"We're heading to Mount Marryeong?"

"Yes."

Before setting off toward the next Divine Tree, I had a conversation with the turtle at the entrance leading to it.

Just like before, the turtle extended its staff to communicate with me.

"...So your master told you to go to Mount Marryeong?"

"That's right."

"Hmm..."

"Why? We have to find all the Divine Trees anyway, don't we?"

Since we had to locate them all, heading to the next one seemed like the logical course of action. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"It's a matter of distance."

"Distance?"

"Yes. In terms of distance, Black Phoenix Palace is actually much closer than Mount Marryeong... so why go there first?"

'Black Phoenix Palace?'

Black Phoenix Palace.

The name was quite unusual.

"Is there a significant difference in distance?"

"At least twice as much. If you were to head toward Yahwol, it would take you half a day. But reaching Black Phoenix Palace would take two months, and Mount Marryeong... at least twice that."

"Damn..."

Hearing it put that way, the distance really was massive.

If that was the timeframe for ordinary travelers—

'Based on my speed...'

It would probably take me around seven days and nights.

'And considering how external energy barely depletes due to the rifts, I might be even faster.'

That was simply a matter of speed, but looking at it from a distance perspective, the turtle had a point—it was definitely strange.

'...Did Mother have a reason for choosing Mount Marryeong first?'

It was likely another one of her intentions, but what exactly did she mean by it?

'If I hadn’t spoken to Mother's apparition...'

I would have naturally chosen to head to Black Phoenix Palace first, based on the distance alone.

'Would something have changed then?'

Was the sequence of our journey supposed to have an effect? A sudden question crossed my mind—

'But so what?'

Thinking about it now wouldn't change anything.

For now, my destination was Mount Marryeong.

Wasting time pondering this would be pointless.

"Either way... whether it's Mount Marryeong or Black Phoenix Palace, we have to leave. I wanted to gather some information first."

I needed details about Mount Marryeong. And if Black Phoenix Palace was on the way—

'Then there's no need to make a separate trip; we can just pass through it.'

If I could adjust our route slightly, it would be more efficient.

"Information, huh..."

The turtle fell into brief contemplation before responding.

"First of all, there's almost no information about Black Phoenix Palace."

"What? None at all?"

"Yes. All we know is that its ruler is not of the Wolya Tribe, like Yusa, and that they have rarely ever shown themselves."

"......."

A general with their own territory, yet neither their identity nor any information about them was available? That was suspicious, to say the least.

'That's disappointing.'

The difference between having prior knowledge of an opponent and going in blind was like heaven and earth.

Even Yarang, the most recently appointed general, had some information available, yet nothing existed for the ruler of Black Phoenix Palace? That was strange.

It was definitely something to keep in mind, but for now, I asked about something else.

"...Then what about Mount Marryeong?"

"That place is more well-known. The one in charge there was always a wild one."

"A wild one?"

"Yes. From what I hear, you’ve already met them before."

"Huh? Oh."

The moment the turtle said that, I immediately recalled my first day in Mangye.

That bastard I had encountered then.

He had also been a general.

His name was...

"Du Ryeong (Black Horned Bull)."

"That’s right. Mount Marryeong is Du Ryeong’s domain."

That massive black bull that snorted through its nose.

A creature with a colossal physique and overwhelming strength.

Back then, he had been acting on the command of Mangye’s ruler to assassinate me.

'And then Shin Noya beat the hell out of him.'

I remembered him being utterly crushed, unable to even fight back.

'So Mount Marryeong is his territory...'

Considering it was a mountain, it somehow suited him.

"Hmm..."

I recalled Du Ryeong, the one who had spewed flames and tried to kill me, before asking the turtle,

"Is there anything I need to be cautious about?"

"If you end up fighting Du Ryeong, never fight him at night."

"Why?"

"He cannot die when the moon is up."

"Cannot die?"

"Yes, he is absolutely immortal under the moonlight."

The turtle spoke with certainty, making me frown.

'That does make sense.'

Even back then, Shin Noya had slashed at him relentlessly, but Du Ryeong refused to die.

Wasn’t it called immortality? I remember someone saying that was the power he possessed.

"Hah."

I let out a small chuckle.

"Then that doesn’t matter."

"What?"

The turtle looked at me in confusion.

If it was due to an authority preventing his death, then it truly didn’t matter.

'To me.'

As long as I had Tam,

His authority wouldn’t work on me.

*********

I stood at the outskirts of the Mount Hua Sect, preparing to leave.

There was nothing to pack—just a few sets of clothes and some drinking water.

Not that I needed water, but I brought it just in case.

Even then, I thought I was traveling light for such a long journey.

"...Is that all you're bringing?"

"Yeah."

Cheonma, who had come out under the night sky, was even worse than me.

She hadn’t packed anything—not even clothes.

Meaning she wasn’t carrying a single thing.

"You’re just going like that?"

"Is that not okay?"

"I mean, it’s not that it’s not okay, but..."

Then again, did it really matter? If Cheonma didn’t care, it wasn’t my problem either.

"...Fine."

And so, I was about to set off when—

Something felt slightly off.

"Hey."

"Hm?"

"How fast are you?"

"Hm?"

Traveling together was fine, but Cheonma’s speed was important. Now that I thought about it, I had no idea how fast she could move.

Since we needed to get there as quickly as possible, I asked to get a rough estimate.

"I don’t know."

Cheonma answered as if she genuinely didn’t know.

"Hmm..."

After thinking for a moment, I pointed toward a tree in the distance.

"...Do you see that tree over there?"

"Yeah."

"Run to it as fast as—"

Fwoooosh—!!

Before I could even finish my sentence, a whirlwind erupted.

The ground where Cheonma had been standing caved in, a deafening explosion followed, and debris scattered in all directions.

Leaving behind the wrecked ground, my eyes followed her movement.

She had already reached the tree and placed her hand against it.

"...That’s your maximum speed?"

I narrowed my eyes and asked.

"Yeah."

She answered in the same calm tone as before.

"Hmm..."

She was fast. Definitely not slow.

'...But she’s slower than me.'

Compared to me, she was quite slow.

'And on top of that...'

Why was she running like that? She wasn’t even using Light Footwork.

She had just run purely on raw physical ability.

'Considering that, it’s an insane speed.'

Before reaching transcendence, I had been just slightly faster than this.

But compared to my current self, she was significantly slower.

'At this rate...'

Taking her along would waste too much time.

'What should I do?'

Should I just leave her behind?

For a brief moment, I considered it.

Spending unnecessary time traveling would be inefficient, so it would be better to ditch her and go alone.

"Ssshh..."

After a moment of deep thought, I extended my hand.

Fwoosh—!

"Huh?"

With my energy, Cheonma’s body lifted into the air.

She didn’t resist and simply floated toward me.

Thud—!

I grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and turned her around.

She naturally adjusted, wrapping her arms around my neck.

Rather than carrying her, she was now dangling off me.

"Don’t let go. If you fall, I’m not coming back to get you."

"Okay."

With her response, she tightened her grip around my neck.

Feeling that, I let out an irritated breath.

'...This is annoying.'

It was getting on my nerves.

The sensation was familiar, which made it even worse.

Even though her scent was different, the feeling was almost identical.

Was it because she looked exactly like Wi Seol-ah?

Even the way she clung to me felt eerily similar.

How should I even describe this?

In this life, I had often carried Wi Seol-ah on my back.

And in my past life, I had once carried Wi Seol-ah as she bled out while running for ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) my life.

Now, the very being that had once chased me in that past life was clinging to my back.

What the hell was I supposed to call this?

It was an indescribable feeling.

If I had to say it was unpleasant, it probably was.

If I had to say it was complicated, it certainly was.

It was something that couldn’t be summed up in just a few words.

So I said nothing.

I shoved all my thoughts down and focused on gathering strength in my legs.

Ssssshhhhh...

Heat gathered, and the ground beneath me began to scorch.

Slowly, my body sank lower—the ground was melting.

Once I had gathered enough heat, I pushed off the ground with full force.

And then—

KWOAAAAHHH—!!!

A massive burst of flames erupted, propelling my body through the sky.

By the time the roaring flames had finally died down—

Just as I had calculated, seven days and nights had passed.

And I had arrived at Mount Marryeong, a mountain composed mostly of rock.

*********

At the hour when the moon hung high in the sky, the wind barely stirred.

I walked across the rocky terrain.

After wandering for a while, I spotted a boulder and perched myself on top of it.

"Huu..."

Only then did I finally let out a weary breath.

"Damn... that was exhausting."

Not only was I out of breath, but my energy reserves had also depleted significantly.

I had assumed I wouldn’t get tired, considering the abundant energy in the air—but contrary to my expectations, my body was completely drained.

Flying continuously without rest had clearly taken its toll.

"Huuu..."

I steadied my breathing and checked my condition.

My depleted energy and stamina would likely recover before sunrise.

After catching my breath for a while—

I suddenly remembered something I had forgotten.

I grabbed the thing hanging around my neck and threw it.

"Ugh!"

Cheonma, who had been silently clinging on, spun through the air before landing on the ground.

"How long were you planning to keep hanging on? We’re here, so get down."

"......."

Cheonma smacked her lips in disappointment.

Why was she acting like she regretted it?

I wanted to say something, but I was too exhausted to even bother.

"Huu."

Taking another deep breath, I scanned my surroundings.

Everything was rock.

There were occasional trees, but they were sparse.

'...Is this the right place?'

Based on the location, this should be where the turtle had directed me.

'But something’s off.'

Something felt distinctly strange.

'Why is it...'

Not only were there no signs of people—

'Why is there not a single trace of life?'

There wasn’t a single presence in the vicinity.

The absence was so stark that it felt outright unnatural.