"Uh, um..."
Chun-bong scratched her head.
"He's gone."
She glanced around. The people stood there blankly, staring at the place where Seo-jun had disappeared.
The banquet hall was a complete mess. Shattered furniture and debris were scattered across the floor.
Only the plates that Seo-jun had set aside beforehand remained intact.
"Wow, what are we supposed to do about this?"
As Chun-bong awkwardly scratched her head, Namgung Myeong let out a small chuckle.
"It's fine. We can just replace them with new ones."
"Isn't that expensive?"
"It's not much."
The Namgung Clan was wealthy. From their perspective, it probably wasn't much.
Chun-bong idly picked up one of the plates that had rolled onto the floor.
Looks expensive to me.
Maybe her brother had set them aside because they looked expensive? It wasn’t just the plates—every piece of furniture here was probably worth a fortune.
"Can't we just charge the Imperial Court for this?"
"Haha..."
Namgung Myeong gave a strained laugh and turned to the guests. Most of them were lost in thought, likely trying to absorb whatever insights they could from the high-level battle that had unfolded before them.
"For now, let's end the gathering."
With things as they were, there was no point in keeping them here any longer.
Namgung Myeong smiled gently.
"However... Jongnam, could you stay behind for a moment?"
Wasn’t there a saying about how an elegant crane that raises its head too high is always the first to die?
Even if the deceased Elder of the Martial Alliance had acted alone, Namgung Myeong had no intention of letting it slide.
His gaze turned ice-cold.
****
The Emperor kicked off the air, moving through the sky with a satisfied smile.
"That was fun."
That man, the so-called Heavenly Lord, was far more entertaining than he had expected.
Based on the rumors, he had assumed the guy was nothing more than a blood-crazed lunatic. But in reality? On the surface, at least, he seemed fairly normal.
Of course, like most transcendent martial artists, the man was definitely not sane. But watching from the sidelines had been amusing enough.
And his skills weren’t bad, either.
What should I do next time he comes to the Imperial Palace?
Just the thought made him grin wickedly.
Maybe I'll go for a classic honey trap?
Judging from what he had seen at the banquet, that could be very amusing. The palace was overflowing with beauties, after all. If Seo-jun wanted, the Emperor could have him buried alive in soft, perfumed flesh.
Or perhaps he could personally introduce him to the might of the Imperial Artillery Corps? That could be fun, too. Worst case, he could even get the Empress involved in something...
"Hm?"
Just then, something strange registered in his senses. A fluctuation in space. His eyes widened.
"What the hell...?"
Something was approaching—fast. Beyond comprehension.
A thrill of excitement shot through the Emperor.
"Oho, so you wanna play?"
Whoever it was, they had some nerve. He didn’t care who they were. All that mattered was that someone had just issued him a challenge.
A ridiculous amount of internal energy surged into the tips of his feet.
With a single burst of Heavenly Sunfire, his qi ignited into a miniature sun, propelling him forward at breakneck speed.
KWAHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA──────!!
A blazing red streak carved through the night sky.
"Hahahaha...!"
The air itself ignited in his wake, leaving a trail of destruction. No ordinary warrior could even hope to match this speed.
The Emperor threw his head back and laughed, mocking whoever was trying to catch up.
"Go ahead, try to— huh?"
RIP!
Space itself tore open in front of him. And from the rift, a familiar face appeared.
"Hey now, isn't this reunion a little too soon?"
The Emperor’s laughter turned awkward as he instinctively sped up.
FWOOOOSH! Flames erupted from his soles as he rocketed forward.
The Emperor was fast.
But there was something he didn’t know—Seo-jun’s lightfoot technique was abnormal in every way, but especially when it came to speed.
KWA-BOOOOOOM───────!!
A deafening explosion rang out as Seo-jun’s figure blurred past the Emperor.
"...Whoa."
The Emperor dumbly watched Seo-jun vanish into the distance.
"...That’s fast."
It didn’t make sense. How was that even possible?
And then, suddenly, Seo-jun was right in front of him again.
"Hey."
Seo-jun grabbed the back of the Emperor’s neck.
"You said you’d tell me if I came to the palace, right?"
"I feel like we should be speaking politely right now..."
The Emperor grinned. Seo-jun grinned right back.
"You nervous?"
"Yeah, so maybe you could, you know, let go of me— hey, wait, shit—"
KWA-BOOOOOOOOOOM──────!!
Seo-jun, still gripping the Emperor, blasted forward at insane speed. With each step, his Harmonious Void Steps tore through space itself, stretching the surrounding scenery into blurs of light.
It took barely a few minutes to reach Beijing’s Imperial Palace.
Once there, Seo-jun flung the Emperor straight down at the palace courtyard.
THUD!
The Emperor landed smoothly on his feet and burst out laughing.
"Damn, you really are absurdly fast! No wonder you slip in and out of the Black Lotus Union’s territory like it’s your own backyard."
"So."
"Hm?"
"What do you know about Myeolshinhwe?"
Seo-jun stood in midair, staring down at the Emperor.
The area around them had erupted into chaos. But Seo-jun ignored it completely. He focused only on the Emperor, pressuring him with his gaze.
Others, however, were not so composed.
The sudden intrusion had left the palace warriors in a panic. Torches flared to life as soldiers rushed to surround the area, deploying formation techniques to deal with the unexpected invader.
The Emperor smirked and snapped his fingers.
SMACK!
A crisp sound rang out, sending shockwaves rippling through the air and effortlessly dismantling the formation techniques.
"Stop wasting your time and go to bed."
At the Emperor's command, the martial artists obeyed without hesitation. In an instant, silence fell over the courtyard.
The torches that had illuminated the night were extinguished one by one, yet the Imperial Palace remained bright.
The Emperor stood atop the palace, looking up at Seo-jun.
"So, you’re asking what I know?"
He rubbed his chin, then lazily perched himself on a decorative ledge.
"A promise is a promise, so I’ll tell you… but honestly, I don’t know all that much myself."
"...What?"
Should he just wreck the Imperial Palace the same way he had trashed the banquet hall? Seo-jun seriously considered it.
Sensing the shift in Seo-jun’s mood, the Emperor quickly continued.
"They approached me, you know."
"Myeolshinhwe did?"
"Yeah. Apparently, I seemed like the right kind of person to join them."
The Emperor chuckled as he recounted the encounter.
"When the guy made contact with me, he asked just one thing: Do you like this land?"
The man had come to meet him in person. At best, he was at the Supreme Grandmaster level, but his presence had been strangely unsettling.
"I thought he was interesting, so I caught him."
"And?"
"He was weak as hell. Useless. I only got two things out of him—one, they call themselves Myeolshinhwe, and two, their goal is to eradicate Divine Bloodlines."
"That’s it?"
"There’s more."
The Emperor smirked. Seo-jun clicked his tongue.
"Then it’s not just two things, is it?"
"Oh? I guess not?"
The Emperor burst into laughter.
"Haha…! Anyway. I did find out where they originated from."
The guy had been covered in restrictions—probably low-ranking—but after keeping him alive just long enough, the Emperor had managed to extract some information.
"Now, don’t freak out when you hear this."
"...Just tell me."
"Their origins..."
The Emperor’s lips curled into a grin.
e from Blood Cult."Seo-jun’s brows furrowed.
"I heard the Blood Cult was completely eradicated."
"That’s correct."
Six hundred years ago, the Transcendents of that era had used every method at their disposal to erase the cult's existence entirely.
"Then where did their martial arts manuals go?"
"They destroyed them."
"Most of them, yes."
"...What?"
So they wiped out the Blood Cult down to its roots… but kept some of their secret manuals?
"What kind of idiots—"
"The real danger of the Blood Cult wasn’t just their martial arts. It was their rituals to bring gods down to the mortal realm."
"So they only erased those rituals and left the rest?"
"More like they stole the rest. Their martial arts were valuable, after all."
Some of the martial artists involved in the Blood Cult’s destruction had secretly taken the manuals for themselves.
Obviously, they weren’t idiots hoping for a Blood Cult revival—that would’ve just brought another wave of Transcendents down on them.
No one but an Absolute Realm expert would dare take that kind of risk.
"Was their martial art even worth it? It’s not exactly something they could openly use."
At Seo-jun’s question, the Emperor shook his head.
"Their martial techniques were just a bonus. The Blood Cult was primarily focused on sorcery."
"...Some kind of powerful magic?"
"Yeah, it’s strong, but that’s not the main point either."
Seo-jun frowned. He was starting to get irritated. But since the Emperor was actually giving him information, he held back.
"Just get to the damn point."
"Fear."
"...What?"
"Myeolshinhwe was born out of fear of the gods."
"...What the hell are you talking about?"
This bastard. Why couldn’t he ever explain things normally? Was he just like this all the time?
Actually… I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s doing this on purpose.
Seo-jun resisted the urge to smack him and instead asked,
"And how did you reach that conclusion?"
"You told me to get to the point, remember?"
The Emperor grinned.
"But if you want a proper explanation, I can give you one."
"...Yeah, that’d be nice."
Seo-jun shook his head.
Six hundred years ago, when the Transcendents united to destroy the Blood Cult, some of them had glimpsed the fragments of a god’s power.
And in that moment, they understood—
Gods were not something that humans could ever hope to oppose.
Their will was broken. Many of those Transcendents simply disappeared, choosing to retreat from the world entirely.
To martial artists, secret manuals were more valuable than gold.
And for those who had given up on advancing further, some saw it as an opportunity—to study new forms of martial arts, new forms of sorcery.
Among them, one eventually discovered a way to fight back against the gods.
He sought out the others who had gone into hiding.
"And that’s probably how Myeolshinhwe started. Of course, this is mostly just my guess, so it’s not entirely accurate."
"You said the guy you captured had restrictions placed on him, right? You sure learned a lot for someone who wasn’t supposed to be able to talk."
"Imperial techniques, my friend. We’re not that far behind even the Tang Clan when it comes to this stuff."
The Emperor smirked and shook his head.
"That said, most Transcendents aren’t paying much attention to Myeolshinhwe."
"Even after Gold Family was wiped out?"
"Nothing’s been proven, and officially, there’s no reason for them to get involved."
The Emperor continued.
"Not that most of them even know about it."
"Is this one of those things I’m not supposed to spread around?"
"Not really. Do whatever you want."
"That so?"
Seo-jun let out a short laugh and looked at the Emperor.
This guy had been acting shady, so Seo-jun had his guard up. But now he was starting to wonder if he was just... a normal lunatic.
"You don’t have many friends, do you?"
"Hm? The Emperor doesn’t need friends."
"Damn…"
So he really was just lonely. No wonder he kept trying to entertain himself.
Seo-jun chuckled and turned to leave.
"Drop by if you ever get bored."
"Oho?"
The Emperor’s grin widened.
"I’ll be looking forward to that."
As Seo-jun leisurely made his way back to the Namgung Clan, he mulled things over.
"Myeolshinhwe," huh…
If they had formed out of fear of the gods, then it made sense that they would be hostile to Divine Bloodlines.
There was no definitive proof that they were the ones who destroyed Gold Family—but Seo-jun was sure of it.
The martial art that crippled Chun-bong’s meridians was definitely Ice Jade Divine Art.
And if that was the case, then the elder from Mount Hua who defected to Black Lotus Union was probably influenced by them as well.
There were likely even more of their spies lurking within the Martial Alliance and Black Lotus Union.
He didn’t know what exactly they had promised those people, but…
That wasn’t important.
There was only one thing that mattered now.
"North Sea Ice Palace might have a clue."
It was a long shot—but maybe Mount Hua did as well.
"Wonder what the Ice Palace Lord is up to these days?"
Looked like they’d be meeting again soon.
Seo-jun chuckled.