A Flamboyant Entrance
“Wi Gun-ak.”
“You really are a strange one, Ju Woo-jin.”
Wi Gun-ak’s lips curled into a crooked smile.
“I never told you my name, yet you already know it and call me by it.”
“……”
His eyes looked perfectly normal.
But the flow of energy around him was anything but.
‘Pulse, breathing…… and that aura.’
He had been caught.
Even the great Wi Gun-ak had fallen victim to Sa-an Gwi-gun.
Usually, bloodshot eyes were the most obvious sign of the Soul-Destroying Illusion Art. But that symptom only appeared in the very early stages. Once it passed, there was practically no trace left that someone had been affected.
Yet I had managed to notice it.
‘Is this what they call heaven-sent luck?’
The massive flow of energy coiled deep in my dantian.
Demonic qi.
It was revealing everything to me.
At first I thought it was a curse, but not anymore.
This was the only alternative to capturing the Heavenly Demon, a precious trump card for a decisive strike.
“Daydreaming right in front of me!”
Wi Gun-ak thrust his sword without warning. Qi swirled at the tip, as if the very space around it was being sucked in.
‘As expected.’
I twisted my waist sharply, slipping out of the sword’s range, then slowly settled into a stance.
“Young Master, get back!”
Muyoung spotted me late and came running. In the next instant, a technique of the Soaring Heaven Flame Sword bloomed from his blade. Under the explosive strike, Wi Gun-ak’s entire body seemed about to be pierced through.
But his figure scattered like an illusion.
“I’ve been annoyed by you for a while now, you bastard.”
Wi Gun-ak instantly seized Muyoung’s rear and thrust his sword. The speed was so great that afterimages trailed behind him. There was no mercy in his blade.
As the strike flew toward Muyoung’s neck, I stomped the ground and dove straight into Wi Gun-ak’s embrace.
“……!”
If he continued the thrust, he would take a direct hit from me. Wi Gun-ak realized this as well, clicked his tongue, and withdrew his sword.
That brief moment became Muyoung’s opening. He quickly thrust his blade at Wi Gun-ak again.
Clang!
Wi Gun-ak leaned back in an instant and exchanged over a dozen moves with Muyoung. Finally, he shoved Muyoung away with force and widened the distance, resetting his stance. His attitude had grown slightly more cautious.
“A joint attack from the two of you…… rather troublesome.”
I silently clenched my fists and took my stance.
His spacing, breathing, posture, and vision—everything was far superior to ours. He refused to give any ground, making it difficult to close in. The Black King Advance Strike Body was an extremely aggressive art that demanded close range, yet Wi Gun-ak had already seen through that weakness and kept his distance.
‘This is what a Peak expert is like.’
Of course, I had a way to win. The White Dragon Sword Scripture and the Jade Heaven Descending Dragon Qi. No, I didn’t even need the latter. I was confident that simply unleashing the Dragon Heaven True Qi at its peak would overwhelm him in one go.
But that would be the end of it. My internal energy had reached one and a half cycles, yet the White Dragon Sword Scripture consumed an enormous amount. At my current level, I could probably use it only once or twice at most.
The real problem was that the moment I used it, Wi Gun-ak would die. Only someone at the Transcendent Peak realm or higher, like Do-gon, could barely block the White Dragon Sword Scripture.
‘No choice, then.’
For now, I had to wear down his stamina bit by bit.
“I can see right through what you’re thinking.”
Wi Gun-ak had already read my intentions. While refusing to yield any distance, he conserved his strength and responded with extreme passivity.
‘This won’t end.’
The one whose stamina would run out first was clearly us.
I gave Muyoung a signal with my eyes. He nodded once and immediately withdrew, retreating at high speed.
“Trying to run away?”
Wi Gun-ak’s eyes flashed with killing intent as he charged straight at me. It seemed he intended to ignore Muyoung and subdue me first.
Thud!
I lightly struck the flat of his blade with my palm, channeling the power of the seventh star. But my opponent was Wi Gun-ak. He scattered my internal energy in an instant and thrust his sword deep toward me as if nothing had happened.
‘Now.’
I pushed my body forward. Just as I expected, the moment Muyoung pulled back, Wi Gun-ak moved. That meant he had entered my range.
I trapped his sword between my arm and side, gripping it tightly. At the same time, my other hand pressed down hard on the joint of his forearm.
“Cheap tricks.”
Wi Gun-ak’s lips curled upward. He had clearly anticipated this.
Wi Gun-ak was a seasoned fighter who had accumulated countless hours of training and experience to reach the Peak. But compared to him, I possessed an unimaginable amount of real combat experience.
If he had read my move, then I had already read his in return.
Crack!
I stomped down on the top of Wi Gun-ak’s foot. A place his eyes couldn’t reach. The moment I saw his startled expression, I twisted my waist and drove my elbow toward his temple.
Whoosh!
But Wi Gun-ak was no easy opponent either. He ducked in one fluid motion and cleanly avoided my strike.
“Ho.”
He let out an admiring sound, then released the full presence he had been hiding until now.
“You really aren’t ordinary. That kind of achievement isn’t something someone your age should have reached. Just who the hell are you?”
Wi Gun-ak seemed to feel a sense of crisis. Each of my moves felt quite threatening to him.
‘Huh?’
That was when it happened.
I glanced behind me. An overwhelming presence was approaching. It was an energy I was already familiar with. The moment I sensed it, the figure was already standing before me.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
The voice was cold, yet filled with thick killing intent. Like a beast’s roar, a single shout carried earth-shaking power.
“Pavilion Lord.”
Wi Gun-ak quickly bowed at the waist.
I took a step back and cupped my fists.
The Dark Sovereign stared silently at both of us before turning to me.
“What exactly is going on here……”
“I can explain……”
“No. No need.”
In that instant, the Dark Sovereign grinned widely. His smile was filled with killing intent that pressed down on the entire body.
“I’ve figured it out. It’s all clear to me now.”
Swish!
The Dark Sovereign’s hand moved. In that moment, Wi Gun-ak collapsed like a puppet with its strings cut. I had only barely caught the motion of his hand; I couldn’t even properly see what had happened.
“At first, I thought you were trying to stir up trouble in the Black Pavilion. That’s the kind of position where you have to consider such things.”
“I understand.”
“But after considering everything that’s happened…… your words were right after all.”
The Dark Sovereign had sensed that something was wrong. That was why he had openly declared the presence of a spy in front of everyone and issued a warning. Then he had followed after Woo-jin’s movements.
The Dark Sovereign continued.
“Let’s go. I think it’s time I took a look at that damned bastard’s face.”
“……”
An unexpected helping hand from the Dark Sovereign.
I called Muyoung over and we began running up the mountain. At some point the Dark Sovereign’s presence vanished, but I knew he was already circling nearby, having erased every trace of himself.
A powerful ally had joined us.
* * *
From the warehouse to the mountain peak.
The nameless mountain wasn’t particularly large, but its terrain was quite rugged.
“Huh?”
While climbing, I felt something strange. Presences could be felt from various places. Muyoung and I hid our energy and approached stealthily.
Beyond the dense foliage, in a place with no visible path—
“What…… is this?”
There was a village. Not the kind with inns, but one made of dilapidated thatched huts.
“Ah…… It seems to be a slash-and-burn village.”
Muyoung immediately understood the situation upon seeing it.
“Slash-and-burn village?”
“Yes. A settlement formed by people who fled from taxes and military service imposed by the state.”
Therefore, they were extremely wary of being seen by outsiders. They lived in self-sufficiency, barely scraping by.
“Why would they be in a place like this……”
Even their numbers were considerable. Easily over a hundred.
‘Could it be…… here?’
I had considered the possibility that Sa-an Gwi-gun might be hiding among them, but it didn’t seem likely. I couldn’t sense his unique energy, and he wouldn’t hide in such a careless manner.
“Let’s head back.”
Just as we were about to retrace our steps—
“……”
A sharp pain shot through the back of my head, and goosebumps rose across my skin. A stinging wave of demonic qi spread outward.
At the same time, the villagers of the slash-and-burn settlement all emerged, each holding something in their hands.
“Ha.”
So this was what had felt off.
I sighed at my own stupidity for only now recalling what had happened in my past life.
There was a reason Sa-an Gwi-gun’s infamy had spread so widely. Above all, he had committed countless acts that made orthodox martial artists shudder.
The righteousness and chivalry taught in the orthodox sects carried many meanings. Simply put, the first was proper conduct between people. The second was a righteous and chivalrous heart. The third was the righteous spirit of willingly stepping forward to help others.
Sa-an Gwi-gun possessed the worst possible art that prevented orthodox martial artists from recklessly challenging him—the Soul-Destroying Illusion Art.
“Young Master?”
Muyoung was trembling. The villagers charged at us with unfocused eyes and vacant expressions. Their minds had been seized by Sa-an Gwi-gun’s Soul-Destroying Illusion Art, and they were rushing toward us without any regard for their own lives.
Muyoung couldn’t bring himself to swing his sword at people who didn’t even understand what was happening.
“Kuk kuk, having trouble deciding?”
Sa-an Gwi-gun revealed himself from among the crowd. Just as I had wanted to capture him, he had set this trap to catch me. We were now facing each other.
“Hey, you reckless brat from the Ju family.”
At that moment, the Dark Sovereign stepped forward.
“Our noble and pure orthodox bloodline can’t even handle trash like this, can they? Huh?”
He was squatting on a tree branch, looking down at me with amusement.
I let out a small laugh.
“Want me to help?”
“I’m not the kind of fool who would just stand by and watch while someone tries to kill me.”
I slowly rolled up my sleeves. Muyoung’s face turned pale as he gripped his sword hilt tightly.
I grabbed the first man who swung a pickaxe at me by the collar and slammed him to the ground.
‘If I don’t kill them, they’ll just keep getting up.’
Unfortunately, once caught by Sa-an Gwi-gun, these people were already dead. Demonic arts were called demonic arts for a reason. Ordinary people with no internal energy could never withstand the Soul-Destroying Illusion Art. Even if there was an antidote from the Medicine Immortal, they would never be able to live normally again.
Just as I steeled my resolve and moved to break the man’s neck—
“Stop.”
The Dark Sovereign grabbed my shoulder and pushed me back.
“You go drag that pathetic bastard who only does cowardly things like this in front of me.”
Crack!
The Dark Sovereign snapped the man’s neck in my place.
“I don’t want to get scolded by Sword Sovereign. Go on.”
With those words, the Dark Sovereign slowly walked toward the villagers. As he passed, they clutched their necks and collapsed one after another.
I turned my gaze away.
Sa-an Gwi-gun. That bastard was nearby.