The place the shaman headed to was not the infirmary.

He took me to his quarters, where a special chamber was prepared for important treatments in the basement.

The display cabinets on the walls were filled with countless bottles and herbs of unknown contents. Even I, an expert in herbs, saw many I had never encountered before.

“Given the dangerous nature of this procedure, there are many preparations to be made.”

“Take your time.”

“What if we fail? You might go blind.”

I could tell he was testing my resolve with that question. There was no risk of blindness from a failed procedure with the Mystic Eye technique. If such a risk existed, I wouldn’t even dare offer it to the Heavenly Demon.

“If the shaman fails, it would simply be my ill fate.”

At my words, the shaman gave a quiet laugh and began pulling the necessary materials for the treatment from the secret vault.

Soon, he lit incense to calm the mind, and began disinfecting the needles. He mixed various medicines, some of which he boiled and cooled.

Meanwhile, I lay on the treatment table, shirtless, with a warm cloth soaked in the herbal scent pressed to my eyes.

“Now, let’s begin.”

“Please take care.”

He slowly injected various liquids into my eyes. Some were as clear as water, while others were as red as blood. There was also a green liquid, resembling poison, and a blue one, as deep as my sword’s blade. I trusted the shaman completely, so I relaxed and allowed him to tend to my eyes.

After the injections, the shaman placed the needles. Not only my eyes, but my face and chest were covered with them.

“Now, take a nap.”

My eyes naturally closed. I spoke to the Heavenly Demon within my heart. "Even you, for today, should relax and rest."

I had a deep sleep.

It had been a long time since I slept so soundly.

When I awoke, the needles on my face and body had already been removed.

The shaman was sitting at his desk, reading a book. As soon as I woke up, he walked toward me.

“How do you feel?”

“I feel good.”

“And your eyes?”

“Even better.”

My vision had truly cleared. My sight, which was already good, had improved even more. Everything around me was so clear it felt like I had emerged from a fog. It was as if I had been blind all this time.

“Follow me.”

He led me out of the secret room and up to the first floor. We stood side by side by the window. The sun was high in the sky.

“Try looking at the sun.”

I looked directly at the sun, expecting my eyes to hurt, but they didn’t sting at all.

“How is it?”

“It doesn’t hurt at all.”

“Look farther, over there.”

Things in the distance that I couldn’t see before were now clearly visible. It was astonishing how well I could see. When I focused my eyes more, I could even see things that shouldn’t have been visible.

“I can see everything clearly. I can even see the ants crawling on the tree branches.”

The shaman smiled at my words.

“I’m not joking.”

“I know, I can tell you’re not joking. I just couldn’t help but smile.”

“Ah, this is truly amazing.”

“Now, follow me again.”

This time, the shaman took me to a dark room prepared in the basement secret chamber.

When I gathered my energy, the faint visibility became clear without needing to focus my energy.

“I can see perfectly. The bottles on the shelf, the painting on the wall—everything is clear.”

“Good, the treatment was a complete success. Your eyes have been reborn.”

“Thank you. Truly, thank you.”

When I first requested the Mystic Eye technique, my main concern was to avoid the Wind Sky Sect leader’s gaze. I didn’t expect much from its effectiveness.

But the Mystic Eye technique turned out to be far more amazing than I thought. There’s no better way to describe it.

My eyes had achieved greatness.

Stepping out of the dark room, I bowed to the shaman.

“Thank you.”

The shaman, surprised, helped me stand up.

“Why are you doing this?”

“You used a secret technique on me, one that can only be used once in a lifetime. I must repay this favor by keeping my promise.”

“I’m grateful. When you become the sect leader, tell me who I should kill.”

The shaman firmly grasped my hand, and I responded with equal strength.

Leaving his quarters, everything around me seemed different. It truly felt like a whole new world had opened up.

A thought suddenly crossed my mind.

‘The Mystic Eye technique, just like the Blood Stabilizing Essence, was tied to my fate with the Wind Sky Sect. Anyway, thank you, Wind Sky Sect leader.’

And so, the Wind Sky Sect leader received an unexpected expression of gratitude.

I realized once again how important improving my vision was for martial arts.

My techniques became more refined and, as they became more intricate, they grew stronger.

In fact, the biggest benefit would be in real combat. I would now be able to avoid attacks I couldn’t before, and I would be able to see opportunities I would have missed before.

It would also greatly help with high-speed movement. I had once worried whether my vision would be able to keep up when I reached my peak speed, but now, that worry had disappeared. I now had the sharpest eyes a human could possess.

After assigning the tasks involving the Yellow Spring Division to Seo Daeryong, I spent a while in seclusion, training both my martial skills and my body to adapt to my new sight.

After immersing myself in training for a while, I went to visit Ian after a long time.

“Ian, let’s go have fun!”

Ian was busy with her martial arts training.

“No, I have to repeat my practice twenty times today.”

“Twenty times? What kind of basic technique requires that many repetitions?”

“Sixty times today. The evening training is twenty repetitions.”

“Goodness, that’s going to kill you.”

“It already did. I can’t sleep if I ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) don’t practice.”

“Just take a break today. If you drink with me, you’ll sleep well tonight.”

“After I’m done.”

“How many left?”

“Eight more. If you keep interrupting, it’ll take even longer.”

I pretended to pout as I watched her practice.

“Your waist hasn’t turned enough.”

“You’re leaving the left side open.”

“Now, do it faster.”

As I corrected her posture, I couldn’t help but notice once again how talented Ian was in martial arts. She quickly understood and learned well.

After watching her practice a few more times, I realized there was nothing else I could say today and lost myself in training the Heavenly Demon Arts.

The martial art I had trained the most while facing the Demon Lord was the Heavenly Demon Arts. The more I practiced it, the more it felt fresh.

As always, it resonated with me the deepest. It felt almost as if I were learning a living martial art. No wonder it had the power to awaken me from sleep.

How many times had I repeated the training of the Heavenly Demon Arts?

When I opened my eyes, Ian was watching me from a short distance away.

“Is it done?”

“Yes, I finished the twenty repetitions.”

“Let’s go, drink! I feel like I’m starving to death.”

“Of course. You haven’t eaten for three whole days.”

“What? Three days?”

“Yes. You’ve been doing your Qi training without food for three days.”

“Me?”

“You came to see me three days ago. You seemed to have fallen into a trance. I didn’t disturb you on purpose.”

I was shocked. I didn’t even realize I had been training for that long.

“I... must have slept, huh?”

“I checked, but you weren’t sleeping. You were muttering to yourself.”

It seemed I had truly entered a trance. I couldn’t remember any of the training.

“Wait a minute.”

I sat down and used the Heavenly Demon Arts for a moment. This time, the energy flowed more smoothly and precisely than before.

As I stood up, I smiled brightly. There had been great progress in the Heavenly Demon Arts. All the continuous training seemed to have culminated in a breakthrough through this trance.

“Did you make progress?”

It was clear just from looking at my face. I nodded, smiling widely.

“Enough to treat you to a great meal.”

“Congratulations, Young Master.”

“Thanks. It’s all thanks to you.”

“Why is it my fault?”

“If you hadn’t insisted on finishing your training, you wouldn’t have sat beside me and joined me in this trance. You helped me get through it.”

“Oh, you’re right! Treat me to a meal!”

“Of course, I’ll buy you anything you want!”

We hurriedly left the training hall together.

“You must be hungry too?”

“No, I’ve eaten.”

But Ian’s stomach rumbled loudly.

She wasn’t someone who would have eaten by herself while I was starving, so she must have skipped her meals to avoid interrupting my trance.

“Silly goose.”

“No, not really. If I were truly silly, I wouldn’t have gotten caught. I’m proudly showing off how loyal I am, right? I even used it as a chance to earn some points.”

“You’re a fox, a fox.”

“Of course, I’ve got plenty of tricks left.”

I laughed happily.

“It’s been a long time since I walked with you like this, Young Master.”

“I see.”

“It feels nice, really.”

The simple phrase made me feel good too. I’m happy too, Ian.

We entered the Ma Village Pub.

“Welcome! It’s been a while, Master.”

Seeing the welcoming Chojunbae made me even hungrier, thinking of his cooking.

“Bring it quickly!”

“Yes, I’ll run to the kitchen with my light steps!”

After handing us the drinks, Chojunbae dashed to the kitchen.

We drank quickly on empty stomachs.

“Ah! This is amazing.”

“Ugh! It’s too strong. I’m really dying.”

Soon, the food arrived, and we devoured it without caring about others' gaze.

We sat back, patting our full stomachs, and talked about martial arts. She asked me everything she’d been curious about, and I answered sincerely as best I could.

I had been stagnating ever since breaking through the Ten Heavenly Skills, but I hoped the Mystic Eye technique would have a good influence on it.

As we talked about martial arts, the conversation naturally shifted to Seo Daeryong.

“By the way, how’s Investigator Seo doing?”

“He’s probably doing fine. I’ve been too busy with training to see him.”

“Everyone’s busy.”

“I think he’s doing well. Both his work and his training.”

“I find it strange how well Investigator Seo gets along with the Demon Lord.”

“I’m not sure how well they get along. He probably gets scolded all the time, and his pillow might be soaked every night.”

Ian laughed, finding it amusing.

“I don’t think so. I actually think the Demon Lord is a good person, in his own way.”

“Don’t get careless. Just because he’s good to Seo doesn’t mean he’ll be good to you. He’s a Demon Lord. Be careful.”

“Yes, I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Someday, you’ll have to defeat him with your strength.”

For a moment, Ian flinched.

“Me?”

She didn’t say the usual “How can I defeat a Demon Lord with my skills?” That would be disrespectful to both my father and me now that she had learned the Heavenly Sword technique.

“I’ll do my best.”

“You know? The weakest techniques die first. Once you’ve started, you must see it through to the end.”

“Yes!”

I raised my glass, and she drank with me.

“And when you reach a certain level in the Heavenly Sword technique, we’ll start gathering people for the Guiyang Sect. If we recruit the leaders, the rest will be easy.”

“Do you already have some people in mind?”

I nodded honestly.

“Maybe one or two. I’ll go out with you to recruit them later.”

“Who are they?”

“You’ll probably be shocked if I tell you now. I’ll tell you when the time comes.”

“Just saying that makes my heart race.”

“Isn’t there a good solution for that? It’s called alcohol.”

The sound of our glasses clinking was as light and cheerful as our mood.

“Let’s order more drinks and snacks.”

“Sadly, I think we should stop drinking for today.”

Following my gaze, Ian looked down at the first floor.

Seo Daeryong quickly entered the pub and came upstairs to report on the new targets I had to cook for.

“The Wind Sky Sect leader has just arrived at the main hall.”