Chapter 278

Behind Sacred Wind—or at a spot where I could see the line of his shoulders.

A jet-black aura was flickering there, clear as day.

That was the thing I’d seen back in Henan, and...

Traces.

‘Traces of those HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE bastards.’

It was that distinctive aura you only saw on martial artists affiliated with HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.

But...

‘Why the hell...?’

Why was it showing on an absolute master who held the position of Plum Blossom Commander?

I had to force down a dry swallow and make my brain work.

‘Don’t tell me their hand reached even him—of all people?’

Considering how the Alliance had commanders everywhere and spies crawling around in every direction, it wouldn’t be impossible for the Plum Blossom Commander to be one of theirs.

But still.

‘Even so...’

The problem was that it had to be right now.

Right when I was heading to Mount Hua.

Right when I had to meet the sect master to treat Divine Spear.

‘Calm down.’

I had to stay levelheaded.

‘They still don’t know.’

They didn’t know I could tell.

The ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE bastards didn’t know.

And it wasn’t just them. Hardly anyone knew this information at all.

And the few who did know didn’t have that aura—so I judged that those bastards still didn’t have my profile.

I flinched.

My hand moved.

Because I was holding Yuyeon’s arm.

I slowly lifted my head and looked at Sacred Wind.

Then I let go of Yuyeon’s arm.

“......?”

Yuyeon looked at me like I’d grown a second head.

“Uh, I almost tripped for a second.”

“.......”

“Sorry.”

When I even apologized, Yuyeon nodded and walked over toward the Mount Hua group.

“Yuyeon.”

“.......”

Sacred Wind greeted her like he knew her, and Yuyeon returned it with proper courtesy.

With a gentle face, Sacred Wind stroked her hair.

“.......”

Watching him, I had to keep twisting my expression up inside.

He looked like the kindest old man alive.

But...

‘That guy is a HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE spy?’

That aura made his face impossible to see kindly.

‘Goddamn it.’

It stung.

‘Yeah. It’s always like this.’

Always.

‘My luck is absolute trash.’

Nothing ever went easy.

And I had a bad feeling this Mount Hua trip was going to be the same.

No—bad feeling wasn’t it.

It was certainty.

*****

We started moving again under the guidance of the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, and more time passed.

Sure enough, having them attached to us as we were guided into Shaanxi made the journey ridiculously easier.

Not having to keep a night watch was huge, too.

And since they knew the terrain better, our route became way more efficient.

Because of that, everyone in the group felt comfortable.

But for me—

“Whew.”

—I had to live with tension stuffed in my chest every single day.

‘Jesus, I’m gonna die like this.’

Every day was a day where everything got under my skin.

That started the moment I realized Sacred Wind was one of them.

I had to watch every move, and I had to pour my nerves into anything related to him.

The only relief was—

‘He doesn’t look like he’s actually doing anything.’

Sacred Wind wasn’t making any particular moves.

He just watched the group from behind, or spread his senses through the forest to warn us if something seemed off.

He acted like a commander should—nothing more.

Not once did he do anything that looked strange.

‘...And if he had done something...’

Wouldn’t an absolute master on his level—like the Small Moon Unit Leader—or a Heaven-Beyond-Heaven like the Sword Emperor have noticed?

‘What’s weird is that Sacred Wind can’t recognize the Sword Emperor.’

As far as I knew, they’d been active in the same era. I didn’t know what kind of connection they’d had, but I still thought he’d at least recognize his face.

But Sacred Wind didn’t recognize him.

Or he looked like he genuinely didn’t know him.

‘Huh.’

It felt like there had to be a reason, but I had no way of knowing right now.

‘The real problem is...’

Whether I should tell the Sword Emperor or the Small Moon Unit Leader about this.

Should I tell them that Sacred Wind was one of HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE?

That was the biggest dilemma.

‘The reason the Sword Emperor is stuck to my side...’

It wasn’t just because of the request from the Moon-Thread Sword.

He wanted something from me.

‘He needs my eyes.’

Eyes that can distinguish HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.

It felt like he needed that—and that was why he’d kept me alive.

I knew that because Yoo Cheongil told me, but...

‘Even so.’

Was the Sword Emperor someone I could trust?

For me, it was unclear.

Same with the Small Moon Unit Leader.

‘Even Blue Moon Sect itself is still suspicious.’

Yoo Cheongil’s death—Yoo Cheongil himself didn’t seem to think too deeply about it, but...

‘Yeah, no.’

I couldn’t stop thinking about it now.

Because I was tangled up in this way too deep.

‘Once this Mount Hua trip is over and I’m back...’

I’m going to settle Blue Moon Sect, too.

Until then, I couldn’t trust anyone.

‘Still... I can probably keep my lifeline intact.’

Even if I didn’t trust the Sword Emperor, if he needed me, he wouldn’t let me die.

Right when I was getting a tiny bit of comfort out of that thought—

“......Nngh.”

A low groan came from up front.

The owner of the sound was the Small Moon Unit Leader.

“Hoo... hoo...”

He kept forcing air out and sweating like crazy.

He was standing still with a sword in his hand.

And even just standing there, sweat streamed down his skin.

Why was the Small Moon Unit Leader of all people doing that?

Because it was training.

“You’re letting your strength slip.”

“......!”

At my remark, the Small Moon Unit Leader snapped his sword up.

“Don’t let your inner power leak.”

“...Under...stood.”

He raised the sword higher with burning eyes, and he’d already been doing this for almost an hour.

Why was he doing something this useless?

‘Because it’s all for the Third Form: Radiant Moon Annihilation-Overturn.’

It was a training method meant to drag the Third Form out of him.

The method was simple.

‘Put every last bit of inner power into the sword.’

Don’t leave even a speck of inner power in the body—focus it all into the sword.

And on top of that, apply extreme control so the volume doesn’t grow.

The inner power of an absolute master like him had to be monstrous.

If he poured that much into the sword alone...

‘Of course the sword force is supposed to swell.’

But he had to force it so the sword force didn’t grow in size.

The pressure and concentration required for that would create insane fatigue.

That was why he was sweating like that.

Just looking at him told you how brutal the training was.

But...

‘...Is this even helpful?’

Even I—both the one learning and the one ordering it—couldn’t help doubting it.

‘He’s just dumping inner power all day.’

Sure, he was suffering, but...

Was this really going to help pull out the Third Form?

‘The fundamental problem isn’t being solved.’

Yoo Cheongil said the Third Form couldn’t come out unless the internal art itself got rebuilt from the ground up.

‘So why am I making him do this?’

I didn’t know why Yoo Cheongil was making me force this kind of training on him.

But—

‘What else can I do?’

I only had one thing to relay.

The Small Moon Unit Leader had agreed to it.

I’d teach him Moon Heaven.

And in return, he’d obey me and follow whatever I told him—no questions.

This was part of that.

I glanced over.

At Yoo Cheongil.

The one who taught me the method was floating in the air, picking his nose.

[What are you staring at?]

“.......”

[Don’t look at me—watch that guy. He’s about to have his arm fall off again.]

At Yoo Cheongil’s remark, I looked back at the Small Moon Unit Leader.

Just like he said, the guy was losing strength more and more.

“Can’t do it?”

“N-No...”

“If you can’t, then stop.”

“I can do it...!”

He clenched his teeth and held the sword up harder.

He said he could, but the same doubt I felt was spreading in his eyes.

Yeah, of course he thought it was insane.

I was making him do this garbage—without any idea what it was supposed to improve.

And I was just passing Yoo Cheongil’s instructions along.

“That’s enough.”

After some more time passed, I said it from where I sat on a rock.

“Hoo... ngh...”

The moment the words dropped, the Small Moon Unit Leader started panting.

He looked completely spent.

“...That’s it for today.”

“Th-Thank... you... for your... instruction.”

Leaving him behind, I moved.

Class was about an hour and a half.

That was the schedule. Today ended there.

Once the presence around us faded, I asked Yoo Cheongil.

“Old man.”

[Yeah.]

The way he answered told me there were no eyes around.

“...Is that really helpful?”

I finally asked what I’d been wondering for days.

[Why? Looks useless to you?]

“Yes. It just looks like you’re making him suffer for nothing.”

Was making someone burn out their strength really “training”?

At this point, it felt like Yoo Cheongil was just messing with the Small Moon Unit Leader.

‘...What if he snaps?’

If he decides he can’t take it anymore and does something nasty to me—

‘Don’t I just die?’

It wouldn’t even be surprising.

Maybe he felt my worry, because Yoo Cheongil smiled broadly.

[What a pointless thing to worry about.]

“But...”

[Kid, don’t you think you’re missing something big?]

“What?”

[That guy is struggling.]

“...Huh?”

Like training wasn’t supposed to be hard. I almost said it.

But then—

[Someone at that level gets drained after only an hour or two. Do you not understand what that means?]

“......!”

I stopped walking.

He was right.

‘He did look way too exhausted for how long it was.’

Even if it was training that used only inner power, it was strange for him to suffer that much.

[The essence has to be torn apart and rebuilt. This is for that. And probably...]

Yoo Cheongil grinned.

[That guy has started to notice, too.]

*****

“...Cough.”

After catching his breath, the Small Moon Unit Leader let out a ragged exhale.

He wiped away the sweat pouring down and barely got himself upright.

“Hoo...”

A gust of wind blew, cooling the sweat on his body with a refreshing touch.

And then—

His face was clearly exhausted, but something faint—like a spark—was blooming inside it.

“...Unbelievable.”

It was genuine amazement.

“So this was possible.”

He stared at his bare palms—hands that weren’t holding the sword—with widened eyes.

Sweat was pooled thick there.

It had only been a little over an hour.

He hadn’t moved at all—he’d only used inner power—and yet it was this grueling.

‘...I’ve never trained like this.’

This shouldn’t have been possible.

Pulling even the inner power that belonged in the body and forcing it into the sword.

Keeping pressure on it so it didn’t swell in volume.

And on top of that, burning inner power nonstop?

He had to seize a flow that was delicate and violent at the same time.

The backlash of unfamiliar training crashed over him like a storm.

His meridians burned out fast.

And keeping that pressure strained his body, too.

This was the result.

Every scrap of inner power in his dantian had been drained, and he couldn’t even put strength into his hands.

‘This is...’

How could strength drain this fast?

If that was the goal, it was a monstrous kind of torture.

‘...But there’s something at the end of it.’

This wasn’t simple harassment.

After draining and draining, when he reached the edge—

‘Something...’

Something felt like it was about to be caught.

He didn’t know what it was yet, but it felt close.

‘Is this what he’s aiming for?’

Was Bang Sungyeon really aiming for this when he made him do this training?

The Small Moon Unit Leader couldn’t answer.

Only—

‘...So that bastard really does have something.’

He’d treated Bang Sungyeon like a teacher, but deep down he’d also looked down on him.

Now, that thought shifted—just a little.

*****

Busy, but not quite busy—those were the days as we headed toward Shaanxi.

My daily routine was:

bullying the Small Moon Unit Leader under the excuse of “training,”

teaching Thunder Dragon Ten-Thousand Flower Rain,

and getting trained by the Sword Emperor at night.

Three things, over and over, as we traveled.

And on top of that, I kept my guard up about Sacred Wind.

With all of that, the day still felt too short.

“Woah...”

I let out a breath of admiration at the sight beyond the carriage.

“...So we’re finally here.”

A place where faint grass scent and flower fragrance filled the air.

A space where the presence of people—something I’d barely felt until now—rose thick and obvious.

“We’re almost there.”

The carriage slowed as the Sword Emperor spoke in the driver’s voice.

“Huayin County.”

Huayin County in Shaanxi—the place where Mount Hua Sect stood.

We’d finally arrived.