"Sir has returned!"
"The Sword Ghost, Dan Sahyeok, has returned!"
A mountain stronghold nestled at the foot of Great Snow Mountain in Gansu.
Ringed by a wooden palisade smashed to pieces in places, it served as the fortress of the Martial Alliance's Gansu Branch.
CREEEAK.
The massive wooden doors parted to either side.
Dozens of warriors flooded in from beyond, rushing to greet Dan Sahyeok as he stepped inside.
Before long, a wave of fervent cheers and shouts followed.
"You are safe, sir!"
"You were gone ten days with no word--we were worried!"
Most of them were relieved or overjoyed, and every one of them had been saved by Dan Sahyeok at least once.
On the other hand, a fair number of others watched from a distance, sending him stinging glares.
They were, of course, those who bore Dan Sahyeok jealousy and resentment.
But Dan Sahyeok did not spare a single glance for either group as he walked toward the main hall.
Meanwhile, a middle-aged man was waiting for Dan Sahyeok in the main hall.
A man as plump and stout as a bear.
O Duseok, commander of the Martial Alliance's Gansu Branch.
"Dan Sahyeok!"
O Duseok boomed in a thunderous voice.
"I have lost count of how many times this makes!"
"Hm."
"What face do you have to show, coming back here? Defying orders again, deserting camp on your own, and then strolling back days later as if nothing happened!"
"Who knows."
"Who knows? This time, you will not get off with a light disciplinary--"
THUD!
Dan Sahyeok tossed down a severed head.
Though the blood had mostly dried, it was not entirely so, and droplets splattered faintly against the wall and floor.
"Ugh!"
O Duseok stumbled backward reflexively, letting out a startled sound.
"Wh-what is this?"
"The Blood Sky Demon's head."
"What?"
O Duseok looked back and forth between Dan Sahyeok and the severed head, then stammered out his words.
"The B-Blood Sky Demon's head? You are telling me you brought down that monster?"
"I am."
"That is absurd! How do you expect anyone to believe--"
THUNK!
A heavy slab of metal embedded itself in the floor.
O Duseok rubbed his eyes and stared at it.
Before long, a cry of shock escaped his lips.
"The B-Blood Dragon Blade!"
"Good to see you recognize it. I was worried I would have to prove the authenticity of that, too."
"H-how did you......?"
"I told you. I killed the Blood Sky Demon."
Dan Sahyeok turned away.
"Search the gorge terrain south of Singing Sand Mountain. You will find the corpses of the Blood Sky Demon and his personal guard, the Blood Demon Vanguard."
"......!"
"It should not be too hard to find. The entire area has been razed, and that will serve as your marker."
"Ngh......!"
"I trust you know what must be done now."
Dan Sahyeok said evenly.
"As we agreed the day we first met, send a carrier pigeon to Xi'an."
***
The Martial Alliance was thrown into an uproar.
A single letter delivered from the Gansu Branch.
The brief contents within had caused it all.
"The Blood Sky Demon, Cheon Muyeol......"
"Is really dead?"
The Martial Alliance headquarters, Yellow Dragon Fortress, in Xi'an.
The interior of its assembly hall, the Martial Emperor Hall, was seething with shock and disbelief.
The Blood Sky Demon's death.
It was certainly something to celebrate and rejoice over, yet the emotion felt more keenly than joy was bewilderment.
Because the situation had surpassed every conceivable expectation by a vast margin.
"How is that possible?"
One sect leader spoke up.
"Granted, he took a heavy blow at the Battle of Mount Hua and would not be what he once was, but this was still the Blood Sky Demon--the greatest threat the martial world has ever known."
"Are we sure some lunatic did not just play a prank?"
"Then are you saying we all assembled in the Martial Emperor Hall because we fell for a fraudulent letter?"
"Explain this to us in full, Strategist!"
The empty jade throne atop the dais of the Martial Emperor Hall.
The man standing beside it raised a hand to calm the chamber.
"A detailed report has not yet arrived. An internal investigation will be launched shortly."
"Hmm......"
"Then the letter itself could be a forgery, could it not?"
"No, the letter's authenticity is beyond question. It bears the official seal of the Gansu Branch commander, and the paper itself is a specially manufactured material reserved for urgent reports."
"Mm."
"Then does that mean it is really......?"
"Unless Gansu Branch Commander O Duseok filed a false report, or unless the letter paper and seal were stolen through some manner of conspiracy--"
Martial Alliance Strategist Sama Jin declared firmly.
"The fact that the Blood Sky Demon is dead is certain."
"......!"
A heavy silence descended upon the Martial Emperor Hall.
The renowned luminaries of the martial world were absorbing the staggering weight carried in Sama Jin's words.
"However......"
Sama Jin continued.
There was something stained in his voice, as though it were smudged with ink.
"What is the matter, Strategist?"
"Along with the report of the Blood Sky Demon's death, a demand from the one who slew him has also been relayed."
"A demand?"
"So the one who killed the Blood Sky Demon is demanding something?"
"That is correct. To be precise, he is invoking the Alliance Leader's declaration."
"The Alliance Leader's declaration, you say......"
"The one about giving anything the Martial Alliance possesses?"
"Yes."
The luminaries' expressions turned uneasy.
In truth, considering the Blood Sky Demon's notoriety, it was not an unreasonable price to pay.
The Martial Alliance's greatest enemy and threat had been eliminated--what could they possibly refuse to give?
However, there was one reason they could not help but hesitate just as Sama Jin had.
"The Alliance Leader made that declaration over ten years ago, and......"
"Did the Alliance Leader not pass away just recently?"
Sama Jin nodded at their bewildered words.
"Indeed."
"I do not like this one bit!"
A rough-hewn man bellowed his true feelings in a booming voice.
"He gives no detailed account and simply tells us to hand over the prize first? It is as if he expects us to try and refuse the reward!"
"Master Hwang, I think you are reaching too far with that."
"No, not necessarily. I felt something similar myself."
The assembly hall began to buzz.
Sama Jin called for calm, but was swept away to no avail by the deluge of words pouring from the luminaries.
'It cannot be helped, I suppose?'
Those gathered here were the core of the Martial Alliance and the towering peaks of the Orthodox martial world.
Ambitious, willful, and each possessed of formidable power in their own right.
What was more, the Alliance Leader was currently absent.
The previous Alliance Leader, Wheel-Turning Divine Sword Jang Muryong, had died only recently, and a successor had yet to be named.
'And in the midst of all that, the Blood Sky Demon has died.'
Sama Jin narrowed his brow and murmured to himself.
He could not say precisely why, but something told him this was not a matter for pure celebration.
"But, if I may."
Amid the clamor, one distinctly clear voice rang out.
Not because the speaker himself was particularly exceptional, but simply because he was asking what everyone there was secretly dying to know.
"So who exactly is this person who defeated the Blood Sky Demon?"
***
"Dan Sahyeok. A First-Class Warrior assigned to the Gansu Branch."
"......Dan Sahyeok."
At his subordinate's report, Sama Jin felt the strength drain from his body.
"That is a name I have never heard."
"That would be expected. He joined the Alliance a mere half year ago. And his enlistment was processed informally at the Gansu Branch."
"And the report is reliable? This man truly took the Blood Sky Demon's life?"
"The handwriting and the seal stamped on the letter both belong to Gansu Branch Commander O Duseok."
"Hmm......!"
An hour had passed since the first carrier pigeon arrived.
The second and third carrier pigeons that followed in quick succession contained the detailed account Sama Jin had wanted.
Even after reading it all, he felt only deepening doubt.
"The third letter contains a brief record of Dan Sahyeok's activities."
"Go on."
"Yes. Immediately after joining, he distinguished himself in a battle against the Wild Wind Temple near the Qilian Mountains and single-handedly took the heads of three Wild Wind Temple chieftains."
"Mm."
"He subsequently committed multiple offenses including insubordination and assault on a superior officer, but due to the special circumstances in Gansu, his punishments were either deferred or quietly dropped."
"His sect?"
"Unknown. It is confirmed that he did train under a master, but he has never claimed affiliation with any particular sect."
"The disciple of an unnamed recluse master, then? The most troublesome sort in all the martial world."
Together with wandering monks, such people were among those one should never provoke lightly in the martial world.
It was the kind of thing said half in jest, but such sayings had a way of quietly aligning with reality.
"He has already secured the Blood Sky Demon's severed head and physical evidence of his death."
"Physical evidence?"
"Yes. The Blood Sky Demon's prized weapon, the Blood Dragon Blade."
"Mm."
Sama Jin furrowed his brow once more.
The Blood Dragon Blade was every bit as famous as the Blood Sky Demon himself.
"Then it may truly be safe to conclude the Blood Sky Demon is dead. Though the authenticity of this Blood Dragon Blade must be verified first, of course."
"It seems they intend to do just that."
"Hm? What do you mean?"
"According to the report......"
A note of bewilderment crept into the subordinate's voice.
"Dan Sahyeok has already departed for headquarters, carrying the Blood Dragon Blade."
***
Xi'an, Shaanxi.
Along with Luoyang, it was the provincial capital of Shaanxi, a city whose history and scale had earned it the title of a millennia-old capital.
It was, furthermore, the very heart of the current Central Plains martial world.
The Martial Alliance's headquarters, Yellow Dragon Fortress, was situated right here in Xi'an.
When a certain man arrived in that very Xi'an, it was only a matter of moments before Yellow Dragon Fortress was thrown into commotion.
"Welcome."
A flower garden within the fortress, its blossoms in full splendor.
Martial Alliance Strategist Sama Jin received the man.
"So you are that man. First-Class Warrior Dan Sahyeok, assigned to the Martial Alliance's Gansu Branch. Is that correct?"
"It is."
"You are far younger than I expected. And moreover......"
Sama Jin's gaze drifted past Dan Sahyeok's shoulder.
A massive sword, thickly wrapped in cloth.
It did not match the known appearance of the Blood Dragon Blade.
'So it was a false report after all?'
Sama Jin's brow creased, but only for an instant.
As if reading his thoughts, Dan Sahyeok tossed out a single remark.
"I do not have it on me."
"Hm?"
Dan Sahyeok tapped the hilt of the sword on his back.
"You made that face because you realized this is not the Blood Dragon Blade."
"......Mm."
Sama Jin struggled to keep the flush from rising to his face.
"Then where is the Blood Dragon Blade now?"
"I hid it along the way."
"Along the way?"
"That is right. I thought it best to receive a firm answer first before showing it."
"A firm answer......"
"As I conveyed through the first carrier pigeon, I wish for the Martial Alliance to fulfill the vow the Alliance Leader made."
The Alliance Leader's vow.
To give anything the Martial Alliance possessed to whoever killed the Blood Sky Demon.
Sama Jin could not contain his curiosity.
"Then tell me, what exactly do you wish to receive from the Martial Alliance?"
And the next moment, when Dan Sahyeok's lips parted, Sama Jin regretted having asked the question at all.
"Yellow Dragon Fortress."
"......What?"
Toward the stunned Sama Jin, Dan Sahyeok declared without a flicker of emotion.
"I wish to receive this place--the Martial Alliance's headquarters."