Episode 3: Return to the Demonic Sect
Crackle. Crackle. Crackle.
As Sabigang stepped into the cave, torches along the dark interior spontaneously ignited, casting flickering shadows on the walls.
He glanced back, still able to see the gorge outside. From the outside, it appeared as nothing more than a sheer rock face, but once inside, the cave revealed itself—a testament to the power of the barrier.
Step by step, Sabigang moved forward without hesitation. He had encountered countless barriers like this in the Demon Realm. If he were to rank them, this one would be considered low-level.
The cave was deeper than he had anticipated. After walking for some time, a spear suddenly shot out from the darkness ahead.
But Sabigang didn’t even blink.
The spear pierced through his abdomen, only to vanish like smoke.
An illusion.
The barriers used in the Demon Realm were similar to the mechanical formations of the Central Plains, but while the latter relied heavily on physical construction, the former were sustained purely by mana.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Flames erupted unexpectedly, and two more spears flew at him. Again, Sabigang remained unfazed.
Illusions.
The fire wasn’t hot, and the spears passed harmlessly through him before disappearing.
If he allowed himself to feel threatened by these illusions, they would become real and cause actual harm.
Sabigang halted abruptly. The air had changed. From here on, the attacks would not be mere illusions.
He closed his eyes, feeling the mana accumulated in his heart. Without a fully formed middle dantian, his mana and internal energy remained separate. Despite channeling all his power into his lightness skill, the demonic energy absorbed from the Demon King lingered in his heart.
Finally, Sabigang opened his eyes and murmured softly, “Shield.”
A faint aura enveloped him, forming a thin barrier. He resumed walking.
In an instant,
Crackle! Sizzle!
Two orbs crackling with electricity flew toward him. This time, they were real.
Lightning Bolts.
Sabigang swiftly sidestepped, avoiding the bolts. But then, fireballs began to rain down.
Crackle! Crackle! Crackle!
These, too, were real. Standing still, thinking they were illusions, would mean certain death.
He twisted his body to dodge, but two fireballs struck him.
Boom! Crackle. Crackle!
The fireballs burned away the thin barrier before dissipating.
‘Damn, how annoying.’
Still, he had overcome most of the traps.
‘Just one more to go?’
Sabigang drew a dagger from his waist.
Step by step.
Suddenly, a sweet melody and a fragrant scent wafted through the air, followed by an overwhelming drowsiness.
Just before his eyes closed, Sabigang stabbed his thigh with the dagger.
“Ugh!”
The pain snapped him back to reality. The melody and scent vanished.
A dead end.
“Heh heh heh. You’ve finally arrived.”
Blood dripped from his thigh. It might not seem difficult, but for someone from the Central Plains, finding this place was nearly impossible. Only those who could sense mana could enter, and even then, they had to align their internal mana with the barrier’s nature. Even if someone stumbled in by sheer luck, without understanding mana’s properties, they had an eighty percent chance of dying inside.
Sabigang took a deep breath and walked straight into the wall. As he passed through, a vast chamber revealed itself, illuminated by torches on all sides.
“Mana Point.”
He muttered the term used in the Demon Realm. In the center of the chamber lay a chest. Inside, a jewel glowed with a mesmerizing blue light, its inner luminescence swirling like a living thing.
A top-grade magic stone.
“Heh heh heh. Finally, it’s mine. A top-grade magic stone!”
A grin spread across Sabigang’s face. Next to the magic stone was a small vial containing a red liquid.
Healing potions. Five in total.
“Not bad at all.”
Sabigang chuckled, picking up the magic stone.
Crackle. Sizzle.
The light within the stone pulsed like a living creature, though it was not alive. That’s why it was here.
“Heh heh heh. Time to feast!”
Veins bulged on the back of Sabigang’s hand.
Crackle!
A powerful surge of energy erupted from the magic stone. White and blue energies swirled, drawn into Sabigang’s grasp.
**
The Demon King’s army appeared in the Central Plains without warning, unleashing a bloodbath.
In just six months, the entire population of the Central Plains was decimated. Most were killed or abducted.
But the Demon Realm had not acted on a whim. They had planned and prepared for a long time.
However, there was a slight issue with their dimensional travel. A time lag occurred between the transport of living beings and inanimate objects. Even when attempting simultaneous travel, inanimate objects arrived much earlier—on average, about 20 years ahead.
Thus, even if they traveled at the same time, inanimate objects would appear in the Central Plains 20 years earlier.
Moreover, the Central Plains lacked ambient mana. Therefore, items like mana potions, magic stones, and dragon hearts were essential for them.
They scattered these essential items across the Central Plains in advance, protecting them with barriers.
In other words, magical items had been hidden throughout the Central Plains for at least a decade. Some had been there even longer, considering the Demon Realm’s experimentation period.
The righteous sects eventually discovered this, but many perished in the traps, unfamiliar with mana-based barriers.
“But my situation is different.”
Sabigang murmured, opening his eyes. A red glint flickered in his gaze before fading.
“Whoo.”
He exhaled deeply, heat rising from his body.
Two days had passed. The mana stored in his heart surged, breaking through his meridians and flowing throughout his body. The mana completed a full cycle through his meridians, descending to his lower dantian and converting into internal energy.
His middle dantian opened as well. While opening the middle dantian through internal energy training was challenging, using mana made it easier. Mana naturally accumulated in the heart from the start.
However, the middle dantian wasn’t the vessel for mana. The heart itself was.
Sabigang opened his middle dantian to train both mana and internal energy equally. The demonic energy absorbed from the Demon King during his return proved more helpful than expected.
“Absorbing a magic stone always feels good. Heh.”
The Na Gong Heart Method.
A unique technique he developed and mastered in the Demon Realm, allowing him to absorb mana from any source. Unlike the miraculous elixirs found in the Central Plains, it had virtually no side effects.
With a top-grade magic stone, two days of practicing the Na Gong Heart Method was enough to absorb its mana without issue.
Sabigang pocketed the five healing potions from the chest and stood up. Raising his right hand, he focused his mind, and a blue orb formed in his palm.
Crackle! Crackle!
The energy surged violently. It was far larger and more intense than the small orbs he had created at the academy.
In the next moment, Sabigang thrust his hand forward. The blue orb shot from his palm, crashing into the chamber wall.
Boom! Boom!
The explosion echoed, shaking the ground. A large hole appeared in the wall, with faint light seeping through.
An exit.
“I’ll retrieve them one by one. Ha ha ha!”
Sabigang laughed heartily, striding forward.
**
“Hmm. He’s late.”
Dean Juyucheon stroked his beard, frowning slightly.
In the temporary platform set up in front of the Yongho Hall, Juyucheon sat with his eyes closed. Beside him were the instructors teaching the first-year students, seated in a row.
Opposite them, an impromptu sparring stage had been erected, surrounded by a crowd of onlookers—mostly academy students.
“Isn’t there supposed to be a sparring match today?”
“I heard it’s a duel for the assistant instructor position teaching spear techniques to the first-years.”
“An instructor for spear techniques? Who cares about that? Who even learns spear techniques these days? Is it that instructor, Sabigang?”
“Yeah, I don’t really care who wins, but it’s not every day you get to see instructors spar.”
“Then why hasn’t it started yet?”
The students’ chatter filled the courtyard with noise. Among them were Yeon Woo-gyeong and Gok Bo-ok’s group.
Gok Bo-ok smirked.
“Maybe he realized who his opponent is and ran off?”
“That would be boring.”
Yeon Woo-gyeong squinted, turning his head. His gaze landed on Maeng Son-deok, who was participating in the duel. Maeng Son-deok was stretching, holding a spear in both hands.
Just as the man stepped onto the stage, he turned towards the podium and offered a respectful salute.
“Honorable Dean and instructors, when can we begin the match?”
“Hmm. Just a little longer, please.”
It was only then that Ju Yu-cheon opened his eyes and responded.
Sitting beside him, Cheon Sae-myung leaned in to whisper.
“Dean, we were supposed to start the match at the beginning of the hour, but it’s almost the end now. How can we ignore the academy’s rules like this?”
“Indeed. I think it’s best to disqualify him.”
Yeon Jin, sitting nearby, chimed in supportively.
The dean remained silent, glancing around at the gathering.
Murmurs of discontent were spreading due to the delay.
Of course, this match wasn’t just for show; it was essentially a practical exam.
But it wouldn’t do to let everyone see such a lack of discipline.
‘There’s no other choice.’
Ju Yu-cheon stood up abruptly.
The murmuring crowd fell silent, all eyes on him.
“Today, we were to select an assistant instructor for the first-year swordsmanship class. However, since the participant has yet to appear, we have no choice but to disqualify—”
“Wait!”
A booming voice suddenly echoed across the courtyard.
Ju Yu-cheon paused, looking up.
A man stood boldly on the roof of the building opposite.
‘Sabi-gang?’
Ju Yu-cheon’s brow furrowed slightly as Sabi-gang leapt down, landing on the stage in an instant.
Thud!
Ju Yu-cheon’s eyes widened in surprise.
‘That movement technique…’
It was crude yet strangely unique.
The other instructors and students were equally taken aback by Sabi-gang’s entrance.
“What was that? How did he get down here?”
“I don’t know. I saw it, but I still can’t understand it.”
“I’ve never seen a movement technique like that before.”
Ju Yu-cheon called out to the murmuring students.
“Quiet, everyone!”
Once the crowd settled, Ju Yu-cheon addressed Sabi-gang.
“Why are you so late?”
“I had somewhere to be. My apologies.”
Sabi-gang offered a polite apology, though his expression showed little remorse.
‘Hmm. Was he always this audacious?’
Ju Yu-cheon was inwardly unsettled by Sabi-gang’s unfamiliar demeanor.
Not only him, but the instructors and students on the podium were also taken aback by Sabi-gang’s transformation.
“Was that instructor always like this?”
“No, he used to be quite humble.”
Meanwhile, Maeng Son-deok stepped forward with a broad grin.
“Nice to finally meet you! I was starting to think you’d run off.”
Maeng Son-deok’s hearty laugh prompted chuckles from those around.
Sabi-gang glanced at Maeng Son-deok.
‘So it’s him. Hmph.’
He remembered.
When he heard that Yeon Woo-gyeong had been taken by thugs, he rushed over, only to find this masked man there.
And then…
‘I got beaten senseless and lost consciousness.’
A memory he wished to forget resurfaced.
In the past, just seeing Maeng Son-deok on the stage made him lose his fighting spirit.
The chilling laughter and voice revealed him as the masked man, leading Sabi-gang to surrender before the fight even began.
From that day, he was reduced to doing menial tasks at the academy.
But now…
‘Everything’s going to change.’
Sabi-gang smirked and looked at Ju Yu-cheon.
“Is that him?”
“Hmm?”
“Is that piece of trash my opponent?”
Sabi-gang grinned, an unexpected excitement in his eyes.