The Forgotten Glory of Kunlun
Qinghai Province.
Qinghai.
A region situated at the westernmost edge of the Central Plains, sometimes even distinguished as lying beyond the borders.
Our party had pushed forward for more than ten days straight before we finally reached the eastern gateway of Qinghai Province.
Time was short, so we frequently rented carriages, skipped sleep entirely, and cut across mountain paths.
We needed to return before the Ju Family’s grand festival—the Ju Family World Festival—which meant we had already consumed a full third of our allotted time.
“Whew. We’re finally in Qinghai.”
Yu-ran exhaled heavily, her appearance thoroughly disheveled.
We secured rooms at the nearest inn.
Now that we had entered Qinghai Province, we needed to restore our bodies to peak condition.
This was a dangerous land where demonic cultivators could appear at any moment.
Fortunately, since we had stuck strictly to carriages and the shortest routes, nothing of note had occurred.
“As expected, the atmosphere is completely different from the Central Plains.”
Muyoung took in the inn’s interior and spoke with a rigid expression.
The people of Qinghai Province differed from those of the Central Plains.
Life on this barren soil must have been exceedingly harsh; the locals’ faces were perpetually dark, their expressions stiff and unyielding.
“…….”
Even after we entered the inn, the waiter offered no greeting whatsoever.
He simply set down a cup of hot, cheap tea the moment we sat.
We ordered some simple dishes first.
In our current state, anyone would have believed we were beggars from the Beggars’ Sect rather than the young master of the Ju Family.
“We’re in Qinghai now. It’s about time you told us the real destination, Young Master.”
At Yu-ran’s question, I nodded.
The place I sought was one that no longer existed.
A site remembered only for its past glory, now spoken of only faintly in passing.
“We’re heading to Kunlun.”
The final shield and foremost spear of the orthodox martial world.
The Great Kunlun.
Once a power rivaling the Nine Great Sects, Kunlun had stood at the forefront of the demonic extermination campaigns. Yet hundreds of years ago it had lost its strength and faded into obscurity.
Its former glory could be found only in old texts.
The Kunlun of today retained nothing but its empty ruins; it had fallen completely.
“Huh? Kunlun? That’s unexpected.”
Yu-ran tilted her head, clearly trying to discern my intentions.
What connection could the Ju Family possibly have with Kunlun?
Why go to a place where nothing remained?
Countless questions flickered across her face.
“I heard from the Family Head that you were planning a martial exchange tour?”
“I will. If time permits.”
I shrugged as if it were trivial.
The martial exchange was nothing more than an excuse.
Soon the ordered food arrived, and we devoured it in silence, like people who had starved for days.
Night fell.
We had each taken separate rooms and agreed to rest fully for a day, yet sleep refused to come.
I was definitely exhausted…
We had marched relentlessly for ten days without proper rest.
I had expected to pass out the moment I lay down, yet my mind only grew sharper.
Am I nervous?
It seemed my body was reacting on its own.
From the instant we set foot in Qinghai, the complete memories of my previous life had put my body on edge.
“Huu.”
In the end I rose from the bed.
I needed to loosen the tension coiled inside me.
I headed straight for the inn’s small rear garden.
Guests were already there.
Yu-ran and Muyoung.
“Oh? Young Master?”
“Young Master.”
The moment Muyoung saw me he hurried over, while Yu-ran waved from a distance.
“What are you two doing out here?”
Yu-ran shrugged at my question.
“Just talking. Wondering why we even came here… that sort of thing.”
“Are you curious?”
“Is that even a question?”
Yu-ran shot me a sharp glance.
Muyoung, by contrast, looked relatively calm.
It seemed the matter with the Blood Hand Poison Emperor had deepened his trust in me.
Red Dragon Unit Leader.
I met her curious gaze directly and fell into thought.
She possesses an extremely belligerent nature that loves combat more than anyone, yet she never crosses the line.
The day our family was destroyed, she had stood on the front lines, cutting down demonic cultivators without hesitation.
The sight of her never losing that manic smile until the very end was burned into my memory.
Captured by the enemy and facing death, she had chosen to strike her own pressure points and take her own life.
“All right.”
My thoughts were in order.
I would trust Yu-ran.
No—I would trust her character.
“Do you remember the demonic cultivators we caught at Okhwa Mountain?”
“Of course.”
Yu-ran’s eyes sparkled as she listened closely.
“One of the demonic cultivators I killed that day has a comrade who will be pursuing the unit leader.”
“Me? Hmm, what does that have to do with anything?”
“It has everything to do with it. I intend to catch and kill him.”
The moment the words left my mouth, Yu-ran flinched.
I must have unconsciously released killing intent.
She grinned broadly and nodded.
“So he’s here?”
“No. I don’t know his exact location either. But the item I need to prepare in order to catch him is in this place.”
“Heh, in that case you should report to the Family Head…”
“No.”
I cut her off firmly.
“If those bastards go into hiding, it’s over. We won’t even be able to stop them. The moment Father learns of it, he’ll launch a full-scale purge of every demonic cultivator he can find.”
“That demonic cultivator… he’s no ordinary foe.”
Yu-ran seemed to have intuited something.
She studied my expression and asked carefully.
“Perhaps…”
“You’re correct, Leader. The Heavenly Demon Cult. They are beginning to stir.”
“……!”
The instant those words fell, both Muyoung’s and Yu-ran’s faces hardened like stone.
Even Yu-ran, who laughed every single day, could not smile at this.
“Young Master?”
Muyoung asked again, wondering if he had misheard.
I could only confirm it.
“The Demonic Cult has risen once more. And… I must stop them at all costs.”
“No, wait. Are you certain? The Demonic Cult… where did you even get information like—”
“I can’t explain the details. Even if I did, you wouldn’t believe me.”
Yu-ran bit her lip hard at my words.
Whether the information was true or false no longer mattered.
What mattered to her was that the Heavenly Demon Cult was rising and had begun to bare its ruthless ambitions toward the martial world.
Finally.
Killing intent flooded her eyes.
“I don’t care how you learned it. Whether it’s true or false…”
“……”
“But if those demonic cultivators from Okhwa Mountain truly belong to the Heavenly Demon Cult.”
Yu-ran broke into a manic smile.
It was a chilling grin that would freeze the marrow in one’s bones.
“I’ll rip them to shreds.”
“……”
I looked at her and shook my head with a regretful expression.
“Sorry for killing the mood, but… with your current skill, Leader, it’s impossible.”
“Hehe, it seems you don’t know me very well, Young Master. Even if I look like this…”
“I know. Your realm is Peak. With only a small amount of enlightenment, you could step into the early stage of Transcendent Peak.”
“……!”
Yu-ran’s face stiffened once more.
Martial artists do not casually reveal their own realms.
The fact that hers had been seen through so easily meant only one thing: the opponent stood on a higher plane.
Of course, I only know because of my past-life memories.
Since I had omitted any complicated explanation, Yu-ran’s misunderstanding only deepened.
“Young Master?”
“The one currently pursuing the leader is, at the very least, at the pinnacle of Transcendent Peak. Even if five of you came, you would never be able to defeat him.”
The gap between Peak and Transcendent Peak experts was far wider than that.
Moreover, the time Sal-je Do-gon had spent at Transcendent Peak already exceeded the time Yu-ran had spent at Peak.
Since he originated from the Demonic Cult, there was no need to speak of his real combat experience.
“Then did we just walk into a death trap?”
Why did she sound subtly excited even as she said it?
“We came here to survive. There is something in this place that I absolutely need.”
With those words I stood.
Yu-ran still looked unconvinced.
More than that, I had essentially insulted a martial artist; her reaction was only natural.
But what could I do?
It was plain fact.
I could not afford to act arrogantly when lives were at stake.
Eventually Yu-ran rose as well.
“Care for a light spar?”
I needed to bend that proud nose of hers just a little.
The demonic cultivators we would face were not ordinary foes, but the catastrophes of the Heavenly Demon Cult that had once shattered the world.
“……Ha.”
Yu-ran swept back her messy bangs and grinned fiercely.
“Are you sure? You might break something.”
“I doubt it.”
At my reply, fighting spirit surged from every pore of her body.
Muyoung discreetly widened the distance to give us space.
Yu-ran and I faced each other as though by prior agreement and took up positions a set distance apart.
“I’ll yield the first move.”
“Thank you.”
The moment she finished speaking, I charged straight at her.
Peak pinnacle.
Yu-ran’s realm was indeed formidable.
The instant I closed in, she raised her scabbard and lightly tapped my extended wrist, neutralizing my posture with a single touch.
Offense and defense reversed in one move.
Yu-ran immediately took another deep step and vanished completely from my sight.
At the same time, a fierce, scorching yang energy exploded behind my head.
A foot technique that destroys the opponent’s formation outright, like a dragon wreathed in roaring flames stomping the earth.
It was an all-out offensive stance that shattered the enemy’s posture and struck at the raw core of their techniques.
In that instant, Yu-ran’s sword hilt shot upward toward my chin.
Simple, yet the most advantageous counter.
I observed her movements calmly.
I forcibly blocked the scabbard with my shoulder and took another step toward her.
With only a single step the distance between us shrank dramatically.
The length of the sword, the confined space, and the slight inconvenience Yu-ran’s Flame Dragon Shattering Stride created in such tight quarters.
Use the situation. Secure the most advantageous position possible.
My eyes turned icy.
All I had to do was strike her fully exposed throat.
But…
A trap.
This was a feint.
Yu-ran had already read my movement.
She had deliberately shown an opening to lure me in deeper.
As expected of the Red Dragon Unit Leader.
In the battle of wits that unfolded in a split second, Yu-ran was undeniably seasoned.
It proved that the title of Red Dragon Unit Leader had not been granted by chance.
Sorry, but my real combat experience is greater.
In the end, the martial arts she displayed could only be those of the Ju Family.
I held every technique of the Ju Family in my head.
I had prepared counters for all of them and had fought demonic cultivators for decades using that knowledge.
Swish!
I slowly extended my hand, and Yu-ran smiled with triumph.
I must have looked like a fool who had stepped blindly into her trap.
She changed posture instantly—bending her rear leg, taking a light step back, then pivoting deeply on that foot to spin her body.
Second form.
Yu-ran’s smile twisted.
The secret technique of the Fighting King Yeo-yul, whose entire body was a weapon. The true essence of the Black King Advance Strike Body erupted.
The deep rotation claimed even greater distance while focusing every striking point into one.
Among all human body parts, the hardest, one that required no lengthy training to become a weapon in itself.
I folded my elbow and drove it into her left ribcage.
Thud!
A dull impact rang out.
Yu-ran staggered and was sent flying.
“……”
A brief, heavy silence fell.
“A shame.”
I lightly brushed off my hand.
In that instant, Yu-ran had twisted her scabbard with a hair’s-breadth adjustment and caught my elbow, perfectly defending the striking point.
“This is…”
Yu-ran swept her bangs back again, wearing that same manic smile.
Her fighting spirit had changed completely.
“I wondered why someone who isn’t even a fist fighter was showing off with his fists. So you possessed this absurd martial art?”
“…It’s similar, but that’s not the only reason.”
A chill ran down my spine.
Yu-ran nodded slowly and tossed her scabbard into the air.
“Wait a second…”
Dangerous.
That look in her eyes—it was the same one she wore when hunting demonic cultivators.
She seemed utterly furious simply because I had landed a blow on her.
“Kyahaha!”
A burst of mad laughter.
It was the last voice I had heard before losing consciousness in my previous life.