Chapter 535

“Great Hero Mae—no, the Alliance Leader is looking for you.”

Jin Wikyung’s sudden announcement stopped me short.

“Me?”

“Yes. And Cheongpung as well.”

Cheongpung too?

I was about to ask why when a familiar face popped out of a pavilion window.

“Grandpa! Are we going to see Grandpa now?”

Cheongpung sounded thrilled. Jin Wikyung smiled faintly and shook his head.

“Not your grandfather. The Alliance Leader is looking for you.”

“Yes. Grandpa!”

“The same man, but it’s different. In any case, Young Hero Cheongpung, get ready and come down as soon as you can.”

“Just a moment! I need to pack some dumplings!”

“All right. Take a variety. And some sweets.”

He’s had some practice, all right. Didn’t even blink.

Jin Wikyung had dealt with Cheongpung enough times by now that it came naturally to him.

Cheongpung vanished amid a clatter, and Jin Wikyung turned to me.

“You aren’t asking why.”

“……I’d say it’s more accurate to say I haven’t had a chance to ask.”

“That’s true.”

“I might as well hear it from him when I get there. Besides, I already have a feeling.”

“What sort of feeling?”

“That he didn’t call us over just to see his grandson.”

He wanted to see Cheongpung and me.

Sword Saint Mae Jonghak—no, the Alliance Leader of the Murim Alliance.

The man was the same, but the title made all the difference. That was probably what Jin Wikyung had meant when he corrected Cheongpung.

The Alliance Leader.

It was a weighty title. The man bearing it carried the countless martial artists crisscrossing the Nine Provinces¹—and all of Murim—on his shoulders. And he wanted to see me…

No matter how I look at it, that’s ominous.

Had something else happened already?

I was wondering just that when—

Whoosh!

Cheongpung appeared with the sound of rushing wind. A bulging silk bundle hung from one hand, and gleaming silver armor covered his upper body.

Wait. Armor?

Hiss.

“I’m back. What the fuck?”

“It’s Mimi. She’s grown so much I can’t carry her in my arms anymore.”

“…Then how about leaving her here?”

Cheongpung tilted his head.

“Why?”

“Do you seriously not know?”

“Yes!”

“Oh… Not a moment’s hesitation. You’re driving me insane.”

She was a snake. A snake with horns, no less.

She’d grown so bulky that Mimi hardly seemed like the right name anymore.

Bottom line: I didn’t know how many snake lovers there were in the Murim Alliance, but she wasn’t exactly a pet they’d welcome.

“…What the hell have you been feeding her?”

“Hehe. She’s gotten huge, hasn’t she? Guess, Benefactor.”

I answered without hesitation.

“Steroids.”

“Mostly dumplings and sweets. Oh, she definitely seems to have gotten a lot bigger after eating the Blood Fish.”

I was about to ask why he’d fed a snake dumplings and sweets when I caught myself.

“Blood Fish?”

“Yes.”

Blood Fish were fish from Dongting Lake contaminated by magical power.

In other words, she’d eaten something thoroughly tainted…

“No. Mimi stays here.”

“She’s fine.”

“Other people might not be. She could bite someone.”

“No, Mimi wouldn’t bite even if I told her to. Want to see?”

Looking desperate to prove it, Cheongpung reached toward Mimi.

“Mimi, bite!”

Swish. Clack!

It happened in an instant.

Mimi lunged with her jaws wide open, quick as lightning. Cheongpung’s hand vanished even faster.

Her teeth snapped together on empty air. She flicked her tongue as if disappointed.

Hiss.

“See? She didn’t bite.”

“…”

“…”

Is he insane?

She just missed.

Everyone, myself included, was speechless. Cheongpung’s face fell.

“Sal—no, Mungyeong said she was fine…”

“Mungyeong did?”

“Yes. I see him a lot these days. He checked on Mimi, too.”

Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen much of either Cheongpung or Mungyeong lately. I’d been busy, but from what Cheongpung said, that wasn’t the only reason.

That guy never took an interest in anyone else. What’s gotten into him?

Cheongpung saw my eyes narrow and caught his breath.

“Gasp.”

“Why?”

“It’s nothing.”

That only made him more suspicious.

But I let it go with a shrug. Jin Wikyung was visibly growing anxious.

“My youngest, that…”

“Oh, sorry. Are we in a hurry?”

“Honestly, it wouldn’t be good to arrive late. Others will be waiting too.”

Others?

This was turning out to be a bigger gathering than I’d expected.

I hid my unease and jerked my chin toward Cheongpung.

“Let’s go, Cheongpung.”

“Yes, Benefactor!”

Gung Gibang and Hyuk Mujin nodded, their faces grim.

“Right. Let’s go.”

“I’ll escort you, Captain. And you as well, Lesser Family Head.”

“You two shut up and stay here to clean up the grime and shit.”

“…”

“…”

The Murim Alliance was like a small city.

At its center stood the Alliance Leader’s Hall. We went inside and stopped before a massive door.

“You’ve arrived.”

The guard had a rigid gaze and expression, along with a carefully contained aura.

He was unmistakably a Peak master who had reached the level of injuring others with Sword Energy. Yet here, this nameless man was only a doorkeeper.

He appeared to know Jin Wikyung. After greeting him quietly, he opened the door.

Rattle. Rattle. Rattle.

The scraping sounds came one after another. Only after five doors had opened in succession did I see what lay beyond.

Good thing I left those idiots behind.

Gung Gibang and Hyuk Mujin ought to thank me. If they’d followed, they’d be standing here stinking of grime and shit, too scared to open their mouths and sweating buckets.

That was how impressive the people seated around the enormous table were—their faces and auras alike.

“Wow.”

A soft exclamation came from beside me. Jin Wikyung poked the wide-eyed Cheongpung in the side and sent a Sound Transmission.

—This is as far as I go.

I understood. I nodded and stepped over the threshold.

Step.

My footsteps echoed through the silence.

Gazes fell on Cheongpung and me—some sharp, some impassive, others full of wonder and curiosity.

“Oh? So these are the youngsters we’ve heard so much about…”

“They’re remarkable, even the second time I’ve seen them.”

“Hm. Not bad.”

“What do you mean, not bad? What they’ve done is extraordinary. A blessing for all of Murim.”

The owners of those aged voices sat on either side of us.

Although they had reached supreme realms of martial arts and slowed the aging process, every last hair on their heads was as white as snow. It was enough to give me an idea of how much time they had lived through.

The leaders of the Nine Sects and One Gang. And the Family Heads of the Five Great Families.

Fifteen pillars supporting Murim.

They had never all gathered in one place, not even for the Star-Array Grand Banquet—a Murim event on a grand scale. Nor had they managed it at the Mount Song Resolution, when the Murim Alliance was proclaimed. Some had been too far away to arrive in time.

But now, at last…

They’re all here.

If the Star-Array Grand Banquet was a feast for stars just beginning to rise, this was a banquet for giants who had carved their names and left their marks on Murim’s long history.

Even among them, a few presences stood out.

They no longer headed their families, yet wielded even greater influence. Martial artists throughout the land spoke of them with reverence:

One God, Three Saints, Ten Kings.

Long ago, a hundred-thousand-strong demonic army had surged toward the Central Plains with the blood-red western sky at its back, and heroes had risen to oppose it.

They were swords and spears that cut through the enemy, shields that defended the Central Plains. In time, they became a vast, shining legend.

When the sky that was the Martial God disappeared, the three stars that had lit it vanished one by one. The ten kings stepped down from their thrones and slowly died or grew old. But some had returned to this place.

The Azure Sky Sword King. The Thunderbolt Saber King. And…

There were faces I knew and faces I didn’t. One man stood out above them all. When he saw me, his eyebrows rose.

—How long has it been since I called for you? Only showing up now? You must be desperate to die.

Fire King Jeok Cheongang.

The Sound Transmission was gruff, but there was warmth in it. I couldn’t help smiling.

—Look at you. You can smile at a time like this?

What am I supposed to do if it comes out?

—Honestly. You were stiff as a board a moment ago. The Nine Sects and One Gang, the Five Great Families—none of them are anything special. They’re all much the same. Our sect is the best.

Who else could say that so freely?

After that proud, arrogant declaration, another Sound Transmission reached me. He hesitated for a moment before continuing.

—So straighten your shoulders and open your eyes wide. You… are this old man’s pride.

Pride.

I hadn’t expected that word.

Although he hadn’t said it aloud, I had never imagined Jeok Cheongang would say something like that to me.

I couldn’t hold back. My lips moved.

—Old Master.

Jeok Cheongang had been avoiding my gaze. He flinched.

—Ahem.

—Old Master.

—Wh-Why are you calling me?

—I think it’s time for your medicine.

—You little fucking bastard…

—And thank you.

—…!

Jeok Cheongang’s red eyebrows trembled.

I looked away and straightened my back. The muscles that had tightened throughout my body relaxed, and my head cleared.

I’m someone’s pride.

I still didn’t know why this gathering had been called. But I knew one thing: the confidence I had briefly lost, then found again, was what had brought me here.

Step.

Cheongpung and I stopped together.

The corridor that had seemed so long and distant had ended. There was nowhere left to go.

The voices of the giants, who had been quietly speaking among themselves while watching us, abruptly fell silent as though they had been waiting for this exact moment.

Silence.

A silence waiting for one person, prepared for one person.

At the place of honor among those twenty-odd giants, a man rose. Instead of white hair, he had black, and his eyes were clear.

Rattle.

Three stars had once adorned the sky above the vast world. Of them, the brightest—and now the only one remaining—was Sword Saint Mae Jonghak.

He opened his mouth.

No.

Alliance Leader Mae Jonghak.

That was the man standing here. And I wasn’t the only one who understood.

Cheongpung spoke so softly that only I could hear.

“Grandpa…”

A warm smile touched Mae Jonghak’s lips as he looked at us. At the same time, a powerful voice flowed from his mouth.

“The masters of the Two Dragons Pavilion have arrived.”