The old man appeared in front of them. Snehwal could not recognize him. But Lily stood right in front, very close.
"Master Jins… you…" she said softly.
"How are you here? You should be in the east," Lily said, expressing surprise.
Jins smiled lovingly and said, "Oh my dear child, how could I leave you alone?"
"I had made a promise to someone…"
Lily looked at Master Jins and said,
"Master, please listen to me. Train him."
Her hand slowly reached toward Snehwal, as if she was pushing him forward.
Snehwal immediately jumped back. His eyes showed both fear and protest.
"No! Why? What's wrong with you teaching me? Why don't you train me?"
Lily's face tightened. Her voice carried both firmness and tiredness.
"No… absolutely not! Not anymore. You need to understand."
Master Jins let out a cold sigh. His deep eyes moved from one to the other.
"The boy is right. After all, he is your host. You should be the one to teach him."
Lily quickly shook her head. Her eyes sparkled with urgency.
"Master, you don't understand. In three months, the Divine Water will appear at the Mehan Mountain. Everyone will be there. You must push him to reach the third stage by then—no matter what."
Jins frowned, his voice growing heavy.
"The third stage…? In only three months? That's impossible."
Lily lowered her gaze, but her words came out deeper and more determined.
"Master… he learns very fast. But he also breaks just as fast."
Without a word, Jins stepped forward and placed his hand on Snehwal's shoulder.
It was no ordinary touch—Snehwal felt as if an entire mountain had been set upon him. His body bent under the weight, his breath grew heavy.
Suddenly, Jins's seriousness turned into a faint laugh.
"Yes, yes. Alright, child. From today, I will grind you down. You will have to give your days and nights to this."
At these words, Snehwal's whole body began to tremble. It was as if he could already feel the torture of the days to come.
Master Jins grabbed Snehwal by the neck without saying a word and pulled him hard into the forest.
Snehwal struggled, his face turning red with fear. He kept shouting,
"Lily! Lily… save me! You are not good at all!"
But his voice was lost in the thick silence of the forest.
After some distance, Snehwal stopped moving his legs. His body was stiff with fear and tiredness.
Still, Master Jins did not care—he kept dragging him forward on the ground.
At last, he threw Snehwal into an open field.
In front of him stood a huge Level Two Beast. Its red eyes glowed like burning fire in the dark.
Jins's heavy voice echoed—
"Show me your power. I want to see your real courage.
Come on, show me how good you are."
Snehwal stood up, shaking. His heart was beating fast, but he knew there was no way back now.
The beast roared, shaking the ground. The roar was so strong that the branches around rattled.
Just before the beast attacked, a firm light shone in Snehwal's eyes.
He tightened his right hand into a fist, and a faint green energy covered it.
In a flash, he put all his strength into one punch.
The beast could not even see the speed. In the next moment, it was thrown far away and fell to the ground, unconscious.
Master Jins's eyes widened in shock. Words of disbelief slipped from his mouth—
"What… what was that? Just one punch?"
Lily sat far away on a stone. Worry was clear on her face, as if every wound Snehwal received was also cutting through her own heart.
Softly, she spoke to herself—
"Forgive me, Snehwal… I cannot train you.
Even if I want to, I cannot be harsh."
She looked at her hands with disgust and whispered—
"I should not have slapped you… please truly forgive me."
Her eyes filled with a light sadness. After a pause, she murmured again—
"But I was helpless… without showing harshness, how would you understand?
If I had not been strict, you would never have worked hard."
Her face carried a strange mix of feelings—
a little happiness that Snehwal had shown courage,
and deep worry that he was being pushed onto a path filled only with pain.
Snehwal looked at Master Jins and said,
"I want to learn how to shoot arrows."
Saying this, he touched his locket. In a moment, a bow appeared from it—
the same bow that once belonged to Laila.
Master Jins's eyes stayed fixed on the bow. His face grew serious,
as if he had fallen into some old memory.
After a short silence, he nodded at Snehwal and said—
"Alright then. You will learn to aim with the arrow.
This will be your first step."
But...