Chapter 39: The Scheme (2)
Well, it was called underground, but in terms of depth, it was more like a semi-basement level training chamber.
Still, the training chamber was completely surrounded by Azure Steel Stone, and it was sturdy enough to withstand even a considerable blast of Sword Qi.
‘To be honest, I did find it a bit suspicious. Even now, knowing the circumstances.’
If it had been an assassin aiming for Jin Yeomyung’s life, that would have made sense.
But in the end, Jin Yeomyung came out without a scratch, and only the poor training chamber was blown to bits.
‘Was it really the work of an assassin?’
Would an assassin who infiltrated past all that surveillance really create such a loud mess, blasting out Qi Projection like that?
Sure, there was definite evidence of an external intrusion, and the investigation was still ongoing.
But Jang Deuk-soo couldn’t shake the subtle feeling of unease.
‘What if… he’s really reached a realm beyond imagination? And now he’s hiding it?’
It made sense.
The problem was that the likelihood was extremely low.
To confirm that possibility, Jang Deuk-soo had not taken his eyes off Jin Yeomyung since.
Of course, Jin Yeomyung had never once revealed anything special.
During training, he was always humble and never tried to stand out, simply fulfilling his role.
A completely different attitude from the arrogance he had shown when they first met.
But ironically, that behavior only fueled Jang Deuk-soo’s suspicion.
Because Jin Yeomyung had proclaimed to the officers—
‘Main Flow, Thousand-Day Pass.’
Only the Pavilion Master, Vice Pavilion Master, and the senior instructor of a similar age to the Pavilion Master knew what that truly meant.
As far as Jang Deuk-soo was aware, it was no different from throwing oneself off a cliff.
‘It was almost like he was evaluating the ones who might accompany him.’
He was definitely hiding something.
If—really, if—Jin Yeomyung was hiding his true strength…
If he had the ability to survive even a challenge to the Main Flow Thousand-Day Pass?
Thinking that far, Jang Deuk-soo let out a small chuckle and shook his head.
‘Well, what can you do. Just sit back and enjoy the show.’
It would be like a genius emerging to overturn the structure of the Six Great Demonic Clans.
Ten, twenty years from now, the Cult might be shaken by that guy—but so what?
Someone like him, a mere commoner, only needed to pick up the crumbs that fell from the table.
With a smirk, Jang Deuk-soo boldly called out to his fellow instructors.
"Ten silver nyang on Unified Unit One!"
Unified Unit One was the unit that included the team Jin Yeomyung belonged to.
***
The atmosphere in our team was very warm and cheerful.
It was a stark contrast to a few weeks ago, when everyone kept their mouths shut and let out complaints through body language.
After our victory against Team Four and witnessing the chaotic mess that other teams displayed, everyone had become convinced.
That our team leader, Baek Sang-ah, was nothing short of an angel.
"At this rate, we might even aim for the top in the mock unit battle!"
"Right?! We’re counting on you, Team Leader!"
"O-of course!"
Baek Sang-ah gave an awkward smile and nodded in response to the team members’ intense gazes.
Well, good vibes were always welcome.
‘It’s quieter than I expected though.’
I glanced toward Team Four in the distance.
Ever since I had delivered a warning to Ju Guk-seon a few days ago.
I had expected her to be scheming something behind the scenes, but surprisingly, she had been silent ever since.
She hadn’t even caused trouble for the members of Team Four.
From what I had heard through Baek Sa’s reports, she had only been glaring and hadn’t inflicted any serious consequences.
‘Didn’t seem like the type for that.’
Given her fierce impression, it wouldn’t have been surprising if her grudges lasted longer than a serpent’s body.
‘Well, I guess peace is good…’
That line of thought was shattered just an hour later.
Once the initial team-based mock battles were over, three teams were grouped into a single unit.
And naturally, with the formation of a unit, a unit commander had to be selected.
So, at the meeting where all the team leaders gathered—
"A defeated team leader can’t very well be appointed as the unit commander, can they? I think it makes sense for the leader of Team Two to take the position."
"Ah, what?"
"Don’t you agree? I doubt Team Five’s leader would have any objections."
"A-hem!"
The leader of Team Five, Jong Hoe, who was pointed out by Ju Guk-seon, awkwardly cleared his throat and averted his gaze.
In truth, Team Five was in the worst shape here.
Team Four had at least put up a good fight, but Team Five had suffered a disgraceful defeat in actual combat due to the disobedience and rebellion of its members.
"N-no objections here."
"It’s decided, then."
With a clap of her hands, Ju Guk-seon casually finalized the matter.
The conclusion wasn’t particularly bad for our team, so Baek Sang-ah didn’t object.
‘Suspicious.’
As the assistant team leader attending the meeting, I frowned slightly at Ju Guk-seon’s attitude.
‘She definitely holds a grudge against Baek Sang-ah.’
I could clearly tell, recalling the murderous gaze she had given Baek Sang-ah in the dorms a few days ago.
That venom, as if she would chew through her flesh if she could, was no lie.
Smile.
Noticing my gaze, Ju Guk-seon flashed a warm smile as if nothing had happened.
But it was slightly different from the one she had given Baek Sang-ah—it left me with an uneasy feeling.
‘Feels like she’s plotting something.’
If she harbored such resentment and still held back, there was only one reason why.
She was enduring it to deliver a bigger retaliation later.
‘There’s no way she’s doing all this just to humiliate her.’
One possibility crossed my mind.
‘Don’t tell me—assassination?’
It wouldn’t be strange if someone got seriously hurt during a team match.
Even in the recent mock battles, there were no deaths, but around twenty people from the entire cohort had suffered varying degrees of injury.
In a massive team match with over sixty people going wild, something worse could easily happen.
‘But how?’
No matter how influential she was in the Ju Clan, planting an actual assassin would be impossible.
‘But making someone suffer a serious injury? That might be doable.’
Just like during the Little Black Star Sword Formation, the unit commander only held the flag and didn’t move directly.
If Ju Guk-seon was aiming for that—
‘I absolutely won’t forgive her.’
Tears of flame streamed from my eyes.
If she intended to ignore my warning and go through with it, then not only Ju Guk-seon, but the entire Ju Clan would have to pay the price.
***
A month passed uneventfully.
The Black Star Grand Formation, composed of thirty-three members uniting as one, was significantly more complex than the Little Black Star Sword Formation.
Just trying to synchronize our breathing had already eaten up the whole month.
“How do you see the situation?”
“Hmm, to be honest…”
Baek Sang-ah made a complicated expression in response to my question.
But she was honest.
“It’s a complete mess!”
“…Right?”
Even though the number of members had only tripled, the difficulty of operating the formation had increased to another level entirely.
“At this rate, it’ll be impossible to bring out the true essence of the formation. The Black Star Sword Formation may have ‘sword’ in its name, but it’s not much different from a regular military formation…”
“But the Black Star Grand Formation is a true formation in every sense.”
Combining strength to unleash even greater power—
That was the core characteristic of formations in Murim.
“At this pace, we’ll have to practice for a full year before we can draw out proper strength.”
“Hmm!”
Truthfully, even a year was an optimistic estimate.
Formations involving dozens of people typically required at least three to four years of consistent synchronization to produce full power.
Even the Shaolin’s famous 108 Arhat Formation was said to be forbidden from being deployed without at least ten years of training.
To the still-worried Baek Sang-ah, I spoke firmly.
“We have no choice. If we don’t have teeth, we use our gums.”
“What do you mean?”
“Uniformity. Let’s focus on that one thing.”
Frankly speaking, if Unit One, which had formed naturally around Baek Sang-ah, was already this unorganized, we could easily imagine what shape the other units were in.
Didn’t Units Two and Three even get into fights over who would take the position of commander?
In the case of Unit Two, San Dojeon had finally had enough and beat down all the commander candidates himself before claiming the role.
‘That works out for us.’
If San Dojeon was leading, then their organization would probably improve, but he was more suited to being a field captain who crushed enemies on the frontline rather than a proper unit commander.
So if he didn’t join the actual fighting, all the better.
“The Thousand-Day Pass wouldn’t expect such high-level coordination from new trainees anyway. More than anything, they probably just want us to avoid looking like a disorganized mob during group battles.”
“Absolutely!”
Baek Sang-ah nodded enthusiastically.
In truth, only our team and Team Four had shown particularly impressive performances. Looking at the chaos in the other teams, it was clear that *they* were the average.
“Let’s not overcomplicate things. We’ll just unify movement by team. And reduce the number of sub-formations we use to around five.”
“That’s a great suggestion! If we win, there’s really no need to be flashy!”
Since Baek Sang-ah was quick-witted, she immediately understood the logic behind my suggestion.
But in truth, I had another reason for making it.
‘There’s definitely going to be an incident.’
I had already ordered the Three Attendants to keep a discreet eye on Ju Guk-seon’s movements, but since then, they reported that she hadn’t done anything suspicious.
On the contrary, she had even gathered the Three Attendants and apologized, saying she was sorry for everything until now, and vowed to appoint them as her main aides going forward.
‘Why make the Three Attendants your aides?’
That meant if the Three Attendants became Ju Guk-seon’s main force, they would naturally distance themselves from Baek Sang-ah.
In turn, that meant Baek Sang-ah would have fewer guards around her.
It was incredibly, incredibly suspicious.
***
That night.
“Dokjeol.”
“Yes, Second Order. Ask whatever you wish.”
The trainee known as Dokjeol knelt before Second Order.
“You said you were the team leader of Unit Six, right?”
“That’s correct.”
“Then that means you’ll be facing Unit One in battle.”
“That’s correct.”
Dokjeol answered calmly to each question.
After a brief silence, Second Order gave the order.
“Kill Baek Sang-ah.”
Dokjeol lifted his head.
“Have you informed San Dojeon, team leader, separately?”
Though they were technically in different units, San Dojeon served the same lord as he did.
“Forget about that incompetent fool.”
Second Order’s expression twisted slightly at the mention of San Dojeon.
“And knowing his personality, he’d surely object.”
Though he expected a prompt agreement, Dokjeol surprisingly hesitated for a moment.
“There is one concern I have.”
“What is it?”
“The Thousand-Day Pass search team is closing in. If I act recklessly now, my identity might be exposed.”
“……”
Second Order’s face stiffened slightly at that statement as well.
Dokjeol was one of the top-class assassins assigned by Eight Lords who had sent him here.
His skills were considered on par with the Demonic Emperor’s elite assassination squad, the Doom-Wielding Ghost Commanders.
“Which damned bastard exposed traces…”
During the previous training chamber explosion, one of the secret passages connecting the Thousand-Day Pass and their organization had been exposed.
And the Thousand-Day Pass had seized on that clue and been relentlessly investigating ever since.
“No, actually, this might work in our favor.”
A plan flashed through Second Order’s mind—an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone.
“If you kill Baek Sang-ah, the investigation will come to you no matter what.”
Dokjeol’s expression stiffened slightly. Second Order’s meaning was clear.
“You’ll have to take the fall. I’ll arrange the escape route. Just put everything you have into killing Baek Sang-ah.”
An escape route? Would he really do that?
For a brief moment, a hint of doubt flickered through Dokjeol’s heart—then disappeared.
In the end, he was a tool.
Even if his master discarded him, he was a tool that had to accept being thrown away without complaint.
From birth until now, Dokjeol’s life had been one bound to the “organization.”
“Understood.”
Dokjeol bowed his head.