Episode 06: To Survive
At the entrance of the cave where Sadohwan had been trapped, dozens of black-clad individuals lingered around the collapsed entrance.
Not far from them, a black field tent had been set up.
Inside, a man was yelling with flushed cheeks at Saweol, the Deputy Commander of the Black Shadow Corps and the 24th-ranked member of the Celestial Demon Cult.
“It’s already been two days, Deputy Commander! Shouldn’t we be organizing a rescue or doing something?!”
“I’ve already sent a communication to the main sect. We wait for their reply.”
“And in the meantime, we just sit here doing nothing? We don’t know when they might show up!”
Saweol slowly turned her head to meet the man’s eyes. He was a handsome man with a robust frame and tanned skin, armed with a long black spear.
“Tak Horak, Third Squad Leader.”
Saweol’s tone was icy and calm, her gaze sharp as blades.
“We wait.”
“…Understood.”
“Set an example so the others don’t become unsettled.”
Though Tak Horak’s expression was full of dissatisfaction, he could only lower his head under the weight of her rank.
As he was leaving the tent, Saweol spoke again in a low voice.
“The Division Commander is still alive.”
“…So, you truly believe the same as we do. Understood.”
Tak Horak’s face lit up instantly. This time, he bowed deeply with genuine respect and left the tent.
‘What loyalty,’ Saweol thought, her face expressionless, though tinged with scorn.
Rank 23? It’s all a facade.
If Sadohwan fought any member of the Black Shadow Corps, he’d lose his head in just three exchanges.
That was the absolute difference between someone who could use qi and someone who couldn’t.
Still, with his revolting performance, Sadohwan had managed to deceive everyone.
Saweol participated in the charade for the sake of their shared objective, but it disgusted her deeply.
After all, she was a proud member of the Celestial Demon Cult, a sect that worshipped the strong to the core.
Thump.
And that disgusting man—he was still alive.
She could feel another presence pulsing clearly within her own beating heart.
The Poison Link Parasites.
A pair of insects—one planted in Sadohwan’s heart, the other in Saweol’s.
No matter how far apart they were, the insects sensed each other’s presence.
It was how she had tracked Sadohwan after he’d been dragged into the cave. And how she knew he was still alive.
It was also one of the reasons she followed his orders.
‘Knowing Sado hwang, he’ll definitely send a rescue party for his precious younger brother.’
Even Saweol didn’t dare to recklessly break through the cave-in.
If she touched it wrong and triggered a collapse, that would truly be the end.
It was better to wait for a rescue squad from the sect.
Perhaps even the Sado Family Head would come in person. For him, clearing this kind of cave-in would be trivial.
Crunch.
Just thinking of the Sado Family Head made Saweol grind her teeth, the sound sharp and ominous.
“Someday…”
The hatred she bore toward the Sado Family ran deep—so deep, it chilled the air.
As Saweol continued to brood—
The tent flap opened again.
Tak Horak reappeared.
“I told you to wait.”
“You need to come quickly, ma’am!”
Tak Horak reported that there were strange sounds coming from the cave.
“I’m sure it’s the Division Commander! He’s breaking through the cave!”
Saweol didn’t respond.
She, of all people, knew the truth about Sadohwan’s abilities.
‘Unless it’s sword energy, there’s no way he could break through.’
Striking stone with an ordinary sword would only chip it slightly—and ruin the blade first.
Still, she needed to confirm it.
After all, whoever was breaking through the cave might not be Sadohwan.
“Let’s go.”
***
[I… I released sword energy!]
Skybreaker laughed like a madman.
Usually, for the sake of image, he kept things composed. But laughing like this meant he was genuinely elated.
[I released sword energy!!]
In the darkness, with a sliver of sunlight shining down, Skybreaker revealed its presence through a vivid blue glow.
A first-rate martial artist can release the energy stored within them, their internal energy, to the outside.
Unless it’s a special technique, that energy usually appears like a faint shimmering haze.
That’s the minimum requirement to use true martial arts.
Once one surpasses first-rate and reaches Peak level, their aura takes on colors depending on their technique.
Unlike the faint and weak energy of a first-rate, the Peak-level aura clings to the blade, enhancing its destructive power, or can even be fired off for long-range attacks.
A realm Sado Hwan could never reach in his lifetime, no matter how long he trained.
Ironically, it was only after his body turned into a sword that he became capable of using internal energy.
“Hey, Skybreaker. Calm down a little.”
[Calm down? Did you just tell me to calm down?]
Skybreaker flew from my hand and went wild, slicing through the cave.
With each twitch of the blade, rocks the size of heads were shattered.
It was on a whole different level from when I was cutting by hand—a literal sword dance.
I couldn’t take it anymore and shouted urgently,
“If you keep doing that recklessly and the cave collapses again, forget sword energy, I’ll get buried and die! Then you’ll never get your body back!”
[Kuheum.]
Only then did Skybreaker stop moving. I gripped the hilt.
A blue, auspicious aura flowed along the blade.
To describe it, the energy rippled like waves from the hilt toward the edge of the sword.
And it was triggering my sense of discomfort.
I’m a Return of the Murim nerd. I might not know every tiny detail, but I’ve got all the major settings memorized.
“This is strange.”
[What is?]
“This color. The blue.”
The key difference between the energy of a first-rate and the sword energy of a Peak-level martial artist is color.
Real sword energy reflects the nature of the martial technique, often through color.
[Blue?]
“There’s a guess I don’t want to make, but the more I resist, the more likely it turns out true.”
[Stop being vague and just say it, monster.]
“I’m not a monster... never mind.”
[So? What’s the problem?]
“The color. It’s too pure.”
The sword energy Skybreaker was emitting was a pure, bright blue.
In Return of the Murim, righteous sects had clear, pure colors.
The demonic sects had murky, dark ones.
“Your aura is too clean to have come from you.”
[Isn’t it just a feature of the Skybreaker Sword?]
“No. I’ve seen this color before.”
[You’ve seen it?]
I nodded. I had finally identified the source of my discomfort.
“Morong-su. This is the color of his sword energy.”
Even if I couldn’t use martial arts in Sado Hwan’s body, I definitely saw it.
The dazzling blue sword energy that wrapped around Morong-su’s blade as he charged in.
The man’s personality was filthy, but his sword energy—true to his righteous affiliation—was pure.
[No way...]
"Yeah. The energy you're using is Morong-su's internal energy that Skybreaker absorbed."
[I see.]
Skybreaker accepted it calmly.
If I were a modern person absorbing someone’s energy, I’d be horrified and conflicted.
But Skybreaker had lived in the brutal martial world. He didn’t seem fazed.
[That means, if another martial artist gets cut by me, I could use their energy and replicate their techniques.]
He even sounded pleased.
I clicked my tongue.
“You trying to become the martial world’s public enemy?”
[What?]
"The Heavenly Blood Reaper. One of the four Heavenly Demons from a hundred years ago used the Absorption Art and caused chaos. If this gets out, we’re done. You’ll be marked as a criminal instantly."
He went quiet.
I guess he was too excited and forgot.
That incident was the reason the Heavenly Demon Cult became known as a ‘demonic cult.’
If you become the martial world’s public enemy, the game turns hellishly hard.
That didn’t mean Skybreaker was useless.
It just meant I needed to be ruthless.
[Huh?]
Then, Skybreaker suddenly spoke in a startled voice.
[The energy... it’s vanishing.]
“I knew it. Turn off the sword energy.”
It was expected.
Using sword energy from Morong-su’s internal energy meant there was a limit.
Once that energy was used up, we couldn’t use sword energy anymore—just like a battery running out.
Skybreaker groaned.
[Unbelievable. I finally reached this realm, and it’s not even my own power.]
I was used to the idea of recharging batteries, but for Skybreaker, this was a shock.
“Don’t be so disappointed.”
[What?]
“With this ability, we’ll reach realms you’ve never seen. And once you get your body back, all the benefits come to you.”
[...]
“Plus, once you think about it, as long as you recharge, you can always fight at Peak level. You're a sword. You don’t get tired, and you have no limits to martial techniques.”
[You...]
Skybreaker muttered.
[You’re not a clown, you’re a con man monster. You talk way too smoothly.]
“That’s what happens when you work sales at a mid-sized company.”
[Mid-sized company? Sales?]
“Whatever.”
I pointed at the gap we’d created.
“Let’s focus on getting out of here. How much longer can you maintain sword energy?”
[A few moments.]
“How short is that?”
[The time it takes a feather to fall.]
“Ugh...”
So just a few seconds.
If he hadn’t gone berserk earlier, we’d have more time.
“There’s got to be a way.”
Swinging a sword for a few seconds wouldn’t accomplish much.
Even if we carved rocks quickly, there were limits.
‘No way out... wait!’
I explained a concept to Skybreaker. Like with the battery, he didn’t get it at first, so I gave an impassioned speech.
“You understand what I mean now?”
[I get it. Focusing rotational force on a single point increases penetration.]
“If we fail, we’re both dead. You have to succeed.”
[I’ll give it everything.]
I nodded, then backed up from the rubble as if to throw a spear, drawing my arm with Skybreaker far behind me.
“Here we go!”
[Understood!]
Sword energy surged again along Skybreaker’s blade.
It started to spin in a spiral pattern.
Whirrrrr—
The rotation grew more powerful, shaking my entire body.
Vvveeee—
A high-frequency sound came from the sword.
“Uaaaah!”
With a shout, I hurled Skybreaker forward.
It flew like a flash of light and struck the cave wall.
It paused for a moment—
Gggrrrrrkkk—
Then the spinning sword energy—
KWAANG—!
Blasted through the rubble and pushed forward!
A drill. This was it.
I had combined sword energy with the principle of a drill. A modern victory!
Later in the original, power inflation made everyone use techniques like this, but still.
Once the path opened, Skybreaker blasted through and flew outside.
The hole left behind was huge—big enough for a military truck to pass through.
Now that I looked closely, the wall was over three meters thick. Heat radiated from the scorched stone, likely from friction.
This was sword energy.
This was why real martial artists start at Peak.
This was true wuxia.
But I had no time to admire it.
With an ominous creaking, the entire cavern started to tremble.
I quickly ran forward.
Almost outside now, I stopped in my tracks at the sight before me.
Skybreaker’s tip was floating in midair, pointed right between Saweol’s brows, just before piercing.
Saweol looked shocked, unable to react to the sword that had suddenly appeared.
“The s-s-sword is floating by itself!”
“It’s a ghost!”
“A ghost?! That’s a trick! Just some cheap illusion!”
The Black Shadow Corps members were murmuring in disbelief.
I had to act quickly. If Saweol grabbed the sword, it would be over.
I stepped through the dust. My clothes were already neatly adjusted.
Saweol and the others were frozen in shock.
“Return.”
I said calmly.
Upon hearing my voice, Skybreaker turned and slid back into its sheath.
It did so with a graceful, composed motion—despite being a sword.
The Black Shadow Corps’ eyes followed the blade. When they finally saw me, their faces were filled with astonishment.
“C-c-captain?!”
“Then that wasn’t sorcery!”
“Sword flight...! That’s sword flight! The Captain has achieved mastery!”
To their eyes, I looked like I had mastered sword flight.
Looking at their astonished faces, I steeled my resolve.
From this point on, I had to play Sado Hwan again.
To survive. I have to pretend to be a true powerhouse.