Tok. Tok.

“Grandfather. It’s Seolhwa—”

“Come in.”

Even before Seolhwa could finish, a reply bade her enter.

She slid the door open and stepped inside.

Within the room were Namgoong Mucheon, Cheongun, and Chief Steward Namgoong Mun.

Seolhwa bowed deeply in greeting to the three. Since she could not use her arm, she bent her waist, then straightened again—only for a clatter to sound.

Lifting her head, she saw Cheongun on his feet, shock plain on his face.

“Seolhwa! Your arm—!”

Namgoong Mucheon’s and the Chief Steward’s expressions had grown grave as well.

“You’re injured?”

“My lady...”

“Ah.”

Seolhwa glanced down at her arm. She meant to explain how she had been hurt, but—

“How did this happen?”

“Did something dangerous occur?!”

“Have you shown it to the Head of Medicine Hall?”

The three elders’ voices overlapped in urgency, their gazes filled with concern.

At that heartfelt worry, Seolhwa felt a quiet warmth of gratitude. With an awkward smile, she nodded.

“Yes. There was... an incident.”

On the way here, she had thought about it.

Was there really any need to hide the cause of her injury?

Had she not once promised her grandfather Namgoong Mucheon, when she was a child—

That no matter what happened, she would tell him honestly?

With others, perhaps she might conceal it. But the people of the Namgoong Clan were her irreplaceable family.

Though she did not wish to burden them with worry, neither did she wish to keep secrets.

Hoo—

A sound barrier shimmered up around the Clan Head’s chamber.

Namgoong Mucheon had erected it, knowing she was about to speak.

“Sit.”

Seolhwa went to sit by Cheongun’s side.

Cheongun clasped her uninjured left hand.

“First of all—the talk with Shaolin went well. The Abbot himself pledged that Shaolin would stand with our clan.”

“That is good news.”

“And while there, I met Elder Guyangdo and the former Abbot.”

“Elder Guyangdo... you mean the master of Mount Neungji?”

The Chief Steward asked in astonishment.

That man is still alive?

Namgoong Mucheon nodded.

“I too once chanced upon him, four years past. He spoke of the ‘Heaven Beyond Heaven’—and indeed, he had reached that realm.”

“‘Heaven Beyond Heaven’... you mean he had touched the state of Hyungyeong?”

Cheongun too was startled.

“Yes. Heaven Beyond Heaven truly exists.”

“And it was not only Elder Guyangdo.”

“Then Merciless Overlord Buddha has also attained Heaven Beyond Heaven.”

Merciless Overlord Buddha—that was Gwangcheon’s epithet.

When Seolhwa nodded, Namgoong Mucheon closed his eyes slowly, while the Chief Steward sucked in a sharp breath.

“Two masters at the Hyungyeong realm... incredible...”

“There are not only two.”

“!”

Now it was time for the real story.

“The two elders intended to strike Hwaoru.”

“Hwaoru... Seolhwa, you...” 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

“Yes, Father. It is the place I belonged to before I returned to the clan.”

Seolhwa recounted everything—the infiltration and purge of Hwaoru spies within Shaolin, the intent of Gwangcheon and Guyangdo to destroy Hwaoru, their desperate battle against the Hwaoru Master, and how both had nearly lost their lives. Only when the Shadowless Demon God appeared, drawing the Hwaoru Master’s attention, had they narrowly escaped death.

“I too was hurt trying to save them. Master Gwangcheon lost an arm, and Elder Guyangdo has yet to awaken.”

The three men listened in silence, stunned.

It was shocking enough that three masters of the Hyungyeong realm had emerged. But the most staggering fact was that even Gwangcheon and Guyangdo together could not overcome the Hwaoru Master.

Namgoong Mucheon remembered what Seolhwa had told them when she first returned to the clan.

“A tidal wave will come that can drown even Mount Tai. A tide of blood.”

“...We were too late.”

Namgoong Mucheon clenched his fist.

“Before our two seniors had to step forward, the Martial Alliance should already have been formed.”

What he had planned as preparation for the future was no longer the future.

The storm had already broken.

Preparation meant to be one step ahead, not chasing after what had already come.

“It is as in the proverb of chasing a chicken to the fence—‘Zhujī Wànglí.’ We dallied too long. The roof already tilts, the rain already seeps; collapse will come in but a moment.”

He turned to Seolhwa.

“Shaolin pledged to stand with us?”

“Yes.”

“Chief Steward.”

“Yes, Clan Head.”

“Send letters to the Five Great Clans and Nine Great Sects. Tell them that in a month and a half, here in Anhui, there will be a gathering to form the Martial Alliance.”

“But... we have not yet secured the opinions of the sects.”

Even if Shaolin and Mount Hua were willing, should they not at least first send word to Wudang of Hubei?

“There is no time to sway the others. Those who agree will be enough to form the Alliance, and later we will send envoys to the rest.”

Even if some did not attend, so long as Shaolin and Mount Hua joined, the cause had legitimacy.

It would not be too late to turn Wudang’s opinion afterward.

“They too will understand our intent when they hear it.”

Originally, he had meant to consult Wudang thoroughly before moving.

But the Martial Alliance’s purpose was the safety of the martial world. As one of the two great pillars of the orthodox path alongside Shaolin, Wudang would never oppose such a cause.

They would simply have to concede to some of Wudang’s demands.

“Seolhwa. There is something I would ask you.”

“Please, Grandfather.”

“What do you think of the Sado Union?”

“....”

The sudden question left Seolhwa momentarily speechless.

She had expected the Namgoong Clan to be watching the Sado Union, as all the factions of the Central Plains were.

But to ask so directly...

“You said that in the battle with the Hwaoru Master, the Shadowless Demon God appeared, allowing our two seniors to survive.”

“Ah. Yes. That’s true.”

Telling the story as if from a third person’s perspective had made it impossible not to mention the Shadowless Demon God.

“Why do you think he appeared at that moment? Was his intent to save them?”

Only then did Seolhwa realize what Namgoong Mucheon was truly asking.

What do ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ you think of the Sado Union?

He was weighing the matter—whether the Sado Union should be seen as enemy or ally.

And since he had never met the Union Lord himself, her answer now would weigh heavily on his judgment.

“I...”

How should she respond?

What impression of the Union Lord should she plant in Namgoong Mucheon’s mind?

Should she take this chance to soften his stance, lessen the clan’s hostility?

Should she reveal that she herself was the Union Lord?

No.

Not yet.

The Namgoong Clan must not draw too close to the Sado Union yet.

“I don’t know.”

“You don’t know?”

“I don’t know why the Union Lord appeared before the Hwaoru Master that day. Everything was too chaotic.”

“I see.”

“But...”

If not to inspire favor, she could at least incline them toward caution.

“Since he opposed the Hwaoru Master, it did not seem the Sado Union was in league with Hwaoru.”

“That is a relief.”

If a supreme master like the Hwaoru Master had seized command of the black path, the consequences would have been dire indeed.

“I understand your meaning.”

Not of Hwaoru, yet with unknown designs.

Namgoong Mucheon’s expression grew complicated as he contemplated the Union Lord.

Then, dispelling his thoughts, he told Seolhwa,

“Go and rest now. Show your wound to the Head of Medicine Hall. I will have the Chief Steward send you remedies that will aid your recovery.”

“Yes, Grandfather.”

“And on your way, check in on Jin Soyak. He should be at the Medicine Hall.”

Seolhwa had already planned to visit him.

Her grandfather’s foresight, as if he read her heart, made her bow deeply.

“Thank you, Grandfather. I’ll take my leave now.”

“I’ll go as well. It is time I checked on Soyak’s condition.”

Cheongun rose to follow her.

Together they left the Clan Head’s chamber and made their way toward the Medicine Hall.

“If I had known such grave events were unfolding, I would have gone with you.”

“Father.”

“Mm?”

Seolhwa halted, turning to face him.

Her senses, sharpened by the training alongside Guyangdo and Gwangcheon, felt it clearly—

From Cheongun flowed a qi far stronger, far more refined than before. Noticeably different even from the last time she had seen him.

“You’ve been learning martial arts from Grandfather, haven’t you?”

“Oh? Ha ha, is that what you sensed? Yes. Every dawn I train under Father in our clan’s martial arts.”

Cheongun spread his arms wide with a proud grin.

“Well? Can you feel how this father of yours has changed?”

“Yes. Very much so.”

She could not gauge precisely, but it felt close to the realm of a consummate top master.

Could such progress truly be made in only four years?

In my past life, he did reach the realm of Flowering, but that was much later...

Cheongun bent slightly to meet her eyes.

For the first time in a long while, he reached out to tousle his daughter’s hair.

“Did I not promise you? That I would be a good Clan Head. I am striving to become a good father and a good head of the clan.”

“....”

And Seolhwa realized.

In her past life, he had neglected training while he searched for her. But in this life, he was giving his all to keep the promise he had made with her.

To keep his word.

To become a good Clan Head, and a good father.

Father...

You are a great man. And you are my father.

The thought filled her with renewed strength.

From the warmth of his hand on her head came a steady reassurance.

Then—

“My lady!”

Both Cheongun and Seolhwa turned at the shout.

It was her guard, Ryeong, running toward them.

“I greet the Young Clan Head.”

After saluting Cheongun, Ryeong turned to Seolhwa.

“My lady, you have a visitor.”