First, I decided to check whether Taecheon would respond properly if he came in.
“Yin energy, answer the face; water form, fuse; heart-breath, hide within; hollow form, conceal the seal.”
As I recited the incantation, my body began to turn transparent.
Sticking my now-transparent body to the wall, I called Taecheon at once.
“Taecheon! Are you outside?”
At my call, Taecheon opened the door and stepped right in.
“Young master. Did you call?”
My clone spoke in my place.
“I’m going to focus on books for a while. Bring me a Fasting Pill and some water.”
“Again? You’ll harm your body at this rate.”
“It’s important.”
“Sigh. Understood.”
Taecheon shook his head and walked out.
Watching that, I covered my mouth with my hand and struggled not to laugh.
Perfect.
Since I’d just watched the clone handle Taecheon flawlessly, it was time to head out for the experiment.
Let’s go make evil repent, just as Father said.
*****
Foothills of Mount Huangcheon in Jiangxi Province—Mad Sword Gate.
As the sect’s name implied, it was a place where men crazed for the sword gathered.
Among them, the maddest of all was the sect master, Jin Gwanghon.
Training at Mad Sword Gate was always indistinguishable from real combat.
Many disciples died during “training,” yet he clung to that method to the end.
Of course, the disciples liked it that way.
They believed the weak naturally fall away.
It was a sect of fanatics who thought only the strong deserve to live and gathered to cultivate the sword.
If they only trained like that among themselves, it would be one thing.
The problem was that, declaring the weak need not exist, they bullied the surrounding sects.
The mid-sized sects nearby had even formed an alliance just to protect themselves from Mad Sword Gate, yet each time they barely held them off with heavy losses.
Mad Sword Gate only welcomed that.
They said it gave them a springboard to grow stronger—and by their hands the others would grow stronger as well—so it was good for both sides.
They never once thought they were in the wrong.
A few sects fled to other regions to avoid Mad Sword Gate, but those whose ancestors had rooted them here fought with everything to keep their grounds.
Today again, Mad Sword Gate gathered its disciples and issued a challenge to cross swords with the local alliance.
“Do not yield this time! We are the strongest in Jiangxi!”
“Yes!”
Faces flushed, they burned to fight as soon as possible.
“Move out! Today again we’ll awaken the true spirit of warriors in those Jiangxi Alliance whelps!”
“Ha!”
“To the field!”
“To the field!”
At the sect master’s shout, the disciples raised their swords as one and roared for the march.
Their morale speared the sky as they strode boldly toward the gate—only to find something standing before them.
“What’s that?”
“Looks like a kid?”
“Wearing a mask?”
“Damn it! At this critical hour of departure, some brat blocks our way!”
“Hey! Get him out of here!”
The moment one disciple strode up to shove aside the masked child—
Boom—.
With a thunderous crash, the warrior was driven into the ground.
He twitched, unable to rise.
The swagger of Mad Sword Gate’s departure collapsed in an instant.
With every eye now fixed on me, I opened my mouth.
I was Jeok Wigang.
“This is Mad Sword Gate—the place where only sword-madmen gather, right?”
The sect master stepped forward.
“That’s right. Who are you?”
“Who else? Someone stronger than ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) you. Come play with me.”
“Madman.”
“You’ll see soon enough. Since there are so many of you, I’ll go first. Fine?”
Before the words even finished, I shot forward.
“Show that brat the terror of Mad Sword Gate!”
At the sect master’s command, the foremost disciples drew and charged.
Shring—Shring—Shraaang—.
With murderous eyes, they swung to cleave me in a single blow—
Thud—Thud—Thud—.
“Gah!”
“Khak!”
They didn’t even see how they were hit before they were sent flying.
Some might think the first move I showed was just a lapse of vigilance on the one who rushed me.
But what I showed now wasn’t something so simple.
Even my eyes couldn’t follow it.
The sect master swallowed hard.
The opponent was clearly a master far, far above his tier.
Thud—Thud—Thud—Thud—.
Even now, Mad Sword Gate’s warriors were dropping like bundles of straw.
Beating them didn’t require many movements.
One strike per person.
In a blink, over a hundred disciples lay on the ground foaming at the mouth, and only the sect master remained.
Into his ears came my voice, heavy with disappointment.
“What is this? Is that all? Disappointing. For men said to be mad for the sword, you can’t even swing properly.”
At that, something—call it wounded pride—stabbed through him.
Grinding his teeth, the sect master drew and rushed me.
“Do not look down on us! Mad Heaven Combat Path!”
His blade lunged in a line no one could predict.
Whirr—
I slipped past it far too lightly.
I grinned.
“The sect master is different, at least.”
Seeing me laugh like I was having fun made him boil over.
“Aaaaah! Die!”
He swung faster, but he couldn’t land a single hit.
My slips were close enough to seem I’d be cut, which only made him seethe more.
He knew.
I was dodging like this on purpose.
It meant I was making light of him.
Vmmm—Vmmm—Vmmm—
A bluish blade-force wrapped the face of his sword.
“Mad-Slaying River-Sky!”
Dazzling slashes flew with streams of blade-force lashing out, driving at me viciously—yet he still could not touch me.
“Oh! That one’s a bit better. But aren’t you a little too excited? If you calm down, you’ll be more precise.”
“Shut up!”
“Hey, I’m trying to help you with advice.”
“I said, shut up!”
“So you’re the type who doesn’t listen to the opponent’s advice?”
“Aaaah!”
I wanted to rip that mouth—so he thought—but he couldn’t.
“Hey, hey? Push just a little harder. You almost landed one just now.”
No.
He could see it—my leisure as I dodged.
In his chagrin, the moment he forced his internal qi higher—
Cough—
“Kh—!”
His vital energy reversed and surged.
“See? I told you. Calm yourself and then attack.”
“Please... shut up.”
“Not today. I’ll come again another time. For now, rest.”
Whump—
A heavy blow to the head—his memories dimmed, and he heard my voice.
“This is surprisingly fun. I’ll be back.”
A demon.
He had met the seed of a demon.
With that thought, he blacked out.
****
The next day.
Regaining his senses, the sect master of Mad Sword Gate, Jin Gwanghon, jolted upright.
He was in his own room.
He quickly checked his body.
Nothing was wrong.
But my vital energy definitely twisted.
He closed his eyes and examined himself.
Nothing was wrong.
A dream?
My face!
Right. I got hit in the face.
If I was hit that hard, there should be some trace.
He checked his face in a bronze mirror—perfectly fine.
What is this? Did I dream?
When he opened the door and stepped out, disciples were there.
“Master! You’re awake?”
“Y-yes.”
“Do you remember yesterday?”
“Yesterday?”
“Yes! The disciples are in confusion right now.”
“What about?”
“They say we all had the same dream.”
“A dream where some unknown figure wearing a demon mask beat us all.”
The sect master’s expression hardened.
Not a dream?
“But it’s strange. It felt like we were struck hard enough to faint, yet our bodies have no issues.”
“It’s enough to make a ghost wail.”
“Could someone have cast sorcery on us?”
The sect master’s pupils wavered.
Sorcery? Then by whom?
They had so many enemies he couldn’t even guess.
The most likely were the Jiangxi Alliance.
“The Jiangxi Alliance bastards must have cast sorcery on us.”
“That’s right. Otherwise how could we all dream the same dream at the same time?”
“Let’s march and strike the Jiangxi Alliance right now!”
“Agreed!”
The disciples sprang up like fire.
They believed the cause of yesterday’s absurd “dream” was the Jiangxi Alliance.
The sect master also nodded; aside from that, there was no way to explain this ridiculous situation.
“Fine. If we thrash the Jiangxi Alliance, something will shake loose. Move!”
“Waa!”
“All forces—march on the Jiangxi Alliance!”
“To the field!”
Just like yesterday, the entire sect moved to sally toward the alliance...
“Uh? It’s the thing from yesterday’s dream!”
At someone’s cry, every gaze snapped as one.
There, just like in the dream, stood the small, unknown figure wearing a demon mask—waving with a smile.
“What? Tired already after only two days? The name ‘Mad Sword’ is wasted on you.”
Jin Gwanghon asked,
“Who in the world are you?”
“Me? I told you, didn’t I? A warrior who likes to fight—just like you. But I’m disappointed with what I see now. You should entertain me like the day before yesterday and yesterday.”
Jin Gwanghon shook his head.
“We will no longer fight you.”
“Why?”
“Because we cannot win.”
“Yeah? What a shame. I was having fun.”