a disciple of the Jeomchang Sect, which had been one of the Nine Great Sects.
Ma Yu-gyeom, the 4th Squad Leader and the Sword Eagle of Jeomchang, who was watching his training, also nodded and spoke.
“As expected, progress becomes faster when there is a goal. You have certainly improved. I could confidently say you are now a high-level first-class warrior.”
At his praise, Ju Tae-gyeong politely clasped his hands and answered.
“Thank you, Senior Martial Brother. It is all thanks to your guidance.”
In the destroyed Jeomchang Sect, a Sect Leader did not officially exist. However, neither Ju Tae-gyeong, who called Ma Yu-gyeom "Senior Martial Brother," nor Ma Yu-gyeom, who was listening to it, felt awkward at all.
This was because Ma Yu-gyeom was the third strongest among the many Jeomchang disciples fighting for the revenge of their sect at the front, and he was the son of Ma Won-ung, the Jeomchang Sect Leader who was killed by the Blood Cult.
He was a person who would have naturally become the next Sect Leader if the Jeomchang Sect were still intact.
Having such a background and skill, and even being as handsome as a piece of polished jade, Ma Yu-gyeom’s influence within the unit was immense.
It was known that he had numerous followers not only within the 13th Unit but also in other units.
Ma Yu-gyeom spoke again.
“Lately, the unit members have been making a fuss about that guy, calling him the Vajra Flying Star or the Iron God Meteor, but I do not think you will lose to a fellow who is merely a second-class. However, do not think of being satisfied with just not losing. You must show an overwhelming appearance worthy of a Jeomchang Sect disciple. Do you understand?!”
“Yes! Senior Martial Brother!”
Ma Yu-gyeom suddenly recalled his first meeting with that insolent Sunwoo Jin.
When the three—Sunwoo Jin, Cheong-yeon, and Cheon Ju-eun—first came to the 13th Unit, all the squad leaders had gathered for their squad assignment.
At that time, Ma Yu-gyeom had actually attempted to bring Sunwoo Jin into his own squad.
Unlike the first impression that made him frown because the man was too fat, Ma Yu-gyeom had immediately become interested in him after hearing that Sunwoo Jin and Cheong-yeon had caught an Owl Ghost just the day before.
“Those who have no experience yet caught an Owl Ghost?! Is that really true?!”
However, Sunwoo Jin had tried to lower himself with a troubled smile.
“The one who caught that blind demon was Young Lady Cheong-yeon beside me. As someone who is merely a second-class, I could do nothing.”
In fact, it was because Sunwoo Jin wanted to avoid Ma Yu-gyeom’s interest, but to Ma Yu-gyeom, even that appearance could only look humble.
It was a quite likable appearance.
At that time, Young Lady Cheong-yeon, who was beside Sunwoo Jin, had also said this:
“I may be higher in martial arts, but it was Young Master Sunwoo Jin who saved my life by striking that demon, whom Sword Qi does not work against, with a chair, and it was also he who pried open the demon’s eyelids to make it open its mouth. All I did was merely thrust Sword Qi into the demon’s mouth that Young Master Sunwoo had pried open, as I was told.”
Hearing that story, Ma Yu-gyeom could not help but be impressed.
For a person who had never even encountered a demon, and a warrior who was only at the second-class realm, to risk his life to approach a demon and pry its eyes open.
Furthermore, to the people’s question of how he knew Owl Ghosts were weak to light, did he not answer that he had gathered information in advance in preparation for coming to the front?
Considering that information about the front was not leaked to the outside due to information control, it was something from which one could guess how much effort he had put into gathering information.
There was no reason to hesitate further.
He judged that although the fellow was still a second-class, he was someone well worth nurturing.
Ma Yu-gyeom spoke with a satisfied face.
“Knowing that an Owl Ghost is weak to light and actually prying its eyelids open are two completely different things. Your preparedness is excellent, and your courage is even more excellent. I like you. Unit Leader, I will take him into the 4th Squad. Since there is a vacancy in our squad, that should be fine, right?”
It was just as even Pung Yang, the Unit Leader, was about to nod at Ma Yu-gyeom’s request.
The fellow suddenly shouted.
“That is not possible!”
At his sudden refusal, Ma Yu-gyeom asked with a deep frown.
“What? Not possible?”
In an instant, Ma Yu-gyeom’s mood became very unpleasant.
To dare refuse a proposal from himself—who would have been the Sect Leader disciple if the Jeomchang Sect were intact, and whose influence within the 13th Unit was currently not inferior to the Unit Leader—he simply could not forgive it.
Ma Yu-gyeom asked fiercely with a scowl.
“Are you saying right now that you will not enter my squad?”
Sunwoo Jin, who had shouted, was actually flustered as well.
Although he disliked Ma Yu-gyeom, it was too burdensome to make an enemy of him, who had numerous followers, from the very beginning.
Sunwoo Jin, who looked at him as if flustered for a moment, suddenly snapped his head around and shouted toward the 7th Squad Leader Seol Poong, who was sitting leisurely in a corner.
“You are Squad Leader Seol Poong, right?! Ever since I encountered information about the front, I have thought that I definitely want to go to Squad Leader Seol Poong’s squad! Please accept me!”
Then, the rather flustered Seol Poong widened his eyes and pointed to himself with his finger, asking.
“Me, me?”
Sunwoo Jin nodded vigorously and shouted once more with a burning gaze and voice.
“That’s right! To think one can crush the heads of monsters, against whom even Sword Qi does not work, with close-combat techniques! From the moment I heard that story, I determined that I would definitely go to Squad Leader Seol Poong’s squad and master close-combat arts!”
Of course, it was a lie.
In his previous life, Sunwoo Jin had not learned close-combat arts even though Seol Poong had recommended he learn them.
At that time, he had thought that fighting demons with hands and feet was too primitive and terrifying.
However, Ma Yu-gyeom, who had no way of knowing that fact, snorted and spoke, thinking he could not lose a fellow he liked for the first time in a long while to someone like Seol Poong.
“Ha! You dare refuse my proposal, the son of the Great Jeomchang Sect Leader, and say you will go to a mere 7th Squad? Are you saying you will go to a place where there are only dregs from minor sects and fellows who have mastered external arts like medicine sellers, even though you are the third son of the prestigious Sunwoo Clan of Guizhou?”
The 7th Squad, which had only been formed recently, was indeed a place where dregs gathered, whether looking at martial strength or status in the martial world.
So, Ma Yu-gyeom had thought that Sunwoo Jin would change his mind if he told him about his background and the reality of the 7th Squad.
However, those words instead made Sunwoo Jin flare up.
Because they were words that insulted the 7th Squad, which had been his squad in his past life.
The enraged Sunwoo Jin now began to throw out whatever words came to mind.
“External arts! I definitely want to learn those as well! I certainly want to compete to see whose skin is tougher, mine or the demons of the Blood Cult!”
This was a blatant lie.
Bae Jong-gwan, who dug only into the single path of external arts, was the only friend Sunwoo Jin had thought was more pathetic than himself in his past life.
However, Sunwoo Jin’s desperate measure, which he thought he had no choice but to take, fortunately worked well.
This was because Ma Yu-gyeom’s eyes widened in shock while Seol Poong instead stood up with his eyes shining.
“What a magnificent spirit! To think you want to beat down demons with close-combat techniques! Good, Young Master Sunwoo Jin! Join me! I shall make your body stronger than a demon!”
Then, Sunwoo Jin answered loudly as if he had been waiting.
“Yes! Squad Leader Seol Poong!”
At the sight of those two acting like fools in perfect harmony, Ma Yu-gyeom eventually had no choice but to give up on him.
Because hanging onto the fellow any longer would be a blow to his pride.
However, despite giving up on Sunwoo Jin, his pride was ultimately wounded.
Because he suffered the humiliation of being rejected even by Young Lady Cheong-yeon and Young Lady Cheon Ju-eun, whom he had tried to bring in instead while pretending to be nonchalant.
It was truly a day that made anger surge just to recall.
Furthermore, that fellow he had his eye on was already showing magnificent performance, even though he hadn't been at the front for long.
It was more valuable in that it wasn't just his own performance, but that he was simultaneously raising the combat power of those like Bi Sa-yeong or Bae Jong-gwan of the 7th Squad, whom Ma Yu-gyeom had ignored as dregs.
As expected, he should have brought him into his squad even if it meant overexerting himself at that time.
As that thought came to mind, Ma Yu-gyeom, whose anger surged again, shouted to Ju Tae-gyeong.
“You must show him a very bitter taste! Carve into his very bones what kind of place the Jeomchang Sect is!”
“Yes! Do not worry! Senior Martial Brother!”
Ju Tae-gyeong thought inwardly that Ma Yu-gyeom’s request was unnecessary. Because he had no intention of letting Sunwoo Jin live at all.
To dare insult him, a disciple of the prestigious Jeomchang Sect, when he was merely a dreg of a second-class.
Was there any way to repay that other than with his life?
Ju Tae-gyeong’s eyes were glinting dangerously as he thought those thoughts.
However, Ma Yu-gyeom, who was about to leave, suddenly stopped and requested of him again.
“I am saying this out of caution, but do not kill him or injure him severely.”
Startled by those words, Ju Tae-gyeong asked.
“P-pardon?!”
Then Ma Yu-gyeom asked back, looking at him with a cold gaze.
“Why are you so surprised? Were you perhaps thinking of killing a comrade who must face the demons of the Blood Cult together with us?”
“Ah, no. I just, still... to give him a proper lesson...”
Then, an immense pressure suddenly erupted from Ma Yu-gyeom’s body.
Hwa-a-a-ak!
He then looked at Ju Tae-gyeong with a gaze carrying murderous intent and said.
“Ju Tae-gyeong, our supreme task is to defeat the Blood Cult and reclaim our home. You haven't forgotten that, have you?”
“Yes! Of course, Senior Martial Brother!”
“For that grand purpose, we must cooperate even if the opponent is a dreg of the unorthodox sects. How much more so for comrades who are fighting together against the demons of the Blood Cult? I will trust that no matter how much of a snake you are, you will not do such a crazy thing. Do you understand?!”
“Yes, yes! Of course, Senior Brother!”
Ju Tae-gyeong had to break into a cold sweat in front of Ma Yu-gyeom, who was watching him coldly.
The caliber of Ma Yu-gyeom, who was to become the Sect Leader of a sect, and Ju Tae-gyeong, who bore the nickname of a snake, were this different.