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[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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Chapter: 10
Cheon Woo-jin tilted his head slightly at Chief Kim’s words.
“Someone’s looking for me this early in the morning?”
Knowing Chief Kim’s cautious nature, he wouldn’t have allowed any visitors at this hour without a valid reason.
Locking eyes with him, Woo-jin asked, “Is it someone from the family?”
Chief Kim gave a small nod and replied, “Yes, Lady Cheon Eun-ha sent word. She would like to have breakfast with you.”
It was an unexpected message from Cheon Eun-ha—Woo-jin’s half-sister and one of the direct bloodline.
‘Cheon Eun-ha reached out to me?’
While his primary threat had always been Cheon Oh-hyuk, his other half-siblings and fellow successors—Cheon Ji-hoo and Cheon Eun-ha—were no less formidable.
Now that Eun-ha was approaching him unprompted, Woo-jin sensed something was off.
‘So now she’s watching me? Something doesn’t add up.’
At this point, news of him being cured of Heavenly Mana Collision Syndrome (HMC) hadn’t been made public, so his recent activity wouldn’t have raised alarms.
The fact that Cheon Eun-ha wanted to meet him urgently implied that someone had leaked information to her—intentionally.
‘It could be Cheon Oh-hyuk... or even Cheon Ji-hoo, who’s skilled in psychological games. They’re likely using Cheon Eun-ha to probe my condition.’
Of the direct descendants, Cheon Eun-ha was known for her straightforward, fiery temperament. She preferred head-on confrontation over political scheming and didn’t waste time with complex mind games.
But that didn’t mean she lacked tactical intelligence or insight.
To understand her intentions, Woo-jin needed to meet her face-to-face.
“Tell her I’ll be down shortly.”
At this unexpected response, Chief Kim subtly furrowed his brow—he had clearly expected Woo-jin to decline.
He seemed like he wanted to say something more, but with a polite bow, he turned and left the room.
Left alone, Woo-jin stretched and loosened his limbs, checking his condition.
He hadn’t slept a wink, but oddly enough, he felt better than ever.
Smiling coolly at his reflection in the mirror, he murmured, “Let’s see what she’s up to.”
* * *
The hotel restaurant was unusually busy for such an early hour.
A VVIP guest had suddenly arrived and ordered a massive quantity of steak.
Staff rushed in and out of the VIP room, serving freshly grilled premium steaks.
The large round table was soon filled to the brim with the finest cuts.
At the head of the table sat a slim, delicate-looking woman with a graceful face—who, the moment the steak arrived, stabbed it with her fork, stuffed it into her mouth in one go, and chewed just enough to swallow.
Chomp! Chomp! Chomp!
Steak after steak vanished in seconds.
After wiping her mouth, she barked hoarsely at the man in a suit beside her, “Hey! Myung-ho, you idiot! I told you to bring it rare! This is way too tough!”
Across from her, a middle-aged foreign man eating his salad with graceful table manners shook his head.
“Master, rare steaks dripping with blood for breakfast? Even in America, we don’t go that far. Isn’t that right, Mr. Han?”
Spoken in flawless Korean with a calm tone.
The young man next to her, Myung-ho, grimaced as he reluctantly chewed his own steak.
“Master, you heard Michael. Nobody eats like this first thing in the morning.”
Cheon Eun-ha, ignoring him entirely, devoured yet another slab of nearly raw meat, barely chewing as she swallowed.
Myung-ho could only shake his head.
“Such a waste... Serving premium steak to someone who can’t even appreciate the flavor.”
Michael smiled with a good-natured chuckle.
“Haha! As long as Master’s healthy and eating well, isn’t that all that matters? Still, Mr. Han, you are a bit strict with her.”
The three were none other than the master and vice-masters of ‘Yacha’, a clan under the direct control of the Heavenly Sword Cheon Family.
And the woman devouring steak like a beast was Cheon Eun-ha, the A-rank hunter known as Flame Rakshasa, and the current Master of Yacha.
Just then, someone entered the noisy VIP room.
“It’s been a while, Lady Eun-ha.”
It was Chief Kim, still wearing his signature sunglasses even indoors, bowing politely.
Eun-ha gulped down a mouthful of steak and waved casually.
“Chief Kim! Long time no see! Why don’t you just join our faction already? You know Yacha ranks number one in average annual salary among all the family clans.”
The woman gorging herself on over five kilograms of steak—a direct bloodline of the Heavenly Sword House—was none other than Cheon Eun-ha.
Despite her refined and delicate appearance, her personality was bold and impulsive.
Just then, someone entered behind Chief Kim.
“Trying to poach a staff member this early in the morning, are we?”
Dressed in a suit embroidered with the Cheon family crest, Cheon Woo-jin walked confidently into the room.
Cheon Eun-ha leapt to her feet in shock, her mouth agape.
“Woo-jin, you… can you really be walking around like that?”
With a relaxed grin, Woo-jin sat next to Michael.
“Clearly, I can—since I’m walking around just fine. Mind if I help myself to some of this?”
Without hesitation, Woo-jin picked up a steak from the table and began cutting into it.
His casual demeanor left both Myung-ho and Michael wide-eyed.
After all, this was the same Cheon Woo-jin who’d been confined to the annex with Heavenly Curse, supposedly unable to even leave the premises—and now here he was, perfectly healthy, calmly eating steak.
After chewing and swallowing, Woo-jin gave a nod.
“Yep. Expensive meat does taste better.”
Cheon Eun-ha leaned in, staring intently at him.
Then, scowling slightly, she said, “Are you pretending to be okay right now?”
Woo-jin simply shrugged as he took another bite.
“Why would I do that?”
At his nonchalant response, a flicker of confusion passed across Eun-ha’s face.
Slumping back into her seat, she rested her chin on her hand, clearly trying to make sense of the situation.
“Wow... So what Cheon Ji-hoo said was true? You really overcame HMC Syndrome?”
Chewing slowly, Woo-jin quietly processed her mutterings.
‘So it was Cheon Ji-hoo who stirred things up.’
After learning Woo-jin had left the family compound, Ji-hoo must have leaked information to Cheon Eun-ha—perhaps hinting at a potential cure for HMC and suggesting he’d gone to the Jeongseon auction to pursue it.
Woo-jin could infer all this from Eun-ha’s comments.
‘Though, he was probably aiming for Cheon Oh-hyuk, not Eun-ha. A direct leak would make Oh-hyuk suspicious, so using Eun-ha as a relay makes more sense.’
Despite his intelligence, Ji-hoo still resorted to petty manipulation and backdoor schemes.
He had likely spread false intel to sow confusion and destabilize the delicate balance among the successor candidates.
But Cheon Eun-ha, ever the straightforward one, had come directly to Jeongseon to verify the information for herself.
Ironically, the fabricated intel turned out to be true.
Watching Woo-jin casually finish off his steak, Eun-ha’s eyes sparkled with realization.
“Woo-jin… So if you overcame HMC, does that mean your Awakening ability came back too?”
Cheon Eun-ha cut straight to the point, launching her question like a direct hit.
Among the proud bloodline of the illustrious Heavenly Sword House, no one possessed more raw talent than Cheon Woo-jin. Everyone knew that if he could overcome his Heavenly Curse, his potential would be impossible to ignore.
For someone like Cheon Eun-ha, who had an insatiable appetite for talent, Woo-jin was the most desirable rookie she could ask for.
In response to her question, Woo-jin gave a vague nod.
“Hard to say.”
His noncommittal answer made Eun-ha's eyes narrow sharply.
“That’s not the kind of answer I’m looking for. Did you recover your Awakened ability or not? Give it to me straight.”
Eun-ha hated complications—she always demanded clear, concise answers. That bluntness was her strength... but also, at times, her flaw.
Woo-jin stared at her for a moment, then slowly gathered energy from his core.
Fwoooosh—!
A surge of immense energy erupted from his body.
Startled, Michael immediately cast a magical barrier, and Han Myung-ho, seated across from them, swiftly drew his gun and aimed it at Woo-jin.
But the person at the center of it all—Cheon Eun-ha—remained still, merely narrowing her eyes and glaring at him.
Seeing this, Woo-jin spoke calmly, “Do you know the saying 'flashing light before death'?”
Her eyes widened instantly.
“You’re not saying...”
“Flashing light before death”)—was an idiom describing a brief return of strength right before death. As someone of the Cheon bloodline with keen insight, Eun-ha instantly understood the implication.
Woo-jin gave a solemn nod and continued, “I give it three months. Six at best.”
His expression was one of resigned acceptance, as if he’d already come to terms with it.
The overlapping of conflicting energies in his body had resulted in High-Density Mana Collision Syndrome—a deadly version of HMC that was continuously eating away at his lifespan.
He’d managed to survive until twenty, but now the countdown had truly begun.
Knowing all this, Cheon Eun-ha found it hard to believe Woo-jin was lying. Her lips pressed into a thin line before she finally raised her head again.
“Is that why you went to the auction house? For Dragon’s Blood? To try and extend your life...?”
Her words trailed off.
They may have been half-siblings, but blood was still blood. Acknowledging her younger brother’s terminal condition was not something easily spoken aloud.
To Woo-jin’s surprise, Eun-ha’s concern felt genuine.
“Huh... That’s unexpected.”
Thanks to his Heavenly Martial Physique, Woo-jin’s senses were far sharper than the average person’s. With just a glance or a tone of voice, he could often tell if someone was lying.
And Cheon Eun-ha—she was genuinely worried.
He’d originally spread false information to confuse Cheon Ji-hoo and Cheon Oh-hyuk, but now, being met with such sincerity from Eun-ha, he found himself momentarily caught off guard.
Looking back, he couldn’t recall ever sharing much of a sibling bond with her.
‘Now that I think about it, we did have some interaction as kids…’
There were vague memories—maybe sharing a meal once a month. Back then, Eun-ha was one of the few who’d even acknowledged him.
Then something struck him.
‘Wait… part of my memory is missing.’
No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t recall anything clearly about his parents. Just vague impressions. He had no image—no sense of who his father or mother had been.
Was this a side effect of regaining memories from his past life? Or was something else interfering?
‘I’ll have to look into that later.’
For now, he decided to wrap up the conversation with Eun-ha—and take things a step further.
“Eun-ha noona.”
At that, her eyes widened.
Michael and Myung-ho were just as shocked. It wasn’t common for Woo-jin to address anyone so familiarly.
He continued calmly.
“There’s something I’d like to ask of you.”
Eun-ha closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and gave a short nod.
“What is it?”
Her voice, contrary to her fierce nickname “Flame Rakshasa,” was surprisingly gentle.
“If it’s materials or elixirs, I can get them through the faction.”
“It’s not that.”
Woo-jin looked straight at her and said slowly, “With the family head’s permission, I’m planning to enter the Trial Dungeon.”
Eun-ha sprang to her feet.
“What did you just say?! The Trial Dungeon? Are you insane?!”
For the past twenty years, hundreds had attempted that dungeon—but fewer than ten had made it out alive. It was the most lethal dungeon in existence.
Woo-jin remained composed.
“It’s the only way I can survive. If I clear the dungeon and obtain its reward... I might make it.”
“You’re not serious...”
Eun-ha knew what he meant. If someone could survive the Trial Dungeon, they had a chance to evolve their innate constitution—and possibly overcome a fatal condition like his.
But to attempt that? It was no different from suicide.
Speechless, she bit her lip.
Then Woo-jin looked at her seriously and said, “Before I enter the dungeon... I want to request protection from the Yacha Faction.”
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[Translator - Helga ]
[Proofreader - Starfall ]
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