Chapter 475: What He Doesn't Know

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In an instant, Eul Sa-jeok’s dark brown pupils rapidly expanded.

‘That is…!’

His gaze rippled like waves.

It was because the sword created by the hazy light was familiar to his eyes.

That was the sword wielded in his lifetime by the previous White Peak Sword Sect Master and his own master, White Gate Sword Gentleman Sagong Woon.

‘Master’s sword…!’

Indeed, looking again, there was no mistake.

It was an appearance that perfectly matched Sagong Woon’s sword.

But… It was utterly incomprehensible.

Why had such a vision suddenly appeared before his eyes?

He soon cautiously reached out his hand.

Swish.

However, being something created by an unknown light emitted from the stone, it couldn’t be grasped.

That was right.

Like smoke, there was nothing at all that caught on his hand.

It was a mirage phenomenon of light that could only be seen with both eyes, without any direct sensation to feel.

Eul Sa-jeok stared intently at the fist-sized stone and muttered to himself.

‘What is it? No matter how I think about it, it’s hard to understand…’

Sagong Woon had been killed by an unknown assailant, and at that time, his sword had also been ruthlessly destroyed.

He still vividly remembered the murder scene discovered two days later.

At that time, Sagong Woon’s sword wasn’t just broken… It was in a state of being shattered into tiny pieces, almost reduced to powder.

Eventually, the remains of that sword were buried in the ground along with the collected remains, and had been forgotten with the passage of time…

Yet today, an unnamed stone had emitted a mysterious light and revealed the intact appearance of that sword again.

‘Hmm… Why is this?’

For him, there was nothing he could readily comprehend.

Then, his gaze quickly and quietly hardened.

‘Wait! Could it be…’

A single question suddenly flashed through his mind.

‘…Does some connection exist between Master and the Heaven Emperor Society?’

But he soon shook his head.

This secret organization called the Heaven Emperor Society had killed his master Sagong Woon to gain some kind of benefit?

No way, that made no sense.

White Peak Sword Sect was a martial sect that had repeatedly declined…

If the plan had been to kill Sagong Woon and seize full authority over the sect, there should have been follow-up actions for it to make sense.

However, the Heaven Emperor Society had been quiet even after Sagong Woon’s funeral procedures.

He hadn’t even known such a force existed in the Jianghu.

‘Right, why would they go through the trouble of targeting a fallen sect? Unless it was at least on the level of the Nine Great Sects or Seven Great Families.’

Prominent forces like the Nine Great Sects and Seven Great Families would be potential targets for the Heaven Emperor Society due to their various secret manuals and treasures, but White Peak Sword Sect wouldn’t be.

Now it had started a miraculous revival thanks to Cheol Ryu-heun’s hidden talents, but considering the sequence of events, it made no sense.

The conversation with Pa Ga-wi, the highest-ranking commander of the Central Heaven Tower under the Heaven Emperor Society, not long ago was clear evidence.

-I am… Merely of ordinary talent. And as you can see, even my body is ruined. So why… Are you bothering to extract someone like me?

-Ha. Well, that would be what you’re most curious about.

-If I may be so bold… Please answer honestly.

-Because it seems like it would be fun.

-What? F-fun…?

-That’s right. It’s a kind of game.

At that time, he had said it meant they should play together excitedly with the big toy called the Jianghu.

That also implied that White Peak Sword Sect had become a new target due to Cheol Ryu-heun’s recent exploits, having awakened after overcoming his vegetative state.

In other words, before that, White Peak Sword Sect hadn’t been in the Heaven Emperor Society’s sights…

Eul Sa-jeok, narrowing his brow, muttered to himself again.

‘Hmm, even so… There does seem to be something I don’t know. The strange phenomenon of the stone feels somehow coincidental. Sometimes… Instinctive intuition is more accurate.’

While he was briefly thinking, the strange phenomenon vanished as if by magic.

The dark, fist-sized stone drew in all its light as if it had never happened and fell dormant.

‘Anyway, it’s a fascinating stone.’

Eul Sa-jeok carefully picked it up and examined it by the torchlight.

It was an ordinary appearance.

Its look was not much different from a stone you could find by the roadside.

But through the previous strange phenomenon, it had been proven to be a special artifact.

A feeling of desire seeped out from his fondling hands and gaze.

‘Should I secretly take it? No matter how I look at it, it seems like an abandoned item. They must have stuffed it in this underground warehouse not knowing the stone’s hidden wondrous use, right?’

Most of the items placed in the partitioned cabinet didn’t look precious, but this stone was especially so.

Honestly, even if it disappeared, no one would care.

‘Right, if I keep it, it’ll be of help someday. Well, who knows if it might grant me some great new opportunity in the future? Hehe.’

Just as he was wearing a satisfied smile, having been seized by curiosity and anticipation.

Tap… Tap… Tap…

The sound of someone’s footsteps slowly descending the stairs leading underground reached his ears.

‘Ah!’

The startled Eul Sa-jeok quickly hid the stone in his body.

Slide…

Just in case, he shoved it deep under his undergarment rather than his outer clothes… That is, beneath the important area of his crotch.

His judgment was that surely no one would reach their hand into such a place to check.

His mind worked very quickly when it came to things like this.

Having hidden the stone, he looked around here and there.

Right on time, his two pupils caught sight of a large pile of odds and ends like pebbles and wood chips in one corner of the stone chamber.

‘There we go!’

Eul Sa-jeok picked out a similar-looking stone, hurriedly placed it in the compartment where the mysterious artifact had been, then moved away and pretended to be looking at other items.

Soon.

Step…

The low, heavy voice of a figure who had entered the stone chamber reached across the distance.

“So it was you. What brought you here at this hour of night?”

It was a man radiating a weighty presence.

His face, with its extraordinary phoenix eyes, gave off an atmosphere befitting a truly supreme-level hegemon.

And it wasn’t just his features.

The very aura emanating from his entire body gave an overwhelming impression.

He was just standing upright, yet the air current in the stone chamber seemed to grow endlessly heavy like the deep sea…

That was precisely the presence the middle-aged man possessed.

The identity of the man boasting a dignified bearing was Pa Ga-wi… The very person who had helped Eul Sa-jeok escape from prison and guided him here, the highest-ranking Commander within the Central Heaven Tower and a pinnacle-level master.

His gaze was as sharp as a blade gouging into one’s heart.

As if he would tolerate no lies whatsoever.

Eul Sa-jeok, his heart clenching, feigned nonchalance and played innocent.

“Ah… Yes. I couldn’t sleep, so while wandering about, I happened upon this place, and when the mechanism at the entrance activated, I couldn’t suppress my curiosity and stepped inside.”

Pa Ga-wi nodded at those words and said.

“Indeed, I came here after suddenly hearing the sound of this door opening. It’s a place no one usually approaches…”

“I apologize for entering without permission. But it seems to be nothing more than a storage place for unusable items, so why is there even a mechanism installed?”

As Eul Sa-jeok continued his act with a bewildered look, a faint hint of a smile suddenly spread across Pa Ga-wi’s mouth.

“Ha. Unusable items… Well, that’s not entirely wrong. It’s half right.”

“Pardon?”

“To your eyes, all of this must look extremely ordinary.”

“Are you saying… That in truth, it isn’t?”

“That’s right. To be more precise, these are treasures or artifacts whose usefulness has already been exhausted.”

Pa Ga-wi’s words carried considerable meaning.

He continued in his low, heavy voice.

“At first, every one of them was a precious item, so rather than destroying or discarding them, they were kept in storage. Just in case, you could say. Just understand it that way.”

“I see. Yes, understood.”

Eul Sa-jeok, nodding his head as he answered, grew ever more certain that the stone he had hidden was an artifact.

‘Just as I expected. I don’t know how this stone was used before, but they’re completely unaware that it’s having new reactions like just now! Hehe. If I’m lucky, I might really obtain an amazing opportunity…’

At that moment, Pa Ga-wi gestured.

“Let’s go out now.”

“Yes.”

Just as Eul Sa-jeok moved to leave the stone chamber.

“Wait.”

The moment Pa Ga-wi uttered the short word, he stood right up close to Eul Sa-jeok’s face.

‘Ugh…!’

His heart dropping, Eul Sa-jeok’s heart pounded greatly from tension.

Had he noticed?

To his ears, anxious about being caught with the stolen stone, a quiet voice reached him again.

“I should still verify.”

Pa Ga-wi’s two hands swept quickly over Eul Sa-jeok’s body from top to bottom like the wind.

Then he soon put his hands behind his back and smirked.

“Ha, you didn’t do anything foolish like touching the things there carelessly.”

Only then did the relieved Eul Sa-jeok bow his head politely and speak.

“O-of course. How dare I, not knowing my place, steal items from here? Just receiving the opportunity for a new life like this is already deeply moving, so how could I…”

Pa Ga-wi nodded in satisfaction.

“Indeed, that’s only proper. By the way… News will arrive as soon as three or four days from now.”

“Pardon? News?”

“The matter I mentioned yesterday. Your new position…”

“Ah!”

Eul Sa-jeok exclaimed and recalled yesterday’s conversation.

-By the way, there’s one more piece of news you’ll be pleased to hear.

-What is it?

-That White Peak Sword Sect, your former sect, will suffer calamity soon.

-…!

-When the result of that matter comes out later, I’ll let you know. Perhaps later, you might end up being in charge of that place. A new White Peak Sword Sect, a new sect master… That would be quite intriguing.

‘So they’ve already begun!’

Eul Sa-jeok’s eyes flashed as he blazed the ambition in his heart and asked.

“Is the Heaven Emperor Society’s force attacking the main sect right now?”

“That’s right. White Peak Sword Sect will suffer clan extermination tonight. They’re probably on the verge of annihilation by now.”

“Ohhh…!”

“There are no variables in this matter. We just need to wait for the news.”

“I’m truly delighted. A new sect master position…”

“And don’t worry about Cheol Ryu-heun. He should already be dead by the strongest force of our Society.”

“Huhaha! I believe without a doubt!”

“Focus only on honing the sword arts devised by our Society Lord. Then a path of flowers awaits before you…”

“I shall engrave it in my heart.”

“Come, let’s go.”

“Yes.”

Eul Sa-jeok, following behind him, was completely unaware.

The fact that the stone he had secretly stolen was the ancient Spiritual Awakening Stone that showed reactions related to the Divine Martial Sword…

* * *

Beneath the bright round moonlight.

Cheol Ryu-heun was quietly seated on a not-so-wide grassy field, mass-producing Transcendent Revival Pills.

It was truly an incredible speed.

Thanks to displaying the outstanding abilities inherent to his mysterious body, about a hundred had already been completed.

It was something absolutely impossible for anyone else.

And beside him, Divine Wind was keeping watch.

A moment later.

From the forehead of Divine Wind, who had been quietly gazing at Cheol Ryu-heun’s form, a radiance silently burst forth.

Hisssss…

It soon gathered greatly and transformed into a beautiful woman.

A beauty for whom even the expression “one who could topple a nation” would be insufficient.

That’s right.

It was Cho-hui, the lover of Bai Chu from ages past.

Swish.

Raising her head, Cho-hui looked up at the night sky.

Then, emitting a somehow meaningful gaze, she murmured to herself.

‘I find myself newly curious. With what feelings… Are you watching over us?’