Chapter 43: You're a Madman
[What do you mean by that? That your brother will notice?]
I set the Sado Ga territory map down on the desk. I'd memorized it while reciting lines from scripts—I'm used to memorization—and since most of the figures appeared in Murim Returner too, I picked it up in no time. Their backgrounds, main weapons, all of it.
"Exactly what I said. He'll figure out right away that I'm not you."
Sado Gwang was weak. Even I, who knew jack shit about martial arts beyond bluffing—no, even a kid—could snap him like a twig.
But even so, he commanded the Sado Ga, one of the six great demonic clans that spanned the entire Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
That's how much of a genius he was.
It's the perfect setup for a web novel protagonist, if you think about it.
In a world where only martial prowess measured worth, he seized control using nothing but his brains? The ultimate web novel hero.
...If only his personality matched.
If he wanted something, he'd take it by any means. If he couldn't, he'd destroy it utterly, leaving no loose ends. The only blemish was his dying body—otherwise, no setbacks in life.
Anyway.
[Weren't you confident, you yokai?!]
"Acting-wise, he won't catch me. I'm sure of it."
I knew Sado Gwang better than Pa Cheon did. I could cover most of what he suspected with acting. The problem was that most.
He was the type to sniff out the lie in that last 1%, even if you fooled 99%.
[What exactly is the problem?]
"It all comes back to martial arts."
[...Martial arts?]
"You. Even without drawing inner energy from this body, you can still perform the forms, right?"
[Of course. A true warrior never neglects daily training. You yokai should—]
"I'm not here for a speech."
[Ahem.]
"As you know, there's a big issue. I can't use martial arts."
[Didn't you use it in the ruins? And your brother knows better than anyone that you couldn't wield it properly anyway.]
"That's not the point."
I shook my head.
"Remember the Asura Twelve Forms I used?"
[I do.]
"How was it?"
[It was splendid, but... I see.]
I nodded.
The martial arts in this Murim Returner world weren't just about moving well.
They contained the creator's intent.
The forms were mere vessels to express it.
Like acting: the form is the expression, the intent is the emotion.
Could you say you fully conveyed the emotion just by mimicking the face?
Yelling didn't mean rage. Tears didn't mean sorrow.
Was every smile happy?
Happy smiles, sad smiles, sly smiles, radiant smiles, servile smiles, innocent smiles...
Same expression, different emotions.
Likewise, swinging a sword didn't mean mastering the art. You had to grasp the intent and embody it.
In that sense...
"My martial arts were just empty shells."
Like watching a robot clumsily fake a human smile.
"Pa Cheon, you've trained in martial arts your whole life, so you get the intent. I don't."
[You don't know the incantations?]
"I know the incantations. Come on. Asura incarnates, splits the world into twelve, then splits those into twelve—what the hell does that even mean?"
Having lived in the real world, even as an actor, abstract crap like that was tough to grasp. Scripts gave detailed directions; vague metaphors felt like grasping at clouds.
[You can't even understand that simple phrase... A blockhead's taken my body...]
"No, wait—Asura doesn't even have six arms? Why twelve splits?"
[Because twelve is the perfect number, symbolizing infinity.]
"Nah? Infinity's this: ∞."
[Tsk tsk. Ignorant fool.]
"Ah."
Math PTSD. I'd hated it forever, but getting called ignorant by a murim warrior who barely grasped infinity? Ouch.
Of course, in wuxia lore, 12 held special meaning—martial arts or inner energy often divided into "twelve tiers."
"Damn it, whatever. Point is, your brother testing me is inevitable."
[Then use me. Even if you can't, I can.]
"You confident against a Peak expert's Sword Qi?"
[Well...]
Pa Cheon's power was immense, no doubt.
Not true Flying Sword, but close enough, plus his own will let him use martial arts. His innate strength was huge—he could carry me flying.
But Peak realm changed everything.
Once they projected inner energy outward as refined qi, warriors neared superhuman.
[Sword Qi would be one thing, but without it...]
"Impossible. In the end."
Launch a Flying Sword, only for a Peak master's blade to swat it away? Game over, fake exposed.
Sado Gwang didn't drop suspicions easily. Fool him once, he wouldn't go "Ah, got it!" He'd ramp up the tests till satisfied.
"So there's only one way."
[What?]
"Use Sword Qi."
[But I've used up all my energy.]
Pa Cheon's energy had been Dok So Gong's inner power—too sinister for open use without raising flags, so we'd burned it all. Regrettable now, but best choice then.
Thanks to it, I pulled Dang Si Hyeok to my side.
Anyway.
"Gotta recharge."
To refill Pa Cheon meant killing someone. For survival, I'd steel my heart. But I wasn't going mad, slaughtering indiscriminately.
[Which Heavenly Demon Divine Cultist do you plan to kill?]
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was strength-supreme, but murder wasn't free rein. Cultists were outnumbered by murim folk anyway—couldn't just off them willy-nilly. Officially, at least.
"Simple. Think about it."
[You yokai... I get it now.]
"Yeah? For real?"
[Sa Wol. It was Sa Wol.]
"...What?"
[Couldn't figure why you treated that wench so well. A yokai like you, lusting after women? You were buttering her up, lulling her guard, then sucking her dry. Everything planned!]
"Hey, Pa Cheon."
[What's up? Shocked by my logic?]
"Back when you were in this body, you didn't talk much, right?"
[A man's words are heavy.]
I sighed.
"Good, good. At least your ignorance didn't show."
[What?]
"Sa Wol's Tang Clan poison arts are assassination-specialized. Think I'd win just 'cause she's off-guard?"
[True... Then Tak Horak? Too valuable to kill!]
"Argh, you dense ox. Why kill my subordinates?"
[Then whose energy do you plan to absorb?!]
"Somewhere you can kill without backlash—in fact, get praised for it."
Pa Cheon finally got it.
[No way, you...]
"Yeah."
I nodded.
"Punishment Cave. Prisoners there don't count."
Among the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's sinners, those with unforgivable crimes were sealed in a massive underground prison, martial arts suppressed. That was Punishment Cave.
Even for survival, I didn't want innocent blood. Last stand of Kim Dong Yun, modern man.
[Madman... You're a madman.]
"Why?"
[Punishment Cave isn't survivable. Not even an hour.]
Like before, my intel on Punishment Cave differed from theirs.
I recalled it as grim, but not instant-death.
Ah, could it be?
"Pa Cheon. You scared of Punishment Cave because of the previous Heavenly Demon?"
[......]
Pa Cheon went silent. Answer enough.
The Heavenly Demon title was unique but not eternal—went to the strongest. Always the cult's top dog.
And in Punishment Cave sat the previous Heavenly Demon.
[Tyrant? You can't call that monster just a tyrant.]
The 6th Heavenly Demon, Do Il Gwang.
From the Blood Blade Path clan, one of the six demonic houses. Nicknamed Blood Ghost before ascension—left rivers of blood wherever he went.
Blood Blade Path folk were beyond hot-blooded: true rage machines. Not survival of the fittest, just berserk on a whim. Real psychos.
Patch North Sea Pang Clan with Heavenly Demon Divine Cult vibes, dark-evolve it: Blood Blade Path.
Then give him absolute Heavenly Demon power?
No need to explain.
Heavenly Demon Divine Cultists hated the 6th more than the 4th who sparked the Heavenly Demon Blood Purge. At least the 4th spared cultists—some even saw him as showing murim the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's might.
Current Heavenly Demon's popularity despite legitimacy issues? He saved them from that tyrant.
"Martial arts sealed anyway, even as Heavenly Demon."
[Doesn't matter. He was Heavenly Demon. Don't think of him as ordinary.]
"So impossible, or just hate it?"
[The latter, if pressed.]
"Then we're going."
[Why go that far?]
"To survive."
My goal was survival. In this mad world, thorns or not, I had to tread.
Previous Heavenly Demon.
I'd learned incomplete Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Maybe he'd drop hints. Made it worth the trip for me.
He had unique skills. Current Heavenly Demon copies it at a glance, but...
Couldn't guarantee with this body. But Pa Cheon probably could. Worth betting.
Treasure Artifact too.
In Murim Returner, protagonist Mu Jin learns of Treasure Artifacts in Punishment Cave but can't claim them due to limits. Discovers Sa Wol's secret there, though.
Sa Wol's fate changes too. To my side.
So, not going solo.
"Not going alone."
[Sa Wol again?]
"Sa Wol, plus one more."
I had a comrade (aka patsy).
I jabbed the Sado Ga territory map.
"Punishment Cave's under Sado Ga oversight. Makes moving easier, right?"
***
Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, 2nd Demon Realm.
The street of revelry and indulgence for Heavenly Demon Divine Cultists.
A tavern packed with crowds. At the center sat Tak Horak in civilian clothes, not Black Shadow Corps uniform.
"So? That real?"
"Ahem. Throat's dry."
"Hey, you see this guy? Oi! Another round of fire wine!"
"Thanks, haha!"
Tak Horak beamed, chugging nonstop. Face flushed, he boasted.
"Real deal. Our Division Commander hit Super Peak. One day with the sword—whoosh! It floats midair alone, slashes void like it's alive when he waves!"
"Whoa! Super Peak at that age?!"
"True prestigious house stuff?"
"Heard he was a genius, but beyond rumors. That's near Sovereign level."
"Hey! No blasphemy. Our Commander's reverence for Sovereigns is pure."
Tak Horak nodded smugly, continuing.
"Honestly, I doubted till joining the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Had to see him myself. But that Flying Sword moment... I pledged true loyalty. Not that I wasn't before!"
He slammed the table.
"Heavenly Demon Divine Cultists, listen up! Anyone spreading lies that Black Shadow Division Commander is fake faces me, Tak Horak, his right-hand man, first!"
"Ooh! Commander trusts Squad Leader Tak big time."
"Obviously! Can't spill mission details, but in murim, I always backed him!"
"Heh, snagging a Sado Ga seat later?"
"Hahaha! Honor indeed!"
Tak Horak basked in the reactions, laughing heartily.
Then—
Bang! Crash!
Tavern door burst open. Black-clad group entered: Black Shadow Corps.
"Huh? Why're you—"
"Former Black Shadow 3rd Squad Leader Tak Horak."
"What? Former?"
"By Black Shadow Division Commander's order. Seven days in Punishment Cave for disobeying."
"...Wasn't I his right hand?"
Tak Horak paled.
Pretending to Be the Heavenly Demon