Published at 29th of April 2026 8:50 am

Chapter 427

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Kwa-jik-!

With a harsh sound, young cult leader's face snapped to the side.

I had struck him in the face with a knee, pouring all my emotion into it.

"Keuk!"

Blood flowed from his nose.

As soon as Young cult leader's face crumpled, sharp sounds rang out from all directions.

Srrrng-!!

Srrng-!!

Swords were drawn from every side. These were the demonic beings.

They looked ready to attack in response to my sudden strike, but—

Kugugugung-!!!

We on this side were hardly pushovers.

To begin with, Heaven Beyond Heaven was seated here.

Leader of the Small Moon Division drew his sword, his momentum surging, and the other members followed suit.

At that moment—

"Enough."

Young cult leader spoke.

Drip. Drip.

Blood from his nose stained the desk, matching the color in his eyes.

"This is a precious occasion. Let's refrain from unnecessary foolishness."

"..."

At Young cult leader's words, the demonic beings sheathed their swords once again.

"Now, speak."

After that, young cult leader's gaze turned to me.

I could feel a murderous intent so intense it was almost desperate.

"What do you think you're doing?"

He demanded an explanation, his eyes threatening an uncertain consequence if I failed to answer him straight.

Seeing that, I replied.

"What do you mean, what am I doing?"

Wasn't it obvious?

"You pissed me off, so I beat you."

"... What?"

"Ah. It's actually more refreshing than I thought."

Maybe it's because I did something I don't normally do, but it felt oddly satisfying.

"I might just do it more often."

"... Ha."

Young cult leader chuckled. By then, his nose had already stopped bleeding.

"You're rougher than I expected. What about our mutual friend?"

"He's usually the gentler sort, but it depends on the circumstances."

"So it depends on the situation... And what kind of time is it now?"

"The kind that's complete shit."

Ssss.

The energy moved.

"Hey."

I was careful of my trembling heart.

Just in case the seal came loose.

I needed to watch out for that.

"Stop acting cocky and behave yourself."

"... What?"

"If you came here for talks, follow procedures. Everyone here knows the problem begins with the fact that you're sitting there in the first place."

I hadn't killed him.

He hadn't died.

Up to the moment Young cult leader arrived in Henan and came here, his neck was still attached.

That alone was a problem.

"As for me—"

I spoke of my life so far.

"I despise people like you the most."

I loathed those who clung to a weak standard for the value of life.

"People who see human lives as no different from insects."

The softly clinking sword vibrated slightly at my waistband, making it stand out even more.

"That's why I used to hate martial artists, and yet, to survive, I ended up holding a sword myself."

I never thought I wouldn't kill to survive.

That notion never existed.

Ever since I reincarnated in the Central Plains and wore a blade at my waist, that was clear.

But at the very least—

"If you cause trouble, you should know when to shove your head in the dirt, you miserable bastard."

As I spoke, a sound came from the side.

Chak. The sound of someone gripping a sword handle. I saw that and was about to move when—

"Ah, don't."

"...!"

A sword was pressed to the demonic being's neck.

"You really shouldn't just butt in while the two of them are talking."

Surprisingly, the one stopping the demonic being was Silver Moon Sword, Yu Yul.

Before I knew it, he had drawn his sword and threatened the other.

"It's just getting fun. Right, junior?"

"..."

Yu Yul said with a playful smile.

What's up with this guy?

Anyway, thanks to him, I relented a bit.

'I'd calculated this would make that demonic being move first.'

That's what I'd anticipated, but thanks to Silver Moon Sword's interference, things got a bit out of hand.

'Doesn't matter.'

It really didn't. Things like this—whatever.

"What are you talking about?"

Young cult leader glared at me.

"I'm responding based on an expectation of an apology. What more do you require?"

"Wow. This is really... Amazing."

I looked at him with an expression of utter disbelief.

"You're socially wrecked, aren't you. I've never been praised for my social skills, but you—do you even have any?"

"... What?"

Young cult leader's brow twitched at my words.

"You rob someone's house, burn it to the ground, destroy everything, cause all kinds of damage, then come back and say you acted out of revenge and are sorry for it, so an apology should be enough? But if that's not enough, you'll compensate? Good grief."

I couldn't help but laugh.

"You're talking crap, like some sycophant licking the Jade Emperor's ass."

Grrrk.

At my words, young cult leader's face fell apart.

"... You're still a pain in the ass."

"Likewise."

It had always been that way. I didn't just hate the smell this guy gave off—something about him just rubbed me wrong.

Ggk.

Young cult leader stood up. At that moment—

Thump.

Whoosh-!!

"...!"

"...!!"

A deep vibration passed between the two of us. My gaze shifted. It was Divine Spear.

He tapped his cup in front of him lightly with his finger, and a deep vibration echoed through the air.

"Calm down."

"..."

With that, Divine Spear stood up.

His massive body rose, the vibrations lingering in his wake.

"The rudeness Moon Hero displayed, young cult leader—you'd do well to forgive it in light of what you've done to us."

"... Alliance leader?"

I frowned at his words.

"It seems things are getting too heated, so let's leave the rest for tomorrow. Is that acceptable?"

Crack.

Young cult leader rubbed his nose. I heard the bone snap back into place, as if he fixed what broke.

"That's fine. One day is nothing... Thank you for your consideration, alliance leader."

Without further word, Divine Spear left the meeting.

"... Hmm."

As I sighed in that situation, other martial artists appeared.

"We'll show you to your quarters."

From the way they spoke, it was clear they'd prepared lodgings for us.

The Young cult leader stood up as well.

"Let's continue our conversation later. Seems we have a lot to discuss."

He passed by me as he spoke, followed by the demonic beings, who all exited.

As silence descended over the talks, it was Heavenly Insight who broke it.

"Why did you do that?"

I knew he was talking to me.

In his words was an unspoken question: why did a guy who shouldn't have caused trouble suddenly lose control?

Hearing that, I gave an awkward laugh.

"Yeah, good question."

Normally, I would never have done that.

Normally, for sure.

"Strangely, I just got so angry."

Maybe it was his base attitude towards human life that irked me.

Or maybe it was just that I really hated his kind of person.

Or perhaps—

'Without realizing it, I've been influenced by Grandpa.'

I wasn't sure.

No, maybe I was just pretending not to know, though I actually did.

"..."

Heavenly Insight stared straight at me.

That gaze was oddly burdensome, so I found myself unconsciously avoiding it.

"... Why don't you come down? How long are you planning to stand on the desk?"

"Ah, right."

He pointed it out, and I climbed down awkwardly.

I'd hit the guy, then kept myself up here the whole time.

"Whew."

Heavenly Insight let out a sigh. Had I really acted so impulsively?

As I scratched my head in embarrassment—

"Well done."

"Sorry?"

"Go get some rest. If I need you again, I'll call."

To my surprise, Heavenly Insight offered a compliment before walking away.

"... Oh."

To get that kind of acknowledgment from him?

It felt weird.

And then—

"You were really fiery up there."

As soon as I climbed off the desk, Yu Yul nudged me with his elbow.

"I told you I know how to judge people. You really are an interesting friend."

"..."

"I admit it."

There was nothing to gain from this odd man's approval. If anything, it made me feel worse.

"... Thanks so much."

"Don't mention it. Ah, but it's a shame."

"What is?"

"That person who was about to draw their sword."

"The woman?"

"Woman?"

"Yes. You mean the woman by the entrance earlier, the one reaching for her sword."

"No, I meant the one I was about to stop."

"That's the same person."

"Hmm?"

Yu Yul reacted as if he didn't understand.

"With the mask and the build, how can you be sure?"

So I explained.

"The interval of her breathing, the width of her stride, the distance between her arms when drawing the sword—all the same."

"..."

Yu Yul's eyebrows moved as he listened.

"You noticed all that?"

"Rather than noticed... I just always seem to remember things by habit."

"Hahaha."

Tap tap tap. Yu Yul's nudging elbow sped up even more.

"Yup, you really are interesting."

"..."

I felt even more annoyed.

* * *

After sending the demonic beings away, I returned to my quarters.

My mood was lousy.

Not just because of the lingering discomfort, but also from the way the Alliance's atmosphere had suddenly turned frosty.

"The martial artists have it rough."

They dialed their alertness up to the max, senses sharpened to the limit.

Not only was the tension palpable as they braced for something else to happen, but their ki, intertwined with the martial artists' own, even changed the air itself.

'Is this really alright?'

I doubted if this situation was really alright.

"Hmm."

Sitting back against the wall, nearly collapsing into it.

'... Damn.'

The demonic beings were one thing.

But there were two other things that bothered me.

One—

'This is your doing, isn't it?'

I addressed Heavenly Demon.

『What are you saying?』

I furrowed my brow at his words.

Him pretending not to know just ticked me off more.

'Stop playing dumb. I definitely felt it back then.'

Right before I lunged at that Young cult leader bastard, as an annoying feeling spiked within me, something dug in, stoking the fire.

It was so subtle I almost didn't notice it.

'... What did you do?'

That was energy I sensed from Divine Sword.

『Tsk tsk.』

Heavenly Demon chuckled at my remark.

『... You've got good instincts. I didn't think you'd notice.』

'What did you do?'

『Don't worry. I didn't force your actions. I just gave you a little push.』

"A push?"

『I just nudged your intent to act, that's all.』

"So you gave me a shove, in the end?"

『Not exactly.』

"What's the difference?"

『Even if I hadn't, you would have done it eventually. You do realize that, right?』

"..."

At that, I was at a loss for words. I really couldn't say no.

『I could feel you wanted to act. So I just set the table, so to speak. Would it help if you think of it as doing it in my place?』

"... Tch."

『You were about to blame me for something you already knew. Guess it doesn't sit well with you, huh.』

"... Fine."

I shook my head. He was right. Even if he hadn't pushed me, I would have done it.

I couldn't deny that.

If anything—

'Since I thought you were pushing me, I bit down even harder.'

I knew I couldn't deny it, even if I wanted to.

I sighed.

'So then...'

There was another problem. Not just that Heavenly Demon could do something—

'What am I going to do about that?'

I focused on what I saw before me. It had started, I recalled, right after I met the Death King.

Since then, something had been following me.

Sssss.

A gigantic eyeball floated in the shadows.

The same kind that had been attached to Yu Yul was now staring at me.

And it had been there from earlier.

As I kept averting my gaze, pretending not to see it—

『... Repulsive woman.』

Heavenly Demon whispered quietly.

His voice was filled with extreme loathing.

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