Seo Hyo slowly stepped out from behind the tree.

Dressed in a black robe with the Heavenly Alliance insignia pinned to it, he looked utterly different from his days moving through Cheonrim.

He had grown prouder, and sharper.

Yucheong swept his gaze up and down Seo Hyo before speaking.

“Today’s Heavenly Alliance event is not only the Alliance Lord’s enthronement. It is also the Vice Alliance Lord’s enthronement. And you left your seat.”

Seo Hyo answered with a calm expression.

“The position of Vice Alliance Lord is a shadow anyway. It changes nothing whether I am there or not. More importantly, all introductions are already finished and the greetings are done, so I thought stepping away briefly would not be a problem.”

Yucheong gave a short laugh. Mockery and admiration were mixed together in it.

“You truly think that.”

“I do not think otherwise.”

Yucheong stared at Seo Hyo in silence.

Seo Hyo was smart.

For him to say that was not simple self-deprecation. It was a kind of statement of kinship.

Seo Hyo moving this freely as Vice Alliance Lord, and Yucheong moving as Vice Cult Leader.

Beyond that, there was a dream they were each raising in their own way.

“I am satisfied with just this much.”

“…”

“I do not covet what is above. I, Seo Hyo, have never once been anything but sincere about rebuilding the Millennium Demon Cult, and I have never coveted the Cult Leader’s seat.”

Yucheong said nothing. Because he knew that was not the real question Seo Hyo meant to ask.

Between them, there was a deeper and darker past.

Soon, Seo Hyo spoke what he truly wanted to say.

“Why did you try to kill me?”

“That is what you were curious about.”

“I could not not be curious. I am someone who wants to see the rebuilding of the cult with my own eyes. But if I die and the cult is made on top of that, what meaning does it have?”

Yucheong clasped his hands behind his back and spoke slowly. Cold reality sat inside his voice.

“You seem to want a proper answer, so I will give you a proper one. I tried to kill you because I had no need for you.”

“…Truly, was I worth only that much to you, Preceptor.”

“There are many capable people in the world. But among them, a hunting dog that shows the kind of desire it should never have will, one day, snap its leash and bite its master’s throat.”

Seo Hyo’s fist trembled faintly.

“Then do you have no desire, Preceptor?”

“Desire and one’s place are different things.”

“My place…”

Yucheong’s eyes turned cold.

“You wanted the Vice Cult Leader’s seat. No, you wanted an even higher seat than that. That is not wrong. But I did not like the way you showed that desire.”

“What would have been the right way?”

“Waiting. You should have stopped at being someone who receives what the master hands down.”

Seo Hyo gave a bitter smile.

“Then I might have had to wait my entire life.”

“That is the fate of a slave.”

The word slave cut through the air, and Seo Hyo’s face hardened. But he did not lash out. If anything, he grew colder.

Yucheong asked him.

“Why did you come here alone?”

“…”

“There is no one watching right now. Did you come to die?”

Yucheong’s eyebrow twitched slightly.

“I wanted to hear the answer to my question.”

“You answer a different question. I asked if you came to die.”

“Can you kill me?”

“Why do you think I cannot?”

A relaxed smile formed at the corner of Seo Hyo’s mouth. It closely resembled the smile he used to wear when he moved through Cheonrim as one of its lords.

“You just told me a story about a hunting dog on a leash.”

“I did.”

“I can see it as well. The leash around your neck, Preceptor.”

Yucheong did not bother to react.

He only looked at Seo Hyo with a calm expression, and Seo Hyo continued as he met that gaze.

“You chose that course because you never doubted my ability. Do you think I would not know.”

Seo Hyo’s voice dropped lower.

“To come here today, you must have needed someone’s permission. The wounds on your body… yes, anyone can see they are not ordinary. I do not know why you are bound to the Original Blood Cult, but until you tear open the leash, or the chain, that binds you, you cannot act directly. Am I wrong?”

Yucheong said nothing.

He had been crushed in a fight for life and death against the Heavenly Daoist.

When he had spoken to Unhwi about how terrifying the Heavenly Daoist was, it had not been to exaggerate it. It had been simple truth.

Yucheong gave a short laugh.

“Not bad.”

“Thank you.”

“The leash around my neck is mine to loosen. And when that day comes, you will have to make your own position even clearer.”

Seo Hyo’s brow creased slightly.

Smart as he was, Seo Hyo caught the intention buried inside Yucheong’s words.

“Are you thinking of trying to win me over again?”

“The «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» decision is yours.”

“Then there is nothing to think about. I have already decided.”

“Do you like that man that much?”

“It is not a matter of liking him or not. I have already sworn.”

“Sworn what?”

“A master-and-subject oath.”

Yucheong’s face froze cold.

“…Too hasty.”

“I would prefer you called it wise.”

Yucheong shook his head.

“Then there is no need to talk any further.”

“…”

“Pray for your good fortune.”

With that, Yucheong started walking. It was the moment he was about to pass right by Seo Hyo.

Seo Hyo, who had been thinking, turned his body. Then he raised his hands in a formal salute. In that posture, gratitude for the past and resolve for the future were both contained.

“I will not forget the grace you showed me, Preceptor, for raising my dream, teaching me martial arts, and giving me opportunity.”

Yucheong turned his head. There was no emotion in his eyes.

“It was an honor to serve you.”

“…”

“Even if my ruthless blade aims for your throat next time, I hope you will not call it unjust.”

Yucheong let out a short laugh.

Then he turned away again and walked on.

There was no need for many words. What more could be necessary. And so Yucheong’s figure vanished into the darkness.

Left alone, Seo Hyo turned his head and nearly collapsed on the spot from sheer shock.

Unhwi was there.

An awkward smile sat on his face.

“Seriously… how long have you been there?”

“Since the part where you said, ‘It was an honor to serve you.’”

“…You are not upset, are you.”

Unhwi shook his head. His face held the same calm expression as always.

“If a man is upset over ending a meeting, then he is not a man.”

Relief washed over Seo Hyo’s face. Of course it was Unhwi. He was a man with a vessel too large to cling to things like this.

“Is your resolve firm now?”

“It was firm from the beginning.”

“Then let’s go. The Heavenly Alliance’s Vice Alliance Lord should not be absent in the middle of the event.”

Seo Hyo smiled.

“I will escort you. Let’s go.”

***

Now alone again, Yucheong walked slowly, sensing the surrounding scenery.

He had left Cheonsu long ago, but the night air was still cold.

Wind from the mountain whipped past, stirring his long black hair, and the moonlight dyed his pale face silver.

Each step rang out, slicing through the quiet night.

As he walked, he recalled the people he had met today. Unhwi’s sharp insight, Seo Hyo’s changed 모습. And above all, that ease Unhwi displayed gnawed at him. Unhwi had been calm, like a go master who had calculated everything.

Grass along the roadside rustled as it swayed in the wind.

The cries of insects broke the silence, and far away, an owl called.

To anyone watching, it was a truly peaceful night.

And yet, at this moment, Yucheong’s steps came to a hard stop, and a faint demonic aura began to seep out of his body.

It was rare for Yucheong to show himself in the Central Plains.

Over nearly more than twenty years, it had happened only a handful of times.

This excursion had not been the Heavenly Daoist’s order.

Yucheong had asked the Heavenly Daoist for it himself.

Because he wanted to see with his own eyes and decide.

He had come only to see that, and he had not expected things to become this annoying.

“I hear you have much to do in the Brahma Heaven Sect, yet you seem to have plenty of leisure.”

At Yucheong’s words, an old man sitting with his palms pressed together atop a large boulder across the road grinned.

He looked well past seventy, yet the aura pouring from him felt strong enough to crush a mountain.

A shaved head, a worn monk’s robe, and a face that always wore a smile.

And the brutality hidden behind that smile.

Undying Maitreya. Patriarch of the Maitreya Brahma Heaven Sect, an absolute powerhouse who had reached No-Extremes Incarnation.

“Blessed Light. Mr. Yu, you must have worked hard to come all the way out here.”

His voice was gentle, but it was filled with mischief. Like a child who had found an entertaining toy.

“This humble monk is here by the Buddha’s will. So why are you in such a hurry to leave?”

Yucheong’s eyes turned cold.

“Whether I leave or not, whether I stay here or not, is not something Undying Maitreya needs to concern himself with.”

“Heh heh heh.”

“So stop trying to change the subject. If you have something to say, say it.”

“Oh, there is no need to rush. It has been a long time. At least share a cup of tea with me—”

“There is no time.”

Undying Maitreya stepped down from the boulder. His movement was as soft as drifting clouds, yet as fast as lightning.

“No time? Well now. To this humble monk, that sounds like you simply do not want to spend time.”

“Interpret it however you like. You are close to the correct answer.”

Anyone could see it: these two knew each other, but they did not look like they were on good terms.

Undying Maitreya let out a dry laugh and spoke.

“Come to think of it, there is one thing I am curious about.”

“What is it.”

“Those matters the Heavenly Daoist instructed. This humble monk has been gathering materials and offering them, yet I wonder how things are progressing.”

Yucheong did not answer.

Undying Maitreya’s smile deepened.

“You are not thinking that this humble monk has no need to know, are you?”

“I do not know.”

It was a short answer. But inside it was a will: he would say no more.

Undying Maitreya gave a hollow laugh.

“Blessed Light. Are you not treating this humble monk with too much contempt?”

“It is not contempt. I simply judge that you are unnecessary.”

“Unnecessary…”

A dangerous light flashed in Undying Maitreya’s eyes. Golden energy began to seep out from his pressed-together hands.

“Then I suppose this humble monk will have no choice but to confirm it himself.”

Yucheong laughed.

“My condition is not good, but I can handle someone like you.”

“…Heh…”

“If you are curious, go ask the Heavenly Daoist directly. Whatever reason you had for showing yourself before me, what Undying Maitreya is doing right now looks like nothing but the tantrum of a frightened child who fears the Heavenly Daoist.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep