Evolution (2)
The golden light enveloping Pa Cheon began to gradually fade.
“Oh...!”
It looked like the reinforcement was finally drawing to a close.
Soon, the glow scattered like a swarm of fireflies, revealing Pa Cheon’s form.
“The appearance... has changed?”
The shape of the Pa Cheon Sword was different. Originally, after Cheol Mu Geuk’s upgrade, there had been a single groove just above the hilt, perfect for embedding a jade.
Now, there were two.
I didn’t need an explanation to understand. It meant Pa Cheon could now harness the power of an additional jade.
This is an insane gain.
By default, Pa Cheon was already equipped with the Time Wheel Jade. For a human, using it meant getting devoured by its power, losing all sense of time’s flow—so that slot might as well have been fixed. Switching to another jade would’ve required sealing away the immensely powerful Time Wheel Jade.
But now? It could wield the Time Wheel Jade’s power as standard... and add another on top.
If my hunch is right, and the First Heavenly Demon really could extract his abilities into jades...
There might be another jade hidden in the Muhonjibyeok—or at least a clue to one.
My combat strength had just leaped forward again.
Slot in the Golden Jade, and this thing’s basically invincible, right?
Golden Jade
The most infamous, most vicious jade in the Murim Return world.
Anyone with jade power who touches it turns everything to gold.
Obviously modeled after the myth of Midas’ hand—but this world had a real one.
Tragic for humans. But if Pa Cheon wielded it?
Maybe anything it touched or slashed would turn to gold in an instant.
Instant death, pretty much.
Of course, the Golden Jade was only ever mentioned in Murim Return, never located. Finding it would be a pipe dream.
Anyway.
“Pa Cheon?”
If the sword’s form had changed, there had to be changes to Pa Cheon himself.
Yet ever since the reinforcement ended, he’d been utterly silent.
“Pa Cheon-ah?”
It was unnerving.
What if his soul had scattered in the process?
Still no response from Pa Cheon.
I grabbed the sword and shook it. Maybe he was asleep?
“Hey, Pa Cheon. Sado Hwan!”
A wave of dread crashed over me right then.
Be quiet for a moment.
“Pa Cheon!”
No need for the hysterics. This body is fine. It merely required time to shake off a bout of self-loathing.
Never had his voice sounded so welcome.
“What happened? Self-loathing? What’s that about?”
...Such things occur. In any case, that is not the point.
Pa Cheon continued.
Yokai, it seems the reinforcement succeeded, just as you predicted.
“Yeah. The form changed. Looks like it can handle one more jade now.”
Correct. However, that is hardly all.
Pa Cheon made his body float lightly in the air.
Three changes, by this body’s reckoning.
“Three?”
First: the efficiency of energy absorption has skyrocketed.
“Oh!”
Pa Cheon fueled himself by siphoning martial artists’ inner energy.
The problem? Massive waste in the process.
To put it simply: before, this body absorbed only about thirty percent of what it drew in, wasting the rest. Now? At least seventy percent. Oh, and usage efficiency has improved as well.
Tremendous. Even basic math showed absorption more than doubled.
With Pa Cheon’s capacity for inner energy already vast as an ocean, this was incredibly promising.
“That’s the first. What’s the second?”
Second: behold the table.
At Pa Cheon’s words, I turned to the table in the room.
True to Hwasan’s love of beauty, an elegant antique tea set sat upon it.
And then—
Bzzz—
The moment a vibrating hum emanated from Pa Cheon—
The tea set floated into the air.
I shrugged it off. Domination manipulated gravity, so it wasn’t impossible...
“Hold on. Crazy. The porcelain?”
Domination.
The intent forged by former Heavenly Demon Do Il Gwang, the tyrant incarnate.
Brutal. Destructive. Unyielding.
Of course.
No need for delicacy.
From Do Il Gwang’s view, crushing foes flat was all that mattered. Why bother with finesse?
Yet here was Pa Cheon, wielding that intent with surgical precision.
And the astonishment didn’t end there.
The flower vase began to spin lazily.
“Rotation... ? No, it’s different.”
Rotation spun energy with a signature metallic hum—and blinding speed, not this gentle twirl.
So how?
Simple. Triple-layered application of Domination.
“...What?”
Maintain the lift on the vase. Push it left to right. Then, riding that spin, push right to left. It rotates like a top.
“You mad bastard.”
The words slipped out on their own.
Wielding Domination’s raw destructive force with that level of finesse?
This body’s energy control has advanced tremendously. It feels as if thick, muffling gloves have been cast off—pure freedom.
Pa Cheon’s control was already beyond human limits.
Now elevated further.
Plenty of warriors outpower Pa Cheon.
But ones who could wield energy with such precision? Across jianghu and the outer reaches, I’d wager fewer than ten fingers’ worth.
“That’s two. There’s a third?”
The ‘interval’ has expanded.
‘Interval’—the sensory domain accessible to true masters.
The higher the realm, the wider the range.
A typical super peak covered about 100 jang. Pa Cheon, not having fully achieved Three Flowers Gather at the Summit, managed 30 to 40 jang.
Absurd, even then. Sensing something over 100 meters away?
“So, how much? Double to around 80 jang?”
Nay.
Pa Cheon answered.
Enough to encompass all of Hwasan Sect.
“...All of Hwasan?”
Hwasan wasn’t some pup’s doghouse. Not 100 jang radius—more like 200 or 300. Enough to swallow the whole sect.
In other words, standard super peak sensory prowess.
Sensing-wise, probably on par with Paeng Yu-gun.
“Plain speak: no more instant kills.”
Instant kill?
“Sniper shots from afar. Ambushes.”
Obviously. Even if Yu Il O attacks, this body will sense it beforehand.
Back during that Heavenly Demon Divine Cult search op with Yu Il O, he’d once slashed at me.
Pa Cheon reacted late. Lost the interval duel. Then again, the guy was insane enough to keep up even with Time Wheel Jade active.
Now? Such threats preempted.
Reinforcing Pa Cheon was the right call, all ways considered.
Now do you grasp this body’s greatness?
“Yeah, sure... but.”
What now? Another issue?
“Think about it. That Reinforcement Stone that upgraded you? From the First Heavenly Demon.”
And?
“Casually leaving something this potent... means he had the leeway for it. So how many times did the First Heavenly Demon reinforce his gear?”
Even with the golden success glow, Pa Cheon’s gains were beyond imagination.
The First Heavenly Demon had repeated this process multiple times.
Thus, he is the original Heavenly Demon. Did not the Muhonjibyeok proclaim he suppressed the Four Heavenly Demons?
Reasons to hunt the First Heavenly Demon’s legacies had never been clearer.
Hidden secret histories. Intent cultivation manuals. Blood Cult formation diagrams.
And these Reinforcement Stones.
In a mad world like this, power to shatter the setting would make survival a breeze.
“The ‘no big moves for a while’ thing—all recovered now?”
Indeed. Though fully adapting to these new capabilities may take this body a few days.
“That’s nothing. You can still fight.”
Which meant it was time to leave Hwasan.
Shaolin still held a Muhonjibyeok.
Three tasks in Shaolin.
First: locate the wall.
Second: peacefully(?) extract Yakseon’s elixirs and treasures from Gongjin.
Third: sort out Sa Wol and Gong-a’s messy connection.
Avoid the abbot if humanly possible, of course.
I headed straight for Paeng Yu-gun.
He eyed me suspiciously.
“That true?”
“What is, sir?”
“That Seongsu BongJin So-cheong business. For real?”
“No, sir. Likely temporary blood qi overload—impaired judgment. If it were a real affair, why spread it via messenger birds for all the neighborhood to hear?”
“Hrrrm. Yeah, suppose.”
“You’re not sulking over it, are you, elder?”
“You little shit. Think I’ve gone soft?”
Even as he spoke, Paeng Yu-gun burst into booming laughter.
This ordeal had shown it clear:
Paeng Yu-gun, this old man, had fully accepted me.
Hell, even if my cult ties came out later, I’d bet he’d honor that promise to be my blade.
Friendly face like his? Time to rack up goodwill.
“I’m good to head to Shaolin now.”
“Stubborn about that Investigation Cave, and now your sword’s changed. Some hidden secret there?”
“You’re seeing things.”
“Cheeky brat. That blade from Yakseon, eh? Something he left in Hwasan’s cave?”
“Easier fooling ghosts.”
“Umhaha! This old man’s eyes don’t miss a trick!”
Silly old coot.
Anyway, after his train-whistle guffaw, Paeng Yu-gun pressed on.
“Fine. Let’s move. Getting sick of these penny-pinching Hwasan Taoists. Onward.”
Next stop: decided.
“...Sado family head.”
Life-and-Death Judge Gu Jin-gyeong crumpled the paper.
“Venturing into jianghu just to stir up pointless drama.”
Intel on Sado family head’s jianghu alias, Dongbang Geomryong: a scandal with Seongsu Bong Jin So-cheong and Yeom Mun-seol.
The cult’s intel net was vast—even without birds, word reached fast.
Thank goodness the follow-up confirmed the Yeom Mun-seol bit was fake. If true? The cult would’ve erupted.
“What’s that?”
“Your Excellency graces us.”
Gu Jin-gyeong’s heart nearly dropped at Yi Se-ryeong’s sudden voice.
She’d appeared right before him.
True to form—no place in the cult barred her. Even his office.
“I could’ve sworn I heard talk of the Sado family head.”
“No, Your Excellency. You misheard.”
“And that paper in your hand?”
“Just a minor report.”
“Hand it over.”
“Your Excellency.”
“Why so coy?”
“It’s all for Your Excellency’s sake.”
Gu Jin-gyeong unfurled his simsang. A rattling of iron chains—
Crunch.
He chewed and swallowed the paper.
Yi Se-ryeong stared, face screaming what a weirdo.
Unfurl your simsang... to eat paper?
More baffling than curious.
Thanks to Gu Jin-gyeong’s absurdity, ‘Sado family head’ vanished from her mind.
“Chief Steward Gu.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Rest if you’re tired.”
“Understood.”
Yi Se-ryeong vanished as abruptly as she’d arrived.
You’ll thank me forever, Sado family head.
Gu Jin-gyeong could only pray the family head avoided more idiocy.
This won’t do. He requested aid from Hyeok Mun, right? Time for a warning.
Gu Jin-gyeong took up his brush and began to write.
I Pretend to Be the Heavenly Demon