Chapter 49: How Far Did I Tell You?
What nonsense are you spouting right now!
I replied inwardly, making sure no one else could hear. My subordinates might be asleep, but Do Il Gwang's ears were sharp.
'Haven't people's reactions been weird lately?'
What reactions?
'There've been way too many comments about how I look just like Sado Gwang.'
"B-brother, you say? Y-you look way too alike. T-twins or something?"
Even Baek Ryung had mistaken me for Sado Gwang at first glance.
In truth, Sado Hwan bore an astonishing resemblance to Sado Gwang—one so striking you could tell they were family the moment you saw them. That was my first impression too.
Of course! We're brothers!
'Even for brothers, no one looks that much alike... Do you remember your mother's face?'
Well—
'Yeah, you wouldn't. You only heard she died when you were young. All memories before age ten are gone.'
......
Pa Cheon fell silent.
'Your brother, Sado Gwang, was a genius. But arrogant.'
If he hadn't been so greedy, the Sado family might've produced a Heavenly Demon in no time. That's how overflowing his talent was.
He could replicate any form after seeing it once, fully comprehend and absorb any oral formula he heard.
But Sado Gwang's greed knew no bounds. His possessiveness was terrifying even as a child—if he wanted something, he had to have it, even if it broke in the process.
He craved so much, but back then, the Sado family was just one minor noble house, not yet one of the Six Demonic Families. To grasp more, he needed power.
So he sought to grow stronger, faster. He tried cultivating a forbidden art.
The front half of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
'The Heavenly Demon Divine Art is powerful. Too powerful, so it rejects all other energies.'
Even the Sado family's signature Asura Demonic King Divine Art was no exception. Once the Heavenly Demon Divine Art's energy took root, it ravaged the body to expel any intruders.
The King of Ten Thousand Demons refused to share space with any other power.
'If he'd had the forms, he might've balanced it, like past Heavenly Demons.'
But no matter how supreme the Asura Twelve Forms, they couldn't tame the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
In the end, the energy rampaged within, deviation into devil followed, and it was all too predictable.
Thus, Sado Gwang became a cripple.
He could never wield martial arts again, his body so ruined he couldn't even handle daily life without help.
'You know your brother well, but he's not one to just sit idle.'
Sado Gwang tried everything to heal: elixirs, treatments, even poisons. All futile.
He didn't shy from demonic extremes—brutal secret arts, great laws infamous for cruelty.
Yet recovery remained elusive. No method could mend his thoroughly wrecked body.
Desperate, he turned to an extreme solution—
'If he couldn't fix his body, he'd make a new one.'
A twisted culmination of all his knowledge.
Using mystical treasures and artifacts, in a way only he could devise, Sado Hwan was born.
A human born without gestation.
A perfect copy of Sado Gwang, talent and all.
That was Sado Hwan's true origin.
No ordinary human could cultivate the Heavenly Demon Divine Art as their first art—the energy would've burst them apart. Surviving meridian blockage proved he wasn't ordinary.
Maybe that's why his soul bound to the sword.
In Murim Return, Sado Hwan swapped souls with protagonist Mu Jin and died soon after, his secret unknown. But not this time.
With Pa Cheon here, the truth would surface eventually—and it had to.
It was just coming a bit sooner.
......
'Of course, he never found a way to swap souls, so it was a failed plan in the end.'
Soul Swap Great Law......
Sado Hwan had probably known of the Soul Swap Great Law too. Without it, creating a new body made no sense. He just never found it.
......You expect me to believe that now?
Pa Cheon continued.
You're fooling everyone with that 'acting' of yours. Even Do Il Gwang fell for it—how can I trust you won't fool me too?
'Pa Cheon.'
I'm not Pa Cheon! I'm Sado Hwan! This body you're in is mine!
Pa Cheon's blade trembled in rage.
I hate you! I hate this curse trapping me, unable to pierce your heart!
'You're deceiving too.'
Pa Cheon abruptly stopped vibrating at my words.
'Aren't you?'
......What?
'You've been deceiving everyone with a false life too.'
I felt wronged too. Did I ask for this?
'I was living fine—well, not fine, but anyway—until your brothers dragged me into this mess.'
Every day felt like walking a thorny path.
Sure, it was a musty basement rental reeking of mold, but I had a soft bedding to crash on. I might've gone hungry, but never starving to death.
Now? Every waking moment, I worry about dying.
This damn Heavenly Demon Divine Art—when I circulate qi, I get hyped up and spout crap I don't mean.
My real heart? Just survive.
'So quit acting like a brat at thirty-two.'
This Murim Return world wasn't bright enough for tantrums.
But... how do I accept not being human?
'You're not human now either.'
......
'But you are human. Different birth doesn't change that. At least in this body, you felt joy and sorrow, bled when hurt, laughed when happy—a normal person.'
......What do I do about my brother?
'What do you mean, what? Fist to the head, snap him out of it. That's family, right?'
I didn't add that if he wouldn't snap out of it, tough luck. This shock was paralyzing enough.
Fortunately, unlike his earlier panic, he no longer rejected my hand.
With that settled—
"You little punk!"
Do Il Gwang, practically wailing, came back into view.
In truth, Do Il Gwang hadn't stopped talking since earlier.
Sado Hwan had just ignored him while chatting with Pa Cheon.
'A guy I'd gladly chew up.'
Do Il Gwang glared at Sado Hwan like he'd devour him.
Sado Hwan leaned his sword against his chest, eyes closed, as if napping peacefully.
Back in his Heavenly Demon days, the Sado family was just a rising minor house. Now they'd claimed a seat among the Six Demonic Families, and this kid was ignoring him.
Back then, he'd have crushed his skull.
Grind...
He'd kill him now if he could. But the wine aroma wafting through his nose was intoxicatingly sweet, numbing his reason.
Do Il Gwang had once been the cult's pinnacle. Every meal a delicacy, every drink fine liquor.
Now he survived on scraps.
If he hadn't smelled it, maybe. But now? Unbearable.
'Fine. I'll tell you.'
Do Il Gwang bellowed louder than before.
"You little punk!"
Only then did Sado Hwan look at him.
'Those eyes...'
Arrogant, inscrutable. But one thing was clear.
Sado Hwan was looking down on him.
"I was meditating briefly."
"Meditating? With me right here—"
"I told you. 'Dare' isn't a word you get to use."
Do Il Gwang gnashed his teeth. But bound by seals, he was helpless.
Soon, his face shifted to detached enlightenment, even pitiful.
"Must you take Domination?"
"Isn't that your survival of the strongest?"
Do Il Gwang shook his head. Self-inflicted doom.
"Fine. I doubt a punk like you grasps my great intent, but give me the wine. Then I'll tell you."
All lies, of course. Guzzle and wipe his mouth—done.
But Sado Hwan didn't bite.
"Domination first. Then wine."
"Petty."
"Falling for cheap tricks is dumber."
"Tch."
Do Il Gwang clicked his tongue.
"Fine. But you will give me the wine."
"On the Sado family's honor."
Sado honor? Whatever, he thought, but he was in no position to be picky.
Do Il Gwang began chanting the formula.
"Domination's essence is pressure. Pressure is—what?"
Sado Hwan flicked his sword and focused.
"......Thus, raise true qi to flood the heavens above, the springs below—"
Do Il Gwang's words flowed on.
"......Then, the divine position becomes the four directions, the four become twenty-four—"
He won't get it, Do Il Gwang thought. Domination required grasping pressure, which needed the principle of gravity.
'It's not crushing. It's pulling.'
Understand that first for true Domination. Without it—
'He'll implode under his own weight, punk!'
This was about cosmic truth, not talent. No kid could grasp it.
More: Do Il Gwang reversed parts of the formula, routing qi through deadly meridians sure to cause deviation into devil.
Hidden slyly amid normal paths, it was a trap for the naive.
'Payback for insulting me.'
His chant lasted nearly half an incense stick.
"......And that's it."
"I see."
Sado Hwan nodded innocently, as if he'd understood.
"Kukuku... Now, the wine."
Sado Hwan poured from the bottle into Do Il Gwang's mouth.
Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
Do Il Gwang guzzled like a desert wanderer at an oasis.
Sweet bliss.
Not the rancid filth he'd force-swallowed for years, but masterfully brewed, aged nectar. He'd have teared up without pride.
Not wasting a drop on his scraggly beard, he licked his lips. No trace of former Heavenly Demon dignity.
After savoring every last drop, his eyes met Sado Hwan's indifferent gaze.
Embarrassed, Do Il Gwang grumbled.
"Kuhuhu... No business? Get lost."
Then Sado Hwan spoke coldly.
"You'll regret this."
"......What?"
"Wallowing here, eating trash, deluding yourself with noble suffering. Now you've tasted true delicacy—think you can endure?"
Sado Hwan struck home.
"So spill it."
"Spill what?"
"The real Domination formula."
"......What?"
"You thought I wouldn't spot your bogus chant?"
"Sharp kid."
But the wine was down, business done.
"Ponder it hard, punk. Even a blade to your throat won't reveal the true formula. Price for coveting my art for a bottle!"
"Too bad."
Sado Hwan opened the bag on his back.
Inside—
"Gonna toss all this?"
All wine.
"......How far did I tell you?"
Do Il Gwang trembled as he spoke.