I Already Learned It

A burning manor.
Screams and cries could be heard everywhere.
The attackers swung their swords without sparing men or women, young or old.
Then one attacker spotted a strikingly beautiful girl and his eyes lit up.
She was the manor lord’s daughter.

“What a beauty to waste by killing.”
“Don’t do anything pointless.”

An attacker beside him warned in a low voice.
His gaze went toward the back.
The center of the blaze.
A young man stood there. He only stared blankly at the slaughter.
The attacker who glanced at him nodded.

“I know. I’m just saying it’s a waste. I’m not going to do anything.”

The attacker swung his sword.
And soon the girl’s head fell.
Her life ended before her flower could even bloom.
Soon the attackers gathered around the young man.

“First Young Master. It’s all finished. There are no survivors.”

Only then did the young man’s eyes move.

“…It’s over.”

Weariness seeped from his voice.
And he even raised both hands and stretched.

“How long do I have to keep doing this? It’s not like we’re kids’ playing around. Aren’t we at war?”

The young man turned his head.
Beyond that was Hunan Province. The center of Orthodox Murim, where the Murim Alliance was.
Yet they couldn’t even approach it.
As he stared beyond the mountains, the young man let out an exclamation.

“Come to think of it, that Namgung Clan kid and the Peerless Beauty Demon?”
“It’s the Severing Sage Demon.”

One martial artist hurriedly corrected him.

“Right, that one. A peak master. Wasn’t it said that he took him down?”
“He took him down with a disciple of Kunlun. They say that man played a big role.”
“Kunlun. Why would a Qinghai bastard come all the way down here? Wait.”

The young man furrowed his brow. He was searching his memory.

“He’s the one that old guy, the Mad Saber, takes an interest in, right?”

Ironblood Mad Saber.
The Ironblood Hall he led was being compared even to the Seven Powers within the Evil Heaven Alliance.
The young man didn’t like that.

“Perfect. They said not to touch the Nine Sects and the Five Great Clans, but Kunlun wasn’t mentioned, was it?”

Kunlun was no longer part of the Nine Sects One Union.
The corner of the young man’s mouth rose.

“But it seems he’s heading for the Murim Alliance.”

The martial artist said carefully. Then the young man’s face twisted violently.

“Hey.”

A low call.
But reading the killing intent in it, the martial artist’s face turned pale.

“Do I have to care about that too? He’s not even in the Murim Alliance, he’s just on his way.”
“I’m sorry.”

The martial artist bowed his head in a hurry.
The young man looked down at him with displeasure, then clicked his tongue.
It meant he would let it slide this time.
Inside, the martial artist let out a sigh of relief.

“We were told to not mess with the Murim Alliance, they didn’t say don’t enter Hunan, did they?”

Step, step.
The man started walking.
Then the martial artists scattered about fell in behind him.
Their number grew as time passed.
Black martial robes fluttered from every direction.
Yet not even footsteps could be heard.
Like their black robes, even their sword hilts and tassels were black.
Unlike them, the young man in red stood out no matter what.
As he walked, the young man spoke.

“By the way, where is this?”
“Qiankun Gate.”
“So what kind of place is it?”

Qiankun Gate.
In the past, it produced several famous martial artists, and it had a good reputation in the area.
It was worthy of being called a prestigious sect.
A sect that valued chivalry.
Hearing the explanation, the young man clicked his tongue.

“Right. That’s why Orthodox bastards are a problem. They trust tradition and honor too much. Why would Murim need that crap?”

There was only one thing that proved Murim.
Martial power.
The man’s eyes flashed.

“Overwhelming strength. That is Murim’s whole.”

A red mirage rose from the man’s body.
At some point, even his eyes had turned red. At the same time, suffocating killing intent flowed out.
It was the effect of his heretical art.

“Isn’t it?”
“Yes.”

A martial artist beside him bowed his head.
Their origin too had a long history, enough to be compared to Qiankun Gate.
But they were different from Qiankun Gate.
Their lives were stained with struggle.
The Dark-Shadow Corps.
One of the Seven Powers supporting the Evil Heaven Alliance.
A martial force that the Jeokyang Clan, one of the Seven, prided itself on.
And the man was Jeokyang Hu, the Jeokyang Clan’s First Young Master.

Namgung Hyeok glanced at Gyo-ha.
The two were walking on their hands. But it was different from usual.
Even as they walked, they couldn’t focus on training.
He could guess the reason.

“Was the cursed sword really that strong?”

At Namgung Hyeok’s question, Gyo-ha nodded.

“Yeah, it was strong.”

Gyo-ha looked at his fist.
This time, he had been able to win because he got lucky.
If Namgung Jin-yeong hadn’t been there, if the host had been someone other than a disciple of the Beggars’ Union.
He didn’t even need to go that far. If it had lodged somewhere other than the heart, and the sword could be used, the result would have been different.

‘Human. Humans cannot kill me.’

It was exactly as it said.
He’d talked big and tried to look cool, but in the end, it was removed from its host.
They couldn’t even see a way to kill it.

‘Would I be able to kill it if I mastered the Mara Twenty-Four Forms?’

He couldn’t be sure. And he couldn’t even describe Mara Twenty-Four Forms as something that can be mastered.
It was different from existing martial learning.
Watching Gyo-ha, Namgung Hyeok also fell into thought.

“…Yokai. Are beings like that common?”
“They wouldn’t be common.”

He had said not all yokai were strong.

“Brother, you’ve met them, right?”
“Yeah.”
“What kind of bastards are they?”

생명을 먹는 요목, 거미 요괴, 묵금에 요검까지.
교하의 이야기를 듣던 남궁혁의 표정이 딱딱해졌다.

“…None of them are easy.”
“Is that so?”

Gyo-ha tilted his head.
It felt like there were more, but he couldn’t remember.

“Ah.”

Then he remembered.
A yokai that ate hearts and controlled them. Even the birds and insects he’d met inside the scroll.
And there was also the baby beast the Emei nun kept.
There were plenty of insignificant ones too.
It was just that with those, even the memories had gone faint, so he couldn’t recall them easily.
When Gyo-ha finished, Namgung Hyeok opened his mouth.

“There are more than I thought.”
“Are there?”

Gyo-ha tilted his head.

“Lately, I think I fought people more.”
“That’s normal.”

Fighting yokai was the strange part.
At Namgung Hyeok’s words, Gyo-ha scratched his cheek.
Namgung Hyeok clenched his fist as he watched him.

‘Brother kept fighting battles like this, over and over.’

Fights that crossed the line between life and death.
That was why he was strong. He hadn’t reached that place without effort.
Under Namgung Hyeok’s heavy gaze, Gyo-ha flinched and scratched his head.

“Anyway, there won’t be any more attacks now, right?”
“Yes. We’ll soon be in Hunan Province. There may be Unorthodox Sects in Hunan too, but there won’t be any force strong enough to attack us.”

Even if the Murim Alliance is in Hunan Province, it can’t control all of Hunan.
And with small sects, there were many places where it was hard to distinguish Orthodox from Unorthodox.
But named sects were different.
Once they grew even a little, they couldn’t avoid the Murim Alliance’s eyes.
From here on, it meant they were safe.
Gyo-ha smacked his lips in disappointment.

Chwareureuk.
As the fan opened, it knocked the sword aside. Then the rod-like fan aimed for the opponent’s vital points.
Bone-Piercing Fan.
Seo Jong-dae’s thrust was speed itself.
But the opponent was no pushover either.
He swung his scabbard and altered the fan’s direction.
As if he’d expected even that, Seo Jong-dae quickly threw something from his chest.
A small fan the size of a palm.
Seeing it, the opponent snorted.

“What are you aiming at?”

The fan passed above the opponent’s shoulder.

“The attempt was good, but your training is lacking. Why didn’t you ask that Tang Clan bastard over there to teach you.”

His sneering sword aimed for Seo Jong-dae.
Seo Jong-dae hurriedly raised his fan.
Chaeng! Chaejaeng!
Seo Jong-dae kept stepping back.
Handling a fan heavier than a sword with one hand was difficult.

“Aren’t you paying too much attention to this side?”

The opponent frowned. Then he snorted.

“Nonsense tr—”

The opponent couldn’t finish.
Because he sensed chilling sharpness from behind.
The moment he turned his head, he saw the small fan flying in.
A fan smaller than a palm.
Its ribs were sharp like blades.

“I already learned it.”
“…!”

The opponent tried to dodge, but Seo Jong-dae’s palm-fan blocked him.

‘It’s too late for me to block—’

Puk!
The fan dug into his shoulder.

“Keuk!”

His face twisted in pain.
And Seo Jong-dae didn’t miss that moment.
The short fan in his other hand moved.
Chwaak!
A head with eyes wide rose into the air, and blood sprayed into the sky.
The headless body collapsed.
Only then could Seo Jong-dae exhale deeply.

“Damn it, these clothes are brand-new.”

Seo Jong-dae wiped the bloodstains on his clothes.
The more he wiped, the more it spread.
In the end, Seo Jong-dae slumped to the ground and looked to the side.

“That was proper just now, right?”
“If it were me, my neck would’ve been cut.”

A black shadow approached Seo Jong-dae’s side.
The man had a small build unlike that of a martial artist, but his unusually long arms stood out.
It was Tang Ho of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
Unlike Seo Jong-dae, his clothes were clean.
Only his roughened breathing showed his fight hadn’t been easy either.
Seo Jong-dae spoke while looking at the dead.

“These bastards. They’re the missing ones, right?”
“That’s right. They’re from the Vermilion Bird Unit.”

At Tang Ho’s words, Seo Jong-dae frowned.
The Murim Alliance’s Vermilion Bird Unit.
They were the people Jeon Pyeong had been looking for.

“…Doesn’t seem like brainwashing.”

It wasn’t the first time.
They were like the bastards they’d met in the fog.

“It’s right to think they chose it themselves.”

He could guess the reason. The power these bastards had shown.
It wasn’t power humans could have.
They must have gained power from another being.
Power like a yokai’s.

“…They joined hands with yokai.”
“More precisely, they went under a yokai.”

Tang Ho analyzed the situation coldly.
His expression was serious as well.

“Hey, you bastards! You think it ends with just you!”

At the sudden shout, they turned their heads and saw a beggar darting around everywhere.
It was Bong Seok of the Beggars’ Union.
He was stepping with the Drunken Eight Immortals Step while unleashing the Jade Dragon Eight Palm.
Compared to before, it was polished enough to draw admiration.
But his opponent was no pushover either.
It dodged here and there, aiming a sharp proboscis at Bong Seok’s body.
A mosquito-shaped yokai.
The main culprit that had wiped out the village.

“I’m gonna die! I’m really gonna die! Aaaah!”

Despite his words, Bong Seok was dodging well.
But he wasn’t exaggerating. If that proboscis pierced him, his blood would be sucked out in an instant.
They knew because they had seen it.
There wasn’t even time to resist. In the blink of an eye, the body shriveled.
Seo Jong-dae and Tang Ho met eyes.
Nodding, the two hurled themselves toward the mosquito yokai.
And the mosquito yokai was subdued easily.
No matter how nimble it was, it couldn’t handle three.
When the mosquito yokai died, Bong Seok slumped down.

“…Wicked bastards.”

At Bong Seok’s lament, Tang Ho gave a bitter smile, but Seo Jong-dae didn’t even blink.
It was dangerous, but it was weaker than the other opponents.
The two of them hadn’t been idle either.

“Anyway, even if we tell them about these bastards, they won’t believe us, right?”

At Seo Jong-dae’s question, Tang Ho and Bong Seok nodded.

“They say even Taoist Jeon Pyeong reported it and was sent to do wall-facing cultivation for a week.”

They called it wall-facing cultivation, but it was no different from punishment.
Even Seo Jong-dae, who brought it up, didn’t have high hopes. He was from a major sect too.
You couldn’t bring up talk that could disturb discipline.
But it wasn’t excessive punishment either.

‘A week is just a warning.’

Even young disciples spend two or three days when they commit mistakes.
It was only for show.

“Over here, it’s a situation that decides humanity’s survival, and they’re busy beating each other up among themselves.”

Bong Seok clicked his tongue.
Seo Jong-dae and Tang Ho gave bitter smiles.