Chapter 1 The Xianyu Clan – Part 1

Chapter 1: The Xianyu Clan – Part 1

Three Swords, Split Light.

Shuuuuh!

The Pointed Spear Sect’s Eighteen-Splitting Swords sliced through the light, severing the necks of three men.

Blue Wind Blue Wave

Shwaaah!

The chopping strike of the Blue Wind Sword Technique from the Blue Star Sect ripped open the chests of the figures charging forward, blood spattering.

Yet those who had charged at me, their bodies split open and dying, did not utter a single scream.

Nor did I feel any joy at having done this to them.

Instead, I was shedding tears of sorrow.

Because they were not enemies, but my family—members of the Sunwoo Clan.

My family, my friends, my subordinates.

“Kwahahaha! What an amusing fellow! You claim to be the head of the Seonwoo Clan, yet you only use the martial arts of the Blue Star and the Piercing Spear day and night! Have you forgotten the famed Seonwoo Thirteen Swords?”

The Demon Lord of the Blood Demon Sect, Black Blood Demon Lord Dudaeng.

The very man who had turned the members of the Seonwoo family into puppets to launch an attack was mocking me.

“Ah! Come to think of it, only this brat inherited them, didn’t he? You’d forgotten, hadn’t you?”

Beside him stood my younger brother, Sunwoo Gi, the previous head of the Sunwoo family before me, stiff and expressionless.

I’d heard he’d gone missing during the Blood Demon Sect’s attack, but to think he’d become Doudang’s puppet like that.

But that wasn’t all.

“Slaughtering his own family so brutally? What a vicious bastard. He’s from the Dragon’s Roar Corps, right? Those Dragon’s Roar Corps scum. Tsk tsk.”

Dudang, clicking his tongue, looked around at my family standing there in a daze and said.

“Now then, who should I send so they can’t bring themselves to kill him and surrender? Right, it has to be this child.”

His gaze fell precisely on that child.

My younger sister, Yeonha—the one who stood by me to the end, even when I was called the disgrace of the Seonwoo family, the incompetent pig.

I had hoped he wouldn’t touch her, at least…

My expression must have twisted badly, for Duwang clapped his hands and burst into bright laughter.

“Right! I made a good choice! Now, go ahead and brutally kill this child too! Seonwoo Jin, the last head of the Seonwoo family!”

My sister Yeonha was slowly approaching me, passing through the Blood Demon Cultists who had surrounded me.

In her hand, she held the white crane sword, the beloved blade I had gifted to that child….

I suddenly glanced around.

Blood Demon Cultists surrounded me from every direction. Behind the wall they had created, Du Kang stood, proudly displaying the Sunwoo Clan members he had turned into puppets. He sent them one by one toward me, clapping and laughing with delight.

There was no hope left now.

I closed my eyes tightly.

‘I’m sorry, Captain. It seems I could never become like you after all.’

The face of my benefactor, the one who turned me from a worthless wreck into a warrior, my eternal squad leader, Gwangpung Bilyong Seolpung, suddenly flashed before my eyes.

The words he had spoken to me…

Whenever I was frustrated, he would always smile and tell me this.

‘Jin, are you slouching like that again? I’ve told you before—you’ve already done your absolute best. That’s enough. The outcome isn’t your responsibility. So straighten your back now.’

My eyes snapped open again.

My eyes regained their strength.

The team leader always said:

Do what you can until the very last moment.

As long as you don’t give up until the very end, even if you lose, you’re not a loser.

Yes, he was right.

Just because I couldn’t win didn’t make me a loser.

I couldn’t defeat them today, and naturally, I wouldn’t survive either.

But there were still things I could do, things I had to do.

If I let them capture me like this, my body would become a puppet of the Two-Headed Dragon, just like my family.

And someday, that author would try to repeat what he did to me to Jo-jang.

I couldn’t let that happen.

The thought that my very existence was a burden to Jo-jang and my friends was unbearable.

‘Alright, if I must die anyway, I’ll die cleanly by my own will!’

I made up my mind.

I gripped the sword in reverse and raised it before my chest.

The Hongyeon Sword, the symbol of the Sunwoo clan’s head, said to possess the power of Pasa, was now aimed at my heart.

Then, the smile finally vanished from Dang’s face.

“You bastard, what are you trying to do?!”

It seemed I had made the right choice this time. I told him, laughing savagely.

“You may kill me, but you won’t be able to use my corpse. And, Dudaeng. I will never let you live. Even if I become a ghost, I will find a way to kill you!”

As the words left my mouth, the tip of the Crimson Flame Sword pierced my heart.

Thud!

A pain like fire burning my chest shot through my entire body.

But it wasn’t painful.

Rather, even as my mind grew hazy, I felt a slight sense of relief.

Since the Hongyeon Sword, revered as a divine blade throughout the Seonwoo Clan’s long history, had pierced his heart, he wouldn’t be able to use my corpse either.

And regret washed over me.

If I had known this would happen, I should have lived more earnestly.

I wouldn’t have run away, using the excuse that I didn’t want to fight my brothers.

And I should have let my talents shine more freely…

***

In my dazed state, someone’s shrill, piercing scream stabbed my ears.

“Aaaargh! It’s murder!”

Yes, I had committed murder.

I killed many and committed suicide too.

So could you please be quiet?

This noise is killing me.

“It’s murder! Seonwoojin killed Danhasang!”

Even though my head felt incredibly heavy from being dead, hearing that voice made my expression instantly scowl.

Danhasang? What era are you even talking about?

Just thinking about that incident still keeps me awake at night.

But as the noise around me grew louder and I heard people gathering, I finally realized something was off with my consciousness.

I cautiously opened my eyes.

To my surprise, my eyes opened.

“Huh?!”

I was flustered.

I was definitely dead,

My eyes are opening?

Why?

And the sight that met my eyes the moment I opened them was a mess of scattered bottles and food, and the corpse of a young man sprawled face down at the opposite seat.

A man dead with a sword stuck in his back.

I knew him very well.

His name was Dan Hasang.

He was the man who had promised to become the husband of Yeonha, my younger sister, but died over ten years ago, the year I turned twenty-one.

But now, here he was, dead before my very eyes.

“What the hell is this…?”

I stared at him with a blank expression.

I couldn’t make heads or tails of what was happening.

I couldn’t even tell if my head was foggy from the alcohol or from this utterly incomprehensible situation.

Suddenly, I looked at my own hand.

They were plump, bear-like paws.

“This… isn’t my hand, is it?”

My eyes narrowed involuntarily.

These plump hands were definitely not my current hands.

I thought I’d parted with them forever after losing weight at twenty-two…

“Is this a dream? What the hell is going on? How far does this go?”

As I muttered blankly, people rushed into the room in a flurry.

They gasped at the sight of the body, then shouted at me.

“Young Master Seonwoo! Why on earth did you kill Young Master Dan?!”

Hearing that, I blankly shifted my gaze to the sword stuck in the corpse’s back.

Dan Hasang—the sword stuck in his back was none other than my own.

***

Captured, I was bound tightly and made to kneel in the center of the vast hall. The elders and servants of the Seonwoo family stood at a distance around me, watching.

Kneeling with my heavy body, my legs were already numb and aching terribly even in this situation.

‘Ah, this can’t be… it really isn’t a dream, is it?’

The overwhelmingly vivid realism made me swallow hard.

Then, the middle-aged man standing on the dais in the main hall before me bellowed in a voice like fire.

It was my father, Seonwoo Jung, the head of the Seonwoo family of Gwiju.

“Jin-i, you bastard! Do you have anything to say?!”

No, not a word.

I had nothing to say.

It wasn’t so much that I had no excuse, but rather that the situation was so absurd I was speechless.

The father I had last seen at twenty-one, never to see again, was now yelling at me.

And he looked and sounded exactly as I remembered him from back then.

“Does your silence mean you admit to killing the third son of the Dan family and the man who was to become your brother-in-law?!”

No, absolutely not.

I could never admit that.

At twenty-one, I was too flustered and drunk to trust myself, so I couldn’t say anything. But after years of sleepless nights spent thinking, I reached a conclusion.

‘I absolutely did not kill him.’

That was it.

I had no reason to kill him, nor the ability.

He was my only friend, someone who treated me without prejudice even though I was considered a disgrace to my family.

Moreover, thanks to him, I had formed a bond with his younger sister, Yeonha, and we were set to be betrothed.

So why on earth would I kill him, when I was counting down the days until he became my brother-in-law?

Moreover, he was a promising descendant of a martial family, while I was nothing but a pig at that time.

No matter how drunk I was, killing him with my abilities was difficult—no, impossible.

And…

‘Above all else, there is one undeniable piece of evidence proving I didn’t kill him.’

That day, I hadn’t brought my sword to the drinking party.

Given that I was called a child prodigy for my memory alone, I could guarantee that much with absolute certainty.

In conclusion, Danhasang’s death was definitely a conspiracy.

A plot to kill him and pin it on me.

But despite all this, the words that came out of my mouth were completely different from my thoughts just now—the exact same words I’d spoken at twenty-one.

“I don’t… remember.”

Naturally, that answer only poured more fuel on the fire of my father, Seonwoo Jung’s, rage.

My enraged father shouted.

“You stupid fool! Is that what you call an answer?!”

Then, the young men standing beside Seonwoo-jung—my brothers, whom I hadn’t seen in ages—laughed incredulously and said.

“That fool’s been drunk and caused trouble more than once, but we never dreamed he’d pull off such a major disaster!”

“Really? I knew it would happen. Last time he set a fire, so I wondered what kind of reckless act he’d commit this time to bring shame on the family. I figured it would probably be killing someone while drunk. I just didn’t expect him to kill his future brother-in-law.”

“Well, I must say I’m surprised. I never imagined your pig-like hands could wield a sword. And to think you could even kill someone.”

As they said this, chuckling, the brothers’ eyes held an unmistakable glint of contempt.

It was exactly the same scene I remembered.

I swept them with a cold, steady gaze.

‘He must be among them. The one who killed Danhasang and framed me.’

Judging by what he just said, the second brother, Seon Woo-hyuk, who claimed he already knew, seemed the most likely suspect.

But I suspected someone else more than him.

Then my father, Seon Woo-jung, shouted again.

“I don’t know how to punish you, you bastard! How can I atone to the Dan family?! Would killing you and sending your corpse suffice?!”

I just kept my head bowed low and remained silent.

If this truly was a return to the past, the outcome was predetermined regardless of whether I spoke or not.

Sure enough, my brothers began offering their opinions with smug grins.

“Will killing you and sending your body appease their anger? Make him a cripple first, then send him alive. Let them vent their rage themselves.”

The words of the eldest brother, Seonwoo Seong.

“Why should we bother? Just cut ties and kick them out. They’ll handle it themselves.”

That was the second brother, Seonwoo-hyeok.

But the decisive words came, as I remembered, from the fourth brother, Seonwoo Gi.

“How about this? Send our third brother to the front lines.”

“Huh?”

“What?”

The suggestion was so unexpected that not only the other brothers, but even their father, Seonwoo Jung, stared wide-eyed at Seonwoo Gi.

He continued.

“Didn’t the Myeong faction request it not long ago? They asked for one direct descendant to be sent to the front lines. So we send Third Brother there.”

Father Seonwoo Jung then asked with a grave expression.

“If Jin-yi goes to the front lines with his martial arts skills, he’ll be killed instantly by the enemy, won’t he?”

“Does it matter? He’s going to die anyway. If he dies that way, it would be a death with honor. It would elevate the family’s honor and atone for his sins. Wouldn’t that be killing two birds with one stone?”

As he finished speaking, I muttered to myself one more reason he hadn’t voiced.

‘And one of you wouldn’t have to go to the front lines, right?’

The front line referred to the border where the Blood Demon Sect, which had seized Yunnan Province, was locked in confrontation.

Over a decade ago, the Blood Demon Sect had crushed the Dianchang Sect, one of Yunnan Province’s major sects, and attempted to advance into the Central Plains.

At that time, the Martial Alliance organized an expeditionary force to clash head-on with them—that was the Great Blood War.

After a bitter struggle that cost the life of the Alliance leader, the Wulin Alliance barely managed to halt the Blood Cult’s advance into the Central Plains.

However, they were powerless to reclaim Yunnan Province, which the cult had already seized. Yunnan, once the domain of the Dotting Blade Sect, fell entirely under the Blood Demon Cult’s control.

After that, the Martial Alliance recruited spirited martial artists near Yunnan Province to monitor the Blood Demon Sect’s advance into the Central Plains. People called that place the Great Blood Demon Sect Front.

‘But that was over a decade ago. Now… Tsk.’

As time passed, the front line—once a place where righteous warriors eagerly volunteered—had become nothing but a dangerous place offering neither fame nor profit.

Thus, it had become a place that could only be maintained by forcibly conscripting martial artists.

For this reason, the martial arts sects of Guizhou Province, affiliated with the Martial Arts Alliance, were now obligated to send one direct disciple each to Yunnan Province, where the Great Blood Demon Sect Front was unfolding.

Our Sunwoo Clan was no exception.

‘Originally, it should have been one of my three brothers, not me, whose martial arts are weak. But! Now, using this matter as justification, they can send me, someone who doesn’t care if I die?’

So, for my brothers, nothing could be better than this.

Having recalled this incident thousands, tens of thousands of times, I concluded it was most likely the fourth brother, Sunwoo Gi, who had plotted the conspiracy.

The opinions within the assembly soon converged into one.

It was a decision where no one lost out—in fact, it was incredibly advantageous for the remaining brothers.

It was decided to provide Dan Jang with adequate material compensation, and I would be transferred to the front lines in Yunnan Province as quickly as possible.

It was the exact same decision made over a decade ago, when I was twenty-one.

After that, I was imprisoned in a brain cell.

In the pitch-black night sky, the pale moon hung alone, holding its light.

It was the last moon of my hometown, one I recalled night after night even after arriving in Yunnan.

Suddenly, a thought from that time surfaced.

‘I used to cry endlessly looking at that moon.’

But now that I had returned, it was different.

Because I already knew two people would visit me tonight.

And I had to get something from one of them.

One of them was already approaching cautiously.

It was Yeon-hwa, my kind younger sister—the only one who had ever been a refuge for me in my home, which had always felt like a bed of thorns.

“Jin, are you okay?”

Seeing her face brought back memories of her past, just before she became a puppet of the Blood Demon Sect, making me feel even more affectionate toward her.

I answered with a gentle smile.

“I’m fine, Yeon-ha. Are you alright?”

“What could possibly be wrong with me? You, Jin, must stay strong. I believe you’re not the culprit.”

Even then, that kind child had spoken to me like that.

Back then, I could only cry and repeat my thanks.

Now, I could say it with confidence.

“That’s right, Yeonha. I’m not the culprit.”

Yeonha looked surprised and asked back.

“Huh?”

“Huh? Why are you reacting like that?”

“No, I was just wondering… why you’re so certain…”

Huh? Why am I so sure?

“Would I kill him? He’s my only friend and will be your husband. Above all, Dan-hyung and I were sitting across from each other, drinking. Yet the sword was stuck in Dan-hyung’s back. And it was a sword I never even brought with me.”

Yeonha swallowed hard and replied.

“I-I see. Then why did you say such things in front of Father…”

“Because leaving the family estate and heading to the front lines seemed the better choice for me.”

“Huh?!”

That was it.

Looking back on my past life, it could be divided into before and after being sent to the front lines.

That earlier life—my life at the estate—couldn’t be considered even remotely human, no matter how generously one viewed it.

‘No, far from being a warrior, it wasn’t even human.’

The mere recollection of that time was enough to make my chest feel tight.

Among the brothers of the Seonwoo family, I was the only one without a mother. She had passed away when I was very young.

But honestly, that wasn’t really important.

What mattered was that I had no powerful maternal family to fall back on.

As a child, I had once gained fame as a prodigy thanks to my exceptional memory.

And from that time on, I had to realize something.

‘The more you show your abilities, the more you’ll be hated, and the shorter your life will become.’

The cold stares sent by the mothers of other siblings.

The suffocating pressure that gradually tightened around me.

Though young, I could feel them all too well.

So I had no choice but to make a decision.

The path of hiding my abilities and becoming a fool….

But one day, while pretending to be a fool, I suddenly realized.

That I had truly become a fool.

Trying to appear lazy, I had become truly lazy; trying to appear like I was only playing, I had learned nothing at all.

I chuckled away while being called the disgrace of the Seonwoo family, always indulging in debauchery and ruining myself.

That was the life of the past twenty-one years.

A hollow laugh suddenly escaped me.

‘Yeah, honestly, I deserve to be called a piglet.’

So to change that, I had to leave the family.

And I had to go to the front lines to meet him.

My idol, the Storm Dragon Seolpung, who had transformed me—the disgrace of the Seonwoo family—into a warrior.

That was why I took the blame without a word.

Of course, I had no intention of bearing that false accusation to the end in this life either.