The Heavenly Secret Unveiled
"An alliance..."
"The time has come, Father."
Baekri Hyeok clutched his head at his son's proposal. The boy was a genius among geniuses who had shattered the wall of the Peak Realm at the age of nine and was already eyeing the Transcendent Peak Realm at eleven. Baekri Hyeok had assumed the Heavenly Martial Body only granted exceptional martial talent, yet over the past three years, half the reason the Baekri Clan had expanded its influence stemmed from ideas that sprang from Baekri Hyeong's mind. Perhaps a sharp mind truly did accompany a capable body. At the very least, not a single word Baekri Hyeong had spoken thus far had failed to benefit the clan.
When Baekri Hyeong first involved himself in clan affairs, he had made one request. If the clan rose to a better position through his assistance, then when the time came, they must accept his proposal. Baekri Hyeok had assumed it would concern the mysterious sword art his son practiced. He was wrong.
Baekri Hyeong now stood before him and earnestly proposed unifying the Hubei martial world to birth the Hubei Alliance. The Hubei Alliance would consist of the Baekri Clan, the Jegal Clan, and the Wudang Sect, with the North Sea Ice Palace—now trading again thanks to Han Seol-eun—acting as a sponsor. That was all.
"Do you know why the Sichuan Alliance endures?"
"Yes. Because the Tang Clan, Emei, and Qingcheng—known as the Three Rivers of Sichuan—possess roughly equal strength. They check one another while growing, to the point even the Murim Alliance cannot easily interfere."
The Sichuan Alliance posed no threat to the Murim Alliance. They held near-royal authority within Sichuan, largely because they had elevated the quality of life for the common people to a respectable level. In contrast, if the Hubei Alliance formed as Baekri Hyeong suggested, it could solidify into a dictatorship under the Baekri Clan, the strongest faction. Even with the Jegal Clan and Wudang as members, the relationship would remain one-sided. Would it not simply recreate the cutthroat politics of the Murim Alliance?
"That is what worries me. Do you have a plan?"
"I do. It will be an offer they cannot refuse."
"Can you prove it here and now?"
"I will visit the Wudang Sect and secure their full cooperation. The Jegal Clan is already joining us under near-coercion, so you need not concern yourself with them."
"I trust you."
Baekri Hyeok responded with a nod of faith to the sincerity in his son's eyes. Though only eleven, Baekri Hyeong's martial prowess and intellect were unmatched anywhere under heaven. His daughter, Baekri Hyang, had already astonished him, yet Baekri Hyeong—eight years her junior—continued to deliver one marvel after another. The moment he would truly step onto the martial stage was the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering. Just as Baekri Hyeok himself once had, his son would crush the promising juniors and claim the title of Divine Dragon. But Baekri Hyeok could not allow his son to suffer the same fate he had—forced to leave the Alliance. He had no choice but to grant his son's wish.
Thus, Baekri Hyeong set out for the Wudang Sect under the Baekri Clan's name.
"Halt there. This is the Sword-Unbinding Pool of sacred Wudang Mountain. Please unfasten any swords you carry before proceeding."
"Understood."
Upon arriving at Wudang Mountain, Baekri Hyeong immediately encountered the Wudang disciples. They demanded that visitors unfasten their swords at the pond known as the Sword-Unbinding Pool. Most people had no choice but to comply; refusing to disarm would brand them as enemies of Wudang. If Baekri Hyeong hoped to bring the Wudang Sect into the Hubei Alliance, he could not simply bypass the pool. After setting aside his sword and reaching the main gate, he greeted a familiar face with genuine pleasure.
"I am Baekri Hyeong, young master of the Baekri Clan. I have come to see the Wudang Sect Leader, Daoist Jinryeong."
"We welcome the young master's visit. This way, please."
"Thank you."
Jinryeong, the Wudang Sect Leader, was one of the few swordsmen Baekri Hyeong acknowledged. The only others were his father, his master, the Heavenly Demon, and the Sword Demon. Among the current leaders of the Nine Great Sects, Jinryeong was the foremost swordsman without question. If one considered only swordsmanship comprehension—excluding internal energy—Jinryeong surpassed even the Sword Sovereign, Baekri Hyeok. Yet Baekri Hyeong had not expected the sect leader himself to come greet him. Though Wudang and the Baekri Clan bore no enmity, the Jegal Clan had reported suspicious movements from Wudang. For the sect leader to personally receive the young master of a single clan suggested something was amiss.
The moment they entered a private chamber, Jinryeong spoke without preamble.
"Young Master Baekri, this seat dislikes roundabout speech. Speak plainly. Why have you come to Wudang?"
"...I cannot explain in detail, but I hope the Wudang Sect will stand with our clan."
"I see. But you know as well as I that Wudang does not move on words alone."
Jinryeong's clear gaze pierced through Baekri Hyeong. Having undergone years of cultivation, he possessed the ability to sense others' heavenly secrets to a degree worthy of being called a daoist among daoists. The instant he looked into Baekri Hyeong, he witnessed something he had never seen before—an illusion.
What is this? Why so suddenly... this acrid smoke.
Jinryeong blinked and looked around. Every piece of wood in existence was burning fiercely. Yet these flames were not natural fire. Black flames—pure darkness that shattered the notion that fire must be red. The hellish scene stimulated Jinryeong's senses, leaving him no choice but to wonder what catastrophe had occurred. It did not end there.
Thud.
An indescribable surge of vast true energy rippled from somewhere. Jinryeong felt an urge to find its source immediately, yet at the same time sensed he must never turn around. Still, he was ultimately a martial artist, no matter how much he had cultivated. Unable to suppress his curiosity, he turned his head and beheld a woman whose entire body was dyed black. She was enigmatic. No presence emanated from her at all—a monster devoid of the basic emotions and desires any living being should possess. That was how she appeared to Jinryeong.
Then, in that moment—
Whoosh!
The woman's horrifying crimson eyes locked onto Jinryeong, and he collapsed to the floor, overwhelmed by an immense sense of depletion.
"Hah!"
"Sect Leader! Are you all right?!"
"Just now... what was that? You... what exactly are you..."
The address had shifted from "young master" to "you." Baekri Hyeong realized he had let his guard down. Jinryeong possessed the ability to read heavenly secrets through cultivation. He had even ascended to the Immortal Realm in his previous life. If he could perceive heavenly secrets, perhaps he had glimpsed something of Baekri Hyeong's past life. And the only existence capable of radiating such overwhelming energy that it terrified even Jinryeong was, without a doubt, the Heavenly Demon.
"Sect Leader, please calm yourself. From what I saw, you simply collapsed as though struck by sudden anemia."
"You... what manner of being are you?"
"Pardon?"
"The heavenly secret you carry... cannot be put into words. It is as though you are not a person of this era."
Baekri Hyeong flinched at the words "not a person of this era." Just as Jinryeong said, he was a regressor who had lived through a previous life and returned to the past. He had never told anyone, yet Jinryeong had sensed it, however vaguely. At the same time, he felt a strange sense of relief—that the past he had endured was not merely a nightmare, that those fierce memories were not false.
Of course, that was one matter; Jinryeong's words were another. Thanks to them, Baekri Hyeong could infer something more about his regression. His heavenly secret had been read, leading to the perception that he was not of this era. In essence, it meant his regression touched upon the will of heaven. Not a coincidence, but a fate ordained by the heavens.
"Sect Leader, can you keep this secret?"
"...I swear upon the name of Wudang. Should I ever divulge this secret, I will sever my own limbs and cripple my internal energy."
Jinryeong's resolve was firm. Even he seemed momentarily unhinged by experiencing something unprecedented, yet he knew well that the Wudang Sect Leader could not speak falsehoods. A daoist cultivating for feathered ascension would lose the chance at ascension if he uttered lies. Baekri Hyeong chose his words carefully, framing his condition as best he could.
"I am one who has appeared bearing the fate of defying heaven to stop the demonic being who will come to rule the heavens—the Heavenly Demon."
"That is me."