Chapter 19 Gang Qi
Inn, annex.
When I returned, Sa Wol and Tak Horak were waiting with fidgety expressions like naughty puppies on the verge of getting scolded. As experts, they must have sensed my approach beforehand. I couldn't hide my presence like that anyway.
That probably weighed on them even more. It was like approaching while saying, 'You're dead meat now.'
I opened the door to my room with a stern face and stepped inside.
Then I sat at the table and poured myself some tea that had gone cold. Normally, Sa Wol would have impassively said, "Shall I pour the tea?" but now she was just twitching her fingers.
Part of me wanted to splash it in her face like some soap opera mother-in-law. But that would make me no different from all the bastards I'd dealt with before.
I gulped down the cold tea in one go and spoke.
"Sa Wol. Tak Horak. Do you know what you did today?"
"I'm sorry."
"I'm sorry!"
"I'm not saying this to hear apologies."
I continued.
"Even if you'd wiped out the Baek Family Manor and Somyeongjang right there, the extermination squad would have formed immediately. The Beggars' Sect's eyes were already everywhere, and they nearly assembled one. On top of that, the Tang Clan of Sichuan was tracking our traces."
They probably thought something like, 'If we're caught, we just finish it quick.'
From what I'd seen so far, the Murim Alliance's intelligence network was on another level. No CCTV or satellites, yet somehow.
Taeryeong County was such a small frontier town that they'd react sensitively to outsiders showing up.
'Maybe there's someone specialized in surveillance.'
People like Un Yeop Ja or the Sword Saint existed with special abilities. It made me think there could be others not highlighted in Murim Returner.
Anyway, setting that aside.
"I told you clearly. If the extermination squad forms, I might live, but you two die. Did you really want to die that badly?"
"Absolutely not!"
"Then."
I said to Tak Horak, who was trying to make excuses.
"Are you disobeying my orders?"
"……Absolutely not!"
"I've already denied even being the Heavenly Demon Successor to save you. Yet you, Tak Horak, dared to presume my intentions with your shallow thinking and nearly ruin everything—the punishment for that is death—"
Before I could finish, Tak Horak pulled a dagger from his bosom and held it to his throat. I panicked and rushed to complete my sentence.
"—but no."
Blood trickled from where the dagger had nicked his neck. Fortunately, he'd stopped upon hearing me.
This guy was truly insane. He had the vibe of someone who'd actually die if told to. Scary. That couldn't be the average Heavenly Demon Divine Cult member, right? Otherwise, I'd be in for a rough time.
"I can't take back the life I saved. However, Tak Horak, you're stripped of your vice-leader position until we return to the cult. And you'll spend a month in the Punishment Cave."
Tak Horak's face went pale at my words. He'd charged at death earlier, but now he looked like he'd heard something he shouldn't have. Sa Wol, listening beside him, wore a shocked expression, doubting what she'd heard.
'What the hell?'
[……Rather tell me to die.]
'Isn't the Punishment Cave that scary?'
[Even a demon doesn't know everything, it seems.]
'What's the big deal?'
[Ugh……I don't even want to talk about that place.]
But retracting my words now would break my Sado Hwan character. I'd sneakily lighten it later when the memory faded. Cut it to a week? Tak Horak had set the stage for me to gain something anyway.
"Vice-leader Sa Wol. You're not blameless. If your subordinate spouts nonsense, you as his direct superior should stop him."
"I'm sorry."
"You'll be sent to the Punishment—"
I started to say Punishment Cave but switched, realizing their version might differ from mine.
"I'll submit the disciplinary proposal and decide later."
"Thank you!"
Tak Horak was making a What about me? What about me? face beside her, but I turned away. Sorry, man.
"What about the other squad members?"
"I told them all to disguise and scatter."
"Make sure they don't act rashly until I give direct orders."
"Yes!"
"Get out."
At my words, Sa Wol and Tak Horak bowed and left.
[By the way, that Un Yeop Ja punk earlier. What's his deal?]
"What? Oh, the stomachache?"
[Yeah.]
"Curious question: Do you even have a stomach to ache, without a body?"
[……Get out of my body right now, you demon.]
"Just kidding."
[Not so much pain as an unpleasant sensation. Like bugs wriggling inside. Any guesses?]
"Yeah."
I placed Pa Cheon on the table and said,
"You know martial arts better than me, Pa Cheon. What is Gang Qi?"
[Gang Qi isn't just releasing a warrior's cultivated energy—it's solidified into form. A weapon wrapped in it can slice steel effortlessly.]
Like in the cave I first fell into, even sword qi could cut soft rock. Gang Qi was several to hundreds of times more potent—a condensed energy mass.
The variance from multiples to hundreds-fold had reasons.
"That's it?"
[Not just that—Gang Qi changes the world.]
"Right. That's the key."
[Ah. I get it now. Why Un Yeop Ja's Gang Qi felt unpleasant.]
For a normal warrior without Sado Hwan's special constitution, the limit through hard training was Peak realm. Peak was impressive, sure.
But to step beyond into Super Peak, one thing was essential.
Enlightenment.
Ordinary people accept the world's laws as given—fire is hot, ice is cold.
Super Peak warriors differ. They hone their will through martial arts. That iron will doesn't stop at intent—it births new phenomena. By denying the world's laws and imposing their own.
Thus, cold fire and hot ice.
Making impossible possible. Altering reality with will.
That was Gang Qi.
That's why in Murim Returner's mid-to-late game, with Super Peak experts everywhere, it felt like a superpower battle royale with abilities flying.
[Un Yeop Ja awakened Anti-Demon True Qi.]
"Seems like it."
Pa Cheon's current energy was from the dead Dok So Gong. His master Dok Ma was cult-aligned, so Dok So Gong practiced demonic arts. Anti-Demon clashed extremely with demonic arts.
[Crazy bastard.]
"Crazy human…… Can't find a normal one around here."
Martial arts' properties—like Wudang's softness or Huashan's flashiness—stemmed from inherited Gang Qi insights.
But some forged their own will, apart from ancestors. Like Un Yeop Ja.
Kunlun's ethos was generally "free." Their signature Yunlong Eight Forms mimicked dragons soaring freely.
Yet Un Yeop Ja awakened "Demon-Slaying" instead.
[But why are you fine? Asura Demonic Emperor Divine Art should've reacted.]
Asura Demonic Emperor Divine Art.
Sado Family's unique heart method.
"Probably just awakened, so it's fresh."
[True. Might even be weaker than a mature Peak expert for now.]
Sword Gang was a technique of will. Without proper tempering post-enlightenment, it could be far weaker than a seasoned Peak—like unhardened steel shattering.
"And……"
[And?]
"Never mind."
[Boring demon.]
Pa Cheon thought his art was Asura Demonic Emperor Divine Art. If it were—or if mine was—it would've reacted to Anti-Demon Qi. No reaction meant one thing.
Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
The progenitor of all demonic arts, more domineering than any. Petty Anti-Demon Qi? Wouldn't budge it.
Would have to reveal it someday.
"Anyway, sorry, but let's drain your internal energy first."
[What?]
"If Dok So Gong's energy bugs you, removing it all fixes that."
[Shouldn't we keep it as backup? What about returning to the cult?]
"Dok So Gong's energy is too murky and toxic anyway—useless in the cult."
Not just demonic, but laced with distinctive poisons. Better to become a new vessel for fresh wine.
……Of course, that means killing someone else. Can't be helped. Gotta survive.
"Let's go."
[Now? This late?]
"Slept late yesterday—wide awake now."
[More diligent than you look, demon.]
I grabbed Pa Cheon and headed to the annex's training ground. Sa Wol tried to follow.
"I'm about to train. Leave."
"Understood."
As she turned, something nagged, so I added,
"I'm not telling you to leave and cause trouble. Whatever happens, just watch."
"Yes, Young Master."
After sending Sa Wol and Tak Horak away firmly, I stood in the training ground.
Shing—
Pa Cheon slid from its sheath with a satisfying ring. Last night's practice paid off—it drew smoother than before. Still awkward up close, though.
"Since we're at it, how about demonstrating your sword forms with sword qi?"
[Good idea. I've been curious about true forms' power with sword qi.]
Pa Cheon floated up on its own.
[The Asura Demonic Emperor Divine Art's forms are the Asura Twelve Forms. Twelve in total.]
I crossed my arms and nodded.
Under the faint moonlight veiled by clouds, the sword hovered alone. A subtle green energy flowed along its blade—Dok So Gong's sword qi manifesting. It began the form with a light swing, as if wielded by a human.
And—
……No clue.
I boosted my vision with internal energy, but beyond "flashy," it was hard to grasp. Impressive, sure. The relentless strikes from impossible angles—I couldn't handle them.
But no protagonist enlightenment like 'Ah, the meaning of this form!' Just felt fast and powerful. Thanks to Murim Returner knowledge.
Then—
[……!]
Pa Cheon, mid-flurry, spun and shot toward a dark corner of the training ground. A presence.
No!
Killing on instinct was cult style, not mine.
I yanked Pa Cheon back. Sword or not, it was my blood-bound weapon. It trembled mid-air like a taut tug-of-war and halted.
At the end.
"……This."
Dang Si Hyeok stood there, the one who'd eyed and sniped me all day. Utterly flustered.
Ah, shit.
Shouldn't have pulled.
As I thought, What was Sa Wol doing?
'Whatever happens, just watch.'
My own words dug my grave.
What now?
Then.
"Perfect Flying Sword control…… that poison scent…… young face, Eastern origins……."
Dang Si Hyeok's dazed mutter locked eyes with me.
Soon.
"C-Could you be that person?"
Huh? What?
"That poison scent…… so that's why? It must be you!"
No idea what nonsense, but.
"……Took you long enough. Yes. It's me."
Screw it, whatever.
Pretending to be the Heavenly Demon