CFZ

The atmosphere turned icy after I cut him off.
How should I handle this?
I was still mulling it over when—

“…was.”
The Celestial Stream Sect Lord pretended not to notice the interruption and simply continued speaking.
‘Wow, he’s just pushing through.’

I wanted to point it out, but since he was about to share information, I held my tongue.
“Do you even realize how disgusting and horrifying it is to call something like that ‘righteous’?”
“Yeah? So?”

“Don’t delude yourself. You… and your kind… are no true righteous sect.”
He faltered mid-sentence.
I knew why.

He wasn’t sure whether to consider me part of the so-called righteous sects or not. That hesitation showed.
“Not a true righteous sect? Then who is?”
Creak.

The Sect Lord rose to his feet.
“Ilcheon Cult. They’re the true righteous sect.”
“What?”

Ilcheon Cult? Righteous?
Before I could question it—
“…I’ll handle what you’ve asked for. But don’t forget.”
Swish—!

The floating swords returned to him.
“This is a transaction. Just as you aim to get what you want, so does the Celestial Stream Sect…!”
“Yeah, yeah. I know.”

I waved dismissively to cut him off before he could ramble any further.
I already knew what he wanted.
He’d told me before.

“You want to be recognized as righteous.”
Specifically, he wanted me to pull strings with the Martial Alliance to remove their unorthodox sect label.
In other words—

The Celestial Stream Sect was desperate to escape its unorthodox reputation.

   ******************
   
Later.

After the Sect Lord left, I sat quietly in the room, staring at the ceiling.
The silence lingered until I finally spoke.
“You can come out now.”

“Yes.”
“Jesus—!”
I flinched.

Someone who hadn’t been there a moment ago was suddenly sitting in front of me.
Shadow King.
Disguised as Yeon Hong.

“You called for me?”
“…Ah, yeah.”
It was hard to respond.

The body was Yeon Hong’s, but the voice was undeniably Shadow King.
That disconnect was unsettling, but it felt weird to point it out, so I let it slide.
“Uh, nothing big. Just wanted to thank you for earlier.”

“No need.”
“...”
“...”

And that was it.
The conversation ended.
Not surprising, so I slowly got up.

With the Sect Lord gone, I needed to get back to work.
Just as I was about to move—
“Are you certain this is fine?”

“…What do you mean?”
I turned to look at Shadow King.
“Letting the old man go. If you wish, I can take care of him.”

“...”
His casual tone made it all the more terrifying.
He sounded so confident—like killing him would be no trouble at all.

Thank God this monster was on my side.
“Nah, doesn’t matter.”
“He had ill intentions.”

“Yeah, no doubt.”
It was obvious the Sect Lord was scheming something.
But—

“I don’t care.”
I already expected this.
“It’s what I wanted, anyway.”

I set it up this way on purpose.
The Sect Lord would make a move sooner or later.
He had his own motives for working with me.

He wouldn’t just sit around.
And I was fine with that.
“They’re both disposable. Letting them clash makes my job easier later.”

I was stirring the pot—letting things simmer before I struck.
Especially with Ilcheon Sword in mind, I needed the groundwork laid out.
If anything worried me, it was that the Sect Lord might move faster than I expected.

But—
‘Judging by today, he’s more cautious than I thought.’
He seemed more careful than reckless, so I set that concern aside.

“Still, there is one problem.”
I trailed off and shifted my gaze away from Shadow King.
‘What he said about the Ilcheon Cult.’

“You’re no righteous sect. You’re fake.”
“The Ilcheon Cult is the real righteous sect.”
That line kept replaying in my head.

“Hmm.”
Why would he say that?
I mulled it over.

Ilcheon Cult. The true righteous sect.
I stroked my chin, deep in thought. Pieces of information were coming together, forming a bigger picture.
Something felt off. Why did they specifically mention being a true righteous sect?

And what exactly is Ilcheon Cult? The situation was still too vague to draw conclusions. Yet, one hypothesis started to take shape.
Something that seemed far-fetched yet oddly plausible if connected.
An anomaly the leader of Celestial Stream Sect might have experienced—or was rumored to have experienced.

There was one thing I knew, even from my previous life.
‘The legacy of Golden Stream Manor and its hidden archives.’
In my past life, it was said that they raided the secret vaults of Golden Stream Manor and obtained a great fortune. Even now, it seemed like they had gained something similar.

But as for me… I was certain it couldn’t be Golden Stream Manor’s archives. The reason was simple.
‘Because I was the one who claimed that legacy.’
In this life, I had seized the place known as Golden Stream Manor’s secret vault. The treasures hidden there were already mine.

I even confirmed that the space itself disappeared afterward.
So what exactly did the Celestial Stream Sect’s leader gain? I initially assumed it must have come from somewhere else, but then—
‘No way.’

What if the leader of Celestial Stream Sect had truly obtained Golden Stream Manor’s treasure?
And what if that treasure was somehow tied to Ilcheon Cult?
‘Even the name—Ilcheon Cult—is suspicious.’

In the past, the title of the greatest under heaven belonged to Yeon Ilcheon. The name was far too similar to ignore, leaving an uneasy feeling.
Moreover, there was what the Celestial Stream Sect leader had said.
‘Ilcheon Cult is the one true righteous sect.’

What did that even mean?
I pondered the words carefully, and suddenly, something clicked.
‘…A righteous sect?’

What does it mean to be righteous?
Before explaining the values or beliefs of righteousness, the first question was—who decides what is righteous?
It didn’t take long to find the answer. Even this place was a prime example.

‘The Martial Alliance.’
In today’s world, whether something is righteous or not no longer depends on martial values.
Instead, it often comes down to whether one belongs to the Martial Alliance or not.

And who founded the Martial Alliance?
‘It was Yeon Ilcheon.’
Yeon Ilcheon, the man who stopped the great bloodshed of the past, had created the organization.

‘…Hmm.’
The name Ilcheon Cult, its connection to Celestial Stream Sect, and the claim of being a true righteous sect—
Could all of this really be a coincidence? Or was it just as I suspected?

‘Ilcheon Cult might be tied to Golden Stream Manor.’
I thought about this as I turned my gaze toward someone sitting before me—Amwang (Shadow King).
I couldn’t help it. Given Amwang’s origins, I had to look.

‘Amwang is said to be a descendant of the Yeonga family.’
A descendant of the cursed Yeonga bloodline. Wouldn’t he know something?
‘But if he did know, why hasn’t he said anything about Ilcheon Cult?’

And if he knew everything, why was he staying silent?
‘Ah.’
Right. I remembered now.

‘Amwang did say he’d personally investigate Ilcheon Cult.’
He had shown interest and wanted to look further into it himself.
That meant, even if Amwang wasn’t directly involved, he also sensed something was off.

‘Did Amwang notice something about his own lineage connected to Ilcheon Cult?’
Was that why he wanted to investigate further?
The pieces fit—especially ★ 𝐍𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 ★ considering that this was Sichuan, the land once associated with the Yeonga family.

Could Ilcheon Cult really be connected to Golden Stream Manor?
And did Amwang already know about it?
If that were true, what would it mean?

Countless questions raced through my mind, and finally, I decided to just ask.
“Amwang.”
Sometimes, it’s faster to get answers directly.

At my call, Amwang looked up at me.
Still disguised as Yeon Hong. It was hard to get used to.
I ignored the appearance and got straight to the point.

“About this Ilcheon Cult matter—”
“Yes?”
“Could it be related to Yeon—huh?”

I stopped mid-sentence, my words catching in my throat.
Something felt off.
“…Amwang?”

“Yes?”
“Why are you suddenly speaking in that voice?”
That was the strange part—his voice.

Just a moment ago, he had been using his own voice. But now, he was speaking in Yeon Hong’s voice.
I tried to keep calm as I asked, but Amwang only tilted his head in confusion.
“What do you mean, Young Lord?”

“What? No, I mean…”
Was he messing with me? I was about to tell him to stop playing around when—
Bang—!

“…!?”
The sealed door suddenly burst open.
“What the hell?”

I was more startled than when Amwang had first appeared.
Who the hell barged in like this?
I turned toward the door, trying to calm my nerves.

“Who just—?”
Then—
“…Huh?”

I saw a face I recognized.
The bright daylight streamed in from behind the door, highlighting the figure of a man stepping inside.
Step.

Not particularly large in stature, but his well-trained muscles hinted at strict discipline.
His face bore a kind and gentle expression—normally.
But right now, his face was twisted into an angry scowl, shattering that gentle impression.

“…Wait… what?”
What was he doing here?
I stared blankly, unable to comprehend the situation.

“…Young Lord Gu.”
The man alternated his gaze between me and Amwang, still disguised as Yeon Hong.
No—this wasn’t just any man.

This was the head of the Tang Clan, the one who once ruled poison and steel.
The father of Tang So-yeol, and the current vice-leader of the Azure Dragon Division.
The Poison King was looking at me.

“…Another woman?”
And for some reason, he looked furious.