Chapter 32 – Take My Hand
When asked, "What exactly is the Transcendent Peak Realm?" a divine monk of Shaolin once replied:
"It is leading the Buddha within me to the outside world."
Masters at the Transcendent Peak level sharpen their willpower. Unlike in games where one gains experience and levels up, martial cultivation is an uncertain path—one that must be walked relying on nothing but sheer will, never knowing when or how enlightenment will come.
That's why the willpower of those at the Transcendent Peak is extraordinary. And their will doesn't stop at mere determination. It bends what is considered the natural order.
Creating burning ice or boiling water—miraculous feats.
People referred to this phenomenon as Manifestation.
Not long ago, when Yun Yeopja evolved(?) into the Transcendent Peak, it was by awakening the energy of the “Heavenly Demon”—a similar concept.
“Right now, the Witch of the Small Marsh can’t manifest.”
If she could, Paeng Soso and Saweol wouldn’t have walked away like that. The moment they were touched, they should have been encased in ice and turned into statues.
At my words, Paeng Soso’s eyes widened.
Until Peak level, martial artists can only produce unusual effects like blade winds or slightly heating/cooling an attack. Even Paeng Soso’s Samrak Blade emitted thunder energy—but if a Transcendent Peak master used it, it should summon actual lightning.
What makes Transcendent Peak masters truly terrifying isn't just their internal energy techniques (qi reinforcement), but the Manifestation achieved through them.
Right now, the Witch of the Small Marsh can’t use qi reinforcement, and she can’t manifest either. That’s because—
“A mindless puppet can’t use qi reinforcement. It’s a martial art born from will.”
Baek So-hyang is being controlled by Jo Yang’s Puppet Flute. Though she absorbed the jade containing the Small Marsh Witch’s power, she’s running purely on instinct.
A martial artist operating solely on instinct can never reach Transcendent Peak.
“So don’t be scared. She’s just a slightly tougher Peak-level opponent right now.”
“You suddenly started talking down to me?!”
“Do you want me to keep using honorifics when our lives are on the line?”
“Hmph, fair enough. It would be weird if my dear husband kept being so polite, especially when you're way older than me.”
I let out a chuckle. Judging by her “dear husband” comment, she seemed slightly unhinged, but maybe she was finally recovering her mental state.
[You're laughing? Using my body like this—]
‘Hey, I’m about to get married. Quiet, I need to think clearly.’
[…]
First things first, we needed to keep the Witch in check.
“Paeng Soso, draw her attention from the front. Saweol knows assassination techniques. She’s better suited for delivering a fatal blow.”
“You’re just gonna say that out loud?”
“The Witch of the Small Marsh can’t understand us anyway.”
Jo Yang didn’t seem to be giving her precise commands either. Probably just telling her who the enemy was.
Paeng Soso nodded and took a deep breath. Then, with her trembling hands steadying, she gripped her blade and stepped forward.
“Come at me!”
The Witch and Paeng Soso clashed. Saweol stayed behind, waiting for an opening.
I wasn’t just standing idle either.
‘Jo Yang.’
Ultimately, Jo Yang was the root of this. If I could take the Puppet Flute from him, I might be able to regain control of the Witch.
“Can I really take it from him?”
Jo Yang didn’t seem like a martial artist, but he was skilled in formations and sorcery. Just look at Paeng Soso earlier—approach carelessly, and you might fall through a collapsing floor. I couldn’t recklessly get close.
Plus, Jo Yang kept glancing in my direction, wary. From his point of view, I had defeated the guardian statue and absorbed the jade—he probably saw me as someone with formidable martial prowess.
[Then why didn’t he absorb the jade himself?]
‘No intel, maybe. Didn’t want to risk it. What if he had the Golden Touch? He might’ve accidentally turned his revived lover into gold.’
[...You have a point. Desperation gave us boldness.]
Regardless, Jo Yang was my problem to deal with. I wasn’t going to fight the Witch head-on.
[So what’s your plan?]
‘There’s only one way.’
I glanced at the back of my hand. The symbol visible only to me, shaped like >>>, pulsed with dark blue energy.
There wouldn’t be many chances.
‘Spatial Shift’s max range is 5 meters. I can use it three times?’
Each use causes one of the >>> marks to disappear. They recharge over time, about one every minute.
So I had three tries. After that, Jo Yang would likely use formations or sorcery to counter me.
I subtly opened the Black Crow Fan and waved it.
“You’re not cold?!”
Paeng Soso glanced at me like I was insane.
“I’m thinking. Focus on your side.”
“Eeek!”
The Black Crow Fan’s paralysis poison was aimed at Jo Yang. The Witch was moving too fast for precise targeting, so I’d chosen Jo Yang instead.
It didn’t work. The transparent gem on Jo Yang’s necklace began to glow green.
[That’s a Poison Ward Pearl.]
‘Guess poison won’t cut it.’
The Poison Ward Pearl was a type of treasure that neutralized poisons. It wasn’t surprising—Jo Yang had planned this for decades. Of course he’d prepare for everything.
It was also because the poison I used wasn’t Tang Siyuk’s lethal brew, but a milder one.
“Do something already! She’s ridiculously strong!”
Paeng Soso kept falling back under the Witch’s assault, who was charging like a runaway train. Her pressure was so intense, even Saweol couldn’t find an opening.
‘Can I really do it?’
I was a non-combatant. What I’d done earlier was practically a miracle under pressure.
[You idiot.]
The Skybreaker Sword, Skybreaker, spoke.
[If a martial artist doesn’t believe in themselves, who will?]
“I’m not a martial artist.”
[Silence. As long as you hold my body, you are a martial artist. Believe in yourself. You are... you are Sado Hwan.]
Yeah. I’m Sado Hwan.
I exhaled deeply. The distance between me and Jo Yang was about 9 meters—roughly three jang. Within reach if I chained two teleportations.
“But if I suddenly vanish, he’ll dodge or block for sure.”
So I had to fake him out. Like a feint in war or a misdirect in a game—distract the aggro.
I drew Skybreaker Sword and took a stance that looked like a downward slash.
‘Teleportation preserves motion.’
I didn’t need to make a show of it. All I had to do was swing downward.
“Let’s go.”
I used Blink.
Pop!
Toward Jo Yang—
No, toward the Witch of the Small Marsh.
I reappeared above her head, as she was swinging at Paeng Soso’s sword. Paeng Soso flinched when she saw me, cloaked in dark-blue aura.
“W-what?! A feint?!”
The Witch reacted faster. Sensing me, she swung her arm upward.
‘She’s going to hit me!’
I dispersed my internal energy throughout my whole body, not just my arm. I had learned something while clashing with the guardian statue and listening to Skybreaker: a direct clash of force only leads to breakage.
Kkang!
Skybreaker Sword met the Witch’s claws.
“Gah!?”
A surprised cry escaped from the Witch.
Skybreaker Sword was a legendary blade. With no qi reinforcement and only her crude claw energy, her nails couldn’t withstand the blade’s edge and were severed.
“Gyaaagh!”
She howled in rage and swung her arm violently. I deliberately let Skybreaker meet her strike.
Boom!
“Kim-hyung!”
I felt my body flying, Paeng Soso’s voice stretching in slow motion.
Honestly, if I hadn’t experienced the statue’s hit before, I might’ve passed out. Maybe it was that—or maybe the Heavenly Demon Divine Art kept me conscious.
The pain was terrible, but my mind was clear.
So, once more—
Blink.
Pop!
This time, I reappeared above Jo Yang’s head, surrounded by dark-blue energy. Blink preserved my momentum.
He was always my true target.
Using the recoil from the Witch’s blow, I plunged Skybreaker down toward Jo Yang like a salmon leaping upstream.
“What is this!?”
Startled, Jo Yang quickly threw something to the ground. A milky, translucent barrier began rising. It was likely a protective shield—but its formation speed barely matched my descent.
‘Reach it!’
I thrust the sword downward. Skybreaker pierced through the almost-complete shield like a comet.
Jo Yang’s eyes widened in slow motion. I released the hilt.
Skybreaker surged forward—
“Kuagh—!”
Jo Yang screamed.
“Sh*t.”
I swore quietly.
I missed.
I had aimed for the Puppet Flute, but the sword’s angle changed slightly after brushing the barrier, and it only grazed his left shoulder.
Skybreaker tried to continue attacking on its own, but the Witch had already moved to shield Jo Yang.
‘Should’ve gone for the heart, maybe.’
But I shook my head.
It wasn’t because I feared taking a life. If it meant surviving, I would.
The real reason was Cheongi-ja. Jo Yang clearly knew something about him. Even the smallest hint might be invaluable when it came to tracking down the elusive Heavenly Saint.
“You damned bastards!”
Jo Yang spat out through his nose.
“You were just food! Fine, I’ll kill you all!”
He stomped on the ground.
Suddenly, a thick mist began pouring in from somewhere and blanketed the area.
“This is...!”
Paeng Soso gasped. It was the same disorienting fog formation that had blocked our earlier path. Jo Yang could manipulate not just formations but perhaps the entire ruin itself.
Maybe that was why Yun Yeopja and the others hadn’t arrived yet—he could be looping the ruins to delay them.
‘Phase two, huh?’
A classic martial arts cliché.
Before the fog fully settled, Paeng Soso and Saweol regrouped by my side. Now it was three against two.
But something was off—Saweol looked distressed, a rare expression for her.
“I-I can’t see! My vision’s all blurry!”
Paeng Soso panicked as well.
[Tell them to cut off outside distractions and focus inward.]
Skybreaker had never mastered martial arts due to his constitution, so he became a theory fanatic. His theories were flawless.
I relayed the message.
“You won’t be able to use sword energy then.”
“Don’t cling to the sword energy. It’s just a tool. What matters is you, not the tool.”
At my words, Paeng Soso suddenly trembled.
Oh no.
Now’s not the time to have a breakthrough!
At this rate, the novel should be called Everyone But Me Gets Enlightenment.
Paeng Soso, spaced out, began dancing wildly with her sword. The energy was savage and ferocious.
Each martial artist's enlightenment journey is different—Yun Yeopja sat quietly in meditation, while Paeng Soso raged in motion.
Maybe I really should stop getting involved with the brute-brained Paeng clan...
Anyway, that left me and Saweol to solve this situation.
The fog reached my chin and obscured my entire field of vision. I couldn’t even see Paeng Soso or Saweol anymore.
Beyond three steps, nothing. Within two, things became visible.
[...The Witch is coming! Dodge!]
I immediately dove to the side. Even without visual cues, I felt the chilling gust graze past me.
Apparently, the Witch wasn’t affected by the fog formation. Since I posed the biggest threat to Jo Yang, I had become her top priority.
[Rear left!]
The cold presence passed swiftly again. I dodged, but—
Shhk!
Her claw grazed my upper left arm. Pain like slicing flesh surged through me. The wound instantly froze over.
“Kihehek!”
The Witch's eerie laughter echoed in the fog. Skybreaker urgently warned me:
[Bottom right quadrant!]
“What kind of nonsense is that?!”
[To your lower right! She's coming!]
I used Blink without knowing exactly where. Just jumped.
[It’s Paeng Soso. Dodge toward the south direction!]
‘I don’t know compass directions! Guide me yourself!’
Skybreaker, frustrated, pulled at me. I followed his lead.
Sounds of sword clashes suggested Paeng Soso and the Witch had collided again.
I let out a breath of relief—only for a sharp presence to chill me to the bone.
[It’s Saweol! Tilt your head back!]
I obeyed. A razor-sharp aura grazed my chin.
[That arrogant wench! Release bloodlust and kill her! Do it now!]
Skybreaker, enraged by the injury, tried to lash out at Saweol. I stopped him.
“Saweol. It’s me. Sado Hwan.”
No reply came. Instead, another sword strike.
Skybreaker blocked it.
“Saweol!”
[...She’s lost it.]
“What?”
[Saweol. She’s mentally gone.]
“Ah!”
Right—she had that “setting.”
Saweol suffered from a trauma—a heart demon in this world’s terms.
On the day her family, her everything, burned... the air had been full of fog.
She hated fog—almost to the point of phobia.
So that’s why she suddenly turned cold in the cave.
‘The fog brought those memories back. That’s why her killing intent flared up.’
But now, deep in the mist, her heart demon exploded and drove her mind blank. That’s why she was slashing indiscriminately.
It wasn’t in the official Return of the Murim setting. No wonder I didn’t think of it right away.
Kkaang!
Saweol’s sword flew at me again. Skybreaker blocked it. It wasn’t strong—likely due to her being mentally lost.
“Saweol.”
I called again. She didn’t answer. Only another attack came.
Instead of dodging, I stepped into the attack.
[What are you doing?! Dodge!]
‘If I can get to Saweol, I can fix this.’
Blink allowed me to bring others with me. Like how I carried Skybreaker.
I was going to bring Saweol along.
Skybreaker tried to stop me, but I kept moving.
Finally, just two steps away—I saw her tear-filled, terrified eyes.
As I approached, she stabbed me in the right shoulder with her dagger.
Blood gushed like a fountain.
But thanks to that, I was able to grab both of her shoulders.
If the trauma-generated “setting” was real—
Then the resolution had a “setting” too.
“Saweol.”
I spoke gently.
“It’s time to go home.”
At that moment—The haze left her eyes.
She snapped back to awareness and quickly returned to her usual stoic self.
“You’re awake.”
“What... what happened...?”
“I know you want to kill me. But—”
My words finally cracked her expression.
“Just this once, take my hand.”
I pulled her dagger from my shoulder and handed it to her.
“We have to go home, don’t we?”
Saweol bit her lip, then finally—Grabbed my hand.
‘Skybreaker. Jo Yang’s location?’
[Damn bastard. Three jang ahead.]
I estimated the distance. Two Blinks should reach it.
“Let’s go, Saweol.”
Pop!
Blink.
Pop!
Again, Blink.
We reappeared above Jo Yang’s head.
I let go of her hand and said:
“Lower rear flank.”
[...You insane bastard.]
Saweol’s blade traced a streak of light.