"Let's spar with me for a while."
"Ah, that's a bit…"
"…?!"
Seomun Hwa-rin, who had been lifting her chin with a triumphant expression, had shock creep into her eyes, and then her shoulders drooped.
It was a reaction similar to when she'd been misunderstood as not wanting to eat a side dish she'd set aside to savor, only to have it snatched away right in front of her (surprisingly, that had actually happened).
However, this time was a little different from back then.
Because it wasn't something she'd said without thinking—she'd said it after giving it proper thought.
"Calm yourself, Senior Seomun Hwa-rin. And think once more about our original purpose."
"…Now that I've reached the Harmony Realm, the desire to match me has grown so much that you refuse an instructional bout?"
"No, where on earth did such a twisted way of thinking come from?"
"Well, you are at an age where it wouldn't be strange for you to go astray at any moment."
"I've already passed that age."
Still, I understood what she meant.
I was slowly approaching nineteen, and while it wasn't as severe as before… just a few years ago, I'd had quite a few emotional swings that were beyond my control.
Of course, with my past-life memories, I never expressed them outright, but it was true that they were somewhat novel experiences.
What people commonly call puberty or a rebellious phase stems not from the mind, but from changes in the body.
Unless one was in my situation—living a second life with a gap between mental and physical age—it was an experience hard to recognize.
"If that's not the reason, then what is the reason for refusing to spar with me? You've done so well up until now."
"The issue at hand is that I can't control my power, and I'll end up destroying the training ground until I get used to it."
"That is true."
"Of course, in a sparring bout with Senior Seomun Hwa-rin, I'd also fail to control my power and swing my Aura at full force."
"However, I would be able to receive it without difficulty."
"With an Aura as powerful as my own?"
"Th-that… Hm?"
Only now did Seomun Hwa-rin seem to notice something strange, blinking her eyes.
Surely she, who had just stepped into the Harmony Realm, could easily receive my still-inexperienced sword. But the problem was that Seomun Hwa-rin's martial art was also built upon Force and Change.
She could counter my Sword Force with a stronger Aura, but the aftermath would hardly leave the surroundings intact.
Of course, she wasn't ignorant of other Mysteries, so she could probably deflect my attack.
But then, the deflected Sword Force would shatter everything around us.
If it were an ordinary sword strike, perhaps not, but I didn't think Seomun Hwa-rin had mastered the Mystery of Flow well enough to redirect a sword wrapped in Aura with her martial level.
Having fully grasped my intention, Seomun Hwa-rin clenched her small fist tightly.
"How can this be! Because this lady is too strong, I cannot be the first to receive your Sword Force…!"
"You could certainly put it that way."
"In all my life, there have only been twenty-seven times I hated my own power this much!"
"That's quite a lot, isn't it."
As I half-heartedly entertained Seomun Hwa-rin, who was glaring at the sky with the most wronged expression in the world, Tang So-wol tilted her head beside me.
"I understand the reason, but what will you do, young hero Cheon? Shall we speak to Father about it?"
"If it's my father-in-law, he could dodge my sword with ease, and he might even be able to break through my slightly lacking Immunity to All Poisons and poison me. Even then, the fundamental problem would remain the same, though."
Where would the Aura that Tang Jincheon dodged go? Naturally, toward the floor and walls of the training ground.
The training ground was located in a remote area so that people wouldn't frequent it, and there was also an order to avoid passing through unless absolutely necessary.
Still, with bad luck, someone could get crushed under a collapsed wall or struck by a fragment of Sword Force and get hurt.
Using the training ground normally was practically impossible.
"If we're going to break something anyway, wouldn't it be better to swing our swords somewhere we can smash things to our heart's content?"
"Is there such a place?"
"Do you know something? Winter is a season when more people die than you'd think. The poor catch illnesses from lack of firewood to keep warm and waste away, and beggars without even a roof over their heads might lie down for a night's sleep and never wake up again."
"What does that have to do with anything all of a sudden…"
"I may not know all of Sichuan Province, but Chengdu here is definitely a place where the Tang Clan's reach is assured. Since things have turned out this way, I'm thinking we might as well do some good."
"Ah…!"
Tang So-wol, who had been tilting her head this way and that, seemed to catch on to my intention and let out a gasp, her eyes going wide.
"You're thinking of cutting wood from the mountain."
"Exactly."
Not just wood that was fine to cut—the more we cut, the warmer the people of Chengdu would be able to spend their winter.
On top of that, the Tang Clan's reputation would improve, and I could subtly let the beggars… that is, the Beggars' Sect, know that I had reached the Harmony Realm.
If my level had been middling, it would have made sense to hide it, but when you've reached a truly high level, it's actually better to let it be known far and wide—it prevents a lot of troublesome situations.
That had been true when I was at Transcendent Peak, and it was even more so now that I stood in the Harmony Realm.
On the other hand, there would also be more people clinging to me, trying to squeeze something out of me… but the Tang Clan would take care of cutting those off.
"If anyone ends up losing out because of this, it would probably be the woodcutters who chop and sell trees in the winter."
"If it's just that much, we can have them help with moving the timber and pay them a day's wage. I'll bring it up with Father right away."
"He must be busy these days—I feel a bit guilty for piling more work on him."
"Ah, don't you worry about it. Of course, Father is busy negotiating the return of the items young hero Cheon brought from the secret vault to their original owners, and busy explaining why the Heavenly Poison Sect was wiped out, and busy dealing with the suspicion that young hero Cheon's actions constituted a Blood Calamity, and now he's busy trying to procure precious Cheonggang Stones to fill the broken training ground! But all of this can be handled by the Chief Steward instead, so it's fine!"
"Just out of curiosity—does the Tang Clan have about three or four Chief Stewards?"
"There's just one. Though it seems like in a little while, he'll collapse from overwork and there won't be even one left…"
"…"
"On the other hand, my salary has tripled, and I've been given several beneficial spiritual medicines, so there's no chance of me actually collapsing—please don't worry."
Is it really fine not to worry?
Even before that incident, there had been plenty of major events: the kidnapping (not) during the Dragon Phoenix Gathering, the running away (not) incident, the claim of defeating the Blood Flame Fist Demon, the slaying of the Hwangbo Clan Head, and so on.
No sooner had the aftermath of those been wrapped up than he was buried in work again.
"Hmph. I should have worked Sama Yuryeon for a month and then sent her to the Black Alliance."
But it was already too late. She had already left for the Black Alliance, and by now she was probably enjoying her honeymoon with the Alliance Lord.
At least Tang Jincheon seems to take good care of her in proportion to her hard work, so that's a relief.
…Because I plan to cause even bigger incidents in the future.
Now that I've reached the Harmony Realm, it means I've also entered the ranks of absolute masters.
In other words, no one in the martial world can take my words lightly anymore, which also means I've met the minimum conditions for drawing out an alliance between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects.
Fortunately, the Murim Alliance is quite wary of the Demonic Cult thanks to me and Gwiyeong Sin-tu, and the Lord of the Black Alliance is fairly favorable toward me.
It's truly worth attempting. Forging the Orthodox-Unorthodox Alliance overnight is impossible, but… as long as we can join hands before the Heavenly Demon invades, that's enough.
At the very least, I won't just stand by and watch half the Orthodox Sects get smashed to pieces, starting with the Kunlun Sect.
To do that, I must first become the bridge between the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects.
…But how?
The Unorthodox Sects are simple. Subdue them with force, guarantee them benefits, and that's sufficient.
But the Orthodox Sects are more complicated. They have their pride, and there are long-standing grudges between old families and sects.
Still, they are people who can unite when a greater cause demands it, so perhaps the only way is to do as has always been done—rouse their vigilance against the Demonic Cult through the Murim Alliance.
They already know the Demonic Cult is no longer what it used to be, but they don't seem to realize just how monstrous the Heavenly Demon truly is.
The best course would be to strike before the Heavenly Demon grows even stronger, but…
No matter how I think about it, the masters of the various sects would never agree to gather, march across the great distance to the Shiwan Dashan Mountains, and wipe out the Demonic Cult entirely.
After all, most Demonic Cultists are people who suffered injustices in the martial world, and the worst they've done is send spies to stir up trouble against a few sects.
It might count as a personal Karmic Debt between individuals, but hardly a matter of greater justice.
For instance, the attempt on Tang So-wol's life was a matter between the Tang Clan and the Demonic Cult—it could never be framed as a conflict between the Orthodox Sects and the Demonic Cult.
Even if, somehow, the Orthodox and Unorthodox Sects joined hands to oppose the Heavenly Demon, the problem would remain.
The question of whether they could actually win, that is.
Of course, I wouldn't die a futile death like I did before my regression.
But the Heavenly Demon is someone who once repelled the combined assault of nearly ten Harmony Realm martial artists—and I heard he wasn't even seriously injured.
Could twenty of them win? I still have no certainty. That's how overwhelming the Heavenly Demon I saw at the end was.
Reaching the Harmony Realm is a great achievement, but… at best, it merely earns one the right to cross swords with the Heavenly Demon.
In the end, what's needed is a martial level that rivals the Heavenly Demon's.
"Haaah…"
"Hmm. I was just exaggerating a moment ago—the Chief Steward is doing well enough that there's no need to worry yourself into a sigh."
"Then I suppose it's fine. However, the reason I'm troubled is something entirely different."
"Might I ask what that reason is?"
"I need to become stronger, but it seems it won't be as easy as I thought. That worries me."
"…"
Tang So-wol clamped her mouth shut at once. No—not just Tang So-wol. Even Seomun Hwa-rin, who had been grumbling all along, and Seol Ri-hyang, who had been trying to soothe her, fell silent for a moment.
Then they sent him a look as if they were staring at a genuine madman, and began whispering among themselves.
"Is the influence of the Qi Deviation really still lingering?"
"Isn't it true that you didn't go through the normal process of Bone-Exchange Rebirth? Even I am suffering from minor side effects after undergoing Rejuvenation, so the possibility isn't entirely absent."
"Is that so? Cheon Hwi was always like this, though… When he reached the Peak Realm, and even when he reached the Transcendent Peak, he was just a man crazed with martial arts, always pulling these tricks that weren't quite arrogance but weren't quite humility either."
"That does make… sense!"
"It does make sense…!"
The three of them chattered loudly enough for everyone to hear. It was the rudest kind of slander, but because of that damn seal, he couldn't properly refute them.
In the end, instead of proving his sanity, he decided to change the subject, as he always did.
"Well, after I get used to my Aura by chopping wood, I was thinking of heading to Yunnan for a while. How about we all go together this time?"
"Yunnan? What business do you have there? Surely you're not going to go see the Heavenly Poison Sect you destroyed…!"
I flicked Seol Ri-hyang's forehead as she gasped, and she yelped, "Ow!" I shrugged my shoulders.
"I said the direction of Yunnan, not that I'm going all the way to Yunnan. My destination is the Diancang Sect."
"The Diancang Sect, you say?"
"Yes. There's something I need to check."
By the time I got used to my Aura, winter would have passed and the year would have turned—I'd be nineteen.
…And the Heavenly Killing Star had awakened in the year I turned twenty.
I needed to see its face at least once before it was too late.
As for what to do about it, I could figure that out when the time came.