“Lord, are you in?”

Just as I was about to head out from the inn for a late breakfast, I spotted two shadows of feet under the door.

“Who is it?”

“This is Ahn Pyo from the Heavenly Alliance.”

“......”

The voice was strange. It sounded like he was trying hard to stay calm, which meant something had already happened. When I opened the door, a man named Ahn Pyo was looking at me with a grim expression.

He checked my face, then gave a small bow.

“Lord.”

I looked at Ahn Pyo for a moment before extending my hand.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, sir.”

As I walked down the corridor with Ahn Pyo, I knocked on the doors and spoke.

“Let’s move.”

“We’re coming.”

“Let’s go.”

“Got it.”

While descending the stairs, the Four Villains all emerged from their rooms and silently followed me.

Only after we stepped outside did Ahn Pyo finally ask me,

“Lord, aren’t you going to ask what happened?”

I nodded.

“What, that lunatic Gwangmyeong Usa caused a mess? The kind of mess that even an untrained man like you can’t keep a straight face about.”

“That’s correct.”

I stopped for a moment and waited for the rest of the group to gather. Once Sword Demon, the Drunk, and the Lecher stood beside me, I turned to Ahn Pyo.

“Let’s hear it.”

After glancing at us, Ahn Pyo began to speak.

“Lord, are you familiar with the Tongcheon Faction?”

Caught off guard, I replied,

“Of course I know the Tongcheon Faction.”

For one, they’re not part of the demonic path.

They’re also not a faction based in this region. But they’re fairly well-known in Jianghu. Famous for buying and selling information, and trying to run their businesses in a relatively upright way—a peculiar mix of righteous and demonic. Among the factions bearing the name ‘bang (幇)’, they rank pretty high. Which means they have a lot of people... and that made me sigh.

Ahn Pyo said,

“The Tongcheon Faction’s headquarters was completely wiped out by Gwangmyeong Usa. Corpses, blood... no need for details, I imagine.”

“So you're taking me to a site that’s already a massacre?”

Ahn Pyo shook his head.

“The situation isn't over yet. Gwangmyeong Usa told me to bring you.”

“Hm.”

So the thing I had been uneasy about wasn’t just imagination. I asked Ahn Pyo,

“Then... hostages?”

He answered,

“Yes. All of them are women and children of the Tongcheon Faction. The men, the faction leader, and their warriors were all killed by Gwangmyeong Usa.”

“Has the Heavenly Alliance surrounded the area?”

“That’s pointless. Some fled and called for reinforcements, but even those nearby factions and dark path forces that came afterward were all slaughtered. Our Alliance Lord is likely headed there now.”

So the Alliance Lord is still alive.

Though Ahn Pyo had chosen his words carefully, I could tell from what he said that the massacre was horrific.

Sword Demon asked,

“How are the hostages being held?”

“They’re gathered in a large courtyard. The surrounding walls are broken. And parts of the walls and roof... well, they’re covered in what looks like clotheslines—web-like threads strung in chaotic tangles. The hostages are underneath that. When a top fighter from the dark side tried to break in, Gwangmyeong Usa dropped one of those lines infused with his inner energy. The people below barely managed to dodge it. Seems like even seasoned martial artists would have their bodies melt on contact. Gwangmyeong Usa sits cross-legged on the roof of the main building, mocking those who try to approach. If all those blood threads fall, every child beneath them will die.”

I said bitterly,

“And then he summoned me?”

“Yes. He already had a rough idea of your whereabouts. He ordered us to search for you.”

The Lecher summarized the situation.

“So the blood threads infused with internal energy are connected to the roof, and Usa could drop them all at once if he wishes?”

“That’s correct, Lord Mong.”

I looked at the Four Villains. They gathered around me and stared silently.

Sword Demon asked me,

“Do you have a plan?”

I scratched the back of my head.

“No. Let’s just go. He must have something to say to me.”

Together with Ahn Pyo, we headed to the annihilated Tongcheon Faction. Sighs flowed constantly from my mouth. 𝗳𝚛𝚎𝚎𝘄𝕖𝕓𝕟𝕠𝚟𝚎𝕝.𝗰𝕠𝐦

“He’s really ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) gone mad.”

“No kidding.”

“No matter how insane you get, you don’t go this mad.”

Now, I think I finally understand Gwangmyeong Usa’s intent. He didn’t want to go mad alone. So now, he’s doing this to drive me completely insane too.

As we walked for a long time, the Drunk asked,

“Third, got any ideas?”

I’d been pondering the whole way, but I shook my head.

“No. I need to hear what Usa wants from me first.”

After that, we said nothing as we approached the Tongcheon Faction. To be honest, I had somewhat expected this outcome. Because this is my weakness.

***

Only after arriving at the Tongcheon Faction did I realize Ahn Pyo had downplayed it.

The tragedy was far worse than I imagined. I didn’t know how the battle unfolded, but even outside the faction’s grounds, there were bloodstains and corpses everywhere.

There was no need to even enter.

So many walls had collapsed that the inside was completely visible. The resistance must’ve been fierce—it looked like the center of a battlefield.

Here and there, pillars of ruined walls stretched like candy strings up to the main roof, connected by the threads Ahn Pyo described. Outside the Tongcheon building, factions from both the dark path and righteous sects—those who had come to help—were spread out in loose formations.

At this scale, it might as well be a war between the Demonic Cult and the Jianghu alliance.

The Lecher murmured,

“...This is a battlefield.”

Then I heard Gwangmyeong Usa’s voice from somewhere.

“Lord, why were you so slow? Look around at how many died because of you.”

Wondering where the lunatic was speaking from, I spotted Gwangmyeong Usa suddenly appear atop the roof. He must’ve drilled a hole and was moving up and down through it.

I stared up at him.

“......”

He looked at me and grinned.

“You’ve come?”

“I’m here.”

Only then did I look at the women and children beneath the threads. Most of the women were shielding the kids. Perhaps they had cried too much already—or maybe they were threatened—because none of them were crying now.

Countless dark path warriors and those who came to avenge the Tongcheon Faction were all watching me. Now I understood why there were so many of them—they must’ve followed the trail of Gwangmyeong Usa’s massacre. Many factions had already fallen.

So were their gazes friendly? Not at all. It wasn’t hard to figure out why. Gwangmyeong Usa had probably blamed all of this on me, the Master of Haomun.

Gwangmyeong Usa looked around and spoke like addressing cult followers.

“...Everyone, sit. No exceptions.”

Ahn Pyo hurriedly pulled us down to sit.

And of course, I sat down as well.

There was no choice. The atmosphere demanded it. We were all like cultists now, sitting on the cold ground, staring up at the cult leader on the roof.

“......”

Is he about to launch into another speech?

When exactly did I become a forced follower of the Demonic Cult?

Even my eldest brother, reunited with Gwangmyeong Usa after so long, had no solution. Without a word of greeting, he sat with us and looked up at the cult leader.

Usa wore a long robe over bare skin, drenched in blood.

In any case, with the children held hostage...

When he says sit, you sit. When he says stand, you stand.

Even so, I was constantly analyzing the situation—the thread materials on the wall, their lengths, the distance to the roof, how many there were. Even if the Three Calamities attacked at once from above, Gwangmyeong Usa could easily drop the blood threads.

There really was no way.

Looking again at the children, I found myself thinking:

It might be better if you all survive and become cultists.

If you survive, do bad things, serve the Cult Leader, and one day, like my eldest brother, start questioning your life and defect...

Wouldn’t that be better?

Whatever life you end up living—I just want you to live. When I met the gaze of one child staring straight at me, I instinctively waved slightly and mumbled,

“...It’ll be okay.”

Then the woman beside him, holding him close, whispered,

“Don’t look.”

The woman shielding the child looked at me the same way one would look at Gwangmyeong Usa.

From the roof, the cult leader spoke with inner energy in his voice.

“...The Master of Haomun has arrived. The originator of this massacre, the one who started it all, has arrived. Look at that young Haomun Master sitting over there.”

Somehow, Gwangmyeong Usa’s tone had changed. He now sounded like a proper mad cult leader.

The captured women and children, the dark path forces who came to help, the sect warriors, the Heavenly Alliance fighters, and even the Four Villains—all turned to look at me.

The cult leader pointed at me.

“Those in the back can’t see you. Stand.”

I had no choice but to stand alone.

Am I truly innocent?

The gazes aimed at me were scorching. It felt like I’d already been sentenced to death by their eyes. They looked at me the way people look at the one they hate most in the world. And all those looks were for me.

The cult leader said,

“Haomun Master Yi Zaha, you’ve finally grown some sense. I thought you’d only calm down after seeing blood. That noisy mouth of yours is quiet today. I like that.”

“......”

“About twenty days ago, you indiscriminately slaughtered my cult followers. Do you admit it?”

“Your followers?”

“My men under Baek Eung-ji were killed. Buried in a deep pit. Your technique killed my men, wiped out the deranged Demonic Cult followers. Was that not your doing?”

Is this what it feels like to be judged?

I nodded.

“I killed them.”

Beside me, the Lecher whispered to Sword Demon,

“Master, there are children in that house too.”

Sword Demon gave a small nod, and Gwangmyeong Usa turned toward the Lecher.

“Lord Mong, keep quiet. Have you lost your mind?”

The Lecher looked at him and answered softly,

“I’m sorry.”

It had been a long time since I’d heard the Lecher use formal speech.

The cult leader asked me,

“What is the name of the technique you used to drive my followers to such futile deaths?”

“Heaven-Piercing Sun-Moon Radiance.”

Whether he was Gwangmyeong Usa or the cult leader now, he said,

“Haomun Master, explain the principle and incantation of Heaven-Piercing Sun-Moon Radiance to all present. We will listen. If you speak falsehoods or try to avoid the situation with nonsense, I’ll drop one blood thread onto the children. If you lie, the children will pay the price.”

At those words, a few of the women beneath the threads began to sob. Then the cult leader snapped,

“Silence. Haomun Master, speak.”

I looked up at him and said,

“This is a technique I invented and mastered myself, so there’s no incantation...”

“Even now, you joke?”

“It’s not a joke. It’s the truth. I can explain the principle. But since it’s something my body learned first, it’s a bit abstract. Still, the more skilled one is, the better they’ll understand what I mean. Cult Leader, I ask your understanding. Why would I joke in a situation like this? I’m not insane.”

The cult leader suddenly turned his head and addressed someone.

“Alliance Lord, welcome. You’re late too.”

The Alliance Lord appeared with his men, paused, and assessed the situation. Ahn Pyo rushed forward on all fours.

“Alliance Lord...”

He raised his hand and cut Ahn Pyo off. Clearly, he already grasped the situation.

He spoke to the cult leader atop the roof.

“Usa, must it really be this way?”

The cult leader placed a hand to his ear and answered lazily,

“...Juguk, say one more word, and I’ll show you something. Back in your youth, you killed just as many rivals as this Haomun Master. It won’t be anything surprising.”

While the Alliance Lord hesitated, Ahn Pyo, in an act of bold defiance, pulled his arm and made him sit. His stunned men all sat down too.

Even the Alliance Lord was no exception.

This warrior, so famed, had no choice but to become a cultist here.

I exchanged a glance with him and gave a slight nod.

“......”

There was no time for greetings. The cult leader turned his attention back to me.

“Now speak, Lord. I’m listening closely.”

As he sat cross-legged atop the roof, he raised a finger and flicked one of the blood threads. It shimmered with blood and spread out like a web. He hadn’t dropped it yet, but just by watching, I could sense how deep his internal energy had become.

I looked around and took a deep breath.

Now was the time to explain Heaven-Piercing Sun-Moon Radiance.

Which meant I was making everyone here my disciple. The Alliance Lord, my eldest brother, the Lecher, the Drunk—they were no exception. All of them were now my students.

The cult leader turned us into his cultists from above.

I, from below, turned everyone here into my disciples.

Because, truthfully—

Heaven-Piercing Sun-Moon Radiance is nothing at all.

If it meant my disciples could survive, I would gladly give them everything I have.