Perfected One Cheon Joo had said his severe internal injuries had put him on equal footing with Jung Yeonshin. He had been speaking of the captain of the Radiant Demon Squad with whom he had exchanged four blows.

That was no longer true.

The boy had grown stronger. He still fell short of Cheon Joo at his best. But a contest between martial artists always held many variables. Anyone could see that this match, at this moment, was the Radiant Demon Squad captain's victory.

He drew in a deep breath.

Jung Yeonshin reviewed the sword path he had just created. He needed a few breaths—a little time to put his third form in order, the only one that had a name.

His muscles, swollen from the fierce exertion, continued to throb. The breeze brushing his bare skin felt more distinct than the sting of his sword wounds. It was rather refreshing.

'I've made three forms.'

The boy recalled three trajectories. His thoughts flashed past like rays of light.

The first form was a swift attacking sword form. He had grasped it after witnessing the Blue Qilin's king-style sword arts. It amplified the power of his whole-body Burst Discharge, sweeping through all eight directions.

The resulting wave of force bolstered his sword force. A broad, downward stroke from high guard became a sword strike of extreme speed.

Moving later, arriving first. He had designed it to reach the enemy first even if he struck later.

The second form originated with Baek Seogun, the Sky-Swimming Sword Demon.

It was a counterattack.

He had created it by studying her body, honed like a treasured sword. Her flesh had been tempered in a manner befitting her formidable title of Sword Exalted.

Its subtle principle lay in using the waves of force accumulated through every collision just as they were. With the Movement Art, he coordinated the muscles running from his triceps down to the finger extensors below his thumb. Minute movements built up martial force.

When he gathered all the waves of force accumulated in a contest against a powerful enemy into his right hand, the resulting sword strike surpassed the first form.

'Blue Flame, First Form is a little different.'

The third form.

A sword move meant to kill in one strike. He had contained every principle of the Radiant Sword Art within a single sword path. Even the muscles tempered by the Movement Art had gone limp with exhaustion after that one stroke.

Its trajectory drew his sword force to its utmost limit. A single stroke stimulated his entire body to this degree. Perhaps it would further temper his limbs, which had lately begun to lengthen.

All three forms were specialized to contain the Dharma-Surpassing Radiant Wheel Art. That remained true even if the sword moves were domineering, unlike the auspicious core energy they held.

These were martial arts befitting the captain of the Radiant Demon Squad of Desolate Fortress.

They had no interest in cultivating mind and body as the Nine Great Sects did. These forms had been created solely to crush an opponent and win.

Three sword forms were enough to constitute a system of swordsmanship.

At this moment, the boy became a Black-rank swordsman—a captain of Desolate Fortress who could contend with the world with a single blade.

"There must be a story behind that form's name? You're quite adamant about it. There are plenty who would bring me several great sacks of rice if I offered to bestow a sobriquet on them."

Cheon Joo's voice reached him, warm with laughter. The Sword Saint referred to himself as a humble Taoist, an expression Taoists and monks used to profess the meagerness of their own virtue.

Perhaps it was because they had crossed swords. His voice had grown even kinder. Just as Jung Yeonshin had Ma Jin, Yoo Hyun had his martial uncle, Cheon Joo.

By those ties, the Sword Saint was something of an uncle to the boy as well. Cheon Joo seemed deeply moved.

"You astonished me. In all my life, there have been few occasions when I was as startled as I was today."

He had also been there when Yeonshin created the third form of the Infinite Blossom Hand.

Fist Blossoms. A fist form derived from the Falling Blossoms Palm Strike Yoo Hyun had shown him. The boy who had worn white martial robes then now wore black.

As captain of the Radiant Demon Squad, he had crossed swords with Mount Hua's Sword Saint as an equal. It made that earlier exchange of fist and palm arts with Yoo Hyun seem a world away.

For all the wonders of the martial world, with its spirit medicines and spirit beasts, this too was something exceedingly strange.

Jung Yeonshin slowly opened his eyes. The noble Taoist of Mount Hua came into view. The stern-looking middle-aged swordsman was smiling gently.

"I have lost. I accept my defeat."

"Thank you, Sword Saint. You have taught me much."

"I feel awkward calling it teaching. The martial world truly is mysterious. To think that the boy I met that day would discuss the sword with me. And before he is even fully grown..."

Cheon Joo's voice held more astonishment than his words could express. Its pitch was higher than when they first met.

He had meant it when he said he was startled. Even this supremely accomplished swordsman of Mount Hua, a man of profound self-cultivation, could not hide how impressed he was. The sharpness Yeonshin had sensed when seeing him with Yoo Hyun had softened considerably.

"I still have far to go compared with you, Sword Saint."

He wondered who had inflicted Cheon Joo's internal injuries.

In full health, the Sword Saint had been evenly matched with the previous captain of the Radiant Demon Squad. Considering the fearsome name Ma Jin, the Hell Slaughterer, had cast over the martial world, it would have been exceedingly difficult for him to encounter a worthy opponent in his travels.

He was a supreme master who could pass for invincible in most regions. Vast as the world was, it teemed with lesser martial artists he could look down upon.

Cheon Joo merely smiled.

"The Radiant Demon Squad captain is teasing a Taoist. Did I not lose? That was truly an exquisite sword path."

"Mount Hua's sword has broadened my understanding."

"Idle flattery. There is much we have yet to discuss, so I will bring Yoo Hyun to visit your lodgings soon. I have something important to tell you. Something to discuss with Jung Yeonshin, not the captain of the Radiant Demon Squad. What happened to me concerns you as well."

He seemed to be referring to how he had sustained his internal injuries.

If it concerned Jung Yeonshin rather than the Radiant Demon Squad captain, they were connected through a private matter. What could have brought a master of the Nine Great Sects on the level of Mount Hua's Sword Saint into such a situation?

"... I will prepare a place and await you."

The boy raised his hands in a martial salute. Cheon Joo returned it, placing his palm against his fist.

The Radiant Demon Squad captain's manner here differed from before. Did he reserve his full respect for the Nine Great Sects?

He was exceedingly courteous, unlike when he dealt with the masters of the noble clans. It was an entirely different side of him. Even with his upper body bare, he exuded dignity.

For a time, the spectators sat spellbound.

There was something truly unusual about the young captain's appearance. A wild vitality breathed through a torso the likes of which one might scarcely see once in a lifetime. It was extraordinarily captivating.

Even after achieving an unbelievable victory, he remained aloof. Something about him was overwhelming.

Even the blood from his sword wounds, beading on his abdomen, contributed to that impression. The neat black trousers beneath his bare torso only heightened the strange effect.

The vast crowd began to break its silence. Slowly, one by one, people began to speak.

"... He looks as though he stepped out of a painting. I couldn't see a thing during the match, but that must have been swordsmanship at the level of a true master. He lives in the upper reaches of the martial world alongside Mount Hua's Sword Saint. It's another world entirely."

"He doesn't look human..."

"The Radiant Demon Squad captain won! I should have bet my whole fortune, not that pocket change!"

"I lost everything."

"That boy defeated... Mount Hua's immortal..."

The gathering excitement gradually heated the air. Admiration soon became cheering. Vibrations born in the spectators' throats rang out in every direction.

"Waaaaah!"

The roar was tremendous, even though scarcely anyone could have properly followed the supreme masters' exchanges. It spread more powerfully than the noise of the waves of force their martial arts had unleashed. It all but battered the ears.

The martial world was a realm of supernatural beings.

They had seen renowned masters, had even witnessed them baring their flesh. It was a sight that stirred a grand, soaring spirit. People who inhabited a realm beyond the human had exerted their full strength before their very eyes.

The fact that a boy master had defeated an established master of Mount Hua swelled the cheers further. It could not help but stir a peculiar excitement.

The martial world was welcoming a new powerhouse.

Lightning Genius, captain of the Radiant Demon Squad.

"Let Desolate Fortress safeguard the people's livelihoods! Such prowess at your age! Desolate Fortress truly is the only faction that can secure peace throughout the martial world! Isn't that bearing worthy of a great faction?"

"Please, look this way just once! I love you!"

"Clear Cloud Martial Hall! Please visit Clear Cloud Martial Hall! We beg the Radiant Demon Squad captain for instruction!"

Some, carried away by excitement, shouted at the tops of their lungs. The fervor was extraordinary.

The air was jubilant, as though the founding ceremony's tournament had already been conquered. People poured out every sort of remark.

This was a world with few diversions.

At this moment, the Radiant Demon Squad captain and Mount Hua's Sword Saint stood at the very center of the world these people inhabited.

Only the dozen or so masters seated in the Alliance's viewing area were different. An occasional remark emerged from their silence.

They could not readily show their reactions. The leadership's seats, stripped of their canopy, lay in a heavy hush.

"He broke Blossoms Adrift in Hidden Fragrance. With a sword form I have never seen in my life. A terribly dangerous boy. Who knows how far he will grow?"

Only after the Zhuge clan head spoke did other comments begin to emerge. The senior figures of the noble clans each opened their mouths.

"He created a sword form...? The Sword Saint's words did not sound like an idle claim."

"Did you see that sword path?"

"I could not take it in fully. The Sword Saint's waves of force were far too dazzling."

"Our hold on the Great Restoration Pill is in jeopardy."

"Where is the Eon Clan's Foremost Fist? Shouldn't she be studying Lightning Genius's martial arts more closely than anyone right now?"

"She might be sprawled in some tavern. Why bring that up now? Is there still anyone who expects diligence from Heroine Eon?"

"She was like that even as a rising young talent. Dissolute, yet brilliant. The fist arts she performed when drunk were astonishingly profound."

Faint laughter escaped the senior clan figures. It felt somewhat forced, as though they were trying to turn away from their predicament.

"I remember it vividly too. Her martial arts were so absurdly good that it wasn't easy to criticize her conduct, and she had a surprising number of admirers, which made finding fault with her difficult. Had I been even a little lower in seniority, I might have cast dignity aside and had it out with her. Hmm, no. Had I done so, I would certainly have lost."

"It's hard to imagine how much further her prowess has matured."

"Let us leave. The chief strategist for internal affairs has begun her work. She certainly is resourceful."

"At this point, it would be worth seeking an accord with Desolate Fortress, if only for appearances. There is no harm in broadening our options. Did you instruct her to do this, Clan Head Zhuge?"

FLICK.

The Zhuge clan head spread his fan, embroidered with a white crane, and shook his head. He lightly concealed his mouth behind its tips.

"It appears to be Lady Ye's improvisation. I saw her rise before those final ultimate moves collided. Innate wit and quick thinking. If only my son would learn even half as much."

"You must be the only person who finds the Fan Dragon lacking. If you think so highly of her, why not marry him to the chief strategist for internal affairs?"

The Murong clan head asked with amusement. The Zhuge clan head's lips curved.

"That is for Clan Head Ye to decide. Our house sent a matchmaker long ago."

"... I leave it entirely to my niece."

The seated Ye family head answered bluntly. The Murong clan head tilted his angular face slightly.

"Hasn't the Ye family long expanded its influence through political marriages? I understand you employed many means to expand your commercial reach. Your collateral relatives are spread throughout the Central Plains, are they not? Could it be that you are reluctant to associate with the Zhuge Clan?"

"I am especially fond of my niece."

"Ah, I forgot that you have no children. My apologies for the oversight. The chief strategist for internal affairs must be like a daughter to you."

"Precisely."

"Then the Zhuge Clan had better send more than ordinary bridal jewelry. And yet the Fan Dragon, Zhuge Hyeon, would be an excellent match anywhere."

The Murong clan head spoke with the corners of his mouth lifted.

The Zhuge clan head, who had already closed his fan, merely smiled faintly. His expression was difficult to read.

Around that time, an unusual scene was unfolding on the tournament platform.

Jung Yeonshin and Cheon Joo had turned together and were conversing quietly when white robes fluttered to one side. A woman had alighted nimbly on the platform.

PAT.

The Ye family's cherished daughter approached with a cotton towel in hand. The subtle principles of footwork showed in the movement of her long legs. Faint ripples of qi spread like vapor around her feet.

She resembled a celestial maiden descended to earth. Sunlight rippled through the black hair falling well below her shoulders. Even the white cloth covering her eyes lent her an air of mystery.

Her presence, so different from the Radiant Demon Squad captain's, drew gasps of admiration from the crowd.

The two supreme masters fell silent.

The boy watched wordlessly as the woman approached him.

"Well, that was eye-opening."

Lady Ye had come quite close as she spoke—close enough for him to feel the gentle ripples of qi carried on her faint breath.

Her hand, holding the white cloth, touched Jung Yeonshin's abdomen. The boy, who had been watching her steadily, flinched.

Her lips curved smoothly upward.

"You have to continue with your next match, don't you? I'm the chief strategist for internal affairs. And you're our most honored guest, even among the envoys."

"There's no need..."

"It's the courtesy your standing deserves. You must maintain your dignity too. You're the only one, aren't you?"