The End of Seclusion
The training had finally come to an end.
“Well, I expected this… but it still feels bitter.”
“Ahem. Perhaps everyone has simply forgotten?”
Muyoung kept stealing glances at me, clearly reading my mood.
It made sense. I had emerged from closed-door training only to find no one waiting outside.
It wasn’t as if I had expected anyone to welcome me back with open arms.
Still, seeing the empty courtyard with my own eyes left me with a strange, indescribable feeling.
Even this had become familiar to me now.
“No one knew exactly when you would finish, and you stayed a little longer than the promised time. That must be why…”
Muyoung did his best to defend them, but it was pointless.
Of course, I wasn’t particularly bothered either.
“It’s fine. They must all be busy.”
I let out a small chuckle and began walking.
First, I needed to wash and then greet the Family Lord and my mother.
As I made my way, warriors throughout the compound began whispering the moment they saw me.
“What? Isn’t that the youngest young master? Wasn’t he supposed to be in closed-door training?”
“Yeah. So he’s finally out?”
“Looks like it. That means he didn’t even last a full year, right?”
They thought they were speaking quietly enough that I wouldn’t hear, but my senses had long surpassed ordinary imagination.
Ever since reaching the Transcendent Peak realm, I could, if I focused properly, even hear a leaf falling hundreds of yards away.
Not that they had any way of knowing that, of course.
“Huh? The youngest young master’s height…”
One of the whispering warriors hurriedly clamped his mouth shut.
His colleague, who had been about to scold him, froze as well.
It wasn’t simply that I had grown taller or become more solidly built.
Step. Step.
Every time I took a step, the air around me seemed to grow heavier, as if pressing down on everything nearby.
It was the same chilling sensation one might feel when a massive beast brushed past.
The warriors unconsciously swallowed dryly and took several steps back.
They couldn’t even bring themselves to meet my eyes.
I could feel their gazes changing.
In the end, a martial artist proves himself through martial arts alone.
All I had to do was slowly prove myself in the same way.
My already sharp senses had advanced to an even higher level.
If I exaggerated just a little, I could probably hear heartbeats from dozens of yards away.
The Sword Soul Hall of the Ju Family.
“What is it?”
The person sitting where the Family Lord should have been was someone else entirely.
The Great Elder, Ju Sang-geon.
“I came to pay my respects to the Family Lord, but it seems he is not here.”
“You didn’t even know that? The Lord has already left for the archipelago.”
The Zhushan Archipelago.
It seemed the matter there had not been fully resolved after all.
I had thought things were mostly settled, but perhaps the problem was more serious than I realized?
“Has the situation on the islands grown that large?”
“Hmph. I wouldn’t know. I heard it’s nearly over. He went to confirm the final details… Why are you so curious about it?”
Ju Sang-geon’s expression was as stiff and blunt as ever.
He was my great-uncle.
My grandfather—the previous Family Lord who had retired to travel the world—had been out of contact for over a decade now.
Still, a master who had reached the Transcendent Peak realm would not easily fall into danger, so I wasn’t worried.
Normally, Ju Sang-geon should have stepped down from his position as an elder and retired as a senior, but he could not.
My grandfather had apparently given him very strict instructions.
“If those fools are left to their own devices, they’ll tear the family apart fighting among themselves. You must stay and mediate.”
That had been the final order my grandfather left for his younger brother.
Though Ju Sang-geon had grumbled about being abandoned while his brother went off traveling, his devotion to the family was no less than anyone else’s.
He remained politically neutral, supporting no faction and simply observing from his position as an elder.
As a result, he had no followers of his own and was widely regarded as the cleanest figure within the family.
‘Though that stubborn personality of his is certainly a problem.’
His prickly nature had played a large part in keeping others from approaching him.
“What are you staring at? If you have nothing to say, leave. You’re bothering me.”
Ju Sang-geon closed his eyes, clearly dismissing me.
I gave a short bow and turned to leave.
Creak!
In that brief moment as I closed the door behind me, I felt a sharp gaze pierce the back of my neck.
Through the narrow gap of the closing door, Ju Sang-geon’s low mutter slipped out.
“…The brat. He has finally become a dragon.”
My father and his brothers all found him difficult to approach.
In fact, no one in the entire family felt comfortable around Ju Sang-geon.
Many even deliberately took detours to avoid crossing paths with him.
‘Because they don’t know his true worth.’
But I knew.
I knew what Ju Sang-geon was hiding.
And what he was truly capable of.
‘Now is not the time.’
I bowed my head respectfully once more before leaving the Sword Soul Hall entirely.
Of course, I was well aware that the moment I turned my back and opened the door, Ju Sang-geon had opened his eyes and was watching me with careful intensity.
“Oh my? Young Master, you’ve returned?”
It was Danhui.
The moment I arrived at my residence, she greeted me warmly.
Her face showed clear signs of comfort and ease. It seemed she had fully adapted to life in the family now.
“Hello, Young Master.”
Her younger sister, Dana, had also grown noticeably and greeted me with far more confidence than before.
“Yes, it’s good to see you both.”
“You must be hungry. I’ll prepare a meal right away.”
“Mm. I’ll visit Mother first, so get everything ready while I’m gone.”
I felt like I was going to die from craving proper food.
During my time in the training cave, I couldn’t eat anything rich or oily.
I had brought some dried fruits and meat, which helped coat my stomach a little, but…
Nothing could compare to fresh food from the outside world.
Just thinking about it made my mouth water. I sank into a steaming hot bath first.
It felt as though all the accumulated fatigue was peeling away layer by layer in the hot water. My entire body finally relaxed completely.
I closed my eyes and surrendered myself to this brief moment of peace.
Late that evening.
After finishing my conversation with Mother, I returned to my quarters.
She had welcomed me with great warmth and noticed the changes in me before anyone else.
“Thank you.”
I bowed deeply toward the apothecary standing beside her.
“Hehe, what did I do?”
While I was away, the apothecary had taken meticulous care of Mother.
He had purged every trace of the poison lurking within her body and restored her vitality using rare medicinal herbs and nourishing pills.
Because of that, Mother actually looked younger than she had before.
“How is your granddaughter?”
“She is improving. The time she spends with her eyes open has grown considerably longer. Of course—who do you think I am?”
The apothecary’s expression was bright as well.
He had always smiled, but a shadow of anxiety had lingered in his eyes. Now, much of that worry seemed to have lifted.
“I’m glad to hear it.”
The important matters were slowly being resolved.
Mother’s safety, and by extension, the peace of the family.
And with the apothecary’s help, I had gained resistance against demonic arts.
“Then now…”
It was time to take care of my own tasks.
The first of them… the Baekryongdae.
I would seize them completely.
The eyes and ears of the family.
Everything they saw and heard became information for the Ju Family, which was then used to make decisions that benefited both business and the clan.
It might seem simple, but the Baekryongdae was the most crucial organization of all.
‘Useless.’
Yet the evaluation I had reached about them was that they were utterly worthless.
They had failed to detect even the movements of the Demonic Cult, and they had remained completely still even as the family was nearly uprooted.
Therefore, I intended to reorganize them without hesitation.
“It’s been a while.”
I entered the residence of Yang Gon, the vice-leader of the Baekryongdae.
Since the position of leader was still vacant, Yang Gon was, in name, the highest authority.
There were other vice-leaders, but Yang Gon had the most seniority here.
“You have arrived, Young Master.”
Yang Gon rose from his seat and offered a respectful bow.
He too looked quite surprised by the changed aura I now gave off.
I sat down in his seat without asking for permission.
“I heard you underwent closed-door training. Thanks to that, your eyes shine with a brilliant light…”
“Enough. What brilliant light?”
I cut him off.
I hadn’t come here to listen to his flattery.
Yang Gon tensed up.
I had given him a veiled warning before, so he must have been watching his every move since then.
I stared at him in silence.
Observing his relatively calm reaction, I finally spoke.
“It’s been quite some time since the leader of the Baekryongdae died.”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“Are you aware that the Family Lord has entrusted me with the authority to deal with all of you in the Baekryongdae?”
“……”
Yang Gon’s eyes widened.
Such heavy authority had been given to a mere young master?
“Do you… perhaps have an official order?”
“An official order, you say.”
I chuckled and set down my teacup.
Bang!
The table screamed.
No—the entire atmosphere inside the room seemed to cry out.
In an instant, Yang Gon’s face turned deathly pale.
An invisible giant hand seemed to be choking him, creating a suffocating pressure.
“Ugh…!”
Yang Gon’s shoulders were crushed downward.
He gasped for breath, staring up at me with eyes full of terror.
“I just told you. Dealing with all of you is my responsibility. I could kill you right here if I wanted.”
“…Y-Young Master…!”
“My words are the order itself. Do you need further confirmation?”
“N-No, I do not.”
Yang Gon hurriedly lowered his head, hiding his trembling hands.
There was no need for logic.
He was simply not an existence he could possibly oppose.
As vice-leader, he understood better than anyone how the Baekryongdae was currently being treated.
The previous leader’s betrayal, followed by his mysterious death inside the prison.
Right now, the Baekryongdae had no excuse even if they had ten mouths to speak with.
It would be perfectly natural for every single one of them to be dragged into the prison for interrogation.
That was why Yang Gon had been extremely cautious in his actions until now, simply trying to survive.
“I… I will obey.”
In the end, Yang Gon nodded obediently.
From this moment on, his fate would depend on my judgment.
I looked at him, lost in thought.
‘Whether this man has ties to the Demonic Cult or is simply a loyal warrior of the family—nobody knows.’
This could all be an act.
After the leader’s death, he was the most likely candidate to become the next leader.
What if all of this had been arranged by the Demonic Cult with him in mind?
‘I can’t allow that.’
I had to doubt everything and verify everything.
Even the way Yang Gon kept his eyes closed right now might not be due to guilt, but another calculated performance.
“What should I do with you?”
“…Pardon?”
I threw the question at him.
“You and the Baekryongdae… what should I do with you?”
“……”
Yang Gon lowered his head without answering.
It was his way of saying he would obediently follow whatever I decided.
“Would you accept death?”
At my words, Muyoung, who had been standing behind me, naturally reached for his sword hilt.
Yang Gon quietly closed his eyes and nodded.
“If I have committed sins, I will accept the consequences.”
“You don’t feel wronged?”
“I do feel wronged, but that must be the result of my own shortcomings. Since we have tarnished the existence of the Baekryongdae and endangered the family, that sin…”
“Even if the previous leader acted alone?”
“That is my own incompetence for failing to notice and stop it beforehand.”
Oh. An unexpected answer.
I glanced at Muyoung.
Muyoung nodded slightly in response to my look.
“Then prove it.”
“…Yes?”
Yang Gon raised his head.
I looked at him and spoke in a low, commanding tone.
“From now on, every single report from the Baekryongdae will go only through me. All activity reports, operational funds—everything. You will report solely to me and act only under my control. Can you do that?”
“……”
This was exactly what I wanted.
To take the Baekryongdae into my grasp and completely transform it.
“But the Family Lord…”
“Of course he wouldn’t permit it.”
There was no way the Sword Sovereign would allow such a thing.
The quick-witted Yang Gon understood my meaning immediately.
“You mean… to submit the reports to you in secret.”
“That’s right. First and foremost. I will receive the Baekryongdae’s reports, and only the information I select will be passed on to the family.”
This might put me in danger.
But it was also something that absolutely had to be done.
I would seize every piece of information flowing into Gangseo Province.
The Black King Faction and the Baekryongdae.
By holding a massive intelligence network that encompassed both the black and white paths, I would turn around and strangle the Demonic Cult.
That was one of the major pictures I was drawing.
“I will obey.”
After thinking for a long time, Yang Gon finally nodded.
I couldn’t tell what he was truly thinking.
However, the moment he tried anything suspicious, I was confident I could use him to follow the tail straight to the body.
‘He might even be hoping for that.’
At my cold smile, Yang Gon flinched visibly.
He bowed his head, cold sweat dripping down his face.
The Baekryongdae was now in my hands.
Having taken control of Gangseo Province’s eyes and ears, only one thing remained.
I rose from my seat.
“Let’s go, Muyoung.”
“Where are we going?”
“To clean house.”
My eyes gleamed with cold light.
“The rats.”
The Geumcheon Assassination Gate.
Those filthy rats who had dared set foot in my territory.
“I’ll erase every last one of them.”
It was time to reap the seeds I had sown.