“The sword of the heart. How grandiose.”

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader laughed as she repeated the Desolate Fortress Master's words.

Her black clothes, every bit as dark as Jung Yeonshin's long black robe, billowed in the wind. Her presence suggested hellfire wrapped around her entire body.

The final barrier on their journey home was towering and thick. This was the last leg of their mission, yet the seeds sown on their journey to Sichuan had returned as the formidable problem of the Pure Demon Alliance Leader.

She was gradually regaining her composure.

HISSS

Some of the bloodstains on her abdomen vanished with the vapor of True Samadhi Fire. At the same time, a scorched smell arose, so faint that only masters could have detected it.

There was no other possible source. She seemed to have applied True Samadhi Fire to the sword wound in her belly.

It was the wound left by the Desolate Fortress Master's Moon Spirit Divine Technique, stretching from near her ribs down to her hipbone. Since pressure-point sealing could not stop the bleeding, she was cauterizing the entire long gash, searing it closed.

Jung Yeonshin's eyes widened slightly. It seemed an improvisation born of the extraordinary control over body and core energy unique to peerless masters.

Remarkable.

So was the grin on her face as she lightly bit her lip. Her slender features radiated the spirit of a lion.

A founding master of the Demonic Path. Even in a fight to the death, the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's makeshift solution befitted the head of a lineage on the evil and unorthodox paths.

She spoke.

“For years, all the world has whispered that the Desolate Fortress Master's martial realm stands in a heaven beyond heaven. But I never imagined you were of my own kind. Listen here, child.”

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader lowered her gaze. Her blue eyes smiled at Jung Yeonshin.

There was something strangely, bitterly cold about them.

“Had I been your martial aunt, I would have taken you in and taught you myself. Even masters are human. To survive this turbulent martial world, one must wield both martial arts and words. But your teacher is so pointlessly high-minded that I doubt she could argue half as well as you.”

A martial aunt was a woman of the same martial generation as one's teacher: the teacher's senior or junior martial sister.

Just as the different terms for those sisters literally denoted an older or younger sister, a martial aunt was, quite literally, an aunt within one's martial lineage.

It was further proof of how brazenly the Pure Demon Alliance Leader spoke and acted.

“Amazing that you can talk about seniority while constantly insulting your elder in the martial world.”

Jung Yeonshin spoke as he slowly took hold of his sword hilt. Assuming the opening stance for a sword throw, he put genuine feeling into his blunt words.

“The side effects of demonic arts truly are fascinating. Many of the fine meridians in your brain seem blocked. Do your demonic martial arts include a special method for narrowing the acupoints? Tell me, and I might consider accepting you as my junior martial sister.”

“...”

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader was one of the Lords of the Thirteen Skies. Her status was exalted.

Her own provocations were utterly unrestrained, yet when confronted with insolence, she offered no reply.

Apparently, she considered it beneath her dignity.

“What an idiot.”

Jung Yeonshin continued hurling insults at the leader of a major faction to the very end.

By now, not only Heon Wonchang but even the Supreme Flame Dragon beside him was quietly shaking his head and assuming a ready stance.

They were preparing in case the Pure Demon Alliance Leader directed an attack their way.

“I see our acting captain isn't particularly afraid of dying young. Personally, I find the prospect rather frightening. That doesn't make me strange, does it?”

Unconcerned, the boy slowly circulated his core energy. His heart tingled as the radiant wheel turned.

To break this impasse while keeping Ma Yeonjeok safe, the Desolate Fortress Master would have to kill the Pure Demon Alliance Leader with a sword move that caused no clash of qi waves.

He needed to handle this deceptively quiet standoff wisely.

HISSS

An extraordinary wave of qi was spreading from the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's entire body as she talked. Had she bought all the time she needed?

By contrast, the Desolate Fortress Master merely stood in silence, gazing at the distant woods.

If her killing strike was not yet ready, the boy intended to throw his sword first and buy her time.

'My attainment in Mobility Arts is lacking. How can I intercept peerless masters using Soaring Through the Void?'

He had felt the same during Ma Yeonjeok's battle with the Blood Flame Cult Leader.

Storing the question away as a problem to solve, the boy glared at the Pure Demon Alliance Leader.

He had already activated the radiant demon arts. The ideal trajectory took shape in his mind.

Then it happened.

“It is ready.”

The Desolate Fortress Master spoke abruptly.

Several breaths had passed since she mentioned the sword of the heart.

Her grass-green sleeve rippled once.

Stepping forward like a phantom, she gently swept her sword upward toward the Pure Demon Alliance Leader, who stood upon the air with Soaring Through the Void. The sword strike flickered pure white, tracing a single graceful curve.

The move seemed entirely meaningless.

SWISH!

No. It was not.

Standing far away, Jung Yeonshin heard a sound that could not be heard. It rang inside his head.

The faint noise of something being sliced pierced his Baihui point, then went straight into his upper dantian. Strictly speaking, he had detected a phenomenon rather than a sound.

Had she truly cut the heart?

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader gasped. Her loose black hair scattered wildly overhead.

Her hovering figure swayed violently in midair. That was not all. In an instant, she fell nearly three jang.

Another four jang or so, and she would enter the range of his sword-throwing art.

Jung Yeonshin's eyes flashed. At his waist, the hilt of the divine sword Northern Radiance shone white in his grip.

But he never got the chance to draw.

The Desolate Fortress Master's second sword form followed. This time, he could see it.

FLAP!

Her loose robes fluttered in the colors of the undergrowth.

The sword held in a high stance above her small, green-haired head descended once more.

One stroke.

The gesture might have been an attack or a single form in a sword dance.

Her bearing was positively elegant. At the same time, a faint flash left her blade. It looked exactly like a shaft of light.

This was an inhuman sword move that sent radiance shooting upward. It differed even from the rare attainment of sword qi.

That was how it felt: more mysterious, far more transcendent.

Jung Yeonshin failed to follow the full sequence of sword strikes.

He caught only the instant when a sudden gleam of moonlight blazed in the shape of an elongated slash.

A direct hit. It shattered the Pure Demon Alliance Leader's ink-black armor of internal energy, scattering fragments of radiance from her abdomen.

Her hand was outstretched as though she had been about to attack. Eyes wide, she froze for an instant.

THUD

What wondrous martial principles had produced that strike?

The sound of colliding qi waves rang out only inside the Pure Demon Alliance Leader. It was barely audible without listening closely.

With a single stroke of her sword, the fortress master had driven even the entire shock wave into her opponent's body. It seemed she had taken Ma Yeonjeok's condition into account.

'Wow.'

An exclamation burst forth in his heart.

Never in his life had Jung Yeonshin seen a sword move more sublime. Even his eyes struggled to fathom its mysteries.

It impressed him even more than the first form, which she had called the sword of the heart.

Then—

BOOM!

A mighty wave of qi erupted from the Pure Demon Alliance Leader as she plunged toward the ground.

At the same time, currents as black as the night sky enveloped her entire body, continually emitting pulses of internal power.

Overwhelming. They seemed capable of crushing mountains and rivers flat.

Was this her hidden strength? Gritting her teeth, she righted herself and resumed the Mobility Art, Soaring Through the Void.

Pitch-black qi exploded from behind her. Once again, her entire body shot diagonally upward.

Even Jung Yeonshin could sense that she had forcibly drawn out her core energy. She was pushing herself far enough to risk qi deviation.

'It's over.'

So the boy thought.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader made her decision quickly. There was something peculiar about the direction she took across the sky.

WHOOSH!

She was far overhead. Her figure briefly blotted out the sun as she passed, leaving the battlefield outright.

She was fleeing.

“The Pure Demon Alliance Leader is running away!”

Beside the boy, Heon Wonchang cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted. His extraordinary perceptiveness seemed to have let him grasp the course of the exchange.

His lively voice brimmed with core energy, as though he had never tried to restrain Jung Yeonshin at all.

It was a warning to the Pure Demon Alliance masters who would have been racing here to attend their leader.

“I shall not forget this day!”

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader's voice resounded. She had already dwindled into the distance.

The peerless Demonic Path master seemed to have remained mindful of Jung Yeonshin and his hand on his sword hilt.

Even while facing the Desolate Fortress Master, she had never entered the range of his sword throw.

'I need to find a way to counter Soaring Through the Void and walking on empty air.'

It left the boy, who would soon formally rise to Black rank, with another problem to solve.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader had appeared with Baek Miryeo's name on her lips, only to retreat in defeat. Yet she did not seem pathetic.

She remained a peerless master far beyond Jung Yeonshin's reach.

He vowed that if they met again someday, he would take the fortress master's place.

'Black rank covers a broad range of ability. Broader than blue rank, surely. If I had Uncle's skill, or the Annihilation Squad captain's, along with the Dharma-Surpassing Radiant Wheel Art, I could have found some way to contend with her. Should I focus first on reaching Three Flowers Gather at the Crown?'

As the boy briefly gathered his thoughts, a clear, bell-like voice rang out.

“I must see Yeonjeok.”

CRUNCH.

The Desolate Fortress Master approached slowly, heading toward the three four-horse carriages Jung Yeonshin and the others had been guarding.

She did not look at the fleeing Pure Demon Alliance Leader. Nor did she seem inclined to pursue her.

Not knowing the extent of Ma Yeonjeok's injuries, she seemed reluctant to attack rashly.

She did not insist on the matter. To her, even the master of the Pure Demon Alliance was merely the leader of a faction on Sichuan's outskirts.

Her bearing alone revealed a new world to the boy who had struggled through Sichuan's Murim.

“You protected me.”

With those quiet words, the Desolate Fortress Master passed Jung Yeonshin.

The sweet scent of grass tickled his nose. A faint smile colored her voice.

It really was over.

The final barrier on their return from the mission had fallen.

* * *

Immediately after the Pure Demon Alliance Leader fled, the Desolate Fortress Master entered the carriage to examine her old friend's injuries.

A newly raised curtain of qi surrounded the four-horse carriage. It looked as though she had drawn out soft moonlight like silk and wrapped it around the space.

It was a transcendent sight.

There was no telling what conversation passed within.

“They say merely witnessing a contest between peerless masters drains your mental strength. Now I understand.”

“Let's rest a little, Acting Captain.”

Heon Wonchang and the Supreme Flame Dragon were in agreement. Their relationship was curious.

Although they seemed rather distant, Heon Wonchang appeared mindful of the Supreme Flame Dragon's reactions, despite the latter being an unranked disciple.

The Supreme Flame Dragon, meanwhile, simply lay back without a care in the world, chewing poppy.

No one paid any attention to the Young Sword Empress and her companions, who stood awkwardly off to one side.

“We will rest.”

Jung Yeonshin spoke with his energy detection extended in every direction.

The Desolate Fortress Master's presence was no excuse to neglect vigilance. If anything, he needed to show himself worthy of being a captain.

'I conducted myself well back at the fortress.'

He had exchanged greetings with the Command Bureau scholars who controlled personnel appointments. He prided himself on having handled those social niceties quite deftly.

The Desolate Fortress Master stood above them all. He needed to earn her favor by proving himself dependable.

'Merit points. The fruit.'

Much of his tension had eased. His greatest concern had been his maternal grandfather's safety, and now he was certain of it.

“Look at our young captain. The role suits him better than it does our actual captain.”

Oh Wolhyang, his blue-robed senior, made the joke at both Jung Yeonshin's and Ma Jin's expense. The boy gave a small shake of his head.

The Radiant Demon Squad seniors had emerged from their carriage one after another and settled themselves here and there.

Chung Myung climbed a tree, while Ma Jin gazed at Ma Yeonjeok's carriage, which the Desolate Fortress Master had entered.

Only Baek Miryeo remained inside.

The Pure Demon Alliance Leader had called her sister.

Jung Yeonshin did not believe it was a baseless lie. Baek Miryeo, too, practiced demonic arts.

They resembled each other as well. Yet Ma Jin, Chung Myung, and the other Radiant Demon Squad seniors seemed untroubled. They had already known.

'They said they brought Senior Baek back from Xinjiang. And Uncle was crippled in the process.'

That region had housed the Ming Cult's headquarters. He had heard that the lineage of its leader, also called the Heavenly Demon, had splintered with the founding of the Ming Dynasty.

Some had relocated to Sichuan and become the Pure Demon Alliance. Others wandered Xinjiang, plotting to rebuild the cult or living as mounted bandits.

The boy recalled the treasure map briefly displayed by the Ten Perfections Sect's Halberd-Surpassing Sword.

The bastard had claimed it marked the Heavenly Demon's tomb. It seemed likely to have some connection to Baek Miryeo.

Just then, a voice spoke.

“You seem to have a great deal on your mind.”

It was Ma Jin. At some point, he had stepped down from the carriage and perched beside Jung Yeonshin.

Beneath knees drawn slightly toward his chest, his heels gently scraped the sand.

He balanced remarkably well without his left arm.

“You aren't in a position to concern yourself with Miryeo's affairs. Not yet. It might be different once you attain a captain's rank, but for now, it would be needless meddling.”

“You're right.”

The boy nodded slowly, accepting the advice without fuss. He had much to deal with already.

His promotion to Black rank, the formation of the Martial Alliance, its founding ceremony... Matters he could do nothing about for now would have to wait.

Ma Jin smiled faintly.

“I expect the captains will convene as soon as we return tomorrow. They'll be discussing your promotion to Black rank. The future of the Wing-Returning Unit and the Radiant Demon Squad will likely be decided then as well.”

Jung Yeonshin nodded silently. Then a trace of concern appeared on Ma Jin's face.

“The captains of the Divine Sword Squad's seventeen squads are strong personalities. You'll face obstacles.”

“What sort of obstacles?”

“The Wing-Returning Unit. Aren't the warriors of your lineage masters gathered from the seventeen squads that hadn't deployed? Suppose the organization is restructured. Will the other captains simply sit by? They may refuse to acknowledge you.”

“...”

“Every one of them is a supreme master rarely seen in the martial world, and a commander of elite warriors. They're not bad people. None of them are. But there are certainly plenty of eccentric bastards among them, men and women alike. Be on your guard.”

His uncle's advice was gentle.

After a moment of silence, Jung Yeonshin slowly spoke.

“I'll have to learn the sword of the heart from the fortress master. By tomorrow.”