The Wheel of Karma and Grudges
Flash!
The instant my eldest brother opened his eyes after finishing his circulation, a blaze of pure radiance burst forth from them so bright that it felt as though the whole room had been flooded with light.
Of course, it lasted only a fleeting moment. Soon enough, the brilliance in his gaze faded, though the swelling of his temporal vein between the brows suggested he had gained more than a little from the attempt.
“You lacked sufficient comprehension, so you probably didn’t reach the peak of mastery. No matter how high the water rises in a lake, a lake still does not become the sea. For a while, set aside your inner-force training and focus on the martial arts I’m going to teach you. If it is Sha Sa Blood Sword, it will be more than enough to serve as a channel leading you into that sea.”
The inner-force method I had already taught my eldest brother was the Yin Moon Vibration Classic of the Divine Cult, and the martial art I was now going to teach him as well was also one of the Divine Cult’s techniques. Thinking on it that way, perhaps I really was turning the Neung family into yet another Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Still, I decided it did not matter. I never wanted to see the Neung family collapse again.
At my words, my eldest brother’s expression hardened as he spoke.
“As you said, it seems I lacked comprehension. I was certain it would work, yet there it is. Still, I’m satisfied simply with having crossed the barrier into the peak realm. Is that not a level even Father never reached? All of this is thanks to you, Neung So. And as for this martial art you mentioned, Sha Sa Blood Sword... From the name alone, it doesn’t sound like something ordinary.”
The distinction between righteous and demonic still existed here. There were still those who stood as representatives of the various factions, just as the Nine Orthodox Sects and the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult did.
And yet, in a world where cultivators ran rampant and treated martial people as if they were no different from commoners, the struggle between martial factions divided into righteous and demonic was meaningless.
“If it’s demonic arts you’re speaking of, are you saying you won’t practice it? It’s a martial art your brother needs, and the very one that will carry the Neung family forward.”
“I will practice it... It’s just that I’ve been afraid our Neung family, which has long been regarded as part of the righteous line, will be branded as a demonic sect. As you know, the world does not look kindly on demonic arts.”
Though the paths of righteous and demonic were divided, the demonic way in this place—lacking any powerful demonic sovereign like the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult—was closer to evil than to true demonic might.
Even black-path scum who casually harmed ordinary folk unable to practice martial arts, or cruelly exploited those weaker than themselves, were classified as demonic.
It was only natural that both the people and the martial world looked upon demonic arts with cold eyes.
And yet, the problem was simpler than it seemed. All that was needed was for a powerful center of demonic power, something like the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, to appear in this martial world.
“Fear isn’t yours to carry, Brother. It belongs to those who haven’t even bothered to discover what kind of place the Neung family truly is. I’ll help you, so make this place into a force no one can ignore. You can do that, can’t you?”
In truth, a Heavenly Demon was the sovereign of the demonic way, the one who served as a kind of priest, offering sacrifice to Heaven on behalf of everyone in the Divine Cult.
But as for this Neung family, I intended to pass down the martial arts of the Divine Cult without hesitation, while leaving out the Divine Cult’s peculiar tradition of offering rites to Heaven.
I still remembered clearly how Heaven—the very Heaven that every member of the Divine Cult had once revered—had treated me when I ascended beyond the mortal world. The only thing worth trusting was myself. There was no need to entrust my fate to Heaven.
“That is a rather difficult request. Still, I promise I’ll do it. If it’s you, I’m sure you can make it happen.”
My eldest brother, showing me such firm faith, made me smile with satisfaction. And then, just as I was in a good mood, an odd sensation suddenly brushed past me. A hard, solid feeling touched the inside of my palm, where I had been trapping the crimson spiritual energy flowing from my brother’s body.
When I opened my clenched fist, there was, as expected, a blood-colored crystal left behind, shaped much like a spirit stone.
It gave off a denser energy than an ordinary spirit stone, but anyone looking at it would still have called it one at a glance.
Once again, while helping my eldest brother, I had gained something myself. It was enough to make me wonder if his innate destiny was something like responding to virtue and returning fortune, a blessing that granted good luck to those who showed him kindness. It gave me yet another reason to teach him even more diligently.
And so another half year passed us by while we immersed ourselves in training.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
“Huuup! As blood flows toward death, the sword brings it to its end! Sa Blood!”
My eldest brother shouted the incantation for Sa Blood, the final stance of Sha Sa Blood Sword, and focused all his killing intent into the tip of his blade. Unfortunately, the power gathered there remained faint.
Because his talent for martial arts was not especially outstanding, he had not made any great progress despite the six months of training.
But six months was not a very long time for a martial artist. The same was true for martial people as it was for cultivators; even after decades of training, many still failed to cross beyond a single realm.
Ssshhh—
At last, when my eldest brother’s sword tip wavered and he could no longer maintain his momentum, I spoke.
“Enough. Let’s stop here for today.”
At my words, the thin surge of energy lingering at the tip of his sword vanished with a soft hiss.
After that, he stood there drenched in sweat, breathing hard and showing clear signs of exhaustion. I let him catch his breath for a moment before speaking again.
“You’re at the point where you can train on your own now, so I’ll be away for a while.”
For the past half year, the Liancheon Sect had remained silent. They would not have had dozens of peak experts to spare, so it was only natural that the disappearance of two peak experts without a trace had left them quiet.
Of course, the Liancheon Sect was not the only one keeping silent. Their supposed backer, the Cheon family, had also shown no reaction. It was only natural; a proud cultivation clan would not bother playing errand boy to a martial sect.
And so the wheel of karma and grudges seemed to have come to a standstill.
But from the outset, this wheel was not theirs to turn. It was ours. The Liancheon Sect, which had slaughtered my father and the people of the Neung family, was already no longer fit to exist under the same sky as I did.
“When I return, we’ll offer rites at Father’s grave then.”
My eldest brother, hearing my words, seemed to guess why I was leaving and stiffened.
But when he met my gaze—steady and filled with iron resolve—he must have realized he could not sway me. He let out a small sigh before speaking again.
“As always, no matter how much I try to stop you, your stubbornness is impossible to break. Fine. Go and return safely. Don’t let yourself get hurt anywhere.”
At that, I nodded slowly. Then I emptied all the wooden puppets I had made from the storage pouch, and ordered them to guard the manor.
After that, I mounted Mokma, my flying artifact, and rose into the sky. The instant the wheel of karma and grudges began to roll toward the Liancheon Sect, it picked up a terrifying speed.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Clack!
As I set down the empty wine cup, leaving a sour trace of acidity in my mouth, murmuring immediately spread through the surrounding room.
“He looks like a man at a glance, but his skin is so fair and delicate he’d put most women to shame. If he looks like that on the outside, I can’t help wondering what’s underneath.”
“Hey now! Have you forgotten what the sect master said about keeping a low profile for the time being?”
“And how exactly am I supposed to keep a low profile here? My mouth isn’t even missing skin and leaking through; can’t I say what I want with my own mouth?”
Yeongju City, where the Tianmu Gathering was being held, was a place that cultivators who had learned the art of brewing also passed through often. In such a place, for strangers to speak so casually to someone they did not even know was absurd from the start.
Naturally, that meant they already knew who I was and were deliberately spouting nonsense.
As if to confirm it, a bead of sweat had already rolled down the cheek of the foul-mouthed man I had glanced at. He was pretending to be calm, but since his life was at stake, he could not hide every honest reaction his body gave away.
It seemed they intended to stir up a commotion here, draw the attention of the Cheon family, or lead me into some trap they had prepared separately.
Unfortunately for them, I was not someone who enjoyed being pushed around according to another’s plan.
“You’re barking awfully hard. Looks like the dogs have grown properly scared.”
After saying that, I poured myself another cup of the same tasteless wine, and this time it was the middle-aged martial artist who had seemed to be restraining the foul-mouthed man who spoke to me.
“Are you saying that to us?”
I still did not answer. Their intent was obvious enough already.
That only made the man, who bit his lower lip, raise his voice even further.
“Are you asking whether you’ve insulted the martial artists of our Liancheon Sect?”
At his sudden shout, several patrons seated in the inn turned to look at us with interest.
Still, I ignored everyone’s gaze and drank my wine in silence.
It was cheap stuff, so it did not bring back the same delight I had felt while drinking with Yang Jeon, but it still gave me the sensation of eating a proper meal.
“Can’t you hear me speaking to you?”
Of course, having still received no response from me, the middle-aged martial artist raised his voice again and stepped closer.
Only then did I finally turn my eyes toward him. The man, dressed in a martial robe the color of damp ashes as if it had been dyed with soot, already knew he was about to die, yet still mustered the courage to stand there.
He had bared his chest as though daring me to kill him if I could, standing there with clenched teeth.
Of course, if he so badly wished to die, I was more than willing to help. I had no intention of sparing even a single person connected to the Liancheon Sect anyway; the order had simply moved a little sooner than expected.
From the beginning, I had been watching the Liancheon Sect from this inn precisely to make sure not a single one of them slipped away.
“You’re loud.”
When I finished speaking, I rubbed my finger along the inside of my empty wine cup. A single bead of liquor gathered at my fingertip, trembling there. In that instant, I infused it with qi-forging force and flicked it out with speed.
Fsh!
The man’s forehead was pierced in a heartbeat, and he staggered as if he still did not even understand what had happened. Only then did he reach up toward his brow.
A thin line of blood began to trickle from the tiny hole in his forehead.
He touched it once with his fingers, then collapsed on the spot. His breath left him just like that. Afterward, a heavy silence settled over the inn. The big brute who had been running his mouth so freely now seemed frightened as well, pressing his lips shut tight like a clam.
I paid it no mind and poured another cup of wine. Then I drained it in one go.
One by one, those who had been watching me with growing unease rose from their seats and began to leave the inn. Everyone knew there was nothing to gain by getting caught up in something like this.
In the end, only the big brute who had dared speak so recklessly toward me remained seated. Once the inn itself had gone empty, I poured the last of the wine from the bottle into my cup and looked at the lone man left behind.
“This is my last cup. What do you think I’ll do after I finish it?”
The man swallowed hard, then immediately slammed his forehead to the floor of the inn in a full prostration.
“Great Hero! Please, spare me! I’ll tell you everything Liancheon Sect is planning!”
At that, I drained the last wine in my cup and spoke.
“It seems you didn’t know I was a cultivator who had also learned brewing. That sort of thing could be learned just as easily by killing you and drawing out your soul.”
His fear deepened even further, and he cried out in panic.
“The Cheon family! This was planned together with the Cheon family!”