The Red Light Sword.

This sword, whose name meant that it cut through all darkness with red light, was one of the Murim Alliance's Fifteen Divine Weapons and also the divine artifact of Hwa Jeongsan, the New Plum Blossom Sword.

The red plum blossoms he scattered with the Red Light Sword were the flowers demonic practitioners feared most, and because the Red Light Sword had drunk the blood of more demonic practitioners than any of the Fifteen Divine Weapons, it had also been called the Blood-Red Sword.

But perhaps it had been too sharp.

In the end, what drove Hwa Jeongsan mad was also this very Red Light Sword.

It seemed the Red Light Sword, bearing Jang Dowon's grudge and the Blood Sea Jade's blood qi, had been more than Hwa Jeongsan could endure.

SHING—

The dark, murky color unique to Vajra Indestructible Iron came into view.

Yet for some reason, the Red Light Sword was much brighter in color than the Black Dragon Sword I had originally been using. Rather than black, should I say it was closer to gray?

'Huh?'

Moreover, the Red Light Sword's original, extraordinary sharp aura had vanished as well.

I had drawn the entire blade, but only a faint killing intent showed from the Red Light Sword. I felt none of that killing intent that pricked at the skin just by looking at it.

I looked at Jang Dowon.

"What are you looking at?"

Something... was different.

This was not the murderous Red Light Sword I knew.

It was not that terrifyingly sharp weapon that killed everything and ultimately killed even its owner.

Why had it changed?

They said a weapon contained more of the maker's heart than the person who wielded it.

Was it because, unlike in my past life, Jang Dowon's heart was not filled with hatred toward the Demonic Cult?

"Why? Is it not the item you were expecting?"

"..."

The red line that had originally crossed the Red Light Sword's blade was also gone.

Aside from the faint killing intent it emitted, one could believe it was an ordinary sword.

As I was wondering what to do about this confusing situation, I heard Jang Dowon's voice.

"Judging by your eyes, there was something you wanted."

"..."

"... Did you truly want a demonic beast?"

"You... knew?"

Jang Dowon lit his tobacco.

After drawing in one long breath, he exhaled just as long.

The strange scent of tobacco lingered around me, then swept once across the Red Light Sword.

"When you brought me an object filled to the brim with the grudges of who knows how many people and asked me to make a weapon from it, I wondered, but..."

Jang Dowon let out a long, hollow sigh and stared at me.

"What was it that you wanted to kill so badly?"

When I first met Jang Dowon and made my plan to seize the Fifteen Divine Weapons, the first divine weapon that came to mind was this Red Light Sword.

I met his gaze straight on.

"My enemy."

Because if it was not the Red Light Sword, I would never be able to kill them.

"... Even if it means putting yourself in danger?"

Because if I did not kill those bastards darker than the deepest darkness, everything precious to me would disappear.

"Sometimes, to defeat enemies who are far too powerful, one must accept sacrifice. If that sacrifice is one I willingly choose, isn't that an incredibly profitable trade?"

"Mad bastard..."

Though the man before my eyes clearly understood my intention, in the end he had not made the Red Light.

And at the same time, I realized it.

The Jang Dowon of my past life had also known what he was making.

'So that object was not created by coincidence.'

I had been wrong.

I had thought that since the weapon was made from the same materials, the same result would inevitably come out.

"..."

Jang Dowon said nothing more.

I, too, did not open my mouth at this unexpected result.

And when the tobacco had burned down completely...

"... You."

Jang Dowon spoke, his face terribly complicated.

"Do you wish to become a vengeful demon?"

A vengeful demon, was it?

"... Whenever necessary."

"A flame that burns its own body cannot warm anyone."

"At the very least, it will not be swallowed by darkness."

Tsk.

Jang Dowon clicked his tongue in displeasure, shook off the ash from his tobacco, and grabbed another handful of tobacco leaves.

"Examine the sword."

"..."

At the sudden remark, I tilted my head.

Then his eyes sharpened.

"Don't glare at me with those delinquent eyes and just do as you're told!"

At Jang Dowon's shout, I quickly lowered my head.

When did I ever make delinquent eyes?

I was just a little worried.

There were no materials left now, and I might never see the Red Light Sword of the past again.

I swallowed my concern and slowly poured my internal energy into the sword.

"...?"

Then, strangely, the gray blade began to take on a gentle golden light.

And at the same time, there was something I felt from the sword.

RUMBLE—

Like a ferocious beast desperate to burst out of a tiny space.

As though another world existed inside this small sword, an unfathomable killing intent was clamoring to be let out at once.

What in the world was this?

"Is that all you intend to try?"

Jang Dowon spoke as if the key were already in my hand.

I thought about it.

From what I had heard, Jang Dowon had definitely melted the Blood Sea Jade into this sword.

Then where had the Blood Sea Jade's killing intent and resentment gone?

If it was inside here after all, if it had not vanished somewhere...

What would the key be to draw it out?

I recalled a memory.

The most wretched moment of all.

I recalled the face of the demonic practitioner who had killed a member of the Minor Orthodox Unit with a hand swung as if in play, then stood before us as we wailed and smiled with a bloody grin.

I recalled that powerless moment when rage like fire surged in my chest, yet I could do nothing.

Following my will, my hair stood on end.

The peaceful everyday life from just moments ago shattered to pieces, and I was once again dropped into a corner of hell.

The corpse of my dead comrade, and the blood that corpse had spilled.

The gaze of my comrade, already cut off from all life, whispered endlessly to me.

Kill!

Die!

Kill!!

Die!!

Kill!!!

Die!!!

In the middle of that battlefield where resentment and killing intent rose without end, I slowly opened my eyes.

And upon the blade that had shone with golden light, the Vajra slowly disappeared.

SSSS—

Just as the Red Light Sword of the past had been, a red line crossing the blade had clearly surfaced.

A killing intent even greater than what I intended poured out.

Like a man truly mad for murder, like a Heavenly Slaughter Star whose only goal was killing.

Even amid the chaotic battlefield, the surroundings grew quiet, and my mind looked only toward a single target.

Following the emotions stirred up by my heart, my feet and hands moved.

The instant I closed in on the demonic practitioner and was about to pierce that filthy neck...

Suddenly, a passage from the Taiyi True Scripture flashed through my mind.

As all things in the beginning came from nothingness, the whispers of resentment and death curse are all futile.

At that moment, I abruptly came to my senses. The memory vanished, and the demonic practitioner who should have been in my grasp disappeared without a trace.

The corpses piled around me and the stream made of blood vanished, and I returned to the smithy where I had originally been.

My gaze immediately turned to the Red Light Sword.

The Red Light Sword was showing its clear, original form.

"... Have you come to your senses?"

I turned my head toward the voice and saw Jang Dowon, who had somehow put on a helmet and was holding a shield.

His entire body was trembling.

"When did you go all the way over there?"

Had he expected that I would lose consciousness the moment the Red Light Sword bloomed?

Jang Dowon was watching me warily from a corner of the smithy.

"If you've come to your senses, then put away this damned killing intent already! At this rate, I won't live out my natural lifespan."

Oh dear, that would not do.

He still had fourteen divine artifacts left to make for me.

I hurriedly moved.

"My apologies."

When I withdrew the killing intent, the energy that had been surging everywhere until just moments ago vanished neatly into the sword, as though dragged away by something.

The red line that had been clearly drawn across the blade also disappeared.

It was something I had never seen in the Red Light Sword of my past life.

How had this happened?

"I thought you would become a madman, but it seems you have trained yourself fairly well."

Jang Dowon wiped away his cold sweat and let out a long sigh.

I asked at once.

"How did you do it?"

The Red Light Sword made by the Jang Dowon of this life.

When it was in its ordinary state, rather than killing intent, it seemed to emit a faint profound energy.

But the moment it revealed the form hidden within, it gave off an even stronger killing intent than the Red Light Sword I had seen in my past life.

I could not understand it by common sense at all.

At my question, Jang Dowon let out a groan.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Is there some great secret?"

"I went around to quite a few black markets looking for those materials. If your father had pried into every little thing, it would have been an item I could never have made. The original thing's killing intent was far too strong."

Jang Dowon changed the subject, as if he did not particularly want to say.

"The moment I received the material, I immediately realized what your intention was. But knowing how dangerous it was, I could hardly drive my benefactor into a deadly trap, could I?"

"... Then why?"

Why had he made it despite being worried?

"Simply because... I trusted you. The Jin Sowoon I saw."

For some reason, his words sounded heavy.

"I do not know what story you carry, nor what goal you have, but..."

Jang Dowon was looking at me with warmer eyes than ever before.

"With the sword I made, I pray you achieve only what you aim for. Do not burn yourself."

Like a grandfather placing a smith's hammer into his youngest grandson's hand, Jang Dowon's gaze held both worry and pride at once.

Feeling that gaze, I ran my hand over the sword.

"What is the sword's name?"

I was curious.

The Red Light Sword had changed from my past life.

Had its name changed as well?

"It is written below the blade."

I saw two characters engraved into the gray blade.

Quiescent Light.

It was a name taken from a Buddhist term meaning the light of true wisdom.

The meaning was different, but the name sounded the same as in my past life, so a faint laugh escaped me.

"You do know I'm a Daoist disciple, don't you?"

"Of course I do. Still..."

After hesitating briefly, Jang Dowon continued.

"You received the grace of Buddhism, so should that not at least remain in the name?"

"..."

The grace of Buddhism?

Surely not...

At that moment, I became terribly curious about what Jang Dowon had bought on the black market.

No, to be precise, I became uneasy.

"Sir, by any chance..."

"Enough! Ignorance is medicine."

"..."

As if he had nothing more to say, Jang Dowon slipped right back inside the smithy.

... What in the world did that old man do?

#

Another invitation came from the Silver River Merchant Group.

To be precise, should I call it the execution of a contract disguised as an invitation?

"The final decision... They say you are to come."

The Silver River Merchant Group already knew that the Daecheon Merchant Group needed luxury goods, and because of that, they ended the invitation by saying that the actual party concerned should come and write up the contract.

In other words.

"They're threatening us that if I don't come, there will be no contract."

"Ahem, that's right."

First came a request, second came temptation, and third came threats.

What a truly skillful negotiation method.

As I was carefully reading the invitation again, Father spoke to me worriedly.

"Are you truly... thinking of going?"

"Did I not tell you?"

I raised my head, met Father's eyes, and smiled.

"I said I would build a pond for every hall."

#

The party heading to the Silver River Merchant Group was made simple.

Me and Wang Soso.

Only two people in all.

Since the person the Silver River Merchant Group wanted was me alone anyway, Wang Soso had no real need to go, but she insisted on coming along of her own accord.

Well, from my point of view, it was not a bad thing.

Thanks to that, I could ride comfortably to the Silver River Merchant Group in Wangga Manor's finest carriage.

Inside the carriage, which even had a small bedroom, I slept throughout the journey, and whenever we took rests along the way, I ate the meals the servants made and enjoyed a luxurious trip I would never experience again in my life.

"We have arrived."

When I got out of the carriage, I saw the entrance to the Silver River Merchant Group.

At the entrance, countless people formed a dense crowd, standing in line and waiting.

"It seems those who received invitations enter over there, my lady."

The coachman pointed to one side.

There, people who had alighted from carriages like us were entering without waiting in line, presenting their invitations.

"How lavish."

The clothes and ornaments worn by those entering looked anything but ordinary.

'The clothes and ornaments those people are wearing alone look like they could cover an ordinary household's living expenses for a year.'

Come to think of it, Wang Soso had changed clothes and put on ornaments during our rest just before we arrived... It seemed there had been a reason.

"What is it, oppa?"

Because I was staring, Wang Soso tilted her head.

"... I was looking because they suit you well."

"Hehe! Then it was worth dressing up. I changed because I didn't want to be looked down on here."

"Looked down on?"

Wang Soso was the precious only daughter of Wang Geumsan, one of the Four Great Merchant Magnates of the World.

She herself had excellent business talent and would one day inherit Wangga Manor.

For such a Wang Soso to be looked down on?

She snorted and squared her shoulders.

"The Silver River Merchant Group mainly has many dealings with high officials and great nobles. Because of that, there should be many nobles invited from Beijing who came in person. Nobles look down on martial artists and merchants alike."

Well, in any world, those who think they are the best naturally look down on people from other worlds.

And if they were not just nobles, but high officials and great nobles on top of that, it would be even worse.

"Let's go in quickly. You must be tired from the trip."

As for me, I was so used to sleeping outdoors and camping that the journey here had not been tiring at all, but Wang Soso looked a little tired, so I followed her without a word.

When we approached the entrance, someone who looked like a guard held out his hand and demanded our invitation.

"...!"

The guard who unfolded the invitation gave a strange sideways glance for an instant.

Was it just my imagination that he seemed to look me up and down?

"Welcome. Lady Wang Soso, you may enter."

At the guard's guidance, Wang Soso stepped forward first, and when I tried to follow her in...

The guard raised his hand and blocked me.

"Servants use a different path."

The guard jerked his chin and pointed to one side.

There was a side gate where one could barely enter only by lowering one's head.

"..."

Did this bastard's upper lip look longer for a moment, or was that my imagination?

"I am Jin Sowoon of the Taiyi Sect. I came at the invitation of the Silver River Merchant Group."

"Jin Sowoon? There is no such name."

The guard pretended to scan the list, flipping through it carelessly, then spoke.

"It is difficult to confirm right now, so go over there."

"..."

Look at this son of a bitch.

He had definitely seen my name just now while scanning the list, yet he was pretending not to know.

Was my wanting to punch him also just my imagination?

Meanwhile, voices of complaint began to flow from those who had started waiting because of me.

"What are you doing? Hurry up and move!"

"Ahem! How dare such a lowly thing try to use the path for his elders?"

"Get out at once!"

As the denunciations continued from people all dressed in splendid clothes and ornaments, Wang Soso, who had entered first, could not hide her flustered expression.

"Jin oppa..."

"Did you not hear them telling you to come out quickly?"

I saw the corner of the bastard guard's mouth rise slightly.

That made three.

'So they're going to break my spirit from the very beginning. Is that it?'

As if what I had seen was no coincidence, the guard, the warriors standing beside him, and even the scholars were each trying very hard to hold back their laughter.

Well, they had been persistent enough to send three invitations, so it made no sense for them not to know about me.

Moreover, they were not even calling me by the nickname they had used mockingly wherever I went.

The guard who had blocked me finally began to make a threatening face.

As if he knew I would be unable to move.

Well, mistakes like this happened often.

The proper method would be to follow what they wanted for now, then later correct the mistake.

However.

"Get the hell out of— Urk! Gack!"

My character was not that remarkable, you see.

The guard, seized by the nape of the neck and lifted off the ground, widened his eyes as if he had not expected it.

"W-What is this... How dare... the Silver River Merchant Group..."

"What kind of ruffian behavior is this!"

"So there was a reason he was called the Black Flame Dragon, with such deep ties to the Underworld..."

I understood what they were saying.

They meant that if I belonged to the Orthodox faction, I should maintain propriety like one of the Orthodox faction.

But there is no need for me to play along to your rhythm, is there?

"Ah, did you not know? I have more friends in the Underworld than in the Orthodox faction. The nickname Black Flame Dragon was also given to me by a big shot of the Underworld."

"As expected... just like the rumors."

"L-Let him go at once!"

For some reason, everyone easily accepted what I said.

At the same time, they put on expressions as though they had picked the wrong target.

They had done something, yes.

But their faces said they never thought I would react like this.

The bastards who had been triumphant until just moments ago, thinking I could not act without justification, now began to tremble anxiously, not knowing what sudden action I might take.

I had never known until now, but there was a reason Underworld figures endured inconvenience and lived as members of the Underworld.

They all had a plan.

'This is incredibly convenient, isn't it?'

The guard whose neck I held struggled to somehow escape my grasp, both feet dangling in the air.

But did he think he could do it with that tiny bit of internal energy?

Perhaps because he was gradually running out of breath, his face changed from red to purple.

And just before he was about to stop breathing, I threw him toward the place where a small table had been set up.

CRASH.

The writing implements used to record the registry scattered everywhere, and the table split in half.

SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING! SHING!

And the Silver River Merchant Group's warriors all drew their swords at once.

It was the first time I liked my nickname.