Yang Seok stared blankly at Ha Gyeol’s head as it rolled across the floor.
He could not believe that the man had been such an extraordinary master. And Geom Mugeuk’s skill, treating that extraordinary master as nothing more than a sparring partner and killing him, inspired awe beyond mere astonishment.
In truth, Yang Seok had not properly seen the clash the two had unleashed. There had been flashes, booms, and thunderous crashes—and then the fight was over.
The only thing he had clearly seen was the final move Geom Mugeuk had shown.
‘What in the world was that demon?’
He had known the martial arts of the Demonic Cult were terrifying, but he had never imagined an actual evil spirit would manifest. When it appeared, he had been so shocked and frightened that not even a scream had come out.
Yang Seok cautiously looked at Geom Mugeuk. The man who had said they should drink together all night and the man who had just been fighting seemed like completely different people.
And Geom Mugeuk, now silently looking up at the sky, also felt like another person entirely.
That sight seemed as though he were debating whether or not to kill him, and Yang Seok was seized by fear.
‘Even if I have to kneel and beg, I need to survive first.’
The fact that he had tried to spirit away the Extreme Cold Physique on his own without contacting Geom Mugeuk was certainly something worthy of death.
‘If I’d succeeded, the Extreme Cold Physique would have become my trump card.’
Yang Seok felt terribly regretful. He had lost the one hidden move that could have let him negotiate with both his father and Geom Mugeuk. An extra life had gone up in smoke.
“Young Master Yang.”
“Yes, Young Cult Leader.”
Yang Seok’s voice trembled violently as he answered. Please, let him not say, Sorry, but you have to die too!
“Now the matter of finding the one behind this depends on you, Young Master Yang.”
Yang Seok let out a sigh of relief. But once he thought he had survived, his body trembled even harder.
“Do you know anything about who is behind this?”
“No, I don’t.”
No. Now was not the time to lie.
“In truth, the Sect Master of my sect is involved.”
He used the title Sect Master instead of father.
“I only found out this time as well.”
Geom Mugeuk could tell that Yang Seok was laboring under that misunderstanding. He could also tell something else: Yang Seok wanted to kill his father. That was why those words had come out so readily.
“The one behind that man is not your father.”
“He isn’t?”
Geom Mugeuk firmly shook his head and said,
“Instead, your father will know about the person Ha Gyeol serves.”
Indeed. Thinking about it, the terrifying blood art Ha Gyeol had displayed earlier seemed, if anything, stronger than his father’s, not weaker.
Only now did Yang Seok understand the relationship between his father and Ha Gyeol. Why his father had been so wary of Ha Gyeol. It was not simply because Ha Gyeol’s martial arts were profound. There had been an even greater master behind him.
‘So that’s why he tried to make Ha Gyeol the successor. Because he couldn’t withstand their threats.’
Yang Seok distorted the situation in that way.
The thought should have led to: Then Father had no choice either. But instead, he resented his father.
‘To yield to outside pressure and cut down his own children!’
He had already resolved to use the blade called Geom Mugeuk to deal with everyone and become Sect Master himself. He interpreted every circumstance in a way that justified his own attempt to defy the natural bond between parent and child.
On top of that, with a mere gesture from Ha Gyeol earlier, his blood vessels had swollen as if they might burst at any moment. Only today had he learned that some damned thing had been planted inside his body.
Rage surged up in Yang Seok. It was an intense murderous intent that made him want to kill every last person involved in this affair.
Because Geom Mugeuk saw through his thoughts, he further fanned the conflict between father and son.
“Soon your father will learn that Ha Gyeol died because of you. Do you think your father will forgive you then?”
Because Yang Seok’s desire to survive would create another opportunity.
“He will not forgive me.”
Yang Seok wanted to protest, Why is it because of me? But he did not dare. Now was not the time to argue; it was the time to get on Geom Mugeuk’s good side.
“Then I must find out who is behind this as quickly as possible, no matter what.”
“As I said earlier, the only person who can find that out is you, Young Master Yang.”
Now that matters had come to this, Yang Seok did not hesitate.
“What should I do?”
“Meet your father and find out who stands behind Ha Gyeol.”
“He won’t tell me.”
“Ordinarily, he wouldn’t. But with Ha Gyeol’s death, the situation has changed. If you approach him in the right way, you will certainly be able to obtain information that will help us.”
“What way is that?”
Then came an answer he had not expected.
“Try approaching him honestly.”
Because Yang Seok had lived a life far removed from honesty, Geom Mugeuk’s words sounded unbearably unfamiliar.
“The outcome will depend on how honest you are.”
Yang Seok was half in doubt. No, he was certain it would not work. He had never been honest, and his father was better than anyone at seeing through lies. The very act of approaching him honestly would itself be a lie.
Even so, Yang Seok did not speak those true feelings aloud. After all, he was far from honest.
“I’ll give it a try!”
At that moment, Yang Seok had only one wish.
‘Fine. I’ll find out somehow, so deal with Father and whoever is behind him, then leave! Please, get out of my Northern Sea!’
* * *
When Geom Mugeuk returned to his quarters in the Ice Palace, Chwima was seated alone at the table by the window, drinking.
As if he had expected Geom Mugeuk to return, there were two cups set out before him.
Seeing the cup that had been prepared in advance put Geom Mugeuk in a good mood. That cup was Chwima’s trust in him.
The liquor Chwima poured filled that trust to the brim.
“Did you find out who was behind it?”
“No.”
They were the sort who used the Self-Destruction Art without hesitation. They were people who guarded secrets thoroughly, at least.
Of course, there was one strong premonition he had.
“I think he’s in the North Blood Sect.”
If they were seeking the Extreme Cold Physique, their purpose was likely to carry out the Great Art.
In such circumstances, if Ha Gyeol, his limb, was in the North Blood Sect, would the Blood King not also be hiding somewhere within the North Blood Sect?
“Whether he’s there or not, I’ll be cleaning up the North Blood Sect anyway.”
Under the pretext of developing medicine, they had examined people’s constitutions and lured them with promises of great sums of money.
Since most people were not of the Extreme Cold Physique, they had all met their deaths. For this alone, the North Blood Sect Master and Yang Seok had committed acts that could never be forgiven.
“By the way, what about the man we saved?”
Chwima had rescued the person in the carriage with truly fantastic skill.
“For now, I hid him in a safe house of the main cult.”
“What kind of man was he?”
“A father who volunteered to earn money for his child’s treatment.”
Chwima had already taken care of everything Geom Mugeuk would have done.
“I sent word to the branch near where he lives. Told them to treat the child before it was too late.”
“You’re amazing, Brother.”
“Amazing, my foot.”
If he were to confess honestly, he had done it to look good in Geom Mugeuk’s eyes.
Chwima knew very well what kind of person he was. He was not the sort to save someone and then send word for the sake of the saved person’s child.
Whether others lived or died had nothing to do with him. His had been a life spent drinking alone, paying no mind to anyone.
And yet now he was acting for others. To look good to Geom Mugeuk.
When he had first gotten involved in the succession struggle, he truly had never imagined he would come to have this kind of relationship with Geom Mugeuk.
“If it weren’t for you, would I have saved that man at all, let alone sent word?”
“It’s the same for me. If Ian hadn’t come to save the husband of the woman who gave him water, would I have cared about the Extreme Cold Physique?”
Chwima was about to ask, And who was it that made that Ian enter the martial world and do that? But he stopped himself. He knew very well that Geom Mugeuk was unexpectedly embarrassed by boasting and receiving praise.
“What do you plan to do now?”
“He lost both the Extreme Cold Physique and his limb.”
“He’ll come out for revenge, then. Or hide forever.”
There was no way to know which of those two paths the Blood King would choose. But the Blood King he knew was someone who always repaid what he suffered.
“He’ll definitely try to see blood.”
Chwima’s gaze grew intense as he looked down at his cup.
“Then I’ll need stronger liquor.”
* * *
The North Blood Sect Master was somewhat excited.
‘At last, it is today.’
It was the day the Extreme Cold Physique would arrive. Once the Great Art was completed using the Extreme Cold Physique, he would reveal himself to the world.
He recalled what Ha Gyeol had once said to him.
—Once we find the Extreme Cold Physique and complete the Great Art, the Northern Sea Ice Palace is finished. The Ice Palace Lord’s martial arts will be neutralized, and we’ll be able to enter the Ice Palace Treasury, which is so cold that only the Ice Palace Lord can enter it.
For the Ice Palace to disappear from the martial world of the Northern Sea also meant that the North Blood Sect would become the greatest sect in the Northern Sea. That had been his long-cherished wish.
‘I can’t live my whole life crushed under a woman.’
Astonishingly, he had lived with such thoughts since his youth. He had spent his life feeling inferior to the Ice Palace Lord.
Perhaps that was why he had accepted their proposal so easily.
‘Today, at last, I go from being the head of a snake to the tail of a dragon.’
He did not care if he was merely the tail. He would not live as the tail forever. One day, what had seemed like a tail would open its jaws wide and devour the head, the body, and all.
In any case, his foremost goal for now was to use them to strike down the Northern Sea Ice Palace. Like father, like son. Both men were dreaming of killing with a borrowed knife.
At that moment, Yang Seok entered.
“I greet the Sect Master.”
“What brings you here at this hour?”
“Ha Gyeol hasn’t been seen all day, so I came to find you. I wondered if perhaps he was here.”
Naturally, the North Blood Sect Master knew where Ha Gyeol had gone. He must have gone to receive the Extreme Cold Physique.
“I sent him somewhere for a short while.”
Yang Seok struggled to keep his expression under control. Once trust had been broken, every single word grated on him.
‘You never tell me the truth, not even once.’
And Geom Mugeuk had told him to be honest in a relationship like this?
‘I wonder what expression you’ll make when you learn he’s dead.’
Once news of Ha Gyeol’s death spread, suspicion could fall on him. After all, it was public knowledge that he and Ha Gyeol had not been on good terms.
But that did not mean they would suspect him blindly. Ha Gyeol’s martial skill had far surpassed his own. You know at least that much, don’t you? Sect Master.
“There is one thing I would like to ask.”
“What is it?”
“Why are you searching for the Extreme Cold Physique?”
Because it was an unexpected question, the North Blood Sect Master looked at his son with surprise and asked in return,
“Why do you suddenly ask that?”
“Because I think the time has come for me to know as well. It is something the sect has spent a great deal of time and money on, isn’t it?”
The North Blood Sect Master stared silently at his son. He sensed that something about him was different from usual.
“When the time comes later, I will tell you.”
Just then, a subordinate rushed in and delivered news.
“Urgent report.”
“What is it?”
The subordinate glanced once at Yang Seok, then quickly made his report.
“Ha Gyeol, the Young Sect Master’s guard, is dead.”
The North Blood Sect Master’s eyes flew wide open.
It was the first time Yang Seok had ever seen his father look so shocked. He had not even made that expression when Yang Seok’s younger sibling died.
Yang Seok, on the other hand, acted surprised.
“What in the world are you saying?”
He had to act with all his might. If he mishandled things here, the fact that he had been involved in the matter could be exposed.
“I told you to report in detail!”
Unlike Yang Seok, who flew into a rage, the North Blood Sect Master said nothing. Though he did not reveal his emotions outwardly, two conflicting feelings collided violently within his heart.
First, he was pleased. The man who could swell his blood vessels and kill him was dead.
At the same time, worry surged in. Ha Gyeol was a master even he could not handle.
‘Who on earth killed him?’
His death meant a crisis for the North Blood Sect Master, who had joined hands with him, did it not?
‘The Ice Palace Lord?’
The first person who came to mind was the Ice Palace Lord.
“Where and how did he die?”
“He was found beheaded on the road leading to the main sect. A carriage and more than ten other corpses were discovered nearby as well.”
At the mention of a carriage being found, the North Blood Sect Master understood.
‘The transport was attacked!’
He intuitively realized that someone had stolen the Extreme Cold Physique.
‘Whoever it is, they knew the Extreme Cold Physique was being transported to us today.’
The North Blood Sect Master clenched his molars. How much time, money, and effort had he invested to obtain the Extreme Cold Physique? This was disastrous. Something that absolutely should never have happened had occurred.
Meanwhile, Yang Seok gave an order to the subordinate.
“Track down the culprit! Investigate the dead and determine the cause of death quickly.”
“Yes, understood.”
After the subordinate withdrew, Yang Seok asked,
“What exactly did you order him to do?”
The North Blood Sect Master did not answer.
‘What should I do now?’
There were two choices. First, he could inform the man in the secret chamber of this. He knew that the person Ha Gyeol served was in the hidden chamber within the hidden chamber.
The problem was that he had never once seen him. Ha Gyeol alone had been difficult enough to deal with. To meet that person now, in a situation where the Extreme Cold Physique had been stolen? He could not know how that man would react.
The second method was to find the Extreme Cold Physique himself. Ha Gyeol was dead, but if they had the Extreme Cold Physique, the person in the secret chamber might be satisfied. Perhaps he could even take over Ha Gyeol’s role and turn misfortune into blessing.
Yang Seok, for his part, decided this was the moment to make his move.
“Father.”
He, who had called him Sect Master until now, called him Father.
The North Blood Sect Master gazed at Yang Seok.
“I know that you planned something with Ha Gyeol without telling me.”
Yang Seok accepted Geom Mugeuk’s advice and approached him with honesty. No, to be precise, he was only pretending to be frank.
“Please tell me what that matter is. Please allow me to help you, Father.”
The North Blood Sect Master was hesitating for a moment over how to answer.
At that very instant—
Grrrrrrng.
The secret door in the wall behind the grand chair began to open. It was the door to the very hidden chamber where he had held secret talks with Ha Gyeol. The door to the room that contained yet another hidden chamber within it.
The North Blood Sect Master stared at the opening door with eyes even more shocked than when he had heard that Ha Gyeol was dead. A door that should not have opened first was opening.
“Hrrk!”
Yang Seok grimaced and covered his mouth and nose with his hand.
An atrocious stench of blood, unlike anything he had ever smelled before, was flowing out through the gap in the door.