The Birth of the Heavenly Path

The weather in Cheonsang-do was absolutely wretched. The moment I stepped outside, the brilliant sunlight vanished, swallowed by sudden, heavy clouds. Rain began to pour as if a hole had been punctured in the heavens. Only after standing there, letting the freezing rain drench me to the bone while inhaling the crisp, cold air, did it finally sink in: I had transmigrated into the martial world.

"Haa..." I let out a long, heavy sigh.

It had all happened so suddenly that, strangely, it still felt surreal. I was fine for now, but I instinctively knew that as time passed and the reality of my situation slowly crept in, my mental state would begin to fray.

As I stood there, letting the rain cool my racing thoughts, I sensed a presence nearby. I turned my head toward the cave entrance and saw a beautiful woman. Like me, she had hair as white as snow. Her white robes, soaked through by the rain, clung tightly to her skin, accentuating her voluptuous figure. Under normal circumstances, the sight of her generous chest and curves would have made me blush, but given the gravity of my situation, I was merely bewildered.

As I stared at her in silence, she slowly approached. Stopping right in front of me, she sank to her knees and prostrated herself, performing a deep, formal bow. Before I could even process this sudden gesture, she spoke in a clear, resonant voice.

"The Blood God descends! Glory to the Blood Heaven!"

"Huh?"

"This humble servant pays her respects to the Blood God, who has descended upon this mortal realm!"

"..."

Judging by her words, she was clearly a member of the Blood Heaven Sect. I immediately shook my head and replied,

"You have the wrong person. I am not who you think I am."

I turned around, intending to ignore her and go on my way.

Whatever you do, do not get involved with the Blood Heaven Sect!

The moment I got tangled up with them, I would be fast-tracked onto the final boss route and destined to be slaughtered by the player. My goal was to hide my power, go with the flow, and survive. I would occasionally help the protagonist if we crossed paths, live as a moderately powerful local NPC, and find a way back to my original body.

But if I got involved with this cultist right now? The outcome was as clear as day. The DLC storyline would trigger, and before I knew it, I would find myself crowned as the final boss. I absolutely could not let that happen. Besides, I only knew the general outline of the main game's plot; I had no idea what specific actions I should take or avoid. The safest bet was to steer completely clear of anyone associated with the sect.

At my cold dismissal, the woman cried out in anguish.

"B-Blood Lord?! My Lord! What do you mean by that?! Please, grant our deepest wish!"

No way. Not happening. Go home.

"You have the wrong person."

I quickened my pace, but at that exact moment, something shot out from the dense foliage of the trees at blinding speed.

*Thwack!*

"Ack!"

A dagger pierced my neck, and I collapsed instantly.

Ugh! It hurts!

The pain was so excruciating I couldn't even scream. As I writhed, the assailants who had thrown the dagger emerged from the shadows. They were men clad in drab, dark ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠robes, their faces concealed behind black masks. Seeing me fall, the woman, who had still been bowing, scrambled to her feet and shrieked.

"B-Blood Lord!"

As if answering her cry, one of the masked men spoke.

"Wretched Blood Sect bastards. Did you truly think you could offend our great Heavenly Demon Sect and escape unscathed?"

"How dare you!"

"Ugh..."

As I groaned, everyone's attention snapped back to me.

I gripped the dagger embedded in my throat, ripped it out with a wet tear, and flung it to the ground. Seeing this, the masked men snorted in derision.

"All flash and no substance. He's nothing special."

"My Lord! No!"

Blood sprayed from my neck like a fountain, but almost immediately, the flesh began to knit back together.

*Ssshh...*

I felt one of the countless lives residing within my body extinguish. Pushing myself up, I touched my neck. Though smeared with fresh blood, the gaping wound where the dagger had just been was completely gone, fully healed.

The masked men recoiled in shock.

"H-How?!"

"The bastard is using sorcery!"

It was quite ironic to hear members of the Demonic Cult decrying someone else's techniques as "sorcery." Then again, martial artists of this world had a habit of branding anything they didn't understand as witchcraft, so it wasn't entirely surprising. The woman, however, cried out in sheer awe, a stark contrast to the cultists' panic.

"My Lord!"

I stumbled backward, my mind reeling.

"What on earth is happening..."

I was utterly bewildered. The moment I opened my eyes, I found myself in the body of the Blood Lord. I stepped out of a cave only to have a strange woman bow to me, walked a few paces only to get stabbed in the throat, and when I pulled the blade out, the wound healed instantly. Any one of these events would have been enough to throw someone into a panic, but experiencing them all in rapid succession left my brain completely paralyzed.

Who am I? What happened to me? What kind of crazy situation is this?

As I stood there dazed, another dagger whistled through the air, aiming straight for my forehead. Just as it was about to pierce my skull—

*Clang!*

The white-haired woman suddenly leaped in front of me, raising her straight sword to deflect the projectile. Her wet, silver hair whipped through the air, spraying droplets of rain. She glared at the masked men, her voice dripping with pure rage.

"Wretched dogs of the martial world. I shall deliver your divine punishment!"

She lunged forward like an arrow, charging at the masked men. Seeing white threads shimmering like a haze around her blade, one of the cultists shouted in alarm:

"Sword Silk?! She's a late-stage Peak Realm master! Stay on your guard!"

The masked men immediately drew their swords, manifesting their own Sword Silk. Of course, I—the supposed Blood Lord—had absolutely no idea what was going on. Having only a superficial knowledge of martial arts from webtoons, I simply assumed it was some kind of Sword Qi. However, in a clash between high-level masters, a single mistake could lead to fatal consequences. That was why, despite their numerical advantage, the cultists approached with extreme caution.

Watching the battle unfold, the reality of my transmigration finally hit home. I was truly in a martial arts world.

*Clang! Clang!*

The sharp screech of clashing steel echoed through the rain as her sword met theirs. At first glance, she seemed to hold her own against the four attackers, but the cultists were systematically wearing her down, chipping away at her stamina.

Driven into a corner, the white-haired woman pulled her straight sword back and thrust her bare hand toward one of the assailants. The moment her hand made contact with his blade, the steel crumpled like paper and shattered.

"What?!"

The startled cultists tried to leap backward, but her hand shot forward even faster, clamping onto one of their throats.

*Grab!*

Her pale skin took on a translucent, bluish glow like white jade, radiating an intense, freezing chill. The cultist's eyes widened in terror.

"T-The Sosu Magong?!"

"Too late."

*Crunch!*

The man's neck turned a deep, bruised blue as the freezing Sosu Cold Qi invaded his flesh. His throat was crushed to splinters, and with a sickening tear, his head was ripped clean from his shoulders in a spray of blood. Horrified, the remaining cultists lunged at her with renewed desperation. Though she used her Sosu Magong to deflect their blades, she couldn't dodge every strike and hidden weapon. Wounds began to accumulate across her body.

*Thwip!*

A cow-hair needle embedded itself in her thigh.

*Slash!*

A blade grazed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her shoulder.

As ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠her movements slowed, one of the cultists thrust his sword toward her heart. The blade split into three afterimages, blending feints with a true strike. Summoning the last of her internal energy, she identified the real attack and caught the blade with her frost-covered hand.

*Grab!*

But another cultist slipped into her blind spot, driving ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his sword through her back.

*Squelch!*

"Urgh!"

With the blade impaling her chest, she coughed up a mouthful of dark blood and let out a manic laugh.

"Hehehe... Fools. You shall drag me to hell, but I will drag you down with me!"

Spinning on her heel, she swept her jade-like hands toward the two cultists. Caught at point-blank range with their weapons still lodged in her body, they couldn't defend themselves. Her hands sliced through them as if they were soft tofu. The last remaining cultist rushed her, delivering a desperate, final strike that pierced her heart.

*Thrust!*

Crimson blood bloomed across her white robes, staining them a deep, dark red.

"Kehehe!"

Even as blood spilled from her lips, she grinned and grabbed the throat of the man who had pierced her heart.

*Crack!*

His head was torn from his body, and as he fell, the woman lost the last of her strength and collapsed onto the muddy ground.

Despite witnessing such a brutal slaughter firsthand, I felt strangely empty. Was it because of the transmigration? Or was the Blood Lord's body naturally devoid of human emotion? I didn't know. But my legs moved on their own, carrying me slowly toward her. Seeing me approach, the white-haired woman's fierce expression softened into a gentle, fragile smile.

"F-Forgive me... my God. Please... our wish..."

Her voice trailed off, and her head fell limp. The torrential rain beat down harder, as if trying to wash away any trace of her existence. Looking at her, an instinct flared deep within me. I knew, without a doubt, that I possessed the power to bring her back—by feeding her my blood and turning her into a Blood Ghoul.

I hesitated. Reason told me to walk away. Leaving her behind was the only way to avoid the DLC boss route. But my conscience wouldn't allow me to abandon someone who had just sacrificed her life to protect me. Without a word, I sliced the tip of my finger with my fingernail and held the bleeding wound over her parted lips.