Chapter 402
Chapter 402
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 106
>Chapter Title: The Ritual of the Three Veins (1)
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Standing with his hands clasped behind his back before a wide window was the Leader of the Heaven-Earth Society.
Gone was the sickly pallor that had clung to him with constant coughs.
Deputy Leader Mong Seocheon watched his silhouette, shrouded in shadow by the light streaming in from outside, his expression profoundly strange.
“......”
Just half a shichen ago, the physicians had given the same diagnosis, leaving no hope.
The Leader had spent long years bedridden with illness.
Was a grandmaster who had dominated a generation and shaken the world with his fame truly going to pass so meaninglessly?
He had sunk into gloom at the thought.
Then came the reversal.
Summoned to the Leader’s residence in the main hall, Deputy Leader Mong Seocheon was unable to hide his shock.
The inner hall, stained with blood, was being cleaned by the Second Guard Unit.
Around the Leader’s residence lay corpses strewn everywhere.
Clearing them were members of the First Guard Unit.
These were the Leader’s closest confidants, handpicked by him personally, never known to stray more than twenty-odd zhang from his side.
What in the world had happened while he was away?
Pushing open the door to enter the residence, Deputy Leader Mong Seocheon was struck with astonishment.
[Leader?]
The Leader, who had been gasping for breath on the verge of death, stood perfectly fine.
In his hand was a sword, dyed in the blood of the elders who had infiltrated the residence.
He could still not forget that sight.
To think he would witness once more the Leader’s sharp, majestic gaze, long faded from memory.
Was this truly the same Leader who had been one step from the grave?
To the man filled with shock and doubt, the Leader spoke in an indifferent, businesslike tone.
[Two from the First Guard Unit, eleven from the Second, eight from the Third...... The rest from the Elder Hall.]
The numbers he mentioned—could they be...
[......All of them enemies? No, spies?]
[As you see.]
[Leader. How can you say they’re spies...]
[The bait I scattered through the net I prepared drew them in. Every one a spy.]
[......]
At the voice brimming with certainty, Deputy Leader Mong Seocheon felt a chill run down his spine.
He spoke as if it were recent, but the Leader had truly suffered from illness for so long.
Yet his current appearance made it clear that long illness was undoubtedly a ruse.
How else could it improve so suddenly?
‘......Ruthless.’
Even fooling others for months would be impressive, but to feign torment from illness and remain secluded for over a dozen years...
He had even deceived Mong Seocheon himself, who had served at his side since youth as a closest aide.
To endure in silence with such venomous resolve, trusting no one, awaiting this moment—it left him speechless.
More astonishing than the resentment of being kept in the dark was why he had gone to such extremes to root them out.
‘Just who are they?’
Amid his shock at the Leader’s vitality, these spies were a mystery too.
The hall’s Guard Units consisted only of the most trusted, and the Elder Hall admitted only those who had devoted themselves to the Society for years upon retirement.
How could spies exist in the Guard Units and Elder Hall?
[Guard Units and Elder Hall—who could have done this?]
Even Righteous Alliance spies couldn’t manage it.
To his bewilderment, the Leader uttered something incomprehensible.
[......It’s him.]
[Him?]
What did that mean?
Was there anyone the Leader would refer to as “him”?
As he puzzled, the Leader issued a command.
[Launch the red signal flare.]
[The red flare—for emergency assembly?]
[Now that they’ve bared their fangs at me and the Society, this is the perfect moment to settle everything. Summon them all.]
He had obeyed, launching the red flare.
Nearly seventy percent of those in the inner fortress had gathered, with more still arriving.
What was the Leader truly after?
Having rooted out the spies, there was no need to summon everyone like this—it made no sense.
With so many assembled, even acting would be difficult.
What made this the perfect moment?
Unless he planned some special proclamation. With the Elder Hall harboring a massive spy ring, unrestirred...
‘Proclamation? He’s going to make a proclamation?’
What could the Leader possibly proclaim?
To announce his own recovery?
The situation made it hard to guess his intentions.
But then,
“It’s the Earth Vein!”
“The Earth Vein has returned to the headquarters!”
Cries from outside widened Deputy Leader Mong Seocheon’s eyes.
‘!?‘
What was this?
The Earth Vein had returned to the Heaven-Earth Society?
They were tasked with guarding the north—why come back now?
Unlike other sects, the Earth Vein could not return to headquarters without exceptional cause.
For them to reenter required only the Leader’s permission.
Which meant,
‘The Leader summoned them?’
* * *
-Rumble!
Entering the central plaza of the Heaven-Earth Society like a triumphant procession came a group clad in red fox-fur cloaks.
They were the Earth Vein, one of the two pillars forming the Society’s foundation.
“The Earth Vein? Why are they here?”
Mo Yak, right-hand man to Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang, furrowed his brow as he regarded them.
Even as a pillar, they had long been pushed from the center of power and exiled north like outcasts—how had they returned?
Na Yul-ryang was equally puzzled.
‘Yang Jeong, the House Lord......‘
At the forefront, standing arrogantly with arms crossed, was the lithe, imposing middle-aged man—Yang Jeong, lord of the Earth Vein.
Na Yul-ryang had seen him once as a child at the Society’s grand assembly.
Back then, only a few years into his martial training, he couldn’t gauge Yang Jeong’s prowess.
Pushed to guard the north for years under the Heavenly Vein’s dominance, he hadn’t considered him particularly strong.
Yet Na Yul-ryang’s eyes gleamed.
Yang Jeong’s power was hard to fathom.
Indiscernible even to his senses—it meant he was at least equal to Na Yul-ryang at the pinnacle of the Flower Realm, or beyond.
‘......‘
How had someone this strong remained unknown?
At this level, he stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the Five Kings, eight-star titled elites among the executives.
Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s eyes narrowed in suspicion.
His master’s prestige was formidable, but such a transcendent powerhouse wouldn’t be suppressed.
Moreover, his master was known to have suffered illness for ages.
This seemed an opportunity for reversal.
Yet the Earth Vein’s leader had remained silent until now, appearing precisely at this juncture...
[Did you not know? The Leader has no intention of passing the seat to you or any of the disciples.]
Suddenly, words from Elder Hall envoy Yul Myeong echoed in Na Yul-ryang’s mind.
Recalling them, the scattered puzzle pieces of the chaos began fitting together.
The Elder Hall’s mobilization amid rumors of the Leader’s worsening condition.
The Leader revealing his vitality, purging the Elder Hall simultaneously.
The emergency summons—and the Earth Vein’s arrival.
-Tight!
Blood dripped from Na Yul-ryang’s clenched fist.
It was no mere underestimation.
He and everyone had been dancing in his master’s palm all along.
His mind didn’t just complicate—it emptied.
A first for him.
“Ha...... Haha.”
What a bizarre day.
He’d thought himself emotionless, yet complex feelings swirled.
As emotions settled into calm,
-Listen!
A voice echoed like thunder.
Infused with qi, it rang in every ear.
Exclamations rose at the Leader’s profound qi.
This alone proclaimed his full recovery—not just in appearance, but in all.
-For some time, while feigning illness, I uncovered wicked infiltrators hidden within our Society.
The plaza stirred at his words.
Were those impaled on spears at the gate the wicked ones he meant?
The Leader continued.
-Look closely at the impaled. Do you recognize them?
All eyes turned to the severed heads.
Some faces were unknown, but they belonged to the Elder Hall, including several renowned elders.
To the assembled Society members, the sight was shocking.
-To root them out, I endured in silence for years. And when rumors spread of my dire condition, they finally bared their fangs.
-Squeeze!
-Drip!
Blood from Na Yul-ryang’s fist pattered to the ground.
Where had it all gone wrong?
The Leader hadn’t named them directly, but anyone could infer the Elder Hall at the chaos’s heart.
With their failure and purge, Na Yul-ryang was surrounded by foes on all sides.
He hadn’t fully trusted the Elder Hall, but his ongoing contacts and aid from them were fact.
They could use it as pretext to purge him too.
That explained the tense faces among his followers.
Mo Yak wrapped Na Yul-ryang’s bleeding fist with cloth, whispering,
“Young Master, stand tall.”
“......”
“The Elder Hall purge gives them pretext against us, but with so many following you...”
Nearly half the forces.
They supported Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang as successor and acted accordingly.
Linking him and them all to the Elder Hall would spark civil war-scale chaos.
“......That’s why I prepared.”
“Yes?”
“The Earth Vein.”
Mo Yak frowned in denial at Na Yul-ryang’s words.
“No way. Even among disciples, how could...”
“Only they qualify—neither Heavenly Vein blood nor disciples.”
“What do you mean? Then the Leader summoning the Earth Vein... Ah!”
Mo Yak’s eyes widened.
If the Leader passed succession to the Earth Vein’s lord or kin, Na Yul-ryang and his fellow disciples would be disadvantaged.
It meant he had foreseen and prepared for this.
Mo Yak could only click his tongue.
How many moves ahead had he planned?
‘......Worst case.’
If the Leader, hale and hearty—not worsening—personally bestowed succession, he could reshape the board over time.
Supporters merely backed; a vital Leader changed everything.
Support would shift to his chosen heir.
To overturn it, only one path remained.
The Leader spoke on.
-Today’s assembly isn’t just to announce the wicked purged. One reason is to affirm I remain hale...... and the other...
All eyes focused.
-...to proclaim my long-vacant successor.
Murmurs rippled.
Having anticipated Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s exclusion due to Elder Hall ties, this sudden heir-naming stirred unrest.
Yang Jeong, Earth Vein lord, smirked at their reaction.
He had awaited this moment, per agreement with the current Leader.
[Since our Society’s founding, the Heavenly Vein has monopolized leadership. It’s unjust.]
[Then you’ll give the Earth Vein a chance?]
[Yes.]
An unexpected offer.
Irresistible.
The Leader had demanded one thing alongside.
[I can’t just hand you a chance.]
[What do you want?]
[Simple, yet difficult.]
[Simple but difficult?]
[That is......]
To escape the Society’s shadow, forge an unmatched single force as a sect.
And prowess befitting the Leader’s seat.
To that end, Yang Jeong had gritted his teeth in the north, preparing all demanded.
The Earth Vein’s power now peaked historically.
Preparations complete, they returned gloriously—time for the Leader to honor his word.
As if responding, the Leader continued.
-From me to past Heavenly Vein lords, we’ve fulfilled our duties post-Alliance Merger. But it defies the ritual of our Society’s foundational Three Veins.
The ritual of the Three Veins.
Though only Heavenly and Earth remained, it meant all three—Heavenly, Earth, Moon—had equal chance at Leader.
-Thus, I now grant that chance beyond my own vein.
No sooner had he finished than Earth Vein lord Yang Jeong boomed with qi,
-The Leader honors our Society’s foundational Three Veins ritual, granting us this chance—our deepest gratitude.
-Murmurs!
“Then it’s not the Young Masters, but the Earth Vein getting succession?”
“Seems so.”
“Their return was for this?”
“Ha! What’s happening?”
Old sects knew it well.
But all who invoked the Three Veins ritual against Heavenly Vein dominance—despite founding merits—were purged or exiled to outer forts or branches.
The current Leader had effectively declared reviving this defunct ritual.
‘As expected.’
Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang’s eyes dimmed with disappointment.
From the start, he might not have been in his master’s considerations.
Why take them as disciples then?
Merely to carry on Heavenly Vein martial legacy?
Whatever, he’d learned disappointment for the first time.
-Tight!
Fine.
If that was his master’s intent, no need for lingering attachment.
Passively accepting handouts wasn’t his way.
And his master had erred.
Needing pretext or not, invoking the Three Veins ritual to favor Earth Vein gave Na Yul-ryang an opening.
As Heavenly Vein heir, he qualified to challenge Earth Vein’s claimant.
That sole flaw was his lifeline.
Na Yul-ryang opened his mouth to declare his participation as Heavenly Vein in the ritual.
“Heaven...”
But then,
“Master!”
At the familiar voice, Na Yul-ryang frowned.
‘Jang Neung-ak?’
It was Second Junior Brother Jang Neung-ak.
Murmurs rose at his appearance.
With the Leader proclaiming the ritual—accepted by Earth Vein lord Yang Jeong—stepping forward meant declaring participation.
Glancing at him, Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang scoffed inwardly.
‘You dare step up?’
He couldn’t distinguish his place.
Understandable, though.
With Elder Hall purge shaking his position, he’d panicked.
But Jang Neung-ak lacked the vessel.
His master would force him to withdraw for insufficiency if he tried.
Yet Jang Neung-ak opened his mouth, seemingly to declare,
“If it’s the Three Veins ritual, doesn’t the Moon Vein get a chance too?”
‘!?‘
His words drew sneers from Na Yul-ryang’s faction and the Earth Vein.
“Pfft.”
“Moon Vein? Ha.”
Expecting him to claim participation, his invocation of the long-vanished Moon Vein was absurd.
Earth Vein lord Yang Jeong spoke with mocking visage,
“Young Master Jang. Naturally, as Three Veins ritual, Moon Vein has claim—but their line ended long ago. Yet you bring up Moon Vein here...”
“It exists!”
Jang Neung-ak cut him off.
Yang Jeong’s eyebrow arched.
Disciple of the Leader or not, interrupting the Earth Vein lord—one of Three Veins—in such a forum, spouting nonsense?
“Whew. Young Master, don’t speak so recklessly—you can’t be held...”
“The Moon Vein successor is here!”
‘!?‘
What? Moon Vein successor?
What nonsense?
As bewilderment spread,
From the crowd—not Na Yul-ryang’s faction nor Earth Vein—the masses parted, revealing someone.
‘Mok Kyung-un?’