Chapter 310

“Since a vengeance-wraith called Shin Gang will come, kill Yeon Songbaek, and assume the sect master seat anew, shouldn’t we naturally reset the relationship?”

“Oh? So in the end, you’re saying I should stuff every evil deed committed so far into the corpse named Yeon Songbaek?”

“Yes. I believe that much is sufficient as the price for taking off your mask.”

Shin Gang closed his mouth.

He hadn’t smashed the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect’s branch sites for nothing. It was one of several preparatory steps meant to blemish the name Yeon Songbaek.

No words came out.

Was this really a person?

Shin Gang stood at a crossroads.

Whether to keep living with the mask he had worn for twenty years, or to take it off perfectly through Unhwi.

Shin Gang’s face hardened.

“I will write you a new story. In exchange, senior, you give me what I want. What more could possibly be needed than that.”

Shin Gang set his teacup down.

“And if I refuse?”

“Then we’ll both get tired.”

“If I kill you and all those bastards right here?”

“Then you will have to wear the mask you’ve worn for twenty years for the rest of your life.”

“.......”

“You won’t even be able to use your real name. You’ll have to keep living as Yeon Songbaek.”

“And if I negotiate with Mae Wuidong instead of you?”

“Do you believe him? Alliance Lord Mae?”

“.......”

“You... how much do you know?”

“You keep making me say the same thing. I know ‘everything.’ And while we’re at it, I’ll say it clearly. Once this moment today passes, I guarantee you: in your entire life, an opportunity like this will never come again.”

And—

“I don’t know if you’ve already received it, but one letter will go to you. Or it’s already here, perhaps.”

“Are you talking about the letter you sent?”

“A letter from the one who made me a hunting dog.”

“......So you really did know.”

It was an abrupt remark, but Unhwi grasped its meaning at once.

“Yes. I know why you did nothing while the Heavenly Alliance took Cheonrim.”

“......You’re a frightening bastard.”

“Hearing that from someone who hid the truth for twenty years doesn’t feel bad.”

Shin Gang drank his last tea.

To state only the conclusion, it wasn’t bad.

How long did he have to keep using the name Yeon Songbaek?

He wanted to reclaim the name Shin Gang. But in the process, there were not one or two things he would have to do.

Cleanup ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) was the second problem. The first was killing those who knew his secret.

But if he joined hands with Unhwi, the story would proceed smoothly, and taking off the mask would become easier.

Above all, he could keep the link called Sang Jiheok alive, and through him, push things forward more easily.

But the most important piece was missing.

“The Heaven-Extreme Sword. It is not counted among the Ten Great Famous Swords of the world, but it is a divine relic of the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect that rivals them, and it must be in my hand.”

Shin Gang, who was said to have died, returns alive, kills Yeon Songbaek, repays old grudges, and becomes the new sect master.

In the end, it was the same person, but this was no different from a man’s lifelong wish.

Creating and spreading a story was not difficult.

Whether Cheonrim or Gaebang or anything else—if you spread it, that was that.

And if Unhwi supported it, and all reasons behind the war between the Heavenly Alliance and the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect were pushed onto the dead Yeon Songbaek’s responsibility, and then Shin Gang, who would become the new sect master, joined hands with the Heavenly Arbiter of the Heavenly Alliance to negotiate—

It would be truly perfect.

Truly acceptable.

But the single most crucial justification at the heart of this story was the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect’s lost divine relic.

Only with that could Shin Gang’s “revival” become legitimate.

“If there is no divine relic, this story will become uncertain, and later it will become a weakness. Perhaps I will have to erase the sword sect with my own hand, and if that day comes, I will take your head as well.”

“That’s right.”

“Where is the divine relic?”

Unhwi was about to answer.

That was when a voice came from outside the door.

“Young Master.”

It was Chief Seong.

Unhwi asked.

“Did you find it?”

“I found it.”

Keeping his gaze fixed on Shin Gang, Unhwi said,

“Tell him to come in.”

With a sliding sound, the door opened.

Without even wiping away the sweat running down his brow, Chief Seong’s ear caught Unhwi’s words as they continued.

“Hand it to ‘Senior Shin’ who is here.”

“......Understood.”

Chief Seong set down a long sword wrapped in cloth in front of Shin Gang.

When Shin Gang pulled back the cloth with a trembling hand, a single sword appeared, radiating a dazzling sharp aura.

The characters Heaven-Extreme, carved clearly on the hilt, stabbed into Shin Gang’s eyes.

“......Heaven-Extreme...... it really is that sword.”

Shin Gang lifted his head and looked at Unhwi.

He didn’t show it, but goosebumps rose all over his body.

Since when had this bastard been drawing this entire situation inside his head?

To put it bluntly, this could be called a “divine move” for Seol Unhwi personally.

“......The ‘Shin Gang’ said to have died meets Seol Unhwi of the Heavenly Alliance, who is currently in conflict with the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect, and together they scheme a ‘great undertaking’—this is the first step of the entire process. Is that right?”

“That’s right.”

“You restore Shin Gang’s honor, end the friction between the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect and the Heavenly Alliance in the process...... and in exchange, you take full authority over Cheonrim?”

“In that process, we need an object with binding force over each other.”

It meant, in the true sense, to ride the same boat.

Unhwi would take everything he meant to take, and Shin Gang would resolve his long-cherished wish.

His vision brightened.

“Will you write the blood oath letter?”

At Unhwi’s words, Shin Gang smiled brightly.

“Good!”

Shin Gang came out after writing the blood oath letter.

He didn’t know how long it had been.

Had the air ever been this refreshing?

Then Shin Gang’s gaze went toward a corner.

A very large man.

“Were you the Division Chief of the Martial Righteous Unit?”

“Yes. My name is Wei Tianhu. I couldn’t greet you earlier, so I greet you now.”

Shin Gang looked at him for a moment as Wei Tianhu made a clasped-fist salute.

“I’ll accept the greeting. But more than that—aren’t you dissatisfied?”

“Dissatisfied, you say......”

“I have ears. Even if I don’t want to listen, it reaches me.”

Shin Gang formed a strange smile.

“Recently, there was talk that two elders would be newly appointed to the Heavenly Alliance, and that a strike force would be newly formed as well, but it fizzled out. Is that right?”

“......That’s right.”

“The Martial Righteous Unit guarding the Heavenly Alliance stands firm, yet the Heavenly Arbiter over there tries to make a new military force, and Mae Wuidong accepted it...... was your will part of that?”

“It is work the superiors are doing. How could I dare to chatter and interfere?”

Shin Gang gave a quiet snort of laughter.

“A ‘loyal retainer,’ then.”

“.......”

“I’m going.”

As if he had no desire to talk at length, Shin Gang turned away.

He began walking, and soon disappeared from sight.

Han Murin approached the Wei Tianhu left behind alone.

“There is a drinking table set inside.”

“Is everyone seated?”

“Yes.”

Wei Tianhu, seeming to think for a moment, slowly shook his head.

“Many of the Martial Righteous Unit are injured. There are severe cases as well, so I need to stop by briefly...... will you convey that to the Heavenly Arbiter?”

“Then...... understood.”

Han Murin made a clasped-fist salute and went into the quarters.

Watching that, Wei Tianhu turned his body.

Just as he had told Han Murin, he went around to check the injured of the Martial Righteous Unit.

Not long after, Wei Tianhu came back out and looked toward the quarters where Unhwi was.

In there would be Seol Unhwi, Han Murin, and Chief Seong.

He turned his head back. Through the gap of an open door, his eyes met those of a Martial Righteous Unit member.

The two exchanged looks like people meeting in secret in the dead of night.

When Wei Tianhu quietly nodded, the member nodded as well.

Wei Tianhu headed toward Unhwi’s quarters, and that member slipped out discreetly through the back door.

No one saw it.

That was what they thought.

From the direction of a giant pine tree on the outer edge of Calmheart Tower, sharp eyes looked back and forth between Wei Tianhu and the Martial Righteous Unit member.

Unhwi does not suspect the innocent.

In this world, there is no such thing as coincidence.

That is all.

That night, at Zi hour (23:00–01:00).

From a place quite far from Calmheart Tower, a top-grade messenger hawk flew toward Cheonsu.

Shin Gang returned straight to the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect and walked silently through the garden.

Even though two days had already passed, the smile that had risen at the corner of his mouth would not fade. That was how good he felt.

Seol Unhwi.

When he became an enemy, and when damage came to the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect. When Cheonrim was taken away.

In every one of those moments, the only thought in Shin Gang’s head had been that he had to kill Seol Unhwi.

But after meeting him in person, it was beyond imagination.

That man’s true worth could not be judged by rumor.

His achievements? Those meant nothing, too.

You had to see him directly. If you saw him directly, you could feel his value.

His information network was clearly at a level Shin Gang did not dare to imagine.

Just looking at how he found the Heaven-Extreme Sword.

A divine relic of the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect that Shin Gang himself could not find for twenty years—yet he had grasped its exact location and prepared it in advance.

And that wasn’t all.

He quietly took out the letter tucked inside his robe.

Luxurious paper with an engraved horned mask.

That mask was the emblem of the Mukse Society.

In truth, every warrior belonging to the Mukse Society wore that mask.

What mattered was that this was a letter that had arrived at Half-Horn Hall.

Unhwi had said it.

Whether he had ever received a letter like that—

And if he had not, he would receive one soon.

Just as he said.

***

It has been a long time.

To my memory, this may be the first time I have sent a letter so directly. I will speak bluntly.

The Heavenly Arbiter Seol Unhwi must be removed.

At the outset, the reason we approached Seol Unhwi was because he was open to the reconstruction of the Thousand-Year Demon Cult.

But.

Watching him from nearby, he did not seem to have much interest in the great cause called reconstruction of the Thousand-Year Demon Cult.

As you know well, it is not right for the Mukse Society, which must remain silent, to be brought out to the front.

He is, rather, destroying the existing order and trying to build a kingdom of his own.

Even more serious is his speed of growth. He has already reached a level that cannot be controlled, and before long he will become an existence that threatens even us.

He has elevated the fame of the Heavenly Alliance, but what comes after is for “us” to make.

The arrogance and self-righteousness of youth are turning him into an uncontrollable monster. So if we create a situation where those who can be called our greatest “enemies” remove him—

You will know what comes after.

And we can control that situation with certainty, and we can create it.

Now is the right time.

The illegitimate son of the Snow Palace.

With his sacrifice, the Snow Palace will come out into the Central Plains, confront our enemies, and greatly weaken that power.

Yes, that is right.

A foothold for reconstruction has been prepared.

Sect Master, you must handle this. This is not a request, but a necessity.

The Preceptor remains silent, but surely the Preceptor also judged that now is the right time.

I await the sect master’s wise decision.