"That strength… it's not even human."
Sodam Sword clicked his tongue.
Even I was inwardly impressed with my own power after seeing the scorched radius of over twenty jang.
It wasn't even a special technique—just a swing of the sword imbued with energy.
And yet, that one sword strike had this much power.
"Gghhh…"
The man collapsed on the ground looked up at me in disbelief.
He must have truly felt the overwhelming difference in power.
But indeed, the effects of Yongho Geumdan were extraordinary.
His bleeding was already slowing, and the severed veins were beginning to show signs of regeneration.
As expected, I'd need to cut off his head.
"I'd love to make it more painful for you, but I have to go help my masters."
As I raised my sword to finish him—
"Haah… Haah… You monster…"
He suddenly spoke.
"Your last words?"
"Was it really so wrong to try to bring down a tyrant and better the world for the people?"
He seemed to want to express his beliefs.
But I wasn't interested in such debates with the likes of him.
I stared down coldly and prepared to strike when he suddenly shouted.
"I surrender!"
"…What?"
He abruptly declared surrender.
For someone so stubborn to say that… was he afraid to die?
"Surrendering now?"
"The outcome is clear. You can kill me whenever you please, can't you?"
"And?"
"Even on the battlefield, those who surrender are given proper treatment, aren't they?"
"You're asking me to treat you as a surrendered man?"
"…Though I've been expelled, in a way, you and I are still from the same school. Surely your masters never taught you to kill those who surrender without the will to fight? That would go against the ethics of Dohwaseon, wouldn't it?"
"Hah?"
—He's trying desperately to live.
Just as Sodam Sword said.
For someone so proud and unyielding to bow his head… it meant he was willing to endure shame just to survive and one day try again.
He continued.
"I… I cannot die like this. If I die without achieving our great cause, I'll have no face to show my departed junior sister."
"…"
"Take me to the masters. I will accept their judgment."
Ridiculous.
He knew.
He knew that the Sword Sage and the other seven masters, as Taoist cultivators, refrained from unnecessary killing.
He knew that if he begged, they likely wouldn't kill him.
A cold sneer escaped me.
"Mock me if you wish. I have my reasons to cling to life."
"Pathetic."
"If you want to take out your anger, go ahead. But let the consequences of my actions be judged by your masters, not by you—"
—Shk!
I brought my sword closer to his neck.
He cried out in panic.
"What are you doing? Didn't we just talk?"
"Yes, we did."
"Then why—? If you're a disciple of Dohwaseon—"
"Hey. Jakyungjeong."
"What?"
"You seem confused. But I'm not a Taoist."
'!?'
His pupils shook.
No wonder—he had assumed I was the hidden disciple of the Sword Sage.
And since I received teachings from the eight masters, he thought I was bound by Dohwaseon's codes.
"Then why did those masters teach you?"
"Call it karma. And while I haven't lived as long as you, I've survived enough storms to know one thing."
"What's that?"
"People like you… are best killed."
"Wait—"
—Slash!
—Thud, roll!
Before he could finish, his neck was severed, and his head rolled away.
For someone like him, death was the only answer.
If left alive, he would only bring future trouble.
"…"
What a persistent life force.
Even after being beheaded, he didn't die right away.
His wide-open eyes and moving lips seemed to mumble something, but without vocal cords, only the sound of air escaped.
Was he filled with regret?
I raised my foot over his head and said,
"Save your nonsense for hell."
Then I stomped on the glaring head.
—Crunch!
His head was completely crushed.
No more movement. No signs of regeneration.
Same for the rest of the body.
"Phew."
In a way, he was unlucky.
Had he not provoked Sodam Sword, he might have achieved all he desired.
Anyway, time to return to the masters.
I stretched out my hand, and the Dharma Tool Cheondun, embedded in the ground, flew into my grasp.
—Clack!
Cheondun. Let's go back to the masters.
It was my first time touching it.
—...…
I spoke, but it didn't respond.
For over three years and eight months, it had always been a mystery.
Even the Sword Sage, who communicated with swords, never spoke a word to this tool that was more like an old companion than a weapon.
I had clearly heard Cheondun's voice once.
So why was it silent now?
Anyway, let's return first.
As I was about to fly toward the heart of Dohwaseon, I glanced back at the body of the dead Jakyungjeong.
—What's wrong?
Better to be sure.
I approached the body and placed my palm on it.
Flames flickered to life and began burning his clothes and flesh.
I used a technique to gather the fragments of the crushed head into the blaze.
—Fwoooosh!
The parts were incinerated in the flames until nothing remained.
—You're thorough.
He had consumed Yongho Geumdan and cultivated the Dao.
Better to be cautious than regretful later.
Now, time to return and aid the masters.
—Flash!
---
It wasn't long after Jin Unhwi returned to the center of the compound.
A black figure quietly approached the scorched, crumbling remains of the corpse.
He looked down at the ashes and sighed.
"…You stubborn bastard…"
After a brief pause, the black figure took something from his robes.
It was a yellow seoji (talisman scroll).
Unfolding the paper, he began to chant something toward the burning corpse as if casting a spell.
Soon after, smoke from the flames began to seep into the paper.
A strange phenomenon.
The smoke etched itself onto the yellow seoji, as if drawn with ink.
When the scroll was fully filled, no more smoke could be absorbed.
The black figure neatly folded it and placed it into a small pouch.
Then, looking at the ashes dancing in the firelight, he murmured:
"Kyungjeong… I, Noejang, will carry out your dying will."
—Whoosh!
With that, he vanished into the shadows.
A sphere blazing like the sun.
It was trapped within a gray glowing barrier.
It was the Pa of the Dharma Barrier Jade Seal that was keeping it confined. Each time the sphere struck the quivering wall, its size grew steadily larger.
"Still not yet?"
Sweat dripped coldly from my brow as I looked at the eight Taoists.
They had all nearly exhausted their life force and appeared as old men, chanting something like a spell while surrounding the barrier.
—It's going to burst at this rate.
The barrier cannot withstand this overwhelming power.
In fact, the force of the impacts only seemed to make it stronger.
I'm afraid the blazing sphere might explode and blow the entire fuse sky-high.
—Kwadududud!
As expected, the barrier couldn't hold.
To be honest, this wasn't just the power of the Dharma Barrier Jade Seal.
I had temporarily amplified its strength by infusing my innate true energy into a red gem.
It was Master Ha, the owner of the Pa, who taught me this method.
Even though I had only infused enough to count to fifteen, the Pa of the Dharma Barrier Jade Seal had already started to crack.
"Masters, we can't hold on any longer!"
And at that very moment—
As True Master Jeongyang raised his hand, the ground shattered and something emerged.
It was a long scroll, like a scripture.
I hadn't realized there was such a scripture hidden in the floor.
"Release the barrier!"
At Jeongyang's command, I released the Pa of the Dharma Barrier Jade Seal from my hand.
My palm had burn marks as if scorched by fire.
—Chiii!
"Urgh!"
I practically hurled the Pa of the Dharma Barrier Jade Seal away.
Then, the barrier that had been confining the sphere vanished.
Radiant light streamed from the long scripture that had erupted from the floor, enveloping the blazing sphere that seemed about to explode.
"Can that paper withstand such heat?"
I was doubtful, but as the chanting of the masters grew louder, the scripture emitted an even brighter light.
"Ah!"
To my astonishment, the sphere wrapped in the scripture began to shrink.
It was as though the scripture was absorbing the heat and power from the sphere.
The sphere, which had grown to a radius of nearly six jang (about 18 meters), gradually shrank until it was completely absorbed into the scripture.
The scripture, which had fluttered and glowed brilliantly, soon lost its light.
Then, following True Master Jeongyang's gesture, it returned into the floor.
—Kukukuku!
As soon as it fully re-entered the ground,
—Thud! Thud!
The eight Taoists who had been chanting collapsed to the floor.
They looked as though they had aged decades in an instant. I was speechless at the sight.
"Masters, are you alright?"
To my question, they only panted heavily in response.
They had consumed too much of their energy to protect the fuse.
—Krrrrr!
Just then, an odd sound came from the hole in the cavern.
Curious, I leapt up using my Namcheol Iron Sword and looked down at the hole from above—and what I saw was astonishing.
—It's returning to normal.
Just as Sword Spirit Sodom had said, the golden sky was gradually being restored to its original state.
The fuse was returning to its proper form.
Because of the exploding sphere, the fuse's flow had been disrupted and tied to the mortal world, but now, that too seemed to be returning to normal.
I descended again.
Back below, the Taoists who had collapsed were beginning to rise, one by one.
We had protected the fuse from Ja Gyeongjeong's plot, but all of their expressions remained grim.
Wondering why, I was about to ask when—
"Master, how badly was the Dharma Tool, Yeongbo Pilbeop, damaged?"
"Phew…"
At the question from Master Lee, the gourd-wielding Taoist in tattered clothes, True Master Jeongyang let out a deep sigh.
I was puzzled, but then Master Geomseon approached and spoke to me.
"This has made things truly difficult."
"...What do you mean?"
"The one that just stopped the explosion of the Dharma tool was none other than Yeongbo Pilbeop, the True Master's Dharma artifact."
"Oh… that thing?"
That long scripture that had emerged from the ground was Yeongbo Pilbeop, known as the most supreme among the eight Dharma tools in the fuse.
I hadn't expected it to be at the core of the fuse.
I had assumed True Master Jeongyang was carrying it.
Master Geomseon continued, apologetically.
"Originally, once you returned after completing your role as the substitute, we were going to use our life force, just like earlier, to alter the flow with the power of Yeongbo Pilbeop and send you back to your original time. But now… that's no longer possible."
"You mean…"
"It's unlikely until Yeongbo Pilbeop recovers."
At that, I bit my lip hard.
Even aside from Yeongbo Pilbeop, judging by the state of the masters, returning me right away seemed impossible.
They would need to regain at least some of their energy.
How long would that take?
I approached True Master Jeongyang and asked:
"Master, how long do you think it will take for Yeongbo Pilbeop to recover?"
He stared at me silently.
So I said:
"Please be honest. Even without the tool, just from the masters' exhausted energy, I doubt it will be a short time."
The Taoists all looked extremely aged.
Their auras had grown terribly faint.
That recovery time had to be taken into account too.
"If the tool were to recover naturally, it would take at least a year. And for us to regain enough energy… we would likely need three or four years of focused cultivation."
'…Ah.'
I couldn't bring myself to let out the sigh of disappointment that rose within me.
Had the masters failed to protect the fuse by pushing themselves too hard, I wouldn't have been able to return at all.
But it wasn't like I could survive outside for hundreds of years.
Even with the Gold Body technique, I wasn't sure I could maintain my mind and emotions for that long.
'Three or four years…'
The time I must endure had grown once again.
And even that wasn't certain.
Until the masters regained enough energy to wield Yeongbo Pilbeop, nothing could be done.
In the end, there was no choice but to wait.
At that moment, Elder Master Jang, now with white hair and looking aged, approached me.
"This may actually be for the best."
"…Pardon?"
"I had been feeling your spear technique was still unpolished. Now that you'll be staying, I'll pass down the profound secrets of the Golden Spear True Sutra to you."
And he wasn't the only one.
Master Ha, pulling the lotus from his ear, added:
"Since you'll remain longer, I'll train your Nyeom (念), so your spirit, energy, and body may be balanced."
"Your seniors are right. I only taught you the basics of Seoleum Hwayang Seonmu, not the true secrets. Now is the time."
"That sounds fun. In that case, I too…"
One by one, the seven Taoists eagerly offered to teach me something.
Their words made me let out a helpless laugh.
Should I be happy about this?
It felt like being tricked with "morning chestnuts, evening chestnuts." (Korean idiom akin to "bait and switch")
Seeing my face, Sodom said:
—Now that it's come to this, train properly. That Golden Emperor or whatever he's called, must've trained for ages to defeat you.
'…You're right.'
Come to think of it, I was the descendant of the Sword Master whom Jonju had feared.
I only realized this after learning who he was.
'Was my journey to the past fate, then?'
It was all strangely ironic.
If that's the case, then Jonju—no, the Golden Emperor—must have spent hundreds of years preparing to find and kill me.
In that context, three or four years was hardly a long time.
In fact, it might be a short time to prepare.
'…Training, huh.'
Putting aside the disappointment of not being able to return right away, I bowed deeply to the eight Taoists.
"I ask for your guidance once more."
---
---
In a forest stood a poorly built straw hut.
A man in ragged clothes trudged along, carrying a massive load of firewood on his back.
He set the firewood down in front of the hut and wiped his forehead with the back of his hand.
Then he muttered:
"No sweat, but I've gotten used to wiping it."
Ever since "that day," he had changed.
He no longer sweated, didn't need to eat, not even physiological needs remained.
Fetching firewood, making fires, and cooking had become meaningless—yet without these acts, he couldn't feel alive.
"Sigh… Young Master…"
A lot of time had passed since that day.
Even Lady Sama-yeong, who had waited till the end, disappeared after learning her father had been seriously injured. He hadn't heard from her since.
He still couldn't understand.
Why had the Young Master vanished?
Not long after entering the Misty Forest, the forest itself disappeared.
But the Young Master never returned.
"Young Master… have you truly passed on?"
If that were true, it was too heartbreaking.
After such a short meeting, to disappear once again…
The man, feeling empty, picked up a gourd bottle sitting on the porch.
It was filled with alcohol.
Just as he uncorked it to take a sip—
"Since when did you start drinking, Ah-song?"
'!?'
He doubted his ears.
Thinking he was hearing things, he set the bottle down and turned his head.
"Young Master?!"
There stood Jin Unhwi, the Young Master who had been missing.