“When the light changes, what you see changes as well. The human heart is no different. Neither is loyalty.”
A bead of sweat ran down the Red Demon's back.
Cold sweat.
He didn't fully understand what Unhwi meant.
And yet...
Something...
Pierced his conscience.
“I... don't quite understand what you mean.”
Unhwi looked at the Red Demon in silence.
For a long time.
Then—
“It's nothing. Just a passing thought.”
He turned away.
And walked back into the inn.
The Red Demon remained where he stood.
His heart pounded, and cold sweat dampened his brow.
Bathed in moonlight that illuminated the corpses,
the Red Demon stood motionless for a long while.
He had helped Unhwi.
He owed him a debt.
And it was hardly surprising that Unhwi, as a martial artist, placed such importance on grudges and ties.
The Red Demon had, for all intents and purposes, been given the chance to become one of Unhwi's people.
No.
Looking at the current situation, within the Blood Heaven Sect he could already be considered one of Unhwi's people.
Whether that was true or not,
that was how everyone would see it.
They had exchanged favors.
They had stood together whenever important matters arose.
They had even entrusted each other with guarding one another's backs.
Had that situation formed naturally?
Or had someone deliberately shaped it from the very beginning?
The Red Demon remained standing in silence.
He bit down hard on his lip.
The Blood Heaven Arbiter.
Was he simply extraordinarily perceptive...
Or was he the sort of man who trusted no one?
The Red Demon could no longer tell.
Only one thing was certain.
Something had gone terribly wrong.
***
The three of them slowly opened their eyes after entering the secret realm.
The first thing they noticed was the smell.
The damp scent of stone.
And beneath it, the faint odor of blood.
Old blood.
Namgung Wonyang looked around.
It was dark.
Not absolute darkness, however.
Luminous stones embedded in the walls cast a dim bluish glow that faintly illuminated the enormous cavern.
It was vast.
The ceiling was nowhere to be seen.
It rose so high that looking upward revealed nothing but darkness.
“...Is everyone all right?”
At Namgung Wonyang's question, Chief Seong answered first.
“I'm fine.”
Ju Soa nodded as well.
“So am I.”
The three gathered together.
Then they surveyed their surroundings.
People were scattered throughout the cavern.
They were martial artists who had passed through the gate of light.
But there were far fewer than there had been outside.
Ju Soa muttered,
“...There are fewer people.”
“The secret realm must have scattered everyone.”
Chief Seong continued,
“There was only one entrance, but we must have arrived in different places. It was likely divided into several routes.”
Only around thirty people were visible nearby.
More than a hundred had entered from outside.
That meant they had likely been split into at least three or four different groups.
Namgung Wonyang spoke.
“Let's move for now. If we stay here, we'll attract attention.”
The three began walking.
The cavern was enormous.
Passages branched in several directions.
Left.
Right.
Straight ahead.
The other martial artists had already chosen their own paths.
Some walked alone.
Others formed groups of three or four.
Ju Soa asked,
“Which way should we go?”
Three paths.
The left passage was wide.
Many people were heading that way.
A wider road was likely safer—
but it also meant fiercer competition.
The passage on the right was narrow.
Barely wide enough for one person to squeeze through.
It was more dangerous,
though it might offer greater rewards.
The center passage was somewhere in between.
Neither wide nor narrow.
A moderate number of people had chosen it.
Namgung Wonyang made her decision.
“Let's go straight.”
“Why?”
“There are too many people on the left. We're more likely to run into trouble. The right passage is too narrow—perfect for an ambush.”
“And the center?”
“It's balanced. Not a bad choice.”
Chief Seong nodded.
“Agreed.”
The three headed straight ahead.
They walked.
For quite some time.
Gradually, the walls of the cavern began to change.
At first they had been rough natural stone.
The farther they went, the smoother they became.
They looked carved.
Artificial.
“...This isn't a natural cave.”
Namgung Wonyang ran a hand across the wall.
“Someone definitely built this.”
“A sect from the Thousand-Year Chaos?”
“Most likely.”
Chief Seong studied the wall.
“There are words carved here.”
“Words?”
Namgung Wonyang stepped closer.
They were faint.
The glow from the luminous stones wasn't enough to read them clearly.
She brushed away the dust with her hand.
A single character emerged.
古
Ancient.
Only one character.
“...What does it mean?”
None of them knew.
So they continued onward.
After walking for some time,
the path split again.
They made another choice.
The same thing happened twice more.
Then the passage widened.
An open space appeared.
A chamber.
A massive chamber.
The ceiling was densely covered with luminous stones,
glittering like stars.
The entire room was brightly illuminated.
And in the center stood a stone pedestal.
Resting atop it...
was something.
The three approached carefully.
On the pedestal lay an old book.
Its cover had faded with age.
But the title remained legible.
Blood Demon Heart Scripture.
All three stiffened at once.
They recognized the name.
It was the cultivation art of the Blood Demon Sect,
the organization that had drowned the martial world in blood during the Thousand-Year Chaos.
Anyone who cultivated it became powerful.
Unimaginably powerful.
But the price...
was the birth of an inner demon.
One lost all reason.
One became a beast.
There was no doubt.
It was a demonic cultivation art.
Not merely an ordinary one,
but a supreme martial god–level demonic art.
Chief Seong spoke urgently.
“No one touch it.”
Logically speaking,
would a supreme martial god–level demonic art simply be lying here in plain sight?
No.
Anyone could see it.
It had to be a trap.
Ju Soa stared at the book, her expression tense.
“Could this be the treasure of the secret realm?”
“One of them, perhaps. This secret realm cannot possibly end with a single chamber.”
“So... we're just leaving it here?”
Even Chief Seong could not answer immediately.
Taking it carried enormous risk.
Leaving it behind felt painfully wasteful.
That was the problem.
Once someone chose the path of a martial artist,
temptation appeared at every turn.
Very few ever overcame it.
In that brief moment,
all three remembered what Unhwi had told them.
Inside a secret realm...
Never become greedy.
Their thoughts were the same.
So was their decision.
“Let's just go.”
At Namgung Wonyang's words,
Chief Seong and Ju Soa both nodded.
The three walked past the stone pedestal.
Several passages lay beyond the chamber.
Just as they were about to take the one on the left—
“Wait.”
A voice came from behind them.
The three turned.
Four men stood there.
None of them had noticed when they arrived.
They had completely concealed their presence.
The one in front was enormous.
Nearly eight feet tall.
A scar crossed his face.
The heavy blade at his waist looked intimidating.
One glance was enough.
He was an unorthodox martial artist.
The large man grinned.
“So... you're not planning to take that book?”
Namgung Wonyang answered calmly.
“No. We have no interest in it.”
“Good. Then we'll be taking it.”
“Do as you please.”
She turned to leave.
“Hold it.”
The man called out again.
She stopped.
“We're not just taking the book.”
“...What do you mean?”
“We've got to erase the witnesses too.”
He slowly drew his blade.
Shrring.
The sharp metallic sound echoed through the chamber.
The other three drew their weapons as well.
One sword.
One blade.
One spear.
“Unfortunately for you, we intend to leave here with that book.”
“...”
“So if you'd kindly hand over whatever valuables you're carrying... and die quietly—”
Chief Seong chuckled and stepped forward.
“You look rather pathetic.”
“...What?”
“Do you want the Blood Demon Heart Scripture that badly?”
“...”
“You must have arrived first and hidden yourselves.”
“...”
“You were waiting for someone else to touch it first.”
“...”
“Anyone can see it's a trap. You needed someone else to test it for you. Three people arrived, showed interest, then decided to leave. I suppose you couldn't bear to let that opportunity slip away.”
Ju Soa and Namgung Wonyang drew their swords.
Chief Seong raised a hand, stopping them.
“I have no desire to spill blood. If you want the book, take it. Just don't cause trouble by acting like common bandits.”
“...Ha. I don't like the way you talk. Bandits? You bastard. This isn't banditry.”
He sneered.
“It's the law of the martial world.”
“The law of the martial world...”
Chief Seong smiled faintly.
“Very well.”
“We'll settle this according to its laws.”
He drew two daggers from his waist.
The large man's eyes narrowed.
“...So you're resisting?”
“No.”
Chief Seong's voice remained calm.
“I'm simply following its laws.”
“Heh... Let's see whether your skill matches that mou—”
Before he could finish—
Slash!
His head flew into the air.
Everyone's eyes snapped toward Chief Seong.
He stood frozen in the finishing motion of a single slash.
No one had seen him move.
Just as the headless man's companions raised their weapons—
Chief Seong stepped forward.
One step.
At the same time,
both daggers moved.
They weren't especially fast.
Nor were they flashy.
They were simply...
perfectly precise.
Slice.
The wrist of the huge man at the front was severed.
“Urgh...!”
His blade fell to the ground.
Clang.
Chief Seong took another step.
The second man thrust with his sword.
Chief Seong twisted his body.
The thrust missed.
The sword cut empty air.
His dagger swept across the attacker's shoulder.
Slash.
The entire shoulder dropped to the floor.
“Aaaagh...!”
The third man lunged with his spear.
Chief Seong knocked it aside with one dagger.
Clang!
The spear bounced away.
Before the man could recover,
the second dagger swept through his thigh.
The entire leg was cut clean off.
“Wh... what...?”
The fourth man turned and tried to flee.
Without a word,
Chief Seong reversed his grip
and threw a dagger.
It flew like a striking serpent,
burying itself in the back of the man's head.
The blade burst out through his forehead.
Thud.
The man collapsed.
Chief Seong walked over,
pulled the dagger free,
and flicked the blood from its blade.
“This...”
he said calmly,
“is the law of the martial world.”
The huge man, clutching his mangled wrist, looked up at him.
“Who... who are you...?”
“Does it matter?”
“...”
“You're about to become a corpse.”
His tone never changed.
Neither did his actions.
Thrust.
Thrust.
Thrust.
One after another,
he drove his dagger into the heads of the three fallen men.
Ju Soa let out a small laugh.
“You startled me.”
Chief Seong looked at her.
“I thought you weren't going to kill them.”
Chief Seong smiled.
“This is the law of the martial world.”
“Let's keep moving.”
The two women nodded.
The three continued deeper into the cavern.
The air gradually changed.
It became warmer and more humid.
Water trickled down the stone walls.
Then...
they heard a scream.
Far away.
“AAAAAH—!”
All three stopped.
“I had a feeling... This is a secret realm. Of course something like this was bound to happen.”
Ju Soa remained perfectly calm.
She wasn't surprised.
That was simply the nature of secret realms.
Where treasures existed,
murder followed.
Such was the way of the martial world.
Chief Seong spoke.
“Let's turn away. Staying uninvolved is the wisest choice.”
The three continued deeper along the passage.
Soon they reached a second chamber.
It was even larger than the first.
Luminous stones covered not only the ceiling,but the walls as well.
The entire chamber shone brightly.
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