Published at 27th of August 2026 7:14 pm

Chapter 1098: The World of Ascension (28)

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

After the Crimson-Rank Beast Uprising, the news had yet to spread across Zhongyuan.

Since the monster had appeared within an area under Martial Alliance control—

And since the Beggars’ Union had moved to suppress rumors, no word had reached Hanam.

For now, only those within the Martial Alliance, and even then, only a select few, were aware of the situation.

"Don’t stop! Control your breathing!"

At that very moment, within the Azure Dragon Division, training was in full swing.

Dozens of trainees, none of whom had been in the division for more than five years, ran in formation.

Running without using internal energy, they were maintaining a pace that, over time, would inevitably cause their breathing to falter.

And they had been running like this for over two hours.

‘This is so damn boring.’

For me, this wasn’t much of a training session.

My body wasn’t weak enough to tire from something like this.

And even if we weren’t using internal energy, my body was already saturated with it.

At this point, it wouldn’t matter if I ran for half a day—or even an entire day straight.

But—

"Huff... Huff..."

"Hngh... Ugh..."

The others were clearly not in the same condition. They looked like they could collapse at any moment.

Well, naturally.

‘At best, they’re just first-rate.’

Even the strongest among them barely brushed the boundary of the Peak Realm.

For them, this level of endurance training was already a remarkable feat.

As I was casually jogging alongside them—

‘Hmm.’

I kept feeling a gaze on me.

It came from my left side, just a step behind me.

I turned to see who it was.

Do Yun.

The bastard was staring at me, and the moment our eyes met—

He grinned slightly.

"Ahaha..."

His awkward laugh made me turn my head away.

His eyes were filled with unspoken words.

But I didn’t care.

‘If he wants to talk, he’ll come to me himself.’

I knew why. The reason was obvious.

‘It’s about yesterday.’

The Crimson-Rank Beast Uprising.

Something I had said to Do Yun during that chaos must have been bothering him.

He was hiding his strength.

Because he acted so carefree and talked so much, he seemed weak at first glance—

But he wasn’t.

‘He’s strong.’

Do Yun was considerably powerful.

To the extent that—

"You there! No chit-chat!"

The woman glaring at us from the front—Sword Peak Soi.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he was stronger than her.

"Ah, yes! My apologies!"

Do Yun quickly offered an apology.

"I apologize as well."

I added a quiet remark.

To me, she wasn’t Sword Peak or any such title—

‘She’s just the Plum Blossom Sword Queen to me.’

Since it felt like she was just Plum Blossom Sword Queen getting angry, the apology came naturally.

After speaking, I looked at Soi.

"......"

"......"

Once again, our eyes met.

I stared at her without much thought—

"Tch."

She clicked her tongue in annoyance and turned away.

‘...The hell?’

What’s her problem?

Soi’s reaction was oddly peculiar.

It was clear that she didn’t like me.

‘What the hell did I even do?’

Thinking back—

She had disliked me from the start.

‘Why, though?’

I had no idea.

In my past life, we had gotten along just fine.

But for some reason, this younger version of her disliked me.

‘...Not that I particularly care.’

I was used to being disliked.

It didn’t bother me much.

But the fact that there was no reason for it was slightly annoying.

Of course—

‘That doesn’t mean I’m going to ask her about it.’

I had no intention of doing that.

******

"Huff... Huff..."

"Ugh... Ahhh..."

Once training ended, everyone collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion.

Completely drenched in sweat, all they could do was catch their breath.

Some of them were gulping down water nonstop, unable to quench their thirst.

Amidst them, I sat idly, staring up at the sky.

Naturally, I wasn’t sweating.

I was only sitting because everyone else was.

And as I gazed at the sky—

‘...How much longer do I have to stay here?’

That thought crossed my mind.

How many days had passed?

It had been almost a full week.

How much longer would I have to remain here?

‘I need to go back.’

Whether it was Mangye or the Zhongyuan I originally belonged to—

I had to return.

This wasn’t where I was meant to be.

‘Tsk.’

What should I do?

‘I need to resolve this as quickly as possible.’

This world wanted something from me.

More precisely, my mother had arranged something for me.

I needed to obtain it as quickly as possible and escape.

‘Even just staying here feels suffocating.’

Yesterday’s conversation with Paejon—

After that, everything started feeling more troublesome.

‘I actually told him about my regression...’

I had told him that I turned back time.

But in the end, Paejon didn’t believe me.

Even though I had given him exactly what he wanted to hear in the end.

Even then, he didn’t believe me.

‘Or maybe...?’

Maybe he hadn’t entirely dismissed it.

It felt like he believed some part of it.

But—

‘It doesn’t change the fact that he still doesn’t fully believe it.’

In the end, he had refused to fully accept it.

What did he say, again?

‘He said he’d think about it.’

That was it.

He said he would take some time to think.

‘Hmm.’

Well, to be fair—

Even if I were in his position, I wouldn’t have believed it either.

No matter how well it aligned with reality, it was too unbelievable.

‘The real issue is—what happens next?’

The Sword Master’s suspicions.

And while Paejon did offer to vouch for my identity—

‘Depending on what Paejon does next—’

If things took a wrong turn, it could lead to a battle within the Martial Alliance, the very place where the Sword Master was the Alliance Leader.

‘...So before that happens—’

I needed to settle things and leave as soon as possible.

With that thought in mind, I turned my gaze toward one of the larger buildings within the Azure Dragon Division.

A place known as the Vice Division Leader’s Residence.

"..."

The place where my father was.

I let out a long sigh as I gazed at the building.

“Huuu...”

Given the reason I had been brought here, it was almost certain that it had something to do with my father.

The timing of my arrival, the circumstances—everything pointed to the fact that I had to obtain something from him.

‘But what exactly am I supposed to get?’

What was it that I needed to obtain through my father?

I didn’t know yet, but I was certain there was something.

Because there was no other reason for me to be here.

As I pondered this while staring at the Vice Division Leader’s Residence—

"What are you looking at?"

A voice interrupted my thoughts.

Soi.

"Huh?"

"I asked where you’re looking."

"Oh, it’s nothing. Just looking at whatever’s in front of me."

"......"

"Did you need something?"

She had deliberately approached and started a conversation. That meant she had some kind of business with me.

Yet, Soi just glared at me without saying anything.

What was this about?

"Hey."

Just as I was about to ask—

"About yesterday."

"What about it?"

"Why didn’t you do it properly?"

"...What?"

Yesterday?

That was sudden.

If she was talking about yesterday—

‘She must mean the monster.’

The fight against the Crimson-Rank Beast.

So she was talking about that.

"What do you mean, ‘I didn’t do it properly’?"

I asked, unable to understand her meaning.

Soi frowned and responded.

"You could’ve done it better. You have the strength. So why did you just stand there watching?"

"......"

Now my eyes narrowed.

‘Oh?’

She had noticed.

That I hadn’t fought the Crimson-Rank Beast at my full strength.

She had realized it.

How?

‘Is her intuition sharper than I expected?’

That was possible.

After all, the woman standing before me would one day become the Plum Blossom Sword Queen, reigning at the peak of the martial world.

‘Hmm.’

How should I respond to this?

No wonder she had been giving me those sharp looks today.

So this was the reason.

"I didn’t exactly hold back."

I had still provided support in my own way.

I just hadn’t directly intervened.

"No. You definitely didn’t go all out."

"...And what makes you think that?"

"Because you’re strong. Much stronger than that."

"...I wouldn’t say that."

"You beat the Sword Dragon, and yet you claim you’re not strong?"

"......"

Ah, right.

Sword Dragon—Namgung Jin.

I had completely forgotten about him.

Yeah... I did beat that guy up.

"Ahem... Well, maybe he just wasn’t as strong as his title suggested."

"The Martial Alliance doesn’t give the title of ‘Dragon’ to weaklings."

Soi spoke with a firm expression.

Hearing that, I tilted my head slightly.

‘What’s this?’

There was something strange about her words.

A firm belief in the Martial Alliance.

That was what I could sense from her.

‘Interesting.’

She was different.

The Plum Blossom Sword Queen I had known wasn’t necessarily a symbol of righteousness, nor did she particularly believe in the Martial Alliance.

"You clearly have immense strength. So why didn’t you step in?"

At this point, I half gave up.

"It was resolved just fine without me stepping in. What’s the problem?"

The result was good.

Why was she making an issue out of it?

I asked, genuinely puzzled.

"Someone could have died."

Because I hadn’t intervened, someone could have died?

Hearing that, I smirked.

"That would have been the monster’s fault, not mine."

"You..."

"And besides, I have no intention of being blamed for something that didn’t even happen."

I was well aware that the Crimson-Rank Beast Uprising had been my fault, and I was feeling a bit guilty about it.

But still—

‘This is just annoying.’

It felt like she was just picking a fight over nothing.

Suppressing a sigh, I looked at Soi.

Her beautiful eyes held a faint trace of hostility.

Just as I was about to say something in response—

"Soi. New recruit."

A voice cut in.

Soi immediately straightened up and saluted.

"Yes, senior!"

The newcomer seemed to be a martial artist from the Azure Dragon Division.

He looked at both of us and spoke.

"An assignment has come in. Prepare immediately."

"...Huh?"

"What?"

At the sudden announcement, both Soi and I furrowed our brows.

An assignment?

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