The Tyrant King’s armguard.

It was the thing I had seen in the vault before.

When I asked what that armguard was, Yoo Cheongil had only said that he had brought it from the Tyrant King.

...I’m the dumbass for just letting that slide.

I thought of Mount Hua’s black robe.

It was supposed to be an item loaded with Mount Hua’s symbolism, yet he had stuffed that into his own vault while his own sacred heirloom had ended up sitting in Mount Hua instead.

I should’ve realized that armguard wasn’t some ordinary object either. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Of all things, it turned out to be the sacred heirloom of the Tyrant King’s family.

...What the hell is it, anyway?

Did it have some incredible effect or something?

It was strange.

From what I had seen, it had not seemed to have anything especially remarkable about it.

The problem here was—

If the Tyrant King came looking for that...

Then was I the target because of it?

No, giving it back was fine.

It wasn’t mine to begin with.

If the original owner had come to reclaim it, then all I had to do was hand it over.

...The real issue is whether handing it over would create problems or not.

Judging from it, there did not seem to be any real problem.

At least not yet.

Hm.

I organized my thoughts.

I still did not know what the Tyrant King intended, so I was not going to move rashly.

But—

If he asks for it, I’ll give it to him.

If what he wanted was that armguard, then I could just hand it over.

Thinking that, I asked Yoo Cheongil,

“Let me ask you something first.”

[What.]

“...You didn’t give the Tyrant King anything too, did you?”

[What are you talking about?]

“I mean, there wasn’t some kind of trade like with Mount Hua, right?”

[Ah.]

Only then did Yoo Cheongil seem to understand.

He nodded and said,

[Trade? What trade could there be? I just stole it.]

“...”

That was a truly deranged thing to hear.

“Why would you steal it? It’s not like you’re some thief, old man...!”

[Well, what was I supposed to do? I needed it, and he refused to give it to me.]

“Then you don’t take it. Where in the world did the idea of stealing it come from...?”

[That’s just how life is.]

That was the sort of line that absolutely should not have the word life in it.

It was such a ridiculous answer that it made my head hurt.

...The odds just shot up.

At this point, the chances that the Tyrant King was looking for the armguard had risen dramatically.

Of course they have.

He was the ruler of Xi’an.

An absolute master who had not stepped out of that place for years.

And that kind of man had come all the way to Henan, personally stepped into Blue Moon Sect—

and he’s showing interest in me.

There was no other way to explain all those movements except by tracing them back to the armguard.

I need to keep this from turning into a pain in the ass.

That would not be easy.

If only the Tyrant King had some purpose with me, that would be one thing.

But I’ve got one with him too.

I had my own interest in him as well.

I need to think of a way.

It felt like I needed to work out a move in advance.

I turned around.

For now, I had a destination in mind.

Yoo Cheongil’s vault.

I needed to go there and find the armguard first.

*****

The sect master’s chamber of Blue Moon Sect.

Moon Immortal Sword stepped into the room and sat down.

Watching that, the Tyrant King sat down as well.

“What do you think you are doing?”

As if he had been waiting to ask, Moon Immortal Sword spoke to him at once.

“Doing what?”

The Tyrant King answered with a blank face.

One of his hands was still twisted.

It had to be hurting badly, yet he only looked at Moon Immortal Sword as though it were nothing.

“I know you have business with Blue Moon Sect. But I asked what this rudeness toward a disciple of my sect was meant to be.”

Moon Immortal Sword’s voice was filled with a rare discomfort.

For a man who normally did not show emotion, it was far too obvious.

“Rudeness. Certainly, it was rude. But there was something I needed to confirm.”

“Confirm?”

At that word, Moon Immortal Sword’s expression tightened just a fraction.

At the same time, battle intent rippled from his body.

“Would you not say that was a rather violent way to confirm something?”

“Hm.”

The Tyrant King looked at Moon Immortal Sword and swung his ruined arm a little.

“Even so, I’d say this much counts as an apology. No?”

“I would say that is an entirely different matter.”

“No, it isn’t.”

The Tyrant King replied calmly.

“It’s the same method of apology the former sect master of Blue Moon Sect used.”

“...”

The former sect master.

The moment the subject turned to the Sword Saint, Yoo Cheongil, Moon Immortal Sword fell silent.

“How curious. Judging by your reaction, you seem to have taken quite a liking to that brat.”

“All disciples of Blue Moon Sect are the same.”

“Hah.”

The Tyrant King let out a laugh at Moon Immortal Sword’s words.

“What a laughable excuse. Don’t you look differently even at your own blood if you don’t think they’re worth anything? The same? That makes no sense.”

“...”

“I’m not criticizing you.”

The Tyrant King narrowed his eyes as he recalled Bang Seongyeon.

“From my position too, I rather like the brat. The Sword Saint picked up something impressive from somewhere.”

He had struck only to confirm something, so it had been a far weaker blow than he would truly throw.

And yet not only had the boy blocked it without breaking—

That look in his eyes.

The Tyrant King remembered the way Bang Seongyeon had looked at him.

There had been no emotion in it.

No effort to judge who he was, or why he had attacked.

Only—

What is the next move?

That was the look in his eyes.

The look of someone already thinking about what action should come next.

There had been confusion in him, yes.

But it had not interfered.

Good.

His core was calm.

More than people who were simply hard and unbending, the Tyrant King had always taken notice of those who were calm.

Like—

Yoo Cheongil.

A man who looked hotter than anyone, fiercer than anyone—

and yet carried something dark and cold as the deep sea inside him.

The Tyrant King thought of the Sword Saint and slowly lifted the corners of his mouth.

And on top of that, he’s already crossed the wall...

Transcendent Peak.

For someone of the younger generation to have already stepped into the ranks of true masters—

the Sword Saint had truly placed power in the hands of a ridiculous monster.

Now I’m curious.

If he fought, how would he fight?

If he kept growing like that, just how far would he go?

He looked forward to it.

His hair felt as if it were slightly standing on end.

“So I understand why you would have expectations of him.”

“I did not ask for your understanding.”

Moon Immortal Sword still wore a hard expression as he looked at the Tyrant King.

“Now tell me your purpose. Depending on what it is, my attitude toward you will also have to change.”

“Oh ho. Your attitude?”

That was an interesting thing to say.

KRK-KRK.

A sound came from the Tyrant King’s arm.

He was [N O V E L I G H T] forcibly twisting the broken arm back into place.

“And how, exactly, would your attitude change?”

“I had intended to receive you as a guest, since the Tyrant King himself had gone to the trouble of coming to Blue Moon Sect.”

Rattle-rattle-rattle-rattle.

Every object in the room began to tremble at once.

They were reacting to the aura winding through the chamber.

“But if the purpose that brought you here involves a disciple of Blue Moon Sect, then I can no longer treat you as a guest.”

“That sounds strange.”

Tap.

The Tyrant King pressed down on the table lightly with a finger.

The shaking table stopped vibrating at once.

“That sounds less like a warning about touching a disciple of Blue Moon Sect and more like a warning that you’ll be angry if someone touches the Sword Saint’s brat.”

“All disciples of Blue Moon Sect are the same.”

“Hah. Interesting.”

The Tyrant King rose to his feet.

A huge presence coiled around him as he stood.

“So this is someone you’ve got your eye on that closely. I really am curious.”

“...”

CREEEAK.

Their auras collided.

It went past a faint tremor now.

It felt as if the entire building were shaking.

But—

“Unfortunately, my purpose isn’t the Sword Saint’s brat.”

The Tyrant King cut off the pressure with those words.

“I’ll remain here as a guest.”

“...”

At that, Moon Immortal Sword withdrew his own aura as well.

“In that case, I hope you will mind your manners.”

“I will.”

“...I will call for a physician. You should receive treatment.”

Moon Immortal Sword rose from his seat.

He was just about to take the Tyrant King to a physician when—

“But.”

Suddenly, Moon Immortal Sword looked at the Tyrant King and asked,

“Then what is your purpose?”

The one thing the Tyrant King still had not answered.

Why had he come here?

At the question, the Tyrant King stared at Moon Immortal Sword for a moment.

Then he replied,

“Ah, it’s nothing much...”

He said—

“There’s just something I need to take with me.”

There was something here he had to bring back.

*****

SCREEEEEECH—!!

The mechanism opened, and I stepped inside.

I had already come here several times by now, so the place had started to feel familiar.

“Hm.”

I moved while giving the surroundings a quick look.

The place I arrived at was the spot where I had found the Tyrant King’s armguard.

“...So this is it.”

I looked at the armguard.

At a glance, it really did not seem to have any notable feature at all.

I still did not understand what kind of meaning this carried for the Tyrant King’s family.

But—

“...Hmm.”

Judging from his purpose, this armguard definitely seemed important.

[You’re thinking of taking it out?]

Yoo Cheongil asked.

I shook my head.

“No. I’m not going to take it with me.”

[Why?]

The item belonged to the Tyrant King, and yet I was saying I would not take it out.

Yoo Cheongil sounded puzzled.

“I still don’t know what he intends.”

The armguard was the Tyrant King’s possession, yes.

But Yoo Cheongil was the one who had taken it and stored it here.

Which meant it had become the property of the dead.

Until I understood the Tyrant King’s intention, I should not touch it.

...And besides.

Even if the Tyrant King’s purpose really was this armguard, I could not just carry it out carelessly.

If it came to that, I would have to deal with it in my own way.

For now—

After confirming the item, I moved forward.

My final destination was the wall of sword marks.

“Hm...”

It had not changed no matter how many times I looked at it.

The moment I arrived, I activated Moon Immortal Sword’s Path and stared at it again, but it was still utterly impenetrable.

How am I supposed to solve that fifth sword?

Every other motion connected into the next, but that one sword in the middle alone made no sense.

How the hell am I supposed to do it?

I stared at it intently.

There has to be a way.

Judging from Yoo Cheongil’s reaction, there absolutely had to be a way.

But since he refused to tell me, it was suffocating.

Hm...

I kept looking at it and looking at it, and then a laugh slipped out.

What am I even doing?

What the hell was I doing right now?

...I should be focusing on the Tyrant King issue first.

I had practically forgotten all about the Tyrant King’s purpose and his sudden appearance and was standing here with my full attention fixed on the sword marks instead.

My old self would never have done something like this.

“...Hm.”

I scratched my cheek.

I could not understand my own behavior.

And yet, contradictorily enough—

SHRING.

I had drawn my sword again.

Just a little more.

Should I try just a little more?

Click.

I set my stance and slowly began moving along the sword path.

[Kkhkhkh.]

At the sight, Yoo Cheongil laughed quietly.

For some reason that laugh got on my nerves, but I ignored it for now.

And so, unlike the words just a little, I moved the sword for quite a long time.

*****

How much time had passed?

I had struggled and flailed for roughly one shichen.

“Hoo...”

Only after I was drenched in sweat did I lower the sword.

“...Goddammit.”

The curse came out first.

“How the hell am I supposed to do this?”

I had tried every method I could think of, but this time was no different.

In the end, I still could not understand the fifth sword path.

“Hah.”

I could feel the irritation rising.

“What exactly are you telling me to do?”

I glared at Yoo Cheongil as if I wanted to bore holes through him, but the old man merely smiled.

“This is seriously impossible.”

How was I supposed to do anything when I did not know a damn thing?

I spat it out in frustration, and Yoo Cheongil began answering,

[Did I not tell you? You have to do it more slowl—]

Clunk.

“Huh?”

[...Hm?]

An odd sound suddenly came from somewhere beyond.

“What the—”

[Shh.]

Yoo Cheongil hurriedly raised a finger to his lips.

[Someone has come into the vault.]

“...!”