Chapter 963

I was heading to Yahwol with Shin Noya.

Something about that felt strangely off.

And it was obvious why.

‘…This old man could leave all along…?’

I had always assumed that Shin Noya never set foot outside Mount Hua Sect.

Even though Mount Hua Sect was treated like trash in Yahwol, Noya had never stepped in to intervene.

Perhaps the disciples had deliberately chosen not to tell him about it.

‘You saw this coming, didn’t you?’

Noya had already been vaguely aware of the situation. That’s why he had asked me for a favor in the first place.

But if he had been willing to ask me for help without going himself…

‘I thought it meant he couldn’t leave.’

Now, out of nowhere, he had decided to go?

Then why had he not done so until now?

With that question lingering in my mind, I stepped outside my quarters.

As Shin Noya and I emerged together, Gubong stared at him with an odd expression.

Then, Noya turned to him and spoke.

“I will take a short trip to Yahwol.”

“Wha…? S-Sect Leader! What do you mean…?!”

Gubong’s eyes widened in shock.

Judging by his reaction, it was clear that Noya personally going to Yahwol was far from ordinary.

“Why do this yourself…! Please, allow me to go in your place…!”

“There is no need. Just an old man going out for a walk—pay it no mind.”

“But…!”

“Enough.”

As Shin Noya furrowed his brow and spoke, Gubong finally shut his mouth, his lips pressing tightly together.

“…Then allow me to accompany you. Please, at least grant me that much.”

His voice was filled with desperation.

Hearing him, Shin Noya let out a chuckle and nodded.

“Fine. It has been a while since I have taken a trip outside.”

Only then did Gubong exhale deeply, releasing a heavy sigh.

Watching that, I narrowed my eyes.

‘What is this?’

Why did he seem so unwilling?

I was curious, but I chose not to ask.

One look at Noya’s expression was enough to tell me that no matter how I phrased the question, he wouldn’t answer.

‘Tch.’

Clicking my tongue, I moved forward again.

For now, reaching Yahwol took priority.

*******************

Leaving Mount Hua Sect, we set out on the road to Yahwol.

Having traveled this path numerous times, I had long since committed it to memory.

But this time, there was a place I needed to stop by first.

A vast open field.

A site of devastation, its surroundings left in complete ruin.

It was the battlefield where Yarang and Cheonma had clashed not long ago.

“Hm.”

Seeing the scene, Noya let out a quiet murmur.

“They fought like complete savages.”

“…”

I said nothing, but inwardly, I agreed.

“How much power did they throw around for the traces of it to still linger like this?”

Noya let out a dry chuckle as he stared into the air.

I knew exactly why he reacted this way.

Even though some time had passed since the battle, Qi still remained in the air.

Normally, it would have dissipated long ago.

For this much to linger—just how much power had been unleashed?

‘…Unbelievable.’

I had no right to criticize excessive firepower, but Cheonma’s Qi was beyond absurd.

‘This isn’t just a lack of control—it’s outright negligence.’

No compression. No restraint. Nothing.

The power of Internal Energy lay in how much of it a martial artist could generate and how fast they could circulate it through their body.

The moment I had grasped the concepts of rotation and pressure, my firepower had increased explosively.

The more Internal Energy I accumulated, the stronger I became.

Rotation.

Compression.

Friction.

If these three principles determined the efficiency of a martial artist’s techniques—

‘…Then what the hell is this?’

The aftershocks left by Cheonma had none of that.

Which meant—

‘She used none of these methods and still produced that level of destruction.’

Cheonma had not rotated, compressed, or even controlled her Qi.

She had fought using nothing but sheer volume and force.

It was absurd.

‘How does that even make sense?’

It was like preparing an arrow to hit a target, only to throw it by hand instead of using the bow.

How inefficient could one get?

This wasn’t power that should have been viable, and yet Cheonma had used it.

Which raised another question—

‘…Was the Cheonma of my past life like this as well?’

Had she fought in such a crude, reckless manner back then?

I thought back carefully.

I had rarely seen Cheonma fight in person.

Most of what I knew came from victory reports.

Killing the Three Elders.

Slaughtering another grandmaster.

Sweeping through battlefields and leading victories.

That was all I had ever heard.

‘…Now that I think about it, I never saw her fight that often.’

Not never.

I had caught a glimpse of her killing Maehwa-seon in Mount Hua Sect.

And there were other battles I had partially witnessed.

But even so—

‘She didn’t fight like this back then.’

Her Qi had never faltered.

She had wielded her vast Qi with complete mastery, endlessly adapting and maximizing its strength.

Better than anyone else.

Of course, she had to.

‘You don’t kill the Three Elders without that level of control.’

No matter how powerful Cheonma was, that alone wasn’t enough.

She had been proficient.

The Cheonma I had known wasn’t just skilled—she had surpassed everyone in every conceivable way.

I couldn’t even imagine a human killing her. She had been so overwhelmingly strong that the mere thought of her defeat had been laughable.

But now?

‘Everything is sloppy.’

Her movements.

The vast Qi she possessed, yet had no idea how to utilize.

Was this truly the Cheonma I had once feared?

My perception of her was beginning to collapse.

‘Even if the true emergence of Cheonma is still a few years away in this life…’

Could she truly become the Cheonma I had known in such a short span of time?

Logically, it seemed impossible.

Sure, logic had already been thrown out the window long ago.

But even then, this was strange.

‘What the hell is this?’

Who exactly was this Cheonma?

I couldn’t understand.

At that moment—

“So, you’re not bringing that girl with you?”

Shin Noya suddenly asked about Cheonma.

Hearing that, I bit my lip slightly.

“…No. Even if I brought her, she wouldn’t be of much use….”

Besides—

‘It’s… uncomfortable.’

For some reason, I found it difficult to face Cheonma.

Strangely so.

“Anyway, that’s how it is….”

I brushed off the topic.

Since I didn’t fully explain myself, Shin Noya gave me an odd look.

I ignored it.

“…Let’s go.”

I had seen everything I needed.

I hadn’t come to examine Cheonma’s traces anyway.

I had come to sense what remained of Yarang’s power.

‘But there’s nothing left.’

I felt nothing at all.

Unlike Cheonma, Yarang had controlled their Qi perfectly.

‘Tsk.’

It was a little disappointing, but it didn’t matter.

After all—

‘I am certain.’

I had already come to believe that Yarang was the Divine Sword.

This was merely a way to solidify that certainty even further.

Even if I found nothing here, it wouldn’t change my mind.

“…Let’s go.”

I repeated my words. At that, Shin Noya began to move, and I followed.

As we walked, Gubong looked at the two of us with a somewhat worried expression.

******************

We arrived at Yahwol Palace after some time had passed.

As we approached the gates, the scenery remained the same as before. However, I could feel that the level of vigilance had increased compared to our last visit.

Just as we were about to proceed—

“Oh, right.”

I suddenly remembered something and turned to Noya.

“Noya.”

“Hmm?”

“That. What are you going to do about the ears and tail?”

“Hm? Ah.”

Hearing my question, Noya finally realized the problem.

Now that I thought about it, Noya had neither ears nor a tail.

“Ah, damn it. I forgot. I should’ve stopped by that damn turtle first.”

Scratching his head in mild frustration, Noya looked troubled.

Watching him, I offered,

“"Should I do this for you?"

“Hm? What do you mean?”

“I learned how to do it.”

“…What?”

Hearing my words, Noya’s eyes narrowed.

Was it so hard to believe that I had learned it?

I smirked and reached out my hand.

My palm pressed against Noya’s chest.

And then—

Saaaah—!

In an instant, ears and a tail appeared on Noya’s head.

“Huh?”

Seeing his own transformed appearance, Noya let out a breath of astonishment.

“Kid… When did you learn this?”

“I watched last time and copied it. It wasn’t that hard.”

“…Copied it just from watching?”

“Yeah. You should try it sometime, Noya. It’s actually pretty simple.”

“…Uh. Sure.”

Noya half-heartedly nodded, looking somewhat unsettled by my words.

What?

Lately, I had been seeing that expression on his face more and more.

Was it just my imagination?

No, it didn’t feel like an illusion.

It definitely wasn’t just my imagination.

That aside—

‘Well, at least putting it on Noya was easy.’

Compared to how disgustingly difficult it had been to place a curse on Cheonma, doing the same for Noya was effortless.

What was the difference?

For a moment, I was curious.

“…Proceed.”

But for now, getting inside the fortress was the priority, so I pushed the thought aside.

The gatekeeper gave us permission to enter.

His wariness was obvious, but the token I carried made it easy to dispel any suspicion.

A near-invincible pass.

“…That…”

I sensed Gubong flinch slightly as he caught sight of my token.

Ah, right.

‘That guy… He was the son of that household.’

I had momentarily forgotten.

Feigning ignorance, I tucked the token back into my robes and continued walking.

As we entered, Noya glanced around at the surroundings.

“This place hasn’t changed much.”

“…You’ve been here before?”

“Of course. What do you take me for?”

Noya frowned as he looked at me.

“The last time was… what, ten years ago?”

“…”

…Wasn’t that way too long ago?

Ten years was long enough for mountains to shift.

Shaking my head, I refocused on the path ahead.

‘First.’

Obviously, I would go to the Black House first.

I needed to gather any useful information there and wait until nightfall.

Also—

‘Where is Yusa?’

I had some business with Yusa as well.

But whether that bastard would actually show up was another matter.

If I had to guess, he probably would.

Still, it was just a guess.

‘…Let’s go.’

Solidifying my plan, I moved toward the Black House.

My pace was slightly faster than before.

I needed to get closer to Yarang and Mother as soon as possible.

That thought was driving my steps forward when—

Swish.

Someone passed by me.

Their faces were obscured by cloth.

But—

“…!”

The moment they walked past, my body moved instinctively.

‘What?’

My eyes widened like a lit lantern as I turned toward them.

At the same time, I reached out to grab one of them.

Snap!

“Stop.”

A dry, aged hand seized my wrist.

“Calm yourself.”

It was Noya.

Noya had stopped me.

“But…!”

“If you don’t want everyone here to die, stay put. Now is not the time.”

“…”

Shin Noya was staring at me, his face devoid of emotion, his voice pressing down on me with undeniable weight.

The sheer presence in his words and the energy radiating from his arm were enough to halt my movements.

But my trembling breath refused to steady.

‘That was definitely…’

The two figures who had just passed me.

I hadn’t seen their faces.

But in that brief glimpse, my heart had nearly burst out of my chest.

‘Mother…?’

Just now—

It felt like Mother had walked past me.