Yangsuljin’s eyes curved gently.

“I see. It seems I’ve needlessly troubled Your Majesty’s heart.”

“It’s fine. You may go.”

“Yes, sir.”

Even as he turned, Yangsuljin’s eyes remained softly curved.

Seol Jungcheon’s words had confirmed it.

No—he should have been certain long ago.

Who was the one person in all of Murim that Seol Jungcheon cherished above all others?

Seol Unwi.

Whether Unwi had become the scapegoat of Seolap or otherwise, not once had Seol Jungcheon let a report concerning Unwi pass him by.

He always looked into it. Always asked about him.

His attitude was starkly different from how he treated the other heirs of the Extreme Branch.

That much alone was enough.

Yangsuljin’s steps were light. As he turned, a smile crept onto his lips. But it wasn’t a simple smile. The corners of his eyes arched high, and his lips twisted ever so slightly. His face contorted into something between ecstasy and madness.

The rewards soon to come.

The things soon to fall into his hands.

Just imagining it twisted his expression further, as if some long-hidden madness had burst to the surface.

And then—like a mask slipping back into place—it vanished.

With his usual serene expression, Yangsuljin walked quietly onward.

That, too, was happiness—and madness.

***

It was like lava rushing through his veins—an agony that wrapped Seol Unwi’s entire body.

The sensation wasn’t unfamiliar.

He had experienced it many times in his past life. But this time was different. This wasn’t a natural transformation. It was a forced rebirth—something even Unwi had never undergone before.

Crack—crunch.

Grotesque, bone-deep sounds echoed through his body as it prepared to transform.

Bones shattered. Meridians ruptured.

Even as pain like torn flesh wracked his body, Unwi steadied his breath. This was the moment his wretched body would be born anew.

He had to maintain serenity. He had to keep a clear mind.

Scarlet energy engulfed his form—ancient, spiritual energy forged through ten thousand years. It seeped into every fiber of his being.

The meridians came first.

The thickened wild meridians began to refine and expand. The flow of his internal energy changed—like a rough dirt path being polished into a smooth silk road.

Like a dam breaking, the energy of the flower swept through his wild meridians. Impurities were purged, and the meridians grew increasingly clear.

Next came the muscles. Unwi felt his body reconstruct itself. Muscle fibers unraveled and were rewoven, stronger than before. He had experienced this process many times in his past life, but with the power of the ten-thousand-year flower, the changes reached far deeper.

Finally, the bones began to shift. His skeleton subtly twisted and reset itself. Stronger, more flexible—it transformed.

How much time had passed?

Unwi slowly opened his eyes. The crimson energy had faded. Now, a clear aura enveloped him.

He raised his hand.

It felt completely different from before. No longer feeble. Not perfect, but at least now, it was a body he could command at will.

Yes.

A body he could control.

It could no longer be constrained by the level of Five Dragons Attending the Sacred One (Oryong Bongseong).

He had to go further.

Unseoljeon was silent. The massive wall of ice surrounding his body was evident—but that was all.

It was Seol Jungcheon’s doing.

And Jungcheon must have realized exactly what Unwi intended. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have created such a barrier.

It was good.

To walk alongside someone whose vision aligned with his own.

Unwi closed his eyes again.

His Chongmaek and Daemaek meridians had already fully opened in the state of Oryong Bongseong.

To be satisfied with just that—he might as well die.

His consciousness turned inward—toward his back.

Where the Dokmaek lay.

The level of refinement brought on by the ten-thousand-year flower surged up his spine.

At first slow. Then faster.

Boom—!

His rising energy struck a barrier—like a wall. But Unwi did not panic.

It was expected. This was the Dokmaek.

Understanding bloomed within him.

Do not retreat when blocked. Simply flow onward.

His energy didn’t try to break through the wall. It seeped in instead.

Like water slipping into cracks in stone—natural and slow—the Dokmaek opened.

Simultaneously, Unwi directed energy toward the Inmaek. The meridian stretching from chest to navel responded differently. Like a blooming flower, it opened gradually.

Boom—

A deep resonance echoed from within his body. With both Dokmaek and Inmaek open, his energy began to circulate perfectly.

The energy ❀ ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) climbed up his back, passed through his crown, flowed down the front of his body, and gathered again in his lower dantian.

And then—the true change began.

The internal energy that had been circling within Seol Unwi’s middle dantian began to flow downward.

The middle and lower dantians collided violently at first, but soon, naturally—

Just like ice melting into water, the two slowly began to become one. The middle and lower dantians had begun to unify.

Rumble.

Though he was not consciously aware of it, the ice barrier surrounding Seol Unwi began to tremble.

A small vortex formed by the circulating inner energy was striking against the barrier.

He smiled.

Seol Unwi slowly opened his eyes.

The vortex of energy naturally seeped into his body.

Three Flowers Gathering Purity.

He had attained it.

***

The walls of ice that had surrounded the area scattered into smoke, as though they had never existed in the first place.

When he rose to his feet, what he saw was his father seated by the window of Unseoljeon, quietly drinking tea.

“Sit.”

“Yes.”

He sat across from his father. The fragrance of tea lingered gently in the air as his father’s deep gaze turned toward him.

He waited.

Because it seemed his father had something to say.

“Your growth is truly remarkable.”

“You flatter me.”

“No. That’s not flattery. Undergoing a complete transformation from consuming the Ten-Thousand-Year Flame Pearls is one thing—but immediately raising your cultivation realm afterward? That, I can say with certainty, is not something just anyone can do.”

His father’s eyes locked onto his.

“No matter how much one has regressed, putting theory into practice is an entirely different matter. I thought you were extraordinary—but in truth, I underestimated you.”

He was used to praise. Most people called him a genius, said he was exceptional—but no compliment had ever made him smile.

Because there had always been one person from whom he had truly wanted to hear such words.

And because he had never heard them from that person.

So now, at this moment, he could smile from the bottom of his heart.

“Thank you, Father.”

Setting down the teacup in his hand, his father spoke quietly.

“I wish to hear the opinion of the Heavenly Soul Middle Executor.”

At the word “opinion,” his mind flinched for a moment. Because it wasn’t simply a gesture of respect—this meant his father was fully acknowledging his past life.

In that previous life, the position he had held was second to none and above all others.

From that seat, he had made countless decisions, and those decisions were always absolute.

His father was being completely serious—so he had to be just as serious.

Soon, his father slowly began to speak.

After the recent invasion at Viper Valley, an internal operation to root out spies had begun within the Baekryeong Guard.

During that, spies were uncovered from the Martial Alliance, the Sichuan Alliance, and the Central Blood Sect.

Naturally, his father had sent them official communiqués—and received unsatisfactory replies.

Now, he was asking what the proper course of action would be going forward.

Seol Unwi pondered for a while, then opened his mouth.

“First, I’d like to know—what were you planning to do?”

Without hesitation, his father answered.

“I was going to erase five branch units of the Martial Alliance and five of the Sichuan Alliance from the world. And as for the Central Blood Sect—I planned to embed spies of our own.”

He paused to think.

“That plan is most likely based on the belief that the current status of Everlasting Snow Palace has fallen greatly. Am I correct?”

“Exactly.”

“You must have believed that neglecting the affairs of the palace while chasing the legends left by the previous generation led to this situation—and that now is the time to make up for it. Is that correct as well?”

“You’re quite perceptive.”

He shook his head. This wasn’t something to be praised for. It was simply obvious.

What did the truly powerful figures in the martial world do?

There were those like Seo Hyo, who plotted and schemed—but that was because they lacked power.

Those who truly had power acted with brutal simplicity.

If there was an enemy, they went and killed them. If a sect needed to be destroyed, they destroyed it.

His father was no different.

In his past life, his father had indeed neglected the palace’s affairs. He had left openings—and the enemies had not missed them.

If five branches were destroyed, it would deal a significant blow. And embedding spies within the Central Blood Sect would not be particularly difficult.

Because he was here now.

But these actions could return with a cost far too great in the future.

“You asked for the opinion of the Heavenly Soul Middle Executor, so I will speak plainly. Father—right now, Everlasting Snow Palace is like a sandcastle, held together only by the faith people have in you.”

“That’s also true.”

“Which is why, right now—you must remain silent.”

“...Remain silent...”

In the past, when he had been in Seolap, he had sought out and killed anyone he had marked as an enemy.

He had exterminated the four major sects of Yangnyeong, killed the county chief, and hunted down even the foot soldiers beneath him.

So for someone like him to now advocate for silence might seem strange—but he had never acted without thought. Not even now.

Silence was the correct answer at this moment.

“I’ll explain the reason now.”

“I’m listening.”

“Everlasting Snow Palace may be a sandcastle—but if it unites as one, even if the Central Blood Sect remains out of reach, we can certainly contend with the Martial Alliance—and absolutely annihilate the Sichuan Alliance.”

His father’s eyes gleamed.

“That’s how you see it?”

He nodded.

“But at present, we would lose. Whether it’s against the Martial Alliance, the Central Blood Sect, or even the Sichuan Alliance—we would lose.”

“Why is that?”

“Because we’re not united.”

“...Hmm...”

“The internal division has already gone deep. There are things—things that even Hyunshim and you have not fully grasped.”

In his past life, Everlasting Snow Palace had been reduced to ashes. It had truly crumbled like a sandcastle.

How could that have been possible?

Could someone like Yang Seoljin alone have made that happen? Nonsense.

There had to have been accomplices.

On the outside—and on the inside.

The external threats didn’t matter. Those were already clear.

But the internal ones... were a problem.

“Do you trust me?”

His father answered without the slightest hesitation.

“I do.”

“Then trust me—and remain silent.”

“Remain silent... So you’ve already formed a plan, haven’t you?”