From the Four Outer Demonic Sects:

And lastly, one group that was neither—a sect entirely outside that structure:

Eight sects in total, all heading to Cheonyeomeng.

“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 meeting 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 means 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, Supreme Commander.”

“Jegal Yeonghyeon is a cunning man. There’s a reason he’s Vice Lord of the Murim Alliance.”

His eyes gleamed with certainty.

“Monitor the Divine Execution Sword Sect closely. If anything changes, report to me immediately.”

Seo Hyo considered that for a moment, 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 means something was planned behind it.”

“…I’ll investigate.”

Unhwi nodded and resumed reading through the documents. In a quiet voice, he listed names and titles:

“Ten Thousand Forms Sword Emperor Jang Icheong.

Windstorm Sword So Yehwa.

Clear Sound Swordmaster Jin Socheon.

Azure Feather Swordsman Hang Ryeo.

Crimson Flame Lord Hwa Muryeong.

Heaven Wolf Demon Fang Heukmyeong.

Soul Demon Spirit So Ryeonghwa… Are all of them really attending?”

“Yes. Some 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 Cheonyeomeng.”

Unhwi paused in thought and then asked quietly,

“Who set this whole thing up?”

He had originally heard about Cheonyeomeng’s revival from Yang Seoljin.

But from the way things were unfolding… something felt off.

“To be clear, it wasn’t Cheonrim.”

“Then was it Mae Wuidong?”

Mae Wuidong, once Vice Lord of Cheonyeomeng, 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 fundamental 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 someone like him.

Cheonrim wielded financial influence, not military strength.

Especially not enough to kill someone like Ye Wonje—let alone in a way that wouldn’t immediately backfire.

And if Yang Seoljin had somehow orchestrated it to insert Everlasting Snow Palace into the equation, the logic still didn’t track.

No—Cheonrim was not involved.

Which also meant Yu Cheong and Yang Seoljin weren’t behind it either.

A new lens was needed.

When someone 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 mean 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 something—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 someone 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 Cheonyeomeng 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 schemes and used someone else to deliver the killing blow—maximizing gains in the process.

That’s just the kind of man he was.

And now, another name floated through Unhwi’s mind.

It was a vague sense—nothing concrete—but for some reason, he kept thinking of the Celestial Daoist.

“Seo Hyo.”

“Yes, Supreme Commander.”

“Go ahead. Say what you’ve been holding back.”

Letting out a sigh, Seo Hyo set down the documents and spoke:

“Yu Cheong has noticed.”

“You mean 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?