The warriors spoke as one. Their voices gently stirred the night air as they honored Lightning Genius as their founding master. Each voice was firm, grounded in a well-honed internal qi art.

'What...?'

Something impossible had happened. So Ju Yeonjeong thought. This was no ordinary affair.

Even white martial robes were rare, when one considered the martial world as a whole. The white hems of the Desolate Fortress were proof of uncommon martial skill. Any formally ranked warrior of the fortress could serve as a mainstay in any martial school in the world.

And such people had gathered to support one person? What did that signify?

"Just what..."

An edge entered Ju Yeonjeong's voice.

"...do you think you are doing? Have you dared violate fortress law before the very eyes of the Desolate's Ma Clan?"

"And what are your intentions in misrepresenting our feelings, Lady Ju?"

The man who stepped forward spoke in a deep voice. It was Hong Joogeom of the Annihilation Squad. His long blue robe seemed like a military battle robe. Shabby, as though he had made little effort to maintain it, it nonetheless looked remarkably sturdy, suffused with core energy.

"Misrepresenting? What insolence is this you dare speak to me...?"

Ju Yeonjeong's eyes sharpened. Hong Joogeom paid her no heed.

"I can guess why you invoke the law. You refer to the fortress directive forbidding master-disciple ties, do you not? Truly laughable. Not the law, mind you. You, Lady Ju."

"Go on. Let us hear more of your sophistry."

She affected a derisive snort. Inwardly, she felt otherwise.

She had intended to make Lightning Genius Jung Yeonshin into Ma Se-In's sword. She had already prepared considerable wealth and weapons, and even rare spirit medicine.

Though from a collateral line, Ju Yeonjeong was of Imperial blood. She knew people like Jung Yeonshin. He would not break an oath. If she secured his vow of protection, he would surely become a treasured sword she could wield for years to come.

'The annihilation of the Radiant Demon Squad. The moment had finally come to take Lightning Genius into my fold.'

She had been privately reproaching herself for the mistake of attaching conditions and making her offer sound like a transaction. Even so, she had believed another opportunity remained.

Apart from the Desolate Fortress Master, whose very disposition transcended ordinary concerns, his maternal Ma clan, and the Radiant Demon Squad whose whereabouts had become uncertain in Sichuan, what did Lightning Genius have left?

He was a sixteen-year-old boy who had entered the fortress utterly alone. In the end, he would have no choice but to lean on her. Then she need only embrace him tenderly—so that he could never escape her warmth and power.

That was what Ju Yeonjeong had thought. She had not been wrong.

Not until Hong Joogeom brought these warriors and paid his respects to Lightning Genius.

'A man who spent his days scraping by in white has somehow made it into blue.'

She shot a look at Hong Joogeom's scarred face while watching Jung Yeonshin at the edge of her vision. She gave no outward sign of that glance, but it was pointless anyway.

The boy's face was touched with an agitation she had never seen in him. Slight though it was, his interest and surprise were unmistakable.

She could understand why. Ju Yeonjeong was a martial master herself. She sensed something akin to Lightning Genius in the disposition of the warriors now arguing with her.

They shared one lineage. A bond was inevitable.

'Martial arts are the unforeseen factor.'

She, too, had used martial arts to shake the Desolate's Ma Clan. But there were two differences.

Lightning Genius had not intended this situation. Moreover, he had created the arts himself and was beginning to receive the honors due a founding master. Right here and now, no less.

"... Lady Ju, are you listening?"

Hong Joogeom gazed steadily at her.

She abruptly came to her senses. Nothing went as she wished when Lightning Genius was involved. This was only the second time, yet the impression was already overwhelming.

"I am listening."

Ju Yeonjeong lifted her chin haughtily. Whatever happened in her head, however the situation changed, she had to maintain dignity in her conduct, at least.

"You claim that salute was not offered to a teacher? I find that very difficult to accept. The honors you showed an absurdly young blue robe were excessive. Can you explain them as anything other than master-disciple ties? Unless you mean to challenge the fortress's prohibition outright."

Her tone was icy and stern.

Hong Joogeom was not particularly intimidated. Ju Yeonjeong held no office in the fortress. She was not even the mistress of the Desolate's Ma Clan. She stood far outside the fortress's chain of command. He kept that fact firmly in mind.

By contrast, after decades as a white-robed warrior, Hong Joogeom himself had donned blue. It was thanks to his mastery of Lightning Genius's recently released Evading Swift Step.

The second key principle of that footwork suited him. Its formula for creating distance resonated with the life he had led.

Lazy Donkey Rolling. He had never hesitated even to roll across the ground during a sparring match. In other words, he had become an expert at judging distance in fierce combat.

Evading Swift Step, Second Step.

In its formula for creating combat distance, he had glimpsed a realm bestowed by heaven. He had trembled at a footwork formula that so perfectly supplemented his inadequate talent.

It was a divine technique. To him, at least. It had let him comfortably pass the blue-rank promotion examination he had taken dozens of times.

That was why he believed:

'Lightning Genius is my benefactor, and he truly is a founding master.'

Every warrior gathered here felt the same.

Hong Joogeom stood firm. They were discussing the laws of the Desolate Fortress. Neither his years of service nor his rank was inadequate for that. He spoke with ease.

"Lady Ju, you are of Imperial blood. All the world knows that the Ming imperial court maintains close ties with Buddhist orders. There is a reason Shaolin is particularly powerful among the Nine Great Sects, is there not? Even the Little Divine Monk is of the noble race."

"Do not stray from the point."

Her cold voice carried no weight with him. Undeterred, Hong Joogeom continued.

"I understand the imperial family has a tradition of climbing Mount Song as pilgrims to offer incense. Surely you have been there at least once yourself."

"And?"

"Is not the Pagoda Forest, where the relics of Shaolin's eminent monks are enshrined, one of the temple's celebrated sights? As I understand it, no imperial pilgrim fails to join their palms to Bodhidharma and Chan Master Huike, who have entered nirvana. When making offerings, that is."

Ju Yeonjeong's eyes widened.

"You dare..."

"It is no different between us and Lightning Genius of the Radiant Demon Squad. Well, the founder of our martial lineage is still alive, and young at that, but those are minor differences. We are like Shaolin's pilgrims. We paid the founder of our lineage his proper respects. What martial artist of this fortress would take offense at that? Unless their heart were strangely twisted."

He returned her earlier phrasing to her in mockery.

Was it because she had never suffered such humiliation? Defeated in justification and refuted in argument, she rolled her eyes slightly back, exposing their whites for an instant.

Lightning Genius no longer lacked anything. Those bound together by the martial lineage he had created would more than make up the force he needed.

Those undeniable facts struck Ju Yeonjeong's mind like lightning. Only Ma Se-In, standing beside her, fidgeted anxiously.

"These people truly..."

Hong Joogeom turned his gaze from the enraged woman to Ma Yeonjeok, the peerless purple-robed master who had been watching them in silence.

"Honored Ma Clan head, you truly have an extraordinary kinsman. We practitioners of the Lightning Genius lineage will always be grateful for him."

He offered flattery while leaving the other man room to retreat. It was seasoned rhetoric. For a moment, Jung Yeonshin even imagined himself speaking such honeyed words to the Desolate Fortress Master.

"... There is no fault in what you say. Yeonshin has gained steadfast allies."

"Clan head!"

Ma Yeonjeok was remarkably calm as he ignored Ju Yeonjeong's cry. He merely gazed at his grandson, who was earning people's esteem through his own efforts, and spoke.

"Born with talent unmatched through the ages, you are building both your martial arts and your martial lineage at once."

"... Grandfather."

"I have shown you far too much that is shameful. I am ashamed. If you return safely, you shall find this house changed..."

COUGH.

His words broke off as he coughed up blood.

"Clan head!"

"What is this...?"

As the Ma clan members stepped forward in horror, Ma Yeonjeok smiled bitterly at the blood seeping between the fingers covering his mouth.

"Has it already come to this? I only made a single trip to Southern Zhili."

He ignored Ju Yeonjeong and the elders. He merely held out a hand toward the startled Jung Yeonshin and Ma Se-In and shook his head.

"It is karma. The path of domination I walked in my youth returns to me as arrows. I took so many heads without even knowing what it meant to overexert myself. Little wonder the martial power I built so quickly is crumbling."

"The reason you cannot go to Sichuan..."

Ma Yeonjeok shook his head at Jung Yeonshin's words.

"The law. It is because of the law. Protecting the fortress comes first. That is all."

The former Divine Sword Squad Leader's stubborn pride colored his words. His body was deteriorating along with his prowess. The Divine Sword Squad's combat units were scattered across an increasingly chaotic land. Even if both were reasons, he would speak only of the law.

Still, there was nothing but pride in his eyes as he looked at Jung Yeonshin. Then he turned, his purple hems sweeping around with him.

"I wish you fortune in battle. I always have, and always shall," Ma Yeonjeok said with his back to him.

"Members of the Ma household, see our guests out and follow me."

The command that followed was not directed at Jung Yeonshin. Ma Yeonjeok enunciated every word.

"Ju Yeonjeong's words and actions defied all reason. You elders tacitly endorsed her conduct. Listening quietly, I had not expected matters to have reached this point. I cannot tolerate today's insubordination. The imperial family's Eight Methods of the Golden Immortal? No. If we truly mean to discuss restoring this clan, we must first set our rules and discipline in order. Even if I must cast aside my dignity and disregard life and death, I will punish you."

Even his restrained articulation had changed. Every word seemed to drip with fury.

The purple-robed head of the Desolate's Ma Clan had spoken of punishment. Was this unprecedented? For the first time, dismay entered Ju Yeonjeong's voice.

"Clan head...!"

"I told you to follow. Just how profound are the martial arts of you bastards and bitches, that you treat me with such contempt? You have disgraced me before my grandson, so I must find out. I will not draw my sword. I might kill you with a single stroke."

Those were his last words.

Jung Yeonshin left the Desolate's Ma Clan with the warriors of the Lightning Genius martial lineage. The atmosphere demanded it.

Yet his keen martial senses distinctly detected the wave of qi that arose beyond the threshold.

THUD!

The explosive report of a Burst Discharge wave of force striking an abdomen, the sense of Ju Yeonjeong's long, steady breath shattering miserably, and even Ma Yeonjeok's genteel cough.

"Well, that's brutal," said the Supreme Flame Dragon, staying close beside Jung Yeonshin.

The boy walked on without a word, pushing his concern for Ma Se-In into a corner of his heart.

The martial artists following behind him had an immense presence. In a single night, enough strength to form a combat unit had come to him.

With this much, even the Command Bureau would gladly authorize his journey to Sichuan. All that remained was to persuade them.

"We heard about the Radiant Demon Squad," Hong Joogeom said abruptly.

STEP.

Jung Yeonshin stopped short and turned. Hong Joogeom continued.

"We also visited the Command Bureau while tracing your movements, Founding Master. Word of such an incident is bound to spread throughout the fortress anyway."

"..."

"If you have need of us, please say so."

"I do."

Jung Yeonshin answered without hesitation.

As he looked back, the warriors' faces filled his view. Some nodded silently; others lifted the corners of their mouths. He could distinctly sense the traces of the unique martial arts he had created.

They each spoke with reverence and affection. They also exchanged opinions among themselves.

"There is something you should know, Founding Master. Sichuan's Murim... you could call it an age of chaos spread out across the Central Plains."

"Mm. One of the Eight Families, three of the Nine Great Sects, and three of the Thirteen Skies. Seven great powers entangled in one region. Can you imagine it?"

"There is nowhere else like it under heaven. With such immense numbers of both masters and common folk, there are countless talented people as well. Martial artists die there in droves. The scheming is extraordinary, too."

"Well, we already settled the matter on our way here. It is a suitable place to demonstrate the martial learning of the Lightning Genius lineage. Besides, we are going to rescue comrades. How could we not follow? Our righteous spirits are boiling over."

At the young white-robed warrior's words, Hong Joogeom turned to Jung Yeonshin.

Moonlight pouring from the wide-open night sky cast the boy's shadow and those of the warriors together.

"However vast and boundless Sichuan's Murim may be, we are martial artists bound by a heaven-bestowed school of arts."

He respectfully clasped his hands in a martial salute.

"Draw your Desolate Sword at our head, our one true founding master."