Light Novel: Volume 16 Episode 7
Manhwa: N/A

The Martial Sword Alliance was the ruler of the South Sea.

Hainan Province, the island where they had established themselves, was in itself a giant fortress.

To enter the island, one must travel by boat, and all the waterways and harbors were controlled by the Martial Sword Alliance.

Because of this, without the permission of the Martial Sword Alliance, it was impossible to approach Hainan or even pass nearby.

This tendency became even stronger after Jeon Mu-ok, the Sword King of the Sea ascended to the position of sect leader. 

Many people were dissatisfied, but there was no one bold enough to voice these thoughts in front of Jeon Mu-ok.

Jeon Mu-ok was undeniably the overlord of the South Sea. But at some point, he stopped appearing in public.

To be precise, this occurred after his disciple, Dok Gohyang, won the succession battle. Since then, he entrusted all the major and minor matters of the Martial Sword Alliance to Dok Gohyang and entered seclusion to focus on his cultivation. But even if he disappeared from public view, his influence was still felt throughout the South Sea region.

The Martial Sword Alliance was largely composed of the Main Faction, Three Sects, and Five Palaces.

The Main Faction is also referred to as the Hainan Faction, and below that were the White Blood Sect,1 Flourishing Moon Sect,2 and Five Scarlet Sect,3 collectively referred to as the Three Sects.

The Great Martial Palace, Five Tiger Palace, True Martial Palace, Upper Moon Palace, and Mid-Heaven Palace were collectively referred to as the Five Palaces.

These nine sects formed the core of the Martial Sword Alliance. Of course, it went without saying that the Hainan Faction was at the center.

Martial artists from the Hainan Faction traditionally favored wearing blue martial arts uniforms to distinguish themselves from members of other factions.

In a positive way, it meant that they had a strong sense of identity, but at the same time, it also meant that they were using their clothes to show their superiority. However, this was a story from decades ago.

Now, in an effort to eliminate discrimination, all martial artists are required to wear blue robes, a move that has eliminated many of the worst forms of discrimination.

The Martial Sword Alliance was located at the foot of Wuzhi Mountain, which could be regarded as the symbol of Hainan.

Over the past few decades, the Martial Sword Alliance had expanded repeatedly, making it one of the largest in the world.

The residence of the Alliance Leader, Dok Gohyang, was in a high pagoda that gave a full view of the Martial Sword Alliance.

Dok Gohyang, with his arms folded, looked down upon the Martial Sword Alliance. Standing at his side was his aide, Um Soso.

The Martial Sword Alliance looked like a giant creature in itself.

The roads that stretched out in all directions were like human blood vessels, with countless people moving busily along them.

All of them lead to the pagoda situated at the very top.

Whoever sat in the pagoda controlled everything in this vast land.

Suddenly, Dok Gohyang opened his mouth,

“I like it.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Isn’t it magnificent? All this view…”

“It’s indeed magnificent.”

At Um Soso’s plain reply, Dok Gohyang chuckled.

She was a strange woman.

She could easily occupy a key position in the Martial Sword Alliance if she wanted, yet she had no interest in such material wealth.

All she wanted was Dok Gohyang.

She paid no attention to anything else.

For Dok Gohyang, she was the best aide he could ask for.

A natural smile spread across Dok Gohyang’s face as he looked at Um Soso.

It was then.

Thud!

A hawk suddenly flew in through the window.

The hawk, with its body covered in fiery red feathers, perched by the window, flapping its wings wildly. 

It was the Martial Sword Alliance’s sacred creature, the thousand-li sea hawk.

This sacred creature, known for easily traveling a thousand li in a day, was only used for reporting urgent matters from outside.

Its arrival meant that the matter was of significant importance.

Um Soso pulled out the letter from the scroll tied to the hawk’s ankle.

She then unrolled the scroll and handed it to Dok Gohyang.

“Hmm!”

 Dok Gohyang’s face stiffened as he read the letter.

“What’s the matter?”

Um Soso asked with a puzzled expression.

The Dok Gohyang she knew had a firm nature, never even batting an eye at the most serious of issues.

For him to show this much agitation meant that the contents of the letter were far from ordinary.

“Read it.”

Instead of answering, Dok Gohyang handed the scroll to Um Soso.

Um Soso quickly read the content written in the scroll.

“Hmm!”

Her reaction was no different from Dok Gohyang’s.

The contents written in the scroll were indeed shocking.

“Good heavens! The Prison of No Return has been attacked and destroyed?”

“Yes! It was attacked by someone, and those who were defending it chose to annihilate themselves.”

“That’s somewhat fortunate then.”

“Fortunate?”

There was a chill in Dok Gohyang’s eyes, but Um Soso calmly replied,

“Well, it said there that there were no survivors. So, he must be dead too.”

“We didn’t see it with our own eyes.”

“That’s–”

“You should know it too. The meaning of his existence in the Martial Sword Alliance. If he turns out to be alive, my legitimacy would be shaken.”

“We need to confirm this matter then.”

“That’s right. But, I can’t leave it to anyone else. You know that, right?”

“Yes. Then I guess I’d better get going then.”

“Yes, you’re the only one I can trust.”

The one who sent Yu Suhwan to the Prison of No Return was Dok Gohyang.

To hide the fact that he was involved, he deliberately contacted So Gyeoksan in Runan, far away from Hainan, and entrusted him with the job.

The fact that he was involved had to be kept a secret.

Knowing this fact, Um Soso volunteered to be the one who should go.

“Take the Sea Mist Squad with you.”

The Sea Mist Squad was the secret weapon of the Martial Sword Alliance.

They are a group of martial artists carefully cultivated by the Sword King of the Sea, Jeon Mu-ok, himself. They possessed the power to annihilate small and medium-sized sects in an instant.

Um Soso shook her head.

“I’m enough on my own.”

“I know. But we should still be prepared for everything. So take the Sea Mist Squad with you. That way, I can also rest easy.”

“Okay. If that’s what you want, then…”

Um Soso nodded as if she had no choice.

“Leave immediately.”

“Yes! I’ll be back.”

Um Soso bowed and left the room immediately.

Left alone, Dok Gohyang’s face twisted.

Irritation rose from deep within him.

Although he appeared jovial and daring on the outside, he was in fact a perfectionist. Everything had to go according to his will for him to feel satisfied.

The news of discord arising from somewhere beyond his sight infuriated him.

Grunt!

After grinding his teeth for a moment, Dok Gohyang suddenly walked over to a wall cabinet.

As he touched a certain part, the cabinet slid aside, revealing a hidden space.

The dark space, like the gaping maw of a giant beast, had a staircase leading down to the basement.

No one knew about this underground space in Dok Gohyang’s dwelling.

Dok Gohyang kept this place a closely guarded secret. The only other person who knew about this secret compartment was Um Soso.

Dok Gohyang descended the stairs to the basement.

After descending hundreds of stairs, he finally arrived at the bottom. 

The basement was pitch black with no light.

Suddenly, Dok Gohyang reached out and groped along the wall.

He got hold of a stick.

Thump!

Dok Gohyang lit the end of the stick on fire using Samadhi Real Fire.6 The dark underground space immediately brightened, revealing a panoramic view of the interior.

It was a huge underground space, about a dozen meters in every direction.

It wasn’t a naturally formed cave, but an artificially created space. However, Dok Gohyang wasn’t the only one in this underground space.

“Krrh!”

In the middle of the underground space sat a grotesque figure.

He was wearing iron chains thicker than his own arms, and his legs were cut off below the knees.

It was unclear how long he had been trapped here, but his hair had grown wild and long, covering his face and reaching down to his navel. 

Blinded by the sudden light, the grotesque figure groaned in apparent discomfort. However, that was only for a moment, as he then spat out a ghastly glare.

Dok Gohyang approached him. At this, the murderous intent in the grotesque figure’s eyes became even more ferocious.

Dok Gohyang spoke to the grotesque figure.

“It’s been a long time, Master.”

“Grrh!”

The grotesque figure’s voice echoed throughout the underground space.

“Do you still feel like living? Your voice is all hoarse–”

“You bastard who deserves to be deep-fried! You dare to reduce your master to this state! Can you still call yourself a human after this?!”

“Isn’t all this due to your karma, Master?”

“Karma?”

“Yes, karma! Wasn’t it you, Master, who first turned me into a beast? So I had no choice but to bite like a beast…”

A sickening smile tugged at the corners of the Dok Gohyang’s mouth.

The grotesque figure emanating killing intent in this completely enclosed underground space was none other than his master, Jeon Mu-ok, the absolute ruler of the Martial Sword Alliance, also known as the Sword King of the Sea.

He was thought to have secluded himself in order to undergo intense training, but in reality, he was trapped in this pitch-black underground space.

Rattle!

Jeon Mu-ok reached out with his chained arms and shouted,

“I shouldn’t have trusted you! You conspired with Jang Mugeuk to reduce your master to this state!”

In his heart, he wanted nothing more than to strangle Dok Gohyang right then and there, but his hands couldn’t reach any further due to the iron chains that bound his arms.

As Dok Gohyang watched Jeon Mu-ok wring his hands in front of him, Dok Gohyang showed no sympathy.

“Have you forgotten, Master? It was you who shoved me and my sworn brothers into the pit under the pretense of competition. Despite kindly teaching us martial arts, you forced us to compete. As a result, my hands are now soaked in the blood of my sworn brothers.”

“That was for your own good! To make you stronger–!”

“And so I grew strong, just as you wanted. I’m now a beast without blood or tears, aren’t I? Hehe!”

“Gohyang! Don’t do this! I am your master!”

“Isn’t that why you’re still alive, when I’ve already killed all my other sworn brothers? Ah, except for Brother Suhwan. I’ve sent him to the Prison of No Return.”

“Why Suhwan?”

“Because he was the only one who was kind to me, and I didn’t want to get his blood on my hands directly. That’s why I sent him to the Prison of No Return, but I heard the prison has fallen, and now I have nothing left. Oh wait, there’s still Soso”

“Stay away from that witch! She will lead you to ruin!”

Jeon Mu-ok warned him, but Dok Gohyang responded with a snort.

“Who are you to say that, Master? When you’ve long led us down the path of destruction.”

“It was all for your sakes. To make you stronger! Why can’t you understand my sincerity?!”

“Hehe! And we grew so strong like this. You must be proud, right? Your disciple has grown just as you wanted.”

“Gohyang!”

“Do not call my name with your filthy mouth, Master! Do you know how much I wanted to kill you every time you called my name in the past?!”

A terrifying rage exploded out of Dok Gohyang’s eyes.

Every day since he had become Jeon Mu-ok’s disciple, life had been like a living hell.

There wasn’t a single day he could sleep in peace.

He had to worry about being attacked by his fellow disciples, and falling short of his master’s standards.

As he grew older, his body might have grown bigger and stronger, but his mind grew sicker.

The two people he met at that time were Um Soso and Jang Mugeuk.

Without them, he would have died day by day under his master’s abuse.

From then on, Dok Gohyang changed.

He began to learn martial arts with a grander purpose than simply surviving in competition.

He had sufficient foundations. 

He possessed the five virtues and an indomitable will.

He delved into martial arts as if he were crazy.

As a result, he was able to achieve remarkable success. More than his master, Jeon Mu-ok, had wanted.

Only then did he carry out the plan he had been working on for so long. 

To defeat his master, Jeon Mu-ok. 

Jeon Mu-ok was a martial artist known as the Sword King of the Sea.

He possessed a powerful force equal to the life he had lived.

It would have been impossible alone. But he had a friend who shared his purpose.

Jang Mugeuk.

He had the same intention as Dok Gohyang.

Jeon Mu-ok was certainly a great martial artist. His swordsmanship had more than enough power to split the sea. But ironically, he did not know how to utilize them to their full potential.

For someone who encouraged such ferocity and competition in his disciples, he himself lacked a fierce fighting spirit.

In the end, Dok Gohyang and Jang Mugeuk were able to suppress Jeon Mu-ok after a fierce battle.

Dok Gohyang had no intention of killing Jeon Mu-ok easily.

He would keep him alive until the very end, to repay him for all the pain he had caused him.

Dok Gohyang smiled as he took out a specially crafted dagger from his bosom.

The dagger, with teeth protruding like a shark’s, was specially made to inflict pain on a person.

“Alright, Master, let’s get started today.”

“Noom! Euaak!”

 Jeon Mu-ok’s pitiful scream echoed in the darkness.

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