Entering the Blood Heaven Sect had not been difficult.
There had been the martial contest with Yeongunseong as an intermediate step, but the Heavenly Wayfarer had already made up his mind, and Unhwi had done the same.
It had all been a formality from the start, so there was no reason to place any meaning on it.
What mattered began now.
There was no need to spend time recovering.
The effects of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal had not yet faded.
His broken arm had reattached itself, his shattered ribs had mended, and even his damaged internal organs had returned to their proper state. Only the blood energy left behind by Yeongunseong still lingered within his body, requiring time to purge completely.
Unhwi moved toward a detached residence located deep within the main headquarters of the Blood Heaven Sect.
This was a place where the Heavenly Wayfarer occasionally stayed.
It stood high above the rest of the headquarters, and the view from there was magnificent.
As an aside, this had been the place where Unhwi stayed in his previous life.
He passed through the long corridor and entered the garden. From there, he climbed the staircase that had been built into it.
A familiar path.
A path he had walked countless times in his previous life.
Upon arriving before the detached residence, Unhwi quietly looked around.
Nothing had changed.
The structure towered high beneath the sky, clouds drifting overhead.
Yet he did not feel out of breath or burdened.
He was no ordinary man.
Just as he silently reached for the door—
“What are you standing outside for?”
It was the Heavenly Wayfarer.
“Come in.”
Unhwi opened the door and stepped inside.
The Heavenly Wayfarer sat before a Go board.
He was replaying a previous game alone.
Slowly, he raised his head and looked at Unhwi.
Stopping his hand, he asked,
“Is your body alright?”
“Yes. I am fine.”
“No, you are not.”
“Yes.”
Unhwi sat across from him with the Go board between them.
The Heavenly Wayfarer cleared the stones away.
Slowly.
One by one.
“Would you care for a game?”
“I would be honored.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer picked up a black stone and placed it upon the star point.
Tak.
The sound echoed softly.
Unhwi picked up a white stone as well.
And placed it down.
Tak.
The game began.
Within the silence, only the sound of stones being placed echoed through the room.
Tak.
Tak.
Tak.
How much time had passed?
The Heavenly Wayfarer finally spoke.
“Are you satisfied?”
Unhwi had been about to pick up another stone, but his hand froze in place.
He lifted his head.
Satisfied?
“What do you mean?”
“Is the Blood Heaven Sect the finishing touch to the grand design you envisioned?”
Unhwi’s eyes turned serious.
The finishing touch.
There was no need to think about it.
“No.”
“No?”
“Yes. To speak of a finishing touch already would be far too premature.”
“I see.”
“Everything is merely part of the process. Is that not so?”
This time, the Heavenly Wayfarer visibly paused.
A strange smile formed on his lips.
“Do you know something?”
“What do you mean?”
“For some reason, I find myself liking you a great deal.”
“You were already quite fond of me from the moment we first met.”
“Hm? Was I?”
“I assumed it was because my first impression left a mark.”
Unhwi briefly paused before placing another stone.
“But that was not the reason.”
“Not the reason?”
“You must have seen traces of twisted heavenly energy within me.”
“......”
“And you must have considered many possibilities as to what that meant.”
“......”
“But in the end, you reached only one conclusion after eliminating every variable.”
A faint smile appeared on Unhwi’s face.
“From that moment onward, you decided to watch me. You observed everything I did and everything I intended to do.”
“......”
“This time, I would like to ask you something instead.”
“And what is that?”
“Do you approve of me?”
The Heavenly Wayfarer burst into bright laughter.
“Approve? Of course I do.”
“That is a relief, Elder Cheon.”
The two resumed placing stones.
For a while, only the sound of Go stones echoed once more.
It was Unhwi who spoke first.
“I had two fathers.”
“Hm.”
“One was not related to me by blood, but I followed him as though he were my adoptive father. I received countless acts of grace from him. And I repaid every one of them.”
“You repaid them?”
“Yes. Not merely in full, but beyond that.”
“Then did you ever hear what that adoptive father himself thought?”
“There was no need.”
“Why?”
“Because I already knew his heart.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer’s eyes deepened.
“The reason I entered the Blood Heaven Sect was not to repay that grace. As I said before, that debt has already been repaid completely.”
“Then why did you come?”
“Because you made me an offer. And because it was necessary.”
“To come here?”
“Yes.”
“May I ask why?”
Unhwi set down his stone for a moment and straightened his posture.
“The path I walk may differ from yours, Elder Cheon.”
“......”
“Up until now, I believe they have been the same. But there is undoubtedly something different between them. That is why I am here now, and why you are where you are.”
At those words, the Heavenly Wayfarer’s smile deepened.
Those words carried immense meaning.
“And what is it that differs?”
“I intend to discover that myself.”
“And?”
“I am not your hunting hound.”
“When did I ever say I intended to use you as one?”
“I know you would not. But I wished to make it clear.”
“Heh heh heh......”
“I will do what I believe to be right.”
“And bear the consequences yourself?”
“Yes.”
“And do you know what those consequences may be?”
“Whatever result may come, if it arose while walking a path I believed to be right, then naturally I must endure it.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer’s eyes curved with amusement.
The more they spoke, the more every word from Unhwi pleased him.
“Is that not what a martial artist is?”
“It is.”
“One who never abandons the conviction they have embraced.”
“Until the very moment they die.”
“A person who carries the sword of conviction within their heart.”
“And one who understands the weight of that conviction.”
The conversation between the two men flowed as though they were completing each other’s sentences.
Then, naturally, silence returned.
Without speaking, the two looked at one another.
Whether they admitted it or not, just as many others had felt, the two men resembled each other.
Whether it came from Unhwi’s willingness to learn or whether it had been innate from birth, no one could know.
But because they resembled one another, even the way they acted and thought was similar.
The Heavenly Wayfarer slowly spoke.
“What role do you believe you can fulfill within the Blood Heaven Sect at present?”
It was the most important question of all.
Unhwi answered immediately.
“The unification of the Central Plains.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer smiled as he placed another stone.
“So you are aware that the Blood Heaven Sect is becoming restless internally.”
“It is.”
“The branches desire it. The sect members desire it as well.”
Unhwi picked up a stone.
He considered it briefly.
Where should he place it?
Tak.
“And what does the cult leader think?”
“Hm.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer chuckled faintly.
“I have no interest in it.”
Tak.
“What changes if the Central Plains are unified? People will still die. Power will still rot. Greed will still know no end.”
“......”
“I find it meaningless.”
Unhwi placed another stone as he spoke.
“But as I mentioned earlier, the branches desire it.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer nodded.
“They do.”
“Not only the five great branches, but even the smaller factions. All of them cry out for the unification of the Central Plains.”
Tak.
“It seems that, to them, it carries meaning.”
Unhwi looked down at the Go board.
Black and white.
Each fought for territory against the other.
“If you truly have no interest in it, Elder Cheon—”
Unhwi lifted his gaze toward him.
“Then I will resolve it myself.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer’s hand stopped midair.
Still holding a stone.
“Resolve it?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
Unhwi picked up another stone.
“Does the process truly matter?”
“It does.”
“But I believe the result matters more.”
“There is no definitive answer to that question. But if that is what you believe, then perhaps that itself is correct. Heh heh.”
After saying that, the Heavenly Wayfarer quietly stared at Unhwi.
For a long while.
Eventually—
Tak.
He placed the stone.
“Continue.”
“The current problem of the Blood Heaven Sect is that the branches are all moving separately.”
Unhwi pointed at the Go board.
“Just like this board. Black and white move independently.”
Tak.
“The main headquarters moves according to its own will, and the branches according to theirs.”
“......”
“That is why the branches cry out for the unification of the Central Plains. Since the headquarters refuses to move, they intend to move on their own.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer nodded.
“And?”
“They must be united.”
Unhwi’s voice was firm.
“There must be a bridge connecting the main headquarters and the branches.”
Tak.
“And that bridge must be a position.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer took a sip of tea.
One mouthful.
“What sort of position?”
“A position that stands more prominently than the Vice Leader.”
Unhwi spoke calmly.
“A position that communicates directly with the branches, listens to their voices, and at the same time conveys the will of the main headquarters.”
“......”
“Formally similar to the Vice Leader, yet possessing even greater practical authority.”
Tak.
Unhwi placed another stone.
“One man beneath heaven, above ten thousand others.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer narrowed his eyes.
“......You intend to create such a position?”
“Yes.”
“And place yourself upon it.”
“That is correct.”
Tak.
The Heavenly Wayfarer placed another stone.
“You must have a reason.”
“I do.”
Unhwi looked directly into the Heavenly Wayfarer’s eyes.
“What the branches truly desire is not the unification of the Central Plains.”
“Hm......?”
“They desire recognition.”
Unhwi’s voice lowered.
“They wish to be acknowledged by the main headquarters. They wish to be recognized as members of the Blood Heaven Sect as well. As beings just as valuable as those at the center.”
Tak.
“But the main headquarters does not look at them. Because the cult leader himself has no interest.”
“......”
“That is why they cry out for the unification of the Central Plains. They wish to accomplish something great and earn recognition from the headquarters.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer smiled faintly.
“How sharp.”
Tak.
He took another sip of tea.
“Then you intend to create that position and grant the branches the recognition they seek?”
“That is correct.”
“It will not be easy.”
“I have no intention of walking an easy path.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer looked down at the Go board.
The game had already entered the middle stage.
Black held a slight advantage.
“Do you intend to spill blood?”
“If necessary, then should blood not be spilled?”
“Heh heh...... Very well. I shall create your position.”
After placing his stone down, the Heavenly Wayfarer looked at Unhwi once more.
“But would such a position not require a name?”
“I have already thought of one.”
“Then let me hear it.”
Unhwi fell silent briefly.
Then a single phrase left his lips.
“Blood Heaven Arbiter.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer’s eyes flashed sharply.
“Blood Heaven Arbiter?”
“Yes.”
“Blood for blood, heaven for heaven, center for center, righteousness for righteousness.”
Unhwi explained calmly.
“It means one who stands at the center beneath the heavens of the Blood Heaven Sect and preserves righteousness.”
“......”
“A position that maintains balance between the headquarters and the branches while guiding the Blood Heaven Sect as a whole down the proper path.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer smiled brightly.
“I like it. I truly like it.”
Naturally, he would.
Because the one who had first created the position of Blood Heaven Arbiter—
And the one who had coined that very title—
Had been the Heavenly Wayfarer himself.
Tak.
Another stone was placed.
“Blood Heaven Arbiter. A fine name.”
“Thank you.”
“Then from this day onward, that position shall exist.”
The Heavenly Wayfarer’s voice turned firm.
“And I shall appoint you as the first Blood Heaven Arbiter.”
Unhwi lowered his head.
“Thank you.”
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