He was so dignified that every word he spoke carried weight.

If you listened carefully, it wasn’t like he was reading from a book of famous sayings, yet every time he spoke, his words resonated deeply.

The same was true for his martial arts.

If you so much as poked him, a peerless martial art would emerge.

Among all of it, what was most astonishing was precisely this.

He just drank the Empty Clear Stone Milk without any preparation?

Normally, to consume that elixir, one needed complete physical and mental stability, as well as intact Dantian and meridians.

It was absolutely not something you could take while so exhausted.

And yet, seeing it now… there were strangely no side effects.

On the contrary, he was absorbing all the energy of the Empty Clear Stone Milk completely.

‘…Is he a monster…?’

I didn’t know anymore.

Come to think of it, I had never asked.

In his previous life, just how far had Seol Unwi climbed?

If he had been capable of toppling the Everlasting Snow Palace, then perhaps he had reached the very end of the Five Realms of the Martial God.

Scratching my head, I looked down at Namgung Wonyang, who was seated cross-legged below.

At first, Commander Seong hadn’t known either.

That this young woman was a daughter of the annihilated Namgung Clan.

But Seol Unwi had recognized it at a glance.

No matter how you thought about it, he really was a monster.

And the girl’s talent was also extraordinary.

‘…Without even tapping her pressure points or guiding her energy flow, she’s stepping into the Four Realms of Refined Qi just by listening to a few ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) words?

This is… honestly baffling.’

Namgung Wonyang.

How far could this girl eventually climb?

On this point, Commander Seong was making a big mistake.

Wonyang was someone personally marked by the reincarnated Unwi.

Just how far must she rise in the future for him to have already set his sights on her?

Maybe, she’d reach the level of a Sword King or a Sword Venerable.

Commander Seong felt a spark of greed.

‘Maybe she could even join the White Snow Phantom Corps… or the White Phantoms…’

For now, he wasn’t sure.

Quietly caressing the letter in his robes, he thought to himself.

Today was going to be a truly busy day.

****

Because of the disturbance that had occurred overnight, Yangnyeong County was completely turned upside down.

The unprecedented incident where all the heads of the Four Great Sects were lost was something that should never have happened, yet it had already occurred.

So, what needed to be done now?

There was only one answer.

Revenge.

Before dawn, in front of the Blue Dragon Rock on Cheongun Mountain behind Juryung Sword Gate, hundreds of people had already gathered.

This Blue Dragon Rock was the very place where, two years ago, Han Janggwang, the Master of Juryung Sword Gate, had entered for closed-door training.

Normally, disturbing someone’s closed cultivation was one of the greatest taboos in the martial world, but today was different.

“Master! Please, come out!!”

“The Four Great Sects have been turned into a sea of blood!!”

Wailing cries shook the mountain.

Among them were the elders and disciples of each sect, and even some of the Chief Officers.

Terror and despair were etched into everyone’s faces.

“In just one si-jin…”

An elder of the Cheongun Sword Gate spoke with a trembling voice.

“Our sect master, and the sect masters of two other sects… have died… Kuhuk…”

Unable to continue, he broke into sobs.

The faces of those around him twisted in horror.

What had happened overnight exceeded their wildest imagination.

Three of the Four Great Sect masters had been beheaded.

And it had taken only one si-jin.

That wasn’t even the end.

“Even Acting Master Han So-cheon… has died…!”

Voices filled with rage rang out.

“This is all because of Seolap!

We should never have touched that mine!”

“That’s right! Our sect master…”

An old man continued bitterly.

“Our sect master suggested turning Seolap’s Unwi into a mere puppet.

But that…”

Silence fell.

Everyone here knew.

They all knew where this tragedy had begun.

But now was not the time to lay blame.

What they needed now was Han Janggwang.

The greatest master of Yangnyeong County, who had reached the Ogi Formation, and was standing on the threshold of the Dao Transformation Realm.

They didn’t know what he might have achieved inside during his two years of seclusion, but at the very least, he would have fully matured his Ogi Formation.

Just as everyone was about to cry out once more for him to come forth—

BOOM—!

The rocky wall of the Blue Dragon Rock rumbled, and the cave entrance opened.

There, standing with wild hair and tattered clothes, was a man with an unyielding presence.

Han Janggwang, the Seven-Fingered Divine Sword.

“…So-cheon… is dead?”

No one could answer.

Han Janggwang ground his teeth so hard that it made an audible cracking sound.

“Seol Unwi… That bastard… How dare he…!”

The killing intent released by the master of the Ogi Formation wrapped around the area.

It was then.

One of the Chief Officers of Juryung Sword Gate cautiously approached and handed over a letter.

“…This was delivered today by Jang Seok, the Branch Head of the Open Gate Sect’s Seolap Division.”

There was no need to ask who had sent it.

It could only be Seol Unwi.

To Sect Master Han Janggwang,

The events of last night are truly regrettable.

However, I would like to remind you that all of this stems from your own choices.

Had you given a wiser answer to the letter I sent, none of this would have happened.

Had you not overstepped your station, neither of us would have had to grow weary.

Since you were unable to pay the price yourself due to being in seclusion, I collected it from Acting Sect Master Han So-cheon instead.

Yet, I feel that it is still far from enough.

The original 2 million gold taels you owed me have now increased to 5 million, as compensation for the precious time you wasted.

Most importantly, I now possess four severed heads.

Do Cheonhaeng, Jang Muhwi, Ho Mucheong, and your son, Han So-cheon.

They were foolish, presumptuous men.

I had considered tossing them to the wild dogs, but decided instead to present them to you as a gift.

Since you have forcibly broken your seclusion and have much to deal with, I shall grant you a little more time.

At the stroke of midnight, when the moonlight is at its stillest, I will be waiting for you at the transport route of the Snow-Cold Gorge.

I sincerely hope you will not waste another’s life under the excuse of seclusion.

Seol Unwi.

The letter trembling in his hand, Han Janggwang’s bloodshot eyes scanned its contents with a pale face.

“How dare he… how dare he!!”

Crack.

Han Janggwang crushed the letter in his hand and spoke.

“Gather all the warriors.”

His chilling gaze seized control of the surroundings.

“Today, I will turn Seolap into a sea of blood.”

There was no need to even ask when.

“Right now.”

Midnight under the moonlight?

What a joke.

He would go right now and tear him apart alive.

****

The transport route through the Snow-Cold Gorge referred to a narrow path between two blade-like cliffs.

The cliffs, towering hundreds of jang high, were far more imposing than one might imagine, and the road between them was barely twenty steps wide.

And on one of those two cliffs, members of Seolap’s branch and Yangso were stationed.

“Uh… Branch Master?”

Unwi turned his head.

It was Yangso.

“I have decent ears, you know.

From what I’m hearing, hundreds of martial artists from the Four Great Sects are coming…”

“Are you afraid?”

“How can you even ask that?”

Unwi replied briefly.

“If you want to leave, then leave.”

“….”

“I won’t stop you.

Go if you wish.

Not just you—this applies to all of you.”

By “all of you,” he meant Wonyang and all the Seolap branch members present.

At that moment, aside from Unwi, there were six men and women on the cliff.

Yet, no one chose to leave.

If a martial artist received grace, it was right to repay it.

Yangso chuckled dryly.

“Come on, who said I was leaving?

I was just curious about the plan.”

“The plan… there’s nothing special.”

There truly wasn’t much to it.

“We’ll annihilate them all here.”

“…Wait.

Annihilate?

Setting aside whether that’s even possible—what if they don’t come this way and head straight for Seolap?”

“This transport route is known as the safest path connecting Seolap and Yangnyeong County.

Moreover, I clearly wrote the name of this place in the letter I sent.

Han Janggwang, driven mad with rage to kill me, has almost no chance of choosing another route.”

“And if he does?”

“Then it simply means Han Janggwang is even dumber than I thought, and I’ll just adjust my plan accordingly.”

Yangso scratched his head.

What exactly did “easier” mean in that case?

He couldn’t tell.

What kind of person was this man, really?

Then Unwi asked Yangso a question.

“Have the warriors from Cheolsan Sword Gate arrived yet?”

“They’re on their way.

They had a lot to prepare… Ah, there they are.”

Unwi turned his head.

He could see about thirty martial artists climbing up toward them.

Each warrior, except for the man at the very back, carried two bows and quivers full of arrows, while the man at the rear climbed up bearing a single flag slung over his shoulder.

That flag was the Snow Spirit Banner.

The banner of the Everlasting Snow Palace.

“I can more or less guess what you’re planning, but honestly, I have no idea.”

“If you feel it’s too dangerous, run.

I won’t blame you.”

Yangso laughed again.

“I, Yangso, haven’t lived so cravenly.

The martial art you taught me was real, and if I think of this situation as a kind of trial…

well, you’ll give me the next technique, right?”

Unwi nodded as he slowly walked to the edge of the cliff and looked down.

It was extremely high.

From here to the road below was roughly 330 jang—about 999.9 meters.

He needed to move to a better position.

Roughly halfway down—or a bit less.

As Unwi gazed below, his eyes gleamed.

There was a space large enough to accommodate about fifty people.

Just then, Wonyang approached Unwi.

Having stepped into the beginning of the Four Realms of Refined Qi, she was now worthy of being called a true martial artist.

She asked quietly.

“Branch Master, are you not afraid?”

“Fear, huh…

I had a similar conversation with Commander Seong not too long ago.”

Strictly speaking, the subject had been slightly different, but the essence was the same.

Though he had expressed his mindset back then, he had not yet shared it with Wonyang.

Unwi spoke in a quiet voice.

“Fear is something people naturally feel because it’s difficult to control.

You, me, and everyone standing behind me.”

Everyone turned their eyes toward Unwi.

Since he hadn’t lowered his voice, all could hear him.

“Whether the enemy is strong or weak, whether you can handle them or not, whether their number is a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand, or even a hundred thousand—all these judgments rely on your own measure.

However.”

Unwi’s eyes did not waver, and his voice remained clear.

“Let it go.

Even if heaven and earth collapse, to those walking beside me, there are no enemies.”

It was an overwhelming confidence.

The source was unknown, and yet, strangely, it was utterly convincing.

Wonyang swallowed nervously.

Unwi turned his head slightly and smiled faintly.

“Even now—are you still afraid?”

As if entranced, Wonyang shook her head.

Something descended into her heart.

Though the blizzard from the night before had left the world frozen cold—

It was spring.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep