“Seol Unhwi.”
Gun Mugeol spoke.
“That man must die.”
His voice was calm.
As though he were discussing tomorrow’s weather.
“But I cannot kill him myself.”
“......”
“If the Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance kills the Blood Heaven Arbiter of the Blood Heaven Sect, it will be a declaration of war. The time has not yet come.”
Gun Mugeol picked up a black stone.
He placed it in the center of the Go board.
Click.
“Seol Unhwi must die, but no blood can stain my hands. And his death must appear to be an internal matter of the Blood Heaven Sect.”
Seo Yeongchu looked at Gun Mugeol.
“Is there a faction within the Blood Heaven Sect capable of that?”
Gun Mugeol smiled.
“There is. You know that I visited the Blood Heaven Sect not long ago.”
“Yes.”
“While I was there, I saw another world.”
“......”
“There is a place called Heaven Beyond Heaven.”
Seo Yeongchu’s eyes shifted.
“I have never heard that name before.”
“Naturally. It is a name you could not hear anywhere in the martial world.”
Gun Mugeol spoke as he placed another stone.
“It stands behind the Blood Heaven Sect. No— it existed before the Blood Heaven Sect. Its people have endured for centuries. They protect what they call ‘the secret of the world.’”
“......By secret, do you mean......?”
The Blood Stones.
Gun Mugeol deliberately chose not to mention them. Seo Yeongchu was a useful man.
Useful enough to be called Gun Mugeol’s right hand within the Murim Alliance.
There was no harm in revealing a certain amount of the truth to him.
And if the need arose—
I can always kill him.
Gun Mugeol slowly opened his mouth.
“As far as I know, Heaven Beyond Heaven contains four organizations: the Maitreya Brahma Sect, Heaven Gate, the Mystic Yellow Pavilion, and the Heavenly Law Platform.”
“......”
“Of those, the Mystic Yellow Pavilion and the Heavenly Law Platform—”
Gun Mugeol placed a white stone.
“—both regard Seol Unhwi with displeasure.”
“......Is there a reason?”
“Of course there is.”
Gun Mugeol gave a faint laugh.
“The mere fact that Seol Unhwi became the Blood Heaven Arbiter is reason enough.”
“......That alone?”
“That alone is sufficient.”
Gun Mugeol rolled a Go stone between his fingers as he spoke.
“Think about it. Heaven Beyond Heaven is an organization that has endured for centuries. From behind the Blood Heaven Sect, they have shaped the greater design. They protected a ‘secret’ even I knew nothing about and carried on their great cause.”
“......”
“Then the Heavenly Wayfarer suddenly brought in an outsider. He placed him in the position of Blood Heaven Arbiter—the second-highest seat in the Blood Heaven Sect.”
“......”
“The Blood Heaven Sect already has a Vice Leader named Yu Cheong.”
Seo Yeongchu nodded.
“Yu Cheong is a member of Heaven Beyond Heaven.”
Seo Yeongchu’s eyes widened.
“......The Vice Leader......?”
“Yes. He is a man planted by Heaven Beyond Heaven. One of their own, in other words.”
Gun Mugeol smiled.
“And yet the Heavenly Wayfarer passed over Yu Cheong and seated Seol Unhwi as Blood Heaven Arbiter. How do you think that appears from Heaven Beyond Heaven’s perspective?”
“......As though he were attempting to restrain their own man.”
Gun Mugeol nodded.
“People naturally favor their own. With Yu Cheong already there as one of Heaven Beyond Heaven’s people, why bring in an outsider and place him above Yu Cheong? How could the Mystic Yellow Pavilion and the Heavenly Law Platform not resent it?”
“......”
“The Mystic Yellow Pavilion, in particular, has been arranging the board for centuries. They believe the world must move according to the design they have drawn. Seol Unhwi was never part of that design.”
Gun Mugeol placed another black stone.
“The Heavenly Law Platform is Heaven Beyond Heaven’s blade. They have always executed those who crossed the line. In their eyes, Seol Unhwi is a man seated in a place that does not belong to him.”
“......You intend to fan their resentment into flames?”
“I am not starting a fire. I am merely giving it wind.”
“......What?”
“The fire is already burning. All I must do is keep blowing so it does not go out.”
Seo Yeongchu looked at Gun Mugeol.
“How do you intend to do that?”
“There is nothing left to do. I have already done it.”
A meaningful smile appeared on Gun Mugeol’s face.
“You may go.”
“......Yes.”
Seo Yeongchu rose.
He gave a fist salute.
Then he left.
The door closed.
Left alone, Gun Mugeol looked down at the Go board.
Black and white.
He gave a faint laugh.
Seol Unhwi is clever.
Going to the Gongsun family. Drawing the Red Demon into his camp.
But a clever man must be cut with a clever blade.
To make those he believed were on his side strike him down.
That was the deepest blade of all.
Gun Mugeol turned his head.
The sun was sinking beyond the window.
The move was already in progress.
***
Upon arriving at the Blood Heaven Sect, Unhwi headed straight for the cult leader’s palace, where the Heavenly Wayfarer resided.
He intended to report what had happened at the Gongsun family estate.
Before he could reach it, however, a voice came from behind him.
“Unhwi.”
A familiar voice.
And a gentle one.
Unhwi turned.
The Heavenly Wayfarer stood there.
“Elder Cheon.”
“Were you coming to find me?”
“Yes.”
“Then this works out well.”
Unhwi studied the Heavenly Wayfarer with a curious expression. He was not a man who acted without reason.
And he had come to Unhwi first.
The Heavenly Wayfarer spoke.
“Would you care to take a walk?”
“A walk?”
“Yes. Now.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer turned away.
“There is a fine place nearby. Follow me.”
Unhwi’s eyes shifted almost imperceptibly.
“......Understood.”
The two began walking.
They left the Blood Heaven Sect’s headquarters and traveled north. They crossed a mountain, passed through a valley, and circled around a cliff.
There was no path.
Yet the Heavenly Wayfarer never hesitated.
He moved as though he had walked this route countless times.
“Why do you not ask?” the Heavenly Wayfarer said.
“Ask what?”
“About Gun Mugeol.”
Unhwi quietly looked at him.
Neither of them stopped walking.
“He knows of the Peach Blossom Garden.”
“Yes.”
“And you did not visit the Peach Blossom Garden.”
“No.”
“Do you truly have no questions?”
Unhwi nodded.
There was no reason to ask.
“You must have a design of your own.”
“Heh-heh......”
“I will do my best to follow it.”
Unhwi asked nothing more.
Before long—
A cavern appeared.
It had not been formed by nature.
Someone had carved it out.
But it was ancient. It had likely existed for several centuries. Moss and vines covered its entrance. To an ignorant eye, it would have looked like nothing more than a crevice between rocks.
The Heavenly Wayfarer entered.
Unhwi followed.
Luminous stones embedded in the walls shed a faint glow. The passage continued downward.
Deeper.
Farther within.
Then an immense space opened before them.
An underground grand hall.
Unhwi stopped.
It was vast.
Larger than any grand hall on the surface.
The ceiling rose high above, studded with luminous stones like stars. Beneath their light stood an enormous round table.
There were seats around it.
Six in all.
Five were occupied.
Unhwi’s gaze moved.
The first—
A familiar face.
The Undying Maitreya.
He was diminutive and dressed in monastic robes.
His face was round, his expression benevolent. When his eyes met Unhwi’s, the Undying Maitreya inclined his head slightly and smiled.
“Heh-heh. My friend has arrived.”
His voice was gentle.
“This old monk always believed that you were destined to come here.”
“It has been a long time, Senior.”
“Indeed it has. Have you been well?”
“I have, thanks to you.”
The Undying Maitreya nodded.
His eyes narrowed, his smile remaining in place.
Yet what showed through those narrowed eyes was not benevolence.
He was reading Unhwi.
His expression.
His energy.
The changes within him.
The second—
A face Unhwi did not know.
A thin old man dressed in a robe. His body was gaunt as a crane’s.
But his eyes were alive.
Brilliant, piercing eyes.
The gaze he directed at Unhwi carried weight.
Probing.
Calculating.
Weighing.
The third—
Another unfamiliar face.
A different old man, this one powerfully built. His shoulders were broad and his back straight. Though he wore a robe, the muscles beneath it were evident.
His eyes were cold.
Sharp as blades.
The fourth—
A middle-aged man with the most ordinary appearance of them all.
He seemed to be in his mid-to-late forties.
There was nothing remarkable about him.
But Unhwi knew.
That man is the most dangerous person in this room.
The Sect Master of Heaven Gate.
Master Primal Truth.
Unhwi had always expected that they would meet someday.
He had not expected it to be here.
A smile formed at the corner of his mouth.
Master Primal Truth’s brow furrowed slightly when he saw it, but only for a moment.
At the fifth seat—
Sat Yu Cheong.
The Heavenly Wayfarer walked toward the remaining seat.
The sixth seat, at the head of the table.
He sat naturally, then looked at Unhwi with an enigmatic smile.
“I will introduce you. These are people you must know.”
The Undying Maitreya spoke first.
“Heh-heh. This old monk is already known to our friend.”
He gestured toward the thin old man.
“It would be proper to begin with him, Heavenly Lord.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer nodded and turned toward the gaunt elder.
“The master of the Mystic Yellow Pavilion—the Mystic Yellow Sage.”
The thin old man looked at Unhwi.
He did not nod.
He merely regarded him.
His gaze was not cold.
But neither was it warm.
It was the gaze of a man weighing something.
“They are those who read and record the principles of heaven and earth,” the Heavenly Wayfarer said.
“For centuries, they have studied the flow of the world.”
Unhwi gave the Mystic Yellow Sage a fist salute.
“I am Seol Unhwi.”
“......I know.”
The Mystic Yellow Sage’s voice was exceedingly dry.
“I have heard much about you.”
There was no emotion in it.
Neither praise nor criticism.
Only a statement of fact.
Yet Unhwi sensed it.
There were words that should have followed but had been deliberately omitted.
And those unspoken words held no goodwill.
The Heavenly Wayfarer indicated the heavily built elder.
“The commander of the Heavenly Law Platform—the Heavenly Law Sage.”
The Heavenly Law Sage looked at Unhwi.
His gaze carried weight.
A crushing weight.
If Gongsun Jinhae’s energy had been a lake, this man’s was a boulder.
Unmoving.
Unbreakable.
The Heavenly Law Sage spoke.
“Blood Heaven Arbiter.”
His voice was low.
He added only a few words.
“You are young.”
That was all.
Yet much was contained within it.
That Unhwi was young.
That he lacked experience.
That he might not deserve the seat he occupied.
The Undying Maitreya chuckled.
“The Heavenly Law Sage has always been a man of few words. Pay it no mind, my friend.”
“It is fine.”
Unhwi looked at the Heavenly Law Sage and continued.
“It is true that I am young. But age alone does not always make an old man superior to a younger one, does it?”
“......What do you mean by that?”
“Exactly what you took it to mean, Senior.”
The Heavenly Law Sage’s eyes shifted slightly.
“Must I explain further?”
“......You are certainly young.”
From the very beginning—
Even in his manner of speaking, the man’s hostility had been blatant.
Unhwi was unquestionably courteous.
But he had no desire to show excessive courtesy to someone like that.
As though he had already lost interest, Unhwi turned away.
The Heavenly Law Sage frowned.
His hand clenched into a fist.
Then he saw—
The Heavenly Wayfarer watching him in silence.
The tension left his fist.
The Heavenly Wayfarer smiled.
At last, he indicated the fourth man.
“The Sect Master of Heaven Gate—Master Primal Truth.”
The leader of the Heavenly Origin Martial Arts Training Sect.
He looked at Unhwi and smiled.
A gentle smile.
Unhwi smiled in return.
Both men could sense it.
We are the same kind.
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