Mu Gyeol asked with an expression that showed he couldn’t understand.
“Even if it’s the Divine Mountain Sage, are you saying something absolutely unpredictable has occurred?”
“Indeed.”
Bu Eunseol spoke firmly.
“I will use that very incident to strike at the Martial Venerable’s opening and launch a counterattack.”
Mu Gyeol took a deep breath.
In truth, he knew very well that when it came to wisdom and insight, Bu Eunseol was in no way inferior to the Divine Mountain Sage.
But such firm confidence was extremely dangerous.
No—in the current situation, one should never indulge in hopeful speculation.
A single misstep could send everything plummeting into an irreversible abyss.
“What exactly is it?”
“I cannot tell you.”
“What?”
Bu Eunseol declared resolutely.
“The moment I speak of it, both Heaven and you will come to know.”
“You expect me to jump into the fire pit together with you without even giving a clear explanation?”
“Correct.” Bu Eunseol told Mu Gyeol, “If you are afraid, you may refuse.”
Mu Gyeol laughed.
Under normal circumstances, he would have dismissed it as a clumsy provocation tactic and rejected it outright.
But for some reason, a conviction had taken root.
The belief that Bu Eunseol truly had predicted every scheme of the Martial Venerable and would create a way to counter them.
“Well… without at least that level of gamble… there’s no way to land a blow on Dan Mok-gi, the one wearing the mask of the greatest sage of the martial world.”
Mu Gyeol spoke as though he had made up his mind.
“Fine.” Then, clenching his fist tightly, he continued, “In that case, let us now proceed with the plan to cast that wicked man into the abyss.”
Having obtained perfect evidence that the Martial Venerable was involved in his master’s death, Mu Gyeol resolved from that day onward to assist Bu Eunseol.
The real Seon Woojin, whose whereabouts Mu Gyeol had known in advance, had already been persuaded and recruited by him.
And when the genuine Seon Woojin arrived at the Martial Alliance under the Martial Venerable’s orders, Mu Gyeol secretly swapped Bu Eunseol (who was imprisoned in the Thunder Prison) with the real Seon Woojin beforehand.
Then he disguised himself as the real Seon Woojin through face-altering techniques.
***
“I was threatened by the Blue Dragon Hall Lord and forced to disguise myself as Lord Seon.”
Having finished his recollection, Mu Gyeol spoke in a clear, resonant voice.
“He claimed that with this method, we could frame Lord Seon as a demonic spy.”
Then he lowered his head.
“I wanted to refuse, but because he knew my secret weakness, I had no choice but to yield to his blackmail.”
The Martial Venerable—who was currently acting as Alliance Leader—had already prepared countermeasures against any accusation or attack directed at himself.
Knowing this full well, Mu Gyeol had first targeted the Blue Dragon Hall Lord.
The Blue Dragon Hall Lord was the closest confidant of the Alliance Leader. That fact alone was enough to deal a blow to the moral façade of the Martial Venerable, who wore the mask of the Heavenly Emperor.
Murmur murmur.
The countless martial artists gathered in the grand training ground began to buzz incessantly, evidently shocked.
“But now that things have come to this, I shall confess my own sins.”
In any case, having learned the Martial Venerable’s true nature, Mu Gyeol had already prepared to leave the Martial Alliance. At his refreshingly shocking confession, the Martial Venerable sent a transmission in bewilderment.
[Why on earth are you betraying me?]
To which Mu Gyeol coldly transmitted back,
[Shouldn’t someone take responsibility for Master’s death?]
[Master?]
The Martial Venerable could not comprehend it.
He was the one who had meticulously taught and raised Mu Gyeol. What was he talking about?
[Was the Golden Immortal True Qi really that tempting to you?]
At Mu Gyeol’s words, the Martial Venerable’s eyes trembled violently.
Only then did he finally realize what Mu Gyeol was saying—and who he truly was.
[Don’t tell me you are…!]
Murmur murmur.
At that moment, an uncontrollable clamor erupted throughout the grand assembly hall.
It consisted of harsh criticism directed at the Blue Dragon Hall Lord, who had once again branded Seon Woojin a demonic spy.
―Isn’t this going too far?
―Why do they keep treating Lord Seon as a spy?
―Could it be that because Lord Seon enjoys the Alliance Leader’s favor, the Blue Dragon Hall Lord acted out of jealousy?
“Vice-Alliance Leader.”
At that moment, Seon Woojin called out to Buk Ri-seong.
It was a gesture requesting that his suppressed internal energy be released.
Buk Ri-seong immediately approached Seon Woojin.
Normally, he would have needed the Alliance Leader’s permission to release the acupoints, but having grasped the entire situation, Buk Ri-seong moved to unseal Seon Woojin without even glancing at the Martial Venerable.
“Wait.”
At that point the Martial Venerable spoke in a low voice.
“He must not be released.”
Buk Ri-seong asked with an incredulous expression,
“The Alliance Leader yourself declared him a demonic spy of the evil path, and claimed the disguise was proof.”
Looking at Seon Woojin, Buk Ri-seong continued, “Yet he was not disguised, and no crime has been proven. Should we not now release him and clear his injustice?”
The Martial Venerable shook his head firmly.
“Absolutely not.”
Murmur murmur.
When the martial artists in the grand training ground saw that the Martial Venerable would not yield even now, even the senior figures began to show astonished expressions.
Why, even at this point, was he insisting Seon Woojin could not be freed?
“Lord Seon. I shall acknowledge that you were not using disguise.”
The Martial Venerable looked at Seon Woojin and said, “This Alliance Leader made a mistake by believing the Blue Dragon Hall Lord’s words. However…”
His eyes flashed mysteriously.
“That does not mean the suspicion of you being a demonic spy disappears.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you not collude with external forces and brutally murder the Chief Inspector?”
Thud.
The air in the grand training ground froze coldly at the utterly shocking statement.
Seon Woojin had brutally murdered Gongsun Dankyung? What in the world did that mean?
“That makes no sense, Alliance Leader.”
Buk Ri-seong said in disbelief.
“The Chief Inspector was on leave.”
“She was assassinated by a certain faction while on leave. The Blue Dragon Hall Lord has already confirmed it.”
With a grievous expression, the Martial Venerable shouted loudly,
“In fact, it was through information obtained regarding that incident with Chief Inspector Gongsun that this Alliance Leader learned Seon Woojin was truly a demonic spy.”
“Lord Seon was closer to the Chief Inspector than anyone else and enjoyed her support.”
Sensing something off, Buk Ri-seong began to defend Seon Woojin.
“Then how could he possibly harm the Chief Inspector?”
“This Alliance Leader thought the same and found it hard to believe.”
“Is there evidence?”
Instead of answering, the Martial Venerable nodded toward the Blue Dragon Hall Lord.
The latter approached Buk Ri-seong and presented a booklet from his robes.
“It details precisely how Lord Seon killed the Chief Inspector at Sangsu Valley.”
The Martial Venerable glared coldly at Seon Woojin.
‘I anticipated that you lot would pull something in the middle.’
The Martial Venerable’s shadow was the Divine Mountain Sage.
He possessed outstanding intellect and meticulous personality to match.
In case anything went wrong—especially if they failed to prove that Seon Woojin was actually Bu Eunseol—he had prepared one additional piece of irrefutable evidence that Seon Woojin could never escape.
In that instant, Seon Woojin looked at Mu Gyeol with a panicked expression.
This was an unforeseen development that had not been agreed upon beforehand.
‘So she really died after all.’
Mu Gyeol bit his lip.
Gongsun Dankyung’s death had still not been confirmed.
But the Martial Venerable was no fool.
Since the Chief Inspector was certainly dead, he had boldly fabricated evidence.
Coming from someone sitting in the Alliance Leader’s seat and determined to frame him, there would be no visible flaws on the surface.
“Lord Seon.”
At that moment, the Martial Venerable curled the corner of his mouth into an eerie smile.
“If even now you reveal your true identity and the full circumstances, you might still avoid this punishment.”
Pointing at Mu Gyeol, he added, “Exactly who ordered you to do all this?”
The Martial Venerable tacked on one more sentence.
“You had better think carefully. Otherwise you may end up shouldering everything alone.”
The real Seon Woojin’s pupils trembled.
If he did not speak the truth?
He would be saddled with the false charge of murdering Gongsun Dankyung and imprisoned in the Thunder Prison for life.
Tremble.
His fingertips shook involuntarily.
No matter how much he thought, there was no way out.
He had betrayed the Martial Venerable because Mu Gyeol had staked his own neck and given assurance that he could escape the Martial Venerable’s grasp.
But it had been useless.
In the end, he could not escape the Martial Venerable’s hand, and he would have to remain his puppet forever.
“I…”
Just as the real Seon Woojin was about to open his mouth,
Murmur murmur.
From far away in the grand training ground, an enormous noise erupted.
It was so loud that the Martial Venerable and the senior figures furrowed their brows.
“The grand council is still in session! Refrain from private chatter!”
The Blue Dragon Hall Lord shouted loudly, yet the unrest among the martial artists continued.
Because they had clearly confirmed the face of the person walking toward the platform.
Step.
Finally, the ranks of martial artists gathered below the platform split cleanly in two.
Through the path walked a figure clad in white robes, slowly approaching.
Even from ten li away, the black-and-white clarity of those beautiful eyes was unmistakable.
A beauty with long hair coiled up like clouds.
It was none other than the Martial Alliance’s Chief Inspector, Wisdom Star Gongsun Dankyung.
“How…”
This time the Martial Venerable was genuinely shocked—enough that he did not even realize he had abruptly stood up in a fluster.
“Chief Inspector.”
As she ascended the platform, Buk Ri-seong asked in astonishment.
“What in the world happened?”
“That is what I want to ask.”
Gongsun Dankyung spoke with icy coldness.
“I merely went on leave, yet somehow it has become established that this Chief Inspector was killed by Lord Seon…” Staring straight at the Martial Venerable, she declared in a resonant voice, “…and that numerous secret organizations—including the Sacred Guard Corps directly under the Alliance Leader—attacked this Chief Inspector?”
“What are you saying?”
In response to Buk Ri-seong, Gongsun Dankyung took out a booklet from her robes.
It was a tome of similar thickness to the one the Martial Venerable had produced.
“The experts of the Blue Dragon Hall ambushed this Chief Inspector at Sangsu Valley. I barely survived, and my return was delayed while I tracked their identities.”
At the shocking testimony, the grand training ground erupted once more.
How could the Alliance Leader’s secret forces have ambushed Gongsun Dankyung?
“This Chief Inspector formally requests an explanation from the Alliance Leader regarding this matter.”
The Martial Venerable was rendered speechless.
He had certainly prepared perfect evidence that Seon Woojin had killed Gongsun Dankyung.
Yet now that Gongsun Dankyung had returned alive and was testifying in person… he had ultimately fallen into his own trap.
‘How could she possibly have returned unscathed?’
The meticulous Martial Venerable had been utterly convinced of Gongsun Dankyung’s death.
Because he understood very well how the masters of the Jungson family killed people.
When they decided to eliminate a target, they always confirmed vital signs and never declared death until those signs had completely vanished.
Although Bu Eunseol had intervened midway, annihilating the entire Jungson army and preventing retrieval of the body, they had dispatched an investigation team possessing the mysterious power of One Hundred and Eight Stars and reported that Gongsun Dankyung’s breath had definitely ceased.
Of course, the Martial Venerable had not relied solely on their assurance.
If she had truly died, he had predicted that Bu Eunseol would surely visit the Gongsun family to hand over the corpse.
Thus he had immediately sent skilled subordinates to infiltrate the Gongsun household, where they clearly confirmed that Gongsun Dankyung’s funeral had been quietly held.
So how could she have returned alive?
“This matter is incomprehensible.”
Yet he was still the Martial Venerable.
Having weathered all manner of storms in the martial world and handled countless affairs while serving as Alliance Leader, he did not panic, but smoothly cut off the tail.
“Blue Dragon Hall Lord. Exactly how did you collect evidence for such an incident to occur?”
Since ancient times, shifting blame onto a subordinate and performing tail-cutting has been an effective way to escape crisis.
‘Huu.’
Watching the scene, Mu Gyeol inwardly let out a sigh of relief.
‘Martial Soul Command Lord. You truly know how to surprise people.’
When the Martial Venerable had pinned Gongsun Dankyung’s death on the real Seon Woojin, he had thought everything was truly over—cold sweat had even soaked his back.
‘To have calculated every move of Dan Mok-gi wearing the sage’s mask and launch a counterstrike.’
Bu Eunseol had declared confidently:
Something the Martial Venerable could not predict would occur, and he would definitely strike that opening.
And he… had kept that promise.
‘Dan Mok-gi. It seems even you have run out of moves now.’
Mu Gyeol clenched his fist tightly.
At last, every barrier the Martial Venerable had built had been shattered, delivering a blow to his supposed integrity and morality.
‘Now for the finale.’
Mu Gyeol nodded toward Seon Woojin standing in the distance.
The situation had reached its climax; it was time to execute the final plan Bu Eunseol had prepared.
Nod.
Seon Woojin nodded in return.
“Alliance Leader!”
He shouted loudly, veins bulging on his neck.
“How long must this one be treated as a demonic spy!”
It was an act he had rehearsed beforehand with Mu Gyeol.
At the peak of the climactic moment, for the grand finale of the last act.
“How long must I be caught up in such despicable schemes? Is it because I come from a merchant background with no powerful backing?”
He cried out as though vomiting blood toward the martial artists below the training ground.
“Must someone like this Lord—who possesses neither strength nor backing—endlessly receive suspicion and false accusations?”
Hearing his outcry, all the martial artists fell silent with somber expressions.
Up until now, Seon Woojin had been falsely accused of being a demonic spy multiple times, and each time he had perfectly cleared his name.
Yet once again—due to the Blue Dragon Hall Lord’s error—the Alliance Leader himself had branded him a spy.
In the end, only his innocence had been proven once more.
If it had merely been suspicion of being a spy… they might have pitied Seon Woojin, but the arrows of blame would not have turned toward the Alliance Leader.
However—whether because he believed the Blue Dragon Hall Lord’s evidence or because he intended to completely eliminate Seon Woojin—the Alliance Leader had tried to pin the unprecedented crime of murdering the Chief Inspector on him.
Fortunately, thanks to Gongsun Dankyung returning alive and testifying, he could shed the unjust accusation…
But when they considered the danger of it all, an involuntary chill ran down the martial artists’ spines, and resentment toward the Alliance Leader inevitably swelled.
“Since joining the Alliance, I have worked like a dog! I have handled every matter fairly and never once abused power for personal gain!”
Seon Woojin’s cry echoed like a desperate wail, shaking the entire grand training ground.
“But was I an eyesore? Did my rise to the senior ranks displease you so much?”
He shouted once more, “So you attacked the Chief Inspector and framed me? Or did you promote me to the senior ranks from the beginning just to use me as a stepping stone to strike her?”
Clang.
Seon Woojin threw down the Division Lord Token plaque he carried in his robes.
“I joined the Martial Alliance because I believed it was a place where I could uphold justice and pour all my abilities into serving!”
Then, channeling his internal energy, he roared, “But if the place I belong to is not just, then what meaning is there?”
Seon Woojin’s words struck the hearts of the younger martial artists.
They all empathized deeply with him.
They had arrived at the Martial Alliance filled with youthful passion and grand ambition, dreaming of rising through the clouds.
But in the end, the Martial Alliance had turned out to be nothing more than a playground for disciples of great sects, those with strong backing, and the elders.
Ordinary young people who could not stand out…
Passionate youths who had only fervor…
No matter how hard they tried here, they received neither reward nor recognition.
And now…
Even Seon Woojin—who had risen rapidly as a new star of the righteous path—had suffered the same fate.
—So in the end, the Martial Alliance really is their exclusive domain… a place no one can climb through individual ability alone?
Just as the young martial artists, realizing this despairing truth, began to lower their heads with unfocused eyes,
Clang!
A loud metallic sound rang out.
Seon Woojin had thrown down yet another plaque from his robes.
It was the Clear Heart Token he had received from the Martial Venerable.
“A place like this! I quit!”
Rip.
Then he tore off the embroidered Twin Winged Phoenix emblem from his sleeve and discarded it.
It was a declaration of permanent severance—his intent to withdraw from the Martial Alliance.
……
The martial artists in the grand training ground could not close their mouths.
Throughout the history of the martial world, no one had ever performed such an act in front of the Alliance Leader and all the senior figures.
Thud thud.
Seon Woojin descended from the training ground without looking back.
Swoosh.
The martial artists unconsciously parted to either side, opening a path.
At that moment, no one could—nor dared—block his way.
Because he was the sole lotus that had bloomed nobly amid the mud pit known as the Martial Alliance.
“Punishment Hall Lord!”
At that moment, Gongsun Dankyung drew out her Chief Inspector’s command token.
“Arrest all the secret organizations and their leaders listed in this booklet and imprison them in the Punishment Hall!”
“B-but…”
The Punishment Hall Lord glanced nervously at the Martial Venerable.
Issuing such an order in front of the Martial Alliance Leader would undermine the Leader’s authority.
“Are you telling me to do it myself?”
“No, that’s not…”
“This Chief Inspector intends to avenge the unjustly departed Lord Seon and purge the forces devouring this Alliance. Are you refusing to carry out the order?”
Yet the Punishment Hall Lord could say nothing.
Any word he uttered now would be like a shrimp caught in a whale fight—crushed regardless.
“Very well. Then I shall make a formal request to the Alliance Leader.”
Gongsun Dankyung looked directly at the Martial Venerable and declared loudly, “Please investigate all the secret organizations listed in this booklet and handle them justly. These are precisely the evil forces corroding the Martial Alliance.”
The senior figures on the platform became like mute people.
They might overlook other matters, but every one of them operated secret organizations as well, issuing various missions to benefit their own groups.
There was no guarantee their own secret organizations were not included in that thick booklet.
Thus they absolutely could not accept Gongsun Dankyung’s proposal.
“This matter cannot be handled hastily; it must be investigated slowly and carefully.”
The Martial Venerable said in a low voice.
“I promise it will be handled with complete fairness.”
Then he clasped his hands together.
“I sincerely apologize for conducting this meeting based on the Blue Dragon Hall Lord’s erroneous investigation.”
The Heavenly Emperor bowed his head to a young Chief Inspector.
It was an unprecedented act, yet Gongsun Dankyung merely wore a cold smile at the corner of her mouth.
Her expression seemed to say, ‘Your tail-cutting skill is truly first-rate.’
“Very well.”
Gongsun Dankyung stated solemnly, “I will closely monitor whether the organizations listed in the booklet disappear. And…”
Looking around at everyone present, she raised her internal energy so that every martial artist in the grand training ground could hear clearly, “If this matter is not handled justly, then I too will resign from the position of Chief Inspector and leave the Alliance!”
Murmur murmur.
The unrest among the martial artists in the training ground swelled like thunder.
Throughout Martial Alliance history, while the Chief Inspector position had been dismissed before, no one had ever voluntarily stepped down.
It was a seat that guaranteed immense authority.
Yet now—for the reason that the investigation might not proceed fairly—she was not only willing to abandon that position herself, but even leave the Martial Alliance entirely?
It was truly an unprecedented event in the history of the martial world.
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