The wind had gotten fairly sharp. The wind flowing along the mountain ridge was chilly at night, no matter the season.

On the way back to his quarters.

Yeon Hojeong sank deep into thought.

He’s changed.

He recalled Mo Yonggun.

A once-in-an-age swordsman who had stored lightning radiance in his blade—enough to chill you just by looking at it.

And the heavy, sunken gaze in that swordsman’s eyes.

Like Father, and like me... Mo Yonggun has changed, too.

Mo Yonggun was outstanding in the abilities he held.

Martial arts, strategy, politics—there wasn’t a single field where he came up short.

But Yeon Hojeong also knew Mo Yonggun’s flaw.

That relaxed air he used to have is gone.

That flaw was arrogance.

Yes. Mo Yonggun was arrogant. And he was a man who had the right to be arrogant.

He happened to be born and raised in the Mo Yong Clan—so instead of learning warmth among siblings, he learned how to crush the person in front of him. Mo Yonggun—no, the Mo Yong Clan people as a whole—were fundamentally lacking in humanity.

Except for Mo Yong-woo.

That ruthlessness born from that lack... it let him become the master of the Mo Yong Clan, and even dream of standing at the pinnacle of the Orthodox Path martial world.

A life of unbroken ascent.

Then, for the first time in Mo Yonggun’s life, someone appeared who could become an obstacle.

Yeon Hojeong.

In many ways, it must’ve been a new experience. Even while he said I was someone to be wary of, he still saw me as a level below him.

Mo Yonggun acknowledged Yeon Hojeong. But he did not think Yeon Hojeong was better than him.

If he truly believed Yeon Hojeong was better, he wouldn’t have taken so many hits up to now. He {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} would have hidden himself more thoroughly, worn a mask until he had the certainty to land a decisive blow.

Of course, it wasn’t as if Yeon Hojeong would have simply watched him do that.

But from the moment Demon-Sweeping & Evil-Smiting deployed, he submerged under the surface.

Did he finally recognize Yeon Hojeong as a true rival? Or did he even believe Yeon Hojeong might be superior?

That, he couldn’t know.

But one thing was certain.

Mo Yonggun had become more sinister—and sharper.

For a while, he won’t be able to pull any stupid tricks. But he’s not the type to sit idle just because he looks quiet on the outside.

Yeon Hojeong let out a sigh without meaning to.

As if the Yangcheon problem wasn’t already enough to give me a headache.

Yangcheon, the Fighting King.

The man who had been the final obstacle when Yeon Hojeong conquered the Dark Path in the past—and one of the most dangerously lethal enemies of his entire life.

And unbelievably, that enemy had ties to beyond-the-frontier.

So that’s how it was.

Naturally, his thoughts shifted from Mo Yonggun to Yangcheon.

A savage light surged in Yeon Hojeong’s eyes.

So he was already holding hands with them.

It was absurd.

There wasn’t much that was known about Yangcheon. In truth, Yeon Hojeong himself had tried to dig into him in the past, but even with the Dark Path’s intelligence network, he couldn’t uncover more than a certain point.

Then beyond “joining hands” with beyond-the-frontier... I can’t even rule out the possibility his very origin is there.

That was why Yeon Hojeong intended to jump into this directly.

He absolutely had to approach Yangcheon with caution. In reality, Yangcheon was a man who held reckless, rough temperament and cautious, cold temperament at the same time.

And then there was his martial might.

Even with Vast Heaven Qi that had swollen to a terrifying degree and Four Spirit Arts refined to an extreme, Yeon Hojeong had almost lost his life more than once. Yangcheon’s might was that frightening.

As he recalled Yangcheon and released a quiet Killing Intent, Yeon Hojeong tilted his head at a sudden thought.

But did that man... reveal his fangs this quickly?

No.

In the past, the moment Yangcheon truly made his presence known alongside the Dark Path had been after Yeon Hojeong had already spent years grinding in the Dark Path.

This is far earlier than back then. Even if the times are different from then...

History had changed.

The Alliance of the Martial World had been founded far earlier than in the past, and Yangcheon’s appearance had been brought forward by nearly seven or eight years.

Then—

If we assume Yangcheon is truly affiliated with the Three Teachings...

Without realizing it, Yeon Hojeong’s fist tightened.

That means the Three Teachings have been watching the Central Plains’ movements closely for decades.

He’d expected that. Otherwise, they couldn’t have secretly assassinated the Central Plains’ top masters—then, with perfect surprise raids, wiped out half the Central Plains’ strength from the opening strike.

Still, the certainty that they’d been studying the flow of the Central Plains martial world made his spine go cold.

Careful. Even with that much power.

Even to crush a single Blood Cult, the Orthodox Path and Dark Path had joined forces.

Of course, if they’d collided with pure strength from the opening strike, they likely wouldn’t have needed to. The problem was that the Three Teachings’ assault had been far too sudden—and lethal.

But the remaining two groups hadn’t even properly entered the war.

Meaning... even if we prepare properly, even if we counterattack, it would still be hard to guarantee victory.

Yeon Hojeong sighed again.

Mo Yonggun. What a waste.

If he’d used that brilliance for peace instead of power, maybe they could’ve become closer than anyone.

“Hm?”

Yeon Hojeong tilted his head.

“Something’s weird...”

A single fact—one he’d never found strange until now, something he’d dismissed as “of course Mo Yonggun would do that”—suddenly surfaced.

“What did he even trust to kill me?”

Dark Emperor. Lord of the Black Emperor’s Citadel. Grand Master of the Dark Path.

The first—who had never existed before and never would again—to unite the Dark Path as its supreme lord.

He wasn’t an aged old master, nor was he publicly acknowledged as Under-Heaven’s Number One. Yet he had been called by so many titles—meaning his ability was that exceptional.

And Mo Yonggun had killed him. The moment after killing the Blood Cult Leader.

“With what confidence?”

Besides the Blood Cult, weren’t there still two more organizations standing?

Then there was no need to kill an ally like Yeon Hojeong.

No—he must not kill him.

Because there was still a common enemy left.

Was it simple ‘concern’? Or...

That was when—

“When did you die?”

Startled, Yeon Hojeong snapped his gaze forward. Ga Deoksang was staring at him with blank eyes.

“When did you get here?”

“I got here earlier. I called you, but you were muttering to yourself.”

“Ah...”

“But what do you mean ‘die’? You’re standing right here, alive and well.”

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

It wasn’t a problem that would produce an answer just by worrying right now, anyway.

“No. So what is it?”

“What is it?”

Ga Deoksang grinned wide.

“My drinking buddy’s back, so we should have a clean little drink, shouldn’t we?”

Leaves fluttered on the cold wind.

The moonlight was delicate, the starlight mysterious. Under a cloudless sky, faint radiance poured down, shaping a refined, scenic mood.

Yeon Hojeong looked around the pavilion.

“There’s a place like this inside the inner citadel?” 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

“There are a lot of places like this. I haven’t even seen the whole inner citadel myself. Anyway, it’s damn huge.”

Ga Deoksang kept grinning. He looked excited about drinking after so long.

“Here—have a cup. You worked your ass off beating down those damn horse bandit bastards.”

“Thanks.”

The two clinked cups.

There wasn’t any real food with it, but there was a good view—and a friend whose age didn’t matter. That alone was enough to empty a cup.

“Ha—this stuff’s vicious.”

“Strategist Je Gal gave it to me as a gift.”

“The Strategist?”

“We got pretty close. When he goes on the attack in meetings, he’s so cold and scary, but off the record he’s actually really friendly.”

“That’s how he seemed.”

“This is why you never know a person until you’ve dealt with them. I definitely heard he’s capable, but soft-hearted—someone who gets swept around easily.”

Yeon Hojeong let out a short laugh.

“There are more martial houses in the Central Plains than you can count. He’s the head of one of the six houses chosen out of all that. There’s no way he’s ordinary.”

“True enough.”

Ga Deoksang burst into laughter.

While smiling at him, Yeon Hojeong refilled Ga Deoksang’s cup and asked, “So. What did that Strategist tell you to ask me?”

Ga Deoksang flinched.

Yeon Hojeong couldn’t help a faint grin.

What an honest reaction.

“How’d you know? You a ghost or something?”

“I took a guess.”

“No, come on—there’s a million things you could guess. Why the Strategist, of all people?”

“A lot of times, a person doesn’t even know their own personality and habits. You’re like that too, Hu Gae.”

“What’s wrong with my personality? And what habit?”

“You came to me, of all people, and even treated me to liquor you said the Strategist gave you. You—who can’t even take leave because you’re too busy?”

Yeon Hojeong poured himself a cup too. Full.

“Hu Gae is a man who gets fed, not a man who hosts. You have to do something that fits, or it looks suspicious.”

“Hah!”

Ga Deoksang clicked his tongue.

“Damn. When you’re like this, you’re actually scary.”

“I’ll take that as praise.”

“How is ‘scary’ praise?”

“So. What did the Strategist tell you to find out?”

Ga Deoksang’s face turned serious.

“You went to see Mo Yonggun, didn’t you?”

“I did.”

“You’ve been tangled up with that son of a bitch in one thing or another, sure—but you aren’t so close you’d go see him the day you got back.”

“Of course not. If anything, we’re desperate to swallow each other whole.”

“Which means...”

“Right.”

“Huh?”

“Hu Gae guessed right. This operation to probe Yangcheon—I told him to make me the overall commander.”

Ga Deoksang studied Yeon Hojeong’s face, then let out a deep sigh.

“The Strategist said it. That maybe you’d step into this.”

“A Strategist needs intuition as much as he needs vast knowledge. In that sense, the Strategist is a great man.”

As if frustrated, Ga Deoksang quickly drained his cup and spoke like a sigh.

“You know it, but—this operation is dangerous.”

“...”

“It’s dangerous for anyone. Even more so because we can’t fail.”

“I know.”

“You don’t look like you know. And you’re a famous figure in the Orthodox Path martial world. You’re the guy who walks around swinging an axe the size of a man’s body—there’s no way the Dark Path hasn’t heard rumors about you.”

“I think so too.”

“So what are you going to do? Leave the axe behind?”

“I will.”

The way Yeon Hojeong spoke—flat and calm, unlike usual—made him look almost detached.

Staring at him with trembling eyes, Ga Deoksang suddenly exploded.

“You lunatic! Even if you’re a genius, the opponent is Yangcheon—Yangcheon! You’re seriously going to die!”

The outburst came out of nowhere, but it was packed with worry for Yeon Hojeong.

“The Thirteen Seats of the Sacred Heavens are monsters, judged equal to—or even beyond—the best masters from three hundred years ago, back when the martial world was at its greatest! And the opponent is the Fighting King! You’ve heard how vicious that bastard is—so you know!”

“I’ve never picked opponents.”

“What?!”

“Mo Yonggun is stronger than me. And the Ming Clan of the Nine Provinces goes without saying. And still, I moved.”

“...!!”

“Don’t worry. My life would be too unfair to end over something like this.”

“...Ugh. You goddamn bastard of a man.”

Ga Deoksang grumbled with a bitter face.

“You’re supposed to listen to what people say if you want to persuade them. Seriously—damn it.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“Are you that worried?”

“Then what, I’m not supposed to worry?”

“...”

“You’re younger than me, you’ve got no manners, and you’re reckless on top of it—but you’re still my friend.”

“...!”

“A friend is determined to walk into a deathtrap, and you think I’m not going to try to stop him, you hopeless bastard?”

For a moment, Yeon Hojeong froze, unsure what he was supposed to say.

Ga Deoksang grabbed the bottle roughly and poured it straight into his mouth.

“Khuhhh! Cough! Damn, that’s nasty-strong.”

“....”

“I figured.”

“What do you mean?”

“I had a feeling you’d stick your hand into this. Me too.”

“Did you.”

“That’s why I took leave, too.”

Surprise flashed across Yeon Hojeong’s face.

“Don’t tell me—you plan to come with me?”

“What, you want me trapped in this suffocating Alliance of the Martial World for the rest of my life? Are you insane?”

“...”

Ga Deoksang stood up.

Looking down at Yeon Hojeong, he let out a short chuckle.

“When we wrecked the Ming Clan, our teamwork was pretty damn good, wasn’t it?”

“...”

“Take care of me.”

Yeon Hojeong stared at him blankly, then smiled like he couldn’t stop it.

“Don’t drag me down.”

“Bullshit.”