WHOOOSH!

The wave of force lingering around the divine sword Northern Radiance dissipated completely. Wind rippled outward, lifting Jung Yeonshin’s sleeves before scattering.

It hardly seemed a place where music had played and swords had danced. A gentle breeze swept over the boy amid the heat haze of the blazing summer sun. All was bright and still.

The spectators seated beneath the brocade canopies encircling the vast dueling platform were silent. It was a silence brimming with emotion—wonder, excitement, curiosity, and even a trace of regret. They gazed at the boy who would don the Desolate Fortress’s black robes at the youngest age in its history.

The greatest event the Desolate Fortress had held in recent days—the promotion ceremony for a Black Captain—was not over.

Had the duel ended with the Law Enforcement Squad Captain’s recommendation, the crowd would have had to leave. A challenger’s defeat meant an early end to the promotion ceremony. But Lightning Genius had defeated the captain, so that would not happen. By custom, the grand festivities would continue.

Unlike the Desolate Fortress experts, whose reactions reflected their perspectives as martial artists, the young servants and unranked disciples were simply delighted. They would get to enjoy rare delicacies and a festive atmosphere. Only the solemn mood kept them from bursting into cheers.

There were other children as well: some fifteen young martial artists dressed in plain cotton. Their faces were more flushed with excitement than anyone else’s. A sword-bearing girl and several boys wearing fighting gloves looked positively thrilled.

“Honestly, I mean it. I couldn’t see a thing. Yeonshin’s swift sword was always fast, but still.”

“He was holding back against us. He’s always teaching us when we spar.”

“Exactly. Why are you only realizing that now? If Lightning Genius had fought us seriously, we wouldn’t have seen a single stroke from the start!”

“Does that mean Yeonshin will be sitting in the captain’s room now? We can visit him often, right? I saw loads of sweets in the cupboard. Are they all ours now?”

“Didn’t Captain Ma keep those there himself? He gave me one whenever he saw me.”

The Radiant Demon Squad’s unranked disciples whispered among themselves. Huddled beneath a brocade awning, they watched Jung Yeonshin. Their eyes sparkled in the sunlight, unable to conceal their excitement.

So long as they were not condemning the duels, they were free to express themselves. The Desolate Fortress was an organization that allowed freedom within its rules. The Law Enforcement Squad’s blades fell only upon those who broke its laws.

Lightning Genius Jung Yeonshin had led the Wing-Returning Unit and the Radiant Demon Squad on the journey to Sichuan and the return trip. He had, in effect, earned the recognition of the established experts. Next came the words of the unranked disciples who would form their future strength; those mattered too. Their conversation testified to Lightning Genius’s popularity. No one stopped them.

“Opinion has swung his way. It seems the Radiant Demon Squad has already accepted him.”

“He could take a stone seat in the Hall of the Sword That Seeks Peace right now.”

“That depends on how today ends.”

Most of the martial artists were now looking at the Law Enforcement Squad Captain. A clear result was one thing; the opponent’s acknowledgment was another. She had already advised against his promotion. That advice no longer fit the outcome, as the sword fragments glittering around her and Jung Yeonshin attested.

Under the clear shafts of sunlight, they seemed to glitter with noisy, impish glee—a display of the captain’s shattered dignity. If she refused to concede, the Desolate Fortress Master might order another duel.

The boy had now taken his hand off Northern Radiance, but the captain remained motionless, holding her sword’s hilt. For a time, she simply stood there in a daze, her customary impassivity broken. Her considerable bewilderment was plain to see. Was the result that shocking to the head of the Law Enforcement Squad? Perhaps her earlier misjudgment had left her confused.

“...”

The captain’s arm slowly lowered. The distinguished swordswoman’s hand trembled faintly, unlike its usual steadiness. Gone was the powerful Body-Sword Unification she had displayed during the duel. The masterful grip of a supreme swordswoman had lost its strength.

She slowly parted her lips.

“... I lost.”

Her pitch-black robes fluttered limply. Together with the broken sword, they made a strange sight.

“It was a fine match. Thank you.”

Jung Yeonshin offered her a martial salute. Despite his faultless courtesy, his expression was indifferent—even more so than hers had been before the duel. He looked almost cold. The boy struggled to conceal his true feelings.

‘One of your blue-robed experts would have been more help.’

It was like expecting a new toy and receiving a shoddy old one instead. Was this how children raised in happy families sometimes felt? He was offended enough to imagine a situation he had never experienced. Somehow, he had managed to say something he did not mean. A fine match, indeed.

The onlookers voiced their admiration for Jung Yeonshin.

“Look at that expression. So coolheaded. A rare swordsman’s bearing.”

“He doesn’t seem particularly pleased, does he? Was he looking forward to the duel more than the promotion?”

“The Law Enforcement Squad Captain hardly had time to reveal all her supreme arts. Lightning Genius Jung Yeonshin... If he remains that humble on the verge of becoming a captain, the Radiant Demon Squad has a chance of rising again.”

“Isn’t he just sulking? I recognize that face. It’s exactly the one I used to make at the useless chaff in my family.”

No one paid attention to the Supreme Flame Dragon’s muttering. The Radiant Demon Squad experts beside him all looked up at once. The Desolate Fortress Master was rising from her grand chair.

RUSTLE.

The hem of her pale-green martial robes brushed the stone seat. That tiny sound rang out with extraordinary clarity, just as when the boy had sheathed Northern Radiance. Every eye settled on her unhurried movements. She seemed clothed in something that drew all gazes to her. There was a transcendent quality to her bearing.

“...”

Silence fell once more, dreamlike in its stillness. The Desolate Fortress Master stood fully upright. Her pale skin shone with an ethereal radiance. The sunlight resting on her face seemed to whisper in white light that it had brought the quiet of a deep forest here and draped it over them like a curtain.

“Lightning Genius has proven himself worthy.”

The Desolate Fortress Master’s lips moved.

“As Un Soyu has acknowledged her defeat, Lightning Genius Jung Yeonshin may be said to possess skill befitting the Black rank.”

“...”

“I permit the promotion ceremony to proceed,” she said.

Only then did the surroundings grow noisy. The tension dissolved entirely. Some even leaped onto the dueling platform—mostly the Radiant Demon Squad’s experts and unranked disciples. In an instant, they surrounded Jung Yeonshin.

“What was that just now? Did you counter her counter? How did you think of using a wave of force like that?”

“The way you blocked her sword paths looked like some supernatural ability. Have you awakened the power of thought that sorcerers use? There’s no way that was purely a Burst Discharge technique using internal power. I can only begin to accept it because it’s you.”

“We won’t be able to speak so casually to you now. I’d best congratulate you to my heart’s content while I can.”

“Surely they won’t send you alone on your first mission? Following a young captain would be a whole new experience!”

The Law Enforcement Squad Captain, Un Soyu, kept her head bowed until the Desolate Fortress Master sat down again. It did not look like dejection, merely a show of respect to her ruler. Then she raised her head and looked straight to the side.

“My advice to the fortress master was premature. You must have found it insulting.”

Un Soyu spoke, her dark eyes gleaming as she gazed steadily at Jung Yeonshin.

“I apologize. I misjudged you. I am truly sorry.”

“Soyu’s speaking to him. Give them some room. All of you, hurry.”

Chung Myung, who had been in the cluster, chided his comrades and pulled them away. His grip was strong. The noble-race swordsman was recovering from the wounds he had suffered in the City of Master Artisans at an astonishing rate.

Jung Yeonshin looked up after being jostled this way and that by his seniors and juniors. Though the Radiant Demon Squad’s spirit was as free as wind racing over open fields, its hierarchy was strictly observed. The hands fussing over the boy’s head, shoulders, and waist withdrew. Everyone promptly stepped back to allow the future captain and the serving captain to speak.

Un Soyu greeted Chung Myung with a glance, then turned back. Her jet-black eyes held Jung Yeonshin alone.

“As the Law Enforcement Squad Captain, I cannot lightly promise to make amends to you. Please understand that I must remain impartial.”

“Of course.”

The boy’s answer was brief. At the same time, the captain’s black hair swept down like silk. It was a bow of apology. She had lowered her head to Jung Yeonshin.

“And...”

Slowly raising her head, she spoke again.

“‘If only my opponent had been weaker.’”

“Hm...?”

“That is what you said a moment ago. I would like to know what you meant.”

“...”

Facing the Law Enforcement Squad Captain, the boy experienced a rare moment of panic.

[“A weaker opponent would have been more helpful.”]

Only the wording was mild. It was nearly an insult. When Jung Yeonshin had carelessly voiced his thoughts, it had seemed no more than a loser’s regret. Now, however, it could be taken at face value. He had, after all, utterly destroyed the captain’s countering sword moves.

This was serious. He had been managing his reputation to reach the Divine Sword Squad Leader’s rank, and had done so ever since joining. He needed to be especially careful when dealing with the enforcer of the fortress’s laws.

The Desolate Fortress was like a military organization that served its master as a sovereign. Getting entangled in anything disreputable would be troublesome. Since he had to devote so much effort to merits and appointments, the Law Enforcement Squad Captain was someone he needed either to avoid entirely or to befriend very closely.

‘Now this is a real crisis.’

Cold sweat gathered on Jung Yeonshin’s nape, something that almost never happened. The boy reproached himself. Careless fool. He had been far better at hiding his thoughts when he wore white.

How had he ended up like this? It felt as though the journey to Sichuan had ruined his disposition. Was it because he had seen Ma Jin lose an arm and Ma Yeonjeok grow so frail?

‘Maybe it’s because my arms and legs have been getting longer lately. It bothers me that the distances for my sword domain and fist and palm arts are slightly off. That’s why I’m being irritable. As a martial artist, I mean.’

He tried his best to reflect, but that was not something he could address now. An inner voice whispered that he should mind his conduct. His upper dantian seemed to blaze white-hot. His eyes moved with extreme speed. The Supreme Flame Dragon was the first to enter his vision.

The fellow knew a thing or two about glib social maneuvering. But his dealings were usually with mortal enemies. That had been the case in Jung Yeonshin’s presence, at least. In other words, he was good at things like provocation.

Useless Supreme Flame Dragon. Shaking his head inwardly, the boy immediately looked elsewhere.

He spotted the clearhearted Namgoong Hwashin talking to his junior, Shin Binbin. Her haughty eyes drooped as she stood facing him. She seemed afraid that the senior she adored might transfer to the Radiant Demon Squad. That was no concern of Jung Yeonshin’s.

‘Young Master Namgoong is too straightforward.’

Better than the Supreme Flame Dragon, but not someone to emulate right now.

The next person to enter his sight was Heon Wonchang. Jung Yeonshin’s eyes widened. His mind lit up. Within it, the pages recording his experiences began to turn. His Baihui point stirred as he reviewed Heon Wonchang’s words and deeds.

This was how the boy had grown. The companions around him had been precious nourishment. They would continue to be.

“It was because you were so overwhelmingly powerful, Captain.”

Jung Yeonshin spoke, assuming Heon Wonchang’s distinctive expression of wholehearted sincerity.

“I despaired of countering your ever-changing swordsmanship and entertained a thought unworthy of a martial artist. It took great courage to cast aside those distractions and cross swords with you again.”

“Hmm...”

Un Soyu’s head tilted slightly to one side. It looked like a tiny gesture of puzzlement. But she did not question him further. There was no time.

TRILL.

The banquet began. The performers returned. Festive music flowed with the gentle notes of a zither, while the imposing chief administrator recited merits beside the fortress master’s stone seat. He was listing Jung Yeonshin’s achievements one by one.

The document, decorated with layers of antique green silk, was quite long. Yet many of the experts listened to the boy’s deeds without the slightest sign of boredom.

“... And thus, he broke the Twin Flame Blood Spirit Enchantment at the Blood Flame Cult’s headquarters. In the matches against the Namgoong clan, he slew the Lord of Changling Blossoms, Namgoong Mi, in a single exchange, and defeated and killed the young clan head, Namgoong Sejin, as well.”

When the account reached the City of Master Artisans, the Kuizhou branch, and the Tang Clan’s stronghold, the response changed again. The intermittent exclamations subsided into silence. Events that had thus far been the subject of rampant rumor were clearly laid out by the Command Bureau. Before the assembled crowd, it revealed how he had found the City of Master Artisans, rejoined the Radiant Demon Squad, and slain the Sword Scorpion Demon and Pure Demon Divine Hand in succession.

The account was extraordinarily detailed: the extermination of the remaining Pure Demon Alliance and Ten Perfections Sect elites who had invaded the Kuizhou branch; securing full cooperation from the Sichuan Tang Clan, whose stance had been uncertain; and the course of his victory over the Blood Flame Cult and Ten Perfections Sect at the Tang Clan’s stronghold.

The proclamation brought home exactly what sort of person would be taking a captain’s seat. No one could fail to accept it.

“... Thus is Lightning Genius’s name inscribed in the Hall of the Sword That Seeks Peace, home to the Divine Sword Squad’s seventeen squads.”

“...”

The promotion venue fell utterly silent.

Then the chief administrator spoke with far greater deference. His voice, now soft and carefully measured, was different from before. He had turned toward the Desolate Fortress Master.

“I believe it appropriate that, for the time being, he take a stone seat in the Hall of the Sword That Seeks Peace alongside Ma Jin and learn the duties of the Black rank at the captains’ meetings. Ma Jin will have much to teach him and hand over at his side.”

“Is a robe prepared?”

Her question was calm. The chief administrator immediately bowed his head.

“Forgive me. It was difficult to anticipate the outcome...”

“Lightning Genius takes his stone seat as of today. He should borrow Ma Jin’s black robe.”

“I shall consult Lightning Genius and have a new robe made.”

The Desolate Fortress Master gave a slight nod, then shifted her gaze. Jung Yeonshin was reflected in eyes that seemed to hold the principles of all things under heaven. They seemed capable of drawing in his very soul. Meeting those dark-green eyes, the boy straightened. She slowly parted her lips.

“I command you.”

For the first time, she used the word command. Clad in rags, Jung Yeonshin dropped to one knee and bowed his head. The tattered, faded hem of his blue robes fluttered briefly, then settled. The Desolate Fortress Master’s lips curved in a small smile.

“Henceforth, conduct yourself as the master of the Radiant Demon Squad.”

“... The captain of the Radiant Demon Squad obeys your command,” the boy replied.