Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Dokgo Jin had nothing to fear, but when night deepened, an unwelcome guest inevitably came to visit him.

‘Ngh!’

A bone-freezing chill and pain that felt as if it were tearing his entire body apart swept over him.

Nine Nether Dark Heaven Scripture.

This abyssal martial discipline had bestowed overwhelming martial power upon him, but in return, it tried to gnaw away at Dokgo Jin’s body at every waking moment.

At first, there had been times when he stayed awake all night because he feared this pain. He felt that if he happened to fall asleep, he might fall into qi deviation and never wake again.

But as long as one was human, one could not go without sleep forever.

In the end, Dokgo Jin decided to accept it.

Now, this terrible seizure had become an “everyday” occurrence to him, no different from eating or breathing.

Coincidentally, the pain grew in proportion to the growth of the Nine Nether Dark Heaven Scripture.

This strange martial art, which grew stronger on its own even without any special training, violently expanded whether its master’s vessel overflowed or not.

It was pain that would have driven an ordinary person mad before he could endure even a single night, but Dokgo Jin endured all of it.

Even as he was tormented every night like that, Dokgo Jin never once regretted learning the Nine Nether Dark Heaven Scripture.

‘Even if I ultimately collapse and get devoured by the abyss...... that will only happen after I cut off their heads.’

Just then, Yu Seol-ah’s calm voice sounded, as if breaking through his thoughts.

“We’re here.”

Beyond the thick mist that had cleared away, in the place her fingertip indicated, a colossal shadow crouched.

“That is the heart of our alliance...... Northern Heaven Castle.”

Where Dokgo Jin’s gaze followed her fingertip, an impregnable fortress revealed its majesty, looking as if it had been carved straight out of a mountain.

Rather than something built by human hands, it looked as if an ancient giant had kneaded boulders together and shaped them into form.

The gray ramparts, raised high to receive the fierce northern wind head-on, stretched out so far that no end could be seen.

‘So this is the headquarters of the Northern Heaven Alliance?’

It was far larger and grander than Dokgo Jin had expected.

‘It is only one of the Four Hegemons of the Central Plains. Yet it is on this scale.’

The other factions would, at the very least, not fall behind it either.

‘Their forces are far greater than I expected.’

At the same time, he also had questions.

As far as he knew, it had not even been half a century since the Four Hegemons of the Central Plains had appeared in the Central Plains Martial World.

‘There is definitely...... something here.’

Dokgo Jin calmly examined Northern Heaven Castle.

Atop the walls, blue flags symbolizing the Northern Heaven Alliance fluttered like waves.

Their momentum, as if thousands of dragons were writhing, was more than enough to overwhelm anyone who saw them.

The countless martial artists and carriage processions moving through the open gates looked, from afar, like a swarm of ants being sucked into the mouth of a colossal beast.

At the center stood a tower that seemed to pierce the sky.

The sense of pressure emanating from it was different from the clammy terror of the Forest of the Dead. It was a taut, keen tension like the edge of a sharpened blade.

It possessed the majesty worthy of the castle of a hegemon counted among the foremost of countless martial powers.

“What do you think? Our Northern Heaven Castle.”

At Yu Seol-ah’s expectant question, Dokgo Jin replied indifferently.

“It is large.”

“Huh? That’s all?”

Of course, this was also the first time Dokgo Jin had seen such a vast castle.

But no matter how enormous the castle was, compared to the deep abyss he held within him, it was nothing more than a slightly large pile of stones.

Yu Seol-ah, who did not know this, looked exasperated.

“Wow. I can’t tell whether you’re bold or just numb.”

She shook her head.

‘......He certainly isn’t ordinary.’

Yu Seol-ah had asked about Dokgo Jin’s personal history whenever they had time during their journey.

Dokgo Jin said that he had lost his parents when he was young and become an orphan, and that he had happened to meet a master and learn martial arts.

He said that while he was living in the mountains, his master died, so he put his mountain life behind him and stopped by Sword-Selling Street to see how far his martial arts had reached.

‘Nether Soul Style, is it?’

It was a martial style that neither Yu Seol-ah nor Yeom Baek, who possessed exceptional knowledge, had ever heard of before.

Of course, there were thousands, tens of thousands of martial arts in the world, so there could certainly be martial arts they did not know.

However, with the level they had seen from Dokgo Jin, there was no way he could be from some nameless Martial School.

‘Whether it is true or false will be revealed soon enough.’

The Northern Heaven Alliance had lower standards than other places, but that did not mean they carelessly accepted people whose origins were unclear.

Of course, verifying this was not Yeom Baek and Yu Seol-ah’s responsibility.

Their foremost objective was simply to recruit useful martial artists.

‘The Heavenly Secrets Hall will handle it.’

The Heavenly Secrets Hall was one of the Northern Heaven Alliance’s Four Great Halls, an organization that analyzed information gathered through various channels.

Before they knew it, Dokgo Jin had arrived before the enormous gates of Northern Heaven Castle.

‘It’s even more magnificent up close.’

His gaze turned upward.

Strangely, five flags of different colors were planted on the watchtower above the main gate.

Yeom Baek pointed at the flags and said,

“Those are the flags symbolizing the Five Flags of Northern Heaven, the main pillars of our alliance.”

The Five Flags of Northern Heaven.

It referred to the five martial organizations representing the Northern Heaven Alliance.

“Do you see the flag with the white tiger drawn on it?”

When Dokgo Jin nodded, Yeom Baek continued speaking.

“That is the flag of the White Tiger Flag, the foremost among the Five Flags of Northern Heaven.”

Yeom Baek’s gaze fixed on the enormous flag fluttering atop the wall.

“And our Iron Soul Unit is the sharpest fang of that tiger.”

Unconcealable pride was buried in his thick voice.

It was pride in being the First Vanguard under the White Tiger Flag.

However, a cool voice poured cold water over that burning fervor.

“Fangs are the first to break. Being the vanguard means being the first to die, after all.”

It was Yu Seol-ah’s dry observation. But Yeom Baek snorted and brushed it off as if it were nothing.

“A man who fears death cannot be called a martial artist. On the battlefield, momentum is life itself.”

It was a spirited declaration that martial artists of the Martial World would normally agree with while clinking wine cups. However, Dokgo Jin’s gaze had settled coldly.

‘I wonder. Is that truly so?’

Not knowing fear was not courage, but recklessness.

True strength did not come from not knowing the fear of death. It only emerged when one looked at that fear with bone-deep clarity and chewed it down.

That was the belief Dokgo Jin had formed after crossing countless lines between life and death.

When they passed through the gate, a young man greeted them.

“I greet the Captain of the Iron Soul Unit.”

“And you are?”

“I am Im Gi-pyeong of the Heavenly Secrets Hall.”

“Good to meet you.”

“If it is not rude, may I ask one thing? Is the young man behind you the Dokgo Jin you recruited this time?”

“That is correct.”

“Then we will take charge of the recruit.”

Yeom Baek nodded readily.

“Do so.”

All new warriors who entered the Northern Heaven Alliance underwent a brief personal background investigation at the Heavenly Secrets Hall.

Moreover, this was a martial artist personally selected by none other than the Captain of the Iron Soul Unit. He was no low-ranking martial warrior, so there was a need to verify him more thoroughly.

Yu Seol-ah said,

“I told you, right? Cooperate with the investigation and receive the training properly too.”

Even if he safely finished the Heavenly Secrets Hall’s investigation, that would not be the end.

Afterward, he would be moved to the “Martial Training Hall” and receive “special” education as a new martial warrior. What that would entail was still unknown.

“Follow me.”

Yeom Baek and Yu Seol-ah watched Dokgo Jin’s back as he followed Im Gi-pyeong and moved away.

“There won’t be any major problem, right?”

“Probably not. His temperament is unusual, but he likely isn’t a spy.”

“If he were, he wouldn’t have gone out of his way to provoke the Red Blood Gang like that.”

“I’m worried about something else instead.”

“What?”

Yeom Baek’s expression turned serious.

“I’m worried the others will covet him.”

“Oh, come on, that’s not right! He’s a talent we found!”

“If the higher-ups step in, there is nothing we can do.”

Yu Seol-ah shrugged.

“Don’t worry. I’ll speak well of him.”

“Heh heh heh. At times like this, you really are reassuring.”

Yu Seol-ah, the Vice-Captain of the Iron Soul Unit, was also the only daughter of Yu Baek-seok, the Head of the Heavenly Secrets Hall.

She was an unusual case, someone who had rejected the desk-bound Heavenly Secrets Hall and thrown herself into the rough Iron Soul Unit instead.

‘Dokgo Jin, I do not know what you are thinking, but this alliance is not such an easy place. Once you pass through the Martial Training Hall, you will be reborn as a loyal warrior of our alliance.’

***

“Name?”

“Dokgo Jin.”

“Lineage?”

“Nether Soul Style.”

“Your master’s epithet?”

“Iron Mountain Old Monster.”

“Other than Iron Mountain Old Monster, are there any other famous masters in the Nether Soul Style?”

“About fifty years ago, there was someone known as Mad Revelry Sword, Gok Un-seong.”

“......”

The harsh-looking middle-aged man sitting across from Dokgo Jin lifted his head and glared at him.

“Are you always this curt?”

“Is that a question too?”

“......”

The middle-aged man’s brow furrowed on its own.

‘Where did the Captain of the Iron Soul Unit pick up such an insolent bastard?’

The middle-aged man was Lee Mun-jeong, the Pavilion Master of the Clear Mirror Pavilion.

The Clear Mirror Pavilion was a subordinate organization of the Heavenly Secrets Hall, and its primary duties were analyzing gathered information and determining its truth or falsehood.

In addition, judging the personal details of new martial warriors was also one of their duties.

Because this was a person recruited by the Captain of the Iron Soul Unit, the Pavilion Master of the Clear Mirror Pavilion had personally stepped forward.

‘For now, there are no problems with the contents......’

Most of what Dokgo Jin had said was true.

After Dokgo Jin went missing, Wi Geum-seong, who had searched all under heaven for him, happened to discover the corpse of Iron Mountain Old Monster, who had died alone.

Thinking it might be useful someday, he had secretly gathered and managed the man’s legacy.

Iron Mountain Old Monster was not particularly famous, only a master who had made something of a name for himself on the frontier.

The fact that he was a disciple of the Nether Soul Style was also something almost no one knew.

Most importantly, the martial arts of the Nether Soul Style looked similar to the Nine Nether Dark Heaven Scripture that Dokgo Jin had learned, at least on the surface.

In many ways, it was perfectly suited to serve as Dokgo Jin’s false identity.

To make it flawless, Dokgo Jin had also studied the martial arts of the Nether Soul Style.

The Pavilion Master of the Clear Mirror Pavilion poured out difficult questions, but Dokgo Jin’s answers showed no hesitation.

‘Old Man Wi and I prepared perfectly. There are no flaws.’

That was how confident he was.

“Hmm.”

The Pavilion Master of the Clear Mirror Pavilion ran out of questions.

‘......There is nothing especially suspicious.’

Even so, he felt strangely uneasy. It was something like an intuition he had acquired after working in the Clear Mirror Pavilion for a long time.

‘But...... I can’t suspect him on a mere feeling.’

“Final question. What is your reason for wanting to become a warrior of our alliance?”

“You are mistaken.”

“Mm?”

“To be precise, this is an observation visit. I have not yet decided to become part of the Northern Heaven Alliance.”

The Pavilion Master of the Clear Mirror Pavilion was dumbfounded.

“What?”

“Did the Captain of the Iron Soul Unit not tell you?”

“......!”

He truly disliked Dokgo Jin.

‘What is this alliance lacking that we would accept even a fellow like this?’

He wanted to call his subordinates at once and shout for them to drag Dokgo Jin outside Northern Heaven Castle, but if there was no problem with Dokgo Jin’s personal details, he could not do that.

‘Just let me catch even the smallest fault!’

The eyes and ears of the Heavenly Secrets Hall were spread throughout all of Northern Heaven Castle. No one could escape them.

‘Just you wait until I find even the tiniest pretext.’

Seeing the sharp look in the Pavilion Master of the Clear Mirror Pavilion’s eyes, Dokgo Jin guessed what he was thinking.

‘There is nothing you can do.’

Separate from his feelings, the Pavilion Master of the Clear Mirror Pavilion had no choice but to hand Dokgo Jin over to the Martial Training Hall.

“......”

He silently stared at Dokgo Jin’s back as he grew distant.

‘Hmph. Let’s see whether your skill is enough to justify that arrogance.’

The Pavilion Master of the Clear Mirror Pavilion immediately called a subordinate and gave him some sort of order, and the subordinate quickly headed toward the Martial Training Hall.