The Radiant Path of Ascension
Before the lightning could fully form, Noecheonryu answered my will first.
Crackle-crackle-CRACK!
Current erupted from my palm and raked across the man's body.
"Grrraaaaaagh!"
I yanked my hand back before he could die. The reaction had genuinely startled me — I never expected Noecheonryu to answer that violently. Thankfully the current's power had stayed within what I'd intended. Had it not, the man would have died before spitting out a single scrap of information.
It left a foul taste in my mouth.
I had failed to control Noecheonryu completely. That it answered my will was good; that I had nearly killed him was not.
When I trained Noecheonryu on Nakwol Mountain, nothing like this ever happened… Is it because of the seal on my body right now? I'll have to practice Noecheonryu under the seal later.
I looked down at the man still trembling on the ground. His rolling eyes finally managed to find their focus.
"Answer my question. Who do you belong to?"
"Ugh… uhhh…"
"I don't like people who ignore me."
I reached for him again. He scrambled backward in pure terror, trying to put distance between us — only to slam into the wall after a few pathetic feet.
"Eeeek! D-Doyangmun! I belong to Doyangmun!"
Doyangmun.
A black-path faction that appeared in the original work. Which meant I had come to the right place.
"Tell me about Doyangmun. Leave nothing out."
"W-what do you want to know?"
"I said everything. Doyangmun's location, its strength, its history. Everything you know about Doyangmun."
"I-if I talk, will you spare me?"
"I swear on my name that I'll let you live."
"G-great hero… what is your name?"
"This bastard. Scared out of his mind and still asking questions. My name is Yeom Guseok."
"Hero Yeom! I will trust you, Hero Yeom!"
He dropped to his knees on the dirt floor and began speaking of Doyangmun with the most respectful tone he could muster.
Thirty years ago, Doyang Sangun — the Blade Yang Mountain Lord — had descended from Baeksanseong after completing his training and founded Doyangmun. He attacked and absorbed the existing black-path gangs of Baeksanseong until Doyangmun became the city's sole black-path martial sect. Even so, Doyangmun only controlled the entertainment district and the city's outskirts.
"So Doyangmun is Baeksanseong's only black-path sect."
"There are some small fry, but… those ones are so weak they barely deserve to be called a sect."
"With that kind of size, couldn't you manage other districts as well? Why does Doyangmun only handle the entertainment quarter and the outskirts?"
"The sect master said we had to know our place. If we reached any higher, the Baeksan Geum Family wouldn't sit still…"
His eyes suddenly wavered. He was hesitating over whether to say something more. I raised my hand and drew out lightning qi. Crackle. Blue-white current snaked along my fingers. His face went a sickly green.
"I told you to tell me everything you know about Doyangmun."
"Th-this is just an unconfirmed rumor, so…"
"Speak."
"…There's a rumor that the sect master is an illegitimate child of the Baeksan Geum Family. That that's why the Geum Family never moves to wipe Doyangmun out…"
According to the original work, that rumor was true.
"I see. Now give me Doyangmun's exact location and its full strength."
For fifteen minutes, the man poured out everything he knew.
"H-hero! I've told you everything! P-please spare me! Please!"
"I swore on my name. Are you saying you don't trust my name?"
A smile spread across his sweat-soaked face.
"H-haha. Of course not. Thank you for sparing me, grea… hero…?"
Thud.
I drove my blade into his chest. I had never intended to let him live. He had seen me use lightning qi — and the original Yeom Guseok did not know how to use lightning qi. Leaving him alive would only create problems for me later.
"I'll teach you something special. My name isn't Yeom Guseok."
I pulled the blade free. A fountain of blood sprayed upward.
"You son of a bi—"
He collapsed to the floor and died.
I went looking for Doyangmun. It sat a short distance from the entertainment district, and finding it proved surprisingly easy — the compound was simply larger than every building around it.
Doyangmun may be black-path, but they call themselves a martial sect. No reason to hide.
When a black-path group claimed the title of sect, time would eventually wash the stain away until it became a proper martial house in the eyes of the world. In a realm that did not reject demonic arts but simply accepted them, stories like that were common.
I pushed open Doyangmun's main gate and walked straight inside. In the original work, Yeom Guseok challenged the Doyangmun master to a duel and crushed him by force. I intended to do the same.
Even after walking openly through the front gate, not a single person appeared.
"Come out here!!"
I put everything I had into the shout. The roar rolled through the compound like thunder.
Only then did Doyangmun's disciples scramble for their weapons and spill outside. A proper martial sect would have had discipline — but these were black-path stock, and the looseness showed.
"Who is that? An enemy?"
"He walked in alone?"
"Could be a serious master."
"Damn it. I've never dealt with something like this. Do we attack?"
"Wait. The sect master will come out."
They ringed me with drawn weapons. I glanced around. Most of them were scrap. Barely two-tenths had learned real martial arts, and even those were only early Ipsik. Even with my power sealed, I could sweep them aside without effort.
"I have no interest in rabble like you. Bring me the master of Doyangmun."
The answer came from behind them.
"I am Eun Taemang, master of Doyangmun."
He looked every bit the mountain lord his title suggested. A two-meter giant of pure muscle, face overgrown with wild beard, and in his hands a three-meter horse-slaying saber that looked ready to cleave a mountain in a single stroke.
"Impressive presence."
"I was about to say the same. It's been a long time since I saw a martial artist of your caliber. Where are you from?"
"Han Suyeong of Jeoksumun."
I gave him the false identity the Heavenly Demon Cult had prepared.
"Jeoksumun? Never heard of it."
"I come from a place far to the south where red water flows. A distant land."
"That means nothing to me. State your purpose for barging in."
"I'll be staying in this city for a while. I looked around and found nowhere decent to lodge — until I spotted a building that looked perfect."
"Heh. Madman. You want to stay here? Drop the nonsense and speak honestly. You're after my reputation and my money!"
"Those would be nice bonuses. Eun Taemang, Doyang Sangun — I, Han Suyeong of Jeoksumun, challenge you to a duel."
"Hahaha! A duel… how long has it been, fifteen years? Not bad. I'll grant you the spirit. But I have no reason to duel the likes of you."
Eun Taemang raised his left hand and barked an order at his men.
"Prepare the Iron Fortress Formation."
His subordinates moved as one, locking into a battle array designed to handle superior opponents. If I had to face both Eun Taemang and his entire force, things would get messy.
I drew a palm-sized wooden case from my box and opened the lid. A single pill rested on soft cloth.
"I'll stake an Oindan on this duel."
The Oindan was a spirit pill that aided breakthrough into the realm of Ogi. The difference between having one and not was considerable — it raised the odds of crossing the Ogi wall by a full thirty percent.
Eun Taemang's throat bobbed once. As a martial artist at the Chulji realm, he would eventually press against the wall of Ogi. When that day came, he would want an Oindan in hand.
"…Even from this distance I can feel that luminous spiritual energy… It's a real Oindan. Are you out of your mind? Do you have any idea what kind of treasure you're betting on a duel?"
"You stake something as well."
"…What?"
"Doyangmun."
"……"
Greed glittered in Eun Taemang's eyes.
Between Doyangmun and an Oindan, the Oindan was worth more.
A black-path sect of Doyangmun's level could be founded by simply gathering enough warm bodies. An Oindan could not. Even with money, the pill was nearly impossible to obtain.
"Ha… haha. You idiot. You actually think I'll accept a duel? We can just kill you and take the Oindan. Hand it over quietly and I'll spare your life."
I lifted the Oindan from its case.
"If you refuse the duel, I'll swallow it right now."
"Are you a complete fool? You're going to eat something that precious now?"
"Better than letting you take it."
"You little…"
I opened my mouth. The Oindan drifted closer to my lips.
"Stop!"
Eun Taemang's shout cracked across the courtyard. My hand froze.
"Fine. I'll duel you. Put the Oindan back in the case. If that pill takes even the slightest damage… I will never forgive you."
"Don't give me orders. The Oindan is still mine."
I tossed it back into the case as if discarding trash. Eun Taemang's face twisted.
"You bastards! What are you standing around for?! Prepare the arena!"
"Yes, Sect Master!"
His men scattered to ready the dueling ground.
Eun Taemang strode toward me and thrust out his hand.
"What?"
"On second thought, the Oindan might be a fake. Hand it over so I can verify it."
"Don't try that cheap trick. Win the duel and take it."
"You're wasting your time. Do you honestly believe you can beat me?"
"Eun Taemang. Don't get arrogant. You're about to become my slave — how do you plan to handle the consequences?"
"…I gave you a chance. You're going to die miserably. I'll cut off your arms and legs and throw you in the pond. I can already see my precious little fish celebrating their first meat in ages."
"The moment you become my subordinate, the first thing I'll do is castrate you. Then your own men will have a fine time with that hole of yours. Ugh. Just imagining it makes me sick… To think I'd even picture something like that… Heaven help me…"
"You insane bastard."
The arena was ready soon enough.
They had converted the training yard beside the main building into a dueling ground. I stepped onto it and surveyed the ring of faces. Eun Taemang's subordinates surrounded the space, staring at me with naked hostility.
If Eun Taemang looks like he's losing, they might jump in.
I had no allies here.
I met their gazes without flinching and loosened my body. If I weren't currently playing the role of Yeom Guseok, I would have broken the seal on the spot and slaughtered every last one of them with the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
Eun Taemang entered the arena. Unlike before, he wore armor — black, but not steel. The material looked closer to an insect's carapace.
…Armor forged from a yokai's corpse?
A kind of magical implement, then.
"Take out the Oindan and set it over there. You weren't planning to fight while holding it, were you? I accepted your challenge. Now show me the bare minimum of good faith."
"Fine."
He jerked his chin toward the center of the arena. A wooden table waited there.
I drew the case from my robes, opened the lid to prove the Oindan was inside, and set it on the table. Eun Taemang stared at the pill with glazed, hungry eyes, then put distance between us and prepared himself. I drew my sword and gripped it in both hands.
One of his subordinates looked at the two of us and shouted.
"Begin the duel!!"