Chapter 178: Revealing the Truth
Before answering Master Gonghyeon's question, I spoke first.
“Before I answer, I have one request.”
“Speak.”
“What I am about to tell you includes secrets belonging to Kunlun and Mount Hua.”
I looked around at everyone present.
“Please promise that nothing said here today will be revealed to anyone else.”
Master Gonghyeon's gaze grew solemn.
He studied me for a moment before slowly nodding.
“I give you my word in the name of the Abbot of Shaolin.”
Jin Gwangung stared at me as though he'd guessed what I intended to reveal.
“You're going to tell them about the Abandoned Martial Hall as well?”
“Yes.”
Jin Gwangung looked around.
“You all heard him.”
His expression hardened.
“Do not speak of anything you hear here today once we leave this place.”
Hyeongwon, Myeongjeon, and Yu Seola all nodded gravely.
Once everyone had agreed...
I slowly began.
“I obtained this sword from the Righteous Alliance treasury.”
Master Gonghyeon's eyes widened slightly.
“The Alliance treasury?”
“It was part of my reward for the results of the Dragon-Phoenix Awakening Tournament.”
At the time, Alliance Leader Moyong Cheonhwi had given me a choice.
A top-grade elixir...
or the right to select a single treasure from the Righteous Alliance treasury.
I had chosen the latter.
“Inside, I found an old sword giving off a strangely mysterious light.”
Gonghyeon frowned.
“The sword was glowing?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“I was drawn toward it.”
Then—
“The moment I grasped the hilt, a vision unfolded before me.”
Master Gonghyeon's eyes widened.
“A vision?”
“I saw True Immortal Cheongun crossing swords with an absolute master.”
“You saw True Immortal Cheongun?”
“Yes.”
I continued carefully.
“More precisely, it felt like a memory that had been left inside the sword.”
I paused for a moment to choose my words.
I couldn't reveal everything about the Heavenly Law Sword here.
Not yet.
“Only after witnessing that vision did I realize that this sword was connected to a relationship left behind by True Immortal Cheongun.”
Master Gonghyeon's gaze shifted toward the Heavenly Law Sword.
“A sword connected to True Immortal Cheongun's fate....”
I looked down at the blade.
“Looking back on it, it almost feels as though I didn't choose the sword.”
I tightened my grip slightly.
“The sword called me.”
Gonghyeon asked,
“Why do you believe it reacted to you?”
“I cannot say for certain.”
I shook my head.
“But perhaps because I inherited the martial path left by True Immortal Cheongun...”
I looked at the Heavenly Law Sword again.
“the sword connected to his past also responded to me.”
Gonghyeon fell silent, staring at the blade.
After taking a breath, I continued.
“And that wasn't the first time I encountered traces left behind by True Immortal Cheongun.”
He looked back at me.
“There was another?”
“My master and I discovered a hidden underground chamber beneath our residence in Kunlun.”
Gonghyeon turned toward Jin Gwangung.
Jin Gwangung silently nodded.
I began explaining what had happened beneath the Abandoned Martial Hall.
“True Immortal Cheongun left both a message and an embodiment of intent there for future generations.”
Gonghyeon's expression changed.
“A message and an embodiment of intent?”
“Explain in more detail.”
“Yes.”
I gathered my thoughts.
Then calmly explained what I had seen and experienced.
The words True Immortal Cheongun had carved into the underground chamber.
The existence of a great evil that threatened to devour the martial world.
And the martial enlightenment called Flow, left behind by three absolute masters of the past to resist that evil.
I deliberately left out the part involving Dokgo Cheonyul.
For now.
“...That is what happened.”
When I finished, everyone except Jin Gwangung wore nearly identical stunned expressions.
Master Gonghyeon in particular couldn't hide his shock.
“...It is difficult to believe.”
His voice was quiet.
“Preparations laid down hundreds of years ago have continued until the present day....”
Jin Gwangung snorted.
“What's so surprising?”
Gonghyeon looked toward him.
Jin Gwangung folded his arms and continued casually.
“There are plenty of bizarre things in the martial world.”
He shrugged.
“If something like this is enough to shock you, how are you going to handle everything else that happens in Jianghu?”
I tilted my head inwardly.
Wasn't this the same man who couldn't speak for a while when I first told him I'd found traces of True Immortal Cheongun beneath the Abandoned Martial Hall...?
But I kept that thought to myself.
To give Gonghyeon more confidence in my story, I continued.
“Master and Sect Leader Cheon Gwangcheon can verify what happened beneath the Abandoned Martial Hall.”
Then—
“And if you wish to confirm Immortal Yeonha's message, you can ask Sect Leader Wonmyeong and Head Cheongbaek of Mount Hua.”
Jin Gwangung nodded in agreement.
I raised the Heavenly Law Sword.
“There are three Flows left behind by those masters to oppose the great evil.”
I looked at Gonghyeon.
“Through several fortuitous encounters, I obtained all three.”
Master Gonghyeon's gaze shifted toward the sword.
He examined the blade for a long moment...
then softly recited a Buddhist phrase.
“Excellent. Truly excellent.”
He turned back toward me.
“I think I understand a little now.”
I asked,
“What do you mean?”
“You inherited True Immortal Cheongun's martial path.”
He spoke slowly.
“Then obtained a sword connected to his fate.”
His eyes deepened.
“And on top of that, you inherited the Flows left behind by previous masters to oppose the great evil.”
A mixture of awe and relief entered his voice.
“It seems all those connections and realizations are now revealing their strength through your sword.”
He sighed softly.
“For arrangements left behind by True Immortal Cheongun and Immortal Yeonha to endure across centuries and finally reach the present...”
Then he smiled faintly.
“That truly is heavenly fortune.”
A moment later, Gonghyeon seemed to remember something.
He asked,
“...You said there were three masters who left behind those Flows.”
“Yes.”
“True Immortal Cheongun and Immortal Yeonha.”
He stroked his beard.
“Then who left the final Flow?”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“Was it perhaps someone from Shaolin?”
Hmm....
So that question came after all.
I hesitated for a moment.
“The final person...”
I chose my words carefully.
“may surprise you a little.”
Gonghyeon frowned.
“Surprise me?”
“What do you mean?”
“He is... rather different from the first two.”
Jin Gwangung clicked his tongue impatiently.
“Who the hell is it that you're dragging this out so much?”
I looked toward him.
“Even you may be surprised when you hear the name, Master.”
“Hah!”
Jin Gwangung snorted loudly.
“We've already heard about True Immortal Cheongun's remnant intent and some great evil.”
He waved a hand.
“At this point, I won't even blink no matter what name comes out of your mouth.”
Then—
“So stop stalling and say it.”
I raised an eyebrow.
“You're sure?”
“How many times do I have to say it?”
He scowled.
“Just spit it out already.”
I nodded.
“All right.”
Then said,
“The final person who left behind a Flow was Dokgo Cheonyul.”
“Right, Dokgo Cheon...”
Jin Gwangung nodded.
Then froze.
His eyes slowly widened.
“W-Wait.”
He stared at me.
“Who did you just say?”
“Dokgo Cheonyul.”
His mouth fell open slightly.
“Dokgo Cheonyul... as in...?”
“Yes.”
I nodded.
“The former leader of the Demonic Cult.”
“T-The Heavenly Demon?”
Jin Gwangung's voice nearly blew the roof off the cavern.
All his earlier bravado vanished.
He just stared at me, blinking repeatedly as if he couldn't believe what he'd heard.
Surprisingly...
