Chapter 452 : The True Mastermind
Chapter 452: The True Mastermind
The Martial Flower Lord grabbed Mungyeom's wrist, which was yanking Yong Seollan by her collar.
"Hold on a moment. I have something to ask her."
As the Martial Flower Lord raised her hand and grasped Mungyeom’s wrist, Yong Hwarin saw it.
The mark engraved on her wrist.
A symbol where a scorpion and serpent were entangled was embedded on the Martial Flower Lord’s wrist.
Yong Hwarin’s doubt turned into certainty.
‘Unbelievable. Now I see—it was Eungga behind the Heavenly Demon Sect, and behind Eungga was the Martial Flower Lord! Now it makes sense. Chouhui was completely used by the Martial Flower Lord. In the end, Chouhui and Mae Yeongyeong discovered the truth, which made them targets, and that’s what led to their demise. And yet, I never once doubted the Martial Flower Lord. Mae Yeongyeong tried to leave a clue about her. But why did the Martial Flower Lord kill them? They must have overheard something—words that should not have been heard.’
A flurry of thoughts whirled in his mind, and Yong Hwarin felt like vomiting from the mental nausea.
"Where is your brother? Why did you come alone?"
The Martial Flower Lord asked, and Yong Seollan replied with a frightened expression.
"My brother is at the main house."
Her voice was barely squeezed out.
"Then who is here with you?"
Yong Seollan’s neck flushed red from fear and tension.
"I'm here with Pang Giyok Orabeoni and Namgung Soomyung Orabeoni."
Yong Seollan deliberately left out Jegal Yohye’s name.
Because at least one of the three had to survive and spread the truth.
“Seollan! Where are you?”
It was just then that Jegal Yohye’s voice rang out, calling for Yong Seollan. The Martial Flower Lord smiled upon hearing it.
“So, Jegal Yohye came along too!”
The Martial Flower Lord stroked Yong Seollan’s cheek as she said,
“How adorable!”
Yong Seollan sensed her death approaching. Strangely, that realization brought her peace and a surge of courage.
She wanted to die with dignity, if she had to.
‘I’m a child of the Yong Clan. Even in death, I will face it with pride.’
Resolve filled Yong Seollan’s eyes more than ever before.
"I saw nothing. I’ll forget I ever came here."
Yong Seollan boldly declared, and the Martial Flower Lord smiled faintly.
“Hohoho, you really are Yong Hwarin’s sister. So bold and fearless. But you’ve seen us, so we can’t let you live. If you had only seen me, I might’ve spared you.”
With those words, Yong Hwarin finally understood why Yong Seollan had to die in his past life.
‘In my past life, Seollan came to see Yongmun Stone Cave and stumbled upon their secret meeting. That’s why they killed her to cover it up. And when Father kept trying to uncover the truth behind Seollan’s death, the Martial Flower Lord must’ve felt the risk of exposure and took action. The Martial Flower Lord controlled Eungga, Eungga controlled the Heavenly Demon Sect, and the Heavenly Demon Sect incited the Dabie Sect Alliance.’
At last, the fog that had clouded Yong Hwarin’s mind seemed to lift.
He had finally uncovered the secret behind the events of his past life.
‘Even after killing Eungjin, something still felt unresolved. This was it.’
Yong Seollan shouted with fiery defiance,
“If my brother finds out I’ve been killed, do you think he’ll let you all live?”
At that, the Martial Flower Lord, who had been turning away, turned her head back.
"If no one knows who killed you, what can your brother do? If we defile you and kill you here, he’ll probably just suspect the vagrants or thugs around Yongmun Stone Cave."
Yong Hwarin’s eyes turned icy upon hearing that.
Cult Leader Sandok of the Holy Heaven Cult added,
“Even if your brother is here right now, he wouldn’t be able to save you. Do you think he can handle us?”
Valley Leader Sohyeon of the Valley of Hidden Darkness sneered.
“These days, youngsters think they’re amazing just because they’re a bit skilled. They’ll only learn fear once they’ve been crushed.”
Mungyeom, Lord of Blood Demon Castle, opened his mouth.
“That’s enough. Let’s kill her now. What’s the point in wasting more time?”
As Mungyeom reached out to grab Yong Seollan by the throat—
Ssshhwik!
A sharp killing intent flew toward Mungyeom. He didn’t even think to block it and quickly dodged about one jang back.
“Who’s there!”
Realizing the one who had thrown the hidden weapon wasn’t ordinary, Mungyeom’s vigilance skyrocketed.
“Who might this esteemed guest be?”
Even the famously prideful Mungyeom spoke with caution, prompting Sandok and Sohyeon to raise their qi in response.
But Yong Hwarin didn’t reveal himself yet.
The priority was to secure his sister’s safety.
— The moment I attack, rescue Seollan.
As Yong Hwarin transmitted the message telepathically to the three women, Jeong Minji nodded.
Of the three, Mo Biyoung, most adept with Floating Petal Steps, took charge of rescuing Yong Seollan.
They all prepared Dragon Scale Fingers and awaited Yong Hwarin’s signal.
— Fire the Dragon Scale Fingers at the Martial Flower Lord. That’ll make them all move to protect her. That’s when Young Mae rescues Seollan.
Yong Hwarin fired his Dragon Scale Fingers in rapid succession with both hands and darted out using Floating Petal Steps. The three women also fired their Dragon Scale Fingers toward the Martial Flower Lord.
Pipipipipiping!
As a storm of giant needles imbued with tremendous qi rained down, the three opponents couldn’t afford to be careless and countered with their hidden weapons.
“Protect the Lord!”
All three shouted at once.
As the weapons flew toward the Martial Flower Lord, they moved in unison to surround her.
As the others moved to protect the Martial Flower Lord, the distance between them and Yong Seollan widened, allowing Mo Biyoung to quickly dart in and snatch her away.
However, Mungyeom, who noticed it, blocked her path.
"Where do you think you're going!"
As Mungyeom swiftly attacked Mo Biyoung, Yong Hwarin fired a barrage of Dragon Scale Fingers.
Realizing that the sharpness of the Dragon Scale Finger couldn't be ignored, Mungyeom promptly withdrew his body.
Thanks to that, Mo Biyoung was able to extract Yong Seollan without injury.
"Master Mo!"
Yong Seollan was startled to realize that her rescuer was Mo Biyoung. Then, she widened her eyes at the person standing before Mo Biyoung.
"Orabeoni! How did you get here?"
When she asked in surprise, Jeong Minji approached and said,
"Young Miss, it’s best to stay quiet for now."
Yong Hwarin advanced toward the Martial Flower Lord and the masters of the Three Demonic Heavens.
The Martial Flower Lord and the masters of the Three Demonic Heavens remained silent at Yong Hwarin’s sudden appearance.
That was because the situation had developed in a direction they had never anticipated.
However, they quickly hid their surprise and glared at Yong Hwarin.
"Well, there’s no problem with killing someone who’s bound to die anyway, just a little earlier than planned."
Mungyeom had no intention of sparing Yong Hwarin, the one who had crippled his son. Now that Yong Hwarin had shown up on his own, he was actually glad.
"Martial Flower Lord, what exactly is your aim in orchestrating all of this?"
The Martial Flower Lord responded calmly.
"What are you talking about?"
"Aren’t you the one who has been pulling the strings behind the scenes, manipulating the descendants of the White Tiger King, who were thought to be backing the Heavenly Demon Sect?"
"Oh? So you’ve figured that out too?"
She didn’t even bother denying it now.
Just then, Pang Giyok, Namgung Soomyung, and Jegal Yohye arrived, having heard the sounds of battle.
However, Namgung Yoo had already approached them first and explained the situation, so they fell in line behind Yong Hwarin and joined the ranks.
Yong Hwarin stared at the Martial Flower Lord and asked,
"You don't love the Murim—you despise it. That’s why you want to destroy it. Am I right?"
The Martial Flower Lord didn’t deny that either.
"Correct. I hate the Murim. The stronger the Murim becomes, the higher the threat it poses to the imperial palace."
Only now did Yong Hwarin understand why the Martial Flower Lord had invested so heavily in organizing the Murim Reorganization Tournament.
"You planned to use the Murim Reorganization Tournament to gather all the most talented and outstanding figures of the Murim in one place and then kill them."
"Indeed! Young Master Yong, you’re just too clever."
Yong Hwarin continued.
"But if you met with the masters of the Three Demonic Heavens, then you must believe that the real threat to the imperial palace is the orthodox Murim."
The Martial Flower Lord admitted that as well without hesitation.
"That’s true. The demonic factions typically operate in the shadows and aren’t that interested in power. But the Nine Great Sects or the prestigious families—when they have power, they ignore both the government offices and the imperial palace."
Yong Hwarin nodded.
"That makes sense. In truth, the orthodox Murim tends to be less obedient than the demonic side."
"I’m glad you understand. The orthodox Murim would risk their lives for their pride. They’re not easy to control."
Yong Hwarin laid it all bare.
"You established the Martial Flower Unit to use Murim people as your own limbs and then to use them to exterminate other Murim figures."
"Exactly. Turning Murim people into tools to kill other Murim people was quite amusing. Fortunately, Chouhui made it all possible."
"Then why did you kill Chouhui?"
"She accidentally overheard the plan for the Murim Reorganization Tournament and tried to tell you about it. So I killed her."
"All this time, your image as a Murim-friendly royal was just a ruse to draw Murim people into the tournament without suspicion, wasn’t it?"
The Martial Flower Lord shook her head with a chuckle.
"Truly, you never fail to amaze me. It’s as if you can see right into my heart and know everything."
Yong Hwarin asked one final question.
"Then why did you give me the Royal Queen's Record? You must’ve known it would greatly aid me."
"I gave it to make you mine. I believed that would be enough to bring you to my side. And if not, I intended to use it to frame you as a traitor. As you know, the Royal Queen's Record belongs to the imperial family. If you were found with it, you'd be accused of stealing imperial property and branded a rebel. Besides, when I read it, the contents seemed so absurd I didn’t take it seriously. I didn’t expect you to gain any insight from it."
As the Martial Flower Lord spoke words that aligned perfectly with his expectations, a flame of rage surged within Yong Hwarin.
The Martial Flower Lord, apparently bored with the conversation, turned to the masters of the Three Demonic Heavens.
"Get rid of all these youngsters here."
Yong Hwarin replied to her words.
"Do you believe those three can kill us?"
The Martial Flower Lord looked at him and said,
"I know you’re an exceptional martial artist, but I don’t believe you can defeat the absolute masters of the Three Demonic Heavens."
Yong Hwarin stepped forward and declared,
"Then I will prove to you that this is your greatest miscalculation."
His plan was for the others to engage two of the masters of the Three Demonic Heavens, while he would take down the remaining one first, and then eliminate the others one by one.
He couldn’t face all three at once—but one at a time, he was confident he could win.
Yong Hwarin headed straight toward Mungyeom, the one who had tried to kill his sister.
Naturally, the three women, along with Pang Giyok and Namgung Soomyung, quickly formed teams and moved to confront Sandok and Sohyeon.
As the fledglings drew their swords to face them, Sandok and Sohyeon laughed mockingly.
"Look at these puppies charging at a tiger, not knowing fear."
The two sneered and unleashed their killing intent.