Heavenly Eye.
Tales of the Heavenly Eye were widespread throughout the Central Plains.
For a long time, the Abbot of Shaolin had prophesied countless calamities.
And not a single one had missed its mark.
Most famously, he had predicted the True Demonic Realm Gates that opened across the entire Central Plains, to say nothing of other feats.
Besides that, the calamities that had been averted thanks to the Heavenly Eye's pronouncements were far from few.
As such achievements piled up, the standing of Shaolin—both in the Central Plains and in the eyes of the Alliance—was toweringly high.
'And it's not like there's only one Heavenly Eye, either.'
When I thought about the moniker "Heavenly Eye,"
it was similar to the Divine Dragon... no, the Five Dragons Three Peaks... or rather, what had now become the Six Dragons.
The seat of Shaolin's Abbot was a position that only one who possessed the Heavenly Eye could occupy, generation after generation.
Not just the current Abbot,
but the previous Abbot, and the one before that.
All of them had possessed the Heavenly Eye, and thus could become Abbot.
There were many stories about how this was possible.
That when one who possessed the Heavenly Eye died, it would pass to someone among Shaolin's ranks.
Or that before the Abbot died, he could pass it directly to another. There were many groundless rumors, but
in the end, since Shaolin treated it as the highest secret, it was all the more impossible to know easily.
What was important right now wasn't any of that.
What was important was that the Abbot of Shaolin, who possessed such an ability, was looking for me.
'Why is he looking for me?'
He had asked for me specifically, so it seemed he had business with me.
What reason could it be?
'Could it be because of the book?'
The book I had picked up yesterday, which contained Shaolin martial arts.
I wondered if that might be the reason,
but if it were something like that, I didn't think he would go so far as to meet with me in this manner.
'A reason to refuse.'
For now, I had none.
To refuse simply because I had come for sightseeing was impossible when the one making the request was none other than the Abbot of Shaolin.
'Tch.'
In the end, realizing I had no choice, I spoke to those around me.
"Something seems to have come up. Go down ahead of me."
At my words, Dang Soyeol made an expression of subtle displeasure,
but it seemed unavoidable given that the one who had interrupted was a great senior of the Central Plains.
"You too, go down first."
"U-uh... Can't I go with you?"
"No."
I spoke firmly, and Wi Seola pouted her lips in disappointment, but
it couldn't be helped.
"Take her and go down."
When I spoke to Hongwa, she immediately grabbed Wi Seola, dragged her away, and separated her from me.
"You don't need to wait; you can go ahead."
Not knowing how long it would take, I told them to go first, and at the same time tried to include Namgung Bia in the group.
Namgung Bia was also about to follow without a word,
when Gyeolgeuk Cheonbong spoke up.
"The Abbot wishes to see Lady Namgung as well."
At his words, Namgung Bia tilted her head. She seemed to have no idea she would be called.
"...You mean Lady Namgung as well?"
At my question, Gyeolgeuk Cheonbong nodded.
'Namgung Bia too?'
At Gyeolgeuk Cheonbong's words, I slightly furrowed my brow.
Heavenly Eye, Chin Yeong.
The 23rd Abbot of Shaolin, and one who had been spoken of alongside Nakgeom and Maehwa Seon for the position of Alliance Leader.
Though his martial prowess was the most lacking among the three, in terms of influence alone, he was an overwhelming figure.
It was only natural.
Because the Abbot of Shaolin was one who prophesied calamities for the Central Plains.
Relatively lacking in martial strength, yet a figure of tremendous influence over the Central Plains and the Righteous Faction. It was understandable.
In the end, Nakgeom had taken the position of Alliance Leader, of course.
"I am sorry to call you here so suddenly."
A thin, old man was sitting before me.
With a beard that had turned white,
and dark liver spots blooming here and there on his face.
Even a body frail enough to seem unbefitting of a martial artist.
The sect with the most martial artists under its banner among the Nine Great Sects and One Great Family,
and the Abbot of Shaolin, who was said to possess overwhelming influence.
He looked like an exceedingly frail figure.
"It is fine."
I hid my inner thoughts.
Because this was not a world where one could easily let their guard down just because of outward appearances.
"Rather, I thank you for calling me here. It is an honor for one such as myself."
[That man is the Abbot...?]
Shin Noya's voice was filled with bewilderment, perhaps unexpectedly so.
'He does look the part, somewhat.'
[Not somewhat.]
Though his exterior was somewhat wretched, if I thought of the Sword Lord, who gave off a similar feeling, the Abbot too might be hiding something inside.
I did not know very much about that man.
I had not seen him much in my previous life either.
Moreover, a few years later, the Abbot would die and the next person would take that seat.
The Abbot looked at me and smiled faintly.
"You resemble Hohyeop greatly."
It began with talk of my father.
I hadn't expected words about my father to come from the Abbot's mouth.
"First, I must offer my congratulations. I heard you achieved good results in the Martial Arts Tournament."
"Thank you."
"True Dragon, is it... Seeing you directly like this, I must say it is a most fitting moniker."
Though I couldn't tell what he was seeing with his closed eyes,
considering the old man's moniker, it was not strange.
Slurp.
A sound came from beside me.
It was the sound of Namgung Bia drinking tea, but it rang unusually loud in the spacious room.
I immediately nudged Namgung Bia lightly with my elbow.
"Hm...?"
Namgung Bia looked at me as if asking why I was doing that.
I was about to hint at her to be careful, but the Abbot spoke to me as if to stop me.
"Tsk-tsk... There is no need for that. I was the one who summoned you here so hastily, so please be at ease."
"...Thank you for your understanding."
"Rather, I am the one who is thankful. Thank you for answering this sudden summons."
It was a wide and empty room.
So wide that when one spoke, the voice would echo throughout the room.
I moistened my throat with a few sips of tea,
and even then, I turned thoughts over in my head.
'It doesn't seem to be about the book.'
It seemed the Heavenly Eye could not see everything.
While I was managing my expression and keeping an eye on Namgung Bia beside me,
the Abbot opened his mouth again.
"Today, you must be curious as to why I called you here so suddenly."
At those words, I turned my gaze to the Abbot.
"Have you ever heard the word 'Meteor' from your father?"
At the Abbot's words, my eyes widened slightly.
Because it was a name I had heard before.
Not from my father.
'Sword King.'
The one called Sword King in the present era, Namgung Cheonjun—Namgung Bia's father.
I had heard it from Namgung Jin.
I glanced at Namgung Bia, but she merely looked utterly clueless, sipping her tea.
"I have heard of it."
I answered for now. I judged it would be better to say I had.
"How much have you heard?"
"Only that such a thing exists."
The Abbot chuckled at my words.
"I thought that if it were your father, he would not speak of it to his child. This is unexpected."
He thought my father wouldn't say anything...?
Why did he think that?
"The reason I called you is because I hope that you will join the Meteor."
"...With the Meteor, you say?"
My eyes narrowed at the Abbot's proposal.
Meteor—a subtle name whose meaning was difficult to gauge.
Taken literally, it was strange.
And I could not figure out any hidden meaning, either.
I immediately composed my expression.
"First, my thanks."
"Hm?"
"Since you think well of us, you must have made this proposal with good intentions."
The Abbot nodded at my words.
Was he smiling? His long eyebrows and beard made it difficult to see his eyes and mouth.
"But there is something I must ask first."
"Ask freely."
"I wish to know first what the Meteor is."
It was something I had never heard of in my previous life.
Of course, in this life, there were countless things I hadn't heard of or known before that I had come to learn.
Still, not knowing was always a difficult thing.
'It isn't easy to deal with.'
One or two would be one thing, but there were far too many.
And their magnitude was no small matter, too.
So much so that I wondered how I had lived without knowing these things.
"...That is not something I can speak of..."
At my question, Gyeolgeuk Cheonbong, who had been standing behind like a guard, answered in his stead,
but the Heavenly Eye raised his hand to stop him mid-sentence.
"Abbot...?"
The moment he stopped him, the Abbot spoke to us.
"The Meteor is a small organization created by the Alliance in preparation for the Bloody Calamity that is to come."
At the Abbot's words, Gyeolgeuk Cheonbong made a surprised expression.
To think that stiff-looking man could make such an expression. Was it that much of a secret?
I focused on the words the Abbot had spoken.
! ..
'Bloody Calamity.'
This was somewhat surprising.
The Bloody Calamity that was soon to come—because there had been so many incidents recently, it was impossible to think of it as something clearly pinpointed.
Even so, if the Bloody Calamity the Abbot spoke of was about the Heavenly Demon,
'Did that mean they were preparing for it?'
It meant the Alliance had been preparing in advance, knowing the Heavenly Demon would appear.
'...But then why did they mess it up so badly?'
Of course, even if they had been preparing, the outcome wasn't very good.
The important point was that they had been preparing.
"If it's the Bloody Calamity..."
"I do not know how many years remain, but without a doubt, the Bloody Calamity will strike before long."
It was none other than the Heavenly Eye who spoke those words.
The mere fact that the Heavenly Eye spoke them gave the words weight.
I gulped dryly... or pretended to, and asked the Abbot.
"...I am curious why you would wish to place us in such an important organization."
No matter how much I—no, we—had distinguished ourselves at this Dragon Phoenix Conference,
in the end, we were late-generation disciples who had not yet fully grown.
For the Abbot himself to try to place us directly into an organization bearing the grand cause of stopping the Bloody Calamity was something I could not understand.
The Abbot answered as if he had anticipated the question.
"It is because, rather than martial artists who are already fully grown, I regard stars of possibility like yourselves as more important."
'Possibility?'
He had said a few years, so perhaps he intended to recruit and raise late-generation disciples in advance.
But the Abbot would also know that this was not something that could be resolved in just a few years.
For current late-generation disciples to roll around for a few years and join the ranks of the Hundred Great Experts of the Central Plains would be difficult.
'Then there must be another reason.'
It was also a source of concern that, though it was supposedly an organization created to stop the Bloody Calamity, I had not known of it in the future where the Heavenly Demon had appeared.
"Meteor is a place that can place much more in your hands."
If it was "much more," did he mean elixirs and such?
"If you wish, it can allow you to see a higher world."
A higher world. At that single line, I asked the Abbot as if bewitched.
"...By any chance, is the Divine Saint also part of the Meteor?"
"Divine Saint" was the moniker Jang Seonyeon had been called by since the Martial Arts Tournament.
'Is Jang Seonyeon part of the Meteor?'
To say it came to me suddenly would be a lie; it was a matter I had been suspecting.
The circumstances had somehow been suggesting it was so.
The Abbot quietly looked at me.
The Abbot, who had stared without a word, shook his head in the end.
"That is something you will know once you enter."
It was neither a confirmation nor a denial.
But I found the answer within it.