“Greetings, Lord of Ink Dragon Manor.”

“You’re here.”

Yangcheon asked as he watched Black Sheep bow low to the floor.

“I heard. You wiped out the Ghost-Iron Sword Gate?”

“Yes. But...”

“I heard you let one heir brat and a few small fry slip away.”

Black Sheep lowered his head.

“I have no excuse.”

The corner of Yangcheon’s mouth lifted.

He really is a decent one.

He had also received the report explaining why Black Sheep had failed to catch the Ghost-Iron Sword Gate’s heir.

There was no helping it. On the day Black Sheep and his subordinates raided Ghost-Iron Sword Gate, the Gate’s heir had already gone into deep-mountain training.

Even the traitor on their side hadn’t known that. In a case like this, it was the traitor who deserved to get crushed, not Black Sheep.

In other words, even though he had plenty of room to justify himself, Black Sheep merely bowed his head and apologized.

Not a bad temperament. If Black Sheep hadn’t been loyal to the Cult, Yangcheon would have used him in a truly major way. He might even have seated him at his right hand alongside White Rat.

“We’ve already formed a pursuit unit and are chasing the heir.”

“I heard the Ghost-Iron Sword Gate’s heir has considerable martial arts.”

Even for someone like Yangcheon, it wasn’t easy to know the level of martial arts possessed by a startlingly young rising figure. The line plainly revealed how much information and knowledge he had absorbed in order to gather the Dark Path.

“The pursuit unit reports it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say he’s strong enough to establish a school of his own.”

“Oh?”

If you let the target get away, it’s normal to downplay the «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» target’s abilities when reporting. You have to reassure your superior.

From that angle, Black Sheep truly wasn’t ordinary. Reporting the facts—coolly, objectively, exactly as they were—was never easy.

Yangcheon’s mouth curved again.

“Can you catch him?”

Black Sheep answered at once.

“We can catch him.”

The answer came immediately.

Because an objective report had come first, that confident answer alone was enough to be convincing.

Yangcheon nodded.

“Ghost-Iron Sword Gate is a sect that used to be called Dark Path’s First Sword Gate. It would’ve been nice if the job ended in one stroke, but I know it wasn’t an easy situation.”

“I’m sorry.”

“The heir brat—what did you say his name was?”

“Kang Ryang.”

“Right. Kang Ryang. I heard his temperament is bold, on top of his martial arts. He could become an unexpected variable, so make sure you catch him.”

“I accept your command, Lord of Ink Dragon Manor.”

Normally, once a conversation reached this point, the proper thing was to dismiss him.

But Yangcheon said nothing, and because of that, Black Sheep had no choice but to remain in that posture. He couldn’t leave when he hadn’t been told to withdraw.

After a brief silence—

“Black Sheep.”

“Yes, Lord of Ink Dragon Manor.”

“Do you remember? Not long after I founded Ink Dragon Manor, when you came to me with countless treasures you’d sent from beyond the frontier.”

Black Sheep’s eyes shone.

“I remember.”

“It truly surprised me. I’d heard you would help, but I never imagined you’d support me with that much funding and that many people.”

“...”

“Did you know? Among the countless riches and information you brought back then, there was also advice about Ink Dragon Manor’s organizational structure.”

“...I didn’t know that.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

A cold air drifted through Yangcheon’s eyes. It was an icy, poisonous gaze—one Black Sheep could not see with his head bowed.

“Keep working hard.”

“Of course.”

“Now go.”

“Yes.”

After bowing once more, Black Sheep left Ink Dragon Hall.

A chill smile formed at the corner of Yangcheon’s lips.

“To take the world into your hands... it’s hard to beat someone who uses even cunning tricks, even if it makes the whole thing look a bit ugly.”

Yangcheon liked talent that crossed the line, but that meant—turned around—that he himself did not cross the line easily.

Because it wasn’t his field, because his heart balked, he longed for those kinds of people instead.

Only now did Yangcheon realize it.

It’s a world where you can’t properly obtain a single thing without dirtying your hands.

Perverse Lust. Black Sheep. Treasures.

The fierce malice hidden behind the surface of those “gifts.”

“Jeong.”

Yangcheon smiled.

“If you’re also a poison-coated dagger sent by some organization... then you won’t even be able to imagine what I’ll do when the time comes.”

*****

“Huh.”

Mo Yonggun clicked his tongue.

“And that reckless method actually worked?”

“It did.”

After hearing everything that had happened from Yeon Hojeong, Mo Yonggun couldn’t hold back his admiration.

He really did move in the simplest way possible and just went in.

A new Dark Path union led by the Fighting King, Yangcheon.

If you asked what method you should use to infiltrate that place, you’d have no choice but to feel at a loss right away.

But Mo Yonggun was different. He liked flipping the perspective, and he believed that if you could somehow burrow into the enemy’s heart and hide the fact that you belonged to the Alliance of the Martial World, that was enough.

A simple but effective move. The problem was the difficulty.

In a situation where you didn’t know anything—where the enemy position was, how many experts were camped out there, how tight the guard was—sending a spy risked stirring the grass and startling the snake.

But if you had enough time, a safe method would emerge. Mo Yonggun believed that without doubt.

Then Yeon Hojeong stepped forward.

And the result was now plain.

“He drew the enemy’s interest, branded his presence into them, then immediately opened a path up into the upper ranks...”

Simple. So simple it was almost absurd.

And yet that single, simple move had landed perfectly.

“You always bring me surprises.”

“If you make up your mind, anyone can do it. It’s just a matter of whether you make up your mind or not.”

“Sure, that too. But there’s one more thing.”

Mo Yonggun’s eyes gleamed.

“If you don’t understand the Dark Path well, it’s a method you can’t even dream of trying so easily.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes flickered.

“Since when? Since when did you turn your eyes to the Dark Path?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Dodging it? Looking at the report delivered to the Alliance, and the chain of events I’ve heard up to now... you seem to know the Dark Path very well.”

“People are people, no matter where you go. If anything, the Hu Gae would know the Dark Path better than I do.”

“There’s a clear difference between knowing and feeling it in your bones.”

Yeon Hojeong snorted softly.

“Don’t waste your mind on pointless suspicion. I only looked at people’s nature. It’s not like I know the Dark Path especially well.”

Mo Yonggun’s mouth curved.

“Is that so.”

This time, even Mo Yonggun found it hard to read what Yeon Hojeong was hiding. As Yeon Hojeong said, Ga Deoksang probably did know the Dark Path better, and given what Mo Yonggun had seen of Yeon Hojeong’s capabilities, this infiltration operation wasn’t all that strange.

The problem was—

My head understands it, but I can’t just let it pass.

There was something. This bastard had moved forward with certainty—based on something he hadn’t told him.

And that was probably something even the operational team didn’t know.

“I’ll ask one more thing.”

“I didn’t come here to be interrogated.”

“As for the Dark Path, fine. Let’s say it’s that.”

Mo Yonggun’s eyes gave off a threatening light.

“You... don’t tell me you also know Yangcheon?”

“What martial artist doesn’t know Yangcheon?”

“You know what I mean.”

Yeon Hojeong shook his head.

“That’s also pointless suspicion. I know my value. A Dark Path union that hasn’t been around long will obviously suffer from a shortage of talent. If someone like me rolls in, it’s only natural they’ll be wary and still be interested.”

Mo Yonggun snorted.

“I never said it was suspicion.”

“You think you can fool me by covering your eyes?”

“Ha, hahahaha.”

Mo Yonggun finally burst into laughter, then nodded and said,

“Fine. I think we’ve talked enough about the past, so now let’s discuss the future.”

“What information does the leadership want?”

“Hm? You already know that. It’s not like you came all the way here without even knowing that, is it?”

“We need to find out everything—Yangcheon’s aim, whether he has any helpers, Ink Dragon Manor’s real strength, and so on.”

“Right. You know it well.”

Yeon Hojeong’s eyes shone.

“Is that really all?”

Mo Yonggun shrugged.

“If we can obtain other information beyond that, that’s good too.”

“Hm.”

“As you said, the Alliance wants every piece of information on Yangcheon. Of course, I do as well. If there’s a part that needs a more detailed look, tell me then.”

“Understood.”

“So, what are you going to do from here?”

“What else? I’ll become his trusted right-hand.”

Mo Yonggun’s eyes lit up.

“I expected you’d choose that route.”

“I figured you would.”

“Isn’t it dangerous?”

A serious light settled over Mo Yonggun’s face.

“Whatever the reason, you’re a Commander of the Evil-Smiting Corps of the Alliance of the Martial World. Being a spy isn’t your profession.”

“I know.”

“Yangcheon isn’t a fool. He won’t make the blunder of placing a rising figure straight into his inner circle. He’ll keep watching you and hand you tasks one by one.”

“Of course.”

“In other words, for you to become Yangcheon’s true right-hand... it’ll take at least a year or two.”

Mo Yonggun’s eyes hardened.

“That’s absolutely impossible. Even though I’m the one in political struggle with you, still—no.”

A plan to send a political enemy out to an outside force so he dies?

Not a bad method. But with someone like Yangcheon, it was different.

On top of that, Yangcheon was gathering the Dark Path. The Orthodox Path’s enemy was the Dark Path, and the Dark Path, too, longed to surpass the Orthodox Path. In that situation, sending someone from the Orthodox Path only to die in the enemy’s hands? That was a matter of pride.

And one step further—

In a crisis, this bastard might do anything.

It was unlikely, but what if—even once—Yeon Hojeong decided to take hold of the Dark Path and shake it?

Then the headache won’t be small at all.

An excessive leap? Not at all.

The Yeon Hojeong Mo Yonggun had seen had no such thing as a limit. Whether it was his nature or his youth, if he made up his mind, he would become a monster that rampaged without any line at all.

He couldn’t let someone like that die in the enemy camp. If Yeon Hojeong was going to die, he had to die within the Orthodox martial world.

That was Mo Yonggun’s thinking.

Yeon Hojeong nodded.

“I also have no intention of rotting under him for years. Of course not. I’m not trying to swallow the Dark Path. Rotting away for years just to squeeze out a little information is absurd.”

At the words swallow the Dark Path, Mo Yonggun flinched without realizing it.

“Then what are you going to do?”

“I called it being his right-hand, but it’s more accurate to call it a partnership.”

“A partnership?”

“That’s right.”

Yeon Hojeong smiled. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

“I’m not planning to lay down our cards just because I want something, but if we want to extract what we can as fast as possible, I think we’ll have to accept a certain level of sacrifice, too.”

“I agree with that.”

“So, based on what we know, I plan to poke and prod a few things.”

Mo Yonggun’s face stiffened.

“You’re saying you’ll leak the Alliance’s information?”

Yeon Hojeong shrugged.

“If the commander with authority gives permission, that might be possible—but I don’t actually intend to do that.”

“Then?”

“I want manipulated information.”

“Manipulated?”

Mo Yonggun stared at him for a moment, then said in a heavy voice,

“Talk. Let’s hear it.”

Yeon Hojeong laid out his plan.

And when he finished, Mo Yonggun had no choice but to nod.

“Will it work?”

“It has to. Whether it works or not depends less on my effort than on your capability as the commander in authority.”

“...”

“Can you do it?”

Mo Yonggun gave a cold smile.

“Interesting. Let’s do it and see.”