Change – 2
The matter of Seonu Jin and Hae Cheong-yeon's squad transfers couldn't be decided on the spot.
It was too sudden and weighty a matter to resolve so easily.
Seol Pung requested that the decision be delayed at least until after the squad leaders completed their Iron Ogre search, giving the two of them some time.
Then he immediately returned to headquarters to prepare for the search.
After Seol Pung left, silence hung heavy in Squad Thirteen's waiting room.
No one wanted to see the two of them transferred to other squads, but since there was no real justification to oppose it, no one could bring themselves to speak.
After a while, Bi Sa-yeong was the first to break the silence with a dry quip.
"Tch, see? This is why you can't be too outstanding. Stick out too much and you're bound to get cut down. Who told you to go and be so damn amazing, huh?"
It was a playful complaint, filled with regret.
And at that, faint smiles finally appeared on the members' lips.
Cheon Ju-eun also smiled ruefully and chimed in.
"He's right. Why did the two of you have to be so outstanding that now we can't even stay together? It's really unfair."
Seonu Jin gave a wry chuckle and answered,
"This is why I tried to keep my brilliance hidden from the world. But alas, I've been exposed. Ah, is this why the truly supreme figures of the world are doomed to solitude?"
Bi Sa-yeong gave him a look of pure exasperation.
"Oh, shut the hell up."
His retort to Seonu Jin's banter made the others laugh.
At that moment, Bae Jong-gwan, who had been thinking more seriously, turned to Cheon Ju-eun and said,
"Lady Cheon, I suppose I'll have to ease up on my training from now on."
Hearing that, both Seonu Jin and Bi Sa-yeong instantly shut their eyes tight.
It was obvious what he meant—that if he didn't become too outstanding, maybe he could stay by her side longer.
They needed to stop him before the mood got weird.
"Jong-gwan, that's—"
But before Seonu Jin could intervene, Cheon Ju-eun beamed and cut in,
"Oh my, but I intend to train even harder! Isn't it wonderful to be recognized as talented enough to be considered for squad leadership? I'd like it if Young Master Bae became like that too."
Her words left Bae Jong-gwan looking utterly crushed, sinking back into deep thought.
Everyone else, however, gave Lady Cheon a thumbs-up.
At that point, Na Seo-yu asked Seonu Jin in a wistful tone,
"Then… Young Master Seonu, have you made your decision?"
Seonu Jin looked into her eyes for a moment, then answered slowly.
"I'm not sure yet. But as the Squad Leader said, compared to being transferred to another Flying Dragon Division entirely, staying in Squad Thirteen—even if in another squad—seems the better choice. Still, I'd like to think about it a bit more."
His words made everyone nod silently.
Only Hae Cheong-yeon kept her gaze fixed on Seonu Jin without a word.
***
After leaving the waiting room, Seonu Jin headed straight for Squad Seven's shared storage.
Though his heart was unsettled, he had more immediate priorities.
Standing in front of the elixir vault, he rubbed his palms together and murmured,
"Well then, squad transfer is squad transfer… but now it's finally time to raise my cultivation a bit, isn't it?"
Through this latest mission, Seonu Jin had managed to break past the wall of seventy years of internal energy.
Barely two or three months after stepping into the peak realm, he had already advanced another stage.
All thanks to Mukrang's teachings.
For him, this rapid growth was both shocking and deeply meaningful.
In his past life, he had already reached the highest levels of first-rate mastery. He had been just shy of the peak realm back then.
So reaching the peak realm in this life hadn't been too surprising.
But breaking through beyond that was something else entirely.
This was an achievement born purely in his current life.
Until now, his meteoric progress had always leaned on past-life memories. But now he had proven he could still grow at tremendous speed without them.
If I can maintain this pace, even to some degree…
Then perhaps, within five years, surpassing the wall of transcendence might not be impossible.
That would make the plan to strike offensively against the Blood Cult a realistic prospect.
And besides, he had Mukrang.
If he could only unlock the secret of the Mukrang Sword…
Perhaps, like Geomje Ban Jung-yang—the current greatest under heaven—he might even inherit the legacy of the Sword God.
It felt as though a bright light of hope was shining just ahead.
That was when he sensed another presence entering the storage.
He turned toward the door—
And saw that the one walking in was none other than Hae Cheong-yeon.
"Lady Cheong Yeon?"
He greeted her warmly, and she, apparently already aware he was here, spoke casually.
"Elixirs, is it? I wondered, and I see I was right—you've broken past the seventy-year wall, haven't you?"
At her words, Seonu Jin gave an embarrassed laugh and scratched his head.
As expected, her eyes couldn't be deceived.
"Yes. I thought I'd surprise everyone during sparring, but it seems I was already found out."
She simply nodded without a word.
Her expression was unreadable, hidden once again behind her lowered bangs.
Seonu Jin felt a pang of regret at being unable to see her beautiful face clearly, and so he asked,
"But Lady Cheong Yeon, what brings you here?"
She answered just as casually,
"I've broken through too."
That answer left Seonu Jin stunned.
"…What?"
He blinked, and she repeated herself.
"I also surpassed the seventy-year wall during this mission. I came to take some elixirs."
"..."
Seonu Jin stared at her blankly, his head ringing.
From what he knew, she had reached the peak realm not long after he had.
And already she had broken the next wall?
He had managed it only thanks to the fortuitous encounter with Mukrang. But her—without any such stroke of fortune?
He stammered in shock.
"L-Lady… did you obtain some kind of opportunity?"
But she simply shook her head.
"No. I was just training, and it happened."
Just training, and she broke through the seventy-year wall.
Seonu Jin suddenly felt the glow of his earlier triumph fade.
Wait… was the seventy-year wall something anyone could just break like that?
Had he been moved by something trivial, something anyone could do?
But no—that couldn't be.
Most peak experts spent their entire lives stuck at the early peak, unable to pass that wall.
Then what was she?
He suddenly recalled Sword Saint Hae Un-baek's words, when the old man had spoken like a doting fool about her.
He had sworn he had never seen a girl so beautiful, wise, and talented in all his life.
At the time, Seonu Jin had dismissed it as the boastful love of a father blinded by affection.
But maybe… it had been the plain, objective truth.
Swallowing hard, Seonu Jin forced himself to regain composure.
"Congratulations, my lady. That is astonishingly rapid progress."
She smiled faintly and replied,
"I thought so too, but seeing Young Master Seonu… it seems not necessarily."
The two of them gathered the elixirs they needed and stepped back out together.
Then, Hae Cheong-yeon suddenly called out to him.
"Young Master Seonu."
"Yes?"
She gazed at him quietly for a moment, then asked at last,
"Will you accept Squad Leader Tang's offer?"
At that, Seonu Jin gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"I'm not sure. Compared to being transferred to another Flying Dragon Division, it does seem the better choice… but still, I hesitate."
Then Hae Cheong-yeon asked again—
"Because of… Sister Seo-yu?"
At the mention of Na Seo-yu's name from her lips, Seonu Jin couldn't help but be shocked.
She had even figured that much out.
But soon he accepted it.
If it's Cheong-yeon, of course she might already know, he thought.
She could already read him inside and out.
Scratching his head awkwardly, he answered with a sheepish laugh.
"Ah, so you knew even that, huh? That's a bit embarrassing… Well, yes. I don't want to be separated from Squad Leader Seol Pung or the other squadmates either, but that's really the biggest reason."
Hae Cheong-yeon gazed quietly at Seonu Jin, who was smiling innocently.
In that moment, she was grateful that she had let her bangs fall again.
At least he couldn't see the look in her eyes.
Because her chest hurt so terribly.
She barely held herself back from clutching at the ache pounding in her heart. Instead, she suddenly asked again:
"What if… you just confessed?"
Seonu Jin's eyes widened in alarm.
"W-what?! C-con…fess?!"
Confess?
In two lifetimes, he had never once courted a woman. It was a word utterly beyond his imagination.
Just hearing those two syllables—
Just picturing that moment—
It made his whole body freeze.
He was more terrified than he had ever been standing before So Myeon-magoon Sa Won-yang.
Watching his flustered state, Hae Cheong-yeon bit her lip.
That guileless look, so unlike the wise and courageous Seonu Jin who always stood firm no matter the crisis, only made her heart ache more.
And so, without realizing it, she spoke again.
"If it's not something you intend to keep locked away forever, shouldn't you confess? If you really are transferred to another squad, wouldn't it be better to know Sister Seo-yu's heart before then?"
As Seonu Jin stood frozen in shock, Hae Cheong-yeon abruptly turned away and hurried off.
She felt like the most cowardly wretch alive.
Because she knew Na Seo-yu would never accept his confession. And yet she had urged him to do it anyway—just to bring his feelings to an end.
Pathetic.
She could hardly believe her own loathsome self.
She had thought she would never stoop this low.
From childhood, Hae Cheong-yeon had always been fascinated by things others ignored, always excelling beyond her peers.
She had come to believe she was different.
That she would never live like others did.
That she would never surrender herself to emotion over reason.
But no—she had.
After walking for a long while until Seonu Jin was no longer in sight, Hae Cheong-yeon finally collapsed to the ground.
Her strength was utterly gone.
Clutching her throbbing chest, she muttered,
"Pathetic. How utterly pathetic, Hae Cheong-yeon."
How had it come to this?
When had it begun…?
She recalled the first time she felt drawn to Seonu Jin.
At first, she had thought it was just curiosity.
Like always, just a fleeting interest that would soon fade.
Even when she realized her feelings had deepened as she watched him from nearby, she convinced herself it was only an illusion born of recognizing that she admired him.
Something shallow, easily dismissed if she willed it.
But during this mission, when she feared he might have died—Hae Cheong-yeon had been forced to admit the truth.
That just imagining his death left her unable to breathe.
That her feelings had become so deep they were beyond her control.
That she had begun to act in the very ways she had always despised in others.
It was… unbearable.
***
"Fuuuuuh…"
Opening his half-closed eyes, he rose slowly to his feet.
A vigor unlike any he had ever known now coursed through his body.
It was the strength of eighty full years of internal energy.
Barely seven months ago, he had entered the frontlines as a second-rate with a pig-like body. Now, he stood nearly the equal of Han Gyo-seong, Squad One's leader, known even within Cheongseong Sect as a genius.
That meant he was the strongest among the Flying Dragon Thirteen—aside from Squad Leader Seol Pung.
It was an inspiring achievement.
He cracked his neck and strode to the center of the training grounds.
"Well then… time to feel what eighty years of internal energy can do."
Drawing his sword, he flowed through the forms of the Thirteen Seonu Swords and the Four Illusion Sword Technique, using the movements to check his condition.
His body moved powerfully yet fluidly, a freedom he had never felt before.
The sharp new clarity of his senses brought a smile of sheer joy to his lips.
But even as satisfaction swelled, a long sigh escaped him.
Because Hae Cheong-yeon's words echoed back in his mind.
"If it's not something you intend to keep locked away forever, shouldn't you confess? If you're transferred to another squad, wouldn't it be better to know Sister Seo-yu's heart before then?"
"Mmm…"
The more he thought about it, the more it seemed right.
If he didn't intend to carry it forever, then someday he had to confess.
And if he really was transferred, he'd see her less often. This might be his last chance.
So yes—confessing now was the right thing to do.
The problem was… he had no confidence.
Fear gnawed at him.
Would Lady Na see me as someone worthy?
He forced himself to take stock with cool honesty.
And surprisingly, it didn't look so bad.
He had slimmed down. These days, people often called him handsome.
Several young ladies had already confessed feelings to him.
In martial skill, he now stood as a true peak expert.
He had earned the nickname Flying Black Wolf, and other squads were already seeking him as a vice leader or even squad leader.
The more he thought about it, the more confidence welled up inside. His eighty years of internal energy in his dantian felt like confidence itself.
Clenching his fist, he muttered,
"Yes. I can do this. I've become a man who can stand proudly before Lady Na and confess my heart!"
He turned his gaze toward the lodgings where she stayed.
Eighty years of cultivation filled him to the brim today.
It seemed… this day was destined to be the day he confessed to her.
READ MORE CHAPTERS HERE : https://payhip.com/Beastnovels
OR ON KOFI: https://ko-fi.com/ripper1920
USE DISCOUNT COUPON : flat25