"By the way, you said you suffered an internal injury—are you alright, young hero Cheon?"
"Well, the medicine was good. And Seomun Hwa-rin senior's meridian cleansing helped as well."
As I shrugged, Seomun Hwa-rin flinched and glanced at Tang So-wol. And Seol Ri-hyang, who had been shrinking back every time meridian cleansing was mentioned.
Despite the two's awkward reactions, Tang So-wol paid them no mind and urged me on with her hands on her hips.
"Don't just say you're fine—tell me specifically what the situation is."
"Would you like to check for yourself?"
As I casually extended my arm, Tang So-wol grabbed my forearm as if she had been waiting for it, feeling it over. Then, with a satisfied expression, she returned my arm to me.
"Your arm is quite firm. I do enjoy such things, you know."
"? Weren't you trying to check for internal injuries?"
"If it were my own body, perhaps, but how could I examine someone else's—especially while we're out walking?"
"Then why did you touch my arm?"
"Because I wanted to. Is there a problem with that?"
"…"
With her saying it so boldly, I had nothing to say. She was my betrothed, after all, and it wasn't as if I disliked it.
Still, it couldn't be helped that we made a strange sight—Seol Ri-hyang and Seomun Hwa-rin had put their heads together and started whispering.
"It's a relief to see that the betrothed pair get along so well, but… watching them is a bit much, I must say."
"Cheon Hwi and Sister Tang have always been like that. Haven't you seen them a few times yourself, Elder?"
"E- Elder…"
No, wait. Was Seol Ri-hyang, who had gone sullen, just picking on Seomun Hwa-rin?
As I glanced at Seomun Hwa-rin, who had wilted under Seol Ri-hyang's oddly cold reaction, this time someone else asked for my arm.
"Son-in-law. Lend me your arm for a moment."
"…Suddenly?"
When I looked at him with a wary gaze without meaning to, Tang Jincheon shrugged his shoulders.
"Heavens. Who looks at their father-in-law like that after he rushed all this way because he heard his son-in-law was in danger? Unlike So-wol, I can still take a basic pulse even while on the move, so just hold out your arm quietly."
"Yes."
He had probably heard about it from Tang So-wol beforehand, but before that, he must have been quite worried about me.
The past three years. I had become a member of the Tang Clan, and Tang Jincheon was a man who cherished his own family.
Feeling a bit sheepish, I smiled and held out my arm. He took my pulse as it was, then sent a faint wisp of internal energy through me to examine my insides.
After checking this and that, he let out a sigh of relief and nodded.
"I could tell from watching you swing your sword that you weren't in critical condition, but it seems the internal injury was more severe than I thought. You've recovered considerably now, so it's fine."
"Yes. I was lucky."
I had known the Lord of the Black Alliance would take a liking to me. But I never expected him to go so far as to give me Geum Don-ui's Yosangyak.
And on top of that, he even performed meridian cleansing on me—something Seomun Hwa-rin had never done even before my regression.
If my recovery were slow after receiving all this, that would be strange indeed.
"Still, the fact that you need to rest for a while hasn't changed. Unfortunately, you'll have to sit out this Dragon Phoenix Gathering, won't you?"
"…The Dragon Phoenix Gathering isn't over yet?"
"It was paused for a time, but now that the situation has settled, it should resume soon."
"Oh."
I had assumed it would continue without interruption—or at least not be cancelled—and that a winner would have emerged by now. I had already given up on the Great Return Pill, but… this changed things.
"Tsk, tsk. Don't entertain useless thoughts."
"How do you know what I was thinking?"
"What else? You were thinking it might be worth going out there. I've known you long enough to see through that much."
"…Is it not allowed? I think it's worth a try even without using internal energy."
"Stop talking nonsense and just rest. It'd be worse if you tore your wounds open doing something foolish."
As I let out a deep sigh of regret, Tang So-wol crept closer and asked.
"Why the sudden slump, young hero Cheon? Surely Father didn't say something to you again?"
Tang So-wol pretended to glare at me. Her playful gesture made Tang Jincheon chuckle and shake his head.
"It's true that I got a scolding from my father-in-law, but I did bring it upon myself by bringing up the topic."
"Hmm. Would you mind if I took a guess?"
"Why not."
"Young hero Cheon. You were thinking that if the Dragon Phoenix Gathering hasn't ended yet, you could still leave, weren't you?"
"…How did you know?"
"Actually, I was listening from right behind you."
Tang So-wol shrugged. She patted my back lightly as if scolding me and continued.
"If your internal injuries are so severe that you couldn't even sense me with your Qi Sense from this close a distance, then you should just rest. At your age, young hero Cheon, there's plenty of time to aim for the next one."
"Five years is too long."
"If what you regret is missing the chance to witness martial arts, then don't worry too much. Even after the Dragon Phoenix Gathering ends, there are those who stay in Muhan City to hold separate sparring matches. To test their skills against opponents they never got to face due to bad luck in the draw, or to have a rematch."
"That's pleasant news, but that's not the only reason."
"Then why do you insist on attending the Dragon Phoenix Gathering even though you know you're pushing yourself?"
"Because of the Great Return Pill."
"The Great Return Pill… No, to be precise, it's about internal energy."
"Correct."
The me of my childhood never doubted for a moment that I was a genius. I even suspected I might have been born with a special Constitution — that alone says everything.
However, what I was born with was nothing more than Sword Talent.
Having entered the martial arts at a late age, my Meridians had long since hardened, my bones and sinews were nothing but ordinary, and because my martial art was rooted in the Unorthodox Sects, the purity of my internal energy was also lacking.
Of course, thanks to the Enlightenment I gained from my regression and the Spiritual Medicine I had been fed by the Tang Clan, my Meridians had widened considerably… but.
Compared to those who had received Marrow Cleansing since childhood and consumed all sorts of Spiritual Medicine, I was still lacking.
My internal energy, too, had been refined by melting killing intent into it, making it more obedient to my will and increasing its Power.
But in the end, I had to keep handling killing intent, and the more I exerted my full strength, the greater the consumption of my Simnyeok became, wasn't that so?
In a short decisive battle, there was no problem at all, but if the fight dragged on, I would eventually find myself at a disadvantage quickly.
…Well, I said all that, but it's not like I'm in a bad situation.
The support I received was late in coming, but the Tang Clan's backing was something I couldn't have even imagined before my regression.
Especially since rapidly raising my realm through Enlightenment was my greatest weapon.
Even now, if I could just fill my internal energy, I'd be able to step into the beginning of the Transcendent Peak. I wouldn't lack anything when facing most opponents.
The problem was that the enemy I ultimately had to face was the Heavenly Demon.
To surpass a man who was surely the Greatest of All Time, beyond even the world's best, I needed to be a bit greedier and move a bit faster.
"I… I must become stronger."
"Aren't you already growing stronger quickly enough?"
"It's not enough."
The reason I seemed to be growing so quickly was that I was merely reclaiming the heights I had once reached.
But if I ever reached the Transcendent Peak and hit the wall I had failed to break through even before my regression, I would be stuck wandering just like everyone else.
Perhaps… I might never surpass that wall at all.
I had spent a while only encountering martial artists of my own age, but watching the clash of auras between the Lord of the Black Alliance and Seomun Hwa-rin had opened my eyes.
Even if I regained all of my past martial level, the Harmony Realm still stood far above me.
And even those Harmony Realm martial artists had fallen in droves to the Heavenly Demon.
Recalling the Demonic Qi that had engulfed the world in that final moment, and the man standing expressionless at its center, I found my brow furrowing on its own.
Tang So-wol, who had been quietly watching me, reached out her hand.
She pressed firmly.
Tang So-wol smoothed out her furrowed brow with a gentle press, then calmly chose her words.
"I don't think you need to be so impatient."
"But…"
"Honestly, I don't quite understand it myself, but I suppose you, young hero Cheon, could find yourself dissatisfied with your own progress. As long as it doesn't turn into obsession, it can actually be the driving force that helps a martial artist grow. However, even so, I will say this: there is no need to be impatient."
"Why? I'll say this just in case—you don't need to worry about my obsession growing to the point of Qi Deviation. I'm always on guard, and… it's not to the extent that you'd call it a Simma."
"That is fortunate, but I said it for an entirely different reason."
Having said that, Tang So-wol grabbed the shoulder of Seol Ri-hyang, who had been pretending not to listen from the side.
"All of us, sister Tang?"
Startled, Seol Ri-hyang squirmed, but Tang So-wol only pulled her closer, pressing their shoulders together. Then—
"It's been a while, but do you still remember? Just as the young hero has become my strength, I said that I too would become his."
"Of course I remember."
"You don't need to try to do everything alone. We'll fill in what you lack."
"Um… me too?"
Seol Ri-hyang looked around uneasily as she asked, but Tang So-wol merely tilted her head with a calm expression.
"Was it not so? Didn't you say you wanted to become someone who could one day repay the help you received from young hero Cheon, Hyang-i?"
"Eek! W-why would you say that here, sister Tang!"
Seol Ri-hyang hastily clamped her hand over Tang So-wol's mouth and glanced at me out of the corner of her eye.
So that was what she had been thinking about.
The two of them had been clinging to each other and bickering for a while, but in the end, Tang So-wol lightly bit Seol Ri-hyang's finger, and the matter was settled when Ri-hyang pulled her arm away.
Having regained her freedom, Tang So-wol took a deep breath and continued what she had been saying.
"Hoo. Anyway, if you remember, then this time, please do watch us. How much stronger Hyang-i and I have become. …Whether we are still people you need to protect, young hero Cheon."
"…"
For a moment, I was struck dumb, as if I had been hit on the back of the head.
Tang So-wol was right. I knew that the two of them had been born with talent equal to or greater than mine.
Even knowing that, I had only ever thought of handling everything alone. Even though I had been scolded by Tang So-wol for a similar reason before.
I knew the reason. It was probably because their deaths occupied the largest share of my memories.
Tang So-wol had fallen to the Heavenly Demon before me, though by a slight margin, and Seol Ri-hyang had breathed her last in my arms.
Seomun Hwa-rin was a bit of a different case, since she was already an absolute master of the Harmony Realm and had been someone like my teacher even before the regression…
In any case, it must be because the helplessness of dying without being able to do anything was etched deeply into me.
But what about now? Both Tang So-wol and Seol Ri-hyang were alive and well, and neither of them was badly injured anywhere like before the regression.
"…Fine. This time, I'll just watch quietly from the sidelines."
"Heh heh. You've thought it over well, young hero Cheon. I… it'll be tough for me, but Hyang-i will definitely win and bring back the Great Return Pill!"
"Huh? Me? Me? How?! You know I'm still only first-rate, right, sister Tang?!"
Seol Ri-hyang jumped up and down, grabbed by the shoulders by Tang So-wol. I chuckled at the sight of her.
"But you can't use poison art in a sparring match."
"That's true, but… that's true, but!"
Seol Ri-hyang tried to break free from Tang So-wol with a face that said she was dying of pressure. Our eyes met for a moment, so I lightly clenched my fist at her.
"I'll cheer you on."
"Cheon Hwi, you're doing this too?! Ugh… Fine! I'll do it! I'll do it! I don't know about winning, but I'll make you all gasp in surprise, so you better look forward to it!"
"Yeah. I'll look forward to it."
I chuckled and nodded, feeling a warm atmosphere settle around us.
Tang Jincheon and the Murim Alliance Leader in particular kept nodding with pleased expressions.
…Well, I understood what was on their minds. This was the kind of fresh, youthful sight you only got to see at this age.
Was it that the tension had loosened too much for her liking? Or did she think now was the right moment?
Suddenly, Seomun Hwa-rin dropped a bombshell.
"Hmm, well said. Cheon Hwi, you have this mother here, so if things get difficult, feel free to rely on me."
"…"
I'm going crazy.