Before the day broke.
Dong Bongsu opened his eyes.
It was not that he had woken from sleep.
He had not slept in the first place.
He had merely kept the System Window open all night, mulling over each of the changed figures.
Click.
▣ Hero Rank: ★★ First-Rate
◆ All Stats +5
◆ Trait 『Faith Weight』
He had already confirmed it dozens of times.
The stat increase was not very large, but its significance lay in the fact that he was accumulating it as one of the Dual Karma Root.
And in many cases, it was such small differences that decided the outcome of a battle.
He lightly clenched and unclenched his fist.
After doing it all night, the subtle difference had now adapted to his body.
With this, he was confident he could move perfectly according to his will when a real fight broke out.
≪Unlockable Skills≫
• Faith Judgment Lv.1 『Y/N』
• Hero's Blessing Lv.1 『Y/N』
His finger hovered in the air for a moment before dropping.
Let's wait a little longer.
This is not an urgent time.
Click.
He closed the System Window and opened his Inventory.
He took out the torn and fragmented 'things' and laid them out in the middle of the room.
Arms, legs, torso.
And a crushed head.
It was the corpse of Cheol So-ah.
He proceeded to arrange the pieces as close to their original positions as possible.
Her face was half-crushed, but the outline remained.
It was enough for identification.
A light Cold Qi settled in the room.
There was no such thing as a freezer in this world, but time did not flow inside the Inventory.
As soon as he took it out, a faint chill rose, and the flesh was cold but not decomposed.
The task was no different from arranging a butcher's display case.
Who this lump of meat was, what she had done, such things held no more meaning to Dong Bongsu than the origin of the meat.
He carefully wrapped the corpse in cloth and placed it in an empty annex outside the compound.
Returning to his room, he spread out the senses of his Super True Qi Field.
Woooong-.
Bing Ye and nine Sect Members.
Outside the compound.
The Cold Qi had subsided, but they remained on guard.
He could feel traces of them having changed shifts during the night, once again confirming that they were a truly refined organization.
From the dormitory of Jeon Rahwa and the children, he could feel even breathing.
'As for Yan Bilyeong's side-.'
She's already awake.
It seemed she hadn't slept all night either.
Myo Jinheo's side was quiet.
The same tranquility as last night.
With this person, it was meaningless to even try to distinguish whether such unchangingness was sleep or a pretense.
He would either have to figure him out more or deal with him according to the situation.
He withdrew the Super True Qi Field and organized the day's tasks.
One, hand over the corpse and the jade pendant to Bing Ye and send her away.
Two, tell Jeon Rahwa first before retrieving the jade pendant.
Three interviews.
215 people.
He closed his eyes, then opened them.
Whether the eyes that closed and the eyes that opened belonged to the same person, there was no one in this room who could know.
Soon.
The door to Dong Bongsu's, no, Kim Rae-won's room opened. ● ● ● It was before the children had begun their morning training in the Training Ground.
Kim Rae-won went to see Jeon Rahwa first.
"You're early."
"You too."
Jeon Rahwa was already organizing the register.
A thick book with the names, origins, and brief histories of 215 people.
Beside it, even a layout of the Training Ground was drawn.
She was competent.
A woman who finished preparations one step ahead of what was asked.
"I have a favor to ask."
"What is it?"
"That jade pendant. I have to return it."
Dong Bongsu briefly explained what had happened at dawn.
She was surprised at first, but let out a sigh of relief upon confirming that nothing major had happened.
Even so, Jeon Rahwa's hand unconsciously touched her neck.
The Jade Pendant of the Heavenly Yin Sect's Maiden.
It was an item that enhanced the efficiency of the Twin Snow Yin Cold Art.
"I have to return it to them. It was originally their property."
"…I understand."
Without resistance, she took the jade pendant from her neck and handed it over.
Just one thing.
"It'll get a little cold without that."
Jeon Rahwa's smile was beautiful.
Kim Rae-won smiled back as he accepted the jade pendant.
"Don't worry. You have me, right?"
"Tsk-. Are you some kind of furnace?"
"When I'm around, affection overflows, doesn't it? Everyone seems to love it to death."
"Ha. Ha. Was that supposed to be a joke?"
"No. I'm serious."
"…"
"Or what. Should I hug you? This body of mine does have something warm called body heat."
Jeon Rahwa, who had been chuckling for a moment, dropped her gaze to the register and pouted.
However, she couldn't hide the corners of her mouth from turning up.
She tried to hide it, but she herself probably knew she had failed.
"…Stop spouting nonsense. Please."
"Nonsense? That hurts."
"Yes, yes. I understand, Sect Leader."
'This woman is approaching the pinnacle of usefulness.'
It was an evaluation, not a feeling.
And that was the most humanity Dong Bongsu could offer anyone.
"What about the preparations for the interviews?"
"It's all done. You just need to sit and see the people."
Kim Rae-won nodded and pointed towards the annex.
"Let's sort things out with Bing Ye first, then we'll start."
"Yes."
● ● ●
He called for Bing Ye and guided her to the annex.
The nine Sect Members were made to wait outside.
Only Bing Ye went in.
When he opened the door, a form covered in cloth was revealed.
Kim Rae-won pulled back the cloth.
Halt.
Bing Ye's steps stopped.
Cheol So-ah.
It was a corpse with its pieces fitted together.
The arms, legs, and torso were placed in their original positions, but it was not whole.
The face was crushed, but the outline remained.
Cold, uncorrupted flesh.
It had clearly been frozen.
Bing Ye did not show any emotion.
A Secret Practitioner of the Heavenly Yin Sect.
She was adept at freezing the waves of emotion.
However, her Cold Qi wavered slightly.
The air in the room instantly grew a layer colder.
That was the extent of the emotion this woman allowed herself.
Bing Ye knelt.
In front of the corpse, she reached out one hand and lightly touched the forehead.
A ritualistic gesture.
The Heavenly Yin Sect's unique rite for the dead.
The silence was long.
She recalled Cheol So-ah at the sect.
A bright and cold cultivator.
A talent whose name the Sect Leader himself had called.
And on top of that, the things she heard last night were overlaid.
Man-eating Pig.
Slave.
Family punishment.
The things that the bright child had done.
The corpse was not the only thing she had to report to the Sect Leader.
"This too."
Kim Rae-won handed her the jade pendant.
Bing Ye accepted it plainly.
A lingering scent was transmitted from her hand.
The aura of the one who had last worn this jade pendant.
It was the internal energy of the Heavenly Yin Sect, but not the circulation method of a Dharma Maiden; it was an aura that felt as if it had been forcefully poured into a cracked vessel.
She did not ask.
For now…
"I will take the corpse."
With a calm voice, Bing Ye stood up.
"I have something to report to the Sect Leader."
After a beat.
"I will come again."
It was just two sentences.
But Dong Bongsu knew it was not a simple farewell.
It meant she would come personally to deliver the Sect Leader's judgment.
And the fact that she would come herself, regardless of the outcome, also meant that this Relationship was not yet severed.
He smiled.
"I'll be waiting."
Bing Ye left the room.
He heard a short voice instructing the Sect Members to collect the body, and not long after, ten auras left the Hero's Sect.
Slowly, then completely.
Dong Bongsu watched from the edge of his Super True Qi Field's senses until they vanished.
'The Relationship has not been severed.'
The line is still connected, and her return means it is still taut.
This is enough.
● ● ●
Morning.
In the Training Ground, 215 people were lined up.
Those with swords, those with staffs, those with bare hands.
Their ages and physiques were all different.
However, the gazes fixed on the one person standing before them were all pointed in the same direction.
Kim Rae-won.
He sat in front of all of them.
Jeon Rahwa stood beside him, holding the register.
And.
In a corner of the Training Ground, under the shade of the eaves, Yan Bilyeong stood leaning with her arms crossed.
On the opposite side, Myo Jinheo sat quietly with his fan spread open.
Kim Rae-won stared at them all in silence for a long while, until at a certain moment.
He stood up from his seat.
The 215 pairs of eyes, which had been focused on his every move, rippled with tension at his sudden movement, spreading through their pupils like a wave.
"The Hero's Sect is a place that practices Righteousness."
The first sentence.
"This is not a sect you can enter just because your fists are strong."
With that one sentence, the air in the Training Ground changed.
A weight he had not felt before.
『Faith Weight』.
The moment Kim Rae-won's words spread through the air, the backs of a considerable number of the 215 people straightened.
Their slouched shoulders squared, and their hazy gazes sharpened.
It was as if someone had straightened their spines with an invisible hand.
"…"
Dong Bongsu's inner self perceived this subtle change.
The trait is working well.
Indeed, right now.
"One by one, step forward."
The interviews began.
Kim Rae-won's questions were simple.
"Why do you want to join the Hero's Sect?"
"What is Righteousness to you?"
"Have you ever risked your life to protect someone?"
It was an interview that lightly questioned only their heroic values.
But underneath, Dong Bongsu's senses were reading something completely different.
The trembling of their heartbeats, the intervals of their breaths, the texture of the muscles that tensed unconsciously when they answered.
The information shown by the system was little more than their names, but that was enough.
Originally, numbers only tell you the state.
The texture must be read directly.
The criteria for judgment were clear.
Those with strong martial arts can be brought in later.
What is needed now are believers.
Those who fundamentally believe in Righteousness.
Those in whose bones principles are ingrained.
Those whose sense of justice is not just lip service, but comes from their very core—their heart, and beyond that, their true feelings—if such a thing exists.
Such humans believe in Kim Rae-won the most deeply.
Deep trust directly becomes Dong Bongsu's power.
He filtered the people based on that standard.
The first one.
His martial arts were unimpressive.
His physique was small, and the calluses on his sword-wielding hand were thin.
However, his answer to 'Why did you come?' was unadorned and straightforward.
"I saw how the River Capital has changed. I witnessed with my own eyes how different it can be with and without the Iron God Gang and the Seven Star Immortal Society. I want to learn under the one who accomplished this."
Heart rate stable.
Breathing even.
No lies.
'The type that believes most easily and is the first to be swept away.'
The kind of talent a pseudo-religion would desire most.
Kim Rae-won smiled gently.
"Good. Pass. Next."
The second one.
He had a large build and was overflowing with confidence.
He was also armed with a fine weapon.
"I came because I want to become stronger."
It was an honest answer, with no lies whatsoever.
But it was not enough.
It felt as if 『Faith Weight』 did not work on this man.
Earlier, during the address, when the backs of the 215 straightened, this man's back was already straight.
He had not reacted to Kim Rae-won's words; he had just been straight from the beginning.
'The type who believes only in himself.'
Trust does not build up with such people.
They leave when they become strong and betray when they become weak.
It would be the same no matter who they served, not just Kim Rae-won.
"If our fates align, we may see each other again."
He gently rejected him.
Warm on the outside.
But a summary judgment on the inside.
The man looked greatly disappointed and voiced several complaints as if he couldn't accept it, but he didn't throw a fit.
This was because the reputation of Kim Rae-won and the Hero's Sect in this River Capital was already absolute.
The law named Kim Rae-won had already passed judgment.
To resist it would only be to his own detriment.
The interviews continued.
Continuing for over two hours.
Most were either of the first type or the second.
Occasionally, there were ambiguous ones mixed in who belonged to neither side.
Such people could just be put on hold.
'The basic classification is done.'
The types of people are ultimately finite.
The problem is… That exceptions always exist.
The two hundred and fifteenth.
The final applicant was a reticent man in his early twenties.
He was of average height, but his shoulders were broad, his hands thick, and his eyes were quite deep.
And yet, his gaze was transparent.
"What is Righteousness?"
The silence was long.
In an interview, silence is generally a demerit.
However, Dong Bongsu read that this silence did not come from ignorance.
His heart was beating fast.
There are various patterns to a heart's throbbing.
Naturally, Dong Bongsu knew well that it was not due to anger, but something else.
He waited.
"I don't know."
The man finally opened his mouth, slowly but firmly.
"But I do know that doing nothing when my younger sister was dragged away by the Iron God Gang was not Righteousness."
Kim Rae-won's gaze lingered for a moment.
"That sister?"
"She died."
What the Super True Qi Field read.
A rising heartbeat.
But not anger.
It was a shame.
Self-loathing for his past powerlessness.
This was a living emotion.
He has emotion, and the direction of that emotion is aimed at himself.
Such a person runs like mad to prove himself.
And in that process, he is bound to seek a milestone.
"Name."
"It is Seok Gyeong."
"No, your sister's name."
"It is Seok… Ran."
Kim Rae-won nodded.
"I will remember it."
That was all.
● ● ●
Final selection: 20 people.
The moment Dong Bongsu was about to hand the register to Jeon Rahwa.
'As expected.'
It was just as he had predicted.
Tiring-.
[Guild Member limit exceeded. Current 12/30. Additional members that can join: 18.]
30 is the limit.
The limit that increased during the Facility Expansion was caught here.
He had chosen 20 people, so he was 2 over the limit.
He had already confirmed that the guild member limit was 30.
From the moment he decided to pick 20 people, he had simply wanted to see how the system would react.
It was an experiment.
And the experiment returned a result.
Duoong-.
[Guild]: The Threshold of Growth
Your sect is growing.
To embrace more people, you need a vessel befitting them.
Please achieve one of the following.
․ Solidify the Guild's Foundation: Raise the average combat level of your guild members above a certain standard.
├─ Progress: 0%
└─ Reward: Guild Member Limit +10, Guild EXP +100
․ First Resonance of Martial Fame: Solve a crisis outside the River Capital in the name of the Hero's Sect.
├─ Progress: 0%
└─ Reward: Guild Member Limit +15, Fame +10, Guild EXP +200