The sky split apart.
Truly.
A massive fissure appeared in the sky above the training ground, as though a crack had formed across glass. Through that fracture, something could be seen.
A higher sky.
A deeper sky.
Not the sky of this world, but the sky beyond the sky.
Heavenly Origin’s single sword opens chaos;
Before all things are born, light exists first.
The Heavenly Origin Boundless Sword.
First Form: Heavenly Origin Opens Creation.
A sword through which the origin of the sky opened the world.
“...This...”
Gongsun Jinhae murmured.
“...What sword art is this?”
Unhwi did not answer.
Instead, he swept his sword sideways.
Second Form.
RUMBLE—!!
The training ground expanded.
No.
Space itself expanded.
The training ground, once a hundred yards across in every direction, stretched to a thousand. The martial artists in the viewing stands screamed. The stone slabs beneath their feet slid away, and their sense of distance collapsed.
The Heavenly Origin unfolds heaven and earth without end;
Within a single inch lies a boundless world.
The Heavenly Origin Boundless Sword.
Second Form: Infinite Heavenly Origin.
A sword that erased the limits of space.
Gongsun Jinhae retreated.
For the first time.
The emotion in his eyes was no longer interest.
It was awe.
The awe one martial artist felt toward another.
“...Young Master Seol.”
Gongsun Jinhae’s voice had changed.
“Is this your answer?”
“It is not over yet.”
Unhwi thrust his sword forward.
Third Form.
KAAAAA—!
It was a strange sound.
Not an explosion.
Not the wind.
It was the sound of something being born.
Light burst from the tip of Unhwi’s sword.
Light with form.
Light with will.
Light with life.
It rose into the air.
Like a small sun.
From the depths of Boundlessness, a new heaven manifests;
A single thought gives birth to the origin of all things.
The Heavenly Origin Boundless Sword.
Third Form: Boundlessness Manifests Heaven.
A sword that created a new sky.
The light shot toward Gongsun Jinhae.
His pupils contracted.
He raised his sword.
With all his strength.
His footwork and sword became completely one.
The full power of the Supreme Void Realm.
Gongsun Jinhae’s body vanished.
No.
It did not vanish.
It became a sword.
His entire body transformed into a single blade and cut into the light.
BOOOOOOM—!!!!
A deafening explosion erupted.
The stone slabs of the training ground shattered, breaking outward from the center in every direction. Fragments of rock shot into the sky. Dust billowed up like clouds. Part of the viewing stands collapsed.
The martial artists drew upon their internal energy to protect themselves.
Chief Seong shielded Ju Soa and Namgung Wonyang.
Gwak Yeon pulled the remaining martial artists of Red Spirit Court back.
The dust began to clear.
At the center of the training ground—
A vast crater had formed.
Not a trace of the stone slabs remained. Bare earth lay exposed, and even the ground itself had split apart.
On one side of the crater, Gongsun Jinhae stood with his sword braced against the ground.
His breathing was heavy.
His hand trembled faintly.
On the opposite side stood Unhwi.
He was covered in blood.
Blood continued to run from the wounds he had received earlier. But his eyes did not waver.
The hand holding his sword remained firm.
Gongsun Jinhae stared at him.
“...I have never seen such a sword art.”
His voice was hoarse.
“...It split the sky, expanded space, and even created something from nothing. No such martial art exists anywhere in recorded history. Did you... create it? While still at Unity of Heaven and Man?”
Unhwi lowered his sword.
“Family Head, a realm does not create a sword.”
“...”
“A person creates a realm.”
Gongsun Jinhae stared at him.
For a long time.
At last, he lowered his sword.
“...This old man has learned something from a young one today.”
The viewing stands erupted into murmurs.
The family head.
The head of the Gongsun family.
A master of the Supreme Void Realm.
Had said that he had learned something.
From a young man at Unity of Heaven and Man.
Gongsun Jinhae approached Unhwi.
Slowly crossing the ruined training ground.
He stopped in front of him.
“Shall we return to the Family Head’s Hall?”
“Yes.”
“This time, let us speak over real tea.”
Gongsun Jinhae gave a faint grin.
“That tea earlier was for guests. This time, I will serve you the tea I drink myself.”
Unhwi lowered his head.
“Thank you.”
The two walked side by side.
Leaving the ruined training ground behind them.
The martial artists in the viewing stands opened a path.
No one spoke.
They merely watched the two men.
A bloodied young man.
An old man breathing heavily.
Both were smiling.
As they left the training ground, someone stood waiting.
A woman.
She wore white martial robes, with a single sword at her waist. Her face was cold.
But there was emotion in her eyes.
Surprise.
And something more.
It was Gongsun Myeongwol.
Unhwi stopped.
Gongsun Myeongwol looked at him as well.
“...Young Master Seol.”
Unhwi spoke quietly as he looked at her.
“It has been a long time, Miss Gongsun.”
Gongsun Jinhae looked back and forth between them.
“You know each other?”
“We have crossed paths before.”
Unhwi answered.
Gongsun Myeongwol lowered her head.
“Father.”
“What is it?”
“The training ground has collapsed.”
“...Can you not see that?”
“The repairs will be expensive.”
“...”
Gongsun Jinhae cleared his throat.
Though he was already advanced in years, Gongsun Myeongwol was his only child.
A daughter born to him late in life.
And one whose extraordinary talent had already made her name known throughout the martial world.
Unhwi {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} smiled.
Gongsun Myeongwol looked at him again.
Her eyes were different from when they had first met at the Murim Alliance.
“Please come inside.”
She turned.
Then led the way.
Unhwi followed.
Gongsun Jinhae walked behind them, murmuring under his breath.
So softly that no one could hear.
“...A realm does not create the sword. The sword creates the realm.”
He was speaking to himself.
“So that is how he killed someone in the Harmony realm while only at Unity of Heaven and Man.”
Gongsun Jinhae’s gaze deepened.
“...What a terrifying young man.”
The wind blew.
Across the ruined training ground.
Dust rose between the scattered fragments of stone.
Sword marks remained upon the remnants of the stone slabs.
Gongsun Jinhae stood there for a long while, silently staring at them.
***
The Family Head’s Hall.
The second tea was different.
The first had been fragrance.
This one was weight.
Its color was dark and its flavor deep. Bitterness rose the instant it touched the tongue, but once swallowed, it left sweetness behind.
Unhwi set down his teacup.
Gongsun Jinhae spoke.
“I will answer your question.”
“I am listening.”
“Why did the Gongsun family enter the Murim Alliance?”
Gongsun Jinhae slowly turned his teacup with his fingertips.
“Young Master Seol.”
“Yes.”
“When you tried to revive Heaven’s Will Alliance, you sent this old man a letter.”
He stared at Unhwi.
“Do you remember?”
“Yes.”
“What did you write?”
“I wrote that Heaven’s Will Alliance would become a new pillar of the martial world, and asked you to join us.”
“Yes. You did.”
Gongsun Jinhae set down his teacup.
“I refused.”
There was nothing surprising about that fact.
When Unhwi had taken part in rebuilding Heaven’s Will Alliance, and again when the restoration had largely been completed—
The first proposal had come from Mae Widong, the Alliance Leader of Heaven’s Will Alliance, and all Five Great Families had refused.
The second had come from Unhwi.
That, too, had been refused.
“Do you know why?”
Unhwi was silent for a moment.
“There were likely two reasons.”
“Two?”
“The first was that you had no need to join. The second...”
Unhwi smiled faintly.
“Was that you did not believe it would succeed.”
“That is correct.”
Gongsun Jinhae’s voice was calm.
“There was no need, and I did not believe it would succeed. Above all, the Gongsun family has stood alone for centuries. We did not enter the Murim Alliance. We did not involve ourselves with the Blood Heaven Sect. Nor did we side with either the righteous or the unorthodox factions.”
“We were neutral.”
“...”
“Neutrality is convenient. You make enemies of neither side, and neither side interferes with you.”
Gongsun Jinhae looked at Unhwi.
“But neutrality has a condition.”
“Does it?”
“It does. You must be strong enough to stand alone.”
Silence.
“And.”
Gongsun Jinhae added,
“The world must permit you to stand alone.”
Unhwi said nothing.
He listened.
Gongsun Jinhae rose and walked to the window.
He looked outside.
“Young Master Seol. Before you revived Heaven’s Will Alliance, the martial world was divided in two.”
“The Murim Alliance and Sichuan Alliance on one side, and the Blood Heaven Sect on the other.”
“That is correct. The distinction between righteous and unorthodox sects is meaningless. To put it bluntly, if the Blood Heaven Sect were to act, the righteous and unorthodox factions would inevitably be forced to unite. Those who understood the board viewed them as a single power.”
“And then there was the Blood Heaven Sect, which rivaled them—perhaps even surpassed them. So yes, there were two powers.”
“And between them stood the Five Great Families. Neutral organizations aligned with neither side.”
Gongsun Jinhae turned around.
“At that time, it was fine.”
“...”
“There was plenty of space. More than enough room for us to stand. The Murim Alliance did not touch us, and neither did the Blood Heaven Sect.”
“Why?”
“Because neither had a reason to. They were too busy keeping each other in check.”
Gongsun Jinhae returned to his seat.
He faced Unhwi.
“But then you revived Heaven’s Will Alliance.”
“...”
“You raised up an alliance that had been on the verge of collapse. One that had been reduced to an empty shell.”
“You established it as the third power of the martial world.”
Gongsun Jinhae’s gaze was deep.
“The world grew wider.”
“Why is that a problem?”
At Unhwi’s question, Gongsun Jinhae gave a faint laugh.
“When the world is divided in two, gaps remain between the two sides. Standing in those gaps is safe.”
“...”
“But when the world is divided into three?”
Gongsun Jinhae sighed.
“The gaps disappear.”
Unhwi fell silent.
Gongsun Jinhae continued.
“When three powers stand, two will inevitably join hands.”
“To strike down the remaining one.”
“That is the law of the world.”
“...”
“If the Murim Alliance and Sichuan Alliance join hands, and Heaven’s Will Alliance joins them as well, the Blood Heaven Sect becomes isolated.”
“That would not be a problem for us. It may sound unpleasant to say, but if the Five Great Families—no, the Four Great Families—aligned themselves with the Blood Heaven Sect, the balance would be restored.”
Gongsun Jinhae fixed his gaze on Unhwi.
“But the genius who rebuilt Heaven’s Will Alliance—and who still holds enormous influence over it—entered none other than the Blood Heaven Sect.”
“A man who can also move a vast power like the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace.”
“...”
“And you did not merely join.”
“You were granted the extraordinary position of Blood Heaven Arbiter.”
“You believe the balance has been completely destroyed.”
“I do.”
“If the Blood Heaven Sect truly seeks the unification of the martial world, as the rumors claim, the martial world will never be able to stop it.”
“All because of one person.”
Naturally, that person was Unhwi.
“If Heaven’s Will Alliance and the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace side with the Blood Heaven Sect, then everything is already as good as over.”
“Am I wrong?”
“You are not.”
He was right a hundred times out of a hundred.
The wave Unhwi had created was immense.
Even what he had already accomplished was enough to move the entire martial world.
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