Chapter 46: The Flame King
Episode 46
The Flame King
After his private meeting with Yeo-seon, Se-woon immediately left the family compound.
He had already instructed Yeo-seon to return to the So-yeon Martial Hall and oversee the training of Dae-woong and the other two disciples. Since the first day of training was dedicated to analyzing and dismantling their core martial techniques, Se-woon's role wasn't critical.
Everything was proceeding according to plan—the Tang Elite Unit would soon engage in friendly sparring matches among themselves.
But to secure victory and achieve the desired outcome—
'Now I have to do my part.'
The next steps were absolutely necessary.
Crunch.
Right on cue, Se-woon arrived at his destination.
The familiar, pungent scent of burning coal—always soothing to his senses—drifted into his nose.
Before him stood the Mancheoldang, the Hall of Ten Thousand Irons.
Just like before, the interior of the forge was dimly lit. Given the late hour, no blacksmiths were working.
All he had to do was push open the door and step inside—
Yet for some reason, Se-woon remained motionless in front of the hall.
But only for a moment.
"Did you come to borrow equipment again?"
Se-woon suddenly spoke aloud, seemingly to himself.
Following his gaze revealed nothing but pitch-black shadows.
Yet—
Thud. Thud.
Slow, deliberate footsteps echoed from precisely that spot.
"......So you knew."
Gu Yong-yeon, the master of Mancheoldang, stepped into view.
His piercing eyes, filled with an unreadable emotion, fixed on Se-woon.
Se-woon shrugged lightly and continued.
"Yes. Somehow, my hearing has sharpened lately."
From the moment he left the family grounds, Se-woon had sensed Gu Yong-yeon tailing him. But he hadn't said a word until now.
Just like with Yeo-seon, he wanted this conversation to remain strictly between the two of them.
'It's time to tie up loose ends.'
Before his regression, Gu Yong-yeon had chosen Tang Ho-yeol over him—and now, Ho-yeol had been dealt with.
It was time to settle things cleanly with him as well.
Under a cloudless sky, the full moon shone brightly.
A heavy silence settled between the two men.
Then, Se-woon slowly parted his lips.
"I just returned from recruiting a new subordinate."
"......Congratulations."
"The first true subordinate who belongs entirely to me."
The image of Yeo-seon, whom Se-woon had brought earlier today, surfaced in Gu Yong-yeon's mind.
A seemingly naive-looking woman who concealed eerie, sharp eyes beneath her innocent demeanor.
"But it's not enough."
"......What do you mean by 'not enough'?"
"Though I've eliminated the traitor Tang Ho-yeol, the family is still unstable."
"—!"
"Faced with the greater calamity that's surely coming, this half-baked strength won't be enough to survive."
A greater calamity.
A phrase that didn't fit the current martial world, which had enjoyed prolonged peace.
Yet—why?
It wasn't speculation—it felt closer to certainty.
Gu Yong-yeon couldn't help but shudder at Se-woon's conviction.
At that moment, Se-woon spoke with unwavering calm in his eyes.
"I must unite the family."
Gu Yong-yeon asked quietly, "Do you wish to surpass Qingcheng and Ami?"
"Is that all you think I aim for?"
"—!"
Se-woon shook his head at Gu Yong-yeon's words.
And then—
He declared a goal so shocking it defied expectation.
"The World's Supreme Family (天下第一家). No—"
"—!"
"The World's Supreme Force (天下第一勢)."
Currently, the undisputed supreme force in the martial world was the Martial Alliance.
Se-woon was declaring that he would elevate the Sichuan Tang Family—
As a single force surpassing the Martial Alliance itself.
"To protect everyone, that much is necessary, don't you think?"
"......"
It was an absurd, almost delusional claim—
Yet Gu Yong-yeon, overwhelmed by something inexplicable, couldn't muster a response.
"And to achieve my goal, I need you, Hall Master Gu."
Then Se-woon added—
"No—I need the Flame King (炎王), Jin Mu-baek."
"—!!"
He had just uttered Gu Yong-yeon's deepest secret—one that had died with Tang Ui-tae, the Poison Lord.
Before his regression, Tang Ho-yeol had betrayed the Tang Family, committed countless atrocities, and eventually joined the Blood Cult.
But Gu Yong-yeon was different.
Perhaps revenge against the Tang Family and joining the Blood Cult were separate matters—
Because he refused to become a cultist like Ho-yeol.
But that choice came at a terrible price.
The Blood Cult immediately dispatched assassins to eliminate him.
Yet no matter how long they waited, the assassins never returned to the cult's headquarters.
They couldn't.
Every last one of them had been reduced to ashes.
Soon after, a new pursuit squad was assembled—
And through the Blood Cult's intelligence network, Gu Yong-yeon's true identity—before he changed his name—was exposed.
One of the Top Hundred Masters of the martial world.
A supreme expert whose martial prowess rivaled even that of the Sun Palace Lord beyond the western borders.
The Flame King, Jin Mu-baek—that was his hidden name.
'......How does the Young Lord know?'
Gu Yong-yeon couldn't hide his bewilderment.
The Poison Lord, Tang Ui-tae, had sworn an oath with him—
To never reveal his true identity to anyone.
And from what he knew of the Poison Lord, he was not one to break that oath, even in death.
Thus, Gu Yong-yeon concluded that Se-woon was testing him.
"What are you—"
"Seol-i."
"—!"
At the sudden mention of that name—
Gu Yong-yeon—no, Jin Mu-baek—froze like a statue.
Se-woon finished the sentence for him.
"She's your bloodline, isn't she?"
"......!"
From Jin Mu-baek's reaction, Se-woon instantly knew his deduction was correct.
Even after his regression, he had revisited the question many times—
Why did Jin Mu-baek come to despise him?
But he could never figure it out.
No matter how much he reflected, he couldn't pinpoint the reason their relationship had soured.
Except for one suspicious day—
The very day I Hoseong had humiliated him.
Back then, he had been publicly shamed in the marketplace, dragging the family's honor through the mud.
Could that have been the reason?
But something felt off.
While it was true that Jin Mu-baek had deep ties to the Poison Lord, Tang Ui-tae—
Se-woon doubted he cared enough about the family's honor to despise him for tarnishing it.
Amidst these doubts, he recalled the day they had met—just like now—in front of Mancheoldang.
"Since you snuck out in a hurry, I assume you didn't bring any equipment. Feel free to use mine over there for now."
His attitude had been completely friendly toward him.
As Se-woon slowly pieced things together—
'I realized my initial assumption was wrong.'
There was only one variable that had changed.
Seol-i.
On the day I Hoseong caused trouble—
In his past life, she had died.
In this life, she had survived—thanks to him.
The only reason Jin Mu-baek's attitude toward him would shift was because of her.
At that moment, the shattered pieces clicked into place—
And Se-woon uncovered Jin Mu-baek's secret.
Seol-i was his hidden granddaughter.
Then, Jin Mu-baek began to speak in a voice thick with sorrow.
"My wife... was a woman of boundless kindness."
"......"
"Every day, beggar children would pester her—yet she never once turned them away. She always sent them off with warm meals and a bright smile."
"......"
"Perhaps it was because she was so pure-hearted that she could embrace someone like me—a man who had lived his entire life with blood on his hands."
"......"
"......Yes. Too kind for her own good."
It was then—
That Se-woon saw the unbearable longing in Jin Mu-baek's eyes.
"She even left me a final plea—begging me not to hate the one who poisoned her."
"—!"
But in an instant—
That sorrow transformed into a storm of rage.
"But as you know, I couldn't keep that promise."
"......Former Hall Master."
"Young Lord, do you know why I was given the title 'Flame King'?"
Se-woon slowly shook his head.
Jin Mu-baek's face had turned bitterly somber as he continued.
"It's because I burned every last person connected to my wife's murder—reducing them to ashes in the flames of Yama (閻王)."
"......!"
The one who killed his wife was none other than the rising leader of the Evil Faction—the sect master of the Ghost Flame Sect.
The Ghost Flame Sect had grown rapidly through illegal salt trading, and many in the martial world predicted they would soon elevate the Five Evils of the Evil Faction Alliance to Six Evils.
Then one day, the sect master sought out Jin Mu-baek—who had retired from the martial world—and tried to recruit him.
When Jin Mu-baek flatly refused—
The sect master, nursing a grudge, waited for him to leave—
And murdered his wife.
Se-woon could say nothing in the face of such tragedy.
"In my madness for revenge, I abandoned my young child."
"......"
"And because of the demonic qi deviation (走火入魔) that consumed me during my vengeance, I couldn't return."
"......"
Now, Jin Mu-baek's eyes held nothing but—
"Kuhuhu... By the time I regained my senses—after two generations had passed—I learned my child and their spouse had already died of a terrible illness."
"—!"
Regret and sorrow.
His voice trembled with raw anguish.
This was a pain he had buried deep in his heart—one he had never dared to speak of.
"And when I discovered—through my only friend, the Poison Lord—that my sole surviving granddaughter was wandering Sichuan as an orphan... I wept tears of blood watching that pitiful child from afar."
"......Why didn't you reveal yourself to Seol-i?"
Se-woon asked with aching sympathy.
Jin Mu-baek shook his head firmly.
"I'm the one who doomed that child to a life of suffering. What right do I have to stand before her?"
"......Former Hall Master."
"All I could do was beg the Poison Lord to take her into the Tang Family's care......"
Se-woon's grandfather, the Poison Lord Tang Ui-tae, likely had no choice but to employ Seol-i as a servant.
If her true identity were ever exposed—
The blades of vengeance Jin Mu-baek had left in the martial world would undoubtedly target her.
"I watched over her from afar."
"......"
"Then, on the very day I visited my child's grave... that incident with I Hoseong happened."
"—!"
Even now, the memory was unbearable—Jin Mu-baek trembled violently.
But only for a moment.
Soon, his gaze steadied.
Then, in a quiet voice, he spoke to Se-woon.
"So you, Young Lord, are not just Seol-i's savior—you are my lifelong benefactor as well."
"......"
"Just give the order. I will follow you in anything."
"......"
"I will repay the debt of saving Seol-i in her stead."
In the ruthless martial world, the phrase "anything" was dangerously weighty.
Yet Jin Mu-baek had spoken those words with full resolve.
Even if Se-woon demanded the head of an enemy who meant certain death—he would gladly depart.
But—
Se-woon's response defied all expectations.
"A great danger approaches the martial world. A storm will engulf all factions, plunging them into chaos."
"......!"
"When that time comes, I will stake my life to protect the Tang Family."
Se-woon spoke without hesitation.
"Because Seol-i isn't the only one—every member of the Tang Family is my family."
"......!"
"Don't think of me as Seol-i's savior. I only did what was right."
"......You!"
"You don't need to follow me, nor do you need to force yourself to repay any debt."
Se-woon's plea held not a trace of falsehood—only sincerity.
"Just lend me your strength when the time comes—to prevent another unjust sacrifice, to stand against the malice targeting our family."
"—!!"
"To protect our family."
Jin Mu-baek was speechless.
Hearing Se-woon's words—
Felt like being struck in the head with a hammer.
Belatedly, Jin Mu-baek stared into Se-woon's eyes.
And in them, he saw the face of his long-departed friend—the one he missed most.
"What nonsense are you spouting?"
"Mu-baek, why do you have no family?"
Back then, he had dismissed it as absurd.
But his only friend—always wiser than him—
"Aren't I and all of us your family?"
Even after leaving this world—
His words still resonated in Jin Mu-baek's heart.
'......Poison Lord, you've won.'
With that thought, Jin Mu-baek trudged forward.
Creak—
He pushed open the doors of the forge wide.
Then, holding one door steady, he turned to Se-woon and spoke.
"So... what do you need me to forge?"
His actions were as good as acceptance.
At last—
A radiant smile bloomed on Se-woon's face.