Chapter 144

Chapter 144
Chapter 144

On the journey back toward the Heaven-Covering Baek Clan, Zhuge Seol-ha kept her eyes on Yang-hui as he pushed forward in absolute silence. Ordinarily, he carried an easy, lighthearted playfulness, the sort of relaxed demeanor that allowed her to tease and joke with him without a trace of hesitation or heavy weight.

Yet, everything had shifted.

*This is the first time I’ve ever seen my senior brother wear an expression like that.*

He was the one person among her peers who never let go of his bright, confident grin, regardless of how desperate circumstances became. Even during their most perilous ordeal together through the Pure Sound Five Passes, hadn’t he remained entirely unchanged? Whenever she had surrendered to despair and deemed survival impossible, he would simply curve the corner of his mouth upward and carve out a path to safety.

*Back then, even when I was trapped in illusions and completely losing my mind… when I finally woke up, senior brother was just sitting there, quietly waiting for me.*

What had been the very first thing he said to her? Ah, it wasn’t even words. He had suddenly barked out a loud “Wak!” just to jolt her out of her stupor.

*By that point, he must have relived those terrifying, agonizing memories over and over again.*

And still, he had found the space and humor to play a prank. But the man right now… His lips were locked in a rigid, unforgiving line, his eyes burning with an intense chill.

“Senior brother… you’re actually capable of looking furious, huh.”

The observation slipped past her lips before she could catch it. Dang Gun, pacing swiftly beside her, immediately caught the murmur.

“Not to this extreme, little sister, but it isn’t the first time.”

“Oh. You heard that?”

Zhuge Seol-ha flushed with mild embarrassment for a second before adjusting her approach. Noting Yang-hui’s sharp perception, she switched to a direct mental transmission.

-Has he ever displayed this side of himself before?

-Indeed, little sister. He radiated genuine killing intent back during the bandit pacification, and down at the Sword King Mausoleum, it was straight-up murderous.

Bandits. The Sword King Mausoleum. Both chapters of his life that unfolded before she had ever entered his orbit. A sharp prick of envy flared within her chest. Ever since she was taken in as Master Yin-hu’s disciple, virtually all her meaningful memories were tied to Yang-hui. Yet, she realized he possessed an entire past entirely separate from her—one she desperately wanted to uncover.

-Could you tell me the specifics?

-Of course.

He recounted the occasion Yang-hui single-handedly dismantled an entire mountain fortress of bandits holding innocent villagers hostage. Then came the tale of his infiltration into the Sword King Mausoleum to strike the Namgung Clan from behind, where he unexpectedly crossed paths with disciples of the Blood Cult.

*Bandits… I can understand that. Senior brother has never shown mercy to evil sects.*

While she had never witnessed it firsthand, she could easily infer it from his daily convictions and habits. It was precisely why Master Yin-hu held him in such high regard.

*But the Sword King Mausoleum… what on earth drove him to such fury back then?*

Yang-hui was the kind of person who would merely laugh off insults hurled at his past as an orphaned beggar. For someone of that temperament to unleash such unfiltered rage and killing intent meant there had to be a deeply severe catalyst behind it. The more she unraveled, the more layers of mystery surrounded him.

*A person harboring this many secrets… can he truly be trusted completely?*

Her gaze drifted back to Yang-hui’s form. Her Peach Blossom Physique scanned the spiritual landscape of his inner self—a jagged boulder covered in old scars, yet looking all the more indestructible because of them. Right now, however, a violent storm was howling around that very stone.

Even so, a boulder remained an unyielding constant. More dependable than anyone else alive—perhaps even matching her own father—that was who Yang-hui was to her.

*Now that I think about it, it’s quite absurd. I’ve ended up following and leaning on my senior brother far more than my actual blood brother? Though, technically, we’re the exact same age.*

His inner fortitude was that steady and absolute. Guided by the train of her thoughts, her perception shifted next toward Dang Gun.

He resembled a wisteria vine, its slender tendrils swaying and shifting shape in response to every change in the wind’s direction and pressure, yet his root system was anchored deep and unshakeable into the earth.

*Fitting for someone walking right beside senior brother. Getting close to him… might prove difficult.*

It wasn’t because Dang Gun gave off a negative impression. Truthfully, she maintained that guarded distance toward almost everyone in the world. Her upbringing—marked by a surrounding environment of constant terror, followed by an isolated childhood spent alone with Master Yin-hu deep in the mountains—had wired her that way.

Naturally, there were exceptions.

Her attention drifted toward Adu’s inner presence. A sheet of pure, flawless white jade, utterly devoid of a single speck of darkness. It was distinct from ordinary blank paper; paper absorbed ink and retained stains forever, whereas jade simply repelled them, wiped clean with a single stroke.

“Hey, monk, do you want to grab some delicious rice cakes as soon as we make it back?”

Adu’s face instantly brightened, and even while keeping up the running pace, he bounced with irrepressible delight.

“Really? Woooow!”

Though she rarely opened her heart to outsiders, despite her ability to read their inner cores, her bond with Adu had formed with startling speed. Or rather, it was because Adu was a rare soul whose exterior and interior were entirely identical.

*If he hadn’t happened to be a monk, I probably never would have asked him to help shield me when my aura leaked out.*

The memory brought a small smile to her lips. It had been the very first time she ever managed to catch Yang-hui off guard.

*Fine, let’s just view today’s events as discovering a brand-new facet of senior brother.*

So what if he kept countless secrets and hidden histories? That scarred rock would never turn on her. She had all the time in the world to learn about him piece by piece.

*Ah, that reminds me.*

Another figure popped into her mind as she considered expanding her circle.

*Chui-dal, was it? I wonder what his inner image actually looks like.*

One thing she felt certain of: if senior brother kept a man like that close by, he couldn’t possibly be a bad person.

“Kwaaaagh! Kwaaaagh!”

Even as his disciple shrieked like a tortured phantom trapped in the deepest abyss of the underworld, Yeo Un-hyeok sat calmly playing a solitary game of Go, utterly unbothered.

“Kwaaaagh! Agh!”

When the piercing screams finally tapered off and Chui-dal’s head slumped forward in exhaustion, Yeo Un-hyeok finally stirred. He didn’t offer comfort; instead, he snapped a finger against a precise pressure point to snap the young man back to consciousness.

“Kuh?! Kgh, kwaaaagh!”

Chui-dal erupted into another raw howl of agony. Watching the boy writhing, Yeo Un-hyeok offered a calm word of reassurance.

“Endless torment of this caliber always serves a purpose. While it may not boast the ancient lineage of the Thousand-Year Shaolin, our sect’s arts have endured unbroken for ages. Disciple, the agony you are willingly absorbing right now is precisely where that strength originates.”

“Kwaaagh! Kuh, kgh…”

Clenching his teeth through the excruciating pain, Chui-dal managed to wheeze a response back to his master.

“You never warned me… it would hurt this badly…!”

“You were the one who claimed you’d endure even the fires of hell if it meant transforming yourself.”

Chui-dal ground his teeth so hard his gums began to ooze blood under the pressure. It was true—this was a suffering he had chosen for himself. If he failed to bear it, it remained nothing more than meaningless torture; if he survived it, it morphed into ascetic discipline.

“If you’re too terrified, you can stop right now. I’ll take your place.”

His sworn brother had once offered to shoulder the burden he couldn’t handle. Because of that, Chui-dal had to pull his own weight and fulfill his end. To ever catch up to Yang-hui—who raced ahead of everyone else, walking a lonely path powered by blazing, monstrous talent—he had no choice but to swallow this hell.

“Our Shadow Phantom Sect is, at our roots, merely a band of thieves. The title Divine Earth Vein was earned simply by surviving long enough for our infamy to take root across the land. So endure, my disciple. Endure, and everything will belong to you.”

“Understood… Master…!”

Yeo Un-hyeok absentmindedly twirled a black stone between his fingers. Yet, he found himself unable to place it down on the board. He had taken to playing alone simply because watching his disciple undergo such brutal transformation up close was too agonizing to bear.

“This bond I forged at the young master’s direct request has somehow grown infinitely precious to me.”

What began as fulfilling an obligation had shifted until Chui-dal rivaled both his own daughter Yeo Ah-rang and his granddaughter Gu Hwa-hwa in his affections. The boy possessed a natural aptitude tailored perfectly for the Shadow Phantom Sect, diving headfirst into torturous training without a single complaint, treating his master with the reverence of a true father. How could he not cherish him?

“Kagh, kgh… Master.”

“Speak.”

“At least… talk to me… say anything…!”

Yeo Un-hyeok let out a soft sigh, though there was a strange fondness in it.

“I honestly never anticipated you’d suffer quite this much. I came into this art late in life myself, so I never had to undergo the Asura Hell Great Law you’re currently surviving.”

Chui-dal let out a weak, rattling chuckle.

“Kgh, heh heh. Even the name alone sounds like some unholy demonic technique.”

“They say it’s named after the magnitude of the pain it inflicts. Our founder clearly had a rather malicious sense of humor…”

Yeo Un-hyeok paused mid-sentence. A sharp, chilling snap echoed from Chui-dal’s hand. Without a doubt, the bones inside had just shattered into dozens of individual fragments. They would soon knit back together, granting him absolute, fluid control over the ten strands of thousand-thread silk required for the Hidden Shadow Silk Bind.

“Master, have you heard… any news from home…?”

Chui-dal spent his entire existence locked in this hellish regimen and cultivation of the great law, his mind constantly numbed by shock, but Yeo Un-hyeok maintained a steady channel of communication with the main headquarters.

“A dispatch arrived from the capital just yesterday. They are actively mobilizing for an all-out war against the evil path factions down in Gangseo.”

“Kuh, shouldn’t… we be heading over there too…?”

“There’s no need. A full-scale war like this will drag on for at least a year.”

He had recently caught wind of how swiftly the young master had managed to swallow Namchang whole in a matter of months. Even so, expanding territory typically demanded decades for standard martial sects.

“So focus on enduring. When the main family finally requires us, we will step onto the stage in grand fashion and show them our worth.”

“Kgh, heh heh. Brother is going to be completely shocked.”

“Naturally. Especially given how drastically you’ll have changed.”

Chui-dal was bound to transform. He had no alternative. After all, the great law had cost tens of thousands in gold to acquire; it would be a terrible waste if it didn’t deliver.

“The young master might even feel a twinge of betrayal if he ever found out about this.”

The Shadow Phantom Sect was obscenely wealthy. Centuries of operating as notorious underworld figures had accumulated staggering fortunes. Yet, during their initial contact, they had never offered financial backing to the impoverished Baek Clan. Part of it stemmed from lingering guilt over ignoring their plight—leaving them without the face to look the former Divine Earth Vein master and benefactor in the eye—while strict sect regulations forbade exporting their wealth.

*Still, that kid will eventually lend them a hand as a proud member of the Baek Clan…*

Yeo Un-hyeok smiled faintly to himself. He could vividly picture his disciple standing shoulder-to-shoulder with the young master, who seemed destined to command the entire martial world if nothing cut him down prematurely.

*Young master, all indications suggest this upcoming war won’t be a simple affair. Just hold your ground a little longer. I’ll be right there to back you up soon.*

Yeo Un-hyeok harbored total certainty. The Yang-hui he knew possessed a clever, cunning ruthlessness that would twist any crisis into a sweeping victory unlike anyone else.

◇◇◇◇◇◇

“Father. I am formally requesting permission to mobilize.”

Baek Mu-ryang blinked in utter astonishment as Yang-hui abruptly burst directly into his study. His son carried an air of heavy, unusual gravity that bore no resemblance to his usual demeanor.

“Hui-ya?”

Scarcely a few days prior, the boy had been preaching caution and calculated strategy. This abrupt reversal left him thoroughly thrown off balance. Even so, Baek Mu-ryang didn’t bother questioning whether it was feasible.

“Very well. Granted.”

The lack of hesitation made Yang-hui pause. Witnessing his father’s steady composure instantly anchored his own frayed nerves.

“You’ve accepted it that easily. Shouldn’t you ask for my reasoning first?”

“I met directly with the leader of the Black Shadow Gang.”

“What?! Why on earth would you do such a reckless thing!”

As anger flared across Baek Mu-ryang’s features, Yang-hui pressed forward without missing a beat.

“I managed to secure crucial intelligence and something that urgently needs verification. Time is running out, Father. Assign me the top ten fighters from our estate, including Blood Lord Gu-ak. I will make the exact same request of Young Lord Dang.”

“…I’ll listen to the full explanation later. Approved.”

“Thank you, Father.”

He had already dropped hints to Dang Gun along the way. Yang-hui dashed off to locate Gu-ak and instruct him to prep the elite forces, then made a beeline straight for the quarters where the Namgung contingent was staying.

“Young Lord Namgung! New intelligence has just come in, and our strategy has shifted entirely! We must march out immediately!”

“What is the meaning of this sudden declaration, Young Hero Baek?”

“There is no time to explain! Get your people ready first!”

Namgung Cheon-hu could not mask his sudden shock. Urging him forward with a masterclass in feigned panic, Yang-hui ground his teeth together inwardly.

*Whether you’ve actually joined hands with those bastards from the Hyeongsan Sect or not, I haven’t been able to confirm it yet.*

Because it remained an unknown factor, he had to force a movement just to expose their hands. In unfamiliar conditions, injecting unpredictable variables through aggressive action was always the optimal play.

*The Hyeongsan Sect. And the Namgung Clan. Regardless of what kind of underground groundwork they’ve laid, those two are historical, unyielding enemies.*

Therefore, the objective was to tilt the current flow toward mutual destruction right from the start. If they truly had formed a secret alliance, the ensuing chaos would paint a very clear picture indeed.

*You bastards, things are not going to play out the way you’re planning.*