The Heavenly Dragon Emperor, Cheon Gang
The Heavenly Dragon Citadel of Goleung.
This was one of the most sacred places in the Middle Realm, a location that no one could even approach without express permission.
And it was there that the core figures of Yongguk had all gathered.
A man slouched in a thoroughly insolent posture upon the highest seat rested his chin on his hand and asked.
"Your name is Yi Do?"
"Yes."
"You came from the Lower Realm?"
"Yes."
"You exterminated the Gongson Clan?"
"Yes."
"And Sin Yang-hwa as well?"
What a man of many questions, Yi Do thought. Perhaps he'd grown tired of repeating himself as well, for Yi Do simply nodded.
The reaction was immediate.
"Hey! The Divine Sovereign of Yongguk deigns to question you, and you dare answer without so much as a bow!"
It was a booming voice. Yi Do turned his head toward its source. The man was enormous — Yi Do had never in his life seen anyone that large. He stood what must have been seven and a half feet tall; the tallest men Yi Do had seen in the Lower Realm had been seven feet, and this man had a full head on all of them. His bulk alone was intimidating, and the massive greatsword strapped to his back more so.
"Cheonhwa Singun."
It was Cheonryong-je, Cheon Gang. At his low murmur, the man called Cheonhwa Singun prostrated himself on the spot — and there was boundless reverence in the gesture.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Quiet."
"……Th- that is……."
"He may not look it, but that man was once hailed as the finest under heaven in the Lower Realm. Should I not extend him my generous magnanimity?"
"Of course! To view the world from a place so exalted above a wretch like myself — forgive my insolence!"
"None of you are to react to that man's behavior. This is my time."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Watching this, Yi Do thought it a rather striking little farce. He confined the thought to his mind, of course.
But along with that thought came a measure of threat.
Understandably so. At least two masters of a realm similar to his master's, three at Gongson Cheongyeong's level, and five existences on par with or slightly stronger than Sin Yang-hwa.
And on top of those, a Nascent Soul Great Perfection master who could single-handedly exert overwhelming influence over the Lower Realm merely by descending there.
Every one of them owed blind loyalty to the being called Cheon Gang.
They knelt and were moved to their very cores at his casual words; were Cheon Gang to command them to declare war on the Middle Realm, they would dye it red with blood without a moment's hesitation.
Cheon Gang looked at Yi Do.
The slouched posture, the youthful face despite an age of several thousand years.
He seemed a somewhat frivolous man, but Yi Do saw him differently now. Confidence clearly underpinned everything about him — and no doubt some of it was a performance meant for Yi Do's benefit.
And decisively, Yi Do had noticed something so enormous, so utterly absurd in this setting, that it could not be ignored.
Cheon Gang asked.
"By the way — what became of Sin Yang-hwa?"
"She is dead."
"Naturally she's dead — that's why you're here. What I'm asking is whether you killed her. Did you? You?"
"Yes."
"You do know she was the Princess of Hoguk?"
When Gongson Cheongyeong had introduced Sin Yang-hwa, he had said something to this effect:
That she was of noble blood.
Yi Do had wondered what he meant by that — apparently she'd been a princess. He simply hadn't imagined her blood was that noble.
"So this is the moment a debt of grievance forms with Hoguk."
"……"
"Then how did you absorb the Heavenly Spirit Spiritual Root Pill? You don't seem to be of our bloodline."
"I simply ate it."
"Ate it? The Heavenly Spirit Spiritual Root Pill? And it just… absorbed itself?"
"Yes."
"It seems a great many explanations have been omitted somewhere in the middle."
"You are mistaken, Your Majesty."
Cheon Gang's expression turned odd.
"And do you know who I am, sitting before you?"
"You are the King of Yongguk. That is all I know."
"That's quite a lot already. And yet it seems you don't care for me."
"It is not a matter of liking or disliking."
"Then you have no interest in me?"
"Should I have interest?"
"Most people do."
Yi Do did not answer, for he had nothing appropriate to say — and Cheon Gang, watching him quietly, broke into a faint smile.
"This one's something special. Something special indeed."
Then Cheon Gang turned to Cheon Seok-un.
"My son."
"Yes."
"Your judgments have never once been wrong, yet in the end they have wrought grave trouble — 'that incident' of the past, and no doubt the events yet to come."
"I merely do the work of the Heavenly Dragon Guard."
"Ho……"
Cheon Gang studied Cheon Seok-un and Yi Do in turn with an unreadable expression, then asked.
"So. Should we accept that man into our clan?"
"Whether to accept him or not requires the will of Your Majesty and the will of that man to align — so I would say the question is premature for now."
"Premature? Then why did you bring him?"
"I did not bring him to induct him into the clan. I brought him because I wished to appoint him a Gold Inspector of the Heavenly Dragon Guard."
"Why go out of your way to make a man outside our clan a Gold Inspector of the Heavenly Dragon Guard?"
"Because he is capable."
Cheon Gang swept his gaze over Yi Do from head to toe and offered a single terse remark.
"Extraordinary, indeed."
As far as anything known to date, Cheon Gang was a master of Deity Transformation Great Perfection — a cultivator standing at the threshold of True Immortality.
His eyes could not see as ordinary men's did. The density of heaven-and-earth spiritual qi lingering around Yi Do, its affinity, its responsiveness — everything was laid bare before his sight.
"Extraordinary" was a deeply loaded word, yet no better one could describe it.
"He is my son's judgment, so as his father I have no choice but to trust it. Half-dragon of impure blood — are you confident?"
Yi Do's answer was crisp.
"Yes."
By custom, anyone in Yongguk answering an order from Cheon Gang or Cheon Seok-un was expected to answer by honorific name, or to declare, "I shall honor your command." Those two were the model responses — yet Yi Do had never once said anything remotely resembling either.
He was drawing a line.
Loyal to no one, merely performing the work entrusted to him.
What was surprising was that both Cheon Gang and Cheon Seok-un had clearly grasped this and said nothing about it.
Instead, it was the Chancellor of Yongguk and several other cultivators who showed their displeasure — a genuinely peculiar state of affairs.
And among them, one man stood out most.
A man whose features bore an uncanny resemblance to both Cheon Gang and Cheon Seok-un.
That man was glaring at Yi Do as if to kill him.
This was the next Heavenly Dragon Emperor of Yongguk, currently known as the Grand Dragon Sovereign, Taeryonghu — Cheon Han-su. Yi Do regarded him briefly, then turned his head away.
Everything in this world has a reason.
One may learn it slowly, or come to understand it in time even by standing still.
There was no cause for haste.
"Fine, have it your way. You'll manage it well enough on your own."
Cheon Gang waved a hand carelessly, and the bodies of Cheon Seok-un and Yi Do were flung outward from the hall — which, too, was strange.
Yi Do glanced down at his own fist. It was drenched in sweat.
Cheon Seok-un spoke to him.
"As of now, there exists between you and me neither trust nor loyalty. Do you agree?"
"Yes, I agree."
"You and I are bound by a transaction, and I will exert my utmost to see that transaction concluded and sustained. Revealing the Heavenly Dragon Force to you was part of that effort."
Yi Do regarded him quietly.
He was curious.
"What is it exactly that you want from me?"
"To cut out the rot festering at Yongguk's roots."
"……"
"As we discussed before — it sprawls far too wide and rises too high to remain hidden. You once managed illicit cross-border trade in the Lower Realm, did you not?"
"Yes."
"There is a place doing much the same work right now. From there, as a Gold Inspector of the Heavenly Dragon Guard, I want you to excise the rotten roots and purge what stands above them."
Yi Do found it odd.
"Why will you not explain the details?"
Cheon Seok-un answered simply.
"Because I wish to test your ability."
"A test, is it."
"Talent and the flawless execution of a task are two different things. I value the latter more than the former."
Yi Do held his silence.
"There is a place called Cheongun Port. It is Goleung's principal trading city — a vast harbor through which commerce flows with the entire Middle Realm. There exists a post there called the Gold Inspector, which holds the authority of inspection. The Gold Inspector is a seat that only I, as Commander of the Heavenly Dragon Guard, may fill by selecting among the Guard's Gold Scales — and as of this very hour, I appoint you to it."
"So I am to be a Gold Scale of the Heavenly Dragon Guard, and the Gold Inspector of Cheongun Port?"
"That is so."
Yi Do turned his head. He wanted to ask.
"Do you desire my loyalty?"
"I have no wish to receive anything so grand."
Loyalty truly was a grand and noble thing — grander than one would think. Cheon Seok-un went on.
"Whether the road you have walked is the same road I walk, I do not know."
"Then what of me do you trust, to entrust me with such work?"
"Did I not tell you? I saw your sword."
"……"
"Your single strike was deeply impressive. Could a man capable of unleashing such a strike win another's trust, pursue personal gain, and commit corruption? Your strike is one that could never be shown by anyone crooked. I have almost never seen such a sword in my life. In two thousand years, only twice."
Cheon Seok-un paused, then continued.
"It is not you I trust — it is your sword."
"Extending trust first can return as great danger."
"I see you've looked well."
"I beg your pardon?"
"You're already worrying about me."
Cheon Seok-un smiled faintly. It was a rather pleasant smile.
"The justification and grounds for what must be done are already secured. My trust — that is your justification, and your grounds."
Cheon Seok-un was proud and upright.
"So long as you remain in the Heavenly Dragon Guard, I will look after you as my own. And our first sparring match is at noon, a fortnight from now. I will find my own way to you — all you need do is prepare."
Yi Do studied him for a moment.
"Was there anything more you wished to say?"
"I cannot offer you loyalty."
"I understand."
"But I will offer you respect and trust."
"Respect and trust… things money can hardly buy."
"You gave first, so I am returning the same."
"The value of gifts exchanged is supposed to fade — yet you hand me something fine before we've even begun."
Cheon Seok-un was a truly fascinating existence.
"I will assign Wol Ryeong to you. She knows a great deal, and will prove useful."
A watcher, perhaps — though the odds were against it. Even surveillance had its degrees of sophistication.
And then, in this moment, Yi Do raised a question he was genuinely curious about. It was a doubt born the instant he had laid eyes on Cheon Gang — a doubt that had since hardened into certainty.
But confirmation was needed.
"Is he a True Immortal?"
Cheon Seok-un, who had been watching Yi Do quietly, asked.
"On what basis do you judge so?"
"I felt nothing at all."
"You felt nothing? That is your basis?"
"Some time ago, I entered a hidden realm."
"A hidden realm……"
"There, I saw it. An avatar of a True Immortal."
"……"
"What I felt just now surpassed even that. An otherworldly ordinariness of the highest order. Why, exactly, is a True Immortal in the Middle Realm?"
"You've already decided for yourself."
"Will you deny it?"
Cheon Seok-un shook his head.
"My father — the King of this Yongguk — is a True Immortal. He ascended a hundred years ago."
"You make me ask the same question twice. Why is a True Immortal in the Middle Realm?"
"Because ascension has been sealed."
Something about this felt familiar.
"Do you know why?"
"No. Until five hundred and ninety years ago, this Middle Realm could still communicate with the Upper Realm. But after the Immortal Cult was sent down, that communication was severed. We thought nothing of it at the time — but a hundred years ago, after His Majesty reached the realm of True Immortality, we learned the truth. Not only the communication, but ascension itself had been cut off."
"Why was the Immortal Cult sent down?"
"Gongson Cheongyeong abducted the Princess of Hoguk, violated her by force, and then moved to topple Gyeguk. The Gongsun Clan of the Upper Realm, declaring they would punish him personally, joined hands with Gyeguk and sent him down. Much has gone awry since. I do not know the details, but the odds are high that what happened then is the cause."
"There are many phenomena that defy explanation."
"Even so, nothing changes."
Those words — nothing changes — carried a weight of meaning all their own.
Where did Yi Do's cultivation stand at present? Early Nascent Soul.
However capable he was of facing Deity Transformation masters, he remained Early Nascent Soul all the same.
His questions would only matter once he stood before the threshold of True Immortality. To pursue them now would be a waste of effort.
"If anything, the situation favors you."
"Is that so?"
"As far as is known, the Gongsun Clan in the Upper Realm numbers more than three. Three True Immortals will hardly leave alone the man who killed one of their own. That they cannot intervene for now is to your advantage — what do you make of that?"
"I'd say I've had good fortune."
"I see."
"How many people know that the Commander of the Heavenly Dragon Guard's father is a True Immortal?"
"Everyone you saw in the palace just now."
"No one else?"
"It was His Majesty's decree. He judged that revealing the sealing of ascension to the Upper Realm would serve no purpose — and in the end, the judgment proved correct."
"Because if word spread through the Middle Realm that entry to the Upper Realm was barred, turmoil would take root."
"That is so."
Somehow.
It felt like an utter mess.
Yi Do pondered quietly, then asked.
"Where do you stand in the line of succession?"
"Second."
"Do you covet the throne?"
"I do not."
"And if you were made to sit on it?"
"I have no intention of shirking responsibility. If I must sit, I will sit — but I have no intention of usurping it."
"I see."
Cheon Seok-un turned to leave, then stopped.
It seemed these words had to be said.
"You are careful."
"Am I?"
"Meticulous, and quick to grasp a situation. You are… truly extraordinary."
Yi Do simply regarded Cheon Seok-un in silence. And as their eyes held, Cheon Seok-un's body scattered like smoke.
Before long, Wol Ryeong climbed up to where Yi Do stood.
She moved to his side as he gazed out over the vast land spread beneath the cliff, and said softly,
"I've been meaning to say this for a while now… the two of you are very much alike."
He saw no need to answer.
And so Yi Do became the Gold Inspector of Cheongun Port.
Cheongun Port was the greatest trading city of Yongguk, facing the vast ocean known as the Black Sea. The sects under its sway numbered in the hundreds, the cultivators active there in the thousands, and mortals in the hundreds of thousands.
It went without saying that no matter how firmly Yongguk ruled, a nation was ultimately nothing more than a great fence.
The sects that ruled the surrounding region while dwelling within that fence were another matter entirely.
Cheongun Port was so vast that no single sect could dominate it outright. For that reason, the three most powerful factions reigned as its ruling forces — and one of them was the Heavenly Sea Divine Sect.
The Sect Master of the Heavenly Sea Divine Sect was a man named Hae Mugeuk, known in Cheongun Port as the Celestial Sea Limitless One. It was a title too grand for the ears of a Nascent Soul Great Perfection master — but that, too, had to do with the backing behind him.
Cheonhwa Singun — the Mid Deity Transformation master who had bellowed at Yi Do in the Heavenly Dragon Citadel — was the Former Sect Master of the Heavenly Sea Divine Sect itself.
In other words, Hae Mugeuk, current Sect Master, was Cheonhwa Singun's disciple and son. Whether from sheer displeasure or something else, his brow was creased into ruins.
He had every reason to be.
"A new Gold Inspector is coming?"
At his question, the Vice Sect Master, Hae Wolhwa, answered.
"……Yes."
"The very man who came up from the Lower Realm?"
"……Yes."
He was on the verge of demanding just what kind of idiot had made such a decision when—
"They say the Commander of the Heavenly Dragon Guard saw him personally and recommended him to His Majesty as a Gold Scale."
"Ah… that man…?"
"Yes."
Hae Mugeuk swallowed hard. He was dumbfounded.
"Recommended him as a Gold Scale, and appointed him Gold Inspector straightaway…? Why make such a decision?"
"……It is difficult to fathom the Commander's thoughts, but dispatching a Gold Inspector — a post left unfilled for two hundred years — at this late hour… one would have to assume he has caught the scent of something."
"Did Cheonhwa Singun send down no separate word?"
"……No. Nothing."
Hae Mugeuk let out a long sigh.
And at that very moment, a courier arrived bearing two letters.
The contents of the first were simple: a new Gold Inspector had been appointed and would begin his duties tomorrow at once, so the sect was to prepare its reports.
Astonishingly, the author was Cheon Seok-un, Commander of the Heavenly Dragon Guard.
The second letter was likewise simple in content.
But what mattered was the man who had sent it.
"So this is what the Grand Dragon Sovereign has to say."
Hae Mugeuk continued, staring hard into Hae Wolhwa's eyes.
"You need not hear so much as a word from the new Gold Inspector."
The ruling powers of Cheongun Port were solid.
Their backing was not Cheonhwa Singun. He was merely part of the whole. Their true patron was the Taeryonghu.
It was a simple question.
Stand with Cheon Seok-un, second in the line of succession?
Or stand with Cheon Han-su, first in the line of succession?
It was far too simple a question.
Hae Mugeuk set the Taeryonghu's letter down with careful reverence — and tore the Gold Inspector's letter to shreds without a flicker of mercy.