Chapter 548
“Well done.”
As soon as we exited the conference hall, Jin Wi-gyeong spoke, and I responded with a faint smirk.
“What’s with that reaction?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because your expression doesn’t match your words?”
“Ah.”
Only then did his stiff face relax slightly. But the faint smile lingering at Jin Wi-gyeong’s lips looked like it could vanish at any moment.
“To be honest, I’m not sure how to take what you said today. That’s how…”
“It’s alright. That kind of reaction is natural.”
I understood Jin Wi-gyeong’s trailing words. I could guess exactly how he was feeling.
‘If I were in his shoes, I’d feel the same.’
In this world, the word “death” doesn’t carry the same weight as one might think.
Murders are rare in modern times, and most people only hear about them through TV or the media. But here, death is a frequent sight.
At least it’s better in a well-protected city.
But for ordinary citizens outside those boundaries, they live under the constant threat of bandits or marauders.
Let alone the martial artists.
‘A life on the edge of a blade.’
Why else would it be called the Forest of Blades?
That’s why they always live prepared to die. They ignite their fighting spirit and hone their martial arts.
And Jin Wi-gyeong, standing in front of me now, was one of those martial artists.
The problem was the environment everyone, including him, was raised in.
In the Murim, both killing and dying were human affairs. Beasts and spiritual creatures existed, yes, but at the very least, they weren’t completely unknown monstrosities.
But today, I…
I spoke of those very monsters engulfing the world.
I warned of a coming war where humans and monsters would kill each other.
‘I don’t know how much of what I said really sank in—but they must’ve felt the urgency.’
As I continued speaking, some people sent me skeptical looks, while others, though confused, fell deep into thought.
Even if not everyone believed me, the fact that they listened—that alone meant I achieved what I needed to.
‘Thankfully, they were all martial artists. And I had solid evidence. That’s the only reason it even got through to them.’
If it had been a bunch of old scholars, they’d be crying “Confucius Akbar!” and protesting me for heresy.
But the people in the hall weren’t so hopelessly rigid—
Especially when there was the corpse of a four-armed monster right in front of them.
‘The same goes for the Sea Serpent’s corpse.’
The remains of the Sea Serpent, dissected by part, were still being secretly transported.
But just in case, I’d tucked away a few by-products in my inventory—enough to serve as critical evidence.
“Now that I think about it—where did you get that thing, kid? I was pretty sure we didn’t miss anything when packing up.”
“…Huh?”
“You know. That thing. From the Imoogi we took down in Hubei…”
Cough, cough, cough! Hack!
I forced out a fake coughing fit, and Cheongpung, who’d been listening nearby, dug through his clothes.
“Benefactor, would you like a candied fruit? They’re great for coughing.”
“…No. That’s the worst.”
“Okay.”
Since when did candied fruit become a miracle cure?
At my firm rejection, Cheongpung—disappointed like a mad scientist denied his experiment—pouted and popped the fruit into his own mouth. Jin Wi-gyeong chuckled lightly at the scene.
“Alright. I won’t ask anymore.”
“Well, thank you then.”
As I scratched my jaw awkwardly, Jin Wi-gyeong stared at me for a moment and then suddenly spoke.
“Sometimes I wonder… are you really the same boy I used to know?”
“…I won’t ask. I won’t question you any further. But there’s one thing I’ve never been able to say until now.”
His voice softened.
“When all of this is over, and the time feels right… I’d like to hear the story you haven’t been able to tell.”
The story I haven’t been able to tell. I echoed the words in my mind.
‘When will that time ever come?’
But maybe—just maybe—if everything really does end one day like he says, and if I’m finally ready in my heart…
Then I might finally be able to share the secret I’ve kept to myself all this time.
Maybe that day will come.
“…Understood.”
And the moment I gave a bitter smile and nodded—
“There you are, Fire Dragon Pavilion Lord.”
Click.
An aged voice echoed along with a dull sound of footsteps. I turned to see the Murim Alliance’s Silver Spirit Pavilion Lord, Thousand-Faced Fox Song Ho.
“The meeting ended half an hour ago. Yet you’re still here. Coincidence?”
I shook my head at his question.
I hadn’t stayed behind just to talk with Jin Wi-gyeong.
“It was inevitable.”
“Inevitable, huh… I see.”
A strange gleam passed through the seasoned, inscrutable eyes.
After a short pause, Song Ho spoke.
“Follow me, Fire Dragon Pavilion Lord. You already know what this is about, don’t you?”
I do.
I know who wants to see me.
And I know why.
And the next words from Song Ho confirmed it.
“The Alliance Leader is calling for you.”
* * *
Clunk.
The sound of the door closing behind me echoed more loudly than usual.
Inside the private office located within the Alliance Leader’s hall, two people were already waiting for me.
“You’re here.”
Jeok Cheon-Gang greeted me bluntly.
Then, the Murim Alliance Leader Ma Jong-hak gestured with his hand.
“Have a seat. The rest of you, step outside for now.”
He wasn’t speaking to me or to Song Ho, who had followed me in.
He was talking to the other unseen figures in the room.
Shff.
Even before Ma Jong-hak’s sentence ended, those presences vanished like ghosts.
Even the secret guards who always surrounded him left the room.
I sat in the now-empty chair and spoke.
“Impressive. I could barely sense their presence.”
“Most people who come through here don’t even notice. The fact that you did says a lot.”
“Even if they can’t sense it, wouldn’t they at least suspect something?
I mean, wouldn’t it be odd for the Alliance Leader not to have a single guard?”
“Hah, that’s true.”
Ma Jong-hak scratched his chin like a young man and then looked at me.
In his clear, deep eyes—my face was reflected.
“First, I must say—I found your words in the conference hall quite impressive.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’m not sure how the others felt, though.”
“Even if they don’t believe everything, they won’t dismiss it. That, I can promise.”
Words carry different weight depending on whose mouth they come from.
And when it’s the Murim Alliance Leader, that weight is undeniable.
‘That’ll lend more strength to my claims.’
It wasn’t a bad development.
As a faint smile naturally tugged at my lips, Ma Jong-hak smiled as well.
“You were worried, weren’t you?”
“It’d be a lie to say I wasn’t.”
“Since we’re on the subject, let me ask—how confident are you in your own claims?”
“About fifty-fifty.”
At my response, Thousand-Faced Fox Song Ho’s face hardened.
“Did you just say… fifty-fifty?”
“Yes. Is that lower than you expected?”
“Damn it. Quite the opposite. You’re saying there’s a fifty percent chance the world will be overrun by monsters!”
His groan came with a muttered curse, but no one here cared at this point.
If anything, I felt relieved.
From their reactions, I could tell that at least the people in this room were already treating my warning as fact.
“What makes you think the chances are that high?”
Ma Jong-hak’s tone remained calm, and I answered without hesitation.
“Everything I’ve seen and experienced fighting Dark Heaven until now.”
Then, as he quietly sipped his strong liquor instead of tea, Jeok Cheon-Gang suddenly spoke.
“Your judgment might be wrong.”
“I’d be happy if it were. I don’t care if people curse me for life—if I turn out to be wrong, I’d be grateful.”
I meant it. I truly hoped my predictions were completely off base—that Dark Heaven was a trivial threat, that monsters like those mutations would never show up again.
If we could have a happy ending at the cost of just my reputation, that’d be more than worth it.
But…
“As crazy as it sounds—it’s all true.”
“Shit. This is insane.”
“Is it that hard to believe?”
“I don’t want to believe it. If it were anyone else saying this, I wouldn’t.”
Huh?
Wait, what was that just now?
Was that… touching? What the hell was that?
Thud.
But forget the sentimentality—Jeok Cheon-Gang slammed the bottle down and glared at me.
“Just say it’s a lie. If you come clean now, I’ll only hit you with [three Flame God Palms].”
“I swear on my balls, this isn’t just talk. And three [Flame God Palms] would kill me.”
Sigh…
Letting out a long breath, Jeok Cheon-Gang turned to Ma Jong-hak and Song Ho.
“I don’t want to believe it either, but… if that brat says it’s true, it probably is. At least when he bets his balls, he’s being honest.”
It’s a pretty questionable standard of truth, but at least they seemed to take my words seriously.
And as fear turned into reality, the silence that had settled over the office was finally broken by Ma Jong-hak’s voice.
“One more question.”
“You can ask two, you know.”
“One is enough.”
Rustle.
With a small flick of his finger, Ma Jong-hak summoned something from the stacks of bamboo scrolls behind him.
A large scroll flew over and unrolled across the table in front of us.
Shffft.
As I looked at what was written—or rather drawn—on the scroll, I muttered.
“This is…”
“Exactly what it looks like. A full map of the world.”
Just as he said, it was a massive map outlining the terrain and geography of various regions, complete with marked place names.
But it was far more expansive and unique than any map I’d seen in the Murim so far.
“It even shows the locations of each sect.”
“It was made for the Murim Alliance. So then, let me ask…”
Ma Jong-hak’s steady voice filled my ears.
“Where do you think Dark Heaven will strike next?”
“I can’t say for certain.”
“Who in the world can predict the future with certainty? A hunch will do.”
A simple guess…
I fell silent in thought for a moment, then suddenly reached out and pointed to a spot on the map.
Tap.
“Here.”
The reaction was instant.
Jeok Cheon-Gang muttered a curse under his breath, a sharp light flashed in Song Ho’s eyes, and Ma Jong-hak leaned forward toward me.
“Why did you choose that place?”
“If what happened in Hubei repeats itself, I doubt Dark Heaven could find a more suitable location.”
“You’re referring to the [gate], then.”
“Yes.”
“Are you guessing that another gate will occur there?”
“I think the possibility is more than high. That incident wasn’t a natural disaster—it was something Dark Heaven orchestrated.”
A “first” only exists because there’s a second.
I was the only one who briefly glimpsed the memories of the Sea Serpent.
So I had no hard evidence to present, no proof to show—but I was certain that Dark Heaven had their sights set on “that place.”
I continued calmly.
“I don’t know what Dark Heaven’s next move will be. This might not be their immediate target. But at least one person—has already set their sights on it.”
“Southern Demon Empress.”
The moment that name slipped from Ma Jong-hak’s lips, the piles of corpses I saw in Hubei flashed across my mind.
I clenched my fist without realizing it.
“Yes. If it’s the Southern Demon Empress… she’s definitely keeping that place in mind.”
“Is this another hunch?”
“It is. But one close to certainty.”
Nothing is truly certain.
But the thought that had haunted me for some time now carried enough weight to be considered highly likely.
And as Ma Jong-hak quietly nodded, he turned to someone else.
“What do you think, Pavilion Lord of the Silver Spirit?”
“I’ll add my vote to the Fire Dragon Pavilion Lord’s opinion.”
Song Ho answered without hesitation and continued.
“I sent a carrier pigeon seven days ago. Since we haven’t received a reply, the chances of something having gone wrong are fairly high.”
“…I expected it, but still… they were quick.”
“Yes. We could relocate pre-selected Outer Hall forces, but if we’re not careful, we might still be too late.”
Carrier pigeons? Pre-selected troops?
Sensing the question on my face, Song Ho spoke with a calm expression.
“The eyes and ears of the Silver Spirit Pavilion are scattered all across the land. You’re not the only one who reached this conclusion.”
“…So you had already been keeping that place in mind.”
“Strictly speaking, it was right after we received the report about what happened in Hubei. Still, none of us—not I, nor anyone from the Silver Spirit Pavilion—could’ve predicted that bizarre phenomenon called the ‘gate.’”
I suddenly recalled something I had briefly forgotten.
The old martial artist standing before me was not only the current head of the Silver Spirit Pavilion, but had held the same position more than forty years ago.
And in this room, there was one person who could issue orders to both of us.
“Jin Taekyung, Pavilion Lord of the Fire Dragon Pavilion.”
A deep, resonant voice echoed throughout the office—very different from his usual tone.
The man hailed as the [Strongest Sword Under Heaven], the pinnacle of today’s Murim.
Ma Jong-hak, with his clear and deep blue eyes, stared directly at me.
“I will now give you your first mission.”
* * *
Fwoooosh!
As I strode forward, fierce wind surged in my wake.
Ignoring the gazes of others and using [Light Movement Technique], I arrived at my quarters and forcefully swung the door open.
BANG!
The moment the door slammed open, a familiar face looked up.
Hyuk Mu-jin, who had been lounging about, shot up on his feet.
He glanced back and forth between me and the shattered door and mumbled under his breath.
“You’re back—whoa. The innkeeper’s gonna cry blood. That door’s barely a half-hour old.”
But I didn’t have the time to worry about the innkeeper’s grief right now.
Instead of greeting him, I cut straight to the point.
“Call everyone in.”
“…Huh?”
Hyuk Mu-jin blinked, dumbfounded.
“All of a sudden? Wait—call who?”
“The Fire Dragon Pavilion.”
“Whaaa?”
“It’s a mission. Starting right now.”
“Wait—hold on! Captain, what’s going on? Where are we going?!”
As Hyuk Mu-jin shouted with eyes as wide as lanterns, I answered in a low, resolute voice:
“Southern Barbarian Region.”
