I tried to talk to it.
At the voice that suddenly reached it, the beast’s power flinched like it had been startled.
Now I understood why it hadn’t come out even when he fought at full power.
I could feel it.
It really was afraid of me.
No answer.
VMMMM—.
My energy began to wrap around the beast’s power.
It struggled in pain, but it was useless.
As I withdrew my energy, I left something behind inside it.
If it tried to kill Hwang Jinhyeok, the energy I left would crush it.
After negotiating with the Heaven-Night Wasteland Sovereign, I removed my hand from Hwang Jinhyeok’s energy center.
My expression must have looked satisfied, because Hwang Jinhyeok asked right away.
“How is it? Is there really beast power? It didn’t disappear, did it?”
“No. It’s still there.”
“Really? Then why didn’t it come out?”
“It will now. I made a deal with it.”
“Huh? What are you talking about? You made a deal?”
“There’s something like that. Now... you’ve rested enough. Want to start again?”
“It feels like it’ll be pointless.”
“I said it promised to behave.”
I had no idea what I was ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) saying, to him.
But he’d decided to trust me. Hwang Jinhyeok stood, took his Opening Stance again, and pulled up his internal energy.
That moment—
“Ghhk!”
A massive force, nothing like before, erupted violently out of his energy center.
“W-what is this?”
I spoke to him as he flinched in shock.
“That’s the beast power that took over your body when you lost consciousness. More precisely, it’s the Heaven-Night Wasteland Sovereign’s energy.”
“This is the power that comes out when I lose consciousness?”
“Yeah. Now use that power and attack me.”
“And if I lose consciousness again?”
“It promised me it won’t take your body. So don’t worry—come at me.”
“It promised? The beast energy...? That’s... possible? It can talk?”
He asked with a stunned face.
And right then, someone spoke in an irritated voice.
“HIIK!”
Hwang Jinhyeok jerked and looked around.
“Y-you heard that too?”
“Heard what.”
“Someone just talked to me.”
“Haa....”
Looks like I did this in the wrong order.
First, I needed to connect the two of them.
“Haa.”
Only now did he understand why that energy was inside him.
His father had done it.
Why?
‘I almost died?’
‘I ate a lot of spirit medicine.’
No wonder his internal energy never increased no matter how much he took.
It had all been stolen.
It felt... empty.
‘But that isn’t my power.’
‘Is it?’
Something about it still felt off.
“Feel a bit closer now?”
“Closer? Is this right? Talking to the energy inside my body?”
“It’s not impossible. It’s the power of a being with spirit. Just think of it as talking to a soul.”
“That makes sense. But if it’s lending me its power, then I’m not the strong one.”
“I’ll make you strong too.”
“How?”
“If you cross the line between life and death, you get strong on your own.”
“Huh? Where am I crossing life and death?”
“With me.”
“Huh?”
That was when the Heaven-Night Wasteland Sovereign’s urgent voice rang out.
The harder it refused, the more I wanted to do it.
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
Ignoring the Heaven-Night Wasteland Sovereign’s shouting, Hwang Jinhyeok got ready to spar.
Hwang Jinhyeok lay sprawled on the floor like a rag and spoke to the Heaven-Night Wasteland Sovereign.
‘I didn’t think he’d be that strong. I thought with your power I could do something.’
‘That much? Then he’s the strongest in the Central Plains.’
Hwang Jinhyeok felt good hearing that.
‘And that unprecedented absolute... is my friend.’
‘I will. No matter what... I’ll become a friend Wigang can be proud of.’
At Hwang Jinhyeok’s sincerity, the Heaven-Night Wasteland Sovereign laughed.
‘Huh? You can laugh?’
‘Everything’s great, but your tone’s too stiff. When we rest, I’ll teach you properly.’
‘If we’d communicated like this from the start, I wouldn’t have been lonely... If I’d known I had another friend inside me.’
‘Why? You don’t want to be friends with a human?’
Hwang Jinhyeok smirked.
‘Take care of me from now on.’
The Cloud Ladders had already moved up to a higher grade, and only Hwang Jinhyeok and I remained in Room Seven.
In those two weeks, Hwang Jinhyeok learned to use the Heaven-Night Wasteland Sovereign’s power perfectly.
“Today’s the day.”
“Yeah. I’m going to win and move up with my own strength.”
“You have to fight the Cloud Ladder your father picked. You sure you’re fine?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Thanks to you, I got insanely strong.”
“You can get even stronger.”
“Definitely! I’ll get stronger and become a friend you can be proud of.”
“Don’t overdo it. No matter what, you’re my friend.”
At my words, Hwang Jinhyeok’s eyes shimmered like he was about to cry.
“If you cry, friendship cancelled.”
“O-of course!”
He turned his head fast, and I let out a small snort.
“Do well. You’ll win fair and square and move up.”
“Yeah! Thanks! You’re not moving up?”
“Huh? I am.”
“You sounded like you weren’t.”
“I’m not moving up through an ascension match.”
“Then... don’t tell me. The Seven-Star Ascension Tower?”
“Yeah. I’m curious.”
“Then I’ll use that too.”
“No. You stick to the plan for now. When you reach Rank Six, there’ll be four people I told you about. Tell them I sent you, and go up together. Tell them to be at Rank Three. And tell them this too: if I reach Rank Three and they aren’t there, they’d better be ready.”
“Am I included?”
“Yeah. You’re included too. If you’re not at Rank Three, you’d better be ready.”
“Huh—yeah! Got it. I’ll reach Rank Three for sure.”
“Oh. Starting at Rank Five, tell them to enter the Abyssal Star Refining Purgatory and train. If they train in there, they’ll definitely get stronger.”
“Then I’ll go in too.”
He said it with a grin.
I patted his shoulder.
“Come on. I’ll watch you fight.”
Knowing I’d be watching, power welled up inside him.
“Watch carefully. How cool I’m going to look going up.”
“Yeah.”
He came here when he was twenty-one.
Not by choice—by an order from above.
At first, he thought he’d be caring for trainees at the Martial Star Hall.
He was wrong.
His job was to lose to the kids that upper ranks sent down.
It was humiliation.
He hadn’t suffered and trained in martial arts for this.
At first he tried to run.
But if he left, the family that depended on him would starve.
So he had to grit his teeth and endure.
Later he learned most Cloud Ladders here were trapped in the same situation.
They were using people cornered into desperation—people who couldn’t leave.
He wanted to grind his teeth to dust, but he endured.
Someday, he believed, the great Heavenly Martial Emperor would abolish this rotten custom and save them.
But as time passed, even that belief weakened.
Some of them had already adapted to being Cloud Ladders, making money off it like it was nothing.
Mun Gi refused to take money at first.
Then, as if bad things came in a row, his mother suddenly fell ill.
He needed money.
So he had no choice but to take it.
Yeah.
If he could sacrifice and make his family happy—
That thought comforted him, just a little.
Still, today his mood was better than usual.
Hwang Jinhyeok.
Grandson of the Heavenly Martial Castle Armaments Officer Office Master.
When Mun Gi first received the order to promote him, he assumed the kid would be the same as the others.
But the Hwang Jinhyeok he’d seen in a short time was different.
He trained deep into the night, and he was more serious about martial arts than anyone.
Mun Gi liked that.
At least today, he’d be facing a real martial artist.
For the first time in a long while, it felt like a martial artist’s blood was flowing again.
Hwang Jinhyeok came up and gave a fist-and-palm salute.
“Rank Seven Hwang Jinhyeok challenges for ascension.”
“Rank Six Mun Gi accepts the challenge.”
They exchanged greetings and took their stances.
Alright.
Let’s see how good you are—
He was about to attack when—
WHOOSH—!
Hwang Jinhyeok kicked off the floor and rushed in fast.
“Gah!”
FWIP—.
He barely dodged the strike, but in that moment his cheek burned.
He widened the distance at once, and something dropped to the floor.
Red blood.
‘Danger. If I’d been a little slower...’
He laughed.
His opponent was coming in seriously.
Then this side had to go seriously too.
Mun Gi pulled up his internal energy.
How long had it been since he’d pulled it up like this—seriously?
Smiling, Mun Gi launched himself at Hwang Jinhyeok.
PWAANG—.