Published at 5th of February 2026 2:37 pm

Chapter 390

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"Ugh."

I wrapped bandages around my stiff body.

I never expected to get hurt right after transformation.

'No, wait. Strictly speaking, I wasn't even hurt.'

It just felt like my muscles were in shock.

'I can't control my changed body.'

It was hard to manage the overall stronger body.

To be honest, Virtuous Moon Sword had never truly attacked me.

'My body just freaked out on its own.'

Embarrassing as it is, that was the real reason.

"Tsk..."

I tried moving my body a bit more. My muscles tingled painfully. Still, I did feel myself getting a bit better, little by little.

'... I guess I'll need to try training to really figure this out.'

Longer limbs, stronger muscles, a broader and harder frame.

Even the denser and stronger quality of my internal energy as it was contained in my new 'vessel'.

I needed time to grasp exactly where and how I'd changed.

"Hmm."

And just where had that old man gone, the one who could've easily explained this to me?

'Why is he never around when I need him?'

I couldn't help but wonder about Yu Chun-gil's whereabouts.

"... What to do from here."

I recalled the conversation I'd had with Virtuous Moon Sword immediately after our match.

'First, you should lay low and remain hidden.'

Virtuous Moon Sword didn't want me to reveal that I'd undergone transformation.

Of course, he wasn't saying I should conceal myself forever.

'There'll be a time in a few days when you'll need to appear.'

'Until then, seclude yourself as much as possible.'

"Hmmm."

Don't show myself. But there would come a time in a few days when I'd have to reveal myself?

'What's supposed to happen?'

I had no idea what might be coming in a few days—but clearly, something was coming.

This was Virtuous Moon Sword talking, after all.

But the problem was...

'... I can't really hibernate for several days straight, can I?'

I had a schedule, and plans I'd already put in place. I couldn't just sit around doing nothing.

Most importantly—

"Anyone there?"

'Oh, come on.'

Of all moments, someone who was desperately looking for me had appeared.

* * *

The one who came looking for me was the Tyrant King. He'd already scheduled to come find me today, and he walked right into my room without hesitation.

The problem with that was...

'How did he even find me?'

This was the place Virtuous Moon Sword had given me to hide out in.

It was a remote, hard-to-spot location, and I'd even switched places when moving here—yet the Tyrant King had found it as if it were nothing at all.

"If you moved, couldn't you at least have let me know? I had quite a time finding you."

"... It's more amazing that you managed to find me at all."

The Tyrant King chuckled and sat down. He started to say something as he looked at me.

"So, now then...hmm?"

He trailed off mid-sentence and widened his eyes as he stared at me.

"Huh."

He followed that with a short cough, then—

"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

He laughed uproariously. After a long laugh, the Tyrant King finally calmed down and said,

"Will you look at that? You pulled off something interesting in such a short time."

As expected, he'd recognized it. It would've been strange if he hadn't.

"... That's how it turned out."

"You didn't break through that wall by yourself. Who helped you? The Blue Moon Sect Leader? No, that one's not underhanded enough to do such a thing..."

'Underhanded,' huh? The word stuck in my ear, but I decided to ignore it for now.

"Was it your dead master's doing?"

He hit the mark immediately. I scratched my cheek and replied.

"Yes."

"Ha. That old freak. Even after death, he left you plenty to make use of."

Tsk, tsk. His tongue-clicking was filled more with wonder than complaint.

"So, what did he leave you?"

"... A modest fortuitous encounter."

"Modest? You say that, but it's not funny."

The Tyrant King pursed his lips.

"I admit you're extraordinary, but no one could cross that threshold alone."

He spoke decisively. It was the kind of certainty that no one could achieve transformation completely on their own.

"And why do you think that?"

"Because not even the Sword Saint could have managed such a feat."

He was using the Sword Saint as the benchmark for what was possible or impossible.

'... Isn't that taking it a bit too far?'

I'd already seen Yu Chun-gil's youth in the Mind Realm. That man was already a monster at my age.

'It's still unclear.'

The last Mind Realm vision was of Yu Chun-gil at age twenty.

What would happen if I met that monster now?

'... Tsk.'

I couldn't clearly imagine a future where I could beat him. Even after reaching the Transcendent realm and going through transformation.

'Where did he get the certainty that even someone like that couldn't do it?'

I had no answer. But the Tyrant King believed it with all his heart.

"He probably hid something amusing. Something so interesting it would surpass all else."

"Do I really have to tell you what that interesting thing is?"

"No, that's not necessary."

The Tyrant King cut himself off, leaning back in his chair.

"Whatever it is, it doesn't matter. What matters isn't your transformation."

"...."

He was only curious, that's all, and I let out a sigh of relief inside.

I was grateful I didn't have to explain any further.

And it was remarkable that he was content to leave it at that.

"Alright, that's enough. Now, it's time for us to do what needs to be done, don't you agree?"

"... Hmm."

I frowned at his words.

'Is he talking about the Sacred Blade in the storehouse?'

What the Tyrant King wanted—the Sacred Blade in the form of an armguard that I'd seen in the storehouse.

He'd come to ask me for it.

'Is this really okay?'

Should I give it to him without Yu Chun-gil's permission? The rightful owner was the Tyrant King, but current ownership belonged to Yu Chun-gil.

'Damn. So where did he go?'

I needed Yu Chun-gil to follow through with the method I'd decided on, but the old man was nowhere to be found.

"Are you listening?"

The Tyrant King's words snapped me out of my thoughts. I paused my internal monologue and responded.

"Ah, yes. I'm listening."

"I asked if you're able to go right now."

"... Well."

What should I do? Should I make up some excuse and try to talk my way out of it?

As I struggled with that thought—

"... Yes. Alright. Let's go."

I decided to agree.

'... For now.'

Even without Yu Chun-gil, I had a way to handle things.

I'd prepared for just this situation.

* * *

I moved with the Tyrant King. The way to the storehouse was hidden from every quarter, but—

'I can't let the Tyrant King find out how to access it.'

There were some secrets I just couldn't share. I led the Tyrant King along a roundabout way.

I carefully avoided running into anyone else along the way and had already asked the Tyrant King to help with that.

"There's no one nearby."

"Thank you."

He readily agreed when I asked if he could check for anyone nearby.

Given this was something he needed, he was more than willing.

"We've arrived."

"Oh."

I entered an empty room and activated Moon Eye.

I went straight to the empty drawer, touching it several times.

Creak.

Clatterrrrr! As the mechanism whirred, the floor opened up.

"Ha."

The Tyrant King let out a short exclamation of admiration.

"... I was wondering who'd built this. It was that Poison Sovereign fellow, wasn't it?"

Amazingly, he identified who'd created the mechanism right away.

"Let's go down."

I climbed down the ladder with the Tyrant King. I'd been here so many times that it barely felt strange anymore.

I arrived. This was the first chamber of the storehouse.

"A bit cramped in here."

The Tyrant King looked around as soon as we arrived. The space was narrow and dark.

"Hmm..."

He approached the wall and tapped it a few times with his hand.

"It's thick. Couldn't break it with a punch."

"Were you checking to see if you could break it or not?"

"Well... Maybe."

The Tyrant King grinned, his voice trailing off. The guy had been ready to break through, it seemed.

The surprising part was—

'He actually decided he couldn't break it.'

For the Tyrant King, one of the Five Supreme Kings, to judge that this wall couldn't be easily broken—this storehouse was no ordinary thing.

Clank.

I drew out my sword and opened the door the way I'd learned. The Tyrant King reacted.

"Oh-ho..."

Uttering a short exclamation, he went on ahead.

"Follow me."

"No wonder it's so hard to discover, and even harder to open. The two old men were up to some tricks."

He chuckled, his laughter echoing down the passage.

"The Sword Saint—what a cunning old fox... He must've done a lot for you."

"...."

For me? I didn't even bother reacting to such nonsense.

'As if. He didn't do anything for me.'

This was, through and through, a storehouse for his own benefit. With his personality, there was no way that old man had done anything on my behalf.

Ignoring the Tyrant King's words, I headed for the second chamber.

On arrival, I pointed to a spot for the Tyrant King.

"Is that the item you wanted?"

"Hm? Ah."

The Tyrant King sent his gaze where I pointed and widened his eyes. A black armguard lay on the floor.

"... Yes, that's the one. At last..."

The Tyrant King's gaze turned serious as he approached the item. As he did, I reached out to grab his shoulder.

"Just a moment—"

BOOM—!!

"...!"

No sooner had I touched his shoulder than an immense pressure crashed down on me.

"... What are you doing?"

Did I upset him by stopping his advance? The Tyrant King's gaze turned deadly cold and he glanced at me. Just the briefest eye contact made it hard to breathe.

'... Shit.'

Was this his true power? My knees nearly buckled.

"... I'll give it to you... I just need you to wait a moment."

"...."

As I managed to say that, the pressure gradually lifted.

"Sorry about that. Didn't even realize it. Ha ha."

He pretended nothing had happened, but his presence had just swept right through my body.

'... What a temper.'

I'd momentarily forgotten all the old men connected to Yu Chun-gil were strange.

"So, why did you stop me?"

"I do want to hand it over, but there's a bit of a condition."

"A condition?"

"Yes. If you don't mind, could I have a few drops of your blood?"

"... What?"

I asked for blood. The Tyrant King frowned.

How should I explain this? After a brief pause, I said,

"It's about the mechanism. To touch the item, I need it."

The mechanism devised by Poison Sovereign. To retrieve the item, you needed this.

The Tyrant King was annoyed, but—

"Alright."

He simply raised his fist—

Drip, drip.

Blood began to run down from his fist.

"Is this enough?"

I had no idea when he cut himself. I quickly grabbed a talisman from my clothes.

"Yes, that's more than enough."

I was surprised by the amount of blood, but I dabbed it onto the talisman.

Then—

Slide.

I lightly attached it to my hand and grabbed the armguard.

'This should work.'

The blood would mask the spirit.

I would hide my own spirit as if I were the Tyrant King and transfer any lingering grudges in the armguard to him.

'... I am a little worried that the armguard is a Sacred Blade.'

If I transferred it like this, the grudge in here would pass directly to the Tyrant King.

'He's the original owner anyway. This much, he should be able to handle.'

It shouldn't be a strong curse, so I figured it'd be alright.

"Here you g—"

I was just about to hand the armguard over—

BZZZZZZZZZZ—!!

"Hmm?"

"Huh?"

The armguard started to vibrate.

"Uh, why is this...?"

As my eyes widened at the vibration—

CRACKCRACKCRACK—!!!

"Huh?"

Suddenly, the armguard snaked around my wrist.

The Tyrant King and I both stared, our eyes as round as lanterns.

Something was—

'... Did I just screw myself over?'

I got the feeling something had gone seriously wrong.

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