The Second Overlord of Sushu
In the northern part of the newly renamed Namjikrye, nestled beside the waters of the Ssu River, lay Sukcheon County. Though it had never boasted a particularly illustrious history or remarkable prosperity, the county was nonetheless famous. Its renown came from two men born there. And because of those two men, Sukcheon County had earned itself a nickname: Paewanghyang—the Village of the Hegemon.
If Pa County, birthplace of the Han founder Liu Bang, was called the Village of the Emperor, then it stood to reason that Sukcheon, birthplace of the Western Chu Hegemon Xiang Yu, should be known as the Village of the Hegemon. Yet despite giving birth to Xiang Yu, Sukcheon had never been called Paewanghyang—until now. The reason it had suddenly earned that title was simple: a second Hegemon had emerged from its soil.
Hongeuk Dan Un-ak. That was the name of the second Hegemon born in Sukcheon County after Xiang Yu. It was also the name of the leader of the Black Sect Alliance who, after the Blood Cult Calamity, had united the unorthodox factions and ignited the Great Orthodox-Unorthodox War.
Dan Un-ak had established the main headquarters of the Black Sect Alliance in his hometown of Sukcheon. Thanks to that decision, what had once been an unremarkable county in southern Zhili had rapidly grown into one of the two hearts of the martial world and the second-largest city in Namjikrye after Nanjing.
The prosperity of his hometown, built by his own hands—Dan Un-ak enjoyed gazing upon it. That was why he had placed a large observation platform in the Alliance Leader’s office at the main headquarters, allowing him to overlook the entire county.
“Truly a fine view,” Dan Un-ak murmured as he looked out over the peaceful scenery of his homeland. His voice was remarkably youthful. Even if one claimed he had first revealed himself at the age of twenty, he would have long since passed forty. Yet his voice remained that of a young man.
And it was not only his voice. Like Dongbang Hwa of the Banunbang, Dan Un-ak had transcended the passage of time. He had reached the realm of transcendence through pure martial arts alone, without relying on sorcery or forbidden arts. Since the age of twenty, his appearance had never changed.
“Indeed,” came a deeper, more resonant voice from behind him.
Despite agreeing with the sentiment, the speaker showed no interest in actually looking at the view. He remained seated in a chair deeper inside the office.
“As you must have heard, the Banunbang has been defeated. The rumors have spread like wildfire.”
“Yes. I have heard.”
“Dongbang Hwa. I knew the man had a treacherous heart, but I never imagined he was hiding the Five Yin Demon Lord. And…”
Dan Un-ak turned around, gazing into the office. His eyes fell upon a man in his early thirties seated in a chair beside the grand throne.
“I also never expected a new rising star capable of surpassing the Five Yin Demon Lord to appear.”
Thud. Thud.
Dan Un-ak’s footsteps seemed no different from those of an ordinary villager. They appeared to be nothing more than casual walking, yet the man could faintly sense that this was the ultimate expression of martial nothingness. A peerless existence without equal in the world—yet even among such beings, there were clear differences in level. The Great Orthodox-Unorthodox War had made that distinction painfully obvious. That was why the world had divided them into the Twin Poles and Twelve Venerables.
Dan Un-ak was one such being. With the disappearance of the Heavenly First Man, Mu-geuk, he was perhaps now the greatest under heaven—an absolute master.
Thump.
Sitting down on the grand throne, Dan Un-ak continued.
“The world truly is unfair, is it not? In the orthodox murim, after Ha-gyeong came those absurdly talented geniuses. Yet why does our unorthodox side lack such figures?”
“Well… I believe it is simply a matter of generational difference. Besides, the unorthodox path also has one person who reached the Transformation Realm before the age of thirty.”
“Woljon? Not bad. In terms of pure talent, she may even stand slightly above Ha-gyeong. But she lacks something. She has no ambition. She seems to possess a fair amount of desire for martial arts, yet her hunger for greater things is far too weak.”
In the current generation—those in their twenties and early to mid-thirties—the orthodox murim clearly held the advantage. Previously, the gap had been narrow, perhaps fifty-fifty or at most sixty-forty in the orthodox favor. However, with the emergence of new orthodox geniuses during the Yunmong Great War, the balance had tilted decisively.
Yet if one looked only at the previous generation—martial artists from the late thirties to the forties—the unorthodox factions held overwhelming superiority. This was thanks to Dan Un-ak, who had been called Hongeuk and challenged for the title of the strongest in the murim even before reaching the age of fifty.
“Alliance Leader, did you not also reach the Transformation Realm before the age of thirty?”
“You speak as if you yourself did not.”
Dan Un-ak let out a soft chuckle before calling the name of the man who spoke to him without reservation.
“Dokgo Wol.”
The man known as Dokgo Wol was, in both name and reality, the undisputed second-in-command of the Black Sect Alliance. He was the head of the Dokgo Family and the very person responsible for the destruction of the Namgung Family twenty years ago.
“Have I grown old? I reached the Transformation Realm at the age of thirty.”
“Same difference.”
“Well, in the Alliance Leader’s eyes, one must all look the same.”
Dan Un-ak did not react to Dokgo Wol’s slightly mocking words. Instead, he brought up another topic.
“I heard something interesting from Dongbang Hwa.”
“…Is that why you summoned me?”
“Our Sword Venerable is as sharp as ever. I like that.”
Even after losing in the Yunmong Great War, Dongbang Hwa had managed to survive. Pushed back to the very foot of Mount Tianzi by the orthodox forces, he had nevertheless succeeded in drawing the imperial court into the conflict, forcibly bringing the war to an end. Those seeking to regain their youth and attain eternal life—especially the power-hungry Imperial Consort Man—could not afford to lose such a valuable asset. Thus, they had gone so far as to end the war with the Jegal Family in an ambiguous manner.
Yet Dan Un-ak had evaluated Dongbang Hwa’s actions with a single phrase: He drank the poison with his own hands.
In the end, the Banunbang had been forced to prove its worth immediately. Their relationship had been downgraded from equal partners to subordinates. Having lost their standing in the murim, if they failed to demonstrate their usefulness to Imperial Consort Man, the next step would be the brand of a public enemy of the martial world. At that point, no murim faction would come to their aid. It was a path toward certain destruction.
"They have chosen their own path toward ruin. What fools."
Setting aside his thoughts on the Banunbang, Dan Un-ak returned to the previous topic. The information Dongbang Hwa had offered in a desperate attempt to avoid expulsion from the Black Sect Alliance contained something that had caught his interest.
“He said the youth was of the Namgung clan.”
“You mean…?”
“The young expert who killed the Five Yin Demon Lord. They call him the Blue Sword Emperor, yes? That man—he is of the Namgung clan.”
Dan Un-ak smiled. It was a clear, innocent laugh like that of a child. Curiosity and anticipation, and beneath them, an utterly pure and guileless malice. Dokgo Wol saw all of it in that smile.
“My policy has not changed.”
“You will not pursue them if they abandon their surname?”
“They are people who have cast aside both their name and their pride. I have no interest in chasing after those who have already been defeated.”
“Hmm… Is that so?”
Dan Un-ak leaned back against the grand throne as if his interest had waned. Resting his elbow on the armrest and propping his chin on his hand, he asked,
“What if I said I wanted to reclaim the Namgung clan?”
At those words, Dokgo Wol’s aura sharpened like a blade. Had it been anyone other than Dan Un-ak, they would have felt death itself from the sheer intensity of that killing intent. Dokgo Wol’s lips parted, and he gave a single-word answer.
And only then did Dan Un-ak nod in satisfaction.
“I look forward to it.”
Even after the Yunmong Conference ended, several more battles took place. However, Namgung Woo did not participate in those pursuit operations. The tide of victory had already tilted decisively toward the Jegal Family and the orthodox murim. More importantly, he had something far more urgent to attend to than accumulating more achievements and spreading his fame.
Unlike other martial arts, the Emperor’s Sword Form was something he could not use properly even though he knew the formulas. Through his battle with the Five Yin Demon Lord, Namgung Woo had finally realized why he had been unable to wield it from the beginning.
It was because he had not met the requirements.
Just as the Five Tigers Severing Gate Blade could only be learned after reaching the pinnacle of the Qiankun Subtlety Divine Art and mastering all five blade techniques of the Hebei Paeng Family, the Emperor’s Sword Form also demanded certain conditions.
The ability of the Upper Dantian to dominate the surrounding space based on an absolutely clear sense of self. Achieving that meant that the chronic imbalance between his essence, energy, and spirit—the longstanding problem that had plagued Namgung Woo—had finally been resolved.
Not the incomplete Transformation Realm he had been forcing himself into, but the true realm of Hwagyeong. Only then did Namgung Woo realize just how much he had been brute-forcing his way through the realm.
His profound internal energy, his peerless divine arts, and his perfectly tempered body had all been forcibly supporting a spirit that had been lacking. While treating the injuries he had sustained in the battle against the Five Yin Demon Lord, Namgung Woo organized the growth and enlightenment he had gained.
And the moment he finished organizing his realizations, he immediately left his seclusion and went to find one person.
“Gaga? Are you alright?”
It was Paeng Ha-ryeong. She seemed startled that Namgung Woo, who had said he would remain in closed-door training to treat his internal injuries for some time, had come to see her after only a single day. Her face was full of worry as she examined his condition.
Beside her stood Jegal Seon-a, who had chosen to remain in Hongho County along with the rest of the Changcheon Squad that had withdrawn from the pursuit with Namgung Woo. The young woman looked up at the suddenly arrived Namgung Woo with her large, innocent eyes.
Namgung Woo gave Jegal Seon-a only a brief nod of greeting before turning to Paeng Ha-ryeong and speaking.
“I have something to tell you.”