The Name-Bearer
It was a time when the sky felt refreshing and clear.
“I heard it’s a very rare phenomenon called heavenly election. After living this long, I finally got to see it with my own eyes.”
Gyu-ryeon had quietly moved closer to me and gazed up at the sky with open wonder.
“The legend of the heavenly election is that those who possess the talent to make even the heavens jealous will receive their karmic retribution ahead of everyone else. Judging by you, it seems you truly qualify.”
“Hehe….”
Genius….
There was no word that fit me less than that.
“You flatter me.”
“Flattery? I originally didn’t even recognize your talent, and bringing you along was Seo Hyul’s doing. Really… even the eyes see what they see.”
When I recalled Seo Hyul, a faint warmth spread across Gyu-ryeon’s cheeks.
I watched her and let out a small sigh in my heart.
Should I tell her…?
But no matter how I thought about it, spilling the truth about Seo Hyul right away felt too cruel.
I would ease into it slowly after some time.
“…By the way, since the black dragon’s bloodline is fully condensed, are you returning to the Sea Dragon Palace?”
“Yes, of course. When I return, I will definitely arrange a meeting with Senior Gyu-ryeon and Seo Hyul.”
“Heh heh, not that we have to meet or anything… but, um…”
Her face flushed bright red as she shook her head.
“Enough about Seo Hyul. Since you’ve reached the Core Formation stage, can you return alone?”
“Yes, of course. I remember the location of the Sea Dragon Palace well.”
“Hm, I see. Then, perhaps you could deliver a letter along the way?”
Gyu-ryeon handed me a folded letter made of silk.
‘This is…’
“Deliver it to Lord Ho-yeol of the Heavenly Peng Clan.”
“Understood.”
“Do you know where Ho-yeol is?”
“Inquire at the seventh layer, Life Layer of Bongmyeong-ju.”
“Alright. As long as the letter arrives within three months, it will do. Then I’ll leave it to you.”
“Understood.”
I bowed to Gyu-ryeon to show my gratitude and flew straight into the void.
Whoosh!
‘The Void Step of the One-Gate Dharma Refiners feels different somehow.’
No, should I even call this Void Step?
The Heavenly Peng Clan’s Void Step used the starlight energy engraved on a golden pill to hide their body in a dark light and move at great speed.
The One-Gate Dharma Refiners’ soaring technique revolved yin-yang energy around their body to amplify vitality, then reinforced their physical form with that life force to simply dash through the air.
Unlike Void Step, which stepped on the air itself, the One-Gate Dharma Refiners controlled the flow of yin-yang in the void to create a platform of spirit energy and stepped on that.
‘It’s far more efficient than Void Step.’
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
I flew using both Void Step and the One-Gate Dharma Refiners’ soaring technique at the same time.
Void Step reduced energy consumption while the soaring technique boosted energy amplification.
I could fly even faster with less power.
The surrounding air thickened.
When I pulled up the black dragon’s power, dark energy surged and dark clouds gathered.
“Ho, this is comfortable too?”
I boarded the dark clouds and continued at the same speed I had been shooting through earlier.
Riding the cloud technique taught by the black dragon’s bloodline, I advanced steadily forward.
***
I had heard from Song Jin about the location of the Heavenly Peng Clan and Lord Ho-yeol’s residence in the Life Layer of Bongmyeong-ju, so I used the transmission array there to travel directly to their territory.
The Heavenly Peng Clan lived in a valley called Cheonsim-gok outside the Dragon Clan’s domain. Strangely, even though they were avian, they swam in the water at the bottom of the valley.
I wandered the valley for a moment.
Then I visited Lord Ho-yeol and delivered Gyu-ryeon’s letter.
As another Core Formation lord of the Dragon Clan, Ho-yeol took my letter, sighed deeply, and said,
“The entire one-gates plan… just what kind of madmen came up with such a scheme?”
“…”
I recalled the memory of Seo Hyul telling me about it.
‘Identify every name of the One-Gates. Even those without names, assign one and manage them…’
And because names carried destiny, the plan aimed to read the overall destiny of the One-Gates through the movements of those who possessed names.
The plan itself sounded good, but I found it a little ridiculous.
‘Insects that hatch from the ground, birds that fly—every single one is a One-Gates. Assigning names and managing them all?’
It was like suggesting to name road bugs too.
‘Even if I only caught the minimum, it would take over five or six hundred years.’
Just then, Lord Ho-yeol sighed and spoke to me.
“By the way, what do you think of this foolish plan in the Dragon Clan?”
“Ah…”
Was he asking me?
I thought for a moment and answered with only Seo Hyul’s case.
“I’m just a minor, so I don’t know everything, but the Core Formation lord I serve, Seo Hyul, was actively in favor of the plan. He called it a plan that the future of the One-Gates absolutely needs.”
I didn’t know why, but Seo Hyul had clearly given a very positive response to the “entire one-gates naming plan.”
After hearing my words, Ho-yeol sighed deeply again.
“There is no more foolish thing than trying to manage the names of an entire clan from one place. They probably think, just like we manage the human clan's registers, we can do it for the One-Gates too. But the human clan’s registers are possible because they are a single clan. The One-Gates are a collection of countless One-Gate Dharma Refiners and not a single clan, so trying to manage all their names is ridiculous… Besides, the One-Gates already lack administrative power. How much administrative power will this plan waste?”
“…”
His words were absolutely correct, so I nodded beside him.
After hearing Ho-yeol’s complaints, I stayed in the Heavenly Peng Clan’s territory for several days, meeting some of their members.
Then I slowly toured the One-Gates’ territory and, over two months, returned to the Sea Dragon Palace.
***
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
I flew over the clouds, passing through mountains and rivers, eyes wide open toward the distant Sea Dragon Palace on Unsim Lake.
“…Huh, it’s changed a lot in that time.”
Around Unsim Lake, huge coral reefs had grown.
In other words, coral reefs that grew on land.
On the coral reefs, countless slave clans worked like they had on Gyu-ryeon’s peach farm. Thanks to them, the area outside the lake was very noisy.
‘Is Seo Hyul doing another strange business?’
I glanced at the slaves and tried to enter the lake.
Then my gaze landed on the manager who oversaw the slaves.
The strict-eyed manager was a goat with human legs.
“…!?”
I quickly looked again to make sure, but it was the same.
The manager of the slaves on the coral reefs near Unsim Lake was a goat with human legs.
‘White Glory? No…’
They were goats.
The White Glory Clans each held whips and strictly managed the slaves on the coral reefs with stern eyes.
And beautiful coral decorations hung around their necks.
‘…What happened to that?’
I would know the details when I met Seo Hyul.
I descended into the Sea Dragon Palace. The moment I entered the familiar boundary array, the faces of the Sea Dragon Clan guardians guarding the array changed dramatically.
“Ah, no…”
“You…!?”
I revealed my black antlers and black scales to show that I had fully condensed the black dragon’s bloodline.
The Core Formation initial stage gatekeepers at the Sea Dragon Palace flinched and looked at me with distrustful expressions.
“The human the lord brought…! Ugh, how did someone like you receive the black dragon’s bloodline…?”
“If we had received the bloodline, we would have become even stronger…!”
I smiled at them.
“Stop your nonsense. Open the gate. For someone like me, a human, a recommendation is needed to participate in the vanguard bloodline merger. You One-Gates already meet all the conditions, so you could have applied freely, right?”
Their eyes narrowed as if they wanted to bite, but they opened the Sea Dragon Palace array.
And the moment I entered the array, the space began to ripple.
Whoosh!
Space opened, and beyond it I saw Seo Hyul’s office.
He sat there with a relaxed face and waved at me.
“Welcome. How have you been under Senior Gyu-ryeon?”
I walked in front of Seo Hyul and said,
“Senior Gyu-ryeon is kind, so I lived very happily.”
“Really? I never thought condensing the black dragon’s bloodline would take this long… It looks like you need rest. I’ve been expanding the Sea Dragon Palace and building new rooms. How about taking rest in the new rooms?”
Seo Hyul was trying to send me off to some suspicious room as soon as I arrived.
“Condensing the bloodline itself was done in a day. But I was late because Senior Gyu-ryeon entrusted me with delivering the letter, so I took a detour to meet the Heavenly Peng Clan and some other clans.”
But I stopped him from scheming by revealing that I had built connections with people in the One-Gates society.
“I hope you have good relationships with them. Connections are precious, especially for us who live long lives. A fleeting moment is enough to form a connection.”
Seo Hyul treated the connections I made as fleeting moments and asked if I wouldn’t meet them again.
“Though the connections were short, bonds deepened during that time, and several of them have decided to meet again in Bongmyeong-ju soon. Especially, there are many who want to discuss the entire one-gates naming plan that Seo Hyul mentioned before.”
I drove a nail in by telling him I had already made arrangements, so he couldn’t scheme anymore.
“Hm, Bongmyeong-ju. You’re still at Core Formation. Is it safe to go there?”
“After fusing the vanguard black dragon’s bloodline, I obtained the great dragon’s power, so no one will threaten me inside the One-Gates territory anymore.”
He tried to stop me by using my realm as an excuse, but I used the name of the black dragon.
Seo Hyul smiled faintly and nodded.
“If that’s the case, go. It’s comforting to think you’re going to exchange important talks about the entire one-gates naming plan.”
“…Thank you.”
‘Huu.’
I felt drained after talking with Seo Hyul.
One mistake and I would be locked in some unknown room and remodeled by Seo Hyul in a different way from Goe-gun.
‘Dancing barefoot on a blade would be better.’
Just as I was sweating cold in my heart—
“By the way, you haven’t greeted them yet.”
“…?”
“The One-Gates who caused chaos at Senior Gyu-ryeon’s farm last time. Greet them.”
“…!”
Ssruk…
When Seo Hyul snapped his fingers, a spatial crack opened and Baek-nyeong emerged from it.
‘What is this…’
“Baek-nyeong, as I said before… this is Seo Eun-hyun, one of our Sea Dragon Clan’s latter-class figures. You two should get along well from now on.”
“Yes, Master.”
Baek-nyeong knelt before Seo Hyul as naturally as breathing and answered.
“…This person… isn’t he a Soul Clansman?”
“That’s right.”
“Then how…?”
Did he brainwash a Soul Clansman?
But Baek-nyeong’s will was normal and showed no sign of brainwashing.
“How? The White Glory Clans of Baek-nyeong are a clan that serves as slaves and endures abuse everywhere in the Gwanghan Realm. I used all my power to buy and free the abused White Glory Clans from nearby farms and arranged for them to live as ruling clans on the coral reefs operated by our Sea Dragon Clan. Since they are not suitable for the position, the performance technique will be hard to master, but they all seem satisfied with their changed lives.”
“…”
I looked at Baek-nyeong.
Did he not see my spirit energy, or did he see it but also see that his clan had been saved?
What was clear was that Baek-nyeong had become faithful to Seo Hyul after the few months we spent together.
I swallowed hard.
‘This person knows that I manifested spirit energy.’
Should I tell Seo Hyul?
No, it was too obvious.
‘Ten out of ten chance.’
Then right now Seo Hyul knew I was a Soul Clansman and was talking to me.
What should I do?
‘…Let’s go with the flow.’
“…Since you have obtained a revered Soul Clansman who is respected in the Gwanghan Realm, there will be no one to block Seo Hyul’s path from now on.”
“Heh heh, you flatter me too much.”
“No, I’m sure Seo Hyul….”
While talking to Seo Hyul, I felt.
‘This Seo Hyul guy…’
He had become even harder to deal with than before.
Before, I could roughly guess his intentions by easily letting my spirit energy flow, but after a few months with Baek-nyeong, there was almost no fluctuation in his will.
‘Damn it…’
The snake that was already hard to deal with had become even harder after I acquired a Soul Clansman.
‘But during those few months, I wasn’t just sightseeing.’
I met several clans, including the Heavenly Peng Clan, and built connections.
I built connections in places Seo Hyul didn’t know.
Seo Hyul probably wouldn’t treat me too harshly anymore, since he didn’t know who I had connections with.
‘Up until now he thought he had me completely in his hand… After I slipped away from his grasp, it won’t be easy to control me anymore.’
“By the way, you said you were going to Bongmyeong-ju in a few days to talk about the entire one-gates naming plan, right?”
“Yes.”
“Good. I’ll go with you.”
“…Yes?”
I looked at Seo Hyul and asked.
He smiled and said,
“I also have great interest in the entire one-gates naming plan.”
A few days passed.
***
Seo Hyul and I entered Bongmyeong-ju.
‘Damn it, this person is hard to deal with.’
Thinking of Seo Hyul smiling beside me, I felt.
‘First, there’s no problem that I’m a Soul Clansman. Given his personality that likes to use anything, he probably hid the fact that I’m a Soul Clansman and will use it when needed.’
There was no need to worry about that.
‘But what worries me is…’
That he was following me around and watching every single movement of mine.
‘He said we’d meet again in Bongmyeong-ju after becoming friends…’
Strictly speaking, my status as a Core Formation lord didn’t allow me to form deep bonds with the high-ranking One-Gates lords.
I had only somehow obtained permission to observe the entire one-gates naming plan discussion council by using Gyu-ryeon’s name.
‘I must not let my bottom line be revealed to Seo Hyul…!’
With Seo Hyul, I headed to the seventh layer naming plan discussion council of Bongmyeong-ju.
“Ah, you’re here. And that person is the Sea Dragon Clan’s….”
“Seo Hyul.”
“Seo Hyul, welcome. I am Ho-yeol of the Heavenly Peng Clan.”
Seo Hyul, as a Core Formation Dragon Clan member, could attend the discussion council with ease.
Originally I had planned to observe from the far back, but in a daze I ended up participating at Seo Hyul’s side.
‘This damn thing…’
I sat at Seo Hyul’s side and kept my face calm, but just sitting beside him made me want to go crazy.
A while later, Core Formation officials from thirteen major One-Gates clans sat at the round table and the discussion council began.
The Dragon Clan’s representative was the black dragon, Hyeon-chan, and Seo Hyul and I sat at Hyeon-chan’s side as observers.
“First, the foolish plan called the entire one-gates naming plan must not exist!”
Ho-yeol, the Heavenly Peng Clan lord, slammed the round table hard.
“Administrative power that makes no sense will be wasted. And we can’t even say for sure that it will show a clear effect compared to the Heavenly Peng Clans observing the heavenly secrets!”
On the opposite side, the Taeho Clan’s representative growled and spoke.
“I agree it’s a foolish plan, but it’s not useless. You don’t know if it’s necessary or not until you try it, right?”
“Doesn’t it look easy to identify and manage the names of the One-Gates? It won’t even be proper management!”
Ho-yeol’s shout made the Jangnim of the Hyeonmu Clan nod worriedly.
“Although managing names seems insignificant, you all know that names contain destiny. What we are managing is the overall destiny of the One-Gates. Even the Integration stage grandmasters wouldn’t have the will to manage the One-Gates’ destiny, so how can they carry out such reckless plans?”
“Lord Jangnim of the Hyeonmu Clan is right. Names do contain destiny. But what we are doing is not to do something to destiny, but only to observe it through the flow of names.”
Hyeon-chan, the representative of the black dragon clan, rebutted the Jangnim of the Hyeonmu Clan, and the discussion council was filled with heated passion.
Seo Hyul watched the scene and smiled faintly.
“Lord Hyeon-chan, may I say a few words from the branch family of the Sea Dragon Clan, Seo Eun-hyun?”
When the passion of the discussion council was at its peak.
Seo Hyul smiled gently at Hyeon-chan and suggested.
Hyeon-chan seemed about to object, but furrowed his brows and then granted Seo Hyul’s speech.
I frowned watching the scene.
‘What? What kind of exchange did they have in that time?’
It wasn’t a transmission.
It wasn’t like magic or a technique that my senses could properly catch.
‘Seo Hyul always had some kind of connection with the black dragon clan.’
Probably the only way to communicate that only the two of them could use.
Seo Hyul smiled gently and stood up to address the crowd.
“Good day, I am Seo Eun-hyun, a dragon who leads the branch clan of the Sea Dragon Clan, the Sea Dragon Clan. The atmosphere is overheated, so I will briefly organize the opinions of both sides.”
Seo Hyul skillfully organized the opinions of both sides in the discussion council.
And he began to turn the One-Gates’ discussion council, where they only raised their voices without rules, into a proper debating hall.
‘…Rules are being born in the discussion council.’
A discussion council of Core Formation One-Gates discussing in a very elegant way would have been expected, but in reality it was the opposite.
All of them were violent beasts and One-Gates who continued their training relying on their physical bodies, so their voices were loud and the strength of the clan was the truth, so normal discussion hadn’t been possible until now.
But Seo Hyul listened to both sides’ arguments and organized them, and between the two he created balance and used that balance to create rules one by one in the discussion council.
“…From now on, when you speak, please speak after receiving the chair’s permission.”
Seo Hyul had already taken over the role of chair from Hyeon-chan and become the “chair.”
‘…’
I let out a small sigh watching Seo Hyul skillfully mediate the One-Gates’ fight and take the lead.
“Um, then the opposing side of the entire one-gates naming plan feels this plan has no value for discussion, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then I would like Lord Hyeon-chan, who knows the example of the Heavenly Peng Clans, to speak….”
But even after taking the lead, Seo Hyul didn’t use his own lead to express his opinion.
He gave more speaking opportunities to the One-Gates side that supported the naming plan or Hyeon-chan, subtly shifting the atmosphere of the discussion council toward the side that supported the naming plan.
That way, a day and a half passed.
“Then today, under the agreement of the thirteen major One-Gates clans of the One-Gates, the entire one-gates naming plan is decided. Does anyone have objections?”
“None.”
“None, satisfactory.”
“Lord Seo’s suggestion is excellent. Hehe, the One-Gates who don’t respond to the naming plan will all be turned into medicine and distributed to each clan.”
In the end, the absurd plan called the entire one-gates naming plan was carried out as Seo Hyul wished.
The One-Gates clans that opposed naming were all turned into medicine or resources and distributed to the major clans, along with Seo Hyul’s unprecedented disgusting proposal.
***
“…One thing I’m curious about.”
While returning to the Sea Dragon Palace with Seo Hyul, I asked him.
Since he had already met the One-Gates who opposed the naming plan in secret and settled things with them, there was no way he would be killed without even knowing it now.
“May I boldly ask why you pushed the entire one-gates naming plan?”
‘I already know he won’t answer properly.’
But I was curious.
Why was this Seo Hyul so obsessed with knowing things called [names]?
At that moment, Seo Hyul opened his mouth.
“Most One-Gates in the Gwanghan Realm have no names.”
“That’s right, most One-Gates aren’t born as One-Gates from the beginning.”
“Do you know that?”
“Know what?”
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Seo Hyul pointed at the sky above the Sea Dragon Palace, the sky above Unsim Lake.
“There is one legend in the Gwanghan Realm.”
“A legend?”
“Do you know that the name of the Gwanghan Realm was originally not Gwanghan but Guanghan?”
“Guanghan…”
I recalled the Guanghan Jade that contaminated and corroded qi with the Demon Realm and the Gwanghan Jue that was the foundation of the One-Gates’ performance techniques.
Both contained the name Guanghan.
‘I didn’t know what Guanghan meant, but it was the old name of the Gwanghan Realm.’
“My knowledge is short, so I’m hearing it for the first time.”
“That’s right. This is a story known only to those who know it. In the distant past, before the separation of the Hyeol-eum Realm and the Demon Realm… the Jinma, Minggwi, Goryeok, Jageum, and Gwanghan Realms were all equal middle realms. But after the Gaeyeol stage progenitor of the Dragon Clan ended the war with the Demon Realm, the Gwanghan Realm became a world that other middle realms coveted after losing its progenitor.”
Seo Hyul split the space and entered his office inside the Sea Dragon Palace, continuing his words.
“And one day, the leaders of the Gwanghan Realm gathered and discussed. If we continue like this, the Gwanghan Realm will be torn apart by other middle realms. So they decided to rename the world.”
Seo Hyul, who had entered his office, used a transmission jade to call several Sea Dragon Clansmen into the office.
All those summoned were Core Formation Sea Dragon Clan lords.
I stood listening to Seo Hyul’s story.
“They received the heavens’ decree and took the best name for the Gwanghan Realm… and the Gwanghan Realm received the name Gwanghan that means [light].”
‘Light?’
“After that, the Gwanghan Realm always had Cheon-un following it. After renaming the world, the Gwanghan Realm became the strongest world among the middle realms along with the Hyeol-eum Realm. This is a story passed down in the Gwanghan Realm that explains the importance of names.”
“…Is it the history of the Gwanghan Realm?”
“It’s not history, just a story passed down. Whether it’s true or not is not important. What is important is that through names you can interfere with destiny, and if there are many with good names, it is the fortune of the One-Gates. In short, naming the countless One-Gates without names is something that must be done as members of the One-Gates.”
“…I see.”
Recently it had become hard to tell whether what Seo Hyul said was true or false.
Since Baek-nyeong, his will had become even less visible.
It was also hard to judge by directly seeing his spirit energy because my eyes would have been ruined if I watched his spirit energy directly.
“How is it? Has your curiosity been somewhat resolved?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Heh heh, I’m glad your curiosity was resolved. Come in. Ah, and since you have condensed the black dragon clan’s bloodline this time, you are also a proper member of the Dragon Clan, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“Then you will use your power to have your name registered in the Dragon Name Registry.”
“…Thank you.”
‘The Dragon Name Registry…’
My name being engraved on the skulls of the Dragon Clan’s progenitors sounded strange.
Especially after hearing about the importance of [names], I felt uneasy.
“Once your name is registered in the Dragon Name Registry, from then on you will be able to serve properly inside the Sea Dragon Palace and live with dignity.”
“I am deeply honored.”
After exchanging pleasantries with Seo Hyul, I left his office.
As I left the office, I glanced at the Core Formation lords who entered Seo Hyul’s office.
‘Seo Hyul rarely held meetings like this…’
Seo Hyul always held such meetings in open places when he had something to say to the leaders or lords.
He had never called the leaders or lords into his office like this.
‘I’ll listen to what they’re talking about.’
I returned to my room and started eavesdropping on Seo Hyul’s words through the circuit array.
Eventually, the words Seo Hyul was speaking in his office were transmitted to me through the circuit array.
“…So, the entire one-gates naming plan will now be carried out within the One-Gates. Also, since administrative power will be needed to mobilize the One-Gates naming plan, I will recommend several administrators from the Sea Dragon Clan as major figures of the entire one-gates naming plan.”
‘There must be some scheme hidden.’
Honestly, I didn’t believe the fairy-tale-like story Seo Hyul threw out casually.
Because there was no way Seo Hyul would do something altruistic like naming the One-Gates’ names nicely and leading them nicely.
“You will probably go to a position where you check the names being poured out in the One-Gates territory. There is only one thing you must do there.”
‘Come on, Seo Hyul. Tell me what you’re scheming.’
And Seo Hyul continued.
“Find those who have ‘in’ and ‘yeon’ in their names.”
‘Hmm?’
In and yeon?
What did he want?
“I’ll tell you conditions one by one. Those whose names contain in and yeon respectively will have one each. The residences of those with in and yeon will be close. And if it’s a clan with twins, the name owners will be divided into twins.”
‘…’
Why?
Hearing Seo Hyul’s conditions, I felt a sense of déjà vu.
“These people with this name are ‘determined’ to be born near each other. They are ‘determined’ to live close to each other. They are ‘determined’ to fall in love with each other. And it is ‘determined’ that they die at the same time.”
‘…Wait.’
While listening to Seo Hyul’s explanation, images flashed through my mind.
“These people… are extraordinarily unique existences in terms of destiny. The possibility that they are spouses or lovers is very high. If you find such people, bring the documents to me. Even records that such people existed thousands of years ago are fine. Because they continuously reincarnate and repeat destiny eternally. Even if it’s just a record, bring it no matter what.”
‘…’
Why?
I thought there was no way, but I began to think that the people Seo Hyul was looking for seemed like the people I knew.
“Everything is for the prosperity of our Sea Dragon Clan… If you follow me again this time, just like when we were in the Water Realm, prosperity will follow us.”