Chapter 36: Simulated Battle of the Flame (1)

Gu Chil’s expression hardened.

“You’re certain, Young Master?”

The usual drawl in Gu Chil’s voice shifted into a calm and composed tone. No, this was probably closer to his true nature.

“I’d prefer to think I’m just speculating, but I have a bad feeling about this.”

More than anything, hadn’t that bastard Han Muyeon tried several times to recruit Baek Sang-ah into his faction?

If his motives weren’t solely about strengthening his forces…?

“I’m counting on you.”

Gu Chil gave me a broad grin.

“Of course. I’m your loyal servant, aren’t I, Young Master?”

“That’s right.”

“Just don’t go getting yourself beat up somewhere while I’m gone.”

“Stop talking nonsense and go.”

“Yes, sir!”

With that, Gu Chil vanished.

Unless someone on the level of the Pavilion Master of the Thousand-Day Pass was nearby, Gu Chil wouldn’t get caught.

‘A dual-sword formation unique to One Defense, One Counterattack. Not from the Cult, but an outsider. Yet capable of raising at least a first-rate martial artist.’

And yet, the family didn’t send her as a spy, but seemingly as a hostage—or possibly seeking refuge in the Heavenly Demon Cult.

‘There are quite a few prestigious families known for their twin sword techniques.’

From what I remembered, there were at least ten of them.

‘But only two of those don’t have particularly bad relations with the Cult.’

One of those two, the Peerless Sword Sect, was famed for its one-hit-kill sword style that entirely disregarded defense.

But Baek Sang-ah’s techniques were structured around counterattacks.

Which left only one possibility through process of elimination.

‘One of the greatest sword sects in the Central Plains.’

Alongside Wudang and the Namgung Clan, it was one of the three sword titans—referred to as one of the Three Greats.

The Namcheon Baek Clan, often paired with the Northern Heaven Geon Clan as the Southern and Northern Twin Clans of the Central Plains.

The twin sword style they prided themselves on—“Heavenly Wolf Twin Saints Sword Art”—was precisely what Baek Sang-ah had demonstrated.

‘And the one most famed for wielding that sword art is…’

The current leader of the Justice Faction and one of the Five Kings of the Central Plains.

The Southern Heavenly Sword King—Baek Dogyung.

Twenty years from now, the leader of the Justice-Murim Alliance would be the Sword Supreme Sage of Wudang, Gwan Hyun, but for now, the Southern Heavenly Sword King reigned as the leader of the Orthodox Faction.

‘I don’t know why he would send someone who’s practically his granddaughter to the Heavenly Demon Cult…’

But there must’ve been a tangled web of reasons behind it.

My thoughts spiraled deeper and deeper.

‘Then does that mean the Cult Leader knows about that little girl’s identity?’

Couldn’t he at least have whispered a word or two to me?

I mean, I am his prospective son-in-law, after all!

‘Sigh, anyway.’

The Southern Heaven’s Baek Clan boasted a vast sphere of influence across the southeastern provinces of Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong.

‘And the Heavenly Demon Cult is located in the exact opposite direction—in the northwest of the Central Plains.’

I swallowed hard.

‘If I start digging, I feel like something massive is going to come out of this…’

Something that would make the Hidden Trace Manor and Jeokun look like child’s play.

‘No, this isn’t the time for that.’

I shook my head, restraining my greed.

‘If I poke my nose into things I can’t reach, even what’s possible might fall apart. What’s important right now is keeping Baek Sang-ah alive.’

There was only one reason why I went as far as sending Gu Chil to protect her.

‘Because in the future I know, Baek Sang-ah never existed.’

There was literally no mention of her in any of the Heavenly Demon Cult’s records.

‘To assume she returned safely from all this would be naive.’

Rather than having returned quietly, it was far more likely she had quietly disappeared here.

And more than anything, the direct cause behind the creation of the Orthodox-Demonic Alliance Murim Union—

‘The Namchang Calamity, where the Namcheon Baek Clan and Namgung Clan were annihilated together!’

Roughly fourteen or fifteen years from now, an incident would occur where the orthodox forces based in Namchang would be completely slaughtered.

According to the intel I had obtained back then from the Heavenly Thunder Corps, the main clans of Namgung and Namcheon had engaged in a full-blown war and ended up mutually annihilated.

As a result of that incident, the Sword Supreme Sage replaced the Southern Heavenly Sword King as the new Alliance Leader and declared that our Cult had been the mastermind behind the incident.

Not long after, with the active support of the Orthodox Faction, the Justice-Demonic Alliance Murim Union was born.

‘The justification sounded perfect. Damn it, now I’m pissed again just thinking about it.’

The reason for my anger wasn’t anything trivial.

It was because that incident occurred right after I was appointed as Inner Administrator.

I recalled the past with a bittersweet feeling.

‘God, I really worked my ass off back then.’

Even if I didn’t have real power, I was still technically part of the Cult’s leadership.

Because of that incident, I had to help the Outer Administrator, pulling constant all-nighters for two months straight.

Sure, I learned a bit more than others as a result, but—

‘I wasn’t close enough to the truth. Damn.’

In the end, Cult Leader Cheon Yura had chosen silence regarding the incident.

‘The idea that the Cult orchestrated it is utter nonsense. It’s true that the two clans destroyed each other, but that wasn’t the whole story. There was something more to it.’

Back then, I had no clue what that “something” was and just buried the case out of frustration.

But once the puzzle piece called “Heaven-Defying Society” fell into place, the larger picture that someone had once drawn finally began to emerge.

‘Baek Sang-ah was originally supposed to be assassinated here. And the Sword Supreme likely used that assassination and connected it to the Namchang Calamity for political gain. That might explain why the Cult Leader never defended us too strongly.’

Even the sudden downfall of the Southern Heavenly Sword King could be related to all this.

‘Damn… Come to think of it, isn’t this the very first point of that whole butterfly effect?’

I’d somewhat anticipated this, having traveled back a whole twenty years.

But I hadn’t expected to face one of the origin points so directly.

‘Alright. Whatever your plan is, I’ll completely ruin it.’

Grip!

Especially—

Han Muyeon and the Seventh Elder.

Figuring out their connection was the biggest success I’d had in recent days.

* * *

And so, time passed, and the month-long training in Black Star Sword Formation came to an end.

My team was scheduled to face Team Four in a simulated battle.

Watching their situation from a distance, I frowned slightly.

‘This won’t be easy.’

As expected, most of the teams were a mess, practically falling apart on their own, but one or two of them had managed to pull together quite solidly.

Unfortunately, the team we’d be facing—Team Four—belonged to the latter.  

“Form ranks!”

Members of both our team and Team Four lined up in formation, facing each other.

And in that moment—

‘Hm? What’s this?’

I felt the intense stares of three people directed squarely at me.

‘Is it those guys? The core that held Team Four together?’

One of them had a sly look, kind of like Jin Sang.

Another was somewhat decent-looking.

The last had a solid, dependable air about him.

They didn’t look like they came from the same mother, but for some reason, they shared a similar vibe.

Sworn brothers, maybe?

“Take fifty steps back! Prepare for the simulation match!”

Following the instructor’s command, we each retreated fifty paces to get into our initial formation.

Baek Sang-ah, our team leader, and Ju Guk-seon, the leader of Team Four, raised their voices at the same time.

“Diagonal formation, deploy!”

“Diagonal formation, deploy!”

When both sides used the same formation, the protruding points at the front would collide head-on.

In other words—

“Oh!”

“A head-to-head clash right from the start?!”

“This is going to be fun!”

The observing instructors gasped in amusement.

“Who do you think is going to win?”

To that question from one of the instructors, Jang Deuk-soo, who had remained silent until now, responded.

“If it’s a straight fight with no variables, I’d say Team Two.”

Another senior instructor immediately objected.

“Don’t underestimate Team Four. Those three over there—insane coordination.”

“Oh, those three? Right, they were the first to realize the hidden intent behind this simulation match, weren’t they?”

“Yeah. I noticed they’d try to carry out any command their leader gave, no matter how unreasonable.”

“Looked to me like they were just sucking up to their leader. The Ju family’s no joke, after all.”

“If we’re going by that logic, it’s the same for Team Two. Who’s going to challenge the Young Master of the Jin Clan?”

“True. Once he stepped up in the third week, Team Two hit its stride.”

“So the conclusion is—”

“You never know till it starts, huh?”

This little betting ritual between instructors was a quietly accepted tradition.

It had begun.

Clang!

With a crisp metallic sound, a thick silver ingot flew into the sky.

The instructor who caught it announced loudly:

“One silver tael on Team Four’s victory.”

“Oh? Instructor Jeon’s coming in hot, huh?”

“We need balance. I’ll bet a silver tael on Team Two.”

That was the signal.

The surrounding instructors began placing bets left and right.

Once about six or seven had placed their wagers, the still-silent Jang Deuk-soo finally opened his mouth.

“Ten silver taels on Team Two.”

“What!?”

“You’re betting half your monthly salary?!”

It was the largest wager so far.

Jang Deuk-soo grinned and teased his fellow instructors.

“If you’re scared, feel free to die.”

That bold line only ignited the others even more.

“Looks like Team Two just became the favored bet.”

“Can’t resist a longshot, can we?”

With those beast-hearted or beast-brained instructors finishing up the betting, the match was set.

Now all that was left was to see the result.

“Charge!”

“Crush them!”

“Uwoooooh!”

Team Two and Team Four roared as they charged toward each other.

Baek Sang-ah didn’t alter her formation, even when Team Four mirrored our diagonal formation.

Of course, I had already told her I wouldn’t be using my full strength, but still, she hadn’t wavered in her choice.

To be fair, even in terms of coordination alone, our team wasn’t inferior to any other.

Just before the vanguard of Team Two and Team Four clashed—

“Nice to meet you!”

Huh?

The trio from Team Four’s vanguard suddenly shouted greetings at me.

They were clearly still teenagers, but their voices were so loud and spirited, even grown adults couldn’t match them.

“My name’s Baeksa!”

“Heuksa!”

“And I’m Jeoksa!”

“…What the hell?”

The one who introduced himself as Baeksa charged at me, yelling,

“We call ourselves the Three Demonic Serpents! It’s an honor, Young Master Jin Yeomyung!”

With that thunderous self-introduction, the three of them rushed at me in unison.

‘Seriously?!’

The other frontliners on my side were immediately blocked by Heuksa and Jeoksa.

Their antics aside, the so-called “Three Serpents” neutralized our triangle formation with ridiculous ease.

“Oh?”

‘They’re not particularly strong individually, but their coordination is top-notch!’

“Please remember us!”

Baeksa used that moment to aim a dagger at my shoulder.

It was an incredibly precise coordination—no way they could’ve pulled this off with just a day or two of practice.

“Ridiculous little punks.”

If it had been anyone other than me, that surprise attack would’ve landed clean.

‘Seventh Record Form: Heaven’s Net Ensnaring All’

A defensive technique from the Ten Heavenly Record Demonic Sword focused on evasion.

Baek Sa’s dagger was sharp, but nowhere near fast enough to land a hit on me.

Thud!

I deflected the stab with ease and kicked Baeksa squarely in the gut.

“Urgh!”

His expression twisted in pain as his sneak attack failed.

“Big bro!”

“You okay?!”

“Pity. That was a pretty solid combo.”

I turned to the regrouped trio and said,

“The Three Demonic Serpents, huh. Why not call yourselves the Three Demonic Dragons or, hell, even the Three Demonic Pythons?”

Three little snakes? Bit underwhelming for self-proclaimed titles.

Baek Sa gave a bitter smile.

“We’re not worthy of that yet.”

“Yeah?”

“But under your guidance, Young Master, we believe we might one day earn the title of Three Dragons.”

“Well, maybe.”

“So… will you accept us?”

Guts, courage, and humble self-awareness. With those traits, they should’ve caught my eye sooner—but this was my first time seeing them.

‘Ah, right.’

No wonder their faces weren’t familiar—they must be from a different dorm.

Even within the same cohort, there were so many students that the dorms were split across three buildings.

I grinned and pointed my sword at the Three Serpents.

“I’ll consider it, depending on how you perform.”

“Thank you!”

Maybe today… I just found some talents worth bringing into my fold.

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