“This is Ink Dragon Manor.”

Ink Dragon Manor.

An organization with a rather grandiose name—supposedly a place where an ink-dark dragon had coiled up.

But the real Ink Dragon Manor was far more majestic, and far stranger, than the impression its name gave.

This is insane.

Ga Deoksang looked around and clicked his tongue to himself.

That’s why it never surfaced.

Ink Dragon Manor wasn’t a fortress built above ground.

It was underground. Ink Dragon Manor existed beneath the earth.

The scale of this place—packed with countless caverns too many to even count—was beyond imagination.

The moment they entered, the central open area alone was wide enough to rival more than ten of the Alliance of the Martial World’s large training grounds put together. And inside that enormous open space, hundreds of laborers were hammering away in nonstop clatter, building something.

Ga Deoksang lifted his head to look at the ceiling.

His gaze hardened.

No way.

The height to the ceiling was well over fifty feet.

And embedded across that lofty ceiling were hundreds of luminous pearls, set in long rows.

Where in the world did they get that many luminous pearls?!

If you pried off even one of those pearls and sold it, an ordinary household could live in comfort for the rest of their lives.

And there were hundreds of them. And this was only the open area near the entrance. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how many luminous pearls were set deeper inside.

Ga Deoksang clicked his tongue again.

That’s terrifying money. Where did Yangcheon secure all this funding?

Even by rough inference, Ink Dragon Manor’s financial power didn’t seem inferior to any battlefield or merchant group in the Central Plains. If anything, it might surpass them. It certainly wouldn’t be behind.

And it’s not just the luminous pearls—building an underground world like this in the first place isn’t something anyone can just do.

Then Je Gal Ahyeon’s voice arrived through voice transmission.

[It’s old.]

[Huh?]

[This place wasn’t built recently. Even if we’re conservative, it’s over a hundred years old. I think it’s easily three hundred. But it’s hard to estimate precisely just by looking.]

[How do you know that?]

[I’ve always been interested in geology, so I studied a lot. From the marks here and the humidity, there’s no way this was made in a short time.]

[I see.]

[And look—inside a sealed space, air doesn’t circulate, so living things can’t survive. But all these people are working without any discomfort.]

[Ah!]

[There are air passages everywhere. And they all connect to the outside. No matter how much the Dark Path blocks information, there’s no way they could carry out construction on this scale without our side noticing.]

It was a solid deduction.

So they didn’t build this massive underground world from scratch. They just found something that already existed—and put it to use.

Still scanning the surroundings, Ga Deoksang sent a voice transmission to Yeon Hojeong.

[Young Master Yeon, we should be careful. Miss Je Gal says this place wasn’t newly built. If that’s true, then their preparations are surely—]

[It can’t be new.]

[Huh?]

[This place is absolutely not new.]

Ga Deoksang turned his head to look at Yeon Hojeong.

...?

Yeon Hojeong’s face was expressionless.

He looked like he felt nothing at all. And yet, Ga Deoksang could sense it—thick confusion shadowing his eyes, along with an inexplicable, faint wistfulness.

[Young Master Yeon?]

Yeon Hojeong didn’t answer.

Ga Deoksang furrowed his brow.

What’s with him? It’s not like he could know this place...

Ga Deoksang was wrong.

Yeon Hojeong—Dark Emperor—

As the true heir of the Four Spirit Arts and the supreme master of the Dark Path, a man who had once ruled the world with invincible fame, he already knew of this impossibly vast underground world.

Blood Dragon Vein!

A storm surged in Yeon Hojeong’s eyes.

He was coiled up on the Blood Dragon Vein?!

Ink Dragon Manor—no, the Blood Dragon Vein.

A place with a bizarre legend: an evil dragon defeated by an Immortal, dragging its blood-soaked body into the earth and carving out a gigantic pit.

This was the Blood Dragon Vein. It couldn’t be anything else.

The memory was ancient, but Yeon Hojeong remembered this place with perfect clarity.

The site of the final battle!

That was right.

This was where Yeon Hojeong—before he built the Black Emperor’s Citadel—had fought a life-and-death duel with his greatest enemy, Yangcheon. In other words, it was a historic place where the king of the Dark Path had been decided.

Back then, Yeon Hojeong had been clearly inferior to Yangcheon. Even with the unparalleled divine art of the Four Spirit Arts and unimaginable real combat experience, it had been difficult to withstand Yangcheon’s absolute martial arts.

So Yeon Hojeong had drawn him here himself.

The Blood Dragon Vein—so vast and deep that no one even knew where its end lay—an ancient labyrinth.

After luring Yangcheon into the Blood Dragon Vein, Yeon Hojeong used the terrain, raining down tricks and ambushes countless times, until he finally managed to catch Yangcheon.

A fair fight? That kind of thing had meant nothing.

If he could have assassinated Yangcheon outright, he wouldn’t have bothered calling him to the Blood Dragon Vein in the first place. Yangcheon’s martial arts were already beyond what any assassin could handle—so Yeon Hojeong had taken the field himself.

Of course... as the symbol of a king, he still had to be the one to personally end it.

It hasn’t changed.

All around the open area, laborers were building huge structures.

But Yeon Hojeong’s eyes didn’t go to any of that. His gaze swept the Blood Dragon Vein itself.

Yeah. That was there.

Before luring Yangcheon here in the past, he had surveyed the Blood Dragon Vein in every corner.

It was so wide and so deep that even Yeon Hojeong had needed more than half a month just to memorize the paths.

Maybe that was why. Aside from a few hazy sections, he remembered most of the routes.

As expected.

As Yeon Hojeong examined the Blood Dragon Vein, he could feel the altered history against his skin.

It’s different. Back then, Yangcheon knew the Blood Dragon Vein existed—but he never intended to settle here.

Because it was too bleak, and too expensive. And beyond that, for all his towering ambition, he had an appetite for display.

At the same time... he had pride. The pride that said there was no need to hide while gathering strength.

If your power wasn’t enough to proclaim your survival to the world, then even if you united the Dark Path, you couldn’t clash head-on with the Orthodox Path. He had held that conviction like iron.

And yet, in this life... you made the Blood Dragon Vein your home.

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes sharpened to a fierce glow.

What is it? What made you move this cautiously? A simple change of heart? Or did you experience something in this twisted history—something I don’t know?

Thoughts chained into more thoughts.

Whatever the reason, the fact that Yangcheon had taken root in the Blood Dragon Vein struck Yeon Hojeong as both an immense shock—and a strange, aching nostalgia.

Ga Deoksang looked at Pae Yul, Tang Sang-a, and Je Gal Ahyeon.

They, too, seemed to sense something from Yeon Hojeong’s expression. Their glances kept flicking toward him, filled with doubt.

Then Blue Tiger spoke.

“The Lord of Ink Dragon Manor wants to see you at once.”

Tension fell across Je Gal Ahyeon’s face.

She sent a voice transmission to each of them.

[You still have the Invisibility Pill I gave you yesterday, right? Everyone—swallow it.]

Yeon Hojeong spoke.

“I’ll go as the representative.”

The party stared at him, startled by the unexpected statement.

Blue Tiger cut him off in an emotionless voice.

“The Lord of Ink Dragon Manor wants to see all of you. On the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor’s order—”

“Watch how you talk.” Yeon Hojeong’s voice was flat. “We came to meet the man you call the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor, and decide whether we can join hands with him—or whether we’ll enter under his banner. We’re not his subordinates. Not anything.”

“...”

“Is that hard to understand? Then let me be clear. We have no reason to obey your orders or your requests.”

Yeon Hojeong’s face was as cold as Blue Tiger’s.

“If you brought us here as guests, then treat us like guests. If you try cheap tricks and ruin our mood, it won’t be good for you, either.”

“Look for common sense outside. The Lord of Ink Dragon Manor’s order is absolute. If you don’t accept it, then right here—”

“I kill you first.”

A faint killing intent rose in Blue Tiger’s eyes.

Even so, he kept it restrained. The patience was impressive.

Yeon Hojeong continued.

“One more word of trash, and I’ll kill you first—and then I’ll go demand an explanation from the elder you keep calling ‘sir.’ Understood?”

“...You bastard.”

“We’re already inside Ink Dragon Manor. Even if we wanted to leave, it won’t be easy to walk out whenever we feel like it, will it?”

“...”

“So haven’t we shown enough sincerity already? I don’t know what you’re so afraid of that you live and die by a single order—but you should at least understand that your common sense and ours aren’t the same.”

“Do you really want to die?”

“If we die, won’t you be the one in trouble? You brought in ‘talent’ as guests, then you start screaming about killing them over one request, and you throw away a golden opportunity.”

“...”

“Don’t think you can control newcomers with laughable logic. If you’re a servant, then act like a servant—move while reading your master’s intent.”

Blue Tiger’s cheek began to twitch.

Read his master’s intent? That wasn’t something Blue Tiger—famous among Yangcheon’s men for absolute obedience—was supposed to hear.

“...Fine.”

FSSSS.

At last, killing intent leaked from Blue Tiger’s body.

“You crossed the line. You’re not even worth facing the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor. I’ll kill you here.”

“Wasn’t your elder the type who likes crossing lines?” Yeon Hojeong smirked.

It was blatant provocation.

“And besides—earlier you said it was for the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor to judge. So why are you, of all people, judging us now? Looks like you forgot your elder’s order.”

“You—!”

That was when—

“Blue Tiger.”

In an instant, Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flashed.

Not only his. Pae Yul, Ga Deoksang, Tang Sang-a, and Je Gal Ahyeon all jolted at the reverberant voice that suddenly rang out.

“Escort the other four to their quarters. And tell the Lord of Ink Dragon Manor I’m taking only that young man.”

Blue Tiger ground his teeth.

“But—”

“When did you learn how to think?”

Blue Tiger’s complexion drained white.

Ga Deoksang’s eyes narrowed.

He’s terrified?

Yes. He returned to his usual blank face at once, but Blue Tiger had definitely felt fear.

Blue Tiger turned to the left.

“The four of you. Follow me.”

Yeon Hojeong looked at the four and said, “I’ll be back.”

The four flinched at the same time.

Yeon Hojeong’s manner of speech had changed.

Yeon Hojeong smiled and lifted /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ one finger.

Plan One.

A change of plan.

They had already discussed what to do if they truly entered Ink Dragon Manor or ended up meeting Yangcheon—what they would do if their cover as martial brothers and sisters within the sect was exposed.

Several proposals had come up, and in the end, they had built three plans.

The signal Yeon Hojeong had just sent meant: switch relationships according to the first plan.

And the core of the first plan was—

Break the existing relationship and exploit Yangcheon.

Ga Deoksang wore a meaningful smile.

“Come back safe.”

Blue Tiger hesitated.

Yeon Hojeong’s tone had changed. Ga Deoksang’s tone had changed, too.

A sharp sense of wrongness crawled over his skin.

“You bastards...?”

Yeon Hojeong waved a hand.

“What are you doing? Hurry up and escort them. Everyone’s tired from the road.”

Blue Tiger stared at Yeon Hojeong for a moment—then strode off. The four followed behind him.

Je Gal Ahyeon kept glancing back at Yeon Hojeong.

Without a word, Yeon Hojeong nodded. Je Gal Ahyeon let out a quiet sigh and turned away.

Once Yeon Hojeong was alone, an old man appeared before him—his back bent, his posture hunched. He was the owner of the voice that had just warned Blue Tiger.

“Move.”

Yeon Hojeong took a deep breath.

“Let’s go.”

The hardest enemy to face in the entire Dark Path.

At last, he would meet Fighting King Yangcheon.