The first time I met that bastard from the Jang family.

It was around the time I had just passed the age of twenty.

To be precise, it was right after I was forcibly given the position of the junior leader of the Gu family.

Having cast aside the restrictions my father had placed on me, I began to slowly reveal myself in the Central Plains.

It must have been around the time I attended the Yongbongjihoe with the laughable title of a late-stage martial artist, bearing the title of junior leader.

Later, Paeng Woo-jin would be known as a prodigy and rise to be one of the absolute powers.
Unlike him, who was no longer treated as a late-stage martial artist after receiving his title, I wasn't so fortunate.

To put it more bluntly...

The first appearance of the infamous junior leader of the Gu family, who was known for his incompetence and dog-like personality in the martial world, had more significance than people realized.

At that time, Gu Hui-bi, the bloodline of heroes, had already become known as a master,
and Gu Yeon-seo was starting to gain fame for his remarkable talent.

It was a moment when the gazes directed at me were particularly intense.

Son of a hero, dog of a son, as they said.

Even with my looks, which, though bad, still bore a strong resemblance to the bloodline of heroes,
people would constantly say I hadn’t inherited any of their talents.

Amidst a generation filled with outstanding late-stage martial artists,
I was crushed by feelings of inferiority and self-loathing.

I hid my shattered spirit behind a wall of thorns, trying to cover up my inadequacies.

In that moment, as people threw nothing but disdainful glances my way,
stealing glances at me with unfavorable emotions in their eyes...

"Nice to meet you."

It was then that he approached me.

With a gentle smile, a handsome face, and a warm voice that left a good impression on people,
he was everything I was not.

The man, who introduced himself as someone from the Jang family, had a presence that stood in stark contrast to mine.

"Who are you?"

When I asked who he was,
he smiled awkwardly, as if embarrassed to introduce himself, and replied.

"I'm not much, but people call me the holy one. It's a pleasure to meet you."

The holy one.

Even though I had been living cut off from the world, I had heard that nickname once or twice.

In the past few years, as monsters began to overrun the slums,
there were whispers of a hero risking his life to save people, while the martial artists ignored the situation, too busy feeding themselves.

The son of the sect leader, a promising late-stage martial artist,
rumors were already circulating that he would soon become the vice leader of his sword division.

If that happened, he would likely hold the youngest position ever,
a testament to the great expectations placed on him by the Central Plains.

Jang Seon-yeon, the holy one from the Jang family.

That was my first encounter with him.

Ironically enough...

It was only a few years later that I learned all his fame and the heroic deeds that elevated him had been deliberately fabricated by him.

After the Magyeong Incident, when a large number of late-stage martial artists disappeared,
around the time I fell into demonic corruption, shortly after the Heavenly Demon’s appearance...

While I was wreaking havoc across the Central Plains, setting everything ablaze,
he came to find me of his own accord.

"It’s been a while. Ah, should I call you by your nickname now?"

I had no intention of talking.

I intended to burn him to ashes and tear his throat out immediately.

"Do you know the condition of the Little Sword Saint?"

But my hand, which was about to grab his throat, froze.

Damn it, it was because the face of that woman flashed through my mind.

The flame-covered hand that was ready to tear out his throat wavered.
I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Jang Seon-yeon saw my hesitation and smiled.
That smile dug into my insides.

It was from that moment that another hell was born for me.

 

Crack—!
Boom—!

A rift opened in midair, widening like a mouth about to devour something.

Inside the torn rift, a vortex of unknown colors swirled.
The pressure of the wind blowing from within raised dust on the distant ground.

As it whirled for a while, something was spat out of the rift.
Thud! Thud-thud!

The object that came out of the rift fell straight to the ground,
the impact raising a cloud of dust around it.

And not long after...

Cough... Huff...!

Someone walked out from within the dust.
Immediately, they collapsed on the ground, gasping for breath.

It was clearly a person.

"This... this can’t be...!"

Their expression was one of shock, their eyes wide.
They didn’t even notice the drool dripping from their lips as they frantically looked around.

"This is impossible."

Though only a short time had passed, the young man surveyed his surroundings.
Then, his trembling eyes widened as he screamed.

"You son of a b****...!"

His furious scream echoed in all directions.

"How... after everything I’ve been through... because of that bastard...!"

He slammed the ground repeatedly as he cursed,
and from the dust, another figure emerged.

Unlike the young man who was lying on the ground, drooling in anger,
the newcomer simply rubbed their chest with a slight grimace.

"I already feel like throwing up, so stop whining."

At Gu Yangcheon’s words, Jang Seon-yeon turned his head sharply towards him.

"You...!"

"Oh, it’s been a while since I heard you curse. Feels fresh."

Jang Seon-yeon, who had been lying on the ground, suddenly sprang up and charged at Gu Yangcheon.
He rushed forward, trying to pull out the sword at his waist.

But Gu Yangcheon approached him and gently pressed the hilt.
He stopped him from drawing the sword from its scabbard.

"Guh...!"

The strength with which Gu Yangcheon blocked him was so overwhelming that the sword couldn’t be drawn.
Jang Seon-yeon, unable to do anything else, tried to wrap qi around his left hand and strike, but...

Smack!

Gu Yangcheon’s hand had already slapped Jang Seon-yeon across the face.

A sharp sound echoed as his palm struck his cheek.

Whoosh! Thud!

Jang Seon-yeon’s body flew through the air in an arc, landing hard on the ground.

"Guh...!"

Dazed by the impact, Jang Seon-yeon struggled to get up, blood dripping from his lips.

"You idiot. Do you really think I’d let you hit me just because you charged like that?"
Gasp... Huff.

As Gu Yangcheon chuckled at the sight of the bloodied Jang Seon-yeon,
he slowly approached him.

His hand was still rubbing his chest.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve done this, and I’m feeling queasy.’

This was the first time Gu Yangcheon had entered the Magyeong after his regression,
and it seemed his body wasn’t adjusting well, making him feel a bit nauseous.

In the past, he would have collapsed and needed some time to recover after going through the Magyeong Gate,
but this time, he was mentally stable enough to endure it.

As Jang Seon-yeon struggled to get up, Gu Yangcheon kicked him, causing him to lose his balance again.

"Kuh!"

"Just stay down. You look better that way."

"You...!"

Jang Seon-yeon glared at Gu Yangcheon as if looking at his mortal enemy.
The calm or smiling eyes were now filled with rage, with veins bulging.

"How...! How were you able to move?"

"What do you mean, how? I just moved."

Gu Yangcheon smirked as he answered.

What Jang Seon-yeon was asking was how Gu Yangcheon had moved while standing on the rift created by the Magyeong Gate.

It was strange for him to ask such a thing.
Of course, Gu Yangcheon knew that others couldn’t move on the rift.

He had experienced it firsthand and witnessed it himself.

Back then, even martial artists like Jamryong and others were immobilized, as if frozen in place.

Among them, only Gu Yangcheon had been able to move.

Why was that? He had never really thought about it.
He just knew that he could.

And in this life, he had been confident that it would be the same.

As he felt the Magyeong Gate earlier, he had been certain.
This life would be the same as the last.

"It seems you thought I wouldn’t be able to move. Why did you think that?"

"Because he said...!"

"No, that’s not it. You’re not the kind of person who would just believe Cheol Ji-seon’s words without doubting them."

"...!"

When I mentioned Cheol Ji-seon’s name, Jang Seon-yeon’s eyes widened.

"How do you...! Did you know...?!"

He must have realized that I knew Cheol Ji-seon could open the Magyeong Gate and that he had planned to use it to kill me.

"It’s not a big deal. What I said is more important."

"How...?"

"What do you mean, how? Why were you so sure?"

Jang Seon-yeon’s question had a different meaning, but it coincided with what I wanted to talk about.

How Cheol Ji-seon could use such power and the characteristics of the Magyeong Gate he opened.

Without experiencing it firsthand, there was no way Jang Seon-yeon could be sure of anything.

It seemed he had some other source of information about Cheol Ji-seon’s power.
Someone or something that had informed him.

Grit!

I could hear Jang Seon-yeon grinding his teeth.

"You... you’ve tormented me until the very end!"

"What torment? I didn’t torment you."

"If you were going to die, you should have died alone. Why did you drag me here with you?!"

Such shameless and absurd words.
No matter how irredeemable Jang Seon-yeon was,
he wasn’t the type to say something so thoughtless.

This was a sign that he was truly cornered, with no way out.

If that was the case, it wasn’t too bad.

Jang Seon-yeon wasn’t in his right mind.

Of course, he wouldn’t be—this was inside the Magyeong, after all.

I glanced around.

The sky was red—not night, not sunset, and certainly not the bright blue sky we had seen earlier.
It was a deep, crimson sky.

The ground beneath us was dark, as if it had long since died.
The trees were mostly withered and rotten stumps.

No matter how you looked at it, this place didn’t feel like the real world.

Beyond the Magyeong Gate,
this was one of the places many referred to as the Magyeong (Demonic Realm).

'Good.'

And...

'I’m glad we ended up here.'

It was the place I had been wanting to come to.

In my previous life, after being caught in the Magyeong Incident,
I had spent years struggling here, separated from the rest of the late-stage martial artists.

Among the many types of Magyeong recorded by the Martial Alliance,
this one didn’t fit into any category.

Though it was called the Magyeong,
the name I associated with it was "The False World."

It was a place that fit perfectly with the truth of the world.

Normally, the chances of returning alive after entering the Magyeong were almost nonexistent.

Even the Sword Empress had barely made it back, having contracted a fatal illness.

That’s what the Magyeong was.
It was a place that was dangerous for anyone, no matter how skilled.

The reason the late-stage martial artists had managed to escape this place in my previous life
was because I had fought tooth and nail to survive.

If not for that, they would have been trapped here forever.

To Jang Seon-yeon, this place must look like one of the most terrifying Magyeongs.
In reality, it was somewhat similar.

"I... I! I, Jang Seon-yeon, must...!"

Jang Seon-yeon screamed, seemingly losing his mind to his emotions.
It was a strange sight.

In my previous life, I had hated seeing him walking around with a benevolent smile, trying to maintain his dignity.

This...

This was the way I had wanted to see him.
Maybe it was too late, or maybe it was because this was the Jang Seon-yeon after my regression.
But I didn’t feel much satisfaction from it.

"I am... I will become a pillar of the Central Plains...!"

"Ah, I’m thinking, so shut your mouth for a bit."

Annoyed by his incessant rambling,
I stomped on his ankle and crushed it.

Crack!

"Arrgh!"

Jang Seon-yeon’s scream echoed.
That was much more pleasant to hear.

"Why are you whining? Didn’t you want to send me here? Well, I came."
"You...!"
"Oh, you didn’t like that I brought you along?"

Laughing mockingly,
I stomped on his ankle again.

Crunch!

"Ugh!"

"Well, you should have expected that. No one likes to go alone, so I figured I’d bring you along for company."

Finally, Jang Seon-yeon clenched his teeth,
trying to release his qi.

It seemed the crisis had sobered him up,
his qi moving more precisely than before.

Though his ankle was shattered, his sword moved quickly.
What should I do? Should I break his wrist next?

Just as I was about to reach for him...

"...!"

Jang Seon-yeon, who had been preparing to strike, suddenly froze.

"Huh?"

I stopped, curious about his reaction.
What was going on?

Before I could even wonder, Jang Seon-yeon began to tremble violently.

"Why... why can’t I feel the divine energy?"

His eyes shook as he stammered in fear.

"Why...! Why isn’t the divine energy coming? Oh, God!"

Jang Seon-yeon screamed at the sky,
but it was clear he wasn’t in his right mind.

"Have you abandoned me, my God?!"

‘Hmm.’

I watched him for a moment, wondering what was going on.
Then, a thought occurred to me, and I moved my qi.

It was the blood energy I had received from the Blood Demon.

‘I see.’

After attempting to move my qi for a moment,
I realized what was going on.

‘The qi won’t move.’

The blood energy wasn’t responding to my will.
Just to be sure, I tried moving other forms of qi as well.

The demonic energy was the same.

But my qi and dokgi moved as usual.
Only the blood energy and demonic energy were unusable.

‘Why?’

I couldn’t figure out why I could use some energies but not others.

But right now,
there were more pressing matters.

"Whatever it is, we’ve got more important things to settle first, don’t we?"

When I said that, Jang Seon-yeon flinched.
Now that we were here, it seemed he could already guess what I was going to do.

"W-what are you going to do...?"
"It seems you’re still a bit immature."

"What...?"

"You’re already showing signs of fear. That’s fascinating."

He had lost one card, and now he was exposing his fear for all to see.

In my previous life, Jang Seon-yeon would never have done something so foolish.
This was proof that he hadn’t fully matured yet.

He wasn’t the same Jang Seon-yeon I had known in my previous life.

'How boring.'

Any excitement I had felt was quickly fading.

Still, that didn’t mean I would change my plans.

"When I kill someone, I follow a few rules. Want to know what they are?"

Though I had no intention of sparing him,
Jang Seon-yeon’s eyes filled with confusion as he looked at me.

"First, if I’m going to kill someone, I try to do it in one strike. It’s cleaner that way."

Unlike that sword demon, who was obsessed with murder,
I wasn’t the type to waste effort on unnecessary actions.

"Second, if I need to use fire, I burn them from the head down."

If I had to use fire,
or if someone had really pissed me off, I’d burn them starting from the head.

As I spoke,

Fwoosh!

A flame flickered to life in my palm.
Jang Seon-yeon, seeing it, trembled so violently that it was visible in his eyes.

"Want to know the third?"

As soon as I said that,
Jang Seon-yeon suddenly channeled all his qi into a desperate sword strike.

I had to give him credit. He chose to fight instead of flee.

I had broken his leg on purpose.
If he had wrapped his qi around himself and run, it would’ve been a pain to chase him down.

Perhaps Jang Seon-yeon knew that.
But it didn’t really matter.

I easily dodged his sword as I continued speaking.

"The third is to start burning from the feet."

Since his ankle was already broken, it was hard for Jang Seon-yeon to maintain his stance.
Even with his qi, his strikes weren’t very threatening.

"By adjusting the fire just right, I can make sure the pain lasts without killing you quickly."

I would avoid the vital points like the heart or head, burning him slowly.

I would use qi to keep him conscious,
making sure he couldn’t pass out.

"Kraaaah!"

Jang Seon-yeon screamed in terror, slashing wildly with his sword.
I could sense the fear mixed in with his frantic attacks.

Watching his erratic movements and sensing the fear in his eyes,
I let out a small sigh.

I reached out.

There was no need to move quickly.

Just enough to reach the target.
Just enough to achieve the goal.

Thud.

Crack.

Between the chaotic sword strikes,
my hand slipped through and struck Jang Seon-yeon’s dantian.

With a brief sound,
I felt something shatter.

I had broken his dantian.

"Ugh...!"

Jang Seon-yeon let out a breathless gasp,
his qi scattering as he writhed in agony.

Grabbing him by the throat, I channeled qi into him to prevent him from passing out.

"I hope you were listening to the first, second, and third rules."

There was a sequence to this, though...

"Now, I’m going to apply them to you in reverse order. Exciting, isn’t it?"

I intended to use a different method on Jang Seon-yeon.

"I have a lot of questions for you, so it would be great if you answered quickly. Adjusting this takes a lot of effort."

To sum it up,
the outcome in all three cases was death.
There was no option to let him live.

Once he had opened the Magyeong Gate to try to kill me,
there was no hope or opportunity left for Jang Seon-yeon.

Not that I ever intended to give him any chance in the first place.

As I looked down at Jang Seon-yeon, still trembling, unable to scream,
I reached out my hand once more.