Seeing that he showed signs of backing down obediently, Jin Gwanghon clasped his fists and said:
“Our Mad Sword Gate will close its gates for the time being. So please leave now.”
At those words, Jeok Wigang smirked and replied:
“I don’t like that. If you don’t want to fight, then I just need to make you fight.”
“What?”
“Let’s keep going until your fighting spirit rises again. Take a beating.”
Jeok Wigang muttered something, and in an instant, dozens upon dozens of Jeok Wigangs appeared.
The people of Mad Sword Gate were horrified.
“Today is beating day, so I won’t knock you out with a single hit.”
Snap.
As he flicked his finger, all of Jeok Wigang’s clones began to move simultaneously toward the Mad Sword Gate disciples.
Puh-puh-puhk—!
“Keuaaaah!”
“Keheuk!”
“S—stop!”
“Kkeo-eok!”
Screams filled every direction.
Jeok Wigang appeared before Jin Gwanghon, who was backing away in terror.
“Where are you going? Since you’re the Sect Master, my real body will personally deal with you.”
“W–why are you doing this to us?”
“Why?”
“What did we do wrong for you to do this?”
“You bullied the weaker sects.”
“We! We never did such a thing! If anything, thanks to us, those weak sects became stronger! The only sin we have is raising them strong!”
“Same here. I’m doing this to raise you strong.”
“That... that is......”
“Come on, take your beating and get stronger.”
Now that the situation had reversed, he could finally feel how unjust the Jiangxi Alliance must have felt all this time.
That day, until the sun went down, Jin Gwanghon experienced pain he had never once felt in his entire life.
A week had passed since Jeok Wigang appeared at Mad Sword Gate.
Everyone looked around nervously like people on the verge of a mental breakdown, jumping at the smallest sound.
Then one warrior suddenly exploded.
“Aaaaah! I can’t live like this! Either he dies or I die — today I’ll settle it once and for all!”
That scream awakened the bottled-up fury in all the disciples.
“Right! Better to die than live like this!”
“If we don’t catch him today, I’ll kill myself with my own hands!”
“Let’s fight with death in mind!”
Murderous aura filled all of Mad Sword Gate.
Jin Gwanghon felt the same.
Rather than live in this torment, he would rather fight, die cleanly, and maintain his pride as a man.
Jin Gwanghon scattered the treasured spirit pills he had been saving among all the disciples.
“Eat them! And fight that monster! Even if we can’t win, let us show him our warrior’s soul!”
“Yes!”
After swallowing the spirit pills and completing their breathing circulation, the disciples’ morale rose once more.
With death accepted, the mysterious demon-masked man no longer frightened them.
They were instead eager for him to appear 빨리.
“Oh? Today’s atmosphere is different.”
At last, the long-awaited voice.
As if waiting for this moment, the disciples of Mad Sword Gate rushed at the demon mask all at once.
“Die!!!”
“Let’s die together today!”
“You damn monster bastard! Drop dead!”
Seeing the Mad Sword Gate disciples rush at him in madness, Jeok Wigang chuckled.
“Now this is getting fun. You should’ve been like this from the beginning.”
Puh-puh-puhk—!
The disciples were hit by Jeok Wigang’s fists.
But unlike before, they didn’t faint.
They clenched their teeth and endured.
“Oh?”
Jeok Wigang’s smile widened.
“Today is really fun.”
The demon mask still treated them as entertainment, driving the Mad Sword Gate disciples insane with humiliation.
They all thought: If I could just land one clean hit, I’d die without regrets.
And surprisingly, that wish came true sooner than expected.
Their desperate attacks began actually landing on the demon mask.
Puh-puh-puhk—!
“We hit him!”
“It worked!”
“When you’re ready to die, nothing is impossible!”
“Hahaha! How’s that, you monster!”
“Wait... why isn’t he falling?”
“Did we miss?”
“No! We definitely hit him!”
They definitely landed blows.
His torn clothing was undeniable proof.
But he stood there calmly.
No blood. No wounds.
“Attack again!”
“I—it must’ve been protective qi! Attack again!”
They gripped their swords and attacked once more.
Jin Gwanghon, too, joined in.
Since the attacks worked, he would add his strength — maybe he could really send this demon flying.
Then something shocking happened.
Despite taking the combined assaults of every person there, the demon mask slowly walked forward as if nothing touched him.
Not only was he unhurt — he had no wounds at all.
His clothes were shredded, barely covering his lower body.
He was definitely being hit properly, yet his body remained unharmed.
Only the mask was perfectly intact.
“Uwaaaah! This monster!”
“Please just die!”
Though they had prepared for death, meeting someone who made even that resolve meaningless drove them into deeper despair.
“I think this is enough hits, right?”
At his words, all attacks stopped.
His meaning was clear — he was letting them hit him on purpose.
“Seems sufficient. Should I start my turn now?”
The disciples staggered backward.
Clang—.
A sword fell to the ground.
“Uwaaaah! I—I can’t anymore!”
One disciple threw his sword and ran.
That was the beginning.
One by one, they threw their swords and fled.
In their eyes, Jeok Wigang was a real demon.
But none of them escaped his grasp.
Only the sound of bodies dropping echoed as people collapsed like puppets with severed strings.
Jin Gwanghon stared at the fallen disciples with trembling hands.
Before he knew it, all of them lay on the ground foaming at the mouth.
Jeok Wigang appeared again in front of the last one standing — Jin Gwanghon.
Muttering something, he snapped his fingers, and the shredded clothes restored themselves to perfection.
Jin Gwanghon, entranced by the sight, stared blankly.
Jeok Wigang grinned.
“Amazing, right? Originally it was magic from the Pasa Kingdom, but I modified it for this world and named it the Five-Elements Mantra Art. Calling it magic makes it sound too much like demonic sorcery.”
Pretty sure you’re a demon.
“Thanks to it, life’s become super convenient.”
He bragged proudly.
“Is your unharmed body also because of that Five-Elements Mantra Art?”
“No, that was just me taking your hits bare-bodied. I mean, your determination was touching since you were fighting for your lives.”
At that, Jin Gwanghon swallowed dryly.
“Why... why are you doing this to us?”
Jeok Wigang countered:
“Then why did you do it to other sects? They asked you the same thing.”
Jin Gwanghon opened his mouth, but Jeok Wigang spoke first:
“Don’t say it was ‘for their sake.’ I’ll really get mad.”
A chilling aura leaked from Jeok Wigang’s body.
“T—that is... We wanted to rise higher and be recognized by many.”
“Then you should’ve attacked sects stronger than you. Why bully weaker ones?”
Jin Gwanghon had no answer.
“How does it feel to experience it yourself? Wanting to escape but being unable to?”
“Unfair... suffocating.”
“Exactly. The sects you tormented endured with those same feelings.”
Jin Gwanghon still looked resentful.
Seeing that, Jeok Wigang chuckled.
“Still not enough. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Hearing “tomorrow,” Jin Gwanghon flinched in horror.
“W—wait! F—from now on, we will never attack other sects! No — we’ll shut our gates entirely!”
“Closing won’t cut it. I need to knock sense into you and your men so you never do it again.”
“I—I will come to my senses!”
“Words aren’t enough.”
Jeok Wigang stared at him for a while.
“Honestly, this is getting a bit annoying. It’d be easier to just wipe you all out.”
Chill.
“But I promised my father, so I’m trying to turn you into decent people. If you don’t appreciate my effort, I’ll get upset.”
Seeing the eyes behind the demon mask, Jin Gwanghon finally realized:
He thought he was a predator...
But he wasn’t.
He was prey.
The real predator was Jeok Wigang before him.
Thud—.
Jin Gwanghon collapsed weakly.
He had truly lost all strength.
“We were wrong. Never again... will we do such things.”
“Oh? That sounds kind of sincere.”
Smirking, Jeok Wigang said:
“Just need to come a few more times.”
Jin Gwanghon lifted his defeated face—
—and was knocked unconscious by a heavy blow.
“Guess it took a while since they were maniacs obsessed with strength, but this isn’t bad for a first attempt.”
But there was still much to fix.
Putting people to sleep instantly was not effective for rehabilitation.
Better to keep them awake and engrave pain into their minds.
Looking over the collapsed disciples, he muttered:
“I’ll try that tomorrow.”
The unconscious disciples all shivered at once.
Even in their fainted state, chills ran through their bodies.
The sects belonging to the Jiangxi Alliance lived each day in suffocating tension.
“They should be attacking around now.”
“Exactly. If they’re coming, they should hurry.”
“Haah... this is unbearable. How long must we live in fear like this?”
“This time we prepared thoroughly. Let’s show them properly.”
They all nodded and bit their lips.
Then outside, a commotion began.
“They’re coming! Mad Sword Gate!”
The heads of the Jiangxi Alliance sects rose with grim determination.
“So today is the day.”
“Let us show them we are not easy prey!”
“Let’s!”
But when they stepped outside, they were confused.
“A white flag?”
“What is this?”
“They have no killing intent today.”
“Is this a trick?”
“Doesn’t seem like it. They look... intimidated.”
“It could still be a trap. Do not lower your guard.”
“Naturally.”
Watching cautiously, they observed the Mad Sword Gate members approach.
Finally, Jin Gwanghon and his warriors stood before the Alliance’s main gate.
“What are you doing? Act as you usually do!”
At the shout of the Alliance Leader, Jin Gwanghon lifted his head and looked at him.
Then he clasped his fists and bowed deeply.
“We have come to atone for the sins we committed against you.”
Behind him, the disciples also bowed.
An unbelievable sight.
Mad Sword Gate — famed for never bowing even if they died — bowing in apology?
No one saw this coming.
“What trick is this?”
“No trick. It is sincere. We will never attack you again.”
“Is that true?”
“It is. If you want, we can put it in writing.”
The Alliance sect masters hurried into a meeting.
“What do you think?”
“A ploy to make us open the gates?”
“I don’t think so. Look at their swords — tied with white cloth. It means they have no intention to attack.”
“I agree.”
“Then should we accept them? Leaving them like this doesn’t seem right when they came seeking peace.”

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