Chapter 6: Young Cult Leader Exchange Ceremony (1)

Half a month.

It was a short period of time to achieve something.

But it was enough to reflect on myself and examine what I lacked.

After that fifteen-day period of cultivation came to an end—

“I believe you’ll do well.”

“Please have faith in me, Clan Head.”

Dressed impeccably, I departed from the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan, receiving the honor of a personal send-off from the clan head, Jin Gun-ak.

It was because the Young Cult Leader Exchange Ceremony was scheduled for today, right at the beginning of the noon hour.

“I’m saying this just in case, but if you disgrace the name of the clan, I will absolutely not let it slide.”

“……Of course.”

The mindset I had—full of plans to completely wreck the exchange ceremony—was already half-dissolved.

Leaving behind such a chilling threat, I made my way toward Heavenly Demon Peak, the highest peak of Ten Thousand Mountains, where the Heavenly Demon Hall was located.

Perhaps it was because I was taking my time too leisurely, but Gu Chil grew anxious and tried to hurry me along.

“Y-Young Master, aren’t your steps a bit too slow?”

“Why are you nervous? I’m the one meeting the Young Cult Leader.”

“I-It’s because I’m worried!”

It wasn’t just Gu Chil—dozens of the Jin Clan’s household guards, mobilized to uphold the clan’s dignity, all wore similarly uneasy expressions.

“The Clan Head said I’m the last one in the schedule, so I won’t be late even if I take it slow.”

“E-Even so, you can’t take a Cheon Clan event so lightly!”

“It’s fine. I’ll deal with the consequences.”

With that stern reply, I continued at my own pace, admiring the scenery along the way.

There was, in fact, a reason for my delay.

‘There’s no way she’d look favorably on a man who shows up early.’

I was heading there just to get rejected—was there any need to be punctual about it?

Time passed, and I eventually crossed the entrance to Cheonmabong and arrived at Lesser Demon Hall, where the Young Cult Leader was staying.

“Go in.”

Naturally, the eyes of the Guardians standing watch at Lesser Demon Hall weren’t kind to a latecomer.

The moment I stepped into Lesser Demon Hall—

Crash!

The intact entrance of Lesser Demon Hall suddenly exploded before my eyes, splinters of the door flying past me as something was flung out.

“As far as welcome greetings go, that’s pretty aggressive.”

Gu Chil responded grimly to my remark.

“That’s not a welcome greeting—someone just got thrown out.”

“I know. I was joking.”

My eyes didn’t miss the boy who had been flung out with the shattered door.

Blood Dragon Demonic Clan.

Unless that bloodstained uniform was purely decorative, the boy’s crimson martial outfit clearly belonged to the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan.

Which meant—

‘Ma Jinyoon, it’s been a long time.’

His appearance was more that of a boy than a youth.

He looked exactly as I remembered him. Honestly, this would be the last time I ever saw Ma Jinyoon, so of course he hadn’t changed in my memory.

“Huff, huff!”

Still baby-faced, Ma Jinyoon was drenched in sweat, gripping the Blood Dragon Sword—the symbol of his clan.

His eyes were fixed solely on one place—inside the doorway.

“Well, at least this one’s kind of decent.”

A cheerful female voice rang out from within.

“……!”

At the sound of that voice, my steps faltered.

It hadn’t even been a month.

But already, the longing was crushing my chest.

Her voice sounded far more lively than it had back then.

“He’s a hundred times better than the trash I’ve seen until now. Can you keep going?”

“Of course, Young Cult Leader!”

Ma Jinyoon, eyes blazing, hurled himself back into the doorway.

And not long after, the sound of clashing swords rang out violently.

I made sure to grumble and put on a deliberately sour expression.

“Damn, looks like I didn’t manage to be late.”

“You can say that in this situation?!”

Ignoring Gu Chil’s reproach, I smirked.

“Whatever. Let’s just enjoy the show.”

As I stepped slowly toward the entrance, I couldn’t help but think—

‘Something’s off.’

Setting aside the longing brought on by reuniting with Cheon Yura, the scene before me felt strange.

Ma Jinyoon was attacking Cheon Yura with everything he had.

Judging by how things looked, he couldn’t even brush her sleeves—but in my memory, Ma Jinyoon never charged at her this recklessly.

More importantly—

‘What the hell? Was Ma Jinyoon ever this good?’

The Ma Jinyoon I remembered was a dropout who got knocked out by Cheon Yura in one blow and ended up sprawled on the ground in disgrace.

I never saw him again after that.

But this? What the hell was I looking at?

“Haaaap!”

He executed the Blood Flow Demonic Spirit Sword Art that Ma Chulsoo had once shown me—it flowed smoothly toward Cheon Yura.

The level wasn’t far behind that of Ma Chulsoo.

“Hahaha! Not bad!”

Cheon Yura genuinely enjoyed herself as she received Ma Jinyoon’s onslaught.

A mere ten seconds passed in a flash.

Cheon Yura’s counterattacks began to grow increasingly fierce.

“Huff, huff!”

But Ma Jinyoon, already covered in wounds, was reaching his physical limit.

“What? Don’t tell me this is all you’ve got?”

“Rrrgh!”

Stung by Cheon Yura’s light provocation, Ma Jinyoon gritted his teeth and launched a desperate strike.

The form was from the Blood Flow Demonic Spirit Sword Art—Flying Blood Bullet Form, a sharp thrust hurtling forward.

Whoosh!

But Ma Jinyoon, whose stamina had run dry, sliced only air.

Cheon Yura didn’t miss the opening—she struck his wrist with the back of her sword.

With his weapon flying from his hand, she then delivered a powerful kick to his abdomen.

“Gah!”

A pained scream rang in my ears.

“Young Master!”

“A-Are you alright?!”

Servants from the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan, waiting nearby, rushed over to the crumpled Ma Jinyoon.

“I-I’m fine.”

Ma Jinyoon forced a smile as he tried his best to ease his expression in front of his clan’s retainers.

From a distance, I watched him with growing interest.

‘He’s got considerable martial talent.’

No—in fact, considering his age, it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him a genius.

‘Even when his stamina was depleted, the sharpness of his sword never dulled.’

Though his speed had dropped, the edge of his blade remained unshaken.

In other words, Ma Jinyoon’s focus surpassed the limits of ordinary men.

‘So why didn’t someone like him ever stand out?’

No, wait—in my past life, didn’t he get humiliated without even being able to resist?

That was when—

“Jin Yeomyung!”

Ma Jinyoon spotted me and, for some reason, began glaring at me with outright hostility.

‘Huh?’

He sprang to his feet, his face openly twisted in enmity as he marched toward me.

‘What is this?’

I hadn’t even exchanged a single word with him in this life, had I?

Ma Jinyoon shouted toward me as I stood there, bewildered.

“I will never lose to you!”

“…Hmm?”

Throwing that line at me with a fiery gaze, Ma Jinyoon turned sharply back around and returned to Cheon Yura.

“……??”

Whether I was dumbfounded or not, the guy grabbed his sword in reverse grip and bowed politely to Cheon Yura.

“It was an honor to witness your skill, Young Cult Leader.”

Cheon Yura nodded in response to his respectful farewell.

“I hope you’ve progressed further the next time we cross swords.”

“Ah! Th-Thank you very much!”

It seemed that Ma Jinyoon in this life had earned her approval.

If memory served, no one had ever made it to a second encounter with her before.

“You don’t seem to have any internal injuries, but you’ve got some visible ones. Go to the Medicine Hall for treatment.”

“Thank you for your concern, Young Cult Leader!”

With a respectful fist salute, Ma Jinyoon left Lesser Demon Hall alongside his retainers.

Even as he exited, he didn’t stop glaring daggers at me.

‘What the hell is that about?’

Had I done something to incur his grudge in this life?

I scratched the back of my head, deep in thought.

Or at least, I was about to be—until…

“So you’re the last one.”

A chilling voice struck me from behind.

“Jin Yeomyung of the Demonic Heaven’s Jin Clan. I’ve been waiting so long for you.”

‘Waiting for me?’

In that instant—

An unexplainable sense of dread swept over my entire body.

Cheon Yura’s expression was filled with satisfaction.

“That little brat from the Ma Clan earlier was quite decent.”

She smiled ominously as she continued.

“But you, the one who supposedly took down Ma Chulsoo in a single blow—your skills seem even more promising.”

Ah.

Shit.

So that was the reason.

That explained Ma Jinyoon’s hostility toward me.

Why he put up such a fight in this ceremony, so unlike the past.

And why Cheon Yura was now looking at me like that.

The incident with Ma Chulsoo—whom I faced right after reincarnating—had triggered a butterfly effect and exploded in full force!

“If you fail to meet my expectations…”

Srrrng…

“Then I think I’ll be very disappointed in you.”

‘Oh, come on, seriously?!’

***

I scowled at the bloodlust emanating from directly ahead.

‘Goddamn it.’

My original plan had been to pretend to put up a fight and then lose.

Just like Ma Jinyoon did moments ago.

But somehow, the fact that I had taken down Ma Chulsoo had reached Cheon Yura’s ears.

And thanks to that, her expectations of me had inflated severalfold.

‘If I half-ass a loss now, she might see right through me.’

But if I put on a half-decent match, I’d immediately catch her interest.

Neither outcome was what I wanted.

‘That bastard Ma Chulsoo’s been nothing but a liability in my life.’

I cursed my past self from just a little while ago.

Honestly, if I were still in my days as Inner Administrator, I would’ve seen this outcome coming.

I’d gotten through the post-reincarnation crisis with my father too easily, and now it seemed the reins of tension in my heart had loosened just a little too much.

“There’s no need to delay any further. Ready your stance.”

“W-Wait a moment.”

I frantically searched for a way to get out of this situation.

‘No matter what, I’ve got to do everything I can to delay losing. Just like Ma Jinyoon did earlier!’

The only silver lining was that, thanks to the change in history, Cheon Yura had shown Ma Jinyoon some favor.

If I showed myself to be weaker than him, even if I got scolded a little, her attention might shift toward him instead of me.

‘…Toward Ma Jinyoon?’

For a moment, my thoughts hit a brief snag.

Then, as something seemed to click in my head, I forced a smile and reached out toward the servant girl beside me.

“Uh, Lady Sa… May I borrow your sword for a moment?”

“……”

The expression of the servant I’d addressed as ‘Lady Sa’ twisted ever so slightly.

Though she wore the garb of a servant, she was actually from the Black Gold Sa Clan, one of the Six Great Demonic Clans.

Naturally, she carried a sword.

Without replying, she turned her head toward Cheon Yura.

Cheon Yura asked me with a curious expression.

“Does the Jin Clan use swords?”

“Yes, I’m not really suited for fistfights.”

“And yet you came here without bringing a sword?”

I could see the spark of irritation begin to surface in her expression.

Well, since it had come to this, I decided to go all in and act shamelessly.

“Isn’t this ultimately a place for ‘exchange’? I wasn’t told we’d be exchanging swords rather than words.”

“……”

Her eyes narrowed.

Logically, I wasn’t wrong.

But still—shouldn’t I have at least looked into the temperament of the person I’d be exchanging with?

“Biyeon, lend that man your sword.”

“Yes, Young Cult Leader.”

She bowed politely and unbuckled the sword from her waist, tossing it to me.

“I’ve gone this far for you. I trust you’ll show a level of skill that pleases me.”

“…I’ll do my best.”

I slowly drew the blade from its sheath and raised it into a ready stance.

‘Man… at times like this, I really do think it would’ve been better to be born into a Righteous Sect.’

This was the problem with the Demonic Cult.

Even when you try to settle something with words, no one questions it when it turns into violence instead.

What kind of “exchange” is this? It’s basically a “duel”!

Flash!

Just then, as if to snap me out of my idle thoughts, Cheon Yura’s blade came slashing toward my forehead with enough force to split it open.

‘Are you insane?!’

Not my shoulder, not my arm—she went straight for my head from the very start!

Her sword barely grazed past my forehead.

‘If I hadn’t sharpened my senses, my skull would’ve been pierced in a single strike!’

I shouted at her with a voice full of indignation.

“Why are you going for a killing blow right from the start?!”

She didn’t do this to Ma Jinyoon!

Cheon Yura answered nonchalantly.

“You dodged well. Since I have high expectations, I have to start at this level.”

“You insane woman!”

Crack!

It slipped out reflexively.

I gasped and tried to take it back, but a thick vein was already bulging on her forehead.

“Insane woman?”

“Ah, no—that is, I meant—!”

“Fine. Then try taking this insane woman’s sword!”

Cheon Yura, clearly furious, began striking at me mercilessly.

Clang-clang-clang!

In an instant, the entire hall rang with the sound of colliding blades.

Her technique was on another level—far more precise than Ma Chulsoo’s had ever been.

Though she wasn’t releasing Sword Qi, she was launching an unrelenting series of deadly attacks that left no room for mercy.

‘Damn it! At this rate, I can’t even pretend to lose at the right time!’

Every single strike was meant to kill—if I misjudged and let my guard down even slightly, I’d be skewered and sent to the afterlife!

She slashed at me like a demon for a full thirty seconds before suddenly pulling back.

Huff… huff…

I sucked in air desperately, catching my breath.

‘B-Barely blocked all that…’

But why had she backed off all of a sudden?

“As I thought.”

Her words hit me with a coldness sharper than the blades of the North Sea’s eternal snows.

“My instincts weren’t wrong.”

And then came a blow worse than any strike from her sword—

“You’ve been hiding your skills, haven’t you?”

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