He opened his eyes that he had been closing.

The first thing he saw was the blue sky and a few clouds.

In the sky where not even the wind was blowing, the clouds were moving slowly at a very slow speed.

Jin Sohyun, who was watching this, smiled faintly.

“They look alike.”

Jin Sohyun, who was watching the sky, looked at the clouds that resembled him and then suddenly looked at his own hand.

A small hand the size of a fist.

There was nothing in the hand of the young boy that resembled a fern.

“Are you slacking off again today?”

At the familiar voice, Jin Sohyun lightly swept the rock next to him with his hand.

“Have you mastered the Shadowless Divine Step?”

“Yes. I have succeeded in eliminating my shadow with every step.”

“You rascal…”

Bieunggaek, who had sat down next to him at some point, stroked Jin Sohyun’s head with his old, bent hand.

“The Shadowless Divine Step is the fastest and quietest step among the steps I have created.”

Bieunggaek looked up at the sky with Jin Sohyun.

The clouds were running at a slow speed.

Above the blue sky. As if it were a field.

“I am a thief.”

“I know.”

“So my disciple can’t help but be a thief. So.”

Jin Sohyun lowered his head and met Bieunggaek’s gaze.

Their images were reflected in the two men’s eyes.

“Forget everything.”

“…”

“Should a tiger learn the steps of a cat? So forget everything. All the steps you have learned from me… and my teachings, everything. Only then can you not become a thief.”

“Why should I do that? You are the fastest person in the Central Plains. Even if it is…”

“Even if it is the step of a thief? Kilkilkil! Just as there is no right or wrong in a person’s path, there is no such thing as a lowly or noble martial art. This is not wrong. But you are different.”

Bieunggaek said with a smile full of pride on his face.

“On the path you must walk… the step of a thief is not needed. Forget everything. The steps you have learned from me and my teachings, everything. Only then will you be able to escape from Ma Seongun’s grasp.”

“How can I forget?”

It was none other than Bieunggaek.

To forget his martial arts was to deny his teachings.

Although it was only for five years, his teachings were deeply ingrained in Jin Sohyun’s head and body.

To deny this was no different from forgetting Bieunggaek.

“Well! It won’t be easy to forget this great master.”

Bieunggaek said with a sly face.

“But you know it too, don’t you.”

And then Bieunggaek’s face became very serious.

“I am no longer here. So it is right that the steps I have walked… disappear with me.”

Jin Sohyun also got up from his seat with Bieunggaek, who had stood up with his hands behind his back.

“From now on, walk your own path… with your own steps.”

“I will not forget.”

“You are a disciple who doesn’t listen until the end.”

The smiling Bieunggaek’s figure became more and more blurry.

Jin Sohyun, without realizing it, reached out his hand towards the disappearing Bieunggaek, but he could not grasp his scattering figure.

His hand, which had been the size of a fist, had at some point grown larger, and red blood was forming at his fingertips.

The smell of blood pierced his nose.

Jin Sohyun withdrew the hand he had stretched out towards Bieunggaek and clenched his fist.

The boy was no longer there.

Now, only a man covered in blood remained here.

“I’m glad I could see you like this.”

He knew.

That the real Bieunggaek was already dead.

And that the Bieunggaek who had appeared in front of him was just an illusion he had created.

The sky collapsed and the clouds scattered.

The green vegetation turned black, and the world at some point turned blood-red.

And in the center of it was Ma Seongun.

He, who had become a giant by devouring the world, stretched out his huge hand that covered the sky towards Jin Sohyun and said.

“You are my prey. You will never be able to escape. I will not let you go, even if I have to swallow everything in the world.”

“Don’t worry.”

Jin Sohyun stood tall even in the approaching darkness.

His two eyes, which were shining with a blue light, shone even brighter in the darkness.

“Because there will be no more running away.”

Ma Seongun’s huge grasp fell on him, who would not break.

Flash—!

Jin Sohyun, who had opened his eyes, saw a ceiling made of wood.

“A strange… ceiling.”

“Oh! Are you awake?”

A young doctor who seemed to be in his late thirties approached Jin Sohyun, who was lying on the bed.

“That’s a relief. If you had been a little later, you would have reached a point where you couldn’t use your two hands.”

Jin Sohyun’s gaze went to his two hands.

His two arms, which had splints on them, were thickly wrapped in bandages.

Not only that, but about half of Jin Sohyun’s body was wrapped in bandages.

“How is your body?”

“I’m fine.”

Next to Jin Sohyun, who was carefully tracing his old memories, a girl peeked her head out.

“Wow! You’re awake!?”

At the girl’s surprise appearance, Jin Sohyun had a slightly surprised face.

“You are…?”

“My name is Ohmi! Just a moment! Dad!”

At Ohmi’s call, a middle-aged man who was outside appeared with quick steps.

He approached the bed where Jin Sohyun was lying with a face mixed with surprise and joy.

“Are you conscious?”

As Ohyeon appeared, the doctor pointed at him and said.

“Hehe! This person here brought you to the doctor. If it weren’t for this person, you would have become a water ghost, so consider him your benefactor.”

“Ah, thank you. I was saved thanks to you.”

Ohyeon, who had tried to ignore Jin Sohyun, felt a slight sense of guilt and smiled awkwardly.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“That’s a relief. Ohmi.”

“Yes!”

“I have something to talk to this person about, so could you leave for a moment?”

“Okay…”

Ohmi waved her hand at Jin Sohyun as if she were disappointed and left the hospital room with quick steps, and the quick-witted young doctor also left, saying to talk comfortably.

Thanks to that, Ohyeon, who was left alone with Jin Sohyun, sat on the chair next to the bed and kept silent with his two hands clasped.

In the quiet silence, Jin Sohyun asked.

“By any chance, did you not see… anyone else besides me?”

Ohyeon nodded his head.

“It was a stroke of luck that I found you in the first place. And unfortunately, I did not see anyone else.”

“I see…”

Jin Sohyun recalled the face of the Qingyu True Man, who had tried to save him until the very end.

‘Did he not make it.’

It would be good if the Qingyu True Man were alive, but Jin Sohyun did not hold onto a futile hope.

“Young Master.”

In front of Jin Sohyun, who was feeling guilt and sadness for the sacrifice of the Qingyu True Man, Ohyeon carefully brought up the subject.

“I am just a merchant. I do not know anything about the affairs of the martial world…”

“Don’t worry. I won’t say anything about you and Ohmi.”

At Jin Sohyun’s answer, which had grasped his intentions at once, Ohyeon’s eyes widened slightly and then returned to normal.

“Thank you.”

“I have nothing… so I can’t give you anything.”

“It’s okay. It’s enough that you woke up healthy.”

Ohyeon dusted off his bottom and stood up.

“I paid for the treatment, so don’t worry and focus on recovering. Then… I have a long way to go, so I will be on my way.”

As Jin Sohyun nodded his head, Ohyeon also nodded his head and quietly left the hospital room.

Ohmi’s dissatisfied voice was heard from outside, but soon the two father and daughter quickly left the doctor’s office.

‘Well… it’s not like anything good will come from getting involved with me.’

Jin Sohyun was no different from a defeated soldier from the last battlefield.

There was a high possibility that the Heretic Path's Alliance and Ma Seongun were searching for Jin Sohyun, who might be alive somewhere, with their eyes wide open.

So Jin Sohyun should not get involved with anyone.

For everyone’s sake.

“Huh?”

The doctor, who had come with a decoction, discovered the empty bed.

“Did he go to the bathroom or something?”

Since he was not in a condition to move, the doctor looked around with an anxious gaze.

But Jin Sohyun was nowhere to be seen.

***

Kkiiing—!

The thick iron door opened, and the bright light from a torch illuminated the surroundings in the darkness.

The man holding the torch walked leisurely with slow steps as if he were swimming in the darkness.

In the place where his footsteps stopped, an old man was sitting, his whole body bound.

The old man with gray eyes frowned as if he were not used to the unfamiliar light.

“Who… are you…”

“Mu Yu has a bad personality and enjoys making what belongs to others his own. You can be happy that you have been acknowledged by Mu Yu.”

“…”

The old man stared at the man who had come to find him.

And then he laughed in vain.

“Heh… to think that I would see the face of the Heretic Path's Alliance Leader before I die.”

In front of the First Guest, who had been captured by Mu Yu and was waiting for the day he would die, the Heretic Path's Alliance Leader, Ju Cheon, appeared.

Why had the master of the Heretic Path's Alliance, who should be preparing for war, appeared in front of the loser?

A small light appeared in the eyes of the First Guest, who had lost his attachment to life.

Ju Cheon untied the First Guest’s bonds without a word.

“Hmm!?”

The First Guest, who had become a free body, could not hide his bewilderment.

In the meantime, Ju Cheon took out a letter from his bosom and handed it to the First Guest.

“Go to your master and deliver this letter.”

“What is your intention?”

“You are just a messenger for me. Go to your master. So don’t be late. If your steps are delayed, the gift in this letter will also become meaningless.”

With these words, Ju Cheon left the prison.

The First Guest, who was watching his back silently, looked at the letter that Ju Cheon had handed him with a gaze that had not yet shed its suspicion.

He did not know what was in the neatly folded letter.

But now he had to walk towards the light.

With his two legs that had stiffened, the First Guest groped in the darkness and walked towards the light.

***

“You’ve come?”

Mu Yu bowed his head and greeted Ju Cheon, who had arrived later than scheduled.

In the meantime, the leaders of the heretic martial world, who had grown tired of waiting, glared at Ju Cheon with dissatisfied eyes, but no one questioned him.

Since they had already experienced Ju Cheon’s strength and ruthlessness firsthand, no one acted rashly.

‘What was he doing that he was late?’

Ju Cheon was not a person who was intentionally late for a scheduled time.

Although he was curious about what he had been doing, he did not ask.

He was the master of the Heretic Path's Alliance.

Since he was a person who existed at the pinnacle of the heretic martial world, he was a person who asked, not a person who answered.

“Is everyone here?”

“That’s right.”

“Then begin.”

“Yes!”

As instructed, Mu Yu quickly gestured, and a martial artist with a sturdy build brought a huge book and an inkstone and placed them on the table in front of the leaders.

“What… is this?”

At their question, Ju Cheon said.

“A register.”

“A register?”

“I wish for everyone to shed blood equally on the glorious path we will walk. But for this, it is necessary to leave the names of those who are willing to shed blood. So I promise here. Those who leave their names here today will see the end with me. Whether it is glory… or despair… whatever it may be.”

Ju Cheon said this and personally wrote his name in the register.

The leaders of the heretic martial world, who were watching this, also rushed to write their names.

While everyone’s name was being carefully engraved in the large register, Ju Cheon’s two eyes were fixed on the empty space.

In his empty gaze, no emotion.

No thought could be read.

“Are you watching?”

He asked a question to no one in particular and suddenly looked up at the sky.

A cold smile formed on Ju Cheon’s lips.

“If not, then watch. I’ll show you something fun soon.”

(End of Chapter)