During the investigation, Jin was assigned a room in a government housing facility. In that time, he went over as many of Lian's memories as he could. He tried not to delve too deep, though. Lian's memories were one of the very few things that proved that he was alive once. He didn't want to turn into Lian's copy; he wanted to stay as Mu Jin.
When he found out about his family, he was unsure what he should do. After all, his goal was still the same.
It was to claim his soul again, to reach godhood. To achieve that, he needed to risk his life again. He couldn't do that while also focusing on a family that was not even his own.
There was only one option left. All of Lian's belongings were his now. So, his family, too, was his to take care of.
Yet, he was regretting it already.
Harry was at a loss for words. Anyone would've reacted the same. Han wasn't some orphan kid to him after all. He was like his own brother to him, someone he cherished deeply—an important part of their small world.
'This feeling… I had not expected to know it again.'
It seemed like Harry was on the verge of breaking down. Perhaps it was a show of bravado, or perhaps he had always expected this outcome, but still, he overcame quickly.
He avoided eye contact as he spoke, his voice wavering deeply.
"That's… Um…"
Clearing his throat, he continued.
"You must be tired. Let's get you settled in first. We can talk later."
Jin followed him inside. Near the doorstep, he saw a few more pairs of shoes.
In the hall, there was a dining table with eight chairs placed neatly around it. Two of those chairs were currently occupied.
A woman was sitting at the end of the table, relatively older than Harry. Her gaze fell on him instantly, as if she had been expecting him for a long time. Yet, her demeanor was quite the opposite.
Maria said in a mocking tone.
"Would you look at that? The prodigal sons have returned from battle. What am I supposed to call you two now that you're challengers? Your majesty?"
A little girl was sitting right beside her with a few books open in front of her on the table. It was a pitiful sight, since she was blind.
Her mirror-like eyes turned to where Harry and Jin were standing, as if she could actually see the two.
"Han is back? Did you really clear the first floor?"
Jin grimaced as he looked at Anastasia. He could see Harry's trembling hands held behind his back.
He turned to Jin.
"You can go rest in your room, Lian. I'll let you know when dinner is ready."
Jin nodded quietly and headed upstairs. As he headed to his room, he heard Maria's voice again.
"Where's Han? Is he still outside?"
He didn't hear any further as he entered his room and closed the door.
He felt uncomfortable. He felt like an imposter. Han's absence alone was enough to break their hearts. He was uncertain what Lian's death would have done to them.
'This burden… I wonder if I can carry it. How long can I replace Lian? They'll find out sooner or later that I'm not him. What will I do then?'
He had thought about it before coming home as well—a way to create his own identity as Jin, not as Lian. He had even thought of fabricating his own death. As heartless as it was, it was at least better than trying to fill Lian's space.
Unfortunately, Jin knew it was his duty to replace Lian. He didn't have to replace him completely. He just needed to stay there until it was the right time to leave. Until he could repay the debt for using Lian's body.
He was unsure how he would pay that debt, but there was only one way to do it.
As his thoughts churned, a familiar translucent screen flickered in front of him.
'I have to climb the tower.'
If he was going to carry this burden, he needed to get stronger. To do so, he needed to understand the tower.
He examined the screen.
— — —
Name: Mu Jin (Recognition unstable)
Designation: Irregular Participant
Rank: 1
Floor Cleared: First Floor – The Burned Realm
Core Status: Essence Core Formed
Core Ability: Demonic Arts (Non-Systemic / Unregistered)
Ability Class: —
Ability Description:
To become one with one's emotions and inner dissonance, drawing strength from imbalance, suffering, and unrestrained will.
Constraint:
Its true potential cannot be invoked through intent alone. The art responds only when the user is deeply immersed in emotional instability.
Cost:
Excessive use erodes mental clarity, weakens emotional distinction, and invites assimilation into one's inner demons. Prolonged use may result in irreversible loss of self.
Tower Recognition: Incomplete
Tower Evaluation: A participant outside the intended order.
— — —
In their conversation, Morgan had taught him a lot of things without even realizing it. Most of it was related to the tower.
One of those things was Jin's status screen, as everyone called it. It was one of the many blessings the tower had bestowed upon the challengers, letting one know everything about their abilities and prowess.
'The more I find out about it, the crazier it gets. It goes without saying that without the tower, this world would've ended a long time ago.'
Surprisingly, the tower not only grants you the ability to form an essence core, but it also grants you a Core Ability.
Unfortunately, all he knew about it was that a Core Ability was simply an ability granted by the tower. One didn't need to learn it themselves, but the knowledge was ingrained deep inside their body regardless.
Finally, Morgan told him there were a total of nine floors in the tower. The rank was how far someone had gone in the tower. Humanity's strongest soldiers, and the ones who had laid the foundation for the Acropolis, were Rank Six.
He glanced at his rank on the status screen. It still felt incomprehensible to him, a lot of its contents a mystery to him.
"A clan… I should look into it. Doing it all on my own would be beyond foolish. The government is not a good choice either. It'll only slow me down further. Tch… I need to visit the city once again tomorrow."
Shaking his head, he examined the room. It was a modest room with two beds and nothing else. He could see Lian's and Han's clothes hanging on a few nails hammered to the wall. Removing his suit, he hung it right beside the other clothes.
He sat on Lian's bed in a cross-legged position and closed his eyes.
'I should push those thoughts aside for the moment. Worrying about Lian's family and my plans won't do me any good. Now that I finally have some spare time, let's examine this body properly.'
Taking in a deep breath, he reached for his lower dantian.
It took him some time, but the cold, refined energy resting in his lower dantian swirled quietly. The dantian itself was quite small, resembling that of a martial arts practitioner who had just formed his lower dantian. The colorless qi settled down as he willed his qi to his middle dantian.
Meanwhile, the demonic qi that resided in his middle dantian was in a dormant state. As he willed it, its surface rippled faintly, reflecting the emotions deep inside his heart.
'I can't thank Muyeon enough. Who would've thought that his vital qi would actually make its way into my middle dantian?'
As his status screen had shown, his core ability was Demonic Arts. But for Jin, it was something far more than just an ability.
The martial arts of the Heavenly Demon sect heavily relied on one's intense emotions.
'To bury oneself and be born anew—one of the principles taught to the young trainees. For the practitioner to let their emotions override their intellect. But that'll only turn you into a feral beast.'
Before Kang Muyeon sided with him, the Heavenly Demon Sect was the only sect that was neutral in the entire murim. It wasn't because they were weak. Because he knew that if they had sided with one faction from the start, that faction would have ruled over the entire central plains.
But it had a major drawback.
It could only be used when the practitioner was experiencing something traumatic. Something that riled them up or filled them with sorrow. Any sort of earnest emotion could be used to fuel the demonic qi.
Nevertheless, such emotions were rare for any human, since feeling such emotions all the time would only make them numb.
That was why the demonic arts were probably also the most difficult to practice. One of the reasons was also that instead of the lower dantian, it resided in a person's middle dantian. Being the vital qi of a person, the result was several times what it would have been if the qi had been stored in their lower dantian.
It was a martial art too taxing for his current physique. Sooner or later, his body would crumble, unable to handle the demonic qi any longer.
Regardless, there was something very few people knew about the demonic qi. Perhaps it was a technique that only he and Kang Muyeon knew.
It was his only way to actually turn demonic arts into an overwhelming ability. But great powers required a greater cost.
'Even if someone knew it, who in their right mind would even do it?'
He glanced at the closed door.
Harry was certainly shaken at the moment. Other than him, there wasn't anyone who could disturb him right now.
It was now or never.
As his demonic qi became unstable, his focus shifted back to his lower dantian. The qi in his lower dantian surged, entering his meridians with fervent velocity. It was as if the qi was being pulled somewhere.
Right near the meridians that connected his lower and middle dantian, the qi slowed down.
Jin furrowed deeply, the nerves in his neck bulging clearly.
As he willed, the qi steadily entered his middle dantian. With each drop, the demonic qi became even more unstable, rippling with great intensity. He slowed the rate at which his qi entered his middle dantian even further, letting only a drop in each second.
The demonic qi calmed down, but the instability stayed.
The colorless qi didn't mix with the demonic qi. Instead, the qi passed through it and re-entered his meridians, returning to his lower dantian.
With each drop, the colorless qi in his lower meridian was being replaced by a crimson-hued qi. It wasn't as dark and dense as the demonic qi, which remained in his middle dantian. Its nature, though, was similar.
He patiently converted every drop of his simply refined essence into demonic qi. The process itself was intricate and needed his entire focus at all times. Even a small disruption would reverse the flow of his qi, throwing him into qi deviation. If that were to happen, his only chance at life would end with him being crippled for life.
Yet, he was willing to take the risk.
It wasn't because Lian's body had the talent for it, or his meridians were trained already.
The only thing that made this technique possible for him was his sheer will and experience. And he needed to pour that experience inside Lian's body, even if it meant taking risky measures at times.
He felt the last drop of qi entering his lower dantian, bringing it back to a calm state. After some time, his middle dantian stabilized as well.
Slowly opening his eyes, he relaxed his body.
His shirt was drenched in sweat, so much so that his back was completely wet. The sun that was about to set had disappeared behind the horizon. The moon was somewhere there in the sky, but it wasn't visible from this part of the city.
He felt the warm energy of the demonic qi in his lower dantian, filling his entire body with a newfound vitality.
A faint smile found its way to his face.
'It… worked? I knew that failure wasn't an option, but this… this is far more than what I had expected.'
Instead of relying solely on his vital demonic qi, Jin had used a bypass method to increase his base strength. His lower dantian, which was supposed to contain only refined qi, now had a weaker version of the demonic qi.
It wasn't as potent as his vital qi, but it was much better than simply using his basic qi.
Not to mention, unlike everyone else who simply had to refine the raw essence into usable qi, he had to go one step further and convert that refined qi into demonic qi. Only then could he actually use his martial arts to their maximum potential.
'Heh. I'll worry about that later. This much itself is a major step towards my growth. The only thing I need to consider now is training my meridians and dantian as I practice my martial arts.'
He sniffed his sleeve in a quick motion.
'Regardless, I need a bath first. I smell no different than an informant of the Beggar Sect.'
The sound of someone walking up the stairs pulled his attention.
Instead of waiting for the person, Jin opened the door.
Harry looked surprised. The pungent smell coming from Jin made him wince.
"Yeah, you need a bath first. Come down for dinner once you're done."
Jin immediately entered the bathroom.