“Ah... why do you keep doing things that make me truly worry?”

Strangely, Chief Seong looked perfectly fine.

“Do you feel anything?”

“...Breathing is a little uncomfortable, but aside from that, nothing.”

Unhwi’s eyes narrowed.

“Aside from breathing, nothing?”

“...Yes. Nothing.”

Chief Seong blinked under Unhwi’s still-narrowed gaze.

“Truly... nothing.”

Was it because he was only a martial artist of the Heaven and Man realm that he felt nothing?

He did consider that for a moment, but only for a moment. Reaching the Heaven and Man realm meant one could sense the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Even if one could not use it, one could certainly detect a certain degree of change.

Then this was fundamentally a truly different problem.

Unhwi raised his hand.

A strand of spherical energy rose from his fingertip.

An energy of absolute purity.

Void-Origin Energy.

The moment it took form, it burst with a crackling sound.

“...”

The Chaotic Heaven Gate.

In that place where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was twisted, tangled, and knotted together, only “Void-Origin Energy” was being affected.

He wiped a hand down his face.

“...Young Master...? Are you all right...?”

He did not answer.

There were no coincidences in this world.

When every situation that had unfolded was fitted together, the outline of the truth hidden in darkness emerged.

Unhwi had already noticed that outline.

This Void-Origin Energy was certainly an energy Unhwi had created alone.

An energy close to the source.

An original energy of Unhwi’s own, created by condensing enlightenment again and again.

However, in the process of making it, countless things had influenced him.

As mentioned once before, Unhwi had previously used the Vast-Empty Innate Blood Heart Method.

This was a heart method made by combining the Primordial Innate Heart Method he had obtained in the secret realm with the Blood Demon Heavenly-Hand Heart Method of the Original Blood Sect.

With this heart method, he had created and operated Void-Origin Energy.

Now, after obtaining the true chapter of the Primordial Innate Heart Method, the first thing Unhwi had done was dissolve Void-Origin Energy into the Primordial Innate Heart Method.

That task had been easier than expected.

Since it was an energy more than half created by the Primordial Innate Heart Method in the first place, there was no reason dissolving it would be difficult.

What mattered most here was the other half.

The heart method of the Original Blood Sect.

It had been influenced by that, and the one who created it was the Cult Leader, Heaven’s Chosen One.

“...I hoped it wasn’t.”

He had truly hoped it was not.

“What do you mean?”

“...Chief Seong.”

“Yes, Young Master.”

“I am sorry, but step back for a little while.”

Chief Seong scratched his head, nodded, and walked back to where he had been.

Left alone, Unhwi looked at the empty clearing.

Whether his question became certainty, or the outline revealed itself.

Those things came second. Right now, he had to focus on the present.

What Unhwi was seeing in the clearing was nothing else.

Void.

It looked like a gate, yet it was not a gate. It was a hole.

A hole pierced through the world.

Unhwi silently knelt on one knee °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° there and placed his palm on the ground.

Slowly, he sent Void-Origin Energy into the earth.

Deep.

And deeper.

And then he felt it.

...What is this...?

There was an enormous empty space.

A space outside space.

When one rose to the Five Godly Realms, one came to understand space. That thing called space was extremely profound, divided and divided again.

Like that of a secret realm.

This, too, was the same as that.

No.

It was slightly different.

A place where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth swirled.

An excessively unpleasant space.

For a moment, he wondered if this was where the Chaotic Heaven Ones were, but he immediately shook his head.

Not the place where the Chaotic Heaven Ones were.

The place they came out from.

The Chaotic Heaven Ones that would appear at the next emergence were somewhere else, then came out through this place.

Crossing from space to space.

Unhwi withdrew his hand and stood.

He now wanted to learn more about this space in detail.

He turned and left the clearing.

Bang Seokun approached him.

“Mysterious Snow Palace Lord, are you all right?”

“I am.”

“...What did you feel?”

Unhwi looked at Bang Seokun.

“When the Chaotic Heaven Gate opens, are there any signs other than the omens you mentioned earlier?”

“Other signs?”

“Yes. I want to know specifically what changes occur.”

Bang Seokun thought for a moment.

“Hmm... first... if I speak in order, the ground shakes.”

“The ground?”

“Yes. It vibrates faintly. And the air grows heavy.”

“...”

“After about one quarter-hour passes, that becomes stronger. Martial artists who have learned martial arts suffer internal energy reversal, and the ground’s vibration grows even greater. At that time, we spread out around the clearing where the Chaotic Heaven Gate will appear. At least twenty rods.”

“And after that?”

“After another quarter-hour passes, light flows out from the center of the clearing. Black light.”

“Black light.”

“Yes. That light gradually grows larger, then at some point explodes. It may burst within half a double-hour, or it may burst after one double-hour. What matters is that it bursts, and when it does, the gate opens.”

Unhwi nodded.

“How long does the gate remain open?”

“One double-hour at most.”

“Meaning the Chaotic Heaven Ones pour out during that time.”

“That is correct.”

“Because you have spread out around the Chaotic Heaven Gate, many Chaotic Heaven Ones must slip through.”

“That is right.”

“And because chasing them means you must first deal with those before your eyes, you must reform your battle line.”

“...Yes.”

Unhwi looked back at the clearing.

Right now, Unhwi was thinking something very dangerous.

The minimum of one double-hour during which the gate opened.

Could he enter beyond the gate during that time?

He shook his head.

It was uncertain. If the gate closed, he might be trapped, and yet his mind kept inclining toward it.

Because he had to find out.

He had already learned much up to now, but accordingly, the questions had only deepened.

That was why Unhwi decided now.

If the gate opened next time, he would enter beyond it.

There was nothing more to ask.

Unhwi turned.

“I will go now. Thank you for your hard work.”

“You honor me!”

Bang Seokun bowed deeply.

The other martial artists also gave formal salutes.

“Glory to the Mysterious Snow Palace Lord!”

“Glory to the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace!”

Cheers.

Voices filled with reverence.

Unhwi passed them by.

Chief Seong, Ju Soa, and Namgung Wonyang followed.

The four walked.

Toward Windwall.

After they had walked for a long while, Chief Seong cautiously asked,

“Young Master, what did you feel?”

Unhwi was silent for a moment.

Then he opened his mouth.

“The Chaotic Heaven Gate is not a gate.”

“...Pardon?”

“It is a hole. A hole pierced through the world.”

“A hole...?”

“During the Thousand-Year Chaos, the world was twisted, and that distortion created a hole.”

Chief Seong lost his words.

Ju Soa and Namgung Wonyang also looked shocked.

“And.”

Unhwi continued.

“Beyond that hole are the Chaotic Heaven Ones.”

For a while, they could not understand Unhwi’s words.

Of course the Chaotic Heaven Ones were there. What else would be there?

But at Unhwi’s next words, they understood everything.

“When the gate opens next time, I will enter.”

“Young Master!”

Chief Seong spoke urgently.

“That is too dangerous!”

“I know.”

“If the gate closes, you may be trapped!”

“I know that as well.”

Unhwi’s voice was firm. 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

“But I must enter.”

Chief Seong looked at Unhwi.

Deep eyes.

A troubled expression.

But.

At last, he lowered his head.

“...Understood. I will enter with you.”

“No.”

“Pardon?”

“Chief Seong will wait outside.”

“But...”

“That is an order.”

Unhwi’s voice sank coldly.

Chief Seong closed his mouth.

Ju Soa spoke.

“What about me?”

“You will wait outside too.”

“Ah... yes.”

Namgung Wonyang also lowered his head.

“I will do the same, my lord.”

Unhwi nodded and moved his feet.

He had to enter alone.

There was a clear reason for this.

He did not want to put the others in danger.

And even if he ended up trapped, if he was alone, he could do his utmost.

Actions taken while there were many things to protect, like now, and actions taken when there was nothing to protect, were bound to be different.

So he walked.

Toward Windwall.

***

Snow was falling.

A cold wind blew.

Unhwi lifted his head and looked at the sky.

A cloudy sky.

Endless gray.

Even after returning to Windwall, the weather was unchanged. The far northern weather, influenced by the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Mountain, was almost identical to that of the Chaotic Heaven Region.

Silently, he headed to his lodging.

He opened the door and entered.

Unhwi sat down.

He looked out the window.

Snow continued to fall.

The Chaotic Heaven Gate.

The Thousand-Year Chaos.

The distortion of heavenly energy.

And my regression.

Everything was connected.

But the whole picture still could not be seen.

The Thousand-Year Chaos that ended seven hundred years ago.

And the Chaotic Heaven Gate that appeared five hundred years ago.

The two-hundred-year gap between them.

Unhwi closed his eyes.

He traced the memories of his previous life.

Five hundred years ago.

What had happened then?

What remained in the records was—

...The Great Murim War.

A great war between the righteous factions and the evil factions.

A war in which tens of thousands died.

That had been five hundred years ago.

Was heavenly energy distorted then as well?

There was no certainty.

It was only a conjecture.

In some way, it had to connect to “him.”

Only then would the hypothesis be complete.

It was still lacking.

Information.

That was what he needed.

Unhwi opened his eyes and stood.

Then he opened the door and went out.

He had to find Seol Muryun.

There was something he needed to ask him.

***

Seol Muryun’s private room.

He knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

He opened the door and entered.

Seol Muryun was drinking tea.

“You came.”

“Brother.”

“Sit.”

Unhwi sat.

Seol Muryun poured tea.

“What is it?”

“There is something I wish to ask.”

“Me?”

“Yes.”

“Hmm... how rare. Someone who knows as much as you asking me something... Very well, ask.”

“Are there documents recorded about the Chaotic Heaven Gate?”

“Documents?”

“Yes. Records from when the Chaotic Heaven Gate first opened, or research materials about it.”

Seol Muryun thought for a moment.

“...They should be at Seolhwa Mountain Manor.”

“At Seolhwa Mountain Manor?”

“Yes. Manor Lord Man Seokcheong keeps all materials related to the Chaotic Heaven Region.”

“...”

“If you wish to meet him, I will arrange it.”

“Thank you.”

Seol Muryun took a sip of tea.

“But what are you trying to find out?”

“The secret of the Chaotic Heaven Gate.”

“...”

“And the identity of the Chaotic Heaven Ones.”

Seol Muryun’s eyes narrowed.

“Have you discovered something?”

“...I have.”

Unhwi hesitated for a moment.

But.

He decided to speak.

Because he trusted his second elder brother.

“The Chaotic Heaven Ones are martial artists who died during the Thousand-Year Chaos.”

Seol Muryun’s hand, holding the tea, stopped abruptly.

For a moment, he thought he had misheard.

“...What?”

“The hundreds of thousands of martial artists who disappeared during the Thousand-Year Chaos. They were eroded by the distortion of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and became Chaotic Heaven Ones.”

Seol Muryun’s eyes widened.

“...Is that... true?”

“I am certain.”

“How did you know?”

“I fought a Chaotic Heaven King. It used the martial arts of Qingcheng Sect.”

“Qingcheng Sect?”

“Yes. Taiji Profound Void Sword. Yin-Yang Transformation. Return to One Toward Heaven. All of them are sword arts of Qingcheng Sect.”