Episode 65.
Chirp, chirrrp—
A morning of chirping from nameless birds.
Using that as my alarm, I raised myself from the bed.
“Uraaah!”
Stretching with all my might, I loosened muscles that had gone stiff.
Swish—
When I drew the curtains, the suddenly arrived spring sunlight poured in warmly and enveloped my body in comfort.
“Hup!”
Along with some light stretching, I checked my condition.
‘Why is my condition so good today?’
Given the recent Qin Shi Huang affair and everything else, my body should have been completely drained.
Only a few days had passed since then.
It wasn’t just fighting either—I had taken enhanced steroids and even drugs.
To be in this kind of condition after such trials truly made it a lucky day.
“Some good thing today….”
Maybe a happy day was beginning.
But the moment I thought that.
—!!
“…As expected.”
Lucky day, my ass.
It looked like unwelcome guests were coming.
‘How many?’
I focused my hearing.
Rustle, rustle—
I tried to gauge their numbers from the sound of brushing leaves.
‘Two in the vanguard? No, three? And at least twenty in the rear. …Are they being chased?’
A villa situated in rugged mountain terrain.
Since there was nothing around for miles, it wasn’t hard to guess their destination.
It was here.
Those bastards were definitely approaching this villa.
Someone who knew Chairman Kang’s secret villa.
I concentrated even harder on my hearing, straining to listen. My senses activated and grew sharper.
“Just a little… Chairman Kang…?”
From the faintly audible conversation, the words “Chairman Kang” leapt out.
The moment I confirmed those words.
Whoosh—
I kicked off the second-floor railing and soared.
If they mentioned Chairman Kang, they were definitely connected to me, and if such people were in trouble, I had to move immediately.
Shhick!
Wind like a blade’s edge brushed past my cheek.
Light.
And there was a reason for that.
『Shanchuan Caomu』
It was thanks to the effect of Hunyuan, which raised my stats when I was outside urban terrain.
The boost was quite significant, so I could approach the target with much lighter movements.
“Huh?”
The moment I spotted the distant target—someone struggling toward the villa—I had no choice but to speed up even more.
The man in a black suit had a badge pinned near his right chest that symbolized Chairman Kang’s Taewang Group.
As I accelerated and drew near them.
“Got them!”
“Where do you think you’re running?”
The group chasing from behind was closing in faster.
‘The Demonic Cult?’
If there were maniacs wearing black long robes with the character for “Demon” engraved on their backs, there was only one group they could be.
At that moment.
“….”
“….”
My eyes met those of an old man looking at me from afar.
Wearing old brown hemp clothes, he was a very familiar and welcome face.
‘Wang Wei!’
One who, in the future, would be better known as Amjon than by his name.
‘Then…’
The person being carried on the back of the man from the Taewang Group had to be his son, Wang Lei.
Mount Hua’s Awakened who, before the regression, had fought the Heavenly Demon and died a heroic death.
And that event hadn’t happened yet.
He was alive.
“Die!”
Of course, just like back then, the demonic cult bastards were trying to kill him.
“That won’t do.”
I raised my speed even further and blocked their path.
Of course, I didn’t think their blades would stop just because I stepped in.
However.
Swoosh!
The sword light blooming from my hand was faster than them.
“…Huh?”
After a brief flicker of doubt.
Fwhack!
They collapsed to the ground, bisected at the waist.
“….”
Silence fell over the scene of the instantly transpired event. An incomprehensible sight.
Then.
“You bastard!”
“Die!”
The bastards who realized their comrade had fallen rushed in from all directions.
‘Slow.’
Slow.
The demonic cultists were chosen beings who could be ranked among the top martial artists of Jianghu.
Under the influence of demonic arts that allowed rapid growth, they had commanded humanity in the early days of the apocalypse and were always overflowing with confidence.
However, to the current me, they looked far too insignificant.
Swoosh, slash!
I swung my sword.
It was merely a repetition of that action.
But what if it was so fast it couldn’t be seen with the eye?
If moved at super-high speed, even a simple blade path became a transcendent sword technique.
Shlick, shlick!
They couldn’t block the simple yet swift sword strikes.
“Uraaah—”
The only choice they had was to flee in terror.
“You came as you pleased, but you don’t leave as you please.”
I chased after them.
They used their heads and scattered in different directions, but.
Papapap!
‘Useless.’
I threw the flying daggers I always carried in eight directions.
Shhhiiick!
The swiftly flying daggers drew elegant trajectories and chased the enemies as if alive.
Thud, thud-thud!
“Kuck!”
“Kkek!”
Piercing only vital points like the head and heart, I severed the lifelines of the fleeing demonic cult bastards.
“Ah, uh….”
Amjon, unable to properly tell if I was friend or foe, stammered in fear.
‘To think I would instill fear in Amjon.’
A hollow laugh escaped me.
Living life again, it seemed I experience all sorts of things.
“Lord Yun Chan!”
The man from the Taewang Group who recognized me at a glance raised his voice.
“I’m sorry. I was late.”
I was the one who had asked after Wang Wei and Wang Lei.
Of course, I had only requested that he look into their identities, but I hadn’t expected things to escalate like this.
To think my ill-fated connection with the Heavenly Demon would continue here as well.
“It’s all right.”
He waved his hands as if to say no, but his face was somehow gloomy.
For a professional like him to show emotion on his face?
There must have certainly been a terrible incident while escorting them.
“More importantly, treating these people is the priority….”
“Ah, it’s fine.”
“…Excuse me?”
“There’s a doctor at the villa worth using.”
The Saintess.
If the modern medical community learned of her existence, they would probably be shocked out of their minds.
*
Fwoosh—
Pure white light burst forth and lingered beside the man, Wang Lei.
“Unnngh—”
He, who had lost consciousness from severe wounds and fatigue, regained his senses.
“Uwaak!”
It was with a scream, as if waking suddenly from a nightmare.
“L-Lei!”
The surprised Amjon called his son’s name.
“F-Father?!”
Only then did Wang Lei, grasping reality, examine his surroundings.
“…Where is this?”
His eyes were still full of anxiety and wariness.
It seemed necessary to calm his mind a little.
“Relax. This is a safe place beyond the Demonic Cult’s reach.”
“…The Demonic Cult. Right, the Demonic Cult!”
Then, as if remembering something, he sprang to his feet.
“Argh.”
But his wounds weren’t shallow enough to be healed instantly.
He had regained consciousness thanks to the enhanced painkillers I’d given him and the Saintess’s healing, but his condition was serious enough that ordinary people would need a full week of convalescence.
“Ah, don’t get excited.”
After calming him down when he looked ready to bolt out at any moment.
“I’ve heard the general situation. You were friends with the Heavenly Demon?”
While Wang Lei had been unconscious, I had heard the general circumstances from Amjon—though it was information I already knew.
“…I never imagined Wu Xian would change like that.”
Wang Lei and Wu Xian were what people called “testicle friends”—truly the closest of friends.
He must have thought the friendship would last forever, but.
‘The Awakening Ritual.’
With the suddenly conducted Awakening Ritual, everything was turned upside down.
Wu Xian, who had appeared overnight as the leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, made a proposal to Wang Lei, the Awakened of Mount Hua.
To combine their strength and conquer the world together.
To work together under the great being called the Divine One.
But upon learning of Wu Xian’s methods—subjugating martial artists through threats and coercion without regard for means—Wang Lei refused, saying they were not right.
Thus the two long-time friends gradually grew distant, and from past friends they became enemies pointing blades at each other.
One-on-one, and surprisingly, the victor in their contest was Wang Lei.
And there was a reason for that.
‘To think he was a Plum Blossom Swordsman.’
Wang Lei’s trait was the Plum Blossom Swordsman, which symbolized Mount Hua.
He had become one of the greatest swordsmen, wielding a unique sword technique that bloomed plum blossoms.
Moreover.
‘The Plum Blossom Swordsman is also a trait that can grow into the Plum Blossom Sword Venerable.’
Plum Blossom Sword Venerable.
A counter-trait capable of opposing the absolute being of the Demonic Cult, the Heavenly Demon.
It was also one of the few traits among Jianghu’s martial artists that could fight the Heavenly Demon one-on-one and win.
The defeated Wu Xian harbored a grudge and mobilized his forces.
Mobilizing demonic cultists en masse, they ambushed the unsuspecting Wang Lei, leading to the current situation.
“People all change. Especially when a powerful force is grasped in their hands.”
Whatever kind of person they were before, none of that matters.
Whether they can firmly uphold their beliefs and justice when even a small power enters their hands.
That is how one judges what kind of person they are.
From that perspective, Wang Lei could be called a man of justice who knew how to uphold his beliefs even when he gained superhuman power.
‘That’s why he opposed the Heavenly Demon alone even before the regression.’
Even without the Black Moon’s intervention, the Heavenly Demon’s steps had been unstoppable back then.
With overwhelming martial might, he subjugated Jianghu’s martial artists one by one, grew the Demonic Cult, and eventually seized Jianghu in his hands.
The only one who had opposed such a man was Wang Lei.
I had thought him a skilled expert of some renown for dying while resisting the Heavenly Demon, but to think he was the Plum Blossom Swordsman, the nemesis of the Heavenly Demon.
“We must stop Wu Xian somehow. If we stay still like this, more tragedies and sorrows will be created. Who knows how many more evil deeds he will commit in the future….”
Wang Lei spoke in a worried tone, having watched his friend walk the wrong path.
“Certainly.”
It had been the same before the regression.
Moreover, now that he had even joined hands with those black-hearted fellows called the Black Moon, his actions would only become rougher and faster.
‘If left alone, he would devour China and Jianghu’s martial artists once again.’
It would have been unpleasant enough for the Heavenly Demon to simply take Jianghu.
But what do you know?
Knowing that even the Black Moon had intervened, there was no reason to hesitate.
I had to stop him from expanding his influence in China and in Jianghu.
“I’ll ask just one thing.”
I opened my mouth while looking at Wang Lei, whose face was full of worry.
“Can you kill your friend? Can you kill Wu Xian?”
Though it was certain from what he had said and from the future, I still needed to confirm.
“…If necessary. I can no longer stand by and watch my friend go wrong. If we leave him be like this, who knows what terrible things he will do in the future….”
Amazing.
He had already experienced the power of the forces that bastard had built, yet he still wanted to stop him.
Like before the regression, his resolve seemed firm.
With that answer, I made up my mind.
“Right. If we’re going to do it, we have to do it right. I’ll help you.”
“No. You don’t understand. That power that shakes heaven and earth. There isn’t just one. Those who follow Wu Xian are all strong….”
“Ah, no need to worry about me. Looks can be deceiving, but I’m more than capable of protecting myself.”
“R-right. Lei. This person cut down those vicious bastards in an instant. He’s the one who helped and saved us.”
Wang Wei interjected.
By the way, him from when his son was alive was truly….
‘Well, he looks good.’
Before the regression, he had been a man without blood or tears.
He had sometimes looked lonely and desolate, but fortunately, such aspects couldn’t be found in him now.
‘Jianghu’s martial artists. Each one possessed outstanding combat prowess from birth, unlike Awakened from other regions, so depending on who led them, the difference would be like heaven and earth.’
A bomb that could explode at any time needed a device to control it.
Whether their blades pointed toward the apocalypse or toward salvation would depend on who controlled them.
I had planned to postpone influencing Jianghu until I found a suitable person, but the moment I saw Wang Lei, I couldn’t help but change my mind.
The matter I had pushed to the back burner—the plan to control the time bomb called Jianghu’s martial artists.
‘The Wulin Alliance.’
Something I couldn’t do before the regression because of the Heavenly Demon.
I had to found the Wulin Alliance, a force to control the scattered martial artists of Jianghu and stand against the Demonic Cult.