It felt strange.
The disciple speaking of unifying Murim before him felt like a stranger.
This was the disciple to whom he had handed the position of cult leader, believing he would protect the Pungcheon Cult better than anyone.
So much so that he had checked again to see if the boy had fallen under a Soul Subjugation Technique. But he hadn’t. Not one Soul Subjugation Technique was affecting So Baekta.
What if it was a technique he didn’t know? If such a Soul Subjugation Technique existed, that person would already rule Murim.
He was taking the first step toward the unification of Murim? You crazy bastard! Did he even know what kind of path that was?
Holding back the urge to shout like that by force, he treated the boy with the courtesy due a cult leader.
“What do you mean?”
“It was a joke, Master.” That was what the Pungcheon Cult Leader had hoped to hear. Yes, let’s laugh it off with a hearty chuckle.
But So Baekta spoke calmly, his face devoid of any trace of a smile.
“I suppose I must start by unifying the outer Murim.”
The Pungcheon Cult was not the only one in the outer regions. Though not comparable to the Central Plains, many sects here vied for supremacy.
In the outer regions, the Pungcheon Cult held a position akin to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult in the Central Plains. Naturally, there were forces occupying positions comparable to the Murim Alliance or the Saedo Alliance.
“Surely you do not mean to start a war?”
“It will be impossible to subjugate them without shedding blood.”
On top of that, So Baekta pushed even further.
“Please help me, Master. If you help me, I can unify the outer regions much more easily. Please help me, if only for the main cult.”
In the end, the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s rage exploded.
“Shut it! You insolent wretch!”
From the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s body, a frigid energy erupted as if exploding.
Swoooosh!
So Baekta’s expression didn’t change in the slightest, as though he had expected this reaction from his master the moment he first broached the subject. He showed no fear.
“It is a futile dream!”
“Why is it futile? A martial artist dreams of unifying Murim—why is that futile?”
“Do you speak without knowing how many people war will kill? Tens of thousands will die.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader’s voice rose, but So Baekta’s tone dropped even lower.
“Since when did Master care for people’s lives?”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader’s expression froze coldly. The disciple was crossing the line. No, the moment he spoke of taking the first step, that foot was already beyond the line.
“Why is it that only the Demonic Cult may dream that dream, only the Murim Alliance may dream it, only the Saedo Alliance may dream it? Is it a dream we are forbidden to dream? Since I was young, the words I heard most from Master and my seniors were about advancing into the Central Plains. If this is how it would be, why did you all say such things?”
Pressed and questioned like this, the Pungcheon Cult Leader was bewildered as to how he should reply.
At that moment, someone insolent and clever came to mind. If it were that person—the one who kept adults from sleeping at night—he would have given this stupid fool a sharp scolding to bring him to his senses. But all he could manage was this much:
“You are not in your right mind.”
So Baekta walked toward the thunder bell like a true madman and struck it.
Deng! Da-ding!
The sound of the thunder bell echoed through the cult leader’s hall. It was as if it were a proclamation. That a new era had begun. To think he would hear the thunder bell—so longed to hear—in this manner.
The situation felt too surreal to the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
He almost felt as though that bell signal would cause people to pour out from behind the curtains shouting, “Surprise! It’s a welcome-back party for the Cult Leader!”
Of course, no such thing happened. Because So Baekta had the most serious gaze he had ever shown since meeting him.
“Did Master leave the cult in his right mind, ever?”
Yes, as the brat said, he truly hadn’t been in his right mind back then. He did feel sorry for that. But if the object of that apology was the Pungcheon Cult, then so be it; it wasn’t So Baekta. These weren’t words one should hear from the one who had inherited everything from him.
“Even if everyone else says such things, shouldn’t you be the one who doesn’t?”
“No. Others may not be able to, but I can.”
Da-ding!
The thunder bell rang out again.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader clenched his fist, feeling as though the demon carved on the bell was staring at him and laughing. His rage had boiled enough; now it only needed to overflow.
Then, Geom Muguk’s words echoed in his heart.
—The answer is not to be found in you, Cult Leader.
Ah, I’ve gotten worked up again and can’t see clearly. I was fighting myself again.
Matching the sound of the bell fading, the Pungcheon Cult Leader forced his emotions to subside.
“Fine. Very well, let us say I acknowledge your dream. But you! You haven’t even achieved great mastery in the Angcheon Great Demonic Art, yet you dream of unifying Murim?”
Had he at least reached the pinnacle of illusion arts, that might be different. Such strength would have its own allure.
But it would take at least another ten years for So Baekta to achieve great mastery in the Angcheon Great Demonic Art.
So Baekta stroked the thunder bell and answered calmly.
“If a martial tournament were held, martial prowess would be most important. But in unifying Murim, something else will be more important.”
“What else?”
So Baekta didn’t answer and walked out toward the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
“You have seen the thunder bell, so please return now. The elders will be waiting for you, Master.”
When internal energy was injected into the Taesaui mechanism, a wall descended before the sacred object.
A wall descended before the thunder bell as well. The demon of the thunder bell hiding its form beyond the wall seemed as if it were saying:
You are obsolete. Make way for the young. When the back waves of the Yangtze push, you must be swept away.
Fortunately, the Pungcheon Cult Leader pushed away those negative thoughts.
You vile demon, they are the back waves who say that. Please, stop these solitary battles within your heart. My back waves are the ones that tell me that until I’m sick of it. Do you understand, you wretch!
The Pungcheon Cult Leader calmed the storm raging in his heart and looked at So Baekta again. Yes, I will look only at you as you are now.
He read a powerful will in the gaze directed at him. This brat, he’s serious.
“You must have known I would try to stop you. Why did you tell me?”
He had expected something like, “You lost the right to stop me when you left the Pungcheon Cult.” But So Baekta revealed a reason he had never imagined.
“No, I didn’t know. How could I know Master’s heart? You might have offered to help. You might be tired of merely looking after the young cult leader. Achieving my dream would be several times easier if you helped. Of course I had to tell you. Now, please go.”
So Baekta took the first step.
Until just moments ago, he had been thinking:
Who was it that had made his calm disciple like this?
But watching that confident figure walking away, he was no longer sure. Perhaps So Baekta had been this kind of person all along, and he had simply failed to see it.
Perhaps he was now paying the price for never once asking his disciple what his dream was.
* * *
The first words the Pungcheon Cult Leader uttered upon returning to the guesthouse were:
“I truly don’t know.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader told Geom Muguk and Ma Bul everything about the conversation he’d had with his disciple in the cult leader’s hall.
If anything, his emotions were more violent than before. In front of his disciple, he had tried to control himself and held back a great deal. It all came bursting out.
Having heard the whole story, Geom Muguk and Ma Bul were shocked. They had never imagined the new Pungcheon Cult Leader was proceeding with such matters.
“I wanted to handle it like you, but I couldn’t do it well. I feel like I was beaten one-sidedly.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader didn’t bother putting on false pride in front of Geom Muguk. Seeing that he also had nothing to hide in front of Ma Bul, it seemed the journey through the sandstorm together had been worthwhile.
“From now on, don’t tell me to endure! Don’t tell me to look closer! I’ll shout as I please, rage as I please, and think as I please! Ugh, I should have smacked that lunatic on the back of the head while calling him a madman.”
Ma Bul, listening, nodded with an expression that said it suited him.
Geom Muguk smiled at the Pungcheon Cult Leader. He was grateful that the man tried to follow his advice. The Cult Leader had done well. Since the Illusion King was behind this, they had to be careful, ever so careful.
“The fact that he revealed his plan to you means his preparations are already more or less complete.”
A problem as serious as uncovering where the Illusion King was hiding had occurred. The Pungcheon Cult being swept up in war was something Geom Muguk certainly did not wish for.
In any case, one question naturally arose.
“If the one behind this influenced this decision, what benefit is there in driving the outer regions into war?”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader had been so immersed in his disciple that he hadn’t thought that far.
“What could be the reason?”
“We must uncover it from now on.”
What did the Illusion King want?
If his goal was to seize control of the Pungcheon Cult, he wouldn’t have steered things toward starting a war like this.
What in the world had happened between the Illusion King and So Baekta?
In the previous regression, the Pungcheon Cult had not started a war in the outer regions. When people changed, events changed in this way.
Geom Muguk asked the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
“Do you regret it? Putting him in the cult leader’s seat.”
The word “Of course” got stuck in his throat. Was he truly regretting it? If so, why didn’t the answer come out immediately?
Geom Muguk asked in a different way.
“If you could go back, would you seat someone else?”
After a brief moment of thought, the Pungcheon Cult Leader answered.
“Even if I went back, I would seat that brat.”
No matter how much he thought about it, So Baekta had been the best choice at the time. However, if he could go back, he would ask the brat about his dreams, and before that futile dream could grow, he would plant a different one.
Even if someone prodded the dark desire deep within his heart, he would raise a disciple capable of saying, “Why are you prodding it, you bastard! Why don’t you get lost?”
“Then that’s fine. You can still set your disciple straight, even now.”
“How?”
“That is an answer you must give, Cult Leader. This is the Pungcheon Cult. What shall we do?”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader stood up and said.
“There is someone I must meet first.”
Since there was no need to draw attention, Ma Bul and the guards were left behind, and the Pungcheon Cult Leader secretly slipped out of the guesthouse.
* * *
The place Geom Muguk arrived at together with the Pungcheon Cult Leader was the house of Seongya, who had been the chief of the Six Great Elders.
He was precisely the person the Pungcheon Cult Leader had cherished most during his days as cult leader.
“He is not one to break a promise with me.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader trusted him.
His house sat alone in the wasteland where the sandstorm blew. It felt empty, yet it possessed an atmosphere all its own.
Moreover, being in a wide-open place meant they could see anyone approaching, which was an advantage.
The front gate was open.
“Elder Seong.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader called from the courtyard, but no one came out.
Geom Muguk and the Pungcheon Cult Leader exchanged glances and entered the house together.
The house was empty.
“Judging by the dust, it seems he has been away for quite some time.”
Worry flickered across the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s face at Geom Muguk’s words.
Given the circumstances, Seongya’s absence felt ominous.
The two examined the interior. Neat and tidy. Just seeing how well-kept the house was revealed his personality.
“Does he have no family?”
“He was always alone.”
“Who was closest to him?”
After brief consideration, the Pungcheon Cult Leader let out a sigh.
He hadn’t known who Seongya was close to. Yet he had said Seongya was the person he cherished most. It was a life lived caring only about how others treated him.
“I wonder just what I was thinking, living like that.”
“Don’t blame yourself too much. Most people are similar.”
“Aren’t you different?”
“I was the same. No, I was worse.”
“But I am a young cult leader, am I not?”
“I was the Cult Leader!”
“Cult Leader!”
“Yes, Cult Leader.”
“No, look at this.”
Geom Muguk had discovered something.
Charred paper remained beside the desk.
“The house was kept so tidy, yet this ash was not cleaned away. He must have rushed out after seeing the contents.”
Unfortunately, only a corner of the burnt paper remained, and its contents were unreadable.
Touching the paper and examining it closely, the Pungcheon Cult Leader said something astonishing.
“Can you restore these contents?”
“No.”
“I can.”
Geom Muguk was startled by those words.
“There is such an illusion art? Please teach me that as well!”
“There is no such illusion art.”
The Pungcheon Cult Leader rose, left the burnt remains as they were, and went outside.
Geom Muguk followed and asked.
“You said you would restore it?”
“I am going to restore it.”
“Shouldn’t you at least take the burnt remains?”
“That paper is a secret paper treated with a special chemical. When heat is applied, the true contents are revealed.”
“How did you know that?”
Then, an astonishing answer came from the Pungcheon Cult Leader.
“Because I chose it.”
“Is it the secret paper used in the Pungcheon Cult?”
“It is not.”
Then how did the Cult Leader know?
But he said he chose it? What did it mean that the Pungcheon Cult Leader had chosen that paper?
“Gowol nagged endlessly about choosing something cheap and of good quality. I was saving your money, you see.”
At those words, Geom Muguk understood.
In the statement that he had chosen it, and that he could restore the contents, the answer was already there.
“It is the secret paper used in Eunwol.”