Meanwhile, Un-hyeok slowly opened his eyes.
Birdsong greeted him alongside sunlight streaming through the window onto his face.
"Mmmngh......"
After struggling upright, Un-hyeok let out a sigh of relief.
"Phew, almost died."
Having gotten a taste of the Myriad Streams Return to Poison Divine Art back in the Dark Archive, he had barely managed to keep his wits about him.
Without that experience, he would have been the one consumed.
'......The Sacred Fire, though.'
The Sacred Fire — the divine flame of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
A sacred fire that only the Heavenly Demon could wield.
Supposedly, one had to ascend to the position of Cult Master and be chosen through the Saintess' ritual to command its power.
'And it's hidden inside the Demon Cultivation Grotto?'
"Hmm......"
Obtaining it would certainly be a boon.
But could he really trust those words?
'......Nothing makes sense.'
The warmth in the Divine Art's gaze at the very end had been too gentle.
After mulling it over, Un-hyeok mussed up his own hair.
"Damn it. Not a single question has a clear answer."
Things still unknown.
Un-hyeok was not the type to cling uselessly to unanswerable questions for days on end.
He had intended to enter the Demon Cultivation Grotto anyway, and figured the answers would come naturally as he underwent the trials.
"More importantly, there's something to check first."
Un-hyeok sprang to his feet.
He cracked his neck side to side — POP — and loosened his body.
"Let's see how much this body's changed."
SWISH—! BANG—!
He threw a punch and snapped a kick, and the air burst apart.
His overall movement had become smoother as well.
"Good."
Compared to before, it would not be an exaggeration to call it a complete rebirth.
'The external side looks solid enough.'
Next.
Un-hyeok focused his awareness on his index finger.
HISSS—!
In an instant, beads of black sweat formed on the surface.
A small smile crossed Un-hyeok's lips.
"Oh?"
When he flicked his finger, the droplet shot toward a pillar like a flying needle.
SIZZLE—!
The spot where it struck was gouged out.
When he had been practicing the nameless art, extracting poison from within his body had required at least five levels of mastery.
Even if these were only crude toxins, this was a considerable achievement.
"The Myriad Streams Return to Poison Divine Art. Impressive results."
With this, he could start from a point far ahead of where he had been in his past life.
Un-hyeok clenched his fist.
'I can grow even stronger.'
To face the Sichuan Tang Clan.
And beyond that, to stand against the Central Plains and the Heavenly Righteous Alliance.
Un-hyeok had to become far, far stronger than his former self.
"This is just the beginning."
Un-hyeok gazed through the window.
The sun was high — still plenty of day left.
"Why not pay the training grounds a visit?"
A changed body was not the end of it.
Getting accustomed to it required relentless effort.
But first.
SNIFF— SNIFF—!
"Ugh— what is that stench?"
Waste products that had not been absorbed into the poison core had been expelled from his body.
"Better wash up first."
The day was still long.
And Un-hyeok's journey was only just beginning.
***
A short while later.
As Un-hyeok neared the training grounds, a familiar face greeted him.
"Bro...... ther?"
Mu-won rubbed his big, calf-like eyes.
Un-hyeok approached him, hands clasped behind his back, and noticed Mu-won's martial arts uniform soaked with sweat.
"Training, I see."
"Y-yes. But what brings you here, Brother......"
"What other reason does anyone come to a training ground? I'm here to train, obviously."
"What?!"
"......What's with that reaction?"
"N-no, it's not that......"
After their mother's death, Un-hyeok had lived as if he were already dead.
Giving up drinking and women was blessing enough — and now he wanted to train in martial arts?
Mu-won's shock was only natural.
"......It's just so sudden, Brother training in martial arts."
"Sudden? If anything, I'm late."
"Huh?"
"I'm the son of a martial family, after all."
Children of martial families honed their skills from a young age.
Heirs of prestigious houses especially underwent bone-washing and marrow-cleansing from the moment they were born.
The martial path was a lifelong companion.
In that light, Un-hyeok was far behind.
"I wasted so many years wandering. So if I don't want to fall further behind, I'd better work hard starting now."
"Ah......"
He'd noticed it before, but Brother really has changed!
From what Father had told him, the matter with the Golden Dragon Chamber had been cleanly resolved.
And now he wanted to train in martial arts on top of that.
Mu-won's eyes sparkled.
"Then, Brother, would you like to train with me?"
"With you?"
"Yes!"
Mu-won, who loved his brother more than anyone.
One of his deepest wishes had been to train alongside Un-hyeok.
During Un-hyeok's years of wandering, he had not even dared dream of it — but today, perhaps, that dream could come true.
'Brother is just starting out, so the gap in skill will be wide, but I can guide him along.'
As it happened, the one warrior he had been sparring with — Neung Ja-pil — was leaving.
If Un-hyeok trained with him, it would be more than he could ask for.
But first.
'Let me get a read on how far Brother's come.'
Mu-won swept his gaze over Un-hyeok's bearing, and something felt off.
'Huh? Was Brother's body always this well-balanced?'
And now that he looked.
The sickly, ashen complexion that had looked ready to give out at any moment had brightened.
'What in the...... a person doesn't just transform like this in a single week.'
As Mu-won tilted his head, Un-hyeok answered.
"Sure, why not."
"......Oh, really?"
"Let's train together. It's not a big deal."
In that instant, joy swept away every last shred of doubt in Mu-won's mind.
"Really?! No quitting when it gets hard!"
"Don't worry. That won't happen."
"Hehe. All right, we'll start today then?"
"Yeah."
"Then let's head to the training grounds together. I just finished resting and was about to go back anyway."
As the two of them stepped through the entrance of the training grounds.
Un-hyeok took one look inside and scowled.
"Well, would you look at that."
It was only the early afternoon.
Yet every warrior inside was slacking off.
Some sprawled in the shade for a leisurely nap.
Others huddled in corners, running gambling tables.
Still more gathered in small groups, chattering away.
In a word.
"What a disgrace."
Un-hyeok asked.
"Won, why aren't those men training?"
"W-well......"
"Never mind. The reasons are obvious enough."
Un-hyeok's gaze sharpened.
"They think the Poison Demon Sect is a joke."
Mu-won could say nothing.
He had always known the warriors were a problem, but there had been nothing he could do.
Mu-won was only twelve.
He had assumed his voice would never reach warriors so much older than himself.
"I won't stand for this even if dirt fills my eyes."
The original Dok Un-hyeok may have neglected his duties as young sect leader, but Un-hyeok was not that man.
'Knowing Dok Ryeon-hwi's nature, the stipends are meager, so he can't bring himself to reprimand them either.'
And Dok Mu-won, the future Iron Blood Poison Lord, was still just a child.
In the end, only one person could resolve this.
"Leave this to me."
"Br-Brother. What are you going to do?"
Revenge required the Poison Demon Sect's strength.
To eventually seize control of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, he would need backing.
But with morale this pathetic, it would amount to nothing.
'Today, I whip these warriors into shape.'
"Fall in."
Un-hyeok's voice was buried under the warriors' chatter.
A vein pulsed at his temple, and he bellowed.
"Everyone, fall in!!"
Only then did the warriors stop their snickering and look at Un-hyeok.
"What are you waiting for?! Get over here, now!"
But the warriors stared blankly at Un-hyeok, then promptly went back to chattering among themselves.
Un-hyeok's cheek twitched.
'These bastards. Ignoring me, are they?'
Fine. You're all dead.
Un-hyeok rolled up his sleeves and strode toward the warriors.
When someone suddenly stepped into his path.
"What manner of tantrum is this?"
A man so tall Un-hyeok had to crane his neck to look up at him.
Un-hyeok asked.
"......And who are you?"
"Ink Shadow Captain, Neung Ja-pil."
Well, look at this one.
Un-hyeok clearly outranked him, yet the man's neck was stiff with defiance.
Not only that, but he stared down at Un-hyeok with sheer insolence.
"Captain, then. That would make you the highest-ranked man among them."
"It would."
"Then explain yourself."
Un-hyeok pointed past Ja-pil at the warriors behind him.
"The sun is at its peak. Why aren't the warriors training?"
"They were, just a moment ago."
"Don't lie to me!"
Un-hyeok's shout rang through the training grounds.
"There isn't a drop of sweat on any of their faces. You dare try to make a fool of me?"
"What the warriors do is none of your concern."
"......Excuse me?"
"You've spent your entire life drowning in wine and women. What gives you the right to butt in now?"
That face looked familiar.
After a moment's thought, Un-hyeok remembered who Ja-pil was.
'Right, I remember now. This bastard. The one who shielded Dok Mu-won to the very end when I went to take down the Poison Demon Sect.'
When Un-hyeok had driven Mu-won to the brink in their battle to the death, this was the man who had sacrificed his own body to give Mu-won a chance.
'An enemy, yet his loyalty was something else. So this is what he looked like when he was young.'
Un-hyeok could read Ja-pil's true feelings in his eyes.
'Resentment.'
The intelligence So-ye had provided included personal files on several individuals.
Ja-pil's was among them.
The Poison Demon Sect had been everything to Ja-pil.
And the very man who had ruined it stood before him.
Hostility was only natural.
"Just go on living the way you always have. Don't drag your bad luck our way. This is no place for a wretch like you."
HKAACK—! PTOO!
The phlegm Ja-pil spat landed on Un-hyeok's martial arts uniform.
Seeing it, Mu-won panicked and tried to step between them.
"Br-Brother! W-wait a moment!"
"Won. Step back."
"Just calm down and hear me out! Captain Neung is the only person who's helped me with my training. I'm sure something happened today that made him act this way toward you—"
"I said step back!!"
"Urk!"
Un-hyeok's eyes were frigid beyond measure.
'This can't go on.'
In the end, Mu-won changed tack.
He turned to Neung Ja-pil and shouted.
"Captain Neung! Wh-what kind of disrespect is this?! Apologize to Brother at once!"
"I'm sorry, young master. I can't do that."
"Wh-what......?"
"I can't understand it. Why the Poison Demon Sect keeps shielding that wretch and calling him family."
"Captain Neung! Watch your words!"
"Am I wrong? By rights, it should be him entering the Demon Cultivation Grotto. But that useless fool can't even shoulder his own responsibilities — he just sits there like a parasite, bleeding the Poison Demon Sect's coffers dry!"
"Captain Neung......!"
Ja-pil roared at Un-hyeok.
"Hey, bastard! Have some shame!"
"......"
"The young sect leader of the Poison Demon Sect, hiding behind his little brother because he's scared of the Demon Cultivation Grotto! Is that how pathetically you want to live?!"
"Captain Neung!!"
But Ja-pil's mouth, once opened, showed no sign of stopping.
"Young Master Mu-won. Starting tomorrow, I will be a warrior of the Black Slaughter Sect. Since I'm leaving anyway, I might as well say everything I've been holding back to that bastard."
How had it come to this?
The two people he cared about most, hurling insults at each other.
As Mu-won floundered, helpless.
"So, are you done?"
Ja-pil fell silent.
He had expected this to cow Un-hyeok, but instead, Un-hyeok stood even taller.
"Then it's my turn."
Un-hyeok did not flinch from Ja-pil's stare, and laid out the charges with cold logic.
"Neung Ja-pil! You become a warrior of the Black Slaughter Sect tomorrow. Which means you are still a warrior of the Poison Demon Sect today. And not only did you defy me — your young sect leader — you committed gross disrespect. This demands severe punishment!"
Ja-pil let out a scoff of disbelief.
"Punishment? How do you plan to punish me? Don't tell me you think you can hold me accountable with your pitiful level of skill."
"Of course I can."
"Your arrogance knows no bounds."
"Then prove it. A match. Right here."
This was a prime opportunity.
At a glance, Ja-pil was a seasoned first-rate master.
'He's the top dog here.'
Take him down, and bringing the warriors to heel would be child's play.
'I get to test my training results too. Two birds with one stone.'
But Ja-pil merely snorted.
"Walk away while I'm asking nicely. This is your only warning."
"It's a good chance for you too."
"What?"
"You've got plenty of grievances against me, don't you? But you're just going to leave like this? Really fine with that?"
"......"
"If you're not scared, let's have at it."
Un-hyeok grinned.
"Neung Ja-pil."
Ja-pil glared at Un-hyeok, then slowly opened his mouth.
"......Get ready."
He gripped the hilt at his belt.
"I'll carve it into your body exactly what happens when you strut around like you own the place."