Consistent with your established preference for adapted romanized personal names without unnecessary hyphenation.
At the center of Simryeong County's bustling district stood a tavern called the Blood Wind Pavilion.
It was a three-story establishment frequently visited by members of the Thunder Forest Blood Regiment. The first floor was open to civilians, the second was reserved for regiment martial artists, and the third floor was used exclusively by senior officers.
That was where Unhwi headed.
Without hesitation, he climbed to the third floor.
Chief Seong, Ju Soa, and Namgung Wonyang followed behind him.
He walked down the corridor and opened the door to the room at the very end.
Two men were seated inside.
Great Elder Cheol Jinseok.
In his late sixties.
A massive man whose presence resembled a suit of living armor.
A master of the Manifestation of the Boundless.
Beside him sat Second Elder Han Hojang.
Early fifties.
Sharp eyes filled with killing intent.
A master of Unity of Heaven and Man.
The two men rose when they saw Unhwi.
They offered formal fist salutes.
“We pay our respects to the Blood Heaven Arbiter.”
There was no respect in their voices.
Merely a ceremonial greeting.
Unhwi gave a silent nod and entered.
Chief Seong closed the door behind him.
Ju Soa and Namgung Wonyang remained outside, and before long only Unhwi, Chief Seong, and the two elders remained in the room.
Though no one openly said it, the Thunder Demon Cult was a far stranger organization than it appeared.
Jeong Docheon, the cult leader, was a master of the Manifestation of the Boundless.
Five years from now he would enter the Harmony realm.
Ten years after that, he would reach the Supreme Void Realm.
What mattered was that he was currently only at the Manifestation of the Boundless.
A martial artist equal to the cult leader held the position of Great Elder.
In fact, Cheol Jinseok stood half a step ahead of Jeong Docheon.
Of course, Jeong Docheon wielded a special power.
Blood Heaven blood energy.
A force that only a tiny handful within the Blood Heaven Sect could use.
As far as Unhwi knew, only four people possessed it.
The Heavenly Wayfarer.
Yu Cheong.
Yeongunseong.
And Jeong Docheon.
Even so, Jeong Docheon's strength allowed him to maintain a degree of control.
But it was far from absolute.
If he had truly been an unquestioned powerhouse, internal factions would never have dared become this brazen.
The Thunder Demon Cult would have followed him alone.
Unhwi's gaze settled on the two men.
These two were poison.
Poison that served no purpose.
Among them, Great Elder Cheol Jinseok spoke first.
“Why have you summoned us?”
“Sit.”
The two slowly resumed their seats.
Unhwi watched them silently before making a small gesture.
As though waiting for the signal, Chief Seong withdrew documents from his robes.
Thud.
Thud.
Two bundles.
One placed before each elder.
Unhwi spoke.
“Read them.”
Cheol Jinseok picked up the documents.
Opened them.
Began reading.
His face gradually hardened.
Han Hojang reacted the same way.
The color drained from his face.
A short while later, Cheol Jinseok lowered the papers.
“...What is the meaning of this?”
“Evidence.”
Unhwi's voice turned cold.
“Great Elder.”
“...”
“Over the past five years, five hundred Blood Stones have been diverted from Peach Blossom Garden.”
Cheol Jinseok's expression froze.
“Where did you sell them?”
“...This is a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
Unhwi chuckled.
“A misunderstanding that lasted five years?”
He pointed at the documents.
“The records are all here. Buyers. Prices. Dates.”
“...”
“There are even witnesses.”
Cheol Jinseok clenched his fist.
“...Who?”
Unhwi looked directly at him.
“Who provided these documents?”
“I see no reason to tell you.”
Naturally, witnesses were required to compile material like this.
There was no need to reveal them.
Unhwi shifted his gaze to Han Hojang.
“Second Elder.”
Han Hojang stiffened.
“Last month, you killed five regiment martial artists.”
“What?”
“They belonged to the Second Elder faction.”
Unhwi's voice lowered.
“You killed them without authorization. For personal reasons.”
“That was...”
“And then you murdered their families as well.”
He flipped through the documents.
“Eleven people. Elderly men. Women. Children. You spared no one.”
Han Hojang's face turned pale.
“...How?”
“How did I find out?”
Unhwi smiled.
Coldly.
“It is my responsibility. Naturally, I should know. Besides, when a tiger hides its fangs while remaining neutral, would it be wise to ignore it?”
The remark was indirect.
Yet it was direct enough.
The conflict within the Thunder Forest Blood Regiment had existed for years.
The friction between the Great Elder and the Second Elder.
The struggle between their factions.
Only one elder had remained neutral.
The First Elder.
Cheol Jinseok understood immediately.
The person gathering this information all these years had been the First Elder.
His fists tightened.
He shot to his feet.
“This is a trap!”
“Sit.”
“Someone is framing us!”
“I said sit.”
Unhwi's aura spread outward.
Unity of Heaven and Man.
Yet the pressure contained within it was powerful enough that even Cheol Jinseok felt alarmed.
“Must I repeat myself a third time?”
Cheol Jinseok swallowed and slowly sat back down.
Unhwi looked at both men.
“You have both violated the laws of the Blood Heaven Sect.”
“...”
“Theft of Blood Stones. Private killings.”
Unhwi rose from his chair.
“Both crimes carry the death penalty.”
Cheol Jinseok exploded with power.
Manifestation of the Boundless.
The second realm among the Five Realms of Martial Divinity.
A truly accomplished martial artist.
The room shook.
“How dare you!”
Even with the furious Cheol Jinseok standing before him, Unhwi remained calm.
“Great Elder.”
“...”
“Let me ask you something. What is the spirit of the Blood Heaven Sect?”
“...!”
“To never retreat.”
Radiance began flowing from Unhwi's head.
The True Chapter of the Primordial Innate Mind Art.
“You made your choice. You chose to betray the Blood Heaven Sect.”
“...Betray?”
“Diverting Blood Stones is only the beginning. You divided the Thunder Demon Cult °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° into factions and plunged it into chaos. If that is not betrayal of the Blood Heaven Sect, then what is?”
His voice was unwavering.
“If you sought to gain everything, then you should also have prepared to lose everything.”
“What could you possibly know—”
“I know everything worth knowing. And there is one point I would particularly like to emphasize.”
A strange smile touched Unhwi's lips.
“The Thunder Demon Cult possesses more masters of the Five Realms of Martial Divinity than people realize.”
“...What?”
“They need to be reduced. Conveniently enough, I have justification.”
His aura suddenly became savage.
“And if I intend to put a leash around Jeong Docheon's neck, I first need to clear away the trash standing in my path. Such as the two of you.”
Realization flashed across Cheol Jinseok's face.
“Bastard!”
His power erupted.
The walls shattered.
The door exploded outward.
Chief Seong, Ju Soa, and Namgung Wonyang immediately retreated.
Cheol Jinseok's fist shot toward Unhwi.
A strike from a master of the Manifestation of the Boundless.
Space twisted.
Unhwi raised his sword and blocked.
BOOOOM!!!
An explosion erupted.
Unhwi's body smashed through the wall and was hurled outside.
He fell from the third floor into the street below.
Blood flowed from his mouth as he landed.
Internal injuries.
...As expected.
The difference in realms was enormous.
Manifestation of the Boundless versus Unity of Heaven and Man.
A full realm apart.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal activated.
His injuries immediately began healing.
Cheol Jinseok jumped from the building.
BOOM!
He landed directly before Unhwi.
“So the Blood Heaven Arbiter was merely a spy all along! I will kill you and prove my loyalty to the Blood Heaven Sect—”
Before he could finish speaking, Unhwi swung his sword.
The Heaven-Defying Vast Azure Sword.
The Single Vast Azure Sword.
Startled, Cheol Jinseok threw a punch.
Sword energy collided with his fist.
BOOOOM!
Unhwi was pushed back five zhang.
Cheol Jinseok slid nearly ten.
His eyes widened in disbelief.
“What... kind of power is this?!”
His shock was understandable.
In the martial world, differences in realm were absolute.
A master of Unity of Heaven and Man might exchange blows with someone from a higher realm.
It was even possible to clash with masters of the Harmony realm, the Supreme Void Realm, or even the pinnacle.
But a duel to the death was different.
Everyone knew Unhwi had sparred with Great Elder Yeongunseong and had even wounded him.
But this was a life-and-death battle.
And Cheol Jinseok had just been pushed back.
It made no sense.
“...A forbidden art?”
Cheol Jinseok muttered.
Unhwi adjusted his stance.
With a flick of his sword, he said calmly,
“Are you going to keep muttering to yourself?”
“...”
“If you're not coming, then I will.”
Unhwi kicked off the ground.
Radiance scattered around him.
Cheol Jinseok narrowed his eyes.
He had to understand.
The man's movements.
His combat style.
Everything.
If he failed, surviving this battle would only postpone his death.
He needed to prove that Unhwi had not become the Blood Heaven Arbiter for the sake of the Blood Heaven Sect, but to weaken it.
Only then could he survive.
Demonic energy surged from Cheol Jinseok's entire body.
Black.
Utterly black.
The Thunder Extremity Heavenly Demon Art.
His body began expanding.
Muscles swelled.
His skin darkened.
Black lightning crackled across his body.
Lightning Armor.
An invisible suit of lightning wrapped around him.
“I'll kill you!”
Cheol Jinseok kicked off the ground.
BOOOOM!
The street cratered beneath him as his massive frame launched toward Unhwi.
He was not particularly fast.
But the weight behind the attack was overwhelming.
The air itself screamed.
Unhwi sidestepped.
Cheol Jinseok's fist struck the spot where he had been standing.
KRAAAASH!!
Thunder roared.
The ground split apart.
Cracks spread like a spiderweb for more than ten zhang.
An entire building collapsed.
Unhwi watched him carefully.
Getting hit by that fist would be dangerous.
Even with the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal, a direct blow could inflict fatal injuries.
He had to avoid it.
But he could not evade forever.
Cheol Jinseok attacked again.
Three punches.
Five.
Seven.
Unhwi avoided them all.
Each strike left destruction behind.
Buildings collapsed.
The earth split apart.
Chunks of stone flew through the air.
On the ninth punch, Unhwi counterattacked.
His sword flashed toward Cheol Jinseok's arm.
A silver streak.
Slash—
But it did not cut.
The Lightning Armor blocked it.
The instant sword and armor collided, lightning exploded.
Crackle!
Unhwi's sword was thrown aside.
Cheol Jinseok sneered.
“It's useless! Your sword cannot penetrate my Lightning Armor!”
Unhwi smiled faintly.
“Is that so?”
He shifted his grip.
Lowered his stance.
Void-Origin Energy spread through his entire body.
The Wild Blood Meridians responded.
His blood vessels swelled.
A tremendous amount of power flowed into the sword.
The Heavenly Snow Secret Sword.
Unhwi swung.
A white blizzard erupted from the blade.
It spread in every direction.
Cheol Jinseok raised an arm to block.
The blizzard collided with the Lightning Armor.
BOOOOOM!!!
An explosion erupted.
Snowstorm and lightning crashed together and scattered across the battlefield.
Cheol Jinseok was pushed back.
Three zhang.
His feet gouged trenches into the ground.
He lowered his arm.
A crack had appeared in the Lightning Armor.
Tiny.
But unmistakable.
“...What is this?”
He could not help being confused.
No matter how destructive the attack was, it had only grazed him.
Yet the armor had cracked?
Battles between martial artists who wielded the spiritual energy of heaven and earth were not decided by brute force alone.
This was something far deeper.
Then Cheol Jinseok's gaze shifted to Unhwi's sword.
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter