SSSS.

SSSS.

A low, irregular breath—steady, but never truly rhythmic. Two eyes shut as if unconscious beneath bandages wrapped over and over.

A hulking body, nearly eight cheok, lying in bedding, doing nothing but breathing—shallow and weak.

An old man with a jagged scar over one eye.

Heaven-Beyond-Heaven—current Alliance Leader, and a man they called a contender for the Greatest Under Heaven.

Divine Spear.

“......”

I went speechless.

I knew his condition was bad, but I didn’t expect him to be this ruined.

‘This is...’

To anyone else, it might look like he was simply sleeping with bandages on.

‘But spirit-qi is leaking out.’

His state was worse than I expected. Maybe not to a physician. Or rather—maybe not to people with ordinary eyes.

But to me?

It was obvious.

SSSS—!

A faint current seeped out of Divine Spear’s body. That wasn’t the kind of energy /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ a martial artist released.

It was spirit-qi.

And life force.

For spirit-qi to thrash like that, with life force mixed into it—

‘On the edge between life and death.’

It meant he was standing somewhere on that line.

[Heh heh—]

Seeing it, Yoo Cheongil chuckled.

[If this goes wrong, he’ll die.]

Even though Divine Spear should’ve been his friend, he said it that calmly.

Was it because he was already dead?

Or was that all the feeling he’d ever had?

Yoo Cheongil’s attitude rubbed me the wrong way, but I didn’t dwell on it.

I didn’t say anything.

I just looked at Moon-Thread Sword—the one who’d brought me here.

What was the point?

There had to be a reason he’d led me all the way here.

As I stared at him—

“The Alliance Leader’s condition is not good.”

Moon-Thread Sword spoke in the same flat, emotionless tone as his face.

“The physicians say there’s no treatment left. That it’s at the level where you can only leave it to a miracle.”

“......”

So the physicians saw the same thing I did.

Yeah.

That was normal.

‘Even to me, it doesn’t look any different.’

Life force was already starting to scatter out of his body. That alone was enough to call it over.

‘His soul is about to leave.’

If his soul slipped out along with that life force, Divine Spear would be no different from dead.

“This...”

Only then did I finally let the question escape.

“Why are you showing me this?”

Why show me the Alliance Leader’s condition?

It was extraordinary.

‘The backbone of the current Martial Alliance.’

That—might as well be the Alliance Leader himself.

Showing me that he was practically dying didn’t feel like it could mean anything good.

‘Blade Absolute’s reaction proves it.’

If the Alliance Leader could no longer act, they’d have to raise a new one.

And for the honor and the利益 tied to that seat, candidates would tear into each other and the political arena would explode.

So until it became certain, the Martial Alliance’s best move would be silence.

‘And you’re showing me?’

I couldn’t understand why.

“It was the Strategist’s will.”

“......The Strategist?”

Moon-Thread Sword said it was Thousand-Mile True Sight’s request, that he’d shown me Divine Spear’s condition—

“Why?”

I didn’t get it. What did showing me this accomplish?

“Who knows.”

Moon-Thread Sword gave me an ambiguous answer.

“I do not know his will. I do not try to know it. But.”

His gaze lowered slightly as he spoke.

“The Strategist said that if you saw this, you would understand on your own.”

“......”

Understand?

The reason?

I frowned.

I wasn’t some prophet. What was I supposed to “understand” just by looking at a dying man?

I thought hard.

‘He said I’d understand.’

I would understand.

Or I’d understand once I saw it.

Thousand-Mile True Sight was sure of that.

‘......’

I looked at Divine Spear, and at the same time I made my brain run.

A sick Divine Spear.

What would happen if Divine Spear fell.

Why Divine Spear ended up like this.

Jegal Jin’s intent—assuming I’d understand.

What I would realize by seeing him.

A reason only I could realize.

The physicians saying there was no way.

And more.

I snapped all of it together at once. My mind—running faster than it ever did in my last life—spun cleanly into place.

And then—

“Ah.”

I understood.

“Ha.”

A hollow laugh slipped out, and I dropped down to the floor.

Not collapsing—just sitting.

Moon-Thread Sword’s brow moved a fraction as he looked at me.

Seeing his faint confusion, I spoke.

“......Looks like we’ll have to wait until the Strategist gets here.”

So that’s it.

It annoyed me, the way things were turning out exactly like Jegal Jin expected, but—

‘......Damn it.’

It was the right answer.

I knew.

More precisely—

‘It was an answer only I could reach.’

Only me.

And Jegal Jin.

*****

A little time passed.

About half a shichen.

Only then did the closed door open and Jegal Jin walked in.

He looked far more exhausted than before.

Apparently the talk with the Sword King hadn’t been very nourishing.

“I kept you waiting. My apologies.”

“It’s fine.”

He apologized to Moon-Thread Sword, and Moon-Thread Sword shook his head.

Watching that, I said, dumbfounded—

“Why aren’t you apologizing to me?”

I waited too. Why did I get nothing?

The two behind Jegal Jin flinched.

[Bold bastard.]

Even Yoo Cheongil sounded surprised.

[You want to tease that savage-looking bastard?]

Tease? Who said anything about teasing?

‘If you kept someone waiting, you say something.’

I was serious.

Jegal Jin’s eyes slid over me.

Then—

“You’re right. I’m sorry.”

He apologized like it was nothing.

“Okay. Accepted.”

I nodded, satisfied.

In that moment—

“......Huh?”

“......The Strategist...?”

The people behind him reacted even more shocked than before.

Even Moon-Thread Sword’s eyes widened slightly—rare for him.

Why were they surprised? I didn’t get it, but—

“Step out for a moment.”

Jegal Jin ignored them and sat on the floor, issuing the order.

“......Strategist...”

“But...”

Two guards—unit-leader level martial artists—spoke in a panic, but—

“The one guarding this place is Moon-Thread Sword. Do we need more escort than that?”

Jegal Jin’s voice turned firm. The unit leaders had no choice but to nod.

Moon-Thread Sword was here. That alone seemed to satisfy them.

‘...That’s impressive.’

I knew Moon-Thread Sword was terrifying, but I didn’t know his name carried this kind of weight.

Even unit-leader level people treated him like that.

After they left—

“Blue Moon Sect Master.”

“Yes.”

“Could you put up a barrier?”

At Jegal Jin’s words, energy swept out.

WHOOOOSH—!!!

The air grew heavy. It felt like pressure forming.

Sound sealed off around the room.

Only then did Jegal Jin stare at Divine Spear.

After a long moment, without moving his head, he spoke.

“What do you want to do.”

I tilted my head.

“......What do you mean?”

As if I truly didn’t understand.

Only then did Jegal Jin look at me.

His eyes—sharpened by exhaustion—were harsh.

“I don’t want to waste time fishing. I’m tired today.”

“......”

“If it’s you, I think you’ve already realized why I brought you here. If not...”

Jegal Jin’s gaze returned to Divine Spear.

“Then I’ll have to think differently.”

I didn’t ask what he meant by “differently.”

There was no need.

‘This time...’

I needed to step back.

With a sigh, I said it.

“......Who am I supposed to find?”

At my blunt question, Jegal Jin’s mouth curved slightly.

“So you’ll accept it.”

“No. I’ll hear the explanation properly and then decide.”

I wasn’t accepting anything without hearing it.

In the middle of that, Yoo Cheongil spoke to me.

[What are you talking about?]

What conversation was this?

That question from him was... unexpected.

‘You, of all people, should’ve gotten it.’

He acted rough and stupid, but he was sharper than anyone—no, sharper than any ghost.

I thought he’d realize it the way I did.

Apparently not.

‘The core is simple.’

What Jegal Jin said I’d understand.

What only I could do.

It was simple.

‘Jegal Jin intends to save Divine Spear.’

He wanted to save the dying Alliance Leader.

Showing me Divine Spear wasn’t just to make me grasp the situation fast—

‘It was proof he doesn’t want the Alliance to shake.’

He didn’t want Divine Spear’s condition to rock the Alliance.

And—

‘Even in this state, there’s a way to save him.’

That was what he was telling me.

I could see it in what he’d said at the conference.

If Jegal Jin thought it was fine to choose a next Alliance Leader and replace Divine Spear—

‘He would’ve let something slip to Blade Absolute and the others.’

A hidden suggestion: Prepare. A generational смена is coming.

But—

‘He didn’t.’

Jegal Jin didn’t do that.

He didn’t want a change.

And he believed there was a way to fix this.

‘A person who can save Divine Spear in this state...’

Whether such a person truly existed, I didn’t know.

But Jegal Jin had decided they did—and the reason he showed me this was obvious.

He was going to ask me for something.

‘And it’s tied to why he doesn’t want the seat to change.’

Spies were crawling everywhere.

Even the Namgung Clan—one of the Five Great Clans—had a direct bloodline incident tied to DEMON CULT.

And if even a unit-leader level martial artist could be a spy, then nobody could be trusted.

So Jegal Jin couldn’t hand the Alliance over to anyone.

And if he was going to save Divine Spear—if he was going to get through this safely—

‘He needs me.’

From Jegal Jin’s perspective, he needed my help.

More exactly—

‘He needs my eyes.’

My eyes that could judge HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE’s spies.

That was what Jegal Jin needed.

“......What do you want me to do?”

Jegal Jin wanted me to find someone.

And along the way, he likely wanted me to identify whether someone was a HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE spy.

As if weighing whether my read was correct, Jegal Jin looked at me in silence.

Then he said it plainly—no circling, no softening.

“We have to find the Medical Immortal.”

“The Medical Immortal?”

It sounded familiar—

Ah.

‘I know.’

I remembered.

The greatest physician in the Central Plains.

A mysterious existence said to revive even the dead.

That was the Medical Immortal.

But—

“......Isn’t that someone who vanished and no one knows where? How am I supposed to find them?”

He was known to have disappeared decades ago.

Even before the Orthodox-Demonic War.

How was I supposed to find someone like that?

When I asked, unable to understand—

“You don’t need to find him.”

Jegal Jin said.

“What you need to do isn’t a search. It’s persuasion.”

“...What?”

“......Persuade the Medical Immortal and bring him here. He’s in Shaanxi—more specifically, at Mount Hua.”

“......Mount Hua?”

An unexpected place spilled out.