Chapter 502

Backlit.

He stood with the sun behind him.

The glare blinded Gwak Hyeongjin.

Unhwi’s sword descended.

It was not fast.

No—it only appeared slow.

Gwak Hyeongjin wrenched his sword up from the ground. Tried to block.

Before they touched.

Slash—!

The sound came first.

Then the pain.

His right arm.

Gwak Hyeongjin turned his head.

His right arm was gone.

It lay on the ground, still gripping his sword.

“......Ah.”

Gwak Hyeongjin murmured.

Blood spurted out.

His knees buckled.

One knee struck the ground.

Unhwi landed before Gwak Hyeongjin.

He looked down at him.

Gwak Hyeongjin knelt on one knee, clutching his severed shoulder.

Blood flowed.

Unhwi lowered his sword.

“Gwak Hyeongjin.”

“.......”

“Where is the Heaven-Law Platform’s headquarters?”

Gwak Hyeongjin’s mouth clamped shut.

Unhwi looked into his eyes.

Refusal.

It was what he had expected.

Unhwi lowered himself.

He crouched down.

He brought his eyes level with Gwak Hyeongjin’s.

They were close.

An inch apart.

Close enough to feel Gwak Hyeongjin’s breath.

Unhwi spoke.

“You are a martial artist.”

It was praise, in its own way, but Gwak Hyeongjin gritted his teeth and said,

“......Kill me.”

“You choose death?”

“......A warrior of the Heaven-Law Platform does not speak.”

Unhwi nodded.

“Good. Not bad.”

Unhwi’s hand moved.

It touched Gwak Hyeongjin’s severed shoulder.

Lightly.

“.......”

Gwak Hyeongjin’s body stiffened.

Ice energy flowed from Unhwi’s fingers. It entered through the severed flesh. Cold. A chill that burrowed into the very marrow of his bones. Gwak Hyeongjin’s teeth chattered.

But he did not scream.

Unhwi withdrew his hand.

“What I just did was stop the bleeding.”

“.......”

“I stopped the blood. So you would not die.”

Gwak Hyeongjin’s eyes trembled.

Stopped the bleeding.

He was not trying to save him.

He was keeping him from dying.

It did not mean he would not kill him. It meant he would not allow him to die yet.

Unhwi said,

“Let me ask you one thing.”

“.......”

“Do you remember the moment you were born?”

Gwak Hyeongjin’s expression twisted strangely.

What kind of insane nonsense is this?

“You do not. Of course not. Ordinary people cannot remember it.”

Unhwi stared into Gwak Hyeongjin’s eyes.

“I can make you remember.”

Gwak Hyeongjin’s face turned pale.

“Something interesting happens when ice energy travels through the nerves.”

Unhwi’s voice was even.

As if he were discussing the weather.

“The pain does not grow stronger. It becomes clearer. I can draw out every pain your body remembers, all the way back to the oldest.”

“.......”

“I learned it at the Snow Palace. It was originally intended for healing.”

Unhwi gave a faint laugh.

“But its use depends on the one wielding it.”

Gwak Hyeongjin’s body began to tremble.

Fear.

Fear greater than having his arm severed.

Because he had looked into this man’s eyes.

It was not an empty threat.

He meant it.

“Will you still refuse to speak?”

Gwak Hyeongjin gritted his teeth.

“......Kill me.”

“You are stubborn.”

Unhwi rose.

He looked down at Gwak Hyeongjin.

“Then I will take another approach.”

“.......”

“It does not matter whether you speak.”

Unhwi looked around the valley.

Three buildings.

Eleven corpses.

A courtyard covered in frost.

“There must be other outposts besides this one.”

Gwak Hyeongjin’s eyes shook.

“I will find them one by one.”

“.......”

“And I will kill everyone in them.”

“......What?”

“Then I will display their severed heads.”

Unhwi looked down at Gwak Hyeongjin.

“Somewhere the commander of the Heaven-Law Platform can see them.”

Gwak Hyeongjin’s face contorted.

“Are you ins—”

“Insane?”

Unhwi finished the words for him.

“You may call me insane.”

Unhwi lowered himself again.

He crouched down.

He stared into Gwak Hyeongjin’s eyes.

“Even if you tell me where the headquarters is, I will not go there immediately.”

Gwak Hyeongjin’s eyes widened.

“......What?”

“Because of your stubbornness.”

Unhwi continued.

“The longer you refuse to speak, the more outposts I will destroy.”

“.......”

“Assume ten men at each outpost. Two outposts makes twenty. Three makes thirty.”

“.......”

“Twenty or thirty heads will be displayed.”

Unhwi’s eyes pierced through Gwak Hyeongjin.

“Your stubbornness will only make the resolve I show the commander of the Heaven-Law Platform that much greater.”

Gwak Hyeongjin’s lips trembled.

“And when the commander sees those heads.”

Unhwi continued.

“He will also learn who caused it.”

Gwak Hyeongjin’s eyes shook violently.

Who caused it.

Him.

The outposts had been destroyed because Gwak Hyeongjin refused to speak. His comrades had died. Their heads had been displayed.

And if the commander of the Heaven-Law Platform learned that—

“......Ah.......”

Gwak Hyeongjin’s teeth chattered.

It was not because of the cold.

Unhwi looked into his eyes and said,

“More time has already passed. Let me make this clear. From this moment onward, I will destroy two more outposts and kill every member of the Heaven-Law Platform within them.”

“......You mad......”

“The longer this questioning takes, the more outposts will be added. Now, I will ask you only once more.”

“.......”

“Should you wish to die as a martial artist.”

“.......”

“And should you wish to die without pain.”

“.......”

“Tell me the locations of two outposts and the Heaven-Law Platform’s headquarters.”

Silence flowed between them.

It lasted a long time.

Wind swept through the valley. A cold wind. Blood flowed across the frost. Gwak Hyeongjin’s blood. Through the eleven corpses.

Gwak Hyeongjin looked up at Unhwi.

He looked into his eyes.

There was nothing there.

No sympathy, anger, or pleasure.

Only coldness.

The eyes of a man who had already decided.

Gwak Hyeongjin understood.

This man would truly do it.

One by one. Every last one. Even display their severed heads.

And among those heads would be the reason: “Because Gwak Hyeongjin refused to speak.”

Refusing to speak as a warrior of the Heaven-Law Platform was loyalty.

But if his loyalty caused his comrades to die—

Then it was not loyalty, but obstinacy.

The location of one outpost had already been exposed. What were the chances the others would remain hidden?

None.

They would inevitably be discovered. Once one was found, it would lead to another.

There were only two now, but just as Unhwi had said, every outpost belonging to the Heaven-Law Platform might truly be destroyed.

Gwak Hyeongjin lowered his head.

In the end.

He had no choice but to speak.

“......Two hundred li northwest.”

“Two hundred li.”

“There is another outpost at the southern foot of Long Forest Mountain.”

***

“How many?”

“......Twenty.”

“What is the highest realm among them?”

“Two at Unity of Heaven and Man.”

Unhwi nodded.

“The other outpost?”

“......Spirit Heaven Mountain.”

“Now we understand each other. Then where is the headquarters?”

Gwak Hyeongjin gritted his teeth.

It was his final resistance.

But it did not last long.

“......Travel another three hundred li beyond Spirit Heaven Mountain, and you will reach a cliff. We call it Heaven-Law Cliff.”

“Heaven-Law Cliff.”

“......The Heaven-Law Platform’s headquarters lies behind that cliff.”

“How many?”

“......Around a hundred.”

Unhwi rose.

He looked down at Gwak Hyeongjin.

“I will let you die as a martial artist.”

Gwak Hyeongjin raised his head.

He looked up at Unhwi.

“......Let me ask you one thing.”

“Speak.”

“The commander of the Heaven-Law Platform stands at the threshold of the end of the Supreme Void Realm.”

“I know.”

“Will you still go?”

“What a ridiculous question.”

Unhwi raised his sword.

“You began this, and my sword will bring it to an end.”

“.......”

“The commander of the Heaven-Law Platform—yes, the Heaven-Law Immortal—that fool’s choice will decide whether the Heaven-Law Platform vanishes from this world entirely or barely preserves the remnants of its lineage. Those are the only two outcomes.”

Gwak Hyeongjin did not close his eyes.

He stared at Unhwi.

“......So the rumors were true. You really are a madman.”

Those were his last words.

Unhwi’s sword moved.

Briefly.

Soundlessly.

Slice.

A thin line appeared across Gwak Hyeongjin’s neck with the sound of severed flesh.

His eyes went still.

His body tilted forward.

It collapsed.

Unhwi lowered his sword, turned without a word, and looked northwest.

Long Forest Mountain.

Two hundred li.

Unhwi walked.

He did not stop.

Long Forest Mountain.

Two hundred li took less than two hours with movement arts.

He arrived before the sun began to set.

The southern foot.

It was exactly as Gwak Hyeongjin had said.

The forest was deep. The trees stood densely packed. Buildings could be seen between them. The outpost was larger than the previous one. Five buildings. A wooden barricade surrounded them. A defensive structure of sorts.

Unhwi stood at the edge of the forest and looked down at the outpost.

He read the presences within.

Twenty.

The same number Gwak Hyeongjin had given him.

Two of them had reached Unity of Heaven and Man.

The remaining eighteen were at the Heaven-Human realm or below.

Unhwi thought for a moment.

Only a moment.

Because there was nothing to consider.

He walked down.

Two guards stood before the wooden barricade.

They saw Unhwi.

“Who—”

Before the word could leave their mouths, Unhwi’s ice energy shot forth.

Both men froze.

Standing upright.

Swords in hand.

Mouths open.

Unhwi passed between them.

He entered the barricade.

It was a courtyard.

A broad one.

Warriors were scattered throughout. Some were training, some were resting, and some were inside the buildings.

Unhwi stopped at the center of the courtyard.

He released his energy.

Ice energy erupted.

The entire outpost began to freeze. The ground turned white. Frost covered the trees. Ice formed across the wooden barricade.

A mountain in midsummer became winter.

Warriors rushed out.

“Enemy attack!”

“Take up your weapons!”

Chaos erupted, but it did not last long.

Unhwi’s eyes turned white.

Heavenly Snow Force.

Crackle——

Eight warriors in the courtyard froze at once.

They died standing.

Four others rushed out of a building and froze the instant they opened the door.

They died with their hands still gripping the doorframe.

Three more came running from the training ground and froze halfway across the courtyard.

They died in midstride.

It happened in an instant.

Fifteen were dead.

Five remained.

Two at Unity of Heaven and Man and three at the Heaven-Human realm.

The three at the Heaven-Human realm had not died beneath Heavenly Snow Force, but their bodies had gone rigid. They could not move. They were on their knees, crushed beneath the pressure of the ice energy.

The two at Unity of Heaven and Man stood across the courtyard.

One was large.

Tall.

He held a spear. His face was long, his chin sharp.

The other was of average build. He gripped a pair of blades. His eyes were wide, his forehead narrow.

Both men’s faces were pale.

They had witnessed what had just happened.

Fifteen men had died in the blink of an eye.

Corpses covered in frost filled the courtyard.

Unhwi looked at the two men.

“You belong to the Heaven-Law Platform. Correct?”

“.......”

“Names.”

The tall man gritted his teeth and said,

“......Ma Seungnyeol, Twenty-First Seat of the Heaven-Law Platform.”

Then the man with the paired blades spoke.

“Noh Gyeongseok, Twenty-Fourth Seat of the Heaven-Law Platform.”

Unhwi nodded.

“I have already destroyed Gwak Hyeongjin’s outpost.”

Their faces stiffened.

“Eleven men died. Gwak Hyeongjin as well.”

Ma Seungnyeol’s spear trembled.

“This place will be no different.”

Unhwi raised his sword.

“I have no time, so I will make this brief.”

Unhwi stepped forward.

Ma Seungnyeol leveled his spear.

“Blood Heaven Arbiter! You will regret making an enemy of the Heaven-Law Platform—”

His words stopped.

They had to.

Unhwi had vanished.