Chapter 6 To Survive
The entrance to the cave where Sado Hwan had been trapped.
Dozens of people dressed in black were milling about in front of the collapsed opening.
A short distance away from them stood a black tent.
A man was raising his voice in protest to Sa Wol, who ranked 24th in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult hierarchy and served as vice commander of the Black Shadow Corps.
"It's already been two days, Vice Commander! We need to start the rescue or do something!"
"I've sent word to the main cult. We wait for their reply."
"Waiting around with our hands tied like this? Who knows when those guys might show up!"
Sa Wol slowly turned her head, locking eyes with the man. He was a handsome, rugged type with bronzed skin and a sturdy build. A long black spear was strapped to his back as his weapon.
"Third Squad Leader Tak Horak."
Sa Wol spoke calmly, her gaze sharp and chilling.
"We wait."
"……Understood."
"Set an example so your squad doesn't get restless."
Tak Horak's face was full of dissatisfaction, but he had no choice but to bow his head to Sa Wol's invocation of rank.
As he turned to leave the tent, Sa Wol spoke softly.
"The commander is definitely alive."
"So even you believed it deep down, just like the rest of us. Got it."
Tak Horak's expression brightened in an instant. This time, he bowed sincerely before stepping out.
Impressive loyalty.
Sa Wol's face remained cold, laced with a hint of mockery.
Rank 23rd? It was all a sham.
Sado Hwan would lose his head in three breaths against any Black Shadow Corps member.
That was the absolute gap between those who could wield qi and those who couldn't.
Yet with his loathsome acting, Sado Hwan had fooled them all.
She went along with it for her own goals, but it disgusted her to her core. As a member of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, Sa Wol worshipped strength down to her bones.
Thump.
And that repulsive bastard was still alive.
She could clearly sense another presence pulsing within her beating heart.
Gu Poison.
Of the pair of tiny insects, the mother was implanted in Sado Hwan's heart, the child in hers.
No matter the distance, the gu poison detected each other's existence.
It was thanks to the gu poison that Sa Wol had tracked Sado Hwan to this cave—and that she now knew he was alive.
Of course, her obedience to his commands stemmed from the gu poison as well.
Sado Gwang dotes on his little brother so much, he'll surely send a rescue team.
Even Sa Wol lacked the confidence to breach that cave entrance. A clumsy attempt might cause a full collapse, ending everything for real.
Better to wait for the cult's rescue team. Perhaps even the head of the Sado family would come himself—breaching a collapsed cave would be trivial for him.
Grind.
Sa Wol ground her teeth at the thought of the Sado family head. A chilling sound leaked from between her teeth.
Someday……
Sa Wol ground her teeth. A chilling sound leaked from between her teeth.
Her grudge against the Sado family ran that deep.
It was then, as her thoughts lingered, that the tent flap opened again.
Tak Horak reappeared.
"I said wait."
"You need to come out now!"
Tak Horak said he'd heard suspicious noises from the cave.
"It's gotta be the commander! He's breaking through!"
"……."
Sa Wol didn't respond. She knew Sado Hwan's true capabilities all too well.
Nothing short of sword qi could breach that cave.
A normal sword striking rock would barely chip it before the blade dulled.
Still, it needed checking.
It might not even be Sado Hwan breaking out.
"Let's go."
[I…… I drew out sword qi!]
Pa Cheon laughed like a madman. Normally, he'd chuckle lightly to maintain dignity, so this meant he was genuinely thrilled.
[I drew sword qi!]
In the darkness pierced by faint rays of sunlight, Pa Cheon revealed his presence in a brilliant blue glow.
A first-rate martial artist could draw their stored internal energy—inner power—outside the body. Unless it was some special technique, it usually rose like faint, transparent heat haze.
That was the bare minimum for true martial arts worthy of the name.
Once surpassing first-rate to reach Peak realm, the energy took on distinct colors based on the cultivated art.
No longer weakly wavering like first-rate haze, it clung to the sword to amplify destructive power or shot out as sword qi for ranged attacks.
A realm Sado Hwan could never reach, no matter how long he trained.
Ironically, only after his body turned into a sword could he wield inner power.
"Hey, Pa Cheon. Calm down a bit."
[Calm down? You want me to calm down?]
Pa Cheon left my hand, sweeping through the air. Each twitch of his blade shattered rocks the size of heads. Worlds apart from what my bare body could do. His true sword dance raged on until I urgently intervened.
"If you keep swinging wildly and collapse this place, sword qi or not, I'll be buried alive! Then you can't return to your original body!"
[Ahem.]
Only then did Pa Cheon halt. I gripped his hilt.
Auspicious blue energy flowed along the blade.
If I had to describe it, waves of qi surged from hilt to tip.
And that nagged at my sense of wrongness.
I'm a hardcore fan of Return to the Murim. I might not know every tiny detail, but I have all the major lore down pat.
"This is weird."
[What's weird?]
"This color. The blue."
The key difference between a first-rate's qi and a Peak expert's sword qi was color.
True sword qi bore distinctive hues tied to the art's nature.
[Blue?]
"I've got this hunch I really don't want to be right about. But hunches like this always hit the mark."
[Spit it out already, you yokai.]
"Not yokai…… whatever, fine."
[So what is it?]
"This color matters."
Pa Cheon's sword qi, still emanating, was a clear, highly saturated blue.
Righteous sects: pure and bright. Demonic sects: murky and dull.
That was Return to the Murim's canon setting.
"For something you drew out, the sword qi is too purely blue."
[Must be a Pa Cheon Sword function.]
"Nah, I've seen this color before."
[Seen it?]
I nodded. The source of my nagging doubt.
"Mo Yong Su. This is his sword qi color."
I couldn't move in Sado Hwan's body, but I'd seen it with my own eyes.
The brilliant blue sword qi swirling around Mo Yong Su's blade as he charged at blinding speed.
Mo Yong Su's character was scum through and through, but true to his righteous sect roots, his sword qi shone pure.
[No way…….]
"No way" always nails it. I nodded.
"Yeah. The energy you're using is Mo Yong Su's inner power that you absorbed."
[I see.]
Pa Cheon accepted it calmly.
A modern guy like me might agonize over "sucking up someone's energy!", but Pa Cheon hailed from brutal murim.
No big reaction.
[So if another martial artist touches me, I can unleash ultimate techniques anytime.]
He even sounded welcoming.
I clicked my tongue.
"You trying to become a murim public enemy?"
[What?]
"Heavenly Blood Star. A century ago, the Fourth Heavenly Demon wrecked havoc with the Star Absorption Great Law. Show this outside, and you're instantly public enemy number one."
His silence meant he'd overlooked it in excitement.
The incident that branded the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult as the "Demonic Cult."
Public enemy status meant true hell mode.
Of course, ways to use Pa Cheon weren't impossible.
Just needed my ruthless resolve.
[Huh?]
Then Pa Cheon sounded flustered.
[The energy…… it's fading.]
"Knew it. Turn off the sword qi first."
It was inevitable once we realized it ran on Mo Yong Su's power.
Like charging a battery—you needed to recharge inner power to use sword qi.
Once depleted, no more sword qi.
Pa Cheon sounded deflated at my explanation.
[Impossible. A realm I finally achieved, and it's not even mine.]
Battery concepts were second nature to a modern like me, but it shocked him.
"Don't get bummed over something so minor."
[What?]
"Using that power, I'll push you to realms you've never dreamed of. And when you reclaim your body, it'll all be yours."
[…….]
"Plus, think about it: recharge, and you're always Peak realm. As a sword, no fatigue, no technique limits."
[You.]
Pa Cheon spoke after hearing me out.
[Not a clown, but a con artist yokai? Slick talker.]
"Work sales at a good corp, and this is how you end up."
[Good corp? Sales?]
"Whatever."
I pointed at the gap Pa Cheon's frenzy had widened.
"Let's figure out escape first. How long can you maintain sword qi now?"
[A few moments.]
"How many seconds?"
[Time for a feather to hit the ground.]
"Damn."
A few seconds at best.
So calm down sooner next time.
"Any ideas?"
How much could you clear in seconds of swinging?
Even chipping away had limits.
No ideas…… wait!
I explained a concept to Pa Cheon. Like the battery bit, he didn't grasp it at first. I ranted until he did.
"Got it?"
[Understood. Concentrate rotational force at one point for penetration.]
"Fail, and we're both done. Nail it."
[I'll give it my all.]
I nodded, backing up like a javelin thrower, right arm cocked back with Pa Cheon.
"Here goes!"
[Got it!]
Sword qi surged along Pa Cheon's blade again, spiraling into rotation.
Whirlflow.
The faint initial vibration built to a full-body shudder.
Whiiiiiing—
High-frequency hum poured from Pa Cheon.
"Raaah!"
I gritted my teeth with a shout and hurled him forward.
Pa Cheon shot like a beam, slamming into the debris.
For a split second, it seemed stuck.
Grriiind—
The spiraling sword qi's power—
BOOM—!
Shattered the rocks and bored ahead!
Drill. That's the ticket.
Sword qi fused with drill mechanics. Modern science wins!
……Though late-game power creep makes it common as dirt anyway.
Once piercing, Pa Cheon blasted through, leaving a truck-sized hole.
Now visible, the debris was over 3 meters thick. Friction-heated surfaces steamed.
This was sword qi's might. Why Peak experts were true martial artists. Proper wuxia stuff.
No time for awe. Ominous creaks echoed through the chamber.
No dawdling. I hurried out.
Just as I neared the exit, an unbelievable sight froze me.
Pa Cheon's tip hovered, inches from Sa Wol's forehead.
Sa Wol looked stunned, caught off-guard by the sudden blade.
"Th-the sword's floating on its own!"
"It's a ghost!"
"Ghost my ass! Trickery! Just some cheap sorcery!"
Disbelieving voices from the Black Shadow Corps.
Time to wrap this. If Sa Wol grabbed it……
I burst through the dust cloud, clothes already neatened.
Sa Wol and the corps looked lost in the sudden chaos.
"Return."
I said softly. Hearing me, Pa Cheon spun and sheathed himself gracefully—for a sword.
The corps' gazes followed him to me. Shock bloomed on their faces.
"C-C-Commander?"
"Then it's no sorcery!"
"Flying Sword……! Flying Sword! The commander reached the great accomplishment!"
To them, it looked exactly like Flying Sword mastery.
Steeling my resolve amid their stunned faces.
Now, I had to act as Sado Hwan again.
To survive.
The thorough pretender.
Pretending to be the Heavenly Demon.