"I want the Namgung to survive."

"What?"

Zhuge Hyun was rarely flustered.

The usual Baek Sowol might have felt triumphant seeing that, but now, perhaps because she had become serious, she showed no such sign.

"You want to save the Namgung, so does that mean you will stand on the same side as the Martial Alliance?"

"That is not it."

"Then do you mean you want to save the Namgung while being hostile to the Murim Alliance?"

"That is correct."

"Hah."

Zhuge Hyun tried to predict Baek Sowol's thoughts.

He found answers with various possibilities, but since there were too many cases, he decided to ask directly.

"Why?"

"That is..."

At Zhuge Hyun's question, Baek Sowol could not easily answer.

What she held in her heart was hatred.

But the final appearance and miserable end that Namgung Jehyun had shown weighed on her mind.

Seeing that, Zhuge Hyun grasped Baek Sowol's current state.

A state of wanting to do something but not knowing why.

Zhuge Hyun chose the best answer he could give now.

"For now, I will give you the answer to what I want."

The optimal move that could be chosen for the present, which suited Baek Sowol's current state while saving the Namgung family.

"Wipe out the Namgung family with your own hands."

In a way, it could be called a Zen-like question and answer, but this was the best move that Zhuge Hyun had chosen.

Hearing those words, Baek Sowol's impression was naturally frowned upon.

---

At the residence of Zhuge Wuhyun in the inn where Baek Yoonjun was staying.

There, the owner of the room, Zhuge Wuhyun, and Zhuge Hwaryeong were sitting facing each other.

"What is it, Miss Hwaryeong?"

"I have something I want to ask."

The two, who had different roots but shared the surname Zhuge.

The two had shared their circumstances to some extent.

Even so, there was a question that remained unsolved for Zhuge Hwaryeong.

Zhuge Hyun.

She had heard a lot about the notoriety of a past figure with the same name.

Of course, since the eras were different, she could predict that they were not the same person.

Even so, the actions of the current figure named Zhuge Hyun were extraordinary.

"Who is that person, Zhuge Hyun?"

Therefore, Zhuge Hwaryeong brought up a fundamental question.

"That person is."

Having been asked the question, Zhuge Wuhyun answered without a moment's hesitation.

"He is an interesting person."

"Interesting?"

Interesting.

It seemed like a random thing to say that had nothing to do with the situation, so Zhuge Hwaryeong was puzzled, but she couldn't say anything at Zhuge Wuhyun's rather serious appearance.

"That person looks down on the whole world, and even if he says something that seems to have nothing to do with the situation, it ends up being right, so he is an interesting person to be with, who is hard to see with a normal yardstick."

Although Zhuge Wuhyun added an explanation, it was still a difficult explanation to understand.

"He is an amazing person."

In the end, Zhuge Hwaryeong could only react ambiguously.

"Anyway, since Miss Hwaryeong also has the surname Zhuge, you will meet him soon."

"Hmm, it doesn't feel real."

"Because that person has a deep attachment to the surname Zhuge. It won't be bad."

Hearing Zhuge Wuhyun's words, Zhuge Hwaryeong looked reluctant, even though it didn't feel real.

Zhuge Hyun.

That name was a name she had heard continuously even before hearing it from Zhuge Wuhyun.

From not-so-good rumors to rumors that were hard to believe a person had done.

To Zhuge Hwaryeong, Zhuge Hyun was the unknown itself.

"So, how about you also join the Zhuge family, Miss Hwaryeong? Since you are a direct descendant, you can also take the qualification of the family head that I have."

Although she didn't know Zhuge Wuhyun's ulterior motive of stealthily passing on his position, that suggestion did not particularly resonate with Zhuge Hwaryeong.

To Zhuge Hwaryeong, the surname Zhuge was just a surname to remember but to hide.

"...I'll think about it. It doesn't feel real for now."

"Take your time to think about it."

Fortunately, Zhuge Wuhyun did not continue to persuade her.

'Fortunately, he's not continuing to persuade me.'

Zhuge Hwaryeong was relieved inside.

What was important to Zhuge Hwaryeong now was not Zhuge or anything else, but finding Baek Sowol.

'That scary woman I saw at Shaolin... it was Sowol, right?'

Zhuge Hwaryeong recalled the woman she thought was Baek Sowol, whom she had caught a glimpse of at Shaolin before.

Before, she had definitely been taller, but now, Baek Sowol looked taller and more mature than her.

In addition to the mature atmosphere, a sharp energy that made it hard to talk to her carelessly was felt.

'What on earth happened to Sowol?'

Baek Sowol in her childhood certainly had a bold side that did not match her age, but the Baek Sowol she had caught a glimpse of at Shaolin looked so murderous that it was hard to express with just 'bold'.

'From what I saw briefly then, it seemed she also knew Great Hero Zhang Sanfeng...'

Although Zhuge Hwaryeong had stayed at the Baek family clan, since she was not directly related, she had no exchange with the Namgung.

Therefore, she also did not know about the existence of Namgung Cheon, which was Zhang Sanfeng's original name.

'I want to ask, but it seems a little difficult given the atmosphere...'

Zhuge Hwaryeong's mind was complicated.

The existence of the Zhuge family and Zhuge Hyun, and on top of that, the completely changed Baek Sowol.

'It's frustrating.'

Zhuge Hwaryeong had met Zhuge Wuhyun to try to solve even one of the questions she had, but the questions were not solved and only deepened.

---

The open space behind the inn.

There, Su Yeohyang was swinging her sword.

Su Yeohyang's mind was complicated.

-Yeohyang, until now, Emei has not been very active in the world, but I don't think we can do that anymore.

Jihwa Shinni was a master who still called her name Yeohyang instead of Hyang, but she was like her parent.

The story that such a being had brought up seriously was heavy.

-I think you also know how the world is turning now. Emei has also been swept up in that chaos, and I think you will be at the center of it.

The world that Su Yeohyang had seen had not had a single peaceful day.

But there were almost no cases where Emei was directly involved.

'At best, it was about joining the Martial Alliance and then leaving.'

In its own way, Emei could be seen as having been peaceful, away from the storms of time.

But.

'The disaster of Shaolin. Even though I didn't see it directly, it was tragic.'

Shaolin, which had a fairly close relationship with Emei.

The disaster that happened there.

That incident did not seem like someone else's business to Su Yeohyang.

The question of what would happen if such a thing happened to Emei right now filled her head.

The image of the sisters who had been laughing and talking collapsing, covered in blood, came to mind.

'No, no. There's no way such a thing will happen.'

It was something that had not happened.

But in Su Yeohyang's mind, only unpleasant thoughts kept coming up.

To such a Su Yeohyang, someone approached.

"It seems the senior sister of Emei has many worries."

"Senior Brother Hyejin. I've shown you something unseemly..."

The man who had approached, Hyejin, scratched his hairless head at the dark-looking appearance of Su Yeohyang.

"Unseemly? I am the one who is sorry for continuously showing a lacking appearance as the youngest in the group."

"Senior Brother Hyejin, please put away your humility. I think you are doing your part sufficiently."

Since Emei and Shaolin, where the two belonged, were sects that had originally started as Buddhist sects and had frequent exchanges, the two talked with relatively little distance.

The fact that their ages were the youngest, except for Hong Yungae and Zhuge Hwaryeong, also played a part in their getting along.

Su Yeohyang confided her worries to Hyejin.

"I am worried because I am in a position that does not suit my station."

"You have the same worries as me."

"Senior Brother Hyejin, you have the same worries as me?"

At Hyejin's words, Su Yeohyang was very surprised inside.

Although Hyejin was the youngest in the group, because of his mature-looking appearance, he looked quite dignified.

Although she was surprised inside, as if Hyejin could read Su Yeohyang's thoughts, he smiled awkwardly and opened his mouth.

"Although I am the head disciple at Shaolin, there is no one in the current group who is not formidable, is there? It's not that they're giving me a hard time, but as the youngest, I'm feeling quite a bit of pressure."

"They are not the type to give you a hard time, but it's certainly a bit much to just stay still."

Su Yeohyang vehemently agreed with Hyejin's words inside.

"I kept wondering if it was okay for me to come to a place like this representing Shaolin."

"I felt the same way."

For a while, the two talked, empathizing with each other.

And so, time passed.

"It seems it will be hard to stay still as the youngest."

Hyejin quietly stood up from his seat.

After standing up, he took a ready stance as if for a duel.

"That is certainly true."

Su Yeohyang, who was empathizing with Hyejin's thoughts, saw that and stood up from her seat and took a ready stance.

"What we can do now is."

"To improve our skills."

And so, in the backyard of the inn, the two relatively young man and woman of the group quietly continued their duel.

---

While Baek Yoonjun's party was spending their own time in Zhongnan the day before the decisive battle.

Clang! Clang!

One of that party, Gu Wolju, was at a blacksmith's.

Unlike the place Tang Yuhwa had used, in a blacksmith's with a larger scale, Gu Wolju was continuously hammering iron, showing off his blacksmithing skills to the fullest.

"Phew, with this, I've roughly prepared the equipment."

Gu Wolju finished his work by hammering the iron and shaping it.

By his side, quite a lot of weapons were lined up.

From swords to iron fists and flying daggers.

"The armament for the members of the alliance has been roughly produced."

Unlike Baek Yoonjun, Hong Yungae, and Gu Wolju, who had their own unique weapons, the armament of the other members was poor.

In fact, it was armament that their own factions had provided for them, but in the eyes of Gu Wolju, in whose bones the soul of a blacksmith was deeply embedded, it just looked lacking.

"Especially Great Hero Zhang. Since he is using a sword that does not match his martial arts, his full skills cannot come out."

Gu Wolju picked up a sword that could be called his masterpiece among the scattered armament.

The sword, from which a sharp blue energy flowed, had the Big Dipper carved on it, and it shone with a faint blue light as if it contained the energy of exorcism.

"Your name is the Jinmu Sword."

Gu Wolju named the sword with a satisfied smile.

The Jinmu Sword.

A sword he had been planning continuously since he had visited Mount Wudang and seen a shrine there.

That shrine was a shrine dedicated to the Great Emperor Zhenwu, who was called the devotion of the Black Tortoise.

'The strongest martial god who beat up monsters with the devotion of the Black Tortoise...'

Gu Wolju had been forging the sword, associating it with the Great Emperor Zhenwu.

But continuous failure.

In the middle of that, he met Zhang Sanfeng, and the plan for the Jinmu Sword, which had been blocked until now, flowed without obstruction.

The core of the Jinmu Sword was exorcism.

The day the Big Dipper shone with a blue light, it would cut down evil things, and the hilt, decorated with the Black Tortoise, was made to protect its owner from evil things.

Gu Wolju continued his thoughts with a pleased smile at the fact that what he had been planning for a long time had revealed itself to the world.

'As expected, even if an armament worthy of being called a divine object is not made, its owner is set.'

He recalled the two masterpieces he had made before the Jinmu Sword, the Black Iron Dark Night and the White Iron Sword.

'I was also able to make those two swords after meeting their owners first.'

As for the Black Iron Dark Night, the plan came to his mind as soon as he saw Baek Yoonjun, and he was able to make it.

A sword that contained the night sky itself.

And yet, a sword that did not lose its light even in the pitch-black night sky.

'It is a sword that no one but the Immortal can handle.'

Gu Wolju nodded his head, recalling the masterpiece of his life.

'On the other hand, the Baekcheol Cheongju is...'

In the case of the Baekcheol Cheongju, it was a bit ambiguous for Gu Wolju.

It was a masterpiece, but even Gu Wolju, the creator of that plan, did not fully grasp it.

'In a way, a clear sky that gives hope to people, in another way, a cloudless sky that will dry up and kill everything without a single drop of rain.'

Recalling the Baekcheol Cheongju, whose direction was not set even after it was completed, Gu Wolju smacked his lips bitterly.

'This time's Jinmu Sword is exorcism itself. It is a sword that is perfectly suited for Great Hero Zhang, who holds the mystery of the Taiji.'

Gu Wolju shook off the bitterness he had gotten from the Baekcheol Cheongju with the Jinmu Sword.

---

And so, each member of the party spent their own day the day before the decisive battle.

And the next day.

"Let's slowly depart."

Led by Gu Wolju, Baek Yoonjun's party headed to the place of the decisive battle.

At the rear, Baek Yoonjun followed, dawdling.

'Ah, I don't want to go.'

Unlike the party members who held their own resolutions in their hearts, he was looking for a hole to escape.

(End of Chapter)