Chapter 809: Where is my son?

The fierce battle ended rather anticlimactically, witnessed by all the Sword Cadets.

It was an outcome no one had expected.

Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-ah had fallen.

And the one left standing between them was the unexpected Tang Soyeol.

Seeing Tang Soyeol smiling so brightly, I was left speechless.

‘No.’

Various thoughts flashed through my mind.

How should I interpret this?

Tang Soyeol, who appeared out of nowhere, had knocked both of them unconscious.

The crucial point here is the ‘out of nowhere’ aspect.

‘I didn’t perceive it.’

No matter how fiercely they were fighting, I hadn’t noticed Tang Soyeol intervening until it happened.

My perception was dulled because the surroundings were filled with energy signatures, and even with my energy sense blocked, this was quite astonishing.

This was proof that Tang Soyeol had gained the ability to conceal his presence extremely well, and evidence that he had been intentionally guiding the fight’s progression.

‘Tang Soyeol bypassed my energy sense and entered between the two…’

More precisely, he gradually concealed his presence from the two who were focused on their fight.

It was subtle enough to fool even me.

Once that was complete, he waited for the optimal moment…

‘He finally succeeded.’

When the situation he wanted arose, he intervened immediately and ended the spar.

“Huh.”

I let out a sigh of admiration without realizing it.

‘Impressive, isn’t he?’

Had he planned this from the moment they started fighting? Or did he prepare to attempt it as the fight progressed?

It didn’t matter either way. Tang Soyeol ultimately utilized his strengths to execute his plan.

And the result was success.

‘Probably no one else around here noticed either.’

If even I didn’t know, then nobody else here could have.

But Tang Soyeol managed it.

“Haha…”

Recalling this, I let out a small laugh.

The silence was so profound that all eyes turned to me. Noticing this, I chuckled sheepishly and said,

“…It seems the commander for this side is roughly decided. Does anyone, perhaps, have any objections?”

“…”

“…”

“If you do, speak up.”

I asked again, but no answer came.

It was only natural. Those guys weren’t low-level practitioners either, so they couldn’t possibly not know.

‘That the recent ambush wasn’t mere chance.’

A thoroughly calculated conclusion.

Anyone with the right cultivation level and insight would inevitably understand what phenomenon just occurred.

‘The impression has been sufficiently made.’

Who else could possibly have done this?

To enter directly into the gale of sword energy, suppress it, and stop it.

For me, it wouldn’t have been that difficult.

However, besides me, is there anyone else here capable of doing that?

As far as I can see, no.

Yet Tang Soyeol succeeded, proving his worth beyond doubt.

Of course, dissatisfaction might arise.

What Tang Soyeol showed was momentary, while the spar Namgung Bi-ah and Wi Seol-ah displayed was on a different level.

If anyone has a complaint about this, I respect that.

If that were the case.

‘Tang Soyeol will handle it.’

He can just settle it with a spar, just like before.

Then it will become clear. That Tang Soyeol isn’t lacking the skill to handle any complaints.

“Since there seem to be no particular objections, Cadet Tang will take one of the two positions.”

As I spoke, I shifted my gaze towards the guys from the Meng side, who were watching me with wide eyes.

“Have you decided on your side?”

“…!”

“Judging by your expressions, it seems you haven’t decided yet.”

As expected, they hadn’t chosen their commander.

Seeing that, I said with a slight smile.

“Since you seem to have circumstances, I’ll extend the deadline to tomorrow. However, if you fail to decide by then, I will choose someone according to my preference, so keep that in mind.”

Will they really be able to decide by tomorrow?

As I said it, I recalled something.

The probability of them not deciding is quite high.

It would be nice if they could decide luckily, but from my perspective, that’s unlikely.

Ah, but it doesn’t really matter if they do decide.

They weren’t the important ones in the first place.

“One side is decided… and the situation has become complicated for deciding the other.”

Swoosh.

I raised my hand, channeling energy to lift Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-ah into the air.

And then.

“Huh?”

I tossed them straight towards Tang Soyeol.

Tang Soyeol hastily caught the bodies suddenly flying towards him.

“Ugh?!”

Perhaps because his build is so small, his vision was completely blocked the moment he caught the two.

“…Commander, send the fallen individuals to the infirmary.”

“W-wait a moment…”

“Disperse.”

I gave Tang Soyeol his first task and turned my back.

And so, the first day’s assembly concluded.

---

Afterwards, I returned to my quarters.

There are supposed to be spaces designated for commanders within the Meng headquarters.

But since I hadn’t moved all my belongings yet, I had to stay in my quarters for now.

Kuuung-!

A loud sound echoed.

It was the sound of a house-sized boulder falling onto the floor in the space prepared in my quarters.

“Hoo.”

The young man who had been training with the boulder until just moments ago wiped his sweat and spoke.

“So. You just came back like that?”

His gaze was filled with disbelief.

Receiving that gaze, I replied glumly.

“It was my best effort, considering the circumstances.”

“Shouldn’t you have brought them with you?”

“With so many people watching, I couldn’t exactly take care of them separately, could I?”

From my perspective, it felt quite unfair.

When I explained that I’d left Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-ah with Tang Soyeol after they collapsed and then rushed back, this was Pac-jon’s reaction.

He was implying it would have been better to leave them with Shin-ui.

‘Does he think I didn’t want to bring them?’

More than anyone, I wanted to. But…

“Once they’ve been accepted as cadets, I can’t openly do anything.”

Things became impossible unless it was a personal matter.

It couldn’t be helped.

Those kids needed to realize that too.

“Hmm…”

Hearing my answer, Pac-jon tilted his head slightly and said to me,

“You’re needlessly rigid about these things.”

“…”

“Well. You’ll handle it somehow.”

As if that was the end of his reaction, Pac-jon started wiping himself with a towel placed beside him.

He looked unusually tired, as if he’d trained rigorously all day.

‘Or maybe it’s because of internal injuries.’

I know the aftereffects of the martial bout are still lingering…

‘I told him to take it easy.’

He’s in such a state because that old geezer, whose body is already a mess, needlessly shows off his strength.

‘Does he think he’s actually young just because his body got younger? Seriously, he must have eaten his age through his ass.’

I stopped myself mid-thought and turned.

The boulder beside me moved, sweeping across the floor.

Kuaang-!!

“…”

Ignoring the boulder that had shattered the ground, I looked at Pac-jon.

“What a shame. If my body were intact, I could have hit you.”

“Are you insane…?”

“Judging by your expression, I figured you were cursing me inwardly.”

“…”

His intuition is damn fast.

“N-no, I haven’t.”

“Look me in the eye when you speak. Tsk tsk…”

It was too late to meet his gaze now, so I decided not to.

“Judging by the force of that throw, it seems your body has fully recovered.”

“Hmph.”

“Then why didn’t you just help me out like you said you would?”

I added curtly, and Pac-jon chuckled.

“Are you still sulking about that?”

“I’m not sulking, I was just saying.”

“Oh, really?”

Tap, tap. Having finished drying himself, Pac-jon hung the towel beside him.

Watching him, I clicked my tongue inwardly.

The meaning behind my words.

It wasn’t anything else.

I had asked Pac-jon to join as a member when the Sacred Dragon Unit was founded in the future.

I asked because it would be convenient for training, and also easier for Pac-jon to hide his identity if he joined.

‘He refused.’

Pac-jon declined.

He said he had things to do and that it was impossible.

Because of that, the other five had to be filled by different people.

I didn’t mind much. It was half a joke, so it didn’t matter.

‘What could those things he had to do be?’

Pac-jon’s refusal, citing things he had to do, bothered me slightly.

‘…This guy tends to cause major incidents whenever he tries to do something.’

I felt uneasy.

It might be my imagination, but the elderly people around me were all peculiar.

Whenever they said they had something to do, a major incident always followed.

“You’re making that strange face again.”

“…What strange face?”

“Hmm…”

Pac-jon looked at me as if suspecting something.

Seeing that, I played dumb as much as possible.

“Never mind. It’s not like my disciple has been acting strange for just a day or two…”

“…I suppose I’m normal… Just kidding.”

Thump.

In response to my excuse, Pac-jon placed down an even larger boulder than before.

I don’t know why humans have to be so violent.

“I don’t know why you seem to get grumpier rather than more mature as time goes on.”

“That’s a misconception.”

“Doesn’t seem like it…”

“…This is enough. Just tell me why you called me here.”

Putting aside his suspicious gaze, I asked about the main point.

I was here because Pac-jon had summoned me.

Enough small talk. It was time to get to the point.

“Ah. It’s nothing major.”

In response to my question, Pac-jon replied,

“I heard you had a fortuitous encounter recently. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

I answered without hesitation.

There was nothing to hide anyway.

The changes caused by the Hundred-Ranked monster. Pac-jon couldn’t possibly not know about them.

“Seriously, what do you keep stuffing yourself with? If you find something good, shouldn’t you share it with your master?”

“…I think I did give you some, though?”

I had given him the Poison Cleansing Pill, and occasionally even elixirs.

Even after taking all that, his progress is slow. Every time I see him like this, I think:

‘I must never end up like that, seeking rejuvenation.’

I’d rather bite my tongue and die than end up like that.

“So, does my fortuitous encounter have anything to do with why you summoned me?”

“Of course. Hasn’t it always been that way?”

“What you mean is…?”

“Have you gotten somewhat accustomed to Changcheon?”

“…”

“It hasn’t been enough time to truly master it yet, but…”

Tap, tap.

Pac-jon lightly dusted off his palms and added,

I sensed it from Pac-jon’s words.

The reason he summoned me was precisely…

“…because it seems about time we move on to the next thing.”

The next stage of the Two-Forms-Breaking-Heaven Martial Art that I need to learn.

He intended to teach me Pyeongcheon (Breaking Heaven).

---

Time flew by like an arrow, and the next day arrived.

“…Hoo.”

I let out a low sigh.

My expression wasn’t great either.

How could a face exhausted by fatigue look good?

Honestly, even moving was difficult.

‘This is damn exhausting.’

My body, completely drained of energy, reacted strongly even to the slightest movement.

My muscles trembled uncontrollably, and I could still feel a dull ache in my chest from how much internal energy I’d used.

‘That wicked old man.’

Grind.

My teeth clenched involuntarily.

The cause of this state made me frown as I recalled yesterday’s training.

It had only been a short while since I learned Changcheon, and Pyeongcheon, the next stage, had already been demonstrated once by Pac-jon.

The tremendous martial art he showed during the duel with Do-wang must have been Pyeongcheon.

‘Compress the internal energy of the Two-Forms-Breaking-Heaven Martial Art, compress it again… and finally unleash it.’

It was an astonishingly powerful martial art.

It seemed like it would be quite helpful if I could use it, and as Pac-jon said, since it was reconstructed based on Gu Clan’s Flame Prison, learning it didn’t seem too difficult.

‘Bullshit.’

It was truly an absurd notion.

Difficult? Not at all? What nonsense.

‘How much internal energy did I expend overnight?’

I used it until I was completely empty, then refilled it, repeating the cycle.

He told me to repeat it countless times to grasp the feel, so I focused intensely, over and over again.

‘I couldn’t even get the hang of it.’

In the end, I failed.

It was because the difficulty was much higher than anticipated.

‘…How am I supposed to use that?’

It felt completely different from the Two-Forms-Breaking-Heaven Martial Art I had learned so far.

While it originally involved pain, the difficulty itself wasn’t that high.

‘This is different.’

Pyeongcheon is different.

If the first and second forms were merely simple martial arts that unleashed energy through internal energy and movements.

‘Pyeongcheon requires using everything.’

This form required utilizing everything I had learned up to this point.

I had to endure the pain while regulating my internal energy, and perfectly control the movements.

And to prevent any wavering during that process, I had to open my Mind’s Eye and maximize it with Changcheon.

I thought I was going crazy.

Pac-jon didn’t seem bothered even by my failure, as if he had expected it.

He knew it was unrealistic to even grasp the basics on the first day.

‘Ssk…’

Realizing how difficult it was in many ways, my lips naturally dried.

It was also because I had so much to do.

‘Not just the Two-Forms-Breaking-Heaven Martial Art. I also need to keep dabbling in sorcery.’

It was good that I got to learn Pyeongcheon, but there was so much else I was doing besides this.

Sorcery, in particular.

‘…This isn’t exactly easy either.’

I’m learning it bit by bit from Shin-ui, but…

I don’t know if it’s truly possible to combine it with martial arts.

So far, even just laying the groundwork was the limit…

‘However.’

If I could succeed as I wished.

‘I’ll become incredibly strong.’

I expected something tremendous to emerge.

If I succeed, that is.

“Hoo.”

I let out a deep sigh.

I think it’s good that I keep finding ways to become stronger, but…

‘I feel like I might have overextended myself.’

I wondered if I had taken on too much because I felt the situation was urgent.

As a result, trying to manage all this while also handling other tasks leaves me utterly exhausted.

‘But what can I do?’

I knew.

That this was the only way.

So I have to push through relentlessly.

‘If it doesn’t work, make it work.’

I repeated Pac-jon’s habitual phrase inwardly.

Even though it’s a rather crude saying, nothing fits better.

Whatever happens, I just need to overcome it.

Even if it seems impossible, I have to make it possible.

Just as I was steeling my resolve,

“Huh?”

I had to frown at the sound I heard the moment I entered the room.

“Where is it?”

In response to my question, the old man before me, Muk-yeon, spoke.

“The Gyecheon Gate.”

“…The Gyecheon Gate?”

“We’ve confirmed information that the Gyecheon Gate (契天門) in Sichuan is linked to the Demonic Cult.”

It was an unexpected name, one I hadn’t heard in a long time.