Published at 26th of January 2026 10:12 pm

Chapter 380

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I spent some time appeasing the Tyrant King. Despite the fact that he had genuinely dropped to his knees, the Tyrant King's expression was as unmoved as ever.

It was as if he had never knelt in the first place—utterly serene.

Is he truly insane?

"So, you're going to help me, right?"

"... No. What am I supposed to do if you act so unreasonably, regardless of help or anything else?"

"I don't see any other way. As long as the result is good, doesn't it all work out?"

He was even shameless about it. My head ached.

'Why are all the people involved with that old man...'

Not a single one of them falls within the bounds of normality. It's truly a mystery.

Just as I was thinking this—

"Isn't that right?"

The Tyrant King grinned at me.

"I can't beat you for not telling me, and I can't go so far as to kill you, can I?"

"..."

A chilling sensation ran through me; the killing intent within his words was clear.

He was right.

'With someone like him—'

If it's the Tyrant King, he could squeeze any information he wanted out of me.

The problem was—

'How did he know?'

How did he know that I knew about the bangle?

'He was certain.'

He was absolutely convinced that I would know. He even saw right through my lie instantly.

'Did I give it away?'

That couldn't be. I was confident in myself about this.

'I'm not careless enough to have been exposed by something like this.'

My life proved it. If I'd ever been even slightly careless, I would have died a long time ago.

'So how, then?'

It seemed clear the Tyrant King had some kind of card up his sleeve.

"Someone like you, with something like that, isn't going to give me the answer I want. So I simply picked what I thought was the best method."

"...."

"So please, I ask that you tell me."

That tone—the way he spoke as if he was sure I knew—was the problem. If I reacted rashly here, I'd get way too tangled up in this.

'Besides.'

I wasn't the only one involved with the Tyrant King—therein lay an even greater problem.

What should I do? My mind raced. There weren't many options, and hardly any worthwhile ones amongst them.

'In the end, it comes down to just two.'

Pretend not to know.

Or pretend I do know.

It was just a matter of choosing between them.

My mind, whirring tensely, soon came to a stop. Truthfully, in the real world this was only a fleeting instant.

"Senior Muk,"

I said.

"Speak," he replied.

"If I were to help you, senior—"

"Yes."

At the mention of help, the Tyrant King's eyes brightened. However—

"What about the matter with Elder Baek Yeon?"

He stiffened at my follow-up. Baek Yeon. It was likely because of that name.

Then—

"Ha."

The Tyrant King let out a hollow laugh.

"You sly brat."

Ssssss—

The air grew cold. The wind had already been chilly, but it suddenly felt much colder, thanks to the energy emanating from the Tyrant King.

"You know more than I thought—"

"Not that much. I've just deduced as much as I could from what I can see."

"What you could see?"

"Yes."

I spent a moment organizing my thoughts, then spoke to him again.

"The reason you came all the way to the Blue Moon Sect. And while pondering what that reason might be, I noticed you asking for my help—putting the clues together."

It was a lie. Since I already knew about the bangle, I'd realized the connection with Baek Yeon from the start.

"Someone must have told you there was something you need here."

"..."

"That's why you've come all the way here, and as for who might have delivered such a message at this timing—"

"You're saying it was Elder Baek Yeon?"

"That's how I saw it."

"Haha."

The Tyrant King laughed, as if it was amusing. After a short laugh—

"But there's a problem with your logic."

"I'm listening."

"With such scant information, it's not enough to tie Baek Yeon and me together. How could you immediately think of him? That part doesn't add up, does it?"

"..."

He was right. With what I'd given, I couldn't make that sound plausible.

However—

"I have a reason for that as well."

"Oh?"

"I've been keeping an eye on Elder Baek Yeon for a while."

"And why is that?"

"Well—"

I purposely left silence between my words. I wanted to make sure I had his attention.

With the Tyrant King's full attention fixed on me—

"Because, perhaps, he killed my master."

"..."

When I spoke, the Tyrant King's eyes widened like lanterns.

But—

"That's some amazing nonsense. Who killed whom?"

The expression didn't last long.

"You're saying the Sword Saint of the world was killed by Baek Yeon? What a ridiculous statement."

He wasn't convinced. Not at all.

"You really don't know your master. He's not someone that could be killed."

There was an absolute confidence emanating from the Tyrant King.

"In the whole world, only time itself could kill him. It was a wonder that even that couldn't catch up with him while he was alive. Who's supposed to have killed whom, you say?"

Hahahahaha—

The Tyrant King laughed heartily—something I'd never heard from him before.

"If that's a joke, it's a funny one."

"It's not a joke."

I cut off the Tyrant King's reaction.

"My master was killed by someone else."

"So you say—"

"And I'm certain there was an accomplice from within the Blue Moon Sect."

"..."

Hearing this, the Tyrant King's face twisted. He must have realized from my tone that I was dead serious.

"Do you have any proof?"

"I do. But I don't think you're the one I should share it with."

I set a boundary. My nerves were shot. Honestly, I wondered if it was okay to speak this harshly, but—

"That's a fair point."

Thankfully, the Tyrant King didn't seem to mind my tone.

"So Yu Chun-gil was killed... Even if the world split in two, I wouldn't think that possible. Well, let's accept that for now."

He was trying to understand even if he didn't make sense of it.

"So, assuming that, you put Baek Yeon on your list of suspects?"

"Yes. He's someone I've kept a close eye on."

Which meant I knew Baek Yeon was trying to pull something with the Tyrant King.

That's how I tied it all together.

"Haha."

The Tyrant King laughed again after my explanation.

"It's fascinating—a truly fresh perspective."

"What is?"

"Whether your words are sincere, or the truth, or not—I don't care about that. One thing's for sure: I've made a mistake."

"What do you mean—"

"You're nothing like Yu Chun-gil."

"..."

At his words, my face twisted up.

"Of course not. How could I possibly resemble him?"

Just by looking at us, we were of different breeds. Yu Chun-gil was a man whose very appearance would frighten any woman into running away.

『This brat...』

Yu Chun-gil growled in my head, reacting to my attitude.

"You speak as if you've seen him. As far as I know, that's not possible."

The Tyrant King's comment made me freeze.

Right. By the time I became his disciple, Yu Chun-gil was already dead.

"Well... I just heard a lot of rumors."

I couldn't exactly say I was talking to his spirit, so I glossed over it.

"Rumors? But even so..."

He looked like he couldn't believe there were bad rumors about Yu Chun-gil.

"I've met the Tang family head... and the former sect leader of Mount Hua, too..."

I hurriedly added more excuses. Even I thought my explanations weren't so bad.

Hearing this, the Tyrant King finally seemed convinced.

"Right. You've met those crazy old men."

That seemed to explain it for him.

Strictly speaking, it wasn't the Tang Family Head, but the spirit of the Poison Sovereign that I'd seen. But that was beside the point.

"Well, if you've met those madmen, there's no way they'd have told you any good stories about your master."

Just what kind of life did Yu Chun-gil live?

I suddenly felt a tinge of pity.

"Anyway, your main point was about Baek Yeon, right?"

"That's right."

"What do you want me to do?"

"Pardon?"

"I'm asking, what do you want me to do about Baek Yeon?"

"...?"

Why is he asking me that? I nearly blurted out my confusion. I asked what he would do—and now he's throwing the question back at me?

I stared at the Tyrant King, baffled.

"I want to give you the choice. I'd rather place my bet on the side with the greater potential—between you and Baek Yeon."

"So, you think I have more potential than Baek Yeon?"

"That's right."

"... Why do you think so?"

"Baek Yeon is empty inside—"

Empty? What does that mean?

"He has much, but the heavens he looks to are low—and he's not one to hoard opportunities to rise, either. Rather than hollow junk like that..."

The Tyrant King kept muttering cryptic things while shooting me a look.

"I don't know what you have or what you seek, but someone hiding a tower behind their back—even if it's too big to conceal—is better."

"... What does that mean?"

"There are such things. So, choose. What do you want me to do about Baek Yeon?"

"Hmm..."

He genuinely seemed intent on giving me the choice.

In that case, what I had to do here was obvious.

"Rather than ask you to do anything to Elder Baek Yeon, I'd like you to support me."

"Hmm?"

"Do you remember what I asked you before? That's urgent for me."

The request to stand as a candidate for alliance leader—I was hanging all my hopes on that. I had no choice.

'I'm desperate, too.'

If the Tyrant King ran as a candidate for alliance leader, the Virtuous Moon Sword had promised to grant me any one request.

With the Virtuous Moon Sword as a backer, I'd earn a favor and could dump my troublesome business onto someone else, so there was only one thing I wished for right now.

"Rather than making things messy with Elder Baek Yeon, please grant my request."

"You're telling me to run as a candidate, then."

"Yes."

"Hmm..."

The Tyrant King hesitated. His expression showed he really didn't want to run as a candidate for alliance leader.

'Even now?'

I mean, I get why I wouldn't want to, since running would only bring me trouble and no shot at actual leadership.

But why is he so reluctant?

After a long silence, the Tyrant King finally said,

"Alright, running as a candidate—at least that much I can do."

"...!"

He finally gave me the answer I wanted.

"If you help me get what I want, I'll deal with Baek Yeon and stand in your place as a candidate. Is that enough for you?"

"Ah, yes. That's—"

"But."

Just as I was about to nod in satisfaction, the Tyrant King raised his index finger at me.

"Even if I handle the Baek Yeon matter, that doesn't mean you won't have any trouble coming your way."

"What do you mean?"

He's saying it won't be solved simply by not helping Baek Yeon?

I cocked my head in confusion.

"Do you know what Baek Yeon asked of me when he gave me that information in the first place?"

"I don't."

I had been curious about that. What could Baek Yeon hope to gain from the Tyrant King?

"Well, the bastard—"

The Tyrant King told me.

"He asked me to help out in the upcoming contest for the position of the young sect leader."

"What?"

"And not for himself, but for the daughter of the Chun family."

That... was something I just couldn't understand.

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