Han ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) Murin lifted his head.

“Back then, do you remember?”

“…Which time are you referring to?”

“When you hunted down the ones who betrayed me and fled from Seolap.”

“…Yes.”

“From that moment on, you became mine. Even if the entire world turns against you, I will remain by your side. Isn’t that the true essence of a master-servant bond?”

Han Murin’s eyes trembled violently.

“So, don’t doubt me. And don’t fear.”

“…Hyeon Seollin-nim…”

I stood up from my seat.

“From now on, embrace the demonic flames. And within the next fifteen days, ascend to the Flame Mastery Stage.”

“…Understood!”

I glanced at Chief Steward Seong, who looked as though he had given up halfway.

“There’s a book containing the five torture techniques. It’s in Chief Steward Seong’s possession. While I’m gone, practice on Cho Sehui.”

Han Murin, now resolute, looked at me and asked,

“If there’s anything specific I need to hear, please tell me now.”

I smiled.

One thing I had noticed about Han Murin from the beginning — he was exceptionally quick-witted.

“Draft a confession. In it, state that Jin Yangje of Hanbing Sect has been manipulating Yangnyeong from behind the scenes for the past six years to restrain me and that recently, he attempted to assassinate me. Make it align with that narrative.”

“Does the format matter?”

“No. Just make sure the handwriting matches his. And if he dies before you can finish, mimic it as best you can and prepare at least one version.”

“Understood.”

I opened the carriage door and stepped outside.

The air was refreshingly crisp.

****

Inside the office of the main palace, Seol Jungcheon gazed at his son with a complex expression.

What had changed that child so drastically?

How could a person transform so completely in such a short time?

He had eradicated the four prominent sects of Yangnyeong, killed the prefect, and even managed to clean up the aftermath almost perfectly.

Yangnyeong was now, without question, part of Seolgung’s domain.

There were certainly many people around Unwi. Just nearby, there was a member of the White Snow Phantom Corps.

That man was at the Spirit Ascension Stage, so if he stepped in, dealing with everything wouldn’t have been difficult.

But he hadn’t intervened.

In fact, he had done almost nothing.

It was all Unwi.

The world was abuzz with rumors that the main palace had intervened, but only Seol Jungcheon and Unwi knew that wasn’t true.

Despite his intense curiosity about what had truly caused his son to change so drastically, Seol Jungcheon didn’t ask.

He believed that when the time came, his son would speak on his own.

Seol Jungcheon himself had prayed for Unwi’s transformation, subjecting him to trial after trial. If he were to suddenly demand an explanation now, disregarding tradition and pressing for answers, he would not only fail as a father but as the palace lord of Seolgung.

He opened his mouth to speak.

He wanted to say, “You’ve worked hard.”

He wanted to tell Unwi that he would now show him the Manuscript of Ten Thousand Snows, as promised, and that the Everlasting Fire Lily, which they had paid the Murderous Soul Sect of the Great Desert to procure, would take at least another month to arrive.

But Unwi spoke first.

“I have returned through time.”

If anyone in the palace had seen Seol Jungcheon’s current expression, they would have thought they were dreaming.

And they wouldn’t have been wrong to think so.

Seol Jungcheon opened his mouth to speak, then closed it again. He opened it a second time, then closed it once more.

Frankly speaking, Seol Jungcheon’s face looked like that of a man who had just lost his sanity.

After a long, tense silence, Seol Jungcheon finally managed to ask a single question.

“…How?”

“I don’t know the details myself.”

“…You don’t… know?”

“Yes. Just before I died, I sliced through the Everlasting Snow Mountain.”

Again, Seol Jungcheon’s eyes widened.

Cutting through the Everlasting Snow Mountain.

That was no light statement.

The Everlasting Snow Mountain was an unfathomable structure, a mountain so massive that it could not be accurately measured by human standards.

Its height stretched tens of thousands of feet. From its peak, one could see half of the Central Plains.

To say he had cut it in half meant that his martial power had reached the heavens.

“…Go on.”

“I cut through the mountain and was swept away by the resulting avalanche. That’s how I died.”

“That can’t be all.”

“You’re right. Just before my last breath, something embedded itself in my heart. I couldn’t tell what color it was, but it was about the size of a fingertip… a stone, or perhaps a gem.”

“…A divine artifact, then.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have any idea what it could have been?”

Seol Jungcheon was silent for a long time. Then, he pulled over a nearby chair and sat down, speaking in a calm, quiet voice.

The Everlasting Snow Mountain holds the secrets of the heavens.

Men seek the heavens, but they do not know where to find them.

The true meaning is hidden within the white snow.

The poem was cryptic.

“Is that a poem you wrote, Father?”

“As if I could write something like that.”

Seol Jungcheon’s expression grew even more complicated as he spoke.

“It was written by Seol Heun, the founder of Everlasting Snow Palace.”

Seol Heun.

A truly remarkable man.

Originally from North Sea Ice Palace, he had walked the demonic path, then betrayed the palace, destroyed it, and conquered the Everlasting Snow Mountain that the Ice Palace had never managed to subdue.

He was the first to discover and harness the mountain’s mystical energy, creating the Ice and Snow Martial Art that would become the foundation of the Manuscript of Ten Thousand Snows.

“Whatever that gem was, it’s undoubtedly the ‘secret’ alluded to in the poem left behind by our ancestor.”

Seol Jungcheon’s expression was one of profound relief.

“So that’s what he meant by ‘secrets of the heavens’… He wasn’t talking about the mountain itself but about a hidden treasure containing a true secret.”

Unwi silently watched Seol Jungcheon.

The man’s turbulent emotions settled quickly, as befitted the one called the Absolute Monarch of Ice and Snow.

But that was as far as it went.

Unwi still had a question to ask.

“How long has it been?”

Seol Jungcheon’s eyes glimmered.

“If you’re asking how long we’ve been searching for that legend, it’s been twelve years.”

“Twelve years. A long time if it’s long, and a short time if it’s short.”

“It’s not a long time to secure Seolgung’s future glory.”

“It’s more than enough time to bring Seolgung to complete ruin.”

Seol Jungcheon fell silent.

Unwi, too, said nothing more.

As I had repeatedly mentioned, in my past life, Seol Jungcheon had been preoccupied with something.

That’s why the rebel forces in Seolgung, led by Yang Seoljin and his ilk, managed to topple Seolgung.

Of course, Seol Jungcheon’s severe internal injuries from a martial deviation were a contributing factor, but that was merely part of the process.

The root of it all had started around this time.

Or perhaps, it had begun even earlier.

The legend left behind by the first palace lord of Seolgung.

“Do you believe that the path to Absolute Oneness lies within that place?”

“I am certain of it. Even now.”

“…I see.”

“Now, it’s my turn to ask. Everything you’ve told me so far are things that should have remained hidden. Why are you revealing them now?”

“Because you’re my father.”

“…”

“I thought you’d be curious. Was I wrong?”

“You’re right. I was curious. But I didn’t ask. I believed that you would tell me one day.”

“That day is today.”

“…I see. There’s one thing I’m curious about.”

“You can ask as many things as you’d like.”

Seol Jungcheon shook his head.

Just one.

“What became of Everlasting Snow Palace?”

“It was annihilated.”

“By whom?”

“By me.”

“…”

“This might cause some misunderstanding, so allow me to clarify two things.”

“Go ahead.”

“Everlasting Snow Palace deserved to be destroyed. At least, it was not the future of Seolgung that you desired.”

“…Hmph… Don’t tell me they were devouring people or something.”

“They weren’t just devouring people. Everlasting Snow Palace had become the epicenter of demonic arts to the extent that the current Central Blood Sect couldn’t even compare.”

“…What is the second thing you wanted to tell me?”

“It’s less of a statement and more of a question.”

“A question… Go ahead.”

Unwi glanced around for a moment, then asked in a calm voice,

“What do you truly desire, Father?”

“Stability.”

Unwi’s expression shifted slightly, as if the answer was unexpected.

Stability…

“You know what is necessary to achieve stability, don’t you?”

“I do. Power.”

“Everlasting Snow Palace, as it is now, is lacking.”

“I won’t deny that.”

“Then, that’s enough.”

Seol Jungcheon tilted his head, puzzled.

“That’s it?”

“Yes. The first step to solving any problem is recognizing that there is one. You know what the problem is, and I know what the second and third steps are.”

“Tell me. What are the second and third steps?”

“The second step is identifying the cause. The third step is acquiring the power to protect.”

Interest sparked in Seol Jungcheon’s eyes.

If what Unwi said next was what Seol Jungcheon hoped to hear, he would finally be able to smile from the depths of his heart.

“I will protect Everlasting Snow Palace.”

Seol Jungcheon’s chest heaved.

Among the descendants of the Extreme North, not a single one had ever said such a thing.

They all knew it — that not only were they incapable of carrying the weight of Everlasting Snow Palace, but they could barely protect it as it was now.

Seol Jungcheon had always thought of it as a confidence issue.

Only one person, Unwi, had not.

Regardless of whether he had regressed, regardless of what he had experienced in his past life, those words that Unwi had just spoken were what Seol Jungcheon had always wanted to hear from his children.

Seol Jungcheon smiled. Brightly.

“Good.”

“I’m glad you’re pleased.”

Seol Jungcheon looked at Unwi with a complicated expression.

There were honestly so many things he wanted to ask, but he was trying to restrain himself.

But the future of Everlasting Snow Palace weighed heavily on his mind, so he had asked about that… and now, as the conversation continued, even more questions surfaced.

And Unwi, perceptive as ever, caught onto that immediately.

“See? That’s why I said you could ask as many questions as you want.”

“…Ahem…”

“There are a few things I can guess at. I’ll tell you about them. After I left the Everlasting Snow Mountain, I entered a hidden realm that Chief Steward Seong had told me about. At the time, I didn’t know it, but it must have been a place you had directed me to. In that place, I gained martial arts and found the will to keep moving forward.”

“I directed you to a hidden realm…?”

“Yes.”

“Go on.”

“About ten years later, the Central Blood Sect contacted me.”

“The Central Blood Sect.”

“Yes. To be precise, they saved my life. And from that day forward, I entered the Central Blood Sect and carried out all sorts of tasks for them.”

“…My son, a member of the Central Blood Sect… Life truly is unpredictable.”

“I agree. After another twenty years, I became the Central Blood Sect’s Blood Heaven Executioner.”

“To correct the heavens of the Blood Sect… That explains why you knew the Blood Demon Vaulting Heaven Technique.”

“Yes. And I also reached the level that you once dreamed of.”

“…Don’t tell me…”

“Yes. I reached Absolute Oneness.”

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