I went straight there the moment I heard he was looking for his grandson.

It felt weird, going back into the place I’d just come out of, but I didn’t have a choice.

“Did you come.”

When I followed the escort into the quarters, the Martial Alliance’s strategist, Thousand-Mile True Sight, greeted me.

No—“greeted” might be a stretch. He was staring at me with his usual dry eyes.

“Sit—”

Right as Thousand-Mile True Sight was about to tell me to sit, his face crumpled into a deep scowl when he noticed who’d followed behind me.

“Father-in-law. Have you been well?”

“...Why is that bastard....”

It was my father. The moment he showed up and greeted him, Thousand-Mile True Sight looked like the whole world offended him.

“What did you come for.”

“My son said he was going to see his maternal grandfather. How could I not come along?”

“I called that brat alone. What an unnecessary piece of baggage you are.”

As he said that, Thousand-Mile True Sight glared at someone else.

The Commander of the Guards—who’d led us here.

“...I’m sorry.”

“Tch. Enough. Commander, leave.”

“Yes.”

Once the Commander of the Guards went outside, Thousand-Mile True Sight turned his glare back onto my father.

“You too. Get out.”

“Yes?”

“I hear you even dragged the Silk King along. No matter how ignorant you are, you can’t not understand what it means for a clan head—one of the Five Kings Under Heaven—to come to Henan. Are you trying to blow things up for no reason?”

“.......”

I listened, ears pricking up.

One of the Five Kings Under Heaven coming to Henan.

What kind of meaning did that have?

“Does it have some huge meaning or something?”

Since I didn’t know, I shot a glance at Yoo Cheongil.

[Heh heh heh.]

That old bastard just laughed, like he had zero intention of telling me.

Was that his way of saying figure it out yourself? Seriously. What a rotten personality.

Still.

It did sound like something important, but I didn’t have anything solid in my head.

And while I was trying to think—

“Today, I’m asking nicely. Get out. The business here isn’t with you. It’s with your son.”

“Come on. I came all this way. I can at least hear the story—”

“Don’t make me angry. Didn’t I tell you to go handle your own business?”

“.......”

My father flinched for a moment. Business?

“What business could you possibly have?”

There was no way my father had business with the Martial Alliance. That man wasn’t capable of having anything like that.

I stared at him with suspicion, and—

“Hahaha. I was going to do a little sightseeing, actually... and to think I’d get caught like this.”

“.......”

Of course. It wasn’t anything impressive.

“Hm. Son. Since your maternal grandfather hates me this much, I guess I have no choice but to step out. Even if you’re lonely—”

“Just go.”

“Mm, okay.”

For someone who’d chased after me in here, he left with ridiculously light steps.

Rattle—thud.

The door shut, and the noisy bastard disappeared. The room was left with me, Thousand-Mile True Sight... and Yoo Cheongil.

And Yoo Cheongil might as well not exist, so it was basically just the two of us facing each other.

“Alright, then.”

My maternal grandfather took a sip of the tea set in front of him. The moment I saw it, I realized.

That was the one.

The tea he’d said he hated last time. And he’d poured two cups of it.

Which meant he’d planned to call me from the start.

“Now then. I suppose we should talk.”

“.......”

I slowly sat down.

Thousand-Mile True Sight had a teacup in one hand, and a letter in the other.

He drank his tea, eyes dropping to the letter as if weighing it—

And then he said something I hadn’t expected at all.

“From the looks of it, you’ve been making quite a name for yourself at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering.”

“Ah... yes. Well. I got lucky.”

“You’re saying you beat the Thunder Dragon because you got lucky? What a ridiculous thing to say.”

Thousand-Mile True Sight let out a short, amused breath.

“The Seven Prodigies aren’t something you become through luck, and they aren’t people you beat through luck. You know that.”

“.......”

The certainty in his tone—you know that—pressed down on me like weight. What did I look like to that old man? I didn’t want to imagine it.

“One time can be a miracle.”

He was talking about the Wudang Cloud Dragon.

“But twice can’t be.”

The Thunder Dragon wasn’t that kind of opponent. That was certainty.

“The Divine Spear said so himself. That you’re better than he expected.”

“.......”

Hearing praise that even reached the Alliance Leader made me feel awkward as hell.

The Alliance Leader—someone said to be the closest thing to the strongest under heaven—had praised me.

A flood of emotions surged up at once, but I couldn’t accept it cleanly.

Because that too—

Was Yoo Cheongil’s help.

It wasn’t something I earned entirely on my own, so I took half of it and let the other half scatter.

“This was unexpected to me as well. The fact that a child like you could be born from your incompetent, irritating father is quite a wonder.”

“I agree with that part.”

“...Huh?”

That one I could accept without hesitation. Compared to that damned man, it was true—I was way better.

My blunt answer made Thousand-Mile True Sight pause, but—

“Anyway...”

He gathered himself and continued.

“Yes. I’ll admit that I underestimated you.”

His voice was flat, but—

“However.”

The longer he spoke, the tighter my mind became. My instincts were screaming.

He hadn’t called me here just to compliment me.

“If even this falls outside your considerations, then that becomes... rather troublesome.”

Rustle.

Thousand-Mile True Sight drew out the letter he’d been holding and slid it to me.

The moment I saw it—

Yeah.

It was what I expected.

A letter sent to the Beggars’ Union under an unknown identity.

The one warning that the Baek Clan was dangerous because it was tied to the Heavenly Demon Cult.

The letter I’d sent.

I swallowed, my throat going dry.

Fast.

Even when I’d sent it through the Beggars’ Union, I’d assumed I’d get found out eventually. The Beggars’ Union might as well be inside the Martial Alliance.

And if the Martial Alliance wanted to know who sent something, they could find out instantly.

So yes. I’d assumed Thousand-Mile True Sight would learn about it at some point.

It was just—

Faster than I’d expected.

While I stared at him without speaking, he spoke first.

“You already knew I’d notice. Didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

I didn’t bother hiding it.

“As expected.”

Thousand-Mile True Sight already knew.

When the Commander of the Guards came to deliver the message—

I knew in that moment.

That Thousand-Mile True Sight had figured it out.

Because he’d made sure I’d notice.

“Your maternal grandfather is calling for you.”

A man who’d sworn he’d never treat me like his grandson had deliberately used the word grandson.

To throw discomfort and confusion at me.

A bunch of meanings, but the core was one thing.

Stop getting cute and come here quietly.

I’ll listen, so get in here first.

And I’d obeyed without complaining.

“I’ll ask you.”

So now it starts.

“Why did you send words like these?”

“Exactly as written.”

I had to persuade him. In a direction that wouldn’t hurt me and wouldn’t blow up into a problem.

“The Baek Clan is dangerous. It’s possible it’s already been destroyed.”

“By the Heavenly Demon Cult’s hand?”

“Yes.”

“...Ha....”

Thousand-Mile True Sight let out a breath.

That wasn’t admiration.

It was closer to anger.

“What nonsense. Do you understand what you’re saying right now?”

The Heavenly Demon Cult.

For it to return—after Yoo Cheongil had supposedly ended it—was a statement like disaster itself.

It meant the hard-won peace could be crushed underfoot.

But.

“For someone calling it nonsense... you already knew, didn’t you.”

“.......”

I was sure Thousand-Mile True Sight already knew.

“Why do you think that.”

He’d gone quiet for a moment, then asked again.

I answered.

“If you truly didn’t know, this wouldn’t be peaceful and quiet. You would’ve properly interrogated me.”

“.......”

Bring your grandson. Tell my father to leave. Serve tea.

If the Heavenly Demon Cult was truly in play, his reaction couldn’t possibly be this.

Unless—

He already knew.

If the Martial Alliance had already been hearing things about the Heavenly Demon Cult lately, then everything changed.

Only then did his current reaction make sense.

“You already knew, didn’t you? Information. Talk. Something about the Heavenly Demon Cult.”

“.......”

He didn’t answer, but I could read it in his expression and in the strange silence he left hanging.

A moment passed.

Then—

“What a waste of a surname.”

His words slid past like a breeze. I gave an awkward smile.

A compliment, I guess.

“Even if your guess is correct, it doesn’t answer my question. Answer what I asked.”

“What you asked is...?”

“Why did you send this letter. And.”

Thousand-Mile True Sight stared at me with cold eyes.

“How do you know about any of this?”

There was thick suspicion in his voice.

I steadied my breathing.

The Baek Clan.

The Heavenly Demon Cult.

The fact that I’d sent it while hiding my identity.

All of it was suspicious as hell.

And Thousand-Mile True Sight wasn’t just my maternal grandfather.

Those eyes weren’t something I could expect warmth from.

Sharp.

It was dizzying.

He looked old, frail even—but he’d once been called the God of War.

A man whose martial arts were weak, yet who commanded and used absolute masters with nothing but his head.

When I met his gaze, I swallowed without meaning to.

Alright.

What do I do?

I’d come this far. I had to get past this.

No—past it wasn’t enough. I had to do something.

Because if I didn’t, I could already see how bad this would get.

That bastard Baek Cheonin hadn’t come to Henan for no reason.

And the Heavenly Demon Cult? He was obviously going to do something.

I could smell trouble.

The kind of trouble I’d get dragged into, one hundred times out of one hundred.

I had to get out of this somehow.

Stuck? No way forward?

Fine.

I had an ace.

“The reason I know is simple.”

I set down the teacup I’d been about to drink from and chose my words.

A calculated silence passed.

Then I looked straight at Thousand-Mile True Sight and said—

“The reason my master, the Sword Saint, died... is tied to the Heavenly Demon Cult.”

“...What?”

[Huh?]

A finisher.

Selling out the Sword Saint.

In any situation, it was a secret weapon that never failed.

*****

The huge mountain behind Main Alliance Headquarters.

It wasn’t far from the Martial Alliance, and since people rarely came here, the forest felt quiet—quiet enough to be eerie.

In that place—

“Yeongchong is missing?”

A young man spoke.

The kneeling figure in front of him answered.

“...Yes.”

The young man’s brow furrowed hard.

“It hasn’t even been that many days since I assigned Yeongchong a task, and now he’s missing? What about traces?”

Baek Cheonin spat the words out with open irritation, and the man in front of him swallowed and answered.

“There are no traces either. We haven’t received contact for days.”

“.......”

Yeongchong.

A subordinate both sharp and capable. His cultivation was strong, too—and when it came to concealment techniques, he was confident enough to say no one could match him.

He shouldn’t have been caught.

And yet—

What is this?

Baek Cheonin narrowed his eyes.

How?

Did he get taken? If he did... how?

By whose hand?

Don’t tell me—

That bastard?

The Little Sword Saint.

Just thinking about those blue eyes—killing intent stabbing out—made Baek Cheonin bite down hard on his lip.

If it was him...

He might already know about Baek Cheonin’s plan.

Even if Yeongchong had been caught, he wasn’t the type to blab, but Baek Cheonin couldn’t afford to assume anything.

Troublesome.

He didn’t want things getting even more tangled.

Especially not now, when the tournament had already made things annoying enough.

That damned Blue Moon Sect bastard.

That weak-willed fool had tried to use Baek Cheonin to seize enlightenment.

Baek Cheonin had been so angry he’d handled it too harshly.

“Fuuuu....”

But if, on top of everything, the Little Sword Saint got involved—

Then he had no idea how the Protectors would respond.

The old men of the cult.

Those ancient monsters.

No one knew what they’d decide.

“Damn it.”

Baek Cheonin clicked his tongue.

If he didn’t know how it would go, he couldn’t just leave it alone.

“Sangyeon.”

“Yes, Young Cult Leader.”

“Send word to the Heaven-Breaking Palace.”

Fortunately—

“I want to move up the plan.” 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

There was still a way.

“...I obey!”

Sangyeon vanished on the spot.

“.......”

Left alone, Baek Cheonin’s expression hardened as he started walking.

And then—

In a space /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ where no one remained, where not even the faintest trace of presence could be felt—

“Hm.”

A man let out a light snort.

Then he let a small smile creep over his lips, and it felt like the whole world brightened around him.

That was how handsome he was.

“This is something else.”

The man—

Bang Cheonho of the Bang Clan of Liaoning—spoke like he was lamenting.

“Central Plains is always a damn mess.”

Contradictorily, there was pleasure soaked into his words.

Very clearly.