On the chair atop the platform at the center of the Emperor King Hall, Family Head Namgung Byeok naturally sat, with the heads and elders of the Emperor Sword Form, Vast Sky Sword Form, Flying Swallow Sword Form, Limitless Sword Form, and Flash Battle Sword Form lined up in rows to his left and right.
Among those who should have been present, only two were missing: Namgung Il, the Heavenly Wind Group Leader who had first brought this news, and Namgung Hu, the Heavenly Thunder Squad Commander.
The uniformly serious expressions on everyone's faces made it clear just how grave the matter being discussed here was.
Moon Full Emperor Falls, Slowly Going I Become King.
From early morning until now, every conversation taking place here had been about these eight characters.
At first, there had been some conflict of opinion regarding the interpretation of this phrase. But now there was no longer any opposition to that interpretation.
Moon full emperor falls.
When the moon is full, the emperor shall fall.
Without much thought, this was a phrase foretelling the downfall of the Namgung Family.
The Namgung Family had since ancient times called themselves the Imperial Family. Here, "emperor" referred to the Namgung Family, and "moon full" must refer to this wedding ceremony taking place on the full moon day.
There could be no room for debate about this from the start.
The difference in interpretation didn't arise from the first four characters written in bone script. It was the latter four blood scripts written in blood.
Slowly going I become king.
I who go slowly shall become king.
There had been heated debate among those gathered about who exactly this "I who goes slowly" referred to, but eventually a definite conclusion was reached that left little room for dispute.
The heated discussion currently underway was about what should be done with this person identified as "I who goes slowly."
"As I've been saying all along, this is clearly slander!"
Namgung Jung, the head of the Vast Sky Sword Form, looked around at everyone and spoke forcefully. He was the only elder of the Namgung Family who held the position of sword form head, and in terms of generation, he was high-ranking enough to be equal to Namgung Byeok. Naturally, his voice carried significant weight in such meetings.
"Blade Star has been with the family for less than a year. That means he still cannot exert any influence within the family. That won't change much even after he marries Hye-ah. Don't those of you here know this better than anyone? Blade Star is not even a Namgung in the first place. So how in the world could such a person threaten the position of Namgung Family Head?"
Blade Star was Do Heo-ok's epithet.
His voice was filled with conviction as if there could be no other possibility. As if to support Namgung Jung's words, most of the elders nodded their heads.
"To suspect the person who will become the family's son-in-law based solely on the bizarre writing created with the blood and bones of an intruder who killed the family's warriors in a brutal manner? The martial artists of the world will mock the Namgung Family. What could the person who will become the Namgung Family's son-in-law possibly lack that he would orchestrate such a thing? I simply cannot understand why the entire Namgung Family is in such an uproar over the slander of one wicked intruder."
However, Namgung In, the head of the Limitless Sword Form who was relatively younger than the elders, had different thoughts from Namgung Jung and the elders. As soon as Namgung Jung seemed to finish speaking, he immediately began his rebuttal.
Namgung In was one generation below Namgung Jung and the elders, but he had the support of the young warriors and was a candidate for the next Family Head of the Namgung Family. Therefore, regardless of generation, he was someone with considerable influence within the family.
"I do not agree with that opinion. While the intruder was indeed cruel and did trespass into the Namgung Family without permission, I believe we need to pay attention to the eight characters he left behind: 'Moon full emperor falls, slowly going I become king.'"
"Look here, Namgung In. Anyone can see that 'Slowly Going' is clearly a character puzzle pointing to Do Heo-ok. Are you saying that such an obviously transparent scheme by the intruder is worth noting?"
Namgung Jung immediately interjected at Namgung In's words.
Namgung In then raised a counterargument to Namgung Jung.
"I believe we need to pay even more attention precisely because of that point. The intruder went through the trouble of 'secretly' infiltrating the Namgung Family, only to kill the Heavenly Wind Group's warriors 'for all to see' and carve eight characters whose meaning is all too clear onto the ship. This means his purpose from the beginning wasn't to infiltrate the Namgung Family to kill someone or spy. And consider the three streaks of light he emitted as he left the ship—what the family members are now calling the Three Holy Lights. After completing his task, he even sent a powerful signal as if urging us to come quickly and see what he had done. Then he immediately vanished like a ghost again."
"So are you saying we should arrest Do Heo-ok based on the uncertain slander of an intruder? The bridegroom who will marry the Namgung Family's daughter in a few days? If it turns out to be slander, what will you do then? And if this matter becomes known to the martial artists of the world, how will you handle the aftermath, and how will Hye-ah show her face in the future?"
"Being shamed before the world is a later problem. Even if this is the intruder's slander, I believe we should first restrain Do Heo-ok's movements. What if, by any chance, the intruder's words are correct? Wouldn't that be an even greater disaster?"
Namgung In paused briefly, looked around at everyone once, then continued speaking.
"To dismiss it as mere slander, the intruder's actions were too bold and his abilities too exceptional. With apologies to the Family Head and the elder gentlemen, but who here could recreate such light as we saw at dawn? This isn't a matter of whether one has or hasn't learned the Solar Divine Art. Even if someone in the Namgung Family had learned the Solar Divine Art, there doesn't seem to be... I apologize, but there doesn't seem to be anyone present here with enough cultivation to produce such intense light."
"Your words are a bit harsh—"
One of the elders was about to bristle at Namgung In's somewhat presumptuous words, but Namgung Byeok raised his hand to stop him.
Namgung In's words were provocative and direct. But they were equally truthful. Namgung Byeok knew this well, which was why he cut off the elder's words.
At this, Namgung In lightly clasped his fists toward Namgung Byeok before continuing to present his opinion.
"Though we don't know how he created those beams of light, judging by the fact that the ship was unharmed, it's certain they weren't flashes from Thunder Bolt Bombs. Then we must assume it was from the Solar Divine Art or some similar martial art, and I believe such profound cultivation would be impossible unless one is among the Two Divinities, Three Eccentrics, Five Supremes, and Ten Greats. I dread to think what would have happened if such a person had attacked the Emperor King Hall at dawn. However, rather than attacking the Emperor King Hall, he chose to leave those eight characters. Considering these facts, I believe we must keep all possibilities open and prepare accordingly."
"You're saying he's one of the Twenty Great Masters?"
Namgung Jung waited until Namgung In finished speaking before countering again. From his perspective, Namgung In's words weren't entirely unreasonable, but he believed there was a fatal flaw.
"Then why wouldn't such a great person come forward openly and speak?"
"Not all of the Twenty Great Masters are from the Orthodox Faction. That must be why."
"Do you think that makes sense right now? If he's not Orthodox, why would he help us? No, the very fact that he secretly infiltrated the Namgung Family and killed the family's warriors is an act of deceiving and attacking us. How could that possibly be helping us? He's just a slaughter demon who brutally killed innocent warriors of our family, and a wicked swindler."
"What I'm saying is—"
"That's enough, both of you."
Seeing the atmosphere becoming too heated, Namgung Byeok could no longer stand by and intervened.
"Both of you are right. As the Vast Sky Sword Form Head said, the intruder is indeed suspicious, and as the Limitless Sword Form Head said, we cannot ignore even a small possibility. That's why the Heavenly Thunder Squad Commander and Heavenly Wind Group Leader are out investigating right now, aren't they? Just wait a little longer, everyone."
Namgung Byeok's words seemed effective, as everyone fell silent at once.
In truth, everyone gathered here was waiting for the Heavenly Wind Group Leader and Heavenly Thunder Squad Commander. The two had been the first to bring news of the Four Bone Scripts, Four Blood Scripts and the Three Holy Lights, and they were already absent from the meeting to secure evidence related to this matter.
Right now, the Heavenly Wind Group members were scattered throughout the family searching for the intruder who created the Four Bone Scripts, Four Blood Scripts and Three Holy Lights. If that person was hiding within the family, no matter how great a master, it would be difficult to escape the eyes of the Heavenly Wind Group.
Though the Namgung Family grounds were enormous, there weren't many places to hide. No matter how excellent one's concealment arts, if hiding within the Namgung Family, one could not escape the eyes of the Heavenly Wind Group. Everyone gathered here believed this.
Additionally, the Heavenly Thunder Squad had gone out to scout toward Hefei to prepare for any contingency. If some force intended to plot against the Namgung Family on the day the moon is full, there should be at least minimal movement by now. The Heavenly Wind Group had deployed outside the family early at dawn to confirm this in advance.
With Namgung Byeok's final words, the Emperor King Hall sank into heavy silence.
Regardless of whether Namgung Jung or Namgung In was right, the truth remained that someone had infiltrated the Namgung Family. No matter how one looked at it, from the Namgung Family's perspective, the situation was unsettling.
How much time had passed like this?
Swoosh!
The sound of fluttering sleeves came urgently, breaking the long silence of the Emperor King Hall. It was the sound of someone entering the Emperor King Hall using Lightness Arts.
It was Namgung Hu.
"Brother!"
Perhaps in his haste, Namgung Hu called Namgung Byeok "brother" instead of "Family Head" despite this being an official setting.
Normally Namgung Byeok would have scolded him for being reckless, but even he realized that Namgung Hu had brought some unusual news, so he only spoke one heavy word.
"What happened?"
At Namgung Byeok's words, everyone's eyes focused on Namgung Hu's mouth. Namgung Hu was the Heavenly Thunder Squad Commander. Therefore, whatever news he brought would not be about the intruder, but rather about outside the Namgung Family, especially regarding the Hefei direction.
Judging by Namgung Hu's grim expression, everyone present could tell the news he brought was not good.
"Not a single one of the Heavenly Thunder Squad members who went out on reconnaissance has returned to the family."
"Not one person returned...?"
"Yes, they were definitely supposed to return within one hour, but not a single person has come back."
Though Namgung Hu said they hadn't returned, Namgung Byeok understood without asking that it meant they couldn't return. It made no sense for the family's warriors not to return without reason.
That the martial artists who went on reconnaissance couldn't return was, simply put, no different from saying they were dead.
"What do you think happened?"
It wasn't a question about the warriors who went on reconnaissance. Their deaths were already a foregone conclusion; he was asking why they had died.
"We, the Namgung Family..."
Namgung Hu hesitated briefly before speaking heavily.
"...appear to be surrounded."