STEP, STEP.

Two of the highest-ranking figures in the Murim Alliance were leaving the academy and heading toward the Alliance.

The unseen guards stealthily emanated hidden energy, making people instinctively avoid the path the two were walking on.

Thanks to this, the two were able to walk comfortably without any interruptions.

"What did you think?"

Zhuge Somyeong asked.

Wasn't Hyuk Mugang the one who used to chatter away, endlessly asking questions whenever Jin Sowoon was mentioned?

"Hmm..."

Without answering the question, Hyuk Mugang walked a few more steps before slowly opening his mouth.

"He is an interesting child."

"Interesting, you say?"

Hyuk Mugang, who had been lost in deep thought, looked at Zhuge Somyeong and smiled.

"Because I had only heard about him from the Chief Strategist until now, I couldn't truly feel it... but after seeing him in person, I was able to know one thing for certain."

"What is it?"

"That the Chief Strategist has been trying incredibly hard to keep me from taking Jin Sowoon away."

Zhuge Somyeong's face crumpled like a sheet of paper.

"Isn't that already a settled matter!"

Hyuk Mugang chuckled heartily and stroked his beard.

"It was a joke. A joke."

"..."

"Anyway, putting that aside, he is certainly a child with many fascinating aspects. I was especially..."

Hyuk Mugang smiled meaningfully as he looked at Zhuge Somyeong.

"Very impressed by how shamelessly he acted in front of the Murim Alliance Leader and the Chief Strategist."

"..."

As expected, the Alliance Leader knew.

When it came to the schemes and conspiracies of the murky political sphere, wasn't he a step above even himself?

Hyuk Mugang twitched his eyebrows as if he were genuinely surprised.

"Still, if it weren't for this situation, I really would have been fooled."

"He is a very bold fellow."

At the Chief Strategist's agreement, Hyuk Mugang closed his eyes as if picturing something.

"That is why I am truly, truly... looking forward to it."

Then, his eyes flashed open, their corners curving like crescent moons.

"To the future of the Murim Alliance that he and the currently rising new stars will lead."

"..."

At Hyuk Mugang's words, a deep frown resembling the character for river (川) formed on Zhuge Somyeong's brow.

Why did he speak of the rising stars and Jin Sowoon separately?

When it came to the current rising stars, there was the Dragon-Phoenix Summit including Yong So-ah, and the Seven Stars of the generation above them.

However, compared to any of them, Jin Sowoon's talent could not be seen as anything remarkable.

"Aren't you... overly projecting onto Jin Sowoon?"

At this reasonable question, Hyuk Mugang nodded.

"It might look that way, I suppose."

"That is not a very good thing for Jin Sowoon either."

Hyuk Mugang pondered for a moment before asking Zhuge Somyeong.

"Hmm... How far do you think Jin Sowoon will go, Chief Strategist?"

At the sudden, strange counter-question, Zhuge Somyeong was at a loss for words.

It wasn't because he didn't understand the question.

It was simply because he had never tried to paint a serious picture of his future.

"I'm not sure. I was thinking of entrusting the Simhyeon Pavilion to him."

"Not the Mantong Bureau?"

"As you saw, he has a keen eye for reading people's minds and schemes. There would be no better playground for him to run wild in than the Simhyeon Pavilion."

Nodding, Hyuk Mugang continued his questions.

"Do you think that child will stop there?"

"..."

He could not answer this repeated line of questioning.

When he first saw him at the Iron Sword Sect, he had judged him merely as a useful employee for the Mantong Bureau, and when he saw him pass the standard exam, he thought he could entrust him with either the Simhyeon Pavilion or the Mantong Bureau.

He also thought that Jin Sowoon would be more than satisfied with that much for his own sake, and furthermore, for his sect.

Because the existential symbolism held by the Mantong Bureau and the Simhyeon Pavilion was no different from the highest positions desired by the countless martial artists scattered throughout Jianghu.

But now, if asked whether Jin Sowoon would truly be satisfied with that...

"You can't answer after all."

"..."

Hyuk Mugang was right.

He simply couldn't gauge it.

"Then, how far do you believe that fellow will go, Alliance Leader?"

Hyuk Mugang lifted the bundle in his hand to eye level.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure either, but..."

SCREECH!

Hyuk Mugang looked up at the cry of a hawk echoing in the sky.

Was it a coincidence that a hawk appeared so opportunely?

"He didn't look like a bird meant for a cage."

At Hyuk Mugang's words, Zhuge Somyeong nodded without realizing it.

"And above all, that child seems to look down on power quite a bit. As if it were merely a tool."

"What do you..."

Suddenly, Hyuk Mugang chuckled and said,

"I mean Daoist Myeonghyeon..."

"Why him all of a sudden...?"

"I heard he was severely beaten by Jin Sowoon."

Instantly, Zhuge Somyeong's brow contorted.

"What? What do you..."

"Unlike the other elders, Daoist Myeonghyeon is the only one in seclusion, is he not? That is because the bruises on his face haven't fully faded yet."

"... This crazy bastard..."

No matter how much of an eyesore he was, and even though hearing the story felt satisfying, to actually beat up an elder of the Council of Elders...

While Zhuge Somyeong wore a blank expression out of sheer shock, Hyuk Mugang continued.

"Given the acting he just put on in front of me... it means power is not something that child yearns for or wishes to conquer."

Zhuge Somyeong tilted his head.

"Isn't he just a crazy bastard?"

Hyuk Mugang shook his head and smiled gently.

"Isn't it truly amusing? He looks down on power, but he never lets go of the power he holds in his hands."

For a moment, the light in his eyes shone clearly.

"In the end, it must mean that power is merely a tool to fulfill whatever it is that child wants to do."

Because Zhuge Somyeong had never tried to read a person's inner thoughts in such a manner, he carefully ruminated over Hyuk Mugang's words.

Hyuk Mugang muttered as he looked at the troubled Chief Strategist.

"And what that child does with the power he's protected is, ultimately, saving someone..."

Hyuk Mugang paused for a moment, an inexplicable sense of anticipation coloring his face.

"Isn't he a truly fascinating child?"

"... Alliance Leader, you are making quite the leap in logic."

Zhuge Somyeong also felt that the words held some validity, but they didn't easily resonate in his heart.

Was it because he had seen too many of the crazy stunts Jin Sowoon had pulled?

Hyuk Mugang's firm voice followed.

"That is why I thought Jin Sowoon should be viewed separately from the other rising stars. And personally, I am also a little curious."

"Curious about what?"

"What kind of leader he will truly become when he is given enough strength and power."

"..."

Zhuge Somyeong clamped his mouth shut, as if he could not answer.

Because if the people of the Alliance knew such words had come from the Alliance Leader's mouth, they would never sit by and watch.

"..."

Hyuk Mugang nodded as if he understood as well.

And then, he quickly changed the subject.

"Anyway, he has achieved a much greater merit than expected, so I am not sure how to handle it. To think it was the Minor Cult Leader of the Blood Cult..."

"What other choice is there? Still, for such a clever guy, why did he leave the greatest merit for last?"

"As expected, the Chief Strategist cannot be honest."

"W-What are you talking about?"

"Aren't your lips twitching right now?"

Zhuge Somyeong shook his head and let out a long sigh.

"Let us commend his achievements together after the matters in Sichuan are settled."

"Is that all?"

It seemed the Alliance Leader was thoroughly fixated on Jin Sowoon.

Zhuge Somyeong finally confessed what he had specifically had in mind.

"... I plan to direct the purchasing operations of the Anhui Province branches exclusively to the Taiyi Sect's Daecheon Merchant Group. That should be a great help in establishing the merchant group."

Only then did Hyuk Mugang nod with satisfaction.

"That is excellent. If any voices of complaint leak out, send them to me."

"Forget it. Do you think I can't even handle that much?"

Hyuk Mugang grinned as he looked at the grumbling Zhuge Somyeong.

Like an old couple worrying about their grandson's future, the two walked side by side.

* * *

After leaving the Academy Director's office, I turned my steps around while heading back to the dormitory.

I didn't particularly have a destination.

I just didn't want to go straight back to the dorm.

As I slowly walked along the promenade that completely encircled the exterior of the academy, the scent of thick greenery filled my lungs.

I gathered all the qi senses I usually kept spread wide and relaxed the tension in my body.

After continuing my walk for a while, it slowly hit me that I had returned to everyday life.

The calls of nameless mountain birds could be heard here and there, and small wild animals that popped out from unexpected places dashed between the trees.

This place was so peaceful that it was hard to believe I had been in a blood-curdling chase and battle just a few days ago.

From those exchanging affectionate words while walking on the promenade to those discussing swordplay in the open fields.

The academy students were enjoying their ordinary daily lives.

The fact that the events in Sichuan were not affecting them was proof that the situation in Sichuan had not escalated into a 'Blood Tragedy' like in my past life.

For some reason, my chest felt a little ticklish.

'I really changed it...'

Of course, I had changed many things before this as well.

But most of those were related to myself, and furthermore, mostly about the people around me and my sect.

This was the first time I had actually prevented an event from escalating into a gruesome war.

Until now, I had changed and prepared many things in my own way in preparation for the Orthodox-Demonic Great War, but I had thought that those efforts might not properly shine.

Because, just like the countless events in history, the actions of a single person couldn't stop the massive flow of the Yangtze River.

Even though I harbored skeptical views myself, I had continued to struggle to change something.

Because I believed that was the only way to erase the guilt-ridden nightmares I experienced in my past life.

And that reckless decision to head to Sichuan was the first thing to change history.

The history known as the 'Sichuan Blood Tragedy' would now be erased from the world.

Perhaps, as was always the case, it would merely be recorded that one of the Murim Alliance's numerous political enemies had appeared and vanished.

Therefore, no one would ever know about the 'Sichuan Blood Tragedy'.

Because there would be no record of how many people were saved, or how many sacrifices were prevented.

No one would give me credit for what I had done.

Even so...

'It doesn't feel bad.'

Before I knew it, the corners of my mouth crept up.

Because of this, innocent civilians would continue their peaceful lives, and a little less blood from warriors would flow in Sichuan.

Furthermore, the vain deaths of those who face the enemy with sheer numbers, like the Minor Orthodox Unit, would also decrease slightly.

'If only that happens, I couldn't ask for more.'

The era of the Orthodox-Demonic Great War in my past life.

Unable to suppress my sense of futility after losing two Minor Orthodox Unit members to the storm-like barrage of attacks from the Blood Demon Squad, I had asked the remaining members why we were fighting.

["The peace of Murim? What dog shit is that! I just want to slack off and collect my monthly salary like before!"]

["Ah, because I miss Jeonghyang from the Hongwol Pavilion. She said she likes that I'm a Murim Alliance member."]

["I've got a debt to collect from this bastard. But he says he'll pay me back when we return to the Murim Alliance?"]

True to their nature as the biggest scumbags in the world, the answers that came back were all incredibly vulgar.

But come to think of it, my answer wasn't much different from theirs.

I just wanted to live.

I wanted to enjoy the peace of the past that would never return once more.

That was all it was.

None of us were promised wealth and glory after the war.

If we were lucky, we survived until the Orthodox-Demonic Great War ended, and if we weren't, we could die as soon as tomorrow.

Just a damn shitty life.

The fact that I had prevented that was more than enough meaning for me.

'From now on... From now on... I'll have to keep erasing the history that is meant to happen.'

I didn't know how many times I would be able to erase it.

Because holding back the currents of the Yangtze River alone would be an impossible task.

Still, if I considered it a costly payback for the debts I owed to my sect and those damned bastards in my past life, any thought of backing down vanished completely, even if it was impossible.

"Huu..."

As I traced my old memories, the faces of the Minor Orthodox Unit members surfaced one by one.

They all had different backgrounds and different statuses, but there was one thing they had in common.

Namely, that they utterly despised bastards who were better off than us.

They were especially sick and tired of the elite graduates of the Murim Academy.

To those from the bottom with nowhere to lean on, there was no way the promising rising stars of decent sects would look appealing.

Furthermore, since academy graduates basically started from the rank of Squad Captain, from the perspective of the Minor Orthodox Unit members, having to bow and scrape to some greenhorn no matter how many years they had served was incredibly infuriating.

"They would all be dumbfounded if they saw me now as the academy representative. Huhu."

Somehow, imagining the expressions of those Minor Orthodox Unit bastards looking like they'd chewed shit made me feel even better.

With my thoughts roughly sorted out, I turned my steps toward the dormitory.

The inner qi in my Dantian had already been fully replenished while I was in Chengdu, but the fatigue layered in my body from traveling to and from Sichuan could only be relieved by resting.

As I was slowly looking around the interior of the academy and heading to where the dormitory was located.

THUD, THUD, THUD, THUD.

I heard quite dull, heavy sounds.

'What is that?'

When I spread the qi senses I had retracted, I felt the qi senses of martial artists between the buildings.

I turned my head and peeked into the alley, where four or five people who seemed to belong to the Five Great Noble Clans were standing around in a circle as if keeping watch.

And in the center of them, two people were tangled up on the ground.

Looking a little closer...

'... They aren't tangled up.'

It was a sight of one side being unilaterally beaten.

The small-framed academy student, whose affiliation was unknown, was somehow trying to fight back, but the large opponent toyed with the small academy student as if mocking him.

'Tsk.'

No matter how much they claimed to stand for the Orthodox faction, as a place where hot-blooded martial artists gathered, it was only natural for fights to be an everyday occurrence.

I, too, had gotten into arguments and fought with the Minor Orthodox Unit members several times when I first joined the Minor Orthodox Unit.

Even so, to see such a scene on the very day I returned from working my bones off saving people in Sichuan...

This wasn't exactly a pleasant thing.

'These bastards dare catch my eye?'

This was the point where I needed to deliver justice to restore my ruined mood.

Plus, acting cowardly in a many-on-one fight in front of me, who cannot tolerate injustice?

CRACK, CRACK.

"Hey, you bastards..."

The moment I was about to step inside while cracking my fingers.

GRAB.

The small-framed academy student grabbed the big guy's hand.

SWISH. WHOOSH— CRASH!

And didn't he slam him onto the hard ground?

"...!"

I could only gape in sheer shock.

It wasn't so much that I was surprised by the small academy student's physical capability, but rather that I couldn't hold back my astonishment at the martial art he had executed.

'What is this?'

The Flowing Cloud Divine Art, which I had learned from the Minor Orthodox Unit's Yayul Jae in my past life and had been putting to good use in this life.

The Lotus of that Flowing Cloud Divine Art had just been executed.

'Why is that coming out here?'