“And what are you, to be secretly taking away the corpse of a Chaotic Heaven One?”
Shin Yanghe’s lips moved for a moment before he slowly opened his mouth.
“...There are people in the Central Plains who collect rare items.”
“So?”
“Among them, some anonymous party offered to buy the corpse of a Chaotic Heaven One at a high price. We merely—”
“That is a lie.”
“...What?”
“A high price?”
Seol Unhwi let out a faint laugh.
“You think that serves as a reason?”
“....”
“Secretly moving the corpse of a Chaotic Heaven One is a clear crime. It is not something that becomes permissible just because some collector is willing to pay well.”
“...W-we merely—”
“Mouth.”
Seol Unhwi’s eyes flashed.
“Shut it.”
Shin Yanghe sucked in a sharp breath.
Seol Unhwi asked,
“Do you know where this place is?”
“.......”
“This is the Chaotic Heaven Region. A place the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace has borne responsibility for.”
Seol Unhwi took a step forward.
“For hundreds of years, the martial artists of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace have bled here. To stop the Chaotic Heaven Ones. To protect this place.”
“.......”
“In those hundreds of years, has any force from the Central Plains ever offered help?”
Shin Yanghe could not open his mouth.
Because the answer was already decided.
And because he could not possibly bring himself to say it aloud.
Seol Unhwi continued,
“No. Not once.”
His eyes gleamed with cold light.
“That is why everything here belongs to the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace. The corpses of the Chaotic Heaven Ones, the lives of the Chaotic Heaven Ones, the power of life and death over them—everything.”
“.......”
“Because the blood of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace supports it from beneath.”
Seol Unhwi drew his sword.
The Trueflame Heavenly-Spirit Sword.
The moment one of the Ten Great Famous Swords Under Heaven revealed itself, the faces of the merchants—including Shin Yanghe—turned deathly pale.
They had recognized who Seol Unhwi was long ago, but they had not expected him to actually draw his blade.
Anyone who knew the man called Seol Unhwi knew this much:
when he drew his sword, blood inevitably flowed.
If a merchant did not know even that, then he was unfit for his trade.
Seol Unhwi’s grip tightened around the Trueflame Heavenly-Spirit Sword.
“And yet a force from the Central Plains dares to stick its spoon into this place? Dares?”
Shin Yanghe’s face turned white.
“T-that is...”
“This is something for which beating you to death would be entirely justified. No—it would be the correct thing to do.”
Seol Unhwi stretched out his other hand and seized Shin Yanghe by the collar.
“I am not a man with much time to spare. As I see it, you are clearly committing a crime. So persuade me. If you fail, I will execute you on the spot.”
“M-Mysterious Snow Palace Lord...! Please spare me!”
“Give me a proper answer. If you do, you will live.”
“W-we are of the Northern Wind Trading Company—!”
Seol Unhwi shook his head.
“You already said you were of the Northern Wind Trading Company, and the flag over there also says Northern Wind. Do I look like a fool who cannot read? Or a deaf man who cannot hear?”
“...Ah...”
“I asked whose orders.”
“......Th-that...”
Seol Unhwi looked around him. Meeting the eyes of the terrified merchants one by one, he spoke shortly.
“Kneel.”
Some of the merchants hesitated.
Seol Unhwi swung his sword.
Slash—!
With a single slicing sound, one merchant’s head fell to the ground. Naturally, all the others dropped to their knees.
“Shin Yanghe.”
“Y-yes... yes!”
“I asked whose commission this was.”
“......Th-that...”
Just as Seol Unhwi was about to tighten his grip, Shin Yanghe felt it and hurriedly screamed,
“W-we do not know! It is true!!”
“You do not know?”
“Yes! We were only given money and ordered to move the corpse!”
“By whom?”
“By the head of the trading company!”
“The head of the trading company. The Northern Wind Trading Company?”
“Yes...!”
“Name.”
“Yeom, Yeom Muhyeok!”
“Where is he?”
“N-near Windwall...”
Seol Unhwi threw Shin Yanghe, whom he had been holding by the collar.
Thud—!
Shin Yanghe rolled across the snow and, the moment he got to his feet, began to run without even looking back.
At least, it looked that way.
Before anyone noticed, Ju Soa’s sword flashed out and cut through Shin Yanghe’s neck.
Slash—!
That was only the beginning.
Namgung Wonyang kicked off the ground and swung his sword exactly twice.
Slash, slash, slash.
The sword moved twice, but three heads fell.
In an instant, the merchants were annihilated.
Chief Seong approached Seol Unhwi and said,
“This... this is becoming strange.”
Seol Unhwi gave a short nod, as if in agreement, and looked at the corpse of the Chaotic Heaven One.
Stealing away the corpse of a Chaotic Heaven One?
Then for what purpose?
His doubts deepened, but he did not hurry.
He would know the answer soon enough anyway.
“Burn the corpse.”
“Yes.”
Chief Seong set fire to the corpse.
Under the heat released by a martial artist of the Heaven and Man realm, the body ignited instantly, and Seol Unhwi’s group naturally climbed back into the carriage.
Seol Unhwi said,
“Let us go.”
“Yes.”
Namgung Wonyang drove the carriage again.
Toward Windwall.
***
The carriage entered the outskirts of Windwall.
Exactly two shichen from now, they would arrive.
If they rode only that much farther, they would reach Windwall.
There had been a few incidents along the way, but Seol Unhwi had not forgotten why he was going there.
To investigate the Chaotic Heaven Region.
To find out why the cycle of the Chaotic Heaven Gate had shortened.
And why its timing had begun to change from the very moment he returned to the past.
There were too many points of connection. To let it simply pass would be foolish. He had the distinct feeling that he himself had become a direct point of relation in all this, and in one way or another, he had to obtain an answer.
That was why he was going to Windwall.
Seol Unhwi’s thoughts stopped there.
In that instant, his eyes flashed.
A chill ran over his skin, and he felt someone staring straight at him.
It was unmistakable.
Killing intent.
His hand immediately went to the hilt of his sword.
At the same time, Chief Seong flinched as well.
“Young master, this...”
At his words, Ju Soa also tensed.
Namgung Wonyang, who was driving the carriage, shouted,
“My lord! It is an ambush!”
At the same moment that the sound of her drawing her sword rang out, Seol Unhwi moved.
In an instant, he drew his sword and swung it toward the carriage door.
That moment—
KWA-A-A-A-ANG—!!
With a tremendous explosion, the carriage was shattered.
Splinters of wood flew in every direction, and Chief Seong and Ju Soa were flung into the air.
Namgung Wonyang, sharp enough to react in time, also kicked backward, and the three gathered together in one place.
After landing, they saw it.
Seol Unhwi standing where the carriage had been destroyed—
and a giant man bringing down his blade against Seol Unhwi’s sword.
The wind howled.
Seol Unhwi narrowed his eyes. The force carried in that blade was considerable.
He looked at the man.
He had the shape of a human, yet it was difficult to say whether he should even be called one.
His skin was pale. His eyes were clouded. Saliva dripped from his mouth. And that body—
it stood a full seven chi tall, and the state of its flesh was so hard that it looked as though it had been trained for years—no, for decades—without rest.
The weapon in his hand came into view.
A blade.
Something that looked like a blade, rusted and broken.
Seol Unhwi asked quietly,
“Who are you?”
There was no answer.
Only—
“Krurgh....”
A grotesque sound burst out.
It resembled the corpse of the Chaotic Heaven One they had seen on the road.
No—
it was beyond that.
Seol Unhwi let out a sigh.
“The price of a carriage is very high.”
Strength gathered in his feet. He drove off the ground.
He shot forward like a dragon.
In an instant, he reached the Chaotic Heaven One.
He swung his sword.
The Chaotic Heaven One raised its blade and blocked.
Kang—!
Sparks flew.
Seol Unhwi withdrew and swung again.
Horizontally.
The Chaotic Heaven One lowered its head.
The sword passed over its head. The Chaotic Heaven One swung its blade.
From below to above.
Seol Unhwi twisted his body to the side, and it cut only through empty air. At once he pulled his sword back and thrust forward.
Puk—!
It pierced into the left flank of the Chaotic Heaven One, yet the creature did not retreat. Instead, it swung its blade widely to the side.
Seol Unhwi lightly stepped back two paces and pressed down on the ground.
His muscles swelled. A faint radiance scattered.
Heavenly Ascendant Flowing Shadow Step.
Seol Unhwi shot forward once more and instantly burrowed into the side of the Chaotic Heaven One.
He thrust again.
Puk—!
A hole was opened in the right flank as well.
Blood flowed, yet the Chaotic Heaven One did not groan.
Two wounds.
Left and right. The injuries were not regenerating, and yet not a single groan escaped it, nor did its movement—
Seol Unhwi tilted back only his head to avoid the swinging blade and finished the thought.
It moved as though it could not feel pain.
Then the Chaotic Heaven One swung its elbow. The target was Seol Unhwi’s temple.
The direction was almost perfectly accurate.
Seol Unhwi raised his sword and blocked it.
KWA-ANG—!
The impact shoved Seol Unhwi backward.
This was not a matter of qi.
It was pure strength.
With power like this, although he had never personally experienced it, it was comparable to the strength of the Peng Family that had been exterminated during the Thousand-Year Chaos, as described in the records.
He saw Chief Seong about to intervene.
Seol Unhwi raised a hand and stopped him.
The appearance of a fully intact Chaotic Heaven One near Windwall had been unexpected even for Seol Unhwi—
but this was also a kind of opportunity.
Knowing the enemy was the foundation of battle.
The Chaotic Heaven One charged toward him.
It swung its blade continuously.
Shwik—! Shwik—! Shwik—!
Seol Unhwi blocked with his sword.
Chaeng—! Kang—! Chaeng—!
Sparks burst in succession.
The last strike.
Seol Unhwi turned his head.
The blade grazed past his face.
At this level, it was at least above the Heaven and Man realm. Every time it swung its blade, the surrounding energy responded naturally.
A human.
And a martial artist swinging a blade like this, with energy naturally following and resonating with it?
This is a barbarian?
It was a truly fundamental doubt.
That such a life-form could exist did not make sense by Seol Unhwi’s standards.
This—
was only possible for one who had actually risen to that level of realm.
Because Seol Unhwi had himself reached the pinnacle, he could be certain.
At once, he thrust his sword.
The target was the Chaotic Heaven One’s shoulder.
Puk—!
Blood splashed, and Seol Unhwi’s sword pierced through the shoulder and burst out the other side. He immediately cut downward.
With a slicing sound, the arm of the Chaotic Heaven One fell.
The Chaotic Heaven One retreated.
In an instant, the distance widened.
By his estimate, about three zhang.
Seol Unhwi pursued.
Kicking off the ground, he swung his sword.
Vertically.
The Chaotic Heaven One raised the blade in its opposite hand and blocked.
Kang—!
Seol Unhwi withdrew his sword and raised his leg.
Toward the creature’s abdomen.
KWA-ANG—!
The Chaotic Heaven One was struck in the stomach and flew backward, rolling across the ground.
Only after tumbling three or four times did it rise again. Its body was covered in wounds, and yet once more, it did not stop.
It charged again.
With one arm, it swung its blade, and Seol Unhwi also swung his sword.
KANG—!!
Neither stopped.
Chaeng—! Kang—! Chaeng—! Kang—!
Sword and blade crashed against one another again and again.
And at this moment—
Seol Unhwi felt it.
Something was strange.
The Chaotic Heaven One’s movements were violent and crude.
But inside them, there was something.
Softness.
No—
flow.
They said it had no reason...
Seol Unhwi’s eyes narrowed.
Even seeing it directly, it did indeed appear to have no reason. It had lost an arm. Holes had been punched through both flanks. Blood was pouring from it like madness, and yet it did not stop. Its movements may have slowed because of the wounds, but its fighting spirit had not died, and its momentum had not broken.
