Mak Sapyeong (막사평, Magsapyeong) was one of the Four Heavenly Kings of the Heavenly Destruction Sect under the "Heavenly Destroyer", Dokgo Ryong. He was later part of the revived Heavenly Destruction Sect under the command of fellow Heavenly King Hyeol Bi.
Appearance & Personality[]
Mak Sapyeong was an average-sized man with long flowing white hair and pale reddened eyes. His most defining feature was the red Kabuki-esque mask he wore over his face. He wore a red cloak over his attire and the River Dragon Armour underneath his clothes.
He appeared to be an overconfident snide person and was a vicious and cold-blooded person by nature.
Image Gallery[]
History[]
In the past, Mak Sapyeong was one of Dokgo Ryong's closest aides (alongside Hyeol Bi, Gwi Yeong) who fought with him on a six year conquest of Nanman.
After Dokgo Ryong returned from his 15 year self-imposed exile, Mak Sapyeong and others gathered under him, forming the Heavenly Destruction Sect. He also became one of the Four Heavenly Kings.[1] During the Heavenly Destruction Sect's conquest of the Murim, they learned of their master's friendship with Gang Yoon and feared that it may make him deviate from their goal. Eventually, Hwan Sa convinced Hyeol Bi to make a move against Gang Yoon, resulting in the "Haidong Sword Clan incident", and the death of Gang Yoon. After finding out about the incident, Dokgo Ryong angrily confronted his disciples who pretend that by the time they received a report about people attacking the Haidong Sword Clan, they were too late to stop them, and that it wasn't their orders. The Four Heavenly Kings begged him to forgive them since they did it out of loyalty to the Sect but the Supreme Overlord refused. Dokgo Ryong then punished them before slaughtering the perpetrators outside. From then on, cracks started growing between the master and disciples.
The Four Heavenly Kings eventually decided to betray their master. It is unclear how Dokgo Ryong was injured by his disciples and abandoned in a valley but after scouring through records and intel, Yang Jeonghak speculated that they baited the Heavenly Destroyer with a woman disguised as Gang Ryong's mother which when combined with his leg being crippled by poison and loss of composure due to his mother, made it difficult for him to respond to their deliberately planned trap.[2]
The Heavenly Destruction Sect collapsed not long after and the Four Heavenly Kings supposedly died due to in-fighting between them.[3] However, in truth, Mak Sapyeong went into hiding alongside Hwan Sa and Hyeol Bi, forming a faction of their own.
Plot[]
Gwi Yeong[]
Interrogating Gwi Yeong
He appeared mocking Gwi Yeong after the latter had recalled his recent encounter with the Heavenly Destroyer's disciple. Not entirely believing Gwi Yeong's story, he noted that neither Hwan Sa nor First Brother would believe it either. When Gwi Yeong assured that he had told the truth and that they were even, Mak Sapyeong revealed that he knew of Gwi Yeong's exploits in saving Gang Ryong after the young gosu's titanic battle. With an angered Gwi Yeong trying to attack and then getting emotionally crushed further after seeing the Naeseonhyang destroyed, Mak Sapyeong told him it was inevitable these events would have happened given their relationship. With Gwi Yeong trying once more to attack, Mak Sapyeong's subordinates killed him. He then wondered why Gang Ryong left without doing anything but dismissed the thought as he mused that he would find out soon enough.
Season 2 Intro[]
After the events at the Naeseonhyang, he unexpectedly paid Jin Garyeong a visit and offered her an exchange; Gang Ryong for her mother, who they captured.
Mak Sapyeong[]
He was later seen overlooking the fight between Gang Ryong and the Baekma Valley, coming to a conclusion that Gang Ryong was seemingly defeated. Unbeknownst to him, it was all a trick.
Later at their rendezvous point, Jin Garyeong brought the captured "Gang Ryong" to him and stated she would only hand him over if Mak Sapyeong held up his part of their deal. Then it was revealed that Mak Sapyeong never intended to keep his promise. However, the Baekma Valley was one step ahead, and the real Gang Ryong showed up to battle Sapyeong while Garyeong dealt with her Gu-controlled mother and Woobok fought the Gu-controlled Minions. Ultimately, Jin Garyeong and Woobok was able to free Garyeong's mother from Sapyeong's control. Despite Mak Sapyeong wielding the legendary River Dragon Armour, he was overpowered and killed by Gang Ryong.
Powers & Abilities[]
As one of the Four Heavenly Kings who learned the Divine Heavenly Destruction Techniques from the Heavenly Destroyer, Mak Sapyeong was an incredibly powerful combatant. He also wore the River Dragon Armour, a powerful armour that, combined with his martial arts prowess, made him a very powerful opponent.[4][5] However, his overconfident attitude and his reliance on gimmicks and items proved to be his downfall.
Gu Poison Arts: Sapyeong was an adept user of the Gu, poisonous worms that take control over their host's body. The Gu he used were weaned on his blood and could only be controlled by him; as such, those implanted with these worms turned into complete puppets who lived or died on Sapyeong's order, regardless of their own will.[6] His Gu were even strong enough to control a gosu of Garyeong's mother's level. Despite the advantages of the Gu, Sapyeong still couldn't control their self-detonation characteristic.[6] Victims who possessed particularly powerful inner ki, such as Garyeong's mother, retained their awareness even after implantation; though they retained their awareness, if they disobeyed Sapyeong's "order", the Gu worms infecting them deemed that their host was about to die and would self-destruct.[7]
Quotes[]
- (To Gwi Yeong) "...your tale was going so well there, Second Brother. But what's with that lame ending? You don't expect me to swallow that, do you?"[8]
- (While watching Jin Garyeong fighting her mother) "This is... almost like watching two dragons wildly fighting each other."[7]
Alternate Translations[]
- Maksa (LINE)
Notes & Trivia[]
- He once served under Gwi Yeong as the man's junior.[8]
- He was the Third Brother of the Heavenly Kings.[9]
- Sapyeong was born and raised in Namhwang, a southern region of the Middle Kingdom.[6]
- His former master, the Heavenly Destroyer, considered Sapyeong to be a natural-born warrior with the skills to become the leader of the Heavenly Destruction Sect if he had focused more on his training; however his love for petty gimmicks and cheap tricks caused him to spurn his talents.[5]
- His mask is very similar to the mask of Jing Ke.