Chapter 6

After the Snow Plum Pill was stolen from the Gyeryong Merchant Guild, the Soul-Chasing Guest disappeared without a trace.

There was nothing unusual about a thief using several different identities.

The real mystery was why no one who seemed to have taken the pill ever appeared afterward.

This was not an ordinary treasure. It was a precious spiritual pill.

Even if the Soul-Chasing Guest had chosen to consume it rather than sell it, his cultivation should have risen dramatically.

Yet no rising expert showing signs of having taken the Snow Plum Pill ever appeared in Jianghu.

Both the pill and the Soul-Chasing Guest had simply vanished.

“That makes no sense.”

As I searched through the mission reports stored in my memory, two names caught my attention.

Gu Il-mu of the Diancang Five Swords.

Jang Han-gi of the Diancang Five Swords.

The Diancang Five Swords had once carried out every mission together.

Over time, however, they began splitting into groups of three and two.

The pair consisting of Gu Il-mu and Jang Han-gi had a much higher mission completion rate than the other three.

“So this was where the tragedy of the Diancang Twin Swords began.”

This incident would eventually split the Diancang Sect in two and drive it toward destruction.

‘The person who assigned the mission that brought them to Hefei was also from Diancang. I should assume this was planned long beforehand.’

Now that I understood what had really happened, only one problem remained.

How was I supposed to take the Snow Plum Pill from them?

Even with my knowledge of Diancang’s martial arts and Jegal Cheon-gi’s Three Forms, I could not defeat two members of the Diancang Five Swords by myself.

That was why I had prepared the traps.

No matter how skilled a martial artist was, fighting while constantly watching the ground beneath their feet was difficult.

“Foolish brat. Did you really think traps like these could stop us?”

Jang Han-gi rose above the ground.

He was using Grass-Skimming Flight, one of the finest movement arts in Jianghu.

Indeed, the traps could not activate if his feet never touched the ground.

However—

“What martial artist can fight properly while maintaining Grass-Skimming Flight? Have you already become one of the Hundred Greatest Masters under Heaven?”

I poured internal energy into the simple Three Powers Sword Art and attacked.

Unable to safely place his feet on the ground, Jang Han-gi twisted awkwardly in the air to maintain his balance.

“You know who we are.”

“Of course.”

“And yet you do not fear the vengeance of the Diancang Sect or the Murim Alliance?”

“Can the Diancang Five Swords report that they were robbed while committing robbery themselves?”

“……”

Gu Il-mu destroyed one of the traps and shouted,

“He is the only one who knows where the traps are! Han-gi, use your palm force to tear up the ground around us!”

“Yes, Senior Brother.”

The two exchanged a glance, nodded, and leapt at the same time.

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

Clack! Clack! Clack!

The Falling Petal Palm exploded with violent force, tearing through the ground and exposing the traps hidden beneath the leaves.

Broken branches, dirt, and leaves flew in every direction, completely destroying the terrain’s original appearance.

“Now he no longer knows where the traps are either.”

The two men kicked off the broken traps and charged forward, unleashing the Sun-Shooting Sword Art.

I had no intention of facing it head-on, so I quickly retreated several steps.

“How……?”

They could not hide their shock.

Even while moving backward through the trap-filled ground, I had not triggered a single one.

“Step only where he steps!”

“Yes!”

After tearing apart the terrain, they advanced by following my exact path.

Their judgment was quick, as expected of warriors counted among the Diancang Five Swords.

“Aaagh!”

Jang Han-gi suddenly screamed as a trap snapped shut around his ankle.

He tore it apart with brute force.

“Did you think following my footsteps would be enough?”

Even if we stepped in the same places, I was alone while there were two of them.

One of them would inevitably have to step somewhere else.

“You bastard! I will uncover your identity and tear your entire family apart!”

“You can try—if you leave this place alive.”

Gu Il-mu unleashed the Sun-Shooting Sword Art with all his strength.

He had clearly decided to ignore the traps and overpower me directly.

At the same moment, I executed the Shattering Form designed to counter the Sun-Shooting Sword Art.

Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!

We exchanged six strikes in an instant.

Gu Il-mu’s expression twisted as he stared at his sword.

“What in the world……?”

A Shattering Form was not merely a defensive technique.

It disrupted the flow of an opponent’s martial art and twisted its force, preventing the practitioner from using it properly.

Against such a counter, one’s internal energy would falter, and the body would refuse to move as intended.

Under normal circumstances, Gu Il-mu might have forced his way through with sheer strength and determination.

But here, he had no idea where the remaining traps were hidden.

“Do you really have time to stand there staring?”

Forced backward by the Shattering Form, Gu Il-mu stepped into another trap.

“Aaagh!”

“Senior Brother Gu!”

Jang Han-gi rushed forward, unleashing the Platinum Sword Art.

I threw a stone at the trap beneath his next step.

Clack!

The trap snapped shut, throwing his footwork off balance.

“Ugh!”

“You should not look away.”

I thrust my sword forward at once.

The Ascendant Form of the Minor Heaven Sword Art.

It was inferior to the Sun-Shooting Sword Art, but the Minor Heaven Sword Art specialized in swift, direct attacks.

Caught off balance and flustered, Jang Han-gi could not evade it.

Swish.

Thud.

“Guh……”

Blood poured from Jang Han-gi’s mouth.

His bloodshot eyes remained wide open as he collapsed to the ground.

“Han-gi!”

Gu Il-mu trembled violently, stunned by Jang Han-gi’s death.

After a moment, he regained his composure.

He pulled the wooden box and secret manual from inside his robes and threw them onto the ground.

“Let me leave, and I will forget everything that happened here.”

“Very well. You may go.”

I nodded without hesitation and bent down as though to retrieve the box.

At that instant, Gu Il-mu attacked with the Formless Fist and Seven Severing Hands.

As though I had been waiting for him, my sword slipped between his fist and palm techniques and carved a deep wound across his throat.

“How……?”

“I learned in my previous life just how little men like you value their promises.”

Gu Il-mu collapsed onto the cold ground, confusion still frozen on his face.

“Haa…… Haa……”

Once my breathing settled, I looked at the bodies of Jang Han-gi and Gu Il-mu.

They lay sprawled miserably across the ground.

“I won……”

It was a dreadful sight.

Once I saw something, I could never forget it.

Even so, I did not look away.

This was the first time I had watched warriors chosen for greatness die instead of third-rate fighters like me.

The Snow Plum Pill and the secret manual did not even cross my mind.

For a long time, I simply stood there, burning the sight even more deeply into my memory.

“The Taeul Sect of Hefei?”

Jegal So-myeong briefly wondered whether such a sect even existed. Then recognition crossed his face.

“Ah. Is it not one of the One Hundred Eight Peaks?”

“There are many stronger sects in Hefei. Perhaps it is time to replace the Taeul Sect with one more deserving of the position.”

The sect currently expanding its influence in Hefei was the Iron Sword Sect.

Jegal So-myeong had heard that Namgung Tae-won had recently begun supporting it.

That was most likely the reason for this conversation.

He studied the Elder sitting across from him.

Namgung Tae-won continued sipping his tea, pretending to be calm and dignified.

“Has the Taeul Sect committed some wrongdoing?”

As a rule, once a sect was named among the One Hundred Eight Peaks, it could not be removed unless it committed a serious offense.

That was the purpose of their blood alliance.

“Wrongdoing……”

Namgung Tae-won slowly lowered his cup.

“Would it not also be a serious offense for an ally of the Murim Alliance to decline year after year without showing the slightest improvement?”

Jegal So-myeong did not answer immediately.

He merely raised his cup and took a sip of tea.

Namgung Tae-won was an Elder of the Murim Alliance.

Holding one of the thirty seats on the Alliance’s ruling council meant he possessed not only considerable ability, but also a powerful background.

Jegal So-myeong was inferior to no one in either martial skill or family standing.

Even so, he still needed proper justification if he wished to reject an Elder’s demand.

After gathering his thoughts, he spoke.

“If the One Hundred Eight Peaks have declined, then the Murim Alliance must also accept responsibility.”

He paused for a moment.

“Hmm. In that case, perhaps the current Murim Alliance…… No, perhaps I am the one who has failed in my duties.”

Namgung Tae-won’s expression twisted slightly.

“That is not what I meant.”

Namgung Tae-won had revealed his true intentions far too quickly.

As Jegal So-myeong watched him, a thought crossed his mind.

‘Why did Tae-ha entrust an Elder’s seat to a man like this?’

The position had originally been intended for Namgung Tae-ha, the head of the Namgung Clan.

Although Namgung Tae-won also carried the Namgung bloodline, he belonged to a collateral branch.

An Elder’s seat was not something a man like him should have received so easily.

“I am aware that many sects among the One Hundred Eight Peaks have weakened over time.”

Jegal So-myeong continued calmly.

“However, the One Hundred Eight Peaks were never created to rank sects according to their martial strength.”

“They were established to honor the sects that fought together through the most dangerous years of the past.”

“Urgh……”

Realizing that his proposal had failed, Namgung Tae-won clicked his tongue.

“Even so, if the One Hundred Eight Peaks never change, will they not eventually stagnate and decay?”

“That is why they are periodically reviewed and supervised, even if those reviews are irregular.”

“Hmm…… I understand.”

Namgung Tae-won paused, then added casually,

“By the way, I heard the Taeul Sect has been selling its right to the special admission track.”

“……”

It was a problem that had existed for a long time.

Still, no serious trouble had come from it.

The One Hundred Eight Peaks also carried heavy responsibilities, so Jegal So-myeong had chosen to overlook the practice, believing they deserved certain privileges in return.

“Ah, I am merely repeating a rumor I heard. It is not as though I am trying to place any particular sect among the One Hundred Eight Peaks.”

“Hmm. Is that all you came here to discuss?”

“The leader of Hefei’s Iron Sword Sect is holding a banquet for his sixtieth birthday. He sent an invitation and asked whether the Grand Strategist might attend.”

“Ha. Ha ha.”

Since when had the Grand Strategist of the Murim Alliance become so idle?

“Of course, I know how busy you are. But you should rest occasionally, Grand Strategist. At this rate, you will make yourself ill.”

Namgung Tae-won smiled.

“Why not accompany me to the Iron Sword Sect? While you are there, you could also investigate the corruption surrounding the special admission track.”

Just how much money had the Iron Sword Sect given Namgung Tae-won for him to personally invite the Murim Alliance’s Grand Strategist?

This had clearly been his true purpose from the beginning.

Jegal So-myeong could think of a hundred reasons to refuse.

But he stopped himself.

No matter how much he argued with this fool, Namgung Tae-won would never listen.

To solve the problem properly, he would have to speak with the man who had placed such a fool in an Elder’s seat.

“Hmm. That does not sound like a terrible idea. When is the banquet?”

The Great Righteous-Demonic War had been hell itself.

The demonic cultists were monsters, each powerful enough to inspire terror on their own.

Against them, low-ranking warriors were sent forward in endless waves and ground into the dirt.

There had been no proper strategies or countermeasures.

Using its absolute authority over Jianghu, the Murim Alliance gathered warriors from every corner of the land and drove them onto the battlefield.

Those low-ranking warriors entered the war clinging to vague hopes of earning merit and rising through the Alliance’s ranks.

Only after watching their swords shatter helplessly did they realize how naive they had been.

By then, however, it was already too late.

And what reward had the Murim Alliance given the warriors it sacrificed so carelessly?

Nothing.

At least those officially registered with the Murim Alliance could have notices of their deaths sent to their families.

But even that had only been true during the early years of the Great Righteous-Demonic War.

Later, countless Alliance members vanished without anyone ever learning where or how they had died.

By then, the Murim Alliance—the organization that should have taken responsibility—had already fled to Bukhae.

As members of the Diancang Five Swords, Gu Il-mu and Jang Han-gi probably held fifth- or sixth-grade positions within the Alliance.

Their disappearance would not be ignored.

Alliance members would soon spread throughout Hefei in search of them.

Not far from where the Soul-Chasing Guest had been buried, I dug a deep hole and placed the two Diancang swordsmen inside.

Then I laid the carcass of an animal I had caught in the mountains above them and packed the earth down firmly.

At the very least, the smell of their bodies would not reveal the grave.

Exhausted from the battle, I rented a room at an inn and stayed there for several days while I recovered and absorbed the Snow Plum Pill.

Whenever I went downstairs to eat, the dining hall was filled with talk of the pill stolen from the Gyeryong Merchant Guild.

Just as I remembered, Gye Yeon-seok and Gye Cheol-yeong had wept bitterly over the loss.

The Mount Hua masters, meanwhile, placed all responsibility on Gye Yeon-seok before returning to their sect.

The disappearance of the Snow Plum Pill quickly became the most popular drinking story in Hefei.

Even if ordinary people could never hope to possess such a treasure, who would not be fascinated by a priceless spiritual pill vanishing without a trace?

None of them could have imagined that the person staying directly above their heads was struggling to absorb it.

“Hoo……”

When I slowly opened my eyes, the room was completely dark.

Yet my vision had become so sharp that I could see even the dust gathered in the corners without a single ray of light.

When I moved my arms and legs, my muscles and tendons flowed smoothly without making the slightest sound.

I had spent several days fully focused on circulating my internal energy.

My stomach was empty, yet I felt no hunger.

‘A little more than half a gapja.’

The mass of internal energy inside my dantian had grown to nearly twice its previous size.

It was already equal to everything I had accumulated throughout my entire former life.

Although I had gained it in a short time, every bit of it came from precious spiritual medicines and pills.

Moreover, because I had refined it using the pure Taeul Heart Method, much of the impure qi within my body had been expelled.

“Ugh. What is that smell?”

When I rubbed my skin, black grime peeled away beneath my fingers.

Startled, I immediately headed for the bathhouse.

“You finally came out?”

The young waiter watching over the dining hall had been dozing off.

He quickly straightened and shook himself awake.

“You had not left your room for several days, so I was worried something might have happened.”

I had paid for my stay in advance and even tipped him so that no one would disturb me while I absorbed the pill.

Perhaps because of that, he remained extremely polite.

“Is there anything available to eat?”

“We can prepare plain noodles and dumplings.”

“I will have both.”

A short while later, steaming bowls of noodles and dumplings were placed before me.

“By the way, is it usually this quiet at this hour?”

The dining hall was nearly empty.

“No. Until a few days ago, we were busier than usual because the Gyeryong Merchant Guild suddenly canceled its banquet.”

“Ah……”

“You heard what happened, did you not?”

“I heard they lost something.”

“Yes. Whoever stole it must have been remarkable. They took a spiritual pill without anyone noticing, even though the guild was packed with people.”

The waiter leaned closer.

“The Murim Alliance even sent an investigation team. They followed the culprit’s trail for a while, but it suddenly vanished. They could not find anything after that.”

“Is that so? How unfortunate.”

“Indeed. We thought the customers who had gone to the guild’s banquet would return to us, but now the Iron Sword Sect is holding a banquet of its own.”

“The Iron Sword Sect?”

“Yes. Their Sect Leader is turning sixty. They plan to celebrate for seven days and nights with all kinds of festivities. Drunkards from every nearby village are already making their way to Hefei.”

“Ah…… Has the time already come?”

“You knew about it?”

How could I not?

The Iron Sword Sect Leader’s sixtieth-birthday banquet.

It was there, before a vast crowd, that Father and I had been forced to kneel and apologize to the Iron Sword Sect Leader.

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