The Price of Defiling My Sanctuary
At the sound of the voice behind him, Hyeol Gwi-do whipped his head around.
"....?!"
Standing there, looking at him with deep disapproval, was Yoo-sung.
"Who are you?"
Ignoring the man growling in a raspy, grating voice, Yoo-sung calmly swept his gaze across the cave.
The cave, once filled with his childhood memories, was now choked with the sickening stench of blood.
"....Tsk."
Yoo-sung's eyes settled on a dark corner of the cave.
There lay the lifeless bodies of several children.
They were likely spares, kept for later use once he had digested his current intake of the Blood-Sucking Demonic Art.
"No matter how hard I try, I will never understand you bastards."
In truth, Yoo-sung held no particular hatred or affection for demonic practitioners.
At their core, martial artists learned how to kill.
Whether one followed a different path based on their values, the end result was usually the same.
But his perspective had shifted slightly during the Great Martial War against the Matian.
The Orthodox and Unorthodox factions were cunning, untrustworthy hypocrites, but demonic practitioners existed entirely outside the realm of human comprehension.
They were aberrations who defied the very laws of heaven and humanity.
Among them, those who practiced the Blood-Sucking Demonic Art were the ones Yoo-sung despised the most.
To treat innocent lives as mere stepping stones for one's own growth, and to desecrate even their deaths—it kindled a cold, burning rage within him.
Whoosh.
A gentle breeze stirred around Yoo-sung.
"The price for defiling my sanctuary will not be cheap."
"....?!"
The sheer weight of the killing intent laced in that quiet voice made Hyeol Gwi-do stumble backward in spite of himself.
"You bastard...!"
Snapping back to his senses, Hyeol Gwi-do spat out a curse, burning with shame and humiliation at his own instinctive retreat.
Ever since he had acquired the Blood-Sucking Demonic Art and ascended to the Peak Realm, had he not sworn an oath?
That he would never live like a groveling dog again.
"Fine! To celebrate the completion of my grand design, I will slaughter you, tear your corpse to shreds, and feast on your flesh!"
Hyeol Gwi-do's eyes blazed with madness as he sought to reaffirm his vow.
To conquer the inexplicable dread creeping up his spine, he swung his blade with savage force.
Screeech!
The blade in his hand whipped up a violent gust, descending toward Yoo-sung's head.
A dark-red Blade Qi surged forward, closing the distance in a heartbeat, but Yoo-sung merely watched the incoming strike with complete indifference.
Seeing this, Hyeol Gwi-do's confidence surged.
"Bwahahaha! Die!"
But—
Crack.
"....?!"
Hyeol Gwi-do's Blade Qi shattered and vanished with pathetic ease.
"You monster!"
Hyeol Gwi-do bit his lip in sheer panic, but he was not granted a second chance.
Thud.
"Cough!"
In the blink of an eye, Yoo-sung closed the distance and drove his fist squarely into Hyeol Gwi-do's dantian.
"Aaaaargh!"
With a sickening crunch, his dantian ruptured, and Hyeol Gwi-do let out a bloodcurdling shriek.
"No... No, no, no!"
He watched in absolute despair as his hard-earned demonic energy rapidly drained away.
"You son of a bitch! Do you have any idea how hard I worked to gather that?!"
A month of painstaking effort had evaporated in a single second.
Ever since the fall of the Matian and the rumors of demonic practitioners infiltrating Sichuan, Hyeol Gwi-do had been exceptionally cautious.
He couldn't afford to die a dog's death before he could even truly wield his new power.
Moving with extreme stealth, he had abducted and slaughtered the children of Frost Village one by one.
He had used the village's legend of the flesh-eating ghoul to mask his horrific deeds while secretly cultivating the Blood-Sucking Demonic Art.
He had finally broken through the barrier to the Peak Realm and was on the verge of reaching the Transcendental Realm.
And yet, it had all been reduced to nothing.
Grit.
"I'm not going down alone!"
With his dantian destroyed, there was no tomorrow for him.
He had to drag Yoo-sung, the bastard who ruined everything, down to hell with him.
"We're dying together, you bastard!"
Without a moment's hesitation, Hyeol Gwi-do triggered a self-destruction, detonating his own body.
Boom!
His flesh and bones ruptured outward in a lethal shockwave, but unfortunately for him, the desperate gambit was entirely futile.
The formidable Body-Protecting Qi swirling around Yoo-sung effortlessly deflected the gory shrapnel.
"Tsk. These bastards are always so impatient."
Yoo-sung clicked his tongue as he looked at the empty space where the man had detonated before he could even ask any questions.
"Still, this place hasn't changed a bit."
This was the cave he had used as his hideout before he left.
Even after ten years, traces of his past remained perfectly preserved.
Ironically, it was those very traces that had allowed Hyeol Gwi-do to discover the cave and secretly practice his demonic art here.
As Yoo-sung scanned the cave with a hint of nostalgia, his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Ah, so that was here."
It was a tiny bronze mirror.
It was the kind of trinket a young girl would adore. Yoo-sung carefully tucked it into his robes.
"Soso will love this."
Having secured a gift for his niece, Yoo-sung took one last look around the cave and waved a casual farewell.
Leaving his childhood memories behind, he stepped out into the night.
Thud.
"....What is this?"
Do Sang-woon asked, staring at the booklet Yoo-sung had tossed onto the table.
Late that evening, Do Yoo-chan and Ho-sung had set out to assist Ha Tae-gun.
After seeing them off, Do Sang-woon had planned to investigate with Elder Gong.
But Yoo-sung had beaten them to the punch.
"No matter how strong you are, you must pay attention to your surroundings," Sang-woon chided gently.
After offering a brief, fatherly lecture, Do Sang-woon carefully opened the booklet.
As expected, the pages detailed the Blood-Sucking Demonic Art.
"So the fall of the Matian has indeed unleashed this plague upon the world."
With the collapse of the Matian, the heinous demonic arts they once kept under lock and key had leaked into the Jianghu.
Martial artists of the Orthodox, Unorthodox, and Demonic factions alike were now clashing to lay their hands on these forbidden techniques.
And that wasn't all.
The legendary weapons and treasures once possessed by the Matian had also become objects of insatiable greed.
"Where did you find this?"
At Do Sang-woon's question, Yoo-sung offered a plausible lie.
"Father, do you remember that secret hideout of mine near Frost Village?"
"....Of course I do."
Ten years ago, when Yoo-sung had vanished.
That was the very reason Do Sang-woon and Do Yoo-chan had spent over a year scouring the area around Frost Village.
They had hoped against hope that he might be hiding in the sanctuary he had once boasted about.
But they had never been able to find it.
"Why did you go there all of a sudden...? Wait, don't tell me..."
"Yes. I decided to pay it a visit after all this time, only to find it littered with corpses."
"....!"
"Young master... where is this place?! Tell me where it is!"
At the mention of corpses, Elder Gong's face twisted in anguish.
Urged by the elder's desperate plea, Yoo-sung provided the coordinates of the cave.
"Then, what of the demonic practitioner who cultivated this art?"
"I'm not sure. When I arrived, there was only this manual and the bodies. Ah, though there was one corpse that was completely mangled..."
"Mangled?"
"Yes. It looked as though it had exploded from the inside."
Yoo-sung's description immediately brought a theory to Do Sang-woon's mind.
A demonic practitioner who had recklessly absorbed too much energy, failing to control the volatile demonic qi, resulting in a violent self-destruction.
Indeed, one of the most terrifying aspects of those who practiced the Blood-Sucking Demonic Art was that if they absorbed energy beyond their limits, their bodies would detonate, obliterating everything in their vicinity.
"Hmm. It seems we must head to your hideout immediately."
"I agree, Sect Leader. The missing villagers are likely in that cave."
With grim expressions, Do Sang-woon and Elder Gong set off into the dark night toward Yoo-sung's cave.
Well, that takes care of that for now.
What remained to be seen was the shift in the political landscape that the emergence of the Blood-Sucking Demonic Art would trigger.
The remnants of the Matian had already put the martial artists of Sichuan on high alert.
What exactly were they searching for in this province?
It's definitely not the Blood-Sucking Demonic Art.
That art was a low-grade, vile technique coveted only by the Matian's hunting dogs or third-rate scoundrels.
True masters of the demonic path wouldn't spare a single glance at such trash.
Which means...
A sudden realization flashed in Yoo-sung's mind.
If that item truly existed somewhere in Sichuan, the storm currently brewing would not pass anytime soon.
"I hope Brother and Ho-sung return safely."
Yoo-sung felt a sudden pang of worry for the two who had left the Heavenly Sword Academy at the behest of Ha Tae-gun and Do Yoo-mi.
Still, he couldn't just abandon his post and chase after them immediately.
I should trust them and wait.
As long as they were still breathing, he was entirely confident he could save them from any danger.
Yoo-sung returned to his room and closed his eyes.
"Tsk, tsk."
An elderly man clicked his tongue as he surveyed the surroundings.
The mountain fortress where Kang Man-do had once resided had been meticulously cleaned up.
Yet, the old man's sharp eyes searched for any lingering traces with absolute precision.
"It's no use. The one who did this is an extraordinary master."
Behind him, another old man with striking white hair stepped forward.
"Baek-do, is it even difficult for your eyes to trace?"
At the question from the elderly man, Heuk-do, the white-haired man named Baek-do nodded.
"Nothing. To think there is a master in Baekmyo County capable of deceiving my White Eyes..."
"Nonsense."
Heuk-do immediately dismissed Baek-do's concerns.
The two were none other than the Black and White Twin Blades.
They had come to Baekmyo County at the request of Pa-gun.
Their official pretext was to avenge Kang Man-do.
The moment the Black and White Twin Blades made their appearance, every martial artist in the vicinity of Baekmyo County began watching them closely.
It was only natural, as they had earned quite a reputation during the Great Martial War against the Matian.
As Transcendental masters, they had made a name for themselves by slaughtering a hundred demonic practitioners of the Matian.
Though their ruthless methods and savage temperaments aligned them more with the Unorthodox Path than the Orthodox, they were undeniably formidable masters straddling the line between both sides.
With the Matian gone, both the Orthodox and Unorthodox factions were eager to expand their influence, making these two highly attractive recruits.
Knowing their own worth, the duo had been biding their time, weighing their options to see who would offer the best deal.
Eventually, they struck a deal with Pa-gun and temporarily stayed at the White Wolf Bandit Clan before heading to Baekmyo County.
"Kang Man-do and his men were slaughtered without even a chance to resist. Do you see this?"
Heuk-do pointed at a patch of withered grass.
"The assailant unleashed their martial art right here, and the battle was decided in that single instant."
"At least a Transcendental master, then."
"Exactly."
As Heuk-do nodded at Baek-do's assessment, Baek-do once again channeled his internal energy into his eyes.
Shhh.
Baek-do's White Eyes possessed a unique ability to see through and analyze an opponent's martial arts.
This supernatural sight, which could instantly detect almost any trace of martial energy, had proven incredibly useful during their battles against the Matian.
Yet, even his White Eyes could detect absolutely nothing.
"I've never seen anything like this. It's not like they used an overwhelming amount of internal energy, and yet... Kang Man-do and his men were annihilated in a single strike."
"Is that so? Then we must assume they are at least on par with us."
Baek-do nodded in agreement with Heuk-do's words.
"If so, there are only two suspects."
"I heard the master of the Heavenly Sword Academy is a Transcendental master. But it's not him."
"Indeed. He is a master of the sword, but no sword was used here."
Though not as gifted as Baek-do, Heuk-do also possessed a keen eye for analyzing martial arts.
What Heuk-do saw in the lingering traces was not the mark of a sword or a blade, but rather a crushing pressure exerted purely through raw internal energy.
"Hmm. A palm technique, perhaps?"
"Highly likely."
"Then it's not Kwak Yoo either."
At Heuk-do's murmur, Baek-do furrowed his brow.
"Did some wandering master truly just happen to pass by?"
"It's possible."
Just as the Black and White Twin Blades were struggling to find any clues about the culprit—
"Sirs!!!"
One of the bandits assigned to them by Pa-gun ran up, shouting breathlessly.
"The Blood-Sucking Demonic Art has appeared!"
"....!"
At the bandit's shout, the eyes of the Black and White Twin Blades flashed with sharp intensity.
"Ah, of course. If it's the Blood-Sucking Demonic Art, then everything makes sense."
Completely unaware that they were barking up the wrong tree, the Twin Blades smiled with satisfaction at the news.
"Hehehe. Where? Where did this demonic art appear?"
"It's a place called Frost Village, north of Baekmyo County!"
And so, the dark shadow of the Blood-Sucking Demonic Art had descended upon Baekmyo County, drawing the wolves of the Jianghu to its call.