The Birth of Myeolcheon Squad

"It's over."

Yeom Gyeong-hong muttered the words as he watched the match. No one contradicted him. The outcome had been decided from the moment the duel began.

A victory of psychological warfare.

From the opening exchange, Shin Gi-woon had abandoned the natural advantage of his spear and struck straight at his opponent's blind spot—while the man had underestimated him completely. The instant that palm strike landed and internal injuries followed, the man's chances of beating Shin Gi-woon plummeted by orders of magnitude.

There was nothing left to see. The match was already Shin Gi-woon's. Even if he had never taken that blow to the face, the result would not have changed. The gap in skill was that stark. Drawing a flying sword at this stage was never going to reverse the tide.

"What the hell is that kid?"

"What about him?"

"They said he only just reached Extreme Demon. And he's already using Phantom Form Shift that cleanly?"

Sama Rin's expression said the whole thing was absurd. Phantom Form Shift was one of the most demanding movement arts in existence—leaving afterimages while rocketing at extreme speed, the closest thing among footwork techniques to outright illusion.

Shindogun simply chewed on her words and said nothing. There was no need to answer. The Shin Gi-woon he knew had always done things that defied imagination.

Then Sama Rin realized she was being ignored and seized him by the skull.

"Hey. You ignoring me?"

"Our boy's always been a little special. He crushed every rival and took first place in Jamma Cave, remember? More importantly—focus. It's about to end."

Sama Rin clicked her tongue and turned back. Just as he said, Shin Gi-woon was now driving the man into a corner with absolute certainty.

Come to think of it, she couldn't even recall this expert's name. Forgetting the name of an Extreme Demon was no small thing. He really must have been second-rate. The reactions among the watching masters varied—some burning with competitive fire at the sight of Shin Gi-woon, some marveling at the height he had reached at such a young age, some casting looks of pure contempt at the enemy who had swaggered into a life-or-death duel and now stood at death's door.

It was only natural. The man had charged a bull thinking himself a lion—only to discover he was the cow.

Sama Rin found herself newly impressed by how cunning the Geom-dan Sect Leader was. Anyone of that caliber would have known the power gap between Shin Gi-woon and his opponent. And yet he had arranged the match anyway—laid the board all the way to a life-or-death duel.

Truly a man whose depths you can never read.

Looking closer, he was even more cunning than her own brother. The Geom-dan Sect Leader, more cunning than the Sal-ma Sect Master? Something about that felt off—but the match had already been decided.

"Gaaaaah!!"

The man's right arm went spinning into the air. In an instant, dark crimson blood painted the training ground.

The red light faded from Shin Gi-woon's eyes, returning them to black. He drew a few steadying breaths, then brought the spear tip to the man's throat with triumphant ease.

"Well? You looked down on me as the weaker one. The result came out the opposite."

"D-damn it. The likes of you—!"

"The likes of me? You fought me. You already know. I didn't use my full strength. If this hadn't been a staged life-or-death duel, you wouldn't even have gotten within a hundred paces of me."

"Nngh!"

Blood leaked from between the man's clenched teeth. His pride soared to the heavens, but he had no skill to back it up.

"Honestly. This is what passes for an Extreme Demon expert? This trash?"

"Wh-what? Trash?"

"I've got nothing more to say. You're a failure as a martial artist—and as a man."

"You son of a—"

Puhwaaak!

Shin Gi-woon flicked his wrist. The spear tip punched through the man's carotid artery, and at last his head dropped to the dirt. Silence settled over the entire training ground.

Shin Gi-woon looked at the Geom-dan Sect Leader with an expressionless face. The man collected himself and made the declaration.

"The victor of the life-or-death duel is Shin Gi-woon. With this, the life-or-death duel of the Extreme Heaven Meeting is concluded. Congratulations."

"My thanks, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Sect Leader."

The moment Dan Ju-hyeong proclaimed Shin Gi-woon's victory, a roar of murmuring rose around them loud enough to drown the surroundings.

Shindogun used the opening to approach him.

"Well, well. Our squad member goes and spreads the unit's name far and wide. This captain is very satisfied, you know?"

"Honestly, I didn't even get fully warmed up."

"What? Hahaha! Bold little bastard! Don't go saying things like that so freely."

Pang, pang.

Shindogun burst out laughing and pounded him on the back. There was no inner energy in the blows, but the raw strength still stung a little. Shin Gi-woon didn't complain. It was like oiling a stiff body—the life-or-death duel hadn't been all bad.

The real problem was the gazes of the other experts. Before, curiosity had been the main current. Now killing intent loaded with every kind ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of emotion was pouring toward him. It felt like standing in the middle of a battlefield.

Of course, he showed none of it. There was no need to make enemies on purpose.

While he was still talking with Shindogun, servants entered the training ground and began clearing away the man's corpse. Dan Ju-hyeong called them over, gave some instructions, then finished and walked toward Shin Gi-woon.

"Captain of the Thousand Transformations Soul Chasing Squad—Shin Gi-woon."

"Yes, Sect Leader."

"Your spear art is a thing of beauty. I never dreamed our cult would produce a spearman like you."

"You flatter me. All martial arts flow into ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠one. The weapon is merely different. Had you begun your path with ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the spear, Sect Leader, you would have reached a higher realm than I."

"Ah—All Streams Return to One Origin. But even I never reached Extreme Demon at your age. You're allowed to be proud."

"Thank you."

Shin Gi-woon smiled even as he analyzed the Geom-dan Sect Leader. How high was the probability of a connection to Cheongung? Did he possess a magical formula from consuming mass-produced wish beads? High in his upper dantian, Ryu-jin processed the information as carefully as possible so the man would not notice.

"I have a favor to ask."

"A favor, sir?"

"My son has no idea how wide the world is. He thinks he has no equal among his peers. Granted, he reached Peak at twenty… but compared to those Five Stars of Jamma Cave, he's still weak."

"So—how thoroughly should I step on him?"

"Step on him? Haha! A man who understands me. I'll contact you later."

Dan Ju-hyeong liked Shin Gi-woon's blunt manner. The boy was quick on the uptake, too. Unbidden, the thought rose: what if he had grown up holding a sword in the Geom-dan Sect?

But a fish you fail to catch can never be put in the tank. Regret was only regret. Dan Ju-hyeong let him go.

Shin Gi-woon, however, did not.

"Shin Gi-woon. This bastard has a magical formula."

You're sure?

"I can feel an alien energy similar to Hwa-seon's. It's not demonic qi, so a magical formula is all that's left."

What a pain.

Of all people—an expert ranked in the cult's top ten, a Cheongung plant.

Why?

That question came first. Why would the Geom-dan Sect Leader be a Cheongung agent? It wasn't as if he had nothing to enjoy. It made no sense. Perhaps there were private circumstances. Even so, it was not something to factor into consideration.

A Cheongung plant was only a plant. What did it matter if he was the Geom-dan Sect Leader? Every last plant would be rooted out.

And so the small disturbance in Wuncheon Hall subsided. Not long after, Cheon Yu entered the hall—and this year's Extreme Heaven Meeting opened its gates.

"Be seated, all of you."

At the Cult Leader's word from the seat of honor, every Extreme Demon expert attending the Extreme Heaven Meeting took their places.

The atmosphere in the hall was still. Not a shred of killing intent remained. As long as the Cult Leader occupied this seat, merely releasing killing intent was grounds for summary execution.

The seating was free-form. Beside Cheon Yu sat, of course, the Great Law Protector and leader of the Guangming Guardian Corps—Ma Jin-cheon. Centered on him, Extreme Demon experts of Guangming Palace filled the left; those of the Seven Demon Sects filled the right. The numbers differed by roughly two to one, but it only proved that as a single force, Guangming Palace stood supreme. As expected.

"At this Extreme Heaven Meeting, we will speak of the true enemy of our cult."

At Cheon Yu's glance, Ma Jin-cheon rose and unfurled a long banner. Upon it, in enormous characters, was written a single name: Cheongung.

"Cheongung. The enigmatic organization to which the former leader of the Heavenly Net Black Death Squad, Lee Hyeong-seop, once belonged. In other words—the rare breed of scum who made a mockery of our cult."

Former leader of the Heavenly Net Black Death Squad, Lee Hyeong-seop. He had been a spy for an unknown group. Most of the Extreme Demon experts already knew that much—but that the organization's name was Cheongung was news they received only today.

"Cheongung's ambition knows no end. Until now we have investigated quietly from the shadows… but not long ago, the assassin gates established across the jianghu by the Black Killing Ghost Shadow Corps were crushed one after another."

"O great Heavenly Demon. May I speak regarding the assassin gates?"

"Do so."

At the mention of the Black Killing Ghost Shadow Corps, Sama Rin interjected. She was the one who had suffered the heaviest losses from Cheongung's emergence. The assassin gates had been a shadow war the Black Killing Ghost Shadow Corps had staked its life upon. Even with support from the Sal-ma Sect, the majority of those gates had belonged to her corps.

Granted the floor, she cited concrete casualty figures and went so far as to argue that Cheongung had already declared war upon the Demonic Cult.

There was no murmuring. Each person was listening, assembling the information.

When she finished, Sama Rin nodded and sat. Silence followed naturally.

Then the hall was turned upside down.

A single sentence that would rewrite the fate of the Demonic Cult.

From Cheon Yu's mouth came the formal declaration of war—that the Demonic Cult would now enter open conflict with Cheongung in earnest.