Jegal Yuryong was staring at me with a pale, frightened face.

He seemed to be in a daze.

‘Well, it’s no wonder he’s shocked.’

No matter how smart Jegal Yuryong was, he was still young.

In the midst of it all, it must have been hard for him to learn the truths he couldn’t handle.

“Miss Nam Gung Lin?”

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Who was the person just now?”

He noticed.

Even if it was the same body, when Uncle Dagger took over, my behavior was completely different.

‘Even the aura I give off changes.’

It was hard to say it was the same person. Jegal Yuryong was someone I could trust.

In Tianma Jizun, he was also one of the few colleagues Ji Cheon Wu relied on.

“Would you believe me if I said I was actually a master of Half-Dao Hwandong?”

At my words, Jegal Yuryong’s eyes went cold.

Of course, I’m not a master of Half-Dao Hwandong. Jegal Yuryong couldn’t not know that either.

“Well, as you can see, I’ve gained a strange fate. There are many things I can’t talk about.”

Saying that, I plopped down next to Jegal Yuryong.

After eating the Spirit Azure Gentian, my body had definitely become healthier, but controlling the strength of Uncle Dagger who had moved on his own was definitely a challenge.

“And, don’t tell me that man just now was……”

“That’s right, my father.”

Jegal Yuryong opened his mouth, dazed.

He seemed unable to understand what he had seen. I scratched my cheek.

[What will you do? What if that fellow reveals my existence?]

‘Hmm……’

To be honest, I came without much thought. I just rushed over thinking I couldn’t leave Jegal Yuryong to die.

‘He was a colleague Ji Cheon Wu trusted.’

Ji Cheon Wu in Tianma Jizun was reckless, but he was good at judging colleagues.

I trusted Jegal Yuryong.

More precisely, I should say I trust Ji Cheon Wu’s judgment.

I opened my mouth to Jegal Yuryong.

“Can you forget about today?”

[This is the timeline separator]

Jegal Yuryong looked at Nam Gung Lin. The girl was definitely small.

Still young.

Nam Gung Lin jokingly said she was a master of Half-Dao Hwandong, but those who didn’t know her well would have been fooled by her words.

A hidden master of Half-Dao Hwandong had appeared.

That’s how unbelievable the skills Nam Gung Lin had just shown were for a child. Who would dare call her a child?

‘It was definitely someone else.’

Nam Gung Lin had many things to hide.

A young child, with skills that transcend age.

If others had been here, they would have been amazed, saying a candidate for the world’s best had been born.

Jegal Yuryong had definitely survived.

But it wasn’t something to be happy about.

‘Who exactly is Nam Gung Lin?’

If she was from the Blood Cult, it was no different from the martial arts world already being over.

But Nam Gung Lin didn’t kill him. She let him live.

His father had told him not to blindly trust people.

He was someone who said not to trust even himself. But Jegal Yuryong didn’t want to do that.

‘If Miss Lin was from the Blood Cult, there would be no reason to let me live.’

That’s why he wanted to believe.

“If I go around spreading rumors, will you kill me?”

Nam Gung Lin didn’t answer.

She just looked at him with a strange expression. In the first place, for Nam Gung Lin, the option of killing Jegal Yuryong didn’t exist.

Jegal Yuryong shook his head as he looked at Nam Gung Lin. He also had no intention of telling anyone about what had happened today.

No, it would be strange to tell someone. The girl who was the black sheep of the Nam Gung family suddenly took out martial artists who were among the best in the dark world.

No matter who he told, few would believe it.

“Even if I tell someone, they probably won’t believe it anyway. In exchange for keeping the secret, there’s something I’d like to ask Miss.”

“……”

“Don’t tell me, was it you who killed the Hideous Mask Demon too?”

Nam Gung Lin shrugged her shoulders.

It was an action that implied many things. Jegal Yuryong felt a hollow laugh coming out.

It was the sense of loss he naturally felt as a martial artist. He shuddered at the extraordinary talent.

Jegal Yuryong felt relieved anew that Nam Gung Lin wasn’t from the Blood Cult.

He cupped his hands and bowed his head to Nam Gung Lin.

“Miss saved my life. Keeping the secret is a given. So don’t worry.”

“……”

“And…… thank you. For sparing my life.”

[This is the timeline separator]

Jegal Yuryong raised his head that he had been bowing.

He opened his mouth with a determined face.

“I have lived unable to trust others until now.”

“……”

“Actually, I still don’t completely trust Miss Nam Gung Lin. It’s separate from you being my life’s savior.”

“Well, I can understand that.”

I understood Jegal Yuryong’s wariness. It had been described a few times in Tianma Jizun too.

Jegal Yuryong smiled somewhat emptily.

“But I’m trying to trust Miss. No, I want to trust. That you’re not from the Blood Cult.”

I couldn’t help but be a little surprised.

I didn’t expect Jegal Yuryong to bring up the Blood Cult.

‘It was kind of like a bold move.’

The people of the Wulin Alliance implicitly didn’t talk about the existence of the Blood Cult.

“If you are from the Blood Cult, it seems there would be no future for the righteous martial arts world anyway.”

Jegal Yuryong said that and laughed.

“If you ever need my help, please send a letter anytime. The Jegal family does not forget gratitude.”

Then, he uttered words of warning to me.

“Miss Nam Gung Lin, be careful. There’s a reason I escaped from the Nam Gung family.”

At his words, Nam Gung Lin’s face hardened.

“There will be enemies within the Nam Gung family too.”

Jegal Yuryong, who repeatedly expressed his gratitude to me, hurriedly left.

“Sorry for leaving first. The family’s warriors are waiting in the next village.”

He said he had to meet up with the scattered remaining escorts and take care of the corpses of the Jegal family warriors.

I also left for home as is.

[This is the timeline separator]

When I arrived home, I quickly changed clothes.

Fortunately, I had quickly changed out of my ruined clothes and hidden them, otherwise Yak Ran would have caught me going out.

My hands were trembling.

I gripped my shaking hands. I had to clean up perfectly.

‘I’m covered in dust and dirt. Someone will be suspicious if they see me like this.’

[Your body is too small, so traces are inevitable. Your arms are short, your legs are short……]

‘That’s right, I want to grow up quickly too.’

I nodded at Uncle Dagger’s words. It was an inevitable situation, just as he said.

[Are you okay?]

There was worry in Uncle Dagger’s voice. I must have looked quite unwell.

It was different from the time with the Hideous Mask Demon.

When I defeated the Blood-Sucking Demon Couple, my mind was awake.

‘I understand. They were beings who would have endlessly killed others even if they lived.’

I said that while looking at my hands. Following the Hideous Mask Demon, I had also slain the Blood-Sucking Demon Couple with these hands.

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t something I had done. When I killed the Hideous Mask Demon, I had no consciousness so I felt no particular emotion.

But when I killed the Blood-Sucking Demon Couple, I had agreed with Uncle’s will.

I wasn’t sad.

I wasn’t distressed either.

If I hadn’t slain them, the Blood-Sucking Demon Couple would have killed even more people.

Thinking about how many innocent people would have died, I didn’t feel much guilt.

I quickly shook off the shock.

It occasionally came to mind, but not to the point of being difficult.

[You saved at least a hundred lives.]

I was really okay.

Rather than slaying the Blood-Sucking Demon Couple… seeing my father was more shocking.

I gritted my teeth.

My father’s face kept flickering in my mind.

The enemy within the Nam Gung family.

I knew what that meant.

But there was nothing I could do about it right now.

When Uncle Dagger took over my body, my mind was awake. That’s why I also saw my father.

He didn’t attack me.

He looked completely different from the father I remembered. His neat hair was disheveled and blowing in the wind, and his eyes had lost their reason.

He was in a state that could be considered a madman.

‘I need to become stronger.’

I had to become stronger with my own strength as much as possible, not Uncle Dagger’s.

Especially five years from now, I’ll be old enough to participate in the World Competition.

Families belonging to the Wulin Alliance send their children to the Heavenly Institute.

‘It’s not just an event for the Wulin Alliance.’

It was because the Demonic Cult also participated. It was with the hope that the future pillars of the martial arts world would compete with each other, join forces, and grow.

Even if I don’t go to the Heavenly Institute, I can still participate in the World Competition.

So I was planning to participate in the World Competition to be held in five years.

[Do you really have to go to such a boring place?]

‘But there will be things to gain.’

[Weren’t the guys who came to the Nam Gung family also from the Heavenly Institute?]

‘Yes, that’s right.’

[I heard that fellow Nam Gung Hwa Su also attended the Heavenly Institute.]

I was troubled by Uncle Dagger’s words. When he put it that way, it really felt like there was no need to go to the Heavenly Institute.

‘The examples are all……’

But that’s not the case.

The Heavenly Institute depicted in the original work wasn’t like that.

It was a place where outstanding individuals from each family gathered to train in martial arts together.

That meant there were many talented people there.

Moreover……

Ji Cheon Wu had to participate in the World Competition taking place in 4 years no matter what.

‘Because that’s where Ji Cheon Wu meets Chunma.’

If I don’t go to the World Competition, Ji Cheon Wu might not go there either.