Yu Gang rose to his feet and faced those who had appeared.

Five second-generation disciples of Mount Hua.

Though they all held a lower distribution rank than Yu Gang, they were older than him.

Yu Gang had become a first-generation disciple at a young age because he was the direct heir disciple (jeokjeonja) of Elder Nomun.

There were very few disciples who welcomed the sudden appearance of such a young sasuk overnight.

At best, only those among the second-generation disciples who were similarly young, around Yu Gang’s age, accepted him without hesitation.

Yu Gang had long known of their hostility and had tried to get along—but once a rift had formed, closing it was no easy matter.

Over time, as more people gradually grew used to him, those who remained uncomfortable simply distanced themselves further.

And the ones now standing before Yu Gang were precisely such people.

“What were you doing here? Not gathering herbs, I see.”

The leading second-generation disciple glanced at Yu Gang, Jin Yeong, and Jin Ye.

“Don’t tell me... did you do that to them, sasuk? You didn’t try to dish out some punishment just because you’re sasuk, did you?”

The disciples standing behind him chuckled at the remark.

Even if they had been hostile from the beginning, they had never so brazenly crossed the line with someone one rank above them.

Mount Hua was a Daoist sect, and its disciples were Daoists.

They would not openly violate the principles of propriety.

“And what kind of punishment is done in such a secluded place? What if someone misunderstands?”

The more their words and behavior crossed the line, the colder Yu Gang’s expression became.

He walked forward toward them, step by step.

The narrowing distance caused the second-generation disciples to stop laughing and become wary.

Yu Gang pulled a piece of paper from his robes and held it out in front of them.

“Read it.”

All five lowered their gazes to the letters written on the paper. Their expressions hardened at nearly the same time.

Bewilderment. Discomfort. Shock.

Clearly, these were not the reactions of those ignorant of the meaning.

“W-Why should we ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) read this? Just because you're sasuk, that doesn’t mean we have to do everything you say—”

Yu Gang reached behind him and handed the paper to Jin Yeong so she could read the characters aloud.

“Jin Yeong. What does this say?”

The faces of the five disciples visibly trembled.

“Uh...? Blood Cult...?”

Even as she spoke the words, Jin Yeong shuddered.

Yu Gang showed the slip again to the fearful group.

“That’s right. Blood Cult. Is it really that hard to read two measly characters?”

“...”

“It is hard, huh.”

Yu Gang returned the paper to his robes and drew his sword.

He raised it toward the five disciples.

“So you’re the traitors. Honestly, I hoped there weren’t any. But there really are.”

Yu Gang’s eyes sank into a piercing chill.

His gaze swept across the five traitors now pointing swords at him—one by one, slowly, deliberately.

“You lot... I won’t go easy on you.”

****

Five at the supreme level. At best, just the two of them at the peak level.

There was no way they could win this fight.

Moreover, the elders of Mount Hua, now fully hypnotized, would certainly be attacking with lethal force.

‘What is the Fifth Blood Lord’s goal? To kill me? Or to capture me alive?’

All she could do now was hope it was the latter.

Seolhwa and Ryeong stood back to back, watching the movements of the five elders.

They had no way of knowing from which direction the first attack would come, so their breathing grew rapid with tension, nerves wound tight—

Rustle.

‘Someone else...!’

A large shadow suddenly emerged from directly in front of Seolhwa.

Another hypnotized individual appearing on top of the five supreme elders? Just as her anxiety spiked—

“There you are, broomstick. I’ve been looking all over.”

The one who had appeared was Namgoong Mugang, Head of the Martial Studies Hall and Seolhwa’s great-granduncle.

Leaves were stuck all over his massive body as he scanned the situation.

“What’s going on here? Don’t tell me all these bastards are under that hypnosis thing or whatever?”

“Yes. They seem to be after me.”

“These little punks... trying to get their hands on my broomstick...”

An explosive burst of energy roared from his body.

Though he had not yet stepped into the realm of enlightenment, his level among supreme masters was one of the highest.

If Namgoong Mucheon’s energy was like an immense ocean, then Namgoong Mugang’s was like a torrential waterfall crashing down.

At the overwhelming surge of power, the hypnotized elders all turned toward him at once.

Boom—!

Namgoong Mugang instantly struck down the elder who had stood directly before Seolhwa.

— Ryeong, now!

Tap—! Taptap!

Seolhwa and Ryeong did not miss the opening and swiftly slipped behind Namgoong Mugang.

“These damn bastards...”

“Be careful, Great-Granduncle.”

Even if Namgoong Mugang was strong, there were still four martial artists at the same level.

“They are not acting of their own will.”

“I know. I’ve heard that those under hypnosis lose all sense of self.”

“That’s true, but these elders are not under a simple hypnosis. I think their very consciousness is being directly controlled.”

Before Namgoong Mugang had appeared, the elders had surrounded them without attacking—despite having the chance to do so.

As if they were waiting for the order to strike.

And the elder who had just been taken down had not even attempted to defend himself against Namgoong Mugang’s attack.

As though no order to retaliate had been given.

“The one controlling them must be nearby.”

“Alright. Then that bastard must be watching this right now, huh?”

“Yes. Most likely.”

Namgoong Mugang cracked his neck to both sides with an audible pop.

“If I flatten every last one of these suckers, that bastard won’t be able to stay hidden, will he?”

He swung the greatsword strapped to his back—nearly half as wide as his torso—through the air with a whoosh, whoosh, striding toward the elders.

The elders likewise entered battle stance.

Their presence, as they raised their swords toward Namgoong Mugang, was different from before.

Dash—!

As Namgoong Mugang charged toward the elders, Seolhwa shouted from behind him:

“This time, they’ll fight back!”

Even before the words had finished—

Clang—! Clang! Clang-clang!

The battle erupted.

Just as Seolhwa had said, the Mount Hua elders began to resist Namgoong Mugang’s attacks.

“Hrrmph!”

Whoosh—! Clang!

Whenever Namgoong Mugang’s massive sword struck down, another elder’s sword would slip in between the gap as if waiting for that very moment.

The four elders linked their attacks as if prearranged, and taking down such coordinated opponents was no simple feat.

‘Where... where is it...?’

Seolhwa’s eyes darted around.

The Fifth Blood Lord, who was surely observing all of this, had to be nearby....

Slaash—!

“What the—?!”

Tap!

Namgoong Mugang suddenly leapt backward in haste.

When Seolhwa looked toward him, his robes were stained with blood.

It wasn’t his blood.

Did he kill one of them? No way...!

“What the hell is that guy?!”

Seolhwa quickly turned her gaze in the direction Namgoong Mugang was looking.

Clang! Clang-clang! Claaang—!

The fight was still raging in full force.

But the one now fending off the elders was no longer Namgoong Mugang—it was another man who had appeared from somewhere.

One of the elders was collapsed face-down, bearing a massive wound across his back, and the man was now engaged with only three of them.

“Hey! You little bastard! Don’t kill them!!”

Just as Namgoong Mugang, who had briefly pulled back, was about to charge back into the fray—

Seolhwa suddenly grabbed his arm.

“You can’t!”

“Let go! That bastard’s killing the ones under hypnosis!”

But Seolhwa didn’t let go.

“You mustn’t go! That man...!”

Her grip on Namgoong Mugang’s arm tightened.

Her gaze, fixed on the man fighting the elders, quivered minutely.

‘I’ve seen those movements before.’

In her previous life—she had both seen them and clashed with them. She remembered exactly.

That man was—

‘The Fifth Blood Lord.’

“He’s the one. The one who was controlling the elders...”

And at that moment, as if time itself froze, the swords of both the Mount Hua elders and the man in the fight came to a sudden halt.

****

“Ugh... ngh...”

“Khrrgh...”

The five second-generation disciples lay sprawled across the ground. All five had rushed him at once, but defeating Yu Gang had proven impossible.

Yu Gang’s sword hovered over the neck of the leader among them.

As the man tried to rise, he froze, glaring up at Yu Gang.

“You... monster bastard... You’ve gotten even stronger already...?”

“So I don’t even get called sasuk anymore, huh.”

“Sasuk, my ass. I never thought of a beggar like you as sasuk to begin with.”

“You were pretty nice to that beggar, though.”

Back then, every time they met on the street, he’d hand over silver with a smile.

“You think anyone would accept some panhandler they used to pity suddenly showing up and demanding respect as their sasuk?”

He was the first to see Yu Gang using Mount Hua martial arts on the street.

He had merely reported it to the elder, saying some outsider was recklessly wielding internal techniques from the main line.

But who could’ve predicted?

That the beggar he used to toss coins to out of pity would become his sasuk, and he’d be forced to speak formally to him overnight.

That this late-joining brat would skyrocket in strength and monopolize the adults’ attention.

“Things disciples of Mount Hua couldn’t obtain even after a lifetime of bloodshed and sweat—how is it that you grasp them so easily?”

He spat out the blood pooling in his mouth at Yu Gang’s feet.

“You’re just a thief who steals others’ martial arts.”

“...Is that why you betrayed us?”

The man grinned, blood-slicked teeth bared.

“Betrayal? Don’t be absurd. A true martial artist always pursues the stronger path.”

“My master once said—when you force yourself to wear clothes that don’t fit, they’ll tear or drag you into the dirt.”

“Pfft... hahahaha!”

“...”

“You... you cared about that kid Myeong, didn’t you?”

“!”

Yu Gang’s eyes wavered for the briefest moment.

“Do you know who gave the order to kill him?”

“...”

“Elder Nomun.”

Through the man’s bloody, broken smile, his blood-drenched teeth showed clearly.

“Your master.”

****

Frozen in place, Nomun slowly turned his head toward Seolhwa.

A soft, gentle arc curled at the corners of his lips.