Thud-thud.

The man wearing the conical hat arrived at a small workshop.

He took off the hat and casually tossed it against the wall.

The hat lightly hung on the yellow ceremonial robe hanging there.

The man was a middle-aged individual with narrow, long eyes. His gaze, radiating a mysterious aura, showed he had overcome countless intrigues, while the dark shadows on his face revealed he had endured many hardships.

He sat down on a small chair and began carving a wooden figurine.

Scrape, scrape.

Only the sound of a carving knife cutting wood echoed in the small room. With deft hands, he sculpted a doll the size of a finger.

At that moment, a young man silently entered the room. His eyes were sharp and full of vitality, his appearance bold yet refreshing—a handsome man.

He approached the middle-aged man carving wood from behind. His movement techniques were extraordinary; drawing his sword and walking without making a sound.

Swoosh.

The young man’s drawn sword touched the older man’s neck.

The scraping sound ceased—not because of the sword at his neck, but because the small carving knife in the older man’s hand had already appeared before the young man’s eyes.

The young man sheathed his sword and reached out to grab the carving knife hovering in the air.

But the knife didn’t move as if held by an invisible force.

The young man exerted his internal energy to move it, but it was no use. When he finally gave up, the older man spoke.

“A master is never caught off guard by attacks from behind. That’s why they’re called masters. To kill a master, you must look into their eyes.”

The young man asked,

“Isn’t that harder?”

“No, it’s easier. Realizing that is how you become a true master who can kill a master.”

Scrape, scrape.

The carving knife returned to the older man’s hand as he continued carving. It was so natural it seemed the knife never left his grasp.

“I will remember that well, Master.”

The young man bowed respectfully.

They were master and disciple.

Outside the window, warriors stood around the workshop. The characters engraved on their chests were the same as on the young man’s — “Myeolma” (Demon Extermination).

They were the elite warriors of the Murim Alliance’s Myeolma Corps.

The young man was Jin Hagun (秦夏君), grandson of the current Murim Alliance leader and commander of the Myeolma Corps. He was the older brother of Jin Haryeong, who had a connection to Geom Mugeuk. Jin Hagun rose to his position solely through skill.

The middle-aged man was his master, Baek Cheonggyeong (伯千鏡).

“You haven’t been neglecting your training lately.”

Jin Hagun had not yet received the martial arts transmission from his grandfather, the Murim Alliance leader Jin Paechun. His grandfather wanted him to become the successor through his own merit.

He had publicly declared he would give no special treatment for being his grandson.

“I’ve been cutting back on sleep to train.”

Jin Hagun walked to a display stand in the workshop’s center. On it, Baek Cheonggyeong’s hand-carved wooden warriors were staged in combat.

The scene was so vivid it seemed like a real fight—white-clad warriors battling black-clad ones, like a representation of the clash between light and dark.

Looking down at it, Jin Hagun said,

“Rumors from the demonic sect lately are troubling.”

Baek Cheonggyeong said nothing and focused on carving.

“They say the new Little Pill Master Geom Mugeuk is consolidating power by taking control of the Majon.”

Still unimpressed, Baek Cheonggyeong turned the wooden figurine over to inspect its quality.

“To be honest, that man worries me.”

Baek Cheonggyeong paused carving, stood, and walked to the display.

“How do you see this fight?”

“The white-clad warriors seem disadvantaged.”

“There are more white warriors. Why do you think that?”

“Because of this one.”

Jin Hagun pointed to the black-clad warrior leading the fight.

“Good observation. That’s right. This one dominates and leads the battle.”

Baek Cheonggyeong bent down and examined the figurine closely with his narrow eyes.

“Do you want to take that role?”

“Yes, I want to stand there. No, I will stand there.”

“You’ve always been like that. Never afraid to challenge, never giving up.”

Whenever Baek Cheonggyeong praised him like this, Jin Hagun’s heart swelled. Since losing his parents early, he had lived thinking of Baek Cheonggyeong as a father.

“The one standing there now is Geom Mugeuk.”

Jin Hagun could not object; he knew Geom Mugeuk was the most spectacular successor to the Little Pill Master position in history.

And himself? He had not yet officially become a successor.

Baek Cheonggyeong slowly touched the figurine with his finger.

“How will you break this momentum?”

Jin Hagun eagerly answered.

“I heard Geom Mugeuk is currently in the Honam region, holding the Tianhe Sect leader’s son captive and pressuring Tianhe Sect.”

He watched Geom Mugeuk’s moves as a rival in his heart.

“Tianhe is powerful, but it’s impossible to face the demonic sect alone. If you can rescue them from the demonic sect’s grip…”

Baek Cheonggyeong’s gaze shifted to the heroic figurine.

“You will lead the fight from now on.”

Jin Hagun asked cautiously,

“But isn’t Tianhe originally a sect that oscillated between the demonic sect and the Satan Alliance?”

Publicly, Tianhe interacted with the demonic sect, Satan Alliance, and maintained ties with the Murim Alliance.

Baek Cheonggyeong looked back at the figurine.

“Do you think you can stand there by doing something easy?”

Jin Hagun was usually confident, but on this matter, he dared not boast.

“I wish I could lead the Myeolma Corps to attack the Honam branch, rescue the Tianhe leader’s son…”

But that would spark war with the demonic sect, and he would become a historic criminal rather than a hero.

After pondering, Jin Hagun said cautiously,

“The Myeolma Commander has a unique authority during his term. If the Alliance leader accepts my special authority, I can pressure the demonic sect in the name of the Murim Alliance. But I’m not sure if Tianhe is worth that much.”

“Tianhe is a great sect on its own, with dozens of smaller factions following it. Restoring Tianhe as a righteous sect would be the greatest achievement.”

“I’ve heard the Tianhe leader is not easy. He’s been cunningly balancing between the righteous sect and Satan Alliance, and later he might betray us after cooperating with the Satan Alliance.”

Jin Hagun thought the Tianhe leader was as cunning as a fox.

Then Baek Cheonggyeong said surprisingly,

“I will handle that.”

Jin Hagun was shocked. Though his master knew the martial world well, he rarely involved himself directly. The reason was impressive.

“If you succeed in this, you will make a decisive contribution to becoming the Murim Alliance successor. That’s why I’m stepping in.”

Jin Hagun bowed politely.

“Thank you very much, Master.”

With his master’s support, he had no reason to hesitate.

“Then I will begin immediately.”

As he was about to leave, Jin Hagun flicked the heroic figurine down with his finger.

After Jin Hagun left, Baek Cheonggyeong continued carving.

Scrape, scrape.

After carving for a while, Baek Cheonggyeong came to the display, stood the fallen figurine upright, and placed a newly carved figurine in the center of the battlefield. The figure, whether himself or Jin Hagun, stood proudly with arms crossed.

Several days after Tianhe leader Seo Baekjung’s visit,

He had done nothing to rescue his son. Surely he wouldn’t give up on him, but Geom Mugeuk quietly waited, refining his Sicheon Secret Technique.

With more practice, the Sicheon Secret Technique began to show a slight time lag. When the time gained by faster internal energy recovery and extraction surpasses the loss of time spent casting, training would always be done with the technique. As a reverse-time secret art, it was difficult, but he kept training.

After finishing training and drinking tea in the main hall, Jeok-yeon entered with Seo Cheong. She had begged to see me, so I had her brought.

As soon as they entered, Seo Cheong protested loudly,

“Why don’t you contact my father?”

He was imprisoned in the branch dungeon but was not discouraged.

“I did contact him.”

“Don’t lie. If you contacted him, he’d be here already. Our father is not so narrow-minded. If you talk honestly, you’ll get what you want.”

Seo Cheong concluded this while imprisoned. The demonic sect’s purpose was to pull Tianhe Sect into their side; otherwise, they wouldn’t imprison him. They wouldn’t detain a mere passerby or low-ranking warrior, right?

“Your father has already been.”

Geom Mugeuk’s words shocked Seo Cheong.

“What do you mean? Did he come and leave without seeing me?”

When Geom Mugeuk nodded, Seo Cheong was surprised and flustered.

“That’s nonsense!”

After standing stunned, he paced and rambled.

“If you want to sow discord, do it properly. If you’re the Little Pill Master of the demonic sect, keep your promise and contact my father.”

He walked to the table and tried to pour tea with trembling hands but stopped, realizing his hands were shaking.

He didn’t believe his father had come, then believed it again.

“No matter who you are, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» this is serious. If my father came but didn’t see me, it means he’s very angry.”

Geom Mugeuk suddenly asked,

“How much do you know about your father?”

Seo Cheong flinched.

“Little Pill Master, how much do you know?”

Geom Mugeuk thought Seo Cheong’s behavior was no different from his own before the regression.

If he had gone through this, he would have argued the same way, arrogantly challenging, “What do you know about my father?” He would have attacked even harsher because there was almost nothing to answer.

At that moment, a subordinate came running and handed an urgent letter from Tongcheongak.

Geom Mugeuk thought it would be news about who was appointed the Honam branch leader, but the letter contained unexpected instructions: to release Seo Cheong.

Geom Mugeuk was surprised by such an order from Tongcheongak. This meant his father had approved it, and immense power was involved.

The detailed reasons were deliberately omitted, probably by his father’s will.

Now, how would Geom Mugeuk handle this?

Even after becoming Little Pill Master, his father’s test continued.

“Release our Mr. Seo.”

Jeok-yeon was surprised but immediately released Seo Cheong’s internal energy.

Seo Cheong’s face brightened with joy as he exclaimed,

“Didn’t I say this would happen?”

He strode to the table and drank tea, laughing heartily. It was as if he had regained his true nature.

He glared at Jeok-yeon and threatened,

“I remember every face here.”

When Jeok-yeon gave him a colder look with her poison eye, Seo Cheong shifted his gaze to Geom Mugeuk.

Geom Mugeuk smiled at him.

“Why do you laugh?”

“Because it’s amusing. I was limp until now. Capturing Mr. Seo isn’t the end, right? Young Master Yang, Young Master Jin, Young Master Cheon... no matter how many princes you pick, they’ll keep coming. But you say you moved the main sect? I, the Little Pill Master, am handling that, but you say it’s all wrong?”

Geom Mugeuk was genuinely pleased.

“This is several times greater than storming in here to rescue you. I have a new respect for your father.”

“You only realized that now? I am the successor of Tianhe!”

He strode out loudly,

“You won’t see me again.”

“You’ll see me again soon.”

Seo Cheong ran off without looking back.

Jeok-yeon asked,

“What just happened?”

“I think the Tianhe leader moved the Murim Alliance or the Satan Alliance.”

If not, such a decision would never have been made at the Cheonma Hall.

“What will you do now?”

“We blocked the main sect’s Tongcheongak. We have to use our own forces.”

Jeok-yeon sensed Geom Mugeuk’s excitement—a joy felt when facing a worthy opponent.

In such moments, as a bodyguard, she must stay rational. Yet she realized she felt the same excitement. She was quietly anticipating what would happen next, even as a bodyguard should wish for nothing to occur.

Jeok-yeon sighed lightly while Geom Mugeuk walked outside.

“Where are you going? I will accompany you.”

“No need. Wait here.”

“May I follow...?”

No chance. The moment Geom Mugeuk pushed off the ground and leapt, he vanished in an instant like a speck.

“...I suppose not. I’ll wait.”

Samho, who was in the yard, spoke to Jeok-yeon.

“It’s not easy, right?”

Jeokyeon rubbed her aching eyes and nodded. Geom Mugeuk was both the easiest and hardest leader to protect.

Looking at the sky where Geom Mugeuk had disappeared, Jeok-yeon quietly said,

“But the enemies won’t be easy either.”