Numerous mountains filled the sky, and above them, a bizarre world existed where the sun and moon coexisted.
A realm of horrific heat that melted human flesh and bone-chilling cold that froze the body solid, cycling several times a day.
This world, known as the Linked Qi Realm, was ruled by monstrous beings that could cleave mountains and set seas ablaze, where humans struggled desperately just to survive.
Ku-duk!
Kang Moo-jin's fist pierced straight through the heart of the Nine Infants, a monstrous entity boasting a massive frame the size of a mountain.
"Playing around, are you? Time to die."
Among the countless monsters in the Linked Qi Realm, the Nine Infants ranked among the top three in power, earning it the title of one of the Three Disasters.
Having massacred tens of thousands of humans and devoured thousands more, this beast met its end with a single punch from Moo-jin.
"Tch. Ruined my clothes."
Kang Moo-jin's face twisted in annoyance.
"You damn bastard. This was my favorite outfit."
Moo-jin glared irritably at his black martial robes, now splattered with blue blood.
Seeing the soiled robes made his anger surge.
The thrill of defeating all Three Disasters paled in comparison to his irritation at the dirty clothes.
"I'll let it slide today."
Normally, he'd have ripped out all nine of those limp heads and burned them to pay for the outfit.
But today, he decided to overlook the monster's rude blunder.
"Lucky for you it's the day I'm heading home."
Exactly thirty years, one hundred eighty-seven days, and twenty-two hours.
Today was the day the Diamond Fist Demon, Kang Moo-jin, returned home.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
Kang Moo-jin was not from the Linked Qi Realm.
The world he had lived in was an ordinary one, filled with humans and free of monsters.
A world with government and the martial world, where martial artists transcended human limits, and good and bad coexisted in rough balance.
Until thirty years ago, when he unluckily got caught in a formation, Moo-jin had lived in that ordinary world.
"Already thirty years..."
Moo-jin gazed at the intricate rune formation etched into the ground beneath him, his expression turning peculiar.
Seeing a ritual array similar to the one from thirty years ago brought back memories of getting ensnared by that formation.
'It's been a long time.'
When he had accidentally been pulled into the Linked Qi Realm by that formation, Kang Moo-jin was a fifteen-year-old boy.
A boy who should have been eating warm meals with his family, sharing joyful conversations, and sleeping soundly in happiness.
Instead, what awaited the boy alone in this alien world were stone monkeys hunting him by day and giant serpents gaping to swallow him by night.
'Every day was hell.'
He nearly died dozens of times a day, more than he could count. He fought desperately to survive, doing everything he could.
Perhaps that's why Kang Moo-jin had risen to the supreme position of the realm's greatest martial artist.
To survive, he had to grow strong.
"Come to think of it, I've grown a lot."
Pushing aside the resurfacing memories, Moo-jin asked,
"How much longer?"
"It'll be done in half a shichen."
Moo-jin's expression gradually stiffened as he heard the smooth, jade-orb-like voice.
Thinking about returning home after thirty years made him tense.
'Am I actually nervous? I wasn't even when killing the Three Disasters.'
He hadn't felt this tension fighting hordes of monsters or clashing in bloody battles with Taoist sorcerers wielding magical tools and spells.
Yet this simple fact of going home had his palms sweating.
'What the hell is this feeling?'
What should he call this emotion?
Excitement? Longing? Maybe even fear.
After all, thirty years had passed before he could return to his world.
'I don't know exactly what it is, but one thing's clear. I want to go back.'
Not a single day in the past thirty years had he not wanted to return.
He had wished for it every day and dreamed of it thousands of times.
'Father. Big Brother. And Little Brother.'
As he stared at the characters emerging in the formation, his family's faces came to mind.
They were so faded after so long, like fogged images, but that only made his desire to see them more desperate.
His clenched fist trembled faintly.
"It's ready."
A woman whose beauty could be called otherworldly approached Moo-jin, who was lost in longing.
She was Seo-rin, the sorceress who had served at his side for over a decade.
"Now I just go?"
"Yes. Head to the center of the formation."
Moo-jin nodded and moved without hesitation.
At the heart of the ritual array, where white and black light symbolizing yin and yang intertwined harmoniously, a pitch-black hole gaped as if space itself were torn.
"Wait."
Seo-rin's voice, thick with reluctance, stopped him.
"Once you pass through that gate... you'll lose most of your power."
"I know."
"Aren't you regretful? That immense power... you finally obtained it."
The Linked Qi Realm was a world of sorcery and spells, not the Central Plains' martial arts.
A bizarre place teeming with sorcerers who could effortlessly dispatch even peak masters, and monsters that slew those sorcerers in an instant.
To survive here, Moo-jin had fused the Diamond Art martial technique with the Linked Qi Realm's Immortal Forbidden Art spell, creating his unique Immortal Diamond Qi Art and achieving great success.
"Losing all the spells and sorceries you've mastered, becoming a mortal... is that okay? Stay here instead. Moo-jin."
Seo-rin finally revealed the feelings she had kept buried.
"I'll be with you. Live here with me."
Color flushed her cheeks.
"Rather than losing everything, stay here with me..."
"Not everything."
Moo-jin smirked, lifting the corner of his mouth.
"This ridiculously tough body of mine will remain."
"..."
His utterly Moo-jin-like response brought an unwitting smile to her lips.
Yes. That's the kind of man he is. That's why I...
Unable to voice the end of her thought, she swallowed dryly and stepped back.
"Farewell, Moo-jin."
"You take care too."
Moo-jin flashed a bright smile for the first time in thirty years, taking one last look at this world of sun and moon, mists, and mountains.
"So long, you shitty Linked Qi Realm! I'm going home!"
With those refreshing final words, Moo-jin stepped into the black void,
Shuuuuk-
and his massive frame was sucked into the space, vanishing completely.
"You fool."
Seo-rin murmured softly as she watched the space above the shrinking ritual array where Moo-jin had disappeared.
"You think this is the end... but we'll meet again. Definitely."
Her pupils, filled with tender affection, grew moist.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
A strange sensation enveloped his body. The air felt as soft as water at his fingertips.
'Finally heading back.'
In the pitch-black abyss with eyes closed, visions of his beloved homeland filled Moo-jin's mind.
'Hope everyone's doing well.'
The faces of his cherished family flashed through his thoughts.
In truth, after thirty years, he couldn't recall their features clearly—only hazy silhouettes remained.
'I want to see them soon.'
Even so, Moo-jin felt ample longing and nostalgia, having endured the hellish years of the Linked Qi Realm by hugging those memories close.
Solely with the resolve to return.
'Father. Big Brother. Little Brother...'
As he pictured the Diamond Escort Agency where his father and brothers were, a simple smile tugged at his lips.
That's when it happened.
"Hey! Come on, give me a better price!"
"Buddy, this is already dirt cheap!"
Unfamiliar noise reached his ears, accompanied by warm sunlight tickling his eyes.
"Finally..."
Moo-jin opened his eyes to a clear blue sky and a brilliantly shining sun.
Unlike the ashen sky of the Linked Qi Realm where sun and moon hung together, this sky was piercingly blue, with soft white clouds and the warmth of sunlight.
Sensations he had yearned for over thirty years.
"This is... Taiyuan."
Taiyuan, the capital of Shanxi Province.
His hometown, where the Diamond Escort Agency—he'd lived there for fifteen years—was located.
"Hahaha. Seo-rin, you considerate girl. Sending me right home."
Smiling faintly, Moo-jin looked around.
The city bustled with people selling goods, chatting, or bickering lightly.
Merchants' calls, women's laughter, men's arguments—a cacophony of sounds filled his ears, while the aroma of food from nearby inns teased his nose.
"Nothing's changed here."
As he surveyed the place of his birth and upbringing, memories of his past self surfaced.
The fifteen-year-old Kang Moo-jin who had left home with dreams of touring the world and making a name for himself.
Frail and naive compared to now, but with spirit taller than anyone—the image brushed past his eyes.
'Shouldn't have run away back then.'
If he hadn't given in to that heroic impulse and left home, he wouldn't have met the eccentric old man, nor gotten trapped in his otherworldly formation, nor ended up in the bizarre Linked Qi Realm.
'Well, regrets won't change what's done.'
Time gone by doesn't return, and the past can't be undone.
Shaking off the regrets stirred by the familiar sights, Moo-jin noticed the stares directed at him and scanned his surroundings.
"See that? His body's like a weapon."
"Like a master sculptor carved it. The muscle lines are beautiful."
"Oh my, his muscles look like a painting. Sister, did you see?"
"Shh. I'm appreciating."
Realizing the passersby's gazes were on his body, Moo-jin looked down at himself.
'Just as Seo-rin said, I've gotten younger.'
His arms had moderately toned muscles.
Gone were the battle scars and the steel-like, perfect hardness.
Only immature muscles and flawless, smooth skin remained.
'Exactly as she said—a body around twenty years old.'
Time flowed differently between the Linked Qi Realm and his world.
In the Linked Qi Realm, Moo-jin was a forty-five-year-old middle-aged man, but here he was a twenty-five-year-old youth.
Thus, his face and body had adjusted accordingly.
'Regrettable, but not bad.'
Inferior to the perfected physique he'd honed in the Linked Qi Realm, but Moo-jin nodded in satisfaction.
'With the knowledge I have now, I can rebuild this body stronger than before.'
As he sorted his thoughts alone, he noticed the stares growing too blatant and moved to avoid them.
'How do I get home again?'
Perhaps because it had been thirty years, the way to his home—the Diamond Escort Agency—didn't come to mind.
Memories teased at the edges, itchy and indistinct.
'Guess I'll ask.'
The Diamond Escort Agency was a fairly prominent second-generation outfit; everyone in Taiyuan knew of it.
So Moo-jin grabbed a passing merchant and asked,
"Excuse me. Mind if I ask something?"
"Hm?"
The weasel-mustached merchant craned his neck to look up at Moo-jin, whose head towered a full head above.
"Heh heh. You're a tall young man. What's on your mind?"
"Which way to the Diamond Escort Agency?"
"Diamond Escort Agency?"
The familiar yet elusive name made the merchant scratch his head.
"Heard it somewhere..."
"You don't know the Diamond Escort Agency? You from out of town?"
"Huh? Oh, I've only been here about five years."
Moo-jin tilted his head at that.
Five years in Taiyuan and he didn't know the Diamond Escort Agency?
"Sorry. No clue. But I can ask someone who might. Hey, Park!"
The merchant waved at a nearby stall owner, Merchant Park.
"Park, you're a local, right?"
"Yep. Over thirty years here."
"Perfect. You recall where the Diamond Escort Agency is?"
"Diamond Escort Agency? Hmm..."
Park scratched his chin, narrowing his brow, then snapped his fingers.
"Ah! That half-bankrupt escort agency?"
Moo-jin's pupils dilated massively at those words.
Half... what? Half-bankrupt?
"...What did you say?"
"Half-bankrupt escort agency. Why?"
Moo-jin gaped unwittingly at the tilting-headed Park.
"Where's bankrupt?!"
"The Diamond Escort Agency went under."
"U-under?! Our Diamond Escort Agency... is bankrupt?!"