Pillars of the Martial World
No Gae, the great pillar of the beggars, finally closed his eyes. The brothers looked around their surroundings once more. Deep in the forest, the abandoned temple was a complete ruin. The surrounding trees were burned or toppled, and massive boulders lay shattered and scattered everywhere. It was proof of just how fierce and brutal their battle had been.
"Brother Jingang. How did you manage to find this place?" Yi Jinpyeong asked.
According to Yi Jinun's explanation, they'd been found here in this deep forest, far from the Dongbeonhoe's stronghold, solely thanks to Yi Jingang's intuition. It made sense for No Gae, with his extraordinary martial arts and tracking the traces left by Ryeong-ju who had cornered him, to locate them. But Yi Jingang, whose martial prowess was still far below that level, finding this spot was harder to comprehend.
"Well... I'm not entirely sure myself," Yi Jingang replied.
"It's hard to explain in words. But even before fires broke out all over the Dongbeonhoe headquarters and people started panicking, I had this strong feeling that you were in danger. I couldn't sleep a wink. So as soon as folks began murmuring, I set out to find you and Jinun right away. I wandered aimlessly in all directions for a long time, searching, but it was no use. Then... I felt something faint but familiar."
"A familiar feeling?"
"Yes. Back when that Tang Clan guy had me captured and I was in peril, right before you appeared—I had this odd sense that you were about to show up from that direction. This time, it was a similar familiar pull, so I thought I'd follow it. Thank goodness it wasn't in vain. Whether it actually helped or not, I'm not sure..."
There was no confidence in his voice. He could hardly believe it himself. That mere intuition had led to this outcome.
Yi Jinpyeong silently gazed at Yi Jingang. His story couldn't be explained by martial arts, nor dismissed as simple hunch. But one thing was clear: it had been a tremendous help to Yi Jinpyeong.
Who could have foreseen that his brothers, always seen as burdens or mere duties, would become a decisive aid at such a moment?
"It definitely helped. If you brothers hadn't come, it would've been dangerous."
"Is that so?"
Yi Jingang smiled awkwardly. Yi Jinpyeong, who had been watching him quietly, returned the smile. Then he added one more thing.
"...Thank you."
Yi Jinun's eyes went wide at Yi Jinpyeong's words. Yi Jingang's were equally round. Wasn't this the same Yi Jinpyeong who always drove his brothers mercilessly? To hear thanks from him?
Yi Jinun hurriedly pointed at himself. "Me? What about me? Me too?"
"Of course."
"...Really?"
Yi Jinun grinned broadly. To think he'd live to hear thanks from Yi Jinpyeong. His shoulders and chest puffed up proudly.
Yi Jingang watched him with a smile, then quickly wiped the grin from his face. In a worried, serious tone, he pressed Yi Jinpyeong.
"But Jinpyeong, shouldn't you stop hiding so much from us and fighting alone like this? No matter how much you think we're lacking by your standards, we're still your brothers. If you're facing enemies, we should move and fight together. Even if we can't help much. Isn't that what brothers and family are for?"
Yi Jinun nodded vigorously in strong agreement.
Yi Jinpyeong looked at them wordlessly. Yi Jingang was half right, half wrong. If they'd been there from the start against Ryeong-ju, the fight would've been far tougher. Their presence had driven him off precisely because it came at the perfect, unforeseen moment.
So Yi Jinpyeong not telling them the truth was both to protect his brothers and to let him fight freely without worry.
But the situation now was entirely different. The Demonic Cult's forces and preparations exceeded imagination, and their official resurgence was imminent. With battles scaling up and fronts expanding, hiding the truth or acting alone no longer made sense.
"The truth is..."
Yi Jinpyeong finally spoke. He began revealing what his brothers now needed to know, one by one. The identity of the man they'd just fought, their schemes, why they couldn't leave the fate of the Central Plains solely to the Nine Great Sects.
Of course, facts he knew only from his reincarnation were slightly altered to sound like discoveries by the now-deceased No Gae.
As Yi Jinpyeong explained, his brothers' mouths fell open. They'd sensed something grave from Ryeong-ju's ferocity and terrifying demonic qi firsthand. But to learn it was the Demonic Cult—a force they'd thought eradicated a century ago—shocked them to the core.
"So that terrifying bastard from earlier... he's the next Demonic Cult leader?"
Indeed. And he was also Un Sa-nang's childhood friend and lover.
Yi Jinpyeong glanced at Un Sa-nang. She simply cradled No Gae's corpse, sitting slumped, showing no emotional fluctuation. They meant nothing to each other now.
"Probably. He doesn't fully hold the cult's power yet, but it'll happen soon enough."
The Demonic Cult's history was as ancient as the Central Plains itself. Over that long span, many had been called Cheonma. Some earned it by wielding power to conquer not just the cult but the entire realm; countless others simply proclaimed themselves as such in their delusions of grandeur as leader.
But including the one Yi Jinpyeong had slain in his previous life, those truly worthy of the title Cheonma were rare even in Demonic Cult history.
Yet the man called Ryeong-ju, whom they'd witnessed today, possessed potential and presence befitting the name.
The moment he formally ascended as leader, announced his existence to the world, and publicly declared the Demonic Cult's revival—villains lurking in the shadows of the Nine Great Sects and Eight Great Families, hidden experts, suppressed martial outlaws, and specters would flock to him. The balance of the martial world might shatter.
"This is... no ordinary matter. For the past century, everyone said the Demonic Cult was utterly wiped out. These were supposed to be peaceful times. Who could've imagined something this massive now!"
Yi Jinun exclaimed dramatically.
Peaceful? The Yi family had been crushed to ruin over that century.
Yi Jingang remained calm, placing a hand on Yi Jinun's shoulder.
"Jinun, isn't it actually fortunate? The Central Plains now has our Jinpyeong, us brothers, and the Yi family retainers. Just as Elder No Gae said."
Yi Jinpyeong smiled broadly. Who knew the ever-timid, worrywart Yi Jingang could speak with such confidence? Whether No Gae had inspired him or he'd simply been influenced by Yi Jinpyeong himself, it was unclear.
"Exactly. We are the martial world's final bastion. True pillars, you could say."
"Y-Yeah! The final bastion! Pillars!"
"Indeed."
The three brothers placed hands on each other's shoulders and burst into hearty laughter.
"So what should we do? To become pillars of the jianghu, we'll have to train like hell from now on, right?"
Yi Jinpyeong's laughter cut off sharply, his eyes gleaming. At his somewhat menacing words, Yi Jingang and Yi Jinun stopped laughing and rolled their eyes nervously.
Un Sa-nang blankly watched the brothers as dawn began to break. The light pushing back the murky night—the morning sun No Gae had so longed to see.
Yi Jinpyeong cleanly cremated the five Mil-ja corpses. Their infiltration of the Demonic Cult would have been a tightly guarded secret even within their sects. Convincing anyone that Yi Jinpyeong had uncovered and slain them in battle would be a headache. The gruesome traces of combat remained, but no one would ever find them now.
Un Sa-nang, unable to move properly, was supported by Yi Jinun. Yi Jingang carried No Gae's badly damaged body. For anyone else, it might not matter, but since he'd fought Ryeong-ju alongside Yi Jinpyeong, returning his remains intact to the Open Faction made sense.
On the way down the mountain, Yi Jingang and Yi Jinun were shocked again upon hearing the names of the incinerated corpses.
Sorim's Beop-yeon Daesa, Hwasan's Hwa-un Jangno, Jongnam's Do-heon Jin-in, Kunlun's Hong Sa-heon, Wudang's Jang-yeon Do-in... All were figures of considerable renown and influence in their sects, per Un Sa-nang's explanation.
"Does this mean we've caught all the infiltrators in the Nine Great Sects?"
"No. I sensed at least three or four more just at Agyangnu. Probably more cautious types or those who can't act freely due to their positions."
Yi Jinun asked, "But they're all renowned orthodox sect members, representatives of the righteous path... Why would they join hands with the Demonic Cult?"
"Monks and Taoists aren't immune to the desire for strength. Once they pick up the sword and enter the jianghu, they're chasing the goal of being the world's best, aren't they? Those whose ambitions outpace reality are inevitably susceptible to temptation."
Yi Jinun tilted his head, still unable to comprehend the Mil-ja.
That wasn't all he didn't know. As he carefully supported Un Sa-nang down the path, confusion filled his face. Hesitating a moment longer, he finally asked cautiously.
"By the way... might I ask who you are, miss?"
Un Sa-nang met his puzzled gaze. She soon realized: the face veil and skin mask that had always hidden her features had been torn off by Ryeong-ju.
"Whaaat?! Y-You're... Un Sa-nang?!"
Yi Jinun shrieked in horror.