The interior was filled with a dazzling radiance.
In the center, gold ingots were piled up. Truly, they were stacked high.
And the jewels displayed within the cases surrounding them on all sides—top-grade night pearls, of course, as well as red jade, blue jade, jadeite, pearls, and crystals. All manner of gems flaunted their splendor.
It was truly a treasure vault in every sense of the word.
“The very people I wanted to see in my dreams last night showed up, and now I’ve hit the jackpot!”
Geommu Geuk glanced at Geomwang. He too was astonished by the tremendous treasure, yet no greed dwelled in his eyes.
That composed expression alone made it clear that what he pursued was not wealth. That was why this fight would be difficult. He was no ordinary villain.
“Do you regret agreeing to split things half and half?”
At Geommu Geuk’s question, Geomwang nodded.
“It’s far more than I expected.”
“No take-backs.”
Geommu Geuk flung himself down atop the piled gold.
“To sleep amidst gold! I doubt there is a more intoxicating bed than this.”
Then Geomwang’s voice reached him.
“But you like cotton quilts more than gold, don’t you?”
While lying down, Geommu Geuk raised only his head and asked as if arguing the point.
“Who says that?”
“Is that not so?”
“I am called the very incarnation of greed, you know?”
“Who calls you that? You probably just go around saying it yourself.”
Looking at Geomwang, who was staring at him, Geommu Geuk spoke firmly.
“You’re slowly working a scheme to avoid giving me the treasure, but it won’t work. Half of this is mine.”
Geommu Geuk laid his head back comfortably.
Such a high and ornate ceiling in an underground place like this? Gazing up at it, the question naturally arose.
Who could have made this place? Could it have been some wealthy magnate’s secret storehouse from ages past?
No. There was no way Geomwang had been digging through the earth just to seize a magnate’s treasure vault. What he wanted lay elsewhere.
Then who had built it?
The outer formation array, the illusion arts in the passage—this was a place that contained the greatest power of its era.
While still lying down, Geommu Geuk looked at Geomwang. Come to think of it, the rope that had connected their waists had been severed. Noticing his gaze at his waist, Geomwang answered.
“I cut it while we were fighting earlier.”
“I know you cut it so I could fight freely, but somehow I feel upset, as if the bond between master and disciple has been severed. Surely you aren’t going to cut off your relationship with me just as cleanly?”
Of course, Geomwang was not upset in the slightest.
“As you can see, I cut with a single stroke. I’m the type to sever things cleanly and forget.”
Geommu Geuk let out a feigned sigh.
“Human relationships are harder to cut than to tie.”
Then he posed an unexpected question.
“If you cut off a relationship with a single stroke, doesn’t that make you think of the person even more?”
Geomwang’s gaze turned to him, waiting for the explanation.
“If you cut them off suddenly because you can’t stand the sight of them and want to avoid them, you end up thinking about them constantly. Ugh, you think, ‘It’s good not to see them,’ yet they come to mind. You think, ‘I cut ties well,’ yet they come to mind. You wonder, ‘Why didn’t I cut them off sooner?’ and still they come to mind.”
This time, Geomwang asked.
“Then how do you end things?”
“The more I hate them, the better I plan my retreat.”
At the word “operation,” Geomwang let out a hollow laugh.
“You need to plan a strategy just to end one human relationship?”
“Of course. If you cut things off abruptly, you can never forget them for the rest of your life. That’s why most relationships that aren’t even worth remembering remain in your heart until the end.”
“!”
“Cutting them off suddenly doesn’t make you forget quickly. You slowly remove them from your heart, one handful at a time. Slowly, without rushing, until you forget that you were ever tied to that person. The more you hate them, the slower you must go.”
“If you invest that much effort, you’ll think of them even more.”
“You will. Yet the quality of those thoughts is different.”
“How so?”
“They don’t cling to you. They don’t come rushing in unexpectedly. They don’t suddenly make you clench your fists.”
Geomwang gazed silently at Geommu Geuk for a moment.
“So don’t try to cut me off too cleanly. If you do, you’ll keep thinking of me.”
Geomwang placed his hand on the shoes at his waist and asked.
“After all this, you’re going to cut me down with a single stroke, aren’t you?”
“Ah! How are you so quick to catch on?”
Geomwang snorted and walked toward a corner. There was a door there.
“Let’s go.”
“What’s the rush? Let’s enjoy these treasures for a bit before we leave.”
“What we are meant to enjoy is not in this room.”
Geommu Geuk rose and walked toward it.
“Surely we don’t have to break through another barrier when we open that door?”
Geomwang opened it.
Then the dark passage they had seen earlier revealed itself once more.
An energy far more powerful than before was flowing out. The force that beckoned them to enter was likewise stronger than before.
“What in the world lies at the end of that?”
Then Geomwang spoke of this place for the first time.
“Something that can change the fate of this martial world.”
Still looking into the darkness, Geommu Geuk asked.
“For the better? Or for the worse?”
After a brief pause, Geomwang answered.
“That depends on what kind of people we are.”
The two walked back into the darkness.
* * *
“Track them all down and eliminate them!”
Gi Seok flinched for a moment at Yeon Baek-in’s words. He had thought the same needed to be done, but he hadn’t expected Yeon Baek-in to make such a decision so easily.
At the report that all the members who had been underground had left, Yeon Baek-in’s heart sank.
‘He just let all those people go?’
He had thought it was a false report at first. He couldn’t imagine that the man underground would simply release them. He had naturally assumed they would be massacred. Yet he sent them away, even giving them money?
That man might not care, but he himself was different.
There is a treasure vault under the Yellow Dragon Martial Hall!
If even one person let it slip, packs of jackals would swarm this place. Yeon Baek-in did not believe they would keep the secret.
Even if the place was empty now, they would come to verify it with their own eyes.
It was perhaps a ploy by the man underground to corner him.
‘He really got me.’
In any case, he would find them all and kill them. Hadn’t he said so himself? A villain is one who goes on while being cursed.
“We can’t use the Baeksa Group, so I will look for another contract organization to put in the request.”
“As quickly as possible.”
Now Gi Seok knew for certain.
Yeon Baek-in hadn’t turned evil; he had been this kind of person from the start. An order to kill dozens was not something anyone could give easily.
Just then, a subordinate’s voice came from outside.
“A guest has arrived.”
“Who?”
“They say they are the parents of a White Dragon Class member.”
At the subordinate’s report, Yeon Baek-in and Gi Seok looked at each other. He did not meet with members’ parents directly. The subordinate should know that. Why report it?
Then the door opened. It was unheard of for the door to open before he even responded. In other words, it meant someone no one dared to stop.
The one who opened the office door and entered was a middle-aged woman.
The moment he saw her, Yeon Baek-in’s eyes widened. She was a truly elegant woman who captured one’s gaze in an instant.
“I’ve come because of my daughter.”
At her gentle voice, Yeon Baek-in’s stiff expression softened.
“Who might your daughter be?”
“It is Yi An.”
The woman who had entered was none other than the Ilhwa Sword Venerable.
Gi Seok, standing beside him, sent a voice transmission.
—The child who used to associate with Seo-jin of Guimun.
Even without the voice transmission, Yeon Baek-in knew of Yi An. Rumors had been rampant that a truly beautiful member had joined.
‘So her beauty takes after her mother.’
Yeon Baek-in spoke to her willingly.
“Very well. Please come in.”
He had thought she came alone, but someone else followed her in.
Yeon Baek-in’s eyes went wide at the person who entered, filling the doorway. A muscular man came in like a hunk of moving iron, and he had so fearsome a face that one could hardly dare meet his eyes.
“I am the father of that Yi An.”
The true father of Yi An: Gwon Ma.
Only now did Yeon Baek-in understand why the subordinates outside had failed to stop them beforehand. That terrifying face was one thing, but those massive fists?
Gwon Ma asked Yeon Baek-in as soon as he entered.
“Where is my daughter now?”
The reason Gwon Ma and the Ilhwa Sword Venerable had come here was twofold.
First, there had been a report from the Tongcheon Gak. A report that all the members who had been underground had emerged in secret.
They could now tell without needing to hear it that Geommu Geuk had spared them and sent them away.
Bedding had been sent down, they had come out and looked at the stars, and the finale was him sending them all away alive. It was truly a move befitting Geommu Geuk.
The problem was the Hall Master before them. Judging from his actions thus far and the words of his younger brother, Yeon Baek-jin, it seemed unlikely he would let the members who had come out of the underground survive.
So they had come together to save them.
We entrust them to the two Demon Venerables.
That was surely what their hearts had meant. At this moment, the two Demon Venerables shared a mind with Geommu Geuk.
The second reason they had shown themselves was to pressure and warn the forces behind him.
We are here, so do not act rashly! We stand beside the Young Cult Leader.
They wanted to prevent another expert from lending strength underground. Just as they were watching the other side’s movements, so too were they being watched.
Gwon Ma asked bluntly.
“I heard that after following her instructor, she hasn’t returned?”
Yeon Baek-in was inwardly flustered. He hadn’t expected such a fearsome father and such an elegant mother to come looking. With parents like these, they needn’t have sent their daughter to a martial hall.
Gi Seok’s voice transmission flew in again.
—Yi An is currently underground.
After Geomwang had left with Geommu Geuk, Yi An, Seo-jin, Yu Gwang, and Gyo Seok, they had not attended classes.
Since they didn’t know the children were inside the Heavenly Demon Cult, Yeon Baek-in naturally assumed the Geomwang underground had taken them.
“Aren’t I asking? Where is my child?”
Normally he would have demanded what rudeness this was, but he didn’t dare do so to Gwon Ma. Though Gwon Ma revealed no demonic energy, his aura pressed down on Yeon Baek-in so heavily he could barely breathe.
Then the Ilhwa Sword Venerable stepped forward.
“Please understand, Hall Master. This person’s temperament is rather fiery.”
How could a couple be so contrasting? Yeon Baek-in found himself smiling at the woman and frowning at the man.
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable asked in a gentle tone.
“We came to see our daughter, but not a single person knows where she has gone, so I am quite worried.”
Though she rarely went out, she was more skilled at dealing with people than anyone.
Then Gi Seok stepped forward in his place to answer.
“She has gone out for outdoor training with the White Dragon Class instructor.”
“But the other White Dragon Class members were attending class?”
“A few were specially selected to go. It seems they displayed exceptional skill.”
Gi Seok answered calmly without panicking.
“She will return in a few days.”
“Do members go out for external training like this?”
This time, Yeon Baek-in answered.
“Even I, the Hall Master, cannot interfere with how an instructor teaches.”
Yeon Baek-in looked at the two with confident eyes.
“If you entrusted her education to us, you must trust us.”
The Ilhwa Sword Venerable stood up with a pleasant expression.
“We were impolite in our haste. We shall take our leave for today.”
Gwon Ma left one last remark before leaving.
“That’s right. We entrusted our child to you because we trusted you.”
Those meaningful words were a final chance for Yeon Baek-in. A warning not to touch the members.
But could the current Yeon Baek-in grasp the meaning contained in those words?
Only after the two left the office did Yeon Baek-in feel relieved. Gwon Ma’s momentum had been so intense that his heart was still pounding.
“It is because the member called Yi An is so exceptionally beautiful.”
He understood Gwon Ma’s reaction. If he had such a beautiful daughter, he would naturally be on edge.
But to come here and throw his weight around like this? It was all because he looked down on the Hall Master of this martial hall. If only he mastered a peerless divine art, he would never suffer such humiliation.
“Then the only White Dragon Class children underground now are the ones taken away afterward.”
“That is correct.”
He couldn’t fathom what that man was thinking. In any case, judging by the fact that he had released the members, the end was surely not far off.
“What will you do about that couple? They didn’t seem like ordinary experts.”
On the other hand, Yeon Baek-in already had it all figured out.
“The one who has their daughter should take responsibility.”
He meant he would leave it to Geomwang to handle.
“You take care of the members as quickly as possible.”
* * *
Gi Seok, wearing a pressed bamboo hat, walked hurriedly.
This time, the side he was putting in the request with was the Black Tiger School. Like the Baeksa Group, it was a contract organization that would do anything for money. Since relations with the Baeksa Group were not good, they were the perfect choice for this request.
Usually, when meeting with a contract organization, one would meet in a very secluded place or in a crowded area like this.
Today, they had agreed to meet at a tavern on the main street.
As Gi Seok walked among the pedestrians, he looked at the tavern ahead. A man was waiting at the window seat they had agreed upon.
As he was walking toward him.
‘Huh? Those people?’
In the distance were Yi An’s parents, whom he had seen in Yeon Baek-in’s office. The woman recognized him and happily waved her hand.
Gi Seok, who had unconsciously moved to greet them, flinched in surprise.
‘How did she recognize me when I’m wearing a bamboo hat?’
The man beside her didn’t wave, but instead slowly extended his fist toward Gi Seok.
A fist slowly extended from afar, through the crowd.
‘What is he doing?’
Gi Seok thought it was a warning to him. Bring my daughter back quickly.
And that warning was ticklish. No, it was actually ticklish.
Gi Seok felt an unbearable itch in his chest.
Unable to endure it, he opened his collar and looked down at his chest.
“!”
Gi Seok’s eyes went wide.
His chest began to cave inward, and a shape began to form.
Astonishingly, it was the shape of a massive fist.
A giant fist filling his chest.
But soon, that outline began to fade.
When the fist-shaped outline completely vanished like a lie, Gi Seok, who had been standing blankly in the middle of the street looking down at his chest, slowly sank to the ground. His head dropped limply, already dead.
Not a sound of its flight, nor a scream, nor any trace left upon the body—a silent fist.