When Seong Yangho first entered the White Snow Phantom Corps, there was one rule that was emphasized above all else.
Follow the rules.
If you broke them, you would face imdiate punishnt. And if that happened, you wouldn’t be allowed to die easily — that was drilled into both eyes and soul.
And the man who had driven that point ho was the small, wiry man standing over there with his arms crossed.
That man was Juchae, the leader of the White Snow Phantom Corps.
His cultivation level was at the second stage of the Five Divine Martial Realms — the Limitless Profound Body.
One of the top masters of Everlasting Snow Palace.
“You’re slow.”
The sharp remark snapped Seong Yangho out of his daze.
He imdiately kicked off the ground and shot forward, stopping right in front of Juchae. Dropping to one knee, he bowed his head.
“I greet the Captain.”
Juchae looked down at him with a dispassionate gaze and said one °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° thing.
“Do you have a death wish?”
“...Of course not.”
“Then why are you acting like a man begging to be killed?”
Seong Yangho swallowed dryly.
“I heard you shouted quite proudly at the Hanbing Sect.” Juchae’s tone was calm but cutting. “I am Seong Yangho of the White Snow Phantom Corps... If anyone dares interfere, I will sever their heads... Was that it? How did it feel?”
“...Well... It didn’t feel bad.”
“It didn’t feel bad? Then you won’t mind getting beaten to death right here, will you?”
“...That, I wouldn’t like very much.”
Juchae let out a long, heavy sigh and crouched down in front of Seong Yangho.
“Yangho.”
“...Yes, Captain.”
“There is an order to everything.”
“...I understand.”
“Have I ever said a word when you acted like a little smartass?”
“You did beat the crap out of , though.”
“That was because you deserved it. I’ve been leading the White Snow Phantom Corps for forty years now, and you’re the first punk like you I’ve ever t.”
Seong Yangho’s face lost all color. His words had a chilling weight to them.
“...Why are you talking like you’re about to kill ?”
“What? Did you actually do all that because you want to live?”
“Sir, I’d very much like to live.”
“And yet, the guy who wants to live is breaking rules left and right?”
“...Co on, sir. It’s not like I wanted to break the rules.”
“You know this. I’ve always had a soft spot for you.”
“...Couldn’t tell.”
Whack.
Juchae slapped Seong Yangho upside the head, letting out a deep sigh. This was the real Seong Yangho — the one that people didn’t know.
A smartass who had taken sarcasm to a divine level. From the mont he entered the White Snow Phantom Corps, he was nothing but trouble.
But his talent was undeniable.
And his abilities were exceptional.
Despite being stuck at the Spirit Ascension Stage, if he had joined a combat unit like the White Phantom Guards instead of the White Snow Phantom Corps, he would have likely reached the Celestial Mortal Stage by now.
“...That hurt.”
“It was supposed to.”
“...Are you really going to kill ?”
“I don’t want to, but you know the rules exist for a reason.”
“...There’s got to be a way to work around this, right?”
“There are a few ways. Want to hear one of them?”
“Yes, please.”
“If I cut off your limbs and crush your dantian, everyone would be satisfied.”
“...Captain.”
“Speak.”
“If I run away right now, would you chase down?”
“You wouldn’t get more than two steps. I’d cut off both your legs.”
“...Let’s talk this out, okay?”
“Aren’t we talking right now?”
“How is this talking?! It’s more like you’re giving a chance to say my last words!”
“Sa difference.”
“...Just let it slide this once, Captain.”
At that, Juchae let out a short, dry laugh.
“Do you know why I liked you?”
“I didn’t even know you liked until now.”
Juchae nearly raised his hand to slap him again but decided against it. He let out another sigh and said,
“You haven’t once used Hyeon Seollin’s na to save yourself.”
“...”
“If you invoked his na, you could get away with this. I could even pretend not to notice.”
“...Really?”
“If I don’t let it slide, I’d be breaking the rules of Everlasting Snow Palace myself. So what would you do?”
Seong Yangho scratched his head.
“Despite how much you act like a punk, you’re actually more serious when it cos to work. Especially when you’re focused, your senses are sharp enough to even impress .”
Normally, that kind of praise would have made anyone feel good. But it only made Seong Yangho feel worse.
“One way you could survive this is to invoke Hyeon Seollin’s na.”
“Sir, you know as well as I do — the Young Master has nothing to do with this.”
“Nothing to do with it?”
“Obviously. You know how much I cursed and swore when I was first assigned as his butler.”
“I rember. It was the first ti you ever mouthed off to .”
He did.
And he spent the next month bedridden after getting his ass kicked.
“I originally wanted to join a combat unit like the White Phantom Guards. It was my dream. But when those Hanbing Sect bastards started strutting around, I just couldn’t take it anymore.”
“So, it was all your decision?”
Seong Yangho chuckled.
“Of course, it was my decision. I even sent a secret ssage to the Young Master, telling him to just use the na of the White Snow Phantom Corps.”
To Juchae’s surprise, Seong Yangho’s confession actually seed to please him.
“You’ve finally developed so resolve.”
“...?”
“You were nothing but a bundle of complaints before. I rember the look on your face when you were first assigned to be Hyeon Seollin’s butler — so disappointed, so crushed. But now, you finally understand the world, responsibility, and even your own heart.”
“...Why are you saying all this now?”
“If I keep pushing you, you’ll eventually invoke Hyeon Seollin’s na. And if that happens, I’ll be deeply disappointed. You’ll no longer be the Seong Yangho I admired. So, to let you stay in my good mories, I’ll send you off right here.”
“...Where are you sending ?”
“To the River of Three Crossings.”
“...Can you delay it by, say, thirty years?”
“You’re quite the codian now. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do.”
Juchae raised his hand, his fingers twitching.
“That’s quite the fondness you have for our Seong Yangho.”
A new voice cut through the tension.
At the sudden voice, Seong Yangho’s head snapped up, and Juchae quietly rose to his feet, turning toward the source.
It was Seol Unwi.
“A pleasure to et you for the first ti. I am Juchae, leader of the White Snow Phantom Corps.”
“Hyeon Seollin, Seol Unwi.”
“And what, may I ask, was the aning behind your words just now?”
“What else could it be? You were trying to tell exactly what kind of man Seong Yangho is and what kind of mindset he has.”
Juchae smiled wordlessly.
“You intentionally sent your presence to while controlling it so that Seong Yangho wouldn’t notice. Am I wrong?”
“There were rumors spreading throughout Everlasting Snow Palace recently that you’d changed. Seeing you now, I see they were true.”
Unwi calmly approached Juchae.
Juchae.
What kind of man was he?
He was similar to Hyeonshim.
A man who was loyal to Seol Jungcheon.
A man who owed Seol Jungcheon his life twice in the distant past.
He was paying back those two debts by remaining by Seol Jungcheon’s side, handling everything that happened behind the scenes in Everlasting Snow Palace.
He was the core of the core.
Unwi spoke in a calm, asured voice.
“In a way, it’s comforting.”
“How so?”
“Knowing that there’s soone who values and holds Seong Yangho in such high regard only reaffirms my own judgnt. How could that not be comforting?”
“Oh...?”
“And one more thing.”
“Yes?”
“I revealed it on purpose.”
“Did you now?”
“Yes. I intentionally announced that Seong Yangho was part of the White Snow Phantom Corps to use him as my man.”
Juchae seed to have a question and asked imdiately.
“How did you know Seong Yangho was a mber of the White Snow Phantom Corps? Did he reveal it to you first, or...?”
“Seong Yangho’s gait is quite unique.”
Unwi cut him off mid-sentence, but Juchae didn’t feel annoyed. If anything, he was more intrigued.
So, he kept his mouth shut and continued to listen.
“He doesn’t leave a single footprint behind, yet his center of gravity doesn’t waver in the slightest. Moreover, when he lifts his heel, his energy gathers in the center of his foot, and when he steps down, that energy disperses instantly, erasing any trace.”
Juchae’s expression grew odd.
Was this... really that Seol Unwi?
“Of course, it wasn’t on the level of a Spirit Ascension Stage martial artist using their full power. But as you know well, Captain, a person’s habits tend to surface when they’re not conscious of them. The Hidden Step Art of the White Snow Phantom Corps. That’s how I noticed.”
“...That’s too far-fetched...”
“It’s the sa for you, Captain.”
Juchae’s eyebrows twitched.
“Whether it’s a master of the Earthly Specter Stage or the Limitless Profound Body, there is one thing that can never be completely hidden no matter how much they suppress their aura.”
Unwi paused, his gaze scanning Juchae’s upper body.
“Your right shoulder is about half a chi lower than your left. You must have sustained a severe injury a long ti ago.”
Juchae’s face hardened.
Exactly thirty-five years ago.
At the peak of the Everlasting Snow Mountain, during a training session with Seol Jungcheon, Juchae had unleashed all his strength, and Seol Jungcheon had blocked it.
That was when it happened.
Juchae’s power was greater than expected, so Seol Jungcheon not only blocked it but also dispersed it.
Already exhausted, Juchae had been sent flying and crashed into a cliff.
In that state, with all his internal energy depleted, the cliff crumbled, and he was swept away.
Seol Jungcheon had saved him, but at that ti, Juchae had almost lost his shoulder.
That was the scar that still lingered on his shoulder.
It had healed completely, of course. But psychological scars were not so easily erased.
That incident remained a profound and pivotal mont in Juchae’s life.
He had nearly lost his life due to his own arrogance, but Seol Jungcheon had saved him.
Unconsciously, Juchae ran a hand over his shoulder. It was a symbol.
A symbol of the bond he had forged with Seol Jungcheon.
And more importantly, no one knew about it except Seol Jungcheon.
“...Did the Palace Master tell you this?”
“Of course not. And just now, when you were reprimanding Seong Yangho...”
A faint smile appeared on Unwi’s lips.
“The stance you took. It was based on the White Snow Traceless Step, the foundational technique created by the original founder of the White Snow Phantom Corps, the late Han Am. With every step, your energy swirls like a vortex, erasing all traces.”
Unwi paused for a mont, then continued.
“But in between, I could see the distinct characteristics of Cheongungak. The Flowing Cloud Mist Step of Cheongungak — where you lift your foot as lightly as a cloud and set it down as softly as mist. Especially that slight pause before you step down...”
Unwi trailed off, as if searching for the right word. Then he resud, his voice slow and deliberate.
“It’s a perfect harmony. The swirling energy of the White Snow Traceless Step and the gentle flow of the Flowing Cloud Mist Step have beco one. You move across the snow without leaving a single trace, yet you glide as naturally as a drifting cloud.”
At this point, there was nothing left to be surprised by.
Juchae, who had known Seong Yangho for decades, was staring at Unwi with a look of bewildernt as if he were seeing him for the first ti.
He looked completely dumbfounded.
And honestly, it wasn’t a bad look on him.
Silence fell.
Juchae slowly ran a hand over his face.
“...Can you tell the source of your information?”
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