Chapter 11

Blue Moon Sect .

A name as direct as its meaning: the Blue Moon.

The sect was based in Henan. Unlike the venerable Ten Great Sects of the Righteous Path, its history was not particularly long.

Two centuries, perhaps three at most.

By comparison, pitifully short. But its standing in the martial world was never bound by the brevity of its history.

The sect was born alongside the Martial Alliance itself. Its founder, the first Sect Master, was also the very first Alliance Leader: the “Blue Moon Sword.”

Which meant the Blue Moon Sect was, in essence, the Martial Alliance’s direct sect.

And as the Martial Alliance’s influence rose to the heavens, so too did theirs.

Alliance Leader: the seat taken only by the strongest or most influential of an era.

Since the founding of the Alliance, there had been eighteen Alliance Leaders.

Of those, eight had come from the Blue Moon Sect.

With such a record, the measure of their power and position needed no further explanation.

The Ten Great Sects. The Five Great Clans.

Even with those names present, many ranked the Blue Moon Sect above them in whispers.

And if not in whispers, at least within the Alliance itself—

The Blue Moon Sect is like a god inside the Martial Alliance.

Not only because they were a direct sect.

But because of the shadow cast by the former Alliance Leader himself.

Yoo Cheongil, the Sword Saint.

The 13th Sect Master of the Blue Moon Sect, and the former Alliance Leader.

The man who, over forty years ago, ended the Great Righteous–Demonic War by beheading the Heavenly Demon, and was hailed as the World’s Greatest.

He had died more than a decade ago of long illness, or so the world said. Yet even I, who had never cared for the martial world, knew his name.

And it was this man who had once led the Blue Moon Sect.

And this bastard’s saying he’s from there?

The white-haired youth who had named himself Cheon Eujin.

My throat clicked as I swallowed again and again.

Now I understood.

Why the Branch Leader bowed his head so low before him. Why even the Commander spat blood whenever he mentioned him.

Backing? Of course there was backing.

I had thought perhaps the Namgung Clan shielded him.

But Blue Moon Sect?

That explained everything.

And more than that, his surname.

Cheon. If I remember right, the current Sect Master’s surname is also Cheon...

Cheon Seonghwa, the “Moonlit Sword.”

He had succeeded after Yoo Cheongil’s death.

Coincidence? I didn’t believe it for a moment.

Which meant—

He’s of the Sect Master’s bloodline.

Collateral or direct, I couldn’t say. But bloodline, without question.

So the Branch Leader’s gaze hadn’t been on Cheon Eujin at all.

It was fixed on me.

...Tch.

What kind of insane situation was this?

Struggling to keep my composure, I asked Cheon Eujin directly:

“...Who did you just call what?”

His words just now—I couldn’t process them.

Successor of the Sword Saint?

Where the hell had that come from?

The Sword Saint had been dead for over a decade. What successor, and why me?

My question left Cheon Eujin staring at me with a pained look, hesitant, almost pitiful.

Then—

“...Forgive me for this.”

Slowly, he reached for his sword.

The hell was this lunatic about to do?

A shiver jolted down my spine.

Shhhk—!

The blade rasped free.

“Huh?”

He raised the sword upright before me, tilting the mirror-like steel.

In it, my reflection shone.

“Why are you—huh?”

My eyes widened at once.

I grabbed at my face, rubbing at my lids.

“What the hell...”

My irises had changed.

Where once they had been dark brown, they now glowed with a clear blue light.

What in God’s name—

“...I understand why you would want to conceal it.”

“...Conceal what? What the hell are you talking about?”

Cheon Eujin’s voice was cautious, reverent.

“Danger looms. Of course you would judge the time unfit to reveal yourself.”

“No, that’s not it—”

“Even knowing you saved my life, I regret that I must come before you like this. For that, I apologize deeply.”

“...For fuck’s sake.”

No matter what I said, he wasn’t listening.

Was this really deference, or just another way of mocking me?

It was enough to make me think so.

“Please. I beg you. Lend me your ear, if only for a moment.”

His plea, earnest and almost desperate, made me frown.

Why so desperate? What could he possibly want so badly?

A Blue Moon Sect heir, one of the Sect Master’s bloodline, lowering himself like this...

Clearly, he had come to Anhui with a purpose.

Something to do with that cave.

I exhaled and spoke.

“...First of all.”

At once, everyone in the chamber—the physicians, the Branch Leader, even Cheon Eujin—froze.

All eyes locked on me.

God, this was suffocating.

I pushed through it and asked:

“What happened to Senior Yoo?”

“...What?”

Cheon Eujin blinked, wrong-footed by the question.

“My senior. The one your bodyguard stabbed through the stomach.”

“...!”

Yoo Hyungin.

Betrayed by that bastard Pungyeon.

Was he alive?

I scowled, pressing harder.

“I know you have ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) urgent matters. I know the whole situation’s a mess. But right now, before any of that, shouldn’t you tell me whether the man who bled out protecting us survived?”

The anger that had been simmering flared into heat.

Cheon Eujin flinched.

He had looked ready to give some excuse, but instead, his lips pressed tight.

“...Forgive me.”

He chose apology over explanation.

“Young Master Yoo is resting in the infirmary now. Alive.”

“His condition?”

This time, the Medical Officer answered for him.

“The surgery succeeded. A scar will remain, but with half a year’s rest, he will regain full function.”

“...Haaah.”

Relief poured out of me.

He lived. He survived.

That was enough to loosen the knots in my chest.

When I raised my head again, Cheon Eujin’s eyes were hopeful, expectant, waiting for me to engage.

But all I said was:

“Then, leave. Come back tomorrow if you must.”

“...What?”

The order froze the room.

Cheon Eujin’s face was almost comical.

“I’m not saying I refuse to hear you.”

But I needed this.

“I need time to think. So, leave me for now.”

Too much had happened, too fast. I needed time to sort it.

To think that I—

...would ever kick people out like this.

Me, giving an order to leave?

Even a Squad Captain would have beaten me half to death for less.

But here I was, dismissing not only the Branch Leader, but someone even higher.

Not bad, really.

In any case...

Cheon Eujin’s lips trembled.

“...As you wish.”

He bowed and turned.

He left, leading even the Branch Leader out behind him.

And in their exit, in the order of their steps, I noted something else: Cheon Eujin’s standing was higher than the Branch Leader’s.

Useful information. All of it stored away.

Then—

“Well.”

I turned toward the window.

Sunlight spilled in.

And there, standing in its glow, watching me silently, was someone else.

No. Not someone.

Something.

“...Now then. Will you explain what the hell is going on?”

[Heh heh.]

The blue-eyed ghost laughed.

****

Elsewhere, inside the Branch Leader’s office in Anhui.

Two men faced each other. One sly-faced, the other middle-aged and stern.

“I cannot accept it.”

The sly one was Jin Gyeongchan, Commander of the Second Unit.

“That idiot—no, that Agent Bang, being the Sword Saint’s successor? Impossible.”

His disbelief drew only a weary sigh from the Branch Leader, Cheol Ung, the “Army-Rock Saber.”

“Commander Jin. I’ve already explained.”

“Even so, it is far too much to swallow...”

“Your disbelief does not change fact.”

“But I hear the boy himself denies it. How—”

“Tch.”

The Branch Leader clicked his tongue, sharp and annoyed.

Jin Gyeongchan shut his mouth.

“If you saw Agent Bang’s eyes, you would not doubt.”

“...His eyes?”

“The Moon Eyes.”

“...!”

Jin Gyeongchan gasped.

“Agent Bang has awakened the Moon Eyes.”

“Impossible!”

The Moon Eyes—an art of the Blue Moon Sect.

When one raised the Blue Moon Heart Art high enough, the inner energy resonated with the eyes, turning the pupils blue.

But not for everyone.

In the entire sect, perhaps one in hundreds ever awakened it.

And it was never a trivial change.

The Moon Eyes were proof.

Proof that the practitioner and the Blue Moon Heart Art were in perfect harmony. Proof that they would one day ascend into the history books as a master.

Every Blue Moon Sect Alliance Leader had borne them.

The Sword Saint Yoo Cheongil had them. His successor as Sect Master had them.

And even now, those vying for the next position as heir—

Lady Cheon, Cheon Eujin’s elder sister, the most likely next Sect Master—

She too bore the Moon Eyes.

Which meant—

“In such a case, Commander, could you doubt?”

“...Even so. It makes no sense.”

“You—!”

“It has been a year. A year with that Agent Bang under my eyes.”

Jin Gyeongchan’s tone hardened.

He had found the boy unsatisfactory from the start.

More than unsatisfactory—pitifully so.

He remembered vividly his complaints to the Branch Leader.

Why accept such useless trash, even with a letter of recommendation?

Even the boy’s morning runs had been pathetic.

The Branch Leader had only chuckled bitterly, muttering perhaps it had been his mistake.

And now they said the boy had hidden his power all this time? Had revealed it only to crush not one, but two pinnacle experts? And to call him the Sword Saint’s successor?

Unthinkable.

“Blue eyes don’t prove Moon Eyes. He could be faking.”

“Commander Jin. Are you suggesting sorcery?”

“That... must be investigated.”

“Enough!”

“...!”

Cheol Ung’s shout cracked through the office. A surge of qi rattled the walls.

“Have you not read the reports? They’re clear.”

“....”

Jin Gyeongchan had read them.

Dong Baekwoo dead. The Squad Captain slain.

Only three survivors: Yoo Hyungin, Cheon Eujin... and Bang Sungyeon.

The cave full of Namgung corpses, gathered by the Mountain Ghost as bait.

The traitor Pungyeon, who revealed his hand inside.

And at the end, Bang Sungyeon—the one who brought down both the Mountain Ghost and the traitor’s bodyguard.

Beaten to death, the report said.

A pinnacle expert, bones shattered, face pulped until unrecognizable.

Beaten like a dog.

How could that be true?

“Bang Sungyeon is a third-rate. I saw it myself.”

Had he really masked himself this well?

Had he now unveiled it by killing two pinnacle experts?

And then, the final absurdity—

The Sword Saint’s successor?

Too many impossibilities piled in one place.

Jin Gyeongchan’s voice cut in again.

“Branch Leader. There must be more to this. Therefore—”

Thump.

The Branch Leader tossed something onto the desk.

“...What is this?”

“Agent Bang’s letter of recommendation.”

“...Why show me this now?”

Puzzled, Jin Gyeongchan unfolded it.

And froze.

A simple document, little different from any other recommendation.

Except for the name at the bottom.

Jegal Jin.

“...!”

His mouth shut tight.

The name spoke for itself.

Patriarch of the Jegal Clan, one of the Five Great Clans.

And more:

“The man who has never written a recommendation for anyone,” said the Branch Leader softly.

Jegal Jin. The “Thousand-Mile True Sight.”

The strategist who had once been called the Sword Saint’s eyes and ears.

And he was the one who had recommended Bang Sungyeon.

****

While shock rippled in the Branch Leader’s office—

Bang Sungyeon himself stared in astonishment.

“...So what you’re saying, old man—”

His face twitched, struggling to form words.

“You forced a martial art into my body without permission. And if I don’t want to die, I have to obey you and learn it. That’s what you’re telling me?”

The old man laughed.

[Hahaha! I explained it at length, and you boil it down to that? Amusing child!]

“......”

[Sharp. I like you.]

I stared at him for a long beat.

“...Elder.”

[Yes?]

“Are you out of your fucking mind?”

I couldn’t hold it back.