“In the end, we failed to break the Jongnam Sect.”

“Still, it’s not like we didn’t achieve anything, since Jongnam’s power has been greatly weakened.”

Five men and women were gathered around a round table made of carved stone.

Most of them were middle-aged people with old scars, as if they had gone through harsh times.

Among them, the only old man, Ak Dongji, frowned as if he were dissatisfied and said.

“If all five of the Five Demon Leaders had gathered, we could have just killed the Flying Heaven Sword Ghost on the spot, right? Then we would have annihilated the Jongnam Sect too.”

If the righteous path had the Five Great Masters of the Central Plains, the heretic path had the Five Demon Leaders.

Like the Seven Evils that had existed in the Ming Cult in the distant past, they were known to be the strongest in the heretic path and were beings who had reached the peak with their individual martial prowess without belonging to any sect.

“I am moving as ordered.”

“An order?”

Who would dare to command one of the Five Demon Leaders, the Dragon Throwing Killing Ghost?

This question of Ak Dongji did not last long.

An old man of a similar age to Ak Dongji appeared before them.

The old man, who was wearing a long robe with fur, appeared with a young attendant and sat in the empty seat at the round table.

“It’s been a long time, everyone.”

“It’s the Grand General Manager.”

Only then did Ak Dongji realize that the one who was commanding the Five Demon Leaders, including the Dragon Throwing Killing Ghost, was the Grand General Manager of the Heretic Path's Alliance, Mu Yu.

“I heard you encountered Jin Sohyun. How was it? What are your thoughts on meeting the monster that the Heretic Path's Alliance is most wary of?”

Ak Dongji threw the chain sickle he was holding onto the round table instead of speaking.

“Hmm.”

The four Five Demon Leaders, including Mu Yu, looked at the miserably broken chain sickle with interest.

A weapon made by mixing cold iron showed outstanding durability in itself, but more than anything, it was not easily damaged by the strong ki imbued with the internal energy of a master.

And yet, Ak Dongji’s chain sickle was bent in a strange way.

To the point where it was a wonder that it had not broken.

“Twice.”

Ak Dongji said, showing two fingers.

“I blocked that bastard’s flying sword twice, and that is the price. If my Twin Chain Song had not been made of cold iron… I would have died on the first one.”

The atmosphere sank heavily.

Although the Five Demon Leaders had never officially ranked their strength, everyone knew how strong Ak Dongji was.

And yet, he had lost the weapon he had cherished for his entire life in just two attacks from Jin Sohyun.

“Then I’ll ask another question. If all of the Five Demon Leaders attack, can you kill Jin Sohyun?”

At Mu Yu’s second question, Ak Dongji looked at the faces of the remaining Five Demon Leaders with a wide gaze.

The master of the javelin technique, the Dragon Throwing Killing Ghost, Ma Sok.

The master of the fist strike technique, the Demon Spirit Fighting Ghost, Ju Baek.

The One Sword Severing Ghost, Yi Changsu, who had a fast sword.

And even the White Cat Sound Ghost, Chu Ryeonghoe, who had the best sound art in the heretic path.

Ak Dongji looked at the four demon leaders who had reached the peak of the heretic path with their individual martial prowess and lightly spread his two hands.

“At least two… or maybe three will have to prepare for death.”

At his calm answer, the remaining Five Demon Leaders showed surprised expressions, and Mu Yu silently nodded his head.

Although Ak Dongji’s own martial arts were outstanding, he also had the composure that came from having survived in the martial world for a long time.

If he had evaluated that all of the Five Demon Leaders would have to prepare for death, there was a high possibility that this was true.

“For that reason, I wanted to avoid a clash between you and Jin Sohyun as much as possible.”

“Tsk…”

“I will order the Twin Chain Song of Great Master Ak to be repaired as close to its original state as possible, so don’t worry too much.”

At Mu Yu’s gesture, his attendant retrieved the chain sickle that was on the round table.

Mu Yu looked at the five Five Demon Leaders gathered at the round table and continued.

“I heard that the disciple of the Dragon Throwing Killing Ghost made a great contribution in dealing with the Hebei Peng Clan.”

“Oh my? You had a disciple?”

At Chu Ryeonghoe’s question, the Dragon Throwing Killing Ghost, Ma Sok, frowned, with his arms crossed.

“He is not a disciple. I just taught him a few tricks.”

“Are you saying he’s not an official disciple? That’s strange… for the Dragon Throwing Killing Ghost, of all people, to take in a disciple.”

“…”

While Chu Ryeonghoe was shrugging her shoulders at Ma Sok’s emotionless gaze, Mu Yu spread a map on the round table and said.

“You must all be curious. What the Heretic Path's Alliance is trying to do.”

As he had said, the Five Demon Leaders, who were curious about the next move of the Heretic Path's Alliance, gathered their gazes.

“If you look at the map, this blue is the righteous martial world, and this red is the heretic martial world.”

As Mu Yu had said, blue and red dots were drawn on the map of the Central Plains.

The five Five Demon Leaders examined the map.

And soon, they discovered something interesting.

“How is it?”

“Was it intentional?”

Mu Yu, who had nodded his head, clasped his two hands and smiled quietly.

A blue dot appeared and disappeared above his eyes.

“And there is one more thing that the Five Demon Leaders have to do for me.”

“Something more than this?”

A cold smile appeared on Mu Yu’s face, who had nodded his head.

“There is a rat that needs to be caught and killed.”

***

“What should we do with them?”

At the question of the current sect master of Jongnam, Im Sanil, the elders showed different reactions.

“We have to kill them without even thinking about it!”

“Killing them is not right, so it would be better to cripple their martial arts and send them back.”

“If we let such trash go, they will look down on the Jongnam Sect!”

The opinions of the elders were sharply divided, and even the senior elders could not give an answer.

And why not? There were too many surviving men in black.

Im Sanil looked at the men in black, who were tied with ropes with their vital points subdued, again.

They were now gathered in the grand sparring stage of the Jongnam Sect, and their number was over three hundred.

If the men in black who had run away from Mount Jongnam early on were included, the number would have been even larger.

‘To think that so many people… knelt down to a single person.’

Although it was hard to find loyalty in the heretic path, which moved according to desire, they did not easily submit either.

Because in the world of the heretic martial world, where the law of the jungle prevailed, to bow one’s head meant that one had to live a life worse than a slave.

But with the appearance of Jin Sohyun, the bloody battle that had been taking place in the Dowon of the Jongnam Sect had ended as if it had never happened.

Of course, it was not that there were no who resisted.

Gwangjo, who had been the leader of the Gwangdupa, had raised his sword and had shouted.

—That bastard is alone! If everyone joins forces and fights him, there’s no way we can’t kill him! So fight back!

Gwangjo was the only one among the men in black who had shouted, trying not to submit, and had burned with fighting spirit.

Until the flying sword that Jin Sohyun had thrown had blown his head off.

After Gwangjo’s death, the men in black had put down their weapons and had surrendered.

Thanks to that, the Jongnam Sect was able to end the fight without any further damage, and they had captured the surrendered men in black.

Now, the remaining problem was how to deal with them.

‘If only he had told me how to deal with them.’

—Sect Master, please take care of those bastards.

Jin Sohyun, who had subdued the men in black just by appearing, had left these words and had shut himself in the guest quarters of the Jongnam Sect, saying he would rest a little, and had not come out.

“Phew… this is my share now.”

Im Sanil, who had made his decision, drew his sword and stood in front of the men in black.

The men in black, who had felt the coolness of the blade, trembled their bodies.

“P-please spare us.”

“I will spare you.”

“Ah…”

The moment hope appeared on their faces, Im Sanil said.

“Instead, I will cut your tendons and cripple your dantian. If you would rather take your own life than lose your martial arts, I will not stop you. Feel free to say so.”

Im Sanil said with an angry voice.

“We are showing mercy because we are different from you heretic path bastards. But if you will not accept my mercy, then fine.”

Im Sanil’s body, which was holding the blade, trembled briefly.

“Because I want to kill you all right now.”

He still felt the urge to tear the men in black to shreds, recalling the disciple of Jongnam who had been painstakingly recovered.

Nevertheless, to spare them was the last mercy he was showing as a righteous martial world member.

The processing was done quickly.

Those who resisted were killed as they wished, and the men in black who had become cripples after having their tendons and dantian crippled were kicked out of Mount Jongnam and disappeared, limping.

And so, three days passed.

“What about Young Master Jin?”

At Im Sanil’s question, Hwang Jichun shook his head.

“He is still lying down.”

“Ha… that in itself is amazing.”

From right after the fight had ended until now, Jin Sohyun had been lying on the bed and had not moved.

“When do you think he will wake up?”

Im Sanil asked Cha Seol, who had been brought to the inn by the thirty or so martial artists of the Jongnam Sect who had belatedly arrived at the sect.

Because she was the one who knew Jin Sohyun best here.

“He’s sleeping for quite a long time this time, but he’ll wake up soon.”

“It’s not that there’s a problem with his body, right? If so, I’ll get him some good restorative medicine…”

“It’s okay. He’ll hate restorative medicine because it’s bitter. And don’t worry. Big Brother Jin is a lazybones, so he’s just not getting up because everything is a hassle.”

“A lazybones…?”

Im Sanil and Hwang Jichun couldn’t quite believe that Jin Sohyun was a lazybones.

The Flying Heaven Sword Ghost, who was said to bring death to the heretic martial world with every step, was a lazybones?

Who would believe such a story?

Im Sanil looked at the guest quarters and showed a kind smile.

“Jongnam owes a great debt. I plan to prepare a small banquet for our benefactor, so please let me know as soon as Young Master Jin wakes up.”

“A banquet…!”

Cha Seol’s eyes sparkled, as she had never experienced a banquet before, but that sparkle did not last long.

‘With Big Brother’s personality, he’ll probably just leave, saying it’s a hassle.’

And the martial world was in a turbulent time right now.

‘Big Brother will leave as soon as he wakes up.’

Cha Seol, who had finished her conversation with Im Sanil and had come to the room where Jin Sohyun was, let out a deep sigh as she looked at Jin Sohyun, who was sleeping as if he were dead.

“I don’t know if this is okay.”

Even Cha Seol, who had not directly participated in the battle, could see the traces of the fights that Jin Sohyun had gone through.

For the past few weeks, Jin Sohyun had fought and fought without a break.

Jin Sohyun was definitely strong, so there was no situation that could be called a crisis.

But the problem was elsewhere.

Cha Seol placed her hand on Jin Sohyun’s head.

“I hope he doesn’t break.”

What Cha Seol was worried about was not Jin Sohyun’s body, but his mind.

In a fight between martial artists who were trying to kill each other, one had to face the opponent’s killing intent head-on.

And that was not all.

He had to constantly watch someone’s death, and he had to create their deaths himself.

Jin Sohyun was running without stopping in the cycle of killing and being killed, which an ordinary person could not endure.

‘I’m scared… that he might break down like this.’

What scared Cha Seol was that Jin Sohyun, who was left alone in the endless death, would break down.

“Ugh.”

At that moment, Jin Sohyun, who had finally opened his eyes on the bed, sat up.

“It’s Seol… how long did I sleep?”

“It’s the fourth day today. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

At the sight of Jin Sohyun, who was smiling cheerfully, Cha Seol also smiled.

‘That’s a relief! He looks fine!’

Was her worry just a groundless fear?

Cha Seol jumped up and said.

“The Jongnam Sect has prepared a small banquet! For you, Big Brother!”

“A banquet?”

A banquet in a war situation?

Although he thought that holding a banquet was not appropriate for the time, given the situation, he soon changed his mind.

‘Rather, it might be right to hold a banquet in a time like this.’

As Jin Sohyun, who had nodded his head, smiled brightly, Cha Seol giggled.

“I’ll go and tell them that you’ve woken up.”

Jin Sohyun, who was about to go outside, following Cha Seol, who had run out excitedly, stopped in his tracks.

‘The smell of blood.’

The smell of blood was coming from somewhere.

Don’t tell me the fight wasn’t over yet?

Or was there a fight somewhere else?

Jin Sohyun instinctively packed his flying sword.

And he soon realized.

“Ah.”

He raised his two hands.

The smell of blood was coming from there.

The bloodstains of countless people, which could not be washed away no matter how hard he washed, remained on his hands.

“…”

Jin Sohyun clenched his two hands and sighed.

“It’s not easy.”