Chapter 984: Lost Soul.

Swoooooosh.

My body shivers slightly from the blowing wind. Feeling my senses return, I slowly lifted my eyelids.

“……Gulp.”

Staggering, I pushed myself up, trying to sharpen my hazy mind.

I tried hard to regain my senses, but it was strangely difficult.

I circulated my energy.

Vwoom-!

As the energy seeped into my body, I thankfully snapped back to awareness quickly. Feeling my five senses sharpen, I opened my eyes completely.

“Gack. Ptooey.”

I let out a dry cough and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

How did I end up like this?

Trying to recall my memories, I focused on the moments right before.

“Ah-!”

Remembering it, I shuddered violently and scanned my surroundings.

I recalled that I had been with Ya-rang just moments ago.

When I opened my eyes, Ya-rang was carrying me on her back, heading somewhere.

After that, I had gone to an unknown place.

And then

‘The fruit.’

I had swallowed the fruit without thinking. I was quite panicked after eating something I didn’t even know, but the bigger problem was.

‘I lost consciousness again right after.’

Whether eating the fruit was the cause, an unknown energy enveloped my body, and I promptly fainted once more.

This is when I finally came to.

I looked around, turning my head this way and that.

‘What the?’

I narrowed my eyes, assessing the situation. The place Ya-rang took me earlier was completely unfamiliar, but

‘This place…’

this place felt strangely familiar.

‘Isn’t this where I fainted?’

It was none other than the place I’d passed out after escaping Ya-wol.

My memory, heightened by the shedding of my skin, allowed me to remember this much.

‘Why am I here?’

I definitely hadn’t moved here following Ya-rang. So why was I here?

‘…Did I dream it all?’

Could all those experiences I felt have really been just a dream?

No, it couldn’t be. I immediately denied it. How could there possibly be such a vivid dream?

If not, then…

‘Did she leave me here again?’

Could it be that Ya-rang carried me back and left me here?

Such a suspicion crossed my mind. If it wasn’t a dream, that was the only remaining answer.

‘What is it?’

If that were the case, what could her intention be? After all that, feeding me a strange fruit to make me faint, why would she dump me here?

‘…I can’t figure it out.’

The more I thought about Ya-rang’s intentions, the less I could understand them.

“Hoooo…”

I let out a breath and composed myself. Since I didn’t know what I’d eaten, I wanted to check my condition.

“Hmm?”

As I examined my body, I had to widen my eyes.

“What’s with this?”

I was flustered. I moved my body back and forth, checking again.

It was the same this time.

“…What the.”

Why is this…

“…My body is fine?”

Not only were my deep internal injuries completely healed, even the minor injuries I seemed to have sustained were gone.

And what about my energy?

‘Even if it’s not all of it, half of it has been restored, right?’

Even my energy, which had been nearly depleted, was restored by more than half.

What is this?

‘What is this…’

How did I end up in such a pristine condition? It was baffling.

Perhaps.

‘Was it because of that fruit?’

Could this be the result of eating that unknown fruit? Thinking about it, there was no other reason.

“Hmph…”

It wasn’t a bad thing. Considering the time I would have spent recovering my physical condition, it was actually a very good thing, but…

‘Why?’

Why did such a good thing happen, and why did Ya-rang create a situation like this? That was the biggest question for me.

‘Just why.’

Did Ya-rang know that eating the fruit would result in this? If she knew that and still fed it to me…

‘…You…’

Don’t you actually have memories? Aren’t you the Divine Sword I knew? Such thoughts and words welled up in my throat.

“Tsk…”

I couldn’t bring myself to say them. I just clicked my tongue, barely cutting off the thought.

‘Not yet.’

I mustn’t waver. Putting Ya-rang aside, besides the recovery of my energy from consuming the fruit,

‘There might be some other problem.’

As there could be further issues with my body, checking first was the priority.

‘Did Master Noy return to the Mount Hua Sect…?’

Did Shin Noy, who said he’d leave first, get back safely? I thought for a moment, then started moving my feet.

I had to return to the Mount Hua Sect first, so the moment I gathered strength in my body to leap,

Whoooosh–!!!

“…!!”

Floating in mid-air, I gasped.

“You crazy…?”

My body had shot up twice as high as I expected. Not only the leaping power but also the speed of my ascent was different. Originally, the very air of the Man-gye was filled with internal energy, strengthening me, but…

‘It wasn’t this much before?’

It hadn’t been this intense. Something had changed significantly. With this sudden shift in strength, I lost control and fell to the ground without realizing it.

Kuuuuung—!!!

I rolled across the ground, kicking up dust.

“…Ptooey.”

Spitting out the dirt that got into my mouth, I clenched my fists a few times.

“Ha…”

What is this? My body was overflowing with strength. Compared to usual, it felt nearly twice as strong.

‘What on earth is going on?’

It didn’t feel like my cultivation level had increased, nor did my body’s capacity seem to have expanded. It was simply that my strength had become greater.

‘Is that possible?’

Without an increase in cultivation, could this be possible? Doubt arose. The magnitude of the doubt was considerable. No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t find an answer.

That means…

‘…I need to find someone who might know the answer.’

I had to seek out the one who would know the answer to this, and I already knew very well who that was.

---

Hwaaaaaaah—!!!

Kuuuuung—!!!

I flew through the wind and landed on the ground. Flames scattered and died down in the air, and from within them, I got up.

“Oof…”

My legs were completely numb. It was really hard to control my body at the increased speed. Thanks to that, I couldn’t even perform a proper breakfall and took the impact with my whole body.

“My bones are rattling, seriously…”

The impact must have been strong, as my legs hurt considerably. I let out a groan and walked forward. As I walked, I took out a bottle from my clothes and sprinkled some on my body. It was Turtle Shell powder. After dusting the powder onto my body a few times and moving,

Vwoom-!

With a sensation like something piercing through, my surroundings changed. I had just entered and arrived at the Mount Hua Sect area. It was a familiar feeling now. Returning to Mount Hua Sect, the air felt different. Unlike the strengthened internal energy outside, the air here was quite similar to that of the Central Plains. Without the crimson aurora that had spread across the sky, only a normal night sky, within my common sense, remained. I moved, calmly observing the rising moon.

‘First, I need to go to Master Noy…’

I decided I should head to where Shin Noy would be. As I made that judgment and prepared to leap again,

Sss.

“…!”

Reacting to a sensation felt from the front, I moved my body.

Chwaak-!!

Kwagagagagak—!!!

Something grazed past me with a chilling momentum. Immediately after, a fierce gust of wind blew, cutting down dozens of trees.

‘What the?’

Was it a surprise attack? Cold sweat trickled down. If I had been even slightly slower, it would have been a dangerous assault. Who the hell unleashed such an attack? Just as I was about to raise my energy and assume a stance,

“Huh? What the.”

I heard a familiar voice, and someone appeared before me. It was Shin Noy.

“…Why are you here, you rascal?”

“…Master Noy?”

Shin Noy appeared before me, holding a sword in his hand. Confirming the swirling energy around the sword, I had to furrow my brow.

“Was that sword energy you just sent at me, Master Noy?”

No wonder it felt unreasonably fierce. Was it Master Noy’s sword?

“Master Noy. Are you insane? If I’d been a moment slower, I would have died right there.”

There’s a limit to joking around. If nothing else, that was genuinely dangerous. Being even slightly slower would have meant a part of my body getting sliced off. And he just unleashed it like that. Taken aback, I glared at Master Noy.

“No…”

Master Noy looked rather indignant as he spoke to me.

“I rushed over because I thought some strange fellow had entered… Why are you here, you rascal?”

“…Strange fellow?”

That’s harsh. It’s not like we’ve only met once or twice. Thinking, ‘What strange thing is he saying?’, I kept glaring, and Shin Noy, similarly narrowing his eyes, added:

“Youngster. What in the world happened to your body now?”

“What do you mean?”

“Surely you don’t mean you don’t know? How much presence you’re radiating right now.”

“… “

At Master Noy’s words, I tilted my head. Radiating presence? That can’t be right?

‘Aren’t I hiding it well?’

Although my capacity had grown and my cultivation level had risen, immediately after shedding my skin or opening my powers, my presence became so strong that controlling it had become a habit. Especially after coming here, I needed to be more cautious, so I had been managing it with concentration.

“Seriously, what have you been up to for your condition to become like this in just half a day…”

Master Noy seemed to be saying that I was currently radiating my presence. Was that why he launched the surprise attack?

‘My body healed, my energy and strength increased, and it even affected my presence…?’

What has changed so much? I quickly circulated my energy. Just like controlling my strength, suppressing my presence also required twice the usual effort. Then, I could feel my energy gradually condensing within my body.

‘Seeing this, it really seems to be the case.’

Normally, after suppressing it this much, I would hit my limit, unable to suppress it further, but now, it decreased smoothly without reaching any limit. As I was definitively suppressing my presence,

“Putting presence aside, what’s with that appearance?”

Master Noy spoke to me again.

“Appearance?”

What could it be this time? Wondering what the problem was now, I looked at Master Noy. He shone the sword he was holding towards me. My face was reflected on the cleanly wiped blade.

“…Huh?”

Seeing it, my eyes widened.

“What the? Why am I like this?”

My face had changed somehow. Within my blue eyes, the vertically slit pupils remained the same, but they looked distinctly different somehow. The fangs visible inside my mouth were unnaturally prominent. Even. My fingernails seemed unnaturally sharp, as if someone had filed them down. The appearance was like that of a beast.

No, to be precise.

“…Moonlit Beast Tribe?”

The beast-like humans I saw here. My form had become exactly the same as those called the Moonlit Beast Tribe.