Chapter 954: Lost Soul.

I returned to the Mount Hua Sect.

It wasn’t an immediate return, though. I had to wait until sunrise before coming back. After all, I remembered what was said about avoiding travel at night as much as possible.

Getting back inside wasn’t difficult. I remembered Gu Bong’s actions last time, so I had already obtained the turtle shell powder in advance.

The problem was finding the entrance location.

‘Here it is.’

That wasn’t difficult either. Because it was clearly visible.

I narrowed my eyes slightly as I looked at the distortion in space. ‘It wasn’t visible before, you know.’ At first, I could barely see it even with my Mind’s Eye activated and concentrating. But now, it was strangely clear. Was there a separate turning point for the change? Or perhaps…

‘Is there some kind of problem with the barrier?’

Questions piled up, but I didn’t think too deeply about it. It wasn’t the time to be pondering things like that.

Tuk tuk.

I lightly sprinkled the powder on my body. I felt it last time too, but it’s really unpleasant every time I sprinkle it.

‘…Turtle shell powder, seriously….’

It feels like collecting dead skin cells and sprinkling them on yourself. It’s incredibly awkward, but since there was no other way, I endured it and sprinkled it on.

After sprinkling it on myself a few times, I tried to sprinkle it on Cheonma too.

“…I’m not doing it.”

Cheonma recoiled in disgust, which was rare for her.

“What do you mean you’re not doing it?”

Seeing that, I grabbed her arm, dumbfounded.

“I don’t want to.”

Thwack-! Cheonma even flung my hand away.

What am I supposed to do now?

“So, what? Are you staying here?”

“No.”

“Then you have to let me sprinkle it on you. We can’t get in without it-.”

Before I could finish speaking, Cheonma took a step forward.

“Hey, wait!”

I called out urgently. Cheonma walked right up to the barrier.

Whoosh-!

“Huh?”

She disappeared right before my eyes. What was that? My eyes widened in surprise at the baffling situation.

No way?

With a sliver of hope, I approached the barrier myself.

Whoosh-!

Like last time, the light flickered, and the scene before my eyes changed. By the time I realized it, I was already inside the Mount Hua Sect I knew. Cheonma was in the same situation.

“You…?”

I stared at Cheonma with surprised eyes. She simply looked back at me with her usual expressionless face.

“How did you do that?”

“…”

I asked out of curiosity, but she didn’t answer. She just kept staring intently at me. Then, she strode towards me.

CRUNCH-!

“Gah?!”

She suddenly stomped right on my instep. I quickly pulled my foot back from the searing pain. She must have put quite a bit of force into it; for a moment, I thought my instep was crushed.

“You crazy bitch…! What the hell are you doing-!”

Clutching my instep and cursing, I watched as Cheonma snorted ‘Hmph!’ and flew away.

“Huh?”

I let out a breath of disbelief as I watched Cheonma leap away into the distance.

“Why is she acting like that now? Ugh….”

I could only frown and watch Cheonma’s retreating back. Honestly. That woman was simply an incomprehensible being.

---

After returning to the Mount Hua Sect, the first place I headed, naturally, was Noyang. Noyang, as always, was diligently farming in the field behind his quarters.

“Oh, you’ve….”

Noyang, who had started to greet me upon my arrival, immediately narrowed his eyes. “…What have you been up to again to end up looking like this?”

“Oops.”

I chuckled sheepishly at Noyang’s words. Ah, I was trying not to let this show, but I was found out immediately. ‘Is it still too much to hide this?’ Even though I was carefully controlling my energy, it seemed impossible to fool Noyang’s eyes.

“Your body was already agitated, but this time it’s become a complete mess.”

“…It’s not that bad. Only my insides are a bit messed up; the outside is fine.”

“Hah. Are you even making sense?”

Noyang clicked his tongue repeatedly as he looked at me. Is it really that messed up? ‘It’s a bit tough, but I can endure this, can’t I?’ Honestly, it was hard to attribute it solely to the aftermath of a battle. I hadn’t fought directly. Besides, I had sustained internal injuries trying to use the Demonic Heavenly Art, so I had conserved my physical body.

However.

‘The problem was restraining the General.’

My insides got twisted a bit during the process of suppressing him. It felt like a blow directly to the soul. This tingling, uncomfortable sensation just wouldn’t go away. Of course, my insides were wrecked too… ‘Well, this….’ When has my body ever been completely fine? At this point, it was practically at the level where applying saliva would heal it.

Anyway.

“I had some business to attend to.”

“Business?”

“Yes.”

I continued, looking at Noyang. “I went to see the General directly.”

“…!”

Noyang’s eyes widened upon hearing that. Seeing that, I slowly began my explanation.

---

After hearing my explanation, Noyang put down the sickle he was holding and rested his chin on his hand. He wore a rather serious expression. I hadn’t explained much. Simply that I went to Ya-wol and met Usa. And that I had a conflict with the Cheongsaek clan after meeting Usa. That was about all I explained.

“…So Usa appeared.”

“Do you know Usa well?”

“I don’t know him well, but I don’t not know him either.”

“What kind of guy is he?”

“Hmm.”

When asked about Usa, Noyang pondered for a moment before speaking to me. “He’s someone who has reached the pinnacle among pure-blooded Wolya.”

“The pinnacle?”

It was quite a strong introduction. Wolya refers to beast-humans collectively, doesn’t it? And someone who reached the pinnacle among them?

‘Right.’

It didn’t seem like an incorrect statement. After all, the Usa I faced directly was indeed that intense. ‘He was even more so when I saw him at night.’ When his presence was fully unleashed. The General’s power back then exceeded my imagination. If I had to compare… yeah.

‘Not one of the Ten Great Masters….’

Maybe he was closer to the level of the Three Sovereigns. At least in terms of sheer presence, he wasn’t much different from the Heavenly Sovereign I faced in my past life.

‘…So, does that mean the Generals can be considered Sovereign-level?’

I haven’t seen other Generals, so I can’t be sure, but… From what I saw, Usa seemed to possess that level of power. Purely in terms of combat strength, that is.

As I was assessing Usa, Noyang added further details. “He prefers crude methods, but they are powerful. He has excellent instincts and isn’t easily defeated. He pretends to be naive, but his nature is quite like that of a snake.”

“So you mean he’s strong but also a jerk?”

“I explained it at length, and you summarize it so quickly….”

“Is anything I said wrong?”

“…No. You’re right.”

Noyang nodded as if resigned.

‘As expected.’

Now that I had confirmation, I understood a little better. It made sense why I felt uneasy around him.

“So. You met him and came back looking like that?”

“Yes.”

“But you said you didn’t fight, didn’t you?”

“Ah… yes, I definitely didn’t fight, but… he used something strange?”

“Something strange?”

I briefly recounted what happened then. That he tried to suppress me with words. And that after hearing it, I became able to use something similar. And that I used it to hold him back for a moment.

“…”

Hearing this, Noyang looked at me with a rather peculiar expression.

“What’s wrong?”

Was something wrong? I asked, a hint of anxiety in my voice. Noyang shook his head slightly. “No. You’re saying you actually used that on Usa?”

“Yes. Do you know what this is?”

“I know roughly what it is, though not in detail. What you used was likely Ming (命), Command.”

“…Ming (命)? Like the ‘ming’ in command?”

“Yes.”

“Seriously, what a simple name.”

Ming, as in issuing commands. Why reduce it to a single character instead of just calling it a command? But that’s secondary.

“Ming is a power that forces unconditional obedience.”

First, I needed to listen to Noyang’s explanation. A power that forces unconditional obedience. Just hearing the explanation, I couldn’t quite grasp it.

“Unconditional? That sounds incredibly cheap.”

What kind of power like that exists in the world? I’d never heard of a power that could be used without any conditions. ‘I could understand it if it were a divine power, but even those aren’t usually this cheap.’ For example, my Devour is like that. It shows overwhelming efficiency against those with divine powers, but conversely, it means it’s not particularly useful against those without them. But this Ming power can make anyone obey unconditionally?

“…Regardless of how strong or weak the opponent is?”

“If you put it that way, then yes.”

“That can’t be right.”

No matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t understand. Could such a broken power exist? Of course, I did suppress Usa with this power… Ah.

“But that guy used his power on me too, and it didn’t work on me.”

“Yes, that’s the problem.”

“What part?”

“Listen, kid, even the ‘unconditional’ I just mentioned has conditions.”

“Hey, then it’s not unconditional-.”

“Stop nitpicking and shut up and listen.”

“…Yes.”

Just as I was about to butt in again, I was shut down as if by magic. Seriously, he uses the word ‘unconditional’ and then gets mad at me? Just as I was about to mutter complaints under my breath.

“When the rank of existence is higher than the opponent’s.”

“…Hmm?”

“In this Manwol, Ming only works on those of a lower rank than oneself. And only Generals designated by the master can use it.”

“…What?”

Only Generals can use Ming? Then…

“…What am I?”

How could I use it? Not only did I use it, but I even used it on a General. Even though my insides were wrecked from the backlash, the fact remained that I had used it. Puzzled by this, I asked Noyang.

“Well, that’s obvious. It’s because your rank was higher than the General’s.”

“How could my rank be higher than a General’s?”

“Why wouldn’t it be?”

Noyang pointed at my body with a slightly displeased look. “Remember whose child you are.”

“…!”

Hearing that, I thought of someone. It wasn’t my father, so that left only one person. No way.

“…Are you saying I can use this power thanks to my mother?”

“Whether you can use the power because of her, I don’t know for sure, but the fact that it worked on a General suggests it’s highly likely due to her.”

“…”

I am the master of Man-gye. As my mother’s son, my rank must be higher than a General’s. That was Noyang’s point.

However.

“Of course, it’s not a certainty. If you were able to use it, that possibility is high. But if that’s not the reason…”

“If not…?”

“You mentioned your mother was the reason you could come here. Perhaps she made some arrangements for you.”

Hearing Noyang’s words, I frowned slightly. That certainly could be the case.

‘…The moment I faced the Blood Demon. I knew my mother sent me here.’

My mother had said something then. Never. No matter what. ‘Don’t look for me.’ That day’s worried warning came to mind. Through Noyang’s words, I knew my current mother wasn’t the person I remembered. And that I might die by her hand if we met. The problem is, even so…

“…In the end, I still have to go see my mother.”

This situation only strengthened my conviction.

“…Kid, I told you before…”

“I know. That there’s a high chance my mother won’t recognize me.”

Noyang looked at me with narrowed eyes. I didn’t realize it before, but now I knew those were eyes filled with concern.

“But what can I do? I have to see her eventually to return, and even if not, it would be faster to see her regarding your request anyway.”

“…”

“And.”

As I spoke, I casually stretched my neck. It was a long-standing habit. Whether my body or mind was tired, I’d always do this.

“I want to see her, even if it feels a bit unfair.”

“…Unfair? What do you mean?”

“Someone hasn’t seen their own mother for decades and is going to meet her, but she doesn’t even remember him? That’s unfair. I need to see her and settle this.”

“…Hah.”

“Anyway. I’ve reported everything, so I’m leaving now.”

“Where are you going now?”

“Ah, I’m going to go see Old Man Turtle.”

I had made up my mind. I had decided days ago, but now it was firm. My stiff body had become bearable. And my weary mind had sharpened.

“Before I go see my mother, I need to doll myself up a bit.”

“…”

Noyang stared at me like I was crazy after hearing that, but… I ignored it, as I was used to that look.