The cave was thick with smoke. Seo Mun-Hwarin and I, eyes brimming with tears (the smoke was quite acrid), had no choice but to step outside. Naturally, the grass that had been placed to conceal the entrance was cleared away.

"Senior Seo Mun-Hwarin, I did ask you to kidnap me, but if you’re going to take my life along with it, that’s a bit too much."

"O-Oh, this is a misunderstanding! I merely wished to warm your body because the cave floor was cold!"

Seo Mun-Hwarin frantically shook her head. Perhaps it was because she had dreamed of the past after so long, but seeing her white hair flutter left and right felt oddly nostalgic.

Had I been staring at her without realizing it? Seo Mun-Hwarin began shifting her feet restlessly, an anxious look on her face.

"Don't misunderstand, alright? This one did not even the slightest intention of harming you!"

"I know. More importantly, you don’t even bother hiding the fact that you refer to yourself as ‘This One’ anymore."

"There is no point in hiding it when you already know everything. But tell me, how did you know that I refer to myself as 'This One'?"

"I'm from Zhejiang Province. I heard plenty of rumors about the White-Haired Rakshasa when I was young."

However, it seemed that Seo Mun-Hwarin was taken aback by something else entirely.

"When you were young... It still feels like just a few years ago, but you're telling me that much time has passed already?"

"It’s been well over a decade. Also, I’m not even twenty yet."

Seo Mun-Hwarin stiffened. She looked like someone being forced to confront a truth she didn’t want to face.

Of course, her shock didn’t last long.

"Now that I think about it, there’s a lot I need to ask you."

She erased her previous flustered demeanor and looked up at me with a serious expression.

Her face, having undergone both Rebirth and Reverse Aging, looked youthful and adorable… but the overwhelming presence of a Flowering Stage martial artist and the atmosphere that allowed no deceit drastically altered her impression.

She wasn’t displaying hostility. It was simply that her sheer presence was overpowering.

Though the degree and nature varied, every Flowering Stage martial artist I had encountered so far possessed something inhuman, making it difficult to resist their aura.

I swallowed dryly without realizing it, and at last, Seo Mun-Hwarin’s small lips parted.

"Reaching the peak of the Peak Stage before even turning twenty is something that even I find astonishing. But it’s not entirely incomprehensible. Murim is vast, and geniuses are plentiful. And besides, one must be at least that strong to become the Tang Clan’s son-in-law."

She could say this because she herself had started her martial arts training late yet still reached the Flowering Stage.

"However, there is something I simply cannot understand. Until now, I thought it was just a feeling, but seeing it firsthand has confirmed it."

Seo Mun-Hwarin locked eyes with me, as if trying to peer into something beyond them.

"That familiar aura. Though altered, the footwork is undoubtedly from the Thunderclap Phantom Steps. And while it wasn’t directed at me, the bloodlust I sensed was strong enough to make me frown."

Seo Mun-Hwarin listed out the inconsistencies she had noticed one by one before taking a step closer.

She was now so close that, if I wanted, I could probably count the strands of her eyelashes. In this distance of fists rather than swords, she continued speaking.

"Cheon Hwi, what connection do you have with the Seo Mun Clan?"

I couldn’t say anything.

No, more accurately, I was deciding what to say.

Due to certain restrictions, I couldn’t reveal anything about my regression. So, I couldn't claim that I had learned to fight and mastered the Thunderclap Phantom Steps from Seo Mun-Hwarin herself.

But for Seo Mun-Hwarin, anything related to the Seo Mun Clan wasn’t a topic she could simply overlook. If she wasn’t satisfied with my explanation, she wouldn’t let it go easily.

After a brief deliberation, I slowly opened my mouth.

"I can’t explain in detail."

"What?"

Seo Mun-Hwarin’s brows twitched, revealing her displeasure.

If she were the type to let things slide, she wouldn’t be so fixated on this matter despite her suspicions.

In the end, I had no choice but to answer as honestly as possible, even if it wasn’t entirely convincing.

"I have my own circumstances, so I can’t explain everything. However, I can assure you that I did not learn these techniques through any dishonorable means, as you might fear."

Seo Mun-Hwarin narrowed her eyes, scrutinizing me. Though she was a head shorter than me and looking up from below, the pressure she exuded was immense.

As I met her gaze without avoiding it, she eventually let out a deep sigh.

Then, as if trying to maintain a threatening stance, she shifted her weight onto one hip and spoke again.

"Haa… This will never end at this rate. Fine, at least show me again, slowly this time. I’ll decide after seeing for myself."

"Should I just demonstrate as usual?"

"I want you to display it with full strength."

"Understood."

The reason behind Seo Mun-Hwarin’s reaction was simple—Seo Mun Clan’s martial arts had already fallen into the hands of unorthodox sects once before.

No matter how talented one might be, unless they had regressed like me, they would need time to grow stronger.

Seo Mun-Hwarin had also taken a long time to exact her revenge, and during that period, there was no way she would have left the famed martial arts of the Seo Mun Clan unattended.

The clan’s techniques had been scattered across various unorthodox sects and thoroughly analyzed.

To the point where, back then, there were those more proficient in Seo Mun Clan’s martial arts than Seo Mun-Hwarin herself, who had only learned the clan’s basic self-defense techniques as a child.

So now, anyone using Seo Mun Clan’s martial arts could only be one of two things—either a surviving member of the Seo Mun Clan or someone affiliated with the sects that had annihilated them.

That was likely what Seo Mun-Hwarin sought to determine.

Having modified the basic martial arts and reached a higher realm before reclaiming all of the Seo Mun Clan’s techniques to advance to the Flowering Stage, Seo Mun-Hwarin undoubtedly had a discerning eye for identifying where and how someone had learned these techniques.

Since we had already stepped outside the cave, I took some distance and assumed my stance.

I stepped forward with one foot and bent my knee slightly, my heel hovering just above the ground.

A stance designed to maximize the Thunderclap Phantom Steps’ greatest strength—explosive acceleration.

There were many footwork techniques that focused internal energy into the Yongcheon acupoint, but most served as supplementary movements to create unexpected shifts in motion.

After all, blindly bursting internal energy was simply wasteful, and if the recoil was strong enough to send one's body flying, one’s feet wouldn’t remain intact either.

However, the Thunderclap Phantom Steps skillfully regulated this, ensuring minimal strain on the body, maintaining a reasonable level of internal energy consumption, and utilizing recoil to enhance acceleration effectively.

Other footwork techniques dazzle the eyes with elaborate movements or use mystical steps to evade an opponent’s sword.

But Thunderclap Phantom Steps didn’t rely on such tricks.

It was simply a direct, linear movement, striking the moment doubt crept into the opponent’s mind.

Or so I had thought. But after seeing Seo Mun-Hwarin’s execution of it, my perspective changed.

Perhaps it was because my level had increased since my regression, allowing me to perceive things differently. Or maybe it was because I had learned the true meaning of this technique’s name from the Ghost Shadow Thief.

Seo Mun-Hwarin’s Thunderclap Phantom Steps weren’t just fast—they were an overwhelming, relentless assault. A footwork technique as dazzling as it was oppressive.

However, since she had asked me to demonstrate it the way I usually used it, I would do just that.

Though I appeared motionless, my stance was set to launch forward at any moment.

For me, the sword had always been my primary weapon. I gained the upper hand little by little with precise strikes, and when my opponent faltered, I ended it in a single decisive slash—beheading them or piercing their heart.

Seo Mun-Hwarin’s version, however, was more aggressive and reckless… rather than continuously pressuring the opponent, it was designed to stake everything on a single step.

"Sss… hoo…"

I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with scorching air.

At the same time, the faint natural energy I had absorbed blended into the flow of Raging Wave Death-Stealing Art, rushing through my meridians.

In an instant, my internal energy, tinged with the killing intent inherent in the Raging Wave Death-Stealing Art, surged toward my dantian.

And at the moment it reached the peak—

Kwaang!

With a thunderous boom, the energy exploded from the Yongcheon acupoint in my soles, tracing an intricate trajectory.

It felt as though an invisible force had propelled me forward. The world blurred into streaks of light at the edges of my vision, and a violent gust of wind battered against me from the front.

In that instant, my body shot toward Seo Mun-Hwarin at extreme speed.

—But.

"—."

Seo Mun-Hwarin merely waved her hand lightly toward my incoming form.

The moment her small hand made contact with my shoulder, my body spun midair.

In the blink of an eye, I had come to a halt—standing right next to her.

Just as I could redirect throwing daggers mid-flight by entwining them with my sword technique, Seo Mun-Hwarin had redirected my momentum, stopping me with a controlled rotation.

Originally, I had intended to pass right by her.

I blinked rapidly, shaking off the brief dizziness.

Meanwhile, Seo Mun-Hwarin, who had maintained a serious expression since the topic of footwork had been brought up, suddenly relaxed.

"The way your aggression has grown to match the brief burst of killing intent you just showed… but there are no traces of vengeance in it. In fact, it feels quite familiar."

"Is that so?"

Well, of course it did—Seo Mun-Hwarin had personally modified and passed down this technique.

Not that I could tell her that.

So, I simply nodded without much reaction.

"More than anything, I don't get the sense that you’re in the middle of adapting the technique to suit yourself. It feels as if a highly skilled martial artist had already refined it for a single person from the very beginning. Am I right?"

"More or less."

"Then that’s a relief. That means another survivor of the Seo Mun Clan exists aside from me. Just the fact that they are alive is something to be grateful for."

Seo Mun-Hwarin’s voice softened slightly, and she looked at me expectantly.

"May I ask who it is? I might even know them."

"That would be difficult. As I said before, I have my own circumstances."

"...I see."

Seo Mun-Hwarin nodded, looking a little disappointed.

But that disappointment quickly transformed into a mischievous smile.

"If you refuse to tell me about your master, so be it. But regardless, the fact remains that you have learned the Seo Mun Clan’s martial arts. And I am the rightful heir of the Seo Mun Clan, am I not?"

"That is true… but what are you getting at?"

Experience had taught me that whenever she smiled like that, trouble was about to follow.

Feeling a learned sense of unease, I involuntarily shivered.

Seeing this, Seo Mun-Hwarin placed her hands on her hips with a confident expression.

Then, puffing out her chest—which, due to her Reverse Aging, wasn’t all that imposing—she proudly declared:

"Then, why don’t you try calling me ‘Mother’?"

???

...Shouldn't ‘Clan Leader’ come first in this situation?!