Harmony is Also Chaos
“Say that again.”
Silina’s chilling voice froze the air in the study. The lady of the house, who currently held all the Restis family’s power in her grasp. Her brow furrowed menacingly.
Her gaze lingered on the man kneeling on the study floor, one knee down and his head bowed flat to the ground. He was the messenger in the dark gray cloak who had visited the remote annex in the northern forest a few days ago. A member of the assassination squad she personally commanded.
“I couldn’t have misheard that, could I?”
The assassin felt cold sweat trickling down his spine and prostrated himself even flatter on the floor.
“Why would I lie about something so critical? I confirmed it with my own eyes. Not only is Young Master Kael of the annex alive, but… he’s recovered enough vitality to scale the rugged mountain behind it. He even locked eyes with me, his gaze sharp and full of fighting spirit.”
Bam—!Crack—!
Silina’s palm shattered the luxurious desk in the study.
“Urk.”
A splinter from the desk grazed the assassin’s cheek. Blood trickled down alongside the sweat.
‘If I’d moved, I’d be dead.’
The Restis family was the empire’s premier swordsmanship house. It stood to reason that its lady wouldn’t lack such skill.
“Don’t talk nonsense!”
Her rage-filled shout tore through the air, sending out what felt like a shockwave.
“That boy’s been dying slowly for months already! You expect me to believe this!?”
Killing intent leaked from Silina’s eyes. To make her son Esler the successor, she’d been quietly arranging for her inconvenient stepson—the late duke’s child—to pass away from illness. Killing the firstborn heir who would inherit the family wasn’t a simple matter, even for her; it risked her own life. She’d spent years plotting this.
Just recently, reports said he was unconscious and hadn’t regained his senses. Then the last report claimed he’d awakened with amnesia? And now he was perfectly healthy?
“I couldn’t believe it either… but it’s true. His movements were fluid, and the pallor of a sick man had largely faded.”
“And the amnesia?”
“I… couldn’t tell if it was an act or real. But he didn’t seem to recognize me.”
“He didn’t recognize you?”
“Yes…”
Silina irritably swept back a handful of her gleaming golden hair. Kael being alive was already a blemish on her plans. And if he returned healthy and started digging into her schemes? If the duke returned and learned the truth, she wouldn’t just lose the succession—she’d lose her head.
“I’ll have to handle it myself.”
Silina’s voice turned eerily calm, as if nothing had happened. When she resolved to kill, her tone became soothingly serene. To the assassin, that was far more terrifying than her rage.
“Tonight. You handle it personally. You alone should suffice.”
A boy who’d spent years bedridden. An Expert right in front of him would be more than enough.
“Understood, acting matriarch.”
“Slit the throats of that maid and guard at the annex too. Stage it as bandits or a beast attack, then burn it down.”
“As you command.”
The assassin melted into the shadows like smoke and vanished.
Silina ground her teeth, glaring at the wrecked study and shattered desk.
“I was going to let you go peacefully… but you’ve chosen the painful path.”
Hummm—
A low resonance echoed around Kael’s body. The air in the room shimmered faintly, distorting around him like heat haze on a summer day, blurring his outline.
Kael sat in deep meditation, eyes tightly shut.
Heavenly Demon Illusory Art. The pinnacle heart method of the Heavenly Demon Cult that had once led Cheon Woo-jin to the ultimate realm of Transcendence.
Over the past few days, Kael had used the Taiji Mysterious Heaven Heart Method to forge a pure vessel in his dantian. Now, he carefully planted the seed of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art atop it.
By all logic, the pure vital energy and turbid demonic qi should clash, shattering the dantian and reversing his meridians.
But Kael’s prediction proved spot-on.
The true essence of the Taiji Mysterious Heaven Heart Method left by Jang Sambong. The principle of Taiji—harmony of yin and yang—began to stir within him.
Drip—
It felt like an inky droplet falling into a clear glass. The wild, domineering demonic qi of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was drawn into Taiji’s gentle rotation.
‘This is… incredible.’
Observing his inner world, Kael couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.
A wholly new energy formed as vital qi and demonic qi intertwined in Taiji’s form. Colorless transparency blended with pitch-black darkness, piling layer by layer in his dantian as subtle ashen inner power.
This new energy retained the destructive force and dominance of demonic arts while embracing the tranquility and vitality unique to Taoist martial arts.
His mind was a serene lake; his dantian, a bubbling volcano. Contradictory natures coexisted in one body.
What to call it? Demonic-vital qi?
‘No, this is harmony and chaos alike.’
Too harmonious, too chaotic to pin down. Kael named it Chaos Qi.
‘The flaws are gone. I thought distinctions between superior and inferior arts were meaningless… but this.’
Could this be the path to the Life-Death Realm? Beyond Profound Realm and Transcendence, the mythical realm transcending legends.
People called the Heavenly Demon the greatest of past and present, but Kael knew better. Jang Sambong alone had left this insane method and ascended as an immortal. To Kael, it wasn’t mere myth.
Finishing his energy circulation, Kael slowly opened his eyes. Thick darkness blanketed the world outside the window.
He rose, stretching lightly. The creaks from his joints were gone. His steps were feather-light, his vision piercing the pitch black.
That was when it happened.
His sharpened senses caught a disagreeable, alien killing intent scaling the annex wall.
‘He’s here.’
Faster than expected. It had to be the messenger from the main house. Having seen Kael’s recovery firsthand, the woman behind him wouldn’t sit idle.
A feral smile tugged at Kael’s lips. A perfect practice dummy had walked right into his grasp to test his new inner power.
To avoid involving Ella and Weger, Kael opened his door and stepped into the dark front yard. He stood calmly in the center, reining in his energy.
He spoke evenly toward the shadow atop the wall.
“If you’re here, stop hiding and come down.”
His voice cut the quiet night air. The shadow atop the wall quivered slightly.
With a soft swish, the assassin in the dark gray cloak landed lightly in the yard. Moonlight glinted off the razor-sharp dagger in his hand.
“……How did you sense me?”
Disbelief colored the assassin’s voice. He was the squad’s best at stealth. He knew better than anyone that assassination prized concealment over raw martial prowess. Even knights missed him at point-blank range.
Yet this discarded, sickly young master of the ducal house spotted him first?
Something was wrong.
Kael, hands clasped behind his back, casually tilted his chin.
“Your breathing’s ragged, your killing intent blares louder than a stray dog’s bark, and you think you’re hidden? Pathetic.”
“Shut your trap. Magic, huh.”
The dagger flashed in the moonlight. Kael’s eyes flicked to it briefly before returning to the assassin’s face.
“Hahaha, same here or there—when you can’t comprehend, you deny reality. Why bother? Just accept it.”
“All talk and no bite. A bit of recovery’s gone to your head. You die tonight.”
Kael chuckled.
“You’re the cocky messenger from the main house a few days back, right? And you think that skill’s enough?”
The assassin’s eyes narrowed viciously at the taunt.
“Let’s see if that three-inch tongue wags after I sever your head.”
Whoosh—!
The moment the words left his mouth, the assassin’s form blurred like stretching shadow, lunging at Kael. A silent, razor-swift ambush slicing the air.
His dagger drew a perfect straight line toward Kael’s throat.
“Hmm, not bad speed.”
Kael didn’t dodge. Instead, he lightly raised his right hand and flicked a finger at the dagger’s path.
Cling—!!
A sharp metallic ring echoed across the yard.
“……!!!”
The assassin’s eyes widened in shock.
His full-force thrust, aura-clad enough to pierce rock—blocked by a mere finger flick?
“Wh-what…!”
Even more shocking: the sickly young master hadn’t budged an inch.
He was smirking.
“Why so surprised? That’s some interesting swordplay. Show me more.”