So he asked:
“Do you need ?”
“I do.”
“How long will you need ?”
Unhwi paused for a mont, as if thinking, then answered briefly:
“Ten years.”
“Ten years? That’s enough?”
“It’s more than enough.”
That “ten years” referred to the ti Sim Munryong would spend affiliated with the Everlasting Snow Palace.
“Alright, let’s make it ten years. I’ll rebuild Mount Hua after that, so don’t try to stop , yeah?”
“I won’t.”
“...That was awfully firm.”
Sim Munryong scratched his head.
Where was the heart of the Central Plains?
If you looked at a map, the place most definitively considered the “heart” was Gongneung—ho of the Murim Alliance’s main headquarters.
Northwest of Gongneung was Sichuan.
Not quite the heart, but still near the solar plexus, you could say.
Then where was Cheonyeong located?
In Cheonsu.
Travel southeast from Gongneung for about half a month, and you would enter the territory of Un Nation (Un-guk)—and within its outer regions lay Cheonsu, where Cheonyeong held its domain.
After separating from Sim Munryong at Icewhite Gorge, Unhwi and Commander Seong headed straight for Cheonsu.
A high-level eting was scheduled to be held at the Cheonyeong’s main hall precisely fifteen days later.
The envoys contributing to the reconstruction of Cheonyeong would all be gathering there—but unfortunately, traveling from Icewhite Gorge to Cheonsu on horseback would take at least fifteen days, at a minimum.
Ti was tight, so Unhwi rushed.
“...Young master. Your injuries are serious. Can’t we rest a few days before heading out?”
“As I’ve said before...”
Unhwi grimaced as a stab of pain ran through his shoulder. Drawing in a breath, he continued:
“A promise only holds aning when it remains unbroken—no matter the situation.”
“...Young master...”
“There’s a scheduled ti, and everyone agreed to et by then. If I was the one who took a detour, then I have to take responsibility for that decision.”
“...”
“I’ll recover on the way.”
“Then at least... let’s get a carriage. If we don’t stop, we’ll arrive on ti, and you could recover while resting inside...”
Commander Seong trailed off.
Because yes—he was right.
Across from them was a carriage.
Five horses were hitched to it—clearly first-rate breeds, even at a glance.
And the man standing politely in front of the carriage looked at them with a calm smile.
dium-length hair. Average build.
Draped in a flowing black longcoat.
Seo Hyo of Cheonrim smiled softly.
Commander Seong looked at Unhwi, baffled.
“Did you... send word ahead of ti?”
Unhwi shook his head.
“...Then how did—”
“Commander Seong.”
“...Yes, young master.”
“What do you think is the most important quality in running an organization like Cheonrim?”
“...Let’s see. Strength? Good judgnt?”
“Situational awareness.”
“...?”
“Seo Hyo is sharp. He can read the board. He understands what decisions must be made once he’s on the field—better than anyone else.”
Commander Seong asked,
“So... you predicted this?”
Unhwi answered confidently:
“I didn’t.”
“...Then why are you acting so cool about it?”
Unhwi fell silent, as if he had nothing to say.
Naturally, the two said no more as they approached Seo Hyo.
He greeted them with a smile.
“You’re a little late.”
“You brought what I asked for?”
“Of course. But for now, let’s get in the carriage. You seem badly injured.”
Without a word, Unhwi climbed in. Commander Seong and Seo Hyo followed.
Fifteen days ago, when Unhwi returned to Yangryeong Province, he’d t Seo Hyo in secret.
At that ti, he told Seo Hyo that he would be going to Cheonyeong, and Seo Hyo said he would prepare so intelligence in advance.
What Unhwi referred to as “what I asked for” was precisely that information Seo Hyo was now handing over.
Unhwi began ticulously reading through the massive stack of paper Seo Hyo provided. First up was the list of envoys—and it was fascinating.
“As you’ve probably already seen, the Divine Execution Sword Sect from among the Five Great Sword Sects isn’t listed, and from the Four Outer Demonic Sects, Simma Demon Sect is absent.”
The groups bound for Cheonyeong were as follows:
From the Five Great Sword Sects:
Suncheon Sword Sect
Ihwa Sword Sky Sect
Heavenly Sound Sword Sect
Blue Cloud Sword Sect
From the Four Outer Demonic Sects:
Mixed Path Fla Demon Palace
Black Sky Demon Prison Palace
Heaven Demon Yin Spirit Sect
And lastly, one group that was neither—a sect entirely outside that structure:
Everlasting Snow Palace
Eight sects in total, all heading to Cheonyeong.
“Why is the Divine Execution Sword Sect not attending?”
“There seems to have been pressure from the Murim Alliance.”
“Murim Alliance?”
“Yes. Vice Lord Jegal Yeonghyeon went there personally and held a private eting with the sect master. The details are unknown, but apparently Jegal Yeonghyeon made demands, and the sect master responded by smashing the carriage he rode in on and beheading every single warhorse he brought.”
Unhwi smirked.
“So the sect master refused Jegal Yeonghyeon’s offer.”
“That’s right. But looked at another way...”
“It ans the Murim Alliance already has operations in play.”
“Exactly. This campaign might be more difficult than expected.”
Unhwi’s smile didn’t fade.
“Seo Hyo.”
“Yes, Supre Commander.”
“Jegal Yeonghyeon is a cunning man. There’s a reason he’s Vice Lord of the Murim Alliance.”
His eyes glead with certainty.
“Monitor the Divine Execution Sword Sect closely. If anything changes, report to imdiately.”
Seo Hyo considered that for a mont, then his eyes glinted.
“...You suspect the conflict between the sect and Jegal Yeonghyeon is staged.”
“The story of Jegal Yeonghyeon getting humiliated by them has probably spread widely, hasn’t it?”
“It has.”
“Neither Jegal nor the sect master are fools. If they made such a public scene, it ans sothing was planned behind it.”
“...I’ll investigate.”
Unhwi nodded and resud reading through the docunts. In a quiet voice, he listed nas and titles:
“Ten Thousand Forms Sword Emperor Jang Icheong.
Windstorm Sword So Yehwa.
Clear Sound Swordmaster Jin Socheon.
Azure Feather Swordsman Hang Ryeo.
Crimson Fla Lord Hwa Muryeong.
Heaven Wolf Demon Fang Heukmyeong.
Soul Demon Spirit So Ryeonghwa... Are all of them really attending?”
“Yes. So have already arrived at Mount Cheonsu. Others are en route.”
It was deeply interesting.
Aside from Jang Icheong, a warrior from Ihwa Sword Sky Sect, all of the others ranged from Ipshin Realm to Mythic Realm—clearly the central players.
But one person stood out.
Jang Icheong.
“A Heaven-Earth Apex martial artist... Has Cheonrim made a move?”
“Yes. Cheonrim has a strong interest in the reconstruction of Cheonyeong.”
Unhwi paused in thought and then asked quietly,
“Who set this whole thing up?”
He had originally heard about Cheonyeong’s revival from Yang Seoljin.
But from the way things were unfolding... sothing felt off.
“To be clear, it wasn’t Cheonrim.”
“Then was it Mae Wuidong?”
Mae Wuidong, once Vice Lord of Cheonyeong, had naturally stepped into leadership after Ye Wonje’s death.
“He was the one who sent letters to the Five Great Sword Sects and Four Outer Demonic Sects asking for support. But I doubt he expected the Everlasting Snow Palace to be involved.”
That alone raised a fundantal question.
“Then who killed Ye Wonje?”
“...We don’t know. But I can say ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) with certainty: It wasn’t Cheonrim.”
That had to be true.
If Cheonrim had killed Ye Wonje, they wouldn’t be handling things this way. More than that, they simply didn’t have the power to kill soone like him.
Cheonrim wielded financial influence, not military strength.
Especially not enough to kill soone like Ye Wonje—let alone in a way that wouldn’t imdiately backfire.
And if Yang Seoljin had sohow orchestrated it to insert Everlasting Snow Palace into the equation, the logic still didn’t track.
No—Cheonrim was not involved.
Which also ant Yu Cheong and Yang Seoljin weren’t behind it either.
A new lens was needed.
When soone dies, it’s usually the person who stands to gain the most that’s responsible.
And right now, Mae Wuidong had gained the most.
So did that an Mae Wuidong killed Ye Wonje?
Even that wasn’t clear.
If he had, why would he ask outside factions for help?
“If it was him, he’d have used poison or sothing—but no poison traces were found.”
“You’re sure?”
“I can’t say it with absolute certainty. But based on compiled intel... the probability is high.”
“So it wasn’t poisoning... then what was the cause of death?”
“His head was severed. Whether it was by sword or blade, they couldn’t determine the weapon.”
“Hm...”
“As you know, assassinating soone at the level of Flower-Realm Manifestation is nearly impossible.”
Unhwi froze.
“...Flower-Realm Manifestation?”
“You didn’t know? It was top secret—but apparently, four days before his death, Ye Wonje broke through to the Flower-Realm.”
“Even if it was recent, a master at that level... to be decapitated cleanly, without leaving a trace?”
“...Exactly.”
Who could it have been?
Who killed Ye Wonje?
“I’ll look into the Murim Alliance and Sichuan Alliance as possible culprits.”
Unhwi nodded—but skepticism lingered in his expression.
He had dealt with both Kang Cheonwoo and Gun Mugyeol in his past life.
If Kang Cheonwoo wanted Ye Wonje dead, he wouldn’t have gone the assassination route. He’d have marched to Cheonyeong and challenged him to a life-or-death duel on the spot.
Gun Mugyeol was similar.
He could pull off an assassination—but it was unlikely. Gun Mugyeol was the kind of man obsessed with stacking cards in his hand. If he wanted Ye Wonje dead, he would’ve orchestrated it through layers of sches and used soone else to deliver the killing blow—maximizing gains in the process.
That’s just the kind of man he was.
And now, another na floated through Unhwi’s mind.
It was a vague sense—nothing concrete—but for so reason, he kept thinking of the Celestial Daoist.
“Seo Hyo.”
“Yes, Supre Commander.”
“Go ahead. Say what you’ve been holding back.”
Letting out a sigh, Seo Hyo set down the docunts and spoke:
“Yu Cheong has noticed.”
“You an about Yang Seoljin’s disappearance.”
“Yes.”
Unhwi smiled faintly.
“How much do you think he knows?”
No matter how brilliant Yu Cheong was, the Snow Palace was now completely under Seol Jungcheon’s control.
Anyone who might’ve acted as Yu Cheong’s eyes and ears had either died—or been crippled.
So how much could he really see?
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