Splash.
I moved through the passage, treading on dampness.
I had left Seongyul on standby outside.
Because I didn’t feel the need to bring him in with me.
Splash—! Splash—!
Beyond footsteps drenched in moisture.
A space where not a single lamp was lit, and the stuffy air brushed the tip of my nose.
But nothing posed a problem to me.
The dark passage appeared brilliantly bright beyond my pupils.
The stifling air only soured my mood; it could not harm my physical body.
After walking for about half a quarter-hour.
Hummm—!
A subtle energy brushed past my flesh.
The flow was subtle. Was this also part of the sorcery?
‘It’s definitely different from a formation.’
When I looked at formations, I couldn’t understand at all what the hell they had done or how they managed it.
But this, I could at least see.
I didn’t know by what principle it was made or for what purpose it was installed, but I could at least see the flowing energy to some extent.
What had been invisible was now visible.
It was a novel experience.
Swish.
When my fingertips grazed the energy, it rippled like water.
Thump.
My heart reacted as if resonating, generating a backlash.
‘Oh.’
Touching the energy, the ring bound to my heart began to stir.
It was spinning.
The ring was rotating.
The sensation was much like the revolutions of the Nine-Flame Fire Wheel Art.
Thump—! Thump—!
Screeee—!
Matching the violent throbbing of my heart, the ring spun faster, and as I felt the flow, an inexplicable thrill surged up.
Truly a wondrous sensation.
The rings, now divided into two, continued to accelerate.
Feeling this, I stirred my fingertips.
Uuuung.
The barrier of sorcery shook at my touch, and as I watched its flow, my Mind’s Eye opened arbitrarily.
It wasn’t my will. Or was it? Perhaps my instincts had opened the Mind’s Eye.
I don’t know. Amid such thoughts, my eyes swiftly read the flow.
‘This is fascinating.’
I had thought it could only read my own energy, but surprisingly, the Mind’s Eye could also see the flow created by sorcery.
A tangled skein, packed dense and chaotically intertwined.
So complex it hurt the eyes to look at. Ordinarily, I would have cursed and swept it away the moment I saw it.
‘Hm.’
The rings spun even faster.
My hands moved bit by bit as I looked at those countless tangled threads.
I could see. And I knew.
I already knew what to do.
Screeeech—!!!
Hot. My heart heated from how fast it was spinning.
To the point that, incredibly, my brow actually furrowed.
Contrary to how it looked, if I went on like this, it seemed like things might get slightly dangerous.
This is a hassle; should I just stop here?
‘Hm.’
Reason was definitely telling me so.
Screeeech—!!!
Unfortunately, I did not seem to be a rational human being; contrary to my thoughts, my body showed no intention of stopping.
Then what should I do?
‘It seems two of them are getting too hot.’
It seemed the rings, merely two in number, couldn’t contain all the heat.
Then what was I to do?
‘If two won’t do, I’ll just use three.’
Clutching the skein, I put force into my heart.
Screech—! Friction could be felt from within.
Pressure erupted from beneath the spinning rings.
Painful.
It was as if the rings were speaking.
Saying it wasn’t time yet.
‘So what?’
I ignored it.
‘I decide when the time is.’
It felt like it would work.
Something in my head was telling me this was the way.
Following that path, I began reassembling from within.
Unknown fragments burst from the ring and scraped the inside.
Just when I wondered if they were remnants of energy from the recoil.
Screeeeech—!!!!
Friction intensified, and simultaneously, a sensation brushed below the ring.
Fragments that had broken away from the ring gathered to form another ring.
Its shape was imperfect, but it was unmistakably a third ring.
Keeeeeeng—!!!
The newly born ring knew its role from the moment of its birth.
It spun faster according to my will, and the unease that I might not withstand the heat vanished.
A sense of stability formed.
Feeling this.
Creak.
I clutched the skein of sorcery before me and yanked it hard.
Snap—!! Thud-thud-thud—!!!!
Unlike how tightly it had been bound together, the skein simply snapped from being pulled.
Fwoooosh—!
A strong gust of wind pressure brushed past my shoulder and scattered.
At that moment.
Uuuuuung.
“Hm?”
I could feel the sorcery that had pervaded the surroundings dispersing.
It was all vanishing. Huh? Wait, it wasn’t supposed to all disappear, was it?
While I was slightly flustered by the unexpected situation.
Tat-tat-tat—!
From the space ahead, a flurry of urgent footsteps rang out.
“Th-this way, the energy is—!”
“The barrier has been dispelled! Call more sorcerers!”
“We must find the intruder and stop them quickly….”
A large group of men appeared, including subordinates of the Pilduma, and froze stiff the moment they saw me.
“...”
Looking at them, I too had to freeze.
By the looks of it, I seemed to have caused an accident.
‘…I was just trying to touch it a bit. I made a mistake.’
I was going to observe moderately and move on, but I got focused and tore it apart without realizing.
Seems something burst because of that.
First, I shook off the energy clinging to my hands.
If I hadn’t been wearing a mask, my expression would probably have been quite a sight.
“…You…! H-how…?”
I pondered briefly over those words dripping with confusion.
Hm.
‘I suppose it’s better to answer honestly here.’
It didn’t seem like there was any excuse, so I decided to speak as it was.
[It was a mistake. I apologize.]
“...”
“...”
The men’s expressions twisted bizarrely at the apology I spat out with sincerity.
It seemed the apology wasn’t going to work.
******************
A vast space that appeared to be the inner core of the cave.
An old man, with a low table before him, carefully poured alcohol into a cup.
Pourrrring.
The cup filled to the brim with liquor—rather large to be called a mere drinking cup.
The old man placed the bottle beside him and offered the prepared drink to his guest.
“I received your message in haste and could not prepare the proper rites; I apologize.”
The guest did not reply to the old man’s words, simply staring at him silently.
A mask with slight cracks, long black hair draping behind it, and a sturdy physique.
Even sitting still, the bearing of a powerhouse emanated from him.
A pressure great enough to overturn the very air.
“K-kuh…”
So intense was that pressure that the old man’s subordinates were hunched over, unable to breathe properly.
Drip.
The old man hid the sweat beading on his cheeks as he looked at the man.
‘This is troublesome.’
Truly troublesome.
The old man was certain that the man’s energy was not favorable.
The reason was likely that proper ceremony had not been prepared.
Even though he had announced his arrival, no proper reception had been sent.
He must be displeased.
‘A mistake.’
He had engaged in a subtle clash of energies to properly gauge what kind of person this was.
The opponent was a far rougher and more domineering figure than the old man had expected.
So rough and powerful was he that merely because the old man challenged him to a clash of energies….
‘…He destroyed all the barriers in the vicinity.’
The dense barriers that sorcerers had created spanning several li.
They had been designed to deliver enormous backlash if touched with an incorrect dispelling method.
The formation specialists of the Alliance would take months just to discover them, and even longer to dispel.
Even those who installed the barriers would need a fortnight to remove them.
Such things wiped away in less than half a quarter-hour?
Recalling this, cold sweat formed on the old man’s brow.
‘…Which means he also endured all the backlash from it.’
He didn’t even consider the possibility that it had been dispelled normally.
In this amount of time, there had been no answer other than destroying them.
‘But how can he be so unscathed?’
The man sat serenely as if nothing had happened.
The force was such that even a martial artist at the Transcendence Realm would die instantly if caught in the backlash.
Yet he was in that state after receiving it.
‘Just what kind of monster is he?’
He dared not estimate.
This was the old man’s judgment.
“…I recognize that my manners were lacking, so I beg you to withdraw your anger.”
[Anger?]
The man tilted his head at the old man’s words.
[What are you talking about? This one is not angry.]
At the man’s words, the old man’s brow twitched.
[Rather, this one should apologize. This one did not know it would disappear so easily. Sorry.]
“...”
The old man secretly clenched his fist.
The man was clearly toying with the old man.
Having torn apart that formidable barrier without a care, he packaged it as an easy task, a mistake, and was instead apologizing from his side.
This was pressure.
Proof that he could destroy barriers made by them so easily.
A warning not to dare oppose him.
The man was speaking through a display of his own power.
“…Henceforth, I shall be sure to take clear heed.”
No further words came from the man at the old man’s statement.
He merely watched the old man silently from beyond his mask.
A brief silence passed.
The man adjusted his mask and spoke to the old man.
[Hmm… Do as you please with that.]
Was this the meaning of giving one more chance?
As the old man was barely easing his tension.
[It seems you have handled the matter this one requested quite well.]
At the man’s words, the old man nodded.
“…Within the limits of what I could do, I endeavored to keep to it.”
[Indeed. Not bad at all.]
The request the man had made of the old man.
The first.
“Immediately after proceeding with the task, we left information regarding the Divine Cult.”
If they were to carry out some task, they were to claim to be ones of the Divine Cult before it.
They were to add that they were carrying out the cult’s work as limbs of the Tianmo.
That was the man’s request.
“Since we deliberately left traces, some information should already be circulating on the Alliance’s side.”
[I do not care.]
Such trivial matters were meaningless.
The old man stroked his beard at the man’s composed attitude.
[Then, the second request?]
“…That too has been prepared. If you wish, I can hand it over right this moment.”
At the old man’s words, the man gestured, and a woman appeared from within his shadow.
A woman who was one of the man’s subordinates.
She had also been attached to the old man’s side helping with work during the past time.
At the woman’s appearance, the old man took out a document from his bosom and handed it over.
[I trust it has been handled well.]
“…I did my utmost.”
[Indeed. You must.]
If not, it would end up like the barrier just destroyed.
The man did not utter the latter words, yet the old man somehow understood the meaning.
Tension once again took hold. The drinking cup remained untouched.
It also meant the man had no intention of removing his mask.
Looking at such a man, the old man voiced a question.
“…There is something I wish to ask of you.”
[Speak.]
“How should I address you?”
[Hmm?]
The man tilted his head at the question, then soon reacted as if realizing something.
[Cult Leader. For now, address this one as such.]
“…I shall do so.”
Paejon, one of the Three Venerables. Or the one called the number one in martial combat.
That was the true identity of that man.
He had affirmed it himself, and more than anything.
‘When he attacked Wudang, the fact that he deliberately left traces must be the proof.’
He attacked Wudang—a sect under the Alliance Leader and one of the Nine Sects and One Faction—and killed an elder.
Information had spread throughout the Central Plains that the martial art he used at that time was a divine art he was known to have created—the fist technique of Tuapacheonmu.
There was only one known martial art capable of causing calamity with fists and shattering flesh into pieces with a single strike.
Being able to use it meant either he was Paejon himself or his disciple.
‘There were no rumors that Paejon had taken a disciple.’
There had been rumors that a martial artist from Shanxi, once called Zhenlong and currently called Soyeomra, might be Paejon’s disciple.
‘But that too was nothing more than groundless rumor without proof.’
Since no one had seen Soyeomra use Paejon’s martial prowess while using fire techniques, it was truly nothing more than a baseless rumor.
In the first place, even if Paejon had taken a disciple, they wouldn’t have been able to emit that level of power.
Thanks to that, rumors had begun to spread that Paejon, who had hidden his tracks for decades, had appeared in a different form.
If this was true, how had the heavens of the Righteous Faction fallen so far?
No one knew the reason; it was a situation where nothing could be known through rumors alone.
However, what was important here was.
‘That rumor should have already reached the Alliance.’
The man before him appeared to truly not care about such matters.
‘…He means that even if the Alliance knows, it doesn’t matter.’
What could a mere Martial Alliance possibly do about it?
Nothing would change just from knowing.
Such was the attitude of the man—the Cult Leader.
He appeared completely unafraid of the central axis of the Righteous Faction.
—Do you not wish to destroy the Alliance?
—Do you not wish to destroy those scum who tore you apart and ripped you to shreds?
He recalled the Cult Leader’s words when he had confidently come seeking him out.
He had said he wished to destroy the Alliance. If their wills aligned, let them act together.
‘…If so, could what he showed have been…?’
Could the destruction of the barrier have been not just to pressure them, but to directly show his power?
The power to destroy the Alliance. Could he have shown that he possessed it?
‘I see. So that was it.’
The old man grasped the meaning and nodded repeatedly, then cautiously spoke to the man.
“…I realized the Cult Leader’s intent far too late. I apologize once more. I must have appeared truly lacking.”
[Hm…?]
At the old man’s words, the man let out some sound. Then, silence flowed for several seconds.
Feeling something strange, the old man tried to call out to him.
“Cu….”
[It is fortunate that you are… quick on the uptake.]
Having realized the old man understood his intent, he showed a satisfied reaction.
As expected, the reason the old man had thought of seemed correct.
“Aah… Then, may I judge that I have passed the test?”
[Test?]
“Was it not you who said that doing the favor requested by the Cult Leader was the test?”
[Ah, did this one do such a thing as well…?]
“Cult Leader…?”
[It does not all sit well with this one’s heart. But this much shall pass.]
The man disregarded the old man’s words and added.
[Thus, I ask. Cheonra Daeju. What is it you are scheming in Hannam?]
“...”
Having judged that he passed, was he going straight to the main point?
It truly could not but be called an enterprising act.
‘…The plan.’
The old man’s eyes darted as he surveyed the surroundings.
This man possessed overwhelming power; even if their wills aligned, was it acceptable to speak of such things easily?
Just as a moment of hesitation crossed him for this.
[Cheonra Daeju.]
A heavy voice bored into the old man’s ears.
[Do not rack your brains. This one is not patient.]
With an icy warning, the oppressive energy instantly intensified.
Rrrumble—!!
Ssshhhh.
Vibrations spread through the cave, and debris fell.
“Huuurk…!! Guh…!”
Those inside writhed in agony.
The will to grant no time for deliberation was felt.
[If you would act so trivially even after coming this far, it cannot be helped.]
The moment the man slowly rose to pour out his energy.
“…We are—!”
The old man spat out words as if shouting at him.
The energy had not yet subsided. Because the old man had not finished his words.
Sensing this, the old man added with difficulty.
“We shall… awaken the secret hidden by the Alliance….”
At that.
Sssshhhh….
The surging energy weakened somewhat.
It seemed to say, speak.
[Secret?]
A trace of interest arose in the man’s voice.
It couldn’t be helped.
[You would destroy the Alliance with merely a secret? Explain in detail.]
With the pressure released, his blocked breath flowed open.
A cough threatened to escape, but the old man held it in.
“…Beneath the land of Hannam, a secret hidden by the Alliance is sealed.”
[Beneath the land?]
“Indeed… We intend to release that seal and destroy the Alliance.”
[What is sealed that you would do this?]
The man did not hide his interest as he listened, and the old man had to bite his lip at that reaction.
To think he had to so easily spit out what he had obtained over his entire lifetime….
It was truly beyond despair, but there was no other way.
Moreover.
‘Perhaps this man is the one who can fulfill our long-cherished desire.’
The old man, recalling that aspiration, finally added.
“…A dragon.”
[Hm?]
The man’s head tilted crookedly at the old man’s words.
Probably because it was something he didn’t know at all.
“The demonic beast said to have attacked the Central Plains centuries ago. A dragon is sealed beneath this land.”
“We intend to release its seal and destroy the Alliance.”
A dragon, or an entity called a White-grade demonic beast.
The being that had brought calamity to the Central Plains hundreds of years ago was hidden beneath the land of Hannam.
‘He must surely be astonished.’
The truth that it still existed and was even sealed was enormous.
Since they said they would release it, this truly could not but be an immense undertaking.
The old man revealed the weighty truth and observed the man’s reaction.
He had clearly expected a surprised reaction.
[Ah… is that so…?]
“…?”
[Hm… I see. That is quite a remarkable thing.]
For some reason, the man’s voice had turned bland, as if his interest had suddenly evaporated.