“Well, well…”

Amidst the chaos of the panicked guards, Life-Stealing Ghost Sword, who had been waiting outside the Council of Elders, burst into laughter.

“It seems he finished things cleanly.”

He placed a hand on the split outer wall of the Council of Elders building. Even from the cut surface, a chilling sharpness radiated, keen enough to slice flesh even now.

At that sword strike, which felt almost ecstatic, Life-Stealing Ghost Sword licked his parched lips, feeling the competitive spirit and exhilaration that any martial artist would inevitably feel.

“…I really did choose my liege well.”

“This Sword Clan.”

The declaration made in the Grand Assembly Hall, the very heart of the Council of Elders.

“Belongs to me, Grand Young Master Yeon So-hyeon.”

If the Grand Young Master had uttered that declaration just moments before the voting results were announced, the hostile elders would have scoffed. Even the elders who supported the Grand Young Master would have disapproved.

But,

Now.

At least, in this moment.

It was so accurate, so exquisitely timed,

That not a single elder,

Dared to even open their mouth.

“From this moment forward.”

The Grand Young Master’s icy blue gaze swept over the assembly.

“…”

It was just a look.

But to the elders, that gaze felt as if they were being sliced by a sharp, blue blade.

“Remember this.”

Embedding those final words into the minds of the elders, the Grand Young Master turned, his black coat fluttering, and departed from the Grand Assembly Hall.

“…Hoo.”

It was impossible to know who let out the first sigh.

But only after hearing that sigh—

“…Haaah.”

“…Hmm.”

—did everyone realized they had forgotten even to breathe.

Sounds of exhaling burst out sporadically from here and there.

Cough, cough.

Covered in the dust that had fallen from the cracked ceiling, the elders began to stir.

“Now, now.”

The first to come to his senses and move was, “As the Grand Young Master said,” none other than Elder Ham, the Deputy Head of the Grand Young Master’s faction, “—to celebrate the inauguration of our faction, there will be a banquet at the Wongakjeong this evening. Please, do not forget.”

“Ohh…!”

At those words, colors rushed back into the faces of the elders of the Grand Young Master’s faction, who had also been momentarily stunned.

“Is the Grand Young Master finally opening Wongakjeong?”

“We’ll be able to see the scenic wonders of Wongakjeong that we’ve only heard about…!”

When a faction was inaugurated, being mocked by fellow elders or being pointed at, these were something they had prepared themselves for. However, thanks to the Grand Young Master’s single strike—

“I heard there’s a hot spring of the highest quality inside Wongakjeong. Is that true?”

—far from ridicule, the inauguration of their faction was announced with not just success. Instead, it was a grand success. It was a moment of tangible realization.

“Haha. Well, we’ll have to check that for ourselves, won’t we!”

“Haha, indeed!”

Would the elders of the Great Luoyang Sword Clan, accustomed to all kinds of pleasure and luxury, be excited by a mere banquet?

“Let’s drink until our noses are crooked tonight!”

“Of course!”

They simply couldn’t help but express the chillingly delightful thrill that had come a beat too late, even if it meant making a fuss.

Yes—

Their gazes involuntarily drifted toward the entrance of the Grand Assembly Hall.

—That person.

The entrance through which Grand Young Master Yeon So-hyeon had just left.

My—

He is our leader!

Even considering the terrifying name of Second Young Master Yeon Ja-cheong, the leader of the Second Young Master’s faction was not him. Instead, it was his mother, Grand Matron Ouyang, one of the mistresses of the Luoyang Sword Clan.

Regardless of the surprise announcement Third Young Master Yeon Jeok-gwang was preparing, the leaders of the Third Young Master’s faction were his biggest patron, Elder Namgung Hyuk-cheon, and key figures from the former Martial Righteous Alliance.

But.

For them.

The Grand Young Master himself, the leader of the Grand Young Master’s faction, had proven his superiority with a single sword strike, making him the most suitable candidate to lead the Luoyang Sword Clan.

“Now, now. Today is a joyous occasion to announce the internal inauguration of our faction, but…” Deputy Head Elder Ham shifted his gaze from the elders of the Grand Young Master’s faction to the rest of the elders present in the Grand Assembly Hall. “We are all members of the same Sword Clan. If anyone wishes to congratulate us, for today only, we will extend our warmest welcome and offer the courtesy due to family!”

That statement, too. If the Grand Young Master hadn’t demonstrated the Great Supreme Retired Patriarch’s sword strike, it would have been better left unspoken.

But,

Now, things were different.

“So.”

Deputy Head Elder Ham flashed a smile, revealing his gold tooth, and spread his hands.

“Please don’t feel burdened. I hope you all come with a light heart and enjoy the banquet to the fullest!”

And then.

Before any reaction could come—

“Well then, let’s go.”

—the elders of the Grand Young Master’s faction flocked out of the hall.

“Ha…!”

“Those bastards…!”

The elders of the Third Young Master’s side, who were hostile towards the Grand Young Master, jumped up and pointed fingers. However, their efforts were futile. All the elders of the Grand Young Master’s side had already departed. As the Yeon Clan elders prepared to leave, without uttering a single word, they failed to even consider collecting the body of their clan elder, who had been brutally split in two and succumbed to death.

It was as if a procession of the deceased was being led out of the hall. To think that the once formidable Yeon Clan would find itself in such a dire state in an instant…

With faces the color of death and eyes like lifeless fish, they filed out of the hall, and no one dared to intervene.

Finally, once they were all gone—

…Hah.

The elders opened their mouths.

“That was incredible.”

“It was a faction inauguration that will be counted among the most memorable in my life.”

Someone shook their head from side to side. “I had heard rumors that the Grand Young Master was hiding his martial arts.”

“To think he crossed the wall at that age.”

“Are you certain he crossed the wall?”

“It wasn’t just any martial art. It was the Great Supreme Retired Patriarch’s martial art.”

“It’s a martial art you can’t even imitate without crossing the wall.”

“My word…” Among the elders, many of whom were of warrior origin, that story was bound to be the hot topic. “Surely, did the Great Supreme Retired Patriarch pass it down to him personally?”

“Hoh. If that is the case…”

And.

The whispering voices that began here and there spread rapidly through the entire Grand Assembly Hall, igniting like fire in a dry autumn field.

“…What do the elders of our faction intend to do?”

“What do you mean…?”

“Don’t pretend not to know. I’m talking about the banquet at Wongakjeong tonight.”

“Hmm…”

Reading the room and seeing that the atmosphere wasn’t entirely negative, the elders cautiously revealed their true thoughts.

“It is a bit uncomfortable, but…”

“They aren’t asking us to join their faction, are they?”

“We’re just going to congratulate them.”

“True…”

“I’m curious about the interior of Wongakjeong. I wonder how beautiful it must be to be so famous.”

As the atmosphere in the hall began to take on a strange quality, the elders of the Third Young Master’s side expressed their bewilderment.

“Surely! By any chance!”

A quick-tempered middle-aged elder from the Third Young Master’s side raised his voice, addressing the buzzing assembly.

“Don’t tell me any of you are swayed by that nonsense and actually planning to sneak into Wongakjeong tonight?!”

“Think about it!”

Another elder from the Third Young Master’s side chimed in to help him. “What will happen if that arrogant Grand Young Master gains even more influence here?!”

They raised their voices, desperate to change the strange mood.

“The force the Grand Young Master has secured so far is only thirty percent!”

“If the rest of us band together tightly, we are seventy percent!”

“No matter what the Grand Young Master wants in this Council of Elders from now on, we can overwhelm him!”

But,

Despite those words, the elders’ reaction was lukewarm.

“No, look. It’s not like we said we’d join the Grand Young Master’s faction…”

“We just thought it wouldn’t hurt to go and offer congratulations.”

The gazes of those grumbling were by no means friendly.

“When a new clique or faction is inaugurated, congratulating them is a kind of custom…”

“Even so.”

“Aren’t you reacting too sensitively?”

At those words, the middle-aged elders of the Third Young Master’s side, who had been trying hard to turn the tide, bristled.

“What…?!”

“So. You mean to go and congratulate that Grand Young Master bastard who dragged mud into the Council of Elders, caused this mess, and humiliated us…?!”

“Are you out of your minds?!”

Bang!

The middle-aged elder slammed his fist on the desk, exclaiming, “Where did you all sell your pride?!” He raised the hand that had struck the desk and pointed outside, through the gap created by the Grand Young Master’s sword. “What do you think people outside will say when they look at our Council of Elders?!”

Before this, countless people had gathered for unknown reasons. The defeat of the Council of Elders, coupled with the Grand Young Master’s sword strike, which was clearly visible even from a distance, was bound to spread like wildfire.

“Are we going to hear people say that the defeated dogs are now wagging their tails at the Grand Young Master?!”

As such blatant and vulgar expressions began to come out.

“Hey…! This man?!”

“Isn’t that going too far?!”

Even the elders who had been watching silently jumped up from their seats. “Wasn’t it the Third Young Master’s side running wild that made this mess bigger in the first place?!”

“And why are you slyly including us on your side?!”

“Do you think just because we took a hit from the Grand Young Master, we’ll go running to the Third Young Master’s side?!”

“Have you forgotten that we were neutral on the issue of the Main Clan’s successor from the beginning?!”

Facing a backlash far greater than expected—

“N-No. That’s not it…!”

“We just meant…!”

—The middle-aged elders of the Third Young Master’s side were flustered.

Because of the Grand Young Master’s blatant and public provocation in the morning, it seemed they had united as one.

But as they said.

They were people who had never been one.

“What do you mean ‘that’s not it’?!”

“For a successor’s faction, you couldn’t even properly check the Grand Young Master, you ruined things to this extent, and now…!”

From the Grand Assembly Hall, which was turning into a chaotic scene, a commanding voice boomed. “Please refrain from making hasty remarks.” Those who had been fiercely criticizing the Third Young Master’s side fell silent one by one. “On behalf of our Third Young Master’s faction, I, the second-in-command of the faction and the former Vice-Leader of the Martial Righteous Alliance, extend my deepest apologies to you, esteemed Elders.”

“…Ahem.”

“Hmph.”

When a man of such immense authority offered such a sincere apology, even the agitated elders no longer felt compelled to waste their energy on this matter.

“Then, we will accept your apology. We will take our leave first.” With those words, the elders of the Third Young Master’s side who were still seated rose in a group. “Of course, just as our Third Young Master’s side also received congratulations upon our inauguration in the past, as is customary.”

The old master of the previous generation spoke in a gentle and composed voice. “We will not point fingers at any elders who choose to attend the inauguration banquet of the Grand Young Master’s faction. However…” He spoke earnestly, as if genuinely concerned for the other elders. “Even if we refrain from pointing fingers among ourselves. How others outside will perceive it…” He narrowed his eyes and surveyed the hall. “I trust you, fellow Elders, will understand better.”

Leaving those words behind, he led his faction members out of the hall.

No one noticed that the old master’s narrowed eyes lingered on the trace left by Grand Young Master Yeon So-hyeon before he departed. The Grand Assembly Hall, initially plunged into silence, soon erupted into a cacophony of noise.

“…Ahem.”

“I should get going.”

“Let’s go get a late lunch together.”

“You all have worked hard.”

It was filled with the noise of elders leaving the hall in droves.

Elder Hwang Mok, who had presided over the meeting, watched the retreating backs of the elders. After a moment of silence, he addressed the Head of the Council of Elders, asking, “How many of them do you think will attend the Grand Young Master’s banquet?”

But,

There was no answer. The Head of the Council of Elders appeared possessed, unable to tear his eyes away from the scar left by Yeon So-hyeon.

“Head of the Council of Elders?” Elder Hwang Mok finally asked.

Only then did the Head of the Council of Elders snap out of his trance and respond. “We’ll have to wait and see how many of them attend. However,” he said, kneeling down and carefully touching the trace of the Quaking Foot left by the Grand Young Master. “From this very moment,” he continued, touching it with an almost reverent attitude.

“There is no doubt that the order of the Main Clan is being established anew.”