Could the Weight of His Name Be Lighter Than That of a Mere Demon King?
Wait. Bulmangwon? Suddenly, Jekyeong felt a faint sense of déjà vu. Like a fleeting spark of inspiration, the names Bulmangwon and Sobyeok Ikwang flickered alternately through his mind before vanishing.
Could it be...? Suspicion gave way to a hypothesis, and his heart stirred in tandem. Jekyeong did not hesitate. It would be easy enough to verify anyway. After all, he had a "kind" senior who almost always remained in the exact same spot. He entered Bulmangwon.
"You earthworm of a bastard!" Jekyeong froze at the voice dripping with irritation and anger.
"Senior! Please forgive my rude intrusion! Your junior has encountered something utterly incomprehensible and has come to borrow your wisdom!" It was no exaggeration to say Jekyeong had mastered the art of dealing with this lazy, prickly, yet incredibly knowledgeable senior. He knew better than anyone how to soothe the man's anger while ensuring he wouldn't be kicked out immediately.
"None of my business! Stop annoying me and get lost!" Although the voice was still sharp, the underlying anger had softened significantly. The phrase "something utterly incomprehensible" had successfully piqued his curiosity.
"Senior! I beg you to bestow your wisdom upon me. Of all the people I know, only you can help me with this."
"Hmph!" He snorted as if completely uninterested, but the fact that he hadn't immediately banished Jekyeong revealed his shift in attitude.
"Senior, I recently heard a certain name, and for some reason, it felt incredibly familiar. Yet, I couldn't recall when or where I had heard it. But as I searched my memories, I suddenly felt as though that name and Bulmangwon were intertwined in my mind."
"Hmm?" This time, there was a definite reaction. A massive, powerful spiritual body manifested before Jekyeong, its probing gaze piercing through his consciousness.
"What name?"
"The name is Sobyeok Ikwang."
"Oh?" Another reaction. But this time, it was rather peculiar. He sounded somewhat taken aback, perhaps even suspicious.
"Are you certain?"
"Yes."
"Sobyeok Ikwang? The Demon King?"
"Yes."
"The lunatic with three pairs of wings who flies off the handle at any given moment?"
"...I do not know about that. I have only heard his name."
"Tell me everything in detail." By this point, Jekyeong had a rough idea of what was going on. A moment later, after hearing the whole story, Yu Gon confirmed his suspicions.
"That bastard is just like us. If you heard his name, you must have heard it here. As for why you couldn't remember it... it was likely shrouded by the secrets of heaven."
Jekyeong understood immediately. The secrets of heaven, huh? It seemed this senior named Sobyeok Ikwang had quite an extraordinary background. Then again, considering his caliber, it made sense that he wasn't satisfied with merely driving out the Heumwon clan and had chased them all this way to finish them off for good.
"Anyway, it seems that bastard Sobyeok has truly made up his mind."
"Senior... do you share a close relationship with Senior Sobyeok Ikwang?"
"As you know, there aren't many of the beast race in Bulmangwon, so we naturally came to know each other. It's not like we have any special bond." Yu Gon's attitude shifted back to his usual indifference. It meant his curiosity had been fully satisfied. Jekyeong quickly asked one more question before Yu Gon could tell him to get lost again.
"Senior, if Senior Sobyeok Ikwang finds out that I am a junior from Bulmangwon, do you think he might show me some leniency? He is currently causing quite a storm in the cultivation world where I reside... and I fear I might get swept up in it and meet a grim end."
"How should I know?" Yu Gon snapped reflexively, but after a brief pause, he spoke again.
"Like I said, I don't know him well. But if I were to give you some advice... don't harbor useless expectations. We may be of the same race, but so-called racial solidarity is nothing more than a callus. It might be attached to you, but the moment it becomes even slightly irritating, it can be sliced off without hesitation."
"I understand. Thank you, Senior." Jekyeong etched Yu Gon's advice into his heart. To not harbor useless expectations meant he shouldn't rely on luck. Still, a callus isn't entirely bad. If saying "it can be sliced off if it becomes irritating" meant that as long as he didn't become an irritation, he could remain attached, wasn't that a viable path?
Though he had learned of Sobyeok Ikwang's true identity, nothing had changed. The storm continued to rage across Yangseo Lake, and everyone's attention remained fixed on the mysterious Demon King and Yojeong.
"Seon-yu! How much longer do you think you can hold out?" Sobyeok Ikwang, who had retreated, reappeared three days later. He mocked and provoked those holed up inside the grand formation, but they did not respond in the slightest.
"Hmph!" Ultimately, Sobyeok Ikwang unleashed his power once more. The dark skies churned, and a world-shaking rumble persisted for several days. The water levels around the Seongya Archipelago plummeted drastically in some areas, while in others, they surged so violently that several islands were completely submerged.
"Let's see how long you can stay cooped up in there!" On the fourth day of his assault, Sobyeok Ikwang ground his teeth and retreated once again. He shook off the void rifts that snaked out to bind him and soared high into the heavens.
Even after that, Sobyeok Ikwang continued his relentless assaults on Yojeong, but to no avail. Furthermore, the duration of his attacks gradually grew shorter. Initially, it had lasted five days; the second time, four days; and the third time, three and a half days.
"Fellow Daoist, have you made up your mind?" It was after "Senior Sobyeok" had struck Yojeong for the eighth time and retreated after just two days that Jang Yeong visited Heukgyodo. Jekyeong met Jang Yeong's expectant gaze in silence.
Had he made up his mind to act? No, he had not. He had already been wavering, but his hesitation had only deepened after hearing those few words about Sobyeok Ikwang from Yu Gon. Although Yu Gon had played dumb, his evasive remarks had contained crucial information about what kind of person Sobyeok Ikwang truly was.
A violent and temperamental individual. One could already guess his extraordinary temperament just by looking at how he had orchestrated a blood sacrifice in a massive cultivation realm like Muryangae, but Yu Gon's testimony painted a clearer picture. Sobyeok Ikwang was the textbook definition of a cultivator one should never get involved with—especially when one lacked the strength to back it up.
The Simjeon Demon King, Mu-ara, had no other choice. Unless he intended to sink with the Heumwon clan, his only option was to jump ship to Sobyeok Ikwang's side. But Jekyeong was different. He had no pressing need to step forward. While he coveted the spirit vein creation technique, if he truly wanted it, another opportunity would surely present itself in the future, even if he missed this one.
"I would like to observe a little longer." It wasn't outright aversion, but he was still hesitant. Jekyeong did not hide his true thoughts.
"Mmm." Jang Yeong's disappointment was palpable. Seeing the Heumwon clan cowering like frightened turtles, he had expected Jekyeong to have made up his mind by now. Unfortunately for him, Jekyeong possessed a source of information he knew nothing about.
"If that is the case..." Jang Yeong swallowed his regret and departed. Jekyeong immediately set off for Haeyeon Island, where he met with Myeong-ha, who had come out to greet him, to discuss the matter.
"Mu-ara seems to have made up his mind. He intends to turn his back on the Heumwon clan and align himself with Sobyeok Ikwang."
"It seems his patience has finally run out. Then again, he held out for quite a long time considering the circumstances." Jekyeong had been frequently sharing information and exchanging opinions with Myeong-ha. As such, Myeong-ha was well aware of the turbulent undercurrents stirring within Yojeong.
"Jang Yeong came to press me for an answer."
"What did you decide to do?"
"I decided not to get involved."
"Fellow Daoist Jang Yeong must have been deeply disappointed." Myeong-ha chuckled softly and leaned back. His fatigue-laden gaze drifted toward the sky, which was just beginning to glow with the colors of sunset.
"You made the right call. When the board is unstable, it is best not to step onto it at all. Opportunities are plenty, but you only have one life." Jekyeong remained silent. He didn't even glance at the tea placed before him, opting instead to sip his spirit wine.
"This Sobyeok Ikwang is truly an extraordinary figure. Not only the Gakchung clan, but also the human race and other foreign tribes are all walking on eggshells around him. The foreign tribes are one thing, but the fact that the humans are keeping as quiet as the dead suggests they have already grasped the situation."
"Are you referring to the incident in the Jusong Sea Region?"
"Yes. I do not know the exact state of the Gakchung clan, but there is no doubt they suffered a sudden calamity."
Based on the information gathered so far, Sobyeok Ikwang had headed straight for the Jusong Sea Region to clash with the Gakchung clan the moment he arrived at Yangseo Lake. As a result, the Gakchung clan had fallen silent, and the humans had retreated entirely into their shells.
"Looking at it this way, the downfall of Yojeong—or rather, the Heumwon clan—seems inevitable."
"Does it make a difference?"
"It might, or it might not." Myeong-ha waved his hand lightly, and a scroll materialized on the table. As the rolled-up scroll unfurled on its own, Jekyeong finally recognized it as a map.
It was a map of the Southern Region from the perspective of the human race. It marked various human strongholds, including Jaseong Island, and roughly outlined the demon territories at its edges.
"Fellow Daoist, the time is ripe." After confirming that the map did not extend to the Heukgyo water territory, Jekyeong raised his head to meet Myeong-ha's gaze. The fatigue that had filled Myeong-ha's eyes just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
"Is it not too hasty?"
"Not at all. Right now is the perfect opportunity—precisely when the influential human sects and clans are cowering in fear."
After a brief moment of thought, Jekyeong nodded. "What is the plan?"
The Yanggye water region. Vessels intending to enter Yubak Island were lined up in a long queue before the checkpoint. The gatekeeper cultivators stopped each ship one by one to conduct inspections.
"Greetings, gentlemen."
"Ah, it's Old Park." Park No-sam suppressed his irritation and offered a forced smile as he greeted the gatekeepers, but he was met only with indifferent glares that seemed to size him up like prey.
"What is inside?"
"Mostly split-tail fish, along with a few other minor catches."
No one knew exactly how many boats entered and left Yubak Island each day. Thus, the inspections were merely a formal procedure for the influential sects and clans of Yubak Island to flex their authority and extort transit fees.
The visiting cultivators harbored deep resentment toward these inspections, which forced them to waste days idling on the water only to have their spirit stones extorted, but they dared not utter a single complaint due to the overwhelming power of the ruling sects and clans.
Cooling his rising temper, Park No-sam pulled out a few spirit stones and handed them to the gatekeepers. The closest gatekeeper casually pocketed the stones and nodded.
"Open it up."