Chapter 155: What I Need
“No. Han Mujin of Kunlun.”
The moment those words settled into the room, the atmosphere seemed to change.
Kunlun Sect.
And the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
For hundreds of years, the two had watched and opposed one another.
There was no need to look far into the past.
Ten years ago, members of the Demonic Cult had descended near Kunlun and massacred Kunlun disciples.
That memory was still a terrible wound that had never fully faded for the people of Kunlun.
Even if I currently held the strange position of Heavenly Demon's Kindred Spirit...
I was still a disciple of Kunlun.
And the man before me was...
the leader of the Demonic Cult.
A martial artist of the righteous faction.
And the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
Under ordinary circumstances, the very idea of us standing in the same room and talking peacefully made no sense.
Maybe that was why.
When Dokgo Jinak deliberately called me Han Mujin of Kunlun...
it felt as though he were reminding me of that boundary.
"..."
When I didn't answer right away, one corner of Dokgo Jinak's mouth rose slightly.
“Why do you look so wary?”
"..."
“What?”
His smile deepened.
“Do you think this lord is going to seize you and lock you up?”
It felt like he'd read my mind.
I quickly composed my expression.
Dokgo Jinak gave a short laugh.
“Don't waste your time worrying.”
His voice carried the confidence of the master of the Divine Cult.
“You are the greatest contributor to the restoration of the Sacred Flame.”
Then his gaze sharpened slightly.
“And the Heavenly Demon's Kindred Spirit acknowledged by this lord.”
Only then did I relax enough to speak.
“Is there no impurity left inside you anymore?”
Dokgo Jinak smiled meaningfully.
“Shouldn't you know that better than this lord?”
I blinked.
“You were the one who burned away every last trace of impurity remaining inside me.”
I nodded.
“That's a relief.”
I caught myself halfway through my next words.
“Then the Demo... no, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult should finally regain stability.”
Dokgo Jinak stroked his beard.
“Stability, you say.”
Then he laughed again.
For some reason...
it was an unsettling laugh.
I asked carefully,
“I heard you asked to see me the moment you woke up.”
“I did.”
Dokgo Jinak nodded.
“Han Mujin, there are many things this lord wishes to ask you.”
That was exactly what I wanted to say.
I had more questions for Dokgo Jinak than I could count.
The Sacred Flame.
The impurity.
The Heavenly Law Sword.
Dokgo Cheonyul's records.
There were far too many things that needed answers.
Then Dokgo Jinak turned toward Yeom Yuhwa.
“I wish to speak privately with the Heavenly Demon's Kindred Spirit.”
Yeom Yuhwa immediately bowed.
“I obey.”
She stepped back and left the room.
Muk Jincheol didn't move right away.
He looked back and forth between Dokgo Jinak and me.
There was a strangely disappointed look on his face.
He seemed jealous that I was getting to speak alone with Dokgo Jinak.
Still...
he eventually turned and followed Yeom Yuhwa outside.
Clack.
The door closed.
Only Dokgo Jinak and I remained in the room.
Oddly enough...
even though Dokgo Jinak had requested the private conversation, he didn't say anything right away.
An awkward silence filled the room.
What the hell is he thinking?
Just standing there like this was frustrating.
Eventually, I spoke first.
“Forgive me for asking before you do.”
Dokgo Jinak nodded.
“Go ahead.”
I looked directly at him.
“Do you remember what happened while you were consumed by the impurity?”
Dokgo Jinak slowly nodded.
“My body did not move according to my will.”
His expression remained calm.
“But my eyes and ears were never sealed.”
“This lord saw and heard everything.”
I silently watched him.
“Then you already know how the impurity inside you was destroyed.”
“I do.”
Dokgo Jinak's gaze lowered toward my waist.
More precisely...
toward the sword hanging there.
“It vanished within the flames of the sword.”
I was about to ask the question immediately.
“Then about this sword—”
“The Heavenly Law Sword.”
Dokgo Jinak cut in before I could finish.
"..."
I couldn't hide my surprise.
“You know about this sword?”
I glanced down at it.
“About the Heavenly Law Sword?”
Dokgo Jinak answered,
“I do.”
Then he corrected himself.
“No.”
“It would be more accurate to say I came to know.”
Came to know?
I frowned.
“What do you mean?”
Dokgo Jinak looked into the distance for a moment.
Then began speaking slowly.
“As I told you before, once the Sacred Flame began showing signs of corruption...”
“this lord searched through secret records passed down only among the Heavenly Demons.”
His voice became heavier.
“Within those records, I found a particular passage.”
I narrowed my eyes.
“A passage?”
Dokgo Jinak recited in a low voice.
“天律之劍, 得許者而鳴. 火歸其座, 邪穢自滅.”
The sword of heavenly law shall ring in the hand of the permitted one. The flame shall return to its seat, and wicked impurity shall perish on its own.
My breath caught.
The Heavenly Law Sword.
The permitted one.
The flame returning to its rightful place.
The destruction of corruption.
Every part of it matched what I'd experienced.
Too precisely to dismiss as coincidence.
I asked,
“What exactly is the Heavenly Law Sword?”
Dokgo Jinak answered calmly.
“According to the secret records...”
“the Heavenly Law Sword is a sacred relic bestowed upon the Divine Cult together with the Sacred Flame.”
I stared at him.
“A sacred relic?”
Then another question immediately followed.
“If that's true, why don't Yeom Yuhwa or Muk Jincheol know about it?”
Dokgo Jinak's voice lowered.
“Because the Heavenly Law Sword was a sacred relic passed down only to the Heavenly Demon.”
“Most followers would have had no way to know of it.”
Then he added,
“And in truth...”
“the existence of the Heavenly Law Sword had already been almost completely forgotten even within the Divine Cult.”
I frowned.
“Forgotten?”
What did that mean?
Dokgo Jinak continued.
“According to the records, the Heavenly Law Sword still existed within the Divine Cult two hundred years ago.”
His eyes narrowed.
“The Heavenly Demon at the time, Dokgo Cheonyul, is said to have wielded it.”
Then he let out a quiet sigh.
“But that was the last confirmed record.”
His expression darkened.
“After Dokgo Cheonyul's death, the Heavenly Law Sword disappeared.”
“No one found it.”
“No one saw it again.”
I asked,
“You had never seen the actual sword either?”
“Correct.”
Dokgo Jinak nodded.
“This lord knew only the name recorded in old texts.”
His gaze settled on my sword.
“So at first, I had no idea the blade you carried was the Heavenly Law Sword.”
His eyes deepened.
“But your sword reacted to the Sacred Flame Altar.”
“It opened the Heavenly Demon Spirit Mausoleum.”
“It drove away the impurity bound to this lord's heart meridians.”
“And it returned the Sacred Flame to its rightful place.”
He looked directly at me.
“At that point, failing to recognize it would have been stranger.”
Then Dokgo Jinak asked,
“Han Mujin.”
His gaze sharpened.
“How did the Heavenly Law Sword come into your possession?”
I hesitated briefly.
But there was no real reason to hide it.
