He stood at the end of the passage dimly lit by torches. He was different from the Blood Flame cultists Jung Yeonshin had seen so far. Strands of black threaded his red hair, and the sinister qi surrounding his entire body was so palpable that Yeonshin could feel it against his skin.

A Blood Master Swordsman. He looked just as described. They said the red hair of Blood Flame Cult warriors was a manifestation of their internal energy's corrupt nature. When some of their hair gradually returned to its original color, it meant they had reached the realm of refining their core energy.

'This won't be easy.'

The Blood Master Swordsman strode toward him with his sword drawn and anger on his face. His murderous presence felt like hundreds of flying needles shooting forth.

"You worthless thing. You've ruined our Cult's work. Your suffering shall replenish my blood!"

"You mean to steal my core energy with Blood Art?"

It was not a question born of curiosity. Even before tossing out the words, Yeonshin had been gauging the fighting distance.

A boy of fifteen or sixteen taking on an entire Blood Flame Cult branch alone? It was inconceivable. The man now approaching slowly, sword in hand, must have held that same conviction, even after Yeonshin had killed several cultists. A Blood Master Swordsman whose hair had begun growing black stood in an entirely different realm from cultists with wholly red hair.

'Here goes.'

Core energy surged from his wide-open energy core and raced through his body. The Movement Art's core energy incorporated the principles of the Classic of Initiating Transcendence as it began circulating through his fine meridians.

'I need to overwhelm him before he gets close.'

His victory over the heavenly squad's blue-robed master had taught him the value of striking first.

THUD!

Using his still-unnamed leaflike footwork, he swung through a wide half turn. Core energy concentrated in his waist and thighs, lending them strength. The speed at which he gathered and released internal energy was nothing like it had been at the Jeong Clan Estate. His radiant demon arts kick lashed out with all the power gathered in that instant, tearing menacingly through the air.

WHOOSH!

Surprise flashed across the cult swordsman's face as he approached with the torches behind him, but he leaned his chest back at the same time, evading Yeonshin's spinning hook kick.

"Hup!"

Then he thrust his sword out in anger. That was precisely where Yeonshin had staked his victory.

TAP!

His right foot swept down swiftly from its arc through the air, then drove off the ground as he lunged forward. His body dipped low, slipping inside the sword strike's range in an instant. Wind swirled around him as he closed on his unsuspecting enemy in one burst. Amid the uncanny wind he generated himself, his left hand reached for his opponent's wrist. It was the grappling technique he had first used at the Jeong Clan Estate before its destruction—the one the Movement Art had instinctively guided him to perform.

The Blood Master Swordsman's eyes widened almost to bursting. Not in surprise, but in fury, as if to say, 'How dare you?' To one who had joined the ranks of masters, such an approach was preposterous. But Yeonshin was no longer the boy who had been powerless against his clan's destruction. His left hand extended smoothly, the radiant demon arts' combat path added to his grappling technique.

"What...!"

In the end, his startled cry was no different from those of the Blood Flame cultists lying strewn at the cave entrance. Yeonshin knew how to use his appearance and age like a predator's fangs. Once he bit down, it was over. He closed in and seized the man's wrist, the monstrous strength of the Movement Art filling his grip.

"Aaargh!"

The man seemed beside himself with pain, yet sinister waves of qi spread from above and below, proving that a master was different after all. Yeonshin knew without looking: a knee was coming up, while a knife-hand strike aimed to smash his skull. But the Swift Sword Formula of the Desolate Sword, already shifted into a reverse grip, was faster.

["The radiant demon arts are not bound to any prescribed form."]

Ma Jin's teaching. In this moment, the voice of the man who had taught him over a month ago seemed tinged with laughter.

At the same time, core energy layered through the Classic of Initiating Transcendence gathered in his right arm. Envisioning the mythical giant Pangu pushing Mount Tai aside, he drove the sword clenched in his fist inward. At this point, he needed no sword path—only raw strength.

"Graaagh!"

It sank deep. He could feel the waves of qi dispersing into nothing. Yeonshin spoke slowly.

"You've only ever inflicted pain, haven't you? I can tell just by looking. You've never been on the receiving end."

"Aaaaargh!"

As he pressed farther inward, the man's screams broke into choking gasps. Yeonshin was almost embracing him now, feeling his life fade with his entire body. The sensation could not put even a hairline crack in the convictions hardened by the destruction of his clan.

"I hear there's a saying in the martial world. Beware of old men, women, and children."

He spoke into the man's ear, but the man did not seem to hear. Yeonshin pushed him away without emotion. The Blood Master Swordsman sprawled on the ground, already a corpse.

'All I needed to do was kill that one cultist in Zhenping County.'

Somehow, he had ended up wiping out a Blood Flame Cult branch. He had accomplished a great deed in the end, so that was all well and good. The bitter taste lingering in his mouth must have come from the emaciated boys and girls lying here and there. He thought of the Jeong Clan Estate.

"May you reach the Peach Blossom Paradise."

Crouching down, Yeonshin closed their eyes one by one.

* * *

"You've crossed swords. What happened? Are you hurt?"

Those were Baek Miryeo's first words when she saw Yeonshin coming down the mountain. He did not mind her concerned gaze; by now, she was beginning to feel rather like an older sister. Her concern was only natural. Although the blood was not his, his white Desolate Fortress martial robes were soaked with it, and he was carrying a child who no longer breathed on his back.

"It isn't my blood. I found what appears to be a Blood Flame Cult branch."

"A Blood Flame Cult branch! Just as I thought..."

Baek Miryeo nodded before speaking again.

"I'm glad you're unharmed. Tell me what you learned of their numbers. How many did you fight? Now that their hideout has been exposed, they'll make a move one way or another. We must prepare."

"There were eight red-haired cultists. I also saw one powerful man with mixed black and red hair."

"A Blood Master Swordsman...!"

Her eyes widened slightly. Before Yeonshin, interrupted by her exclamation, could finish explaining, Baek Miryeo launched into a torrent of words, true to form.

"Yes, if there was a Blood Master Swordsman, it was indeed a Blood Flame Cult branch. So they had infested this place too. Whatever our mission, Blood Flame cultists are targets for extermination by the Desolate Fortress. You've done a great deal. Rest now. Chung Myung and I will go."

"... I fought nine. You need only send the government soldiers."

"Didn't you say eight and one? If there were nine... Did you just say government soldiers would suffice? Hmm...?"

Had she finally sensed something amiss in his calm demeanor? Baek Miryeo furrowed her brow, then surprise slowly spread across her face.

"Lightning Genius. Are you saying... you defeated all the cultists, including the Blood Master Swordsman, alone?"

"I killed them all."

"Hah...!"

It was an odd exclamation, seemingly one of pure surprise and admiration rather than doubt. At the same time, someone dropped from above. With light movements and the scent of grass, Chung Myung leaned in, looking astonished.

"You laid waste to an entire Blood Flame Cult branch by yourself?"

"They were already laying it waste with blood."

Yeonshin answered with an unreadable expression. Their gazes lingered briefly on the child on his back.

"Fucking cult bastards," Baek Miryeo muttered.

"... Those who reach the level of Blood Master Swordsmen have a peculiar regenerative ability. You didn't get stabbed in the back, did you?"

Chung Myung asked as though trying to change the subject, then continued.

"I'm sorry. We overlooked the fact that we needed to tell you about that soon, too. Blood Master Swordsmen are practically Reapers to ordinary people and the lower ranks of the martial world. Masters strong enough to kill them are few and far between across the Central Plains. Information like that hardly spreads easily."

Baek Miryeo nodded, wearing a rare apologetic expression.

"This truly was our oversight. You seem unharmed, thankfully... At the Desolate Fortress, we hear such reports now and then. From other sects. People who barely managed to defeat a Blood Master Swordsman, only to die with their backs pierced because they didn't know about the regenerative power of their Blood Art."

"Anyone short of a formidable master would fall for it. You did well to come back unscathed."

Chung Myung smiled with satisfaction. Having listened quietly, Yeonshin slowly nodded.

"Regeneration. So they had that ability."

He freed the arm supporting the child behind him. As he extended his hand, red and black hair spilled down. The Blood Master Swordsman's head. Its pallid face looked all the more hideous because he had not closed its staring eyes.

"..."

Chung Myung and Baek Miryeo were silent for a while.

"Yes... Regenerative ability. That is indeed a thing."

Chung Myung finally replied with a rather nonplussed expression. Baek Miryeo, on the other hand, patted Yeonshin's shoulder approvingly.

"You should make sure you get credit. That's the right attitude."

"Mm, certainly... This is no ordinary achievement. Especially for a newcomer to the martial world who has only just earned the Desolate Fortress's white robes."

Chung Myung studied the head closely as he continued.

"His black hair only started growing recently. That branch must have been quite weak."

Baek Miryeo shook her head.

"Regardless, no one can belittle the achievement of finding and destroying a Blood Flame Cult branch alone. The seventeen squads—even those heavenly squad bastards—may covet Lightning Genius all the more, but they cannot diminish his accomplishment. A white robe did this, not a blue robe. This goes beyond merely astonishing."

"Of course."

Chung Myung nodded and slapped Heon Wonchang's shoulder beside him. The Desolate Fortress Sacred Warrior had approached unnoticed and was staring at the Blood Master Swordsman's head, scarcely breathing.

"He's dead. What are you afraid of?"

"Ah, I'm n-not afraid! Do you know how many forest bandits and river pirates have died by these hands?"

The others laughed at the sight of him, seemingly reverted to how he had been when they first arrived in Zhenping County.

What followed passed out of the Radiant Demon Squad's hands. Terrified at the sight of the Blood Master Swordsman's severed head, the magistrate dispatched government soldiers. There was talk that several of them wet themselves upon seeing the carnage at the Blood Flame Cult's Zhenping County branch.

Learning that terrifying blood fiends had been operating nearby, the magistrate clasped Yeonshin's hand in both of his and thanked him repeatedly, as though he had never been wary of him. Quite apart from their martial prowess, the Blood Master Swordsmen's notoriety was even greater among ordinary people.

They said the bodies strewn about the branch were not children from Zhenping County. The cultists were presumed to have abducted them from nearby areas, but since no one had known whether martial artists were responsible for their disappearances, word had never reached the Desolate Fortress.

After four days spent settling the matter, the magistrate looked up at the mounted Radiant Demon Squad with the utmost courtesy.

"If you should pass this way again, would you honor us with another visit?"

The scene resembled their first meeting, yet was utterly different. His gaze burned especially bright when he looked at the Radiant Demon Squad's Lightning Genius. Yeonshin had little experience of the wider world, but he could tell that the magistrate's eyes held more than pure respect.

"Looks like he wants a connection to one of those Murim masters he's only heard about—and a promising young talent, at that."

Chung Myung's sound transmission was laced with amusement.

'The magistrate of Zhenping County. So this is the life he leads.'

Yeonshin gave a casual nod and thought this as he watched the magistrate beam. Was the man more broad-minded than he appeared? It was somewhat impressive that he could behave this way after suffering such humiliation.

"I am Liu Jin of Zhenping County! Please do remember me!"

They turned their horses and left Zhenping County behind. An affair that had felt both long and short, peaceful yet brutally concluded, was finally over. The two white-robed Radiant Demon Squad warriors' first foray into the martial world ended with a solo achievement credited to Lightning Genius.

* * *

The return journey was a little more leisurely. They even gave the horses fairly long breaks to feed. Thanks to that, they were spared the sight of Heon Wonchang's face turning deathly pale, but he still looked woeful from time to time along the way.

"Young Master Jung has accomplished something so brilliant, while I haven't done anything..."

"That's how it usually goes. Standing guard and stopping that Zhenping County cultist's atrocities was enough."

Baek Miryeo initially comforted him in her own way, but after the same thing happened several more times, she simply remained silent and expressionless.

Staying at inns rather than sleeping outdoors, they made their unhurried way into Xiangyang. The first thing to catch their eyes was the Desolate Fortress citadel, larger even than Xiangyang's outer walls. Yeonshin smiled faintly. He had not lived there long, yet the welcome stirring within him felt strange.

"There's something festive in the air," Chung Myung remarked abruptly.

"It really has been a long time! Now that I've completed my first mission, I think I'll visit Xiangyang's Finest Tavern myself."

At some point, Heon Wonchang had begun grinning. The avenue leading toward the Desolate Fortress had brought it on. Merchants, hawkers, and busy passersby in all manner of attire radiated tremendous vitality—enough to sweep away even the Desolate Fortress Sacred Warrior's dejection.

"No, not you. The people here. More than usual. Just a moment..."

Chung Myung closed his eyes in the saddle, and the others fell silent. They were accustomed to the noble race's uniquely acute hearing. It was thanks to him that none of them had needed to stand night watch throughout their fairly long journey.

"Ah. They say he's coming. This will be a windfall for everyone here, given how generously our Desolate Fortress honors those who have distinguished themselves."

"I just heard it too. The former Divine Sword Squad Leader, at last."

Yeonshin stiffened briefly at Baek Miryeo's words; she, too, had been listening. She glanced at him curiously, then spoke again.

"If he intends to contend for the position of Elder Council Leader, he certainly won't overlook the goodwill of Xiangyang's people."

"The head of the Desolate Fortress elder council would have closer ties to the imperial court than even Xiangyang's prefect, after all. I imagine everyone on this street will get at least a measure of rice. They might not be so excited in a bumper year, but in a poor harvest?"

"It seems he's already entered the city."

"Yes. They say he rode past with a boy seated in front of him. That must be the much-rumored adopted son of the Desolate's Ma Clan. I've heard his aptitude is extraordinary."

But Chung Myung soon urged his horse onward, as though he had little interest.

"Aptitude, is it?"

Baek Miryeo gave a quiet chuckle, her long black hair swaying with her horse's gait. She turned her head to glance at Yeonshin.

"..."

He gave a small nod, his expression composed. After riding a little farther in step with the others, stroking his horse's neck, the four members of the Radiant Demon Squad reached the Desolate Fortress's main gate. Their long mission was over.