2025-11-01 19:16:49"Hold still," Yeon Arin said flatly.
The blue-robed martial artist blinked in confusion as faint runes shimmered beneath their feet and the alley dissolved into threads of light. AETHER STEP – Spatial Distortion. Space folded soundlessly and a heartbeat later, the two stood inside the dim room of the Eastern Wall Inn. The same candle still burned on the table where Arin had left it. The blue-robed man staggered, clutching his side while his eyes darted from wall to wall in disbelief.
"What... what was that?" he gasped.
"Travel," Arin replied, closing the spatial circle with a flick of his fingers. "Now sit. You are bleeding on my floor."
The man obeyed, his breathing uneven and his sword arm trembling. Arin studied him without sympathy, his gaze cold and measuring as he assessed the extent of the wounds.
"I do not keep useless people," he said quietly. "If you plan to follow me, know that mercy is not among my habits."
The wounded man looked up, determination flickering behind his exhaustion. "Then I will make myself useful. Even if it costs my life."
Arin's expression did not change. "Words are cheap. I have heard dying men promise eternity for another breath."
"I am not promising eternity," the man replied steadily. "Only purpose."
Silence settled over the room while Arin leaned back slightly, the faint hum of mana still vibrating in the air from the teleportation. The man drew a deep breath, forcing steadiness into his voice.
"My name is Jin Ryeo." He hesitated, as if speaking the name itself carried weight. "I am... was... the young master of the Mount Hwagyeong Sword Sect."
Arin said nothing, waiting.
Jin Ryeo continued, his words growing harder as emotion crept through them. "Our mountain stands on the southern border of the Alliance's lands. Once, our swords mirrored lightning on the slopes. Now the halls echo only with wind." His voice hardened further. "The elders are dead and missing. Our disciples are scattered. My father vanished after the last council meeting in Hwagok City. The Alliance called it an accident, but we know they arranged it."
Arin watched his trembling hands, fingers curled around the sheath of a broken sword. The man's aura flickered like a dying flame.
"So the rot spreads further than I thought," Arin murmured. "You seek vengeance then."
"I seek justice," Jin Ryeo answered, though his eyes betrayed how little he believed the distinction. "I know who conspired. The Alliance hid it, but we traced the orders through merchants and couriers. Someone high in their council wanted our fall."
"And yet you still breathe."
"Barely." Jin Ryeo gave a bitter smile. "Because I ran. Because surviving meant watching everything burn and hearing them call my father a traitor."
Arin's gaze lingered on the man's face. Grief sharpened into desperation. Useful, if tempered.
"You said you would do anything," Arin said, his voice dropping to something colder and more precise. "Understand what that means. If I command you to walk into the Alliance and die for a single distraction, you will do so."
"I will," Jin Ryeo answered without hesitation.
Arin tilted his head, eyes narrowing slightly. "Even if I never help you rebuild what you lost?"
The blue-robed man hesitated for only an instant. "Then at least help me punish those who destroyed it."
Arin rose from his chair, his cloak brushing across the floor as he moved toward the doorway. Shadows cut across his face, making his features impossible to read. His voice dropped to a calm whisper that carried like steel through the quiet room.
"I will use you for what I need—information, access, obedience. Nothing more."
"I understand," Jin Ryeo said. "Use me as you wish. Just promise that when the time comes, those who betrayed Mount Hwagyeong will die."
Arin did not turn back, his silhouette framed against the darkness of the hallway as his voice remained steady and absolute.
"They will."
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Chapter 29: Red Aura
"I am leaving the base," Arin said to Kang Dae-soo in the early morning, the sky still dark outside the grand chamber. "I need to scout the Mugang Martial Pavilion before we execute the plan."Kang Dae-soo bowed immediately, understanding that questions were not welcome."How long will you be gone?" the bandit leader asked carefully."I will be gone for ten days," Arin replied, his voice cold and absolute. "During my absence, continue the training and ensure that every Black Dragon warrior is prepared for the operation. I will return on the tenth day, and we will march against the Mugang Martial Pavilion immediately.""I will maintain discipline," Kang Dae-soo said firmly. "The warriors will continue their cultivation and combat training without pause.""Good," Arin said, turning toward the window where the first hints of dawn were beginning to appear on the horizon. "Do not disappoint me."Arin raised his hand, and blue mana began to crackle around his fingers with increasing intensi
Chapter 28: Information
"You destroyed the Lotus Palace, didn't you?"The next morning, Jin Ryeo stood alone with Arin in the huge chamber of the Black Dragon base, where the sun was rising outside and casting long shadows across the stone floor. Jin's voice was not accusatory, it was just a question, and he already knew the answer.Arin looked at Jin with cold eyes without speaking for a moment, just staring at the young master of Mount Hwagyeong in the growing light."Yes," Arin said finally, his voice flat and emotionless. "I destroyed them."Jin nodded slowly, having suspected it from the moment he heard the news in the Alliance headquarters and knowing it with certainty when he saw the Black Dragon base and the power Arin possessed."I thought so," Jin said, looking down at the stone floor. "When I heard about it, I knew only someone with your power could do something like that."Arin did not respond, simply waiting for Jin to continue speaking."I have gathered everything you need to know about the Mur
Chapter 27: Next Target
"The Lotus Palace is destroyed," Arin said to himself, standing alone in the grand chamber of the Black Dragon base. His blue eyes burned with cold satisfaction as he thought about what had occurred. "The Murim Alliance knows that a powerful force exists in the martial world now. They understand that their sects are not safe."He turned and walked slowly through the empty chamber, his mind already moving forward to the next phase of his vengeance.The Mugang Martial Pavilion, Arin thought coldly. They are next. They participated in the destruction of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect. They conspired with the Murim Alliance. They deserve to fall.But as he continued to think about what would come next, something shifted in his expression. A slight smile appeared on his face—the smile of someone who had grown tired of simple destruction and wanted something more interesting.No, Arin decided, his voice dropping to barely a whisper. I will not destroy them quickly like I destroyed the Lotus Pal
Chapter 26: Shadows and Whispers
"The Yeonhwa Lotus Palace has fallen," the messenger said, his voice carrying the weight of terrible news as he stood before the gathered leadership of the Murim Alliance. "Completely annihilated. Every disciple, every master, every member of their organization has been destroyed. Their fortress remains standing, but their people are gone."The news spread like wildfire across Jeonghwa, traveling through the martial world with the speed of fear itself. Disciples whispered in training grounds. Masters discussed it in private chambers. Merchants carried the information along trade routes, each retelling adding new layers of mystery and terror to the tale.The Murim Alliance leadership convened in emergency session within their grand headquarters in Hwagok City. Kang Myeong-ho, the Alliance Leader, sat at the head of the council table, his expression grave and measured. His ancient eyes reflected decades of cultivation experience and the wisdom that came with navigating the complex polit
Chapter 25: Annihilation
"Continue refusing to speak," Arin said, his voice remaining completely calm and measured, as if he were discussing something as trivial as the weather rather than orchestrating torture and death. "And I will remove the remaining arm of every martial artist in this hall. Starting with your disciple."He gestured with one hand toward the young girl who had already lost one arm and now lay on the stone floor, her body convulsing with shock and agony. Her breathing was shallow and rapid, her eyes rolling back as her consciousness wavered between awareness and merciful oblivion.Yu Na-ri stared at him, her defiance wavering as she watched her closest disciple trembling in absolute suffering. The girl's eyes pleaded with her Sect Leader, begging silently for mercy, for an end to the torture, for any relief from the agony that consumed her entire being. Tears streamed down the disciple's face, mixing with blood that had splattered across her skin during the earlier mutilations.She cannot e
Chapter 24: Price of Silence
"Tell me," Arin said, his voice cutting through the suffocating silence of the main hall. "What do you know about the attack on the Azure Cloud Sword Sect ten years ago? Who orchestrated it? Who participated in its destruction?"Yu Na-ri remained pinned by Arin's magical pressure, but her face twisted into a smile of pure mockery. She began to laugh, a sound that echoed through the stone chamber with unmistakable disdain."The Azure Cloud?" Yu Na-ri said, her voice dripping with contempt. "That insignificant sect? They were nothing. A collection of pathetic warriors clinging to outdated notions of honor and righteousness. Their destruction was inevitable. They deserved to fall. They deserved to be erased from memory."She continued laughing, her body still immobilized by Arin's pressure, but her mind clearly unbowed."You think their fate was tragic?" Yu Na-ri taunted, her eyes gleaming with cruelty. "They were obstacles. Weak obstacles that needed to be removed. The Lotus Palace was
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