Was it because I mentioned too many heavy names while threatening him?

Even when I told him to come at me, the Crazy Demon from my past life stayed still.

Was it because he had just realized why he was ugly and was entering a state of deviation?

Or had he figured out a rough idea of my skills?

Since it was someone else’s mind, even I couldn’t know.

Master Yukhap said nothing for a long while, just glaring at me, staring at his servants like he might kill them, and glancing over my subordinates who were standing by.

Then, out of nowhere, Master Yukhap spoke in a blunt tone.

"……Today, I’ve lost."

"……?"

"You hide your skills extremely well. I’ll retreat with my servants. Will you quietly let us go?"

'This bastard’s starting his bullshit again,' I thought as I shook my head.

"That’s a bit vague."

"What's vague?"

"It sounds like you’ll just bother me again later. Do I look free to you?"

Master Yukhap hesitated for a moment, then said in a dull voice,

"If you let me go, I’ll only challenge you again in ten years. If I break that promise, I’ll be cursed to meet the Three Calamities and be beaten to death."

"No, no. Earlier you were acting like you could kill me anytime you pleased, and now you want to back off without losing anything? What kind of dog's name is ‘ten years’? The Jianghu that Master Yukgap comes from isn’t that soft, is it?"

Master Yukhap smiled bitterly.

"Should I chop off a finger, then?"

"That won’t be necessary."

I pointed at the Seven Silver Bugs.

"If we had actually fought, all these bug bastards would’ve died first. Even if you were lucky enough to run away, Master Yukgap, you wouldn’t have saved them. Leave your servants behind, and I’ll let you go."

Master Yukhap stared at me.

"Are you saying you’ll kill my servants?"

"Who knows?"

Honestly, it wasn’t the servants themselves that mattered to me. I was curious about how Master Yukhap viewed his own servants. In my past life, I killed them all before fighting the Crazy Demon, so I never got to find out.

Spinning the Flash Dagger in my hand, I asked,

"What will you do?"

After a moment, Master Yukhap replied,

"If you’re planning to kill my servants, I can’t leave them behind."

The Seven Silver Bugs all turned to Master Yukhap with shocked eyes.

"……!"

At that, I grinned widely.

'Oh? This is unexpected.'

I looked at Master Yukhap and fell into thought for a moment.

Could I use him if I spared him?

Would he be useful when fighting against the Demonic Cult or the Black Path?

Was he someone who bullied the weak?

How did he end up becoming a public enemy?

This guy was basically like General Wei Yan of Shu — reckless and dangerous, but useful.

Killing him would be a waste of martial strength.

Keeping him alive would be a headache.

We met while both were considered public enemies, so I didn’t know much about his full story.

Suddenly, I realized something:

If I truly had the overwhelming strength to crush Master Yukhap, what was there to worry about?

After some thought, I made up my mind.

'Good. I’ll beat him up first and think later.'

I nodded and said,

"Master Yukgap, it seems you at least figured out that I’m not beneath you."

Master Yukhap replied,

"I’ve tried to grasp your true power this whole time, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t read your energy, nor estimate your internal strength."

His cautious nature was still the same as in the past.

Master Yukhap said calmly,

"But I did figure out one thing."

"What is it?"

"You’ve mastered both Yin and Yang arts."

"Oh? Impressive. How did you realize that?"

I turned to the Seven Silver Bugs.

"Did you bugs notice too?"

This time, the bugs all answered politely,

"We did not, Pavilion Lord."

"We had no idea, Pavilion Lord."

I tucked the Flash Dagger into my robe and said,

"I see. Killing you feels wasteful, but letting you go feels uncomfortable. Life in Jianghu isn’t easy."

I placed my hand over my chest and said,

"Inner peace is..."

I took a deep breath and, infusing my left hand with the energy of the Hyunwol Ice Art, grabbed the table.

Immediately — crack crack crack — a cold wave burst out, surging across the table and crashing into the Seven Silver Bugs.

At the same time, I unleashed the Flame World Palm Technique from my right hand like a thunderclap toward Master Yukhap.

Master Yukhap immediately countered my attack, causing a deafening explosion.

BOOOOOM!

The collision of force between us sent a shockwave across the room—

The Seven Silver Bugs, frozen by the cold of the Hyunwol Ice Art, were blown off the table like leaves.

Crash crash crash!

The bugs were thrown against the walls, hitting them hard and collapsing, all knocked out cold.

I spoke to my subordinates as I headed outside.

"……When these bug bastards wake up, stomp them again."

"Understood."

So-gunpyeong asked as I moved toward the courtyard,

"Shall we join you?"

"No, I’ll handle it alone."

"Yes, sir."

I stepped into the courtyard and stared at Master Yukhap.

"Master..."

"Do we really have to do this?"

Drawing Heukmyoah, I answered,

"I’ll let you live. But first, take your beating. Do not run."

Master Yukhap drew his longsword and replied,

"It won’t be easy."

"Well, that’s why you’re Master Yukgap."

It was unfortunate for him, but I had fought the Crazy Demon in my past life and knew his martial arts well. He, however, had no clue about mine. Not that it mattered. In the end, fights are won by the stronger one.

I held out my left hand to So-gunpyeong, who had come to watch.

"Throw me Yaraedo."

I caught Yaraedo with my left hand, Heukmyoah in my right, and circled Master Yukhap.

Master Yukhap asked,

"Dual blades?"

"Shut it."

"……."

Since he already knew I used both Yin and Yang arts, I openly infused my blades with the energies of Hyunwol Ice and Flame World.

The blades flickered white, then red, then back again...

Wielding the dual blades, I clashed with Master Yukhap.

And I understood immediately.

Although I hadn't fully regained my Crazy Demon-era skills yet—
The same was true for Master Yukhap.

Who had regained more of their prime strength?

Of course, it was me.

Moreover, my martial path had shifted.

While the Golden Turtle Soaring Art was still growing steadily — held back only by caution against internal deviation — the Moonlight Heartless Art had already elevated my offense and defense beyond my past life.

As I deflected Master Yukhap’s sword, I clashed my two blades together at every spare moment.

The sound of clashing steel and the violent collision of opposing energies echoed loudly.

Despite all that...

The Crazy Demon from my past life held out impressively.

 

The depth of internal strength he had accumulated over the years was not shallow.

And the martial art he used — Yukhap Arts — was purely defensive.

I didn’t know the full name of the technique.

But ‘Yukhap’ refers to the six directions — north, south, east, west, heaven, and earth.

It was a sword technique built entirely around a rock-solid defense.

Despite the nickname ‘Crazy Demon,’ his internal energy was based on orthodox Daoist arts.

In the midst of that solid defense, the despicable Seven Silver Bugs would usually launch dirty ambushes to turn the tide.

It was a combination of the orthodox and the gutter.

That was why I had disabled the Seven Silver Bugs before fighting Master Yukhap.

If I had left them alone, they would have kept annoying me with hidden weapons, poison, needles, whips, daggers, and poisonous insects throughout the entire fight.

As I pressed Master Yukhap, I muttered to myself whenever I got bored.

"Master Yukhap, Master Yukgap, Yukgap... Master, Yukgap, damn idiot, dumbass."

After dodging a sword aimed at my head and crashing my dual blades together with a roar, Master Yukhap was startled and quickly retreated.

I laughed as I watched Master Yukhap retreat excessively.

"……Why the fuss? Are you Yukgap, or are you just making a fuss? Pick one."

"Could you please just shut up?"

"Bullshit. If I shut up, I wouldn't be me."

This was a fight for my identity. As I resumed my attacks, I began chanting like a high monk who had crossed over from the Western Regions.

"……If I shut up, I'm not me. I am me. You are you. Blessings upon those who speak, misfortune upon those who stay silent. Namu Amida Butsu, fucking hell, Yukgap……."

Spinning my twin blades while constantly babbling made even my own hands and feet feel dizzy.

'Ah, I'm dizzy too.'

I was the kind of man who made even himself dizzy just by talking. But that was fine.

If I was feeling dizzy myself, what did it mean?

It meant this bastard must be going insane from dizziness.

The Mad Demon’s Art of War, Three Chapters and Sixteen Articles, says:

You must first make yourself dizzy to make your enemy dizzy.

In this world, there was no one better at enduring madness than me. I kept pressing Master Yukhap until he would fully become Master Yukgap while /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ babbling nonstop. At that moment, I noticed Master Yukhap’s complexion change, not because of any shift in internal energy, but purely from mental collapse.

I calmly spoke,

"Hey, Master Yukhap……."

Even as he swung his sword, the Crazy Demon from my past life looked at me with a confused expression.

I released Cold Moon Energy through Yaraedo toward the front, then pierced through it with a straight-line Flame World blast from Heukmyoah.

Spinning my body, I swept the twin blades, muttering again,

"Master Yukhap…… Your face is pale. Your energy and blood are in chaos. It’s the early signs of deviation. If you don't drop your sword and surrender right now, very bad things are going to happen. It’s such a serious situation that I’m properly calling you Yukhap instead of Yukgap… Master Yukgap……."

At that moment, the Crazy Demon from my past life coughed up a mouthful of dark blood and staggered back.

Puuuuk!

"Oh?"

It seemed he really was having a qi-blood reversal. I immediately pressed the attack. The sword of Master Yukhap, which had always fiercely bounced off my blades, now felt as light as a bamboo sword.

Even I was almost driven into internal deviation by my own endless babbling, so—

Of course, this bastard must have been struggling even more.

I stabbed Master Yukhap’s shoulder, slashed his forearm, stabbed his thigh, slashed his side, and kicked him.

In an instant, blood gushed from all over him, and Master Yukhap spun through the air.

I chased after him, kicked away his sword, set down Yaraedo, and struck his entire body with the Palm of Cold Moon Technique.

Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack!

Master Yukhap, his whole body stiff, looked up at me with a blank expression.

"……."

I looked down at him and whispered,

"Master Yukgap, I’ll call a physician to treat you, so stay put. Don’t die on me."

I then flicked his forehead with my finger, knocking him out cold.

Thwack!

***

Pitch-black darkness.

The Crazy Demon from my past life, Master Yukhap, opened his eyes, feeling his entire body tightly bound. The harsh sunlight made him frown. Even as his breathing remained ragged, he tried to recall what had happened before he lost consciousness.

'Haomun Leader.'

Moving only his eyes, Master Yukhap looked around.

All his servants were tied up and hanging upside down from various plum trees.

'They got caught too.'

At that moment, voices approached, and someone spoke up.

"Master Yukhap has awakened."

"How’s his condition?"

"He’s past the critical point."

"Good."

Master Yukhap instinctively tried to move but found his entire body wrapped up like a roll of cloth on the bed.

Every slight movement sent sharp pain from the sword wounds across his body.

He barely managed to breathe steadily as he waited…

Then, a man wearing a white headscarf suddenly appeared in his vision.

Next to him was that Seong-tae bastard, the one the Haomun Leader had been calling earlier.

The two men began talking.

The man with the white headscarf spoke as if instructing Seong-tae to record something.

"The fever has gone down a lot."

Seong-tae wrote with a thin brush on a medical record sheet.

"Yes, the fever’s much better."

"There are four sword wounds across the body—here, there, here, and there."

"Here too. All slashed by a sword."

"Also suffered from ice arts. Internal injuries are deep."

"He’s trembling a bit. So yeah, deep internal injuries."

"Critical condition."

"Me?"

"Not you."

"Yes, sir."

"Got it all written down? Now, go see Master Moyong and get some medicine prescribed."

"Understood."

"Tell him there’s no need to rush all the way here. He's not one of our own. If he dies, it can't be helped."

"Understood. I’ll head out."

"Not yet. Eat first."

"Ah, I’m starving."

Master Yukhap breathed heavily, glaring at the man in the white headscarf.

The man pulled down the headscarf that was covering his mouth and spoke to Master Yukhap.

"Teacher, what was it you wanted to say? Drink warm water often, and stop smoking Manguch'o if you want to recover faster. Keep that in mind."

Master Yukhap stared blankly at the Haomun Leader once the white cloth fell away.

Just seeing his face made dizziness flood over him.

"……."

The Haomun Leader grabbed his injured shoulder tightly and said,

"I’ll let you live, so hang in there, Yukgap……."

"……Agh."

Master Yukhap couldn’t even get the words 'my shoulder hurts' out of his mouth. He had no strength left in his body. As the Haomun Leader leaned in closer, he whispered,

"From now on, you’re not allowed to die without my permission. Got it? I’m going to do my best to heal you. The quack doctor of Haomun—that’s me."

Listening to the Haomun Leader’s whisper, Master Yukhap lost consciousness once more.