Chapter 199

Suk—!

A flash of light streaked by.

Among the many cities supporting the Snowy Mountains, there weren’t many that could be considered central. The head of Haseong, Supreme Commander of the Divine Spirit Province, shot up toward the sky.

Blood spread crimson across the snowy field. Before Haseong’s head even hit the ground, his body collapsed to its knees. Standing before him was a man, soaked in blood from head to toe.

It was Seol Horeung.

Silence fell over the great hall of the Divine Spirit Province’s main government building.

Dozens of martial artists watched the scene, unable to even breathe.

He spoke.

“Anyone else got something to say?”

Seol Horeung’s gaze swept across the martial artists of the Divine Spirit Province. Under that cold stare, they all fell to their knees at once. No one dared to speak.

In the silence, where even the sound of the wind felt heavy, Seol Horeung pulled out a bloodstained slip of paper from his robe.

It was the list Unhwi had given him.

There were nine names on it, including the head of Baekryeongak. None of them were ordinary.

First was the head of Baekryeongak, one of the three Seolgung Sanak (Snow Palace Triangles), then the Supreme Commander of the Divine Spirit Province, the Supreme Commander of the Cheongsan Province in the west, and the branch masters of the Hyunwollyeong.

In terms of martial level, excluding the Baekryeongak head, of the remaining eight, three were at Harmony Level, two at Transcendent Level, and the other three had fully opened their Five Qi and Origin.

And all eight of them had been eliminated in just three days.

If the Supreme Commander of the Heavenly Snow Province, once called the genius of Seolgung, truly set his mind to it, this much was possible.

More than anything—

“As expected of Hanbingmun. But was their forging technique always this advanced?”

Almost before the words left his mouth, a middle-aged man from the corner rushed over and responded quickly.

Yeom Suseok.

The man in charge of all forging techniques within Hanbingmun.

“I ground everything down to the bone and soul to create it.”

Seol Horeung looked slightly uncomfortable and took a small step back.

“There was an order from the clan lord to forge a divine weapon by pouring in our very lives, for the sake of Daeseollin-nim who is trying to complete the great task. So please, feel free to request anything without hesitation. Until this great task is complete, I, Yeom Suseok, speak and act on behalf of Hanbingmun.”

Pausing briefly, Yeom Suseok bowed low with a fist-salute.

“I will serve you without inconvenience, Daeseollin-nim!”

“Uh... yeah, do that.”

He had a rough idea why this was happening. It wasn’t like he could deny the benefit he was receiving from Hanbingmun.

Then Gong Yuchan, the Vice Commander of the Heavenly Snow Province and longtime aide to Seol Horeung, approached with a worried expression. In his hand were golden medicinal liquor and several spirit pills.

“Commander.”

Seol Horeung slowly turned his head. His face was pale, and his robes were soaked in both his and his enemies’ blood. From a deep wound on his right arm, blood was still flowing.

“Aren’t you pushing yourself too hard?”

Seol Horeung gave a faint smile. Despite the fatigue and wounds, his smile was bright.

“I have to push myself. These aren’t people who just turned their backs on Seolgung. They sold it out.”

Right after emerging from the Secret Realm, Seol Horeung mobilized every resource he had to investigate the people on the list. He activated seven military units and rallied the entire force of the Heavenly Snow Province.

The reason traitors are hard to catch is because they can't be identified. Like trying to find one specific grain of sand in a desert.

But once the targets were narrowed down, focusing on their movements allowed him to learn a lot in a short time. And that’s what Seol Horeung did.

Haseong, the Supreme Commander of the Divine Spirit Province at Transcendent Level.

He was the trickiest to deal with.

He had used martial arts from the True Source Blood Sect and even tapped into Blood Qi—no wonder he was a headache.

But in the end, the list hadn’t been wrong.

Gong Yuchan handed him warm liquor and spoke.

“You killed Goun Tak, the Sub-Master of Cheonseolmun, and cleared out three of the thirteen Cheonseol military divisions... You haven’t rested at all.”

“Come on, why are you talking like that again? My grandfather killed the Sub-Master. I only dealt with one of the three divisions.”

After a sip of liquor, color returned to his pale face. When Seol Horeung moved his arm, blood dripped from the wound onto the ice.

“...You took care of two of the division # Nоvеlight # heads yourself.”

Concern was written all over Gong Yuchan’s face. He’d served Seol Horeung for over a decade, and Seol Horeung’s recent growth was beyond words.

“What exactly happened in the Secret Realm? Your movement’s so much sharper now. At this rate, you’ll reach Myth Level soon.”

Seol Horeung gave a playful grin.

“Jealous?”

“...Yes.”

Seol Horeung patted his shoulder and said curtly,

“Enough silly talk. Let’s go clean up Baekryeongak.”

Gong Yuchan couldn’t hide his curiosity.

“You think they’re still at Baekryeong Gorge?”

“They should be. My grandfather and the head of Seolhwa Mountain Villa both went out. No matter how great Baekryeongak is, they can’t stop those two.”

To Gong Yuchan, all of this still felt like a dream.

It had only been five days since Seol Horeung returned from the Secret Realm.

The distance to Sanghyeon, where Cheonseolmun and the Heavenly Snow Province were based, wasn’t far—but in just two days, he’d dealt with the traitors in Cheonseolmun, and in the remaining three days, wiped out the eight named individuals.

It took three days to kill those eight. Including the Cheonseolmun purge, it was a massacre carried out in just five days.

Of course, there was justification. They were all enemies of Seolgung, traitors who sold out its secrets.

And they’d found many letters in the Divine Spirit Province as well.

“...I’m worried.”

“About what now?”

Seol Horeung asked as he mounted his horse. At his signal, the Heavenly Snow Province martial artists began reforming their ranks.

“If you really intend to become the next Crown Prince... shouldn’t Seolhwa Mountain Villa stay out of it?”

At that question, Seol Horeung laughed like it was truly funny. But the pain from his wounds made him cough up blood, and Gong Yuchan couldn’t understand why.

“...I asked a reasonable question. If you’re to become Crown Prince, shouldn’t you receive all the attention—”

“Hey, hey, Vice Commander.”

“...Yes?”

“You still don’t get it?”

“Get what?”

Seol Horeung’s eyes deepened—not with jest, but with penetrating insight.

“I’m not the one who set this board. It was our adorable youngest.”

“...”

“Our youngest is meticulous. Instead of saying Seolhwa Mountain Villa shouldn’t have intervened, you should ask why they did.”

Confusion flickered across Gong Yuchan’s face.

“...I don’t follow.”

“Forget it. Don’t try to understand. Just follow me. Like always.”

Gong Yuchan scratched his head. He rode his horse right beside Seol Horeung.

“...We’re heading straight to Baekryeong Gorge?”

“Of course. We’re cleaning everything up. The table’s already set—if you can’t eat what’s handed to you, might as well drop dead.”

“...”

“Don’t doubt my decision to become Crown Prince. And—”

A cold resolve flashed in Seol Horeung’s eyes. It resembled Unhwi’s.

“Now is the perfect time, with Father absent.”

“...Isn’t it the opposite? You’re moving without the permission of the one person whose word could legitimize everything.”

“That’s why. Think carefully on the way. About why now is the right time.”

Seol Horeung had already made up his mind.

He would follow the board Unhwi had laid out.

And he would become Crown Prince, filling the empty seat in Seolgung.

He would follow the rightful bloodline. And he would uphold tradition.

Seol Horeung’s horse carved through the snowfall. Behind him, the martial artists of the Heavenly Snow Province followed.

***

Seol Horeong had used the word “perfect timing” and the phrase “a table already set.”

Every word had its reason.

From the very beginning, for Seol Horeong to become the Little Lord of Seolgung, it required Seol Jungcheon’s decision.

That was only natural.

But in the current state of Seolgung, the position of Little Lord had been left vacant for over a dozen years.

If Seol Horeong were to suddenly declare he would take that seat for himself, those around him wouldn’t take it well.

No matter how much of a genius he might be—was it truly right? After all, there were already other candidates who rivaled him in ability. There was even the youngest, whose latent potential could perhaps surpass Seol Horeong’s entirely.

To suddenly step forward now?

If Seol Jungcheon made the decision, people might obey—but there would still be talk behind closed doors.

Because Seolgung wasn’t just any martial sect.

In such a place, there had to be a solid reason. A legitimate cause.

Why Seol Horeong?

Why must it be him who takes that seat?

The Master of Seolhwasanjang (Snowflower Villa), and maternal grandfather of Seol Murun—Man Seokcheong—spoke in a low voice.

“He’s a terrifying one.”

The man who responded was Sacheonuk, the Sect Leader of Cheonseolmun (Heavenly Snow Gate).

“Hoho, now really—how could you say such a thing about my grandson, who’s about to become the next Little Lord...”

“I’m not talking about the Little Lord.”

“Hm?”

“I mean Hyeon Seolrin. That one.”

“...”

“He proved himself by becoming the Chief of Yangryeong Province while serving as Branch Lord of Seolap. But to be honest, I had my doubts.”

“Doubts?”

“Yes—doubts about whether he was truly that exceptional of a figure.”

Sacheonuk gave a soft chuckle, and Man Seokcheong continued.

“After seeing how this was handled, I’m certain now. He’s a double-edged sword.”

“A double-edged sword...”

“With only a few things in his grasp, he still managed to produce the best possible result. Just look—I’m standing here now, aren’t I?”

“...”

“From the outside, this is what people will see: Seol Horeong resolved to become the Little Lord. His rival, Seol Murun, accepted defeat. And the Master of Seolhwasanjang, who stands behind him, handed over the subdued traitors of Seolgung to Seol Horeong—leaving them alive as if to declare his support.”

There was one key point.

Seolhwasanjang and Cheonseolmun—both were now seen as supporting Seol Horeong’s claim to become Little Lord.

Sacheonuk said quietly:

“Then from this moment forward, the result and its implications will depend on your choice.”

And that, too, was not wrong.

If Man Seokcheong, Master of Seolhwasanjang, were to refute it all—then the outcome could still be changed.

He could say it was all part of Hyeon Seolrin’s scheme. That the edicts bearing the Palace Lord’s seal had been forged. That they’d been tricked. That they would now leave and return to Seolhwasanjang in Pungbyeok.

The entire board would be reset.

But he couldn’t do that.

“...My grandson gave the bracelet to the boy.”

“The bracelet... don’t tell me, you mean the Seolhwa Suhwan? That sacred artifact?”

Seol Murun, who owed his life to Unhwi, had handed over the sacred heirloom of Seolhwasanjang—the Seolhwa Suhwan—of his own volition.

And that was the problem.

The one in possession of the Seolhwa Suhwan held the authority to command all members of Seolhwasanjang—except for its Master.

And it hadn’t been stolen.

It had been given, directly, by Seol Murun.

Why else would it be called a sacred heirloom?

It was the embodiment of the clan’s very identity.