It was a small lump of iron.

Unlike the round Black Essence from the Heavenly Wind Cult that the Secret Chest had first absorbed, this was an ornamental fang, the kind that might have been broken off a metal statue of a beast. It was too heavy to be worn as a necklace, clearly intended as a decorative piece to be stood upright.

“I’ll take this one.”

Bi Sa-in stared at Geom Mugeuk, his face a mask of surprise.

“Are you serious?”

“I am.”

“Can I… take a look?”

“Be my guest.”

Bi Sa-in examined the object closely. No matter how he looked at it, it was just an iron fang. There’s no way he would have chosen this without a reason, right?

“Why this, of all things?”

“Something about it just called to me.”

“You are, without a doubt, the most inscrutable person I have ever met.”

It wasn’t the first time Bi Sa-in had felt this way since meeting Geom Mugeuk, but this instance was by far the most baffling.

“I already received the Sun-Moon Sword from you, and the secrets of the War King from the Unorthodox Alliance Leader. This is more than enough for me.”

“And you were worried about losing your mystique,” Bi Sa-in mused, shaking his head. “Just the mystery of why you chose this will probably last me a lifetime.”

Geom Mugeuk and Bi Sa-in left the treasury together.

“I never dreamed I’d be going through something like this with you,” Bi Sa-in confessed.

He wasn’t the only one. Geom Mugeuk himself had never imagined living this kind of life after his regression. In his previous life, he had wandered the Central Plains alone, searching for materials for the Great Regression Technique, comforting himself during his bleakest moments with thoughts of the life he might live after returning to the past. Could he ever have pictured himself walking out of the Unorthodox Alliance’s treasury, side-by-side with its Young Unorthodox Alliance Leader?

“There will be many more unexpected things to come,” Geom Mugeuk said. “Let’s live the rest of our lives being surprised like this.”

Though younger, Geom Mugeuk had always been a figure Bi Sa-in could rely on. Still, there was one thing he had to ask.

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“Of what?”

“The ones who are plotting against us. The ones hiding in the shadows. We have no idea what they’ll do next, do we?”

Knowing that the War King had escaped alive, perhaps this fear was only natural. Now that the frantic battle was over and he’d had a moment to catch his breath, Bi Sa-in was beginning to fully grasp just how perilous the situation had been. If not for Geom Mugeuk, he would have died several times over.

Junior Cult Leader, what in the world is going on in that head of yours?

Geom Mugeuk’s reply was calm and measured.

“What’s there to be afraid of? I’ll be living more intensely than they are. If I’m defeated even after giving it my all, then there’s nothing to be done about it, is there? I’ll gladly meet my end.”

“!”

Those words became a signpost for the rest of Bi Sa-in’s life.

And despite offering such profound guidance, Geom Mugeuk was the one expressing gratitude.

“Thank you for keeping your promise.”

Remembering the mountain of gratitude slips that had been in the settlement basket, Bi Sa-in felt a flush of shame and embarrassment. He cleared his throat and walked ahead with brisk steps.

“Just don’t be late for the evening banquet.”

***

Geom Mugeuk returned to the guest quarters assigned to him by the Unorthodox Alliance. After entering the room, he locked the door and shut the windows.

He placed the Secret Chest and the iron fang he’d taken from the treasury on the table. Having already experienced the absorption of the Black Essence, he was prepared for what was to come. So, it seems you can absorb things with different shapes after all.

“You must be hungry. Here, eat up!”

But the Secret Chest didn’t move.

“Eat. Why aren’t you eating?”

It had clearly vibrated in the treasury, but now the Secret Chest wouldn’t absorb the iron ornament.

“Did your tastes change all of a sudden?”

He turned the fang over and placed it on a different part of the slate, but it still didn’t react.

“What the hell? Don’t tell me this isn’t it. Was it one of the other items next to it?”

Of course, that couldn’t be right. He was certain it had reacted to this one.

He tried every way he could think of, but nothing worked. Finally, Geom Mugeuk gave up.

“You’ve gotten picky, haven’t you.”

The face drawn on the Secret Chest simply offered its bright, unchanging smile.

***

That evening, an attendant from the inner court guided Geom Mugeuk down the corridor toward the Hall of the Unorthodox Alliance Leader. The attendant came to a natural stop at a certain point and turned around to find, as expected, that Geom Mugeuk had paused in front of the steel wolf statue.

“You won’t be able to see it after today, so please take a moment to say your farewells. I shall wait for you in the Unorthodox Alliance Leader’s Hall.”

The gesture was a courtesy born from gratitude for saving the Unorthodox Alliance Leader, but also from a touch of sympathy, knowing how fond Geom Mugeuk was of the statue and feeling apologetic for not having given him proper time with it before.

“Thank you. I’ll be there shortly.”

Once the attendant had disappeared, Geom Mugeuk addressed the wolf.

“I guess I won’t be seeing you again.”

He still didn’t know why this statue held such a strange pull on him. Perhaps it was because his past life, a lonely journey as a solitary wolf, resonated with its form. Yes, that was probably it.

“This is the last time. Be well.”

He patted the wolf’s head and was about to turn away when he froze. A thought had struck him like a bolt of lightning.

Geom Mugeuk pulled the fang ornament from his robes.

No way. It can’t be, right?

He inserted the fang into the steel wolf’s open maw. He tried to fit it into the space where a lower canine would be, but there was no change. The other side was the same.

Of course not.

Just as he was about to leave, he decided to try the upper jaw on a whim.

The very instant he did, a brilliant blue light erupted from the wolf’s eyes.

Swoooosh!

In that moment, the statue felt terrifyingly alive.

Geom Mugeuk drew upon his internal energy and retreated, but the wolf didn’t attack. Instead, with a sharp click, something rolled out from within its mouth.

Geom Mugeuk’s eyes widened in shock when he saw what it was.

A blue, glowing orb. If what he had absorbed before was a Black Essence, this was a Blue Essence. It was even the exact same size.

The fang had been the key to unlocking the orb hidden inside the steel wolf. He finally understood the pull he had felt. It hadn’t been him; it had been the Secret Chest. Or perhaps the Black Essence already absorbed within him had been drawn to it.

Vvvvmmmm.

The Secret Chest in his robes vibrated in response.

He took it out and placed the Blue Essence upon its surface.

Ssssk.

As if it had been waiting, the Secret Chest began to absorb the Blue Essence. The hard orb seeped into the slate as if it were liquid.

Once it had absorbed the entire orb, the Secret Chest vibrated once more.

Swoooosh!

Something tinged with a blue aura began to emerge from it. It was just like what had happened with the Black Essence. It was not smoke, nor liquid, nor internal energy, nor light. It was an indescribable essence that flowed over Geom Mugeuk’s hand and up his arm, spreading throughout his entire body.

Once again, the Heavenly Demonic Defense Art did not activate. Instead, a refreshing, pure sensation permeated his being. His instincts screamed a single, certain truth: whatever this energy was, it meant him no harm.

The moment the energy reached every corner of his body, from head to toe, a blinding radiance erupted from him, so intense that he had to squeeze his eyes shut.

When he opened them again, the blue energy had been completely absorbed into his body. He had now absorbed a second energy through the Secret Chest.

There was no immediate physical change. The two energies didn’t mix. They simply lay dormant, deep within him, each in its own silent space. He had a feeling it was because he hadn’t yet absorbed all the energies needed to trigger a transformation.

The Secret Chest spat out the Blue Essence, now just an ordinary stone, its power depleted. Geom Mugeuk carefully put away the stone, the fang—which he retrieved from the statue’s mouth—and the Secret Chest before turning back to the wolf.

“I will not allow what you have protected to be used in vain. Thank you, Blue Wolf.”

The statue stood as it always had, majestic and silent, giving no sign that it had just shot blue light from its eyes.

Geom Mugeuk slowly made his way toward the Hall of the Alliance Leader.

***

Seated on the Grand Preceptor’s Chair, Baek Ja-gang pondered the Heavenly Demon, Geom Woojin. The memory of the disdainful look in his eyes remained vivid in his mind. He had met the man twice, and each encounter had yielded the same result.

Would a third time be any different?

In the past, he would have rejected the notion out of hand. His hesitation now wasn’t because of the recent conspiracy, nor was it out of any desire to befriend Geom Woojin. It was because of Geom Mugeuk.

That man… raised a son like that? That Geom Woojin?

It was unbelievable. He wanted to see it with his own eyes, to confirm that this son was some kind of mutation, that he hadn’t been shaped by Geom Woojin’s influence. Because if Geom Woojin really had raised him to be this way? The thought was infuriating.

“What are your thoughts?” he asked.

Standing below the chair, Bi Sa-in answered calmly, “I believe you should go.”

“And why is that?”

“Because I trust you, Unorthodox Alliance Leader.”

“You trust me?”

“You are the only person in this world I truly trust.”

Baek Ja-gang looked down at his disciple, an expression of surprise on his face. This wasn’t the kind of thing the boy used to say. He had changed.

“After meeting the Junior Cult Leader, I’ve been thinking a great deal about the need to change.”

“Because you must change in order to win?”

He had expected that answer, but Bi Sa-in had something else in mind.

“No. I have no intention of winning.”

“Is that because you lack the confidence to win?”

“I’ve changed the dream itself. My dream is no longer to win, but to walk alongside him. In a way, that may be a harder fight for me than any battle of winning or losing.”

Just as it is more difficult for a warrior to keep his sword sheathed than to draw it.

“It will be incredibly difficult to stand next to someone so exceptional. I’ll be compared to him, my pride will be wounded, and I’ll feel a great sense of inadequacy. But I want to try. I no longer want to be content as the head of a snake; I want to entangle myself with a dragon and dream of ascending to the heavens. Even if I fall to my death, at least I’ll have seen the sky. I’ll have no regrets.”

Bi Sa-in spoke his mind without a hint of intimidation. It was the first time he had ever spoken so much in the Unorthodox Alliance Leader’s presence.

Baek Ja-gang was deeply satisfied.

His disciple was right. Right now, winning or losing wasn’t the point. What mattered was momentum, spirit. This was far better than making empty boasts about victory just to curry favor. This was his disciple speaking from his very core.

He had lived his entire life without children, a fact that sometimes brought a pang of regret in his old age.

But there stands my son.

That’s how it felt. A disciple who was like a son, telling him he would walk a path his master never could. That’s right, he thought. A snake is still just a snake, no matter how large it grows.

Just then, word of Geom Mugeuk’s arrival came, and moments later, the doors to the hall opened, and he stepped inside.

As he reached the foot of the chair, Baek Ja-gang spoke first.

“Did you rest well?”

“Thanks to your consideration, I rested very comfortably.”

The Unorthodox Alliance Leader must have heard what he, Geom Mugeuk, had chosen from the treasury, yet the former didn’t ask about it. ‘Once he grants permission, he doesn’t look back. That unwavering resolve is so much like my father’s. It’s why I have a feeling they might get along,’ Geom Mugeuk thought.

Instead, Baek Ja-gang asked something else entirely.

“What kind of person do you think I am?”

A sudden silence fell over the hall. Bi Sa-in, too, was curious to hear Geom Mugeuk’s answer.

After a moment of thought, Geom Mugeuk broke the silence.

“To be honest, I haven’t known you for long, so I can’t say for certain what kind of man you are. However, simply by the fact that you lead the Unorthodox Alliance with such dignity while competing with my father, you must be a remarkable person.”

It was a humble response that elevated both his father and Baek Ja-gang.

“And since you are the man that my friend here respects most, you must be someone worthy of my respect as well.”

Geom Mugeuk’s gaze shifted from Bi Sa-in back to Baek Ja-gang.

“But that was an answer based on what I’ve heard from others. I would like to give you my own answer, based on what I purely feel. I want to know more about who you are, Unorthodox Alliance Leader. So… why don’t you join me for a drink at my tavern?”

Baek Ja-gang looked down at Geom Mugeuk, lost in thought. If he went, he would meet Geom Woojin. This decision could change not only his own destiny, but the fate of the entire Unorthodox Alliance.

Finally, Baek Ja-gang made up his mind.

“Tonight’s banquet is canceled.”

He followed it with a reason that stunned the room.

“We’ll drink at your regular spot.”

A brilliant smile spread across Geom Mugeuk’s face at Baek Ja-gang’s decisive declaration.

“Thank you so much, Unorthodox Alliance Leader.”

“However,” Baek Ja-gang added, “as you said, you will resolve the issue with the Martial Righteous Alliance yourself first. We’ll arrange a specific schedule after that. But if the Martial Righteous Alliance does not accept, this decision is void.”

“Understood. I will contact you as soon as it’s resolved.”

Geom Mugeuk understood just how difficult this decision was for the Unorthodox Alliance Leader. Who would willingly walk into enemy territory without knowing what might happen? The man had just put his life on the line.

“I may not know you well yet, Unorthodox Alliance Leader, but I have to say this.”

“And what is that?”

“You’re truly impressive.”

He didn’t get goosebumps, which meant the Junior Cult Leader genuinely thought he was a badass.

“I’ll pass on the flattery.”

Geom Mugeuk smiled and bowed deeply.

“Then, until we meet again, please take care of yourself.”

With that, he exited the hall.

The Alliance Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance… I didn’t know much about him before my regression, but he’s a surprisingly straightforward man. I like him.

He waited in front of the hall for a moment before Bi Sa-in followed him out.

“Are you leaving right away?”

Geom Mugeuk nodded.

“Where to now?”

“I have to stop by my safe house to pick someone up and take them to the cult’s main branch. I also need to see the Poison King. After a stop at the Demonic Cult, I’ll head back to the Martial Righteous Alliance. If things go well there, I’ll send word immediately.”

“You’re certainly busy.”

Appearing and disappearing in a flash was his specialty, but this time, Bi Sa-in felt a genuine pang of regret at their parting.

“I suppose you’ll be seeing Commander Jin, then.”

Jin Ha-gun had been disappointed he couldn’t come along on the Unorthodox Alliance business. Now, the roles were reversed, and it was Bi Sa-in who would be left behind.

“You should come with me.”

“As if the Martial Righteous Alliance Leader would be happy to see the three of us together. My presence would only get on his nerves. Why are you looking at me like that?”

Geom Mugeuk’s ambush came without warning.

“So, when are you going to dance?”

A hot flush crept up Bi Sa-in’s face.

“Surely the Young Unorthodox Alliance Leader wouldn’t go back on his own word, would he?”

“I’ll do it, I said I’ll do it!”

Now even his ears were turning red. He could never let his guard down for even a second around Geom Mugeuk.

Thankfully, First Unorthodox Young Master came to his rescue, presenting him with the sword case he had been safeguarding. Bi Sa-in, in turn, passed it to Geom Mugeuk.

“Here is the Sun-Moon Sword you left with us.”

“Thanks for the gift.”

Just as Geom Mugeuk’s lips twitched, ready to bring up the dance again, Bi Sa-in cut him off.

“I am currently holding two swords.”

“Fine, I’ll be patient. For now.”

He knew this playful, persistent man would tease him about this for a long, long time. He’d have to dance eventually.

And so, with a final jest about the dance, the two parted on good terms.

“I will convince the Martial Righteous Alliance Leader, no matter what. I’ll see you at our cult’s main branch.”