Chapter 4: First Young Master Jin Yeomyung (2)
There was no doubt that Ma Chulsoo and I were entangled in quite a persistent and nasty fate.
Not only during our youth.
Even when I held the position of Inner Administrator, that guy was one of the rising elders of the cult’s progressive faction and constantly opposed me as a political rival.
However.
He had never shown up so suddenly and without any sense of decorum like this.
‘This kind of situation never happened in the past, though?’
I was a bit dumbfounded by the future veering off course right from the beginning.
But after a bit of thought, the answer came to me immediately.
‘Ah, it must be because of Father.’
In my previous life, I hadn’t properly informed Jin Gun-ak about the exchange ceremony with the Young Cult Leader, which led to me getting beaten to a pulp and dragged back to the main family.
But in this life, I’d already overcome that crisis, so this unexpected fork in the road was one I’d never encountered before.
‘No, fork or whatever—why is that guy suddenly pointing a sword at me?’
“Shall I kill him, Young Master?”
In an instant, Gu Chil stepped in front of me and exuded murderous intent.
But I grabbed Gu Chil’s shoulder and shoved him aside.
“Put away your killing intent and stand down.”
“But—!”
“Don’t you realize things will only get more complicated if you step in?”
Gu Chil, who usually came across as a bit of a fool, was my servant.
But in truth, his identity was that of a former top-class assassin, once known by the epithets White-Faced Human Slayer and Doom-Wielding Ghost Commander. In other words, he served as both my servant and bodyguard.
“There are probably guards from the Ma Clan nearby as well. If you make a move, they’ll act too. Then this won’t just be between me and him—it’ll turn into a full-on conflict between our two clans.”
“Ah…”
“If you understand, then stay still. I’ll handle this.”
Only after I said that did Gu Chil quietly step back.
But his eyes were still burning with the will to intervene at any moment.
I stepped forward toward Ma Chulsoo.
Every second should be spent carefully planning the future.
Wasting time on a guy like this was far too inefficient.
“Hey, friend, I was just teasing a bit. Did that really make you mad enough to draw a sword?”
“Since when were you my friend?”
Although six great families existed at the peak of the Heavenly Demon Cult under the name of the Six Great Demonic Clans, that didn’t mean they were all on friendly terms.
For example, the Jin Clan of Demonic Heaven, to which I belonged, had a close relationship with the Hidden Shadow Bright Clan.
Whereas Ma Chulsoo’s Blood Dragon Demonic Clan was one we were constantly at each other’s throats with—just about ready to devour one another.
“And I didn’t challenge you to a martial duel because of something so petty. I’m not that narrow-minded.”
Yeah right. The ones who say that kind of thing are usually the most petty.
“You haven’t forgotten that personal duels between members of the Six Clans are forbidden, have you?”
“Of course not. But every rule has exceptions.”
“Exceptions, huh.”
There were three exceptions that allowed duels between members of the Six Clans.
One, when the fate of the family was on the line.
Two, when an official martial arts tournament was held by the cult.
And the last one…
“This is because of the Young Cult Leader, isn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
When it came to matters related to the Cheon Clan.
Only then did I fully understand why Ma Chulsoo was acting like this.
“There’s only one thing I want. If you lose in our duel, I want you to give up on the exchange ceremony with the Young Cult Leader.”
Instead of replying, I paused to think.
‘So that’s why this bastard came to the banquet in the first place.’
In fact, things had gone wrong in my previous life.
‘That’s right, wasn’t that guy’s younger brother one of the candidates for this exchange ceremony?’
I was pretty sure his name was Ma Jinyoon.
I clicked my tongue inwardly.
‘Tsk tsk, things don’t seem so great in the Ma Clan either. Maybe even worse than us?’
Despite his clan’s internal situation, this guy was surprisingly affectionate.
Unlike me, who already knew I’d be rejected by everyone, this guy—who didn’t know—must have been doing everything he could to match his brother with Cheon Yura.
Still, his personal reasons had nothing to do with me.
“And why should I go along with your selfish demands?”
As if he had been waiting for that, Ma Chulsoo put on a deliberately fake smile.
“Hmph, so you’re backing down?”
“How dare that bastard!”
Gu Chil again emitted killing intent from behind, but I raised a hand to stop him.
I wasn’t some amateur who’d get provoked by something so trivial.
I too smirked at Ma Chulsoo and threw back my own provocation.
“If you’ve got nothing to be afraid of, why not compete fairly? Why pull underhanded stunts like this? Or is that all your precious brother’s skills and character amount to?”
“You son of a bitch!”
Sure enough, with just a little provocation, the young Ma Chulsoo flew into a rage.
Well, he was still in his adolescence, after all—even if he was a direct descendant of one of the Six Clans.
With a powerful backing like his, his stormy, rebellious phase would probably last longer.
There was no way he could endure this kind of provocation.
‘I can guess why he’s acting like this.’
Unlike Ma Chulsoo, who would become the head of the Ma Clan in the future, his younger brother Ma Jinyoon never really stood out.
In fact, I’d heard that Ma Jinyoon’s talent was so poor that he could barely be considered a direct descendant of the Ma Clan.
Most critically, under the tacit approval of the clan head, the Ma Clan was one of the worst when it came to brutal power struggles between siblings.
This entire conflict was just Ma Chulsoo’s youthful desperation to create a future for his cherished younger brother.
But that didn’t mean I had any obligation to comply.
“Stop wasting your time and go. Unless you want a childish scuffle to blow up into a war between adults.”
“Grrr! Don’t you dare look down on me, Jin Yeomyung!”
Perhaps genuinely enraged, Ma Chulsoo forgot his original purpose and began to charge at me.
‘Ah, for crying out loud.’
If even one of us got injured here, things wouldn’t just end quietly.
Since we were both direct descendants of the Six Clans, it could seriously lead to all-out war between families.
‘Damn it. Why do I have to fight a pointless battle that gains me nothing?’
I waved my hand at Gu Chil, signaling for him to back off.
“Don’t you dare step in.”
“Y-Young Master? But you don’t even know martial arts—what are you going to do!?”
“What else? I’m going to subdue him.”
“S-Subdue him!?”
“And the rest of you hiding back there, stay put as well.”
I shouted toward Ma Chulsoo’s hidden escorts, then leapt into his offensive assault.
‘Well then, time to shake off some rust.’
My emotions settled, and my senses awakened.
Even though I had reincarnated into the world of Murim, I had deliberately refrained from awakening my body’s potential.
As the saying goes, "a needle cannot be hidden in a sack"—if word got out that I had talent, it would only get in the way of living the carefree life I wanted.
But now, things were different.
“You bastard!”
A faint red glow emanated from Ma Chulsoo’s sword.
‘That’s the well-honed Blood Flow Demonic Spirit Sword Art .’
It was the Ma Clan’s pride—a top-class sword art consisting of seven primary forms and forty-two variations.
In terms of depth, it could even be compared to the sword arts of Wudang or Mount Hua in the Central Plains without falling short.
‘If it were the sword of Ma Chulsoo, the future head of the Ma Clan, I wouldn’t stand a chance—but this is the sword of the teenage Ma Chulsoo. That’s a whole different story.’
We were roughly twenty years before the final moment of my past life.
So the sword techniques of this current Ma Chulsoo posed no real threat to me, now that I had awakened my senses.
Sha-sha-shak!
Brilliant red arcs blurred my vision.
However—
‘I can see it.’
As if time had slowed, I immediately read the path of Ma Chulsoo’s slashing sword.
Tup!
I reached out and caught the blade, which had been tracing a menacing arc, with just two fingers.
“Gah!”
“Y-You insane bastard!”
Ma Chulsoo was appalled.
When I boldly reached out to his strike, he had assumed my wrist would be sliced off. He never imagined I’d actually *catch* the blade!
“C-Catching a sword with bare hands!”
A shocked voice echoed from behind. Likely one of Ma Chulsoo’s hidden bodyguards.
Before they could step in, I rushed straight into Ma Chulsoo’s chest and struck his Demonic Vein.
“Ugh!”
With just one blow, Ma Chulsoo’s pressure point was subdued, and he dropped his sword in agony.
“Guhk! Kah!”
His face contorted in humiliation.
Forget the pain—being subdued barehanded by a boy his own age, and from a rival clan’s successor, no less, was an extreme disgrace!
But I had no intention of sparing Ma Chulsoo’s pride.
“What a damn nuisance.”
With that, my right foot delivered a finishing blow aimed directly at Ma Chulsoo’s lower region (!).
Thunk!
“Kk—gh!”
For a brief instant, I saw the blood vessels burst in Ma Chulsoo’s eyes.
Thud!
Just as that pain was about to reach his brain, one of his bodyguards finally intervened.
Thanks to that, Ma Chulsoo was able to pass out before he could even process the agony.
“Wh-What in the world was that?”
Gu Chil genuinely debated whether what he had just witnessed was real or some kind of hallucination.
Just yesterday, this First Young Master who avoided martial arts like the plague had suddenly displayed such overwhelming prowess?
“Hmph.”
Whether Gu Chil was stunned or not, I waved a hand at the guard supporting Ma Chulsoo.
“Take him. Thank goodness there were no witnesses.”
Just then, two masked figures clad in blood-red martial robes dropped down from the ceiling.
They looked at me with newfound eyes as they tended to the unconscious Ma Chulsoo.
One of them cupped his fist toward me.
“Thank you for resolving this matter peacefully, Young Master.”
“No need for thanks. Once he wakes up, he’s going to go berserk. You’d better be ready for that.”
“…Understood.”
“You really better be ready. You wouldn’t want to see what happens if I start talking.”
“……”
“Oh, one last thing. I don’t think anything’s broken. I did hold back a bit.”
I couldn’t see his face behind the mask, but for some reason, I could just feel that his expression was horribly twisted.
After all, if the Jin Clan ended up blocking the Ma Clan’s heir from producing an heir of his own… that’d be a big problem, wouldn’t it?
I’d definitely have to prevent that, right?
***
South of Gansu Province, nestled in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, was the headquarters of the Heavenly Demon Cult—the most powerful singular force in all of the Central Plains, composed of five great Divisions, nine Sectors, seventeen Halls, and thirty-four martial units.
Just within the main stronghold alone, the cult housed a total population of 200,000. Of these, 70,000 were combat-capable warriors. When you included followers stationed in branch outposts and secret strongholds (*biji*) throughout the Central Plains, the total number of adherents surpassed 500,000.
This enormous faction was none other than the Heavenly Demon Cult.
The ruling elite of this cult was comprised of seven families in total.
There was the Cheon Clan, direct descendants of the First Heavenly Demon, revered as divine beings and the object of worship for all cult followers—
And the *Six Great Demonic Clans*, founded by the six disciples of that First Heavenly Demon—collectively known as the Six Great Demonic Clans.
In particular, within the Ten Thousand Great Mountains, the influence of the Cheon Clan was absolute. Unless something was truly extraordinary, nothing that happened within the mountain escaped their notice.
In other words—
Even a minor incident like the one that had just taken place within the cult’s main fortress would undoubtedly reach the ears of the Cheon Clan in no time.
“Huff, huff!”
Within one of the domains of the Cheon Clan—Lesser Demon Hall, the residence of the Young Cult Leader.
In this vast place resembling an inner fortress, a young girl was violently swinging her sword.
She was at that delicate age, just barely shedding the innocence of childhood and beginning to reveal signs of maturity.
Had anyone witnessed the black sword aura rippling from the blade in her hands, they would’ve surely been struck dumb with disbelief.
“Young Cult Leader.”
The girl, called the Young Cult Leader*, was Cheon Yura. When a subordinate suddenly appeared from thin air, she calmly withdrew her sword.
“What is it?”
“Well…”
The subordinate cautiously relayed a piece of freshly acquired intelligence to her young mistress.
“Jin Yeomyung of the Jin Clan defeated Ma Chulsoo of the Ma Clan in a single blow? With his bare hands?”
“Yes, according to the report from the Divine Ghost Unit.”
Cheon Yura wiped the sweat from her brow with a silk cloth, her expression darkening.
“And why are you reporting this to me?”
Her subordinate began to sweat nervously, sensing her superior’s displeasure.
“Jin Yeomyung of the Jin Clan is one of the candidates for the upcoming exchange ceremony. There was an order to keep the Young Cult Leader informed of any recent developments regarding the candidates.”
A scoff curled at the corner of Cheon Yura’s lips.
“The Cult Leader is being overly cautious. All the candidates this time are just hollow, showy shells, aren’t they?”
The unexpectedly cynical response left the subordinate momentarily at a loss for words, head lowered in embarrassment.
“They are all Young Masters befitting the name of the Six Great Clans…”
Of course, she knew better than anyone that those words were nothing more than empty flattery.
“Fine, whatever. So, this one’s name is Jin Yeomyung?”
“Yes, the eldest son of the Asura King.”
“Hmph, I heard he was a discarded child. Guess that wasn’t quite true, huh?”
“Ma Chulsoo gained recognition early on at Thousand-Day Pass and made a name for himself among the Six Demonic Dragons as a rising prodigy. Even if it’s somewhat exaggerated, the fact that such rumors exist at all means…”
“Ugh, enough. I’ve heard all I need.”
Cheon Yura waved her hand dismissively, clearly annoyed.
“Whoever shows up, I have no intention of taking a husband.”
“Young Cult Leader, that goes against the wishes of the Cult Leader.”
“I have no desire to be a puppet of the Six Great Clans.”
Chwaaak!
With a horizontal swing of her sword, black energy surged once again.
“At the very least, until I complete my martial arts, I won’t allow anyone at my side.”
Assuming a stance, the young girl launched into a technique.
It was a sword art that, within the entire Heavenly Demon Cult, was the only one allowed to bear the name of Heaven-Slaying —the Heaven-Slaying Demonic Sword.
Chwajajajak!
Six precise sword traces tore through the walls of the training hall—an attack so refined it was hard to believe it came from someone not yet of age.
The subordinate’s eyes widened in astonishment.
‘The Young Cult Leader’s sword technique has already reached the realm of Six-Form Mastery!’
At this level, she could be considered a Master Level martial artist in the Murim world. If gauged purely by her potential, she could very well carry the title of the best under heaven in due time.
“Heh, who knows.”
Staring at the wall she had just split apart, Cheon Yura murmured,
“If someone turns up who can withstand that technique properly, then… maybe I wouldn’t mind at least having a conversation.”
“……”
But was that even possible?
The subordinate could say with confidence: not just among the exchange ceremony candidates, but among all the youths of the Heavenly Demon Cult—no one under the age of twenty could possibly withstand that strike.
‘Ugh…!’
The subordinate silently offered condolences to the six Young Masters of the Six Great Clans, who were clearly headed for an all-too-predictable future.