Though it was only the first stage of the Dead Realm Entangling Formation, Murin, who had been inside it, was utterly exhausted.
"Haa, haa...."
He did not know how long he had fought like a madman within it, but even now that the formation's power had vanished, Murin lay spread-eagled on the floor, unable to rise.
Jin Mudo looked at his pale face and spoke with a mocking smile.
"Did you provoke this old man with only that much? I thought you had something impressive left in you."
Murin, who had been gasping for breath, laboriously sat up and said,
"Thirty-three."
"What? What are you saying?"
"I killed thirty-three corpses, old man. No more corpses came out after that."
"Yes, thirty-three is the end of the first stage of the Dead Realm Entangling Formation. But look at the state you are in now. Do you not look as though you might stop breathing at any moment?"
"Then let us keep going."
Jin Mudo snorted.
"Enough. I understand that you have a damned temperament, but if you are that slow-witted, you will not last long as an inn servant, let alone in the martial world."
"Keep your promise."
"Where could I send a naked child who does not even know his own weakness?"
Murin furrowed his brow.
"Do you not want revenge? You said I was a Heavenly Kill Star."
"That is why you must suffer until you nearly die. Do you think the Heavenly Kill Star is some tavern woman who will meekly do as you say?"
"What do you mean? Speak so I can understand."
Jin Mudo continued.
"You are riding on the back of a tiger driven mad by blood. No one can withstand its power, but the problem is that you will be caught in its jaws and torn to pieces as well."
"I know my own power well."
"Then can you put a proper leash on that power?"
At Jin Mudo's words, Murin remained silent.
"Do not mistake slaughter carried out with the tiger's jaws and claws for your own power. The moment the tiger's eyes turn toward the one riding its back, you will be devoured at once."
"You only ever taunt me. Do you intend to let me out or not?"
"You are trying to run before you can even crawl! Do you know what state your body is in now?"
Murin answered.
"I am only a little tired."
"You ignorant fool! Once someone falls into the Dead Realm Entangling Formation, their vital essence is extinguished, and they begin to die. They waste away with sickness and dry up to death within half a month—that is what I am saying."
"If I die, you will have to give up on revenge as well."
Jin Mudo smiled as though amused.
"Are you threatening me? Keh keh!"
The boy dared to threaten him.
Yet Jin Mudo did not dislike Murin.
Was the boy not rather bold?
In the Dead Realm Entangling Formation, where an ordinary person should already have had all his vital essence drained away and be wasting away, the boy had instead enjoyed slaughter and wanted stronger stimulation.
'A properly mad bastard!'
The Martial Alliance or any orthodox sect would have frowned and immediately executed him.
But to Jin Mudo, who was practically the patriarch of the Demonic Path, Murin's potential was truly mouthwatering.
So he intended to shape this lump of clay properly from the beginning.
And for some reason, he liked the boy.
Was it because of those eyes brimming with mad frenzy?
'Wait for me, all of you! I will send you a proper demon, forged by my own hand!'
Murin and Jin Mudo were both gritting their teeth at the same targets of revenge.
It was a strange coincidence, but for Jin Mudo, it was also the very last chance of his life.
"Listen carefully!"
After pausing for a moment, he continued.
"From now on, I will teach you a breathing method! It is the most important and fundamental thing before cultivating martial arts, so learn it properly!"
At Jin Mudo's words, Murin grew serious.
It seemed this old man was finally going to open his bag of tricks.
"From now on, I will recite the verses for the Mad Heaven Demonic Art's breathing method! Within one hour, you must engrave those verses into your mind. If you cannot even do that, then crawl into a corner here and die."
Then he began reciting the verses of the breathing method that formed the foundation of the Mad Heaven Demonic Art.
There were many ignorant martial artists, but those who attained a level of mastery were generally brilliant.
It was only natural.
If one was foolish, one could neither memorize nor comprehend the verses of martial arts.
Thus Jin Mudo was about to give Murin his second test.
'No matter if he is a Heavenly Kill Star, he is useless if he is stupid! It would be better for such a fellow to die where he was thrown!'
After casually reciting the verses once, Jin Mudo focused his senses toward Murin.
Though he could not see, his other senses had developed to a degree beyond comparison.
He could tell what another person was thinking merely by hearing a single breath.
"I have memorized it all."
Yet Murin turned to him and spoke before much time had passed.
Jin Mudo's brow immediately creased.
It was not the main verses of the Mad Heaven Demonic Art, but the verses of its foundational breathing method. Even so, they contained many complex, difficult words and phrases.
"What an arrogant boy! You have memorized all of that?"
Memorizing it within one hour could be called a truly remarkable talent.
In fact, among the disciples he had raised, Hwa Gwangcheon, who had shown the fastest progress, had memorized the verses in exactly half an hour. That alone had earned Jin Mudo's recognition.
But how long had it been since he recited the verses for this boy to claim he had memorized them all? He could only be a madman.
Then Murin tilted his head and said,
"Is it arrogant to say that I have memorized something when I have memorized it? Old man, I do not think you have a very good temperament."
"You brat...! Fine, recite it, then!"
There was a reason Jin Mudo was teaching him the Mad Heaven Demonic Art's breathing method now.
To endure the second stage of the Dead Realm Entangling Formation, he needed at least a little inner arts.
Murin might have a Heavenly Kill Physique, but the Dead Realm Entangling Formation was by no means an easy formation.
Jin Mudo seemed to be speaking casually, but he was teaching a training method that was extremely meticulous and carefully planned.
"To accumulate power by reaching the ultimate heaven...."
The breathing method of the Mad Heaven Demonic Art.
It was a breathing method of a thousand characters that formed the foundation of a peerless demonic art.
When Jin Mudo had held the world in the palm of his hand, countless people had been desperate to learn even a few of its characters.
It was only natural.
It was the martial art of the strongest man under heaven, the greatest of all time.
To obtain the verses of such a martial art was the greatest of fortuitous encounters.
Now Murin was receiving such verses virtually for free.
"...!"
But as time passed, Jin Mudo's expression became increasingly distorted.
'Impossible! How can he be wrong in not a single character?!'
In martial arts, the verses were extremely important. Their order and meaning could never be mistaken, nor could one interpret them as one pleased.
Otherwise, one could fall straight into deviation.
That was why those first entering martial arts were always made to memorize the verses by rote.
But how could that be easy?
It took time even to learn the Thousand Character Classic, so how much more time would the verses of martial arts require?
"Well?"
Jin Mudo had been facing Murin in astonishment when Murin's voice suddenly reached him, snapping him back to his senses.
"What...? Ah, the verses! If you are not an utter fool, it is only natural to memorize them that way. Why does your voice sound so proud?"
Though he spoke that way, Jin Mudo was truly astonished.
'He would have been extraordinary even if he had become a scholar! How can his mind be so exceptional?!'
Being born a Heavenly Kill Star did not mean that every ability one possessed was outstanding.
For example, among the Heavenly Kill Stars that had appeared in the past, quite a few had been so dull-witted and stupid that masters of the Martial Alliance deceived and killed them with ease.
'What a frightening boy....!'
But Murin before him was astonishingly brilliant, even in intellect.
What a talent—to memorize every character of the verses correctly the moment he heard them.
"That is strange. If this is natural, why did you mention one hour earlier? Did you take me for an utter fool?"
Murin was the one reproaching him instead.
Jin Mudo frowned, turned his head in Murin's direction, and spoke.
"Do not get so arrogant just because you memorized the verses! The verses are only verses. You will soon find out whether you have properly understood them and whether you are fit to inherit this Mad Heaven Demon's legacy."
Murin nodded.
"That is what I want. Let us begin quickly, before my body grows cold."
Though he could not see, Jin Mudo could sense it clearly.
Murin's eyes as he spoke were filled with killing intent.
They were not the eyes of an ordinary killer.
They were the eyes of a slaughterer hungry for slaughter.
That was why the Heavenly Kill Star was so dangerous.
'But an untamed killing nature will someday cut off your own neck. Taming it comes first.... Then the second trial should not be the second stage of the Dead Realm Entangling Formation. It should be the Five-Balance Formation!'
Jin Mudo understood Murin's current state exactly.
The boy's potential was greater than anything he had ever seen, but the Heavenly Kill Star's desire to kill was so strong that it could overturn all of that in an instant.
If he could not control it properly, even after cultivating the peerless demonic art, Murin would inevitably become a demon crazed with blood and die a miserable death.
That was why Jin Mudo chose the Five-Balance Formation.
In other words, he chose five formations that would forge perfect balance amid killing intent.
'If you cannot endure it, this is as far as you go. My disciples are not weak enough to be defeated by someone ruled by the desire to kill.'
Sa Giljin, the Nightbreaker Master, was said to be so thoroughly versed in formations that his skill surpassed even the Jaegal Clan and the Seomun Clan.
And because he was so devoted to formations, even while confined in the Heavenly Prison he had repeatedly carved formations into the walls, deployed them, and altered them.
—Isn't it novel? I can unfold the Hell Realm before one who cannot see, and make someone without functioning arms or legs vividly suffer the pain of walking a path of thorns! Ha ha ha!
That fellow had been truly mad as well. He could say such things without hesitation in front of Jin Mudo, who was blind and could not properly use his arms or legs.
But his end had been to grow old and die while carving countless formations into the walls and floor of this Heavenly Prison.
—I will put it to good use, Sa Giljin!
Jin Mudo had not sat still throughout the past hundred years.
By now, he was a monster who could be said to know everything about those imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison.
The only regret was the lifespan of his body, which would soon fade away.
No matter what he did, the lifespan that bound him down could no longer be extended.
"I will deploy the Five-Balance Formation."
"The Five-Balance Formation?"
Jin Mudo nodded with a dry smile.
"Think carefully on the verses of the breathing method. Only they will save you there."
The Five-Balance Formation, which Jin Mudo had made perfectly suited to his Mad Heaven Demonic Art by seizing and reinterpreting all of Sa Giljin's formations, was before them.
"Chapter One, the first trial is..."
His dry voice continued.
"The Still Blade Law Realm Formation."
The first trial for handling killing intent like a blade.
The Still Blade Law Realm Formation unfolded.