White hair, faded pale.

Within it, a wrinkled face and blue eyes.

An old man with the look of someone who had opened his Moon Eyes, and a face cold enough to cut.

I knew who he was.

Second Elder.

One of Blue Moon Sect’s seven elders, and the man called the Second Elder.

Baek Yeon.

Elder Baek Yeon.

His epithet was—

Moonless Old Sword.

That was definitely the man.

As I looked at Baek Yeon, I narrowed my eyes.

It’s that old man.

The peculiar energy caught by Moon Immortal Sword’s Path. Everyone in Blue Moon Sect carried that distinct bluish energy, but each had their own traits within it.

The shape of energy changed according to how it flowed. Some were rough. Some were swifter. Some were—

Still.

Still like a deep lake. Moon Immortal Sword had that kind of energy, and Baek Yeon—

Cold.

He carried a chill to his energy.

I stared straight at it.

Because it was the same energy I had sensed in the vault.

Then—

Shit.

I turned my eyes away.

Had I stared too long? Baek Yeon was looking at me now.

I hurriedly averted my gaze and started thinking fast.

It’s him.

The moment I saw the energy, I was sure.

Could there really be another one exactly the same?

No.

I was certain there couldn’t.

[Looks like that’s the bastard.]

Yoo Cheongil said it while looking at Baek Yeon.

At that, I gave a small nod.

[Baek Yeon, hm.]

Yoo Cheongil narrowed his eyes as he stared at him.

[You’re telling me that bastard knew where the vault was and came looking for it? How would that even be possible?]

He reacted like he found it deeply questionable, but—

...It doesn’t really seem that strange to me.

From where I stood, it was a miracle the place had gone undiscovered this long.

I mean—

With that many entrances scattered all over the damn place, how was it supposed to stay hidden?

There were way too many entrances leading to the vault.

It wasn’t just one, either. There were a bunch of exits too.

Once the number got that high, of course the risk of getting caught shot through the roof.

If anything, it lasted a long damn time.

That was the truth.

At least from what I could see, it had held out for a very long time.

The real problem is...

What kind of purpose that man named Baek Yeon had in finding the vault.

He doesn’t feel like HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.

I couldn’t sense anything like that from him, so he wasn’t a HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE spy.

And surprisingly, not one of the people here carried the energy of HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.

...Hmmm.

For now, I completely withdrew my gaze.

Just then, Moon Immortal Sword spoke to me.

—Do you know?

“Ah.”

Right.

—No... At least, not from what I can see.

At my answer, Moon Immortal Sword gave a small nod.

And at that moment—

“Then how exactly do you intend to confirm it?”

One of the elders spoke up.

Baek Yeon—the very one I had been watching.

“You bring up Mount Hua and speak of the danger of spies. Fine. I understand that. That makes sense. But if so, doesn’t that mean you already have some method of identifying those spies?”

“Well.”

Moon Immortal Sword narrowed his eyes.

“It isn’t as though there’s no method.”

“...!”

At those words, the elders flinched.

Did such a method really exist?

Or was he probing them?

From where I sat, it felt more like the latter.

If the method Moon Immortal Sword meant was me, then it probably was.

Thinking that, I kept watching him.

“There isn’t no method, you say. Interesting. But setting that aside.”

Baek Yeon looked at Moon Immortal Sword and added,

“Is there not also a chance that you yourself could be a spy, Sect Master?”

—!!

At Baek Yeon’s words, the room stirred.

Every face was full of shock.

Like they couldn’t believe he had just said that to the sect master.

“Ha.”

Moon Immortal Sword let out a low breath.

And seeing that, Yoo Cheongil reacted too.

[Heh heh heh.]

Chuckling under his breath, Yoo Cheongil swept his gaze over the elders.

[Hasn’t been beaten enough.]

...This crazy bastard.

Saying an elder “hadn’t been beaten enough.”

Was there any statement more brutal and insane than that?

That was so thoroughly him it was almost impressive.

KUUUUNG—!!!

“...Kgh...”

The killing intent that suddenly burst forth made every hair on my body stand up.

My spine went numb.

My body locked stiff as I looked toward the seat of honor.

Moon Immortal Sword.

That vast, crushing hostility and killing intent was pouring from him.

What the hell?

It made my skin crawl.

A human could release this kind of pressure?

It felt like a completely different level from the absolute masters I had met until now.

...This is...

So this was the sect master of Blue Moon Sect?

While my stunned body still couldn’t react properly—

It stopped.

The killing intent vanished in an instant.

“What you said is true.”

Moon Immortal Sword changed his tone.

After drawing back the killing intent, he addressed the elders.

“I agree with your point. I also understand that this may be difficult to believe.”

“...Then.”

“Then draw your sword.”

“What?”

Baek Yeon’s eyes widened at those words.

“If you cannot believe it, so be it. But I am the sect master of Blue Moon Sect. If you cannot accept my judgment...”

A bluish energy began to gather softly from Moon Immortal Sword’s shoulders.

“Draw your sword.”

If you don’t like it, defeat me and become sect master yourself.

That was what he meant.

[Hahahahaha—!!]

Seeing that, Yoo Cheongil burst into loud laughter.

[Yes. That’s how it should be.]

He looked thoroughly satisfied.

[Rules have to be kept.]

One of the few but fiercest rules of Blue Moon Sect.

The strongest becomes sect master.

And the word of the sect master thus established became law.

That was the law of Blue Moon Sect.

If you didn’t like it—

Then beat the sect master.

That way you either became sect master yourself, or you left Blue Moon Sect.

A simple rule. Brutally simple.

“......”

At those words, even Baek Yeon fell silent.

Looking at the old man, Moon Immortal Sword shifted his gaze.

To the sword at his waist.

“You’re not drawing it?”

A sword wrapped at his waist.

As Moon Immortal Sword spoke while looking at it, Baek Yeon’s face twisted.

“...You’re telling me to draw my sword here?”

“What exactly is the problem? The moon rises anywhere. You know better than anyone that it is not bound by time or place.”

Hm.

That really did sound like something Yoo Cheongil would say.

The moon rises anywhere.

It isn’t bound by time or place.

For some reason, those words lodged themselves in me.

And while I was thinking that—

“Huh?”

Something flashed through my mind.

The instant I felt it, I shot to my feet.

...The moon and time?

My eyes widened.

I felt like I had just understood something.

My heart pounded.

Heat flared through my body.

Where was my sword?

At my waist.

Before I even realized it, my hand had moved toward the hilt.

Because it felt like I had to draw it right now.

“Unit Member Bang.”

“...Ah.”

Moon Immortal Sword’s voice snapped me back to myself.

“What are you doing?”

“......”

I looked around.

Because I had suddenly stood up, everyone in the room—elders and all—was staring at me.

With all those eyes suddenly on me, I said awkwardly,

“...My apologies.”

I pulled back the hand reaching for the hilt and sat down again.

Maybe the atmosphere had broken for a moment because of that, because Moon Immortal Sword looked back at Baek Yeon and spoke.

“Second Elder.”

“...What is it?”

“If you’re not going to draw your sword, it would be best to end [N O V E L I G H T] this here. Do you agree?”

It sounded like if he didn’t agree, Moon Immortal Sword would tell him to draw it right then and there.

At that, Baek Yeon frowned.

“...Very well.”

In the end, he tucked his tail and backed down.

Only after seeing that did Moon Immortal Sword change his expression, then rise from his seat.

RUMBLE—!!!

Moon Immortal Sword walked out just like that.

And then he added,

“Unit Member Bang, follow me.”

At those words, I immediately rose to my feet.

“Excuse me.”

After giving the proper courtesy, I followed him.

*****

I arrived at a room behind Moon Immortal Sword.

Like before, it was once again just the two of us.

Moon Immortal Sword sat in his place and said to me,

“So you truly saw nothing?”

He meant whether I had seen any HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE spies.

Hearing that, I answered,

“No. I didn’t see any...”

“I see.”

Moon Immortal Sword’s reaction was calm.

Almost like it didn’t matter to him whether there were any or not.

“I’ll ask directly. How do you identify them?”

“...I just feel it.”

“You feel it?”

“Yes. That’s really all it is.”

It seemed to be some abnormality born from Moon Immortal Sword’s Path overlapping with my Ghost Eyes.

According to Yoo Cheongil, it wasn’t something visible just because someone had opened their Moon Eyes.

“That’s a bit lacking if I’m meant to place trust in it.”

“I imagine it would be.”

But what was I supposed to do about that?

That was the answer.

Since it didn’t seem like there was any other explanation to give, I stayed silent.

Then—

“Could it be that this sense you speak of is related to what you inherited from the former sect master?”

“......”

Moon Immortal Sword brought up Yoo Cheongil.

The instant I heard that, I felt like I’d hit the jackpot.

“...That’s right.”

I answered as if I had been waiting for that exact opening.

[...Shameless bastard.]

Yoo Cheongil looked utterly disgusted, but I ignored him completely.

“My master spent a long time pursuing the existence called HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.”

It was the same trick I had used on Cheonrijinan before.

Using it again here didn’t seem like a bad choice.

“And in the process, he altered the martial art he left behind.”

“And that is what creates this sense?”

“Yes. It tracks and identifies a specific kind of energy carried by the martial artists of HEAVEN-BREAKING PALACE.”

“......”

Moon Immortal Sword stared straight at me.

I couldn’t tell whether he was suspicious, or what exactly he was thinking.

Then—

“I see.”

With that short reply, Moon Immortal Sword nodded.

Was that really it?

“...Do you have nothing else to ask?”

“Didn’t you say it was power left behind by the Sword Saint? What more would I need to ask?”

“...No, sir.”

Was selling Yoo Cheongil out really this effective?

Considering everything Moon Immortal Sword had shown so far, it was strange.

Still...

If he was willing to let it slide, then letting it slide was probably the right move.

“Then from your point of view, there is no one among the elders who feels out of place?”

“At the moment, no.”

“Understood. You may go.”

“...Understood.”

After giving Moon Immortal Sword the proper courtesy, I turned to leave.

Then—

“Wait.”

He stopped me.

“Yes?”

When I looked back, Moon Immortal Sword said,

“You’re going to have some troublesome business ahead of you.”

“Troublesome business?”

“Yes.”

Resting his chin on one hand, Moon Immortal Sword said,

“Watch out for Second Elder.”

“...!”

That was not what I had expected to hear, so I froze for a moment.

I hadn’t thought he would bring up Baek Yeon.

Second Elder.

Did Moon Immortal Sword know something about that man too?

For a brief instant, tension seized me.

“If it’s you, you’ll figure it out on your own.”

Moon Immortal Sword withdrew the gaze he had been holding on me.

“......”

I swallowed dryly and bowed my head to him.

“...Excuse me.”

After saying that, I left the room.

*****

The moment I stepped out of the residence, I pressed a hand to my forehead.

“Tsk.”

Too many things were starting to snag at once.

This wasn’t getting any easier.

“What is this?”

What was Baek Yeon about?

And what the hell was Moon Immortal Sword’s reaction supposed to mean?

For now, it definitely seemed true that I needed to be careful of Baek Yeon.

Moon Immortal Sword also seems to be keeping an eye on Baek Yeon.

That meant there was something there.

But—

If that’s true...

If he had been watching Baek Yeon, then in other words—

Wouldn’t that mean Moon Immortal Sword may also know about the vault?

By that logic, he could.

No, maybe he did.

Then he might know.

Maybe not how to get to the second one.

But he might at least know the vault itself existed.

And if that was the case, then there was one more thing I needed to figure out.

Because—

He’s a suspect too.

Moon Immortal Sword.

He was also one of the people I suspected of killing the Yoo Cheongil I could see.

“......”

My face twisted as I lightly touched my sword.

That’s one more person I need to watch.

Baek Yeon, whom Moon Immortal Sword had warned me about.

And Moon Immortal Sword himself, whom I had already been wary of from the start.

Tap tap.

I drummed my fingers against the end of the hilt as I thought, then started walking.

I was headed for the training ground.

The reason was simple.

...I need to test it.

Even in the middle of all this rushed, busy mess, that realization I had gotten from Moon Immortal Sword’s words earlier—

I felt like I finally understood why I couldn’t connect the fifth sword path.

And oddly enough, more than any of my other questions, what mattered most to me right now was solving that sword path.

I wanted to swing my sword.

As soon as possible.

It was the first time in my life I had ever felt that way.