Chapter 11

“You really don’t get it, do you.”

“...”

“The Long Sword Sect, huh. Can’t say I’ve ever heard of a sect like that in my life. Were you ever strong enough to throw your weight around like this?”

“...Are you insulting the Long Sword Sect?”

“I’m insulting it because it deserves to be insulted. Don’t try to hide behind some half-baked fame—it’s unpleasant to look at.”

“...”

“I’ll only say this once, so listen carefully. First, return every last coin you took from Yawoon Sang. Second, remove your blockade.”

The man chuckled.

“Did the branch lord of Seolap eat something bad this morning? Are you insane?”

“So that’s a no?”

“Obviously.”

“Good. I’ll just take back the one hundred thousand gold nyang you pocketed myself.”

“...What... what did you just say?”

His jaw dropped. The number sounded like utter nonsense, absurd beyond belief—but I didn’t care.

I already had Yawoon Sang’s ledgers, and I could forge the rest as needed.

That would be my justification—my cause for war.

From here on out, I’d simply do what I always did.

That’s right.

Do what I always did.

Flash Phantom Piercing Art.

I drew the Cold Ice Dagger from my waist and thrust it forward like lightning.

Thwuck—!

It pierced deep into the man’s side.

“Guh...”

I yanked it out, reversed my grip, and drove it straight into his throat.

His eyes quivered violently.

He was begging me with them—begging to be spared. But I’d already given him the chance.

Not just once, but several times.

If you can’t take it when it’s handed to you, you’re basically asking to be killed—and I planned to oblige.

I twisted the dagger.

With a sickening crunch, his neck snapped.

I withdrew the blade, and his body collapsed to the ground.

Only then did the warriors from the Long Sword Sect—who had been occupying the Cheongneung Mine—seem to grasp the gravity of the situation. They started charging toward me.

I sheathed the Cold Ice Dagger and drew the Snowwhite Sword.

Some of the branch members moved to draw their swords as well.

“Stop. You don’t draw.”

“...Sir?”

“Watch closely. This is the first form of the Heaven-Slaying Wolf Star Technique—Lone Wolf Soaring the Heavens.”

I looked straight ahead. Two warriors were rushing at me. True to their sect’s name, they carried massive longswords—but their level was pathetic.

At best, Beginning of the Heavens Stage.

I gripped my sword and dashed forward. My lower dantian surged, and my internal energy skyrocketed.

No need to draw from False-True Vital Qi.

That level of opponent wasn’t worth it.

My sword aura surged. The faint glow that had clung to the blade like moonlight instantly sharpened into icy frost.

With a single sweep, the aura split into dozens of slashes and tore through the two warriors.

Shhkrrrk-kkkkrrkkk—!!

Ignoring their shredded corpses, I kept speaking calmly.

“Lone Wolf Soaring the Heavens is about dividing a single sword aura into dozens. Once it’s perfected, the power of each divided aura remains identical.”

Now three more were charging toward me. Two more followed behind—five in total.

I raised my sword horizontally and faced the first three.

Slowly, I gathered the chill of the air around me.

“The second form—Moonlight Devours the Sky.”

Without hesitation—

I struck.

Just one slash—but it howled through the air like a wolf crying out to the moon, and when the blade extended, the sword aura detonated in an instant.

BOOOOM—!!

The three warriors were instantly reduced to pulp.

The last two had only just realized what was happening. They froze in place.

They looked terrified—but it didn’t matter.

“Moonlight Devours the Sky may seem like nothing more than an upward surge of sword aura followed by an explosion—but it’s not. The core of the technique is the detonation of atmospheric energy from the moment the sword begins moving to the moment it finishes. If you can control that explosion, amplify it at will, that’s when the form is considered complete.”

Someone behind me let out an awed breath. I ignored it.

The Heaven-Slaying Wolf Star Technique was composed of three forms.

I launched myself toward the two warriors who had recoiled in fear.

“This is the true core of the technique—its third form: Frost Star Shatters the Void.”

I unleashed the full extent of my inner strength.

My qi burst outward like starlight in the night sky, then collapsed into a single point.

I guided the condensed energy around my blade and swung lightly.

A Long Sword Sect warrior raised his sword to block—

Shhk—!

His blade was cleaved in two.

BOOM—! Everything the sword touched exploded in a chain reaction.

I spun, driving my sword forward.

“Wa—wait—”

His words never finished.

Thunk—!

My sword sank into his throat. A beat later—

BOOM! His neck exploded.

Blood splattered across my body.

I flicked the gore from my blade and turned back around.

“Frost Star Shatters the Void gathers the surrounding qi and the user’s inner strength into one point, then detonates it. It seems simple—but of the three forms, it’s the hardest to master and the most unpredictable.”

The reason was simple.

Moonlight Devours the Sky required sweeping through space, scattering energy along the sword’s trajectory, which naturally diluted its power.

But Frost Star Shatters the Void compressed that energy into a single strike and detonated it at once.

The raw power was incomparable. You could even trigger the detonation before the blade landed, using it like Moonlight Devours the Sky.

From the enemy’s perspective, it was practically impossible to predict or counter.

That’s why a mere three forms made the Heaven-Slaying Wolf Star Technique a Heaven and Earth-Rank martial art.

Wiping the blood from my face, I continued speaking.

“As with all high-level techniques, once these core forms are fully mastered, the user can draw out power beyond their own stage of cultivation. For someone in the Martial God Stage, the amplification doesn’t mean much. But against martial artists in the Heaven and Earth Stage, it’s devastating.”

I sheathed the Snowwhite Sword and added,

“All martial artists, once they reach a certain stage, begin to ask themselves the same question.”

Cheonpung asked,

“...And what’s that?”

“How do I draw out the maximum power from my current stage?”

“...”

“The Heaven-Slaying Wolf Star Technique gives an answer to that question—at least up to the Heaven and Earth Stage.”

“...”

“These three forms—though basic and complete on their own—can evolve depending on how you wield them. They’re simply the foundational moves created by one man.”

“...”

“Remember this. Don’t let the martial art consume you. How you wield it—and the path you choose to follow—is entirely up to you. Martial arts are tools. If you make the mistake of being consumed by a mere tool, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.”

“...Thank... thank you!”

I turned away.

There had been twenty warriors from the Long Sword Sect occupying this mine.

I’d killed about six with my own hands. That left fourteen.

“Time to practice.”

“Practice... sir?”

“There, see? About fourteen of them left.”

Someone somewhere audibly swallowed.

One of the remaining warriors from the Long Sword Sect cried out,

“Spare us! We swear—we’ll never set foot in Seolap again!”

I ignored him.

“Kill them all.”

The eyes of the branch members sharpened.

If you’re a martial artist...

If you have even a shred of sense as a martial {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} artist, you’d know that every word I say—every action I demonstrate—is a stepping stone to growth.

My branch members, at the very least, were smart enough to understand that much.

With unwavering gazes, they shouted in unison.

“By your command!”

Five branch members charged forward, and a storm of blood swept through the mine.

I stood silently and watched it all unfold.

Seolap was my land.

And these arrogant bastards thought they could come here and dictate terms?

I was going to collect on every debt they’d racked up over the years.

If you’ve been wronged, then you ought to be paid back. That’s only fair.

Gratitude and resentment matter more than anything else.

Repay grace with grace. Repay hatred with vengeance.

If you ignore that, you're unworthy to be called a person, let alone a martial artist.

I may have committed countless insane acts in my life, but I’ve always lived as a human being.

And I intend to keep living that way.

This is how I live.

****

It didn’t take long to slaughter every last warrior from the Long Sword Sect.

All of Seolap’s branch members were martial artists at the Beginning of the Heavens Stage.

And now, they had access to a Heaven and Earth-Rank mental technique—and had learned how to wield a Heaven and Earth-Rank martial art.

From what I’d seen, at least Cheonpung had the talent to climb all the way to the Five-Origin Martial Stage without much difficulty. The others varied in potential.

Two of them stood out in particular.

One was a small-framed man. The other, slightly taller but still slim.

Their names were Wonyang and Han Murin, if I remembered correctly.

Based on how they fought, how they moved, how they absorbed and embodied martial arts—they could both potentially reach the Heaven and Earth Stage.

In short...

They would dominate anyone at the same stage, and if they stayed focused, they’d even have a thirty-percent chance of beating someone at the Yang Radiance Appears stage.

No wonder martial artists chase after high-level techniques.

There’s always a reason behind that hunger.

I looked straight ahead.

The five branch members, soaked in blood, stared back at me with firm eyes.

They looked confident—which was good to see—but...

“Don’t let your guard down.”

“...Understood.”

“You know the saying—pearls before swine. No matter how good your martial arts, mental technique, or equipment is, if you are flawed, it means nothing.”

All five swallowed hard. This was advice I had to give—not just as their branch lord, but as the one who taught them these techniques.

“Know your limits. Understand what you can and can’t do. And if your strength falls short, then ask for help. Don’t wait until arrogance rots your bones before you regret it.”

Cheonpung spoke quietly.

“...Then sir... I hope that someday, you’ll ask us for help too.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

I chuckled.

“At your current level, you can’t even cover my back.”

“...Then what level must we reach?”

“Let’s see... You’ll probably need to reach the Heaven and Earth Stage before you can even step on my shadow.”

Their eyes blinked in disbelief. I gave no further answer and simply walked forward.

“Keep training. Catch up.”

“Yes, sir.”

I walked toward the entrance of the Cheongneung Mine.

There, about fifty people were gathered, trembling in fear.

Porters and miners.

Behind them lay a massive pile of Cold Jade Crystals.

Clearly, it had all been mined from inside.

“Who’s in charge?”

A middle-aged man, still shaking, stepped forward.

“Name and affiliation.”

“...I’m Yang Deoksu, of the Sangji Trading Company.”

“You the overseer?”

“...Yes.”

“And those behind you?”

“...Miners... and porters hired by our company...”

Sangji Trading Company.

Honestly, I’d never heard of them.

Cheonpung stepped up beside me and whispered quietly.

“They’re based in Yangnyeong County. The company’s head is a former member of the Long Sword Sect.”