Chapter 110
The legend that drifts through the martial world, the Eight Great Treasures of the Murim.
This legend, whose very name makes the hearts of martial artists race, has circulated on people's lips for countless years.
Some claimed that the Eight Great Treasures were mystical artifacts embedded with miraculous power, and that anyone who possessed them could command the whole world.
On the other hand, others scoffed, saying they were nothing more than absurd superstitions.
Jaseong, who desired power more than anyone, wanted to uncover the truth behind this old legend.
Was it truly real—or merely an extravagant, baseless rumor?
'If the Evil Path Association Leader's Seal really does contain some extraordinary power...'
However, the moment Jaseong's party entered the Tianxia Association Leader's secret vault—
"... What is this?"
Their expectations were completely shattered.
The warehouse was empty.
Nothing was left but dust, worn and tattered from age.
A musty odor stung their noses, and cobwebs were thick along the walls.
"Don't tell me the unorthodox sect bastards raided this place first? Someone from Poison Valley, the Black Star Sect, or the Twin Dragon Clan...."
In the darkness illuminated by the lamp, Gu Janghu narrowed his eyes and muttered.
But Lee Rin shook her head.
"That's impossible. When we arrived, they were in the middle of fighting each other. Besides, how many people even know this vault's location?"
"Then who took it?"
After thinking for a moment, Lee Rin summoned the Tianxia Association officials standing by nearby.
She asked whether anyone had entered the secret vault lately.
"Be honest. Has anyone visited this warehouse recently?"
But the officials only looked puzzled.
"No one has been there lately."
"We were guarding it under the Association Leader's orders... But we don't know what's inside. It's been sealed for ages, after all."
No one had entered the whole time, huh.
Then who on earth took the Evil Path Association Leader's Seal?
It was enough to make one believe in ghosts.
"......."
Jaseong silently examined the inside of the warehouse for a while.
No matter how closely he looked, there were no traces of entry.
Not a single footprint on the dust-laden floor, just as the Tianxia Association officials had said—no one had been here.
In the end, Jaseong drew his own conclusion.
"Gun Hanmaek tricked us."
Lee Rin asked, startled.
"Huh...? What do you mean?"
"Look at the floor."
"?"
"In a warehouse this dusty, no one in the entire martial world could enter and leave without leaving the tiniest footprint. Even if they used air-walking, there would be gusts of wind stirring things up."
"Ah...!"
"And the Tianxia Association Leader is about the same strength as us, maybe even weaker. Didn't he say he recently came to this vault to store the Evil Path Association Leader's Seal? So why is there not a single footprint?"
"So what you mean is...!"
"Gun Hanmaek never came here. Which means he never stored the Evil Path Association Leader's Seal here in the first place."
Growing up on the bottom rung of the Red Light District, Jaseong was quick-witted enough to see through Gun Hanmaek's ruse in an instant.
If Jaseong went to block the Black Star Sect, Twin Dragon Clan, and Poison Valley and lost—returning dead—his subordinates would lose all will to fight.
Gun Hanmaek would then have used that chaos as an opportunity to escape.
"Hao Sect's guardian general Gal Seo-ryeong gave an early warning. She said the Tianxia Association Leader Gun Hanmaek is not only skilled in martial arts but extremely cunning."
"Come to think of it... it was odd just how readily he told us where the Evil Path Association Leader's Seal was kept."
"Branch chief. Let's return to Gun Hanmaek. Before he tries any more tricks."
At Gu Janghu's words, Jaseong nodded.
The look in his eyes grew even colder than when he'd faced the three great sects.
* * *
Afterward, Jaseong's group deployed the Shadowless Body Technique, swiftly cutting through the forest.
Shuak! Shuak! Shuak!
Thanks to their mastery of the Shadowless Body Technique, their speed was astonishing.
An ordinary person, unversed in martial arts, would have thought they were seeing ghosts.
Chuk! Chuk! Chuk!
By the time they arrived at the secret hall of the Tianxia Association, nothing seemed amiss.
Association Leader Gun Hanmaek still sat there, shackled in chains.
"I didn't expect you to come back without a scratch."
Gun Hanmaek muttered.
His face was expressionless, but inside, he was deeply surprised.
He hadn't imagined they could return in one piece after facing such powerful sects as the Black Star Sect and the Twin Dragon Clan.
"So, did you find the Seal you were gifted?"
"No."
"What? Then?"
"The Evil Path Association Leader's Seal wasn't there at Thousand Martial Pavilion."
"... It wasn't there? What do you mean?"
Gun Hanmaek frowned and asked again.
Judging by his expression, he seemed genuinely clueless.
So Gu Janghu and Lee Rin wondered, 'Could it be that Gun Hanmaek really didn't lie?'
But instead of questioning further, Jaseong drew his sword with a ringing sound.
"The deal's off."
"What?"
"You're going to die here. Without the Evil Path Association Leader's Seal, I have no reason to keep you alive."
"......!"
"If you want to know who killed your brother, the former Evil Path Association Leader, find out in the afterlife."
Jaseong spoke in a chilling voice.
Then—
Jiiiiiing!
Jaseong poured golden Sword Aura into the blade.
He looked ready to cut Gun Hanmaek down at any moment.
Under that overwhelming presence, Gun Hanmaek flinched.
Then, in the next instant—
"Ahaha! My, I must have confused my memory."
"?"
"There's a secret vault under the floor of my bed chamber. That's where I keep the Evil Path Association Leader's Seal."
Gun Hanmaek chuckled as he spoke.
Just as Gal Seo-ryeong had said, he was both cunning and shameless.
And yet—why was it?
Jiiiiiing!!
Even after hearing Gun Hanmaek's answer, Jaseong did not put away his sword.
Instead, the chilling aura grew even stronger.
"Hey. Hao Sect branch leader. This time, I'm serious."
Jobeok, jobeok—
"It's the plain and honest truth. If you check the floor of my bedroom..."
Jobeok, jobeok—
"Are you not listening to me?! I, this one, am—"
Shuaaak! Kwaaaaang!!!
With a deafening crash, Gun Hanmaek's words were cut short.
Jaseong's Sword Aura was digging into his throat.
Jureureuk—
Crimson blood flowed.
But Gun Hanmaek did not breathe his last.
Jaseong had stopped his blade at just the right moment.
"You've played enough games. I played one back."
"......!"
"If you try to fool me one more time, it won't end as a joke."
Jaseong's voice was icy cold.
Seeing this, Gun Hanmaek unconsciously trembled.
'... I've survived every danger in the pleasure district... and this guy actually managed to make me flinch. This guy is the real deal. If he weren't with the Hao Sect and had gone down the Dark Path, he might have built a syndicate even greater than the Tianxia Association...'
Though he swallowed nervously, Gun Hanmaek was secretly satisfied.
Seeing Jaseong defeat the elite of the Black Star Sect, Twin Dragon Clan, and Poison Valley, and knowing how much determination he showed, Gun Hanmaek was certain he'd be a huge help in avenging his brother.
"Lead the way. To the vault with the Evil Path Association Leader's Seal."
Jaseong released part of the chain binding Gun Hanmaek and spoke.
Gun Hanmaek nodded and led them to the second floor of the secret hall.
There, they found the infamous bedroom.
[So this is the Tianxia Association Leader's chamber, where all the under-the-table money from the Central Plains' pleasure district ends up... It's so modest.]
Lee Rin spoke telepathically.
As she said, Gun Hanmaek's bedroom was nothing like they'd expected.
The walls totally undecorated, and there was only a simple wooden bed and desk.
"Here."
Standing in the center of the broad bedroom floor, Gun Hanmaek spoke.
He rapped his foot on the floor, and a hollow sound echoed from below.
Clearly, it was empty underneath.
Jaseong drew his sword and pried up the floorboards.
The planks shattered, and beneath them, a narrow staircase appeared.
"This really is the true treasure vault of the Tianxia Association Leader."
"Right. Mind if I come in too?"
"Why?"
"I must see my brother, no matter what."
... Brother?
Gun Hanmaek's cryptic answer made Jaseong and his party puzzled.
The next moment, when they descended the narrow stairs and entered the secret vault, they finally understood his words.
"Great hero. That person is...."
Lee Rin murmured telepathically.
In the middle of the secret vault lay a coffin with its lid removed.
Inside, a pale middle-aged man's corpse rested.
He wore golden martial robes with a red strip at the waist.
On his chest hung a silver badge engraved with the Evil Path Association crest.
Seeing this, Jaseong's group instantly realized the corpse's identity.
[One of the Five Great Evil Ones of the unorthodox faction, the deceased Evil Path Association Leader Ma Yeongmyeol... This is the peerless master himself. But, great hero, why is the Evil Path Association Leader's corpse here? Not at the Evil Path Association itself?]
Jaseong's party turned questioning eyes toward Gun Hanmaek.
Slowly, Gun Hanmaek began to speak.
"Right now, I can trust no one. I don't even know if my brother's killer was from the orthodox or unorthodox factions. How could I possibly leave his remains with the Evil Path Association?"
Gun Hanmaek's eyes, gazing at the Evil Path Association Leader's corpse, were clouded with deep sorrow and anger.
Looking at those eyes, Jaseong sensed just how close Gun Hanmaek and Ma Yeongmyeol had been.
Not a simple superior-subordinate relationship, but a bond like true brothers.
"As I've said before, the first thing I ask of your Hao Sect is this: find the master in white who killed my brother. And here, the reward you wanted."
Gun Hanmaek, still chained, drew a sword from the coffin.
Its blade was jet-black, its surface covered in mysterious engravings.
"What's this?"
Jaseong asked, puzzled.
Gun Hanmaek's reply was astounding.
"This is the Evil Path Association Leader's Seal you wanted."
"... The seal is a sword?"
Jaseong found it hard to believe.
He had expected something shaped like a stamp—but the Seal was actually a sword?
"Look at the end of the sword hilt."
Prompted by Gun Hanmaek, Jaseong inspected the end of the hilt.
There, an elegantly carved circular engraving appeared.
"The hilt's engraving has been used as the Evil Path Association Leader's Seal all this time."
"... That's unexpected."
"It's only natural, given how closely guarded the secret was."
Only now did Jaseong finally understand why the Evil Path Association Leader's Seal was counted among the Eight Great Treasures of the martial world.
It was a sword, not a stamp, and thus called a 'Treasure'.
"The true name of this sword is the Wicked Flame Sword. My brother always said it could cut through rock with no effort."
Listening, Jaseong picked up the Wicked Flame Sword.
It felt light and well-balanced in his hand—easy to wield.
Undoubtedly a masterwork.
But Jaseong craved more than just that.
"I've heard the Eight Great Treasures contain mystical abilities. What power does this Wicked Flame Sword hold?"
Yet to that, Gun Hanmaek simply snorted.
"The Eight Great Treasures of Murim... It's all just myth."
"What?"
"My brother, the previous Evil Path Association Leader, did everything he could to draw out the power in the Wicked Flame Sword. But contrary to the rumors, it didn't possess any special ability."
"......!"
"Even the current head of the Twin Dragon Clan, who produced the most Evil Path Association Leaders in history, has never heard of such a thing."
Jaseong's heart sank at the answer.
[I was hoping for something more, great hero.]
[Branch chief. Even without any special ability, this sword is deeply meaningful. It's the very symbol of the Evil Path Association Leader.]
Hearing Lee Rin and Gu Janghu's telepathic words, Jaseong nodded in silence.
Still, just in case, he peered at the Wicked Flame Sword with his Samadhi Eyes.
In that moment—
Hwiiaaaah—
A mysterious violet intent flowed out of the Wicked Flame Sword.