As Yeon Woo Jin had said, the magi of the Demon Realm was pure.They accepted that pure magi as it was, circulated it through their own breathing-and-cultivation methods, and converted it into internal energy.After a time—FLASH.The three opened their eyes and slowly rose.Their bodies, now adapted to the magi here, began drawing it in on their own.There was no need to resist.They could convert magi into internal energy at any time, so there was no reason to tire.“The energy is so pure it’s overflowing.”They clenched their fists and checked their states.Vitality surged.It almost felt like they’d been born and raised in this place.After accepting the magi, even the scenery no longer felt unpleasant.When they first arrived, the cloying magi had put them off.Not anymore.Now they felt good—like they were on a trip to the Demon Realm.Once the three seemed adjusted, Yeon Woo Jin turned his gaze.A dense forest caught his eye.The very Dusk-Demon Woods described in the book.“Let’s start with that forest.”“Agreed! Let’s go.”They entered the forest.A sinister air pressed in.Not far in, a massive flower came into view—The very killer-flower detailed in the book.How did it even move?Just then—FWIP—RRRRIP—Something seized his legs. Looking down, Yeon Woo Jin saw vine-like stems coiling around his calves, yanking tight.To pin him in place.Not just him—stems whipped around Cheon Ho Seong, Jeok Seong, and Ma Ryang’s legs as well.They didn’t bother trying to tear them off. They watched.Perhaps convinced it had them secured, the huge bud opened.A mouthful of needle teeth showed—like a monster’s gaping maw.A digestive fluid—like drool—dripped from that mouth and pattered onto the ground.It looked like it was salivating.A plant. Salivating.A flower, at that.Where else would you see something like this?Fascinating.“Young lord, how long are we meant to stare at this disgusting thing?”He wanted to shred it on the spot, but Yeon Woo Jin seemed to be observing, so he held back.“It is disgusting. Get rid of it.”The instant the order fell, light flashed.A beat later—The flowers with gaping mouths split into dozens of sections and thudded to the ground.THUD—THOOM—They were big enough that even falling sounded heavy.The stems binding their legs were ripped to tatters.“Interesting. We get curiosities like this right out of the gate. Now I’m even more curious.”The three laughed.“Disgusting, but fascinating.”“I’m having fun too.”“Can’t wait to see what shows up next.”Expectant, they peered deeper into the woods. ****THUMP—THUMP—Giant wolves toppled lifelessly at their feet.All around lay scorch marks where fireballs had struck.“Incredible. Wolves that shoot fireballs.”“What principle lets a body spit fire like that?”Yeon Woo Jin was curious too.“Should’ve left one alive.”Just then, a pressure unlike the wolves they’d fought so far pressed in.Their leader, most likely.Yeon Woo Jin smiled.“I’ll take this one.”The three withdrew far back so they wouldn’t get in the way.As soon as they did, a wolf of immense size revealed itself.Its gray mane heaved with the energy streaming from its body.Light flooded from its jaws, as if it held a sun between its teeth.“Grrrrr…”A wolf the size of a house.Normally, you’d panic and run.Yeon Woo Jin wasn’t normal.He studied the wolf leisurely—But the wolf had no intention of giving him time.In an eye-blink, that massive body lunged and raked a forepaw at him.WHOOM—A forepaw as big as a human torso hurtled in to pulp him.THOCK—His hand stopped it.The wolf’s expression changed.With that tiny hand?It didn’t believe what it was seeing.It tried to yank its forepaw back.But the paw clamped in Yeon Woo Jin’s grip refused to budge.The wolf faltered.“Come here.”Yeon Woo Jin tugged the huge leg.The wolf slid toward him.RRRIP—It braced, unwilling to be dragged—but slid anyway.Realizing this opponent was no easy prey, the wolf threw its jaws wide.A heat like the end of the world poured out.KUUUOOOH—The searing heat gathered—and then blasted at Yeon Woo Jin.KRAAAAA—Trees, boulders, even the ground in the flame’s path melted.Yeon Woo Jin did not.The wolf panicked again.He hadn’t dodged on purpose.He’d wanted to see how the flames worked—and from inside the blaze, he could watch.“Hmm. You condense blazing yang energy in your mouth and then expel it.”He’d confirmed the mechanism.Curiosity sated—time to decide ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) what to do with it.As Yeon Woo Jin gazed at it, the wolf edged back.Instinct spoke.Do not provoke the being before you.It tucked its tail and began to turn—SWIP—Yeon Woo Jin caught its tail.“I haven’t decided yet. Where do you think you’re going?”He looked into the wolf’s eyes.His eyes had already turned Black.The wolf flinched hard at the sight.WHINE—WHINE—Then, cautiously, it turned back toward him and lowered its head.“Paw.”He held out a hand.The wolf cocked its head.His eyes hardened.“Paw.”It seemed to grasp that he wanted something put in his palm but didn’t know what.Slowly, it set a forepaw on his hand.A smile touched his lips.“Good.”It didn’t know the words, but it recognized praise—the wolf wagged its tail.“Come here.”He beckoned, and the wolf leaned its head in.STROKE—STROKE—His hand was so small it shouldn’t have felt like anything—but the wolf closed its eyes as if savoring the touch.“From now on, your name is Flame Wolf.”“WOOF!”It answered as if instinctively certain he’d just given it a name.Smart.Yeon Woo Jin liked this one—very much.“Congratulations, young lord. You’ve found a very fine pet.”“Yes. I like him. Think I’ll be in trouble if I bring him back?”“Do as you wish. Surely Martial Deity Heaven has room to keep one wolf.”“That’s true.”He stroked Flame Wolf and smiled.His first trophy in this place. ****Deeper in, Flame Wolf hesitated.He looked…afraid.“Oh? Something stronger than you in there?”The wolf didn’t understand words—but the flinch said enough: something inside outranked him.Yeon Woo Jin slid off Flame Wolf’s back and patted him.“Wait here a moment.”The instant he said wait—KRAAAAAA—A colossal roar ripped out. Strange birds burst from the brush in a panic and took to the air.FLUTTER-FLUTTER—Not just birds.All manner of creatures they hadn’t seen yet bolted toward the forest’s edge.Flame Wolf twitched, wanting to join them.So Flame Wolf wasn’t the master of this wood after all.A smile curled Yeon Woo Jin’s mouth.How magnificent would this one be?Then—THUDTHUDTHUDTHUD—For the ground to shake like this—how big was it, and how many segments were moving?CRACK—CRUNCH—Trees snapped like tinder.And then it showed itself.A centipede, so vast that Flame Wolf looked small.At a glance, Yeon Woo Jin muttered,“That one’s not pet material.”He had zero desire to raise something that disgusting.The giant centipede spotted Flame Wolf and veered toward him.Flame Wolf flinched—But didn’t run. He planted himself before Yeon Woo Jin.As if to shield him.Admirable.“You’re coming with me.”He’d already liked the wolf; now he liked his behavior as well.Whatever anyone said, he was taking Flame Wolf.Which meant he couldn’t let the wolf get hurt.By Yeon Woo Jin’s measure, Flame Wolf couldn’t handle the centipede.He stroked the wolf’s neck.“Fall back.”Did it understand?WHINE—Flame Wolf looked between the centipede and Yeon Woo Jin, at a loss.SCREEEEE—The centipede’s maw spewed a green deluge that filled the sky.A nauseating stench.Poison.Yeon Woo Jin flicked his hand.White light scattered like blowing snow.Every droplet of green venom it touched neutralized in an instant and vaporized.“It’s disgusting. Clear it.”At the order, Ma Ryang’s saber dropped in a straight line toward the centipede.THOOM—Steel kissed earth—and the centipede’s body split in half and toppled to either side.Flame Wolf jolted in shock.He’d just watched a creature far stronger than himself felled in a single stroke.His eyes shone with outright respect as he stared at Ma Ryang.He also saw Ma Ryang bow his head to Yeon Woo Jin.In that moment, Flame Wolf understood who led this pack.He pushed his head under Yeon Woo Jin’s hand and nuzzled.An expression of total acceptance of his master.Having checked all the way to the forest’s heart, the party set off for the far side.To a place no one had ever reached. ****On the way across, they ran into a herd of giant boars.Most animals here were gigantic.And just then, their stomachs growled.Yeon Woo Jin asked, “Think those are edible?”The three rested their chins in their hands and considered.“Hard to say. They look like boars, so they look tasty…”“But they’re monsters. Not sure they’re safe to eat.”“They’re big enough that one could feed everyone at Martial Deity Heaven with leftovers.”“I am curious whether we can eat them.”“We brought provisions. Shall I prepare a meal?”Ma Ryang ventured the suggestion cautiously. Was the young lord just hungry? How hungry did you have to be to salivate at monsters?“No. I’m just curious whether we can eat them.”“May I ask why, young lord?”“If we’re going to spend time here, we need to know what’s edible.”“You plan to stay here?”“Not now. Later. If the Heavenly Demon runs, I’ll have to come hunt him. Right? Leave him alive and he could cause trouble later.”He clearly didn’t intend to stop at merely sealing the rift.He meant to make sure the enemy could never set foot in human lands again.There was much to do for that.Learn why rifts formed, and show the Demon Realm the terror of humanity.Which made gathering as much intel as possible critical.Cheon Ho Seong, understanding, said, “Shall I take one down?”Yeon Woo Jin nodded.“Understood. I’ll fetch one at once!”Cheon Ho Seong sprang forward.SHING—SWISH—His sword flashed toward a boar.CLANG—“…Huh?”

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