By Zephyria 
The petals fluttered down as if drifting on the wind, appearing merely beautiful.
However, each softly swimming petal was actually sword energy concealing a chilling sharpness. They captured every eye with a sudden feast of light, only to reveal their blades when the time came.
Following the tip of the Plum Blossom Sword Master’s blade, a cluster of blossoms swept through the enemies like a storm.
“Aaaagh!”
Forgetting his fatigue, Gang Woong cheered and hopped up and down. In an instant, the Hwasan Sect turned the tide and swept away the Demonic humans.
“Senior Uncle! Senior Cousin! …Master!”
Among the plum blossoms embroidering the sky, the most radiant person was undoubtedly Baek Ryeo-il.
“…”
Seong Mu-yeon looked at him too. Standing at the vanguard and showcasing the most magnificent sword energy, he was a handsome man with deep eyebrows that formed an elegant curve. His waist was moderately slender, and his lower body was firm, creating a perfect harmony.
Eyes that held the red light filling the surroundings turned directly toward him. Without hesitation, he found Seong Mu-yeon instantly.
“Seventh Young Mas… ugh!”
Before he could finish his sentence, a graceful hand flew out and gripped his throat, forcing Peng Yuan-jin to shut his mouth.
“Be quiet. This is a touching moment, isn’t it?”
It was a strange thing.
The moment his eyes met Baek Ryeo-il’s, the fog that had filled Seong Mu-yeon’s mind cleared instantly. Unexpectedly freed from the control of the Flowering Bone, his memories from that time remained vivid.
There had certainly been several moments where he almost escaped the enchantment. However, the intense presence of Baek Ryeo-il had awakened his spirit in one fell swoop.
As he took in the sight of the man who looked more gallant than anyone else here, Seong Mu-yeon felt a sting in the bridge of his nose.
He was such a special person.
No matter what adversity struck, he felt at peace as long as that man was by his side, and a strong belief surged that any problem could be easily solved.
Unlike the overwhelmed Seong Mu-yeon, Baek Ryeo-il gave him a brief glance, judged that there were no major issues, and proceeded to eliminate the Demonic humans alongside the Zegal Clan, the Habeok Peng Clan, and the Black Shadow Unit.
At that cold attitude, Seong Mu-yeon’s shoulders trembled unconsciously.
‘He must be very angry…’
If it could soothe his heart, Seong Mu-yeon was willing to vomit out all the resentment and anger accumulated over three years. He could listen to as much as he wanted. He would apologize profusely, practically groveling, and then see how Baek Ryeo-il would react. That would be enough.
Seeing that Baek Ryeo-il couldn’t coldly ignore him when he was in danger and eventually rushed over with his fellow disciples, it was clear that his heart hadn’t completely drifted away.
“Seventh… Young Master…”
At the heavily suppressed voice coming from beside him, his good mood sank instantly.
“I believe that when a person commits an evil act, they must pay the price. What do you think, Young Master Peng?”
“…Ugh.”
Even while lifting a man taller than himself with one hand, Baek Ryeo-il didn’t seem to struggle at all. He looked serene, as if the man were as light as a feather.
“Do-hwan!”
Peng Yuan-jin shouted.
At that, Peng Do-hwan, who was in the middle of combat, snapped his head up and leaped rapidly into the air.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Baek Ryeo-il, who was nearby, immediately blocked him. As the sword energy he unleashed shot over the other’s head, Peng Do-hwan twisted his body violently in mid-air, changed direction, and landed back on the ground.
“…Why is he like that?”
“I-I’m not sure either…”
When Baek Ryeo-il asked, Gang Woong shook his head.
Only after the Hwasan Sect joined did people have the leisure to look around. Soon, they discovered two people standing at the very top of the cliff.
“Seong Mu-yeon! This must be your doing! Return Do-hwan this instant!!”
“Hmm, he’s definitely from the Peng Clan.”
A middle-aged man, who looked impatient at a glance, shouted while spitting.
Since Peng Yuan-jin had been wearing a bamboo hat draped with black cloth, it was certainly difficult to recognize him from a distance. It was inevitable that Seong Mu-yeon, whose face was fully exposed without any cover, would be noticed first.
“Wait right there! I’ll crush you into bone powder immediately…”
The Peng Clan middle-aged man screamed at the top of his lungs. However, he only shifted his body, seeming to have no real intention of climbing the canyon. Seong Mu-yeon tuned him out. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the other side, where someone was barely catching their breath.
“But why is the Zegal Clan here?”
Even in a state of enchantment, their presence was so alien that it sparked a question.
The Peng Clan could be understood since their nephew was captured, and the same went for the Black Shadow Unit. Il-gwang would have stubbornly claimed a spot with his fanatical loyalty.
But he truly could not understand the Zegal Clan.
“I’ll grind the powder, blanch it in lava, feed it to a dog, and then…”
The anger-filled curses of the Peng Clan were crossing the line.
Unfortunately for them, since the curses were directed at the person who made Peng Do-hwan that way, they had no impact on Seong Mu-yeon. Moreover, the distance was so great that he had to strain his ears to barely understand what was being said.
Meanwhile, Peng Do-hwan was pinned down by Baek Ryeo-il, struggling on the ground. Every time he flailed his limbs, the ground was gouged and dirt flew.
What was even more incomprehensible was when a member of the Zegal Clan suddenly lunged at the middle-aged man and began to choke him. Judging by the attire and aura, it seemed to be the Family Head. As the two middle-aged men of similar age began to tear at each other, it was an utterly unsightly scene.
Someone rushed out from the crowd in a panic.
“What about the Sixth Young Master!”
It was Bang Gyeom. He tilted his head back and asked Seong Mu-yeon, who was standing in the dizzying heights.
Their eyes definitely met, and though the man had heard his voice, no answer came. Bang Gyeom asked again in a desperate voice.
“Excuse me? Is the Sixth Young Master inside?!”
Seong Mu-yeon felt a sharp pain in his chest. Seong Mu-jae could not return.
And then, rage surged. Seong Mu-yeon’s eyes were fierce as he glared at Peng Yuan-jin.
He wanted to twist his neck right now. He wanted him to meet death in the blink of an eye, without time to resist, without experiencing sorrow or agony, just as Seong Mu-jae had.
He hoped there was no afterlife prepared for him. He hoped an infinite darkness would swallow his spirit so that he wouldn’t even realize he had died…
As his inner self shook with passion, his Jin-gi reacted, causing the surrounding air to begin swirling.
“Kill me.”
Peng Yuan-jin spoke in a wheezing, suppressed voice.
“You must want revenge. You must want to kill me. Do it. Just as you wish to do so, I simply wanted my revenge.”
“…”
“Now that I have achieved my desire, it is enough. Even without me… that person will surely achieve the great cause, so watching from the afterlife will be sufficient.”
He wore a faint smile, looking half-enlightened, as if he truly had no regrets about dying. Facing that smile, the rage that had risen to the top of Seong Mu-yeon’s head conversely subsided.
“I see.”
Seong Mu-yeon twisted the corners of his lips upward. His eyes were still ominous, but with a smile layered over his face, he looked downright malicious.
“Are you trying to escape through death again? Unlike before, this time I will truly kill you with my own hands, so there will be no room for excuses.”
Instead of twisting his neck, Seong Mu-yeon pulled down his bamboo hat. The black cloth of the hat fluttered in the night wind.
Seong Mu-yeon scoffed.
“Unifying the Central Plains to establish the Demonic Cult’s Reign?”
If left as is, that would certainly happen. The Demonic Cult would dominate the martial world, just as Peng Yuan-jin desired. He knew this through the original story. Even if it were eventually overthrown by Baek Ryeo-il, the Demonic Cult’s Reign would last for a considerable period.
“I will not kill you. Survive and give it your absolute best.”
Seong Mu-yeon wore a deep smile. Then, he loosened his grip. The black bamboo hat slipped through his fingers, fluttering as it grew smaller.
People’s gazes gathered on the black object drifting down.
“What is tha… gasp.”
Someone with keen eyes recognized the face of the man with Seong Mu-yeon and gasped.
“…Is something wrong with my eyes? Is that the dead Young Master Peng standing there?”
Violent reactions erupted everywhere in disbelief. Naturally, the most shocked were the Habeok Peng Clan.
“Yuan-jin…”
The effort of hiding his face after faking his death had now become useless.
“Now people know your true face. There is no way out. How about it? The Third Young Master must absolutely achieve the great cause, mustn’t he?”
“…”
Peng Yuan-jin’s expression hardened.
Compared to the Venomous Ox-Demon General, the Left Horse General’s name, appearance, and very existence were not well known. However, through this incident, the existence of the Left Horse General—who wore a bamboo hat and gave orders to the Demonic humans as the head of the rescue party—was clearly imprinted.
And for that Left Horse General to be the Peng Clan’s son who was thought to be dead.
“You should stay alive and see with your own two eyes whether that wish is fulfilled or not.”
The Demonic Cult would certainly dominate the martial world.
‘If left as is,’ that is.
“But that dream will not come true. I will stop it.”
Even if he didn’t step forward, the world would eventually return to peace.
With that thought, Seong Mu-yeon had intended to stay quietly behind the scenes, holding his breath until the storm subsided.
He believed that the burning of numerous sects in the martial world and the loss of peerless talents during the rise of the Demonic Cult were things he, as a mere individual, could not prevent.
To Seong Mu-yeon, who knew that peace would be restored before long, all those misfortunes were merely the inevitable birth pains of the era.
However, there was a great difference between knowing it in his head and actually experiencing it firsthand.
Every nameless person who perished, whose story couldn’t even be captured in a single line of text, was a precious life. The Sixth Young Master, Seong Mu-jae, was such a being.
The atrocious new Cult Leader had killed even his own brothers with his own hands.
With that one concise description, his life was flattened and erased. The days he lived, the words he spoke, and even his final choice were crushed into a single lump.
It was the same for Seong Mu-yeon.
“I will no longer stand by. And you will not be able to run away; you will be dragged out to pay the price for what you have done until now.”
“…”
Peng Yuan-jin glared at Seong Mu-yeon with menacing eyes.