Chapter 67 – Gwak Jeong
In the world of Return of the Murim, there exist those with absurd abilities.
There’s the one with the ability to discern truth from falsehood—Yun Yeopja.
The Sword Saint, Maeng Wihak, who can see qi with his eyes.
The Heavenly Demon, Lee Seryeong, who can sll qi.
Cho Ryang, the One-Eyed Beast Master, who can communicate with animals.
And then—
“And ?”
[Or is it ?]
Pacheon and I were both left dumbfounded.
‘Do you have so unknown ability even I don’t know about?’
[Who knows.]
‘Calligraphy, music, and a few other talents—you do have so skills, don’t you?’
[…It’s weirder that you even know that. Still, no matter how I think about it, it seems like it’s referring to you, not .]
“?”
[Yes. You always recite things even I don’t know. You’re aware of secrets no one else should know.]
Maybe having knowledge of Return of the Murim itself could be considered a kind of ability.
“Probably not.”
[Why not?]
“If I had so power like that and my Upper Dantian were open, I wouldn’t be so shaken by ntal images. But I was very shaken by them.”
[I see… How disappointing.]
To be honest, even if I had such a power, it wouldn't necessarily be a huge advantage. I couldn’t use martial arts anyway due to my constitution.
What truly mattered was Cho Ryang himself—the fact that I had won the heart of the One-Eyed Beast Master, who singlehandedly devastated the Sichuan Tang Clan.
“That guy’s like you?”
Do Il-gwang narrowed his eyes and looked at .
“You. I have a question. What is your ntal image?”
“Those who have reached the realm of Transcendent Peak can generally sense one another through the Upper Dantian. But from you, I don’t feel the aura of soone whose Upper Dantian has opened.”
That must be why, when we first t, he had called a “fake.”
“Show . Your ntal image.”
At that mont—
Do Il-gwang’s ntal image, the Black Tiger, bared its fangs. Cho Ryang had called it cute, saying it was just a cat… but honestly, the pressure I felt was overwhelming.
The sensation of a tiger the size of a house looming over was terrifying beyond words. All it did was bare its teeth and let out a growl, and the entire world seed to fade away. Every ti its demonic tail twitched, it felt like the oxygen around was evaporating.
So I should’ve……been terrified.
But I wasn’t.
If I had seen Do Il-gwang’s ntal image first, I might have fainted.
But I had already seen sothing far more horrifying.
The ntal image of the Heavenly Demon, Lee Seryeong.
In a vision where the world turned into a snowy field, I saw the faint afterimage of so thing rising in the distance. After that, Do Il-gwang’s ntal image didn’t feel scary at all.
And once I regained my composure, the qi of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art began to fill with arrogance.
“As I’ve said before… making demands is a right reserved for the strong.”
He didn’t even flinch after seeing my ntal image. Could that little kid have been right?
No. I was just holding on thanks to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
“Tsk. Whatever. Give so booze.”
The way he brazenly demanded alcohol, like he’d entrusted it to beforehand, was irritating—but it seed there was sothing I could gain from this guy, so I decided to play along.
‘Honestly, I didn’t even know what the Upper Dantian was.’
This world of Return of the Murim had too many things that couldn’t be explained by text alone.
“By the way…”
As we left the plaza, I asked Cho Ryang,
“Do you know what that snake was?”
“Yes, it’s a creature called One-Horned Blossom Serpent.”
“So you knew. How?”
“Thanks to the Young Lord telling to speak up if I ever needed anything… I read a lot of books about mystic beasts and poisonous creatures. Of course! Only after training!”
It seed Cho Ryang had a good grasp of his talents and areas of interest from a young age. If he were born in the modern world, he might’ve been the second coming of Fabre.
“But I heard the One-Horned Blossom Serpent is usually highly aggressive?”
“Ah, about that.”
Cho Ryang took the One-Horned Blossom Serpent out of its cage. Though it was coiled, its full length looked to be nearly half a jang.
“It’s still a baby. Also, animals rarely attack when they see .”
“Like that wolf of yours.”
“Yep. That guy ca to eat us at first, but I tad him.”
Well, he was the One-Eyed Beast Master who commanded a legion of mystic beasts. No wonder he had such control.
“If you ta them, can others command them too?”
“Hmm… If I stay nearby, yes. But if they don’t interact with regularly, they slowly revert to their original behavior. Still, they can follow simple commands.”
“I see.”
An idea popped into my head.
***
A few days later.
The day of the Poison Demon’s birthday banquet arrived.
I was the one leading the Sado Family’s delegation. Though called a delegation, it was really just about delivering gifts, with no major political agenda.
“That’s quite a lot.”
Five wagonloads of goods had been prepared as gifts.
[It’s the Poison Demon, after all. You have to be careful.]
The Poison Demon—Dok Go-pung.
Ranked 19th in the cult hierarchy, and true to his title, a master of poison arts.
Unlike most cult mbers, the Poison Demon had spent decades outside the cult, honing his poison techniques across the Martial World.
“Which is why he’s so greedy.”
Though cultists are often greedy, their ambitions usually align with martial virtues like “the strong reign supre.” Sado Gwang was an exception.
But the Poison Demon had spent so much ti in the outside world, he’d been “tainted” by it. He called it “pursuing practicality,” but in simple terms, he cared more for personal gain than the cult’s ideals.
If that were all, people wouldn’t be so cautious around him…
The real issue was that the Poison Demon was a master of elixir crafting.
Poison or dicine—either could be made from the sa ingredients, depending on the thod. By currying favor with him, one could receive potent elixirs to strengthen their faction.
Sado Family has weaker martial artists overall, so their reliance on elixirs is high. Which is why they’d always been careful to please him.
And now they’re sending … to take the hit.
To put it simply, they sent a “gift” to deliver gifts.
In terms of ranking, the Poison Demon was 19th, while I was 23rd. Though the gap was only four places, the difference in experience—and in his poison-based martial arts—made the disparity feel far greater.
“Let’s go.”
Compared to the five wagons, our delegation was modest. Just , Saweol, Tak Horak, and Cho Ryang. The rest were all porters. A clear sign they were trying to test .
Not that I’d let my pride be wounded over sothing so petty.
“That doesn’t an I’ll just take it lying down.”
I was going to do sothing very entertaining.
The Poison Demon had no official role in the cult, so he didn’t have a building at the main compound. Instead, he owned a vast estate of his own—and even that was enormous.
Lines of people stretched from the front gate, all trying to enter. Normally, we would’ve had to wait too…
“Sado Hwan!”
“The Black Shadow Corps Master!?”
“The Young Lord of the Sado Family!”
People started recognizing .
Before long—
“P-please, go ahead!”
“What are you doing, make way for him!”
Being a well-known expert had its perks. Especially in the cult, where hierarchy was everything.
“Thanks.”
I gave a light nod and moved forward along the cleared path.
Just as we were approaching the main gate of the estate—
From the opposite side, another group walked toward the path being cleared for them.
[Those bastards…]
Unlike our group dressed in plain black martial robes, they were all dressed in extravagantly embroidered white robes.
Leading them was a young man, sowhere between a boy and a youth—probably a little younger than Cho Ryang. Dozens followed behind him.
A stark contrast to our small group.
[It’s the Gwak Clan brats.]
‘The Nine Yin Gwak Clan?’
[Yeah. Pathetic fools clinging to their ancient legacy.]
‘Is there anyone you don’t call pathetic?’
[Nope. They’re all idiots.]
‘Sure, sure. You’re the best.’
The Nine Yin Gwak Clan was the most prestigious among the Six Demon Families. Their founder had been a close aide to the First Heavenly Demon, giving them a long, storied history.
More than anything, they had five Transcendent Peak-level experts in their main house—making them the family with the highest number of such powerhouses in a single clan.
‘Then that guy glaring at us must be the young lord, Gwak Jeong.’
Clearly an homage to classic wuxia.
Nad after a character from one of the most iconic martial arts stories, he was a prodigy. At sixteen, he was already said to have reached the cusp of First-rate level.
Definitely a genius. But…
‘I’m not really that impressed.’
Lately, I’d t too many people who were the final boss of “talent.” Even Cho Ryang, who followed , was a peer with an awakened Upper Dantian.
‘Besides, we’re not going to cross paths with the Gwak Clan much.’
The Gwak Clan was so steeped in their ancient pride that they avoided entanglents with other clans, thinking others unworthy.
But I couldn’t just keep glaring forever. People were already gathering with excited faces, hoping to witness a fight.
“If you’re not going to go in, move aside.”
At my words, a martial artist behind Gwak Jeong flew into a rage and stepped forward, ready to draw his sword. Likely a bodyguard, probably at Peak level.
“How dare you! Do you even know who this is!? This is Young Lord Gwak Jeong of the Great Nine Yin Gwak Clan!”
“So what?”
I gathered the qi of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art into my gaze.
“H-heugh!”
The martial artist staggered back, gulping air.
“You’re Sado Hwan?”
Gwak Jeong said my na.
“Your youthful spirit is admirable.”
I added more force to my presence.
“But rember—when the weak act arrogant, they only hasten their death.”
Gwak Jeong’s face turned pale and he stepped back.
“Let’s go.”
I walked straight into the Poison Demon’s estate.
***
anwhile—
After Sado Hwan entered—
“A-are you alright, Young Lord!?”
“Sado Hwan…”
Gwak Jeong muttered his na while staring at his back. His guards were busy checking his condition.
“Rember—when the weak act arrogant, they only hasten their death…”
“Don’t take that fool’s nonsense to heart, Young Lord. Soone like him, the Family Head could crush with a single strike…”
“Holy sht, that was fcking cool.”
“W-what??”
Gwak Jeong shouted.
“What are you waiting for!? Let’s go!”
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