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“The Sword Demon and I made our way to the hidden spot of the Black Night Gate’s secrets and its secret manuals.”

Was the information that the Black Horse risked his life to share really true? There, the manual included techniques like the Black Night Divine Art, Black Moon Palm, and Black Moon Sword Technique. I couldn’t help but mutter in disbelief at the names of these martial arts.

“They all have ‘Black Moon’ attached to them!”

“It’s surprising that the Assassination Sect even has a proper martial arts manual at all…” It was generally perceived that assassins had low martial skills. Rarely would you find a contractor in Jianghu with the skills of a top-tier martial artist. And it was odd that the Assassination Sect had formal manuals and peak experts among them.

“Not that surprising, really. As far as I know, the Black Night Gate used to be a proper sect where they trained martial arts in seclusion. At some point, it ended up becoming a contractor sect.”

“Hmm.”

“That’s also why Black Horse’s skills are above average compared to the Eight Demons.”

As Sword Demon explained, I took note of the hidden location.

“Got it.”

From his evaluation, it seemed the Black Night Gate was once a prestigious martial arts family. I memorized the place, thinking that if I ever needed to, I could come back and find the secret manual of the Black Night Gate.

Afterward, we took Black Horse’s seal and headed to the Grand Battlefield. It was a storehouse for Black Horse’s treasure trove of gold bars, along with various house and land documents. Successfully extracting assets worth thousands of silver coins, Sword Demon commented.

“Gold bars aside, what about these house and land documents?”

“What do you think, Sect Leader?”

“I’d prefer to convert them all back to gold and take them to Goryeo, but I’m asking in case you might have any use for them.”

“Hmm…”

I thought for a moment before responding.

“It’s not like Black Horse bought it for no reason. Wouldn’t it be good to investigate its origins further?”

“Are you saying he didn’t buy it for land speculation, but for the operations of the Assassination Sect?”

“That could be it.”

“True enough. That scheming guy wouldn’t have bought land just for profit. I’ll look into that.” Sword Demon agreed.

“Depending on what you decide, the rest could end up being valuable too.”

“Are you talking about the young assassins?”

The Black Night Gate collected orphans aged 10-15 to nurture them into assassins for cases where current assassins retired or died. Black Horse told us their training location before he passed away.

“Exactly. While Jianghu people may morally exclude assassins, having potential assassins in a few years can be a big gain.”

“……”

Sword Demon was subtly probing whether I would become the owner of the Assassination Sect. We knew the training site of the young assassins now, so all we had to do was remove or sway the instructors. After some contemplation, I stated.

“No, I want them to have a fair shot at life.”

“Really? You don’t need to show mercy to those young assassins… Even if you continue to use them as assassins or disposable tools, they won’t dare complain to you.”

Sword Demon was right. Those born as orphans and raised as assassins had their lives mortgaged away, simply obeying orders from above. Still, I shook my head firmly.

“In the end, the opponents I’ll face won’t be affected by the strength of assassins. I have no reason to toy with their lives.”

“If that’s how you feel, then let’s sort this out today.”

“Alright.”

Pa-at!

We headed to the training ground of the young assassins. We quickly subdued the instructor of the assassins within a second and said, “Blood Sword. Black Horse is dead.”

“……”

The instructor, known as Blood Sword, remained tight-lipped. As a first-rate assassin, he didn’t seem easily shaken. After showing him Black Horse’s seal, Sword Demon continued.

“I could easily kill you without need for reason, but for now, I’ll spare you. Gather all the young assassins here within an hour.”

“How can we trust you won’t just kill us all?”

Sword Demon chuckled.

“Are you kidding? Do you even know who I am?”

“Who are you?”

“I’m Seo Mun-dae-ryong, the Sword Demon.”

“……!!”

“Even Black Horse couldn’t survive my ten-second gaze. I won’t kill you in my name, so don’t mess around and bring them right now.”

Blood Sword stared at Sword Demon in disbelief, but soon after Sword Demon effortlessly sliced through ten trees with his Invincible Sword, he gaped in awe at the display of strength of the greatest expert of the Heretical Faction. After realizing the situation, Blood Sword dashed off.

A moment later, Blood Sword returned with all the young assassins. It seemed they were living in cabins scattered throughout the remote mountain valley. Alongside the young assassins, a couple of instructor-level assassins were with him.

Sword Demon Seo Mun-dae-ryong announced, “The Black Night Gate is finished. The belongings left by Black Horse now belong to me.”

The instructor-level assassins appeared to exchange glances. Then, Blood Sword stepped forward to speak for them.

“Can we continue raising them as they are?”

“No, that’s unnecessary. You are all now part of the Shadowless Gate and will start learning martial arts from the beginning.”

“……!!”

“Let me be clear, if you act wrongly as members of the Shadowless Gate, I will execute you on the spot. Only those with resolution may raise their hands.”

The instructors and young assassins seemed to glance nervously at one another. After a moment, all of them raised their hands. The atmosphere was one of unavoidable obedience established by Sword Demon. Reluctantly agreeing, Sword Demon smiled with satisfaction.

“Good.”

I stuffed them all into the Wooden Armor. Looking at Sword Demon Seo Mun-dae-ryong, I said, “We now have 26 new members.”

“Just in time, I was short on lower-ranked subordinates. I used to live commanding sub-sects in Jianghu, but it feels rather awkward here in Goryeo…”

While muttering, Sword Demon proposed, “Let’s investigate the treasures of Black Horse in detail.”

For the next few days, Sword Demon and I traveled across battlefields to gauge the true extent of Black Horse’s wealth. We found out that the land and properties Black Horse had secretly acquired were enormous, rivaling the assets of a whole city’s wealthiest person. It also revealed the suspicious intentions of Black Horse that we had been curious about.

Sword Demon exclaimed, “This crazy guy… he just lived for the thrill of accumulating wealth!”

“……”

“How could he even think of buying the Royal Garden?”

Indeed, it became clear that Black Horse had hoarded money from contracts simply for entertainment, buying buildings and witnessing his wealth grow day by day. Furthermore, one could only call it a money-wasting spree when he bought the vast royal garden owned by a prince of the Emperor.

I couldn’t understand, “Can contractors really earn this much money?”

Sword Demon confirmed, “Black Horse was the top assassin in Jianghu, and the Black Night Gate was the leading contractor sect. No matter the faction, work would flow steadily. If he couldn’t make money, it would be strange, especially since contractor fees are quite high.”

“Hmm…”

“A common person seeking to contract with the Black Night Gate would go bankrupt.”

Then, it hit me. I remembered how the village chief had once tried to kill me, hiring the Black Night Gate with his means. Back then, I hadn’t thought much of it, but even the tyrant village chief would have to spend a fortune to kill someone.

Suddenly, I became curious and asked Sword Demon, “Is it true Black Horse was the best assassin in Jianghu?”

“Hmm? What do you mean by that?”

“Just curious…”

“Oh, I see. You’re questioning if Black Horse was truly the limit of assassins.”

Sword Demon chuckled before continuing, “Of course not. The best assassin in Jianghu couldn’t possibly be Black Horse.”

“What?”

“There’s a rumor circulating in the martial arts world. A supreme assassin who has achieved the state of ‘No Kill’ exists, and that sect practices one-person inheritance. It was said that at one time, they thought Black Horse was the one, but that was utterly impossible for him.”

“‘No Kill’? You mean they don’t kill?”

“Not exactly. It appears as if they can’t kill anything, yet in reality, they are said to possess the power to kill all things alive—a sort of God of Death. It’s like they’ve flipped the notion of being able to kill anything that is alive on its head.”

The concept of the ‘No Kill’ state was inherently stimulating. I couldn’t quite grasp the meaning of Sword Demon’s words and responded with a frown.

“That sounds like a dream. Do such assassins actually exist?”

“I believe they do.”

Sword Demon crossed his arms and continued, “Because our sect’s ancestor supposedly met that God of Death before.”

“……!!”

“That entity operates by its own principles rather than the typical way assassins do. They assassinate for a great cause, and no peak expert could ever save their life from that entity’s grasp.”

It was astonishing.

To think a legendary assassin who resembled a God of Death could actually exist!

As I stood there in shock, Sword Demon chuckled softly.

“Well, since that was about three generations ago, perhaps they just didn’t reveal themself at the time. Since it’s a one-person inheritance, the lineage could have been broken. What’s certain is that unless you seriously breach their principles, you would never be made their target.”

“I see.”

“Let’s wrap this up and return to Jianghu. With this scale of wealth, it won’t just be handed over in a day.”

At that moment, a thought crossed my mind.

‘Even though the Shadowless Gate has been part of the Heretical Faction, could it be that the reason they never engaged in heinous acts was due to the God of Death?’

The more atrocious the acts, the easier they attract the God of Death’s attention.

In other words, sticking to the principles ensures safety.

Sword Demon’s belief in the existence of the God of Death might mean just that. But it was too sensitive a topic to ask him directly, so I kept it to myself.

We needed the funds to support the 26 new recruits, so we sold five buildings, converted everything into gold bars, and returned to Goryeo. After performing the ceremony to accept the instructor-level assassins and young assassins as new members of the Shadowless Gate, we proceeded to switch their internal powers to align with the Shadowless Gate.

The conversion rate wasn’t great, but their martial arts had limitations anyway, so in the long run, this should benefit them.

Once the process was done, it felt like the Shadowless Gate was rapidly expanding. While we had many experts, our small elite size was a weakness. However, with this new addition, that flaw was resolved.

Sword Demon spent about seven days tidying up the sect before saying to me, “Well, it’s time to get going.”

“Understood.”

“If anything happens, make sure to escape immediately.”

“……”

I honestly wasn’t sure if that was possible.

I muttered bitterly to myself. There was a chance I might die here.

But it was something that had to be done, so, I set off toward Jianghu.

Pa-at!

Arriving near Mount Tai at Seven Kills Village, I went directly to the village chief. The place still looked like a den of beggars, with healthy humans living in ragged conditions. I approached the village chief and abruptly showed him the black wooden token.

“Here. I brought the token.”

“Ooh… oooooo…!!”

The village chief, supported by a cane, was shocked. He then turned to the villagers and shouted.

“Hey everyone… a Divine Guest has arrived!! Welcome him!”

“Ooooh…!!”

Suddenly, all the villagers, previously looking pitiful, rushed forward and began dancing oddly, young and old alike. Their clapping and dancing in rhythm was surprisingly bizarre.

“Hey hey~ hey~!”

Clap

“Ah~, yay~ ah~, yay~!”

I was caught in their rapture, merely observing their dance. Previously, I might’ve found it ridiculous, but realizing every one of those villagers was an otherworldly being and their dance was a ritual of that race made it no longer amusing.

At that moment, I sensed something strange.

“#@&%~~ #&%^~~ @$^&@&~~”

“……?”

Something felt off. Their previously cheerful chants now came across as something [different]. Initially, it sounded to me like a bewildering language, but soon discernible phrases mixed in.

“We send this…”

“We send this…”

“Our deity…”

“Great Being, accept our tribute.”

Gradually, the incantation became clearer. I finally realized that the song the villagers danced to was, in fact, a strange incantation. They were intertwined with human speech, cleverly emitting vibrations that ordinary humans couldn’t comprehend.

When the dance concluded, the village chief proclaimed, “Oh Divine Guest, it does not matter how or where you obtained the token… since you have brought it, we shall guide you to the utmost.”

I gazed somberly at the white tree.

“I just need to go under that tree.”

“Huh… how do you know that…!!”

Whispers filled the air as the people of Seven Kills Village were taken aback. I stared at them and said, “Before I meet [that], I have one question.”

“……”

“If I were to free you from the cycle of your fates, what would you offer me in return?”

The villagers were startled. I must have clearly known the secrets of Seven Kills Village. Perhaps that’s why the village chief, who had previously appeared composed, was now trembling like an aspen leaf.

“Who… who are you? Could you possibly be [the Great Being]?”

“No. I am human, merely possessing special powers.”

I replied that and added, “Let me ask again. If I grant freedom from your fates, what would you do for me?”

“……”

Whispers filled the air.

It sounded like they were speaking in that strange incantation. I didn’t have the capability to interpret that level of language yet, so all I could do was listen to their murmurs. They gathered and began a heated discussion. After a meal’s time, the village chief stepped forward to say, “We shall serve you as the masters of our souls. We will obey you for a lifetime and reveal our tribe’s greatest secret.”

“Good. Never forget that promise.”

Pa-at!

As I stood beneath the white tree, I felt a tremor through heaven and earth.

A moment later, the space around me shifted, and I realized I was in a strange otherworldly realm. Massive woods surrounded me, and I could see unknown demon beasts flying around everywhere.

This was Dark Heaven Village.

Having been here before, I moved calmly without the need for a guide. I knew where to go to meet [that].

Ku-gu-gu…

Something tremendous was confined here. A mass of tentacles with bat wings, far larger than a person, lay in the midst of a massive canyon.

The mass had numerous breasts akin to those of a woman. Clinging to one of its enormous breasts was the faceless bat I had seen earlier, suckling on it like an infant.

As I faced this entity once more, instead of the immense pressure I had previously experienced, a sense of familiarity washed over me. This was the second time I encountered it, and the weight I felt had significantly lessened.

The entity seemed to gaze at me before speaking, [Did you come seeking me without even calling for me? You are quite an interesting being.]

The tone conveyed ‘curiosity.’ I bowed respectfully and mentally communicated, [Oh Great Ruler, I have come to seek your power in Dark Heaven Village.]

[Speak… I grant you a single opportunity to reverse fate… To change death into life and life into death… No matter who it is… This power cannot be evaded…]

[That…]

I hesitated momentarily before asking. [One thing I want to know. Could you use your power to cast the being known as the Evil God into death?]

[……]

The entity paused, fluttering its bat wings before responding, [That is a separate issue… The Ruler of Le Rue… That being is a direct descendant of chaos… An entity that has transcended life and death since the beginning… Applying the reversal of power against them is against the natural order.]

[Thank you for your answer.]

As I expressed my gratitude, the entity spoke in a tone that seemed almost humorous, [Do you wish to contend against the transcendent beings with the Seven Luminaries… that would also be an interesting endeavor… ]

It seemed to have read my mind. A classic display of the powers of the [Great Ruler].

[Is it impossible?]

[It is possible…]

Though it was an affirmation, there was something untrustworthy in the tone. I shook my head and said, [Please resurrect a human named Zhuge Sa.]

[Very well…]

The tentacles from the Great Ruler’s body squirmed and reached out, touching an invisible spot in the air. Suddenly, something smoky emerged from the void. The Great Ruler blew the smoke away to somewhere.

[I have resurrected him…]

[Thank you. Also, may I ask one more thing?]

Feeling surprisingly calm, I made my request. The Great Ruler paused, seemingly taken aback, before stating.

[Speak…]

[Please free the servant races that are bound to serve you. They don’t seem to fit in the human realm.]

[Very easy… ]

With a voice that sounded like it was laughing, the being replied, [Come to me whenever you like…]

Pa-at!

A moment later, I was back in Seven Kills Village.

As I arrived, my expression darkened.

“Damn it!”

Corpses were strewn everywhere.

All of them were corpses of dog-like humans. These entities, having returned to their essence, were undoubtedly villagers of Seven Kills Village in their lifetime. They had surely fallen victim to the powers of the Great Ruler.

‘Did I unintentionally ask to have them killed instead of freed from their fates?’ It seemed he interpreted ‘release’ as freeing them through death.

‘Truly arbitrary… so this is what a deity is.’

Though it seemed favorable toward me, the [Great Ruler] was indeed a terrifying presence filled with chaos.

I buried the dog-like humans and then returned to Jianghu.

Hearing my accounts, Sword Demon nodded and said, “Then go. You should meet the resurrected Zhuge Sa.”

Indeed.

The power of the Great Ruler was the power of reversal!

It could kill the living or bring the dead back to life.

I had thought about utilizing it for resurrection before, but I was finally in a position to use it properly.

 

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