Chapter 438
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 438
Chapter Title: Listen, Mu-baek
"It's not that I had no intention of passing on my will?"
Mu-geuk asked with a faint smile.
[......]
Radiance gave no reply.
"This must be the best time for you right now, so there was no need to pass it on."
[...You understand well.]
Mu-geuk's smile deepened at Radiance's response.
"Of course. Though we're separate beings now, we were originally one. I was you, and you were me."
The five-colored light orb's form seemed to shift little by little, transforming into the figure of a beautiful woman.
A soft five-colored glow still emanated from her entire body.
"A tale from an era I'd rather not recall."
Radiance replied in a cold voice.
It was a chill that contrasted sharply with her stunning beauty and the gentle radiance flowing from her.
"I understand."
Mu-geuk readily acknowledged it.
He hadn't said otherwise to Ha Mu-baek from the start.
The Primordial Chaos had been a world of nothing but darkness.
Even as a fragment of that world, Radiance hadn't been able to reveal her form.
Radiance, now in human shape, turned her gaze toward Ha Mu-baek.
"You're the best among all the ones you've experienced so far."
A calm evaluation.
After Ha Mu-baek acquired Radiance,
the Abyss hadn't exerted its will, but it had watched everything.
The claim that no one had been worthy until now was both true and false.
False, if judged by raw power.
Ha Mu-baek already possessed more than enough qualification.
But true, considering Radiance's intent.
She wished for this world—with its regular cycle of day and night, filled with bright light—to simply continue as it was.
With no desire to change the world, there had been no need for anyone worthy of the Abyss's power.
To her, this world was already ideal.
A world filled only with light?
She didn't even consider it.
Light had meaning only because of darkness.
Having the memories of the Primordial Chaos and experienced both day and night, she knew it well.
Light and darkness.
They had meaning only in coexistence.
"That Namgung Ji-hu... or was it Namgung Hu? He was quite amusing too."
The name that slipped from Radiance's lips.
It was Namgung Hu, master of the Sovereign Sword Form.
Even though he didn't possess a complete fragment of Radiance.
Ha Mu-baek looked at her in surprise,
and Radiance let out a chilling chuckle.
"Every fragment carries a will. It simply doesn't reveal itself. After all, it was my will that split it into so many pieces."
"Are you saying you intentionally shattered the fragments into countless shards again?"
"I didn't want them reuniting into one."
Radiance stated her honest feelings.
Her intent was simple.
Rather than existing as intact fragments of Radiance,
scattering them into shards would make reuniting them far more difficult.
"But the others have different intentions."
Mu-geuk interjected.
"What do you mean by..."
"They're seeking the most suitable vessel. Darkness and Chaos are."
"I have no idea what Emptiness is thinking."
Radiance shook her head as she spoke.
Mu-geuk nodded slightly in agreement.
Emptiness.
Split from the same origin,
yet its intentions were utterly inscrutable.
"Are you done with your questions now?"
Mu-geuk asked, looking at Ha Mu-baek.
"How can we make the Abyss perish?"
Ha Mu-baek's mission.
He was asking for the method to achieve it.
From what Radiance had said,
the Abyss seemed to exist in every fragment.
Did that mean they had to eliminate them all?
Ha Mu-baek posed all these doubts.
"The Abyss exists in every shard from the fragmented pieces, but ultimately, they are mere parts of the core."
Mu-geuk answered, glancing at Radiance.
As if the core itself could now reveal its form.
"This space is special, allowing me to manifest."
Radiance explained.
"So now, the fragments of Radiance no longer hold your will. They merely exist as one of the world's primal forces."
Ha Mu-baek responded to Mu-geuk's clarification.
"Do you mean we must bring Darkness and Chaos here to confront their Abysses and make them perish?"
Ha Mu-baek recalled his first encounter with Radiance's Abyss moments ago.
A doubt crept in: Could it really be done?
Mu-geuk shook his head.
"We must not confront the Abysses of Darkness and Chaos. We could very well lose."
"He's right. It's not a matter of power, but of will. We've now become beings opposed to the Primordial Chaos's will. Compared to those carrying out its original intent, our will might be weaker."
At Radiance's follow-up explanation,
Ha Mu-baek grew even more perplexed.
How on earth could such beings be eliminated?
"The answer lies in the Divine Art of Infinity and Freedom."
Mu-geuk replied with a faint smile.
The Divine Art of Infinity and Freedom.
It encompassed all the martial arts of the Infinite Sword Sect.
From the Infinite Freedom Eight Ultimate Sword Breakdowns based on the Infinite Freedom Heart Method, to footwork, bare-handed combat, Thousand Li Swift Movement, and even the Infinite Bright Wheel Eye.
It was hard to grasp easily.
"This place is the boundary between the mental world created by the powers of Infinity and Freedom, and the real world. That's why I could materialize. In other words, it means you can sever even an Abyss without form."
Radiance added her explanation.
"And this is only possible because the powers of Infinity and Freedom have merged. Their shared intent makes the impossible possible."
"Tch."
As Radiance finished, Mu-geuk clicked his tongue.
Radiance turned to him.
"It only has meaning if he realizes it himself."
"Hmph. We're using the power of the primordial fragments anyway—what difference does it make?"
As Radiance turned away, Mu-geuk shook his head.
"Listen, Mu-baek."
Two solemn voices emanated from Mu-geuk's mouth.
Ha Mu-baek bowed his head.
"There exists in this world a art called the Primordial Six Divine Arts."
Ha Mu-baek was well aware of it.
"It bears the exact names of the six primordial fragments, but precisely speaking, they are not martial arts—true arts, that is. They are simply the pure power of the six primordial fragments themselves."
Recalling the power Hyun-hwang had used, Ha Mu-baek nodded in agreement.
The force wielded by that bastard—who had gained even greater power in the Scripture Pavilion—was not a martial art of a higher realm.
It had been rawer power.
"However, the Divine Art of Infinity and Freedom that you have learned is different. It is the martial art I poured my soul into creating to wield the powers of Infinity and Freedom most potently. It is not mere primordial fragment power. Among the Primordial Six Divine Arts, Infinity and Freedom no longer exist. Only the Divine Art of Infinity and Freedom remains."
Mu-geuk looked at Ha Mu-baek.
"Do you understand why I say this?"
"It means that since it is a martial art, not mere power, I must pursue its boundless principles myself to grow stronger."
Ha Mu-baek stated calmly.
Mu-geuk regarded him with approving eyes.
"Correct. Though I created it, even I do not know its end. Where the limit of Infinity and Freedom's power lies."
Mu-geuk raised his sword.
In an instant, his aura shifted.
He lightly swung the sword held toward the empty air downward.
Slaaaash!
A sword strike fell behind Ha Mu-baek.
And a deep sword scar etched into the floor.
"Th-this is..."
The ancestral tablet on the ceiling of the Investigation Hall.
It was the very sword scar that had marked it.
"This is the boundary of reality and mindscape. Time flows exceedingly fast here. Even if you spend ten years in this place, only about an incense stick's worth would pass in the real world. Ponder it yourself."
With those words, Mu-geuk turned away.
Radiance alternated her gaze between the sword scar Mu-geuk had created and his retreating figure.
"Hmph. How troublesome."
She muttered once and followed behind Mu-geuk.
Now, only Ha Mu-baek remained in this place.
His eyes lingered on the sword scar carved into the floor.
In his mind, the single sword strike Mu-geuk had just unleashed replayed endlessly.
Ha Mu-baek stood motionless like that.
"Greetings, Elder."
Bae Un-san secretly sought out Won Pyeong-sam and bowed deeply.
"What brings you here?"
He inquired about the sudden visit.
"Results from the matter you commissioned earlier have come in to some extent, so I've brought them. This is regarding the Demonic Cult, and this covers sites of massive power clashes."
Bae Un-san set down two thick envelopes.
Won Pyeong-sam nodded.
"Good work."
"It's not finished yet. I'll return if I uncover more."
Bae Un-san bowed with a fist salute and vanished.
Won Pyeong-sam opened the first envelope.
Regarding the Demonic Cult.
More precisely, on the whereabouts of the Soka Clan.
The Hao Clan's intelligence network was astonishing.
They had traced back to the Soka Clan's origins centuries ago.
"Using the Hao Clan was indeed the right choice."
As Won Pyeong-sam read the report, he furrowed his brow.
"You foolish Soka bastards."
Anger laced his voice.
And rightly so.
These idiots had formed the Demonic Cult with great effort, only to have the leader's position stolen by an outsider who joined later.
The list of successive Demonic Cult Leaders that Bae Un-san had uncovered proved it.
From the Fourth Cult Leader onward, none were Soka.
Only recently had the Soka reclaimed the throne.
Since the final Cult Leader before the Demonic Cult's fall—and the one before that—they had held it again.
"Tch."
Won Pyeong-sam clicked his tongue roughly.
"No need to seek these fools out."
They who had disseminated the Great Heaven's Divine Art across a thousand, sending forth one primordial fragment,
yet lost control of their own faction midway to an outsider.
There would be nothing left.
No, they had likely forgotten their mission entirely.
He could report to the Noble and Exalted Supreme Heavenly Lord as is.
That the Soka were gone.
That new Ten Demons must be selected.
Won Pyeong-sam set aside the Demonic Cult documents with a displeased expression and tore open the second envelope.
It detailed battles suspected of massive power clashes recently.
Curiously, every one listed by the Hao Clan involved Ha Mu-baek.
The Pang Clan's sealed gates.
The incident at Mountain-Crossing Demonic Forest.
The Zhongnan Sect's internal strife.
The Namgung Clan's self-inflicted chaos.
The earth-shaking event at Near-Supreme Peak.
The Ice Palace's turmoil.
And finally, the tragedy in the Southern Frontier.
As if Bae Un-san had deliberately guided Won Pyeong-sam toward Ha Mu-baek.
Notably absent was the Hao Clan's own tragedy.
There had been no clash of mighty forces then.
Just Ha Mu-baek's one-sided rampage.
Won Pyeong-sam examined each one meticulously.
His gaze finally settled on the last.
The Southern Frontier tragedy.
'A poison even the Myriad Toxins Immunity Body couldn't withstand......'
He knew such a poison well.
The Poison Scripture, no doubt.
And he knew the power required to wield it.
One of the Eight Savage Manuals of the Wilderness.
Tai.
That very power.
Thus, Won Pyeong-sam's eyes fixed solely on the final entry.
"I need more details on this."
Having decided, Won Pyeong-sam summoned Young So-hyang.
To relay the commission to the Hao Clan.
Shortly after Bae Un-san departed, a messenger pigeon soared into the sky.
It would likely reach the Chang'an main branch before Bae Un-san himself.
The message was simple.
Investigate everything about the Southern Frontier tragedy.
From beginning to end.
The Hao Clan would be busy henceforth.
And Heavenly Poison Valley would be included in that direction.