Chapter 82

Chapter 82

When each of them was lost in their own thoughts, Youngho looked at Sopyung and spoke.

“What are you doing, Sopyung?”

“It seemed like everyone else was thinking about something, so I was thinking too.”

“Thinking about what?”

“About tonight’s dinner.”

“Is that so? Make something delicious.”

“Yes!”

Watching Sopyung answer brightly, Youngho let out a faint chuckle.

And so, seven days and nights passed.

Seeing Youngho staring at him with an expressionless face, Jongpal broke out in a cold sweat.

“Young Master, is there something you wish to say to me?”

“That’s a good question. Have you heard any rumors that Hanryeong—no, the Second Young Master—has died?”

“It doesn’t seem like anything has happened, sir?”

“Is that so? Then continue your training.”

“Yes, sir!”

Horyeung, who had been observing Youngho quietly lost in thought, asked him,

“Young Master, is there something troubling you?”

“No. It just feels like things weren’t like this before.”

“Pardon?”

“It’s nothing.”

‘Was it like this before the Regression?’

No, it had been very different. He was certain that the moment Jeonghyeon came out after finishing his Closed-Door Training, Hanryeong had ambushed him.

‘And he died.’

He did not know the exact details, but Hanryeong had definitely died after provoking Jeonghyeon.

But the future had changed. According to Jongpal, neither Jeonghyeon nor Hanryeong had taken any action.

‘That can’t be right.’

The current Hanryeong was like a venomous snake brimming with poison. If he had locked onto his prey and did not strike immediately, then there had to be some variable at play.

And that variable was…

‘Me.’

It was Youngho. The reason the future kept changing could only be because of Youngho’s actions. The more he deviated from his previous path, the more the future shifted—an inevitable result.

“……Should I go find him myself?”

At Youngho’s mutter, Kang Hosan and Kang Chowon shuddered involuntarily.

The killing intent reflected in Youngho’s eyes was saying, I mean it.

Just as Youngho was about to rise to his feet—

Knock, knock.

Someone knocked on the door of his house.

Everyone’s gaze turned toward the door. The reason was simple: Youngho did not have many acquaintances.

To put it more plainly, those who came looking for him were usually people bearing important messages.

No one visited him over trivial matters.

‘Gold-Blood Hall?’

‘No, it could be the Lord of the Unorthodox Alliance.’

The only people Youngho knew, given that he spent most of his time training in his room, were individuals who held fairly high positions within the Unorthodox Alliance.

Perhaps out of curiosity himself, Youngho personally opened the door and spoke.

“Who is it?”

A man bowed lightly to Youngho and said,

“It is my first time meeting you. My name is—”

“No. Not your name. Where did you come from?”

“……I bear a message from the Second Young Master.”

“Hmm?”

At the faint smile of interest forming on Youngho’s face, the man could not hide his confusion.

‘Why isn’t he flustered?’

He knew that recently Youngho had been called one of the Three Dragons. Even so, compared to the Second Young Master, the gap between them should have been like heaven and earth.

Yet Youngho’s reaction was not that of someone weaker. If anything, it felt closer to him looking down on Hanryeong.

‘It’s too early to be certain.’

Clearing his throat, the man continued,

“The Second Young Master has asked that you visit his residence briefly.”

“Hanryeong’s house?”

At Youngho’s shameless remark, the man’s expression twisted instantly.

“Please use the proper form of address.”

“That’s none of your concern. So Hanryeong asked me to come to his house?”

The man was about to say something, but recalling the order Hanryeong had given him, he forcibly calmed himself.

‘I am merely part of the communication link.’

Excessive loyalty here could become poison instead. Even so, he could not completely hide his displeasure as he continued.

“Yes. The Second Young Master has summoned the Fifth Young Master.”

“Why?”

“Pardon?”

“I asked why he summoned me.”

The man could not conceal his bewilderment. A mere Fifth Young Master was questioning the words of the Second Young Master, Hanryeong.

A faint scoff escaped him without his realizing.

‘A foolish pup that does not know the fear of a tiger…’

At some point, the man’s assessment of Youngho had shifted—decidedly for the worse.

“He said he wished to have a brief conversation.”

“Is that so? Then lead the way.”

“Understood.”

As Youngho moved to follow the man, Elder Hyeok reached for his sword to follow as well.

“Hyeokong, don’t come. It’s more convenient that way.”

“Pardon? Even so—”

“I said it’s fine. Just continue your training. Why are you trying to skip it?”

“T-That’s not—”

“It’s more convenient alone, so hurry and train.”

At Youngho’s firm tone, Hyeokong looked dejected and resumed his training.

“Do you truly not require an escort?”

At the man’s question, Youngho gave him a look that clearly said, What is wrong with this one now?

“Just lead the way.”

Despite Youngho’s exceedingly calm tone, the man frowned once more before beginning to walk.

‘Not even bringing an escort… Is he disregarding the Second Young Master?’

The man scowled where Youngho could not see.

And yet, it felt to Youngho as though he could see straight through all of the man’s thoughts.

‘It’s not that I intended to disregard him.’

Though he was nothing more than a coward anyway.

Humming softly to himself, Youngho walked at an unhurried pace.

“Here it is.”

Before he knew it, Youngho had arrived at the pavilion where Hanryeong was waiting. He lightly patted the man’s shoulder and said,

“Alright, good work.”

After giving a perfunctory reply, Youngho stepped inside the pavilion. Soon, a maid noticed his arrival and guided him to the top floor.

Knock, knock.

The maid knocked on the door and said,

“The Fifth Young Master has arrived.”

From inside the room, Hanryeong’s voice was heard.

“Enter.”

As the maid opened the door, Youngho strode inside.

After briefly glancing around, Youngho formed an intrigued smile and said,

“It’s been a while, First Senior Brother.”

At Youngho’s greeting, Jeonghyeon gave a nod. Youngho was not the least bit surprised to see Jeonghyeon here.

At the sight of Youngho displaying an immovable calmness like a Buddha, a faint crack appeared in Hanryeong’s expression.

“So you address First Senior Brother properly?”

“He’s not exactly my enemy.”

Leaning against the wall, Youngho continued,

“So, why did you call me?”

Jeonghyeon’s eyes widened slightly as he looked at Youngho. He seemed rather surprised by the unexpectedly bold attitude—at least, that was how it appeared in Hanryeong’s eyes.

The truth, however, was different.

‘I can’t see it?’

He could not see Youngho’s realm at all. No—he could not even gauge it. What in the world was going on?

Jeonghyeon glanced at Hanryeong and thought,

‘Hanryeong has always been like this. When his eyes roll back, he still doesn’t care about consequences.’

It seemed Hanryeong had not even realized that Jeonghyeon himself could not grasp Youngho’s realm.

‘Otherwise, he wouldn’t make such a foolish move.’

Jeonghyeon, Hanryeong, and Youngho. The martial arts they had learned were all bestowed upon them by their master, Cheonung.

So it was only natural that they understood one another well—but to Jeonghyeon, Youngho was completely unreadable.

‘Is he above me?’

It made no sense. He had heard that Youngho had only been learning martial arts for about three years. And yet he could not discern the level of someone far younger than himself?

‘Just how strong is he?’

He could not even begin to estimate it.

Unable to conceal the vein bulging on his forehead, Hanryeong spoke,

“Youngho, come sit here and let us talk for a moment.”

“Don’t give me that crap. Your eyes are glinting with killing intent—would you sit if you were me?”

Creak.

His teeth ground together involuntarily, but Hanryeong kept his smile as he said in a soothing tone,

“I truly only wish to have a brief conversation.”

“Hmm….”

Youngho looked at Hanryeong with interest for a moment, then, as if he had already grown bored, let out a yawn.

“Did you really think you could trap me with something as trivial as this Formation?”

“……!”

Hanryeong shot to his feet without realizing it.

“How did you—!”

“What can I do if I can feel it?”

In truth, Hanryeong had set up a vicious Formation throughout the corridor. A Formation so powerful that once ensnared, one would never escape.

Yet at Youngho’s dismissive tone, Hanryeong’s eyes widened.

Straightening from the wall he had been leaning on, Youngho said slowly,

“First Senior Brother doesn’t look like he intends to step in… so do you have some other trick?”

His openly contemptuous attitude toward Hanryeong was arrogance incarnate. But Hanryeong could not bring himself to voice that thought aloud.

“……How much do you know?”

Hanryeong was not a fool. Instantly assessing the situation, he wondered just how much of his thoughts Youngho had read.

At Hanryeong’s straightforward question, Youngho made a dubious expression.

“Do you normally ask your enemy that? So you don’t even know the basics of military strategy?”

Youngho flashed an eerie gaze as he bared his white teeth in a grin.

“Is that all you have for your last words?”

Step by step, he approached Hanryeong as he continued,

“So you must have come to some agreement with First Senior Brother? Normally, you would’ve launched the ambush first.”

The killing intent slowly rising from Youngho began to coil around Hanryeong’s mind and body.

“I never imagined you’d target me first. I thought you at least knew your own place.”

As Youngho curled his lips in open mockery, Hanryeong instead let out a grin of his own.

“I admit it. You are a variable beyond my expectations. But you still lack experience.”

Youngho was still young. There were many things one could only learn after ten years within the Unorthodox Alliance—things he had yet to fully grasp.

If Youngho had remained within the Unorthodox Alliance for just three more years, perhaps it would have been Hanryeong who suffered instead.

After all, Youngho was a monster capable of such a thing.

Shrugging his shoulders, Youngho asked,

“What experience?”

“Do you truly think I summoned only you and Jeonghyeon here?”

Youngho paused briefly and looked at Hanryeong as if to say, Go on.

“You have fallen into a trap.”

“Did it not occur to you that I stepped into it willingly?”

“No. The moment you sensed the Formation, you should have fled. Though you would’ve died anyway. Still, who knows? A sliver of possibility is always open.”

“Are you finished with your last words?”

Youngho glanced at Jeonghyeon. Seeing no movement from him, it seemed he held little interest in this matter.

‘That’s at least fortunate. If both of them had attacked together, it might have been slightly troublesome.’

A smile crept across Youngho’s face—one chilling enough to send shivers down anyone’s spine.

“You may die now.”

At his words, Hanryeong let out a sneer.

“You, perhaps.”

Boom—!

In an instant, it felt as though the entire pavilion shook. A tremendous roar slammed into Youngho’s eardrums.

He had already protected his ears with Internal Energy, yet the sound still felt deafening.

“H-how…?”

Though a surprise attack had been launched, Youngho still stood perfectly unharmed. Confusion filled both Jeonghyeon’s and Hanryeong’s eyes.

But the one most flustered was neither Jeonghyeon nor Hanryeong.

The chilling killing intent in Youngho’s eyes gnawed at the minds and bodies of all who beheld it.

“It’s been a while, Mad Monk. No….”

Staring directly at Danpung, whose trembling pupils could not steady themselves, Youngho spoke.

“Blood Ghost Hall Master.”

Kwaaaaaa—!

A terrifying killing intent erupted from Youngho’s body.