Guiju Castle
Sa Wol stared fixedly at Sado Hwan.
Sado Hwan's eyebrow twitched.
In that instant.
Swish—
In the blink of an eye, Sa Wol drew her dagger, gripped it in reverse, and pressed it to Sado Hwan's throat.
Sado Hwan didn't flinch.
Instead.
He gazed at her with eyes sunk in fathomless cold.
"What is this?"
"I wanted to know. If you truly are the head of the Asura Sado Family, Sado Hwan."
While searching the tributaries of the Baekhoe River according to the map, Sa Wol had finally found the collapsed cave.
And there, she had seen it.
The remnants of the partially destroyed Soul Swap Great Law.
The site in the jianghu where Sado Hwan had gone missing had collapsed entirely, leaving nothing recognizable—but this one was different.
Though partially ruined, it wasn't hard for Sa Wol, a master of tracking, to discern its contents.
A site capable of performing the great law that swapped the souls of living people.
And, as if in mockery, there lay a letter from Sado Gwang. Sa Wol could never forget his handwriting.
The letter contained only one line.
Sado Hwan swapped bodies with Mu Jin using the Soul Swap Great Law.
In that moment, countless memories flashed through Sa Wol's mind.
Sado Hwan, who had changed as if he were someone else entirely.
The shift had begun when he emerged alive from being buried in that cave.
Sa Wol had thought it was simply an awakening after brushing death.
But.
What if it was actually because his body had been swapped by the Soul Swap Great Law?
What if he hadn't just changed like someone else—but truly was someone else?
"Are you Sado Hwan? Or are you Mu Jin, wearing that shell?"
"I'll ask you this, Sa Wol."
Sado Hwan said.
"If I'm not the real one, then what? What's gone wrong?"
"……."
Sa Wol was momentarily speechless.
The original Sado Hwan had been a wastrel.
Utterly incompetent yet twisted in personality, insufferably arrogant, constantly causing trouble without ever getting anything done properly.
Compared to that, the current Sado Hwan?
He wielded political acumen that seemed to foresee the future, martial prowess so immense no one but the Heavenly Demon could topple him, and leadership that pursued strength supremacy while tenderly caring for those under his wing.
He was the perfect exemplar of a Divine Cult disciple—flawless, like something drawn in a picture, beyond reproach from anyone.
And moreover.
'Sa Wol, you should go home.'
That gentle voice—
Sa Wol shook her head.
Sado Hwan took her headshake as denial and continued.
"You're right. And no, I'm not Mu Jin. In that cave, Mo Yong Su did try to swap my soul with that man Mu Jin."
"?!"
"But he failed. He guessed the great law couldn't break the will of someone at Super Peak. In other words, what you suspected didn't happen."
Sa Wol stared straight into Sado Hwan's eyes. Up close, those pitch-black depths like an abyss showed no tremor whatsoever.
Sa Wol was skilled at interrogation.
Distinguishing truth from lies by reading physical reactions was as easy as breathing.
No matter the expert, they couldn't avoid even the slightest flicker.
Like when Sado Hwan's eyebrow twitched upon hearing "Soul Swap Great Law" and "Mu Jin" moments ago.
Thus—
'It's the truth.'
Sado Hwan was not Mu Jin.
"Please forgive my crime of daring to doubt the family head."
Sa Wol flipped the dagger from reverse grip with a whirl and swung it toward her left pinky finger.
Or rather, she tried to.
Grab.
If Sado Hwan's hand hadn't seized her wrist.
"What is this?"
"In the Divine Cult, anyone who attempts to harm a superior without a formal duel cuts off a finger. That's all."
"Sa Wol."
Sado Hwan fixed her with eyes of utter frigidity and spoke.
"Loyalty isn't proven by visible acts. And."
Sado Hwan took the dagger from her hand.
"Don't you dare harm yourself without my permission. Cherish your body—that's an order."
"……."
"That's a command."
"Underst—yes, sir."
Sa Wol's ear tips flushed red as she took the dagger back from Sado Hwan.
I really thought this was it—I was done for.
Sa Wol, no one else but Sa Wol. The one and only assassin specialist among the Divine Cult's living Super Peak experts.
I nearly died without even reacting.
If she hadn't stopped herself.
Even Pa Cheon missed her presence for a split second, unable to fully utilize the Time Wheel Jade's power at first.
Sa Wol. You've grown even stronger. Is this what a genius is?
'You missed it.'
There was no qi anyway, and now it's completely drained. Using up a card just to save Sa Wol's finger.
Pa Cheon grumbled.
Was I supposed to just watch her cut off her own finger right in front of me?
Anyway, your silver tongue drove Sa Wol away again.
Sa Wol had asked if I was Mu Jin.
I answered no.
I said nothing like a body swap between Sado Hwan and Mu Jin had happened.
'It's not a lie.'
It's not the perfect truth either.
'Anyway.'
Sa Wol carefully sheathed her dagger and bowed to me.
Her ear tips still red, embarrassed that her deduction was wrong.
X God.
'Suddenly?'
I'll throw your words back at you verbatim. Just accept it.
'…….'
I wanted to argue with Pa Cheon, but calming the situation took priority.
"Did you find a site?"
"Yes."
Sa Wol explained everything.
There was a half-collapsed cave deep in the Baekhoe River tributary, bearing traces of Sado Gwang.
The site's wall had an engraved map marking another location for performing the Soul Swap Great Law—the very cave where it all began.
"Both sites are destroyed now."
"Yes."
No more soul-swappers to disrupt the world.
"Witnesses?"
"Well……."
Sa Wol's face reddened as she said,
"After finding the suspected site, I left the rest outside. I got so angry seeing Sado Gwang's traces that I swung my sword…… and the cave fully collapsed."
"……No witnesses, then."
"Family head. Could it be."
Sa Wol composed herself and asked,
"That kid Mu Gwang from the base village—isn't he Sado Gwang?"
I really needed to keep distance from those around me periodically.
Sa Wol, freed from the intelligence nerf curse, had made a plausible deduction.
What if I dialed back Tak Horak a bit—would he get smart again?
Shaking off the idle thought, I answered Sa Wol.
"Probably. High chance."
Not much of a leap anymore.
Pa Cheon quietly added.
He'd thought my guess—that Mu Gwang was Sado Gwang in a new body—was an overreach.
Separate from the resolve to learn martial arts.
But with real Soul Swap Great Law remnants, it changed things.
"At first, I thought it might be fortunate. Sado Gwang—that man takes everything around him, destroys it, leaves desolation."
"At first?"
"But now, to be honest……."
Sa Wol said with trembling eyes.
"I'm afraid. Even unable to control his body properly, he ruined everything with his three-inch tongue. What if he truly masters Meng Wi Hak's martial arts? And if he grows like that, will he leave the Divine Cult alone?"
If I knew Sado Gwang best in this world, Sa Wol might understand him most deeply.
She too was a victim forged into his blade.
"Don't fear."
Sa Wol met my eyes at my words.
"I'll stop that from happening."
"You've already known everything and prepared, from your actions."
The tremor in Sa Wol's eyes gradually stilled.
"Beyond gathering the Six Demonic Families under you, you're subjugating even Cheon Oe Cheon and those outside the rankings. To make everything move at your will."
What was she talking about?
"I understand why you don't aim for the supreme seat. Changing the Heavenly Demon's name shakes the world. If the current supreme one, who just took the title, loses it so soon, it might provoke the jianghu."
The intelligence curse must have lifted too thoroughly.
She was spreading her wings of imagination like Mu Geuk-i.
But with the concept I'd built so far, I couldn't correct her.
"I'll grow even stronger. So I won't be a burden to you."
All I could do was give her a firm look.
Guiju Castle.
Territory of Sa Wang Castle, which bisected the jianghu north-south alongside the Murim Alliance.
Unlike the inns in the righteous faction's lively-but-orderly zone, Guiju Castle's inns were utter chaos.
Smashing bottles over heads at the slightest provocation, riding people like chairs—the interior swept by one hot topic that bordered on the surreal.
The Five Dragons and Three Phoenixes!
Talk of the eight rising stars who had boosted their fame.
"Obviously, that Kunlun guy is top!"
A burly man with thick beard chugged his liquor and bellowed.
"Super Peak? Makes other dragons look like jokes—most are just Peak at best."
A goateed man astride a prone figure chimed in.
"But by faction power, Changcheon Ilryong takes it. Tsk. Don't move. Gonna puke."
"S-s-sorry!"
"Hahaha. My friend, but your tastes are foul."
"Be grateful I didn't gouge your eyes for dog food. What about Okmyeon Geomryong, then?"
"That guy's unlucky. Pretty boy gets 'Dragon' slapped on just for looks—righteous folk are weird. Since when were Mo Yong righteous?"
"Heard he's running around digging up truths since his grandpa died?"
"Flash that skill and he'll die good. Heh."
The bearded giant swigged and said,
"How about Dongbang Geomryong? Heard he's strong enough to enlighten Kunlun Shinryong."
"Pfft!"
The goatee snorted.
"What dragon from some nowhere Taeryeong? Better say the Yao Immortal site is real."
"Tch. Watch it. Castle elders are interested in that site."
"……Castle elders?"
That was when.
"Heard you were talking something interesting. Mind filling me in?"
A figure slipped between the debating giant and goatee.
Shouldering a massive dao as tall as himself, face shadowed by a bamboo hat.
"Who're you?"
"Sadly not a guy—a girl."
The bamboo-hatted figure lifted the brim.
"What's this about the Yao Immortal site?"