As the sunset gradually deepened, flames continued to rise ceaselessly in a secluded field within Mount Hua Sect.

Fwoooosh—!!!

The azure flames, now more radiant than ever, spread their brilliance and vitality, sweeping over the surroundings.

Hwaaaaah—!!!

In the wake of the flames, embers danced like fireflies in motion.

A vast amount of blue fire slashed through the air, forming elegant curves at a mere flick of the hand, exuding its overwhelming presence.

For a long while, the fire moved, swirling and dancing.

Then, after watching the flickering flames for a moment, I slowly closed my outstretched palm.

At that instant, the flames that had been floating midair, obscuring the twilight, trembled violently.

Kwaaaaah—!!!

A rough breath escaped as the fire surged toward me.

Had it swept over me, I would have been reduced to ashes in an instant. However, as the flames approached, they condensed at a single point and began to coil around my clenched fist.

The fire, wrapping around my entire right arm, started to spin faster.

Its size shrank while its color deepened.

Fwoooosh—!!!

The flames grew smaller. The faster they spun, the more they compressed.

As speed increased and volume decreased, pressure intensified.

Friction made the heat even stronger.

Before long, when the fire finally came to a halt—

Chiiiiiik—!!!!

A sound like something searing echoed from my right arm as the flames solidified into a distinct form.

"......."

I stared at the thing that had formed.

It felt as though a new layer of skin had been created over my arm.

A skin made of fire, perhaps? The burning texture, the small embers rising intermittently—

Even just looking at it, I could feel the scorching heat swelling within.

This power was vastly different from anything I had used before.

"Hmm...."

I let out a soft murmur, my expression slightly displeased. Though it looked powerful—because it was powerful—

"...The firepower itself doesn’t seem bad."

It had taken a significant portion of my energy.

If I measured it in terms of my entire internal energy, it consumed an enormous amount. My vessel had expanded upon reaching transcendence, and my reserves had increased accordingly.

'Compared to before I came to Mangye... about thirty percent. No, maybe forty.'

If I compared it to before reaching Mangye, that was approximately how much energy had been consumed.

That meant the firepower should be immense.

"But this isn’t it."

My brows furrowed.

This wasn’t what I wanted. The firepower was high, and the technique seemed refined, but ultimately, it wasn’t the form I was aiming for.

Clench.

I tightened my grip even further.

The flames coiling around my arm suddenly trembled violently before bursting apart.

Fwoooosh—!!!

An explosion of fire was accompanied by a surge of air pressure. No damage was done to the surroundings, only a rough wind briefly swept through.

"...Tsk."

I checked my condition in disappointment. My energy reserves remained high, and I wasn’t exhausted.

Despite unleashing such intense flames for so long, I still had nearly thirty percent of my energy left.

'With this much...'

I wouldn’t have to worry about running out of energy in most battles.

The flames had also become far more fluid upon reaching transcendence, moving as naturally as if they were an extension of my body.

Overall, I had grown significantly stronger.

That part was satisfying.

'But I still haven’t succeeded.'

No matter how many times I repeated the process, I hadn’t been able to achieve what I sought.

I had attempted again and again, yet I failed to even come close.

'How did Father do it?'

What I was trying to replicate was none other than—

The power Father had used back in Sichuan.

I had been attempting to recreate that very technique.

'...The ultimate form he used against Cheonma in my past life.'

Gu Clan’s ultimate technique. I had managed to grasp it upon reaching transcendence. Yet, despite that, I still couldn’t fully utilize it in its perfected state, as Father had.

It was the same power that had driven Cheonma to the brink of death.

The same force that had resolved an unknown restriction placed upon Cheon Jin.

'How exactly did he wield it?'

I had no clue.

Compared to the Five Mountains Forms., which I had instinctively grasped upon reaching transcendence—

'This is different.'

This wasn’t something I could simply learn by reaching a higher realm.

At one point, I even thought it might be an extension of the ultimate technique, but that wasn’t the case.

This had to be mastered through an entirely different method.

'How do I do it?'

I distinctly recalled how the heat had focused solely on Father’s palm, emitting an intense glow.

I had tried everything I could think of.

'But the best I can manage is covering my entire arm.'

No matter how much I compressed and applied pressure to the heat, I couldn’t concentrate it into my palm alone.

I still remembered the amount of energy Father had used.

It had been an immense force. When I attempted to replicate the amount I had faintly glimpsed before—

'I keep failing.'

There was simply too much energy, making control impossible. Reaching transcendence had at least allowed me to confine it to my arm.

Otherwise, it would have dispersed into the air, uncontrolled.

"Tsk."

Clicking my tongue, I looked up at the sky.

What had started in the morning had now stretched into the evening.

As soon as I had finished my conversation with the Abyssal Pit, I had thrown myself into training, and now, time had slipped away.

I had started to clear my mind, but I had ended up losing track of time instead.

Pat. Pat.

I dusted off my clothes lightly. At the same time, I recalled that conversation once more.

'Cheonma was the one who implanted the Abyssal Pit within me...'

And the conversation I had with my mother.

And the conversation I had with the Abyssal Pit.

The moment I recalled them, my head grew heavy.

I had tried to drown out those thoughts by training, but the moment I stopped, they came flooding back like a ghost.

"Huuh..."

A deep sigh escaped my lips.

'What the hell is this?'

The Abyssal Pit, which had manifested as a doppelgänger, hadn’t spoken much to me.

Only a few words.

'That Cheonma was the one who placed it inside me.'

And in response to my question—whether it had known I was fated to become a calamity—it had answered:

'Be careful.'

Be careful of what? What was it trying to tell me?

When I pressed for clarification, it had added:

'Remember the seed.'

'...Remember the seed?'

It was a baffling statement. What did it mean to remember a seed?

Yet, before I could question it further, something surfaced in my mind.

'Could it be—'

Back then.

Around three or four years after my regression.

It had been during a battle at the frontlines.

I had discovered a massive, egg-like object at a location managed by the Gu Clan.

And just as I instinctively reached out to touch it, Kurung—no, that damn Abyssal Pit—had stopped me.

I remembered what it had said back then.

'Seed.'

It had referred to that egg-like thing as a seed. When I thought back on it, it made no sense.

'Something that massive... how could that be a seed?'

It had been far too enormous to be called a seed.

And why had the Gu Clan been safeguarding something the Abyssal Pit identified as a seed?

'As far as I know... that place has been under Gu Clan’s management for generations.'

Not just for a short while, but for an incredibly long time.

And yet, that thing was a seed?

And more than that—

'It told me to remember it.'

The thing I, a man fated to become a calamity, was meant to remember.

My expression twisted as I recalled the Abyssal Pit’s words.

And with that final statement, it had vanished, as if it had said all it needed to say.

This is absurd.

'Why didn't they tell me about Cheonma?'

How could it not be my mother but Cheonma who placed the Abyssal Pit inside me?

And when?

'If it's true, was it when she granted me her authority?'

When she turned me into a demon and bestowed her power upon me.

I had received Demonic Heaven Absorption Art back then—was that when it happened?

'And it’s been carrying over even after my regression?'

At this point, I already knew that Cheonma had played a role in my regression.

'What did she want from me?'

Why did Cheonma leave all this inside me?

Setting aside the question of how she made me regress—

'Why me?'

Why was it me?

Was it also part of fate that Cheonma had acted this way toward me?

I had no way of knowing.

The more I tried to think and understand, the more everything I had gone through connected one by one.

As much as I wanted to dismiss it as a ridiculous chain of coincidences, it was real.

What awaited at the end of all these tangled threads?

What was so important that everything had to be woven together so tightly and so uncomfortably?

Just as I was about to force a conclusion—

Crunch.

Sensing a presence, I turned my head.

And when I saw who it was, I couldn’t help but let out a dry chuckle.

"Speak of the devil, and she appears."

"Hm?"

It was Cheonma.

With her usual vacant expression, she approached and asked,

"Are you done?"

"...Yeah. More or less."

I had already known she was watching me from a distance.

Since I was training, she hadn’t approached, simply observing from afar.

But the moment she realized I was done, she had come straight over.

"What are you going to do now?"

"......."

Her nonchalant question made my brow furrow slightly.

Instead of answering, I asked her a question in return.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"What the hell are you?"

"...Huh?"

Cheonma tilted her head in confusion.

"You—what exactly are you to be doing all this to me? Do you actually know something? Or are you just pretending not to?"

"...Hmm?" 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

"Agh, that dumb look again."

She looked exactly like Wi Seol-ah and, just like her, had a habit of making an utterly clueless face.

At a glance, it seemed innocent, but after hearing so much, I couldn’t even tell if that expression was genuine or not.

"What’s your real identity?"

"I'm me."

"...And what does that mean?"

"I'm me."

"Are you trying to pick a fight?"

"No?"

Cheonma shook her head vigorously. A firm denial.

After a moment, she stopped and looked at me again.

"I'm me. And..."

She extended her index finger and pointed directly at me.

"You already know."

"...What the hell are you talking about?"

I was the idiot for even asking.

How had she changed so much after my regression?

That haughty, arrogant woman—what had turned her into this?

'Or was this her true nature all along?'

Or was she hiding her real self?

But from what I could see, it didn’t feel like she was hiding anything.

Then—

'What kind of events turned her into that Cheonma?'

What had happened for her to become the person I remembered from my past life?

I was curious about that—

"...Forget it. Get ready."

Clicking my tongue, I told her,

"Ready?"

"We're moving, so get prepared."

"Where are we going?"

Cheonma asked with curiosity, and I sighed before answering.

"Mount Marryeong."

The place where the next Divine Tree was.

I planned to head there, and this time, I was bringing Cheonma along.

'Since she's deeply tied to all of this.'

If I was going on a long journey, rather than leaving her behind, it was better to keep her by my side and watch her.

Hearing my words, Cheonma’s eyes widened.

"Oh? I'm coming too?"

"Don’t come if you don’t want to."

"I’ll go. Let’s go."

She took light steps toward me.

Her expression remained the same, but she seemed ever so slightly excited.

Did she even know where we were going?

Did she even know what we were going to do?

This is absurd.

"...We’re leaving immediately, so if you have anything to bring, grab it now."

It was just something I said. Not like Cheonma had anything to bring with her.

And sure enough, she replied,

"I have nothing."

I was just about to start moving when—

"But you need to bring something."

I paused for a moment.

I needed to bring something?

"What do I need?"

With a puzzled look, I asked, and Cheonma answered,

"It’s a mountain, isn’t it?"

"And?"

"You hate climbing mountains. You need a staff."

"What ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) kind of nonsense is that? Why would I bring a staff?"

"Don’t you hate climbing mountains?"

"That’s—"

Mid-sentence, my expression stiffened.

Something was off.

"...How do you know that?"

No one knew that I hated climbing mountains.

Of course, they didn’t. I had never told anyone.

I had hated it ever since I was a child, but since there was no reason to bring it up, I had kept it to myself.

So how was Cheonma saying it with such certainty?

When I asked,

"Aah—"

Cheonma simply nodded slightly and said,

"I just had a feeling."

"......."

As she spoke, the twilight faded, giving way to night.

The embers lingering in the air shone particularly brightly.

And in that moment, I realized—

Evening had fallen.

And as Cheonma spoke, her violet eyes—perhaps because it was night—seemed to sparkle more than usual.