Chapter 485
Unhwi looked around the training ground.
“It will need repairs.”
“At this point, shouldn’t you just rebuild the whole thing?”
Unhwi smiled.
Faintly.
Namgung Wonyang approached. Color was beginning to return to her face.
“My lord.”
“Mm.”
“May I ask one thing?”
“Go ahead.”
“What rose into the air during the third form just now? I would like to know what it was.”
Unhwi thought for a moment.
“Light.”
“......Light, you say?”
“Yes.”
“The light had form.”
“It did.”
“It also had will.”
“That is correct.”
“To my eyes, it was not light.”
Unhwi thought highly of Wonyang.
Her talent and such things came second.
It was her desire to learn.
And her desire to become a better martial artist.
He valued those things greatly.
Namgung Wonyang looked at Unhwi.
“Did that not surpass the bounds of martial arts?”
Unhwi met her gaze and said,
“Surpass them......? Unfortunately, no. It did not.”
“......Then.......”
“The bounds expanded.”
Namgung Wonyang fell silent.
They had expanded.
The bounds of martial arts themselves had expanded.
Those words drove into Namgung Wonyang’s heart.
Chief Seong raised his head.
He looked at Unhwi.
Today, he had understood.
He now knew how far Unhwi could go.
There was no end to Unhwi.
He felt that he understood it clearly.
Chief Seong spoke.
“......Are you saying that the difference between martial arts of the Innate Three Realms and martial god–level martial arts lies in the bounds of martial arts themselves?”
“That is one way to put it.”
“......I feel as though I understand, yet I still cannot grasp the details. Is such a thing truly possible?”
“It is. Just as you saw with your own eyes.”
It was complicated, but one day they would understand.
He believed that.
“My lord.”
Unhwi turned at Wonyang’s voice.
“You should return to your residence. The night is deep.”
“Very well. You should all go inside as well. Tomorrow...... will likely become busy.”
Unhwi turned around.
He walked away.
Stepping across the shattered stone slabs.
Chief Seong followed.
Ju Soa followed.
Namgung Wonyang followed.
***
The next morning.
Unhwi opened his eyes in his residence.
He had not been asleep.
After creating the new martial art, he had returned to his residence and circulated his energy. Only now did he open his eyes.
Unhwi thought it through again and again.
Gun Mugeol.
He was unquestionably plotting something now.
But Unhwi could not determine exactly what it was.
For now, he could only smell the dampness before a storm.
The faint shift in the air before the wind changed.
This was big.
If he missed it, he would be swept away helplessly later.
The Five Great Families.
No.
The Four Great Families.
The Tyrant Blade Sect no longer existed.
Unhwi himself had destroyed it.
Four remained.
The Gongsun family, the Chu family, and the other two families.
Originally, they had not joined the Murim Alliance.
There had been no reason to.
A great family was still a family.
A bloodline continued over hundreds of years.
Their own territory.
Their own martial arts.
Their own merchant groups.
Their own laws.
But entering the boundaries of the Murim Alliance meant accepting obligations.
They had to follow the Alliance Leader’s commands, contribute troops when war broke out, and divide their interests.
They had no need to do any of that.
They were more than strong enough to stand alone.
Yet they had entered.
They had entered the Murim Alliance.
Whether they had walked in willingly or been dragged in by force, Unhwi did not know.
But the latter was almost impossible.
Only the former was plausible.
That raised the inevitable question.
Why?
He was not entirely without suspicions.
The rumors Gun Mugeol was spreading now embellished and exaggerated the events that had come before.
But their substance was not false.
Gun Mugeol.
The pinnacle.
Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance.
It was highly likely that he had drawn the great families in.
No.
It was all but certain.
The great families would never have joined the Murim Alliance of their own accord.
Someone had extended a hand, and the families had taken it.
That hand belonged to Gun Mugeol.
For what purpose?
War.
A war of the martial world.
There was only one reason for Gun Mugeol to gather the great families.
To strengthen his forces.
Then what were those forces intended for?
The martial world said Gun Mugeol had personally stepped forward to attack the Blood Heaven Sect, or at least to oppose it.
In Unhwi’s eyes, that was absolutely not the case.
Gun Mugeol was not an easy man to deal with.
He was far more cunning than most realized.
He had no intention whatsoever of attacking the Blood Heaven Sect.
Jeong Docheon of the Thunder Demon Cult had once told him something.
Gun Mugeol had visited the Peach Blossom Garden together with the Undying Maitreya.
Unhwi did not know whether Gun Mugeol had met the Heavenly Wayfarer separately.
But the fact that he had visited the Peach Blossom Garden meant he had received the Heavenly Wayfarer’s tacit permission.
The Heavenly Wayfarer was impossible to read.
Even if Gun Mugeol was merely moving in time with his tune, Unhwi could not afford to ignore it.
Because Unhwi himself was the direct target.
He needed to approach this differently.
Gun Mugeol—
was far more likely seeking the unification of the martial world excluding the Blood Heaven Sect.
Yes.
His true targets were not the Blood Heaven Sect.
They were the Sichuan Alliance and Heaven’s Will Alliance.
He intended to plant the Murim Alliance’s banners across every land in the martial world except the territory controlled by the Blood Heaven Sect.
......This has become troublesome.
Unhwi let out a sigh.
Then he recalled one family.
The oldest of the Four Great Families.
The one possessing the broadest territory and the most profound martial legacy.
The family that effectively stood at the head of the Four Great Families.
The Gongsun family.
He intended to examine them first.
Unhwi rose from his seat and headed outside.
A carriage was already waiting there.
His companions were ready as well.
Chief Seong.
Ju Soa.
Namgung Wonyang.
Only those three.
The three looked at Unhwi.
They had not raised the Blood Heaven Sect’s banner.
There was no formal procession befitting the Blood Heaven Arbiter.
A black robe and a single sword.
That was all.
Light attire.
They knew their destination was the Gongsun family.
They did not ask why.
Unhwi had made the decision.
Then whatever the reason, going was the right choice.
There was no need to know more.
It was the second day after they departed for the Gongsun family.
Four men raced toward them at the speed of streaking light and overtook the carriage.
Then, about ten yards ahead, they dropped to their knees and shouted,
“Gwak Yeon of the Red Spirit Court’s Left Wing Guard requests permission to accompany the Blood Heaven Arbiter!”
He appeared to be in his mid-forties.
His build was lean and agile, and his gaze was clear.
Yet that clear gaze remained fixed firmly on the ground.
He did not dare look up at Unhwi.
From atop his horse, Unhwi looked down at them.
Four men.
The one who introduced himself as Gwak Yeon appeared to be at the peak late Heaven-Human realm.
The remaining three were in the Divine Transformation realm.
“Did the master of Red Spirit Court order this?”
“Yes.”
How they had caught up to the carriage was unimportant.
They would have found some way.
Word that Unhwi had left the Blood Heaven Sect and headed somewhere would already have spread within the sect.
If they wished to follow, they certainly could.
Unhwi said,
“Rise.”
“Yes.”
The four men stood.
But even after rising, they did not fully lift their heads.
Their gazes were not directed at Unhwi.
They were directed at Chief Seong.
Gwak Yeon approached Chief Seong.
He clasped his hands and bowed deeply at the waist.
“Lord Seong. It is an honor for humble men such as ourselves to accompany this journey. Please assign us our positions.”
Chief Seong blinked.
His realm was the peak late Heaven-Human realm.
Nearly equal to Gwak Yeon’s.
Yet Gwak Yeon’s manner toward him went beyond even the courtesy one might show an elder.
It was absolute deference.
And it came naturally.
It did not feel unpleasant.
It meant these men held Unhwi in that high a regard and naturally extended their trust toward Chief Seong, whom Unhwi himself trusted.
Perhaps because the Blood Heaven Sect was such a vast organization, even the ways its members behaved could be startling.
Chief Seong scratched his head and said,
“......Would you take the rear?”
“We obey.”
Gwak Yeon bowed and withdrew.
The other three did the same.
They also offered brief greetings to Ju Soa and Namgung Wonyang.
They addressed Ju Soa as Miss Ju and Namgung Wonyang as Miss Namgung.
In terms of cultivation, there was an enormous gap between Gwak Yeon and the two women.
Yet he still treated them with respect and called them “Miss,” to the point that both women seemed burdened by it.
Unhwi paid it no mind.
The Red Demon must have given them orders.
Treat the Blood Heaven Arbiter’s companions as your superiors.
Obey their commands, show unwavering loyalty, and do not concern yourselves with appearances.
It was obvious.
The Red Demon was leaning toward Unhwi.
The attitude of these four men was proof.
It seemed their conversation that night had affected him deeply.
The group headed south.
The Gongsun family was located in the southern Central Plains, around the Jinnan region.
They traveled for ten days.
On the road, the four martial artists of Red Spirit Court were flawless.
At dawn, they rose before anyone else and scouted the surroundings.
They helped prepare meals.
No.
They did not merely help.
They took charge of everything.
They never lifted their utensils before Unhwi began eating.
When they camped, they settled as far from Unhwi’s command tent as possible and took turns standing watch.
Ju Soa asked,
“Are those people always like that?”
She was speaking to Chief Seong.
He shook his head.
“......I have no idea. Just what orders did that Red Demon give them...... Good grief.”
Chief Seong then looked at Wonyang.
Unlike the other two, she was watching the Red Spirit Court martial artists with a razor-sharp gaze.
“Is there a problem?”
“......Not a problem. I am simply a little worried.”
“Worried about what?”
“......Did they truly come without any other purpose?”
Wonyang was clearly suspicious.
Ju Soa agreed with her.
There was no question that they had come under the Red Demon’s orders.
But what about the Red Demon himself?
He likely had not opened his heart fully to Unhwi yet.
He would still be somewhere between wariness and observation.
Even so, sending these men carried meaning.
A minimum gesture of sincerity.
Or the greatest gesture of sincerity he could offer.
Wonyang believed they needed to determine which it was.
But there was no certain way to know.
As though he understood her concern, Chief Seong patted Wonyang’s shoulder.
“Do not worry.”
Wonyang looked up.
“Is the Young Master an ordinary man?”
He certainly was not.
“He surely has his own thoughts on the matter. Excessive worry clouds judgment. Remain vigilant, and let us do what must be done.”
Wonyang nodded.
And on the tenth day—
Unhwi’s party entered the Gongsun family’s territory.
They could tell immediately.
The scenery changed.
Vast plains stretched before them.
Rice fields.
Well-maintained waterways ran between them, and farmers worked the land.
The road was broad.
Wide enough for two carts to pass side by side.
Willow trees lined both sides.
It was prosperous.
Anyone could tell at a glance.