Jin Song-baek and Ha Seong-woon looked at each other in shock.
The messenger thought they would be happy, but he looked puzzled instead as the reaction was different from expected.
“Is there… some problem?”
As the question was asked, Ha Seong-woon sent a silent message to Jin Song-baek.
[Is there a problem with the information we are getting? Or did Wonhwi do something else now?]
[… It’s probably the latter.]
If it was the former case, their entire information department would need to be revamped. However, it didn’t seem to be the case.
‘… could it be the Wind Shadow Steps?’
At that moment, Jin Song-baek felt a bit hurt.
Who would think his order’s ultimate technique was being used for such a purpose.
Ha Seong-woon, unaware of this, continued to talk to him.
[Does it make sense to fight against oneself?]
Wonwhi was both the Blood Demon and the South Heavenly Swordsman’s disciple.
That was a massive scam against the entire Murim.
[… he did something difficult.]
Jin Song-baek did not dare say that his technique was used to perpetuate his son’s elaborate scam.
It was late at night.
Inside Wuhan City, Hubei Province was a place that belonged to the Murim Alliance.
A report was being made inside the main office of that building. While listening to the report, Baek Hyang-muk, leader of the Murim Alliance and the greatest swordsman in Wuhan, did not have a good expression.
It was because this report was a big loss for the Murim Alliance.
“The second military head’s actions are unknown?”
“As was said. His activities and movement have been completely dark ever since the last Murim Alliance meeting.”
The second military head, Sima Jung-hyun.
His location had become muddled, and this was strange.
According to the Guizhou Province Murim Alliance branch, Ja Gyun’s body, the man who had disguised himself as the Blood Demon, had been dispatched already.
But there was no report, and even the body that was sent had vanished. The only person who held the clue to this incident was Sima Jung-hyun, but he had suddenly vanished as well.
“What happened to the leader of the Jeonjin sect?”
“Similarly, we could not locate them. We have also been searching for Elder Man, but they could not be found anywhere.”
Elder Man Jong, leader of the Jeonjin Sect and sixth elder of the Murim Alliance.
He had vanished as well.
He knew that the bodies of his disciples who had died in the failed ambush had been gathered up. But why would their sect leader vanish?
No, it wasn’t just him who vanished. His entire sect had vanished.
“Alliance Leader, there is no doubt that this is the act of the Blood Sect.”
The third military head, Baek Wei-hyang, was adamant that the Blood Sect was the culprit.
He was confident of this, despite there being no evidence. Baek Hyang-muk simply groaned in response.
“Alliance leader?”
“Sorry, but I don’t understand.”
“What do you mean?”
“Despite all the traps we had prepared, the Blood Demon was the one who fought against Ja Gyun, who was disguised as the Blood Demon and averted a war. Why would they kidnap those he protected with his own hands?”
The actions did not match. He had no reason to help at all if this was the eventual aim.
‘It also bothers me that the body is missing.’
He didn’t say anything aloud, but his worry about the missing body grew.
The corpse of Ja Gyun, who had impersonated the Blood Demon, would be a strange thing for the real Blood Demon to take.
It was evidence that proved his innocence after all.
‘… did a third group intervene?’
This thought reached his mind. At that moment, the commander Bang Deok-hyun spoke.
“Military Leader Baek, there is truth in your words. Alliance leader.”
“Military commander!”
Baek Wei-hyang looked elated as someone sided with him for the first time. Uncaring of this, Bang Deok-hyun continued.
“If we assume that everything is the Blood Demon’s plan, then it might be a possibility.”
“What do you mean, Elder?’
“They had created a situation where the Murim Alliance is indebted to the Blood Demon because of this incident. It is clear to figure out if everything went as the Blood Demon had intended, Alliance Leader.”
“Hmm…”
If the military commander said this, he couldn’t consider it lightly.
What was this unpleasant feeling?
Baek Hyang-muk felt as if someone had covered his eyes. Actually, it had started from that day.
The day he discovered that Ja Gyun had impersonated the Blood Demon and had the information to attack the Alliance’s warriors in their ambush.
Actually, only the military leaders and those on the site knew of the mission details.
Baek Hyang-muk’s gaze shifted to Bang Deok-hyun.
‘… No. It cannot be.’
He had known Bang Deok-hyun for a long time. It wasn’t possible for him to have done that.
‘But since there is still doubt in my mind, wouldn’t it be better to investigate separately?’
Then came some urgent news.
“Alliance leader! We have news from the Yangtze River!”
Another secret mission that was being executed now was the ambush plan against the 18 River Families of the Yangtze River.
This was a mid to long-term measure to stop the Blood Sect from regaining control of the southern bank of the river. Many things would change in the future depending on whether this mission succeeded or failed.
“How did it go?”
To that question, the messenger delivered the result of their plan.
“The plan failed.”
The result was something that none of them expected.
“This!”
It was inevitable for Baek Hyang-muk to be shocked. With this, all three of Bang Deok-hyun’s plans would be failures.
Despite this, Bang Deok-hyun did not seem to be shocked.
‘… why isn’t he even a bit emotionally troubled?’
Baek Hyang-muk had his doubts, but he didn’t express them. Despite meeting his eyes, the elder still spoke calmly.
“What is the reason for failure?”
“There was an attack by an unknown group during the journey.”
“An unknown group?”
“Yes. According to the information sent from the Beggars Union, they seem to be affiliated with the person with the golden eye.”
“Golden eye!”
That was information that only leaders of the Murim Alliance knew about.
Wasn’t he the person who attacked skilled warriors in the past?
Baek Hyang-muk noticed a trembling in Bang Deok-hyun’s eyes for the first time.
‘Is he only surprised now?’
The elder changed after the golden eye was named. He then looked agitated as he asked.
“What happened to the ship?”
Bang Deok-hyun was more curious about the ship than the golden-eyed person.
“The ship is untouched.”
Hearing this, Bang Deok-hyun frowned even deeper. Should he not be happy that the ship was safe?
The warrior continued with his report.
“The more surprising piece of information is that Jang Mun-ryang, one of the Four Great Evils, was reportedly part of that ambush.”
When he heard the name of the Evils, Baek Hayng-muk’s attention fully turned to the emergency report.
Baek Hyang-muk asked.
“That man was there, and the ship is unharmed? Did the Wind Wave King defeat him?”
“No.”
“No?”
“The disciple of the South Heavenly Swordsman, So Wonwhi, was the one who defeated him.”
“So Wonhwi?”
That was not an unfamiliar name to him. After all, he was invited alongside his own disciple to become the new stars of the Murim Alliance.
Baek Wei-hyang pressed further, not quite understanding.
“No, no matter if he is called our Second New Star, isn’t the Ghost Killing Fist Demon a warrior who had crossed the wall? How could someone like So Wonwhi defeat him?”
“… that is hard for even me to understand.”
Bang Deok-hyun frowned as the warrior continued.
“I could not believe this either….”
“What do you mean? What can’t you believe?”
“The report states that So Wonwhi defeated Jang Mun-ryang by using the Air Sword.”
“What?”
Baek Wei-hyang spoke out incredulously. The Air Sword was something that was a dream to most in Murim.
It was hard to believe that So Wonwhi, a man barely in his twenties, could use it.
“No, what kind of nonsense is this?”
“The reports from the sailors, the escort warriors, and the warriors from our factions who were on the ship confirm this.”
“How could such a thing happen…”
Baek Hyang-muk’s reaction was no different.
‘It has only been half a year, but that child has already crossed the wall?’
Baek Hyang-muk had once directly tested So Wonwhi inside a blacksmith’s forge. While he was amazing for his age then, it was not to this extent.
At that time, he thought So Wonwhi was not better than his own disciple. Did it make sense that someone like that had gone past the wall?
‘… does that mean he has the talent to surpass Lee Jeong-gyeom?’
Even if he was growing quickly, this was too quick.
Even among the twelve warriors who were thought of as monsters, this growth was shocking. He didn’t know if it was good for the Justice Faction, but he also felt fear of this kind of genius.
“That… it isn’t over yet.”
“It isn’t over yet?”
“It seems that the River Families attacked a real ship carrying goods instead of our ambush ship.”
“The River Families?”
Was this kind of coincidence possible?
The ship made to carry out the plan was attacked by an unexpected enemy. In contrast, the River Families attacked the real ship carrying goods.
“But it seems like the Blood Demon appeared there.”
“As expected.”
This much was expected. Of course, the leader moving alone was contrary to their predictions.
Baek Wei-hyang then said in a troubled tone.
“That is the worst-case scenario, Alliance Leader. If that happened, then not only did the plan fail, but the Blood Demon also came into contact with the River Families.”
“That… it hasn’t ended yet.”
In the middle of this, the warrior messenger interrupted them.
Baek Wei-hyang asked, puzzled.
“What do you mean?”
“The reports also state that the Blood Demon had protected the ship from the pirates?”
“Now, what is all this about?”
The Blood Demon and the 18 River Families were all part of the Evil Faction.
Considering the Blood Sect’s condition, it could be safely assumed that they would act friendly to the River Families to unify the Evil Faction.
However, the report said that the Blood Demon protected the ship?
‘What is this?’
Baek Hyang-muk, the Murim Alliance leader, had a hard time understanding. This was completely different from what they knew of the Blood Sect.
Didn’t the Blood Demon also act friendly with the government? Didn’t he come to the rescue of those from the alliance who were in danger?
And now he had saved a ship from pirates.
‘What kind of trick is this, Blood Demon.’
If this continued, their cause would only continue to weaken. They needed to give justice to evil, but the Blood Demon’s actions gradually weakened that reason.
‘Are they really aiming for this?’
Then, this wasn’t something to be taken lightly.
Until now, the Blood Sect had been faithful to its role as a public enemy and aimed to awash the world with blood.
Didn’t they always try to resolve it by force if there was even a slight friction?
‘It is different. So different.’
Baek Hyang-muk became keenly aware of the Blood Sect for the first time.
He thought that perhaps with this, the Blood Sect might become the worst enemy that the Justice Faction had ever faced.
“But there was something fortunate about that.”
“Fortunate?”
“It is reported that even the Blood Demon was defeated by So Wonwhi and his Air Sword technique.”
‘…!!’
This report shocked everyone. What the hell was the Blood Demon doing to be placed in a situation where he was defeated.
“This, too, is said to have been witnessed by all the sailors and escort warriors.”
“What is this….”
They heard a full report, but it felt like they were hearing about a single person’s growth instead. Baek Wei-hyang had nothing more to say and simply snorted in exhaustion.
Typically he would simply say anything in his mind.
Baek Hyang-muk stuck out his tongue and mumbled.
“He has crossed the realm of divinity.”
“Even if that is not the case, the people are starting to call him one of the Eight Great Warriors to succeed the role of the deceased Martial Heavenly Sword Emperor instead of the Second New Star..”
“The Eight Great Warriors? A child in his twenties?”
Baek Wei-hyang found this absurd and difficult to understand.
‘A child…’
Seeing this reaction, Baek Hyang-muk simply snorted.
“Even the Wind Wave King recognized his skills. This kind of performance surely makes sense.”
So Wonwhi’s fame had grown too much to be denied. It was safe to say that he was no longer just a budding warrior but a full-fledged one.
Baek Hyang-muk then said to the warrior making the report.
“Then what is his title?”
“He has been given many titles by the people. Some are calling him the Air Sword Guardian. Still, many refer to him as the Little Sword Immortal, saying that he is the Immortal Swordsman reborn.”
Baek Hyang-muk’s eyes shone at the name of Little Sword Immortal.
“I see… right.”
He understood.
Was there anyone more renowned than the Immortal Swordsman in the Murim Alliance?
Wonwhi’s feats of defeating the enemy using the Air Sword must remind them of the Immortal Swordsman.
To the side, Bang Deok-hyun’s eyes had changed.
Inside a dark and dense forest.
A man sat in front of a crackling bonfire as he meditated with his eyes closed. A black form appeared opposite him.
Despite the appearance of this masked stranger, the man didn’t open his eyes.
“I greet the lord. A report had just come in, sir.”
The man replied without opening his eyes.
“Speak now.’
“It is reported that someone that is assumed to be his descendant has appeared.”
As those words were said, the eyes opened wide, and a single, golden eye shone brightly in the flames of the bonfire.
Seeing him like this, the masked man lowered his head as the golden-eyed man said.
“I need to hurry.”
“I will hurry up and retrieve the other three bags… huk!”
The masked man’s body floated into the air. It was a truly shocking technique.
The masked man’s eyes trembled as the golden-eyed man said.
“When?”
“W-we found traces of the murder. There is good news….”
“Rather than finding the swords, getting that man who ran to open his mouth would be faster.”
“Ran…?!”
The golden-eyed man waved his hand and dropped the masked man to the ground. He then made an order as the masked man knelt.
“Find him.”
