The Weight of Legacy
The air inside the room grew heavy, thick enough to choke on.
Sword Sovereign Ju Tae-sung and Blood Sovereign Ju Tae-hwi had gathered in one place.
“Do you know of the Heavenly Demon?”
Cheonma.
Just the name carried an abyssal terror.
“What kind of nonsense is that?”
Father stared at me with a hardened expression, his gaze piercing straight through.
Did he think I had lost my mind?
In contrast, my youngest uncle remained silent, seemingly lost in thought.
“I fear him. He is a calamity that will tear the martial world apart and devour everything—both the righteous path and the demonic path.”
A natural disaster.
No mere human made of flesh and blood could stand against the forces of nature.
The Heavenly Demon was a calamity on that very scale.
No one had ever been able to stop his advance.
Could they understand even a fraction of what I felt?
“You’re letting your worries run too far ahead. The Heavenly Demon, of all things.”
Father turned away with a cold expression, as if he regretted even asking.
Yes, I knew he wouldn’t believe me.
I had no clear evidence, after all.
“What happened in the Zhushan Archipelago. Do you truly believe it was nothing more than some nameless demonic practitioner going mad? And what about the events on Okhwa Mountain? Are you saying everything that occurred in Sichuan was mere coincidence?”
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor of Okhwa Mountain. Sa-an Gwi-gun of the Zhushan Archipelago. And even the Residual Blood Killing Emperor who had died in the lands of Sichuan.
“Mother nearly died from poisoning. Does that not anger you?”
“…So you’re saying all of it was the work of the Demonic Cult?”
“Yes. And why do you think the former leader of the Baekryongdae died? Why was he suddenly found dead inside the underground prison?”
I pushed myself upright.
It hurt like my body was being torn apart, but I wanted to look them both in the eyes as I spoke.
What were they thinking right now?
Father and my youngest uncle.
Both of them had lowered their gazes, lost in silent contemplation.
Then, suddenly, my eyes met Father’s.
“Tae-hwi.”
“Yes, Lord.”
“Leave us for a moment.”
“…Yes.”
My youngest uncle quickly read the room and stepped outside, closing the door behind him.
Now it was just me and Father.
The two of us, alone in this room thick with awkward tension.
That’s right. I had never once spoken to Father about the Demonic Cult.
But my uncle already knew.
During the incident with Sa-an Gwi-gun’s death, I had revealed everything about the Cult to him.
However, I had never mentioned the Heavenly Demon.
This was the first time I had spoken of his existence to either of them.
“Are you afraid of this father of yours?”
“…No.”
“Then do you hate me?”
“No.”
“Then you don’t believe me?”
Father stepped closer.
It was the first time I had ever faced him from such proximity.
“When we first discovered demonic energy within your body, I simply watched. I feared you might fall into qi deviation and lose yourself to madness.”
“…”
“Even when you slaughtered the demonic practitioners on Okhwa Mountain and gave all the credit to the leader of the Jeokryongdae, I simply watched. I was afraid you might twist yourself again.”
Father… had been watching everything.
“When you were injured on Kunlun and headed toward the Tang Family, I seriously considered overturning the entire world.”
The wrath of the Sword Sovereign.
How many in this world could withstand such fury?
“Have you been carrying all of this… alone?”
“It was something I had to do.”
Shatter the Demonic Cult’s ambitions. Kill the Heavenly Demon. Save the family.
The simplest desire, and the one I wanted most.
Everyone living.
Even if it cost me my life, I had to protect the people I cherished.
In my previous life, they had died for me. The only thing I could do for them now was this.
“Speak.”
Father gently patted my shoulder.
It was the first time I had ever felt… my father’s warmth.
Something hot surged up from deep within my chest.
“The Heavenly Demon has appeared. He will destroy the martial world. He will devour everything—righteous sects and demonic factions alike—without distinction.”
“The Heavenly Demon. How do you know of such a being?”
“Because I experienced it. The Nine Great Sects will burn to ash. The Five Great Families… will be ground to dust and scattered. The one who declares the end of the martial world… that is the Heavenly Demon.”
For the first time, Father showed a serious reaction to my words.
Yes. He was finally listening.
“So that’s why you asked me to leave the disposition of the Baekryongdae to you…”
“Yes. They needed to be rooted out. Moreover, the reason I didn’t tell you before was…”
I paused, catching my breath.
What I was about to say was extremely sensitive—and potentially fatal—for the family.
“There are traitors within the clan who are cooperating with the Demonic Cult’s plans. And this is not limited to…”
“The Ju Family alone, I presume.”
Ju Tae-sung nodded calmly, as if he had already expected it.
“If the Heavenly Demon truly exists, as you say… can this father of yours stop him?”
“It is impossible.”
Beyond the heavens.
The Heavenly Demon’s realm surpassed imagination.
“Even if all Ten Supreme Sovereigns attacked together, they could not defeat the Heavenly Demon.”
“…”
Father’s expression hardened gravely at my words.
He could have scolded me, saying such a realm was nonsense, but he didn’t.
Rather, it was precisely because he had reached his own level that he could understand the existence of another heaven above the heavens.
“I originally didn’t intend to speak of this. I believed I could stop them alone.”
“But?”
“The situation has changed.”
The Demonic Cult and the Heavenly Demon.
I had thought I could prepare and stop them somehow.
Capture the Twelve Demon Emperors to delay the Cult’s advance.
Kill the Four Fiends to postpone the Heavenly Demon’s emergence from seclusion.
In that time, I would grow stronger and raise the Ju Family’s warriors to terrifying heights.
So that the Heavenly Demon, left alone, would not dare act recklessly.
But…
All of it had shattered.
“They called themselves the Sura Blood Cult. The ones who launched the surprise attack on this Mong Family Villa.”
“Blood Cult!”
Father, who had not flinched at the mention of the Demonic Cult or the Heavenly Demon, now recoiled in shock.
“You know of them?”
“Did they truly call themselves the Blood Cult with their own mouths?”
“Yes. Why are you reacting like this?”
As his expression grew grave, mine hardened as well.
Was there something I didn’t know?
“The Blood Cult…”
Father’s pupils trembled faintly.
What could it be?
For the Sword Sovereign—one of the Ten Supreme Sovereigns—to show such emotional disturbance.
Were the Blood Cult truly that terrifying?
“Hah… It seems there is no avoiding it.”
The Sword Sovereign let out a long sigh, then spoke to me in a heavy, serious tone.
“How much do you know about your grandfather?”
“Pardon?”
Why was he suddenly bringing up Grandfather?
“Isn’t Grandfather wandering the martial world?”
“That is incorrect.”
Father shook his head.
“The first one to detect the movements of the Blood Cult was your grandfather.”
The previous head of the Ju Family. My grandfather. Father’s father.
“We concealed and minimized all information, erasing every trace of your grandfather. We had no choice. It was what he wanted.”
Father clenched his fist so tightly it trembled.
To see the world-renowned Sword Sovereign shaken so violently—it felt strangely surreal.
“He went missing while tracking the Blood Cult. Not long after you were born.”
“…”
“Only I know this truth. Therefore, you must also…”
“Yes. I will keep my mouth shut.”
Father nodded at my answer.
“I believed he was still alive. I thought the Blood Cult had gone into hiding because he had moved against them.”
I tilted my head at those words.
How could one man’s existence be enough to bind the feet of such powerful beings?
As if reading my thoughts, Father nodded and continued.
“The day I was first called the Sword Sovereign.”
“…”
“Even then, I could not withstand a single strike from your grandfather.”
A tremendous shock swept over me.
Grandfather possessed such profound martial prowess?
“The reason I was able to grow strong was to catch up to my father. I trained desperately, hoping to at least step on the shadow of his feet.”
But he could never reach him.
Even the one called the Sword Sovereign found it difficult to even glimpse the tip of Grandfather’s toes. That was how absolute his realm had been.
“And the thing my father feared most was the Blood Cult. Do you still think the Demonic Cult’s movements are mere coincidence?”
“…”
“He learned that your grandfather had disappeared. That damned bastard—the Heavenly Demon or whatever he calls himself.”
Father roared with raw fury.
It was also a lament for his own inadequacy, for never having been able to catch up to his father.
I, on the other hand, was overwhelmed by an immense shock.
…It was Grandfather.
But why had such a person never left a single rumor in the martial world?
“Your grandfather… never once stepped forward ‘officially’ in the affairs of the martial world.”
He moved in secret.
He sought out the Demonic Cult alone, crushed them, and issued warnings.
He slaughtered the forces of the Blood Cult and declared from atop their corpses:
The Ju Family shall stand eternal and unyielding.
Thud!
Suddenly, Father grabbed my shoulder.
“And yet, I see my own father in you.”
He smiled faintly.
What did that even mean…?
“The Ju Family’s martial arts have no limits. A new realm awaits only those who break free of its frame. Just like you. And just like your grandfather.”
“I still haven’t reached even the tip of Father’s—”
“Who knows? That may not be true.”
Breaking the established frame was not a matter of realm.
Perhaps it belonged to the domain of innate talent.
“So, what do you plan to do from now on?”
I pondered the question for a moment.
“No matter what I do… will you believe in me?”
“It is not even a question of belief or disbelief.”
Father said he had not yet broken free of the frame.
His gaze pierced deeply into me, as if trying to see through every hidden intention I held.
I took a long, deep breath.
“Before the Heavenly Demon emerges from seclusion… I will uproot the Demonic Cult entirely.”
“Hah.”
The corners of Father’s mouth twisted bitterly.
“That sounds like you intend to sweep away all of the Twelve Demon Emperors you mentioned.”
“That is correct. And in the process… I will also carve out every last traitor within the clan.”
Father’s eyes grew even sharper.
For a brief moment, a blade-like light flashed within them.
“You intend to shake the very foundations of the Ju Family.”
“Not shake them. Save them.”
My voice did not tremble in the slightest.
A brief silence fell.
Father closed his eyes and mulled over something for a long time. Then, slowly, he nodded.
“Very well. But remember this.”
His voice dropped low.
“Even as you claim to save the Ju Family, do not lose yourself in the process. Those who break the frame ultimately collapse because they forget the very reason they must protect what they hold dear.”
Those words sank deep into my heart.
Heavier than Father’s sword principle, hotter than blood.
“Yes.”
Even in that short reply, my resolve rang clear.
At that moment, urgent footsteps sounded from outside.
“Lord!”
The door burst open violently as one of the guards rushed in, gasping for breath.
His face was deathly pale, and his eyes were filled with horror.
“What is it?”
Ju Tae-sung asked coldly.
“In the forest south of the villa… we have discovered traces of them.”
For a fleeting moment, a cold, bitter smile appeared on the lips of Sword Sovereign Ju Tae-sung.
The bastards had not yet left this place.