He seemed lonely.
He also seemed dignified.
There was no need to find it surprising. The Heavenly Wayfarer knew Unhwi’s secret.
And Unhwi, too, knew the Heavenly Wayfarer’s secret.
Everything was fair.
Each knew the other’s secret, and each did not know the greatest part of that secret.
What was it that the Heavenly Wayfarer ultimately sought to accomplish?
Unhwi did not know.
Unhwi had gone back through time by means of the Primordial Spirit of Heaven and Earth. Then, in that era, what kind of relationship had Unhwi and the Heavenly Wayfarer had, and what had they done together?
The Heavenly Wayfarer did not know.
A smile naturally formed on the Heavenly Wayfarer’s lips.
Silence settled.
When each came to know the other’s.
What expressions would they make then? And what kind of faces would they show?
The Heavenly Wayfarer thought that when that moment came, he would certainly be smiling.
The Heavenly Wayfarer of another world line, whom he himself did not remember.
He had “chosen” Unhwi.
If a moment came when the Heavenly Wayfarer of now would make the same choice as that Heavenly Wayfarer.
He would do the same thing.
Because Unhwi was more than an interesting child.
He resembled him.
Truly.
To the point that it was enjoyable just to keep watching him.
He stroked the stone placed on the center point.
“......A martial artist’s word is heavier than a thousand pieces of gold, and a promise once made lasts a thousand years.......”
He murmured.
It was an old saying.
A promise exchanged with someone.
Something from the distant past.
The Heavenly Wayfarer gave a faint laugh.
The person he had made that promise with back then was no longer in this world.
A promise with the dead.
To some, it would be a promise that need not be kept, a promise that could be ignored, but not to the Heavenly Wayfarer.
As a martial artist.
A promise once made had to be kept. If one could not keep it, then one was not a martial artist.
The Heavenly Wayfarer looked at the stone on the center point.
A stone standing alone.
But soon, other stones would be placed.
What shape would they form together with those stones?
Would it be harmony?
Would it be conflict?
He slowly rose from his seat.
The Heavenly Wayfarer left the Go board behind and looked out the window.
The moon had risen.
Very brightly.
***
The martial world was in an uproar.
A shocking rumor spread across the entire Central Plains.
The Tyrant Blade Sect.
More precisely, the last survivor of the Tyrant Blade Sect.
Because there was a rumor that its retired master, Seok Junseo, had died.
“Seok Junseo is dead?”
“Then the Tyrant Blade Sect is now.......”
“Completely wiped out.”
At first, no one believed it.
Seok Junseo was a master of the late Harmony realm.
And he had died?
“Who in the world killed him?”
“They say it was the Blood Heaven Arbiter.”
“......Seol Unhwi?”
“They say they fought one-on-one at Yellow Sand Pass.”
The rumor spread quickly.
In inns, in markets, in every place where martial artists gathered.
“They say Seok Junseo challenged him first.”
“Why?”
“To avenge his grudge.”
“And the result?”
“I heard his head was cut off and he died.”
The faces of the martial artists hardened.
Seok Junseo’s skill was widely known. Though he had lost his sect, he was still a powerful master.
The fact that someone had killed such a man one-on-one meant—
“The Blood Heaven Arbiter is that strong......? I couldn’t even believe he reached Unity of Heaven and Man at barely twenty, but is this really right?”
“No. You have to think of it the opposite way. Would Seol Unhwi have done that alone?”
“Judging by everything he’s shown so far, it seems possible enough.”
“Come now. You have to think about this differently. Seol Unhwi, the Blood Heaven Arbiter, has now become someone who must not be broken. If a master of the Harmony realm charged at him and he fought alone, of course he would die.”
“......Hm?”
“Then you have to think of it this way. Did Seol Unhwi really face Seok Junseo alone?”
“......Then...... surely......?”
“Yes, it was the power of the Blood Heaven Sect. Are there only one or two masters in the Blood Heaven Sect who have reached the Five Realms of Martial Divinity? What if they stepped in and helped the Blood Heaven Arbiter?”
“......Huh.......”
That was a truly different story.
If that was true, then it had to be seen this way.
It was not Seol Unhwi who had moved, but the Blood Heaven Sect.
Fear began to seep in.
Martial artists gathered in inns throughout the rivers and lakes.
Similar conversations were exchanged in other inns as well.
The Blood Heaven Sect is moving.
Those who had been holding their breath were only now rising.
Those who had been working in the shadows were stepping out openly.
Fear was spreading over the martial world.
***
The Beggars’ Sect headquarters.
Sect Leader Hye Jeongsan was reading intelligence in his study.
Seok Junseo’s death.
A one-on-one duel with the Blood Heaven Arbiter.
And the rumors spreading through the martial world.
A cold smile appeared on Hye Jeongsan’s lips.
“Interesting.”
He set the intelligence report down on the table.
“Come in.”
The door opened, and the Beggars’ Sect’s Second Elder, Im Jeoksan, entered.
“You called for me, Sect Leader?”
Hye Jeongsan pointed to the intelligence report.
“These rumors.”
“......Yes?”
“Who do you think is spreading them?”
Im Jeoksan thought for a moment.
“......I am not sure. They seem to have spread naturally.”
“Naturally?”
Hye Jeongsan gave a faint laugh.
“There is no way a rumor this artful spread naturally.”
“What do you mean?”
“Look closely.”
Hye Jeongsan explained.
“The fact that Seok Junseo died is true. But if you look at the interpretations that follow it?”
The elder read the intelligence again.
“The Blood Heaven Sect has begun to move. Those who had been operating in the shadows have stepped forward openly. Who will be next?”
“......Yes.”
“Who would have guided people to interpret it in that way?”
The elder’s eyes widened.
“......Surely not.”
Hye Jeongsan spoke firmly.
“It is Gun Mugeol.”
At those three syllables, Im Jeoksan opened his eyes wide.
It was clearly a name he had never even considered. Hye Jeongsan let out a sigh and continued speaking.
“The Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance is manipulating the rumors.”
“......Why would he do such a thing?”
“Simple. He is creating fear so that people will depend on him.”
Alliance Leader Gun of the Murim Alliance.
Rumors he had deliberately spread.
Exaggerated and embellished stories.
Others might not know the effect of those stories, but Hye Jeongsan did. He could not help but know.
Because he was the head of an organization that handled information.
Hye Jeongsan rose.
“It means that because the Blood Heaven Sect is frightening, they should flock to the Murim Alliance.”
Im Jeoksan nodded.
“Huh...... That is plausible.”
“It is not merely plausible. It is certain.”
Hye Jeongsan looked out the window.
“It is just like Gun Mugeol. Subtle and meticulous.”
“Then what will you do?”
“What will I do?”
Hye Jeongsan turned around.
His smile deepened.
“It is not bad.”
“......Pardon?”
“Gun Mugeol’s plan.”
Im Jeoksan was flustered.
“If that truly is Gun Mugeol’s plan, then it means he will eventually need someone to control the rumors spreading like this...... Is this not him trying to use us?”
Im Jeoksan might have been lacking in other areas, but in matters like this, he was fairly perceptive. If he had not possessed even that much sense, Hye Jeongsan would not have appointed such a fool as an elder.
Hye Jeongsan said,
“Being used is not bad. At times.......”
Hye Jeongsan returned to his seat.
“If it points in the same direction as what we want.”
“What we want?”
“To check Seol Unhwi.”
Hye Jeongsan’s voice turned cold.
“The bastard had already been growing larger, and now he has grown even larger.”
Im Jeoksan asked cautiously,
“Are you referring to him becoming the Blood Heaven Arbiter?”
“Yes.”
Hye Jeongsan nodded.
“We tried to kill him once before and failed.”
“......Ah.”
“At that time, Yeongunseong stepped in and cut off two of our arms and legs. Thanks to that, many elder seats became vacant, and you took one of them.”
Im Jeoksan swallowed hard.
It was not because of the contents of the conversation.
It was because he saw Hye Jeongsan grinding his teeth and clenching his fist tightly.
“......I cannot forget that humiliation.”
“......But he has entered the Blood Heaven Sect now, has he not?”
“That is why he is even more dangerous.”
Hye Jeongsan explained.
“Because he has the power of the Blood Heaven Sect at his back. His personal strength was already absurd, and the breadth of his nerve was no different from that of a martial artist who had reached the very peak of the martial world. Now he has the power of an organization even greater than the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace behind him.”
“.......”
“Killing Seok Junseo also belongs in that context. It would have been impossible through his power alone. No, even if it was possible, the rumor must say that it was impossible.”
Hye Jeongsan picked up the intelligence report again.
“Above all, if Gun Mugeol spreads rumors like this, the entire martial world will become wary of the Blood Heaven Sect. And Seol Unhwi along with it.”
Hye Jeongsan smiled with satisfaction.
“In the end, he will be isolated.”
“Ah.”
“Yes. The Blood Heaven Sect will become even more isolated, and the martial world will unite. No matter how strong the Blood Heaven Sect is, it cannot face the entire martial world.”
Im Jeoksan understood.
“Then you mean we will also lend force to this rumor?”
“That is right.”
Hye Jeongsan nodded.
“Use our information network and spread the rumor further.”
“In what way?”
“In the manner that the Blood Heaven Sect has truly begun to move.”
Hye Jeongsan gave detailed instructions.
“The Blood Heaven Arbiter killing Seok Junseo is only the beginning. Next, something even greater will happen. Something like that.”
“Understood.”
“And.”
Hye Jeongsan continued.
“Make contact with the Murim Alliance as well.”
“With the Murim Alliance?”
“If Gun Mugeol intends to use us, we can use Gun Mugeol as well.”
Hye Jeongsan smiled darkly.
“Each side has something it needs. And to create an escape route, we should at least know each other’s intentions.”
Im Jeoksan wore an expression of admiration, then immediately bowed at the waist.
“Understood.”
“Go and prepare.”
“Yes.”
After Im Jeoksan left, Hye Jeongsan, now alone, looked out the window.
Seol Unhwi.
It was still a bitter name.
The fact that he had tried to kill him once and failed.
The humiliation Yeongunseong had inflicted on him because of it.
Memories he could not forget.
If possible, he had tried not to make an enemy of him.
In fact, he had done so until now.
But if Gun Mugeol moved like this.
And if, with the power of the Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance, he bound the martial world into one.
Then it would be possible to stop both the Blood Heaven Sect and Seol Unhwi.
Hye Jeongsan smiled coldly.
On one side, he would use Gun Mugeol.
On the other, he would check Seol Unhwi.
He could make both sides advantageous to himself.
The more he thought about it, the better the direction seemed.
Lend force to the rumors while cooperating with the Murim Alliance, then isolate Seol Unhwi.
It was a perfect plan.
And so, the Beggars’ Sect also began to participate in spreading the rumors.
The Beggars’ Sect’s information network was powerful.
Beggars, merchants, wanderers.
Everyone at the bottom of society was connected to the Beggars’ Sect.
Through them, the rumors spread faster and wider.
—The Blood Heaven Sect is moving.
—The Blood Heaven Arbiter is only the beginning.
—Who will die next?
—The Five Great Families have become the Four Great Families. Surely this is not the end.
—Three Great Families, Two Great Families.
—In the end, they will.
—Swallow the martial world whole.
Fear covered the entire martial world.
Just as Hye Jeongsan had calculated.
And just as Gun Mugeol had planned.
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