I swallowed dryly at Freak Demon’s voice transmission.

...Bow Ghost?

Bow Ghost, here?

My eyes shook at Freak Demon’s words.

...Right. I did have a feeling.

I already knew the Death King was connected to Bow Ghost. And once I learned the Death King was in Henan, I had thought about Bow Ghost too.

But what does it mean that the Young Cult Leader met Bow Ghost all of a sudden?

What the hell did it mean that bastard had met Bow Ghost here?

How had things turned in that direction?

—When?

—Last night.

—...You mean when Bow Ghost and the Young Cult Leader met?

—That’s right.

—Do you know why?

—I do not.

Tch. I clicked my tongue inwardly. He didn’t even know the reason? Had the Young Cult Leader met Bow Ghost privately?

What is this?

The fact that Bow Ghost and the Young Cult Leader had met bothered me. Especially—

That eye is a problem too.

The eye spread through my shadow was a problem too. My eyes narrowed. I’d switched to voice transmission just in case, but I wondered whether that even meant anything.

No matter how I look at it...

It felt like it was paying attention to me. Whether that was because of Yu Yul, or—

Because I’m the Sword Saint’s inheritor, I don’t know. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Bow Ghost was watching me.

And in that state, she had met the Young Cult Leader. That part sent a chill through me.

—...You do not know why the Young Cult Leader opened these negotiations either?

—I’m sorry.

Freak Demon answered in an awkward voice.

—I’m currently out of favor with the Young Cult Leader.

—Out of favor...?

One of the Eight Demons, and the strategist who had served alongside the former Heavenly Demon. Was Freak Demon really on bad terms with the Young Cult Leader?

I’d heard as much, but I hadn’t expected things to be so bad that he wouldn’t even be told the plan.

And the Eight Demons don’t even know each other’s identities?

What kind of lunatic arrangement was that?

Ah, hell.

There was even more I had to worry about now. The thought made me frown.

This is getting annoying.

I’d thought maybe beating him would clear my head a little, but apparently not. Was there still something left in the sword forms?

Right around the point where six shifts into seven.

Even aside from that, while I was feeling the flow that linked the sword together—

I was feeling something uncomfortable inside it.

I started noticing it around seven days ago.

I’d felt it in the middle of training, just like always. For no reason. It had been a day like any other, but from that point on, it had changed.

It’s not like my realm increased, or I gained some new insight.

Whirl.

Clack.

I spun the sword once, then slid it back into the scabbard. I sheathed the Divine Sword and straightened my clothes.

“That’s enough.”

There wasn’t enough time to keep training. This was the limit. I was calming my breathing with that thought when—

Come to think of it.

The forms were one thing, but—

What am I supposed to do with this sword?

There was also the problem of the Divine Sword.

Can I really carry it around?

The Divine Sword had originally belonged to the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult. I had no idea whether it was safe to carry around openly in front of Demonic Cultists.

They seemed to be looking for it too.

I turned my head. The Young Cult Leader. His reaction bothered me.

Will he try to take it?

I considered that possibility too. And if he did, what then? I was thinking about that when—

Step.

“...”

I felt a presence and turned around. Yu Yeon was there.

“You’re here?”

“...”

Yu Yeon nodded. It looked like she had come out to train too.

Then she seemed to hesitate for a moment when she saw me.

“Ah, go ahead. I’m done.”

I’d finished my training anyway. I waved a hand to show it was fine and started moving.

Ah, right.

I looked back at Yu Yeon. A woman with a face that looked utterly harmless.

They probably don’t know, do they?

The Young Cult Leader’s side probably had no idea that Yu Yeon was the Heavenly Demon’s real daughter.

That would explain that reaction.

The way they didn’t seem to care much. Which meant—

If they found out...

What would happen?

That bastard claimed with his own mouth that he was the Heavenly Demon’s bloodline, but...

The Heavenly Demon said otherwise. The real daughter was Yu Yeon. He had neither confirmed nor denied it outright, but the fact that she could wield the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword made it clear enough.

Ah. Then again—

Can the Young Cult Leader wield the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword?

That thought crossed my mind.

At that moment—

[One without the qualification could never wield the sword.]

The Heavenly Demon answered for me. It was a flat certainty that the Young Cult Leader could not wield it.

[Are you curious?]

No. I’m not curious.

Why would I be?

Even if I were curious, there was no way to check.

How exactly am I supposed to hand him the sword?

I could wield it. The Young Cult Leader could not. That alone was enough to cause problems.

Which means...

The right answer was to avoid that kind of situation as much as possible.

That was my conclusion.

“Ah. Hey.”

“...?”

I called to Yu Yeon.

“I’m telling you in advance. If possible, don’t attend the negotiations.”

Yu Yeon tilted her head. She hadn’t attended yesterday’s negotiations either. I’d stopped ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) her.

“There are already a lot of people from the Azure Moon Sect there. And it might not look great if you show up alone as someone from Mount Hua. I already got permission from the Alliance Leader and the strategist myself, so if you can, just rest.”

“...”

At my words, Yu Yeon carefully nodded.

I had no idea whether she understood or not, but it didn’t really matter.

...If possible.

The best option was for her not to show up at all. I had chosen to keep Yu Yeon from getting entangled with the Demonic Cult side.

Even if they don’t know right now.

There was always a chance they might find out.

And Freak Demon thinks I’m the bloodline.

It was better if nothing about Yu Yeon became known.

For her sake too.

[You want her to remain unknown.]

The Heavenly Demon murmured quietly.

Even with his daughter standing right in front of him, his voice did not change.

[Then there is a good way.]

“...”

Something about that line felt ominous.

Deeply ominous.

*****

The negotiations were set for sometime past noon. Until then, I could move around before the schedule began.

There wasn’t much for me to do. The Demonic Cultists would probably be gathered wherever the Alliance had lodged them, and they had no reason to cross paths with the orthodox faction on purpose, so I headed out with my sword.

“...”

Whirl.

I swung through the sword forms a few times. The seven-strike sword. The more I used it, the more I could feel myself gradually becoming accustomed to it.

The problem was—

...Hm.

When I mixed Great Moon, the version Yoo Cheongil had left behind, into every sword form, it definitely felt as clean as could be.

What comes after that is the problem.

The sword path that followed. It definitely worked cleanly enough when I used it, but—

It feels off.

For some reason, it felt off. I dispelled the hard aura gathered on the dark blade. As my inner qi settled back down, I wiped the sweat from my body too.

What is this?

What was this feeling? I’d managed to obtain the full sword forms, so why did it still feel off?

I didn’t know myself.

Is the problem the sword...?

If the problem lay in the form itself, there was no one I could ask.

This was a sword Yoo Cheongil had led me to, so I couldn’t ask anyone else for advice.

If I had to choose someone...

There was the Sword Emperor.

But that old man never comes out of hiding.

I hadn’t seen him once since arriving at the Alliance. He’d handed off the carriage and vanished.

If not...

Then the right answer would be to ask Yoo Cheongil directly.

But that too was impossible.

*****

It was time.

It was exactly noon by then, so I changed clothes completely and headed over in neat condition.

Maybe because of what had happened yesterday, the atmosphere felt even more silent.

There had been friction with the Demonic Cult. That alone was enough to sink the mood around us this far.

“So you’re here.”

“Yes.”

When I entered the negotiation hall from yesterday, Thousand-Mile Divine Eye was already there.

“Where is the Alliance Leader?”

“He’ll be here soon. Sit.”

“Understood.”

I sat down at Thousand-Mile Divine Eye’s words. I was staring at the tea set in front of me when—

“There is one thing I should tell you.”

“Yes?”

My ears sharpened.

“Refrain from doing anything like yesterday again.”

“...”

A warning. Thousand-Mile Divine Eye’s eyes were dead serious.

“Whatever your intentions were, it could have become very dangerous.”

“...I know.”

I reflected on it. No matter how I looked at it now, it was not something I should have done.

If that had turned into a real fight, it could have gone all the way to war.

Of course, even if all the Eight Demons were present, once they were inside the Murim Alliance headquarters, there was virtually no chance the Young Cult Leader would have walked out alive the way he had last time.

Still, you never know.

Did the Young Cult Leader not know that? If he had come anyway, it meant he had some kind of method.

A way to escape this place alive.

Otherwise, there was no way he would have swaggered into the main Alliance headquarters babbling nonsense about negotiations.

“I’m sorry. I’ll make sure not to cause trouble for the negotiations.”

“...The negotiations are not the issue.”

“...Pardon? Then—”

“I mean you should protect yourself.”

I froze without meaning to at Thousand-Mile Divine Eye’s serious gaze. Was he worried about me? Or was this just the rational conclusion? The thought that it might be worry didn’t really occur to me.

“There are many who can step forward even if you do not. Be cautious.”

“...Understood.”

The short exchange ended. I avoided Thousand-Mile Divine Eye’s eyes. I’d given my answer, but I felt strange inside.

It was while my thoughts were still turning over that—

“The Alliance Leader is entering.”

Divine Spear appeared. There was something different about him today from the moment he arrived with his hands clasped behind his back.

...Heavy.

If yesterday’s presence had been his usual one, then Divine Spear right now felt incomparably heavier.

Is it that the resolve he’s steeled himself with is different?

I was staring at him when Divine Spear approached and sat in the seat of honor.

Sss.

The air around him felt even more suffocating.

Hm...

I had to watch myself. For a second I wondered whether he was angry about yesterday. I had run a little wild.

I was thinking that when—

“The Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult has arrived—”

With the trembling announcement of a martial artist, the door on the far side opened. Just like yesterday, that bastard, the Young Cult Leader, walked in.

“Greetings.”

The sight of him entering with a smile made my stomach turn again. Ah, I should have hit him one more time. Why did the sight of him piss me off so much?

I really just hated him that much.

I was narrowing my eyes at him when—

Step.

Several more entered behind him. I assumed the Eight Demons were coming in like yesterday, but—

“...”

I stopped.

My body stiffened the instant I saw them.

More precisely, the instant I saw one of them among the Eight Demons.

All of them were wrapped head to toe in cloaks and wore masks. Their presence and feel were all the same, but—

What is that?

Something was different from yesterday. The same number. The same appearance.

What is it?

There was definitely something different. Out of the eight, one stood out sharply.

...No.

Even “stood out” didn’t feel like the right way to put it. It felt completely different.

What was that? How—

How is that body wrapped in such dense spiritual energy?

The last of the Eight Demons. That one alone was different.

That person’s body was wrapped in spiritual energy so heavy it was almost sickening.

And on top of that—

Wooooong.

Well now?

The eye inside my shadow was trembling harder and harder.