Unhwi and Yeongunseong headed toward a remote place.
Behind the main headquarters of the Blood Heaven Sect.
At the edge of a cliff.
Far below, a deep valley stretched out beneath them.
The two men stood there.
Wind blew past them.
Yeongunseong spoke first.
“...That was impressive.”
“What are you referring to?”
“Namgung Ho.”
Yeongunseong looked at Unhwi.
“You fought evenly against someone in the Harmony realm. No... perhaps you even held the advantage. His injuries are proof enough.”
“......”
“If you had been even slightly more determined, half of Namgung Ho’s face would have been torn off right there. Correct?”
Unhwi looked at Yeongunseong for a moment before giving a short nod.
After a brief silence, Yeongunseong slowly opened his mouth again.
“When I look at your case in the Central Plains, it’s clear that you repeatedly defeated martial artists in realms above your own.”
At the sudden shift in topic, Unhwi turned his head away from the cliff.
“I never expected that pattern to continue even after reaching the Five Realms of Martial Divinity.”
Yeongunseong’s atmosphere was strange.
Almost relaxed somehow.
“You injured me as well. Making excuses about lowering my guard would only be pathetic. It’s true that I underestimated you. If the place where we crossed hands had not been the grand hall, I likely would have died.”
“If Senior Yeong had died by my hand, then I would have died there as well.”
“Hohoho. Is that praise?”
“It is merely an accurate assessment.”
No one reached the Supreme Void Realm casually.
Even if Unhwi had known Yeongunseong’s opening through the experiences of his previous life and targeted it, mutual destruction had been the best possible outcome.
Even if his heart had been pierced, someone like Yeongunseong would have counterattacked instantly.
And Unhwi’s head would have exploded on the spot.
Yeongunseong was not someone who could ever be underestimated.
He had occupied the position of Great Elder for decades.
That was not because of simple loyalty.
It was because of ability.
He was—
Without question, a monster.
“In Namgung Ho’s case, and in my case as well, if you examine both examples, you are exceptionally skilled at reading an opponent’s openings.”
“I will not deny it.”
“You see the flow of energy better than others... and your reactions are faster. Mm. More than that, your judgment is faster and more decisive. And you possess enough power to support those instincts.”
Yeongunseong’s eyes gleamed.
“In the Central Plains, I may have been your senior. But here, I am now someone who must serve you.”
“You do not need to divide things so rigidly, Senior.”
“Even so, how could it possibly be that simple? This is the Blood Heaven Sect.”
“......”
“Still, as your senior, I would like to offer some advice. Would that be acceptable?”
Unhwi smiled faintly.
“You may speak freely.”
“Then I shall do exactly that.”
Yeongunseong’s expression became serious.
“You are walking an extremely dangerous path.”
“Me?”
“Seeing an opponent’s openings? It is an extraordinary ability. In my case and Namgung Ho’s, there were brief moments where our energy destabilized, and you targeted them. But you must not assume everyone will have such openings.”
“......”
“No matter how generously one frames it, your style of combat is decided by the narrowest possible margin. You probe and probe again. You conserve your strength and pour everything into a decisive moment. Because you excel at battles of calculation, it has worked for you until now. But many people understand that now. So what happens next?”
“They will begin reading me.”
“Exactly. More importantly, within the Five Realms of Martial Divinity, even the slightest lapse does not merely decide victory or defeat—it decides life and death. Just as you said. If you had pierced my heart during our duel in the grand hall, I would still have crushed your head. Namgung Ho was not present at the time and had not investigated your fighting style deeply enough to understand it. But that is no longer the case.”
“That is correct.”
“And news of your battle with Namgung Ho, as well as your battle with me, will spread. More people will begin investigating you.”
“That is also correct.”
Yeongunseong was astonishingly serious.
“Your fighting style has now become far more dangerous for you. Whether the path you walk is truly for the sake of the Blood Heaven Sect, I do not yet know. That will require more time to observe. But before we even reach that point, you have already become someone likely to die a sudden death.”
Unexpectedly.
Very unexpectedly.
Yeongunseong almost seemed apologetic.
“I would like to apologize.”
“Apologize?”
“If I had controlled my strength better in the grand hall, there would have been a way to preserve both your dignity and mine.”
At the beginning, Yeongunseong truly had intended to hold back.
But Unhwi’s abilities had exceeded expectations, and in the end he had nearly fought with full strength.
If he had calmed his excitement—
“You would have created a situation where both our reputations could have remained intact.”
“You overpraise me.”
“It is not overpraise. To put it simply, your weakness has effectively been made public. Tell me honestly—can you handle that?”
Unhwi thought briefly before answering in a calm voice.
“I do not create situations I cannot handle. Even if everyone focuses on my fighting style, it is fine. In battles of calculation, information known in advance can sometimes become poison. Is that not true?”
“Hah... You truly refuse to yield even a single word.”
Yeongunseong laughed.
Unhwi laughed as well.
“I can understand now why this seat chose you.”
“Is that so?”
“You truly are different.”
Yeongunseong looked down into the valley below.
“You are someone the Blood Heaven Sect needs.”
Unhwi did not answer.
He merely watched Yeongunseong.
Yeongunseong turned around.
He looked directly at Unhwi.
“But.”
“......”
“Do not create too many enemies within the Blood Heaven Sect.”
Narrowing his eyes slightly, Unhwi looked at the fingers Yeongunseong raised.
Yeongunseong folded them down one by one.
“The Vice Leader. The commander of the Blood Spirit Regiment.”
“......”
“And the Thunder Demon Cult. The Red Spirit Court. Viper Valley.”
All five fingers folded completely.
There was still room to fold more, but Yeongunseong said nothing further.
Instead, Unhwi asked:
“What would you have me do, Senior?”
Yeongunseong fell silent for a moment.
Then—
“Well.”
He snorted faintly.
“I honestly do not know. Whether you are right or wrong.”
“......”
“But one thing is certain.”
Yeongunseong’s voice grew serious.
“This seat chose you. If that is the case, then what you are doing must be right.”
Unhwi looked at Yeongunseong.
For a long time.
Then he spoke.
“Senior... no, Great Elder.”
“Mm.”
“If.”
Unhwi paused briefly.
“If this seat were to make the wrong choice, what would you do?”
Yeongunseong’s eyes widened.
“...What?”
“If this seat were to make an incorrect judgment.”
Unhwi’s voice remained calm.
That calm voice struck Yeongunseong’s ears like lightning.
“Would you still follow him?”
Silence.
A heavy silence settled between them.
Yeongunseong stared fixedly at Unhwi.
“...You truly.”
He shook his head.
“Ask dangerous questions.”
“I would like an answer.”
“Why?”
“Because I am curious.”
Yeongunseong looked up at the sky and sank into thought.
Then he answered firmly.
“I would follow him.”
“Is there a reason?”
“Because this seat is never wrong.”
Yeongunseong’s voice was as absolute as Unhwi’s own.
“Even if it appears wrong to me, in the end it is still correct.”
“......”
“Because he is this seat.”
Unhwi slowly shook his head.
“I cannot understand.”
“What is so difficult to understand?”
“That kind of blind faith.”
Unhwi’s voice turned cold.
“People make mistakes. This seat is also human.”
“......”
“That means he can make mistakes.”
“Even so, I would still follow him.”
Yeongunseong looked directly at Unhwi.
“You cannot understand it. I know that.”
“......”
“But that is who I am.”
Yeongunseong struck his chest.
“I trust this seat. Absolutely.”
“And you believe that is the path for the Blood Heaven Sect?”
There was not even the slightest hesitation.
“I do. Because the Blood Heaven Sect led by this seat is the true Blood Heaven Sect.”
Unhwi let out a quiet sigh.
“...Great Elder.”
“Mm.”
“I am different.”
Unhwi looked straight at Yeongunseong.
“I respect this seat. I follow him.”
“......”
“But I do not trust him blindly.”
Unhwi’s voice was firm.
“If this seat is wrong, I will say so.”
Yeongunseong watched him for a moment before a strange smile formed on his lips.
“...Is that why this seat chose you?”
“Pardon?”
“He needed someone like you.”
Yeongunseong walked toward the edge of the cliff.
“This seat is lonely.”
“......”
“From the very first moment I entered the Blood Heaven Sect until now, this seat has always been alone. For decades, he has made every decision alone and borne every responsibility alone.”
“......”
“No one ever opposed this seat. Not me. Not even the Vice Leader. No one.”
Yeongunseong turned back toward Unhwi.
“But you are different.”
“......”
“You are someone capable of opposing this seat.”
Unhwi remained silent.
Yeongunseong continued speaking.
“That is why this seat chose you.”
“......”
“He needs you.”
Yeongunseong walked toward Unhwi.
“But be careful.”
“What do you mean?”
“Simply because you oppose him does not mean this seat will always listen to you.”
Yeongunseong’s gaze sharpened.
“If this seat’s will and your will ever clash.”
“......”
“Then even I will not stand on your side.”
The gazes of the two men crossed in the empty air between them.
Unhwi answered calmly.
“I know.”
“You do?”
“Yes. Great Elder, you are a man of the Blood Heaven Sect.”
Unhwi’s voice remained steady.
“For the sake of this seat, you are someone capable of killing even me.”
Yeongunseong smiled.
Brightly.
“You understand well.”
“Of course.”
Unhwi turned away.
“I am the same.”
“Mm?”
“For the sake of the Blood Heaven Sect.”
Unhwi looked back at Yeongunseong.
“I can kill you as well, Great Elder.”
A different silence settled over them this time.
This silence implied far too much.
Tension filled the air.
The two men were alike.
And yet completely different.
Then—
Yeongunseong burst into roaring laughter.
“HAHAHAHAHAHAHA—!!”
He laughed loudly and without restraint.
“Yes! That’s it!”
He clapped his hands.
“As expected of you, Unhwi! Yes, that is exactly the kind of spirit the Blood Heaven Arbiter of the great Blood Heaven Sect should possess! Not blindly following this seat, yet still accepting responsibility for the position? Even wagering your life on it? Hahahaha!”
Yeongunseong’s laughter continued for quite some time.
Unhwi spoke briefly.
“Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For speaking honestly.”
Stopping his laughter, Yeongunseong looked at Unhwi and replied:
“I should thank you as well.”
“For what reason?”
“Because you were honest too.”
Yeongunseong walked closer to Unhwi.
“May I ask one more question?”
“Two would also be acceptable.”
“One is enough.”
Yeongunseong looked at Unhwi with serious eyes.
And then—
The words that left his mouth genuinely caught Unhwi off guard for the first time in a long while.
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