001. Eon Seo-jeong
Jinju, Hebei Province.
It was a gloomy day with dark clouds covering the sky.
The bumpy road was deserted, and an eerie wind swept through.
Flap.
A dry leaf, blown by a sudden gust, hit the signboard of an old, worn-down mansion.
Scratch… Creak.
Because of that, the dust covering the sign cleared slightly, revealing the words:
“House of Eon, Jinju .”
Inside the crumbling estate knelt a man, covered in blood.
Two others stood over him, upright and unmoving.
His hair was messy, and his sleeves were torn as if slashed by a sword. His injuries looked agonizing.
“Ugh…”
While he was barely holding onto life, the two men were spotless, wearing fine red silk robes without a speck of dust.
One of them, a well-dressed young man in his late 20s, looked to the larger man beside him and spoke.
“He fought pretty well, don’t you think?”
The other man, taller and sturdier, replied:
“Yes, Master. He’s the head of a noble family, now fallen, but he held on with pride.”
The young master nodded.
“I’d say his spirit was even stronger than the leader of the Peng family in Hebei.”
He looked behind the kneeling man — piles of corpses.
All of them were once followers of the Heavenly Demon Sect.
They had encountered unexpected resistance here in Jinju, which delayed their plans.
“We wasted more time than expected thanks to this stubborn fool.”
“It’s fine,” the master replied calmly. “We needed time to reorganize before attacking Mt. Song anyway.”
“Ah, true. You’re absolutely right.”
Creeeaak…
Just then, a creaking sound made both of them turn.
A young boy, probably early teens, entered the courtyard.
“…Father?”
He stared at the bloodied man, confused.
“I thought he had no surviving family. He has a son?”
The injured man grinned despite his condition.
“He usually wouldn’t be home at this time…”
“Father, what happened?” the boy asked, now standing close.
His father glanced at the two men who had injured him.
“They’re from the Demon Sect… Damn bastards. If only they had passed through another town…”
“I see…”
The boy seemed oddly calm, not grasping the horror in front of him.
“So… are we going to die now?”
“Haha! I definitely am. As for you, I’m not sure.”
The boy turned to the young master.
“Are you going to kill me too?”
“Unfortunately, we do not kill those who pose no threat. You’re not even fifteen, are you?”
But the boy’s face showed no relief, just a blank stare.
“How old are you?”
“Fifteen.”
“What? No way…”
The larger man, called the Sword Demon , scoffed.
“So you’re asking to be killed?”
Shing!
With a soft command, the Sword Demon drew his blade, etched with patterns of snow blossoms.
“Shall I cut him down?”
The master nodded silently.
Swish!
The Sword Demon swung — not to kill, but to scare.
A thin red line appeared on the boy’s neck. Blood trickled down.
Still, the boy didn’t flinch. Not even a blink.
“What… is this kid even human?” the Sword Demon muttered.
“Hahaha! This child followed me everywhere as a baby. He played with corpses instead of toys.”
The injured man laughed heartily, despite his state.
“You raised your child harsher than we train our own disciples…” the Sword Demon sighed.
“I did what I could.”
The master finally spoke again.
“Head of House Eon. Any last words?”
“Thank you. Because of you, I’ve left my son an unforgettable lesson.”
“Finish it.”
Slash.
Thud.
With one swift strike, the man’s head fell.
The boy still didn’t move.
Not his eyes, not even a finger.
He looked up at the Sword Demon and said calmly:
“I’ll remember this.”
The Sword Demon sighed deeply.
“He’s not normal…”
He hesitated, then turned to his master.
“Master, I don’t feel right about this. Shouldn’t we kill him too? His father’s last words bother me…”
“We’re leaving.”
The master walked away. The Sword Demon reluctantly followed.
Five Years Later…
After more than ten years of war, the Final Battle of Righteous vs. Demonic Forces ended.
The righteous alliance and the Heavenly Demon Sect clashed on Mt. Song, but the tides turned when the Demon Sect’s elite warriors began to fall.
Their top fighters were taken down one by one — even the Sword Demon vanished without a trace.
Some said he went mad or fled. No one knew.
Eventually, the Demon Sect’s leader, Seol Muryeong, admitted defeat and promised to retreat peacefully with his surviving followers.
Many wanted to wipe them out completely, but Seol was known as the strongest fighter in the world, and the remaining demons were fierce.
The righteous alliance had also lost more than half its strength.
So, they agreed to a truce.
In Xi’an, the Martial Alliance headquarters.
Leader Jeong Yi-gun was sorting through records to reward those who fought in the war.
He categorized them into three ranks:
-
A-rank : major sects with great contributions
-
B-rank : skilled individuals or mid-level groups
-
C-rank : small sects or unknown fighters with minor victories
Most A and B rewards were already finalized.
C-rank was messy — so many unknowns, little impact, and hard to organize.
He was sighing and flipping through the last pages when something caught his eye.
“Huh? House of Eon?”
He paused, trying to recall the name.
“Ah! That House of Eon…!”
Long ago, it was as powerful as the great Peng family of Hebei.
But the actions of a corrupt leader, Eon Yu-ho, brought disgrace and destruction.
After he died and the truth came out, the family returned to the righteous path, but it was too late — they were already in decline.
“So… the House of Eon still survives?”
Even more shocking: they had a record-worthy achievement.
Eon Sa-mun, the father from earlier, had slain over thirty elite warriors from the Demon Sect.
They were part of the sect leader’s personal guard — highly skilled fighters.
His sacrifice bought time for the righteous forces to regroup.
Even if it didn’t make him an A-rank hero, it was a major contribution.
“And he has a surviving heir…”
Eon Seo-jeong — the boy — was alive.
The report said he wasn’t gifted in martial arts and lived quietly in Jinju as a funeral worker.
“Secretary?”
“Yes, Master.”
“We need to finish distributing rewards.”
“We don’t have much left. Most was taken by the large sects.”
“Then give the full reward to the survivors. For the dead, give 30% of the original amount to any living family. If none exist, just carve their names on the Victory Monument.”
“Understood.”
As the secretary left, Jeong Yi-gun leaned back in his chair.
“House of Eon…”
He closed his eyes, weary, as silence once again filled the room.
