Chapter 293

Chapter 293
## Chapter 293. Returning Home in Silk Clothes (1)

—

“You… you claimed that was your final testament…”
Right, I never actually uttered the words that it was my dying wish.
“Just as my senior brother warned, the citizens of the mundane world are nothing but swindlers and fraudsters…”
Well, that statement isn’t completely off the mark.
But isn’t that rather hypocritical coming from someone who was ready to commit murder simply because I overheard a few trivial words?
“Behaving like a rogue who possesses absolutely no sense of ethics…”
Aren’t you gravely injured, though? When exactly do you plan on losing consciousness?
Growing weary of his constant complaining, I unleashed a sharp blast of finger wind (Ji-pung) to plunge him into slumber.
To be safe against any unexpected complications, I stepped closer to evaluate the severity of his injury.
Strangely, the laceration was far more superficial than I anticipated.
‘What is going on here? I am certain that my strike landed squarely.’
Peeking beneath his torn attire, I noticed a distinct glimmering material woven beneath his martial vestment.
Cold Iron… it was unmistakable.
While it lacked the absolute durability of Dark Iron (Hyeon-cheol), Cold Iron was highly coveted among warriors for crafting arms due to its minimal weight and exceptional sharpness.
Countless fighters spend their entire lives dreaming of owning a weapon forged with even a fraction of this material. Yet, the Zhongnan sect had managed to fashion an entire defensive vest out of it for this man to wear.
‘Unbelievable. And after possessing this, they claim Zhongnan is facing total ruin?’
I had briefly felt a twinge of guilt, imagining I was stripping away the final remaining hope of the Zhongnan sect.
Realizing I no longer needed to carry any moral burden, I applied heavy pressure to his pressure points once more to guarantee he remained unconscious, then turned around to rejoin my fellow disciples.
However,
My muscles locked up—
It was bizarre. For some reason, my limbs refused to stir.
No matter how much physical effort I exerted to force a pivot, I remained completely frozen.
Glancing down once more, the Cold Iron defensive vest peeking through the tears in the warrior’s clothing caught my attention.
‘Are you pleading with me to bring you along?’
The Cold Iron vest seemed to be desperately gripping my ankles, begging not to be left behind.
I gave a resolute shake of my head.
“Absolutely not. You belong to someone else. I am no common thief.”
In response, the Cold Iron vest appeared to vibrate with intense disagreement.
It signaled that it had never truly belonged within the walls of Zhongnan. The place it truly belonged was not with them, but alongside the Tae-eul Sect.
“Sigh… even if that is the case, I cannot bring myself to steal. Good grief, I am a man of the Dao, after all.”
The moment I attempted to walk away with indifference, the Cold Iron vest seemed to weep with profound misery.
The imagined wailing of those tears felt so immense that I grew anxious someone from Zhongnan might notice the commotion.
“Very well… perhaps this is simply ordained by fate.”
Left with no alternative, I bent down and stripped the Cold Iron vest from the unconscious warrior.
Indeed, this outcome was entirely unavoidable. When an object itself expresses a desire to seek its true moral alignment… it simply cannot be helped.
The garment consisted of small, intricately linked metallic chains that tightly enveloped the upper body.
Given the perfectly uniform luster of the metal, it was clear that the entire defensive piece had been crafted from pure Cold Iron.
‘Good grief, just how many luxurious estates could I purchase with this single piece?’
Feeling a bit heavy-hearted, I decided to search the rest of his clothing as well, wondering if another fated encounter awaited me.
Regrettably, there were no other gleaming treasures or rare elixir pills hidden within his robes.
‘What’s this?’
I discovered only a darkened, obsidian-like wooden token.
I pulled it out carelessly.
‘Dam Jung-ho.’
It appeared to be the man’s identity marker.
Since the wooden plaque didn’t offer any silent pleas, I slid it back into his robes and spun around to leave.
It was finally time to make my way back to my junior disciples.
I had only managed a few paces when,
Rustle.
My surroundings grew quiet as my ears caught a faint shifting sound directly behind me.
I had sealed his pressure points with significant force; could he really have recovered so quickly?
I rapidly concealed the Cold Iron vest inside my own robes and snapped my head back to look.
However,
Rustle, scratch.
Standing over the body was an entirely unfamiliar individual, casually searching through Dam Jung-ho’s garments.
“…….”
In an instant, goosebumps erupted across my skin and my stomach dropped.
‘Who on earth is this person… exactly when did he arrive?’
I had extended my sensory awareness completely across the entire vicinity, and not even a single insect should have been able to wander in undetected.
Yet, who was this intruder?
The fact that he stood there meant he had completely bypassed my perception and stepped right into my immediate circle.
“…Ah, standard luck, it isn’t here either?”
The stranger grumbled under his breath while continuing to rifle through Dam Jung-ho’s belongings.
He snatched up the wooden identification token, flipping it idly in the air before finally shifting his gaze toward me.
The moment our eyes locked,
“By any chance, did you happen to pull a ring or something similar from his robes?”
“…….”
The stranger posed the question with complete indifference.
When I offered no reply, he gave a casual nod and resumed muttering to himself.
“Well, if it had been on him, I would have sensed its presence. …Sigh, another waste of time. Unfortunate.”
An incredible aura of relaxation radiated from his entire being.
For a brief second, I almost wondered if he mistook this desolate area for his own personal quarters.
Snap, click.
Suddenly, the individual began to sharpen his own nails.
His fingers, which initially resembled pristine jade, began to elongate as dark, obsidian talons sprouted from the tips.
Without hesitation, he aimed a strike directly toward Dam Jung-ho’s throat.
Unbelievable, things will become immensely complicated if a corpse is left here.
I swiftly unsheathed the Black Dragon Sword and unleashed a burst of sword qi.
Clang.
The descending talons collided with the sword qi, emitting the distinct, resonant ring of solid metal striking metal.
This peculiar sound immediately brought a specific faction to mind, and the pieces clicked together.
‘The Demonic Cult…’
A despicable scoundrel from that wretched group had materialized right before me.

“Oh?”
The individual who received the brunt of the sword qi widened his eyes in surprise, shifting his focus back to me.
“What is the meaning of this? Did I offend you somehow?”
What nonsense is this lunatic spouting?
I gestured pointedly with the tip of my blade right in front of his face.
“Step away from that warrior.”
The stranger glanced back and forth between myself and Dam Jung-ho, tilting his head in confusion.
“Wasn’t this individual your foe? That is precisely why you stripped him of his belongings, is it not?”
I absolutely did not steal them, you simpleton! Watch your words!
I merely accepted a fated item that I could not leave behind.
While there were complex reasons behind my actions, I chose not to voice them.
My self-respect prevented me from explaining my circumstances to a member of the unholy faction.
I delivered another stern admonition.
“I ordered you to move away.”
In an instant, the innocent look on his face twisted into the horrific visage of an absolute fiend.
It wasn’t merely a shift in his expression; his physical appearance literally morphed into that of a grotesque monster within a split second…
“Do not take that tone with me! Not unless you are eager to perish!!!”
That genuinely startled me.
Beholding such a repulsive transformation caused my pulse to quicken momentarily. I had never encountered anything quite like this even during my previous life.
He truly lived up to the reputation of a Demonic Cult fanatic. What sort of perverted martial discipline had he practiced to achieve this?
As I knit my brows together in distaste, the individual lowered his hand.
“Ah! My apologies, I lost my composure for a moment. Since this is our initial introduction, let us pretend that did not happen.”
As if anyone could simply forget that. I am terrified it will plague my nightmares.
Shortly after, the stranger’s features reverted to their prior, harmless appearance.
“You are the one responsible for turning Geum-hak Je into a helpless invalid, correct? That is the sole reason I am giving you a pass this once. That fellow was an absolute nuisance to deal with.”
Does he truly fail to recognize that he is just as much of a nuisance?
I channeled the Jade Clear Heavenly Superior Power, coating the length of the Black Dragon Sword in its energy.
“I am telling you to step back. This is your final warning.”
Observing my aggressive posture, he tilted his head sideways as if genuinely baffled by my hostility.
“You have already secured the Five Spirit Immortal Flower Oil, so is your objective here not fully completed? Furthermore, it isn’t as though you are allied with the Zhongnan sect, right?”
My heart skipped a beat the moment those words left his mouth.
Exactly how much information does this scoundrel possess?
Could there be even more hidden intruders who have slipped into this location unnoticed?
An intense wave of anxiety for my younger martial siblings washed over me.
“How… did you come to know of that?”
“Because I was observing the entire sequence. By the way, do you intend to keep that energy active? It is making my stomach feel quite uneasy.”
The traveler gestured with his chin toward the Black Dragon Sword, which was currently radiating a vibrant golden brilliance.
Is he mocking me on purpose? Or is he truly missing a few gears in his head?
Regardless of his motives, I found him entirely repulsive.
“Step back.”
“Sigh… honestly, this is precisely why the logic of the orthodox plains escapes me. Very well.”
The intruder yielded without putting up a fight.
He then uttered a phrase that left me thoroughly unsettled.
“Why on earth is Lord ‘So-ma’ showing such fascination toward a person like you? You do not appear to be anything remarkable.”
While he continued to speak, I rapidly began calculating the variables in my mind.
Considering his clear animosity toward Geum-hak Je, he likely occupied a position of rival status within the Demonic Cult, operating at a comparable tier of power.
If that weren’t the case, there would be no reason for him to harbor such professional jealousy.
Consequently, his wariness of Geum-hak Je indicated that his own martial capabilities were roughly on par with that monster.
‘Just my terrible luck.’
Encountering him under these conditions was problematic enough, but the true dilemma lay in the fact that I had absolutely no recollection of this individual from my past existence, making it impossible to predict his capabilities.
I had nearly lost my life just to bring down Geum-hak Je.
‘Perhaps… I ought to instruct the younger disciples to evacuate immediately.’
Did he somehow decode the expression on my face?
The stranger let out a mocking chuckle.
“Are you genuinely contemplating a clash with me at this very moment? Haha! It seems you found Geum-hak Je to be quite an easy target.”
Finding the situation incredibly amusing, he even wiped away mock tears while scrutinizing my posture.
Then, he abruptly clamped his eyes shut and shook his head vigorously.
“No! No! I gave my word that I wouldn’t instigate any conflicts during this outing!”
After muttering rapidly to himself for a moment, his face broke into a radiant grin once more.
Seriously, what is wrong with this unstable lunatic?
“There is something I am quite eager to find out, would you mind enlightening me?”
“I decline.”
“And why is that?”
Good grief, do I truly need to spell out something so obvious for you to comprehend?
“Because Geum-hak Je returned to our headquarters with his skull completely shattered. The master is currently attempting to patch him up, but he mentioned the structural damage is severe and incredibly difficult to mend.”
The stranger casually detailed the catastrophic nature of Geum-hak Je’s condition while making circular motions around his own head with both hands.
He seemed remarkably cheerful about the whole ordeal.
“However, when I listened to the reports from the Flying Demon Unit, they claimed you managed to crush his skull without delivering a single physical blow. I have never once encountered a technique of that nature within the orthodox martial arts of the Central Plains.”
Suddenly, the traveler’s eyes gleamed with a predatory sharpness.
“Exactly how did you execute that feat?”
His gaze overflowed with genuine, unfiltered inquisitiveness. It was precisely that purity that made the look so incredibly perilous.
“If your business here concluded, clear out.”
“You truly refuse to provide an answer?”
The stranger shifted his vacant gaze to a point somewhere behind me, as though looking at an imaginary audience.
“Will you finally answer me once every single one of your junior disciples has been slaughtered?”
“……Are you seeking death?”
I gathered an immense wave of pure bloodlust and directed it squarely at him. Yet, the stranger simply stared back at my expression with total nonchalance.
Then, he suddenly dissolved into a booming roar of laughter.
“Hahahat! Fascinating. It turns out you truly are worthy of capturing Lord ‘So-ma’s’ attention.”
The absolute madman gave an approving nod.
“Well, the exact method of how you broke his skull doesn’t truly matter; the outcome remains identical. At any rate, it was a pleasure making your acquaintance. We shall cross paths once more. Most assuredly.”
The individual vanished into thin air within a heartbeat, leaving absolutely no trace of his presence, precisely as he had arrived.
You wretched bastard. Don’t talk about crossing paths again.
It is an absolute shame that I rarely carry purifying salt on my person. I must make it a strict habit to pack some going forward.

“Phew.”
The moment that terrifying scoundrel departed, the tension left my body, causing my knees to buckle as I dropped heavily onto the ground.
‘His gaze belonged entirely to a complete psychotic.’
My thoughts were in such a state of chaos that it felt as though my skull might split open.
Ranging from the method he utilized to bypass my sensory web entirely to the specific object he was actively seeking.
To the disturbing question of just how many agents of the Demonic Cult have already infiltrated the Central Plains.
Amidst all these concerns, the most pressing issue resided within the words he had spoken before leaving.
[Why on earth is Lord ‘So-ma’ showing such fascination toward a person like you? You do not appear to be anything remarkable.]
As someone who held a terrifyingly accurate idea of exactly whose title ‘So-ma’ was, a wave of intense vertigo washed over me.
I had suspected as much following the confrontation with Geum-hak Je, but this encounter solidified everything beyond a shadow of a doubt.
‘The absolute worst villain among villains is currently keeping tabs on me.’
Furthermore, much like a lovesick adolescent experiencing romance for the first time, he is openly gossiping about his fascination to everyone in his social circle.
If that weren’t the case, how could every single operative of the unholy faction I run into be completely aware of my identity?
‘A demonic conqueror possessing the emotional volatility of a teenage girl…’
The mere thought of it sent shivers down my spine.
They say receiving unwanted affection from the opposite sex can be incredibly exhausting, but that is a luxury compared to being targeted by the bizarre obsession of a deadly adversary.
Moreover, did that despicable tyrant not orchestrate my demise in my past life by personally inflicting the Curse of the Demon God upon me?
“……But exactly when did we ever cross paths during this current lifetime?”
No matter how thoroughly I scoured my recollections, any potential intersections with him only dredged up a handful of horrific memories from my previous existence.
The memory of him tearing through the defensive lines of the Martial Alliance like a devastating tempest during the historic Conflict between Light and Dark.
The memory of him causing the legendary masters of the Orthodox Path to spray vital fluids from their senses simply by delivering a casual tap of his finger.
The memory of him constructing literal mountains of casualties and rivers of gore while moving through the battlefield as though enjoying a peaceful afternoon walk.
And the unforgettable memory of him executing me.
‘Reflecting upon those events, he truly is a monstrous entity.’
I reviewed every single recollection that was terrifying enough to make me question his humanity, but I was absolutely certain I had not encountered him since my rebirth.
“What in the world is happening here.”
For the moment, I brushed the dust from my clothes and pushed myself up.
This was hardly the appropriate setting to remain lost in contemplation.
First, I checked on the condition of Dam Jung-ho.
I worried that the lunatic might have surreptitiously poisoned the man during our brief interaction.
“Ugh……”
As a significant amount of time had elapsed, the warrior was beginning to stir, so I promptly sealed his pressure points once more to return him to a profound slumber.
In a strange way, considering that I had effectively preserved this warrior’s life, it felt as though the Cold Iron defensive vest was parting ways with the Zhongnan sect with a slightly lighter conscience.
Surely that psychopath from earlier wouldn’t double back to execute Dam Jung-ho while I am away?
Even if he did, there was very little I could do to prevent it; I could only silently pray that such a scenario wouldn’t unfold.
I retraced my steps back toward the cavern where the Five Spirit Immortal Flower Oil had been discovered.
After clearing away the debris and earth I had used to conceal the passage, I stepped inside.
Instantly, a volley of sharp blades came thrusting directly toward my face.
“Perish……! Eldest Senior Brother!”
“Whew, whew! You nearly gave me a heart attack.”
The younger disciples, who had initiated an immediate ambush believing me to be an outside threat, let out collective gasps of relief as they lowered their weapons.
“Did you manage to harvest the entirety of the Five Spirit Immortal Flower Oil?”
“……Ah, affirmative. We have just finished collecting every last drop.”
“Is our senior brother unharmed? Did you happen to cross paths with any perilous adversaries?”
“…….”
Should I disclose the details of the Demonic Cult fanatic I had just encountered?
And mention that a monster like Gwak Gung is harboring a strange interest in me as well?
After a brief pause, I shook my head.
Even if I chose to share it, they would find it incredibly difficult to comprehend, and if they did believe me, it would only breed unnecessary anxiety.
Forcing them to acknowledge a massive, insurmountable threat that they couldn’t hope to challenge would only instill a profound sense of despair regarding their own current capabilities.
The absolute greatest obstacle to mastering martial arts is the feeling of ‘restlessness.’
“Nothing of great consequence occurred. I am merely returning after subduing a notable Big Dipper Swordsman.”
This explanation would suffice.
My younger disciples would naturally grow in power.
They simply needed to ascend their own personal ladders one step at a time.
“…….”
“…….”
While those thoughts crossed my mind, I shifted my gaze upward to inspect the harvested Five Spirit Immortal Flower Oil, only to notice that the expressions on the faces of the youths had turned distinctly skeptical.
What is wrong with these kids now?
“……Oh come on, Eldest Senior Brother, honestly…… sigh…… haha!”
Beginning with Geum-pyo, Eun-ho also burst into a fit of amused laughter.
Sa-ryeon likewise relaxed her rigid features and let out a quiet giggle.
What is this? What is with this sudden shift in mood?
“Senior brother truly is incredible, a genuine Big Dipper Swordsman?!”
“A Big Dipper Swordsman, he claims. A master of that caliber. Hahaha.”
They…… completely disbelieve my words?
As my brow furrowed in irritation, Geum-pyo stepped forward to deliver a stern reprimand to the mockingly laughing Eun-ho and Sa-ryeon.
“Eun-ho, cease your laughter immediately.”
Ah, at the very least, you remain the single individual I can rely on, Geum-pyo…….
“If our Eldest Senior Brother declares that he subdues a Big Dipper Swordsman, then it was unquestionably a Big Dipper Swordsman.”
“Hahahat! Exactly. If he says it was a Big Dipper Swordsman, then that settles it. But…… a Biiiiig Dipper Swordsman? A legendary Big Dipper Swordsman?”
At that exact moment, Dong-ryong rushed over and gave a gentle tug on the fabric of my sleeve.
“Eldest Senior Brother, I believe you completely. I am absolutely certain it was a real Big Dipper Swordsman.”
Good grief, these kids…… they must be absolutely desperate for an intense training regimen.