༺ An Unsatisfactory Act (3) ༻
The Black Palace.
It was one of the biggest organizations that belonged to the Unorthodox Faction, as well as had someone from the Four Emperors and Five Kings, considered the Absolutes of the Unorthodox Faction, as their Palace Lord.
Thud.
Thud.
A mysterious sound resonated continuously as someone navigated a dark corridor, without a single torchlight.
The man maintained a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow, yet strangely, his footsteps were inaudible.
And it didn’t feel right to say that the footsteps were drowned out by the mysterious echoes.
Rather, it was as if he was walking on water.
The man arrived in front of a giant door after walking quietly.
Embedded in its pitch-black surface was a small violet gem.
“We greet the Palace Lord.”
When the man appeared, the figures waiting in front of the door lowered their heads in unison as a gesture of respect.
“Any news?”
“There are none.”
Receiving the response, he nodded and extended his hand toward the violet gem on the door.
The gem emitted a bright glow upon contact with his hand,
Ddddd-
Then a strange sound emanated from the door.
Slaam!
Despite its seemingly massive weight, the door yielded effortlessly to the man’s single-handed push.
“Seventh.”
“Yes, Palace Lord.”
“There is a crack in the gem, so call the Great Oni later.”
“Understood.”
With that directive, the man stepped into the room.
The interior hallway mirrored the darkness outside the door.
However, the man began to walk without hesitation, as if he could see everything inside.
Inside the pitch-black darkness, only the faint glow of the man’s light violet eyes pierced through.
And so, after a prolonged walk, the man came to a halt in a room devoid of light, yet he could discern every detail within it.
Surveying the surroundings, his gaze fixated on a particular spot, prompting him to slowly kneel down.
“Have you had a comfortable time here?”
The man’s words dissipated into silence because no response came back to him.
However, the man didn’t mind.
After all, he came here to deliver what he had to.
“Many things happened in a short span of time.”
As if responding back to the Palace Lord’s words…
Rustle, rustle.
A soft rustling sound emerged from before the man.
It was the sound of a flower drying away and breaking into crumbs powerlessly.
The Palace Lord was able to see everything inside the room filled with only darkness.
In front of him, there were numerous flowers that had piled up onto one another after turning into dust.
They were flowers that were grown with an abundance of Qi.
“The world outside still feels like hell, but I don’t think you need to be concerned about it.”
The Palace Lord only continued to speak.
“The skies only watches from above, but you… “
Abruptly, the Palace Lord stopped speaking.
It was because his Heaven was standing right before him.
The Palace Lord then raised his head, cold sweat tracing his cheek.
“Ahh…”
An admiring sound escaped the Palace Lord as he saw the Heaven that stood in front of him.
It was a very small body.
It looked like a diminutive body, seemingly frail, as if one that would frolic in the streets.
But the Palace Lord knew.
The immense power concealed within.
There was a single shriveled flower in one of the child’s hands and there was a book in the other.
The child’s face remained hidden beneath cascading hair that reached down to the floor, but the Palace Lord knew that the radiance emanating from the child’s eye surpassed even his own violet gaze.
“…Oh, Heaven.”
The Palace Lord could see clearly with his eyes that it was pure darkness.
It was thanks to his Heaven that all the light around him had vanished.
And the fact that the Palace Lord’s Qi, reaching the pinnacle, went wild simply because he stood in front of the child, was proof of that.
The child raised a small arm, offering the book to the Palace Lord.
The Palace Lord carefully took the book.
“Done.”
Along with the child’s faint voice, the Palace Lord burned the book away. This was a blessing in a way.
“…I will prepare the next one.”
“I, hungry.”
“I will make arrangements for that as well.”
After the Palace Lord responded, the child turned around and went back to its original spot without saying anything else.
And for some reason, it seemed darker where the child stood.
His Heaven was no different to a god giving him blessings.
The Palace Lord observed his Heaven for a bit, then quietly got up.
Although the space was enclosed by walls, it felt as if a breeze flowed within.
After getting up, the Palace Lord cast a final glance at his Heaven.
‘I must strengthen the body further.’
The vessel was far too small to withhold all of that great darkness.
To achieve that, more flowers had to be prepared.
The Palace Lord lowered his head respectfully to his Heaven, who was not looking in his direction, and turned around to retrace his steps to the entrance.
Slam!
As soon as the Palace Lord left, the door closed shut.
The same people were still guarding the door…
But a new figure, absent previously, awaited the Palace Lord.
“I am here to greet the Palace Lord.”
The elderly man before him held the Vice Palace Lord position of the Black Palace.
Seven Deadly Blades, Seon Cheokmoon. That was what the world called the old man.
The Palace Lord looked at the old man with a different gaze from before and asked.
“What brings you here?”
“I had something urgent to convey, prompting my rather impolite arrival.”
“Speak.”
“We have discovered the whereabouts of the flame.”
After hearing Seon Cheokmoon, the Palace Lord wore an amused expression.
“Where?”
“It was said to be in Jeonseon.”
“Jeonseon… it appears to be part of the Orthodox Faction.”
After hearing the Palace Lord, Seon Cheokmoon carefully handed a letter to him.
And the Palace Lord took the letter and opened it up.
The Palace Lord read in rapid speed but stopped after reaching a certain section.
“Gu Clan.”
The Palace Lord’s mention of that name conveyed a sense of difficulty, as if uttering those words required swallowing spikes.
“I see. So it’s the Gu Clan.”
The Palace Lord nodded without further inquiry.
‘The flame we are searching for is from the Gu Clan. How ironic.’
“You said it’s in Jeonseon.”
“Yes, sir.”
Jeonseon.
It was a place reduced to ruins by waves of attacks from the gate of demons.
The foolish Orthodox Faction was sending their bloodlines and men to supposedly protect this place and was gaining the trust of people…
But all of that was pointless.
Seon Cheokmoon, after observing his Palace Lord, interjected.
“…We are assembling an army, but due to the challenging nature of the mission, we anticipate significant difficulties.”
The Palace Lord burnt the letter away after hearing Seon Cheonmoon.
Blaze.
When the Samadhi True Fire was summoned in the Palace Lord’s hand, Seon Cheokmoon’s head, whose head was already lowered, lowered it even further.
“There is no need to prepare an army.”
Seon Cheokmoon displayed a curious expression at the Palace Lord’s statement.
They had finally found what the Palace Lord sought, so he wondered about this unexpected reaction.
“I will go there myself.”
“…Palace Lord!”
Seon Cheokmoon reacted in shock when his Palace Lord declared his intention to go to Jeonseon himself, despite the fact that he never once left the palace up to this point.
The Palace Lord had stayed inside the Black Palace for the past few decades and never had to come forward himself.
“It’s too dangerous. It’s possible that the Flaming Demon himself might- …Ugh!”
Seon Cheokmoon’s words were cut short in the middle of his sentence.
It was because the Palace Lord’s overwhelming aura exerted pressure on him.
Although the Palace Lord’s expression remained unchanged, Seon Cheokmoon sensed instinctively that one wrong word might cost him his neck.
“The Flaming Demon, hmm. Are you really afraid of a tiger that has lost its teeth?”
“N… No… sir… How could I…”
“Right, of course. It should be like that.”
The Palace Lord lightly tapped Seon Cheokmoon’s shoulder after hearing the feeble response and the oppressive atmosphere instantly lifted.
“The Flaming Demon of the past is no more, and he’s just an old tiger peacefully spending his time in Shanxi now.”
The real threat from the Gu Clan wasn’t the Flaming Demon.
Furthermore, there was no reason to fear a martial artist unable to break free from his past.
“The Palace Lord will handle this matter personally. Deliver this.”
“…Yes… Understood.”
It was none other than the flame that his Heaven needed.
Knowing this, there was no room for hesitation.
‘I would’ve let this pass if it was any other matter…’
But the Palace Lord became intrigued upon learning that it concerned Gu Clan.
It was also true that Gu Clan’s bloodline was related to something he had heard about previously.
‘Gu Yangcheon, was it?’
The boy who had killed the Peak Realm master, Giant Oni, who possessed martial arts talent despite his uselessness.
He was also from the Gu Clan.
Furthermore, it was said that he was the only son of the Flaming Demon.
The Palace Lord then recalled the name from the letter he had seen before burning it.
The Sword Phoenix, Gu Huibi.
She was a martial artist expected to inherit the title of Sword Master given her rapid growth.
“Vice Palace Lord.”
“Yes, Palace Lord…”
“Prepare more flowers and books.”
“…Understood. I will let the Great King know about the book.”
With his final directive issued, the Palace Lord walked past Seon Cheokmoon.
After a few steps, the Palace Lord vanished, leaving only a gentle breeze behind.
His destination was Jeonseon, where the Sword Phoenix was located.
This marked the first time in a decade that he set foot outside the Black Palace.
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