If You Refuse, You Die
Once Yeop Hyeon vanished from sight, the prince turned to the veiled woman.
"This whole thing does feel off. A bounty that high could take down even a True Law Realm powerhouse, yet they're wasting it on just one Divine Fusion Realm guy? And why issue a formal warrant for something Hogye Meng could handle effortlessly on their own? Besides, most wanted fugitives go into hiding, but Yeop Hyeon? He's just sitting pretty inside the city.... What do you think?"
The prince addressed the woman, but she offered no response. The monk frowned and chimed in.
"Could Yeop Hyeon really be one of Hogye Meng's people? Is that why they're gathering martial artists—to boost his strength on purpose?"
The prince pondered for a moment before replying.
"Hm... It's not impossible. It doesn't make sense for a famed sword cultivator like him to have no backing. As you know, Cangmu Academy and the Dark Society clashed with him and suffered massive losses. Cangmu took a huge hit and plummeted, while the Dark Society vanished entirely. And just recently, even the True Law Realm experts dispatched by the Sado family were slaughtered by Yeop Hyeon."
"You mean the incident at Manggu Mountain?"
The monk's question drew a nod from the prince.
"Hundreds of martial artists and two True Law Realm powerhouses—gone without a trace. And yet, as we saw, Yeop Hyeon lives on. No one could pull that off without some transcendent force behind them. Hogye Meng is one of the few powers capable of it."
"Hm... So what now? Do we head back?"
Now the prince and the monk both turned their gazes to the veiled woman.
After a long silence, she finally spoke.
"We should wait and see if Hogye Meng makes any other moves. If they raise the bounty further after some time... then...."
"It means some kind of scheme!"
The prince finished her sentence for her.
The monk nodded in agreement.
"In that case, let's hold off a bit longer. Getting played like this by someone else's hand feels too dirty!"
The veiled woman slowly closed her eyes.
"Keep investigating."
Yeop Hyeon's expression remained grim the entire way back to Canglan Academy.
He had ventured outside the city to gauge the mercenaries' strength firsthand. But after facing them, he realized he needed to overhaul his plans entirely.
Their power was far beyond what he'd anticipated—something he could feel in his bones.
Each mercenary's aura surpassed that of the Canglan Dao Soldiers. Especially the veiled woman and the nine warriors behind her—their realms were beyond even Yeop Hyeon's perception.
Maybe they're all in the Myriad Laws Realm....
The two flanking the veiled woman were likely true Myriad Laws Realm experts, though he couldn't be certain. And the woman herself? Yeop Hyeon couldn't even hazard a guess at her level.
Taking on thirty martial artists alone was impossible.
Even with the Canglan Dao Soldiers' support, victory—if it came at all—would come at the cost of near-total annihilation.
Yeop Hyeon now knew for certain: anyone coming for him from here on out would be no pushover.
He hurried to the training ground on the mountain behind Canglan Academy. There, a hundred Canglan Dao Soldiers stood in formation. Gang Gu led them at the front.
Yeop Hyeon brushed off their salutes and leaned in close to Gang Gu, whispering.
"We need to be even more careful from now on."
Gang Gu nodded.
"Move out!"
At her command, the Canglan Dao Soldiers descended the mountain in unison.
Sweep!
These days, their daily routine was purging the Jungto Sinju martial artists inside and outside the city. They always returned from these sweeps laden with spoils.
The high-grade equipment they now wore had all been earned by the Dao Soldiers themselves.
Not just them—every student at Canglan Academy was generating their own gains.
Even if Yeop Hyeon vanished one day, the academy could keep running smoothly.
But first, they had to deal with the enemies closing in. And their greatest foe was Hogye Meng.
When Hogye Meng first issued the warrant for him, Yeop Hyeon had been caught off guard. He hadn't done anything major to offend them. But upon reflection, he could see the reason.
The Heavenly Maiden had slain some of their martial artists back then.
And their reluctance to draw their own blades was surely because of her.
There was also something fishy about Hogye Meng pulling back from Qingzhou entirely.
That must be why the Sado family and other factions were keeping Hogye Meng in check!
One thing was clear: whether Hogye Meng or the Sado family, they were beyond what Yeop Hyeon could handle now.
His top priority was raising his strength as quickly as possible.
And he couldn't forget restoring the Gyeok Ok Tower or reclaiming the Dochik.
Moments later, Yeop Hyeon stepped out of Canglan Academy once more.
Jungto Sinju, Hogye Meng headquarters.
A black-robed elder sat before Yuk Jon Ju, whose face was dark with frustration.
"The One Gate, One Vein, One Sword, Three Sects, and Six Clans still haven't shown in Qingzhou?"
The black-robed elder shook his head at Yuk Jon Ju's question.
"They're still in Jungto Sinju. Qingzhou is holding steady with Yeop Hyeon and Yeon Man Ri standing firm. Besides... we haven't located the Qingzhou main branch yet."
"Hm... Yeop Hyeon...."
Yuk Jon Ju's eyes narrowed, then flashed open wide.
"They haven't figured something out, have they?"
"Hard to say, but their total inaction is highly suspicious."
Yuk Jon Ju fell silent for a moment.
"What if we step in directly?"
"We can't. If we do, anyone with a brain will catch on. That could unite the upper and lower factions of Jungto Sinju against us. And the moment we wipe out Qingzhou ourselves, our position as guardians of the Qingcang Realm crumbles."
"True enough."
Yuk Jon Ju seemed lost in thought, his expression growing increasingly savage.
"Yeop Hyeon... If not for that bastard, Qingzhou would already be a sea of blood...."
He suddenly eyed the black-robed elder.
"Any new intel on that white-clad girl?"
"Word is someone spotted her in the Wujin Star Domain. Our man is en route—truth will out soon enough."
"We find her first, wait for the Sovereign's true body to return, then crush Yeop Hyeon and her in one fell swoop!"
The black-robed elder stared silently at Yuk Jon Ju.
He could sense the depth of Yuk Jon Ju's fear toward that woman. A True Law Realm expert of Hogye Meng had perished to a single strand of her hair without even lifting a finger.
As long as she lived somewhere out there, Yuk Jon Ju wouldn't touch Yeop Hyeon until the Sovereign returned.
Hogye Meng's forces alone couldn't match her.
"Time to pay Ma Jong a visit. Let's see if those demons budge even if I offer them all of Qingzhou!"
With that, Yuk Jon Ju's figure vanished in an instant.
An endless expanse of glittering stars stretched out, cleaved by a lone woman striding through. Clad in simple white robes, her long hair cascaded to her waist. At her hips, black and white energies danced endlessly like playful spirits.
Her eyes, dismissive of all things, held not a flicker of emotion.
After passing countless star domains—too many to count—she halted abruptly, ears perking as if hearing a voice. As her long brows twitched, her right foot tapped the void lightly.
Boom!
The entire star domain shuddered like it had been struck by a cataclysmic quake.
Planets around her crumbled one by one, dissolving into stardust in an instant.
Moments later, she extended her right hand, pinching the void between thumb and forefinger. A streak of pure white light flashed into existence between them.
Releasing her grip, the light trembled free before morphing into a human silhouette.
It was Yeop Hyeon.
The figure of light was none other than Yeop Hyeon.
Staring at it, the woman stood dazed for a moment, then reached out to caress it gently.
Her hand trembled, and the cold void in her eyes softened ever so slightly.
How long passed like that? Suddenly, her gaze turned icy once more.
"Your clone dissipated, and the intel is unclear... Something must have gone wrong...."
In that instant, her face twisted into a ferocious snarl.
"If anything's happened to you, I swear I'll erase every living soul in this world!"
Just then, she swept her hand forward. A blade of black light shot out at light speed, obliterating all matter in its path.
About fifteen minutes later, the star domain where she stood plunged into utter, lightless void.
The woman pressed on through the darkness, traversing star domains anew. Spotting a palace floating amid the stars, she came to a stop.
The grand structure gleamed with a dark golden hue, flanked by two colossal beast guardians larger than mountains. They resembled oxen, each with a single horn and blood-red eyes that oozed menace.
A towering statue of a burly man loomed atop the palace, one hand behind his back, gazing indifferently ahead as if overlooking the heavens.
Yeongheo Star Palace
As the woman approached, the guardian beasts lurched to their feet, unleashing a tidal wave of overwhelming aura. The space before them warped as if on the verge of collapse.
She pointed at them and commanded.
"Sit!"
At her word, the mountain-sized beasts flattened themselves to the ground, trembling violently.
With a sweeping gesture, she shattered the palace gates. A white-haired elder emerged from within, eyeing her with fear-laced awe.
"You are...."
She opened her hand, sending the human silhouette flying toward him—Yeop Hyeon's image.
She advanced slowly toward the elder.
"Find him."
Pointing upward, an opaque sword materialized above the palace.
Stopping right before the elder, she locked eyes with him.
"If you refuse, you die."