Absolute Regression

Chapter 656: He Would Never Have Invited Me to a Tragedy

Had he ever seen such an expression on that friend’s face before?

Jin Paecheon was watching.

Watching someone who was a friend, yet not a friend.

A strange aura emanated from that long-time friend—one so alien that, even in all his years as the Martial Alliance Leader, he had never encountered such a powerful darkness.

Just from this aura alone, he could tell that everything Geom Mugeuk had said was true. He remembered what Hwa Yulcheong had said a moment earlier.

A friend of decades, and yet he would believe the Young Cult Leader of the Demonic Cult?

Was that something he should be saying to him—after deceiving him for decades?

Jin Paecheon forced down the emotions boiling inside.

“Yes, we were friends for decades.”

He continued, his gaze fixed on Hwa Yulcheong.

“But in all that time… was there even a single day when we were truly friends?”

Instead of apologizing, Hwa Yulcheong turned the blame back on him.

“At the very least, if we were friends, you wouldn’t have hidden in the fog, spying on me.”

Jin Paecheon couldn’t adjust to the reality before his eyes.

After deciding to believe Geom Mugeuk’s words, he had thought a moment like this might come. At the time, the reaction he had imagined from the Hermit of Heaven and Earth was—

I’m sorry. I had no choice. But my friendship with you was real.

But that had been nothing more than a naïve thought.

In reality, the man before him acted as if they had met only yesterday. How could someone so easily discard years of friendship in an instant?

And so, the emotion pressing most strongly against him was not hatred or rage—but emptiness.

Their gazes tangled in the air. They had never once argued in their lives, yet now they radiated completely different auras.

Jin Paecheon stepped into Hwa Yulcheong’s qi field. Scattered ashes, piled corpses, blood flowing across the ground, and screams echoing from all directions.

‘Is this your true self?’

The burning gaze of Hwa Yulcheong, standing alone at the center of that battlefield, felt unbearably unfamiliar.

Jin Paecheon, who had been staring at Hwa Yulcheong, turned to look at Geom Mugeuk. Truly, had it not been for Geom Mugeuk, he would never have discovered this true face.

“Young Cult Leader.”

“Yes, Alliance Leader.”

Jin Paecheon said no more. His eyes already carried the full weight of his feelings, so he spoke only this one line.

“I am in your debt.”

Had it not been for Geom Mugeuk, one day he would surely have fallen to the Hermit of Heaven and Earth. That man would have struck only at the most certain moment. He would never have dreamed that this friend would stab him in the back.

Geom Mugeuk had saved not only his life, but also the Martial Alliance and the entire orthodox martial world. It was a debt so great that he could have used it to press him for a lifetime—but Geom Mugeuk had torn that debt note up on the spot.

“A debt? Not at all. It’s thanks to you, Alliance Leader, for trusting me. You’re the one who uncovered the truth.”

It was the moment when the small hole of doubt that had replaced the gaping wound in Jin Paecheon’s heart was completely filled.

Geom Mugeuk spoke to Hwa Yulcheong.

“So you’ve finally shown your true colors. How long has it been? Years? No… decades?”

Even now, Hwa Yulcheong remained calm.

His opponents were the Martial Alliance Leader and Geom Mugeuk. He knew well not only the Alliance Leader’s martial prowess, but also just how strong Geom Mugeuk was.

The fact that he could remain composed even before these two meant only one thing—he had made preparations of his own.

Geom Mugeuk made sure Jin Paecheon did not let his guard down.

“This man knew from the start that you would be here, Alliance Leader. No… perhaps he even suspected it before coming here at all.”

Jin Paecheon understood what Geom Mugeuk meant—be cautious, because the enemy might have a backup plan.

There was no need to worry about that now. Hwa Yulcheong’s reaction had already cooled his heart to ice.

Now, what Jin Paecheon wanted to know was this:

“For what purpose did you approach me?”

Was it to seize his position? A personal grudge? Or perhaps some entirely unexpected motive? He was burning with curiosity.

But Hwa Yulcheong, as if to say he would not answer, silently lifted his gaze to the sky. Through the bamboo, the blue heavens could be seen.

Then Geom Mugeuk let out a single word.

“Dark Palace.”

In that instant, he could see it—an earthquake in Hwa Yulcheong’s expression. The man could not hide his shock.

It was the reaction of someone who had just been hit precisely where it hurt.

Jin Paecheon also knew of the Dark Palace. In all martial history as he understood it, there had been only one such Dark Palace.

“Dark Palace… do you mean the one that was one of the Guardian Families of the Heavenly Will Palace?”

Geom Mugeuk nodded.

“Yes. The very same Dark Palace from three hundred years ago.”

Jin Paecheon knew well of the battle three centuries past between the Martial Alliance and the Heavenly Will Palace.

Back then, the mysterious sect Heavenly Will Palace had dreamed of conquering the martial world. The one who annihilated them was the Martial Alliance Leader of the time—the Martial Emperor Divine Sword. It was the greatest achievement of the greatest Alliance Leader in the Alliance’s history. How could he not know of it?

Jin Paecheon’s eyes gleamed with intensity.

To learn that the Heavenly Will Palace, destroyed three centuries ago, had survived until now, nursing a dream of vengeance—this was beyond surprising; it was shocking.

At the same time, he now understood. He had wondered how Hwa Yulcheong had managed to hide his identity for decades.

It had been for the sake of passing down that vendetta, the vengeance of a slaughtered house.

And now, he knew with certainty why Hwa Yulcheong’s aura carried such a deep, dark energy.

Hwa Yulcheong’s eyes also shone with intensity. When Geom Mugeuk had earlier called him the embodiment of vengeance, he had only half believed it.

He had thought that perhaps Geom Mugeuk, being an intelligent man, had simply guessed as much. But now it was clear—Geom Mugeuk knew his true identity exactly.

Hwa Yulcheong looked at Geom Mugeuk, silently asking with his eyes.

‘How on earth did you find out?’

Geom Mugeuk could hardly say that he had used the Secret Box to return to three hundred years ago and had seen that battle with his own eyes.

“Our cult can learn anything it wishes to know.”

He used the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult as his answer in place of an explanation.

“We have been fighting against your kind for quite a long time. Men of such strength don’t simply fall from the sky. It was only natural to assume there was a grudge with the three factions.”

Since Geom Mugeuk had been at the center of every battle with the forces behind the scenes until now, it was no surprise that he had discovered the truth.

Jin Paecheon asked Hwa Yulcheong again.

“Are you truly a descendant of the Dark Palace?”

Jin Paecheon wanted to hear Hwa Yulcheong’s story. About the Dark Palace, he spoke of. Who he was, and with what heart he had taken on this task.

But Hwa Yulcheong merely looked at Jin Paecheon with indifferent eyes, as if to say he had no intention of speaking. The years of friendship meant nothing here.

Geom Mugeuk said to him,

“What meaning is there in settling a three-hundred-year-old grudge now? For what have you sacrificed your life? For ancestors you’ve never even known?”

Hwa Yulcheong looked as though he wanted to say something, but he gave no explanation.

Instead, he wore a strange smile and asked Geom Mugeuk,

“You think you’ve won, don’t you?”

There was clearly a plan behind that gaze.

“Do you really think I didn’t know he would come?”

Jin Paecheon, listening, felt a bitter taste in his heart. To him, Hwa Yulcheong referred only as ‘he.’ It seemed Jin Paecheon had been the only one who thought of them as friends.

Jin Paecheon stepped forward slowly, revealing an even more forceful aura.

“Fine. If you came here knowing I would be present, then you came to see this through to the end with me.”

He no longer intended to speak with him. Hwa Yulcheong was not a friend—he was like an assassin with immense patience who had infiltrated solely for vengeance.

And Jin Paecheon resolved to kill him with his own hands.

“This is between us. We will tie off this knot ourselves.”

Hwa Yulcheong’s aura was formidable, and it was impossible to know what martial arts he possessed, so it would be a battle in which not even the slightest carelessness could be allowed.

It was then that something truly unimaginable came from Hwa Yulcheong’s lips.

"If you draw that sword, Jin Hagun will die."

In that instant, Jin Paecheon’s gaze turned cold.

This was why Hwa Yulcheong had been so at ease even in front of two absolute masters.

"You think you were the ones who set up today’s meeting? Not at all. This meeting was arranged by me."

It meant he had foreseen everything. In other words, this was Hwa Yulcheong’s stage.

"Chief Jin is guarded by the men of the Demon-Slaying Brigade. Even if you want to kill him, it won’t be easy."

At Geom Mugeuk’s words, Hwa Yulcheong laughed.

"And you don’t think that Demon-Slaying Brigade might be a danger instead?"

Geom Mugeuk immediately understood what he meant.

"You intend to use the Soul Reaping Art."

It meant Hwa Yulcheong planned to use the Soul Reaping Art on the men of the Demon-Slaying Brigade to kill Jin Hagun.

But that was not the only plan he had today. His true plan was this.

"If you want to save your grandson…"

Hwa Yulcheong’s eyes shifted from Jin Paecheon to Geom Mugeuk.

"…kill the Young Cult Leader."

"…!"

Jin Paecheon had not expected such a demand from him. Normally, he would not so much as blink at any threat, but in this moment, even he was shaken.

Geom Mugeuk, however, maintained his composure, his expression unchanged.

Seeing that, Hwa Yulcheong asked coldly,

"Why? Do you think we’re incapable of killing Jin Hagun?"

Geom Mugeuk answered frankly.

"No. If it’s you, I think you could kill him."

Hwa Yulcheong looked at Geom Mugeuk as if to say that a real master was indeed a real master.

If he was threatening to kill Jin Hagun in exchange for killing him, wasn’t this the moment when Geom Mugeuk should be trying to convince Jin Paecheon that Jin Hagun would be safe?

"Now I understand."

Geom Mugeuk realized something naturally. A while back, a master of the Soul Reaping Art had shown him his skill in advance. Geom Mugeuk had told the Poison King that there must have been some hidden intent.

"Now I see why you showed me the Soul Reaping Art beforehand. You wanted me to know just how great the skill was, so I’d realize it could work even on the Demon-Slaying Brigade."

"In your current position, shouldn’t you be hiding that fact?"

Hwa Yulcheong had expected him to hide it, and planned to use that concealment to stir conflict between him and Jin Paecheon.

"Hagun is my friend. I couldn’t do that."

Hwa Yulcheong gave a strange smile and then spoke to Jin Paecheon.

"He’s truly someone worth your regard. But no matter how much that’s the case, you can’t allow your grandson to be killed, can you?"

Jin Paecheon glanced at Geom Mugeuk, then asked Hwa Yulcheong,

"After killing the Young Cult Leader, what will you do?"

"Then it’ll be as if nothing ever happened. I’ll leave, and you can continue guarding the Martial Alliance with your grandchildren."

"So what do you gain from this?"

"I get to kill that Young Cult Leader who has caused us massive damage all this time."

Geom Mugeuk let out a short laugh and interjected.

"Is that really all? Would a man like you hide his identity for decades for such a reason?"

Hwa Yulcheong ignored Geom Mugeuk’s words and pressed Jin Paecheon instead.

"Don’t think too hard about it. This will remain a secret between us. Unless I say otherwise, no one will ever know you killed the Young Cult Leader because of your grandson. Even if the Demonic Cult claims it, you can dismiss it as a baseless conspiracy."

Then he added an even stronger reason.

"Think about what will happen if such an exceptional Young Cult Leader becomes the Cult Leader. If you don’t kill him today, the orthodox sects will be destroyed by him sooner or later. So, kill him now."

While Hwa Yulcheong was trying to persuade Jin Paecheon, Geom Mugeuk simply listened in silence.

Soon, Jin Paecheon reached a conclusion. Even though his grandson’s life and the future of the orthodox sects were at stake, his hesitation was brief.

"I will not kill the Young Cult Leader."

At that firm decision, Hwa Yulcheong struck at the Alliance Leader’s weak spot.

"Does that mean you value the Young Cult Leader more than your own grandson? What would martial artists say if they heard this?"

"More than Hagun? Of course not!"

"Then why are you letting your grandson die?"

Could it be that Jin Paecheon made this decision, prepared for his grandson’s death? That was impossible.

Jin Paecheon’s gaze turned toward Geom Mugeuk.

"I came here today as a spectator."

At those words, Geom Mugeuk’s face broke into a bright smile. The Alliance Leader had not forgotten what he once said to him.

And that was topped with the Alliance Leader’s trust.

"I believe this stage will not end in tragedy. He would never have invited me to a tragedy."

Hwa Yulcheong looked at Jin Paecheon in surprise. This was an unexpected variable. He had never imagined Jin Paecheon would trust Geom Mugeuk to this extent. The Jin Paecheon he knew was not this kind of man.

Just as Jin Paecheon had not truly known him, he also had not truly known Jin Paecheon.

Naturally, Hwa Yulcheong’s gaze shifted to Geom Mugeuk.

‘How can this be?’

Geom Mugeuk calmly explained to Jin Paecheon.

"So Jeongrak told me before he died. He concluded that if I died, my father would never let it go."

Geom Mugeuk had seen through Hwa Yulcheong’s plan.

"They have already calculated that if you kill me, the Grand Demon War will begin."

Jin Paecheon nodded. Yes, unless it was for such a purpose, a man who had hidden his identity for decades would never simply walk away.

And how could Geom Mugeuk have come to this stage without preparing for it?

"And just like you, I also expected this."

Geom Mugeuk said to Jin Paecheon.

"Hagun will be safe."

Until hearing those words, Jin Paecheon had been on edge. No matter how much he trusted Geom Mugeuk, no matter how much he was the Alliance Leader, he was still a grandfather who doted on his grandchildren.

But Geom Mugeuk had said it himself—Hagun would be safe.

Geom Mugeuk spoke to Hwa Yulcheong.

"You think I’d just stand by and watch while you kill my friend?"

Hwa Yulcheong gave a derisive snort.

"I suppose you’re counting on the Demonic Buddha or the Poison King to protect him."

He had already guessed who might have been sent to help on their side.

"Yes, those two are indeed Demon Supremes resistant to the Soul Reaping Art. But that’s only when it’s used against themselves."

A meaningful smile appeared on Hwa Yulcheong’s face.

"Will they really be able to stop Jin Hagun’s death? What about an attack from a subordinate right beside the Leader? Or what if Jin Hagun were to take his own life instead?"

It was a display of just how much faith he placed in the master of the Soul Reaping Art.

Hwa Yulcheong’s confidence put Jin Paecheon on edge again, and naturally, his gaze turned toward Geom Mugeuk.

As always, even in this moment, Geom Mugeuk did not disappoint him.

"Are you sure…"

The meaningful smile that had been moved from Hwa Yulcheong and was now on Geom Mugeuk’s face.

"…only they can go?"