A Dark Omen
At first, when Deung Jong-yu came looking for him, Namgung Woo assumed it was to issue discipline for his reckless sprint through the city the day before. He wasn’t certain whether laws against speeding existed in this era, but causing a disturbance inside the city walls would certainly draw the attention of the authorities. In the world of Murim, the Murim Alliance wielded power comparable to that of the state itself. What was more, within Luoyang—where their headquarters stood—they had been openly granted a portion of public authority by state institutions to maintain order. Since the alliance possessed both the justification and the actual authority to involve itself in any commotion within Luoyang, being summoned was understandable.
Yet the moment he followed Deung Jong-yu into the Murim Alliance headquarters, Namgung Woo revised his thinking. The situation might be far more serious than he had imagined. Unlike its usual atmosphere, the alliance was alive with hurried movement. Preparations for the martial tournament finals and the still-ongoing alliance conference had everyone busy, but beneath that familiar bustle Namgung Woo sensed a thin, unmistakable thread of anxiety woven through the air. Ordinary martial artists and servants were probably unaware of whatever was happening.
Is it related to the conference? I haven’t heard anything from Brother Paeng.
An embargo—perhaps they called it a gag order here. They might have forbidden anyone from leaking internal matters of the conference. Well, I’ll find out soon enough.
He had casually sounded out Deung Jong-yu as well, but the usually easygoing Thunder Dragon Eccentric Hero had vanished. The man kept his lips sealed tight and answered only with stubborn silence. That tightly locked mouth finally opened once they reached the fifth floor of Jungcheon-gak, inside the Alliance Leader’s office.
“I have brought the Blue Sword Emperor.”
A familiar scene, yet the faces gathered there were not. Seeing not only Gak-won but several others seated in the Alliance Leader’s office, Namgung Woo subtly drew up his internal energy from his dantian. The pressures weighing on him instantly lost direction, trembling like kites with severed strings and stirring a spring breeze inside the closed room.
“Your way of greeting guests is rather intense.”
At Namgung Woo’s calm remark, the middle-aged man who had looked the most hostile from the start gave a derisive snort.
“Guest? What guest? Changcheon Squad Leader, do you truly believe you were invited here as a guest?”
A blatant provocation. Namgung Woo, however, had no intention of lowering his head.
“It would be better for you if I were.”
The unspoken continuation—if I had come as an enemy rather than a guest, you would not be breathing properly—pressed down with an intense aura aimed solely at the man. His opponent was also a Transcendent Realm expert, yet Namgung Woo’s mental power was more than enough to overwhelm him. The essence of the Emperor’s Sword Form he had comprehended while slaying the Five Yin Demon Emperor pressed upon the very space around them.
“Urgh…!”
Visible waves of energy surged across the middle-aged man’s body. Unable to resist with aura alone, he raised his defensive qi. In response, Namgung Woo increased the output of his Empty Spiritual Great Void Divine Art from his upper dantian. The instant the man gathered his strength with the clear intent to counterattack—
“That is enough.”
Gak-won stepped in. His voice resonated heavily throughout the fifth-floor office. Low yet majestic, like the tolling of a great temple bell, it scattered the colliding energies. Though the sound itself was not loud, the principle contained within it transformed the single utterance into a Lion’s Roar.
“I did call you here as a guest. I apologize for subjecting you to such treatment.”
“…It is fine.”
He would let it pass once. Namgung Woo had no desire to stand against the Murim Alliance itself. Accepting Gak-won’s mediation was the wiser choice. With responsibilities he now had to shoulder, he could no longer act purely on momentary impulse. Still, if such disrespect were to repeat itself…
Next time, I will not let it pass so easily.
Respect and compromise had their place, but in this harsh world of Murim, preserving an image that could not be looked down upon was equally vital. As someone fully conscious of his position as a leader, Namgung Woo made the mental note.
“This is our alliance’s elder, Seo-mun Pyo. Pyo, I understand your feelings, but you went too far. Offer your apology.”
The middle-aged man who had provoked him—Seo-mun Pyo—reluctantly brought his hands together in a fist salute, his expression making it clear he did so only under duress.
“Seo-mun Pyo of the Seo-mun Family.”
“Nam Woo.”
The introduction was even shorter than Seo-mun Pyo’s own, causing the elder’s aura to flare with murderous intent once more. Gak-won continued before the man could act.
“These are likewise elders of our alliance—Jin Il-hak and Beom Ryang.”
“I am Jin Il-hak, affiliated with the Uihyeolhoe.”
“Beom Ryang of the Taesan Sect. I am known as the Taesan Sword Lord.”
To the more courteous self-introductions, Namgung Woo responded with appropriate formality.
“I am Nam Woo, leader of the Changcheon Squad.”
After the brief exchange, he turned his gaze to Gak-won. The first meeting had already left an unpleasant impression. He saw no reason to prolong the gathering.
“I doubt you summoned me merely to introduce me to these esteemed elders. If this concerns yesterday’s events, the fault was mine. I apologize and will accept responsibility.”
“Mm… I wish that were the reason I called you, but this matter is not so light.”
Something Gak-won himself described as no small affair—especially during the height of the alliance conference, with four elders present. Seeing that Namgung Woo was prepared to listen, Gak-won revealed the circumstances.
“Yesterday, at the exact time you were racing through Luoyang using your movement technique, an elder of the Murim Alliance was assassinated.”
The assassination of a Murim Alliance elder. Namgung Woo instantly understood why he had been summoned.
“So I have become a suspect?”
A brief silence fell after Namgung Woo’s direct question. Seo-mun Pyo looked as though he wanted to shout that it was obvious, yet he clearly restrained himself under Gak-won’s watchful eye. The Alliance Leader chose his words with care.
“Not a suspect—consider yourself a person of interest. We have already cross-verified through multiple witnesses that you were observing the southwestern preliminaries.”
“A person of interest… Very well.”
Though the term was “person of interest,” if suspicion toward Namgung Woo deepened any further, that status would quickly shift to suspect. The incident had only just occurred; evidence, witnesses, and analysis were still lacking. Even so, the reason they had called him was precisely because of how conspicuous his actions the previous day had been. From his own perspective the timing was bitterly unfair—like a chestnut falling the moment a crow flew by—but from an outsider’s view, he certainly looked suspicious. Had he not possessed the backing of the Hebei Paeng and Jegal families along with sufficient strength to protect himself, this meeting might have taken place not in an office but in the underground prison beneath the Murim Alliance.
“I will explain further,” Gak-won continued. “The one who discovered the elder’s death was Beom Ryang, who had arranged to meet with him. Jin Il-hak arrived shortly afterward as the second discoverer, and Seo-mun Pyo was present as the victim’s closest friend.”
“I do not believe you are the culprit. However, I cannot overlook the question of why you acted as you did at that time…”
“Alliance Leader! What exactly are you trying to ‘overlook’!”
“Seo-mun Pyo, calm yourself. The Alliance Leader is speaking.”
“Beom Ryang! You know what this incident means…!”
“Enough! Alliance Leader, my apologies. Changcheon Squad Leader, please pay them no mind and continue your discussion with the leader.”
Namgung Woo watched quietly as Beom Ryang and Jin Il-hak restrained the furious Seo-mun Pyo. The assassination of one’s closest friend was indeed cause for rage; he could understand the man’s outburst. Yet sympathy was one thing—official matters were another. He offered his condolences in silence but drew a clear line, turning his attention away from Seo-mun Pyo.
“The reason I used my movement technique inside Luoyang yesterday was to pursue a certain individual.”
“What sort of person? Someone we might know?”
“I do not know his identity. I have never even seen his face. However, he possessed an energy signature similar to Lee Ja-ryong’s. That is why I chased him.”
“Lee Ja-ryong!”
“It can’t be…!”
Beom Ryang and Jin Il-hak gasped in shock. Rather than dismissing the statement as nonsense or showing suspicion, they displayed pure astonishment. Namgung Woo’s sharp eyes caught the exact nature of the emotion that flashed across their faces.
“It seems you have some idea what this means.”
“Ahem.”
“Hmm…”
The two elders belatedly averted their gazes and fell silent, but their reaction only confirmed Namgung Woo’s suspicions. For all their status as Murim Alliance elders, their mental discipline appeared rather shallow. Unlike the leaders of the Eight Prestige Groups, who were chosen primarily for martial excellence, these men had been selected through complex political considerations. Deciding there was no longer any point in concealment, Gak-won revealed the card they had been hiding.
“We, too, have been tracking Lee Ja-ryong. And recently, it seems we may have caught his tail.”
“Then…”
“Exactly. If your words are true—if the individual presumed to be of the same school as Lee Ja-ryong is indeed within Luoyang—then the murderer may have been retaliating against us for discovering their presence.”