Because I had deliberately maximized the destructive power, an explosion loud enough to tear the eardrums rang out, but I couldn't feel any signs of people moving outside.

'Is it a formation that completely blocks off the outside?'

I didn't know what it was.

Since it was an incredibly complex formation right from the start when I entered.

Seeing as Ilmyeong, who had come in with me, still hadn't made it inside, it was definitely some bizarre Demonic Cult formation that I didn't know about.

Anyway, it seems I made it just in the nick of time...

As the papers fluttering in all directions settled onto the floor, the figure of Gun Yuhyeon, staring straight ahead with cold eyes, was revealed from within.

"... How did you know?"

Fuck, what is this?

Weren't you a desk jockey?

Why are you completely fine?

"Didn't I tell you? I can use mind-reading."

"... Are you still joking at a time like this?"

"Why does no one believe me? I'm only telling the truth."

I drew the Black Dragon Sword and scattered the Twin Heaven Sword Art.

SWISH!

Starting from his ankles, a wave of countless blades began to slice away at Gun Yuhyeon's body one after another, but...

CRACK, CRACK.

Bizarrely, wherever the wave of blades swept past, solid chunks of ice merely shattered and fell away, leaving not even a small scratch behind.

Hah, what the hell is this bastard?

Gun Yuhyeon, still standing in place, asked calmly.

"The hidden assassins were a hastily thrown-together organization, so you could say they had flaws... but how were you able to figure out my identity?"

As if quite confident that he would be safe, the guy was more curious about how I found out his identity than the immediate situation he was facing.

Does that mean he believes in his own skills that much?

Or could it be that, like the Twin Shadow Fierce Demon Brigade, he doesn't care if he loses his own life?

The guy's face, colored only by pure curiosity, was incredibly foreign to the current situation.

"The gambling house."

"... From there?"

"How many people in the world have something more important than money?"

"... Just from that?"

Of course, that wasn't all.

But shouldn't I leave some curiosity unsatisfied so I can satisfy my own?

"Now it's my turn to ask."

I pointed the Black Dragon Sword at him.

"Are you the Squad Commander of the Twin Shadow Fierce Demon Brigade?"

"Twin Shadow Fierce Demon Brigade...!"

The guy's eyes went wide.

But soon after, Gun Yuhyeon returned to a calm expression.

"I never imagined those words would come out of your mouth."

He slowly shook his head, as if it couldn't be helped.

"I was just going to go back, but it seems I can no longer do that."

"You were just going to go back?"

I checked on Dam-ak's condition.

He was bleeding like a wounded beast, but fortunately, he was still breathing.

To think he was just going to go back after doing something like that.

Does 'just going back' mean something different to those Demonic Cult bastards than it does in Jianghu?

Well, what does it matter?

"Since you bastards are fundamentally crazy from the root anyway!"

Lesser Heaven Sword Technique.

Jegal's Three Forms.

Demon-Subduing Form.

A lethal move improved solely for the sake of dealing with demonic practitioners.

SWISH!

Shot out faster than ever before, the Black Dragon Sword aimed straight for Gun Yuhyeon's neck in a single breath.

SLASH!

The Black Dragon Sword was slightly faster than the ice barrier he created.

SPURT.

HISS.

A small wound appeared on the guy's neck, and blood began to flow.

"My..."

Looking at his own blood, Gun Yuhyeon alternately looked at my face and hand, seeming a bit flustered.

"Hey, you swindler. Do you think you have time to wait around so stupidly?"

SWISH!

Along with the sound of cutting through the air, the Black Dragon Sword, shot out like a ray of light, had already scattered as it wildly aimed for the guy's vital acupoints.

Eyes, neck, solar plexus, heart, lungs, and groin.

Merely by raising his hand, the guy created an ice barrier to block the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique.

Even so, I couldn't back down easily.

"Why aren't you answering my question?"

I recalled the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique and scattered the Great Heaven Sword Technique.

The Demon-Subduing Form had fewer phantom swords than the Ascension Form of the Great Heaven Sword Technique, but its speed was faster.

The guy hung his characteristic smile on his lips.

"Because the question was wrong."

CLANG. CLANG. CLANG. CLANG. CLANG.

Laughably, simply by flicking his fingers, Gun Yuhyeon weeded out and deflected all the real swords hidden among the phantom swords.

He distinguished between phantom swords and real swords far too accurately for it to be the skill of a mere assassination squad leader.

How the hell is this bastard telling them apart?

His level of martial arts was extraordinary.

Moreover, judging from the fact that the Red Phoenix Ring didn't even twitch, he didn't seem to have learned any demonic arts at all.

Even inside the archive in my head, there was absolutely no information about a figure like this.

Right then.

"What does that... Twin Shadow Fierce Demon...?"

Huh? Wasn't he unconscious?

Dam-ak's cracked voice was heard.

"Just what... is that person's identity..."

Like Gun Yuhyeon, it seemed that to Dam-ak as well, satisfying his curiosity was more important than his own life at the crossroads of life and death.

Anyway, they were eccentric bastards.

"The Demonic Cult."

"The Demonic Cult?"

It was likely an unfamiliar tale to the Dam-ak of this current life.

Dam-ak wasn't originally a Jianghu figure to begin with, and even among Jianghu figures, there was practically no one who properly knew about the true nature of the Demonic Cult yet.

I added an explanation for Dam-ak.

"They're the hateful bastards known to have disappeared five hundred years ago."

"Disappeared, you say..."

The one who countered my words wasn't Dam-ak, but Gun Yuhyeon.

His head tilted slightly to the side.

"From your perspective, that is how the story was being passed down."

"Is there anything different from the truth?"

"They say history is written by the victors, but... you have been carelessly using words that are unacceptable from our perspective."

Gun Yuhyeon wore his usual smile that elicited goodwill.

However, the waves of energy blooming around him were not likable at all.

"We did not disappear."

It was full of an ominous air, as if Hell itself was descending once more.

FWOOSH!

Around Gun Yuhyeon, who had been using ice barriers until now, scorching flames hot enough to instantly burn skin surged up.

To wield both Yin-style internal arts and Yang-style internal arts at the same time...

Fuck, what is going on! Are you a descendant of Zhang Sanfeng!

Gun Yuhyeon raised his hand and spoke clearly.

"We had Jianghu stolen from us."

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!

Fireballs extending from both of his hands flew at me like cannonballs.

SLASH!

I tried cutting the fireballs with the qi-infused Black Dragon Sword, but the severed fireballs simply crashed into the wall and exploded.

CRASH-BOOM-BANG!

Because it was a space with many books and furniture, the flames surged up in an instant, making it increasingly difficult to breathe.

Spare me, you son of a bitch...!

"... Was Jianghu a place that could be taken or stolen from the start?"

Maybe I couldn't relate because I had never held Jianghu in the palm of my hand, but Gun Yuhyeon seemed exceptionally angry about having Jianghu stolen.

"... You people will never be able to understand. The sheer injustice of us, who possessed the rightful qualifications, having to leave our nest and wander aimlessly for five hundred years."

"That's why you shouldn't have been pulling that bullshit with demonic arts!"

As I swung Sword Force, the burning furniture was sliced apart like paper.

However, Gun Yuhyeon alone was still moving his hands leisurely.

Hah... Look at that bastard wrapping his whole body in ice because he's hot.

The guy twisted his lips as he looked at me.

"To set your own limits and call them the righteous path. As expected, you live up to the name of a hypocrite of the Orthodox faction, Black Flame Dragon."

Wow, I've finally been acknowledged as a disciple of an Orthodox sect.

And this time by a Demonic Cult lackey.

... Anyway, the problem right now was that the longer I dragged this out, the more disadvantaged I became.

I didn't know how he did it, but that guy Gun Yuhyeon had installed a formation within this space, separating the inside from the outside.

Because of that, I was slowly being smoked by the heat, whereas the guy was cooling his body with ice.

'Jade Dragon Bracelet, Red Phoenix Ring.'

When faced with a Heaven-Defying existence, my intent and principle wriggled as if itching to reveal their true forms.

But Dam-ak was still facing this situation with a clear mind.

No matter how much goodwill the intent and principle inside me harbored, they manifested in shapes of terror when unleashed, so it was a situation where I couldn't just use them carelessly.

... If I really did that, I might be called a being worse than those Underworld or Demonic Cult bastards.

'I should at least send Dam-ak out first.'

Ilmyeong, who had come in with me, still didn't give off any presence, perhaps still wandering aimlessly in the formation.

What a useless bald head.

While I was contemplating.

"Jin Sowoon... Leave me and go."

Dam-ak spat out nonsense, perhaps because he was struggling so much.

Uh, well...

You can't die.

If you die, I'll have to face those bastards all by myself later.

I looked at Dam-ak and shook my head.

"It's not because of you, so don't worry."

In that instant, a strange light gleamed in Dam-ak's eyes.

"Just who are you..."

I gave him a wide grin.

"I need to figure out that bastard's identity."

Especially if Gun Yuhyeon was the actual power behind the Twin Shadow Fierce Demon Brigade, I had to catch him here no matter what.

"So just hold onto your breath tightly."

I'm going to have to make solid use of you later, after all.

I stared straight ahead again and tightened the grip on my hands.

As I unleashed the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art, six Ten Thousand Swords hovered in the air.

I had never drawn out this many to face a single person, but the opponent was a demonic practitioner who wielded Yin-Yang qi.

No matter how excessive it was, it still wasn't enough.

With half of them, I unleashed the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique, and with the remaining half, I unleashed the Twin Heaven Sword Art.

The sword blades shot out like lightning from within the storm of sword shapes.

Gun Yuhyeon, who frantically flicked finger winds at first, soon repeatedly swung his long robes to create ice barriers.

CRASH-BANG-BOOM!

When the guy made them, I shattered them, and when he made them again, I shattered them again.

After doing this several times.

Due to the surrounding burning heat, the shattered ice particles quickly soaked the floor, and soon enough water began to pool that it made a splashing sound with every step.

I shouted at Gun Yuhyeon.

"You seem pretty confident in your internal energy?"

"... Did you say Jianghu figures childishly determine someone's level by the amount of their internal energy?"

"Yeah, that's right."

Gun Yuhyeon let out a scoff as if it were laughable.

"It's a shame, but that doesn't work in our Heavenly Cult."

"Is that so?"

I gave him a wide grin in response.

"Still, take a taste. I've got quite a bit of internal energy, you know."

RUUUMBLE!

Both of my hands sank down heavily.

Energy that felt as though it would burst at any moment gathered layer upon layer, letting out a low growling sound.

"Take this! This is the taste of justice!"

BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-BOOM-CRASH!

The Radiant Heaven Divine Palm rapidly spread out as if to fill the narrow room.

The small inner chamber shook violently as if struck by an earthquake, and eventually turned completely upside down.

When the burning books and furniture scattered into dust, and even the blazing heat completely disappeared.

"... It doesn't taste particularly good."

Gun Yuhyeon's figure, having taken the Radiant Heaven Divine Palm directly, was revealed.

He looked like a complete mess.

His fingers were wildly twisted, and large and small wounds had formed all over his body.

However, what was important to me was that he was still fine enough to speak.

"Well then, what a shame it doesn't suit your taste. This is Anhui Province's specialty."

Following that, I swung the Ten Thousand Swords to unleash the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique.

The moment the ice barrier was erected against the Sword Qi pouring in from all directions—

I shot out the Martial Move I had hidden until the very, very last moment.

White Moon Heaven-Subduing Three Forms.

First Form.

'Extreme Swiftness'

SWOOOSH!

The formless Sword Qi shot out, cleaving even space itself.

The ice barrier erected to dissipate the Sword Qi of the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique could not react in time to the White Moon Heaven-Subduing Three Forms.

The Sword Qi of 'Extreme Swiftness' dug into that gap, seeking to pierce Gun Yuhyeon's heart in a single blow.

SCREEEECH.

An unpleasantly ringing sound of grinding metal that felt like it would tear the eardrums.

Regardless of what defensive garment he was wearing, the destructive power of 'Extreme Swiftness' made at least a severe injury unavoidable.

Just as I thought I would soon be able to see Gun Yuhyeon's blood.

CRASH.

The sight revealed as the ice barrier shattered was nothing short of shocking.

"... What."

Gun Yuhyeon was completely fine, having taken no damage whatsoever.

'A sound of impact definitely rang out.'

Looking closely, a dull, dark-colored gauntlet was equipped on Gun Yuhyeon's right hand.

The moment I saw the pig crest drawn on the gauntlet, I couldn't help but be appalled.

"Hah... Devouring Gauntlet?"

Forgetting even that Dam-ak was awake, the hateful memories of my past life leaked out of my mouth.

At the sound of my voice that was like a groan, Gun Yuhyeon's eyes instead widened slightly.

"Hmm... To even know the name of this item... Just what is your identity?"

Now stroking his chin, Gun Yuhyeon looked at me with an intrigued gaze.

On the other hand, I couldn't find any composure at all.

The Devouring Gauntlet was an item known as one of the Demonic Cult's thirteen demonic artifacts.

A Heaven-Defying artifact that absorbed not only Sword Qi, but physical impacts as well.

It wasn't even known what it was originally made of, but...

One thing, however, was certain.

If the Demonic Cult had been able to fully arm everyone with Devouring Gauntlets, the Murim Alliance's destruction would have been advanced by several years.

And the owner of that hateful demonic object was...

"You bastard, you're the Demonic Brain's lackey."

"...!"

Yin-Yang Twin Demon Je Geumhak, one of the seven disciples of the Demonic Brain who would later become a Guardian Dharma King.

That damn name was Gun Yuhyeon's true name.