Published at 26th of January 2026 9:37 am

Chapter 358

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It was only after returning to Henan, around the time the sun had finally set.

I stepped out of the quarters where the Divine Spear was lying down and took a short walk through the inside of the Alliance.

As I was walking for a while

"Are you finished?"

A gentle voice called out to me. Turning to the side, I saw someone had appeared.

"......."

It's still a face I haven't gotten used to.

"...... Yeah. More or less."

"You really went through a lot."

That graceful, smiling faceit's not an easy thing to maintain.

No matter how many times I see it, I still can't believe that face belongs to a man.

The Ghost Demon.

Dressed up as a woman, he appeared and started talking to me.

Even this time, I hadn't sensed his approach.

"Oh my, you're sweating."

He took out a cloth from his bosom and tried to wipe my forehead. I just took the cloth from him as his hand approached.

After using it to wipe my sweat, the Ghost Demon looked disappointed.

Why is he making a face like that?

Ignoring it, I asked,

"What about the others...?"

"They've all been escorted to their quarters."

"Ah, I see."

They must've all unpacked by now. But why are you still here? My gaze asked the question.

"I have to serve you, Young Master. After all, I am your attendant, am I not?"

"......."

That languid voice spilling out such creepy words.

The Ghost Demon was always fascinating to behold, but right now he was more fascinating than ever.

'Even if that's the case, this is the Murim Alliance...'

Is it really okay for a member of the Demonic Cult to be wandering around like this? No matter how incredible that disguise is, this seems impossible.

Unless

'Is it because of me?'

Maybe it's only possible because I was the one who brought him.

"...... Phew."

I let out a sigh.

"Are you very tired?"

"...... A bit."

Honestly, I was extremely tired.

'This isn't easy.'

It was my first time using medical skills. Actually, calling it medical skills was a stretchit wasn't just medicine.

'But maybe it does count as medicine...?'

Removing and cleaning the ki. I'd never seen anyone treat a ki injury like that.

That was true for Sung Hun's knowledge as well.

It's not about directly interfering with the ki; normally, you'd treat the decayed body first, then treat the ki.

'The order is reversed.'

The method I used was the exact opposite.

I cleared out the ki first, then tended to the body.

Naturally, that should be the easier way.

'But it's just not something you're supposed to be able to do.'

Directly interfering with someone else's ki and removing only the filth? Impossible. It's nowhere near normal.

If you make a mistake, you could get entangled with the other person's ki; the ki could become tangled and both of you could end up with blocked meridians and die.

And yet

'I did it without a hitch.'

I did it.

The reason was simple.

'Because I can see it.'

Where the ki flows, where the flowing ki should go, how it should moveeverything was clear.

'This is...'

It wasn't Sung Hun's knowledge.

'Virtuous Moon Sword Path showed me.'

The awakened version of Moon Eye.

Yu Chun-gil's artificially created inner eye.

That told me the pathways of the ki.

The problem is

'Not even Yu Chun-gil anticipated this.'

Being able to see ki pathways?

Even Yu Chun-gil was genuinely seeing it for the first time.

So, this wasn't a power the Moon Eye originally possessed.

'What happened, then?'

Where did the change occur?

If I had to pinpoint the unexpected event

'Maybe it has something to do with what Sung Hun left behind.'

What he handed over could have caused the change in the Moon Eye.

Didn't Yu Chun-gil mention it as well?

'He said he left something unnecessary.'

It was thanks to these eyes that I was able to have a chance at curing Divine Spear.

Without it

'It would have been impossible.'

Utterly impossible.

I couldn't even remove the ki; physical treatment would've been hopeless, too.

What was inside Divine Spear was a problemthe evil ki, most likely.

'That...'

No one but someone like me could have dealt with it.

And that's the problem.

'If I'm the only one who can remove it, in other words'

It means that someone like 'me' implanted it in the first place.

'The person who fought the Divine Spear'

Was none other than the one they called the Lord of Broken Heaven Palace.

'And Broken Heaven Palace is also entangled with the fanatics.'

If I remember how, in my past life, there were multiple 'people like me' running wild within the ranks of the fanatics...

'...... It won't be easy.'

It meant things weren't going to go smoothly on this side, either.

"Whew."

I swallowed hard.

It was then.

Oh, heavens.

The Ghost Demon spoke to me.

Through secret voice transmission.

What?

Are you planning to save the Alliance Leader?

I narrowed my eyes at his words.

Should I not save him?

No, I would never dare add to Heaven's Will with my paltry words.

Then why do you ask?

Why even ask whether or not I should save him? To that, the Ghost Demon, looking forward, replied,

I ask because... with all due respect, if Divine Spear were to die as things stand, heaven would stand to gain from the Murim Alliance's reformation...

'Gain?'

That phrase had my mind turning.

What gain would arise from Divine Spear's death?

'...... Hmm.'

It's not like there's nothing.

If Divine Spear dies, they'll choose a new Alliance Leader, and through that process, my reputation, which has become solidly established through all these events, would allow me to gain even more.

I can already envision how that would unfold.

It does make sense.

'There is gain, all right.'

It wouldn't be a bad thing. But

Those aren't really things I particularly want to gain.

Is it really worth what would be gained by doing that? I couldn't say.

Furthermore

<>

I don't wish to obtain them that way.

It leaves a bad taste.

Gains acquired by letting someone I could have saved die.

It's not some moral argument.

'I'm just afraid of the karma that would build up if I neglect it.'

The thought of leaving that mess for myself to clean up later makes me sick to my stomach.

So, I'll do it if I can.

I see. Then please do as you wish.

After that, the Ghost Demon said nothing more.

'Hmm.'

I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye.

The strategist of the Demonic Cult. A man known to have once gone head-to-head with Heavenly Insight in games of strategy.

If he went out of his way to mention the gains, maybe there's some genuine benefit for him.

'Still'

I can't trust him entirely yet.

I still don't know whether his feelings toward me are genuine.

'Anyway...'

Looking up at the moon, I thought,

'First, I need to save the man.'

I had to deal with the matters in front of me first.

***

Half a dayexactly that much time had passed before I returned to Divine Spear's quarters.

The interior was as before, but strangely, there was no uncomfortable feeling.

"Strategist."

"What is it?"

"Did you send away those who were here before?"

"...... Yes."

So that's why it felt less uncomfortable. It seemed he'd sent away all the guards who'd been here last time.

"We need as few eyes on us as possible, don't you think?"

"Will this be safe?"

Wasn't it dangerous to reduce Divine Spear's security like this?

"In terms of probability, it's not ideal, but it's a necessary gamble."

Surprisingly, the words "gamble" came from Heavenly Insight himself.

"So you're betting on me?"

That remarkable old man is betting on me?

Curious, I probed further.

"I don't care for trivial chatter. Are you ready?"

Heavenly Insight cut off the conversation firmly. Truly an uncompromising old man.

"Hmm."

I looked at Divine Spear. Unlike earlier, I couldn't sense the same aura, but there was still a faint residue.

It must have risen up again, even after I'd cleared everything from the surface.

In the end

'If the root problem isn't removed, it's meaningless.'

If I didn't resolve the internal source, nothing would change.

"Where's what we prepared?"

"It's over there."

Heavenly Insight pointed it out by hand. It was a box.

Though the holy energy coming from it had dimmed slightly due to Divine Spear's aura, I could still feel its holy presence from the box.

"...... Just how did you get your hands on that?"

Heavenly Insight asked as if knowing the true nature of the divine pill.

"I just received it as a gift."

As I responded, I assessed the situation inside.

'He doesn't know this is Virtuous Moon Sword's request.'

In other words, it was an independent action, not coordinated with Heavenly Insight.

'Just what did that old man foresee to ask for something like this?'

It was a mystery how he managed to obtain it.

That was a bit puzzling.

'...... Anyway, it's necessary.'

Regardless, it was useful. No way Virtuous Moon Sword had anticipated this, but that divine pill would play an important role.

"Alright. I'm starting now. Will you be staying here?"

"Yes. Does it bother you?"

"No. I only mentioned it because it might take a while."

Calmly, I sat down beside Divine Spear.

I bent over and performed the same actions as last time

I carefully placed my hand on his chest.

"Phew"

I exhaled and channeled my ki.

Zzzzz!!

Virtuous Moon Sword Path sprang to mind, lines of force appearing before me.

Following them, I operated Blue Moon Mind Technique.

My ki gradually enveloped his body

The blue aura washed away the lingering traces of the ki stench, opening blocked paths.

Perhaps because I'd already cleared some obstacles ahead of time, I reached the target quickly.

'... The evil ki.'

The source of the evil ki.

Looking at the filthy clump somewhere between the dantian and heart, I slowly gathered my strength.

'... Even in my past life, I rarely did this sort of thing.'

Although I'd exorcised or helped souls pass on, I'd never done a "cleanup" quite like this.

'Would be easier if I just performed a shamanistic ritual.'

But I couldn't set up a ritual. My grandmother had flatly forbidden exorcism rituals, so I'd never learned.

Meaning

This was never really in the domain of medicine either.

'Here goes.'

Staring at the evil ki, I gradually increased my strength.

Shhh!!

My energy pressed against and surrounded the evil ki.

It wasn't my internal ki, but spiritual ki.

Then, at that moment

Fwoosh!!!

My consciousness was sucked in, as if I were being drawn into that space.

***

"......."

I opened my eyes. An awkward space unfolded before me.

The body that had been seated was now standing, and the room that had been a chamber now seemed like somewhere I'd never been.

'Made it.'

Nodding to myself, I confirmed my successful entry.

'... Now then.'

It felt similar to the Mind Realm. This was the inside of the evil ki.

Within the evil ki wrapped around Divine Spear.

So, where is it?

Where is what I need to clean up?

I turned my head to look. No need to search long.

It should already be nearby.

As I searched for a while

What an interesting place.

"...!"

A voice rang outalmost made me yell in surprise.

"... Grandpa?"

Why so startled?

"How did you get in here?"

Hmm? I just opened my eyes and here I was.

"Huh."

This is someone else's spiritual space. I entered forcefully, but

'What is with this old man?'

What is Yu Chun-gil? How did he get here?

He followed me in as I entered? Is that even possible...?

I looked at him in bafflement.

"... Just how did you"

Ah, wait a moment.

Yu Chun-gil reacted.

Come to think of it, this place is...

Does he know something?

Just as I was about to ask

"You, Yu Chun-gil---!!!!"

From a distance, a huge shout rang out.

A voice brimming with fury.

-------------= Clacky's Corner -------------=

Into the Mind Realm of the Divine Spear.

Also, Bang Sung-Yun just picking up miscellaneous skills here and there.

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