Published at 4th of October 2026 7:49 am

Chapter 1151: The World of Ascension (81)

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

What was the cause? How on earth did it come to this?

There were too many questions.

No, seriously—what the hell? How did this happen?

Since I couldn't understand, I asked, and Hyun Soyeon answered calmly.

"I said I wanted to go. Then they told me to go."

"Wait... what?"

You said you wanted to go, and they just told you to go? What kind of insane logic was that?

"...Are you saying the Commander told you that?"

"Yes!"

She was confident. Cheerful, even. What the hell are you?

It was already hard to grasp why the Commander had agreed to this in the first place, but the biggest question was—

"Why do you want to go?"

I couldn't understand why she wanted to join this mission in the first place. She had no reason to follow along, so why was she tagging along?

Ah.

"Just to check—... is Namgung Jin going too?"

"Oh, yes! You didn't hear?"

"..."

So Namgung Jin was coming too?

That wasn’t what I had originally been told. Hearing this now made things click into place.

'Is this like what happened with Mi Horan?'

Thinking back, when my father set out for Hanan, Mi Horan had followed him. This situation seemed similar in a way.

'...No, wait, isn’t it a bit different?'

It did feel somewhat different. Hyun Soyeon wasn’t interested in Namgung Jin himself.

'She had feelings for Namgung Hyeong.'

At least, she had once harbored feelings for the future Gwiseon.

And Namgung Jin was already in love with Mi Horan. I had no idea why Hyun Soyeon was going this far, but—

'So the real problem is...'

In the end, Hyun Soyeon was coming with us.

"Hmm..."

"Why? Do you not like it?"

She noticed my reaction and asked with a teasing tone. Without hesitation, I answered.

"Yes."

"Oh my!"

Hyun Soyeon widened her eyes in surprise. I wondered if I’d said it too bluntly—maybe it would hurt her feelings.

"But there's nothing you can do about it. Just endure it."

"..."

She was more firm than I was.

I felt a headache coming on.

Just then—

"Ahem..."

A coughing sound drew my attention. Turning my head, I saw Gu Ryun sitting nearby.

The carriage was quite large, yet with Gu Ryun inside, it felt incredibly cramped.

Paejon was big too, but Gu Ryun was even bigger.

He looked like he had something to say, staring at me with a rather pitiful expression.

I had half a mind to ignore him, but in the end, I spoke.

"...Do you have something to say?"

"Hmm... well..."

He hesitated. Seeing him like that, I waited.

"...I didn’t tell him."

"Ah—."

I nodded at his words.

So, he hadn’t told my father that I was of Gu blood.

'I figured as much.'

I wasn’t particularly surprised. Elder Il—or rather, the Gu Ryun of this era—didn’t seem much different from the old man I knew.

'If it were Elder Il...'

He wouldn’t say anything until things were confirmed.

"Thank you."

"..."

I showed my respect, and Gu Ryun hesitated.

It looked like he wanted to keep talking.

But—

"Tsk."

Paejon, who had been sitting next to us, clicked his tongue.

"This is way too cramped. I'm leaving."

"What?"

Without warning, he grabbed Gu Ryun and dragged him outside.

I wasn’t sure if Paejon had done it to give me space or because he really felt suffocated, but thanks to him, the carriage suddenly felt much more open.

'Wait.'

Looking at the empty space, a thought crossed my mind.

'There are too many people. Can we even fit everyone in this carriage?'

No matter how large it was, it didn’t seem big enough for all of us. As I was contemplating this—

"Don't worry."

"Huh?"

Hyun Soyeon smiled at me and spoke.

"I provided an extra carriage for free. The Commander was quite pleased about it."

"..."

Well, that cleared up that mystery. I had been wondering how she got approval for this mission.

'She solved it with money.'

There wasn’t even a need to be curious. Now that I thought about it, not just Mi Horan, but Hyun Soyeon also had plenty of wealth.

'...Is the Martial Alliance supposed to work like this?'

Was it really okay for things to be solved with money like this?

'...Not that I can say much.'

If our roles were reversed, I would’ve done the same thing. Money was king.

Clank.

The door opened.

This time, it was my father who stepped inside.

As he entered the carriage, our eyes met.

"..."

We didn’t exchange any words. He simply took a seat by the window.

Hyun Soyeon, glancing at him, suddenly spoke up.

"What happened to that peculiar lady?"

I nearly choked.

By “peculiar lady,” she could only be referring to my mother. She really had no filter.

My father stared at her for a moment.

"Why? Isn't she coming along?"

"...Not this time."

"Really? She seemed to act differently than the Vice-Commander last time."

She was referring to when my mother had secretly infiltrated our last journey.

My father was momentarily at a loss for words but soon gave a calm response.

"It's fine. This time, she really isn’t coming."

"Oh. I see? That's a shame. She was interesting."

Hyun Soyeon sounded disappointed, but that seemed to be the end of it for her.

She was one to talk—she was just as strange in her own way.

"...Shall we depart now?"

"Yes."

My father nodded at my question.

It seemed the others had boarded separate carriages.

'...Paejon and Elder Il.'

I had no idea where those two were, but they would come regardless, so it didn’t really matter.

'We're heading to Shanxi.'

The group had changed somewhat, but as long as we reached Shanxi, it didn’t matter.

Just as I nodded at that thought—

Swish.

"Hm?"

Something touched me.

My father was holding something out toward me.

'A letter?'

Upon closer inspection, it was indeed a letter.

"What's this?"

"Take it. The Commander asked me to give it to you."

"...Out of nowhere?"

"Yes."

A letter, all of a sudden?

Curious, I reached to open it.

Snap—!

My father grabbed my wrist.

"Not now. Read it after we arrive. It’s regarding a confidential mission."

"......."

At his words, I tucked the letter away. Read it after we arrived, huh?

'What if I just read it on the way?'

If that was the case, wouldn’t it have made more sense to give it to me when we got there? I had my doubts, but I decided to let it go.

"......Understood."

"Let’s depart."

Hearing my response, my father immediately gave the order to the driver.

"We're leaving!"

Hiiing!

With the sharp crack of a whip, the carriage lurched forward.

Thus, the journey to Shanxi began.

**********

The journey to Shanxi passed swiftly.

There wasn’t much to note, making it a rather dull trip.

The only notable occurrences were the occasional monster hunts and the elimination of lingering remnants of the Unorthodox Faction.

'So the Unorthodox Faction was this active at the time.'

In the era I had lived through, you rarely saw members of the Unorthodox Faction.

During the time when the Sword Master led the Martial Alliance, a large-scale purge of the faction had taken place, wiping out most of them.

"Hmm."

From that perspective, encountering their attacks now was a curious experience.

Of course—

'...I actually feel bad for them.'

The ones attacking us weren’t particularly strong, so they weren’t much of a threat.

To begin with—

'Everyone in this carriage is a monster in their own right.'

Most of the passengers were martial artists at the Hwagyeong level, and among them was even one of the Three Masters.

What kind of lunatic would attack this group?

It’s not like we were carrying anything valuable, either.

'If we had something worth stealing, I could at least understand it.'

But attacking us empty-handed? That was the work of low-tier thugs.

Regardless, our handling of them was thorough. No one was left alive.

Fwoosh—!!

"Gahhh—!"

A martial artist caught in the flames screamed as he burned to death.

My father casually waved his hand, reducing the fire to smoldering ashes.

"...I don’t think I can eat after this."

Hyun Soyeon grimaced as she watched.

It was a rather brutal display. At least, to most people.

'That was actually merciful.'

From my perspective, burning these Unorthodox Faction members alive was an act of mercy.

Namgung Jin and Hyun Soyeon, however, didn’t seem as accustomed to such methods.

"Watching the Vice-Commander, I get the impression... he’s colder than I thought."

"That’s not an impression. Just look at him."

"True."

It was obvious at a glance.

The man was stiff and emotionless.

His martial arts focused on fire techniques, but I had never seen anyone as frigid as my father.

'He was like this even when he was younger.'

Even among the fiery-tempered Gu Clan, he was exceptionally cold.

Young or old, my father wasn’t much different from the man I had known.

"It’s done. Let’s move on."

After glancing at the pile of ashes, my father turned away.

With the cleanup finished, the carriage resumed its journey.

How many times had this happened now? Considering how little it phased me, I suppose it wasn’t anything unusual.

Hiiing!

The horses neighed as the carriage rolled forward.

'We must be arriving soon.'

After what felt like an eternity in the cramped carriage, I narrowed my eyes at the scenery outside.

It was familiar.

Even though this was an era long before my time, the mountain roads remained largely the same.

This place—I knew it well.

'Shanxi.'

The land where I was born and raised.

Yet, in this time, I had not been born yet.

Still, I had finally arrived in Shanxi.

'......Huh.'

I found myself tensing up. For some reason, I couldn’t help it.

'Calm down.'

I just needed to see what I came for.

Confirm what needed confirmation. That was the fastest way to return.

'...Not that I even know if this is the right approach.'

I had no certainty that what I was doing was the correct path.

But—

'There’s no other way.'

I couldn’t think of an alternative.

So I had no choice but to do something.

Just as I solidified my resolve—

Crackle.

"...?"

I turned my head.

'What was that?'

I had heard the faint sound of something burning.

It wasn’t my father—he was sitting with his arms crossed, eyes closed.

'Then where did that come from?'

Thinking I might have imagined it, I tried to ignore it.

Crackle...

The sound came again.

'What the hell—'

It wasn’t my imagination.

Sensing something strange, I started scanning my surroundings.

Crackle—!

"I see."

A voice accompanied the sound of smoldering embers.

"So you are the one who burns."

'...!'

I immediately stuck my head out the window.

The voice had come from outside.

But—

'...What?'

There was nothing there.

And the sound had completely vanished.

"......."

What the hell was that just now?

Still reeling from the moment, I heard the coachman’s voice from outside.

"Ah! Don’t worry! We’ll be arriving shortly! You can see it over there!"

Following his pointing hand, I looked ahead.

Just as he said, I could see it.

'Shanxi—'

Shanxi.

At last, I had reached my home of the past.

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