Chapter 42: Traces of the Flame Sword (1)
"Keugh!"
The moment the back of the assassin's hand was pierced by the black flame’s sword qi, his body staggered violently.
Still, the bastard desperately tried to push forward toward Baek Sang-ah without falling.
"Where do you think you're going?!"
But he was instantly subdued by the instructors who rushed in. He couldn’t even twitch a finger.
"Restrain the entire Team Six! There could be others!"
"W-Wait! I’m not involved!"
"Instructor! Sir!"
The first assassin turned out to be the squad leader of the Team Six. The next assassin was one of its members.
Naturally, suspicion fell on the entire Team Six.
"Was there another one!?"
Lee Gyubo, who had been observing the situation from outside, widened his eyes.
"Just who is that girl, anyway? Pavilion Master! Do you happen to know something about this?"
The Pavilion Master, who should have been the quickest to respond to this crisis, seemed unable to take his eyes off something.
"Pavilion Master?"
"That, that is…"
The Pavilion Master, who had been flapping his mouth like a goldfish, finally managed to speak as he glared at Jin Yeomyung.
"Holy... flame?"
***
"It seems your last resort has failed."
Risking his life to draw everyone’s attention, only for his comrade to use that opening to strike.
If I hadn’t been prepared in advance to stop it, it might have actually worked.
"So what will you do?"
"What do you mean?"
"I’m asking if you’re going to surrender. If you quietly confess everything, I might just spare your life."
At that, the assassin's eyes briefly flickered with interest.
But of course, that didn’t mean he’d be easily persuaded.
Whether by his own will—or by someone else's.
Gurgle.
Before he could say anything, dark blood began to spill from his lips.
‘As expected…’
While an assassin’s primary value lay in killing the target, the second was the absolute rule: never leave behind any information.
That’s why they were trained with various poisons, mind-control techniques, and brainwashing through isolation.
If it seemed like the assassin might give up or hesitate, they would take their own life immediately.
That was how the Demonic Ghost Assassination Unit, once hailed as the strongest assassin force in the Cult, managed their operatives.
Drip.
His strength left him, and the blade slipped from his grasp as he dropped to his knees.
This wasn’t a trick.
I could see the life fading from his eyes in real time.
He barely managed to lift his head and meet my gaze.
Then slowly, he opened his mouth.
"My name is Dokjeol (毒絶, Poison Severance)."
"I’ll remember it."
With those final words, Dokjeol’s neck twisted completely.
‘An assassin who wanted to leave behind his name.’
Most assassins were disposable tools.
The majority didn’t even have names to begin with, so pride was a luxury they couldn’t afford.
Yet for him to reveal his name at the end—
It meant he believed his affiliation was worthy of pride.
‘Was he really from the Demonic Ghost Assassination Unit?’
The fact that an assassin could wield sword qi, and that he used a fearsome movement technique I would’ve missed had I not been ready…
If the mastermind had entrusted everything to him instead of messing around with people like Ju Guk-seon, the assassination might’ve succeeded eventually, even if not this time.
‘Well, I’ll ask Gu Chil about it later.’
In any case, with such a blatant assassination attempt thwarted, if they wanted to stir up more trouble within the Thousand-Day Pass now, they’d have to be ready to flip the entire board.
‘But they haven’t built up real influence in the Cult yet. That’s unlikely.’
***
A brazen assassination attempt in the middle of an official Thousand-Day Pass event.
Naturally, the mock battle was halted immediately, and all cadets were banned from leaving the dorms.
"Let go! I said, let go! I’m Ju Guk-seon of the Heavenly Justice Ju Clan!"
Ju Guk-seon, who had deliberately lured Team Four away to orchestrate this situation, was quickly restrained by the instructors and dragged off somewhere.
‘Depending on what comes out of her mouth, this could change everything… but it’s not going to be that easy.’
Of course, Ju Guk-seon was currently only under suspicion. Realistically, she’d likely be released.
The mastermind wouldn’t be stupid enough to directly link Ju Guk-seon to the assassins.
"Jin Yeomyung, the Pavilion Master is calling for you."
As the main figure who stopped the assassination, I was immediately summoned by the Pavilion Master under strict escort.
When I entered, the Pavilion Master of the Thousand-Day Pass greeted me with a beaming smile and outstretched arms.
"Come in, come in. You and the Thousand-Day Pass owe each other a great debt now, don’t we?"
"……"
I couldn’t look at him kindly.
"So, did you get a good look at my skills?"
Despite my sharp tone, the seasoned Pavilion Master showed no sign of discomfort.
"I saw everything. I’m honored to witness the birth of a new Demonic Dragon with my own eyes, hahaha!"
"Is that so."
Don't tell me you’re going to gloss over this without offering me a single reward?
Judging from that smug look, it seemed like he really planned to let it slide.
"Ahem, I didn’t call you here for that."
"Isn’t it to accept my withdrawal form?"
"What? Now hold on, what are you saying?!"
My gaze turned even more cynical.
"I thought there must be some deeper reason when the Thousand-Day Pass left a cadet in crisis on their own. I was just about to send a letter to my father."
"H-Hahaha! This seems to be a misunderstanding."
Panic began to show on the Pavilion Master’s face.
The decision to allow my duel with Dokjeol to proceed was entirely his.
What would happen if this reached my father, Jin Gun-ak?
Even if he did see me as a tool for political power, he wouldn’t let this go.
"I called you here for no other reason than to offer you compensation."
…From the Pavilion Master, who continued speaking without even taking a breath, I could tell just how desperate he was.
"I won’t deny that I was curious about your skill!"
"Then should I just leave my withdrawal form here?"
"Ahem! You should at least hear me out to the end! Wasn’t your objective always the Main Flow?"
Thud.
The hand that had been about to toss the withdrawal form I had hidden in my robe finally stopped.
The moment I finally showed a reaction, the Pavilion Master sighed lightly and continued speaking.
"To be honest, even if the Thousand-Day Pass wanted to compensate you, do you think there’s anything here that could satisfy you? Money, martial arts, honor—any of it?"
"Well, that’s true."
It might sound arrogant, but the truth was, I didn’t belong here from the start.
When someone without anything says that, it’s just bravado. But when someone who has it all says it, it becomes the truth.
"That’s why, I want to pay you for this incident in a different way."
A different way?
"Come with me. It’s better to see it than to hear about it."
***
We left the Thousand-Day Pass.
There were no escorts.
The fact that no one showed up in my senses told me—whatever the Pavilion Master was about to show me, it wasn’t just any ordinary secret.
"You may or may not know, but the Main Flow Thousand-Day Pass was never originally an educational institution."
We had come to a cliff even deeper into the canyon where the Thousand-Day Pass was located.
I stood with the Pavilion Master in a cold, shadowed section of the cliff, where no light reached.
"The Thousand-Day Pass only became a full-time academy around two hundred years ago. Before that, it was more like a gateway—something you had to pass through with your life on the line."
Indeed, calling a place with only a 5% survival rate an educational institution was a bit absurd.
"The original Main Flow Thousand-Day Pass consisted of ten stages of trials. Do you know about the Ten Trials of Arhats at Shaolin?"
I nodded.
"I do. It’s the trial where one who passes all of them is recognized as one of Shaolin’s elite—an Eighteen Arhat, right?"
A legendary trial facility hidden deep within Songshan, revealed only to those deemed worthy.
"That’s right. It’s said that even passing just five of the gates is enough to be acknowledged as one of the greatest prodigies under heaven."
At that moment, my surroundings suddenly began to change rapidly.
Srrrk!
A deafening noise, like marble grinding against marble, tore at my ears.
As the scene before me slowly shifted, the Pavilion Master said:
"But something like the Ten Arhat Trials… is nothing compared to the Main Flow Thousand-Day Pass."
‘What… is that?’
A mechanism formation. And it’s a hallucination-type, too!
This was a massive-scale formation capable of altering the entire mountain.
Once the illusion settled, what appeared before me—
Was a colossal statue of an Asura, seemingly embedded into a mountain whose peak had been carved out.
‘Unbelievable!’
I had never heard or seen anything like this within the Heavenly Demon Cult!
‘Isn’t there supposed to be a massive stone Buddha carved into a cliff beyond Tianzhu in Bamiyan? This looks exactly like that!’
And to think they could craft such an intricate tri-headed, six-armed Asura statue!
"You’re surprised, aren’t you?"
As if he understood my reaction, the Pavilion Master nodded.
"Only three people in the Thousand-Day Pass know of this: myself, the Vice Pavilion Master, and the Chief Instructor."
"What about in the cult overall?"
"Other than the former Pavilion Master and Vice Pavilion Master, who are now in the Elder Council, only the Cult Leader knows. You could say this is one of the greatest secrets of the Main Cult."
"And why are you revealing that secret to me?"
"Because this is where the true Main Flow Thousand-Day Pass is held."
Beneath the statue was a massive iron gate, easily six jang tall.
When the Pavilion Master placed his hand on it, the iron gate began to open like an automatic door.
Ruuumble!
With a ground-splitting roar, the inside revealed only pitch-black darkness.
"And because I believe you can obtain something from within."
“…?!"
In that instant, the Pavilion Master’s energy changed.
The foolish old man who had stood before me until now disappeared—replaced by an absolute master who had reached the peak of martial cultivation.
"The position of Pavilion Master in the Thousand-Day Pass is considered a quiet, minor post in the cult. But that post is reserved only for those who have reached the apex. Do you know why?"
"To protect this secret?"
"That’s right. You’re quick."
A cold sweat ran down my back.
There was more to this.
Beyond being a ruthless training gateway that grinds people down, there was something unknown to me inside that place.
"I want to ask you a question."
"…Go ahead."
There was no one else around. It wouldn’t have been surprising if he tried to kill me to silence me.
"Where did you learn that sword technique?"
"…!"
I hadn’t expected the Pavilion Master to ask about my martial arts. It caught me off guard.
"Why do you want to know?"
"Just answer me. It’s important to me."
Should I tell him honestly?
It wasn’t particularly hard to explain, but it felt like a thorn was caught in my throat. I couldn’t get the words out.
Barely managing to compose myself, I answered.
"It was a secret manual stored in our clan’s Martial Arts Repository. I came across it while rummaging through the records."
"Your clan’s repository? That was in the Jin Clan? Not the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan?"
The Pavilion Master showed obvious surprise, as if he hadn’t expected it.
"Yes, that's correct. The Chief Administrator was the one who retrieved the manual. If you’d like, I could arrange for you to meet him."
"N-No, that won’t be necessary."
The Pavilion Master waved his hand dismissively.
"Fascinating. If they knew, they’d try to burn it no matter what. But the manual has already found its owner…"
"Sorry? What do you mean by that?"
"Never mind. Even for you, it’s not something good to know."
"Then why are you so interested in my sword technique?"
"Because I can’t help but be."
Finally, the Pavilion Master said something I never could’ve anticipated.
"That sword technique… was created to kill the Heavenly Demon."