Chapter 377

Chapter 377 – That Day (4)The origin of the Three Veins of Heaven-Earth Moon Society can be traced back to the fall of the Old Murim.

After the day of the great calamity, hundreds of martial arts sects were wiped out, and countless martial artists perished, their numbers beyond count.

However, those who barely survived that day became the roots of the current martial arts world.

Originally, Heaven Vein, Earth Vein, and Moon Vein were derived from one source.

Yang Biryu, the Keeper of Martial Records.

He was a man of outstanding martial prowess who managed the hidden martial records, considered the most important in a group that pursued pure martial arts.

He was able to become the Keeper of Martial Records not only because of his martial skills but also because he had been castrated, unable to have children, and had lost his sight, unable to see.

As the hidden Keeper of Martial Records for the martial arts group he belonged to, he lived and ate in a deep underground chamber, only coming out once every six days for a single day of rest.

“He essentially lived there, didn’t he?”

-That’s right.

Yang Biryu, who guarded the martial records, went out for his day of rest as usual, but he had to face a shocking reality.

The massive martial arts library, the manor, and even the city that should have been above were all gone.

Being blind, the only scents he could detect were the heavy smell of blood, a pungent odor he had never encountered before, and the smell of burnt ashes.

-Shocked beyond measure, he wandered for three days and nights looking for survivors, but eventually realized he was the only one left and departed from that place.

Although he had become unable to have children, he had sworn loyalty to this massive organization that had taken him in despite being born blind. The reality was too shocking, but he couldn’t stay in a place where no one else remained.

As he left the ruins, after much deliberation, he decided to take one secret martial arts manual that he had been guarding.

Unable to let this sole remnant and important secret manual of the organization be lost, he wandered the world with the mission of handing it over if he ever found a survivor.

However, even after ten years, no survivors appeared.

While searching for survivors, he happened to find three orphans on the brink of starvation in a poor village, and after saving them, he took them under his wing.

“Don’t tell me they are?”

-Yes. They are the three founders of Heaven-Earth Moon Society’s branches.

Coming from a poor village, they had no family names, only given names.

Yang Biryu, who took them in, raised them like his own children out of loneliness, and even taught them his unique martial arts so they could protect themselves.

Despite teaching them martial arts, Yang Biryu, unable to reveal his origins, did not tell them the name of the martial art.

-Even after taking in these children, he continued to wander for a long time. Unable to find any survivors, he eventually passed away from old age and illness in a small village.

As he died suddenly without leaving any last words, the three siblings he had taken in were left with many worries.

Yang Biryu, who had many secrets, didn’t tell them much, so they didn’t even know who he was looking for. After deliberation, they decided to burn it.

They had never dared to touch what their adoptive father had called “unthinkable,” so they tried to destroy it out of respect for his wishes.

However,

-Their agreement did not go as planned.

“Was it greed after all?”

-For those who had learned martial arts, it was nothing short of the ultimate treasure. Only after Yang Biryu’s death did they first see its contents, and they simply couldn’t overcome their desire.

“So that’s how they split up?”

-That’s right.

Taking one character each from their adoptive father Yang Biryu’s name for their surnames, they became the founders of Heaven Vein, Earth Vein, and Moon Vein, and for a long time, they were in conflict over possessing the secret manual.

As they continued to oppose each other for a long time and their scale grew, they also began to face external enemies.

Because of this, in later generations, they judged that it was meaningless for the three branches with the same roots to keep fighting, and they made a treaty.

That was the duel at the Unification Ceremony.

They agreed to reunite the three divided branches into one Association, and the one who leads this Association would possess this secret manual.

That secret manual was the Eight Thought-Shattering Techniques.

***

And so, the day of the final duel to determine the Society Leader quickly approached.

The location for the duel was the training ground of Moon Vein.

For Master Ryu Gang, this day held a special significance.

Just eight years ago, he had lost all motivation, believing that Heaven Vein would take everything.

But now, everyone saw Moon Vein’s junior head as the likely Society Leader.

‘My dear. Hun. Our So-wol has grown so much.’

It’s been over ten years since they passed away, so why do I miss them so much now?

With this thought, he went to the separate building where their memorial tablets were placed.

As he entered the building, he stopped abruptly in surprise.

The reason was that someone was inside the separate building.

[You?]

It was Bi Yong-heon, the junior head of Heaven Vein.

He had thought he would be preparing for tomorrow’s final duel, so why was he here?

As he wondered, he saw Bi Yong-heon staring intently at something and gritting his teeth.

-Grind!

Then Bi Yong-heon came out and met him face to face.

[Master.]

[What brings you here?]

[…… I came to pay my respects to Brother Hun.]

[Ah, I see.]

The junior head before Ryu So-wol was Ryu Hun.

That’s why Bi Yong-heon, who had competed with him several times and built a friendship, was here.

Knowing this, Master Ryu Gang nodded in understanding.

But the place where the memorial tablets were located wasn’t in that direction, so why had the junior head of Heaven Vein been looking in a different direction and getting angry?

[I’ll be heading back to the guest quarters now.]

[Very well.]

After sending him off, Master Ryu Gang entered and let out a faint sigh.

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What Bi Yong-heon had been looking at was none other than the portraits of Ryu So-wol and the man she liked.

He had hung their portraits to show them to his deceased wife and son.

Seeing this must have been quite disheartening for him.

Moreover, although it wasn’t intentional, in the portrait, Ryu So-wol was wearing a bridal gown, which must have made it even worse.

‘This is unfortunate.’

He was well aware that Bi Yong-heon, the junior head of Heaven Vein, liked Ryu So-wol as a woman.

That’s why the clan leader of Heaven Vein must have made such a proposal.

But they,

‘Are not destined for each other.’

Even if Bi Yong-heon, the junior head of Heaven Vein, were to win the final duel, he would never win So-wol’s heart.

That’s how firm her heart was.

***

[Aaaaaaargh!]

Ryu So-wol looked up at the sky and shouted as if roaring.

All the members of Moon Vein on the western side cheered at her roar.

And for good reason, as she had finally won the final duel.

The final duel was incredibly intense.

This was because Bi Yong-heon, the junior head of Heaven Vein, had also managed to break through the wall in the past year, just like her.

If she hadn’t made painstaking efforts over the past year, she might have lost.

However, after nearly two hours of fierce battle, she emerged victorious.

‘I won…… I really won……’

Ryu So-wol was overjoyed.

Her preparation, based on the assumption that the junior head of Heaven Vein would become as strong as her, had paid off perfectly.

Breaking through the wall was a realm of enlightenment, and many couldn’t reach it even after decades of training, but she was certain that he would reach the same realm as her.

[Haa…… haa……]

After roaring and savoring her joy, she looked at Bi Yong-heon, the junior head of Heaven Vein, who was sitting on the ground.

He must be deeply disappointed.

This duel was different from the previous ones.

It was the occasion to determine the leader of the three branches and the owner of the Eight Thought-Shattering Techniques, the ultimate secret manual.

And,

‘It was your last chance to have me.’

But with this defeat, the proposal made by the clan leader of Heaven Vein became null and void.

Ryu So-wol, who had been staring at Bi Yong-heon, approached him.

Although she didn’t like him as a man, and they had been fighting for their respective clans, he was also a long-time friend.

There would be no more need to fight him, so it was time to embrace him.

She extended her hand towards Bi Yong-heon, the junior head of Heaven Vein, and said,

[Take my hand……]

-Shudder!

At that moment, Ryu So-wol felt a chill down her spine.

Bi Yong-heon had raised his head and was glaring at her with murderous intent, tears in his eyes.

Even if he was disheartened by his defeat, could he be this agitated?

To the bewildered Ryu So-wol, Bi Yong-heon opened his mouth.

[You…… You…… have…… finally…… driven me…… to the edge.]

[…… Yong-heon.]

[Don’t…… call me that.]

[You……]

-Smack!

Bi Yong-heon slapped away the hand she had extended.

Then he stood up on his own, cupped his hands in salute, and left the training ground.

Watching his retreating figure, Ryu So-wol was gripped by an odd sense of foreboding.

Why did his demeanor not feel like mere disappointment?

***

Three months had passed since then.

During this time, the Unification Ceremony of the three branches had proceeded normally, and Ryu So-wol, who was about to have her inauguration ceremony as the Society Leader, wore an expressionless face.

Hwa Yeon, the head of her guard, looked at her with sympathetic eyes.

[Sigh.]

Ryu So-wol was smoking a pipe, something she had never done before, burning tobacco leaves.

The thick smoke surrounding her spoke of her depressed mood.

After the final duel, she had hurried to meet her lover at their usual place, but she returned a few days later deeply heartbroken.

It was because he hadn’t shown up.

Feeling as if she had been abandoned, she was immersed in sorrow and grief, secluding herself for nearly eight days before finally coming out.

Since then, she had been constantly smoking her pipe with an emotionless face, staring intently at the Eight Thought-Shattering Techniques and practicing it.

‘Ah, Young Lady.’

The sight was utterly pitiful.

She could only hope that she would overcome this.

By the way, since the Eight Thought-Shattering Techniques was said to be the ultimate secret manual, they naturally thought she would be practicing techniques or something similar, but she had been just reading it continuously.

Although she wondered what could be written in it to make her act like this, she hoped that practicing martial arts would help her forget her sorrows, so she didn’t ask about it at all.

Besides, she didn’t have the right to ask in the first place.

But as it was late at night, nearly dawn, Hwa Yeon cautiously broached the subject.

[Junior Head, no, Head…… Tomorrow is the inauguration ceremony, wouldn’t it be better if you got some sleep? I’m worried you might fall ill from exhaustion.]

[Don’t worry about it and go to sleep.]

[How can I, your guard, sleep before you?]

[Then just leave me be. It’s not like I’ll die from lack of sleep.]

[……]

Her voice was ice cold.

Was it her deep sorrow that had made her like this?

Hwa Yeon could only watch her sadly until the late hours of dawn.

***

Dressed in the formal attire and crown prepared for the inauguration ceremony, she looked into a mirror.

The reflection in the mirror still looked unhappy.

However, she tried to compose her expression.

Although her longing had grown even stronger because he hadn’t appeared this time either, this moment required her to focus as the Society Leader leading Moon Vein, no, Heaven-Earth Moon Society.

The person who was to become the Society Leader couldn’t be seen looking depressed and buried in emotions.

-Tap!

Standing up from her seat, she spoke with a firm voice.

[Let’s go.]

[Yes, Head.]

Hwa Yeon, the head of her guard, and the warriors assisting with her inauguration ceremony as the Society Leader followed behind her.

As Ryu So-wol walked along the corridor towards the main hall, her steps felt incredibly heavy.

She had been waiting for this day ever since she became the junior head.

Although she was depressed because her lover hadn’t appeared, she didn’t think he would break his promise to her so easily.

He would surely appear someday.

Until then, she just needed to fulfill her duties as the Society Leader.

-Step step!

As she headed towards the main hall, her expression became subtle.

When she paused her steps for a moment, Hwa Yeon asked curiously.

[Young Lady, what’s wrong?]

[…… Something’s strange.]

[Pardon?]

[No matter how solemnly it’s being held, this is……]

Feeling that something was off, Ryu So-wol stopped walking slowly and rushed into the main hall.

At that moment, Ryu So-wol’s expression hardened.

The inside of the main hall was nothing short of a scene from hell.

Countless corpses were piled up, and the grand decorations for the inauguration ceremony were all stained with blood.

[Th-This is……]

Hwa Yeon and the guards who followed her couldn’t hide their shock.

What on earth had happened here?

How did they not know about this until now?

[Head……]

As Hwa Yeon called out to Ryu So-wol, they saw her staggering towards something.

There,

[Fa…… Father……]

The severed head of Moon Vein’s Master Ryu Gang lay on the floor with eyes wide open, and around it were the mutilated corpses of Moon Vein’s retainers and warriors in a horrific state.

Ryu So-wol, who had been staggering forward, collapsed to the floor in front of her father’s severed head.

-Thud!

[Ugh……]

Choked up, she couldn’t speak properly and embraced her father’s head, pulling it close.

They say that when human emotions become too intense, they cannot be controlled.

Ryu So-wol held her father’s head, unable to make a sound or even breathe properly.

Why…… Why had her father ended up like this?

What on earth had happened here?

Then,

[You’re here at last?]

A voice was heard.

Looking in that direction, she saw a man slowly walking out from beside the throne.

The man with a blood-soaked sword resting on his shoulder was none other than Bi Yong-heon, the junior head of Heaven Vein, no, the one who was to become the clan leader of Heaven Vein.

Her eyes, filled with a mix of sorrow and anger and barely able to breathe properly, didn’t leave him.

Then Bi Yong-heon smiled and said,

[How do you like it? Is the inauguration gift to your liking?]

[You…… You!]

Is he calling this a gift?

Bi Yong-heon, have you truly gone mad?

All sorts of words erupted inside her, but with her breathing still not calmed, she could only glare at him while exhaling rough breaths.

Then Bi Yong-heon said something incomprehensible.

[You saw it, didn’t you? I told you you’d be able to see the best face you’ve never seen before. Heheheh.]

[How dare you!]

At that moment, Hwa Yeon, the head guard, unable to contain her anger, launched herself towards Bi Yong-heon.

[No…… Don’t!]

A startled Ryu So-wol reached out her hand.

But Hwa Yeon had already reached him, and,

-Slash!

Before she could even properly swing her sword, her body was split in half on the spot.

Unable to even scream, her body fell to the floor in two pieces.

Witnessing the death of Hwa Yeon, the head guard who had cared for her and been her companion since childhood, right before her eyes, Ryu So-wol’s eyes turned red as if they were about to burst.

[Ugh……]

Bi Yong-heon, who had been smiling while watching her reaction, sat down on the Society Leader’s throne.

Then, as he plunged his sword into the floor, he spoke with a cold face.

-Thud!

[You brought all of this upon yourself.]