The Heavenly Sovereign's Final Command
Gongson Ryong had been staying in the Murim Alliance's guest quarters for nearly two weeks. Baekri Hyeong wanted to ask when they would return to Hubei, yet he could not bring himself to face his father. After all, he had unleashed the Four Guardian Deities Sword during the duel. Even if others remained ignorant, his father would surely recognize that the technique was not part of the Baekri sword art. If questioned about it, he had no answer prepared. He would have to confess everything when they finally met, but for now he simply circulated his qi and let time pass.
Then one day, a visitor arrived.
"Is this the guest room where Baekri Hyeok of the Hubei Alliance is staying?"
"...It is. What business do you have?"
"Then you must be his son, young hero Baekri Hyeong."
A man in tattered robes had come to the guest room. He first inquired whether Baekri Hyeok resided there, then nodded to himself. The moment he learned Baekri Hyeong's identity, he bowed with proper respect.
"I am Gongson Ryong, deputy commander of the Cheoksagun. I greet the young master."
"Cheoksagun... Was that not the army my father led when he served in the Alliance?"
"Correct. At the time, I held the position of deputy, a post that allowed me to act in the commander's stead whenever he was absent."
The visitor was Gongson Ryong, a collateral member of the Gongson clan. Baekri Hyeong vaguely recalled who he was. Goebu Gongson Ryong—the man who wielded a massive axe with terrifying freedom and had reached the very peak of the Hwajing realm. Of course, that epithet had been earned during the war against the Demonic Cult.
To think the deputy of the Cheoksagun was Gongson Ryong.
"What brings you here? My father has been away from his quarters quite often lately. He probably will not return today either..."
"Then please inform the commander when he returns. You may contact me at this location."
"Pardon?"
Gongson Ryong left behind a single slip of paper and vanished without another word. When Baekri Hyeong unfolded it, he found an address written upon it.
In his previous life, the Gongson Ryong he had known had been more like a back-alley ruffian. Still, people changed with time; it was nothing worth dwelling on.
More importantly... he was strong.
It was not mere humility that made Baekri Hyeong think so. Gongson Ryong's ability to conceal his aura and withdraw his gaze was masterful. For the briefest instant, Baekri Hyeong had caught the flicker of surprise in the man's eyes when he measured Baekri Hyeong's level—after that, nothing could be read from his expression.
Yes. The current Gongson Ryong had clearly broken through the wall of the Hwajing realm. Though older than Baekri Hyeok, true Hwajing masters were exceedingly rare no matter where one searched the world. At most, perhaps three hundred existed. The Demonic Cult alone had fielded over five hundred; defeat in the previous life had been inevitable.
"But why would a man of his caliber choose seclusion?"
Had he followed Baekri Hyeok that devotedly? In any case, if Gongson Ryong offered to serve as a subordinate once more, the gain would be immense. Should he bring the rest of the Cheoksagun with him, it would be no different from countless experts joining the Hubei Alliance.
"Where on earth are you right now, when I need you most?"
Baekri Hyeong had spent every day until now trying to avoid this meeting, yet circumstances had left him no choice. How frustrating that his father was nowhere to be found precisely when he was needed. The thought was almost unfilial, but today, more than anything, he wished his father would return to the guest room.
Meanwhile, Baekri Hyeok stood upon the rocky mountain once more.
"You insolent brat. Did I not clearly tell you never to come again?"
"...The world has learned of my sins. Please give me your counsel."
"Hyeok-ah. The matter you caused has nothing to do with me."
"Can you truly say it has nothing to do with you? The reason I did not kill Namgung Ak back then... was because I felt your gaze upon me."
Baekri Hyeok was conversing with the Heavenly Sovereign atop the mountain he had believed he would never climb again. With the past incident the Murim Alliance had tried to bury now exposed, he had no choice but to come. Or perhaps it was simply that he wished to see his master's face once more.
"Master, you always told me not to become a monster. But I... am already a monster."
"You are not a monster. The true monster has already finished preparing to rise in the west."
"I have received reports that the movements of the Shaolin Temple of the Western Regions are unusual."
"Are you interested in the martial world beyond the Central Plains?"
"Thanks to reliable subordinates."
The warriors who had once belonged to the Cheoksagun had never left Baekri Hyeok's side. Only Gongson Ryong had distanced himself in pursuit of his own cultivation. The rest now operated as the shadow of the Baekri Clan, gathering intelligence across the entire murim.
"I already possess sufficient information on the Northern Sea and Tianzhu, so that is fine. The other regions, however, remain nearly blank."
"The Shaolin Temple of the Western Regions is a force you could handle alone, is it not?"
"Yes. That is why I have left them alone for now."
Among the foreign powers, the Shaolin Temple of the Western Regions was the smallest. The Northern Sea had forged the great Ice Palace to survive its harsh lands, while the Southern Barbarian Beast Palace had united against the sweltering heat. The only Buddhist sects were Shaolin and the Potala Palace; the Demonic Cult needed no further explanation. The Shaolin Temple of the Western Regions could be considered a mid-tier sect that Baekri Hyeok could deal with single-handedly.
Yet why did he sense something amiss in their movements?
"It seems the Demonic Cult is preparing to stir."
"Hmm..."
"I have no intention of informing the orthodox murim of this fact. The current Murim Alliance is thoroughly rotten. I ask for your understanding, Master."
Under normal circumstances, they would have needed to cooperate and prepare countermeasures. The Demonic Cult's resurgence would be the worst calamity the Central Plains murim could face. But the present Central Plains murim was fractured. Even within the Murim Alliance, conflicts ran deep, and now that the old enmity between the Baekri and Namgung clans had been laid bare before the world, the tension between major and minor sects had reached its peak.
If news of the Demonic Cult's movements spread in such a state, would unity follow? Of course not.
"During the last Demonic Cult uprising, we were able to suppress it with relative ease. But now..."
"The number of experts has decreased significantly compared to then."
"Yes. It is as though they are waiting—waiting for the murim's strength to slowly erode."
"...Yet I fear I cannot give you a clear answer. You have already noticed my condition, have you not?"
"Yes."
Baekri Hyeok understood Ak Biryang's state all too well. The man had already exhausted his allotted lifespan. That he still lived was remarkable in itself. He was burning the last embers of his innate true qi, having long since spent every drop of his inner energy. Even so, he was nothing more than an old man who could neither wield martial arts nor rise from his seat. After this conversation, he might pass at any moment.
"Hyeok-ah. The Demonic Cult is strong. Strategic. Vicious."
"..."
"No one in the current generation has faced them. But the Demonic Cult I know... is not composed of ordinary people. Think of them as man-eating demons who revel in slaughter."
"I will heed your advice. Then... please rest."
"From tomorrow onward, you must never climb this mountain again. That is an order."
"..!"
Just as Baekri Hyeok rose to leave the rocky mountain, Ak Biryang's words struck like thunder from a clear sky. This was only the second time in his life that his master had issued a direct command. The first had been to descend the mountain and return to the jianghu. Now came the command never to return.
His eyes no longer reflected Baekri Hyeok. He had already achieved feathered ascension. The only reason he had lingered was out of excessive attachment to his disciple, and even that limit had been reached today.
"Go and live your life. Do not come back here. Do you understand?"
"...I will obey Master's final command."
"Protect the murim, Hyeok-ah. The murim... is everyone's sanctuary..."
Baekri Hyeok left the mountain behind, listening to Ak Biryang's voice grow fainter with each step.
The Demonic Cult's resurgence was difficult to imagine, yet he felt confident. He had witnessed the possibility with his own eyes. Even if the number of experts was insufficient now, in ten years' time Baekri Hyang, Baekri Hyeong, Namgung Suryeon, and Jegal Yujin would all stand at the pinnacle. Moreover, Baekri Hyeok himself had found the first clue to reaching an even higher realm.
The mysterious sword art Baekri Hyeong employed. After pondering how to incorporate it into the Hundred Heavens Three Stances, the unknown state known as Mind Sword had begun to take shape.