Geom Woojin had a gut feeling.
Whatever dwelled within Hwa Mugi's body would affect the outcome of today's battle.
There was a reason why he was trying to assess his opponent as calmly as possible.
Could that Heaven Killing Star have come without knowing he had achieved Great Mastery in the Nine Calamities Demon Art?
No, that was impossible.
He was the one who knew about the writing left on the second floor of the Flowing Wine Tavern.
And yet, his opponent's relaxed demeanor meant he was prepared in some way.
'What have you prepared to counter the Nine Calamities Demon Art?'
Before the fight truly began, he had to find the answer to this question.
Suddenly, Hwa Mugi laughed like a madman.
When he stopped laughing, he was back to his usual self.
"A friend? What's this talk of friendship at our age?"
Jin Pae-cheon stared at Hwa Mugi, dumbfounded.
Just a moment ago, it had felt like advice from a senior of the Righteous Path.
He had sensed the desperation of someone who had been ruined by associating with the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect and the Unorthodox Alliance, warning him not to suffer the same fate.
But the Hwa Mugi before him now had a completely different feel from before.
"Alliance Leader Jin, you are lonely right now."
Hwa Mugi calmly dug into Jin Pae-cheon's psyche.
"Looking down from a high mountain, you see beasts and people all living together. They all live on your mountain, but what about you? Is there no one up there? Having lived your entire life under the bright sun, there isn't even a single cloud to share a word with, is there?"
Hwa Mugi knew Jin Pae-cheon's past life well.
"But no matter how lonely you are, should you befriend a dark cloud full of thunder? The downpour from that cloud will sweep away everything living on your mountain."
Despite his young age, he spoke like a wise old man.
So much so that one might think he had truly undergone rebirth.
In any case, Hwa Mugi spoke so well that his earlier words now seemed like an act to mock Jin Pae-cheon.
The words about being lonely.
Normally, those words would have pierced Jin Pae-cheon's heart.
After all, his was a relationship that should never have been formed with Geom Woojin.
Jin Pae-cheon looked at Geom Woojin.
Geom Woojin was watching Hwa Mugi with a calm gaze.
Seeing his face, he suddenly recalled the telepathic message he had received a moment ago.
-Let's be friends for today.
Those words became his shield.
Hwa Mugi's words could not pierce him, at least not today.
He had come for his grandson, but yes, what was wrong with being friends with the Demon Cult Master for a day?
"It seems one must be this crazy to become a Heaven Killing Star."
The person who stepped forward was the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
He provoked Hwa Mugi on Jin Pae-cheon's behalf.
"What about you? Do you have any friends?"
For a moment, Hwa Mugi was speechless.
"Right, I thought not. Who are you to say anything when you don't have a single friend? Me? I have one."
Hwa Mugi's target shifted from Jin Pae-cheon to the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
"You even gave up your position as Cult Master to make that one friend?"
"You must have misheard. I threw away not only my position but also my divine relic and my pride."
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader added cheerfully.
"In return, I'm living a much more interesting life. If I were still in the Outlands, I wouldn't have been able to witness this interesting spectacle."
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader was not afraid at all.
He usually spouted nonsense, but when an enemy appeared, he was the first to step forward.
Hwa Mugi brought up what the Wind Heaven Sect Leader had said earlier.
"Did you say that if the Young Cult Master loses his father, he will turn that wound into armor and become a better Cult Master?"
Those were the words the Wind Heaven Sect Leader had said to Geom Woojin earlier.
Hwa Mugi walked over and threw open the tavern window.
In the distance, he could see the smoke of the Demon Flame rising from the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect's main division.
"I will kill all of you here, and then I will kill every single one of them over there. Those who know martial arts, those who don't, every last one. I won't leave a single living dog."
A faint killing intent emanated from his body.
It was a killing intent unlike any they had ever experienced.
Unfamiliar, yet intense.
A promise could be felt in his killing intent.
A promise that this slaughter would absolutely be carried out.
Hwa Mugi looked their way and grinned.
"If the entire sect disappears, he can't become a good Cult Master, can he?"
It was an arrogant statement, claiming he would annihilate the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect single-handedly.
Before the regression, he had only killed the members of the Heavenly Demon Hall, but now he intended to kill the entire Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
Geom Mugeuk's regression had also changed Hwa Mugi's destiny.
On the other hand, Geom Woojin showed no reaction to the threat of annihilating the main division.
He merely watched Hwa Mugi's every move in silence.
The Fist Demon next to him sensed that Geom Woojin was not his usual self.
What he saw in Geom Woojin was not silent rage.
He had set even his rage aside.
'Cult Master, what are you seeing right now?'
Hwa Mugi's arrogance did not stop with the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
His gaze turned to Jin Pae-cheon.
"Next, I will go to the Martial Alliance and kill every single one of those Righteous Path bastards there."
The faint killing intent's final destination was Baek Ja-gang.
"You are last."
It was the moment the most arrogant threat in the history of the Martial World was made—to annihilate the Righteous, Demonic, and Unorthodox Sects.
Hwa Mugi turned back to the Wind Heaven Sect Leader and said.
"Wind Heaven Sect Leader, because you ran your mouth, all their subordinates will die too."
He shifted the responsibility for their deaths onto the Wind Heaven Sect Leader.
The Wind Heaven Sect Leader wanted nothing more than to run his mouth even more, but since the lives of the Martial Alliance and Unorthodox Alliance members were at stake, he could not bring himself to say anything.
Truly, Hwa Mugi was an unpredictable character.
One moment, he would be smiling brightly, appearing perfectly at ease, and the next, he would be genuinely threatening to annihilate countless lives.
Just then, someone from behind said.
"He came here to kill everyone from the start, so don't pay any mind to his words."
If the Wind Heaven Sect Leader had stepped up for Jin Pae-cheon, the one who stepped up for him was Baek Ja-gang.
"That Martial Alliance Leader over there came because of his friend, but Unorthodox Alliance Leader, what did you come for?"
To Hwa Mugi's question, Baek Ja-gang answered leisurely.
"I came to see what a Heaven Killing Star looks like."
"Now that you've seen one in person, what do you think?"
"Younger than I thought. More talkative than you look. Ah, perhaps you're old. Seeing how much you talk."
"Isn't this a joyous occasion that will never happen again in your lifetime?"
Those words sounded like he would toy with them to his heart's content before killing them.
Just as he had done with Jin Pae-cheon, Hwa Mugi provoked Baek Ja-gang.
"What would the Unorthodox Faction martial artists think if they saw you caught between the Righteous Path and the Demon Sect, trying to read everyone's mood?"
Baek Ja-gang's reaction was different from Jin Pae-cheon's.
"What would they think? They'd say, 'He's good at reading the room to survive! You're doing well!' That's what they'd say. I only pick guys like that."
Baek Ja-gang had never felt insecure about such things.
That was why Bi Sa-in liked this side of him.
Baek Ja-gang didn't aspire to be the sun, nor did he want to become the darkness.
To live with his feet on the ground, like the wind.
This was the Unorthodox Path that Baek Ja-gang dreamed of.
"Don't expect something grand just because one's a Cult Master or an Alliance Leader. Just as you, a Heaven Killing Star, are not grand."
Geom Woojin and Jin Pae-cheon saw a new side of Baek Ja-gang.
He had never spoken like this before, so today was the first time they realized he had this side to him.
Jin Pae-cheon, in particular, reflected on himself after seeing that side of Baek Ja-gang.
He couldn't go as far as to say such things, but it occurred to him that while they were both Alliance Leaders, he himself lived too conventionally.
'Can I, the Martial Alliance Leader, say something like this? What will others think of me if I do? Might these words tarnish the honor of the Righteous Path?' He realized he had bound himself with too many self-imposed restrictions.
Come to think of it, in his youth, he had been a truly free person.
He felt that at some point, he had stopped living as Jin Pae-cheon and started living only as the Martial Alliance Leader.
He couldn't begin to describe how many emotions he had felt in this small tavern over the past few days, emotions he had never once felt in the spacious Alliance Leader's Hall of the Martial Alliance.
He truly felt it was a good thing he came.
On the other hand, Hwa Mugi seemed pleased with Baek Ja-gang's answer, smiling brightly with delight.
"The Unorthodox Faction I've seen was gloomy and inscrutable. But you are refreshingly straightforward!"
"You're also different from the Heaven Killing Star I imagined."
"What was the Heaven Killing Star you imagined like?"
A flicker of curiosity crossed Hwa Mugi's face.
"One born as a Heaven Killing Star doesn't just go around threatening to kill everyone recklessly like this. A Heaven Killing Star is someone who fails to adapt to the world, gets pushed out of relationships with people, and inevitably brings about a blood calamity. But you don't seem to have any scars. You just seem like a homicidal maniac who has never even tried to live a decent life."
Baek Ja-gang's provocation was sharp.
Nevertheless, Hwa Mugi was even more pleased.
"Oh, and you're smart too! I like it."
Hwa Mugi stared at Baek Ja-gang for a moment and then said abruptly.
"Should I spare you today?"
It was a statement filled with the conviction that the rest would, of course, all die.
Baek Ja-gang nodded.
"I welcome such words anytime."
Then, Hwa Mugi strode towards Baek Ja-gang.
A tense atmosphere was instantly created between the two, and Baek Ja-gang's eyes narrowed further.
Passing the distance where he could kill his opponent by reaching out his hand, Hwa Mugi stood right next to Baek Ja-gang.
As if they had become friends, they looked at Jin Pae-cheon together.
"What do you think of that Martial Alliance Leader? That hypocritical justice of his, wanting to be friends with the Demon Cult Master while also vowing to protect the justice of the Martial World."
Baek Ja-gang's gaze turned to Jin Pae-cheon.
Jin Pae-cheon said nothing, silently listening to their conversation.
Unexpected words flowed from Baek Ja-gang's mouth.
"I think he can be the Demon Cult Master, but not the Martial Alliance Leader."
It was the first time Baek Ja-gang had revealed his thoughts to Jin Pae-cheon.
"You can't do bad things, you have to help complete strangers, you have to sacrifice yourself for righteousness and goodwill even knowing you will die. Isn't that a path one can barely walk even with hypocrisy? It's a path I couldn't walk even if I were a hypocrite a hundred or a thousand times over."
Baek Ja-gang slowly looked at Hwa Mugi standing next to him and asked.
"Honestly, you can't walk that path either, can you?"
Hwa Mugi's bright smile turned into a peculiar one.
"This is disappointing. I thought we were on the same page."
Their gazes intertwined in mid-air.
The tension flowed.
The two were so close that it felt like something could happen at any moment.
"Didn't you say earlier? That the Righteous, Demonic, and Unorthodox Sects you know aren't like this."
Hwa Mugi, who had been reading the writing on the wall on the second floor, had definitely said that.
"As you can see, this is an exceptional situation, so go be friendly with that side."
Naturally, no pleasant words came from Hwa Mugi's mouth.
"Does this 'exceptional situation' mean being swept up in the Young Cult Master's mess?"
Baek Ja-gang struck a nerve.
"You're afraid of the Young Cult Master."
For a moment, Hwa Mugi's expression hardened.
"Your plan to kill the Cult Master over there to hurt the Young Cult Master is also because you're afraid of him, isn't it?"
Baek Ja-gang asked, looking into his eyes.
Baek Ja-gang's eyes were small, but they were deep and dark like an abyss.
"Why are you afraid of the Young Cult Master?"
It was at that very moment.
Swaaaaaaah.
An intense red energy burst forth from Hwa Mugi's eyes.
It was a tremendous killing intent.
They had never experienced such a powerful killing intent before.
His killing intent was beyond the limits of what a human could produce.
It was a terrifying killing intent that could kill any decent master on its own.
The protective energy of everyone present was unleashed at once.
"You vermin-like Unorthodox mongrel!"
Hwa Mugi, who always laughed off situations that made him angry, had changed frighteningly.
"Lower your damn eyes before I pluck out those tiny peepers!"
This time, a rough and violent side, completely different from what he had shown before, emerged.
Hwa Mugi spewed insults.
"How dare a punk from the Unorthodox Faction who should be selling wine in back alleys run his mouth in front of me? You things don't even have the guts to become truly evil. You're even more pathetic than those Righteous Path riffraff!"
He looked ready to draw his sword and fight Baek Ja-gang at any moment.
The sense of crisis between the two was stretched taut as if it would snap at any second, but it did not.
They thought this was another one of Hwa Mugi's taunts aimed at Baek Ja-gang.
After all, he had shown so many different personalities like a madman.
But one person was an exception.
Geom Woojin had been watching only Hwa Mugi's eyes the entire time.
In that fleeting moment, this time, demonic energy brushed past.
It was such a momentary reaction that it would have been difficult for anyone but himself to notice.
It was like noticing a soul changing for a very brief instant.
'There's a demonic practitioner in that body too!'
Geom Woojin could tell that Hwa Mugi's body didn't just contain the Righteous Path master he had seen before.
And judging from Hwa Mugi's earlier comment that the Unorthodox Faction he'd seen wasn't like this,
'The souls of the Demonic, Righteous, and Unorthodox are all inside his body.'
It was truly an unbelievable event, but on second thought, it made sense that such a Heaven Killing Star would be capable of such a reckless act.
'Are there really only three souls?'
It was the first time Geom Woojin had encountered a case where multiple souls resided in one person's body.
If that was the case, there was now one thing he had to confirm.
Geom Woojin sent a telepathic message to the Fist Demon.
—Hit that bastard once.
The Fist Demon had been waiting for just this command.
Hwoooong!
The Fist Demon's fist, rushing towards Hwa Mugi, flew at his face.
Hwa Mugi, who had been looking at Baek Ja-gang, slightly turned his body and reached his hand back to block the Fist Demon's punch.
The fist hit his palm.
Paaaaang!
The impact of the collision sent a tremendous wave of energy spreading in all directions.
The chopstick holder and empty cups on the other tables were all sent flying and rolled on the floor.
Hwa Mugi did not move a single step from his spot.
The Fist Demon hadn't thrown the punch with all his might, but it wasn't a punch that could be blocked so easily either.
"How dare a Demon Sovereign raise his fist to me?"
Just as Hwa Mugi was turning around with a terrifying look in his eyes.
Hwaaang!
The Fist Demon's second punch flew without hesitation and struck Hwa Mugi directly in the face.
Peeeeok!
Judging by his previous skill, he could have definitely dodged it.
Hwa Mugi had taken the hit intentionally.
His head, which had snapped back so violently it seemed as if it might have come off, slowly came forward again.
Despite the powerful blow, there wasn't a single scratch on his face.
His protective energy was incredible.
"Less painful than the rumors suggest?"
At Hwa Mugi's taunt, the Fist Demon's fearsome face hardened coldly.
However, the Fist Demon quietly retreated.
The Cult Master's order had been to land a blow, not to fight him to the death.
Geom Woojin was looking at Hwa Mugi, who had already returned to his original self.
Geom Woojin had discovered two things.
They emerge suddenly, but they cannot act entirely of their own will.
If they could, that demonic practitioner would have surely gone berserk earlier.
Geom Woojin recalled what the demonic practitioner had said.
—How dare a Demon Sovereign raise his fist to me?
'How dare'? If he was a demonic practitioner who could use the words 'how dare' to a Demon Sovereign?
'A past Heavenly Demon is inside him!'
He couldn't tell if it was the previous one, the one before that, or one from long ago, but there was no doubt a Demon Cult Master was inside.
What did that mean? Now, the answer to his initial question had emerged.
What have you prepared to counter the Nine Calamities Demon Art?
'This one also uses the Nine Calamities Demon Art!'