(General Pov)
The West Gate had stopped being a place meant for living.
Stone streets were split open like wounds, buildings leaning against one another as if exhausted from standing. Smoke clung low, refusing to rise, trapping the screams of the dying beneath it. The smell of blood was so thick it coated the tongue.
Pah Go stood at the heart of it all.
He inhaled deeply, savoring the destruction, the way fear vibrated through the air. This was not chaos. This was proof. Proof that Murim had grown weak enough to bleed.
Across from him, Dam Soo Cheon struggled to remain standing. His armor was shattered, ribs cracked beneath skin stained red. Yet his eyes remained steady, stubbornly alive.
Pah Go scoffed.
"You still stand," he said. "That alone tells me how low your standards have fallen."
He remembered the stories he was raised on. Murim guardians who could shatter armies. Heavenly protectors who ruled with absolute might. What he found instead were men clinging to outdated pride.
"Do you know why your cities fall so easily?" Pah Go continued, stepping forward, twin spears humming as blood qi wrapped around them. "Because you protect people who deserve to be culled."
Dam Soo Cheon spat blood.
"You mistake massacre for strength," he said. "That is why you will never understand Murim."
Pah Go's eyes burned.
"Murim died long before I arrived."
The air distorted violently.
The Barrier of Heavenly Illusions sealed shut around him, pressure crashing inward. Cracks spread through the ground as if the world itself protested.
Hye Ryung stood above, her robes torn by violent qi currents, veins standing out along her temples. Every breath felt like knives in her chest, but she did not falter.
"You will not move another step," she commanded.
Pah Go looked up at her and smiled.
So this was the brain behind the wall. Frail. Human. Breakable.
"Good," he said softly. "Witness this."
Instead of resisting, he drew his qi inward. The blood red aura collapsed, compressing so tightly his flesh began to tear. Pain screamed through his body, but he welcomed it.
Pain meant meaning.
"You fear the unknown," Pah Go said, voice steady even as blood spilled from his mouth. "So let me carve it into your memory. The Heavenly Destruction Sect exists. Beyond your borders, warriors are forged through annihilation."
The barrier shrieked.
"Our Four Heavenly Kings will descend," he continued, vision blurring as death crept closer. "And when they do, your alliances will crumble. Your faith will rot.
For the first time, fear crossed Hye Ryung's face.
Satisfied, Pah Go laughed.
Then his qi reversed completely.
The explosion erased him from existence.
The shockwave tore through the ruins, flattening what little remained. When the dust settled, the West Gate was silent, a massive crater marking where belief had died.
Dam Soo Cheon collapsed to one knee, lungs burning, heart pounding with dread. Hye Ryung stared into the crater, hands trembling despite herself.
If even half of it was true…
Murim was already too late.
Above them, unseen, something watched
Song Ryong observed from the rooftops, his presence erased beneath layered suppression techniques. His eyes showed no shock, no grief.
Only calculation.
Self destruction. Fanatics loved theatrics.
Pah Go had done his job well. A lie strong enough to live after death.
"Thank you," Song murmured, turning away.
Then he felt it.
Hatred.
Raw, unfiltered, soaked in blood.
Someone was hunting him.
The alley was narrow and suffocating, walls pressing inward like a coffin. A man stepped out from the darkness, body warped by unstable qi, eyes burning with obsession.
"So it's true," he whispered. "The Indifferent Demon walks Murim."
Song Ryong sighed.
"You shouldn't be alive."
The man's expression twisted.
"My name is Geum Hak," he said. "They call me the Crimson Grudge Warden."
Blood qi surged violently around him.
"My father died screaming under your clan's purge," Geum Hak roared. "I survived by drinking the blood of corpses. Every breath I take is for this moment."
He charged, blood hardening along his arms.
Crimson Grudge Art, Devouring Rush
The alley exploded with movement.
Song shifted his stance calmly and struck.
Heavenly Suppression Palm
The qi collapsed inward, crushing Geum Hak's internal circulation. His scream tore through the night as blood poured from his mouth, body convulsing.
"What did you do to me?" he gasped.
"I corrected your path," Song replied coldly. "Your hatred made you sloppy."
Geum Hak tried to force regeneration, blood qi spiraling out of control.
Song appeared before him.
Yongbi Style, Broken Mountain Grip
Bones shattered. Geum Hak collapsed, screaming, clutching his ruined arm.
Song crouched and met his gaze.
"I won't kill you," he said. "Death would end your hatred."
He pressed a finger to Geum Hak's chest.
Demonic Seal of Crimson Return
The seal burned itself into flesh and soul.
"You will live," Song continued. "You will speak my name. And you will remind Murim that the past is not buried."
Song stood and turned away
"Run."
Geum Hak crawled into the darkness, hatred now mixed with terror.
That night, Song Ryong moved like a silent calamity. Bandits vanished. Cultists fell. Corpses were not wasted.
Asura Blood Demonic Arts, Legion of the Damned
The dead rose, reinforced and silent, eyes empty but obedient. Not many. Only enough to be seen.
Enough to spread fear.
Enough to shake Murim awake.
At the Central Heavenly Alliance, elders argued over reports soaked in panic. Undead sightings. A destroyed gate. A new sect whispered into existence.
Minister Gwan closed his eyes.
Fear had already taken hold.
Far away, within the Inferno Domain, Song Ryong stepped forward as demonic flames illuminated a vast throne.
Soul Ryong opened his eyes.
"So," he said. "You return."
Song smiled faintly.
"Father," he replied. "Murim is ready to burn."