Chapter 179

"Seems like you're asking me to step aside. Am I right?"

"Yes."

"...Then I’ll bring you good news soon."

"I’ll be looking forward to it."

Seol Horyeong stepped back. Then, using his light-body technique, his figure blurred in the blizzard and vanished.

He had descended the Snow Mountain.

Left behind were Unhwi and Seo Hyo, with silence settling between them.

That place, swept by the raging snowstorm, felt like a realm cut off from the world—one where the laws of men no longer applied, and only the laws of nature ruled.

And yet, in that unnatural, death-choked storm, the two men stood as if in a tranquil garden—calm and composed.

In truth, they resembled each other more than either would admit.

Unhwi turned his head.

"No one is watching, no one is listening."

"..."

"You seem quite shaken. Still, we ought to finish this."

Seo Hyo ran a hand down his face.

There was so much he wanted to say.

"There’s something I’d like to ask first."

"Go on."

"...Do you still possess what you ‘obtained’ in the Secret Realm of Yangryeong?"

Unhwi had once infiltrated the Yangryeong Secret Realm under disguise using Reversal Technique.

It was there that he discovered Yu Cheong was the mastermind behind many plots, saved Ju Soa, and obtained a secret manual—Heaven-Dominating Demonic Blood Technique (Ma Hyeol Cheon Gang Gyeol).

It was a forbidden art that infused demonic energy into the bloodline, enabling the user to withstand and control even the most extreme forms of demonic qi. Unhwi had said that the Celestial Demon himself could not have existed without it.

That was what Seo Hyo was referring to now.

But he had called it only “what you obtained.”

Clearly, he didn’t know whether it was a technique, weapon, or something else.

What mattered was that even before entering the Shaolin Secret Realm, Seo Hyo had already spoken in code, indicating he knew Unhwi was the one called Nameless.

Unhwi answered briefly.

"Something like that."

"Aren’t you going to ask how I knew?"

"Should I?"

"Maybe I was fishing."

Unhwi gave a quiet laugh.

"Seo Hyo, I haven’t known you long, but I understand what kind of man you are."

"..."

"You wouldn’t have opened your mouth unless you were absolutely sure. You would've confirmed it with everything at your disposal—combed through every record stored in Cheonrim, pulled every string available to you."

"..."

"The recent incident with I Myeonghwa, the game with the Celestial Daoist, the conspiracy in Viper Valley... from afar, they may seem unrelated. But to someone like you—close enough—they would look different."

"..."

"By now, you’re already certain. And if you’re still saying it aloud, it means you’re after something else."

Unhwi looked him in the eye.

"Denial."

"..."

"You wanted me to deny it. If I did, you would have pretended not to know. You wouldn't tell anyone. Am I wrong?"

"...You really are... terrifyingly perceptive. It’s like you’re reading straight through me."

But one question remained.

Why had Seo Hyo wanted him to deny it?

"Seo Hyo, you seem to think very highly of me."

"...I do. I rate you even higher than the Celestial Daoist of the Original Blood Sect."

"Why?"

"..."

"Surely not because people call me a genius."

Even in such a serious moment, Seo Hyo couldn’t help but let out a chuckle.

"I'm not unaware of your brilliance. But honestly, that word doesn’t come close to capturing what you are. Smart, a master strategist, a Go prodigy—yes, all of that’s amazing. But it’s not why I admire you."

Truthfully, Unhwi had always wondered about this.

"I’d like to hear it, then."

"...Because you care about the people beneath you."

***

He stared silently.

Because I care for my subordinates...?

"That’s the reason?"

"For me, it’s a very big reason."

Unhwi could understand it, more or less.

Just as Seo Hyo had been curious about him, he had something he wanted to ask in return.

"Who is the real master of Cheonrim?"

"...You really want to know?"

Unhwi nodded. After a brief pause, Seo Hyo answered firmly.

"Yang Seoljin."

At that, Unhwi’s brow immediately furrowed.

Seo Hyo tilted his head, confused by the reaction.

"You look surprised. You really had no idea, did you?"

Unhwi nodded.

Truth was, he didn’t know much about Yang Seoljin. Just that he was a traitor, that the gentle expression he wore was a mask, and that in reality, he was the kind of man who could eat people alive—literally.

He was also someone with the patience to carry out a plan meticulously, from bottom to top.

That was all Unhwi knew.

In his previous life, when he’d finally killed Yang Seoljin, he’d asked many things—but not about Cheonrim.

There was no reason to.

Because about ten years from now, Cheonrim would be disbanded.

And that alone made this all the more unbelievable.

"How the hell could Yang Seoljin be the master of Cheonrim?"

"...The first master of Cheonrim was Yu Cheong, of the Original Blood Sect."

"And?"

"Back then, the Bright Lord among the Four Pillars of Cheonrim was Yang Seoljin."

Unhwi understood. From this point on, what Seo Hyo was about to reveal were the deepest secrets of Cheonrim.

"Go on."

"Sixty years ago, when Yu Cheong returned to the Original Blood Sect, Yang Seoljin succeeded him and became the master of Cheonrim. He still holds the position to this day."

The Vice Lord of the Snow Palace had an overwhelming amount of responsibilities.

He had to handle administrative work in place of the Palace Lord, process endless reports, and manage affairs. Just that was exhausting—yet Yang Seoljin was also supposedly scheming to overturn the Snow Palace.

Even for a genius, that should be the limit. But to act as master of Cheonrim as well?

It wasn’t a question of capability. It was flat-out impossible. The moment he accepted the role of Vice Lord and stepped into the public eye, he could no longer run an underground group like Cheonrim.

Except—unless—

"So at some point, the role of 'master' became meaningless."

"That’s correct."

Now it made sense.

Cheonrim had a symbolic master, but its actual operations were run by the Four Pillars.

In other words, the master was just a figurehead.

And yet he remained—for the sake of legitimacy.

A front piece in the game to revive the Thousand-Year Demonic Sect.

A group that had to move entirely in the shadows.

Something disposable, to be cast aside the moment it lost value.

"So you're the one running Cheonrim now?"

To that, Seo Hyo shook his head.

"I'm one of the Four Pillars, yes—but the one acting as master now is the Flame Lord."

The Flame Lord.

The only one Unhwi didn’t know.

"Who is he?"

"The Lord of Transforming Sword Heaven Sect (Ihwa Geomcheonjong)."

The current central plains were home to many great factions, but the most prominent among them was the Martial Alliance.

Outside that umbrella were ten righteous sects: the Five Great Noble Houses and the Five Great Sword Sects.

Transforming Sword Heaven Sect was one of those five.

Unhwi scowled.

Its Lord was not only a transcendent wielder of Great Void Formlessness, but a top-tier powerhouse of unmatched strength.

And as mentioned, the Five Sword Sects and Five Noble Houses were paragons of orthodoxy.

The man currently hailed as the Gentleman of the World was Lord Gun Mugyeol of the Martial Alliance—but if not for him, that title would have gone to the Lord of Transforming Sword Heaven Sect.

Even in his past life, Unhwi had never interacted with them. When the Blood Sect took over the world, they had shut their gates and sealed themselves off.

"So many of them are rotten to the core. I had no idea."

"...That surprises me."

"What does?"

"I thought you already knew."

Unhwi let out a quiet laugh.

"If I’d known everything, I wouldn’t need to ask."

"...That’s even more shocking. It means you’re working with only what you’ve been able to deduce. All of this I’ve just told you—you knew none of it, and yet you drew it out."

"Something like that."

"..."

"You have more to say?"

Seo Hyo’s face was still stiff. He clearly had something else on his mind.

"As you said, there are no eyes or ears here. And earlier, you said I hold you in high regard."

"I did."

"And I told you that it’s because you care for your subordinates."

Unhwi nodded.

"But there’s one more reason."

"Go ahead."

"I think you're a truly terrifying person. Beyond fear—awe-inspiring."

"Why?"

"...Because you're someone who knows how to wait for the right moment."

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Unhwi’s mouth.

"Go on."

"Back in the Secret Realm, you erased several names from the list Yeon Chuha gave you."

"I did."

Seo Hyo drew a deep breath, then spoke firmly.

"You know exactly what would happen if you killed Yang Seoljin right now. Don’t you?"

"Yes."

"May I ask what that would be?"

Unhwi didn’t hesitate.

"The annihilation of the Snow Palace."

Seo Hyo nodded.

"Exactly. I may be one of the Four Pillars of Cheonrim, but even I don’t know who all the figures behind the Thousand-Year Demonic Sect’s revival are. But I do know this—if Yang Seoljin dies, the Snow Palace will be wiped out."

This wasn’t exaggeration.

Why hadn’t Unhwi killed Yang Seoljin yet? Why was he still watching? Why was he actively sowing confusion in his mind?

There was only one reason.

The "right moment" he had always spoken of—it simply hadn’t come yet.

Yu Cheong was more than cunning—he was dangerous.

His true goal wasn’t to consume the Snow Palace.

He was after what lay within the Perpetual Snow Mountain.

And if Yang Seoljin died prematurely, Yu Cheong would mobilize every resource to obliterate the Snow Palace from existence.

This wasn’t just about Yang Seoljin’s position. It was about a leader’s commitment to their cause.

Reviving the Thousand-Year Demonic Sect was no small goal.

If its leader were spineless, someone who abandoned their own—who would follow him?

Yang Seoljin’s death would give Yu Cheong the perfect excuse to prove his leadership.

In that moment, Yu Cheong would have to move.

The Five Noble Houses. /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ The Five Sword Sects. The Martial Alliance. The Sichuan Alliance.

He would manufacture the justification to mobilize everything. Even if he had to force it.