'It's tall. And vast.'
In his previous life, he had visited many of the places known as the grand halls of renowned great powers.
'For even the Moon Master's Hall—not even the Gate Master's Hall—to be this impressive.'
Yet even by Yul Hwi's own standards, the vast space stretching before him now boasted a scale far more overwhelming than anything he had ever laid eyes on.
Enough to make him vaguely imagine that perhaps the Cult Master's hall of the Cheonsan Heavenly Demon Divine Cult—a place he had never even been permitted to set foot in—might have looked something like this.
The interior was broad enough to feel almost excessive.
More than enough to accommodate a crowd of three or four thousand with room to spare.
And so a new question abruptly surfaced.
'Does the Moon Vein alone—not the entire Sun and Moon Gate—have enough leaders to fill this place?'
Being the Moon Master's Hall in name and truth, those of lower rank would rarely have occasion to enter.
If so, those who frequented this place would by definition be individuals of considerable standing....
'......Does that even make sense?'
On the way here, he had been told that ordinary martial artists without an elemental attribute—those who had not reached the pinnacle—existed separately from the two great veins.
Even the Ice Jade Unit Vice Captain, who had glared at him with venomous eyes at every opportunity, and the Ice Jade Unit Captain, who had sternly reined that woman in, had both gone through such a period, he was told.
"Hwi-ah! Come, come here quickly!"
"Ah! Yes."
And the same held true for the elders ahead, who kept beckoning with busy gestures.
The foundational arts of the Sun and Moon Gate—said to be bestowed equally upon everyone after admission.
Every single person belonging to this place had to master those arts and prove their nature and talent before they could truly be reborn as a member of the Sun and Moon Gate.
'When you think about it, there's no place under heaven as just and fair as this.'
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, which upheld the law of the jungle and the supremacy of the strong as its sole principle, was a prime example.
The scum belonging to the Seven Houses of the Demonic Path alone—were they not consumed with giving their own spawn special treatment?
That was precisely why the insane situation of a half-witted son of a bitch like Number One inheriting the Sect Master's seat of the Phantom Slaughter Sect had come to pass.
From the very start, it had been an absurd travesty for that bastard—undeserving of even the Number Ten rank—to become Number One.
'Get a grip. This isn't the time for idle thoughts.'
Perhaps because of the unexpected surge of memories, his emotions began to roil violently. Yul Hwi hastily circulated the cold qi within his body, swiftly cooling the heat rising in his heart.
If there was any silver lining, it was that thanks to this body born with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians, even the age-old resentment carved into his soul settled easily.
"......"
Outwardly betraying not even a flicker of emotion, Yul Hwi walked silently onward through the sickeningly long center of the grand hall.
Treading upon neatly cut marble slabs as he advanced, he finally arrived before a towering flight of great stone steps.
Gazing blankly at the solitary empty chair perched at the very top, Yul Hwi soon began paying close attention to the aged voices addressing him alternately from either side.
"It seems the Moon Master has stepped away for the moment."
"Most likely she has gone to tend to the Young Moon Master's condition."
"Huu...... There truly is no end to the troubles, inside and out."
"Still, with Hwi-ah finding his way to our gate—no, our vein—like this, is it not a blessing amidst misfortune?"
"Heh heh! Indeed! That goes without saying."
Ha ha ha ha!
Ho ho ho.
Following the Sixth Elder and Eighth Elder, who shook off the gloom that had been settling over them, the Fourth Elder, who had been trailing behind at a distance, also added a similar remark.
"Once Hwi-ah becomes a member of our vein, only good things will follow from here on."
'......Will that really be the case?'
Yul Hwi found the elders' self-serving, carefree prattle freshly amusing.
If they ever learned what thoughts had driven him to follow them here, would they still be able to grin so blissfully and spout such comfortable words?
He, who had entered the tiger's den fully intending to use them.
And they, the very perpetrators who had coveted the Nine Yin Severed Meridians and driven a perfectly fine family from another land to annihilation.
In the end, every last one of them was merely dancing to the tune of their own gain and purpose.
'The reason they're already acting this warmly, as if we're family, is ultimately because I proved my overwhelming talent with my own hands. That's all it is.'
So even if they pressed in on him with subtle psychological pressure, banking on his young age and inexperience—
There was not the slightest reason to waver or be shaken.
After all, their reverence and goodwill were not directed at the person called Yul Hwi, but merely at the once-in-an-age talent that had overcome the Nine Yin Severed Meridians through his own power.
"Hwi-ah?"
"Ah! My apologies. The scale of the grand hall is so overwhelming that I lost myself without realizing it."
"Hm?"
"Ho ho ho. That is understandable. It is a spectacle you would not find anywhere else under heaven."
But all of that was merely his true feelings as Annihilation—something that had to remain deeply hidden.
'Even so, I need to stay faithful to the role I'm playing for now.'
If only to keep their shallow greed and schemes from souring into deep suspicion and doubt, now was the time to devote himself entirely to the role he had crafted.
"Ha ha! But when will the Moon Master be returning, then? Perhaps I should have taken your suggestion to go to my quarters first."
"Ho ho ho ho! No, no. The Moon Master spends most of the day here in the Moon Master's Hall, so she will return before long."
"That is right, so just trust in us. These old bones will take care of everything."
The Sixth Elder and Eighth Elder, who no sooner showed a hint of familiarity with their easygoing smiles than they broke into warm, delighted grins.
"......"
But unlike those two, the Fourth Elder, who was silently mulling over the Qi Transmission she had received at the entrance of the Moon Master's Hall just moments ago, remained steadfastly silent.
'What is your true identity?'
Unlike the two elders before her, she alone had finally come to a clear realization.
That the second son of the annihilated Taewon Yul Family, the one wearing that refreshing smile, was a serpent distinctly unlike the greenhorns his age.
'Is it truly the right path to take this child as the Moon Master's disciple?'
And so she found herself troubled by the strange unease that had suddenly surged within her.
Especially now, when the Young Moon Master—the sole heir—had lost consciousness due to Qi Deviation.
She could not help but deliberate whether taking on a new disciple—a male, no less—as the Moon Master's disciple was truly the best choice.
"Ha ha ha! I truly cannot contain my anticipation. The Moon Master must be a possessor of truly extraordinary martial arts, yes?"
"But of course!"
"Those arrogant wretches who call themselves the sect leaders of the Nine Great Sects would not dare so much as raise their heads before the Moon Master!"
But the situation had already spiraled beyond the point of no return.
"......"
Even now, the Sixth Elder and Eighth Elder harbored not a shred of doubt, their eyes brimming only with the desire to somehow draw the brilliant talent before them into their nest.
And the same held true for the Fourth Elder herself, despite being mired in deep misgivings.
Setting aside her doubts about the true purpose of the being called Yul Hwi—who had made sudden contact with them in the midst of a fierce battle, defying all common sense—
She was in complete agreement with the overriding premise that he had to be made a member of the Moon Vein, no matter what.
Thus, someone's act of hiding his true nature behind a false front, another's covert deliberation, and yet others' overt greed all mingled in a tangled mess—
"I hear you elders have gone through quite the ordeal."
"...!"
"Moon Master!"
"We greet the Moon Master."
'That's her?!'
At last, the master of this grand hall—the Moon Master—revealed herself with measured, elegant strides, emerging from behind the chair at the top of the steps.
A snow-white robe of long silk, and upon the breast, embroidered on left and right respectively, a white full moon and a crimson sun.
Despite the white attire, the full moon embroidery stood out with its distinctly rounded form—one glance was enough to tell it had been wrought from no ordinary material.
'Heavenly Silkworm Silk? No...... it looks more like Human-Soul Spider Silk from the Human-Faced Spider, something I've only ever heard of in rumors......'
Was it not said that the silk spun by the Human-Faced Spider—one of the legendary spirit creatures—boasted a white so transparent and pure that nothing in the world could compare?
Yul Hwi thought that if one were to gather that silk—said to be nearly impossible to discern with even a seasoned martial artist's naked eye—and embroider it into a rounded shape, the result would look exactly like that.
"Quite fascinated, are we."
"?!"
'Damn!'
Just then, a soft voice slid into his ears like an assassin's dagger, jolting his mind—which had been drifting into idle thought—sharply back to reality.
"However, if you go around staring so intently at a woman's chest, you will not survive long in this harsh world of the martial arts."
"?! I wasn't—I wasn't looking at your chest! I was merely...!"
"Enough. At an age when the blood runs hot, harboring impure thoughts upon seeing such beauty is simply the natural, rightful way of a man."
"N-no! That is not it at all! Truly...!"
'What kind of absurd false accusation is this?!'
Counting both this life and the last, had there ever been a moment this unjust and outrageous?
Yul Hwi could say with absolute certainty.
Not a single person in his entire existence had ever shattered his mirror-still composure in so bizarrely preposterous a manner.
"Ah, ahhh...!"
How dire must the situation be for the famed Soul-Severing Wanderer Annihilation to be unable to even string his words together, sputtering and stammering like this?
To that extent, for a man who had preserved his chastity his entire life, the Moon Master's monotone voice struck like the most merciless and razor-sharp attack to be found anywhere in the world.
"Good heavens!"
"Oh dear......"
"Tsk tsk!"
"N-no! Truly, that is not what...!"
'Damn it! These insane bastards?!'
Even the elders, who until now had shown him nothing but boundless goodwill, were now casting looks of blatant displeasure and barely concealed contempt.
Whether this had been intentional or not, the Moon Master had at the very least succeeded in demolishing Yul Hwi's composure from the very first move.
"......I sincerely apologize for any unnecessary misunderstanding... but I truly had no such indecent or vulgar intentions. It is simply that the full moon embroidery on the Moon Master's... garments caught my eye, as it appeared to be Human-Soul Spider Silk from the Human-Faced Spider. I merely lost my gaze to it without realizing. That is all."
After reciting an uncharacteristically long string of excuses,
Yul Hwi firmly suppressed the irritation threatening to burst forth and completely revised his earlier assessment of the Moon Master.
'She's no ordinary figure. To test me in this manner.'
If she had truly felt affronted by his gaze, she would not have prattled on so gently.
Perhaps if she had struck like a thunderbolt and unleashed merciless Yin-Cold Qi Arts, that would have been a different story.
So this tasteless teasing was surely nothing more than a ploy to test him.
'How much has she been told about me? Were the carrier pigeons the elders sent along the way for this very purpose?'
He had vaguely assumed the messages contained nothing more than praise for his brilliant talent and his skill belying his age.
'It seems I've been underestimating these people.'
It appeared the letters had not contained only such flattering content.
Moreover—
'She's young. Far too young.'
By appearance and by voice alike.
Though she was undoubtedly an ancient monster of the same generation as the elders, the Moon Master maintained a degree of youth that was nothing short of excessive.
The implication was singular.
'She's a master so powerful that even I can't begin to gauge her worth.'
Even the great Fist God of Shaolin had been unable to resist the ravages of time, reduced to merely awaiting death.
If even the abbot of Shaolin, hailed as the God of Fists, had been brought to such a state—
Then for the Moon Master, who could not be far from his age, to maintain such vitality could only mean one thing: irrefutable proof that she possessed martial arts surpassing even the Fist God's.
At the end of thoughts that had raced by like a flash of light, Yul Hwi felt an ironclad resolve filling his mind once more.
'No matter what happens, I must become the Moon Master's disciple.'
At the very least, in terms of raw aptitude, he—born with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians and able to turn that heavenly affliction to his advantage—should far surpass that inhuman Moon Master.
So if he could fully inherit the supreme arts of the Moon Vein that had elevated the Moon Master to such a lofty realm, his revenge against the Phantom Slaughter Sect would become immeasurably easier.
Meanwhile—
"Oh!"
"How do you know of Human-Soul Spider Silk?"
The resolve that had flashed through his mind in the wake of his excuses was quickly followed by successive gasps of admiration from the surrounding elders.
"Hm. A mere stripling knowing of such things?"
And that same admiration was shared even by the Moon Master, who had maintained a languid expression throughout.
"Your excuse is plausible enough, so I shall let it pass just this once."
"......I am grateful for your mercy."
'She's no ordinary figure.'
Wordplay unbefitting the lofty position of Moon Master.
And the true intent lurking behind it.
Having belatedly caught on, Yul Hwi seized the cord of tension stretched taut across his body and refused to let go.
He finally understood the purpose behind her tasteless banter—using it to fluster him and shake apart the firmly maintained sense of purpose and intent he had displayed in a single stroke.
'She wanted to verify whether the persona I showed the elders all the way here was genuine.'
Had he responded to her earlier nonsense with a nonchalant attitude, that alone would have been sufficient grounds for suspicion.
After all, carrying on with reckless, overconfident arrogance born of faith in one's own talent was one thing, but behaving that way before the Moon Master—an absolute master whom one could not dare defy—was simply inconceivable.
And sure enough.
The Moon Master, who had already settled into her chair with her legs crossed and one half of her rear perched on the seat, let a low murmur drift down—one that layered an even deeper wariness atop Yul Hwi's tension.
"I hear you said you wished to become my disciple?"
"That is corr—"
"How audacious."
"......"
His gaze drifted upward toward the steps of its own accord.
Meeting the Moon Master's downward gaze, Yul Hwi silently bit down on a quiet curse inside.
'......Damn.'
As she rested her chin idly on one hand and peered down at him, there was not a trace of desire or expectation for his existence to be found anywhere in her dark eyes.