---

**

I discovered the whereabouts of Yuk Nam-pyeong.

A forward base of the Sado Clan nearby.

I turned my steps upon hearing that he had been forcibly conscripted as a soldier there.

Along the way, I heard many stories.

“Ex-excuse me! I hate to ask, but my son…!”

“My daughter has been captured there! Please…please…”

“My son’s name is Uya!”

Many had been taken captive.

I heard tales of those who had been forced to wield their swords against their will.

After remembering the names I had heard, I blankly stared at the warriors trembling in fear.

It wouldn’t be right to leave them behind. I gently patted Yuk Hae-won’s head.

“Stay with the villagers.”

“B-but…”

“Don’t worry. I will bring everyone back.”

A life spent swinging a sword beyond death.

I felt the need to reassess what I had gained in that life.

The longing that roamed the nine heavens had taken form and settled back on the ground.

In essence, I had trained in the face of death.

And just as that…

I needed to see with my own eyes how the things that connected me had shaped me.

My current state was too unstable to simply describe as transcendence.

It was incomplete and far too immense to define as just transcendence.

Above all, I needed to grasp how to handle Gumang. Bai Ya and Black Pearl, who wandered by my side, had nothing to say either.

Why did Gumang bring me back here? What was her reason for caring about me?

I wanted to find that out as well. Therefore…

I needed some time alone.

It might be a harsh view to show to a child.

…

I conversed with Gumang.

And it responded to me.

The thoroughly extinguished Cheongeop still resided within me.

And it had become the harbinger that revived my lifeless body.

“There are those who were forcibly taken.”

I recalled what Master Guigok Yajang had told me.

When creating the Ear Sword Gumang, pieces of Cheongeop had seeped into it.

Had that event connected everything to this point? I thanked Gumang. And at the same time, I realized that it was, in fact, Cheongeop.

Enveloped in the form of a sword with Black Pearl and Bai Ya, and inside, the root of Gumang poured forth.

It was a truly living Ear Sword, a spirit of the sword that followed me.

I pulled it out to confirm it with my own eyes.

The appearance was that of a peculiar sword. Black with cracks etched into it.

But it was solid. To prove it wouldn’t break, this sword, threatening to snap, easily tore through the neighboring great tree with a simple swing.

“…This is…”

Yin and Yang.

Magical and blood essence gathered in one place.

The Four Origins One Sword. The sword itself had become able to hold even more natural vitality than the vessel could manage.

With Gumang, I realized that I could draw out power beyond my limits.

…Then.

Surpassing the beast’s form, the seventh form of the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique…

I needed to practice wielding the sword that swung in death, in the present world.

With the One Sword carrying the One Heart.

Thus, I would dye the world in my colors.

Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique

Eighth Form

Rasetsumon

As I walked towards the Sado Clan, I slowly refined the sword I held.

What I’m shaping is not the form of a beast.

It’s a sword aimed with the claws that aspired to climb with its life.

Over countless hills…

Finally, the beast’s roar began to touch the heavens.

“…….”

Beyond the shape where blood and shadows gathered, I stepped forward.

“…Who are you?”

Upon arriving at the forward base of the Sado Clan, I slowly moved my hands.

At my fingertips gathered my Heart Sword.

Continuing to train as I roamed the nine heavens…

My form. My soul.

Only it.

“I heard there are those who were dragged here against their will.”

Let’s go.

If I have been revived, what needs to be done is quite simple.

Defeating Jin Baek-cheon can wait. For now… let’s confirm with my own eyes.

To see if those I cherished are well.

To see if Yuk Hae-won, whom I overlapped in my mind…

If Sua is alive.

Of course, before that…

I should repay the kindness shown to me.

“Hand everything over.”

“…What?”

…

Yuk Hae-won trembled as he waited. Even when the village elders spoke to calm him, he remained nothing but anxious.

In a calm tone. As if he could do it.

But… the opponent was the Sado Clan.

He knew well what the Sado Clan was. How great and how terrifying it was.

“You weren’t an ordinary person. It’s fine. It will surely be okay.”

“…B-but…”

Dad. Daddy.

Shaking, he merely waited. Even as day turned to dusk…

He did not come back.

Had he perhaps died? Yuk Hae-won stood at the village entrance, waiting endlessly. Even when the village elders urged him to come back, he stood firm.

As the late night arrived and the moon finally rose, Yuk Hae-won trembled as he leaned against a tree.

And then…

He heard it.

The sound of footsteps approaching from afar.

“…….!”

He shot up, eyes wide in shock to confirm.

Someone was coming. No, not just someone.

There were many. So very many people. All dressed in uniforms. They looked a little ragged, but it was undoubtedly the attire of the Sado Clan.

But the concern he had didn’t occur. Among those dressed in that uniform was a familiar face.

Finally waiting for his own father.

“…D-Dad…”

Yuk Hae-won ran.

His shoes were thrown off, and he tumbled, but…

Limping, he reached for his father’s embrace.

“Hae-won!”

“Daddy!!!”

The words he had prepared barely escaped his lips. Clinging to the embrace he almost lost, he burst into tears.

His vision obscured by the hug, he could hear the sobs of the people around.

“Oh my! Oh my! My son! My son!”

“Ah, father! Be careful not to trip!”

“My… my daughter… She’ll be fine. It’s okay. Forget everything. Just think you were bitten by a beast…”

“Mother… Mother…”

The youth and maidens of the village who had been captured cried out.

In the midst of that whimpering, Yuk Hae-won raised his head, wiping his nose.

“Uh, Dad… What about that warrior…?”

“…He came along.”

Yuk Hae-won noticed a shadow watching the villagers from a short distance away.

A person who looked like a sage. Really… someone who seemed ready to resolve anything.

Yuk Hae-won limped over. He clung to him.

“Th-thank you, big brother…”

Looking up, the face was smiling softly. The hand placed on his head was warm.

“You took care of me during this time. I’m just repaying the favor.”

“…….”

“Listen well to your father, okay?”

“…A-are you leaving?”

“Yeah. I have someone I need to find as well.”

“Is it impossible… to meet again…?”

The man lowered himself. He matched her eye level and whispered softly.

“If fate allows, we might meet again.”

“…….”

“Now, go quickly.”

Yuk Hae-won hesitated, stepping back. He turned to run back to his father but glanced back quickly.

He was already gone. As if he had never been there at all.

…

I saved people.

But I knew that it wouldn’t simply end there.

A village without me was practically defenseless. As soon as I left, it could easily be targeted by the Sado Clan again.

Having thought it through to take responsibility, I intended to see it through to the end. However, that didn’t mean I would remain in the village forever.

What I was to take responsibility for was preventing the tyranny of the Sado Clan itself.

“…….”

The power to shake a faction.

And that power was now in my hands.

I began to move my sword. Solidifying what I possessed and moving to thwart the tyranny of the Sado Clan.

“Who… Ugh?!”

I single-handedly smashed one of the Sado Clan’s branches. All those who tried to stop me were subdued.

Not spilling unnecessary blood, I dealt with matters swiftly, only killing the leaders responsible and hanging their corpses in the marketplace.

Rumors began to spread. Tales of an unnamed warrior slaying core members of the Sado Clan.

And naturally, that drew the attention of the Sado Clan towards me. The security around their key figures increased, and famous warriors began to roam their vicinity.

But that couldn’t stop me.

“I am the Heartless Demon… cough!”

None were impressive at all.

“This is preposterous…?!”

Even transcendent masters meant little in the grand scheme.

“Who the hell are you…?”

Ignoring the numerous soldiers, I charged directly to their throats.

I warned them. Holding my sword to their necks, I spoke in a low voice.

I ensured to only give one warning.

Letting them choose for themselves.

“Listen carefully.”

“……”

“Do not involve civilians in the affairs of martial artists. Should such a thing be detected again, I will kill you without warning.”

The forced conscription of civilians becoming fodder for war began to decrease. And with that, a bounty was officially placed on me.

A hooded figure whose face was obscured, and even my alias had become strange.

Mu Pungsura.

The amount placed on my head started with gold. Alongside that, I became a hunted man, yet…

I did not mind. I did not hide.

The greater the attention on me, the more I desired it…

There was no longer a need to show leniency to those who sought to kill me for calling wrongs out as wrongs.

“Let only those who value their lives chase after me.”

I chose a mountain as my residence. Simultaneously, I welcomed those who came to seek me.

“I’m right here.”

Until no one dared pursue me in fear.

Until the Sado Clan itself halted the forced conscription of civilians out of dread of my existence.

I welcomed the guests who came to find me. At the same time, I polished my skills, refining everything I lacked.

As my Heart Sword was completed, I could now see beyond it.

Beginning to show after reaching transcendence…

The final form of the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Sword.

I started to move to draw the ninth form of the sword that I had to create myself.

 

---