After leaving Cheonma Hall, I headed toward the Northern Heaven Sword Clan.

Was there any need to struggle alone when there was someone to discuss swordsmanship with?

Yes, this was my way: ask if I didn’t know, realize things through side conversations, and if all else failed, just play it off carefree.

Because of other Majon and various events, I had neglected Master Ilhwa Sword Sovereign, and now I intended to make up for it.

The return of a martial friend who had left home.

Just as I had changed in the meantime, Ilhwa Sword Sovereign had changed as well.

When I arrived at her residence in the Northern Heaven Sword Clan, I was astonished.

Her modest home had transformed into a large mansion.

The yard had expanded, and the garden she tended was also larger.

What remained unchanged was Ilhwa Sword Sovereign’s youthful beauty, defying age. She greeted me warmly.

“Small Sect Leader, welcome.”

“How have you been?”

“Always the same.”

“Your home has changed.”

She glanced around with me, wearing a calm smile.

“You’ve changed the atmosphere.”

Her former home was a place meant to impress others. It signaled that she was a noble person walking only the path of emptiness, free from worldly desires.

But now she had cast off pretense, revealing honest desires. What caused her change of heart?

“You must be busy these days. What brings you here?”

“I came to see the Sword Sovereign.”

“Well come in then.”

Following Ilhwa Sword Sovereign inside, I found the interior lavishly decorated.

“May I look around? I’m quite interested in decorating rooms these days.”

“Make yourself comfortable.”

I slowly surveyed the room. The furniture and decorations were splendid and luxurious, openly displaying the money spent.

“Truly magnificent.”

Something caught my eye.

‘What’s this?’

On a table lay a book—a poetry collection that had been on Blood Heaven Demon’s bookshelf.

Of course, it could be a different copy.

But the reason one book drew my gaze so was because of Dokma and the Sword Sovereign.

“That cabinet over there, I must have ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) one in my room as well. I like it very much.”

“I didn’t know the Small Sect Leader had such a hobby.”

We finished touring the room and sat across from each other at a low table.

The tea tasted familiar—the same tea I had drunk at Blood Heaven Demon’s place.

“I think Elder Dokma drinks this tea too.”

“I see.”

I didn’t miss the moment Ilhwa Sword Sovereign flinched—both with the book and the tea.

‘These two!’

I secretly smiled. If the books and tea were no coincidence, there must have been a change in their relationship.

“Curious why you changed your home?”

“Did your feelings change?”

“I felt like living a little differently.”

I looked around again and said,

“To be honest, this room suits you better than before. More splendid and beautiful.”

“Is that so?”

Ilhwa Sword Sovereign smiled pleasantly.

Though we spoke with such smiles, there was a certain distance between us—not too close, not too far. Certainly farther than one step, but not uncomfortably so.

About five steps—that was the distance I felt between Ilhwa Sword Sovereign and me.

“I came today as a martial friend.”

I asked her for a sparring match. Thankfully, she accepted readily.

“I’m glad. Though I’m not sure how much help I can be to you.”

“Just seeing how you draw your sword teaches me a lot. If I didn’t think it would help, I wouldn’t have asked.”

“Can I at least keep your mouth from running?”

“My mouth is needed in many places, so no.”

We headed to the training ground.

Facing each other some ten steps apart, she shifted her energy as if we’d never joked before.

It wasn’t only the house that had changed—her martial energy was different from before.

‘She’s been devoted to training!’

She was sharpened like a treasured sword. I had once compared the effort of Majon to a swan’s foot, and Ilhwa Sword Sovereign embodied that best.

Behind her elegant swan-like appearance was unseen effort.

What had transformed her like this?

I also revealed my true energy without concealment. A tension filled the air as her gaze grew cold.

Ilhwa Sword Sovereign was the first to strike.

A flying sword. She vanished behind the sword, blending body and blade as one.

The clash of Ilhwa Sword and Black Demon Sword ignited sparks in the air. Tens of sword trails instantly decorated the sky, then vanished.

Though she had lost to me before, the Sword Sovereign was still the Sword Sovereign. Her recent training shone, lifting this sparring to a higher level.

Flashing sword light, we soared into the sky. The sword-wielding disciples of the Northern Heaven Sword Clan halted to watch. The sunlight glinting on our blades was truly spectacular.

With a final long metallic ring, we landed.

Even without throwing swords or aiming at each other’s necks, the Sword Sovereign must have known she had lost.

“You grow without end.”

She couldn’t hide her bitter expression—her training hadn’t caught up to my growth.

I respected her pride.

“Thanks to your concession. I have shown my hand, but don’t you still have a final move?”

All Majon keep a last secret move to use only in dire circumstances. Ilhwa Sword Sovereign was no exception.

“A move one hopes never to use in a lifetime.”

In other words, a desperate move risking one’s life.

“Let’s go inside.”

Back inside, we cooled our throats with tea and discussed swordsmanship.

We talked about the sparring from today. Since the flow was similar, much overlapped with yesterday’s talk, but it felt fresh as if new.

Our conversation often branched into new topics—stories from childhood training, even flower cultivation.

I visited again the next day, and the day after. Determined to catch up on lost time, I resolved to keep coming until I was told to stop from boredom.

Though the sparring pattern was similar, we felt change.

Even with the same technique, speed and energy differed. Sometimes fast, sometimes slow. Such chances to freely test one’s swordplay were rare.

Then this morning.

I used the Nine Flames Demon Skill First Technique, Annihilation Form.

The sound was different.

Rushing over, I found the wooden dummy precisely cut into four pieces.

“Done!”

Finally, I succeeded in unleashing sword energies simultaneously from four directions.

The sparring and conversations with the Sword Sovereign had helped in some way.

Since that day, I dedicated myself even more to training.

I had a burning desire—to see the small evil spirits manifest in my Annihilation Form. That desire drove me to extreme effort.

I made sure to visit the Sword Sovereign daily for sparring and discussing martial knowledge.

If someone watched us, they might think we repeated the same thing, but it wasn’t so.

Within the power of repetition, we grew.

As the Sword Sovereign grew, so did I. Influenced by me, she grew stronger; receiving her influence, I grew stronger too. We blazed with the fervor only sword users share.

And our relationship changed as well.

“You changed your home because of Senior Dokma.”

She spoke candidly.

“I’m trying to forget old grudges with Senior Dokma and get along. During that, I recalled my past. I liked things flashy and pretty then. That was me. Thinking on that, I impulsively changed my home. Embarrassingly, it wasn’t a great decision.”

It was probably nostalgia for her younger days—the time she longed to return to.

“Well done. If you miss your home again, you can change it back.”

“Wouldn’t that make me look silly?”

“I’d see you as a free spirit.”

“Yes, no more caring what others think,” she smiled pleasantly. At that moment, I realized our distance had shrunk from five steps to three.

Meanwhile, my training continued.

Day and night, tirelessly. One day while repeatedly practicing Annihilation Form,

The sound changed again.

At that moment!

I saw a dark figure cutting the wooden dummy’s neck.

‘Finally!’

One of the four evil spirits had appeared.