Hyuk Gon jumped forward in shock.
When he turned around and saw the Black Bull Fan in my hand, he ground his teeth.
With its metal ribs, the fan looked enough like a blade to be mistaken for one.
“The path was confusing. You were helpful.”
“You bastard!”
His rage boiling over, Hyuk Gon ground his teeth. He looked ready to charge at me at any moment.
— Compose yourself.
A chilling voice echoed in my ears. It wasn’t a transmission. It felt like someone invisible was right next to me, whispering directly into my brain—cold, subdued, and eerie.
No, not my ears. It was a voice resonating inside my head.
“Kugh?!”
Thanks to Skybreaker, I was already used to voices in my head—nearly immune, really. But not Hyuk Gon. Startled, he frantically looked around in panic.
Someone capable of transmitting sound directly into your mind...
And then—
Boom!
“Just like the Chu Clan Head warned, stop disgracing yourself and get down here, Young Lord!”
A middle-aged man, also wearing clothing covered in red dragons, slammed the table and barked an order.
It was Hyuk Mun, Clan Head of the Red Dragon Hyuk Clan.
Faced with him, Hyuk Gon couldn’t say a word.
“What are you doing? Get down here this instant!”
“Y-Yes, sir!”
Hyuk Gon scurried down like his feet were on fire.
He stood before Hyuk Mun and bowed his head.
“I’m sorry, Fath—”
Slap!
Before he could even finish, his head whipped to the side.
Hyuk Mun had struck him faster than the eye could follow.
The force made Hyuk Gon stagger, but he quickly regained his footing.
“You pathetic fool. Is this all the blood of the Red Dragon amounts to? Next time, bite your tongue and die instead.”
“I’m sorry, Clan Head.”
“Idiot. Get out of my sight. You don’t belong here.”
“B-But…”
“I said get out. Don’t even think of stepping outside your quarters for the duration of the Six Families’ Summit.”
Hyuk Gon left, unable to hide the stunned look on his face.
[…Feels like I’ve seen that somewhere before.]
“Don’t get self-pitying on me.”
[Tch.]
Even I felt bitter hearing Skybreaker’s comment. I had thought I was manipulating his hotheadedness, but I hadn’t expected it to end that badly.
Anyway—
With the incident settled, I descended the stairs. At some point, Saweol and Tak Horak had begun following behind me.
— It’s an honor. Allow me to introduce myself properly. I’m Chu Mo, humble Clan Head of the Sun and Moon Chu Clan.
Another voice echoed in my head. I looked toward the source.
Chu Taesu, the Clan Head.
Just one glance and you could tell he was the type who liked to show how clever he was. Put glasses on him and he’d look like a university professor. He even wore a gentle smile.
But…
— There was some commotion earlier, but please, have a seat.
He never once opened his mouth. He kept it firmly shut even as he “spoke.”
[Most likely a type of sorcery that can disturb the minds of the weak-willed just by being heard.]
A nasty hobby.
Naturally, I took a seat in the empty spot between the Gwak and Cheol Clans. Settling in calmly, I spoke,
“Pleasure to meet you. I’m Sado Hwan of the Sado Household of Demon Shura.”
As I greeted them, I looked around—and couldn’t help but be stunned.
You know that scene in comics? Where all the villains or strong characters strike weird, dramatic poses when gathered together?
Back when I saw it in stories, I thought it looked cool…
But seeing it in real life?
“They just look insane.”
Let’s say me, the Gwak Clan, and maybe the Chu Clan looked relatively normal.
But the others? Absolutely not.
The Cheol Clan, except for Cheol Muguk, were shirtless, flexing their pecs even here. The Hyuk Clan were decked head-to-toe in red dragons—even their chairs were adorned with dragon carvings.
Since only three people per clan were allowed on Janhondo, that meant they brought those dragon chairs themselves. They were completely consumed by their own “concept.”
Fine. Even that I could tolerate.
But the Jin Clan didn’t even pretend to be interested in the meeting.
The Clan Head, Jin Yeongryeong, was staring into the distance while biting her nails.
Another was wandering the meeting hall aimlessly. One of them was literally hanging upside-down from the second-floor railing like a bat.
If the Hyuk Clan was performing madness, the Jin Clan was madness.
Can someone with a mental state like that really reach the Transcendent Peak Realm?
[Reaching that realm doesn’t require a “normal” mind.]
No one seemed disturbed by the display—clearly, they were used to it.
Then I noticed a man with a particularly sour face—Hyuk Mun, the Clan Head.
He looked like he wanted to say something but ultimately kept quiet.
“You made quite an entrance.”
“Blame the late summon.”
“The youngest is always last, isn’t that right?”
At Cheol Muguk’s comment, I snorted.
Turning my head, I saw Gwak Jeong giving me a thumbs up.
— Master, you were so cool.
Was that disrespectful, or a compliment?
I exchanged eye contact with the few familiar faces.
Gwak Riyeon, Clan Head of the Gwak Clan, winked at me.
Correction.
The Gwak Clan wasn’t normal either.
Gwak Riyeon stood and spoke,
“Now that we’re all here, shall we begin the summit?”
Not knowing what I was supposed to do, I simply stayed quiet.
“As you know, the first day of the summit is for making a sacred oath to mark our presence and paying tribute to the Martial Soul.”
Martial Soul?
When I asked what that was, even Skybreaker seemed clueless.
Cheol Muguk smiled smugly, like he was thinking, “You have no idea, do you?”
That old man…
“I’ll bring out the pact tablet.”
Gwak Riyeon tapped the table with her palm. The center of the round table split open, and something began to rise.
So the whole table was a mechanism strong enough to survive Hyuk Mun’s punches?
What rose was a circular metal plate. Six palmprints were engraved on it—one for each family.
“Hm…”
Up until now, Jin Yeongryeong had only been staring off into space and biting her nails. But now, her eyes lit up.
If Jin Yeongryeong was showing interest, there could only be one reason.
“I’ll go first.”
Hyuk Mun stood abruptly and placed his palm on the plate.
Just as I wondered what would happen—
Blood?
Blood began to pour out of his palm, soaking the metal. Somehow, the plate made sure not a single drop was wasted, channeling it through grooves.
— I’ll go next.
Then it was the Chu, Cheol, and Gwak Clans, in turn.
When it was Jin Yeongryeong’s turn, she moved sluggishly like a patient.
Despite having stared at the blood with delight, her expression turned sour when it was her own turn.
[Using blood techniques makes one hypersensitive to blood.]
After her came my turn.
I placed my hand on the plate. A sharp prick—and blood began to flow.
And at that moment—
“Kahak!?”
All the Jin Clan members turned to look at me at once.
Even the one hanging from the railing turned its head 180 degrees?! Was that even okay?
“Blood… fresh…”
Jin Yeongryeong, who had been silent till now, suddenly started murmuring with gleaming eyes.
It was technically a whisper, but in a place like this, everyone could hear.
She even began squirming in her seat, like she was about to pounce.
— Hahaha, the new Sado Clan Head’s youth seems to have caught her attention.
Hearing Chu Taesu’s voice, Jin Yeongryeong flinched and sat back down.
“So now we know.”
[That your blood carries the energy of Heavenly Demon Divine Art?]
“No. That I need to stay as far away from the Jin Clan as possible.”
If I got too close, I felt like I’d wake up as a dried-up corpse.
Anyway—
Once everyone had taken their turn, Gwak Riyeon stood again.
“Through blood, we swear by the Sacred Fire. Shine upon the future of the Cult.”
Even if the Cult was more of a military force now, and no one called the Heavenly Demon “Pope” anymore, its roots were religious.
That explained why such rituals remained.
As if understanding the cue, the blood pact plate sank back into the table, and the mechanism closed.
“With the oath complete, the path to the Martial Soul should now be open. Let us all rise and proceed.”
Path to the Martial Soul?
I didn’t really understand, but—
“Just do as you’re told. This’ll be fun, hehehe.”
At Cheol Muguk’s words, I glanced at his son.
Cheol Sopyeong was also laughing, looking oddly excited.
At some point, the rear door of the hall had opened.
But that door led to a cliff. There shouldn’t be anything there.
Following the others, I stepped through.
And suddenly—Instead of a cliff, there was a vast open space.
The ground was littered with shattered and broken stones.
“You’re not surprised? That this huge space was hidden with a formation?”
“I knew there was a formation here.”
Honestly, I was surprised. But I was suppressing it with the energy of Heavenly Demon Divine Art. Besides, Skybreaker had mentioned it earlier.
“Well, good. It’s too soon to be shocked anyway. Follow me.”
The Cheol Clan led the way, followed by the Gwak Clan.
“Master, hurry! This is going to be amazing!”
Gwak Jeong waved at me.
What could possibly be so exciting?
We climbed over broken stones and reached the far end of the clearing.
There, the group stood before a massive black wall. It was a giant metal rectangular prism, at least five jang (15 meters) in every dimension. From afar, it looked like a building.
Everyone was staring at it like they were admiring a masterpiece—especially the Clan Heads.
“That’s… not just metal. It’s Cloud Demon Iron, all of it!”
[...]
“Why waste that much Cloud Demon Iron just to make a giant cube?!”
Sure, my Guardian Armring (Suho Bihwan) was made from Cloud Demon Iron too…
But that used artifact abilities to change size, not a solid metal block like this.
“If it clashed with Suho Bihwan, mine would probably break, right?”
[...]
“Skybreaker?”
[...]
Strangely, Skybreaker said nothing.
Was he in the same dazed state as the other Clan Heads?
“Wait… that’s...”
Even Saweol stared wide-eyed at the cube, her pupils trembling.
“What’s going on?”
Since Skybreaker was unresponsive, I infused internal energy into my eyes and studied the cube.
I still couldn’t figure it out, so I stayed quiet.
That’s when Cheol Muguk approached, wearing a “just as expected” look.
“I told you it would be interesting.”
“My martial arts are lacking, so I can only see the Cloud Demon Iron, but I figured you would notice.”
“That giant cube has been sliced—perfectly—into four sections, so precisely that they appear as one.”
Sharpening my vision, I noticed the faintest of seams.
You wouldn’t notice unless you really focused.
“That,” he said proudly,
“Is a single strike containing the intent of a martial artist. The Martial Soul.”
Cheol Muguk beamed as he explained.
“That strike… was left behind by the first Heavenly Demon.”