Chapter 99 : Heavenly Flame Furnace

Chapter 99: Heavenly Flame Furnace

The night when the bright moonlight descended.

"Insolent brat! How dare you suspect me!!"

Yu Jinhak’s lion’s roar, filled with wrath that reached the heavens, thundered throughout the Alliance Leader’s Hall.

The deep qi carried in the lion’s roar shook the ground as though a small earthquake had struck.

"So, the Tang Clan has risen to the ranks of the Seven Great Clans, and now you dare act arrogant before me!"

Once again, an enraged lion’s roar burst forth.

Clang!

The doors of the Alliance Leader’s Hall swung wide open, and from within, Sewoon emerged.

Unlike his usual calm and composed demeanor, his face was flushed red with anger.

He strode forward with heavy, furious steps before abruptly stopping and turning back toward the Alliance Leader’s Hall.

“This is…!!”

His eyes brimmed with grievance and indignation, as though he had barely restrained himself before Yu Jinhak.

Grinding his teeth, Sewoon gave the door of the Alliance Leader’s Hall a fierce kick as he stormed out.

To anyone watching, it looked as though Sewoon had just received a harsh scolding from Yu Jinhak.

‘Hmm, this much should be enough.’

Of course, appearances and reality were completely different.

Behind his twisted expression, Sewoon’s heart was calm and composed.

From the start, he had never been angry at Yu Jinhak.

And Yu Jinhak was no different.

The lion’s roar he had unleashed was simply because Sewoon had asked him to.

"A bit of an act is necessary."

"Hmm? What sort of act?"

"Like a grandfather scolding his grandson—just raise your voice a little."

"Ah, I see."

It was all staged so that word of Sewoon supposedly clashing with the Alliance Leader would leak outside.

Continuing his act, Sewoon glanced sideways with a subtle look.

Hidden within the shadows that had settled everywhere, he could see countless pairs of eyes spying on him.

They had been tailing him ever since he was summoned to the Alliance Leader’s Hall.

It wasn’t hard to guess who their master was.

‘Namgung Myeong, that fellow really doesn’t hold back.’

Even in his past life, Namgung Myeong’s nature had been inherently suspicious, making it difficult for him to trust anyone.

That was why, even though Sewoon had provided immense help during the Grand Assembly, he had fully expected someone to be placed on his tail.

And that suspicion had now proven true.

Rustle.

At that moment, the presences of the hidden rats vanished all at once.

It seemed they had scurried off to report back to their master.

With no further need to continue his act, the expression on Sewoon’s face disappeared as if it had been a lie.

‘Hmm. I’m nearly at the destination anyway, so this works out well.’

Sewoon stretched his arms with a yawn at just that moment.

And ahead, a familiar pavilion came into view.

He could also sense the presence of someone anxiously waiting for him at the front.

In the distance, someone spotted Sewoon and hurriedly ran toward him.

“Y-young Lord! You have arrived!”

The man bent at a perfect right angle, bowing respectfully before Sewoon.

It was Great Furnace Master, who oversaw the Murim Alliance’s central smithy.

Lord Heukya, Dong Cheonrip, stood before Sewoon with both hands clasped politely.

Inside the empty smithy of the Murim Alliance headquarters, with no one else around.

Clatter.

“P-please, drink this.”

Dong Cheonrip poured tea into Sewoon’s cup.

He was so focused that not even a single drop would spill on Sewoon’s hand.

For someone infamous throughout the jianghu for being unbearably harsh and ill-tempered, his actions were wholly unexpected.

Sewoon spoke with courtesy.

“Elder, please speak comfortably. I am merely twenty years old.”

“That would be unthinkable! How could I dare lower my words before Young Lord!”

“As I’ve said repeatedly, I am not a young lord.”

“Yes, sir!! If you wish, I shall not call you that!!”

Dong Cheonrip responded sharply, refusing to even hear Sewoon’s denial of being a young lord.

But perhaps this was natural.

He had witnessed with his own eyes the astonishing sight of Sewoon creating one hundred Treasure Weapons.

Then, as Sewoon continued showing the utmost respect, he suddenly spoke in a low voice.

“Great Furnace Master.”

“How could I allow such a title to be spoken! In front of Young Lord Tang, no—before the Clan’s Young Master, how could I dare accept such words!”

“In that case, Elder.”

In that instant, the courtesy in Sewoon’s eyes vanished, replaced with a chilling sharpness.

“Do you truly wish to become my disciple?”

“Y-yes!!!”

Dong Cheonrip shouted so loudly that the smithy rang with his voice.

And then…

Swish.

Sewoon, seated in his chair, casually crossed one leg over the other and folded his arms.

“As an ironsmith, Elder must surely know the laws of the forge, yes?”

“In front of the flames and the hammer, nothing matters but skill!!”

“Indeed. Which means, even as a senior, I will not hold back in my teachings.”

“Of course! As your disciple, I shall gladly smile even if I am cursed by my master!!”

“And the moment you accept my teachings, you must obey my commands above even the orders of the Alliance. That is the nature of the master-disciple bond.”

“You speak only the obvious! Command me as you will!!”

Feigning deep thought, Sewoon stared at Dong Cheonrip before finally speaking.

“Then, from now on, I shall call you Smith Dong, and I will address you without honorifics. I cannot teach while speaking respectfully. Will you accept this?”

“Yes!!”

“Well then, what are you doing?”

“…Pardon??”

“Click your tongue! Go fetch the materials, quickly!”

“Eek, y-yes sir!!”

Startled, Dong Cheonrip scurried off at once.

Though he was the same generation as Tang Muyeol, Sewoon intended to treat Lord Heukya, Dong Cheonrip, as strictly as a novice smith.

And of course, there was a reason for this.

‘The very reason Dong Cheonrip lost to Baek Myogong of the Baekya Steel Workshop was because of his arrogance and conceit. I must crush that pride from the start.’

In this lifetime, Sewoon fully intended to guide Dong Cheonrip to a level of smithing far beyond Baek Myogong.

It was his plan to fill the void that would inevitably form in the Alliance once he himself departed.

“Huuh, huff! Master, I brought the materials you asked for!”

“To the Heavenly Flame Furnace.”

“To the Heavenly Flame Furnace!!”

Echoing Sewoon’s words, Dong Cheonrip strained as he pushed the cart laden with materials toward the furnace.

Following behind with his hands clasped behind his back, Sewoon came before a furnace that looked twice as large as the others.

‘At last…’

When Sewoon peered into the Heavenly Flame Furnace—

Whoosh!

A flame as white as clouds burned fiercely within.

It was the Sacred Flame, capable of melting all materials in the world.

Sewoon slowly approached the Heavenly Flame Furnace.

“…Master?”

Without hesitation, he pressed down on the bellows at its base.

Psshh!

Whooosh!

As the wind blew, the Sacred Flame’s power grew even more intense.

Psshh! Psshh!

On the surface, it looked like the most ordinary of bellows work.

Ssshhhhh!

But golden qi stormed wildly through Sewoon’s entire network of meridians.

The Golden Bridle Movement Technique, cultivated to the Sixth Stage, unfolded as its full might was revealed.

The Heavenly Flame Furnace, born of the highest level of sorcery, possessed a unique nature.

Its firepower and performance changed depending on the smithing mastery of the blacksmith using it.

And the Sacred Flame that Sewoon now drew forth—

Rumble!

Fwoooosh!!

It burned so violently it filled the entire furnace.

The darkened smithy shone as bright as day.

‘Ah, ahhh!’

Just watching was enough to send shivers of ecstasy down Dong Cheonrip’s spine.

He was famed as a master smith, even called the second greatest blacksmith under heaven, yet this was on an entirely different level.

Thump! Thump-thump!

His heart pounded as if it would explode.

Tears welled in his eyes from the overwhelming emotion.

It felt as if he had been born for this very moment.

And Sewoon hadn’t even demonstrated proper smithing yet.

“Huu.”

Creaaak.

At that moment, Sewoon stopped working the bellows.

Unlike the tremblingly excited Dong Cheonrip, his face betrayed no ripple of emotion as he quietly peered into the Sacred Flame.

“Tch, only about seventy percent? It must have been too long since this firepower was last stoked. It cannot reach full capacity.”

At the casual words, Dong Cheonrip’s jaw fell open in shock.

‘T-this isn’t his full power…??’

That Sacred Flame, blazing like a sun in the sky, was not its limit?

In that instant, Sewoon seemed to Dong Cheonrip not as a man, but as a giant towering several times taller than himself.

“…Divine Craftsman.”

The words slipped from Dong Cheonrip’s mouth before he could stop them.

And Sewoon turned, speaking to him.

“Prepare yourself. Tonight, I shall forge a Divine Artifact.”

“A D-Divine Artifact?!”

Dong Cheonrip was utterly dumbfounded.

That was not something to be spoken of so lightly.

Not a Treasure Weapon, but a Divine Artifact.

Even within the Murim Alliance’s vast vaults, overflowing with countless treasures, there were only two Divine Artifacts.

Such artifacts could only be born from heavenly fortune—or from the hands of a Divine Craftsman greater than the heavens themselves.

That was why most of the famed Divine Artifacts in history had been born by chance, through heavenly destiny.

Swallowing nervously, Dong Cheonrip asked cautiously.

“…Master, if it is a Divine Artifact, what kind of weapon do you intend to create?”

A sword, a saber, a spear.

A bow, a shield, armor.

What could the Divine Craftsman intend to forge?

Dong Cheonrip’s eyes shone with expectant brilliance.

“A fan.”

“A f-fan?”

“To be precise, an Iron Fan.”

…A mere fan?

His anticipation had been so high that disappointment flickered across Dong Cheonrip’s face before he realized it.

And in that moment, Sewoon’s gaze turned cold as ice.

“How dare you.”

“Gasp! M-Master, that… that is not what I meant…!?”

Sewoon looked at him as though he were trash, his voice dripping disdain.

“The worth of all weapons is the same. Only the blacksmith’s skill in the forging process creates difference.”

“And you dare, with your pitiful, insect-like skill, to look down with arrogance?”

“M-my apologies!!”

Thud.

Realizing his grave mistake, Dong Cheonrip dropped to his knees before Sewoon.

His face had gone pale as he pressed his head low, offering apology after apology.

“Master, forgive me. I was arrogant. Please, grant me just one chance…”

He looked so desperate, as though he would burst into tears at any moment.

It was only natural—he had nearly lost the chance to learn from a Divine Craftsman with his own foolishness.

As Dong Cheonrip trembled, Sewoon’s voice came down cold.

“If you show arrogance once more, I will expel you without hesitation.”

“I-I will come to my senses!! Forgive me, Master!!”

“Hmph. Then pour out the materials.”

“Yes sir!!”

Leaping to his feet, Dong Cheonrip rushed to the cart.

Thud!

Clang!

He tipped it over, spilling all the materials across the floor.

Among the many ingots—

Clang!

Hisss!

The Winter Locking Wheel, received from the Murim Alliance as a reward, exuded a chilling yin energy and cold aura.

‘Then, the first will be…’

Tonight, Sewoon would forge two Divine Artifacts.

And the first would be forged from that Winter Locking Wheel.

In that moment, a fragment of memory flashed through Sewoon’s mind.

"Isn’t it beautiful? Majang, this spectacle that you and I created."

A horrific sight—thousands of corpses scattered like a storm, buried beneath pure white snow.

And within it, a silver-haired woman hiding her face with a white fan, smiling at him with chilling delight.

In his past life, she had wielded a Divine Artifact known as one of the Ten Demonic Weapons.

The Water White Fan of Extinguished Snow.

The master of the North Sea Ice Palace, the Ice White Demon Lord, Seori.