Episode 5 – I Released Sword Energy?
Sado Hwan??
The sword answered confidently.
[That's right.]
“You’re Sado Hwan, ranked 23rd in the Heavenly Demon Cult, the legitimate heir of the Sado family among the Six Demonic Families, and the master of the Black Shadow Corps?”
The sword gave a satisfied nod in response.
[That is also true.]
“But in reality, you're someone who suffers from severed meridians and can’t emit internal energy, so you’re only a second-rate...?”
[Insolent bastard!]
That confirmed it. It really was Sado Hwan.
It seemed I must have awakened him somehow by kicking the orb.
“The soul extracted through the Soul Separation Technique went into the sword.”
The Soul Separation Technique extracted the souls of Sado Hwan and the protagonist, Mujin. Originally, the two were supposed to switch places, but I ended up taking the spot instead.
‘Actually, that’s a relief.’
That means Mujin’s soul probably entered my body.
Better Mujin than Sado Hwan.
But maybe I had provoked him too much.
The sword trembled violently, then suddenly sprang forward as if it were going to slash me.
Even though this body couldn’t use internal energy due to severed meridians, it was still second-rate. I was able to dodge with my reflexes.
The problem was, it didn’t just attack once. It kept flying around, targeting me.
The sword flew with strange angles as if it were performing sword techniques on its own.
Martial arts.
It was fighting using Sado Hwan’s will. The sword was executing martial arts by itself!
“Wait! Just wait a second!”
[Silence!]
“Just listen to me for a moment!”
[I have no intention of listening to the words of a lowly fraud like you!]
He clearly had no intention of listening.
In the end, I stumbled backward to avoid the sword and fell on my butt after tripping over the altar. At that moment, the Skybreaker Sword lunged toward my neck at high speed.
I instinctively covered my neck with both hands and shut my eyes tightly. So this is how I die.
But then—
Thud.
The sword stopped midair. As if an invisible hand had grabbed it. No matter how hard it tried to move, it just quivered, as though that invisible hand held it firmly.
[What is this...!]
Thank you, Invisible Hand. Thank you, Adam Smith.
[Don’t tell me! You were cut by this sword?!]
Sado Hwan spoke in a shocked voice. Now that he mentioned it, I had been cut. My arm was injured from Morong-su’s sword, and I had it bandaged.
[Heavenly Demon...]
Sado Hwan muttered in a voice full of despair.
I quickly grasped the situation.
Return of the Murim is a world filled with martial arts clichés.
One common cliché is a weapon recognizing someone as its master after being stained with their blood.
Now I understood why the blood on the sword had disappeared—it was part of the recognition process.
[This is absurd!]
Sado Hwan burst into rage. The sword hovered threateningly in front of my face but couldn't strike.
Thank god. I was alive.
Now that I had survived, I started to feel indignant.
“When someone speaks—”
I grabbed the hilt of the Skybreaker Sword. It trembled in my hand like I’d just caught a massive fish with a rod.
“Listen, will you?! You crazy bastard!”
I hurled the sword forward. It flew at high speed and clattered against the wall.
“Haah, haah...”
I gasped for breath, tension and fury surging and then ebbing all at once.
The Skybreaker Sword lay sprawled on the ground.
[You, you...!]
The sword’s body trembled violently. It looked just like a furious CEO grabbing the back of his neck in anger.
I mean, I couldn’t blame him.
He had lived a fine life with a powerful background, only to be suddenly trapped inside a sword.
In that sense, I had it just as bad—maybe worse. I had been dragged into a novel.
We were both screwed over.
Wait a minute.
Let me shift perspectives.
Wouldn’t it be easier if it wasn’t just the Skybreaker Sword, but Sado Hwan himself that was around?
Either way, since I’m now the sword’s master, Sado Hwan can’t hurt me.
If so, what if I used him—or rather, worked with him?
“Get a grip and listen, Sado Hwan. I’m not Mujin, the one you saw.”
[What?]
“I came from another world.”
I told Sado Hwan my story. I embellished a little, just enough to say I’d been caught up in something unjust in another world.
[If you came from another world, does that mean you're some kind of monster? A clown monster that mimics others?]
“Scoff. Think whatever you want.”
A monster? In a world without even the concept of monsters?
“Anyway. Listen up. I have no intention of staying in your body forever. And you don’t want to be stuck in a sword, right?”
[That’s obvious.]
“Then let’s make a deal.”
[A deal?]
I nodded.
“I go back to my original world, you get your body back, and we score this legendary sword in the process. That’s not just killing two birds with one stone, it’s three.”
[Is there a way?]
“Heavenly Sage.”
[Heavenly Sage... If it’s Heavenly Sage, that might be possible.]
In Return of the Murim, there’s no status window.
If there were, the Heavenly Demon’s power stat would be 999, and Heavenly Sage’s intelligence would be 99.
He likely knew about the Soul Separation Technique and possibly how to undo it.
It was a long shot, but still worth clinging to.
By the way, the reason the Heavenly Demon has three-digit stats and Heavenly Sage only two is because if you mess with the Heavenly Demon, even the Heavenly Sage gets split in half. Of course, “Heavenly” isn’t a number, but you get the idea.
Even if he’s hiding an injury and is a bit weakened now, the Heavenly Demon is undoubtedly the strongest in this world.
If he wanted to, conquering the martial world would be effortless.
Fortunately, Sado Hwan didn’t have a bad relationship with the Heavenly Demon.
After a moment of thought, Sado Hwan responded.
[You really do mimic me well.]
No further explanation was needed.
I entered "Sado Hwan mode" and played the part.
“I am Sado Hwan.”
That one line was enough.
Sado Hwan replied.
[Fine.]
“Smart move.”
[You must never, ever get found out.]
“Obviously. That’s both our lives on the line.”
Sado Hwan nodded. In the Heavenly Demon Cult, where only the strong are respected, if news spread that his soul was sealed in a sword, they wouldn’t try to return him to his body. They’d treat him like a rare weapon.
Everyone ranked 20 and up is Super Peak or higher, so those top dogs would play around with him like a toy.
“One more thing.”
[What is it?]
“From now on, I’m going to call you Skybreaker, not Sado Hwan.”
Maybe no one would suspect now, but once I returned to the Heavenly Demon Cult, eyes and ears would be everywhere.
If I went around saying “Sado Hwan,” suspicion would be unavoidable. If I called the sword “Skybreaker,” they'd just think I had a deep attachment to it.
[Fine. I accept.]
I was worried since he seemed extremely prideful and obsessed with reputation, but apparently getting his body back was more urgent.
All set. Situation sorted.
Now, I had to get out of here.
Even though the cave above had collapsed, I wasn’t too worried.
These rabbit-hole-style ruins usually have multiple exits. There had to be another way out.
“Oh.”
I turned away from the corpse of Morong-su and started moving to find an exit.
There were ten passageways spreading out from the central plaza like a spiderweb.
One of them was where I had come from. The one next to it was where Morong-su had come from.
Since Morong-su had entered the central area instead of leaving, chances were that passage was also blocked.
Starting from the one next to that, I checked the paths one by one. If mine was the first, and Morong-su’s was the second, then paths 3 through 6 were all blocked.
I entered the 7th passage.
“Hm—”
That one was blocked too. Rubble filled the way, but sunlight was leaking through a gap.
It had clearly been midnight before, so I must have been unconscious for quite a while.
[If we can’t get out even after all this, that would be pretty funny.]
Skybreaker muttered wryly.
“Come on, no way.”
I shouldn’t have said “no way.”
Was it my words, or Skybreaker’s jinx?
All ten passages were blocked. Even paths 1 and 2 were worse off than before.
I returned to the 7th passage, the one with light seeping through, and sat down. Sunlight tickled my face.
“Hey, Skybreaker—no, Sado Hwan, can’t you really use martial arts?”
[...]
“Seriously? There’s no secret technique only you know to use it or something?”
No reply.
I felt like the world hated me. Was struggling to survive so wrong?
“Phew...”
I exhaled deeply.
Right. Stay calm.
The only reason I’ve survived this long is because I’ve never given up. All I’ve got is my body and my will.
This body can’t use internal energy, but it’s still capable.
I brushed myself off and stood up. I picked up Skybreaker and stood before the rubble.
[What are you doing?]
Skybreaker, who had been silent, spoke.
“If I don’t have teeth, I’ll chew with my gums. No internal energy? Then I’ll use brute force to break through.”
[...]
I clenched my hands with determination. I could feel the flow of internal energy moving toward my hands.
Once you reach first-rate, that energy reaches the fingertips. At Peak level, you can infuse it into weapons.
But in Sado Hwan’s body, that was impossible. All I could manage was slight bodily enhancement and stamina.
Still, it was something.
I swung the sword.
Kkaang—!
Sparks flew from the stone wall. A chunk the size of a fingertip was chipped off.
Normally, that swing should’ve dulled the blade, but this was the legendary Skybreaker. It remained unscathed.
Satisfied, I swung again.
It wasn’t clean—being unfamiliar with sword handling, I missed or hit the wrong spots—but it didn’t matter.
As long as I could clear the rubble, I’d be able to get out.
To stay focused, I started counting each swing.
Once, twice, three times, four.
A hundred. A hundred and one. A hundred and three.
Nine hundred ninety-eight, nine hundred ninety-nine, one thousand.
I paused to catch my breath. I had no idea how long I’d have to keep swinging, so I needed to pace myself.
Sweat soaked my body and even got in my eyes. My hands were raw and blistered, about to burst.
No technique, no skill—it was only natural.
After a break, I picked the sword back up and stood in front of the rubble again. I had made real progress.
The crack that was once hair-thin was now as wide as a finger. I could clearly see outside.
As I prepared to swing again—
[Your stance is off.]
Skybreaker, who had stayed silent all this time, finally spoke.
[Take a horse stance shoulder-width apart. Move your left foot half a step forward.]
“Now you want to help?”
[I just don’t want to see my body move in such a pathetic way.]
He corrected my stance. I followed his instructions.
[When you swing, hold your breath. Think of channeling your energy into the sword and slash downward with force.]
I focused on his words and swung.
Then—
Vwoooong—
Skkkukkuk!
Skybreaker didn’t just chip stone—it cut straight through.
A faint light glowed along the blade.
“What the...?”
My internal energy still wasn’t responding. The meridians were blocked.
Which meant—
[I… I released sword energy!]
Skybreaker had just released sword energy.