Chapter 274
“Given how things stand, let’s head to Jiangsu Province first.”
That was what Sun Woo-jin said to the group after leaving the Swordmaster’s residence on Mount Antang.
Seol Poong then asked, “Are you sure we can leave without meeting the Swordmaster? Didn’t you say this was very important to you?”
Sun Woo-jin smiled faintly. “I don’t think now is the right time. Fortunately, Jiangsu lies just north of Zhejiang Province, so we can plan to return when the moment is better.”
As he spoke, Sun Woo-jin scanned the surroundings with his mind’s eye, thinking, When that time comes, we’ll have to enter discreetly, not so openly.
A slight frown crossed his face as he sensed someone nearby.
Since leaving the Swordmaster’s place, someone had been stealthily following them.
Judging by the level of concealment, this was likely a top-tier assassin.
Sun Woo-jin observed the person’s every move through his spiritual sight and thought, It must be Ban Dae-ha, the Swordmaster’s second son.
Given the timing and circumstances, it couldn’t be anyone else.
And whatever his reasons, they certainly weren’t good.
Sun Woo-jin sighed and said to Muk-rang, “Just because the father is a chivalrous hero doesn’t mean the son is, too. It’s a pity.”
Muk-rang replied, “We can’t be sure the father is still a hero either. Don’t trust him blindly.”
At Muk-rang’s words, Sun Woo-jin’s expression darkened.
The implication was clear: the current strongest warrior in the martial world, the Blood Wolf Swordmaster, might no longer be a righteous hero.
Sun Woo-jin asked cautiously, “Even though he was chosen by the elder?”
Muk-rang answered gravely, “People can change at any time. And it’s always easier for that change to lean toward the worse rather than the better.”
Sun Woo-jin fell silent, troubled.
If the Blood Wolf Swordmaster truly ceased to be a hero—or even if he simply tried to monopolize the Sword God’s heir, Yoo-jin—that would be a serious problem.
Breaking through his interference to find Yoo-jin would become an exhausting ordeal.
If that happens, would we be facing an enemy even more terrifying than the Blood Demon?
The thought was chilling.
But Sun Woo-jin shook his head, brushing the worry aside.
There was no point in dwelling on it now.
First, they had to focus on what they could do in the present.
He sent a silent command to the six-harmony sword assassins, the Sky Piercing Bird assassins, who were shadowing him.
They were to capture the trackers Ban Dae-ha had surely sent.
Two days later, Sun Woo-jin and his group finally set foot in Jiangsu Province, located just north of Zhejiang.
This was the Jiangsu where the Four Kings’ Alliance—one of the three great powers of the martial world alongside the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Martial Alliance—was based.
The group paused briefly, gazing toward the city walls of Suzhou, the southernmost city of Jiangsu.
They had arrived in Suzhou, famed for its beautiful Taihu scenery and known as the busiest entertainment district in the world.
Seol Poong let out a deep sigh as he looked out over the city.
“Phew…”
Sun Woo-jin glanced at him and asked gently, “Is something weighing on your mind, brother?”
Seol Poong chuckled softly. “Honestly, yes. I boasted that I’d gotten my head straight, but… seeing this place, it’s a bit embarrassing.”
Sun Woo-jin smiled warmly, shaking his head. “Don’t be. I know you’ll do well.”
He wasn’t just saying that to comfort him.
He had heard rumors that Seol Poong had once been to Jiangsu alone in his past life and had been well respected there.
Now, with them supporting him, failure was simply not an option.
At that moment, Ha Won-dal-gi and Yeon Tae-jin, who had been listening nearby, frowned and interrupted.
“Seol Poong’s personal history, huh? I’ve kept quiet until now, but since we’re here, why not share? I don’t know anything, and it’s frustrating that only the two of you do. And you say this place is connected to Poong? Could it be that he has ties to the Four Kings’ Alliance?”
The others glanced at Seol Poong as well, curious but hesitant to ask.
Sun Woo-jin said nothing, quietly watching Seol Poong’s profile.
He didn’t know all the details either, and if Seol Poong didn’t want to speak first, he wasn’t going to push.
After a moment of staring blankly at the beautiful Taihu scenery, Seol Poong slowly began to speak.
His calm opening words made everyone’s eyes widen in shock.
“I am… a descendant of the first Four King, Gwe Ja-woon. Also, the grandson of the previous Four King, Seol Mo-su.”
“!”
“!”
The Four King.
One of the three great powers of the martial world, alongside the Heavenly Demon Sect and the Martial Alliance.
The title referred to the leader of the Four Kings’ Alliance, one of the fifteen absolute masters, ranked alongside the Chivalrous King as one of the two supreme martial kings.
Moreover, the current Chivalrous King, Mo Yong-gum, was widely considered overrated, making the present Four King, Gwe Gal-hyun, effectively the second strongest warrior after the Swordmaster.
Seol Poong was claiming to be part of that noble lineage.
“Eek?! Seol Poong is from the Four King’s family?!”
“Of course! I knew he was from the Four Kings! Not just any faction, but pure nobility!”
“Wow! So that’s why Seol Gongja was so strong!”
Those were the reactions of Jeung Chil, Yeon Tae-jin, and Jin So-eun in turn.
Seol Poong gave a bitter smile and continued.
“I am indeed from the Four King’s family. Though a branch that was purged…”
The first Four King, Gwe Ja-woon, who lived during the era of the Sword God and Thunder God, gave his eldest son his own surname, ‘Gwe,’ while his second son took his wife’s surname, ‘Seol.’
This was due to the Four King’s stubbornness—he was known as a devoted husband throughout the martial world.
Later, the Four King passed the leadership of the Four Kings’ Alliance to the son with the stronger martial skill, regardless of surname, and left a will that this tradition be maintained.
This tradition had lasted for over a hundred years.
The Gwe and Seol branches, originally one bloodline, competed healthily without animosity, passing leadership to the stronger heir.
At least, that was the case until about twenty years ago.
Seol Poong’s eyes darkened with pain as he spoke.
“My father, Seol Cheon-hoo, was said to be stronger than his rival, Gwe Gal-hyun, the current Four King. Everyone believed he would be the next leader.”
The group swallowed hard.
Gwe Gal-hyun was the current head of the Four Kings’ Alliance—the reigning Four King.
Seol Cheon-hoo, from the Seol branch, was said to be stronger.
What had happened in between was clear without further explanation.
Seol Poong’s next words confirmed their suspicions.
“When my father was about to be named the next leader, Gwe Gal-hyun led his followers in an attack on our family. Both my parents were killed. I escaped with my maternal grandfather’s help and lived in hiding. I trained in martial arts under him in the mountains.”
Seol Poong’s tone was calm and brief, but the pain of losing his parents and living in exile was anything but simple.
Jeung Chil’s eyes welled with tears as he gripped Seol Poong’s hand tightly.
“Seol Poong! I had no idea you carried such a painful past! I’m sorry, brother! Please forgive my ignorance!”
Yeon Tae-jin’s eyes also glistened with tears.
“How tragic! You’re like a tragic hero from a legend! You’re not alone anymore—I’ll always be by your side!”
Jin So-eun, about to join in the tears, pulled back with a grimace at Yeon Tae-jin’s ambiguous comfort.
Unlike the others, Sun Woo-jin said nothing, silently watching Seol Poong.
He had known that Seol Poong had once been a candidate for the next Four King, so the family connection wasn’t a surprise.
But this was the first time he’d heard the full story.
Even now, Sun Woo-jin sensed there was more Seol Poong hadn’t shared.
What they’d heard so far didn’t fully explain how Seol Poong had become a candidate for the Four King’s successor.
And Sun Woo-jin wasn’t the only one who noticed.
Yeon Tae-jin, who had tried to embrace Seol Poong but was gently refused, clicked her tongue in disappointment before suddenly speaking.
“Damn, that didn’t work. But wait, this is weird. If what Poong says is true, shouldn’t we avoid going to the Four Kings’ Alliance? They can’t know he’s alive. Unless… unless we’re not just here to take revenge on the Four King ourselves… Could it be? Could it really be?”
Yeon Tae-jin looked at Seol Poong with a horrified expression.
Even for someone as bold as her, the idea of taking revenge on the supreme Four King in his own stronghold of Jiangsu was reckless beyond reason.
At that, Seol Poong gave a faint smile, his eyes somehow tinged with loneliness as he replied.
“Rest assured, Young Master Yeon. I have no intention of doing anything reckless like that.”
Hearing this, Yeon Tae-jin let out a relieved sigh.
“Phew, I thought so. You really startled me. But… then why did you come to Jiangsu Province?”
Seol Poong gazed toward the northern sky, where the stronghold of the Sa-wang-ryeon lay, his eyes heavy with melancholy.
“To become the next candidate for the Sa-wang-ryeon leader.”
Yeon Tae-jin frowned again at that answer.
“Huh? You want to become the next Sa-wang leader?”
“How can you say you want to become the Sa-wang leader?” the others asked, except for Sunwoo Jin, who remained silent.
None of them could understand Seol Poong’s words. To go to the Sa-wang-ryeon, led by Gwe Gal-hyeon—the very man who had killed his parents—and declare himself a candidate for the next leader? It would have been easier to grasp if he had said he wanted revenge.
Seol Poong smiled faintly at the group and said, “He won’t oppose me becoming the next Sa-wang-ryeon leader. You can trust me on that, at least. And… I’d prefer if you didn’t ask why. I’d rather not reveal it, if possible.”
The group fell silent, unwilling to press further. The bittersweet look in Seol Poong’s eyes as he smiled so gently was too heavy to ignore.
After a moment, they resumed their journey toward Soju, the city of pleasure. The scenery of Taehosan remained beautiful, but the group was too weighed down by Seol Poong’s somber mood to speak.
Then, Muk-rang suddenly turned to Sunwoo Jin.
“Jin, do you happen to know his story?”
He, too, seemed curious about Seol Poong’s past. But Sunwoo Jin shook his head.
“I don’t know much either. Only that…”
“Only that?”
“There might be some connection to the regret he mentioned about his mother last time.”
“Hmm.”
Though uncertain, Sunwoo Jin had already come to that conclusion in his heart. Considering Seol Poong’s severe fear of women until recently, it was almost certain that the incident involved his mother deeply.
Muk-rang muttered with a sigh, “I had a feeling when I saw that boy wasn’t with the Sa-wang-ryeon on the front lines. It seems the descendants of Gwe Hyung-nim haven’t had an easy path either. They were such a harmonious couple; I’m sure they’re grieving even in the afterlife.”
At that, Sunwoo Jin suddenly asked, “Did you already know that Hyung-nim was a descendant of the Sa-wang?”
Muk-rang chuckled softly. “Of course. A Seol youth who uses the Red-Eyed Blood Beast Fist—how could I not know? The first Sa-wang, Gwe Hyung-nim, was a close friend of my brother. It was actually thanks to my brother that he was able to marry Seol Sojeo. So, the two children were like nephews to us…”
Muk-rang trailed off, unwilling to say more. The secret behind how the descendants of Gwe and Seol—once so beloved—ended up shedding each other’s blood was naturally a bitter thing to recall.
Sunwoo Jin didn’t press further and instead turned his thoughts to what lay ahead.
From what he had heard in his previous life, Seol Poong had become a candidate for the next Sa-wang-ryeon leader. But there were five candidates in total. Even if becoming a candidate was easy, winning the competition among them to become the leader was another matter entirely.
Sunwoo Jin’s eyes gleamed as he thought, “But! This time, I came with Hyung-nim and brought strong allies. I can’t be satisfied with just him becoming a candidate again. This time, I will make sure he becomes the next Sa-wang-ryeon leader.”
This was the plan Sunwoo Jin had been nurturing for some time. He had also been quietly gathering information about the Sa-wang-ryeon. Given his close ties with Hao Men in Guizhou and Guangxi provinces, it wasn’t a difficult task.
Sunwoo Jin clenched his fist as he pictured Seol Poong leading the Sa-wang-ryeon and returning to the front lines.
“If that happens, no matter how powerful the Blood Sect or the Martial Alliance are…”
Imagining a future where their forces were utterly overshadowed, Sunwoo Jin felt his chest swell with hope and determination.