The Mysterious Palace
Lee Sujol's gaze was composed, settled into a deep calm — but fury lived in his voice.
"Even after things have come to this, you're still testing me, Junior Brother Ha? As your senior brother, I'll say just one thing."
Lee Sujol's cry tore out of him in a voice low and raw, thick with grief. For the first time, those gathered saw the ever-unflappable Sect Master's eyes rim red. The bitterness and disappointment burning in that look went beyond anything words could hold.
"Heh heh..."
Ha Chung gave a bitter laugh. But the laugh curdled, twisting into something steeped in the oppression and jealousy he had buried for so long.
"That's right, Lee Sujol! Master cherished me! So what? In the end, the seat of Cheonun Sect Master went to you!"
Lee Sujol let out a long, weary breath.
"So that's it... You've been carrying that all this time."
"Of course I have! Lee Sujol, if it weren't for you, I would have been Sect Master of Cheonun Sect! The sect never would have fallen into the ruin it is today, and Junior Sister Woon-hwan wouldn't have—"
A sharp crack split the air.
Yeom Jin-ri, who had stood in silence at his side, swept the fly-whisk in her hand. It came crashing down toward Ha Chung's face.
"Shut up, Ha Chung! Don't you dare speak my sister's name!"
Those standing below the dais had no idea what any of it meant. They could not begin to guess what history these people were tearing open.
Yeop Pung, however, was stunned.
What are they talking about? Did something happen a hundred years ago between Woon-hwan and these titans? When she was so badly hurt during the Tianyun Blood Night — was that connected to them too? Just who is this Ha Chung?
"Hahaha!"
Ha Chung laughed, sweeping his arm in a great arc and seizing Yeom Jin-ri's fly-whisk in his fist.
"Jin-ri, why keep hiding what happened with Junior Sister Woon-hwan after all these years? Who doesn't know by now?"
"Will you not shut your mouth?!"
This time it was Lee Sujol who erupted.
"How dare you speak so freely of that year's events! Ha Chung — even now, come with me. We will go before Master and the Founder of Cheonun Sect and beg forgiveness for our sins!"
"Hahaha!"
A thunderous roar split the hall.
Flame Profound Qi burst from Ha Chung's entire body like a raging tide. The fire, which had been a deep crimson, took on a pale silver sheen, and his combat power surged to a height no one had ever witnessed from him.
"A mutated flame? That is..."
Han Buri and the others beside him went rigid with shock.
"Ha Chung — you possessed a mutated flame?!"
"That's right. This is the Moon Martial Silver Flame that Lee Mujin gave me!"
A rare mutated flame. Silver-white fire of immeasurable power, gifted by Lee Mujin — hidden until this very moment.
Ha Chung's silver-white flames possessed a power beyond all measure. He had been concealing his true strength all along.
Only now, with every ounce of that power laid bare, did he unleash the terrifying silver fire and burn Yeom Jin-ri's fly-whisk to ash. Then he shot into the air, intent on fleeing Cheonun Sect altogether.
"Lee Sujol, you win today. But Cheonun Sect will belong to me and Lee Mujin in the end! The next time we meet, you'll be on your knees, offering the sect up to me! Hahaha!"
"Trying to leave? I don't think so!"
A flash of steel.
Maeng Chang-haeng mounted his flying sword at once and streaked into the sky after Ha Chung.
Lee Sujol and the others had no intention of letting a man who had once been one of Cheonun Sect's great pillars slip away so easily. If Ha Chung joined Lee Mujin's camp, the disaster awaiting the sect would be beyond imagining.
They rose on flying swords into the high heavens and moved to cut him off. A clash of Spirit Realm masters beyond all imagination unfolded in the open sky.
Gu Jeoryang, who had remained behind, dismissed the crowd with practiced efficiency and sent them off to rest. What followed belonged to the highest secrets of Cheonun Sect. It was not a spectacle for just anyone to watch.
Yeop Pung took his leave of Han Un, Wang Maeng, and the others, then headed back to Nagun Peak with Heukgu.
In the courtyard, Bone was dozing, head dipping and bobbing.
Come to think of it, something had felt off for a while now...
Yeop Pung frowned. Down below, Maeng Chang-haeng had been fighting with wild abandon — and Bone had been nowhere in sight.
Don't tell me this thing was sleeping here the whole time?
"Grrrr..."
The moment Bone spotted Yeop Pung's return, its sleepy eyes snapped open. It lunged, jaws yawning wide.
"Master! That brute's here again! He's going to—"
Heukgu, perched on Yeop Pung's shoulder, shrieked in terror.
"Bone, knock it off!"
Yeop Pung was in no mood for this. Besides, Heukgu had earned real merit today. Protecting him was the least he could do.
"Kid. What are you two mumbling about?"
Bone bared its teeth, a savage aura rolling off its golden fur.
"Uh..."
Yeop Pung sniffled, peeled Heukgu off his shoulder, and set him down.
"There's a good boy. Go have fun with Big Brother Bone."
"M-Master, I—"
Heukgu's face crumpled into a look of pure doom as Bone clamped down and dragged him away.
Back in his room, Yeop Pung sank into thought. The crisis at Cheonun Sect had been contained for now — but he knew a far greater catastrophe was only beginning.
Lee Mujin, Governor of Fengsang Commandery, had lost eight thousand elite soldiers to Cheonun Sect. A man like that would not sit still. Before long, Mount Tianyun would be drowned in a blood-soaked war.
And yet a sour unease lingered in a corner of Yeop Pung's heart.
Was I really that untrustworthy...?
Ever since Taibai Peak, Yeop Pung had felt a fierce sense of belonging toward Maeng Chang-haeng and Cheonun Sect. If he hadn't, he never would have fought Sa Cheonseong with his life on the line.
But after everything that had just unfolded, a question rose unbidden.
I fight for Cheonun Sect with my life. Do they truly see me as one of their own? If they really thought of me as a comrade, would they have hidden all of this?
It's not like I'm Ha Chung...!
The thought of that man brought Yeom Woon-hwan flooding back. From the conversation he had just overheard, Ha Chung, Lee Sujol, and the others had been anything but ordinary acquaintances of hers.
Woon-hwan never told me any of this. What kind of history is buried there?
I can't go back to that time. Could I get some clue about her from these titans?
Ah... my head hurts...
Yeop Pung dropped onto the bed. Truth be told, he was a little hurt — but overall, his heart was at ease. He had already endured unimaginable agony clawing his way back from the brink of death. It was as if a great mountain had thickened and steeled his nerves. After surviving that kind of despair, a feeling like this was nothing.
He gave a self-deprecating laugh and closed his eyes. He would rest for a while, then attend the banquet that evening.
That was when a heavy thud shook the courtyard, as if something massive had slammed into the ground. Maeng Chang-haeng's thick, gravelly cursing followed at once.
"Damn it! I let that bastard Ha Chung get away! Yeop Pung! Yeop Pung! Where the hell is this brat?!"
Don't come in.
Yeop Pung kept his eyes shut and pretended not to hear.
He hadn't even sorted out what he wanted to say to the old man yet, and already the man was kicking up a storm...
"Yeop Pung! Yeop Pung!"
Maeng Chang-haeng bellowed at the top of his lungs — and then, with a tremendous crash, smashed the door in.
"What're you doing, rolling around in here? Get up! This Martial Grand-Uncle of yours has something to say!"
"Isn't it polite to announce yourself when you walk into someone else's room?"
Yeop Pung didn't even turn his head.
"Huh. Fair point."
Maeng Chang-haeng narrowed his eyes, turned around, and walked back out. A few seconds later came another crash, and the shattered remains of the wooden door came flying onto Yeop Pung's bed.
Damn it! Who announces themselves like that?!
Yeop Pung shot up from the bed. As always, Maeng Chang-haeng's behavior defied all imagination.
"Heh heh. If I'd really announced myself, you wouldn't have any hide left on you."
Maeng Chang-haeng waved a hand, utterly unconcerned with whatever was going on in Yeop Pung's head.
"Let's go! Senior Brother wants to see you!"
The Sect Master?
Yeop Pung's brows rose. His instincts told him at once.
Something's about to happen...
Yeop Pung left the courtyard and started toward the Cloud Dragon Stairs. Maeng Chang-haeng hooked a thumb to the side.
"Where do you think you're going? Senior Brother's waiting over there..."
That mysterious palace?
Only then did Yeop Pung notice that the powerful Profound Qi seal set over the palace entrance had been released. The towering wooden doors stood slightly ajar, as if they had been waiting for him.
"What are you standing there gawking for?"
Maeng Chang-haeng smiled, looking thoroughly pleased.
"Yeop Pung... besides the five Peak Masters and the Sect Master, you are the first person in Cheonun Sect to set foot in Nagun Hall. I know your heart's a little sore over all this. Go in and say whatever you want to Senior Brother. Curse him out if you like... hit him if you like... well, not that you'd win. Heh heh. Go on in!"
They were kind words, but coming out of Maeng Chang-haeng's mouth they somehow sounded ominous.
Wait... can I actually curse him out?
"I said go in."
"All right, all right..."
Yeop Pung nodded, reluctant. There was no backing out now. He drew a deep breath and stepped into the magnificent palace.
What, exactly, was waiting for him in there?
Yeop Pung walked carefully toward that mysterious hall. He gave the wooden door a light push. It groaned on its hinges — and the world ahead vanished into total darkness.
The sun was still high. And yet the palace seemed to swallow every scrap of light; standing at the threshold, Yeop Pung could see nothing at all. All he could feel was an unfathomable pressure radiating from within, and his heart began to pound.
"Do not be afraid. Come in."
Lee Sujol's low voice rolled through the dark.
Yeop Pung eased forward and crossed the threshold. The instant he did, his entire body lightened, as though he were being drawn into another space entirely.
What is this...?
He made no effort to hide his astonishment.
He was floating in midair. Seven colossal swords of light, radiating purple spiritual energy, ringed him on every side. Looking closer, Yeop Pung judged each blade to be a good thirty feet in length.
They were only faint phantoms — and yet the killing intent pouring from them was a hundred times more intense than anything he had felt outside the palace. Beside them, his Black Frost Sword looked painfully shabby.
What kind of weapons are those?
Yeop Pung had never seen anything so mysterious. Even the mere illusory edge of their sword-qi was enough to put a top-grade Profound Weapon to shame.
Then something still more astonishing unfolded. Between the seven giant swords of light, a hazy form took shape — and the Seven Peaks of Cheonun spread themselves before Yeop Pung's eyes, vivid and complete.
He could even see, with perfect clarity, Bone manhandling Heukgu in the courtyard, and Maeng Chang-haeng standing beside them, laughing as if he hadn't a care in the world.
This is impossible!
All at once, he thought he understood how Lee Sujol had been able to root out every last spy.