Chapter 195
“It has been a while.”
Yeo Un-hwi warmly welcomed Jegal Gil, who had come to visit him.
He had been thinking that Jegal Gil might visit soon anyway, and it seemed he had arrived at just the right time.
“Have you been well?”
“I am always the same, both then and now.”
“I see.”
Yeo Un-hwi nodded at Jegal Gil’s answer.
His characteristic bluntness remained the same, but the look in Jegal Gil’s eyes had changed significantly.
Resilience could be felt - flexible, yet by no means to be underestimated.
His past self, who had known nothing but foolishly charging straight ahead, was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly, a small smile tugged at the corners of Jegal Gil’s mouth.
“By the way, the White Wolf Unit’s popularity is incredible these days. All anyone talks about around here is the White Wolf Unit. It is truly impressive.”
He meant it sincerely.
Jegal Gil had also heard the news about Yeo Un-hwi and the White Wolf Unit.
When he first heard the news, he was quite surprised.
It was because the ones coming from the Peng Family to the Murim Alliance were the White Wolf Unit.
That meant Yeo Un-hwi, the Commander of the White Wolf Unit, was coming with them.
For some unknown reason, that fact made his heart race.
On top of that, just like everyone else, he found their actions to be incredibly thrilling.
It was truly refreshing.
Who else in recent times has done things worthy of receiving applause from so many people?
Starting with beheading the Extreme Evil Laughing Demon, one of the Absolute Great Evils, the White Wolf Unit’s actions were truly astonishing enough to be called unconventional.
Their fame had grown to the point where the number of people supporting them was by no means small.
Of course, not everyone looked favorably upon the White Wolf Unit.
As one’s name value rose, envy and jealousy were bound to follow.
Regardless, it was truly surprising.
To think they had done such things on their way to the Murim Alliance.
When Jegal Gil made an uncharacteristically big fuss, Yeo Un-hwi shook his head as if it were no big deal.
“We merely eradicated the Evil we saw and corrected what was wrong. We only did what was natural.”
Without any calculation, they simply did what they thought was right.
Because they had the power to do so.
That was all there was to it, Yeo Un-hwi said.
“Is that so.”
It was a truly strange thing.
It was such an obvious statement, so why did it make the listener feel so choked up?
Perhaps Jegal Gil felt that way even more because he had been suffocating under the Murim Alliance’s behavior, where it knew what was right yet excessively weighed only what would benefit it.
Yeo Un-hwi’s words made him think about the path he truly needed to walk in the future as a member of the Orthodox Faction. No, as a human being.
One might say he was overinterpreting a simple, ordinary answer, but because Jegal Gil had seen what kind of person Yeo Un-hwi was, his answer might have resonated even more deeply.
From a certain point on, the existence known as Yeo Un-hwi had been like a lighthouse illuminating his path.
If not for him, Jegal Gil would have been killed long ago, or perhaps he would barely have been surviving, unable to die while floundering in even greater despair and agony.
Therefore, to Jegal Gil, Yeo Un-hwi was a precious Benefactor whom he could never thank enough.
“However, it seems the other side was quite displeased with the Peng Family.”
“Well, it seems that way.”
Yeo Un-hwi shrugged at Jegal Gil’s words.
Truly, no matter how much he thought about it, it was utterly absurd.
When the Peng Family was in a great crisis because of the Demonic Cult, others had completely turned a blind eye, but now that the family had somehow overcome that crisis and was receiving attention, others were displeased with it.
Just what were they trying to do?
Of course, it was obvious without being said who was instigating all of this.
“He is a truly wicked old man. Don’t you think?”
On top of that, he hid his inner thoughts well.
Yeo Un-hwi recalled the image of Jang Cheong he had seen in the Alliance Leader’s Hall.
To those who knew nothing, he was the very picture of a humble and respectable Chief Elder who quietly assisted the Alliance Leader from behind the scenes.
With his gentle smile and the deep wrinkles carved by long years, he was there.
But behind that thoroughly calculated and fabricated appearance hid all sorts of filthy desires that could not be explained in words.
However, Yeo Un-hwi’s assessment seemed to be quite surprising to Jegal Gil.
“A w-wicked old man?”
“Why? Am I wrong? If he’s going to grow old, he should do it gracefully. Tsk.”
At Yeo Un-hwi-hwi’s words, Jegal Gil almost burst into laughter without realizing it.
Who else could speak of Jang Cheong like that?
Even the Murim Alliance Leader wouldn’t be able to do so.
Yet Yeo Un-hwi-hwi so casually dismissed Jang Cheong as just a wicked old man.
So how could he not laugh?
But he had to hold it in.
This was, after all, the Murim Alliance.
Jang Cheong’s eyes and ears were far too numerous everywhere.
Rather, he was worried that someone might have heard what Yeo Un-hwi said.
But Yeo Un-hwi-hwi spoke to Jegal Gil as if telling him to relax.
“You can laugh. I’ve made it so no one can hear the conversation we’re having.”
Yeo Un-hwi had already set up an Energy Membrane around them from the moment he started talking with Jegal Gil.
No matter who in the world came, they would not be able to eavesdrop on their conversation.
“But is it really alright for you to come here? You said that old man disapproves of us.”
“Honestly, he probably won’t care much. It might sound strange to say, but he likely sees us as easy targets.”
Since Jegal Gil had been dispatched to Hebei as an Investigator, it wasn’t exactly a strange sight for him to meet with members of the Peng Family who were visiting the Murim Alliance.
On top of that, Jang Cheong simply disliked the Peng Family itself; Yeo Un-hwi and the White Wolf Unit weren’t even on his radar.
He considered them people he could dispose of whenever he set his mind to it.
Of course, he had been slightly surprised by the achievements the White Wolf Unit had made on its way here, but that was it.
He believed that the Murim Alliance was overflowing with Masters far stronger than the White Wolf Unit.
He probably didn’t even realize in his wildest dreams just how wrong that thought was.
They knew absolutely nothing about Yeo Un-hwi and the White Wolf Unit.
“So, how are your plans coming along?”
“Honestly, it isn’t easy. I firmly steeled my resolve and went into it, but the road ahead still seems very long.”
That didn’t mean he lacked confidence.
He was already prepared to accomplish it no matter what, even if it took a long time.
However,
“An unexpected great variable has arisen.”
“A variable?”
Jegal Gil nodded at Yeo Un-hwi, who had a puzzled look on his face.
“Yes. A massive variable that will have a profound impact on the future of the entire Murim.”
“What is it?”
“You probably already know; the Heavenly Demon has appeared in the current era.”
A brief silence flowed.
But before Jegal Gil could find the silence strange, Yeo Un-hwi hurriedly opened his mouth.
“Ahem… I see. The Heavenly Demon. Is that person really such a big deal?”
Yeo Un-hwi asked back, feigning ignorance.
His response was a beat late, but Jegal Gil would likely just assume Yeo Un-hwi had paused because he was a little surprised by the mention of the Heavenly Demon.
Well, come to think of it, he really was surprised.
“Yes. Excluding the Heavenly Demon that has appeared this time, the Heavenly Demon has only appeared three times so far. That means the periods where the Heavenly Demon did not exist were actually longer. But even when the Heavenly Demon existed merely as a fictional figurehead, the Demonic Cult still exerted immense influence and terror over the entire Murim. Now that a new Heavenly Demon has appeared, its power will only grow stronger.”
Jegal Gil continued his story with an incredibly serious face.
“Now, the fate of the entire Murim will change drastically. Various factions, including large powers like the Murim Alliance and the Demonic Alliance, will determine their actions and move with the existence of the Heavenly Demon in mind.”
If the Martial God was an existence that evoked absolute awe and respect just by being there, then conversely, the Heavenly Demon was an existence that made everyone feel terror just by the name alone.
The Martial God and the Heavenly Demon.
Throughout the entire History of Murim, were there any names that symbolized absolute power as much as theirs?
But Jegal Gil could not even dream of it.
The fact that the man right in front of his eyes was actually both the Martial God and the Heavenly Demon was true.
He only knew that Yeo Un-hwi was an incredible Master; he had no way of knowing anything beyond that.
It couldn’t be helped.
How could he possibly dare to imagine it?
It was truly a story that made absolutely no sense whatsoever.
It was certainly something that neither the Founding Martial God nor the Founding Heavenly Demon could have ever anticipated.
Well, anyway. The current top priority of the Murim Alliance was to somehow stop the newly born Heavenly Demon.
“It’s as if a fire has been lit under everyone’s feet. The Murim Alliance is now in a position where it must prepare for a battle with the Demonic Cult that could break out at any moment, alongside the Nine Sects One Alliance and the Five Great Families. They will be frantically reaching out here and there.”
“For that to be the case, aren’t their hands a bit too cold?”
Understanding what Yeo Un-hwi meant, Jegal Gil nodded with a bitter expression.
“Isn’t that all because of that wicked old man?”
Before he knew it, Jegal Gil was also calling Jang Cheong that.
Just saying it out loud made him feel refreshed inside.
He hoped the day would come when he could shout it right to his face.
“It seems that old man isn’t afraid of the Heavenly Demon.”
Based on his actions, it certainly seemed that way.
Did he have something he was relying on?
But this time, Jegal Gil shook his head.
“No. He seemed afraid, perhaps even more than anyone else.”
“Hmm? If he’s that afraid, then why is he acting like this?”
“That is why he gave up. He believes the existence of the Heavenly Demon is like a Calamity that cannot be overcome, so he has decided to live as himself until the very end, no matter what happens.”
It was certainly a cool-sounding phrase, but coming from someone like Jang Cheong, it felt incredibly disgusting.
“He might struggle, but if there’s truly no way out, he seems to have the mindset of just dying together with everyone else. That is why, at a time when he should set aside his desires more than ever and join forces as one, he is standing in the middle and causing all sorts of interference.”
“I see.”
He thought the man was completely out of his mind.
The more he heard, the worse it got.
As a Martial Artist belonging to the Orthodox Martial World, as an Elder of the Murim Alliance, and as a human being, he was undoubtedly a twisted person with no redeeming qualities.
And yet, the thing such a person feared the most was the Heavenly Demon.
“However, I recently learned of one more thing he fears just as much.”
Something he feared as much as the Heavenly Demon.
Yeo Un-hwi asked with a curious face.
“What is it?”
“That is…”
Soon, after Yeo Un-hwi heard Jegal Gil’s story, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly.
“Indeed, I see.”
He felt like he knew exactly what kind of end he should gift to the man eating away at the Murim Alliance.
At the same time.
Someone came to visit Jang Cheong.
Doubt flickered in Jang Cheong’s eyes as he looked at the other person.
“Hoh. I didn’t expect you to come looking for me, Strategist.”
It was none other than Jegal Mun, the Chief Strategist of the Murim Alliance.
He had an uncharacteristically cold look in his eyes.