Sunlight filtered through the upper branches as Baek Sun-Ho stood shirtless in the clearing, his muscles taut and glistening with sweat. The morning mist clung to his skin, dispersing with every motion of his body.
Fssh...
A ripple of fire danced along his arm, coiling down to his fingertips in the shape of a snake before bursting upward in a spiral.
His steps were silent. Each movement flowed like smoke—graceful, measured, deadly.
> Left palm outward. Right twist. Lock the hip.
He launched into the final form of a martial sequence recovered from a half-remembered memory. A flurry of fire erupted around his feet, surged upward, and collapsed inward into a lotus of flame.
Fwooom!
Then silence.
---
The Feeling of Near Breakthrough
He sat down, panting slightly, flames extinguished. The Qi in his body churned like a volcano's heartbeat—steady, massive, just shy of eruption.
> I'm close. Just a thread away from the end of the Inner Core.
The techniques of his past life were returning with terrifying clarity. They didn't just amplify his strength—they shaped his entire understanding of flow, energy, and timing.
And yet… he couldn't afford to show it.
---
The Art of Hiding Strength
Later that afternoon, Sun-Ho sat cross-legged while So-Ri watched from the edge of the stream.
"Again," she said firmly.
Sun-Ho exhaled.
Hmph.
He cycled his Qi through the meridians, suppressing the natural aura that flared around his body. The goal was to dim the light of his inner fire—make it appear no stronger than an average Inner Core cultivator.
"I can still feel it," So-Ri said. "You're like a lantern trying to pretend it's a candle."
Sun-Ho grimaced. "Give me some credit. A dim lantern, maybe?"
She rolled her eyes. "At best."
They repeated the concealment cycle ten more times until, finally, the invisible "heat" of his aura collapsed into a subtle, calm pulse.
She nodded.
"Now you seem weak. Congratulations."
He smirked. "You really know how to build a man's confidence."
---
Quiet Moments
As the sun dipped into late afternoon, they sat side by side near the stream, watching koi fish skim through the shallows.
"I've never seen someone use fire that way," So-Ri said softly. "It's usually just destruction. Rage. Heat. But you… it's like yours listens."
Sun-Ho plucked a small stone and skipped it across the water.
Plip. Plip. Plop.
"It doesn't listen. It remembers."
"Remembers what?"
"…Everything I lost."
She looked at him, brow furrowed.
He turned to her slowly, expression unreadable. "So-Ri… if I ever lose myself to it… would you stop me?"
"I already said I would."
"Even if I resist?"
She didn't flinch.
"Especially then."
He nodded. His chest felt warm in a way unrelated to fire.
She reached over and brushed a fleck of soot from his cheek.
"Good," she said. "Because I like the version of you I see now."
---
Their Final Night Alone
That evening, they shared a simple dinner beneath the stars—dried meat, mountain vegetables, and rice steamed over a tiny flame Sun-Ho summoned from his fingertip.
They didn't speak much.
But as the firelight flickered between them, their hands brushed once… then again.
And didn't pull away.
---
Footsteps in the Mist
Just before dawn, a rustling echoed from the mountain trail.
Scrrrrch... Crunch.
Sun-Ho rose, hand to his hilt, So-Ri mirroring him.
From the trees emerged Master Jang Cheol-Oh, yawning and dragging his heels like a bored traveler.
Behind him walked a boy.
No older than twelve.
He was thin but wiry, clothed in simple grey robes, eyes downcast beneath messy black hair. He said nothing. Carried nothing.
Sun-Ho blinked. His instincts twitched.
That boy had power.
Hidden. Coiled. Pressed tight like a blade inside a scabbard—but the moment it drew, it would cut.
Jang Cheol-Oh grinned.
"Miss me?"
Sun-Ho narrowed his eyes. "Who's the kid?"
The boy glanced up at him for a heartbeat.
And for that one second—Sun-Ho felt like he was being weighed by a monster.
Wmmmm...
Then the boy looked away, and the pressure vanished.
So-Ri whispered, "...What is he?"
Jang Cheol-Oh scratched his head and said with a lazy grin:
"Don't know yet. But he's yours now."
---
[End of Chapter 15]