‘Still, it will surely be different from the original. Everything will be.’

In the original, the winner of the Cheonhaje was Ak Wi Cheon. Perhaps it was an expected result.

The position of disciple of Cheonma was not easily obtained.

Ak Wi Cheon was a genius among geniuses. The given environment was perfect, and he even put in effort.

Everyone thought Ak Wi Cheon would win, and he actually wins the Cheonhaje.

And at the moment Ak Wi Cheon takes victory, he is attacked.

Ak Wi Cheon falls with severe injuries.

‘Of course, he doesn’t die though.’

It was because Cheonma appears at that moment and slaughters all those who attacked the Cheonhaje.

‘Thanks to Cheonma’s whim, Ak Wi Cheon barely survived.’

If Cheonma hadn’t been there, Ak Wi Cheon wouldn’t have survived.

But the incident didn’t end there. Because of the attack on the Cheonhaje, conflict began between the Murim Alliance and the Demon Sect.

Because some of the attackers at the Cheonhaje were people from the Murim Alliance.

‘The relationship between the Murim Alliance and the Demon Sect hasn’t been good lately anyway.’

Since my father Nam Gung Hyun, no righteous Murim practitioner had won the Cheonhaje. In that situation, the Demon Sect’s winner was attacked.

Because of that, the conflict between the Demon Sect and the righteous faction deepened. Of course, everyone would have been suspicious.

It was too blatant an attempt to drive a wedge between them.

‘But even so, once sown, the seeds of doubt don’t have a good influence in many ways.’

And that small discord becomes an issue in the future fight against the Blood Sect as well.

The Blood Sect is strong.

They are an enemy that the Murim Alliance and Demon Sect need to join forces to fight.

‘Unnecessary quarrels are not good. To avoid creating conflict between the Demon Sect and Murim Alliance, someone from the righteous faction needs to win this Cheonhaje.’

The people of the Blood Sect also all thought Ak Wi Cheon would win the Cheonhaje. So they must have mixed in people from the Murim Alliance on the day of the attack.

But, it will be different from the original.

It wasn’t a lie when Ji Cheon Wu said I was stronger than him.

I am stronger than Ji Cheon Wu.

[I guarantee, there will be none among your peers who surpass you. The same goes for that Ak Wi Cheon fellow.]

I had realized that fact as well. It wasn’t just Ji Cheon Wu who had gotten stronger in 5 years.

Uncle Dagger continued speaking.

[The future is something you can change.]

I agreed with Uncle Dagger’s words as well.

So Ak Wi Cheon winning the Cheonhaje won’t happen.

Because I will be the winner.

[This is the timeline separator]

Ak Wi Cheon looked at Cheonma sitting in front of him. Cheonma was one who had reached the level of demigod, possessing supreme power.

The strongest being among the many Demon Sect followers.

‘No, there is no one in Murim who can surpass the sect leader.’

Though Nam Gung Jin Cheon of the righteous faction was strong, he wasn’t to the level of defeating Cheonma.

And as strong as he was, Cheonma was capricious.

The heaven-like master always defied his expectations.

He didn’t expect to see Cheonma, who had left to catch spies from the Blood Sect, at the Cheonhaje.

‘Well, it would be stranger to know the thoughts of one who has transcended humanity.’

‘I thought you weren’t very interested in events like the Cheonhaje.’

No, it wasn’t just that.

Ak Wi Cheon’s eyes lowered. He was reminded of the boy Cheonma had been eyeing.

After hesitating for a moment, Ak Wi Cheon asked.

“Am I… lacking?”

At Ak Wi Cheon’s question, Cheonma tilted his head. His long black hair flowed down.

It was hard to believe he had looked like an old man just moments ago.

Cheonma gave a playful smile. But Ak Wi Cheon knew how frightening that smile was.

“Why do you ask?”

“Because you’re trying to take on a new disciple.”

It took considerable courage for him to ask this. At Ak Wi Cheon’s words, Cheonma shook his head.

“You have never been lacking. You have always shown excellence.”

“Then why…”

“It’s because you’ve never been lacking. The burden on your shoulders looks heavy.”

At Cheonma’s incomprehensible words, Ak Wi Cheon clenched his fist tightly.

Cheonma looked at Ak Wi Cheon and asked.

“Have you ever been happy?”

“I’ve never had the luxury to feel such emotions.”

Cheonma nodded slightly.

He understood Ak Wi Cheon’s words as well.

Ak Wi Cheon.

Coming from a noble family within the Cheonma Divine Sect, he became Cheonma’s disciple after his outstanding talent was recognized.

Since becoming Cheonma’s disciple, he forgot his family, clan, and even his name.

He was to be the future Cheonma. The sect followers always had expectations for him.

Even Ma Noe, who served Cheonma most closely, always said:

That’s why Ak Wi Cheon didn’t know the emotion of happiness. He had lived his whole life to become someone suitable for that position.

The goal of his life was the man in front of him. Looking at such an Ak Wi Cheon, Cheonma spoke.

“You are still young.”

Ak Wi Cheon didn’t understand Cheonma’s words. The position he occupied wasn’t something that could be dismissed with words of youth.

The position of Cheonma’s disciple carried that much heavy power.

Cheonma’s words were always like a riddle to him. Cheonma didn’t teach him the solution.

As if he wanted him to realize it on his own.

Cheonma continued speaking.

“To know loneliness, you must know joy. Only by knowing togetherness can you know loneliness.”

“…”

“Just as you need to know defeat to know how sweet success is.”

Cheonma said this while looking into Ak Wi Cheon’s eyes.

Ak Wi Cheon bit his lower lip. It was as if Cheonma was telling him he needed to know defeat.

‘Are you telling me to experience defeat at the Cheonhaje? But how?’

Ak Wi Cheon clenched his fist.

In the Demon Sect, he had always been the strongest.

There was no way anyone among those participating in this year’s Cheonhaje could defeat him.

“Are you saying that Ji Cheon Wu fellow will defeat me?”

At Ak Wi Cheon’s challenging gaze, Cheonma gave a meaningful smile.

“No, that fellow can’t defeat you yet.”

Not being able to defeat yet meant the future was unknown. Cheonma looked at Ak Wi Cheon and said.

“This Cheonhaje seems like it will be a good experience for you.”

[This is the timeline separator]

The Cheonhaje began.

The Murim Alliance was crowded with students from the Cheonha Academy and martial artists participating in the Cheonhaje.

The elite martial artists sent by each clan were looking at their competitors with fierce eyes.

They were all from renowned clans and sects in Murim.

The Cheonhaje was the biggest festival in the righteous Murim world and one of the few festivals where young martial artists could show off their skills.

People began to whisper as they saw a group that suddenly appeared.

“It’s people from the Demon Sect.”

“Their aura is incredible. Who would see them as mere children?”

The people of the righteous faction burned with fighting spirit as they looked at the Demon Sect members.

“Look over there. That boy is Cheonma’s…”

“Ah, you mean the boy Ji Cheon Wu?”

Everyone attending the Cheonhaje began to focus on the appearance of one boy.

It was Ji Cheon Wu, the boy Cheonma had tried to take as his disciple.

Ak Wi Cheon’s gaze turned towards such a Ji Cheon Wu. Jeong Cheon Su, the disciple of the 1st Elder, was with him.

“That’s Nam Gung Yu Cheong. He was unusually talented for the righteous faction.”

“Didn’t you face him in the finals of the last Cheonhaje?”

“Yes, I almost lost.”

Saying this, Jeong Cheon Su shrugged his shoulders.

The memory of that time still hadn’t faded.

He had almost lost to that boy in the finals of the last Cheonhaje.

‘He’s gotten even stronger than three years ago.’

Jeong Cheon Su genuinely admired him.

‘I guess a Nam Gung is indeed a Nam Gung.’

Then his eyes caught sight of a girl next to Nam Gung Yu Cheong.

“That girl is Nam Gung Lin.”

“Nam Gung Lin?”

At Jeong Cheon Su’s words, Ak Wi Cheon also looked at Nam Gung Lin.

She was the girl sticking close to the boy Cheonma had said he would take as a disciple.

She looked cute, but not particularly eye-catching, so he had forgotten about her existence.

“She’s from the Nam Gung clan. I heard she was quite a troublemaker as a child. She’s participating in the Cheonhaje. That’s unexpected.”

“A troublemaker?”

“Yes, we probably don’t need to pay much attention to her.”

Saying this, Jeong Cheon Su shrugged his shoulders.

“Usually, people don’t participate in the Cheonhaje as soon as they turn 13. She’ll probably be eliminated in the preliminaries.”

The age range for participating in the Cheonhaje was from 13 to 18 years old. For children of that age, even a year made a big difference.

So most martial families had their children participate in the Cheonhaje when they were at least 15 years old.

Participating in the Cheonhaje at 13 was an exceptional case.

“She’s not even old enough to go to the Cheonha Academy yet, is she?”

Nam Gung Lin was a girl with a faint presence. In people’s memories, she was just recalled as Nam Gung Yu Cheong’s cousin sister.

“I heard she’s the daughter of the great Nam Gung Hyun, but I heard she hardly ever comes out of the clan. She’s shrouded in mystery in many ways.”

While saying this, Jeong Cheon Su didn’t have any particular expectations for Nam Gung Lin.

He had heard there had never been any notable rumors about Nam Gung Lin’s martial arts.

‘There was a rumor going around at one point that she had little talent.’

So there were many rumors that she wouldn’t participate in the Cheonhaje.

Because she might tarnish the Nam Gung name.

But a few hours later, Jeong Cheon Su was astonished looking at Nam Gung Lin.

Ji Cheon Wu passed the preliminaries of the Cheonhaje very easily.

The same was true for Nam Gung Yu Cheong. What was even more surprising was Nam Gung Lin.

She showed outstanding skills and quickly passed the preliminaries.

It was a result no one had expected.