Chapter 91 – What’s Etched In
Martial Soul.
A strike imbued with a martial artist’s intent.
“It’s such a cliché concept that it would be weird if it didn’t show up.”
This is one of those scenes that always appears in wuxia stories.
Someone sees some random markings on a wall and goes, ‘This… this is the trace of a martial art left by XXX!’ Then they tremble, sit down cross-legged, and enter enlightenment.
This is exactly that kind of situation.
“You’re saying this is the Martial Soul left behind by the First Heavenly Demon?”
As if responding to my silent question, Cheol Muguk chuckled and continued.
“A martial intent, by its nature, is the personal martial reasoning established by a Transcendent Peak master. A Martial Soul is the trace left behind, etched for future generations. Even if the body fades and disappears, the essence of their martial will remains alive. That’s what we call a Martial Soul.”
So basically, some absurdly powerful master went, ‘Well, if you think you can do it too, give it a shot~ heh,’ and etched something on a wall—and now everyone’s staring at it like they’ve been collectively hypnotized.
Maybe because I wasn’t reacting much, Cheol Muguk kept talking.
“That wall isn’t just made of Cloud Demon Iron. It’s been compressed, and compressed again until it reached its absolute limit. I wouldn’t be surprised if it took an entire Cloud Demon Iron mine to make just that much. And yet, it wasn’t some legendary sword that cut through it—but a single finger.”
Cloud Demon Iron, as we’ve seen with the Skybreaker Sword, is a metal that can block even sword energy if refined properly.
To cut that with a finger? That’s a level of martial arts beyond imagination.
Maybe that’s why.
Indeed, the heads of the Six Demon Families—those Transcendent Peak masters—were staring at the wall as if entranced.
At this level, it wasn’t admiration anymore, it was reverence.
Of course, not everyone was like that.
The ones from the Shadow Blood Jin Clan weren’t. They’d been watching me, not the Martial Soul, for a while now.
More specifically, they were looking at my still-bleeding palm.
“Ominous bastards…”
I concentrated the energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art into my hand. If I did this, the wound would close within a moment.
Hiding my hand behind my back, I gave Cheol Muguk a half-hearted nod.
“But you, aside from the first reaction, don’t seem that impressed?”
“Eh, I guess.”
Honestly, I’d never even heard of the concept of a Martial Soul until I came here.
Even as a veteran reader of Return of the Murim, if it wasn’t mentioned in the story, I wouldn’t know it.
But there’s something else—
“If it’s the First Heavenly Demon’s martial intent, then I already know one.”
[What did you say?!]
Geez, that startled me.
I’d only muttered that for the Skybreaker Sword to hear, but I didn’t expect such a fast reaction.
[Monster, how could you possibly know the First Heavenly Demon’s martial intent?]
“You already know one too.”
[…What?]
“Whirlflow.”
[Whirlflow is a martial intent left by the First Heavenly Demon? Are you serious?]
“Well, I didn’t explain it exactly. I just gave a shallow overview.”
A martial intent, like Do Il-gwang’s Supreme Reign, isn’t a simple concept.
It’s the crystallization of a martial artist’s lifetime of understanding.
I don’t even know martial arts, so how could I explain it perfectly? I just copied the shape of it.
Simply saying ‘you rotate energy’ doesn’t explain the full idea of Whirl.
That’s why I called it Whirlflow. To imply that I only skimmed the surface.
It’s like eating canned tuna and claiming you understand all of what tuna is.
[Monster. When you said ‘you already know one,’ do you mean there are more besides Whirlflow?]
“Yeah. That’s right.”
In Return of the Murim, by the later parts of the story, techniques like these became so common that even nobodies could use them.
Just like Whirlflow, all of those techniques were derived by diluting certain martial intents.
And those intents all originated from the First Heavenly Demon.
“Whirlflow came from Jianghu… The cult side had something else, didn’t they?”
Apparently, this Martial Soul wasn’t exclusive to the cult. It was scattered all over the world.
“Makes sense. The First Heavenly Demon supposedly appeared out of nowhere—so maybe he traveled all over the continent before the cult was even formed.”
If this were a game, I’d probably have just triggered a sub-quest called ‘Find the Martial Souls of the First Heavenly Demon.’
Now that I think of it, there was a theory like that.
The theory that the First Heavenly Demon was a modern person.
In Return of the Murim, there were analyses suggesting that the First Heavenly Demon had to be a modern human, based on how he was portrayed.
He often said or did things that were shocking by Jianghu standards, and techniques like Whirlflow wouldn’t exist without modern scientific knowledge.
“Though the author never gave a clear answer. Which probably means it was too ridiculous to confirm.”
Unable to hold back, the Skybreaker Sword spoke again.
[Besides Whirlflow, what else is there? Do you know what that Martial Soul contains?]
“I don’t know for sure, but I can guess the general idea.”
Just as I was about to add to my reply, Gwak Riyeon approached.
“What did you think? After seeing the Martial Soul left by the First Heavenly Demon?”
Her expression was oddly flushed. Almost excited. As if she was full of anticipation.
“Weird…”
Transcendent Peak masters are those who attain a new realm through perfect balance of body, mind, and energy.
They are beings who can impose their own truth upon the world.
People like that shouldn’t be visibly excited by simply seeing something.
I recalled what Cheol Muguk had said a few days ago—That seeing a Martial Soul for the first time could cause one to lose themselves.
Even Saweol, who had been trained to stay calm under all conditions, looked dazed.
This was like…
“Just like when I was exposed to the Heavenly Demon’s mental domain.”
It felt like confronting something vast and incomprehensible, beyond human perception. There was no way I could understand it.
Like earlier, unless one is at least at the Transcendent Peak level, they won’t sense anything.
“Impressive.”
At my words, Gwak Riyeon raised an eyebrow—not in anger, but more in confusion.
“Impressive? That’s all?”
“Should I say more?”
“There’s a legend that the Martial Soul left behind by the First Heavenly Demon contains secrets of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art. It’s said that previous Heavenly Demons before the Blood Demon Heavenly Demon gained clues to ascend further through the Martial Soul. Doesn’t that tempt you?”
Ah, so that’s what this was.
No wonder everyone was acting so strangely. I couldn’t help but let out a short laugh.
“You find the Martial Soul left by the First Heavenly Demon amusing?”
Suddenly, Gwak Riyeon’s expression hardened. And not just her—All the other Transcendent Peak masters turned serious and stared at me.
Looks like I’d said something wrong.
But if I backed off here, it would ruin everything I’d built up until now.
To keep my composure, I raised the energy of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and spoke.
“It’s not the Martial Soul that’s funny.”
“Then what is?”
“A martial artist should have firm beliefs. Isn’t it laughable to be swayed by mere traces on a wall? Also…”
I took a step forward. Saweol, snapping out of it, followed behind.
“Even if this wall contains secrets of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, what do you plan to do?”
“That art belongs only to the rightful bearer of the title Heavenly Demon. Are you planning to challenge the Supreme One?”
“You must have heard the true purpose of the Six Families Meeting.”
Hyuk Mun, who had been quietly listening, suddenly spoke up, clearly irritated.
“In that case, let me ask you.”
Standing right in front of the Martial Soul, I turned and addressed the crowd.
“How many of you have actually challenged the Supreme One?”
My question caused many to cough awkwardly and avert their gazes.
Of course they did.
Lee Seryeong, the current Heavenly Demon, is the strongest being in the world.
At just twenty-seven, she defeated the tyrant Do Il-gwang and became the Heavenly Demon—despite being a woman.
Challenge her?
The family heads of the Six Demon Families, who had too much to lose, would never dare.
The cult’s rankings had been stagnant for years.
“Those who do not challenge cannot claim to carry on the will of the First Heavenly Demon. That’s what I find laughable.”
— You speak as if you plan to challenge her yourself, Sado Clan Head.
At Chu Taesu’s provocation, I replied:
“If one is truly worthy of the cult, they should always look up.”
Of course, I’m not a real cultist. Why the hell would I challenge the Heavenly Demon unless I had a death wish?
—In that case, prove it.
“Prove it?”
—The Six Families Meeting is about sharing martial arts and insights.
—By tradition, the first one to stand before the Martial Soul must display the realization they gained from it.
Look around. All those marks? That’s what they are.
I thought this place was just ruins, but apparently not.
[Come to think of it… That mark over there is a fist imprint—clearly from the Gwak Clan’s martial art.]
There was a rock the size of a person’s torso with a cleanly embedded fist mark.
Leaving a mark like that on stone… What kind of power does that take?
Skybreaker pointed out several other martial traces. All were the unique traits of secret techniques from the Six Demon Families or their predecessors.
—Sado Clan Head, do you see that small scratch at your feet?
I looked down. There was a mark about a finger wide and a hand-span long.
—That’s the mark left by Do Il-gwang’s proud sword strike. After making it, he became the Heavenly Demon.
If even someone like Do Il-gwang could only leave a mark that small…
“I’m screwed. What do I do?”
The Skybreaker Sword can cut through sword energy. Maybe I can scratch the Martial Soul wall somehow.
But Cheol Muguk is the problem. He’d know it wasn’t my strength but the sword’s.
—Will you not show us your insight?
Chu Taesu pressed further.
He was clearly trying to gauge my capabilities.
Not that there’s much to gauge.
[Monster. What if… what if the previous Heavenly Demons really did gain some insight here—Something that could be tied to the Heavenly Demon Divine Art? After all, those who came after didn’t have that art.]
“You want me to splash blood on it?”
[If that’s really Cloud Demon Iron, it might react to blood.]
Nothing to lose, I suppose.
I gently reopened the wound on my palm. Blood began to seep out again. I slowly reached out and pressed my hand to the Martial Soul wall.
“What’s he doing? Trying to feel how solid it is like an idiot?”
Just as Hyuk Mun grumbled—
KWADUDUDUDUDUK!
“…!”
The Martial Soul wall suddenly roared and began to tremble.
Then the four large slabs split into four more pieces each, and those into four again, and again—Like a massive puzzle cube, they spun, twisted inward and outward, forming a shape.
“It’s a sword path! A sword path!”
“What are you talking about? That’s a fist technique sequence!”
—They’re arguing over martial forms.
The clan heads shouted, eyes wide, insisting they recognized the technique.
But they were wrong. I was sure.
Because—
Day 1,024 inside a wuxia novel.
What was etched in the Martial Soul wall—was Hangul.