무림의 영웅, 진하영을 칭송하다
A New Hero for Murim
Murim had found a new hero.Jin Ha-yeong.
Leader of the Murim Alliance.The man who stood at the very peak of the Gangho.He who defeated the Blood Heaven Demon Emperor and saved Murim from ruin.
His name spread across the land.The leaders of the righteous sects exalted him.
He had become the Strongest.He now stood at the center of Murim.
No one questioned his strength anymore.No one dared to doubt his worth.
He had won.And he had earned the right to rule.
He believed he could now look down on Seung-chan.
The Summit… and Lingering Dread
And yet—From deep within, a subtle unease gnawed at him.A single name surfaced in his mind.
Seung-chan.
After the war between the Murim Alliance and the Demon Cult,he had seen Seung-chan with his own eyes.
He too had survived a brutal battle.He too had claimed victory.
But his expression—It was strange.
There was no joy.No relief.
It was as if…as if something had gone wrong.
In that moment, Jin Ha-yeong felt an unexpected discomfort.
"Why does he wear that expression?"
Swordsmanship for Victory — And a Shaken Sense of Justice
He told himself:
"I've reached the summit of Gangho.""I have no reason to fear anyone."
But the unease wouldn't fade.
He had found a rare opportunity—a sword technique designed solely for victory.
It had brought him to where he was now.Without it, he might never have defeated the Demon Emperor.
And yet…
Since mastering that swordsmanship,something subtle had shifted inside him.
He was once a man of warmth and righteousness—a guardian of order, an idealist of the righteous path.
But now—he sometimes found himself asking:
"To become strong… what must I be willing to abandon?"
And every time he asked,Seung-chan's face came to mind.
Why He Still Bothers Him
He told himself again:
"Seung-chan is beneath me.""He's no longer worth my concern."
And yet—when he watched Seung-chan fight that mysterious man—
That man, not officially the Demon Cult's second-in-command,yet… arguably stronger than anyone save the Demon Emperor.
Jin Ha-yeong had seen it.
"Seung-chan fought someone on par with me."
He should have been basking in triumph.He stood alone at the top.Everything in Murim was his.
And yet—
The unease inside him kept growing.
After Victory — The Shift Within Jin Ha-yeong
He had everything.The world called him a hero.Even the elders of the Murim Alliance sang his praises.
He was the peak.He could rule all.
And yet—He realized he couldn't fully accept this victory.
Why?
What was wrong?
He had won.He had risen to the summit.
And still…
He couldn't stop thinking about Seung-chan.
**
A Whisper Within, and Seung-chan's Departure내면의 속삭임, 그리고 승찬의 떠남
Peace Was Meant to Follow
With the fall of the Demon Emperor,and Jin Ha-yeong's rise to the summit of Murim,the Gangho should have entered an era of peace.
The righteous path had prevailed.Order had returned.
And yet—something was off.
Seung-chan Walks Away
Seung-chan disappeared.
He said nothing to anyone.He simply… vanished.
As he walked away from it all,he replayed every battle in his mind.
And then he decided—he would seek out the one who had never changed.
Someone unshaken by time.Someone unbound by Murim, Gangho, or power.Someone who had never once yielded to the tides.
Unlike Jin Ha-yeong,unlike the world,unlike the flow of strength.
He would find that person again.
Jin Ha-yeong and the Whisper in His Mind
Jin Ha-yeong told himself:
"The Gangho is mine now.""I have reached the top. None can challenge me."
And yet…
A voice inside whispered:
—Then why do you still feel empty?
He gripped his sword.He declared his intent to enter seclusion.
"I must prepare for threats yet to come."
But in truth—he just wanted to know.
"Am I truly strong?"
He had felled the Blood Heaven Demon Emperor.He had crushed every enemy.
And yet…he had seen Seung-chan.
He remembered the strange man Seung-chan had fought.
Stronger than most of the Demon Sect,if not quite the Demon Emperor himself.
And Seung-chan—had won without celebration.
That image would not leave him.
Swinging the Blade — And Doubts
He swung his sword.
The swordsmanship of victory.The technique that had led him to the summit.
It was flawless.It was overwhelming.
He immersed himself in isolation, perfecting it.
And yet, with every strike,he felt something he couldn't name.
Was this strength?Was this power truly… his?
And every time his sword moved,Seung-chan's expression flickered through his mind.
He paused. Closed his eyes.
Then, brushing it off as fatigue,he raised his blade again.
The Flow of Gangho Begins to Shift
While Jin Ha-yeong secluded himself in training,Seung-chan moved through the shadows.
Seeking the immutable.Searching for truth behind strength,and meaning behind survival.
And the Gangho itself—was changing.
It no longer orbited only Jin Ha-yeong.
It moved in deeper currents,pulled by unseen hands.
And neither Jin Ha-yeong,nor Seung-chan,had yet realized…
That everything was already moving according to design.