Chapter 533

When Unhwi and Ju Soa reached the main gate of the Sichuan Alliance, the sun had already begun sinking beyond the mountains.

The gatekeeper recognized him first.

And froze.

It did not take long to realize what was carried on Unhwi’s back.

Anyone from the Sichuan Alliance could not have failed to recognize it.

That massive frame.

Those broad shoulders.

That disheveled black hair.

“......A-Alliance Leader......?”

Unhwi did not stop.

Passing through the narrow gate, he entered and the inner courtyard of the Sichuan Alliance opened before him.

It was wide.

Martial artists moved about.

It was past noon.

The usual training and patrols continued.

That daily routine was interrupted.

One person saw.

Then two.

Like a ripple spreading silently, the halt spread.

A woman covered her mouth with her hand.

A disciple wearing training clothes dropped his wooden sword.

An older martial artist slowly fell to his knees.

That became the signal.

Those around him followed one by one.

Unhwi walked.

Kang Cheonwoo’s body was large.

The man carried on his back was a full head taller than an ordinary adult.

The weight was not ordinary either.

Yet Unhwi’s steps did not waver.

They did not stop.

He had walked for three days.

And he was still walking.

Toward Alliance Leader’s Hall.

Three days.

That was by no means a short amount of time.

Unhwi had not come only by walking either.

The rumors of what had happened in Kongling, where the Murim Alliance was located, had already swept through the entire martial world long ago.

Without flashy embellishment.

Without added details.

Only the plain facts.

Gun Mugeol and Kang Cheonwoo fought.

Kang Cheonwoo lost.

And he died.

There were those who refused to believe it, saying the truth had not yet been confirmed.

The people of the Sichuan Alliance were the most prominent among them.

But the Kang Cheonwoo that Unhwi carried now.

Did not move even slightly.

Everyone in the Sichuan Alliance lived by the sword.

They were martial artists.

They had fought on the edge of death.

Distinguishing whether this was a corpse or not was not difficult for them.

A sound of crying rose from behind.

It was not loud.

It was a sound trying to be suppressed.

That made it heavier.

When Unhwi reached before Alliance Leader’s Hall, he slowly lowered his body.

Then he carefully laid down Kang Cheonwoo, who had been carried on his back.

His eyes were closed.

They had been closed for three days.

All tension had disappeared from his face.

A very peaceful expression.

As if he were happy.

As if he had done everything he needed to do.

The relieved expression of a man who had let go of everything.

Had the Sichuan Overlord, Kang Cheonwoo, ever worn such an expression before?

His clothes, soaked and stiff from the rain, still carried traces of that night.

“What happened......?”

Unhwi, who had risen to his feet, turned his head.

It was Left Elder Liu Zhenheng.

He had not come at a fast walk.

He had run here.

His breathing was rough.

Behind him was Great Elder Guo Renhe, who had been filling the vacant position of Vice Alliance Leader.

Beside him stood Right Elder Zhu Yishan.

Two other elders holding mid-level positions stood behind them.

None of them had arrived in an orderly manner.

They had clearly heard the news separately, rushed here, and gathered together.

Liu Zhenheng’s eyes first went to Kang Cheonwoo’s corpse.

They stopped.

It was difficult to read what was contained in those eyes.

Sorrow.

Anger.

Or perhaps the inability to believe it yet.

Most likely, it was all three.

Then those eyes moved to Unhwi.

Unhwi stood beside a pillar of Alliance Leader’s Hall.

Thunder Emperor was at his waist.

Kang Cheonwoo’s sword.

Liu Zhenheng did not miss it.

There were no words between them.

Because this was not their first meeting.

If it had been their first, words would have come first.

They had already clashed directly once before.

And Liu Zhenheng had bowed his head there.

That memory lay beneath this silence.

Liu Zhenheng spoke first.

“......What happened?”

“It was a duel to the death with Gun Mugeol.”

Liu Zhenheng’s expression hardened.

“A duel to the death.”

“Yes.”

“......Three days ago, rumors spread that the Alliance Leader fought Gun Mugeol in the rear garden of the Murim Alliance and lost...... Was that true?”

“It was.”

Unhwi did not deny it.

Because it was the truth.

More importantly, Kang Cheonwoo had not died a humiliating death.

He had not lost through cowardice.

It had been a fight between men.

Liu Zhenheng slowly walked toward the corpse.

He knelt.

He placed his hand on Kang Cheonwoo’s clothes.

His hand trembled.

He tightened his fingers to hide it.

But it was useless.

Only after a long time did he raise his head.

“......The rumors only said that he lost. How great was the difference?”

“Half an inch.”

“Half an inch.”

“Yes. And he went standing, like the Overlord he was.”

Liu Zhenheng closed his eyes.

Guo Renhe turned his head away.

Zhu Yishan only bit his lips.

They had been with Kang Cheonwoo for a long time.

They knew what it meant that he died standing after losing by half an inch.

After a while, Liu Zhenheng stood.

He turned around.

His eyes returned to Unhwi.

This time, they were different.

They were the eyes of someone who had decided something.

“Blood Heaven Arbiter...... No, Young Master Seol.”

“Yes.”

“I have one thing to ask.”

“Ask.”

“How did that sword come to be at your waist?”

It was a direct question.

Unhwi removed Thunder Emperor.

He held it with both hands.

He walked toward Liu Zhenheng.

But he did not place it before him.

He set it down beside Kang Cheonwoo’s corpse.

Near Kang Cheonwoo’s right hand.

“The Alliance Leader gave it to me.”

“......The Alliance Leader.”

“Yes. Along with the records containing his martial arts.”

The atmosphere in the courtyard changed instantly.

Liu Zhenheng closed his mouth.

Guo Renhe frowned.

One of the mid-level elders who had just arrived drew in a breath.

The martial arts records.

This was not merely an object.

Before being called the Sichuan Overlord, Kang Cheonwoo had already been the king of Sichuan.

His personal martial arts represented his authority.

And until now, he had never passed them on to anyone.

He had no disciple.

Yet he handed them to a living outsider?

And together with Thunder Emperor, the sword that represented the beginning of Kang Cheonwoo himself?

There was a separate procedure for transferring the position of Alliance Leader.

But if he had handed those things over before a duel to the death, the meaning was clear.

Kang Cheonwoo knew he would not return alive.

And he asked Unhwi to protect Sichuan.

No.

He entrusted it to him.

Liu Zhenheng drew in a long breath and slowly released it.

“......Then, Young Master, are you saying...... you intend to serve as acting Alliance Leader?”

“I was asked to take the position.”

“Will you accept?”

“I cannot find a reason to refuse.”

Liu Zhenheng examined Unhwi from head to toe.

He had looked at him that way before.

Back then, it had been hostility.

Now it was different.

It was the gaze of someone measuring something.

“Young Master Seol.”

“Yes.”

“I will speak honestly.”

“Please do.”

Liu Zhenheng stepped forward.

The distance between them narrowed to within several steps.

“I still do not trust you.”

Unhwi said nothing.

“Your words last time were correct. That I was playing on Gun Mugeol’s board. That was true. That was why I lowered my head.”

“I know.”

“But that and trusting you are separate matters.”

Liu Zhenheng’s voice lowered.

“Even if the Alliance Leader entrusted something to you, a person from the Blood Heaven Sect sitting as acting Alliance Leader of the Sichuan Alliance is an entirely different matter. The Sichuan Alliance is not merely a faction. It has dozens of subordinate sects and thousands of martial artists. Do you think all of them can bow their heads to one person?”

Unhwi looked at Liu Zhenheng.

Words like these were natural.

They were the correct words to say.

He answered calmly.

“If there is no reason for them to bow, they do not need to.”

Liu Zhenheng narrowed his eyes.

“What do you mean?”

“What is needed right now is not an acting Alliance Leader.”

It was a somewhat unexpected answer.

“What matters is who is present. And.”

Unhwi glanced once toward Kang Cheonwoo.

Then he looked back at Liu Zhenheng.

“Isn’t the funeral the priority? The Alliance Leader of the Sichuan Alliance has returned. That is what must be done first.”

“.......”

“And after that, the matters that follow should be handled afterward. More importantly, I believe everyone needs to properly understand the situation that has occurred.”

Liu Zhenheng closed his mouth.

Unhwi looked around.

“Not only Left Elder Liu. Everyone here has thoughts and common sense. If so, you should know what comes first.”

“.......”

“If you do not, then you should learn. I do not wish to stain my hands with blood from the beginning.”

Some foolish ones who had not yet understood the situation were about to object.

But the two people with the sharpest perception here were:

Great Elder Guo Renhe.

And strangely enough, Liu Zhenheng.

The two raised their hands and stopped the others.

This was not the time to argue.

Because Kang Cheonwoo’s corpse was right before their eyes.

Speaking about power in such a situation was inappropriate.

But it was something that had to be addressed at least once.

Unhwi intended to serve as acting Alliance Leader of the Sichuan Alliance.

He did not intend to ask for approval.

Those who followed him would be embraced.

Those who did not would be removed.

That was all.

And the words about staining his hands with blood were merely a shortened version of that.

Liu Zhenheng and Guo Renhe looked at each other.

Then they gave a short nod.

Guo Renhe stepped forward.

“I am late in introducing myself. I am Great Elder Guo Renhe of the Sichuan Alliance.”

Unhwi looked at him and answered.

“You are Senior Guo, the Mount Tai Iron Sword.”

“Do you know me?”

“How could I not? The fame of Senior Guo, who subdued Mount Tai, reached even the snowy mountains.”

“......It was something from decades ago...... But hearing it said that way is not unpleasant.”

After saying that, Guo Renhe asked,

“As you said, the funeral comes first. But considering the matter at hand, would it not be better to discuss things while preparing the funeral?”

Unhwi nodded.

Certainly, Guo Renhe understood the situation.

That was not bad.

Perhaps that was why he was Great Elder.

“Let us do that.”

Guo Renhe nodded.

Then he turned toward Kang Cheonwoo.

And gave a low clasped-hands salute.

The final respect offered to the Sichuan Overlord.

That day, white lanterns were hung throughout the Sichuan Alliance.

By evening, news began spreading to the subordinate sects.

That Kang Cheonwoo had died.

That Unhwi had personally brought back his corpse.

That Thunder Emperor and his personal martial arts were now in Unhwi’s possession.

The reactions were divided.

There were those whose first emotion was sorrow.

The old martial artists of the Sichuan Alliance were among them.

Those who had been with Kang Cheonwoo for a long time.

Those who had learned martial arts beneath him.

They prepared the funeral throughout the night without saying a word.

There was a kind of sorrow where words simply could not come.

There were also those whose first emotion was anger.

Anger toward Gun Mugeol.

Anger toward how the duel to the death had been allowed to happen.

Anger over why they had failed to stop it.

That anger was sometimes directed toward Unhwi as well.

There were also those whose first emotion was doubt.

Several elders holding mid-level positions gathered quietly and spoke.

Not about whether they trusted Unhwi.

But about how this situation should be understood.

Unhwi left all of it alone.