“By ‘that person,’ do you mean the Sky-Wind Sword Guest?”

“Yes. The pillar of the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect! Even Jo Taehwa sought his instruction, and with only a half-step left to the No-Extremes Incarnation, he is coming to kill y—”

“He won’t come. The Sky-Wind Sword Guest.”

“…What?”

“You still trust Yeon Songbaek.”

“….”

“Why do you think he kept the people who know his secret right next to him?”

So Yeongjin said nothing.

Unhwi did not need to supply an answer.

Why he stationed them close.

From the standpoint of those being placed, it can look like trust.

He even favored them, cultivated them, gave them only the good things.

Had he killed even one or two, they would have doubted him, but for twenty years there was not a single moment of that.

Yet every phenomenon in this world has its reason.

Unhwi sent a voice-transmission.

— I will pass your regards to Shin Gang. That you kept loyal to the end.

Unhwi brought his sword down.

Puuuk—!

He looked for a moment at So Yeongjin, whose neck bone had been severed, then drew the blade back out.

Blood was flowing from Unhwi’s shoulder. It was a wound taken during So Yeongjin’s last thrash. There were small wounds scattered across his body as well.

Seogeok—!

Having killed one of the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect’s warriors, Han Murin ran toward Unhwi.

“Chief! Are you all right?”

He stared blankly for a beat, then shook his head.

“I’m not.”

“Ah….”

He hadn’t expected that.

He was the one who always said he was fine.

This was unmistakably an expression of trust.

Telling his own people only the facts.

Han Murin thought as much. Pushing back the swell of feeling, he immediately supported Unhwi and ran him to the carriage.

He saw the luggage inside.

He tossed all of it out, then carefully seated Unhwi within.

“Han Murin.”

“…Please don’t talk much. I’ll guard the perimeter.”

As Han Murin started to turn away, Unhwi caught him by the chest.

Han Murin halted on the spot.

“…Chief?”

“Do not let your guard down.”

“…Yes.”

“I’m not speaking of the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect’s assault.”

“…Is it what I think it is?”

“It is.”

Han Murin nodded, his expression firm.

“Don’t worry. There are no abnormal signs yet. And if it comes to it…”

Trailing off, Han Murin quietly tapped the small twilight case fastened at his left waist.

“I’ll use this. At the right time.”

“It’s a precious thing.”

“…I’ll find a way to replace it.”

Unhwi gave a faint laugh and leaned back against the carriage.

Yeon Songbaek is a meticulous man.

Above all, having reached the No-Extremes Incarnation, he will continue to send lackeys of a level Unhwi can handle.

And if all those lackeys die, he will show himself of his own accord.

Unhwi set that span as fifteen days.

Fifteen days.

Within this period, everything with the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect would be settled.

***

Wei Tianhu’s sword knocked Jang Jinok’s blade aside.

Kwaaang—!

A thunderous blast ripped open the space between them.

Jang Jinok spoke with her eyes.

To stop for the moment.

Wei Tianhu answered with his sword.

Seogeok—!

Jang Jinok’s neck soared into the sky.

Wei Tianhu’s condition was not especially good either.

There were wounds here and there, but no grave injury; his movement was free.

Before long, a Martial Righteous Unit trooper came up to Wei Tianhu and reported.

“Division Chief. Three of our unit are dead, two severely wounded, five lightly wounded.”

“The enemy?”

“All killed.”

“You’ve done well. See to the wounded and recover the spoils.”

“As ordered.”

Sending his subordinate away, Wei Tianhu turned his head.

Unhwi was seated in the carriage, and Han Murin stood before it as if to guard him.

He had glimpsed, a moment ago, how Seol Unhwi killed So Yeongjin.

It was astonishing.

And Jang Jinok, whom Wei Tianhu had been fighting, had been the same—astonished.

Wei Tianhu recovered his senses first and moved straight into forms; pressed onto the back foot, Jang Jinok was defeated in the end.

‘…Even if he’s a prodigy, has there ever been such a being in the history of the martial world?’

A question rose unbidden.

If, from the Triple Profound Realm that Unhwi had created, one raises realm again, does it become Unity of Heaven and Man at once?

If that is correct, how does one cultivate while remaining in the Triple Profound Realm? What realization must one gain to cross over?

And when, exactly, does Unhwi intend to disclose information about that realm?

He had many questions, but he did not ask them.

Wei Tianhu only handles the tasks he is given.

He had lived that way for a very long time.

He walked forward, unhurried.

Inside the carriage, Unhwi, who had been sitting with eyes closed, slowly opened them.

Meeting that gaze, Wei Tianhu flinched for an instant.

‘…Feels like he’s reading me.’

It felt as if his insides were laid bare, but he did not show it.

Wei Tianhu had never revealed his inner mind at any moment.

The feeling taken from Unhwi’s ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) eyes was most likely due to the atmosphere.

No one in this world can truly penetrate another’s heart. If it seems penetrated, it is a prediction through a visible gap.

No more than that.

“Is your body all right?”

At Wei Tianhu’s words, Unhwi nodded and asked in return.

“How are you, Division Chief Wei?”

“A few scrapes only. Otherwise I’m fine.”

“The casualties?”

“Regrettably, three members dead, two severely wounded, five lightly wounded.”

“Any among the severely wounded who must be sent back to the main Alliance?”

Wei Tianhu glanced back for a moment, then shook his head.

“None.”

“Then load the wounded into the carriages and set out again for Calmheart County.”

There was no hesitation.

“Yes. I will do so.”

As he turned away, Wei Tianhu’s expression was exceedingly cold.

Once, Unhwi had asked him:

— Division Chief Wei. To whom do you give your loyalty?

To that question, he had answered that he gives loyalty only to the value called the Heavenly Alliance. Had Unhwi perhaps ‘caught on’?

He did not know.

He had never shown anything that would let Unhwi catch on.

***

Watching Wei Tianhu’s retreating back, Unhwi spoke.

“Han Murin.”

“Yes, Chief.”

“Do nothing.”

“…When you say nothing…?”

“I mean don’t go telling Seo Hyo or Chief Seong anything about Wei Tianhu.”

Given Han Murin’s temperament, he might separately ask Seo Hyo to investigate Wei Tianhu, or tell Chief Seong the circumstances that Unhwi was suspicious of Wei Tianhu.

This was because Han Murin was more meticulous than he looked, and he had shown similar behavior more than once before.

Yet this was the first time Unhwi had stopped him like this.

Han Murin was a little taken aback, but he accepted it.

Because it was Unhwi’s order.

“Yes. I won’t cause you worry.”

Unhwi nodded and closed his eyes again.

“You drive the carriage.”

“Ah, is that all right?”

Unhwi spoke softly.

“Who else in this train could I rely on but you?”

Deeply moved, Han Murin scrambled onto the driver’s bench.

Before long the carriage rolled out, and Unhwi devoted himself to recovery.

So Yeongjin had made an unanticipated sudden move and, instead of the three forms he had first expected, had forced him to use four.

At this moment Unhwi was on the verge of collapsing.

With eyes closed, he quietly folded his legs and began circulating his cultivation.

Plainly stated, Unhwi had not read Wei Tianhu’s inner mind.

But it was a subject he had kept thinking on, relentlessly, without letup.

The Triple Profound Realm—

It is by no means a perfect realm.

And if one is to raise realm from the Triple Profound Realm, one will skip other things and step straight into Unity of Heaven and Man.

If so, what training must Unhwi, who has reached the Triple Profound Realm, undertake?

What, exactly, must he develop?

Within the carriage, Unhwi slowly circulated his inner energy as he thought.

First, the purity of Void-Manifest Qi must be heightened.

The Void-Manifest Qi Unhwi currently wields is the root of all qi, but its purity is not perfect.

It is the power that becomes the root of ordinary qi, natural qi, and Heaven-Earth spiritual qi, but he has yet to fully manifest its essence.

That was why, even in today’s battle with So Yeongjin, he had to use four forms.

As the purity of Void-Manifest Qi rises, the power of the same form will increase exponentially.

Second, stabilization of the triangular circulation system.

The triangular structure formed when the Iceheart Dantian came into being is not yet fully stable. Especially in high-intensity combat, subtle imbalances arise in the flow of qi among the three dantians.

Only by stabilizing this completely can he guarantee safety upon entry into Unity of Heaven and Man.

At the outset, ascending to Unity of Heaven and Man requires a process of madly tempering the entire body and all dantians; with Unhwi already suffering on account of thick blood-vessels, if he were to step into Unity of Heaven and Man right now, his whole body would explode.

This is inevitable.

Third, realm stabilization and consolidation of the base.

The Triple Profound Realm is a realm Unhwi created.

As the ancient demon had said in the Secret Realm where he fought Jang Icheong to the death, if he could once look upon that book made by Baek Dochun, the Great Heaven Sect’s vice cult lord of a thousand years past, another avenue of approach might be considered; but at least by Unhwi’s present lights, these three cannot be omitted under any circumstances.

Slowly, Void-Manifest Qi circulated through Unhwi’s blood-vessels.

Torn vessels knit; the recovery of muscle and bone rose exponentially.

Smoke rose from Unhwi’s body.

And last of all, the most important.

Unhwi drew a deep breath.

A fundamental solution for the wide blood-vessels.

Unhwi was, by nature, possessed of wide blood-vessels.

A constitution of abnormally thick vessels compared to ordinary people. This confers the advantage of storing powerful inner energy, but at the same time carries a fatal drawback.

When realm rises sharply, the vessels cannot bear it and rupture.

In his previous life, he had suffered immeasurably on account of this problem.

Why had the Heavenly Daoist (the Original) told him to come if no solution came to mind?

Because he knows as well. That Unhwi was born with wide blood-vessels.

And, now that he has stepped into the Triple Profound Realm, he recognized that these wide blood-vessels will later cause a fatal problem.

A genius of the Heavenly Daoist’s caliber can see that.

Plainly stated, Unhwi knows the solution.

Whether temporary or permanent.

When ascending to the Realm of Martial Divinity, the thickness of the vessels must be reduced to less than half of what they are now—without fail.

But because wide blood-vessels are an innate constitution, forcing them thinner will only produce greater side effects.

If he cannot solve this problem, Unhwi will never enter the Realm of Martial Divinity.

The carriage interior was thick with smoke.

The wounds he had taken in the battle with So Yeongjin were knitting rapidly.

Unhwi sank into deep meditation.

Wide blood-vessels or whatever—first, recovery took precedence.

Even to show a flawless face in the final negotiation with Yeon Songbaek, this was the most crucial juncture.

With every jolt of the carriage, Unhwi’s inner energy deepened.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep