Chapter 268

After roughly one watch of rest, Seol Unhwi stepped out of the Secret Realm.

His face was drawn and pale, but the cold gleam in his eyes remained unchanged.

It couldn’t be otherwise.

Jang Icheong had clearly set something in motion before dying—but what, exactly, was impossible to determine.

Until he could be certain that the situation was truly over, vigilance was the only correct choice.

If Jang Icheong had foreseen his own death and arranged something in advance, then someone would be waiting.

It might be an assassin—or perhaps a martial artist from the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect. Whoever they were, they would not be of the same caliber as a Celestial Being Stage cultivator like Jang.

Considering the state of his body, if a fight broke out, it would ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ have to be ended in a single, decisive burst.

Only one thought came to mind.

Flesh to Sever, Bone to Break.

He would offer up some of his flesh if it meant taking his enemy’s head.

Yet the sight that unfolded before him made him freeze for a heartbeat.

His tension faltered.

Then his mind began to race madly.

What in the world...

Why—

Why was that person here?

He hadn’t seen him in nearly two months, not since their meeting at the Bright Spirit Domain headquarters, and he had never imagined they would meet again like this.

The white-haired old man.

The martial world’s supreme sovereign, Heavenly Seer, known by the epithet Blood Heaven Venerable, sat before a Go board, playing alone—placing black and white stones by himself.

And on the board’s opposite side rested a severed head, as if the old man were playing a match with the dead.

Unhwi approached quietly.

His footsteps were deliberately audible. Approaching the martial world’s supreme being in silence would have been discourteous.

The Heavenly Seer did not even glance at him as he continued to place stones—black, white, black again, white.

After several moves, he spoke in a calm voice.

“You must have seen something interesting inside that realm.”

“You expected it, then?”

“Expected? Hm... is that really the right word?”

He picked up a black stone, yet did not place it immediately.

“There are things in this world already set in place. Like this board.”

“Then was my coming here already set as well?”

“Perhaps. Or perhaps not.”

His tone and bearing were not at all like when Unhwi had met him back in the Bright Spirit Domain.

Unhwi knew well—

The Heavenly Seer was a mysterious being.

Whenever he grew completely serious, this was the face he showed.

Unhwi had seen that face exactly twice.

Once had been the day he decided to unify the Central Plains. Was this meeting today of the same weight as that moment?

If so, then both this encounter and Unhwi’s entry into the Secret Realm were events of profound significance.

Unhwi’s expression grew solemn as well.

At last, the Heavenly Seer set the black stone down—precisely in the center of the board, at Heaven’s Origin.

“Come a little closer, will you? For someone so gifted at Go, you stand rather far back to watch.”

Unhwi took a few steps forward. Only then could he see the board clearly.

It was strange—black and white stones entangled in intricate clusters, neither side dominant, locked in a balance that seemed endless.

“Can a game played alone truly become so complicated?”

The Heavenly Seer chuckled softly.

“There is an opponent. Merely one you cannot see.”

Unhwi’s gaze shifted toward the severed head opposite him.

“That... is your opponent?”

“It could be. Or not.”

Another evasive answer.

“I don’t know who that person was,” Unhwi said, “but I can say with certainty they were not someone fit to face you.”

“Heh-heh-heh... true enough.”

The old man picked up a white stone.

“I’m curious—what did the one you met inside that realm say to you?”

Unhwi’s eyes sharpened.

“So you knew. You knew what was sealed within.”

“How could I not? It’s immodest to say it myself, but you do remember who I am, don’t you?”

“The martial world’s supreme being.”

“I’ve claimed a seat in the heavens. You think I wouldn’t see what happens below?”

“I believe this case is... a little different.”

He placed the white stone as he spoke.

“And what, precisely, do you think is different?”

“Before I answer that, allow me to ask first—how far ahead are you looking, Elder Heavenly Seer?”

He made another move in silence.

That was an invitation to continue, and Unhwi did so without hesitation.

“You were the one who guided me into the Heavenly Alliance. And you were also the one who slew its leader.”

“Heh-heh-heh...”

“You must have known that Yucheong, Vice Lord of the Original Blood Cult, is preparing the resurrection of the Thousand-Year Demon Cult, and that he commands groups such as the Mukse Society and Cheonrim—and others I probably don’t know of. For someone like you, ignorance would be impossible. You are, after all, the one seated in heaven.”

“...”

“Did you also know that I would one day target Yucheong?”

Only then did the Heavenly Seer laugh softly.

“Yang Seoljin was Yucheong’s planted man. But he died before he could complete his task. What matters most is that he stirred chaos in Snow Mountain.”

“That’s correct.”

“And that was not Yang Seoljin’s will alone—it was Yucheong’s. You realized that... and now you mean to point your blade at Yucheong’s throat.”

“Exactly.”

“Yet Yucheong himself has no idea. Remarkable. You used his own networks and the man Seo Hyo to cloud his eyes, tightened your connection with the Mukse Society’s core figure—the Flame King—by linking his daughter with one of your subordinates... Truly beyond expectation. However—”

The Heavenly Seer set another stone and looked up at him.

“Yucheong’s movements are limited. As Vice Lord of the Original Blood Cult, he must remain within its bounds—unless I dispatch him personally. If he leaves on his own, others will sense the anomaly. Have you accounted for that?”

“I have some plans, but they’re uncertain.”

“Then you will die early—or fail early. One or the other.”

“Yucheong as well. He’ll die sooner than he expects—or his grand design to revive the Thousand-Year Demon Cult will fail sooner than planned.”

It was a strange conversation.

The Heavenly Seer did not find Unhwi’s hostility toward Yucheong odd; he seemed to regard it as natural—and even certain that Unhwi would become Yucheong’s equal adversary.

Unhwi could see that clearly.

Which only made him more curious.

“Why are you merely watching as Yucheong and I clash?”

“It’s a fight between men. What business has an old lunatic like me meddling in it?”

Unhwi showed no reaction.

Not even a flicker.

Inside the Secret Realm, the Red Demon Grand Duke had referred to the Vice Lord of the Thousand-Year Demon Cult, Baek Dochun, as a ‘mad old man.’

That title belonged to someone carrying a secret far beyond mortal understanding—yet the Heavenly Seer, who had never entered the realm, somehow knew the same epithet.

And he spoke as if certain that Unhwi had heard it.

Unhwi kept his expression blank.

But the Heavenly Seer had already read something in him.

“The Red Demon Grand Duke, was it? A wraith from seven centuries past, still lingering... a man of greater persistence than I thought.”

“You can see what I’m thinking?”

“Heh-heh... not quite. But the energy of heaven and earth itself tells me what I cannot ignore.”

He placed another white stone.

“Now, will you answer me? You said this situation was different—why?”

It might seem natural for one who ‘held a seat in heaven’ to know what happened below. Yet this situation didn’t fit.

“Because a distinct purpose can be seen.”

“A purpose...”

“I’ve never lied before you, Elder Heavenly Seer. You foresaw long ago that I would seek to kill Yucheong—or rather, that I must do so. Yet the more I consider the situation, the stranger it becomes.”

“Strange? In what way?”

“Even knowing what Yucheong and I intend toward each other, you conceal it and instead encourage the conflict.”

“...”

“You placed a man who dreams of reviving the Thousand-Year Demon Cult in the seat of Vice Lord—and you entrusted me with that cult’s secrets. Taken together, it’s impossible to see it as mere curiosity or amusement. It means you planned this for a reason.”

“Then what reason do you think that is?”

Unhwi’s eyes flashed.

“You wish to see the Thousand-Year Demon Cult reborn.”

The hand holding the stone stopped in midair.

“You want to see whether that rebirth will come through Yucheong’s hand—or through mine. Isn’t that so?”

The old man’s hand moved again.

“Heh-heh... not quite.”

“Is that so.”

“Not quite—but very close.”

At last, the Heavenly Seer looked up from the board to meet Unhwi’s eyes.

“You truly exceed all expectations.”

“...”

“That you share my bloodline is already strange enough—but that Tri-Profound Unification Doctrine... truly beyond comprehension. What are you, exactly?”

“I am Seol Unhwi.”

“A deflection.”

“It depends on how you take it.”

A gentle smile touched the old man’s lips.

“Heh-heh... speaking with you feels as though I’ve stepped back into a moment from long ago.”

A moment...?

“You resemble him. The one I once knew.”

“I don’t know who that was, but it’s an honor.”

“Spare me the courtesies.”

“They’re not courtesies.”

Unhwi’s face was earnest.

The scar across his brow, the exhaustion etched in his features, the long robe stained and discolored by blood—all of it spoke of fatigue and strain, but his expression and gaze were utterly sincere.

Whatever the Heavenly Seer of his previous life might have thought, in this life Unhwi revered him as a father.

Though he did not share the memories of that bond, the trace of it within him was something he could never deny.

That was why he always respected him.

Praise from him brought joy; rebuke, discomfort.

It was natural—and he never wished to distort it.

“Whoever that person was, they must have been very important to you. If I remind you of him, then it means this moment brings you a measure of peace—and that alone is an honor.”

“...Is that so.”

The Heavenly Seer murmured, and Unhwi drew something from within his sleeve—a black gem that gleamed faintly, the final treasure of the Secret Realm, the Demon Core at least five thousand years old.

“Is this what you wanted?”

The old man glanced at it and laughed.

“You think something like that could ever move me?”