The fog disappeared simultaneously with the man’s shout.

However, the black-clad figures showed no sign of stopping. They took advantage of people’s momentary lapse to attack Ak Wi Cheon.

Clang!

Hwang Cheon Gyeong blinked in confusion.

It was because the man he thought was right in front of him had vanished in an instant.

His doubt became certainty.

The person who suddenly appeared was Cheonma. And that was the end.

The man began to deal with the black-clad figures, displaying a formidable level of skill.

With a single gesture, three or four martial artists fell. It was an unimaginable level of mastery.

Cheonma drew the sword at his waist. And the situation was resolved in an instant.

[This is the timeline separator]

I breathed a sigh of relief.

The original plan was to buy time until Cheonma intervened. Even in Cheonma Jijeon, Cheonma saves Ak Wi Cheon.

But the incident occurred before Cheonma could take action.

My heart was pounding.

‘I protected Ak Wi Cheon. Fortunately, thanks to those Blood Sect bastards, it wasn’t discovered that I dealt with the one who attacked Ak Wi Cheon.’

According to the original story, Ak Wi Cheon was supposed to be seriously injured today. It was an injury to his shoulder.

The black-clad figure’s strike just now was originally meant to pierce Ak Wi Cheon’s shoulder.

‘It’s also the incident that enrages Cheonma.’

Though Cheonma didn’t express much, he greatly cherished Ak Wi Cheon.

It was because he valued him that he took Ji Cheon Wu as a disciple for Ak Wi Cheon’s sake.

It was to open the path that was blocked for Ak Wi Cheon. Of course, contrary to Cheonma’s intentions, the two disciples don’t listen…

Anyway, Cheonma, in his enraged state, turns everything into a wasteland.

But even so, Ak Wi Cheon’s injured shoulder doesn’t recover.

Ak Wi Cheon eventually resorts to training with his left arm.

‘The plan to sow discord between the demonic and righteous sects while keeping Cheonma’s disciple in check has completely succeeded.’

But I changed it.

Of course, some problems arose.

I had originally intended to act moderately while saving Ak Wi Cheon. My original goal was to barely block the sword of the attacker and then leave the rest to Cheonma.

But Dagger Uncle unhesitatingly defeated the black-clad figure.

[They came with killing intent, so hmm, instinctively…]

‘Ak Wi Cheon must have seen it?’

[He must have. If he didn’t notice in that situation, he’d be a fool.]

I still let out a sigh for now.

As Cheonma appeared and resolved the situation, the tension eased. It was because I had achieved the main purpose of attending the Cheonha Festival.

Ak Wi Cheon grabbed my shoulder and asked urgently.

“Nam Gung Lin… who are you?”

I didn’t answer his question and instead engaged in a heated discussion with Dagger Uncle.

‘What should we do now?’

[The brazenly moving forward strategy, first collapse!]

‘But I can’t act like that?’

[No choice then. I’ll help you!]

I blinked my eyes.

Because I felt an intense drowsiness coming over me after Dagger Uncle’s words.

I saw Ji Cheon Wu, Nam Gung Yu Cheong, and Shin So Gyeong running over.

And then I fell asleep just like that.

[This is the timeline separator]

I had another dream.

I saw the figure of a man.

I saw him desperately suppressing the urge to kill. He was a man with somewhat dazed eyes.

His unkempt beard had grown to make his appearance unrecognizable.

Seeing that sight, I felt a strange ache in my chest.

‘Could it be Dagger Uncle?’

The man’s actions were very similar to what Dagger Uncle had described when he suffered from the Blood Sect’s isolation.

I tilted my head.

It didn’t look like Dagger Uncle, as the man’s appearance didn’t resemble the Dagger Uncle I had seen.

It was difficult to recognize his face due to the long beard.

I slowly approached the man.

Then I tried to touch him.

But perhaps because it was a dream?

My hand passed right through the man.

The man was crouched down with his head deeply bowed.

I could instinctively feel it.

That the man was a very powerful being.

“Why are you in a place like this?”

And why am I seeing you?

I could guess who he was. It was the appearance of the man I had seen when chasing the Blood-Drinking Twin Demons.

The man who had attacked him instead when ordered by the Blood-Drinking Twin Demons.

‘Why am I having such a strange dream?’

I felt my heart sink. I felt a pain as if something was gripping and shaking my heart.

That’s when it happened.

The man raised his head.

And our eyes met.

I almost screamed at his appearance.

The man was…

My father, Nam Gung Hyun.

[This is the timeline separator]

I opened my eyes.

I discovered three pairs of eyes looking at me. Perhaps because I had just met eyes with that man and woken up, my heart was beating rapidly.

In that situation, I couldn’t help but be startled when our eyes met.

“Huk, huk.”

Ji Cheon Wu, startled by my breathing sounds, urgently shouted.

“Shin So Gyeong! Lin has woken up.”

I saw Shin So Gyeong quickly rush over to check my pulse.

“Lady Nam Gung, are you alright? My goodness, look at the cold sweat. There was clearly nothing wrong with your body…”

I tried to sit up with a puzzled face.

The one who stopped me was someone else.

“Ak… Wi Cheon?”

I was flustered.

It was because Ak Wi Cheon gently laid me back down.

In the confusion, I hadn’t noticed, but the lodgings were different from where I had been staying.

“Where is this?”

Ji Cheon Wu answered my question.

“They say it’s the lodgings where the Demonic Cult members were staying. We moved lodgings here in case any unexpected situations might occur.”

“It’s not the Demonic Cult, it’s the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.”

“It’s all the same to me.”

“They’re clearly different. Impudent fellow. I don’t understand at all why the Sect Leader took a liking to someone like you.”

“The feeling is mutual.”

Ji Cheon Wu and Ak Wi Cheon were like watching a dog and cat.

The two glared at each other intensely. Even in Cheonma Jijeon, the two were always growling at each other.

It was usually Ji Cheon Wu who picked fights with Ak Wi Cheon, and he would retaliate.

‘Ji Cheon Wu wanted to be friends with Ak Wi Cheon.’

I watched their quarrel with a strange expression.

‘Somehow Ak Wi Cheon seems different. Should I say he’s become strangely sloppy?’

In Cheonma Jijeon, when Ji Cheon Wu played pranks on Ak Wi Cheon, Ak Wi Cheon would look at him with eyes of contempt.

That’s why the two could never mix, like oil and water.

In the end, they couldn’t join forces even until the very last moment.

Watching the two, Shin So Gyeong clicked her tongue.

“Lady Nam Gung needs absolute rest right now! This is not the time for you two to be fighting.”

At her words, the two immediately quieted down.

I thought as I watched them.

Both Ak Wi Cheon and Ji Cheon Wu seemed somehow more at ease.

‘Is it because we’ve come to a safe place?’

There was no safer place in the martial arts world than here. That’s probably why the other companions also readily moved lodgings.

I too felt safest when I was at the Nam Gung family estate.

Not just because it was my home, but because grandfather was nearby.

‘Of course, this is only possible if Cheonma shows goodwill towards us.’

The favor of a strong person in the martial arts world was this reassuring.

Did he want Ji Cheon Wu as a disciple that badly? Perhaps the bond between master and disciple truly can’t be severed.

[Cheonma’s show of goodwill isn’t because of Ji Cheon Wu.]

‘Not because of Ji Cheon Wu?’

I couldn’t understand Dagger Uncle’s words. If not for Ji Cheon Wu, there was no way Cheonma could have taken a liking to anyone else.

Ji Cheon Wu and Shin So Gyeong, who had been making a commotion for a while, left the room.

The only one left by my side was Ak Wi Cheon. I was starting to feel uncomfortable at that point.

[That fellow, why is he looking like that?]

‘Well, I’m not sure.’

Just as I was thinking I wanted to leave, Ak Wi Cheon spoke.

“You’re hiding a secret. When we sparred, you didn’t give it your all, did you?”

“Uh, um…?”

“I want to ask. Was that your best effort, or not? To be honest, that one move when you killed the one who attacked me… it far surpassed the skill you showed when sparring with me.”

I shook my head and said.

I noticed what kind of doubt Ak Wi Cheon was feeling.

“You may not believe me, but that was my best effort.”

Ak Wi Cheon closed his eyes and fell into thought.

When he opened his eyes again, they were shining brighter than ever before.

“The attack wasn’t aimed at you. If you have a secret, there was no need to reveal it either.”

Ak Wi Cheon frowned.

“That’s right.”

“Then why did you save me?”

I tilted my head in puzzlement.

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“Obvious, you say…?”

“If I hadn’t stepped in there, Young Master Ak would have been seriously injured.”

I truly thought so.

In fact, even if Ak Wi Cheon hadn’t been Cheonma’s disciple, I would have acted the same way.

There was no one who wanted to see someone get hurt right before their eyes.

“I heard that people from the righteous sects don’t like me.”

In reality, there were many who disliked Ak Wi Cheon. Ak Wi Cheon was too outstanding to be accepted as he was.

But that’s why I liked it.

“Well, it’s funny to say I like you either, but I don’t dislike Young Master Ak.”

I shrugged my shoulders.

“Actually, you know. Meeting an outstanding martial artist is a good thing for me. I’m glad you’re strong.”

After a moment of silence, Ak Wi Cheon replied.

“I see.”

He had a somewhat dazed expression.

[Dumpling, you’ve done it again!]

‘What did I do?’

[Look at that fellow’s dazed face. Of course, I’m against it.]

Of course, while Ak Wi Cheon did seem a bit strange, he could also be in shock from experiencing something major…

Hmm, that doesn’t seem right.

‘Ak Wi Cheon isn’t the type to be shocked by something like this.’

Maybe, as Dagger Uncle said, I might have misspoken.

The cliché from Cheonma Jijeon that I was worried about could be triggered here.

‘Obsession with the first opponent who fought equally with him!’

As expected, the thinking of geniuses is incomprehensible…

Ak Wi Cheon said to me.

“I’ll keep your secret. People are curious about who killed the martial artist who attacked me.”

“Ha, haha…”

“I won’t tell anyone about that fact.”

I could tell that Ak Wi Cheon’s words were a considerable courtesy. The ‘people’ he mentioned who were curious about who killed the martial artist would likely include the Demonic Cult.

He, as the Young Lord of the Demonic Cult, was saying he would keep that fact a secret.

That’s when it happened.

I saw Ak Wi Cheon startle and turn around.

“I have something to discuss with this child for a moment.”

I turned towards the source of the voice with a surprised face.

And then my eyes widened. Cheonma was there.

As Cheonma appeared, Ak Wi Cheon stood up without a word.

He quietly made a fist-palm salute before leaving my room.