“...Storm-Thunder Blade Art? So you were a descendant of the northern Storm-Thunder Sect.”
The Storm-Thunder Sect.
The foremost sect of the north was the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace.
That hardly needed repeating.
But the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace was not the only sect in the north.
There was another sect established by Lake Heaven-and-Earth, a place with no contact with the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace.
A prestigious sect among prestigious sects, one that had produced masters of the Five Realms of Martial Divinity for generations.
That was the Storm-Thunder Sect.
Of course, even prestigious sects sometimes showed one face in public and another in private.
From First Man’s actions, Chief Seong had already understood exactly what kind of sect the Storm-Thunder Sect was.
That was as far as his thoughts went.
He had to respond.
The blue dragon plunged toward Chief Seong.
The earth trembled.
Chief Seong gripped the dagger in both hands.
He raised it above his head.
As the dawn sun tears through dark clouds and casts its light upon the earth, a radiant will pierces all darkness and reaches the truth.
Heavenly Sun Boundless Art,
Ninth Form: Sun Shatters Heaven.
Brilliant light erupted from the dagger.
A pillar of silver-white light soared into the sky.
The blue dragon collided with the silver-white pillar.
KOOOOOOOM—!!!
The entire plaza shook.
The floor split apart, and chunks of stone fell from the ceiling.
Light scattered in every direction.
Blue light and silver-white light tangled together.
Smoke billowed upward.
A moment later,
the smoke cleared.
Chief Seong was still standing where he had been.
The dagger remained in his hand.
He was wounded—on his arm and shoulder.
But none of the wounds were fatal.
First Man was also still standing.
But his condition was far worse.
A deep wound had been carved across his chest.
Blood streamed down from it.
“...I cannot help but ask. What martial art is that?”
Chief Seong answered First Man, who spoke while coughing up blood.
“The Heavenly Sun Sword Sect.”
“...The Heavenly Sun... Sword Sect?”
“Have you heard of it?”
First Man’s eyes trembled.
There was no way he had not.
The histories of the Thousand-Year Chaos had indeed vanished.
But there were those who searched for them, recorded them, and reconstructed them from information dating back to before the Thousand-Year Chaos.
And certain sects inevitably appeared in those records.
The Nine Sects and One Gang were the most famous examples.
Yet there was no possibility that the Nine Sects and One Gang had been the only powers in this vast martial world.
And in the age before the Demonic Cult became the Thousand-Year Demonic Cult, countless sects had stood against it.
The Black Tortoise Sword Sect.
The Supreme Polarity Palace.
And the Heavenly Sun Sword Sect.
The more historians uncovered and recorded the past, the more they said the same thing.
Among the countless ancient sects, several had rivaled the Nine Sects and One Gang, which had unquestionably stood at the summit.
And among those sects, the Heavenly Sun Sword Sect might even have surpassed them.
As everyone in the martial world knew, the standing of the Nine Sects and One Gang had been absolute.
To surpass them?
It sounded impossible.
Yet the Heavenly Spirit Energy unique to the Heavenly Sun Sword Sect had slaughtered demonic cultists and purified demonic energy, making the sect the Demonic Cult’s greatest obstacle.
It had even produced °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° several Alliance Leaders of the Murim Alliance.
That was why it was usually called one thing.
A legendary sect.
The sword that cut down demons.
The sect that carried the voice of heaven to the earth.
“...That legendary sect...?”
“It is not a legend.”
Chief Seong raised the dagger.
“It is simply a martial art that still lives.”
He advanced.
Toward First Man.
First Man raised his blade.
Summoning the last of his strength.
“Not yet...!”
He swung.
Desperately.
Chief Seong rotated his dagger.
As a whirlwind coils and draws in all things, the turning sword winds around the enemy’s weapon and pierces through the opening.
Heavenly Sun Boundless Art,
Tenth Form: Spiraling Penetration.
The dagger drove forward in a spinning thrust.
It wound around First Man’s blade.
The blade was torn from his hand.
Clang.
It fell to the floor.
Chief Seong’s dagger continued forward.
Toward First Man’s throat.
First Man tried to block it with his hand, but it was meaningless.
Shnk.
The dagger pierced through his palm.
And then through his throat.
“Kgh... urk.”
First Man stared at Chief Seong.
His eyes were filled with shock.
He coughed up blood.
“The Heavenly Sun... Sword Sect... was real...”
His head slumped.
He was dead.
Chief Seong pulled out the dagger.
He flicked the blood from it.
The Heavenly Sun Boundless Art.
The martial art of the Heavenly Sun Sword Sect.
Nothing more needed to be said.
This was a martial art that surpassed even the highest reaches of supreme martial god–level power.
Chief Seong turned his head.
Ju Soa and Wonyang stood among eight corpses.
They had wounds, but none were serious.
Chief Seong asked,
“Is it over?”
“It is.”
Ju Soa’s breathing was steady as she answered.
She added,
“It was strange. It felt as though my body was moving on its own.”
Wonyang nodded.
“It feels as though the sword art has seeped into my body.”
Chief Seong looked down at his dagger.
It had been the same for him.
Ha Yooncheon.
The final Sect Master of the Heavenly Sun Sword Sect.
A sword art passed down after a thousand years of waiting.
With that sword art, they had protected what needed to be protected.
Wonyang checked the jade bottle.
It was safe.
It had not broken.
“This survived as well.”
Chief Seong turned his head.
The exit was shimmering.
“Let us go.”
“Yes.”
Leaving the corpses behind, the three walked toward the exit.
Toward the passage where light streamed in.
***
A full day had passed since the three entered the secret realm.
The inn was quiet.
In the room at the end of the second-floor corridor,
the Red Demon sat with his back against the wall, while Unhwi sat on the bed drinking tea.
The Red Demon, whose purpose was to guard Unhwi, looked at him in puzzlement.
Every movement Unhwi made as he raised the teacup was exceedingly careful.
Yet there was no sign of pain on his face.
He was calm.
Can this be right?
He had clearly suffered wounds beyond the level of severe injury.
So how was he recovering so quickly?
As far as the Red Demon could tell, all of Unhwi’s visible wounds had already healed.
The problem was whatever damage remained inside.
Even while severely wounded, the man had hunted down and killed the assassins.
And now an entire day had passed since then.
At this point...
The Red Demon could not begin to estimate his condition.
That man...
What in the world was he thinking?
He remembered his meeting with Yu Cheong several days earlier.
The study of the Vice Leader of the Blood Heaven Sect.
Red candles had flickered there as Yu Cheong spoke.
—You are doing well.
The Red Demon lowered his head and listened closely.
—The Blood Heaven Arbiter is isolated within the Blood Heaven Sect.
That was not wrong.
A man who had appeared without warning.
Had his ability been insignificant, no one would even have bothered to guard against him.
But he had already proven himself countless times.
He had even resolved the problem within the Thunder Demon Cult.
And now he had resolved the problem of Red Spirit Court as well.
Under those circumstances, his value continued to rise.
So did the number of people wary of him.
What would the Blood Heaven Arbiter do next?
More importantly, whatever he chose to do, who would serve as his hands and feet?
For now, the three people he had brought with him were all he had.
Yu Cheong wanted to place one more person among them.
—Remain at his side. Become my eyes and ears.
Understanding his meaning, the Red Demon silently offered a fist salute.
—And one more thing.
Yu Cheong’s eyes narrowed.
—When the opportunity comes, eliminate him.
—...What?
—The Blood Heaven Arbiter, Seol Unhwi. He is dangerous to us.
Yu Cheong raised his teacup.
He drank slowly.
—Now is not the time. But one day, he must die.
—Vice Leader. But that man...
Yu Cheong’s gaze turned toward the Red Demon.
It was cold.
The Red Demon closed his mouth.
—He is strong. Even while only at Unity of Heaven and Man, he can more than hold his own against martial artists at Manifestation of the Boundless and the Harmony realm. Even I cannot dare estimate the limits of his potential. That is why I am telling you to wait.
Yu Cheong smiled.
—An opportunity will come. No matter how strong a man is, he will always have an opening.
—...
—Wait until then. And observe him.
Yu Cheong set down the teacup.
—Watch what the Blood Heaven Arbiter does, whom he meets, and what plans he makes. Everything.
—Understood.
Yu Cheong looked at the Red Demon.
—You are my blade. Do not forget that.
The Red Demon opened his eyes.
He bit his lip.
Yu Cheong’s words continued to echo in his ears.
My blade.
At that moment,
Unhwi spoke.
“Master of Red Spirit Court.”
The Red Demon straightened.
“Yes.”
“Would you care for a cup of tea?”
“...What?”
“This tea is too good to drink alone.”
Unhwi gestured toward the teacup.
The Red Demon hesitated.
“How could I dare...”
“Dare?”
Unhwi smiled.
“Tea recognizes no rank.”
The Red Demon approached cautiously.
He sat across from Unhwi.
Unhwi poured tea into a cup for him.
Steam curled upward.
“Try it.”
The Red Demon raised the cup.
He took a sip.
“...It is excellent tea.”
Unhwi nodded.
“It is brewed from True Snow Blossom, which grows in the far north.”
Silence settled between them.
Unhwi looked out the window.
The sun was descending.
“Master of Red Spirit Court.”
“Yes.”
“As I told you before, the human heart is a strange thing.”
The Red Demon’s hand trembled faintly.
“In what way?”
“It seems clear as water, yet murky as mud. It seems free as the wind, yet bound like a chain.”
Unhwi slowly turned the teacup in his hand.
“There are many hearts within a single person.”
“...”
“The heart that wishes to remain loyal. The heart that wishes to betray. The heart that wishes to protect. The heart that wishes to abandon.”
Unhwi’s voice lowered.
“Which one is real?”
The Red Demon could not answer.
Unhwi continued.
“In my view...”
He looked directly at the Red Demon.
“They are all real.”
“...What?”
“Even when they appear contradictory, they are all that person’s genuine feelings. It is merely that, depending on the moment, one feeling resounds more loudly than the others.”
Unhwi drank his tea.
“In spring, new shoots emerge. In autumn, the leaves fall. Which is the tree’s true form?”
“Are they not... both?”
“Exactly.”
Unhwi smiled.
“When the season changes, the tree changes with it. But its roots remain the same.”
The Red Demon looked down at his teacup.
His own face was reflected on the surface.
A wavering face.
“People are the same.”
Unhwi continued.
“When circumstances change, the heart changes as well. But a person’s nature remains.”
“...By nature, you mean?”
“The heart.”
Unhwi answered firmly.
“I am not speaking of good or evil. I mean the vessel that makes a person who they are. Their foundation. Their original intent.”
The Red Demon’s eyes trembled.
“Then someone who commits a wrongful act...”
“Has betrayed himself.”
Unhwi looked out the window.
“Or has been placed in circumstances where he had no other choice.”
“...”
“Once bound, a person remains bound to the end. But that does not mean the hidden vessel has shattered. One day, it will make its presence known.”
Unhwi looked at the Red Demon.
“What do you think?”
The Red Demon opened his mouth, then closed it again.
No words came.
Unhwi gave a faint laugh.
“Was that too difficult a question?”
“...A little.”
“Then I will ask an easier one.”
Unhwi set down his teacup.
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