It had been a long time since Grandfather mentioned Father.

“That child said the same thing on the day he won the Cheonhaje. That he wanted to protect the weak.”

“Father…”

“He said that if he suffered a little, those who should die could live.”

“…”

“And now you’re saying the same thing. At about the same age as that child.”

Grandfather was looking at me, but it also seemed like he was gazing somewhere far away.

I vaguely knew as well.

Although I didn’t know the reason Father started actively working in the martial arts world. Father performed many chivalrous deeds, enough to be called the Blue Dragon Swordsman.

In reality, the number of people Father saved must have been countless.

I thought Grandfather would issue a stern rebuke.

After all, matters related to Father were a deep trauma for Grandfather.

But instead of shouting, Grandfather closed his eyes.

Then he spoke in an unwavering voice.

“Go.”

“Grandfather…?”

“It’s not something I can stop.”

I had no idea what to say to Grandfather.

‘Should I apologize?’

With what feelings did he permit his granddaughter to choose the same path as Father, the painful thorn in his heart?

“Go and fulfill your intentions. Just come back safely.”

“…”

“You might get hurt. There will be times when it’s tough. When that happens, come back and rest.”

My throat tightened.

“That’s what home is for, Lin.”

[This is the timeline separator]

I handed the letter to Yak Ran.

“Please deliver this to Baek Jin Wi of the White Dragon Trading Company.”

“The White Dragon Trading Company?”

“Yes, I’m going to wander for a while after the gathering ends. I’d like to see him once then.”

Yak Ran looked at the letter I handed over and muttered.

“To think the young lady has already grown to this age…”

Instead of correcting Yak Ran’s misunderstanding, I just smiled.

[Isn’t it regrettable to leave right after ending your seclusion?]

I had already finished packing.

Sin So Gyeong was standing next to me, also carrying a bundle.

[Didn’t you miss them?]

‘I did miss them.’

[You might regret it. I always regretted not spending more time with my family.]

Uncle Dagger’s words were true.

I too had not spent much time with my family throughout my training.

It was also true that I felt uneasy.

In the Heavenly Demon Sovereign, my “home” the Nam Gung family is burned and destroyed.

But despite that, I believed.

I believed in the future I had changed so far and the future that would change.

Grandfather had developed a stronger heart, different from his appearance in the Heavenly Demon Sovereign.

‘He said I could come back anytime. To home.’

Grandfather was the greatest of the righteous faction.

Unlike in the original work, Grandfather will protect the Nam Gung family with his strengthened heart.

[Yes, that will do.] [This is the timeline separator]

Sin So Gyeong and I were on our way to Sichuan.

“I really wanted to visit Sichuan once.”

“Why?”

“Poison and medicine are like two sides of a coin. Poison can become medicine, and medicine can become poison.”

“Because the Dang family is in Sichuan?”

“Yes, although there’s nothing I can learn from them, I think their knowledge of poisons is amazing, so I really wanted to visit once.”

I nodded as I listened to Sin So Gyeong’s words.

Sin So Gyeong was in such a good mood that her cheeks were flushed.

‘Ji Cheon Wu and Dang Hwa Ryeong meet on the way to Sichuan.’

If we were lucky, we might meet them too.

In the original work, Ji Cheon Wu and Dang Hwa Ryeong form a bond in Sichuan, and because they have the same goal, they oppose the Blood Cult together.

The two of them confirming each other’s goals was something that would happen during this Sichuan incident.

‘The true tragedy hasn’t even begun yet…’

The horror of the Sichuan incident was about to start.

Countless refugees would lose their lives without knowing why. All for the Blood Cult’s human sacrifices.

‘It was for the Blood Demon to build up internal energy. They kill people and steal their essence. It’s similar to the soul-sucking technique. Even without that, the Blood Cult’s martial arts intensify killing intent.’

In the Heavenly Demon Sovereign, the Blood Cult was simply evil.

I don’t know what the author of Heavenly Demon Sovereign was thinking, but they did a good job of setting up villains as villains.

‘Well, all the characters were quite one-dimensional.’

Villains were villains.

Good people like Sin So Gyeong were unrealistically good.

‘Of course, when faced with reality, everyone has different personalities.’

Separate from that, perhaps due to the nature of Heavenly Demon Sovereign, there were many villains in this world.

It was then.

I grabbed Sin So Gyeong’s arm.

She stumbled in surprise but entrusted her body to me.

In an instant, a throwing knife shot through where she had been standing.

‘As expected of the martial world, it’s already spectacular…’

The throwing knife wasn’t aimed at Sin So Gyeong. It was aimed at the carriage rushing towards us.

‘Dang Hwa Ryeong?’

Surprisingly, Dang Hwa Ryeong was sitting in the driver’s seat of the carriage. He was driving the carriage quickly with an expressionless face.

His whole body was covered in blood and his expression was cold.

The somewhat absent-minded little boy I used to know was nowhere to be seen.

‘I thought we might meet, but I didn’t expect it to be like this…’

Dang Hwa Ryeong was clearly in the act of ‘fleeing’.

When he saw me, he stopped the carriage.

Then he slowly approached me.

“Nam Gung Lin…?”

No, is it okay to be so nonchalant right now…?

“Dang Hwa Ryeong, right?”

Dang Hwa Ryeong nodded half-heartedly at my question.

“Ah, I was running away because it’s awkward to use martial arts right now. I’ve been poisoned. It’s not a poison I’ve built immunity to yet, so it’s hard to move my body.”

It was chilling how calm Dang Hwa Ryeong was, let alone recognizing me after several years.

“You’re also out to attend the Five Great Families’ gathering, right? I heard rumors you went into seclusion for training, so you must have finished and come out.”

Dang Hwa Ryeong staggered towards me. I knew the fate that awaited him.

His father, Dang Hae Yeol, dies, and Dang Hwa Ryeong constantly faces life-threatening situations. The current situation was probably another assassination attempt.

‘Just like what I experienced from Nam Gung Hyun Jong.’

Dang Hwa Ryeong had a half-sibling. Unfortunately, his sibling had less talent than Dang Hwa Ryeong.

No matter how hard they tried, they were not confident they could defeat Dang Hwa Ryeong and become the family head.

That’s why Dang Hwa Ryeong was facing life-threatening situations.

“I don’t want to be a burden… Let’s pretend we don’t know each other. I won’t say anything if you just pass by pretending you didn’t see me.”

“…?”

“If I sacrifice an arm or so, I think I can defeat those guys.”

“I’ve heard rumors about your recent situation.”

Dang Hwa Ryeong’s face hardened at my response. Dang Hwa Ryeong had been acting like a rogue lately.

‘They say he doesn’t train martial arts and frequents brothels.’

I knew that this was a desperate struggle to survive.

‘If his excellence is discovered, he knows he’ll be killed.’

In fact, he had stopped going to brothels recently.

‘Because he had reached a point where he could no longer hide his excellence.’

I looked at Dang Hwa Ryeong and then at those who had followed him.

Those who followed Dang Hwa Ryeong did not reveal their identities. To be precise, they were hiding and watching Dang Hwa Ryeong and me.

[They look like assassins at a glance.]

As my level improved, my ability to detect enemies also developed.

Dang Hwa Ryeong shouted towards the hidden assassins.

“Hey, these people have nothing to do with me.”

But there was no way the assassins would listen to that.

Rather, a man appeared, sneering.

“Interesting, but we can’t just let you go, can we?”

I tilted my head.

‘What do they mean they can’t just let us go?’

[If they start spouting nonsense, cut off their wrists immediately.]

‘Judging by their actions, they don’t seem to be professional assassins.’

[Right, they don’t feel like trained assassins. They’re martial artists from the dark side.]

The men who had chased Dang Hwa Ryeong exchanged words among themselves.

“What should we do? They have pretty faces.”

“Both women are top quality. We could sell them as slaves for a good price.”

Sin So Gyeong and I were wearing shabby clothes. Our swords didn’t look particularly special either.

The men probably thought of us as naive third-rate martial artists.

‘Slaves, they say.’

Sin So Gyeong seemed to bristle at their words.

“What did you just say?”

I too could tolerate them saying things about me, but I couldn’t stand them speaking carelessly about Sin So Gyeong.

The men chuckled at her words.

“My, what a sharp tongue you have.”

I frowned.

I stopped Sin So Gyeong as she was about to draw her sword.

“Hey, you there. If you quietly tie up the guy in front of you, I’ll treat you especially well.”

I replied to the man’s words.

“I refuse.”

“What?”

“If you speak to me again, I’ll cut off your head first.”

“Ha, now some nobody is getting cocky! Do I need to tell you who I am?”

“I’m not interested in an ugly guy’s name.”

The man trembled at my words.

“You dare insult me! I’ll definitely make you a slave and keep you by my side!”

I was impressed by those words.

‘That’s really a third-rate villain line.’

Dang Hwa Ryeong bristled at their words and stepped forward.

“You’d better watch your mouth.”

The men scoffed at Dang Hwa Ryeong’s words.

“Are you trying to threaten us while poison flows through your body?”

Dang Hwa Ryeong paid no heed to their words and drew his sword.

However, I blocked Dang Hwa Ryeong’s path.

“I was just wanting to stretch my body anyway.”

“This is my business.”

“Weren’t we friends?”

Dang Hwa Ryeong froze at my response.