Chapter 515
The Primordial Sage.
He appeared to be in his sixties. His eyes were deep. Beyond deep, they were dark. His lips were thin, his eyebrows long. He had the appearance of a sage, but none of a sage’s gentleness. He was cold. The coldness of a calculating man.
It was the face of someone who had spent hundreds of years reading the flow of the world.
The man sitting opposite him was the Sage of Original Truth, Sect Master of the Heaven Gate.
A martial artist who stood at the pinnacle.
He appeared middle-aged. But his true age was far greater. His face was gentle. A faint smile lingered around his eyes.
The corners of his mouth naturally curved upward. Anyone who looked at him would have taken him for a kindhearted man.
But even within Heaven Beyond Heaven, few knew what lay beneath that gentle face.
The Sage of Original Truth was a man who killed with a smile.
Tea had been set between them.
Steam rose from it.
The Sage of Original Truth lifted his teacup and spoke.
“Gwak Hyeongjin’s outpost. The Long Forest Mountain outpost. The Spirit Heaven Mountain outpost. All completely annihilated. Five ranked members and Seop Gyeong, Ninth Seat of the Heaven-Law Platform, are dead. And at the Heaven-Law Cliff, the Heaven-Law Immortal and Baek Ryeon, Seventh Seat, were killed.”
At the Sage of Original Truth’s gentle voice, the Primordial Sage’s eyes trembled slightly.
He already knew the facts, but that did not make the shock any less severe.
The Heaven-Law Immortal.
A fellow member of Heaven Beyond Heaven.
A man who had sat at the same meetings.
And a man who had walked beside him for hundreds of years toward the same great cause was dead.
“Han Soyeong, Twelfth Seat, has been confirmed alive, though she is said to be injured.”
The Primordial Sage let out a deep sigh and asked.
“Do you know how the Heaven-Law Immortal died?”
Han Soyeong or whoever else—frankly, he did not give a damn about any of them. Whether they belonged to the Heaven-Law Platform or not, even their names were unfamiliar to him.
What mattered was the Heaven-Law Immortal.
The Sage of Original Truth brought the teacup to his lips and spoke.
“We are still determining the details, but judging from the combined testimony of the surviving Heaven-Law Platform martial artists...”
“......”
“Seol Unhwi entered the Heaven-Law Cliff alone. After speaking with the Heaven-Law Immortal, a battle broke out.”
“......”
“The Heaven-Law Immortal struck first, but ultimately, he was defeated by Seol Unhwi.”
The corners of the Primordial Sage’s mouth turned downward.
“Unity of Heaven and Man killed the Supreme Void Realm?”
“So it would appear.”
Still smiling, the Sage of Original Truth continued.
“According to the testimony, Seol Unhwi underwent a strange change during the battle. Red energy enveloped his body, his eyes turned red, and the nature of his energy changed completely.”
“......Blood Demon Heaven-Collapsing Art.”
The Primordial Sage murmured.
“That is correct. It appears he used a higher stage of the Blood Demon Heaven-Collapsing Art.”
“Could that alone kill the Heaven-Law Immortal? Someone at mere Unity of Heaven and Man?”
“That is difficult to say.”
Still smiling, the Sage of Original Truth tilted his head.
“The Blood Demon Heaven-Collapsing Art alone would likely not have been enough. But there was something interesting in the testimony.”
“What was it?”
“They said that among the martial arts Seol Unhwi used, there was one none of the witnesses had ever seen before. Transparent light extended from his sword, and when the Heaven-Law Immortal’s energy touched that light, it disappeared.”
The Primordial Sage’s eyes narrowed.
“His energy disappeared?”
“That is right. They said even the protective energy of the Supreme Void Realm vanished as though it had been stripped away.”
The Primordial Sage closed his mouth.
Silence passed.
For a long while.
The Primordial Sage finally spoke.
“Senior.”
“Speak.”
“What do you think?”
The Sage of Original Truth toyed with his teacup.
His smile did not change.
A face that was always smiling.
“My thoughts?”
“Yes.”
“To speak frankly.”
The Sage of Original Truth set down his teacup.
“I was surprised as well.”
“Hmm.”
“For a martial artist of Unity of Heaven and Man to kill one of the Supreme Void Realm is astonishing. Even taking the Blood Demon Heaven-Collapsing Art into account.”
“......”
“But something else surprised me even more.”
“What?”
“The path Seol Unhwi took to reach the Heaven-Law Cliff.”
The Sage of Original Truth spoke.
“He crushed Gwak Hyeongjin’s outpost, then Long Forest Mountain, then Spirit Heaven Mountain. He killed roughly fifty martial artists, beheaded them, and displayed their severed heads.”
“......”
“Then he encountered Han Soyeong, killed Seop Gyeong, reached the Heaven-Law Cliff, and killed the Heaven-Law Immortal.”
“......”
“All of it in a single day.”
The Sage of Original Truth’s smile deepened.
“A man who accomplished all of that in a single day stands at Unity of Heaven and Man.”
“......”
“Is that not astonishing?”
The Primordial Sage looked at the Sage of Original Truth.
“It seems rare for even you to be so surprised.”
“Ha ha. I have lived a long time, but I have never seen anything like this. How could I not be surprised?”
The Primordial Sage rose from his seat.
He walked to the window.
He looked outside.
The valley stretched before him. A tranquil landscape.
“Senior.”
“Speak.”
“Do you remember what that bastard said at the meeting of Heaven Beyond Heaven?”
“I remember.”
The Sage of Original Truth answered.
“When the Heaven-Law Immortal accused him of acting on his own authority, did he not answer by asking whether bringing Gun Mugeol there had not also been an act of unilateral authority?”
“That is right.”
The Primordial Sage’s voice sank lower.
“Someone at mere Unity of Heaven and Man dared challenge the Supreme Void Realm.”
“He did.”
“At the time, the Heavenly Lord merely laughed and let it pass.”
“He did.”
“The Heaven-Law Immortal was enraged by that and sent a warning.”
The Primordial Sage turned around.
He looked at the Sage of Original Truth.
“Do you know where that bastard is now?”
“I hear he has collapsed at the Blood Heaven Sect headquarters. It seems he suffered considerable injuries in his battle with the Heaven-Law Immortal.”
“Collapsed.”
The Primordial Sage’s eyes flashed.
“Is this not our chance?”
The Sage of Original Truth lifted his teacup and took a sip.
“Primordial Sage.”
“Yes.”
“May I ask you something?”
“Ask anything.”
“Why do you think the Heaven-Law Immortal died?”
The Primordial Sage frowned.
“He fought Seol Unhwi and died as a martial artist...”
“No.”
The Sage of Original Truth shook his head.
Gently.
“The Heaven-Law Immortal died because he underestimated Seol Unhwi.”
The Primordial Sage’s expression hardened.
The Sage of Original Truth continued.
“He saw only the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man. He failed to see what stood behind that realm.”
“......”
“You are making the same mistake now.”
The Primordial Sage’s eyes sharpened.
Still smiling, the Sage of Original Truth spoke.
“I am only stating the facts.”
“......”
“Seol Unhwi is injured and lying unconscious. You said this is our chance. But think.”
The Sage of Original Truth toyed with his teacup.
“Where is Seol Unhwi lying?”
“......The Blood Heaven Sect headquarters.”
“That is right. The Blood Heaven Sect headquarters. Where the Heavenly Lord resides.”
The Primordial Sage’s mouth closed.
“What do you think will happen if you touch Seol Unhwi right beneath the Heavenly Lord’s nose?”
“......”
“The Heaven-Law Immortal had the justification of a fight between martial artists, which is why the Heavenly Lord let it pass. But attacking a wounded man lying unconscious is not a fight between martial artists.”
“......”
“It is an ambush. A cowardly ambush.”
The Sage of Original Truth looked at the Primordial Sage.
“Do you think the Heavenly Lord would let that pass?”
The Primordial Sage remained silent.
He clenched his teeth.
He was right.
The Heavenly Wayfarer would overlook a fight between martial artists. But he would not tolerate cowardice.
Attacking a wounded man who lay unconscious would clearly cross the line.
“Then what the hell am I supposed to do? I want that bastard dead right now.”
Anger entered the Primordial Sage’s voice.
“The Heaven-Law Immortal is dead and the Heaven-Law Platform has been destroyed. One of Heaven Beyond Heaven’s pillars has collapsed. How can you expect me to sit here and do nothing? You agree with me on this much. If anything, the two of us should be moving together, and yet...”
“I am not telling you to sit and do nothing.”
Cutting off the Primordial Sage, the Sage of Original Truth continued in a calm voice.
“I am only telling you to wait for the right moment.”
“The right moment?”
The Sage of Original Truth’s smile deepened.
“Look carefully at what Seol Unhwi is doing.”
“......”
“He destroyed the Heaven-Law Platform. He shattered one of the pillars of Heaven Beyond Heaven.”
“......”
“And yet the Heavenly Lord did not rebuke him. He said it was a fight between martial artists.”
“......”
“What does that mean?”
The Primordial Sage looked at the Sage of Original Truth.
“What does it mean?”
“It means the Heavenly Lord was not particularly attached to the Heaven-Law Platform.”
The Primordial Sage’s eyes widened.
“No. To be more precise.”
The Sage of Original Truth set down his teacup.
“It means the Heavenly Lord had already seen the Heaven-Law Immortal’s arrogance. He knew that sooner or later, the man would cross the line. And when that happened, he likely intended to deal with him.”
“......”
“Seol Unhwi simply did it in his place.”
The Primordial Sage’s face twisted.
“......If what you say is true, would that not mean Seol Unhwi was acting according to the Heavenly Lord’s will?”
“He was not acting according to his will.”
The Sage of Original Truth shook his head.
“The result merely happened to align with the Heavenly Lord’s will.”
“Is there a difference?”
“A very great one.”
The Sage of Original Truth looked at the Primordial Sage.
A smile remained on his lips, but his eyes were not smiling.
“A man who acts according to another’s will is a tool. A man whose actions ultimately align with another’s will is a companion.”
“......”
“That is likely why the Heavenly Lord values Seol Unhwi.”
In a way, that might have struck at the very heart of the matter.
A tool and a companion.
They were clearly different, and the relationship between Unhwi and the Heavenly Wayfarer now...
Was clearly nothing like that of a tool.
They did not even use one another.
The Primordial Sage returned to his seat.
He sat down heavily.
“Then.”
The Primordial Sage asked.
“In your view, what should the Primordial Pavilion do?”
The Sage of Original Truth smiled.
A gentle smile.
The smile of a kindhearted man.
But calculations were turning beneath that smile.
“Do not rush.”
“......”
“The Heaven-Law Immortal died because he rushed. He died because he underestimated Seol Unhwi.”
“......”
“The Primordial Pavilion is different from the Heaven-Law Platform. Its strength does not lie in martial force, but in information and schemes. You have eyes that have read the flow of the world for hundreds of years, do you not?”
“You are telling me to use those eyes to read Seol Unhwi?”
“That is right. Read him, and wait.”
The Sage of Original Truth spoke.
“Seol Unhwi is growing now. Frighteningly fast.”
“......”
“A man who grows will inevitably expose an opening. The higher he climbs, the stronger the wind becomes, and the stronger the wind, the more he will sway.”
“......”
“Wait until that moment of instability comes.”
The Primordial Sage looked at the Sage of Original Truth.
For a long while.
“Senior.”
“Yes.”
“I do not think I have ever seen you this cautious before.”
The Sage of Original Truth’s smile stiffened slightly.
Only for an instant. It immediately relaxed again.
But the Primordial Sage had seen it.
“Could it be that even you are afraid?”
“To say I am afraid would be a lie.”
The Sage of Original Truth spoke.
“But to say I am wary would be the truth.”
“You have reached the pinnacle, yet you are wary of someone at Unity of Heaven and Man?”
“I am not wary of his realm.”
The Sage of Original Truth looked at the Primordial Sage.
His smile was gone.
For the first time.
For the first time in this entire conversation, the Sage of Original Truth was no longer smiling.
“I am wary of the man.”
“......”
“The man called Seol Unhwi.”
The Primordial Sage stared at the Sage of Original Truth.
He saw that the smile had disappeared from his face.
It was the first time he had ever seen that.