Unhwi let out a dry laugh.

“It seems, just as the Alliance Lord said, talks have already been happening behind the scenes.”

“Yes. That appears to be the case. Set aside the nine sects sharpening their blades at us—our interior is also not in good shape.”

“When you say interior…?”

“I mean our jurisdiction. Not only the four regions overseen by the four deceased Chief Heavenly Commanders— even the court of Unguk has stepped in.”

It was obvious.

Among the Five Great Sword Sects, the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect had pressed the court of Unguk.

On the surface, the situation was simple.

A mess among messes.

A candle ready to gutter out at the slightest breeze.

That was the Heavenly Alliance right now.

“And I hear So Yehwa of the Suncheon Sword Sect is rallying the sects of Aseon County and urging them to secede from the Heavenly Alliance.”

Unhwi nodded.

She hadn’t shown her face once during the ceremony; he had figured she was up to something.

So he’d had Chief Seong look into it separately, and learned she was already executing orders she’d received from the Suncheon Sword Sect.

He sighed.

Truly, there were far too many in the martial world who would never understand a thing said to them.

“We’re already in the same boat. I have been inaugurated as Alliance Lord, and ‘Hero Seol’ has now been inaugurated as Heavenly Arbiter, so let’s devise solutions together. A plan to resolve all of this— do you have one?”

Mae Wuidong’s eyes held a quiet expectation. Unhwi answered firmly.

“Set So Yehwa aside for the moment— honestly, I did not expect the God-Slaying Sword Sect and the Heart Demon Path Sect to ‘join in now.’”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. From the standpoint of the Soul Demon Flame Palace, the Suncheon Sword Sect, and the Black Heaven Demon Beast Palace, they had already secured footholds inside the Heavenly Alliance, so I assumed that even if they were grouped with the others, they would maintain distance. It seems I was wrong on that point.”

Mae Wuidong’s eyes lit faintly.

From Unhwi’s words, he felt as though there was a solution.

He wasn’t wrong.

“First, I’ll put our interior in order.”

“How will you do that?”

“First, I intend to speak with the court of Unguk.”

“Mm…”

“And I will plant new people in each of the four cities now left vacant.”

“Do you have suitable candidates?”

“I do. I’ll compile the list shortly and report it.”

Watching Mae Wuidong nod, Unhwi continued.

“And we should also fill the six Elder seats that are empty, should we not?”

Again: the Heavenly Alliance was a shell of itself.

Set aside how cold the wind blew from outside— too many had died alongside the previous Alliance Lord, Ye Wonje.

The Heavenly Alliance had six Elders in total; they were all dead as well. What remained at Alliance headquarters that could be called fighting strength was four martial artists at the Heaven-Earth Apex and about ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) fifty at the Spirit-Transcendence Stage. That was all.

“I’ve looked into a few, but I’m skeptical.”

“What about the Eight Heavenly Seats?”

Mae Wuidong flinched at that.

“……Would they come?”

“If you give permission, I’ll try to persuade three of them.”

“Three…”

After a moment’s thought, Mae Wuidong listed names.

“Dokgo Hyeon, the Sword Lord of Immortal Iron Yoo Jeonghyeok, the Iron Sword Prodigy Mo Sayoung.”

He looked at Unhwi with grave eyes.

“If it’s those three, they will be a great strength to the Heavenly Alliance.”

“I’ll attempt to persuade them.”

“My expectations for the Heavenly Arbiter are high.”

“We will revive.”

Unhwi rose.

“I intend to begin at once.”

“Bringing preconceived plans to life is difficult— but if it’s you, Heavenly Arbiter, I believe you can do it.”

Unhwi nodded and spoke quietly.

“And I want this clear.”

“What do you mean?”

“You are delegating full authority to me— correct?”

Mae Wuidong’s eyes flashed.

“Correct.”

“Then whatever results follow, endure them as the pillar of the Heavenly Alliance.”

Mae Wuidong smiled.

“I’d like to hear the details, but that would spoil the fun, so I’ll keep quiet and endure.”

“Thank you.”

“I look forward to it. Truly.”

Unhwi moved.

He would begin in Aseon County, where So Yehwa held the Chief Heavenly Commander’s post.

***

The county magistrate of Aseon, Lim Sang, let out a sigh.

“……Are we truly allowed to do this?”

So Yehwa smiled faintly.

“Why? Are you nervous?”

“Isn’t it strange that I wouldn’t be…? Seceding from the Heavenly Alliance…?”

When the Heavenly Alliance held its ceremony, only one person failed to attend— So Yehwa.

Despite holding the office of Chief Heavenly Commander, she had not attended, and on top of that she was planning to withdraw from the Heavenly Alliance.

It was a serious problem— and yet the magistrate, Lim Sang, had chosen to board the same boat as So Yehwa.

This was absolutely not something done without a basis.

“Don’t worry—”

So Yehwa cut herself off.

Her gaze flicked sideways, and she shot to her feet, drawing the sword at her waist.

It was the obvious response.

KWA-A-A-ANG—!!

She had sensed Unhwi’s presence as he shattered the door and entered.

Behind him stood Chief Seong and Han Murin.

So Yehwa’s brow crumpled hard.

“What do you think you’re doing!”

At her shout, Unhwi gave a small laugh.

“So, Senior So. You seem to be taking the courtesy I showed you at the Heavenly Hall for granted.”

“……What?”

Unhwi kicked off the floor.

So Yehwa, frowning, swung her sword at once.

It was not a killing stroke— only a check to slow the man charging in.

KWA-ANG—!!

Unhwi’s palm rose from below and slapped her blade up into the air.

At once his foot churned the ground.

There was no time to do anything.

Space opened between So Yehwa and Unhwi.

Everything was laid bare.

Unhwi’s eyes flashed.

Tathagata Palm.

B-BEOK—!!

His palm struck So Yehwa square in the solar plexus, and she flew, slamming into the wall.

Kooluk—

From the sheer volume of blood she spewed, it was clearly a grave injury at minimum.

Unhwi spoke softly.

“Chief Seong.”

“Yes, young master.”

“Bring her.”

Watching Unhwi neaten his collar, Chief Seong smiled inwardly.

The speed of Unhwi’s growth defied words.

Now, someone like So Yehwa— who had only recently entered the Divine Manifestation Stage— could be subdued within two exchanges. There was nothing more to say.

Chief Seong seized So Yehwa by the hair where she lay and dragged her, tossing her at Unhwi’s feet.

Unhwi swept back his hair and sat quietly.

“An honor to meet you, Magistrate Lim.”

Lim Sang swallowed.

“I am Seol Unhwi, Heavenly Arbiter.”

“P… pleasure… I am Lim Sang.”

Unhwi gazed at him in silence for a moment. The look was so cold Lim Sang felt as if a pail of water had been dumped over his head— and only belatedly realized it.

That feeling was fear.

To fear someone is most apparent when one worries that person might harm him; Lim Sang’s fear was exactly that.

Breaking the silence, Unhwi spoke again.

“I hear you’ve lent a hand to something… amusing.”

“……I… I…”

“I understand. From an administrator’s point of view, you could hardly ignore the will of the court and the prestige of the Five Great Sword Sects.”

Lim Sang could not answer easily.

Unhwi looked down at So Yehwa, writhing and groaning on the floor.

“I can understand it. When a vicious woman like that wags her tongue, who could resist getting swept along? But tell me—”

His eyes went cold.

“Do you truly think it will work?”

“……What do you… mean?”

Why had So Yehwa tried to make Aseon County independent?

Nothing in this world happens without a reason.

No matter how implausible it seems— no matter how much it looks like a wreck— there is always a reason.

“I don’t know the exact name they’ve chosen, but did you truly think a bloc formed by the Five Great Sword Sects and the Outer Demonic Sects could replace the Heavenly Alliance?”

Lim Sang’s eyes flew wide.

“H-how… did you… know…?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?”

There was no need to spell it out further.

“The reason the Five Great Sword Sects and the Outer Demonic Sects answered the Heavenly Alliance’s call for aid was because there were plenty of scraps to pick up here. But now they’ve come into conflict with the Heavenly Alliance. What choice do you think most martial artists would make here?”

“……”

“Especially groups on the scale of the Five Great Sword Sects and the Outer Demonic Sects— they hold the pretext themselves, so their intentions converge on a single point.”

Unhwi drew a smoke from his breast and lit it.

A single point.

Simple to the extreme.

“To erase the Heavenly Alliance from the world and raise a new body in its place.”

So Yehwa, twitching on the floor, stared wide-eyed.

In a strained voice she said:

“……The Nine-Gate Assembly.”

Unhwi gave a thin smile.

“Five sword sects and four gate sects— so the Nine-Gate Assembly?”

Shaking, So Yehwa forced herself upright.

“……Yes.”

Unhwi watched her quietly through the faint coil of smoke.

Her hands trembled as she lifted her sword again— but he did not even feel it worth a response.

Behind Unhwi, Chief Seong sighed and drew a dagger. The moment So Yehwa moved, her head would arc into the air.

“A lesson is required— but there’s one thing I need to take off the board first.”

“……What?”

“So stay still if you can. Unless you want to add to your debts.”

So Yehwa looked bewildered, about to speak—

The door flew open.

Unhwi turned his head. A single man stood there, and behind him dozens of men and women leveled weapons toward Unhwi’s side.

Judging by their dress, they were from the Suncheon Sword Sect.

Then—

The man who’d opened the door strode up to Unhwi and fell to his knees.

Chief Seong looked puzzled; So Yehwa’s brow tightened.

“What do you think you—”

He cut her off.

“An honor to meet you for the first time. I am U Hwangseok, first disciple of the Suncheon Sword Sect.”

“So you are. But this is hardly our first meeting.”

“……”

“On the first day the envoys gathered at the Heavenly Hall, our eyes met. I recall.”

“……I’m embarrassed. That you would remember.”

It had to be laid out.

Who was U Hwangseok?

This required a bit of the past: back when Unhwi was in the Bright Spirit Domain, Seol Horeong, first of the Polar Heirs, had come to meet him.

At that time Seol Horeong had tried to hand Unhwi a Grand Restoration Pill— and the source of that pill had been U Hwangseok.

U Hwangseok had won the Dragon-and-Phoenix Gathering held by the Martial Alliance; Seol Horeong had obtained the pill from him with a set price and a promise to render assistance in the future.

No matter how one looked at it—

Owing a debt to Seol Horeong, the Young Palace Lord of the Snow Palace, was troublesome in every way.

It was precisely for this reason that So Yehwa was not killed on the spot.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep