Demonic Practitioners of the Heaven Piercing Cult
“Are you alright?”
While Seo Yeonwoo was lost in thought, recalling the past, Wiji Guang’s voice rang out.
At that, Seo Yeonwoo clicked his tongue inwardly with a tsk.
His self-discipline was still lacking.
At the mere mention of anything related to the Heaven Piercing Cult, anger would well up inside him.
But it was never to the point that he could not control himself. His expression returned to normal in an instant.
“No, I just got a bit tense hearing the name of one of the major sects, that’s all.”
At his words, Wiji Guang shook his head and spoke up.
“Hahaha! Are you saying you’re anxious just because you heard the name of the Mad War Gate? It’s not even the Sect Leader himself, the Mad Blade Fiend, who’s come in person!”
Mad Blade Fiend.
At the mention of that name, Seo Yeonwoo flinched for a moment.
He was the one who betrayed the Black Heretical Union and clung to the Heaven Piercing Cult for many years.
From the perspective of the underworld, he was a traitor, and it was during his days as Fallen Sword Sovereign that Seo Yeonwoo cut down the Mad Blade Fiend.
The Mad Blade Fiend tried to use his subordinates as shields and flee from Seo Yeonwoo, an act unfitting for the head of a major sect and a peerless expert of his reputation.
That crazy fiend with a sword, whom even the heavens seemed to mock, met his end at Seo Yeonwoo’s hands that day.
His death was so wretched it sent chills down one’s spine.
It was a time before the war with the Heaven Piercing Cult had truly begun, when the Central Plains were still relatively peaceful.
A memory from long ago, but now a future that would never come.
“I suppose it’s because I’m still new to the Murim,” he said.
With a faint, wistful smile, Seo Yeonwoo answered Wiji Guang’s remark.
“You?”
Wiji Guang asked back, his expression incredulous, and Seo Yeonwoo nodded confidently in response.
Wiji Guang shook his head, and suddenly his demeanor changed.
“All listen up.”
At the playful voice of the unit leader, all attention in the hall focused on him.
“I’ll handle this matter personally. Until further orders are given, everyone remain on standby. Deputy-unit leader Go, investigate related information and report.”
After unit leader Wiji Guang left.
Everyone in the hall moved to prepare for their respective duties.
First, Go Dongjun went off to dig up the notes and reports he’d written during past clashes with the Mad War Gate and to access internal information from the Murim Alliance.
Understanding one’s enemy was basic protocol for any mission.
Those who remained in the hall were Seomun Hwa, Seo Yeonwoo, and Peng Kahou.
In the training yard, Seomun Hwa wielded her sword at a straw dummy, not even considering changing her blood-soaked martial attire.
She’d just returned from a mission, so she must have been quite fatigued.
Peng Kahou, looking exhausted, said he’d go inside for some rest.
But Seo Yeonwoo silently nodded with his chin toward Seomun Hwa.
“….”
Seeing Seomun Hwa’s blood-stained clothes flutter as she swung her sword, Peng Kahou chose silence.
“Go over there,”
Seo Yeonwoo said with a thin smile, gesturing to the straw dummy beside him.
Seo Yeonwoo, who’d forced Peng Kahou to train five thousand continuous swings as punishment, himself swung his sword with leisurely ease, watching Seomun Hwa.
Although it was taboo to observe another martial artist’s training, this was a sword technique performed openly in a shared training yard.
There was no way secret family techniques would be revealed.
‘Truly, calling her a genius is no exaggeration. To be this good at her age…’
Seomun Hwa moved with impressive variety.
The fact that she was producing such changes with only the most basic forms found in most sword styles was astonishing.
Her sword was dazzling and precise, both subtle and sharp.
Her moves flowed seamlessly, with no visible gaps between forms, standing in stark contrast to Peng Kahou, whose transitions left clear openings.
But—
For Seo Yeonwoo, who had seen Seomun Hwa during her near-complete days as the Sword Empress, there were parts of her current skill that left him unsatisfied.
No, even setting aside his memories of the Sword Empress.
Seomun Hwa’s flaw was one commonly seen among rising stars with dazzling talent.
‘The degree of perfection in each form is lacking.’
Of course, it wasn’t a disastrously low level.
But compared to the brilliance she showed elsewhere, it was a relative shortcoming.
The solution was not complicated. One simply had to become aware of the problem.
Of course, it wasn’t something that could be fixed instantly.
But if given guidance, her rate of improvement would accelerate dramatically.
Even before his regression, she must have overcome this issue on her own.
‘If she’d had a master like I had in the Mad Sword Demon, she would have gotten this advice.’
He had the Mad Sword Demon.
But it seemed that, at present, Seomun Hwa lacked anyone to fill that role.
So, he decided to personally show her the power of a technique executed to perfection.
Absolutely, he was not doing this to soothe the resentment he’d felt at being outstripped by her before regression—certainly not.
He merely wished to repay a small portion of the life debt he owed Seomun Hwa, while at the same time strengthening a comrade who would fight against the Heaven Piercing Cult with him.
It was an act filled with cooperation and goodwill, nothing less.
Soon after, a sharp sword intent was forged in Seo Yeonwoo’s heart.
This was something gained through recent insight, only his way of using it was now vastly different.
The force was extremely restrained, with only the faintest presence leaking outward.
If one was as sensitive as Seomun Hwa, they could sense at least a faint trace of threat.
“…?”
While swinging her sword, she suddenly turned sharply to look at Seo Yeonwoo, her long eyelashes trembling.
She seemed puzzled, wondering if the fleeting sensation she felt had been real or just her imagination.
Feigning indifference, Seo Yeonwoo called out to Peng Kahou.
His objective had been to draw attention from the start, so the purpose was served.
“Watch.”
“Watch what?”
Peng Kahou, who had just finished his 835th swing, replied in a tired voice.
“If you don’t want to, are you going to keep swinging?”
“No, whatever this is, I’m sure you have your reasons. That was thoughtless of me.”
Cowed by Seo Yeonwoo’s bluntness, Peng Kahou quickly adjusted his stance and focused on him.
And over their shoulders, Seomun Hwa’s gaze remained locked on the scene.
He drew his sword slowly, moving it from right to left. The blade traced a half-moon arc—a simple horizontal slash.
But upon closer inspection, it was a bit different.
From the angle of the wrist and movement of the foot to every grain of breath, each action was calculated according to the sword technique.
Even if the grandmaster who compiled the Heaven-Gazing Sword Art came to watch, he would have been awed by the perfection.
Then, with that impeccably executed cut—simple, not loaded with overwhelming internal power or blinding speed—the sword sliced the straw dummy cleanly in two, as if it were tofu.
“… Amazing,”
Seomun Hwa exclaimed in a voice full of admiration.
“Ah, did you see it?”
Seo Yeonwoo replied, feigning clueless surprise.
“Uh… Sorry, I wasn’t trying to peek.”
“Not at all. In an open training yard, if my meager skills were any help, then the honor is mine.”
With polite formality, Seo Yeonwoo bowed to Seomun Hwa—though in truth, his focus was on the storm of epiphany swirling through her entire being.
‘She reached an insight over this?’
He’d shown her his sword so that, if she ever found her martial progress blocked, she might recall today’s lesson.
But for her to grasp something immediately—she was so absurdly talented, it was beyond jealousy.
“I’ll watch over the area, so please keep practicing,” he said.
Whatever his real thoughts, Seo Yeonwoo, recognizing the change in her aura, responded quickly.
He had no reason to miss the chance to endear himself to a future peerless expert.
“Thank you.”
Though it was their first meeting, he was a fellow member of the same combat squad, and had just inspired her.
Deciding he could be trusted, Seomun Hwa drew her sword.
Her blade moved slowly, each motion in better harmony with her body than before.
While not quite at the level Seo Yeonwoo had just shown, she was clearly finding her balance.
“Huhhh.”
Breathing a short sigh of admiration, Seo Yeonwoo raised his ki sense and examined the surroundings.
“Why are you just standing there? Did you get an epiphany?” he said, picking on Peng Kahou for no reason.
Meanwhile, the place Go Dongjun headed for information on the Mad War Gate was the Secret Annex.
The Secret Annex was a department directly under the Grand Chief Administrator’s Office that handled information within the alliance.
Their intelligence network extended not just across Kaifeng but traversed all under heaven.
They did not gather as much general information as the Hao Sect or Beggar’s Gang, but when it came to tracking major sects that ruled the world, they were not considered far behind.
Go Dongjun’s eyes were calm as he made his way to the Secret Annex.
The primary concern for the Thousand Sword Unit was to determine who among the Mad War Gate’s core members were currently at their headquarters.
The possibility of the Mad War Gate’s Sect Leader visiting—Wiji Guang had joked about it with Seo Yeonwoo, but it could not be ruled out completely.
The heads of the Six Unorthodox Gates were all fearsome beyond reason.
Among them were those capable of vying for supremacy under heaven.
Even someone like the Mad Blade Fiend, who was of a lesser rank, was difficult for the Thousand Sword Unit to handle singlehandedly.
If encountered on the battlefield, annihilation would be unavoidable.
Therefore, before setting out, they needed to make sure that the Mad War Gate’s Sect Leader was in Luoyang, at its main base.
As these thoughts crossed his mind, the hall of the Secret Annex came into view.
“I am Go Dongjun, deputy leader of the Thousand Sword Unit.”
Go Dongjun knocked on the door of the Secret Annex and spoke.
“Please come in.”
Soon, a staffer from the Secret Annex greeted Go Dongjun with proper courtesy.
‘Hm, what’s gotten into these guys today?’
Go Dongjun tilted his head in mild confusion.
The Secret Annex, being directly under the Grand Chief Administrator’s Office and controlling the Murim Alliance’s intelligence, had always been condescending—especially toward the alliance’s combat units.
Their arrogance was not unwarranted, as they sometimes held authority over the situation, but Go Dongjun never accepted it easily.
Thus, there were always minor disputes whenever he visited. But today, they were uncharacteristically compliant.
It turned out this was because they were embarrassed after failing to detect the signs of the Mad War Gate’s infiltration until Seomun Hwa had personally clashed with them.
Though intelligence was not strictly their department’s duty, their pride was wounded and their noses put out of joint.
Thanks to this, Go Dongjun received the report on the Mad War Gate in less than two hours.
“Here it is.”
The staffer handed him a document with brisk efficiency.
[Seal of Chief of the Secret Annex, Zhuge Jin]
It was a report on the Mad War Gate bearing the official seal of the Secret Annex’s chief.
Go Dongjun read it with a steady expression.
“Huuu…”
Sometime later, after reading the entire report, Go Dongjun let out a deep sigh.
Thankfully, the report confirmed that the Mad War Gate’s Sect Leader, the Mad Blade Fiend, was in Luoyang at their main base.
They were currently consolidating control over local underworld sects to prepare for threats from the old sects, such as the Mount Hua Sect, which was expanding its power aggressively from Shaanxi.
However, there was one person whose presence near headquarters could not be verified.
It was Dead Blood Spear, Nok Ji-on, one of the Guardian Protectors of the Mad War Gate.
Go Dongjun’s face twisted at the mention of his name, as Nok Ji-on had a particularly bad history with the Thousand Sword Unit.
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