“Blood Flame Sword Demon. Are you, by any chance, someone who knew the Heavenly Demon from before?”

It was clear the Black Lotus Sect Leader wasn’t asking out of ignorance. He was really asking whether I could share any more details.

I carefully chose my words to avoid triggering the mental restriction and finally spoke.

“Yes. I knew him. To put it simply, he’s the one who took someone precious from me. He’s my mortal enemy.”

“Then…!”

“But I will refrain from giving any detailed explanation.”

“???”

Everyone at the table blinked blankly.

Come on now. That was the best I could do.

If I could tell them what they really wanted to know—like how, in my past life, Tang Sowol was killed by the Heavenly Demon—how great would that be?

But due to the mental restriction, it was basically impossible.

Which is why I could only vaguely frame it as a grudge from the past.

Maybe it’s true that some things are so dumbfounding that they leave people speechless. The Black Lotus Sect Leader and Sama Yuryeon were left with their mouths hanging open, and even Namgung Dowi’s fingertips twitched slightly.

On the other hand, Tang Sowol and Seo Mun-Hwarin remained composed. As expected.

Tang Sowol had long sensed that I was hiding something, but she had never pried. Her stance was always: “Just be true to your current self.”

Seo Mun-Hwarin had her own dark past, so perhaps she chose not to dig into others’ wounds either.

Of course, yesterday’s events were part of the reason too. Under the camellia tree, the trust in Seo Mun-Hwarin’s eyes had been clear.

Encouraged by that, I decided to shamelessly push forward.

Instead of explaining myself to the stunned trio, I calmly moved on as though nothing had happened.

“I do know a little about the Heavenly Demon’s martial arts, but what I know is probably about the same as anyone who’s fought him directly.”

“W-Wait a moment! You’re really just moving on like that? Just ‘no further comment,’ really, Blood Flame Sword Demon?!”

“Yes, well… it’s my personal matter, and it won’t help much in dealing with the Heavenly Demon anyway.”

“That may be true. But still…”

With a face that said, “This can’t be right,” the Black Lotus Sect Leader looked to the side at Sama Yuryeon, likely instinctively trying to delegate the thinking.

After tilting her head in confusion for a while, Sama Yuryeon caught the Sect Leader’s glance and quickly cleared her throat.

“Ahem. Don’t worry too much, My Lord. Although Blood Flame Sword Demon’s words were cut off abruptly, leaving us curious and a bit deflated… it’s also true that this information might not be necessary in dealing with the Heavenly Demon.”

“If my wife says so, then I’ll accept that. Very well. We won’t pry, Blood Flame Sword Demon. Please continue with what you were saying.”

“Understood. We were discussing the Heavenly Demon’s martial arts, correct? As you may have guessed, his true martial art—what the Demonic Cult calls the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—is a powerful internal energy-based technique.”

“I’ve reviewed it several times in my head, but it’s still hard to believe. He didn’t surpass Namgung’s sword, but to think that his footwork and strikes were just secondary support techniques…”

Namgung Dowi, who had been especially quiet today, let out a sigh. The blow to his pride must’ve been significant.

Well, he hadn’t been humiliated like the Black Lotus Sect Leader, whose spear technique was broken down and returned in an improved form. But Namgung Dowi’s swordsmanship had been fully analyzed by the Heavenly Demon and mimicked on the spot.

Or rather, it was worse because the Heavenly Demon didn’t even bother showing what came after.

The Namgung Clan’s sword art is the crystallization of generations of effort and insight, built up over hundreds of years by martial geniuses.

That’s why they don’t mind being open with it—they believe no one can replicate it just by seeing it a few times.

And even if someone could imitate it, that person would be a genius capable of advancing it further.

It’s a “sword-lover’s logic”: if someone learns from us and grows stronger, that’s a good thing.

But the Heavenly Demon simply mirrored Namgung Dowi’s sword technique with his own strikes. No more, no less.

He must’ve known that if he made the mistake of showing more, Namgung Dowi would grow even stronger.

In the end, Namgung Dowi was completely outplayed. So it was no surprise to hear his quiet frustration.

“That the Heavenly Demon is adept at fighting physically is certainly true… but you all saw it, didn’t you? That massive demonic creature.”

Namgung Dowi went silent for a moment, recalling the event. Then, after some time, he finally spoke.

“To be honest… I don’t think I could cut down that demon.”

“No, you probably couldn’t. I doubt anyone here could defeat it alone.”

“No. Not quite. There’s one person I think might have a chance.”

“Really? Who…? Could it be the Murim Alliance Leader? Or maybe some elder master who still has an interest in Murim affairs?”

“Huh.”

Namgung Dowi let out a faint laugh as if to say you don’t get it, and pointed his hand toward me.

“You.”

“…Excuse me?”

“Blood Flame Sword Demon. Your sword, I believe, could cut through the Heavenly Demon’s qi. Didn’t you already prove that?”

I hadn’t expected that answer. Surprised, I looked around—only to see everyone nodding in agreement.

“I hate to admit it, but I agree with the Sword King. If it were a real fight to the death, things would be different… but the power of those hundred swords was honestly extraordinary.”

“I feel the same. I’m confident in my strength, but even I could only match the Heavenly Demon’s qi. Yet your sword pierced through it—even if it was just grazing his robe, it still broke through.”

“Well, that may be true, but…”

“If anyone is going to drive a sword into the Heavenly Demon’s neck, I believe it will be you.”

Genuine praise and admiration. And coming from Seo Mun-Hwarin, who had been overflowing with trust since yesterday, it made my face flush.

“Ahem. Thank you for thinking so highly of me, but my sword is still lacking. Let’s return to the matter at hand.”

“Hm? Did your face just turn red…?”

Cutting off Seo Mun-Hwarin, I continued.

“The foundation of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is in his internal energy. And since the Demonic Cult has no issue grinding up people into elixirs, he’ll only grow stronger… Perhaps to the point where the demonic creature we saw that day becomes so enormous, we won’t even be able to see it all at once.”

“Ha! Blood Flame Sword Demon, you worry too much! You’ve reached the Flowering Stage, so you should know. No matter how powerful, the Heavenly Demon is still human.”

Was that meant to be a comforting truth?

The Black Lotus Sect Leader, who met my eyes as he shrugged, froze slightly.

It was a speculative assertion, but one said with conviction. That’s all I could reveal under the mental restriction. Whether they believed me or not… that was up to them.

As if imagining how strong the Heavenly Demon might become, the table fell silent. I quietly chewed a cooling piece of pork.

Eventually, Sama Yuryeon, who had been quiet until now, spoke.

“So to summarize, the Heavenly Demon can already fight on par with or beyond other Flowering Stage martial artists using just strikes and footwork, but his true power lies in his internal energy—and he’s only going to get stronger?”

“That’s right.”

“And just like past Demonic Cult leaders, he’ll eventually rise up to burn Murim to the ground?”

“You summarized it well.”

“Tch. It’s terrifying when you put it all together like that. This is supposed to be the time in my life when I’m enjoying newlywed bliss…”

Clicking her tongue irritably, Sama Yuryeon began biting her nails.

It wasn’t a pleasant sight, but as someone who used to serve under her, I knew this behavior often preceded a brilliant idea—so it was actually somewhat reassuring.

The Black Lotus Sect Leader must’ve known that too, as he simply watched her in silence. Namgung Dowi and Seo Mun-Hwarin didn’t seem particularly interested.

Letting her thoughts spin for a while, Sama Yuryeon finally swallowed her meat and added cautiously,

“We’re not in immediate danger, right? So we can take our time?”

“Hm? What makes you say that?”

“Because, aside from the Heavenly Demon, the rest of the Demonic Cult is weak.”

“Ah.”

Now she understood.

This time, the Sword Ghost only reached the Flowering Stage because of the Heavenly Demon’s help… Meaning he’d have been stuck at Sub-Perfection Master if left alone.

Including the Bloodflame Fist Demon I took down earlier, that’s two top-level martial artists from the Demonic Cult we’ve eliminated.

In essence, we’ve already halved their elite strength—if you exclude the Heavenly Demon.

Why do you think he brought the Sword Ghost along instead of coming alone?

Because even the Heavenly Demon knew he couldn’t take on Murim alone, and that the Demonic Cult’s so-called top warriors were useless without being forcibly elevated.

Without the Heavenly Demon, the Cult is barely on par with a single mid-tier clan—or weaker.

Even the Zhuge Clan, considered the weakest among the Five Supreme Clans in pure strength, could likely defeat the Heavenly Demon-less Demonic Cult.

Well, that’s assuming there’s no external interference.

Like how the Heavenly Demon used all sorts of methods to elevate the Sword Ghost to Flowering Stage, he could do the same with others. Who knows?

But even that takes time.

I’ve been actively disrupting the Demonic Cult for years, and only now did they get one person to Flowering Stage.

I couldn’t explain this in detail, but Sama Yuryeon seemed to pick up on it and nodded in relief.

“Phew. Then we have a bit more room to act. First, we should strengthen internal unity within the Black Lotus Sect. And if possible, get the other Flowering Stage martial artists to at least be willing to fight beside you, My Lord… no, direct subordinates would be ideal, but that’s not realistic. Just allies who will fight when it counts.”

She murmured continuously in a low voice.

Unlike the Murim Alliance, which could unify under the banner of justice, the Black Lotus Sect could only pacify people with personal gain. Real unity was nearly impossible—an endemic weakness.

It’s worth noting that even in my past life, when both the Murim Alliance and Black Lotus Sect were shattered, this problem had never been solved.

So I casually voiced something I’d long been thinking.

“Can’t we just beat them down and feed them some Poison-Induced Cores or something?”

“???”

Sama Yuryeon blinked at me like she didn’t understand what she just heard.

I shrugged at her.

“Unorthodox martial artists are too prideful and temperamental to unite. I know the other Flowering Stage members of the Black Lotus Sect are lukewarm at best. If they’re going to ignore orders anyway, there’s no reason to treat them kindly.”

Surprisingly, in my past life, there were some Flowering Stage martial artists who tried to defect to the Demonic Cult because they feared the Heavenly Demon.

All of them were from unorthodox backgrounds.

And they were such notorious scum that the Heavenly Demon personally killed them on behalf of his own cult members, who still held grudges.

If they were going to die meaninglessly anyway, wouldn’t it be better to put a sword to their throat and use them for something useful?

We’d be saving their lives, technically—they’d be grateful, surely.

Admiring my own generosity, I continued.

“They’re still in the unorthodox world, which means they’re unorthodox to the core. Break them with force and collar them so they can’t rebel. I’ve got the sword, and the Tang Clan has the poison.”

Silence.

Tang Sowol shut her eyes tightly, Namgung Dowi turned away, and Sama Yuryeon scratched her ear and tilted her head.

Only the Black Lotus Sect Leader opened his mouth, looking half-exasperated.

“Well… putting aside your natural-born hatred of the unorthodox that flows as easily as your breath… Are you really from the orthodox sects?”

“???”

“If you ever decide to join the Black Lotus Sect, I’ll seriously consider making you the Vice Sect Leader.”

…That was a compliment, right?

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep