11.The Reappearance of the Martial Arts Demon’s Expert, Revealing the Truth

The three of them were passing through a deep mountain path.

Before they knew it, night had fallen, and the moonlight shone through the branches of the trees.

At that moment—

Shhh!

A sharp sword energy cut through the air, approaching them.

"Be careful!"

Wi-yeon reacted quickly, drawing his sword.

Jin also instinctively drew his sword.

However,

Before either of them could react,

Iseo-eun unsheathed her sword and accurately blocked the incoming sword energy.

Clang!

The air trembled, and the forest shook violently.

Then,

From the darkness, a figure stepped forward.

"…It's been a while."

A man dressed in black.

He was the same expert from the Demon Sect they had encountered earlier.

The man smirked as he looked at her.

"Just as I expected."

His gaze sharpened.

"Your swordsmanship has changed."

He slowly drew his sword and said,

"When I first saw you, there was definitely a trace of the Demon Sect in your style."

He casually twirled his sword as he glared at her.

"But now… it's like something between the orthodox sect and the evil sect."

He raised the corners of his mouth.

"Are you intentionally hiding it?"

At that moment,

Jin and Wi-yeon simultaneously turned their gaze to Iseo-eun.

However,

Iseo-eun calmly raised her sword and said,

"…What are you trying to say?"

The Demon Sect expert lifted his sword.

"Let's find out for ourselves."

And once again, their swords clashed.

The battle was intense.

Iseo-eun no longer used the same swordsmanship as before.

She was applying a new sword technique, the flow she had studied from the sword marks.

The Demon Sect expert quickly noticed this.

'...This is not the Demon Sect's swordsmanship.'

In that instant,

He tried a surprise attack.

"Tch!"

Iseo-eun twisted her body to evade, but

The tip of his sword grazed her, tearing her sleeve.

The thin fabric fluttered in the wind,

Revealing her skin and the curve of her body.

For a moment,

The Demon Sect expert's pupils wavered.

Jin and Wi-yeon reflexively glanced at her.

However,

Iseo-eun nonchalantly raised her sword again.

Her expression and demeanor remained unchanged.

She simply asked,

"…Are you going to continue?"

Her gaze was still cold.

Seeing this,

The Demon Sect expert became more convinced.

'…This person is definitely from the Demon Sect.'

He muttered as he observed her reaction.

"Any ordinary woman would have been startled."

He tilted his head slightly.

"But you're unfazed. And you don't even show any signs of being flustered."

He looked at her sharply.

"This is… the attitude only someone raised in the Demon Sect can show."

At that moment,

Jin and Wi-yeon's faces stiffened.

The Demon Sect expert smiled and sheathed his sword.

"…Now I'm sure."

He spoke briefly.

"I will uncover your true identity."

He turned his body, seemingly ending the fight.

However, before leaving, he spoke one last time.

"You will be seeing me again, Iseo-eun..."

He smirked meaningfully and added,

"'Iseo-eun'."

And with that,

He disappeared into the darkness.

After the enemy left,

Jin and Wi-yeon looked at her.

However,

Iseo-eun, without saying a word, slowly covered her torn sleeve.

Wi-yeon spoke first.

"…Are you okay?"

She answered shortly.

"Mm."

However,

Jin, looking at her quietly, spoke softly.

"Soon, the Demon Sect will start looking for you."

His gaze was sharp.

"This could be a threat of a whole new level."

She didn't respond.

But,

She too knew.

That now, the Demon Sect would begin their hunt for her in earnest.

Meanwhile,

The Demon Sect expert stood alone in the darkness.

He smiled faintly and murmured,

"…I'll have to investigate the old records."

He searched through his memories.

An individual who had disappeared from within the Demon Sect in the past,

And,

The daughter of the third-ranking member of the Demon Sect.

He was slowly piecing the connections together.

"If that child is still alive…"

He whispered with a smile.

"…This will be interesting."

At that moment,

A piece of paper in his hand glowed under the moonlight.

It was part of the Demon Sect's old records.

And within it, one name was written.

'Iseo-eun (李昭恩)'

The Power of a Giant Sect, and the Growing Threat

The three of them were wandering through the Wulin, walking down another path.

Now, none of them could remain ordinary wanderers any longer. This fact was something all three instinctively felt.

However,

The righteous sect still did not know her true identity.

Iseo-eun knew that she had altered her swordsmanship, had come into contact with the Demon Sect, and was now attracting the attention of the righteous sect as well.

However, Jin and Wi-yeon were still uncertain.

Jin had a strong desire to protect her, but he was still confused.

'I want to protect her... but is this just camaraderie?'

'I can no longer deny that she's a woman, so why do I keep feeling more and more concerned about her?'

Wi-yeon, while still acting nonchalantly, was also paying attention to her.

'Iseo-eun wants to walk her own path, but should I just watch over her?'

'Jin is too emotionally swayed. I'll help her only when she wants it.'

Now, their relationship had grown beyond simple camaraderie, and they began to care more deeply for each other.

But,

Unbeknownst to them,

The attention on her was steadily growing.

The Demon Sect had fully realized her existence.

The information that 'she is alive' had spread within the Demon Sect, and they had begun making moves to bring her back to the sect.

"She is not just a wandering warrior. She might be someone who could become a successor in the Demon Sect."

However, the righteous martial artists who had seen her swordsmanship in the previous village began to take an interest in her as well.

"There's a wandering warrior using strange swordsmanship."

"An odd flow of swordplay, neither from the orthodox nor the evil sect... Could this be a trace of the Demon Sect?"

Although there was no solid evidence, her presence was becoming more widely known throughout the Wulin.

And,

She was becoming more and more vulnerable.

Jin and Wi-yeon had now realized that she was becoming more and more dangerous.

After much thought, they decided to request help from their respective sects.

"Please help. Our companion is being threatened."

Inside the Volcano Sect, the conflicts among the righteous sects were intensifying, and there were reactions like, "We must not act recklessly for now," but with Jin's strong plea, some members of the Volcano Sect decided to help.

Wi-yeon, although usually lighthearted, knew his sect was powerful.

"I will ask for help so that the Kunlun Sect can protect her directly."

He too requested help from his sect's martial artists, and quietly, those who would monitor and protect her began to gather.

Now,

Iseo-eun, unknowingly, was being protected by the sects.

However,

Could that really protect her?

The actions of Jin and Wi-yeon had further clarified that they thought about her in different ways.

Jin viewed her as a woman and instinctively wanted to protect her from danger.

However, he didn't understand that she might not want that protection.

Wi-yeon was trying to accept her as she was.

He wanted to protect her but also respected her wish to act according to her own desires.

Yet, he couldn't deny that he was concerned about her.

And,

Iseo-eun began to become more aware of their actions.

'Why does Jin try so hard to protect me?'

'Wi-yeon acts nonchalant, but isn't he still concerned about me?'

They were both concerned about each other, but there was still no clear resolution of their emotions.

However,

This relationship was becoming more deeply intertwined.

And,

The Demon Sect had finally initiated their first move to reclaim her.

One of the Demon Sect's experts set off to find her directly.

They didn't know where she was yet, but they remembered her swordsmanship and began to trace the traces she had left.

Now,

The threat surrounding her was becoming more and more real.