This was no longer a matter of disliking Jin Pae-cheon more or less.
The curtain of darkness tearing before Hwa Yul-cheong's eyes was something that should never have been torn.
Dark Heaven Heart-Shattering Art.
It was a secret technique that trapped its victim in an inescapable darkness, causing them to wander until they fell prey to their inner demons and revealed a weakness.
Fine, let's concede a hundred times over that Jin Pae-cheon could overcome it.
But he should not have been able to tear through it and emerge so easily.
Chwaaaaaak.
Jin Pae-cheon, having torn through the darkness, asked.
“Why are you in the light?”
He meant, instead of trapping me in darkness, shouldn't you be the one hiding in it?
Once he had decided to kill his opponent, Jin Pae-cheon focused solely on that.
Yes, this was his original nature.
If he decided to kill, he would surely kill.
If he decided to spare, he would surely spare.
It was because he was this kind of person that he had ascended to the position of Alliance Leader.
In this moment, Jin Pae-cheon felt unburdened.
It was as if he had found the self he had forgotten, and he felt a strange pleasure from this long-overdue deviation and freedom.
Ssssssssss.
As the place he had torn through gradually filled with light, the descending darkness completely vanished.
Then, Geom Mugeuk, who had been within the darkness, also revealed himself.
Hwa Yul-cheong asked in a trembling voice.
“How did you get out?”
An answer came from Jin Pae-cheon, the name of a martial art.
“One‑Heart Radiant Sword.”
At those words, Hwa Yul-cheong’s face filled with astonishment.
“You mean you’ve achieved Great Mastery in the Heart-Calming Technique?”
The Heart-Calming Technique was the Martial Alliance's protective heart technique for warding off evil energy.
Just as the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect had the Heavenly Demon Body-Protecting Art, the Martial Alliance had the Heart-Calming Technique.
The Heart-Calming Technique was a formula passed down only to the Martial Alliance Leader, and it was known to be extremely difficult to achieve Great Mastery.
Among all past Alliance Leaders, those who had achieved it could be counted on one hand.
The One‑Heart Radiant Sword could only be manifested upon achieving Great Mastery in the Heart-Calming Technique.
Jin Pae-cheon was far stronger than he had known.
“You never once told me you achieved Great Mastery in the Heart-Calming Technique, did you?”
Hwa Yul-cheong's gaze instantly turned fierce.
“You hid your skills.”
He thought he had investigated much about Jin Pae-cheon during their years as friends.
But he had been wrong about the most important part.
He had hidden far too much of his skill.
Jin Pae-cheon replied calmly.
“Not as much as you, I’d wager.”
Thinking back, it wasn't that he had intentionally hidden his skills.
It was natural for a martial artist not to reveal all of their martial prowess, and since it was not in his nature to show off his skills, the other man simply hadn't known of his achievement.
Perhaps knowing each other for so long had actually hindered his understanding of him.
“Besides, you still have something more hidden, don't you?”
Jin Pae-cheon's question was not mere speculation.
Even though the Dark Heaven Silent Sword Art had not worked, and the Dark Heaven Heart-Shattering Art had not worked, Hwa Yul-cheong had not attempted to flee.
It was clear he had a hidden card up his sleeve.
“Hoo, this is frustrating.”
As if truly frustrated, Hwa Yul-cheong leaped into the air.
He landed on a small leaf at the top of a tall bamboo stalk.
Jin Pae-cheon also leaped up and landed on a leaf a short distance away from him.
Geom Mugeuk landed on a bamboo stalk far from the two.
Above was the sky, below was a bamboo forest, and the falling rain.
It was truly a spectacular stage.
Geom Mugeuk looked up at the sky; it seemed the rain would soon stop.
Perhaps by the time the rain ceased, this fight would also be over.
“You cannot stop our revenge. No one can.”
Hwa Yul-cheong was confident in the path he was taking.
“You can understand, can't you? What this feeling is like.”
As Hwa Yul-cheong once again delved into Jin Pae-cheon's pain, Geom Mugeuk stepped forward.
“He is different from you.”
Hwa Yul-cheong's cold gaze turned to Geom Mugeuk.
“Because your revenge is a mistaken one. Ah, I suppose it's not your fault. It must be the fault of the person who raised you to be an Incarnation of Vengeance.”
Hwa Yul-cheong’s expression hardened.
It was an even more unpleasant remark.
It implied that he was not the master of his own actions but was being manipulated by someone else's hand.
“Did you ask the Alliance Leader if he understands your revenge? How could the Alliance Leader understand? He is not someone who would place a sword in his grandson's hand and tell him to continue the revenge for generations. That’s where you people went wrong from the start.”
Hwa Yul-cheong shouted furiously.
“What the hell do you know about revenge!”
What did I know about revenge? If he knew the efforts I made to get revenge on Hwa Mugi, he would not be able to say such things.
But my heart had changed now.
Though I started with only a desire for revenge, in this life, revenge is but a part of my life.
Didn't they say the best revenge against someone is to live happily and well?
Geom Mugeuk said with a smile.
“That's right, I don't know much.”
At that moment, Jin Pae-cheon saw it.
Geom Mugeuk's eyes were shining more brightly than ever before—a deep gaze that seemed to understand the emotion of revenge better than anyone.
Those shining eyes began to see through Hwa Yul-cheong's intentions.
“Let’s stop with the revenge talk. That's not real either, is it?”
At Geom Mugeuk's probing question, Hwa Yul-cheong flinched in surprise.
“This whole affair, it’s not because of revenge, is it?”
Geom Mugeuk knew well what kind of lives these hidden forces lived in his past life.
They became the Twelve Zodiac Kings and ruled the Martial World.
There was never a single announcement that they had killed the three leaders of the Righteous, Demonic, and Unorthodox factions for revenge.
“It may have started because of revenge, but at some point, it must have changed. If that sentiment hadn't changed even after three hundred long years, that would be the stranger thing.”
Geom Mugeuk said, staring into Hwa Yul-cheong's eyes.
“So say it proudly. That you want to possess this Martial World. That because of such a dream, you could hide beside the Alliance Leader for so long.”
From Hwa Yul-cheong's reaction, Jin Pae-cheon could tell.
Geom Mugeuk's words were true.
Their goal was the Unification of the Martial World.
Jin Pae-cheon spoke to Hwa Yul-cheong in a grave voice.
“There is nothing left for me to understand about you now.”
Jin Pae-cheon flew toward him.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The two men clashed, running together across the tops of the bamboo.
Jin Pae-cheon's fighting style had changed.
Just a moment ago, it had been relentlessly rough and tyrannical, but now it had returned to his usual calm and dignified sword.
“Why has your fighting style changed?”
At Hwa Yul-cheong's question, Jin Pae-cheon said calmly.
“Before, I was facing you with personal feelings.”
As a longtime friend who had betrayed him, as a man trying to use his grandson's life for revenge.
But now, it was different.
“If you people dream of unifying the Martial World, then it is only right that I, as the Martial Alliance Leader, should face you.”
The perfectly refined sword strokes, no longer rough, embroidered the air.
His style of painting had changed.
He didn't just press forward; when it was time to retreat, he retreated decisively.
The tempo of his performance varied, from fast to slow.
So, had Jin Pae-cheon become weaker?
No. On the contrary, Jin Pae-cheon's swordsmanship was even more difficult to face than when he had been relentlessly aggressive.
It was more solid, with no openings.
Hwa Yul-cheong was convinced that he could never defeat him through normal means.
Clang!
After fiercely parrying an attack, Hwa Yul-cheong descended to the ground as if fleeing.
Jin Pae-cheon descended before him with a lightness art that was neither fast nor slow.
Hwa Yul-cheong's hidden ace was not a martial art.
“Don’t you want to know?”
It was a truly unexpected thing to say.
“Who killed your son.”
For a moment, Jin Pae-cheon's expression hardened.
It was the most shocking thing he had heard since meeting him.
Geom Mugeuk had heard about that matter from the Alliance Leader when he killed the Wood King last time.
Jin Pae-cheon's son and daughter-in-law had been killed by the Mokcheon Clan.
When Jin Pae-cheon rushed to the Mokcheon Clan for revenge, it had already been annihilated.
At that time, Jin Pae-cheon had considered it a great relief.
If not, he might have annihilated them himself.
Afterward, the sole survivor of the Mokcheon Clan and the younger brother of the leader, Baek Cheon-gyeong, became Jin Ha-gun's master and dreamed of revenge.
At that time, Geom Mugeuk had suspected.
That they had used Baek Cheon-gyeong.
Perhaps the death of the Alliance Leader’s son and daughter-in-law was also related to them.
And that suspicion had now become reality.
Hwa Yul-cheong was certain that Jin Pae-cheon could never turn away from this truth.
At least, in facing Jin Pae-cheon, this was the strongest weapon.
“Do you really think it was the work of the Mokcheon Clan?”
This question already implied that the Mokcheon Clan was not the culprit.
“Only I know who it was.”
Hwa Yul-cheong savored this moment.
He had imagined a day like this would come.
How surprised would Jin Pae-cheon be? This moment of toying with him while looking at his shocked face.
He would never be able to kill him.
“If you don't let me go, that matter will be buried in secrecy forever.”
Jin Pae-cheon's heart pounded violently.
He could easily control his heart in other matters, but not when it came to his son's death.
Just then, Geom Mugeuk stepped forward.
“It doesn't matter if we don't know.”
Geom Mugeuk was the only person who could slow Jin Pae-cheon's racing heart at this moment.
“If you fall for words that may or may not be true, you, Alliance Leader, will live the rest of your life shackled by the name of revenge. That must be what this man desires.”
It wasn't just about enduring for the sake of a greater cause.
Geom Mugeuk had a solution.
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze toward Hwa Yul-cheong was colder than ever.
“It doesn't matter who killed them.”
There was a clear reason for saying such a thing.
“Because we’re going to kill all of you anyway. If there is a culprit, it will be one of them.”
Hwa Yul-cheong's eyes wavered.
'This man is speaking with absolute sincerity.'
And he felt that his words were swaying Jin Pae-cheon.
Hwa Yul-cheong tried to shake Jin Pae-cheon, not Geom Mugeuk.
“He is just a stranger. How could he know your sorrowful heart? How could he know that boiling paternal love?”
But Geom Mugeuk had an even more powerful blow.
“Do not dwell on who it is. If you give meaning to that, the one who will wear the shackles next will be Ha-gun.”
“!”
He meant that if he failed to find the culprit, Ha-gun would end up living a life dedicated to finding the enemy who killed his parents.
In the end, it meant it would become no different from the revenge of the Palace of Darkness.
Those words were decisive.
Jin Pae-cheon nodded.
It was not an easy decision, but Geom Mugeuk was right.
Finding the culprit who killed his son and daughter-in-law was important, but the grandchildren they left behind were more important.
When the curtain falls on his stage, there will be no more performances with these people forever.
Ha-gun must not be allowed to step onto this stage.
'Yes, you all go with me.'
You will all die on my stage.
“I will not dwell on the past.”
Knowing that once Jin Pae-cheon made a decision, he never looked back, Hwa Yul-cheong was truly furious.
Because of this damned Young Cult Master, his plan to escape this place had been ruined.
Even if he cut off that cursed throat, that detestable mouth would live on and keep talking.
Jin Pae-cheon said as if declaring.
“I don't need to know!”
Looking at Jin Pae-cheon's unwavering eyes, Hwa Yul-cheong shouted.
“If you thought the martial arts of the Palace of Darkness were only for the darkness, you are gravely mistaken.”
The moment he finished speaking!
Hwaaaaaak!
The whole world blazed with bright light.
The light was so powerful that it was impossible to open one's eyes.
Blinding Heaven Destruction.
It was the final secret technique he had hidden.
Within that brilliant light, Hwa Yul-cheong's final attack flew forth.
With his vision blocked, a soundless sword flew toward Jin Pae-cheon's heart.
Clang!
His sword failed to reach Jin Pae-cheon's heart.
Jin Pae-cheon had deflected the incoming sword.
Hwa Yul-cheong was horrified.
His surprise was not because Jin Pae-cheon had blocked his attack.
Jin Pae-cheon had his eyes open within this Blinding Heaven Destruction.
“How in the world…?”
The next moment!
Shwiiiiing!
With the refreshing sound of wind whistling past his ears, sword strokes flashed before his eyes.
Click.
As he blankly watched Jin Pae-cheon sheathe his sword, Hwa Yul-cheong felt his chest grow hot.
He slowly lowered his head to look at his chest.
Opening his collar, he saw a character carved on his chest in red lines.
正.
It was the character for Righteousness.
First Form of the Imperial Sword Forms.
Path of the Martial Artist.
The most basic and first form of the Imperial Sword Forms had been unleashed.
When Hwa Yul-cheong slowly raised his head, Jin Pae-cheon spoke with a calm gaze.
“I did not win because I am strong.”
A lifelong belief that had protected Jin Pae-cheon.
“We won because we are right.”
The moment those words ended!
Fushhhhh!
Blood spurted from the character carved on Hwa Yul-cheong's chest.
His body slowly began to collapse.
Right before he died, the last thing he saw was Geom Mugeuk standing with a bright smile in front of Jin Pae-cheon, who had turned his back on him.
Geom Mugeuk did not even look at his dying self.
Our failure here at the Martial Alliance is all because of that bastard, yet you won’t even give me a single glance? You bastard! Look at me! You have to say something!
With that resentment, Hwa Yul-cheong's breath was completely cut off.
It was the moment when the three who had infiltrated the Martial Alliance for many long years—Hwa Yul-cheong, So Jeong-rak, and Jin Hyu—all met their deaths.
Geom Mugeuk's and Jin Pae-cheon's gazes met in mid-air.
“Thank you.”
At Jin Pae-cheon's gratitude, Geom Mugeuk politely cupped his fist in greeting.
“The same goes for me. You have shown me a new level of mastery today, Alliance Leader. It will be of great help in advancing my martial arts.”
He was not joking; he meant it sincerely.
The Alliance Leader's fight had been dignified, properly showcasing the essence of the Righteous Path's martial arts.
At that, Jin Pae-cheon wore a deliberately troubled expression.
“It would be a problem if you keep getting stronger.”
Geom Mugeuk laughed out loud, and a smile touched Jin Pae-cheon's lips.
Just then, an Escort Martial Artist from the Alliance Leader’s Hall came and delivered a piece of news.
“Word has come that Branch Master Jin and the Demon Slaying Branch are all safe.”
Jin Pae-cheon was truly happy.
He had believed Geom Mugeuk's words that even the Soul-Devouring Demon Sovereign and the Wind Heaven Sect Leader had gone, but he had still been worried deep down.
Fortunately, they were safe.
Soon, Jin Pae-cheon hardened his resolve on one matter.
“Do you know why I did not teach the Imperial Sword Forms to Ha-gun?”
Jin Pae-cheon had not taught this powerful Imperial Sword Forms to Jin Ha-gun in advance.
That was why Jin Ha-gun had previously taken the Wood King as his master and learned martial arts.
He had told him to become the successor with his own strength, fair and square, without his grandfather's martial arts, but in truth, there was another reason for not teaching him the Imperial Sword Forms.
“I was afraid that the boy would become intoxicated by this powerful martial art and lose control of himself. I intended to teach him when he was older and more mature.”
Jin Pae-cheon himself had been like that.
In his youth, believing only in the strength of his martial arts, he had almost caused great trouble several times.
Fortunately, heavenly luck had been with him, allowing him to reach this day.
“I believe the time has come to teach him.”
Geom Mugeuk could tell.
Jin Ha-gun would now formally become the successor of the Martial Alliance.
“Ha-gun will be so happy. We friends should hold a celebratory feast.”
Geom Mugeuk was as happy as if it were his own matter.
Staring at that bright face, Jin Pae-cheon looked up at the sky.
The rain that had been falling had stopped at some point.
“Stop by before you return to the Cult.”
The word righteousness being carved into his chest being the first form
So peak