Chapter 371
"I heard Gong Yeongheo, the previous First Order, was pushed aside by Ha Baekhyun."
"He was."
"Rather than sending him to the north, would it not be better to send him to Yangnyeong?"
At Seol Unhwi’s question, Seol Jungcheon looked more puzzled than anything.
"To hold back the barbarians of the Chaotic-Heaven Region, strong fighters are needed. And in Yangnyeong you already have Nocheonmyeong, someone you could call your own. Gong Yeongheo is more than enough strength. I question whether it is right to send such a man to Yangnyeong."
Seol Jungcheon watched Seol Unhwi fall silent, thought it over, and then spoke.
There was something in this conversation that could not be left out.
"Have you ever been to the north?"
Seol Unhwi shook his head.
"No. The Central Plains and the Great Desert are all I’ve seen."
"Hm... then it sounds like you do not know much about the Chaotic-Heaven Region."
"I do not, Father."
Seol Jungcheon continued.
"Beyond the extreme northern wastes lies a place called the Chaotic-Heaven Region. It is a space where the heaven-and-earth spiritual qi has been twisted."
"Twisted...?"
"Yes. It is flowing in reverse. The name for those who live there is Chaotic-Heaven Ones. More simply, we call them barbarians."
"I have heard the term Chaotic-Heaven Ones."
"They were originally human. But under the influence of that twisted heaven-and-earth spiritual qi, they were corrupted. They lost reason, and only their violence grew stronger."
Seol Jungcheon’s expression darkened.
"There is a passage that connects them to this world. It is called the Chaotic-Heaven Gate, and it opens periodically."
"Periodically, meaning...?"
"Like a hidden realm opening roughly once every ten years, the gate opens. And when it does, the Chaotic-Heaven Ones pour out."
"Are you saying the Snow Palace has been stopping that?"
"Yes. For hundreds of years. That is why the Baekryeong Guard and the Snow-Heaven Guard are dispatched north on a regular basis."
Seol Unhwi was intensely serious, and even seeing that, Seol Jungcheon could not fully set aside his puzzlement.
"How could you not know, of all people?"
There was a clear reason for that as well.
"After Yang Seoljin seized the Snow Palace, the Chaotic-Heaven Region became Snow Palace territory."
"...Hm?"
"The Chaotic-Heaven Ones, /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ and even the Chaotic-Heaven King—everything had already been resolved. The records I saw were close to nonexistent."
He could understand.
By the measure of his previous life, from Seol Unhwi’s perspective, he left the Snow Palace, wandered the martial world, sheltered himself with the Original-Root Blood Sect, grew there, unified the martial world, cleaned up the internal mess, and only after that dealt with the Snow Palace.
By the time he dealt with the Snow Palace, there was no Chaotic-Heaven Region, and no Chaotic-Heaven Ones.
Everything had been settled long ago.
And there had been no reason to investigate it. It had never been entangled with him in any way.
"But recently, something strange has been happening."
"What is it?"
"This time the Chaotic-Heaven Gate opened earlier than scheduled. Not after ten years, but after seven. And the scale was far larger."
"......"
"And the bigger problem is this."
Seol Jungcheon looked Seol Unhwi straight in the eye.
"A Chaotic-Heaven Emperor has appeared."
"What is a Chaotic-Heaven Emperor?"
"The highest existence among the Chaotic-Heaven Ones. It possesses power on the level of the Martial God Five Realms."
"Martial God Five Realms...?"
"It does not use martial arts, yet it naturally uses qi. Hardened qi, natural qi, heaven-and-earth spiritual qi—truly troublesome creatures."
"...So the one whose presence had no clear source went there."
Seol Jungcheon nodded.
Seol Unhwi fell silent for a moment.
Chaotic-Heaven Region.
Chaotic-Heaven Ones, Chaotic-Heaven Emperor, Chaotic-Heaven King.
Names he had never once faced, even in his previous life.
"Is it true the cycle has shortened?"
"It is."
"Then it seems I should go at least once."
At that, Seol Jungcheon’s eyes widened.
"Now?"
To that, Seol Unhwi shook his head.
"No. There are matters I must resolve first."
"You mean your bargain with Gun Mugyeol."
"Yes. I plan to stop by Yangnyeong, then see Song Hak, the Provincial Governor of Heaven-and-Earth Province, and go to the Murim League."
Word that the Provincial Governor of Heaven-and-Earth Province was on his last days had spread about a month ago.
To put it bluntly—
The funeral was a foregone conclusion.
"Song Hak—he was an official with ties to you."
"Yes."
"You will need an envoy."
"If you have someone you can send, I will accept."
Seol Jungcheon smiled.
Conversation with Seol Unhwi flowed easily.
Whether Seol Unhwi was being considerate, or their intentions simply aligned—
In truth, what did it matter which?
"Let us finish the match. And discuss the matter of the moves you left pending."
"It seems you have counsel you want from me."
"Heh. I have been waiting for this moment."
Seol Unhwi smiled as well.
"Will you overturn the board and begin anew?"
Seol Jungcheon, about to place a stone, froze for a brief moment.
The arrangement of stones was strange.
His mind spun quickly.
This stone at the upper-left corner—if it goes like this—and then—huh?
"...Five territories?"
"Six. If it’s short, it ends within ten moves; if it’s long, within fifteen."
"...I’ve lost."
"Then we play again."
The two men looked at each other and smiled.
***
When Seol Unhwi and Chief Seong arrived in Yangnyeong City, they were talking inside the carriage.
"Half a year, and it’s changed so much."
"What has?"
"What do you think? This place, of course. Yangnyeong City feels very different from what I remember."
Chief Seong was right.
The streets were clean, and the people’s expressions were bright.
Half a year ago, to say it plainly, this place had been chaotic.
Seol Unhwi’s process of taking Yangnyeong was a road stained with blood.
From the moment he first seized Yangnyeong at Seolap, and then spreading outward through Bongrae, Jeokan, Saryang, and even New-Sam Valley—
In all of it, the will of the residents had scarcely mattered at all.
It was nothing but killing after killing, and unseen disorder had embedded itself within the city, yet Seol Unhwi had not resolved that.
It would have taken too long.
He had subordinates. For Seol Unhwi to do even those tasks himself would have been not merely inefficient, but foolish.
A small smile formed at the corner of Seol Unhwi’s mouth as he looked out of the carriage.
They all must have worked themselves hard.
Soon, they arrived at the headquarters of Yangnyeong City.
Many people were already gathered there.
A woman approached Seol Unhwi and Chief Seong as they stepped down from the carriage.
Ju Soa.
The leader of the Yangun Corps.
"You're back."
Ju Soa smiled faintly.
"You look brighter. After we left last time, you got even busier—why didn’t you tell us to stay a little longer?"
Seol Unhwi snorted softly and patted Ju Soa on the shoulder.
"Your qi circulation seems better than before. Don’t let it go to your head."
Ju Soa shrugged, and then a young man approached from behind her.
"Commander, I’m relieved you returned safely."
It was Han Seokhyeon.
Seol Unhwi nodded and said, "There’s more laughter in the city now."
"......"
"You’ve worked hard."
"I only did my job."
Han Seokhyeon gave a respectful salute.
Behind him stood a woman with a face full of tension.
Namgung Wonyang.
She approached and saluted with formality.
"It’s an honor to see you again, my lord."
Seol Unhwi studied Namgung Wonyang with a peculiar expression.
It had been roughly two months since the Yangun Corps’ warriors had been dispatched to the Heavenly Alliance.
At the time, Namgung Wonyang had been in the Three-Blossom Gathered-True Realm.
Now, she had reached the Five-Qi Convergence Realm.
"Impressive."
"You flatter me..."
"Do you need anything?"
Namgung Wonyang smiled brightly.
"I already have everything."
Namgung Wonyang was twenty this year.
At only twenty, she had reached the Five-Qi Convergence Realm.
Even back at Seolap, Seol Unhwi had rated her talent higher than Cheonpung’s or Han Murin’s.
But he had not expected it to be this much.
After thinking for a moment, Seol Unhwi spoke quietly.
"Tonight, come to my quarters."
"...Just me?"
"Just you."
Namgung Wonyang nodded.
Ju Soa, watching the two with a strange look, tossed out a question as if throwing a pebble.
"What about me?"
"You’re out."
Ju Soa snorted.
"Still the same."
More importantly—
"Where is Senior No?"
"He’s managing the examination right now, I think."
"Examination?"
"The academy is holding the Martial Rank Grading today."
"Martial Rank Grading?"
"Yes. It’s a new test you created while you were away—the academy’s system is divided by ranks. He has to supervise it, so even if he comes, it’ll probably be after it ends."
That made sense.
"Let’s go inside. There’s much to discuss."
"Yes."
Ju Soa dismissed the Yangun Corps, and afterward Seol Unhwi moved into the main hall located in the central building of headquarters.
Seol Unhwi sat at the head seat and said quietly, "Sit."
"Yes."
Four people, including Chief Seong, took their seats.
A brief silence fell.
Seol Unhwi spoke first.
"How has Yangnyeong City been?"
Han Seokhyeon answered first.
"Stable. Senior No exerted himself, and Leader Ju and Captain Namgung ran all over to resolve problems, so there were no major incidents."
"Speak concretely."
"Yes. First, public order improved significantly. After you left, a strange organization appeared in Yangnyeong City."
"A strange organization?"
It was a casual question, but at Han Seokhyeon’s answer, Seol Unhwi’s brow creased sharply.
"It is a group called the Return-of-Life Society."
"...Return-of-Life Society?"
"...Yes. Do you know of them?"
He could not fail to know.
He had mentioned them lightly before, but the martial world at present was in a Great-Peace Era.
And that Great-Peace Era would shatter in about ten years.
The reason would be war—not war among martial artists, but war among states.
As martial artists were swept into that conflict, the Sacheon League and the Murim League would also enter, and the entire martial world would be engulfed in war’s flames.
At the beginning of all of it was the Return-of-Life Society.
Because of them, the Yang Empire, the Enemy State, and the Moonbright Kingdom would go to war.
Much about them was unknown. Even Seol Unhwi, who had tried to investigate, did not know much.
Seol Unhwi rested his chin in his hand.
No matter what, something about this was strange.
The Return-of-Life Society appears at this time?
No—he needed to look at it differently.
They did not appear now. They had existed long before.
Holding their breath, gathering strength, waiting for the moment—years later, they would detonate everything.
At Seol Unhwi’s deep, silent contemplation, everyone seated in the hall also fell silent.
Seol Unhwi raised his head and looked at Han Seokhyeon.
"Did they declare themselves to be the Return-of-Life Society?"
"...No."
"Then what were the circumstances of first finding them?"
"Among those flowing into nearby villages, we detected people with unusual movements."
"And by tracking those movements, you realized it was organized."
"Yes."
"How?"
"In my view, they looked too ordinary."