The night sky above Mount Liang bled crimson. Clouds churned like a storm of blood and fire as Kang Jinhyuk emerged from the glowing rift in the ancient cedar grove, the portal that had swallowed him weeks ago now flickering and collapsing behind his back.
The ground trembled once before falling silent.
Only the whisper of the wind remained, as though the world itself held its breath for his return.
Jinhyuk's boots pressed into the damp soil. His aura, now refined to a razor's edge, pulsed with quiet menace.
The once-scattered flow of his Qi now thrummed in harmony...deep, powerful, and steady like a beating war drum.
He lifted his gaze toward the distant peaks, exhaling slowly. So this… is what First Rate truly feels like.
The air around him shimmered faintly as his energy coiled outward, parting the mist like a living storm. The forest beasts that once stalked the woods fled without a sound. Even the night wind dared not touch him.
From within his mind, Jeok-Ma's cold, mocking laughter echoed.
Finally, the boy learns to walk without tripping over his own mercy.
Jinhyuk closed his eyes. And yet… you never stop talking.
Because you still need to hear me. You may wield my power, but you haven't yet seen the price it demands.
He remained silent, gripping his blade tighter.
The Return to Black Fang
By dawn, Jinhyuk arrived at the Black Fang Bandit Camp, perched deep within Mount Liang's ravine. Smoke rose from crude chimneys, bandits moved like restless shadows, and laughter echoed through the morning air—hard, cold laughter born from lives lived at the edge of death.
As he walked through the camp, eyes followed him. Whispered voices rippled among the men.
It's him.
The one who disappeared into the valley.
He came back alive…
Alive—and changed.
His aura radiated quiet danger. Even the veterans gave him space as he passed.
From inside a large tent, Heo Cheol-Ung, the scarred bandit leader, rose to greet him. His eyes, sharp as a wolf's, narrowed slightly.
Well, if it isn't the ghost of Mount Liang. He grinned, showing a chipped tooth. Thought we'd lost you to that cursed forest.
Jinhyuk bowed his head slightly. It takes more than curses to bury me.
Cheol-Ung chuckled. I can see that. Your presence alone could make a tiger piss itself. He gestured toward the camp's heart. Come. Tell me what you found.
Inside the tent, maps and weapons cluttered the table. The scent of sweat, smoke, and oiled steel filled the air.
Dan Sae-Ryeo stood at the side, arms crossed, watching Jinhyuk silently.
Jinhyuk placed a blood-red crystal fragment on the table it pulsed faintly, as if alive.
I found this, he said. The last remnant of a man called Jeok-Ma the Crimson Demon of five centuries past.
Sae-Ryeo's eyes widened. You mean… you met him?
Jinhyuk smirked faintly. Met is one way to put it. He decided I was worth haunting.
Haunting? Jeok-Ma's disembodied chuckle filled his head. Ungrateful brat.
Cheol-Ung leaned forward, his voice low. And what did you gain from this… haunting?
Jinhyuk looked up. The light in his eyes was different...colder, sharper, alive with purpose.
Power. Knowledge. Clarity.
He paused. And the truth that this world isn't divided by good and evil, only by who survives long enough to rewrite it.
Cheol-Ung laughed deeply. Spoken like a true bandit!
Sae-Ryeo didn't laugh. She studied him, worry glinting beneath her playful exterior. You've changed, Jinhyuk. There's something in your eyes… something that wasn't there before.
He turned to her. You're not wrong. Every time I grow stronger, I feel the darkness waiting like it's testing how far I'll go before it devours me.
Or before you embrace it, Jeok-Ma whispered within.
He ignored the voice again.
Seeds of Conspiracy
Later that evening, Jinhyuk stood on a ridge overlooking the camp. Below, torches flickered, bandits trained, blades clashed.
Dan Sae-Ryeo joined him, her cloak fluttering in the cold breeze.
So what happens now? she asked quietly.
Jinhyuk's gaze stayed fixed on the horizon. We prepare. The Murim world is shifting. I can feel it.
She raised a brow. You mean the Alliance and the Clans?
He nodded slowly. Namgung. Murong. Their names are whispered even here in the mountains. They've grown bolder since the war. I don't know why yet, but… His voice darkened. They're connected to my past. To that night.
Sae-Ryeo frowned. You're sure?
Not yet. But soon. He glanced at her. If the Black Fang is to survive, we'll need information and allies.
She smirked faintly. Allies? We're bandits, Jinhyuk. Our only friends are the ones we don't rob.
Then we start with fear, he said coldly. Fear buys silence. Silence buys time.
Meanwhile, far from Mount Liang in the Namgung Clan's grand palace, golden lanterns swayed over polished jade floors.
At a long table sat Namgung Yura, her posture perfect, her expression calm, but her heart was far from it.
Across from her, Namgung Wi-Guk, her father and clan leader, spoke with the stern tone of politics disguised as duty.
And beside him sat Murong Baek-Ho, the heir of the Murong family smiling faintly, eyes sharp and calculating.
Our alliance must stand unshaken, Namgung Wi-Guk said. The Demonic Cult's influence rises, and the Unorthodox factions like the Black Fang spread chaos.
Murong Baek-Ho nodded. The bandit infestation grows bolder. We've received reports of one name in particular 'Jinhyuk of Mount Liang.' Supposedly a rising figure among them.
Yura froze. The world tilted for a heartbeat.
Her lips parted slightly. Jinhyuk…?
Baek-Ho looked amused. Ah, you've heard that name before, Lady Yura?
Namgung Wi-Guk's eyes flicked toward her, cold as winter steel. Enough, Baek-Ho. That name is a shadow best left buried.
Yura lowered her gaze, hiding the tremor in her hands.
Inside, her thoughts screamed.
He's alive…? No… it can't be.
Memories flooded her...his smile, their laughter, his calloused hands brushing against hers under the spring sun.
And then the fire, the war, the night she was told he died.
They told me he was gone. That he died because he dared to love me.
She clenched her fists beneath the table.
I… understand, Father, she said softly. I will obey the clan's will.
But deep within her, something broke free—a fragile, flickering spark of hope.
Return to the Darkness
That same night in Mount Liang, Jinhyuk stood before the cedar grove once more. The portal was gone...its light extinguished...but the lessons remained.
Jeok-Ma's voice whispered like wind through the trees.
You've walked the path of the living long enough, boy. The next steps… lead through blood.
Jinhyuk's eyes narrowed. Then I'll walk it. Even if I have to carve the road myself.
Good. Jeok-Ma's laughter was like fire crackling in his skull. But remember power never comes without a grave to bury it.
He drew his sword. The crimson aura flared faintly around him, alive and hungry.
Below, the camp erupted in cheers as Black Fang scouts returned with stolen supplies. But Jinhyuk didn't smile.
His gaze was fixed far beyond the mountains—to the Murim world that had stolen everything from him.
Namgung… Murong… he whispered. You built your world on my ashes. Let's see how it burns.
Epilogue: The Foreshadowing
As he turned to leave, a raven landed on a nearby branch, its feathers glinting like black steel.
A sealed scroll hung from its leg, bearing a crimson insignia the mark of an unknown faction.
Jinhyuk untied it, eyes narrowing as he read.
The world changes. Murim trembles. And in the shadows, an old name stirs again Crimson Bandit.
The parchment burst into flames the moment he finished.
Jeok-Ma's laughter echoed once more, deep and knowing.
So it begins… my heir.
Jinhyuk's expression hardened.
The world had no idea what was coming.
He turned his back on the rising dawn, vanishing into the forest's darkness,
his silhouette merging with the crimson mist.