Hae-Hyuk was voluntarily expecting them to sacrifice his future for him? No, that couldn't be it. Could it be that, from the start, he planned to have them give up on everything else for this thing he needed? It was possible. Jin remained deep in thoughts.

At the same time, in front of him, Sophia decided not to push him further. She had passed the message and warned him. What he did next was up to him and no one else. It was his future, not hers. Now, she only had to explain it to Min-Su as well and she would be done. No regrets, no inner demons!

She unknowingly smiled.

Jin watched her while deep in thought. Hae-Hyuk's treachery aside, why did she bother to warn him? Their relationship was strained and awkward to say the least. He made no efforts to get closer to her after all. Her temperament wasn't quite to his liking... She reminded him of his past self too much. Someone who believed too much in his own knowledge without bothering to look further.

A frog in a well.

Adding to that that she was a sheltered princess... Which made it even more unexpected. Was she earning something from doing this? Was she here on the orders of Hae-Hyuk? Maybe all this was simply a test from his Master? Nah. Hae-Hyuk wasn't one to give tests. He did enjoy having them reach the answers themselves but he never gave them trials and such to test their worth. He didn't waste time on that and focused on teaching them further instead...

So why?

He asked her: "Why did you warn me?"

She didn't expect him to ask this. She had done so in good faith and though he would be grateful. But instead he was doubting her? Well, their relationship wasn't great but still... She pouted as she answered neutrally: "I wouldn't have been able to forgive myself otherwise. We're still fellow disciples"

Right. Jin nodded. This was more likely to be for herself. Considering that she still wasn't cured from her justice illness, she probably warned him solely to keep a firm mental state. It was stupid and simple but such reasons were the most trustworthy. It meant that the technique could really inflict harm upon him.

He kept thinking.

If he began to use the technique, he would get stronger at his realm but might fail to grow further along the lines. If he didn't, he would lose the opportunity to grow stronger now in hope to keep his chances for the future... The choice was obvious. To anyone.

But the situation was greatly different from normal. If Hae-Hyuk wanted him to learn this even though it was so detrimental... There had to be a reason for it. All this desperate training through the arena and this technique... What was it for? He looked at Sophia and asked her: "Did you speak with master about this?"

She seemed to hesitate before she answered positively. Did she not want to expose something else? Maybe the final clue was there. He asked her about it and she said that she did confront Hae-Hyuk and he warned her not to talk about it. Of course, she still came here... But that aside, there was one thing that captured his attention.

She told him that Hae-Hyuk mentioned that he didn't care about their future but needed their best in the present. It meant that he was really pinning his hopes on them for one thing. It meant that whatever it was he would send them into was dangerous.

He decided not to ponder further and go get the answers right away. He thanked Sophia and left. He had to find Hae-Hyuk again.

As he left, Sophia stayed there for a moment. She wondered what her punishment would be. Hae-Hyuk had explicitly told her not to speak yet she did... Obviously, with his cultivation, her Master could have kept an eye on her and seen all this. And if he did...Even if he didn't, he would learn of it soon enough. If Jin didn't practice that technique, he would.

She sighed as she shuddered of the memory of cold Hae-Hyuk...She hoped he wouldn't be too cruel.

...

Jin entered the garden and went to sit next to his Master. He hadn't moved at all since his departure. He was still watching the horizon. Before Jin could say anything, Hae-Hyuk spoke: "Sophia spoke with you"

Jin nodded.

After that, there was a long silence that ended with Hae-Hyuk's sigh. He turned to look at Jin and asked him: "What do you plan to do, Jin?"

Jin was surprised. He thought his Master would deny things or ask him to still learn the technique since it would be of help to him reaching his goal. He didn't expect to be asked for his choice. In fact, he didn't think he had a choice in this matter.

Hae-Hyuk sensed it and said: "Surprised that I'm asking you?"

Jin admitted it. There were no reasons to hide that. Hae-Hyuk nodded and continued: "Do you think this kind of thing can be forced upon someone? If you don't want to learn, you won't and even I would not be able to do anything about it. What's more is that I need you to want to do things"

It was true that if he didn't want to learn it, there were hardly any ways he could be forced to. He could just fake it and say he tried and failed after all. Forcing something onto someone would always end badly with either shabby results or none at all.

And yes, Hae-Hyuk did need Min-Su and him. If the two of them stopped everything and refused to help him later... Even a mighty man like him would be fucked. It was quite ironic that someone with godly powers had to depend on two youths who were no stronger than ants to him.

Jin reached that conclusion and in the end, he asked him: "Then why? Why do you want us to learn this, Master?"