Manhwa Like Absolute Sword Sense: 9 Murim Picks Ranked

The closest manhwa like Absolute Sword Sense is Nano Machine. AniList credits the same original author, Hanjung Wolya, for both, and both hand a murim underdog one strange advantage: Woonhwi So hears "the voice of a dagger," and Yeo-un gets "a mysterious nanomachine injection from a future descendent." If you'd rather read something finished, take Volcanic Age (303 chapters, though AniList lists no English platform for it) or Legend of the Northern Blade (202 chapters, complete in English on Tappytoon).

A brown-haired swordsman in a red cloak with gold embroidery draws a glowing blue blade against a dark red background

What a manhwa like Absolute Sword Sense needs

Here's what we matched against. In WEBTOON's synopsis, Woonhwi So's spirit core is destroyed, so he serves "as a third-rate spy for the Blood Cult." He's killed on a mission, "sent 10 years into the past," and wakes with "a mysterious ability to hear the voice of a dagger." That's two hooks: a second chance, and an edge nobody else has. We ranked the picks by how much of both they carry. As of October 13, WEBTOON's page showed Ep. 194, posted October 10, 2026, with 7 newer episodes in the app and updates every Sunday. Our Absolute Sword Sense review covers the series itself.

#	Pick	What it shares	Korean run (AniList)	English, as of October 13, 2026
1	Nano Machine	Same author, a gift from outside	Releasing	WEBTOON, every Wednesday
2	Volcanic Age	A murim elder sent back to his youth	Finished, 303 chapters	No English platform on AniList
3	Absolute Regression	Regression, Cheonma's son	Releasing	WEBTOON, every Saturday
4	The Regressed Mercenary Has a Plan	Regression with a revenge plan	Releasing	WEBTOON, every Wednesday
5	Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon	Reborn as a child in a demonic sect	Finished, 252 chapters	Tapas, as Heavenly Demon Reborn!, completed
6	Return of the Blossoming Blade	Wakes a hundred years later	Releasing	WEBTOON, every Wednesday
7	The Knight Only Lives Today	A death loop for sword training	Releasing	WEBTOON, Season 1 done, returning
8	Log-in Murim	An outsider stuck in a murim world	Releasing	Tapas, on hiatus after Season 1
9	Legend of the Northern Blade	Sword revenge, no regression	Finished, 202 chapters	Tappytoon, completed

1. Nano Machine

Same original author, and the same shape. WEBTOON's synopsis puts Yeo-un in a succession fight at the Mashin Academy: his mother isn't one of the High Priest's "six official wives," but his father's blood "still qualifies him for a chance at the position of Minor Priest." His edge is "a mysterious nanomachine injection from a future descendent," where Woonhwi's is a voice only he can hear. AniList credits Hanjung Wolya with the original story of both series.

Readers treat the two as one universe. In a September 2026 r/manhwa thread about the author's timeline, one reader placed Absolute Sword Sense "200 years before Myst Might Mayhem" and that series "800 years before Nano Machine." Nano Machine updates every Wednesday on WEBTOON and AniList lists it as releasing. Our Nano Machine review has the full verdict.

Nano Machine Korean cover: a long-haired man in dark robes over a red moonlit sky, and below him a purple-haired youth with glowing eyes and a cyan circuit grid around his hand Nano Machine. Cover via AniList.

2. Volcanic Age

AniList's summary: Ju Seo-Cheon "survives the age of war through sheer luck and becomes the elder of the Hwasan faction, only to live a life full of regrets and doubts." On his deathbed "he is returned to the past." Woonhwi goes back to fix a wasted life as a spy; Seo-Cheon goes back to fix a lucky one. It's finished at 303 chapters, ending January 18, 2025. The catch is English access. AniList lists only KakaoPage and Tencent Comics as official links, so we couldn't point you to a licensed English edition. Our Volcanic Age review has more.

3. Absolute Regression

The near-identical name causes confusion, so to be clear, this is a different series. WEBTOON's synopsis: the swordsman Mugi Hwa toppled "every lord who dared to face him," including "Cheonma, Mugeuk Geom's father." Mugeuk refused to accept defeat and "turned to the forbidden: a time-bending ritual that hurled him into his own past." It updates every Saturday; Episode 106 went up October 9, 2026.

Readers who've tried both say they feel different. In an August 2026 r/manhwa thread comparing them, one reply said, "Absolute sword sense is more fun and light hearted. Absolute Regression takes itself more seriously (not in a bad way) and has a stronger story and stronger art." Another put it in one line: "Absolute Regression is all about the dialogue and politics. Sword Sense is your more typical Murim manhwa." Our Absolute Regression review has the full verdict.

Absolute Regression Korean cover: a long-haired swordsman in dark blue robes holds a black blade upright against a pale blue background Absolute Regression. Cover via AniList.

4. The Regressed Mercenary Has a Plan

Our older pages call it The Regressed Mercenary's Machinations; WEBTOON's English title is The Regressed Mercenary Has a Plan. Cecil Perdium, "the Mercenary King," dies "before he could avenge his family" and learns that Duke Delphine, who ruined them, "didn't work alone." He wakes "as his teenage self" with a "poor reputation" and soldiers deserting his family. Like Woonhwi, he goes back knowing who the enemy is. With its dukes and knights, the world is closer to Western fantasy than murim. It updates every Wednesday; Episode 99 went up October 6, 2026. Our review goes further.

The Regressed Mercenary Has a Plan. Cover via AniList.

5. Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon

In English this one is Heavenly Demon Reborn! on Tapas. Its synopsis: Unseong watches "his master is brutally beaten to death after a false accusation of practicing forbidden demonic arts," fails to get revenge, dies, and "awakens as a child, training to be an elite soldier of a demonic sect." Then he has to "embrace the demonic arts" to get his revenge. AniList lists it as finished at 252 chapters, ending January 8, 2025, and Tapas shows 253 episodes as a completed series. Tapas closes on March 31, 2027, so plan to finish before then. Our Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon review has the verdict.

Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon. Cover via AniList.

6. Return of the Blossoming Blade

Cheongmyeong of the Mount Hua Sect killed the Demonic Cult leader Cheonma, died of his wounds and "awakens a hundred years in the future." He finds his sect "reduced to a mere shadow of itself" and sets out to rebuild it. Woonhwi gets his second chance in his own life; Cheongmyeong gets his in a world that has forgotten him. It updates every Wednesday on WEBTOON, and the newest English episode on October 13 was (S3) Episode 178. Our Return of the Blossoming Blade review covers it in depth.

WEBTOON's official trailer for Return of the Blossoming Blade.

7. The Knight Only Lives Today

Not murim: this is a Western knight fantasy, and it's here for the sword training. WEBTOON's synopsis asks, "Is dying repeatedly a blessing?" Enkrid's dream of knighthood looked out of reach "until one day he died... and woke up at the beginning of that same day!" Every death gives him another day of practice. WEBTOON lists "Episode 112 (Season 1 Finale)" and three afterwords, all dated August 27, 2026, with the note "The Knight Only Lives Today will return!" Treat it as a finished first season for now. Our review has more.

The Knight Only Lives Today Korean cover: a brown-haired knight with glowing blue eyes and a scarred face grips a sword hilt, wearing a worn leather coat The Knight Only Lives Today. Cover via AniList.

8. Log-in Murim

The link here is an outsider with knowledge nobody else has. Tapas's synopsis: Taekyung Jin, "a struggling, low-ranked hunter," logs "into a game on a beat-up VR console" and finds himself "trapped in an all-new world, unable to log out." The English edition is paused. Tapas posted on April 24, 2026 that "Season 1 has come to a close" and that it will take "a hiatus before returning with season 2," and lists 117 episodes. Our Log-in Murim review has more.

9. Legend of the Northern Blade

The furthest match, with no regression and no special voice. It's here for the sword and the revenge. Tappytoon's synopsis: the Northern Heavenly Sect's leader is "accused of colluding with the enemy" and "forced to disband the sect and commit suicide to protect his son, Moowon," who grows up "under close surveillance" before setting out "to avenge his father's death." It's finished at 202 chapters (AniList, ending November 19, 2024), and Tappytoon marks the English edition Completed. Our Legend of the Northern Blade review goes arc by arc.

Legend of the Northern Blade Korean volume 1 cover: a long-haired swordsman in black robes swings a blade through swirling black ink Legend of the Northern Blade, volume 1. Cover via AniList.

Where Absolute Sword Sense stands right now, arc by arc:
Absolute Sword Sense Reading Guide →

Our take: which manhwa like Absolute Sword Sense to read next

Read Nano Machine first. It's the only manhwa like Absolute Sword Sense from the same original author, and readers who follow that author treat the series as one world. If you want the darker, more political version of the same premise, go to Absolute Regression. If you want something finished in English, Legend of the Northern Blade is the safe choice, and Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon is too if you can finish it on Tapas before March 31, 2027. Volcanic Age is the closest finished match on premise, but we can't point you to a licensed English edition.

For where Absolute Sword Sense ranks against the rest of the current murim field, completed and ongoing side by side:
Best Murim Manhwa 2026 →

How We Checked This

We checked 30 facts on October 13, 2026 against AniList, WEBTOON, Tapas, Tappytoon, YouTube and r/manhwa, with a quoted line for each in our sources table. This pass corrected where Chronicles of the Heavenly Demon reads in English (Tapas, as Heavenly Demon Reborn!, not Tappytoon) and the Absolute Regression premise (a son of Cheonma using a forbidden ritual; the old text described a masked hero with a hidden identity). It also cut claims we couldn't source: that the dagger's voice tells Woonhwi an opponent's habits, Volcanic Age's "seventy-plus years," Log-in Murim's training carrying over to his real body and its Korean later seasons, and Legend of the Northern Blade's ending being "widely considered to land." We also removed a pointer to fan translations for Volcanic Age, plus the FAQ, TL;DR, key takeaways and an overlap section.

Last reviewed: October 13, 2026

Absolute Sword Sense Review: the verdict on the series this list starts from.
Manhwa Like Myst, Might, Mayhem: wuxia revenge picks for the same corner of the genre.
Return of the Blossoming Blade Reading Guide: the arcs of pick 6.