Chapter 654
Bu Eun-seol continued reading the letter.
—And at last, we were able to obtain a clue about the murderer.
The one who stole all the Sword Studies of our society and killed the society's leader along with the Ten Great Swordsmen...
Was none other than one of the Seven Great Leaders of the Martial Alliance.
"The Seven Great Leaders?"
A peculiar light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
If that was the case, could it be that the murderer who killed his grandfather and the demon who brought down the Thousand Swords Society were one and the same?
—After obtaining the clue, our society began investigating the movements of the Seven Great Battle Groups. And finally, we were able to trace the movements of the one suspected to be that demon.
Bu Eun-seol's gaze turned cold as he read further.
—The leader of the Heaven-Piercing Unit, Yang Dae-ryang. After taking Demon Leave, he concealed his identity and secretly wandered the martial world, engaging in duels.
And we found even more definitive evidence—the sword mark left behind by Martial Uncle Seok.
In the past, Yu Hwa-ryeong had traveled with his master, Uhak, and the Second Seat of the Thousand Swords Society, Seoksong, visiting villages afflicted by plague in search of the murderer.
But while Yu Hwa-ryeong was asleep at a guest inn,
Uhak and Seoksong were investigating the village when they were ambushed by an extraordinarily skilled master.
At the time, Uhak barely managed to return to Yu Hwa-ryeong with Seoksong's help.
Before breathing his last, he left Yu Hwa-ryeong with two things.
That the murderer was a figure from the Eastern Depot who appeared in plague-stricken villages, and that the murderer's hand and scabbard bore traces of the Fluorescent Sword Control technique.
After hearing those final words, Yu Hwa-ryeong sought out Bu Eun-seol.
And in a plague-stricken village in Sichuan, they discovered the Underground Castle of the Infinite Realm for the first time.
They killed one of the Eastern Depot's covert inspectors, but unfortunately, he was not the murderer.
But now, the true culprit wasn't an Eastern Depot official, but a leader of the Martial Alliance's battle group?
'The leader of the Heaven-Piercing Unit, Yang Dae-ryang.'
He was a legendary figure who rose from the lowest ranks of the Martial Alliance to the position of one of the Seven Great Leaders.
Moreover, because he continuously encountered fortuitous opportunities even during his days as a low-ranking martial artist,
In his youth, he was even given the somewhat absurd epithet of "Success Upon Arrival."
But to think he was the one who killed the Thousand Swords Society's leaders and the Ten Seats?
'Is this a coincidence?'
The Peak Squad had been tracking the movements of the Seven Great Leaders under Bu Eun-seol's orders.
Though their current standing was too low to perfectly trace the leaders' activities... they had discovered one highly suspicious circumstance.
Namely, among the Seven Great Battle Groups, the Heaven-Piercing Unit...
Was entirely managed by its deputy leader, Ma-un.
Of course, it was true that in most sects or organizations, operations were handled not by the leaders themselves but by their seconds-in-command.
But in the case of the Heaven-Piercing Unit, its leader, Yang Dae-ryang, had completely withdrawn from all duties,
And its deputy leader, Ma-un, held absolute authority over the unit's operations.
Additionally, there were records of him frequently visiting Huang Prefecture, where Bu Eun-seol's grandfather had once been.
Of course, those were public movements, and there was a clear reason—he frequented a particular guest inn—but...
No one could know whether he had switched places with someone midway.
Thus, Bu Eun-seol had planned to conduct a covert investigation into the Heaven-Piercing Unit's leader after finishing his business with Ghost Child to some extent.
But now, the man overlapped with the Thousand Swords Society's murderer?
'If this man is the demon the Thousand Swords Society was searching for, the probability that he's also the murderer who killed Grandfather rises significantly.'
It was said that the murderer who destroyed the Thousand Swords Society was a demon without blood or tears, wielding merciless sword techniques.
Grandfather, too, had been brutally murdered, and Yang Dae-ryang was one of the Seven Great Leaders mentioned by the Divine Calculator...
The probability that he was the murderer was extremely high.
—Our society thoroughly investigated Yang Dae-ryang from multiple angles.
And we discovered circumstances suggesting that the fortuitous encounters he had obtained were actually stolen from others.
According to the letter,
The tales of Yang Dae-ryang's endless stream of fortuitous encounters...
Were likely rumors spread to conceal the fact that he had plundered them from others.
'That's a plausible enough story. But...'
The problem was that the Divine Calculator's intentions were even more suspicious than the Heaven-Piercing Unit leader's.
'Didn't the Thousand Swords Society collapse and become the Vanished Sect quite some time ago?'
Since the Divine Calculator was a figure known as the Foremost Sage of the Murim, he would never act impulsively.
Yet now, of all times,
He had maneuvered things so that they could obtain the Gratitude Coin the Thousand Swords Society had sought, and revealed that one of the Martial Alliance's Seven Great Leaders was the murderer?
'It's far too contrived.'
For a moment, a terrifying assumption flashed through Bu Eun-seol's mind.
The reason the Divine Calculator had created the Gratitude Coin—
Was it not to manipulate martial artists according to his own intentions? Such was the imagination that crossed his thoughts.
'Besides, wasn't the Divine Calculator originally the Martial Venerable?'
Recalling the overwhelming auras of the six leaders who had attended the Hero Stele's inauguration ceremony with Bukgung Ryeong,
Bu Eun-seol entertained another bizarre thought.
—What if all Seven Great Leaders were spies planted by the Three Realms or external forces?
"—Could it be that the Divine Calculator drew me in to deal with them?"
Since the Martial Venerable was acting in the role of Martial Alliance Chief, his movements had no choice but to be extremely cautious.
And so, he had gone mad with the thought—
—that perhaps the Divine Calculator was using him to investigate the Seven Great Leaders one by one, to topple them one by one.
'If that's the case—'
A flash of light flickered in Bu Eun-seol's eyes.
If so, then the true purpose behind the Divine Calculator's manipulation of the Thousand Swords Society might have been to exploit Yu Hwa-ryeong's thirst for vengeance once more...
...and topple yet another of the Seven Great Leaders.
'Am I being too suspicious?'
According to the Thousand Swords Society's investigation,
the Divine Calculator's words had proven true—the Heaven-Piercing Unit Leader was indeed connected to the death of the Thousand Swords Society's leader.
If that were the case, then it might simply be a coincidence that both the murderer of his grandfather and the demon the Thousand Swords Society spoke of
just so happened to belong to the Seven Great Leaders.
'It's always best to leave possibilities open.'
The Foremost Sage of the Murim—
Looking back, such a status was terrifyingly dangerous.
Because it allowed one to easily manipulate countless people...
...and turn lies into truth.
—I became the Society's leader to deal with him.
According to the letter, Yu Hwa-ryeong—the only one who had upheld his master's will—had ultimately become the Thousand Swords Society's leader and was preparing for revenge.
—And you are our Society's benefactor, the one who perfected our highest Sword Studies... In truth, are you not our Society's inheritor?
The reason I wrote this letter was...
...in case our Society should fall... I ask that you use this to preserve our legacy.
Attached at the end of the letter was a map.
Bu Eun-seol understood its meaning instantly.
A Treasure Map.
A map marking the location of a vault containing the Thousand Swords Society's immense, generations-long accumulation of treasures.
—Though I never spoke of it, I always thought of you as my junior martial brother. I'm sorry for burdening you like this.
Even if revenge were achieved—
—the moment they struck at a leader of the Martial Alliance's Battle Groups, the Thousand Swords Society and Yu Hwa-ryeong would surely die.
Knowing full well that Bu Eun-seol was fair-minded and free of greed, Yu Hwa-ryeong had left him the Society's vast wealth.
Hoping he would preserve both the Fluorescent Sword Control technique and the Thousand Swords Society's legacy.
'A task that was never possible to begin with.'
Yu Hwa-ryeong had misjudged things.
Contrary to what was known in the martial world—
—the true strength of the Seven Great Leaders surpassed all imagination.
Even if the Thousand Swords Society deployed some trump card, there was absolutely no chance of success.
They would simply be slaughtered like dogs.
"So-yo!"
His expression was urgent.
The letter had been sent days ago at the earliest.
By now, Yu Hwa-ryeong must have already finished preparations to strike the Heaven-Piercing Unit Leader and set his plan in motion.
"The whereabouts of the Thousand Swords Society's master, Yu Hwa-ryeong—"
He shook his head mid-thought.
Even if he mobilized the intelligence networks of both the orthodox and unorthodox factions—
—finding someone as obscure as Yu Hwa-ryeong in such a short time was impossible.
"Contact the Star Guard Unit and track the Heaven-Piercing Unit Leader's movements! Immediately!"
It was far more likely that the Martial Alliance's own Star Guard Unit could locate the Heaven-Piercing Unit Leader.
Bu Eun-seol intended to find the man at once—and save Yu Hwa-ryeong.
Every year, when the Qingming Festival arrived, Heaven-Piercing Unit Leader Yang Dae-ryang would quietly visit Prajna Temple on Mount Geumjeong.
For it was there that his late maternal grandmother's memorial tablet was enshrined.
Yang Dae-ryang had been raised by a widowed mother who worked as a traveling merchant, and their family circumstances were said to have been exceedingly difficult.
But recognizing her son's extraordinary talent, his mother worked herself to the bone to provide him an education—first in letters, then in a martial arts school.
Yang Dae-ryang strove tirelessly to meet her expectations.
And at last, he managed to scrape by as a low-grade martial artist of the Martial Alliance.
Though his martial arts were nothing exceptional, his sharp memory and nimble body allowed him to become a low-grade courier—
—traveling between the Alliance's various branches to deliver messages.
But then, something miraculous happened.
After becoming a courier who traversed the martial world, his martial skills began to improve at a staggering rate.
It was because he kept encountering fortuitous encounters.
Wherever he went, fortune followed.
Walking a mountain path, he would stumble upon a secret manual. Eating at a guest inn, he would catch the eye of a past-generation master and be taught martial arts.
As if the entire world conspired to aid him, opportunities arrived in perfect sequence, never ceasing.
After years of unending fortune, Yang Dae-ryang had, before he knew it, become a renowned master.
Promotion followed promotion—
—until at last, he became the leader of the Heaven-Piercing Unit, commanding the Martial Alliance's finest intelligence operatives.
A man who had begun as a low-grade martial artist and risen to become a leader of the Martial Alliance—Yang Dae-ryang had truly etched his name into the Alliance's history.
Chirp chirp chirp.
Arriving at Mount Geumjeong, Yang Dae-ryang began ascending the mountain path, birdsong echoing around him.
Visiting Prajna Temple quietly on the anniversary of his mother's passing each year was, to him, the most solemn and sacred of rituals.
Because his widowed mother had ultimately passed away without ever seeing him succeed.
For Yang Dae-ryang, that had become the regret of a lifetime.
And so, every year on the anniversary of her death, he eased that regret by holding a memorial rite at Prajna Temple.
In return for the hefty donations Yang Dae-ryang made annually, Prajna Temple always conducted an elaborate ceremony for him.
Once all the rites had concluded,
Yang Dae-ryang exchanged a few words with the abbot, Won-gyeong,
before descending back down Mount Geumjeong.
"Hm."
Pausing for a moment, Yang Dae-ryang gazed at the distant sky, his eyes growing clouded.
The truth was, every single one of the legendary tales known about him was a lie.
He had never encountered any fortuitous encounters, nor had he ever learned martial arts from a past master.
But there was one undeniable truth:
His family had indeed been devastatingly poor, and his mother had worked herself to the bone for his sake.
Perhaps the reason he came alone to Prajna Temple every year, without any of his subordinates, to hold this memorial rite for her—
was because, in the end, he had not become the kind of man she had always wished for—an upright and admirable pillar of the murim.
Instead, he had become someone who schemed in the shadows, joining hands with secretive factions.
Thud. Thud.
Just as he was nearly at the foot of the mountain, Yang Dae-ryang abruptly halted.
"Must be filthy rich."
He shook his head after glancing up at the sky.
"To have laid out a battle formation across this entire area in advance."
Rustle—
No sooner had his words left his mouth than
the sky darkened abruptly, and the surrounding landscape began to shift.
It wasn't just the scenery before his eyes—the entire slope of Mount Geumjeong was transforming.
Someone had spent an exorbitant amount of wealth and time to layer multiple mystical battle formations across the mountainside.
"There's only one kind of fool who would waste money so pointlessly like this."
A sneer curled at Yang Dae-ryang's lips.
"The Thousand Swords Society, I presume?"
Hiss—
At that moment, as if mist were rising, a gray shadow slowly materialized before him.
The man's face was so amiable that anyone would instinctively warm to him, yet his eyes carried an inexplicable bitterness.
It was none other than Yu Hwa-ryeong, who had become the new leader of the Thousand Swords Society.
"Yang Dae-ryang! You will answer for your crimes today!"
"What crimes?"
At Yang Dae-ryang's leisurely reply, Yu Hwa-ryeong shouted furiously:
"You infiltrated our society under the guise of a disciple, stole the sword techniques of the Ten Seats, and then cruelly slaughtered both our leader and the Ten Seats! How could a man wearing human skin commit such atrocities?!"
Yu Hwa-ryeong drew his sword and flung the scabbard aside.
A clear declaration of his unshakable resolve to kill Yang Dae-ryang.
"I don't follow."
Yang Dae-ryang licked his lips with a bored expression.
"If you inherited that vast fortune, why not just hole up somewhere and live quietly? What's the point of rampaging around for revenge?"
"What did you say?!"
"What changes just because you take revenge?"
Yang Dae-ryang raised the corners of his mouth as if genuinely perplexed.
"Do the dead come back to life?"
Flames of fury blazed in Yu Hwa-ryeong's eyes,
but he forcibly suppressed his emotions.
There was something he absolutely needed to ask this vile man.
"Why did you do it?"
"Do what?"
"Why did you kill the masters of our society?!"
Yang Dae-ryang shook his head calmly.
"I didn't."
"You dare lie so brazenly when there's evidence?!"
"Then take that evidence to the Martial Alliance. Why come to me?"
Yu Hwa-ryeong fell silent.
The truth was, there was no definitive proof.
All he had were circumstantial clues gathered after listening to the Divine Calculator's words.
No concrete evidence that Yang Dae-ryang had killed the leader and the Ten Seats.
"How amusing. You came to kill the leader of the Heaven-Piercing Unit without solid proof?"
"Perhaps you aren't the one who killed our leader and the Ten Seats."
Yu Hwa-ryeong bit his lip.
"But there is proof that the masked man who ambushed and killed my master was you."
"Oh? Then why didn't you report it to the Martial Alliance?"
Yang Dae-ryang grinned mockingly.
"If you had definitive evidence, I would've been stripped of my position and thrown into prison immediately, no?"
When Yu Hwa-ryeong didn't answer, he chuckled as if he had figured it all out.
"You don't have the evidence in hand. The decisive proof isn't yours to wield."
"..."
"Still, it's strange. Even just attempting to assassinate me would ensure the Thousand Swords Society's eradication from the murim. Yet you attacked without proof..."
Yang Dae-ryang tilted his head, studying Yu Hwa-ryeong.
Then, as if finally understanding, he nodded.
"You saw something the dead left behind. That's why you're so certain, even without evidence. Isn't that right?"
"Yes. At the time, Martial Uncle Seok deliberately left traces of our society's sword forms on the one who ambushed him."
Yu Hwa-ryeong spat out his words as if coughing up blood.
"On your very own scabbard!"
Yang Dae-ryang's eyes narrowed into slits.
Only now did he realize everything.
"So you confirmed the sword marks but ultimately failed to seize this Leader's scabbard, is that it?"
As Yang Dae-ryang's lips curled into a faint smile, Yu Hwa-ryeong's body trembled violently.
It was exactly as he said.
Yu Hwa-ryeong had covertly recruited someone from the Martial Alliance to bribe one of the Heaven-Piercing Unit's attendants.
Through her, he had arranged for the faint traces left on Yang Dae-ryang's most suspicious scabbard to be pressed onto thin paper.
From the sheet delivered by the attendant, Yu Hwa-ryeong had discovered the marks of the Fluorescent Sword Control technique.
But no matter what method he tried, stealing the scabbard stored within the Heaven-Piercing Unit was impossible.
In the end, he abandoned the idea of securing concrete evidence and instead resolved to kill Yang Dae-ryang for revenge.
"My resolve is set."
"Commendable that you managed to track this Leader's movements and ambush me..."
Yang Dae-ryang clicked his tongue and shook his head.
"But to think you believed you could trap me with this formation—how disappointing."
"This is a formation specially devised by my master to kill you!"
Yu Hwa-ryeong gripped his sword and roared as if vomiting blood.
"Even if you kill me, you will never escape!"
The Seventh Seat Uhak and the Second Seat Seoksong—
To slay the demon who had destroyed the Heavenly Sword Society, they had created the Fluorescent Sword Control, an absolute defensive sword technique.
But among the society's disciples, none possessed the innate killing intent required to master it.
In the end, the technique was passed down to Bu Eun-seol... yet the two realized the need for a secret art that even ordinary disciples could wield.
By chance, they discovered the legacy of the ancient master, the Old Man of Heavenly Mechanisms, and based on it, devised a sword formation unlike any other in the martial world.
The Heart Prison Formation.
A formation that could imprison not just the enemy's body but their very mind.
Once completed, even if every caster died, escape would be impossible—
A terrifying formation of absolute confinement.
Having investigated Yang Dae-ryang's annual visits to Geumjeong Mountain in advance, Yu Hwa-ryeong had mobilized vast wealth and manpower to lay the Heart Prison Formation across the entire mountainside.
"Your resolve must be firm."
As Yu Hwa-ryeong advanced, Yang Dae-ryang instead chuckled softly.
"No matter how I think about it, it's strange."
His eyes curved like crescent moons as he sent a voice transmission.
"That a mere disciple of Seoksong and Uhak—who couldn't even last ten moves—would dare challenge this Leader."
"Yang Dae-ryang!"
From Yu Hwa-ryeong's sword erupted the Heavenly Sword Society's ultimate art—the Autumn Leaf Sword Technique.
Yet Yang Dae-ryang, standing perfectly still, effortlessly deflected every stroke with just his index finger.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
With a bored expression, he flicked away Yu Hwa-ryeong's strikes and spoke.
"Pitiful. The technique is fine, but your talent is lacking."
Swish!
But seizing the moment he spoke, Yu Hwa-ryeong altered his technique and thrust straight for Yang Dae-ryang's throat.
Snap!
Yet Yu Hwa-ryeong's sword technique was instantly halted.
Yang Dae-ryang had trapped the treasured sword between the index and middle fingers of his left hand.
Spirit Immortal Two-Finger Art.
His signature ultimate art—
The most formidable and unique finger technique in the martial world.
"It was only natural the Heavenly Sword Society fell. They couldn't even raise their disciples properly."
"Shut up!"
No matter how Yu Hwa-ryeong struggled, the treasured sword wedged between Yang Dae-ryang's fingers wouldn't budge.
"And foolish."
Yang Dae-ryang sighed.
"If you were going to deploy a formation, you shouldn't have revealed its function."
With a flick of his right hand, he lightly tapped Yu Hwa-ryeong, who was writhing before him.
Boom!
Yu Hwa-ryeong's body shot backward like an arrow, soaring high into the sky.
Crash.
When his body struck the heavens, a shattering sound echoed—
Whoooosh.
The sky, which had dyed the world black, gradually regained its original color as the formation began to collapse.
Simultaneously, the figures of the three hundred martial artists who had surrounded the area to maintain the formation became visible.
"How—?"
As Yu Hwa-ryeong's eyes bulged, Yang Dae-ryang smirked.
"If I can't leave the formation even if you die, doesn't that mean I can leave it if you live?"
Yu Hwa-ryeong's pupils dilated.
He had sworn that even his death wouldn't shatter the formation.
But with just those words—
Yang Dae-ryang had instantly discerned the truth: the formation would only complete upon Yu Hwa-ryeong's death.
This can't be...
Yu Hwa-ryeong's vision blurred.
To complete the Heart Prison Formation, about fifteen minutes was needed after the enemy entered.
Then, if he immediately committed suicide... even if Yang Dae-ryang had the skill to fly through the heavens—
He would meet his death trapped within the formation, unable to escape.
But Yang Dae-ryang, true to his reputation as one of the Seven Great Leaders who shook the world—
Had instantly pinpointed the flaw in Yu Hwa-ryeong's words.
He had discerned that Yu Hwa-ryeong's very body was the axis of the formation—its Life Gate.
Instead of killing him, he used the Spirit Immortal Two-Finger Art to—
Hurl him outside the formation.