Moo Yeong-do scoffed at the sight of Sado Hwan.
“Transcendent Peak?
The Transcendent Peak realm wasn’t something any average dog or cow could reach.
Even Moo Yeong-do, who had survived countless battles and slaughterfields, had spent 20 years at the Peak stage without so much as a glimpse of the Transcendent Peak realm.
‘It’s obviously a lie.’
Sado Hwan had plenty of rumors about his strength, but he had never once proven it. That’s why suspicion surrounded him—and Moo Yeong-do was among those who doubted him.
“Sure, maybe he’s strong to some degree...”
But to be Transcendent Peak in your early thirties?
Historically, in the Demonic Cult, anyone who reached Transcendent Peak near that age only ever met one of two ends:
They died, or they became the Heavenly Demon.
“So it must be a lie.”
Martial artists often exaggerated their power. It kept others from underestimating them. This felt like the same case.
And besides, there was none of the aura unique to Transcendent Peak masters. Those who reached that level carried with them a presence that shook the world—but he couldn’t feel any of that.
‘Even if he really is Transcendent Peak, he’s just a greenhorn who’s never been in a real fight.’
He planned to overwhelm him from the start—shake him, corner him, and subdue him quickly.
That’s what he thought.
So when dozens of martial artists coughed up blood—
He panicked.
And all from a mere pressure release.
‘My qi flow slowed... Poison? No. The Sado Clan doesn’t practice poison arts. And this subtle of a poisoning technique? Impossible. This is... killing intent?’
Up to that point, it was still within the bounds of comprehension.
Killing intent was essentially internal energy pressed outward, and Sado Hwan, who had grown up in a prestigious family, naturally had a massive amount of internal energy.
But that wasn’t the issue.
“Didn’t you hear me tell you to come at me?”
Sado Hwan's low provocation.
Moo Yeong-do dismissed it as bluff.
Given how much energy he had released, Moo Yeong-do figured he must be nearly drained. He gathered the remaining martial artists and launched an attack.
“He really is a rookie. Doesn’t even consider narrowing the attack angles...”
In coordinated group attacks, it was basic to step or turn in a way to reduce the angles of incoming strikes.
But Sado Hwan didn’t bother with any of that.
‘That sword… Even as a blade user myself, I want it.’
He couldn’t use it directly since he used sabers, but he could still sell it. That sword alone looked valuable enough to buy a fine mansion in the Third Demon Realm.
‘That sword’s mine!’
He was confident his attack would land.
Wooong—
Until Sado Hwan slowly drew his sword downward.
“?!”
In swordsmanship, spearplay, or any weapon art, grip was fundamental—the way you held your weapon. One of the very first lessons in martial training was to never, under any circumstance, lose grip of your weapon.
So martial artists never dropped their weapons. It was practically a joke how the Sichuan Tang Clan got ridiculed because they so often threw their beloved weapons around recklessly.
But the moment Sado Hwan’s sword completely descended—
“My arm?!”
It was like something invisible had slammed down from the heavens, striking his forearm hard enough to cause a sharp, unbearable pain.
‘The Samyangrak Acupoint...!’
Once that pressure point—responsible for maintaining grip strength—was hit, the hand naturally lost power.
Kwadeuk!
The weapons of Moo Yeong-do and the others smashed into the ground.
They didn’t just fall.
It was as if a hammer had driven them into the earth, buried deep into the hardened training ground floor, trampled tens of thousands of times until rock solid.
“Impossible...”
“What the hell is happening...?”
Sado Hwan's low voice snapped Moo Yeong-do back to reality. Their gazes met.
His eyes shimmered—radiant.
And Moo Yeong-do trembled like he’d been struck by lightning.
It was the gaze of a predator, lazily staring at its prey.
Calm, but wild. Above all—
“I... I can’t move...”
Not just his weapon—his entire body felt like it was being crushed.
It wasn’t like typical killing intent. It wasn’t just internal pressure. He physically couldn’t move.
“Pathetic.”
Sado Hwan clicked his tongue and slowly walked toward Moo Yeong-do.
There was no technique, no movement art—just ordinary steps.
Yet to Moo Yeong-do, it seemed different.
‘...He doesn’t even need it.’
Footwork, martial techniques—those were created for the weak to overcome the strong.
The strong didn’t need to try to beat the weak. A tiger didn’t need to practice stepping techniques to scare a rabbit. Just walking normally was enough.
Even as he walked casually, Moo Yeong-do couldn’t bear to look at him.
That’s right.
Sado Hwan was the tiger.
And Moo Yeong-do was the rabbit.
Realizing this, Moo Yeong-do dropped to his knees.
And the other martial artists followed suit.
Sado Hwan walked right through them, reigning like it was only natural.
"...Huh?"
Weren’t they just glaring a moment ago? Now they were all on their knees.
He had expected some dumbfounded reactions—but kneeling?
‘I guess I don’t need to use the Blink Orb after all.’
If anyone tried anything, he had planned to use the Blink Orb and escape in a flash, shocking them with “Spatial Shift?!” and buying time.
But what was even more amazing—was Skybreaker Sword.
Not only had it grasped the core of Supreme Reign, it had even applied it.
[No matter how much strength you apply, if your pressure points are struck, you’ll lose that strength.]
It had pinpointed their pressure points, even while they were moving, and precisely struck the Samyangrak point on the forearm.
Of course, it helped that the Decay Poison he’d released earlier had weakened them.
[I didn’t know manipulating qi could be so easy... I suppose not having a body makes it better in that one way.]
Perhaps being bound to a qi-absorbing sword made the AI hypersensitive to energy flow.
“You really are the best martial arts AI.”
[What’s that supposed to mean?]
“Just means you’re amazing. At this point, we’re basically strong as hell. We just took down ten Peak-level and thirty First-rate martial artists. That’s basically Transcendent Peak, no?”
[Don’t kid yourself, monster. That one move used up nearly two-thirds of the energy we charged.]
‘Terrible efficiency.’
The energy absorbed from Baek Ryung was from a Peak-level master. True, it was weakened by the formation within the Disciplinary Quarters, so it wasn’t a full amount—but for one technique, the energy cost was absurd.
[And if a true master came at you seriously, you wouldn’t even have time to react.]
“True.”
Back in the cave when he first arrived, he hadn’t been able to react to the attacks from the hypocritical Murim elder, Mo Yong-su. He could follow the trajectory, but not move his body fast enough.
‘If they hadn’t fallen for the performance, I’d have been exposed in seconds.’
Still, things had gone much smoother than expected.
“Y-You...!”
Sado Muyul staggered back, staring at me in shock.
His panic was obvious. He had believed without a doubt that I couldn’t use martial arts—and yet I had crushed his elite subordinates in one move.
“You—how could you… It’s a lie! It must be a lie!”
“It’s getting cold.”
“Don’t come any closer!”
“You should go back inside, Clan Head. I’ll find my brother.”
"...What?"
Sado Muyul was stunned by my words.
“I had nothing to do with my brother’s disappearance to begin with.”
“And you plan to find him?”
“Black Shadow Corps.”
The moment I finished speaking—
Sss—
From the roof of the building, the Black Shadow Corps emerged like ghosts. At the center stood Saweol.
Earlier, I had sent Saweol a telepathic message—to summon only the part of the Corps that hadn’t been influenced by Sado Gwang. Those who had traveled the Martial World with me.
(Tak Horak was still in the Disciplinary Quarters, being as dramatic as ever.)
They had been excluded from the search for Sado Gwang. Likely because the suspicion toward me had spread even to the Corps.
“Find my brother.”
“By your command!”
And in truth, their suspicion wasn’t entirely wrong. But the Corps didn’t question me—they just vanished like smoke.
In the Martial World, I had earned their trust through example. Some, like Tak Horak, even revered me.
Even Saweol was starting to be swayed.
Now alone, Saweol descended from the roof and stood behind me with flawless footwork.
“The Black Shadow Corps are masters of tracking—personally trained by your brother. They’ll find him quickly.”
“So please, go back inside, Clan Head.”
“You...!”
Sado Muyul tried to raise his sword—
“I...”
I stared him down, focusing the energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art into my eyes like it would burst from my sockets.
“Don’t make me commit patricide, Clan Head.”
Sado Muyul stumbled back—so far that he even dropped his sword.
A martial artist dropping his weapon—something considered nearly unthinkable.
[.........]
Skybreaker Sword let out something like a sigh and fell silent.
There was no dignity, no grace, not even power to justify Sado Muyul being the leader of one of the Six Demon Families.
Like he had kicked a beehive, Sado Muyul quickly fled.
“Th-Thank you!”
“Thank you, Young Lord!”
The innocent civilians who had been wrongly imprisoned bowed deeply and expressed their gratitude.
But I couldn’t show compassion just yet.
Sado Muyul was petty. Even if I let them go, he’d surely try something sneaky.
“Silence.”
“Y-Yes? What do you mean, sir?”
“Just because I spared your lives doesn’t mean you’re cleared of suspicion. Saweol, detain them. I’ll question them myself.”
“Understood...”
Saweol usually showed no emotion. But I could read her now—when she pauses before answering, it usually means she’s annoyed.
– Treat the injured. Make sure the children aren’t harmed. Do this discreetly, without alerting the Clan Head’s allies.
– Understood!
See? Give her a real task, and she responds instantly.
I thought the matter was settled for now.
***
Late at night.
“Haaah…”
Having completed the mission Sado Hwan had assigned, Saweol let out a deep sigh and sat on the edge of her bed. The others had already gone off on the tracking mission, but Saweol hadn’t.
Too many things had happened in just a single day.
‘I met the Supreme One…’
She had emerged from the Disciplinary Quarters—and met the Heavenly Demon.
Saweol’s cheeks flushed a faint red. On her usually expressionless face, a vivid emotion emerged—admiration.
The Heavenly Demon was the idol of all cultists, but to Saweol, she meant even more.
A woman who, with no background or lineage, had defeated evil and risen to the seat of the Heavenly Demon.
She had embodied the very life Saweol herself dreamed of.
But that flush of admiration didn’t last long.
Grrk—
Her teeth ground audibly.
Sado Gwang had gone missing.
He probably wasn’t dead. Most likely, he was hiding somewhere, plotting something. That was what she believed.
And as soon as she thought that—
“Tend to the wounded. Make sure the children don’t get hurt.”
She remembered Sado Hwan.
He had taken on the role of the villain, just to save the innocent who were unjustly persecuted.
...Maybe he’s different from the other Sado bloodline members.
The moment that thought crossed her mind, Saweol jolted and shook her head violently.
There’s no way.
The Sado bloodline was always tainted with wickedness. That had never changed.
“It’s just a family power struggle, nothing more.”
He had threatened his own father. Anyone watching would click their tongue in disbelief.
Trying to steer her thoughts back onto the path of reason, Saweol’s expression suddenly sharpened.
At some point, a dagger had slipped into her hand.
“…Who’s there?”
The space across from her bed, cloaked in deep shadows, began to ripple.
‘A formation…!’
Just as she was about to throw the dagger—
Shimmer.
A figure emerged from the distorted space.
“A dog that doesn’t recognize its master gets boiled and eaten. Is that what you want, you lowly wench?”
It was Sado Gwang.