“It will be difficult to set out on the boats tonight, young master-nim. The waves are too rough.”

As Sima Pyeong mentioned, the conditions in the sea were not suitable to set out on the boats right now.

The waves were extremely high and rough to the point that all of the boats at the dock had to be tightly tied down.

Cale got off the carriage and entered a small pavilion. He brushed the rain off his shoulders as he started speaking.

“Coalition leader-nim and Chief Advisor-nim. Why do you think that is the case?”

Sima Pyeong and Zhuge Mi Ryeo, who had quickly approached Cale, flinched.

Cale didn’t care and continued to speak.

“I received a report that the rain and wind started hitting this port village yesterday. I heard that all of the paths toward Hainan have been cut off.”

“Young master-nim.”

He handed Ron the robe around his shoulders. He then sat down on a nearby chair. Chief Eunuch Wi started heading toward the inside of the pavilion to bring out some tea.

“I also heard that other areas don’t have such rain and wind and that it is very peaceful. I looked into past records and saw that starting at some point, this port started having this sort of rain and wind every so often, with the weather being ever-changing. The sea and the weather becomes so terrible that Hainan ends up isolated.”

Tap. Tap.

Cale tapped on the table with his finger.

“What do you think is the answer?”

He looked toward Sima Pyeong and Zhuge Mi Ryeo.

Zhuge Mi Ryeo felt her mouth go dry. Young master Kim, whom she was seeing for the first time in a long while, felt slightly different from before.

He felt gentle before but he felt like a sharpened blade now.

‘The young master’s people’s demeanors feel sharp too.’

However, it wasn’t that they made her feel anxious.

There was definitely a slightly relaxed mood between them. However, it was the sort of relaxation felt from someone with a blade they could swing at any moment.

“I do not believe it is a natural phenomenon, young master-nim.”

She heard Sima Pyeong answer next to her.

Young master Kim looked toward Zhuge Mi Ryeo. She answered without any hesitation.

“I’m certain it is a formation, young master-nim.”

She then added on.

“I have never seen a regular formation affect the weather and the sea of a specific area. Using my abilities as reference, I would say that something like that is impossible.”

At least that was the case according to her logic.

“However, according to the records of the great formation experts of the past, they were said to create changes that encompassed mountains, fields, and the sea.”

She had considered them to be legends or folk tales, however, those stories could be talking about facts from a different era.

Zhuge Mi Ryeo started having those thoughts after seeing young master Kim’s course of actions.

“Is that the correct answer, young master-nim?”

She asked young master Kim Hae-il.

“I heard that you have a young Blood Demon candidate, one who is skilled in formations, with you, young master-nim. I believe that you would have an answer about this phenomenon. Are you satisfied with our answers?’

The corners of Cale’s lips curled up a bit.

“That is correct, Chief Advisor-nim. Half of this is based on formations.”

“…Then what is the remaining half?”

It was at that moment.

“I will explain!”

A black Dragon suddenly appeared from nowhere and puffed up his chubby belly.

“Hooooo. Is it perhaps magic, master?”

Sima Pyeong’s eyes sparkled as he asked Raon.

‘Master?’

Zhuge Mi Ryeo’s eyes became flustered.

‘He’s created a master-disciple relationship with a Dragon?’

Raon started talking as she subconsciously bit down on her lips.

“No. This is not magic. It is a formation. However, the ingredients are not from this world.”

“What do you mean, master……?”

Cale saw Sima Pyeong’s reaction and explained.

“To keep it simple, they used ingredients they received from other Dragons like Raon over here to create this formation. They also received the help of those Dragons when they created the formation, making it in a way they could activate it like a mechanical device.”

“…….”

“Ho-”

Zhuge Mi Ryeo was silent while Sima Pyeong gasped. Both of them seemed to be thinking about the meaning behind Cale’s words.

Cale looked at them as he recalled the information he received from Old man Baek and the young Blood Demon candidates.

Yoon had said the following.

‘We created the formation with the help of the Purple Bloods, young master-nim.’

The Purple Bloods.

Basically, it meant that the formation was created with the help of the Dragons.

‘I don’t know for sure either, but the core of the formation is in the center of the headquarters. That core is supposed to be what we received from the head of the Purple Bloods.’

The head of the Purple Bloods.

That Dragon was currently the Dragon Lord of Aipotu. Of course, he could not fully use his lord powers because his ring was taken away.

“Young master-nim, then do we need to destroy the formation to make this rain stop?”

Cale looked out the window at Zhuge Mi Ryeo’s question.

Shaaaaaaaaaaa-

The rain was too strong.

However, it was natural enough that nobody would ever expect that this was a man-made change.

“I heard that the only way to get rid of the formation is to get rid of the core at the center of the Blood Cult’s headquarters.”

Yoon, Hoya, and Old man Baek had all said the same thing.

‘The only way to calm the seas is to destroy that core, young master-nim.’

Zhuge Mi Ryeo’s face stiffened. Sima Pyeong asked.

“Young master-nim, there still has to be a path for the boats, right?”

Sima Pyeong continued with a smile on his face after seeing the cheeky smirk on Cale’s face.

“I heard that the Blood Cult is having a large event where the chief executives are all gathering together. There must be a lot of people, which is why they cut off the paths of the boats in order to hide their movements. That should also mean that the Blood Cult has a path of their own that will safely get them to Hainan, does it not?”

Raon nodded his head.

“My disciple is so smart!”

“Thank you very much, master.”

On the other hand, Zhuge Mi Ryeo’s face was still stiff. She looked at Cale and asked.

“But will we be able to use that path as well, young master-nim?”

She looked toward the map that was open on another table.

“We are sending our forces as stealthily as possible from all over the Central Plains to Hainan. The entire Triumvirate is involved. I’m certain that while the path used by the Blood Cult is safe, it is unable to handle large numbers. If it was capable of that, someone would have noticed it already.”

She saw Cale’s gaze that seemed to be telling her to continue and added on.

“The basic framework of our plan is for everyone to infiltrate Hainan at once to sweep the Blood Cult out. As such, we must hide our movements as much as possible, keeping the Blood Cult focused on Yunnan and Nanman.”

“That is correct.”

Sima Pyeong crossed his arms and agreed with her.

Zhuge Mi Ryeo stopped talking and looked at young master Kim.

“The most effective method we can choose here-”

She stopped again and Cale asked.

“What do you think it is, Chief Advisor-nim?”

“…Is to have a small group infiltrate the Blood Cult to destroy the core of the formation and then have everybody else infiltrate Hainan once they receive the signal.”

Shaaaaaaaaaaa-

Her voice was not buried despite the loud noise of the rain.

“According to the information I received, the Blood Cult’s headquarters are in Hainan but most of the people in Hainan are regular people. A stealthy infiltration. Then destroying the Blood Cult at once. I believe that is the best way to keep any damage or harm to the minimum.”

This was the way to keep the time spent fighting to a minimum, harming the regular citizens as little as possible.

She finished speaking and observed young master Kim.

He slowly nodded his head with a smile on his face.

“Let’s go with that plan then.”

Cale had come to a similar conclusion as Zhuge Mi Ryeo.

However, he just wanted to confirm something.

Cale wanted to see if Sima Pyeong and Zhuge Mi Ryeo could do well even if he was not here.

“Even if I am not here, it looks like the two of you will be able to properly lead a large group of people.”

The two of them flinched at that comment.

“…What do you mean by that, young master-nim?”

Cale heard Sima Pyeong’s voice and looked at him as he nonchalantly answered.

“I will be leading the infiltration.”

Cale would be the first to infiltrate the Blood Cult.

“T, that-”

It was rare for Zhuge Mi Ryeo to be this anxious. She soon calmed down and commented.

“Young master-nim, there will be many variables and difficulties with the infiltration.”

Basically, she was saying that it was extremely dangerous and that he could die at any moment.

“Young master-nim, you are the person who needs to lead our Triumvirate alliance. You are our pivot, so wouldn’t it be better if you remained here and coordinated everything? I know that is the most difficult task, but…”

The Triumvirate are coordinated with you at the center, so instead of doing something so dangerous, stay here, coordinate that and lead us to our common goal.

That was what Zhuge Mi Ryeo was saying and Sima Pyeong showed that he agreed by remaining silent.

Cale tilted his head to the side. He then nonchalantly commented.

“I should do it because there could be a lot of variables and difficulties?”

Stealthily infiltrating the Blood Cult… Of course that would be difficult.

So could he leave that with the Orthodox faction? Or with the Unorthodox faction or Demon Cult? He could not trust any of them to leave it to them.

‘How can I leave it to the people who didn’t even know that the Blood Cult existed?’

His face slowly turned unsettled.

Zhuge Mi Ryeo and Sima Pyeong subconsciously flinched after seeing Cale’s gaze turn cold.

Cale didn’t care and thought to himself.

‘Plus, this is not that hard for me.’

He just had to move with the young Blood Demon candidates and Old man Baek leading the way.

Wouldn’t they do a good job on their own? Number 7 would be included this time as well.

He said that he was willing to do anything if he could get away from the Pinnacle Demon.

‘I also have people who are good at fighting.’

For example, Choi Han or Choi Jung Soo.

‘And if it doesn’t work, we have a way out as well.’

They just had to set the coordinates and quickly run away with Raon’s teleportation spell.

What would happen if he left this for other people?

“It would be complicated.’

In that case, it was better for him to do it.

“Furthermore, I am someone who will leave this world once the Blood Cult is resolved. I have no intention of ever appearing again. That is why I see the task of leading the Triumvirate alliance as something for the respective leaders of the three forces.”

Cale responded honestly.

Of course, Zhuge Mi Ryeo would not understand that by leaving this world he meant that he was really going to a different dimension, but…

Either way, Cale didn’t want to deal with the complicated mess of coordinating the three forces that were wary of each other.

‘I did as much as I could.’

How much had he suffered until now?

Shouldn’t they figure things out and do things properly on their own now?

Cale’s face became more unsettled.

Zhuge Mi Ryeo felt cold sweat down her back as she looked at him.

‘…What?

What did young master Kim-nim just say?

He said that he was leaving this world? He won’t appear ever again?

Is he saying that he will leave the Martial Arts world and go into seclusion?

Ah, that must be it.’

It made sense as young master Kim had never shown himself in the world until now despite his abilities.

‘Ho-’

Zhuge Mi Ryeo felt as if all strength was leaving her body.

‘What have I been thinking about until now?’

She had told the Alliance leader that she needed to personally go to Hainan and that they needed to be wary of young master Kim, who could gather the entire Martial Arts World into one and rule over it.

However, that person had basically taken care of things on his own to gather all three forces together, rejected the position of leading the group, and was stepping up to do the most dangerous and difficult task himself.

‘Oh Mi Ryeo, Mi Ryeo.’

This was the first time in her life that she felt that her plate was so small.

Furthermore, she also realized how thoughtful and gracious young master Kim was as a person.

‘There is no way that he does not know.’

This intelligent person must know that he could easily unite the Martial Arts world and rule over it.

He could do so with an overwhelming amount of supporters.

However, he rejected such a thing and only wished for peace in the Martial Arts world and the entire Central Plains.

She heard young master Kim’s voice at that moment.

Zhuge Mi Ryeo looked at him as if she was bewitched.

This was what he said.

“Sending the troops to Hainan immediately after receiving the signal. Could I trust you to do that?”

‘No, I can’t do that.’

Zhuge Mi Ryeo truly wanted to follow young master Kim now. She wanted to serve such a great person as her liege and give him the world.

However, she knew that young master Kim would not want that.

In that case, there was only one thing that she could do.

“Yes, young master-nim. You can trust me.”

Don’t think about anything else and focus only on the destruction of the Blood Cult.

She just had to focus on that for now.

Zhuge Mi Ryeo’s mind felt clear for the first time in a long while.

Cale nodded his head after seeing her sparkling gaze and Sima Pyeong’s serious gaze.

“I’ve informed the Demon Cult as well, so you can discuss the details with the Sage Demon-nim.”

The Demon Cult was in the rear and would arrive soon.

Cale ended his conversation with the martial artists.

* * *

He then returned to his lodging and faced his people.

“It is clear what we have to do.”

Cale nodded his head at the team leader’s comment.

There were actually a few more reasons he wanted to be in charge of the infiltration.

“Yes sir. Destroy the core of the formation.”

At the same time…

“Information about the two young ladies of the Duke’s House of Orsena and about the Blue Bloods. Furthermore, any information the chief executives of the Blue Bloods may have been given-”

Cale looked toward Choi Jung Soo and Choi Han.

Now that they knew about the cooperation between the Blue Bloods and the Dragons of the Purple Bloods…

“About Choi Jung Gun, Aipotu, and the Purple Bloods.”

Shaaaaaaaaaaa-

Cale looked at the pouring rain as he spoke.

“Let’s get moving right away.”

There was no need to drag things out.

Furthermore, Cale wanted and needed to quickly return to Roan.

* * *

A single boat set out into the sea with the rough waves, pouring rain, and gusty winds.

As for the eight water drops on Cale’s clavicles…

Four of them had returned to their original black color. The other four still remained white.

—

Translator’s Comments

Uh oh… other four are still white.

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