Chief Seong let out a sigh and briefly told him what had happened over the past fifteen days.

First, a major incident had erupted at the Heavenly Alliance, and rumors spread that the lives and deaths of the current Alliance Lord, Mae Wuidong, and the Heavenly Arbiter, Seol Unhwi, were unknown. All kinds of famous figures began coming to the Heavenly Alliance to ask after them. In the course of turning those people away, there had been three who stood at the center of it: “a masked, unidentified No-Extremes Incarnation master,” Joo Che, the Commander of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace’s White Snow Guard Lord Division, and the Elders of the Heavenly Alliance.

“…Even the Golden Blade Hero King Muha came.”

“Did he just leave?”

“After he saw Commander Joo Che, he let out a sigh of relief and went back.”

One way or another, the fact that someone from the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace was present meant that Seol Unhwi was alive. So it was easy enough to understand why King Muha—both a martial artist of the Martial Alliance and someone who had formed a connection with Unhwi over go—would simply turn around and leave.

“What about the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect?”

“A letter flew in, and I sent a reply.”

“What did it say?”

“It said they didn’t care whether Mae Wuidong lived or died, and asked whether Young Master was alive. I replied that he is alive.”

Unhwi let out a small laugh, and Chief Seong spoke briefly.

“As the sect master of the Ihwa Sword Heaven Sect, it’s a situation that would make his insides burn. Even so, the fact that he’s stayed silent until now means…”

“It means he’s waiting.”

“…Surely you don’t mean to start work immediately, do you?”

Unhwi laboriously pushed himself upright.

“Am I not alive?”

“…”

“Rest is something you can do to your heart’s content after you die.”

“…At this rate, I’m not going to live out my natural lifespan.”

He had heard enough of the situation.

“Call the people outside in first.”

“Understood.”

Chief Seong opened the door and went out, then soon returned with several people.

There were quite a few faces he was glad to see. The first to open his mouth was the Flame King Hwa Munyeom.

It was the face of an old man carved deep with wrinkles, but the gaze in his eyes was still sharp.

“…This isn’t something you should say with a walking corpse in front of you, but you… are clearly not the spawn of a human.”

Unhwi snorted a laugh and nearly coughed up blood.

“I am very much the spawn of a human. If my father over at the snow palace heard you, he’d be hurt. Senior.”

“Tsk.”

“More importantly, there was something I clearly heard confirmed before I lost consciousness. Would you say it again?”

Hwa Munyeom sighed.

“Fine. The Alliance Lord of the Heavenly Alliance—I’ll do it.”

“Good. So I didn’t mishear.”

Then two more people entered behind Hwa Munyeom. One was a young man, and the other was a middle-aged man.

The young man spoke in a flippant voice the moment he saw Unhwi.

“Wow. Why are you lying down every time I see you?”

“Sim Munryong?”

“Yeah, it’s me. The Palace Lord too, and right now the whole martial world is in upro— What? Why are you looking at me like that?”

That last line was not directed at Unhwi.

It was aimed at Chief Seong.

Chief Seong stared at Sim Munryong with cold eyes.

“I’ve had something I’ve wanted to say for a long time. Do you have no sense of decorum at all?”

“Now you’re saying this? At this point?”

“It’s not ‘at this point.’ I’ve been pointing it out all along. I °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° thought that if you were a normal human being, you would surely correct it, but there isn’t even the slightest sign you will.”

“Huh… What is it with this man? Why is he angry every time I see him?”

At that attitude, Chief Seong snapped back.

“If someone trying to rebuild Mount Hua has no refinement, then the Mount Hua that gets rebuilt will have no refinement either.”

Sim Munryong’s brow furrowed sharply.

“Crossing the line, aren’t you?”

Chief Seong prepared to draw the dagger at his waist, and Sim Munryong prepared to draw the sword at his.

In facing Sim Munryong, who had reached Unity of Heaven and Man, Chief Seong did not hesitate.

It was the result of what he had seen and felt beside Unhwi.

A realm was absolute, but even that could be overturned.

An absolute mindset.

Conviction toward victory.

Chief Seong was unmistakably starting to resemble Unhwi.

The one who stopped the two of them was the middle-aged man, Joo Che.

He pressed down lightly on both of their shoulders.

“Hyun Seollin has suffered a grave wound and is recuperating.”

“…”

“Don’t point out each other’s faults. Do what needs to be done.”

The two men shut their mouths and let go of their weapons.

Joo Che lowered his hands as well, then offered Unhwi a respectful clasped-fist salute.

“It has been a long time. Hyun Seollin.”

“It has. I didn’t expect even Commander Joo Che to come.”

Joo Che glanced at Hwa Munyeom.

“Hyunsim of the White Spirit Guard insisted I must remember this. He said there is an unidentified No-Extremes Incarnation master in the Heavenly Alliance. So I came.”

Hwa Munyeom shrugged.

He hadn’t said it out loud, but the lineup of people in this Heavenly Alliance annex was dazzling beyond belief.

Two No-Extremes Incarnation masters, and five Heaven-Earth Apex masters.

To put it bluntly, this was enough to wipe out one of the Five Sword Sects without much trouble.

Joo Che asked briefly.

“Is there something I need to hear?”

At that, Unhwi gave a peculiar smile.

Joo Che was clearly not a fool.

“Please tell the Palace Lord that there is no need to worry. And anything you need to know separately, I will have it written in a letter and sent through Chief Seong.”

“Understood.”

At Joo Che’s courteous manner and speech, Sim Munryong was genuinely startled.

He had known Joo Che owed Unhwi a debt, but this was to the point of disbelief.

Sim Munryong cut in.

“But you were out cold for fifteen days, so are you o— Ahem, are you all right?”

“Do as you were doing.”

“…If I do as I was doing, it feels like the people here are going to beat me to death.”

Not only Chief Seong, but also Seo Hyo, and the remaining Elders, Ya Mukcheon and Sa Seollan, were glaring at Sim Munryong with murderous eyes.

“…What, every time you go somewhere and come back, you pick up loyal retainers one by one? If that’s your kind of talent, then unifying the martial world isn’t even a dream.”

Sim Munryong waved his hand as he said that.

“You’re alive, so it’s fine.”

It was what everyone was thinking.

Seol Unhwi was clearly alive.

He had won against a master of Unity of Heaven and Man, and had taken complete hold of the organization called the Heavenly Alliance.

Plainly, the Heavenly Alliance was now no different from being Unhwi’s.

That truth would not change even if Hwa Munyeom sat in the Alliance Lord’s seat.

“Seo Hyo.”

“Yes. ‘Heavenly Arbiter.’”

“You will have to take the post of Vice Alliance Lord.”

At that, Seo Hyo was shocked.

“…Me…?”

“We can’t leave an empty seat vacant forever, and in the situation of the Heavenly Alliance becoming ownerless, there is no one but you who can take the role of Vice Alliance Lord.”

“…”

“Who else would run Cheonrim if not you?”

Seo Hyo rubbed his face, then answered firmly.

“Yes. If you entrust it to me, I will do my utmost.”

“Then that is enough.”

Ya Mukcheon and Sa Seollan smiled brightly as they looked at Seo Hyo.

Those two held deep trust in Seo Hyo. And since that Seo Hyo was trusted by a man like Unhwi, there was nothing better than this.

After watching them for a moment, Unhwi looked to Chief Seong and said.

“Will you support me?”

“No… Where are you going again?”

“The Heavenly Archives.”

The opening Mae Wuidong had shown Unhwi.

It was clearly the Heavenly Archives.

There was a hidden space there, and within that hidden space, something Mae Wuidong could never deny.

“Some truth.”

That much was certain.

If there had been nothing in it, Mae Wuidong would have refuted Unhwi’s words and denied them until the very end.

But he hadn’t. He couldn’t.

Whatever was in the Heavenly Archives was clearly something capable of threatening Mae Wuidong’s very position.

“…Can’t you rest a bit?”

“Fifteen days is enough rest.”

“…This is driving me insane, seriously.”

***

Half a quarter-hour later, Unhwi and Chief Seong arrived at the Heavenly Archives.

“Young Master, is it really fine for just the two of us to go? I’m a bit worried.”

“It’s my judgment that it isn’t something everyone needs to know.”

What, exactly, was Mae Wuidong’s secret?

As the Master of the Mukse Society, what had he been doing?

It certainly wouldn’t be something half-baked.

It was entirely normal and rational for Unhwi to see it first and grasp it, then decide whether or not to inform the others.

Inside the Heavenly Archives was still quiet. The sight of countless books packed tightly onto the shelves was unchanged.

Chief Seong asked with a doubtful expression.

“Is there really something here?”

Unhwi did not bother answering.

Because there was.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Archives was quite far from the Heavenly Dragon Hall, so it hadn’t suffered major damage even in the fierce battle between Unhwi and Mae Wuidong. So Unhwi naturally approached the exact spot where Mae Wuidong had made his mistake.

The very place where the arrangement of the archive had subtly changed.

He studied the wall closely, then pressed a certain section with his hand. As expected, the wall slid gently inward, revealing a hidden space.

“…There really was something…”

Unhwi gave Chief Seong’s blinking shoulder a couple of light pats.

It meant to go in. Supporting Unhwi, Chief Seong stepped inside.

It was a very large room.

Inside, several letters and records were neatly arranged, along with strange objects. Leaning on Chief Seong, Unhwi moved his body with effort and began checking them one by one.

The first thing that caught his eye was a set of small, reddish beads. They were stored in a palm-sized glass bottle.

There were exactly twenty beads.

The moment he saw them, Unhwi’s brow furrowed.

Chief Seong asked.

“…It looks like you know what it is.”

There was no way he wouldn’t.

Unhwi picked up one bead and examined it closely. Inside was a sticky red liquid, and a faint current of energy seeped out.

It was unmistakable.

“Bloodstone.”

“Bloodstone means…”

“A spirit medicine made by condensing a person’s blood and energy.”

There was one thing that felt odd.

The bloodstone Unhwi knew was not this viscous.

It should be hard enough on the outside to deserve the name “stone,” but this was too excessive.

And Unhwi knew what this implied.

His eyes turned cold.

He immediately picked up a record set beside it, slowly.

Bloodstone Production Process Record

-First experiment: conducted on 20 residents of Bongsan Village near Ansimgun

-Confirmed that extracting directly from a living body yields very high purity bloodstone

-Second experiment: conducted on 35 residents of Cheongnim Village on the border of Unguk

-Succeeded in producing bloodstone of even higher quality through an improved extraction method

-Third experiment planned site: Seokgyo Village on the outskirts of Cheonju Fortress (estimated subjects: 50)

-Precautions: the farther the village is from the patrol routes of the garrison troops, the easier the work

Chief Seong, who had stolen a glance at the record from the side, went pale.

“Young Master, this is…?”

“Keep reading.”

Unhwi picked up another record. This one contained even more detailed content.

Research on Optimal Conditions for Bloodstone Production

-Subject selection: sturdy commoners between fifteen and forty years of age

-The heavier the body weight and the more completely devoid of internal energy, the better the effect

-Extraction process: for three days, continuously open the blood vessels and draw blood along with energy

-Day one: proceed while maintaining the subject’s consciousness (for purity improvement)

-Day two: continue even after the subject loses consciousness

-Day three: extract as much as possible until just before death

-Survivors: twelve out of one hundred test subjects (all became cripples and were disposed of)

-Average bloodstone yield per person: three to four (all grades were low)

-Notable: in the case of pregnant women, bloodstone quality drops significantly

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep