Chapter 45
Chapter 45
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 45
Chapter Title: Justice (3)
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"I heard you called for me."
The Murim Alliance headquarters, in the Alliance Leader's office at its very heart.
The one who knocked on that door was a young rising star not yet even thirty.
"Ah, yes. Come in."
Yi Hyeonbaek, the Murim Alliance Leader, known as the man closest to being the World's Greatest. Despite standing at the pinnacle of the martial world, he offered an awkward smile as he gazed at the fresh-faced youth.
He probably blamed himself for the recent unpleasant incident that had befallen the young man.
"I'm sorry about what happened to you."
Even if his nickname Sword Dragon rang hollow in that moment—nearly thrown into the Alliance's underground cells if things had gone wrong—it couldn't be pinned on the Alliance Leader's fault.
Still, the Leader had spent sleepless nights wondering if he'd burdened the youth with too heavy a request.
"There's no need for you to apologize, Alliance Leader."
Yet Yi Sowol himself remained utterly calm. To him, bygones held no meaning; he simply felt relieved that it had all been resolved well.
"More importantly, didn't you call me here for some reason?"
What mattered to him was always what lay ahead, not behind.
He knew all too well from bitter experience that dredging up the past changed nothing.
"Right. I called you for two reasons."
The Leader raised a hand scarred from years of gripping a sword, extending two fingers.
Then he folded one down and continued.
"First, to review the reward for your recent achievements."
"Reward?"
Unmasking and dealing with the Hidden Immortal Party's leader was no small feat. He deserved commensurate compensation.
"That's the tricky part. Is there anything you want?"
But since the youth wasn't affiliated with the Alliance and had already reached a realm where most spirit medicines were useless, the Leader pondered what to offer.
"In that case, I'd like some Ice Arts."
"Ice Arts? Last time you took the inner core of a Millennium Flower Herb, and now Ice Arts. You never fail to surprise me."
"Is that possible?"
Resting his chin on his hand, the Leader thought deeply. Despite already mastering martial arts, the youth's request for Ice Arts surely had a deeper purpose.
Perhaps seeking ways to handle chilling energy.
"We have dozens of Ice Arts manuals in storage, so that should be fine. I'll inform the martial arts hall attendant—stop by before you leave and pick what you want."
No telling if exactly what he sought was there, but no reason to refuse, so the Leader readily agreed.
"Thank you."
"Now, onto the second reason."
He took a steadying breath from his seat, the mood growing somber. It seemed a difficult topic to broach.
"The Demonic Cult has begun to move."
In my previous life, I hadn't entered the martial world until after the Righteous-Demonic Great War began, so I knew little of the situation at this time.
Thus, the Leader's words that the Demonic Cult was already stirring caught me off guard as well.
"Does that mean war is starting?"
There should still be time before war broke out. I cautiously asked if my presence had influenced things.
"No, not that. The problem is their forces lurking in the Central Plains have started acting up beforehand."
A silver lining in the misfortune, I suppose.
"The biggest issue is they're hiding among the common folk, making them hard to distinguish. Sending large numbers of Alliance members would only spark unnecessary unrest."
"That's exactly what they're aiming for."
If Alliance members gathered to hunt Demonic Cultists, folks would misunderstand it as oppressing the commoners—most unaware those 'civilians' were cultists in disguise.
Morale would plummet, public sentiment shake, plunging everything into chaos.
A scheme to erode the Alliance's foundations of pride and unity before war even began.
No idea whose cunning, rotten brain spat that out, but it reeked of malice.
"That's why I want you to handle them."
"Aren't you piling too much on me?"
"Sorry about that. Not exactly payment, but I'll lift restrictions on the Martial Arts Hall's manuals. You'll have access to everything, including forbidden texts, making it easier to find what you want."
That's quite the generous offer.
Given the Alliance's scale, there had to be a few legendary supreme arts mixed in among the manuals.
Sword arts or heart arts might not be needed, but ones compatible with Blood Heaven Asura Art or movement techniques would surely be there.
"No helping it, then."
Hiding my excitement, I pretended to accept reluctantly.
Access to all Martial Arts Hall manuals was a privilege for high-ranking Alliance officials. No reason to refuse for just one mission.
"You've helped me out in so many ways. Still no interest in the Alliance Leader seat?"
"Not the slightest speck."
"Hahaha, you cut me off like a blade. Most spend lifetimes striving for a position they can't reach."
"How could a position outweigh a person's life? I have no desire to abandon my own just for the title of Alliance Leader."
The Leader listened with distant eyes, a faint smile forming. Somehow, I knew that gaze wasn't fixed on me.
"You're right. I too once pondered what life I'd have lived without this seat."
The Leader's life was surely far from joyful. Even with heads bowed and eyes of awe, the one atop felt hollow.
Ascending young, rarely wielding a sword anymore, his overwhelming talent ironically went to waste.
"Any regrets?"
For the first time, I looked him straight in the eye—not as the Murim Alliance Leader, but as Yi Hyeonbaek, the swordsman called the World's Greatest.
His somewhat bitter expression hinted at lingering attachments to the past.
Yet that faint smile never faded.
"Honestly, during your trial, I felt a profound emptiness. Deep doubts about my life devoted to righteousness."
Righteousness was nowhere in that place where sly old foxes sought to steal a young prodigy's future. The Leader, feeling responsible, must have seen it even more clearly.
And it was right in the heart of the Murim Alliance. Despite being its undisputed peak, he could only watch.
I'd have wanted to smash it all.
"Yet I don't regret devoting my life here. I believe that once rotten fruit falls, new sprouts will take root."
He smiled as if unburdened.
Perhaps that's why he kept urging me to join—believing I'd be the root for those new sprouts.
"I'm not gentle enough to nurture sprouts. But I promise to ensure no one tramples them."
In my past life, I'd burned the trees root and all. But if this life's sprouts could grow straight, watching over them would be my duty too.
"Thank you. The pillar of righteousness is slender and frail now, shaking unsteadily, but with you, I can close my eyes in trust."
A thought struck me.
What ran through your mind just before the Demonic Cult Leader's hand took you?
Did you pass peacefully, or with worries about the future?
Either way, the seeds you sowed in that life were scattered by the wind, losing direction, meeting their end by my hand.
But if someone had stood guard against the wind, helping those seeds grow true—what then would the end have been?
Before I knew it, I was envisioning the dream you cherished.
"Time's up."
With duties awaiting, he rose to leave.
"I'll send someone with the mission details. Scouts are already dispatched, so it won't be hard to find. You'll probably see some familiar faces."
"Understood. Take care."
Familiar faces, huh. Quite a few came to mind.
Whoever they were, my steps felt lighter.
"Whoa, it's overwhelmingly vast."
As expected of the Murim Alliance. The Martial Arts Hall's library was far grander than imagined.
The two-story space brimmed with bookshelves stretching beyond sight, all filled with martial arts manuals.
From minor dojos' teachings to those of massive sects like Huashan or Shaolin—truly, every martial art in the world seemed gathered here.
Iron Sword Ten Forms, Taiji Sword, Plum Blossom Sword, Six Harmonies Fist—none absolute peak arts, but all major sects' foundational techniques lined the shelves.
No wonder every martial artist aimed to join the Alliance.
Mountains of arts too hard for most to even learn.
"The first floor focuses on basic heart arts and sword arts. Ice Arts are this way."
The attendant tasked by the Leader led briskly to the second floor.
No supreme techniques there either, but certainly higher-level arts than the basics.
Still, no sign of sect-defining ones like Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art or Emperor Sword Art.
"Here it is. I'll wait at the entrance—if you need help, just call."
He stopped before a shelf stocked with dozens of Ice Arts manuals of various names.
Ice Arts were typically handled by women with abundant yin energy, making practitioners rare in the martial world.
Yet the Alliance had this many—likely the only place in the Central Plains with such a collection.
"Hm? And these wrapped in paper—what are they? Quite a few."
"Ah, those are forbidden texts, sealed to prevent casual viewing. Since the Leader permitted access, if you wish, remove the talisman, check the contents, and return it to me."
Forbidden texts, eh.
Methods for men to cultivate Ice Arts varied, but the most common involved absorbing women's yin energy via采陰-like dual cultivation.
Such deviant, nefarious tricks strayed from the righteous path, explaining the abundance of forbidden Ice Arts manuals.
Still, worth a peek.
Shwak.
Peeling off a talisman revealed an old manual titled Death Mirror Ice Art.