Juwon steadied himself, his breath controlled despite the lingering fire in his veins.

His body felt foreign, yet something deep within had anchored him in a way he couldn't explain.

The power inside him surged, unfamiliar but eerily natural. He had changed, and he knew it.

Then, a shadow moved near the entrance.

From the dim light of the cavern, a figure emerged

—Liang Rui.

She descended with calculated grace, her golden eyes gleaming with unreadable intent.

There was no hesitation in her steps, no surprise in her expression. She had been here, waiting.

"You've done well for a riff-raff," she said smoothly. "Now step aside from the pillar."

Juwon barely reacted, his gaze flickering toward her before settling back on the glowing structure.

His voice remained calm, unshaken. "So, you were here all along?"

Liang Rui's expression darkened. "Move."

Juwon tilted his head slightly.

"You hid behind me, waiting for me to spring the traps… all so you could pass safely?"

A flicker of irritation crossed her face.

"We would have no use for someone like you if it weren't for your intellect."

The air grew heavy.

A suffocating pressure coiled around the space between them as red Qi swirled around her hands.

Juwon felt nothing.

His heart remained steady, his mind still.

Even as her killing intent seeped into the cavern, he found himself watching, observing—not fearing.

"What does this pillar mean to you?" he asked evenly.

Liang Rui exhaled, her voice laced with growing impatience.

"None of your concern."

She took a step forward.

"You were never meant to understand. We didn't bring you here to pry into matters beyond your control."

Juwon's fingers absently grazed the pendant hanging from his neck.

"And yet, here I am."

A smirk played on her lips.

"There are forces in this world you should never mess with."

Then suddenly, for the first time, Juwon felt it.

A force deep in his chest—reverence. The pillar called to him.

Liang Rui's voice sliced through the moment.

"Do you know how you and your scholar comrades were supposed to die?"

Her smirk deepened, a cruel amusement flickering in her golden eyes. "Hei Long Trading Company was always going to 'take care' of you all the moment we obtained the lost tome."

She tilted her head. "Five million per head? That wasn't for you—it was for your families, after you all met a tragic 'accident.'"

Juwon's breath hitched for the briefest moment, but he masked it quickly.

Liang Rui's gaze sharpened, catching the flicker of emotion. "I see you're starting to understand."

Juwon's mind flickered.

An image—Dr. Elias Harding, his friend, an old man of short stature with barely any white hair left, but a mustache that somehow made him look wise.

He was supposed to die?

Liang Rui took another step forward.

"The moment that door opened, the tunnels started collapsing." Her gaze sharpened. "That wasn't an accident. Zhang Sanfeng's tomb was built to bury all intruders the moment it was disturbed."

She crossed her arms. "Though, I must admit, Hei Long Trading Company didn't mind that outcome either. One way or another, none of you were ever supposed to leave this place alive."
Juwon's breath slowed.

The tremors, the dust… it was never a coincidence.

They were going to bury us here.

She watched his realization settle in. "Looks like you figured it out."

Juwon's fingers curled into a fist. If that was true, then his comrades were never meant to leave this mountain alive.

"You knew," he said evenly.
Liang Rui shrugged. "I had my suspicions."
"And yet, you never warned them?"
She exhaled, her expression unreadable. "I don't owe them anything."

Juwon's jaw tightened. She really believed that.

"What really caught my attention,"

she continued, tilting her head, "is why you survived."

She had been watching him, waiting to see what changed him.

And now that she knew he had survived the impossible, she wanted whatever had caused it.

Juwon exhaled, glancing at the pendant. A slow smirk curled his lips. "And here I thought this thing was cursed."

His gaze flickered back to her, sharp and unyielding. "Why should I give you anything?"

Liang Rui’ expression changed. She moved fast.

Juwon's instincts screamed. He barely twisted in time as a blurred strike shot past his ribs, missing by inches.

She was fast. Too fast.

He could only dodge, his body reacting on instinct, slipping through the gaps in her offense.

She was faster, but he was sharper.

"Not bad for someone who just crawled out of death," Liang Rui murmured.

Juwon said nothing. His body was adapting, but he still wasn't on her level.

Her Qi flared violently, red tendrils swirling in her palm.

"Let's see you dodge this—Demon Fang Heaven Shattering Palm!"

She launched forward, her palm a crimson blur, aimed straight at Juwon's heart.

Juwon twisted, his footwork precise, but the moment her attack should have hit him…

The Qi was absorbed.
Not by him. By the pillar.

Liang Rui's expression twisted in shock. "What—"

The entire chamber trembled. The inscriptions on the pillar flared, cracks forming along its length.

Juwon's calm shattered. "Damn it, I haven't even deciphered it yet!"

Liang Rui took a step back, confusion flickering across her face. "This… shouldn't be happening."

Then—BOOM.

A colossal pillar of Qi erupted from the stone, tearing through the cave ceiling, splitting the clouds above.

A force unlike anything Juwon had ever felt.

The shockwave knocked Liang Rui backward, slamming her into the cavern wall. She went still.

But Juwon?
He stood untouched.

His fingers curled into a fist. The energy… recognized him.