The atmosphere in the venue heavily sank.

Everyone kept their mouths tightly shut, but their expressions clearly showed they were ready to explode with anger at any moment.

"There's no way Black Flame Dragon gathered us here just to make a joke. We should assume he's serious, right?"

The Mado Sect Leader, holding the crumpled paper I had handed over, ground his teeth.

"I feel like we've held back too much all this time. After chattering a few jokes with the Leader, have you already forgotten where you are?"

The Mado Sect Leader was furious, looking ready to flip the table at any moment.

Getting slapped with an unexpected bill would naturally make anyone angry.

The others seemed to be waiting for the Mado Sect Leader to make a move as well.

I stared intently at the Mado Sect Leader.

"Then I have one thing I'm curious about... Why do you think my work is free?"

"..."

As expected of bastards overflowing with the mentality of thieves, they took what they received for granted.

"I am not affiliated with the Underworld Alliance, and the majority of you are trying to start a war with the Murim Alliance, which I belong to. I did this work for you, yet you shamelessly plan to pay no price for it?"

"... T-That's for the sake of both factions'... whatchamacallit..."

"Public interest?"

"Right! Public interest! It was for the sake of that!"

Anyway, they only attach fancy words when it suits them.

"What we signed is nothing more than a peace treaty. It would be a different story if we formed an alliance. Aren't you expecting too much from someone you've only established a temporary ceasefire with?"

"..."

"Regardless, if I hadn't moved properly, there would be very few among you here who would still have their lives intact."

"..."

I handed the Mado Sect Leader a new contract.

While everyone was reading the contracts with expressions like they had chewed on shit, Wang Jubal, who had become the new Leader of the Four Dragons Sect, looked at Hwang Bushik's contract sitting next to him and asked.

"Wait. Why are the amounts different on every contract?"

"Huh?"

"Where?"

Starting with that, the sect leaders examined each other's contracts.

Those with large amounts written down were relatively enraged, while those with half the amount wore slightly relieved expressions.

"What is the meaning of this? Black Flame Dragon!"

I spoke as if it were obvious.

"Isn't it only natural that the amount differs between those who want war with the Murim Alliance and those who want peace? I'm no saint, so there's no need for me to set the exact same price."

Fairness doesn't apply to every situation.

Especially at times like this, one must set differences to create someone who will move first.

"... Even so, five hundred taels of gold is too excessive."

At Hwang Bushik's words, Ilmyeong suddenly hiccuped in surprise.

"F-Five hundred taels of gold?"

No, why are you surprised. I'm not asking you to pay it.

Then he suddenly sent a sound transmission.

"Benefactor Jin, what on earth are you thinking?"

"Regardless, I did do the work, didn't I? Don't worry, I'll share a bit with you too, Senior Ilmyeong."

"... That's not what I'm talking about!"

If he just stayed quiet, I would have taken care of it on my own.

However, the overly worried bald man continued speaking.

"Will they hand over such a large sum of money so easily?"

I wouldn't have even started in the first place if I couldn't get it.

"Black Flame Dragon. I acknowledge that you worked hard. But even for us, we cannot spend five hundred taels of gold on this sort of thing."

As Hwang Bushik came out like this, the others also aggressively jumped in as if they had been waiting for the moment.

"Right! Do you think a thousand taels of gold is just a dog's name?!"

"No matter how out of touch you are with reality, this is crossing the line!"

"Even if we hired a top-tier assassin, fifty taels of gold would be enough to handle the corpse too!"

As expected, it's true what they say about human beings acting differently when entering and leaving the outhouse.

Then again, the Underworld bastards would only be worse, never better.

I swept my gaze over the gathered people once.

"Hmm, it seems the lives of everyone here aren't even worth that much."

The pro-war faction, meaning those who had received the bills for a thousand taels of gold, abruptly stood up with enraged expressions.

"What are you suddenly...!"

"Right! Even so, there's no need to go that far...!"

I tilted my head.

"Could it be that you think there are no more hidden assassins?"

"... Huh?"

The sect leaders instantly froze.

They're quite naive gentlemen for being in the Underworld.

I spoke towards them.

"I never said I caught all the hidden assassins."

"W-What kind of bullshit is that!"

"Y-You clearly said you handled everything!"

"Right! You even drank at the banquet!"

Oh dear, it seemed there was a communication problem.

"I said I handled the 'urgent matter.' The goal was to eliminate the bastards aiming for your necks from up close as quickly as possible, after all."

"T-Then...?"

I lightly nodded my head.

"Of course, there are still hidden assassins left."

The sect leaders trembled as if they were people who just realized the gambling den where they bet and lost the deeds to their houses and lands was rigged.

"How many exactly?!"

"Do I have to tell you that? To people who might become enemies in the future?"

"Y-You bastard, I'll beat you to death!"

I looked at the Mado Sect Leader, who wore a bewildered expression.

"You should have just agreed and accepted it when I suggested an alliance. Then I would have handled everything for free."

"You son of a bitch..."

The minds of the Underworld figures seemed to be more of a flower garden than I thought.

Isn't this much basic?

Everyone in the Minor Orthodox Unit did things like this.

"Well, anyway, since none of you seem willing to pay the amount. I'll be going now."

"Where do you think you're going!"

CRASH!

The empty chairs flew through the air, crashed against the door, and piled up to block the exit.

Wow, did he just use telekinesis?

"The delegation's mission is over, so we must return to the Murim Alliance now."

"You're going back just like this?"

"Of course?"

At my matter-of-fact reaction, the Mado Sect Leader eventually calmed his excitement.

"... What you said. Is it the truth?"

"Do you think it's a lie?"

"It could be a lie!"

The Mado Sect Leader seemed to grow excited again without realizing it.

"Isn't spitting out lies every time you open your mouths the true nature of the Orthodox faction!"

"Do you really think so?"

"..."

The Mado Sect Leader stared at me with the expression of a person searching for the red bean on a gambling table with two cups.

I didn't avoid his gaze either.

"Are you completely certain? That it's a lie?"

All sorts of shouting went back and forth, but it was a simple matter in the end.

"If you think it's a lie, you don't have to pay, and if you think it's the truth, you just have to pay."

A simple fifty-fifty choice.

The only problem was that the stakes involved were your lives.

Because no gambler in the world would start a game betting their own life.

If there were such a bastard, he should truly be considered a real gambler.

STEP.

I took a step forward, shattering the silence that had settled over the crowd.

"Are you absolutely certain it's a lie?"

"...!"

The Mado Sect Leader, who had been glaring at me with bulging eyes, eventually dropped his head.

Once you break one person, it becomes very easy from then on.

I then looked at the other sect leaders one by one.

"If you are certain it's a lie, there's no need for you to engage in this war of nerves with me."

The sect leaders lowered their heads one by one whenever our eyes met.

"Are you certain it's a lie?"

Among the crowd once again submerged in silence, the Mado Sect Leader barely managed to open his mouth.

"... We cannot prepare a thousand taels of gold right this instant."

I knew it!

I calmly replied while suppressing the corners of my mouth from rising.

"I accept physical goods, and I accept bills as well."

There was not a single true gambler in this room.

* * *

As the false charges placed upon the delegation were cleared, it became easier for the leader of the Underworld Alliance to meet the delegation, but the actual number of times they met was small.

The major factions of the alliance, who had been glaring with wild eyes to drag Cha Seokdu down from the position of the leader of the Underworld Alliance, tightly shut their mouths at the appearance of the hidden assassins, and seizing this opportunity, Cha Seokdu exercised his personnel authority as he pleased.

He, who had faced countless restraints just to appoint a single Pavilion Master, thoroughly inserted his own people into the positions that served as the pillars of the Underworld Alliance with Dam-ak's help.

He had dramatically recovered from the crisis of almost losing the position of the leader of the Underworld Alliance due to the checking factions and solidified his place.

The Underworld Alliance was now beginning to take shape as a proper organization.

And the one who made all of this possible was not a figure within the Underworld Alliance, but rather Jin Sowoon, a delegation member of the Murim Alliance.

"..."

"Kuhahahaha. Just how much is all this."

Ilmyeong, with eyes like someone facing the wall in cultivation, watched Jin Sowoon count the bills.

Jin Sowoon's front collar was bulging with all sorts of bills, spiritual elixirs, and treasures he had extorted from the bigwigs of the Underworld.

Even that was only a portion, and they had promised to bring the remaining balance to the delegation's quarters by tomorrow.

It was a truly bizarre sight.

To think that the giants of the Underworld would bow their heads and ask him to "take good care of them" while handing over the wealth in their hands.

In the history of Jianghu, just how many people could have possibly witnessed such a sight?

Ilmyeong barely chased away the worldly anguish invading his mind.

"Benefactor Jin... May I ask you a question?"

Jin Sowoon flinched in surprise and covered his chest with both arms.

"I said I would share, but I cannot give you more than a hundred taels of gold. This is what I earned, after all."

"..."

Just what did this person see him as?

SWISH.

Jin Sowoon covered his body even more firmly with both arms.

"You aren't saying that I don't have to give it to you."

"... I will make sure to use it in a good place aligned with the Buddha's will."

"Tch."

Seeing Jin Sowoon's obvious signs of disappointment, Ilmyeong continued speaking.

"Why did you go out of your way to extort... no, receive the money? It was something you had to do anyway, so wouldn't just doing it for them have been better for the relationship between the two sides in the long run?"

"After coming all the way to the Underworld Alliance and suffering like a dog, shouldn't I return with some sort of gain?"

"..."

Just as Ilmyeong's eyes were about to become even cloudier.

"Ah, of course! There was another reason too!"

Jin Sowoon made a fuss, waving both hands.

At that sight, even the remaining bit of expectation was ruthlessly chipped away.

Whether he knew this or not, Jin Sowoon lowered his arms and spoke.

"Isn't there a need to drain the strength of the Underworld bastards a bit?"

"Strength?"

Due to Jin Sowoon's activities, the wavering the Underworld Alliance was able to solidify its position even more.

Could this really be considered draining their strength?

"To be exact, it's the bastards of the pro-war faction. In the first place, aren't they the type of bastards who will keep clamoring for war if they aren't afraid of the opponent?"

"... Didn't you just provoke their anger further?"

"Human beings are truly funny. Because the thorn stuck under one's own fingernail feels like a greater pain than the suffering of an opponent getting their limbs chopped off."

Before he knew it, Jin Sowoon had erased the smile from his face.

"Do you know who the first ones to die are when a war breaks out?"

"... It would be the people at the very front."

Jin Sowoon shook his head.

"No. It's the weakest people. And the ones who die last are the very people who started the war."

"..."

"If they think they will absolutely not take any damage themselves, humans are beings who can drive thousands, no, tens of thousands of people into places of death for their own benefit."

To Ilmyeong, Jin Sowoon's face somehow looked like that of a person who had lost their emotions.

"Moreover, they are beings who wielded absolute power and military might at the pinnacle of the Underworld Murim. That is why I had to implant this experience in them. The shock that they could be powerless, the fear that they could also take damage."

However, soon after, Jin Sowoon's eyes flashed brighter than anyone else's.

"Then, a sense of hesitation will arise when mentioning war."

In that moment, Ilmyeong felt as if something in a corner of his mind CRACKED and shattered.

His face, which had seemed devoid of emotion, looked detached and radiant, just like the face of one who had realized everything.

... Of course, if not for his bulging front collar.

Ilmyeong eventually voiced the sense of discrepancy he felt.

"If you hate war... wouldn't it have been fine if you hadn't created the Underworld Alliance."

He knew about the full story and the results of the Underworld Night Walk that Jin Sowoon had carried out.

He had reached out to the Underworld instead of Yong So-ah at the final gate of the standard exam.

He couldn't blame everything on Jin Sowoon, but either way, it was an undeniable fact that he had a profound impact on the founding process of the Underworld Alliance.

Jin Sowoon, who had remained silent for a moment at Ilmyeong's question, opened his mouth.

"Senior Ilmyeong, do you think the Murim Alliance is righteous?"

HALT.

Ilmyeong instantly stopped his movements.

It was a topic he had never questioned, or rather, thought he shouldn't question.

It was a simple question, but the implication contained within it was by no means simple.

"... I think they are striving to head toward justice."

"The perspective of someone who has only walked a path of flowers is certainly radiantly positive."

Words like sharp thorns flew in.

While Ilmyeong remained silent, unable to find words to reply, Jin Sowoon's chilling voice continued to fly at him.

"The Murim Alliance I have seen is never like that."

But strangely, that attack did not hurt.

Rather, it felt as though he was pulling out the thorns stuck in his own body to show his wounds.

"To the weak, the Murim Alliance is a place that feels more cold-hearted than the Underworld and more despicable than the heterodox path."

"..."

"The Murim Alliance has been stagnant for too long. That is why it is slowly rotting away."

Just what was this person thinking?

Did he even have the identity of being the representative of the Murim Academy and the elite who would lead the Murim Alliance in the future?

Or was he genuinely thinking of taking the position of Vice Leader of the Underworld Alliance, just like the joke he made at the banquet?

With his bulging front collar bouncing, Jin Sowoon leaned his body forward.

"Do you know what I heard the most when I entered the academy?"

"Wasn't it that you were amazing?"

His achievements could truly be called amazing, after all.

However, Jin Sowoon slowly shook his head.

"They told me I would bring chaos. And that this chaos would disturb Jianghu and tear down justice."

It was a pity, but it was also understandable.

To the establishment who didn't want to be stripped of their wealth and power, Jin Sowoon was a thorn in their side.

Yong So-ah had also wanted to use such a Jin Sowoon to clean up the inside of the Murim Alliance.

"Even so, how could the act of creating the Underworld Alliance be justified?"

At Ilmyeong's question, Jin Sowoon shook his head.

"Do you know that there is a massive pond in the Imperial Palace, and that the most rare and precious fish in the world live in it?"

It was a sudden and unexpected story, but Ilmyeong, intoxicated by the pedantic tone, quietly listened.

"... I have heard of it."

"When bringing fish to this pond, the biggest problem they worried about was the survival of the fish. No matter how much care they took, the fish all died before arriving at the Imperial Palace."

Creatures that live in water are so sensitive that they will die even if the water temperature changes slightly.

It was a fact Ilmyeong also knew, but he was soon drawn into the story.

"The method they used to solve this was to put the natural predators of the fish inside the fish tank."

"... Natural predators?"

Jin Sowoon let out a small laugh.

"Isn't it strange? To put natural predators together with rare fish where not a single one is allowed to die. But when they did that, miraculously, not a single one of those precious fish died until they arrived at the Imperial Palace."

"..."

"They sustained their lives by swimming around frantically to avoid their natural predators."

Ilmyeong, who had been listening to the story, trembled.

A new realization he had never once felt within the Buddhist scriptures struck his mind like a thunderbolt.

Eventually, Jin Sowoon leaned back and stretched his body.

"Of course, the true reason for the Underworld Alliance's existence isn't limited to the purification of the Murim Alliance, but either way, it will have a good influence on the Murim Alliance right now."

"Are you saying there is another reason?"

"... I will tell you later."

"..."

The moment he saw Jin Sowoon's unwavering eyes.

Ilmyeong could be certain.

Just as Ilgak had said, Jin Sowoon truly was an 'enlightened one.'

There was no need to question his actions any longer.

Because he was already looking at the world with a different perspective.

Ilmyeong couldn't even fathom how great of an enlightenment one would have to achieve to dare view the world with a perspective like his.

"Then are you returning to the Murim Alliance now?"

Jin Sowoon answered immediately, as if it were obvious.

"No. I still have work left to do."