CFZ

The intense fight came to an unexpectedly anticlimactic end—with the entire unit as witnesses.
No one saw it coming.

Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-ah lay collapsed on the ground.
And standing between them—was Tang So-yeol.
I stared at her beaming smile and found myself speechless.

‘Seriously?’
A flood of thoughts ran through my mind.
How was I supposed to process this?

Tang So-yeol had appeared out of nowhere and knocked both of them out cold.
And the most important detail?
‘I didn’t even sense her.’

Even with how chaotic the fight had been, I hadn’t noticed her moving in to interrupt it.
Sure, the air had been saturated with Qi, and my perception had been dulled—but it was still shocking.
It meant Tang So-yeol had honed her ability to conceal her presence to a frightening degree—

And that she had been waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
‘She slipped past my senses and into their blind spot…’
It wasn’t just luck.

She had deliberately erased her presence, slowly creeping closer without alerting anyone.
Not even me.
And when the timing was right—

‘She pulled it off.’
The fight ended just as she had planned.
“Hah.”
I couldn’t stop myself from exhaling in awe.

‘She’s good. Really good.’
Had she planned this from the start? Or had she improvised during the fight?
Either way—

Tang So-yeol played to her strengths and succeeded.
‘No one else here even noticed.’
If I had missed it, then the others definitely hadn’t seen it coming.

Tang So-yeol had proven herself.
“Hahaha…”
I let out a small laugh.

Everyone turned to stare at me.
Feeling a bit awkward under their gaze, I cleared my throat and said—
“…Looks like we’ve settled on our first deputy commander. Any objections?”

“...”
“...”
“If you’ve got complaints, speak now.”

Silence.
Of course.
No one dared to challenge what had just happened.

They weren’t weaklings—they could tell.
‘That wasn’t just luck.’
What Tang So-yeol had done was calculated.

Anyone with decent skills could recognize that.
‘The impression she left is more than enough.’
Who else could have done what she did?

Stepping directly into a storm of sword auras and lightning Qi—and ending the fight in one move?
‘I could’ve done it.’
But no one else here could.

And Tang So-yeol had proven her value.
Of course, there might still be complaints.
What Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-ah had shown during their fight was on an entirely different level.

If anyone objected, I’d respect that.
But in that case—
‘Tang So-yeol can just settle it with another fight.’

Let her prove herself again—just like she did now.
“Since no one seems to object, Tang So-yeol will take one of the two deputy commander positions.”
I shifted my gaze to the Martial Alliance group.

“…And what about your side?”
“...!”
“Judging by your faces, you haven’t decided yet.”

As expected, they hadn’t managed to pick a deputy commander.
I smirked and added—
“I’ll give you until tomorrow. But if you don’t decide by then, I’ll choose someone myself.”

I doubted they’d come to a decision by then.
Honestly, it didn’t really matter.
That side wasn’t important to me anyway.

“One side’s settled… The other can figure it out later.”
I raised my hand and lifted Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-ah into the air using Qi.
And then—

“What?!”
—promptly tossed them at Tang So-yeol.
“Ugh?!”

She barely managed to catch them, her small frame nearly toppling over under their weight.
Her view was completely blocked as she struggled to balance them.
“…Your first task as deputy commander—take them to the infirmary.”

“W-Wait…!”
“Dismissed.”
Ignoring her protests, I turned my back and walked away.

And with that, the first assembly came to an end.

   *****************
   
I returned to my quarters afterward.

The Martial Alliance had a dedicated space for the commander, but since I hadn’t finished moving my belongings yet, I was still stuck here.
Boom—!
A loud thud echoed.

The sound of a massive boulder crashing into the training grounds.
“Phew.”
A young man wiping sweat off his brow spoke up—

“So… you just came back like that?”
His expression was brimming with disbelief.
I grimaced slightly and replied—

“It was the best I could do.”
“Shouldn’t you have at least brought them back?”
“There were too many eyes on us. I couldn’t exactly single them out.”

I felt wronged.
After I left Wi Seol-ah and Namgung Bi-ah to Tang So-yeol, Paejon immediately grilled me about it.
Apparently, he thought I should’ve handed them over to the Divine Doctor instead.

‘Like I didn’t want to bring them back myself.’
I wanted to—but…
“They’re already part of the unit. I couldn’t make it personal.”

There were limits to what I could do now.
They had to understand that too.
“Hmm…”

Paejon tilted his head before speaking again—
“You’re annoyingly uptight about this stuff.”
“...”

“Well, suit yourself.”
He shrugged and grabbed a towel, wiping away the sweat from what seemed like an intense workout.
Or maybe—

‘It’s probably his internal injuries acting up.’
He still hadn’t fully recovered from the sparring match.
‘And I told him to take it easy.’

The guy was practically falling apart, but he just had to keep showing off.
‘Does he think turning younger made him invincible?’
I barely finished that thought before—

Whoosh—!
A massive boulder flew past me, slamming into the ground.
Boom—!!

“...”
Ignoring the shattered ground, I turned to look at Paejon.
“What a shame. If my body were in better shape, I would’ve hit you.”

“…Are you insane?”
“Your face was screaming insults at me, so I figured I’d respond.”
“...”

He really had sharp instincts.
“I wasn’t thinking anything like that.”
“Try saying that while looking me in the eye, hmm?”

I decided it was better not to answer.
“Judging by the strength you just showed, you’re all healed up.”
“Hmph.”

“Then maybe you could’ve actually helped me earlier.”
I threw out a jab, and Paejon let out a smirk.
“Still upset about that?”

“I’m not upset. Just making a point.”
“Sure you’re not.”
After hanging up his towel, he casually brushed off my words.

I couldn’t help but click my tongue internally.
When I first formed the Star Dragon Unit, I had asked Paejon to join as a member.
Not only would it have improved training, but it would’ve made it easier for him to hide his identity.

But—
‘He refused.’
Said he had something important to do and couldn’t commit.

I didn’t push it.
It was half a joke anyway, so I let it go.
But—

‘What exactly is he up to?’
His excuse still bothered me.
‘Whenever he says he has work to do, something always explodes.’

I felt uneasy.
Maybe I was overthinking it, but the old men around me always seemed to get involved in crazy incidents.
“You’re making that weird face again.”

“…What face?”
“Hmm…”
Paejon squinted at me, clearly suspicious.

I played dumb.
“Never mind. My disciple being weird is nothing new.”
“…You’re one to talk—wait, I was joking!”

Boom.
He slammed down an even bigger boulder.
What the hell was with this guy and his violence?

“You # Nоvеlight # get more short-tempered by the day.”
“You’re imagining things.”
“No, I’m pretty sure I’m not.”

“…Can we get back to why you called me here?”
I changed the subject.
I hadn’t come here for small talk.

“Ah, it’s nothing major.”
Paejon finally got to the point—
“I heard you had some kind of recent breakthrough. True?”

“Yes.”
I answered without hesitation.
There was no need to hide it.

The changes I experienced after dealing with that Crimson-rank Beast were obvious.
“Always hoarding all the good stuff for yourself.”
“…I’ve shared plenty with you, though?”

I had given him elixirs and even the Dokcheon Pill.
Not my fault his progress was slow.
Honestly, seeing him made me swear—

‘I’m never trying that eternal youth technique.’
I’d rather die than end up like that.
“So, does your breakthrough have something to do with why you called me here?”

“It does. Doesn’t it always?”
“…And?”
“How’s your progress with the Blue Sky Steps?”

“...”
“…Not enough time to master it yet.”
Tap.

Paejon dusted off his hands and spoke—
“Well, it’s time to move to the next stage.”
My eyes narrowed.

So that was it.
He had called me here to teach me the next level of the Tua Pacheonmu.
“You’re ready to learn—

‘Pa-cheon (破天)’—
The Heaven-Sundering Step.”