“It’s been a long time, Young Master.”
Jang Kang looked at Yoo Unryong and smiled brightly.
“To see you grown so much after all this time fills me with deep emotion.”
Jang Kang was a former member of the Imperial Guard—extremely loyal and highly capable as an escort. Beyond that, during Yoo Unryong’s childhood when he was secretly despised and mistreated, Jang Kang had quietly taken care of him and devoted himself to the boy.
It was no exaggeration to say that Yoo Unryong had been able to grow up safely largely thanks to Jang Kang’s protection.
“I’ve always heard reports of Young Master’s accomplishments.”
“What brings you here?”
Yoo Unryong felt a somewhat ominous premonition.
Rain or snow, Jang Kang never left Yoo Jeongpung’s side for even a moment, guarding him against countless dangers.
For such a man to suddenly come looking for Yoo Unryong himself…
“Has something happened?”
“Well… it’s like this.”
Jang Kang’s face grew extremely dark.
After hesitating for a moment, he spoke to Yoo Unryong.
“I didn’t want to tell you because I feared it would become a burden to the Young Master.”
“Speak freely. What exactly is going on?”
Jang Kang opened his mouth cautiously.
“His Lordship is in danger.”
“My father?”
Yoo Unryong’s eyes flashed.
In the entire world, there was only one person who would dare target the Grand Secretary whom the Emperor trusted most.
“The Empress Dowager is making her move.”
“Indeed.”
Jang Kang let out a deep sigh.
“The Crown Prince, who went out for convalescence… the Empress Dowager is targeting him.”
The Crown Prince had suffered from a chronic skin condition for a long time and his health was poor.
Taking advantage of the timing when the Infinite Realm had collapsed and the Empress Dowager’s power had weakened, he had gone out to recuperate…
Unexpectedly, the Empress Dowager immediately joined hands with another faction and began targeting the Crown Prince without delay.
If she could get the Crown Prince into her hands, it would be an excellent opportunity to control the Emperor himself.
“The Crown Prince’s side realized the Empress Dowager was after him and is currently fighting their way back to the palace through a path of blood… but his life or death cannot be guaranteed.”
“Then—”
“Yes.”
Jang Kang bit his lip.
“As the situation grew urgent, His Lordship ultimately became the bait to protect the Crown Prince.”
Yoo Unryong instantly grasped the situation.
The Empress Dowager was going all out this time to capture the Crown Prince.
But she could not openly mobilize a large army, so she would employ only the most elite experts to seize him.
However, if Yoo Jeongpung—the man who always spoke bluntly and had long been a thorn in her side—suddenly appeared as bait?
From the Empress Dowager’s perspective, rather than chasing the uncertain whereabouts of the Crown Prince, she would choose the far more certain option of killing Yoo Jeongpung.
“In the end, using the pretext of assessing public sentiment, His Lordship went down to a villa by the West Lake.”
Jang Kang spoke with a pained expression.
“Knowing His Lordship’s intention to act as bait, His Majesty dispatched the Eighteen Golden Shadows to protect him… but even so, his life cannot be guaranteed.”
“Have the Emperor and the Empress Dowager fallen out to that extent?”
In truth, the power struggle between the Emperor and the Empress Dowager was nothing new.
However, because the affairs of the martial world alone were already overwhelming, Yoo Unryong had not paid much attention to imperial court developments.
“This time, the spark seems to have been the position of Auxiliary Grand General. The Empress Dowager insisted on putting one of her own people in that role.”
Jang Kang wore a bitter expression.
“In the end, the Emperor firmly rejected it, and now it appears the Empress Dowager is determined to take revenge.”
“But hasn’t the power of the Eastern Division—her main arm—been greatly weakened? Because of the absence of Infinite Realm.”
The Empress Dowager controlled the formidable Eastern Division, and the Eastern Division had received massive support from the equally formidable Infinite Realm.
But since Bu Eunseol destroyed Infinite Realm, both the Empress Dowager and the Eastern Division’s influence inevitably suffered a sharp decline.
“The moment Infinite Realm collapsed, people approached the Eastern Division as if they had been waiting.”
Jang Kang spoke with a sigh.
“They possess power and influence on a scale equal to—or perhaps even greater than—Infinite Realm… and they have become arrogant once again.”
“Who are they?”
“Nothing has been confirmed yet, but they are said to be a mysterious faction that has never before revealed itself in the martial world.”
“A mysterious faction.”
Yoo Unryong fell into deep thought for a moment.
Then he asked calmly, “If His Lordship volunteered to be bait, blocking the assassins shouldn’t be that difficult, right?”
The Eighteen Golden Shadows were among the very best experts in the palace.
Moreover, it was clear that the ones trying to assassinate Yoo Jeongpung were from the Eastern Division. If their movements could be properly tracked, the assassins could even be eliminated in advance.
“If the Eastern Division has colluded with a martial faction, detecting and dealing with them beforehand shouldn’t be too hard.”
“You’re right. We thought the same and operated our intelligence network—only to locate their main base far too easily.”
Yoo Unryong’s eyes flashed.
“It must have been information deliberately leaked by the Eastern Division. They would have been curious about the strength of the faction they’ve allied with.”
“Exactly. We reached the same conclusion. In any case, we identified the location and dispatched troops.”
Jang Kang continued in a trembling voice.
“But in the end… they were all killed by a single person.”
“A single person?”
Yoo Unryong’s eyes sharpened.
To root out a force colluding with the Eastern Division, they would have sent overwhelming military power capable of sweeping away even a major sect in one stroke.
Yet such experts were all killed by just one man?
“Surely not-”
“It is most likely a master of the Limitless Realm.”
“That can’t be.”
“It is certain.” Jang Kang took a deep breath and continued. “Even if experts on the level of the Seven Kings of Death had come, our force could have stopped them. Yet they were completely annihilated by one person.”
“Who is he?”
“We have not yet identified his identity. However… he is said to wield a single spear stained red with blood.”
“A spear.”
Yoo Unryong narrowed his eyes.
There were many spear users in the martial world.
But no known master of the Limitless Realm used a spear.
If Jang Kang’s words were true… then a brand-new Limitless Realm expert, previously unknown to the martial world, had appeared.
“If it truly is a master of the Limitless Realm, there would be no need to lead a large force at all. He could handle everything quietly.”
Grand Secretary Yoo Jeongpung was a figure symbolizing integrity and enjoyed absolute support from the common people. Moreover, right now the Eighteen Golden Shadows—one of the most renowned armed forces in the palace—were guarding him.
If a large army attacked to kill him, problems would arise.
But a master of the Limitless Realm?
He could succeed in a silent assassination without the hassle of moving a large force at all.
“His Lordship is scheduled to arrive at the villa by the West Lake in ten days. Of course, this information has not yet spread.”
“So we have ten days.”
“Yes. Officially, His Lordship went incognito to assess public sentiment… but in reality, he chose such a location to avoid causing harm to anyone.”
Jang Kang looked at Yoo Unryong with an earnest expression.
“Now the only remaining hope is you, Young Master.”
Silence fell for a moment.
Yoo Unryong sat with a grave expression, lost in deep thought.
If a Limitless Realm master was coming to kill his father, Yoo Jeongpung…
To stop that person, another Limitless Realm master would be needed.
Currently, the only ones in Majeon known to have reached the Limitless Realm were the Demon Emperor, and the Elder Hall Leader, Jeok Bung.
Of course, Bu Eunseol had reached the Transcendent Origin Realm, but there was still no guarantee he could overwhelmingly defeat a Limitless Realm master.
‘I could block him if I mobilized all of the Death Shadow Corps’s forces.’
If every single warrior in the Death Shadow Corps fought to the death…
Even a Limitless Realm master could probably be stopped.
The problem, however, was the human cost.
How many of the Death Shadow Corps’s warriors would die just to stop that one assassin…? The number was impossible to calculate.
“Aren’t there terrifying warriors in Majeon?”
Jang Kang spoke carefully.
“Besides the Demon Emperor, there are many great masters. Surely they could stop him.”
Yoo Unryong gave a wry smile.
Asking a Limitless Realm master to move for personal family reasons was simply impossible from the start.
‘Besides, this isn’t even a martial world matter, is it?’
But Jang Kang came from the official world and did not fully understand the nature of the demonic path.
Or perhaps—even knowing—he had come desperately pleading like this because he wanted to save Yoo Jeongpung.
After a long silence, Yoo Unryong nodded as if he had made up his mind.
“I understand. I’ll handle this matter myself.”
“Thank you, Young Master.”
“There’s no need for Uncle Jang to thank me.”
Though Jang Kang was an escort warrior, to Yoo Unryong he had always been like a father.
There was no reason for him to express gratitude.
“I have always waited for the day when the Youngest Young Master and His Lordship would reconcile. Previously, after His Lordship met His Majesty the Emperor…”
As Jang Kang spoke excitedly, Yoo Unryong cut him off.
“Uncle Jang. Time is short, so please return first. I’ll prepare a few things and then head to the villa by the West Lake.”
“Yes, yes. Understood.”
After Jang Kang left, Yoo Unryong returned to Majeon.
Sitting in his office, he sank into deep contemplation.
“A master of the Limitless Realm.”
No matter how much he thought about it, in the end there was only one thing he could do.
Swish, swish.
Taking up his brush, he sat and wrote steadily for a long time.
After writing without pause for nearly an entire hour, he finally set the brush down.
“Mu Gwang.”
Then, in a low voice, he called his adjutant, Mu Gwang.
Just in case a day like this ever came…
He had trained the man diligently.
He had created another shadow—one who could handle the complicated affairs and management of the Death Shadow Corps in his absence.
“You called, my lord?”
As Mu Gwang entered, Yoo Unryong handed him one of the sheets he had written on so diligently.
“Take this.”
“This is…”
Mu Gwang’s eyes widened.
What Yoo Unryong handed him was a leave request form.
“I’m going to take all my accumulated leave. While I’m gone, handle everything in my place.”
“A full month?”
Looking down at the paper, Mu Gwang’s eyes widened again.
Since Yoo Unryong had never once taken leave until now, if he wished he could take not just a month but three.
Yet he had never even considered it.
Because without him, the Death Shadow Corps would cease to function.
“Is it too long?”
“No, it’s just… I’m worried whether I can manage it well.”
“You can.”
Even with Yoo Unryong’s encouragement, Mu Gwang scratched his head.
“It still feels too much. Perhaps I should ask the other captains for help in advance.”
“Mu Gwang.”
Yoo Unryong looked straight into Mu Gwang’s eyes with an unprecedentedly solemn expression.
“You must handle it alone.”
“Alone, my lord?”
“Yes. That’s exactly why I’ve trained you so hard until now.”
“My lord…”
“Don’t worry. You’ll do well.”
Uncharacteristically, Yoo Unryong showed a gentle, spring-breeze-like smile.
“Believe in your own ability.”
Then, in a soft voice, he added, “And do not tell anyone that I’m taking leave. Those guys will be so jealous their stomachs will ache… and they’ll nag endlessly.”
Rising from his seat, Yoo Unryong pointed to the stack of books on the desk.
They were the very things he had been writing nonstop.
“I wrote these down in case there’s anything you find difficult. Read them in your spare time; they’ll help.”
He lightly patted Mu Gwang’s shoulder.
“And there’s something I always keep in the spot where I place important documents. Discuss it with Myo Cheonwoo and be sure to complete it.”
“What is it?”
“You’ll know when you see it. If even together with Myo Cheonwoo you think it cannot be completed, show it to the Lord.”
When Mu Gwang tried to ask again, Yoo Unryong waved his hand dismissively.
“I’ve already informed the intelligence agents, but for this leave I truly intend to rest. Do not try to track my whereabouts under any circumstances.”
“Understood. Have a peaceful rest, my lord.”
“Yes.”
Yoo Unryong patted Mu Gwang’s shoulder once more and left a short farewell.
“Take care.”
With a faint smile, he slowly walked out of the office.
Mu Gwang stared blankly at his back for a long time.
The bright smile reflected in the sunlight somehow pierced his heart.
‘I must not waver.’
Mu Gwang shook his head.
With Yoo Unryong gone, the Death Shadow Corps would soon fall into chaos.
To prevent that, from now on he had to handle things decisively and properly.
***
After leaving Majeon, Yoo Unryong spent a vast sum of money.
He secretly hired top-grade mercenary who possessed profound knowledge of formations and mechanical arrays.
Then, along the path leading to the villa by the West Lake where Yoo Jeongpung would stay, he began covert preparations.
‘No matter what method I use, I cannot defeat a Limitless Realm master.’
If the assassin truly was a Limitless Realm expert?
Unless he brought every warrior of the Death Shadow Corps and Bu Eunseol himself, it would be impossible to achieve an overwhelming victory against such a master.
‘But if it’s mutual destruction… that is not impossible.’
Reaching the Limitless Realm did not make them gods.
Until now, Yoo Unryong had handled information on countless supreme experts.
He had also deeply studied the state of Limitless and the phenomenon known as Infinite Reversal Power.
And the conclusion he reached… was similar to what Bu Eunseol had always said.
It was not absolutely necessary to reach the Limitless Realm to shatter Infinite Reversal Power.
Above all, within spaces like the Mind Landscape, even martial artists were no different from ordinary humans. And in fact, those very things… had been the core essence of the Mind Realm of the Record of Inherited Essentials and the key principles of the Heart Mirror Technique that he had been continuously researching until now.
‘It is not yet perfectly completed.’
The Heart Mirror Technique was still unfinished, but there was no choice.
‘To unfold even the incomplete Heart Mirror Technique, many devices are required.’
Yoo Unryong had countless laborers and top-grade mercenaries continuously install formations in a quiet forest slightly removed from the villa. It was groundwork for creating the Heart Mirror Technique that he had researched until now.
The assassin would definitely enter the villa through this path. Yoo Jeongpung had likely chosen a villa with only one entrance route to buy time against enemy attacks.
‘Just a little more.’
Yoo Unryong felt neither fear nor regret.
Fighting a Limitless Realm master alone was as futile as a dream.
Only because he had obtained the mysterious ancient book did he gain hope that he might succeed.
And so, forgetting even sleep, he repeatedly researched and installed formations day and night with the mercenary.
Because his face was somewhat known, whenever he directed the mercenary he disguised himself as an ordinary warrior.
Five days later.
While Yoo Unryong crouched in the forest near the villa writing something, a middle-aged man with a thick beard approached. He was a master of mechanical arrays and one of the top-grade mercenary Yoo Unryong had hired.
“It’s all finished.” The mercenary spoke with an extremely tired face. “From the entry path to the villa up to the place the young master desired—everything is complete.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
Yoo Unryong immediately handed over an envelope containing promissory notes.
“I put in a little more than promised. Please share it with your comrades.”
The mercenary counted the notes inside the envelope, nodded, and said, “You’re more generous than I expected. Thank you.”
Then he left with his comrades.
After that, Yoo Unryong continued inviting experts from various fields and kept installing things in the forest without pause.
He spent money like water, and because the instructions were so complex, he eventually compiled everything into books and distributed them.
Three more days passed like that.
“It’s done.”
Yoo Unryong wiped his sweat and let out an exclamation.
Though imperfect, he had completed his own version of the Heart Mirror Technique.
His face, having not slept a wink the entire time, was extremely haggard, with deep dark circles under his eyes.
Yet his pupils sparkled like jewels as never before.
“Now the rest depends on heaven’s will.”
Yoo Unryong raised his head and gazed at the distant sky.
In two more days, his father Yoo Jeongpung would arrive.
Since the Eastern Division’s intelligence network was spread throughout the Central Plains, they would likely attempt the assassination almost immediately after his arrival.
The assassin from the faction that wished to join hands with the Eastern Division—a master of the Limitless Realm.
“Let me run through it one more time.”
Yoo Unryong inspected the interior situation of the Heart Mirror Technique he had built along the mountain path leading to the villa.
The Heart Mirror Technique.
It was showing the landscape inside Yoo Unryong’s own mind.
Since he had created an entirely new place called the Mind Image Space apart from that, the name Heart Mirror Technique felt less fitting than Heart Mirror Technique.
“It’s reasonably perfect.”
Looking around, he gave a faint smile.
“With this, it should be comparable to the Mind Realm of the Divine Maiden Palace.”
In the past, he had heard from Bu Eunseol about the mysterious gateway created by Yohee, the founder of the Divine Maiden Palace.
It was not reality, but a Mind Realm where a new reality was overlaid upon reality.
He had stayed there only briefly, yet two full days had passed.
Yoo Unryong had completed a mysterious Heart Mirror Technique space where—though not reality—everything that happened inside became reality. It came with various devices capable of fighting an enemy possessing monstrous power.
“I wish Mu Gwang and Myo Cheonwoo could have combined their strength to finish it.”
Yoo Unryong felt regret that Bu Eunseol—busy beyond measure—had still been researching various formations so that his subordinates would not die in vain.
And through a stroke of fortune, Yoo Unryong had obtained the Record of Inherited Essentials—a new formation, a new qimen art, the pinnacle of formations—that could create the effect of a Mind Realm without reaching the Limitless Realm.
Yet even after a full year of effort, it remained incomplete.
He had left the Heart Mirror Technique in a secret place so that Mu Gwang and Myo Cheonwoo could complete it later… whether they would succeed or whether it would be passed to Bu Eunseol remained unknown.
‘Through this incident, it will get much closer to completion.’
This matter was not solely to save his father, Yoo Jeongpung.
The Heart Mirror Technique.
This would become a technique that could change the landscape of the Death Shadow Corps—and the entire martial world—in the future.
And to complete this unfinished method in the days ahead, he would have to fight Limitless Realm masters again and again in real combat, accumulating data and information to perfect the Heart Mirror Technique.
Through his own death, he intended to leave the foundation for Mu Gwang and Myo Cheonwoo to complete it.
Yoo Unryong closed both eyes.
Now he was imagining the interior of the Heart Mirror Technique he had installed and giving it one final inspection.
Thud, thud.
As one walked into the pitch-black space,
Fwoosh! Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Countless hidden weapons would pour down like rain—only to pass straight through the enemy’s body.
In truth, they were not real hidden weapons; they were merely devices to signal that this space was an illusion.
Thud, thud.
Walking slowly onward, a gigantic labyrinth appeared—walls rising all the way to the ceiling.
The enemy would not stop and would simply pass through the walls because they would naturally think the labyrinth walls were also illusions.
Clack.
But after advancing a certain distance, the body could no longer pass through.
Genuine, precisely constructed structures were mixed in.
Moreover, they were extremely sturdy, and doors that opened and closed on their own had been installed.
Opening his eyes again, Yoo Unryong smiled.
“In that case, naturally they would try to destroy everything here.”
To a master who had entered the Limitless Realm, even such sturdy, massive walls would be as easy to break as corn stalks.
In the end, they would attempt to smash all the annoying obstacles in one go.
“That is when the true power of the Heart Mirror Technique will manifest.”
Once a master entered the Heart Mirror Technique, they would immediately judge it to be a space where illusion and reality were intermixed. But because they could not perfectly distinguish between them, they would try to collapse it all at once.
At that moment, the Heart Mirror Technique would become the Mind Realm dominated by Yoo Unryong.
Because believing that illusion and reality were mixed was precisely the condition that triggered the function of the Heart Mirror Technique.
“Inside this Heart Mirror Technique, even a Limitless Realm master can be fought on somewhat equal terms.”
Yoo Unryong closed his eyes once more.
Thanks to the effect of the Heart Mirror Technique, a scene of fierce combat against a Limitless Realm master rose in his mind.
But if the fight continued like that?
Eventually the Limitless Realm master would realize that Yoo Unryong was not actually that formidable—and that he was only enduring thanks to the function of the Heart Mirror Technique.
To a master who had reached such a level, that would feel extremely irritating and by that point, they would unleash the transcendent power—Infinite Reversal Power—capable of instantly collapsing the entire interior of the Heart Mirror Technique.
“That will be the end.”
Brilliant light burst from Yoo Unryong’s eyes.
The final function of the Heart Mirror Technique.
It would reflect the enemy’s enormous unleashed power back at him, instantly bringing him down.
“Even if I succeed…”
Gazing at the distant sky, Yoo Unryong wore a faint smile.
“In the end, I will still die.”
The Heart Mirror Technique was incomplete.
Even if he unfolded it and killed the culprit, the caster would ultimately perish.
