There was a race born with a gift for movement.

Their innate abilities set them apart from ordinary martial artists. Without instruction, they grasped profound principles. Without formulas, they moved in ways comparable to supreme movement techniques.

They were more agile, more fluid, and more elusive than the masters of any other race. They were unlike the Han people.

They were the noble race.

Common folk revered them as the offspring of immortals. Their remarkable beauty and ageless, long-lived bodies were nothing like those of the ordinary people living in this world.

With might and mystery united in them, none dared regard them with envy. People merely hoped to receive their divine grace, that they might reach paradise after death.

Those who belonged to the martial world felt differently. They sighed at the sight of a race born as masters of Murim.

They could not help being reminded how unfair all creation was.

The founding of the Ming was a turbulent time in many respects. Those were the years when races never seen before were settling in this land.

Their innate gifts added to the confusion. They walked like the wind and moved like leaves.

Countless masters sought to unravel the secrets of their movement. They even employed eye techniques.

They met with little success. It was dismissed as a difference in their senses.

The conclusion was that their very bodies were different. They commanded the wind without even using core energy.

Widely learned elders of the martial world classified it as a hereditary ability. In other words, it was not something to be discussed as martial arts.

The belief that they were fundamentally different hardened like diamond.

The years that passed before the Ming dynasty stabilized had made it so. The race of immortals. That was another name for the noble race.

“Are you challenging me to a spar?”

Xiahou Weizhen, captain of the Forest-Treading Squad, asked the question after Lightning Genius, captain of the Radiant Demon Squad, commented on his way of walking.

He was not angry.

His epithet was Thousand-Fist, Dragon-Strength Retainer. He had been born with a fierce fighting spirit. Though he might look savage, his head grew cool when it came to martial matters.

It had to, if he was to win time and again in the contests of calculation between masters. He was not an impetuous warrior, but a martial artist with a powerful desire to win.

‘It would be better if I walked differently?’

Xiahou Weizhen took the Radiant Demon Squad captain’s words as a conventional provocation. He did not believe his junior captain meant them sincerely.

It made no sense in the context of their conversation. Young though he was, Lightning Genius was indisputably a black-robed expert. Someone with such far-reaching discernment could not possibly say that in earnest.

He had to be picking a quarrel over his footwork.

Xiahou Weizhen smiled.

“I see what you mean. You have reason to be confident in your Mobility Arts.”

He had watched Lightning Genius alongside Ak Surim ever since their time at the Martial Alliance. It had been quite a while.

He had even witnessed a movement technique that let the boy move like the noble race. It was deeply mysterious—enough to make him wonder how its formula had been devised.

‘He used Burst Discharge throughout his body to imitate our race’s ability. Truly remarkable.’

The Forest-Treading Squad captain already acknowledged the new Radiant Demon Squad captain’s skill. He had also heard the movement technique’s name: Wind Body.

A body of wind. The word “wind” grated on Xiahou Weizhen a little, but he had not bothered to comment.

His junior’s movements were quite entertaining. He had watched the Martial Alliance’s founding ceremony with interest.

It had been a real feast for the eyes.

‘Not enough to fully replace Ma Jin, the Hell Slaughterer, but...’

He thought the boy deserved his black robes. Even his unstable handling of internal power, as though one aspect of his essence, qi, and spirit had grown disproportionately large, was no great flaw.

Instead, it suggested terrifying potential.

He was manifesting advanced martial arts despite surely being unable to move his core energy as freely as the other captains. His flashes of ingenuity were extraordinary.

And he had achieved all this without reaching Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.

Xiahou Weizhen remembered the vitality that had surged up without limit when his essence, qi, and spirit aligned.

It felt as though his very body had become a divine technique. The extent of its benefits would surely vary with one’s innate gifts.

Many people spent their entire lives unable to unite the three flowers, but with Lightning Genius’s talent, he could not help imagining the boy’s future.

That was why he had not immediately shown anger at his junior’s words. The new Radiant Demon Squad captain had earned the right to be arrogant.

He was accomplished enough that Xiahou Weizhen could laugh off his endearing nonsense, even if it was meant as a provocation.

He offered his young junior some advice.

“A captain of the Desolate Fortress is no different from those the world calls high officials and great dignitaries. It is an exceedingly exalted position—far more so than you imagine. We are the face of this fortress, you might say. Our rank requires us to maintain our dignity. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

The new Radiant Demon Squad captain answered blankly, gazing up at his mountain-sized senior.

Come to think of it, none of the black-robed seniors he had met at the Hall of the Sword That Seeks Peace had possessed an ordinary temperament.

Even setting aside the irrepressible Ak Surim, Ha Doun, captain of the Suncheon Wing, and Un Soyu, the Law Enforcement Squad Captain, had been the same.

Xiahou Weizhen seemed no different. Jung Yeonshin tilted his head slightly. What was he talking about?

Xiahou Weizhen’s next words descended from above in a deep, resonant voice, carrying a touch of laughter unusual for him.

“Acting as a high dignitary before officials means we must not neglect our decorum even within the fortress. Most of those who come and go here are either merchants or officials. We cannot show an unseemly side to those we are meant to protect, can we? Fighting on a road inside the fortress is out of the question. If you wish to request a spar, follow procedure and send a letter.”

“A spar...?”

“A less disciplined member of my race would have struck you. Do not try that with a blue robe. It would look like a captain bullying someone of lower rank. A truly brazen provocation. I like it.”

By the time he finished, he was chuckling to himself.

A great shadow glided down. Xiahou Weizhen’s heavily callused hand reached out to stroke Jung Yeonshin’s head. At the same time, a gentle breeze stirred.

The new Radiant Demon Squad captain’s jet-black hem fluttered faintly. Along with the tips of the hair beside his head, it brushed past the Forest-Treading Squad captain’s hand as he slipped toward Ak Surim.

It was Wind Body. The evasion was utterly natural.

“Ah.”

Xiahou Weizhen’s lips curved into a broad smile.

“That was rude of me. I ought to treat you as an equal in rank, not some far-removed junior. Your martial prowess and your age seem so completely unrelated that it is quite disorienting.”

“...”

Jung Yeonshin realized that his meaning had been misunderstood.

The Thousand-Fist, Dragon-Strength Retainer was a seasoned black-robed expert.

As a member of the noble race, he had amassed an enormous reserve of qi over many years. His qi waves were more powerful than those of the Law Enforcement Squad Captain, and he had reached Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, allowing him to wield that immense internal energy at will.

In other words, Jung Yeonshin could not readily assure himself of victory against him as he was now. If the seventeen black-robed captains were ranked, Xiahou Weizhen would stand among the strongest.

Might he even be able to exchange blows with the Annihilation Squad captain?

It was too soon to face him.

Jung Yeonshin considered his options. He expected the outcome would be much the same as sparring with Ak Surim.

The realm of the black robes was vaster than anything he had experienced before.

But amid all this, he had been told to win their admiration.

That meant there was more than one way to rebuild the Radiant Demon Squad. He did not need to defeat the swords of his exceptionally powerful seniors just yet.

It was all right if he could not surpass some of the black-robed seniors immediately. He need only win Xiahou Weizhen’s goodwill and defeat about two captains.

Jung Yeonshin slowly opened his mouth, taking small steps back to his former place.

Beside him, Ak Surim smiled to herself and brushed his leather shoe with the hem of her trousers.

The playful gesture seemed to say that she knew what he was going to say. The Desolate Divine Spear’s insight was keen.

The new Radiant Demon Squad captain spoke without paying it any mind.

“I was not asking for a spar.”

“You were not?”

“I wished to discuss Mobility Arts with you, Senior Xiahou. I saw room for a change in your gait. The movements of the noble race are one of the foundations of how I use my body, so I ventured to offer some advice, despite the discourtesy.”

A novice captain was discussing the footwork of the race of immortals.

Looking down at Jung Yeonshin, Xiahou Weizhen blinked hard. He could not take the words at face value.

Since the boy could imitate the noble race’s movements with such extraordinary skill, he had assumed that both his accumulated understanding of martial arts and his innate eye for detail were exceptional.

But that hardly put him in a position to advise a black-robed supreme master of the noble race on how to walk like his own kind.

And a Han boy, of all people, saying it with such clear, innocent eyes.

A voice like a bitter wind blowing through a cavern emerged from Xiahou Weizhen’s mouth.

“The stone seats for the captains in the Hall of the Sword That Seeks Peace... are no smaller or less splendid than the grand chairs occupied by the leaders of other sects. Do you know why? They were made that way to signify that we must take responsibility for our words and actions.”

Mighty internal power overflowed from his voice. The waves of power touching Jung Yeonshin’s skin were vast and unimpeded.

Those qi waves came from internal energy compressed to an extraordinary degree.

They said that the strength of long-lived noble-race masters lay in their reserves of qi even more than their movement. It was enough to bring an old martial-world adage to mind.

—Old people and children who walk the martial world have secret techniques. Yet beware still more of long-eared youths. Their experience exceeds that of the old, and their strength overflows beyond that of children.

“You... cannot know what I feel as a supreme master of my race. As captain of the Forest-Treading Squad, I am one of the noble race who bestow grace upon the Han people of this continent. I deeply cherish the common folk who live within their station. Are they not also people of grain, inseparable from the earth?” Xiahou Weizhen said.

“Our race cultivated martial arts to protect the earth and trees. With solemn hearts, we swore before the world tree that we would live without shaming it, practicing martial arts that embraced the livelihoods of all people.”

“...”

“Martial arts are a discipline that develops with time. There is infinite room for improvement in anything, so I am not asserting my pride before you. I merely hope your words did not arise from shallow discernment. If someone spoke lightly of movements you had cultivated with a sincere heart, would you not be angry?”

A volcano of internal power seemed to seethe beneath his thick throat.

Jung Yeonshin suddenly realized something.

This was a formidable task. Could he win the Forest-Treading Squad captain’s admiration with words alone, without expending his strength in a spar?

If the Radiant Demon Squad was to roam the martial world as a pillar of the Desolate Fortress’s combat forces and earn vast merit, he needed to secure a blue-robed expert here.

The new Radiant Demon Squad captain spoke at once.

“I do not summon the wind. I was not born with that ability. That is why I studied how I might move like the azure-eyed demonic swordsman of our Radiant Demon Squad.”

They were at the junction where the roads from the inner citadel branched toward the halls of the individual combat units.

Even as they spoke, the Divine Sword deputy commander and the captains of the Radiant Demon Squad and Forest-Treading Squad had passed beside a small lake.

The three captains were reflected in the rippling water, suffused with sunset light: a girl, a boy, and a giant of a man.

Each wore black robes of a different style, yet all radiated a clear, intangible pressure.

Ak Surim strolled lightly on the left, hands clasped behind her back. She did not intervene, but her face was filled with interest.

“Go on.”

Xiahou Weizhen spoke expressionlessly. Jung Yeonshin calmly continued.

“I examined your steps, Senior Xiahou. Your movements pursue speed for the sake of power. Given your tremendous strength, you seem to emphasize your stomps, which makes the qi waves at your Yinmen points strong. Your strength concentrates not in the gastrocnemius of the calf, but in the semitendinosus at the back of the thigh.”

“It must, if I am to fully execute my ultimate techniques. Heavy sword, heavy fist. Without a strong stomp, I cannot put the proper force into them. It is unavoidable if I am to shift my opening stance from defense to combat as swiftly as lightning. There is no reason to keep my steps light. Strictly speaking, I sacrificed that lightness.”

“There is no reason you need to.”

“Your words grow bolder by the moment. I begin to understand how your enemies feel.”

“The wind that assists my movements is generated throughout my entire body, but you need not imitate that, Senior Xiahou. It would be difficult for you in the first place.”

“What?”

Jung Yeonshin ignored the question. It was simply the truth.

“Of the twelve primary meridians throughout the body, I would like you to reexamine just the Foot Greater Yang Bladder Meridian. Open the Dachangshu point below your waist slightly and engage the rectus abdominis at the front, and you will see a different way to circulate your core energy. The smaller meridians will produce movements equivalent to Burst Discharge on their own.”

The new Radiant Demon Squad captain spoke, lightly lifting his right sleeve. As the wielder of the Dharma-Surpassing Radiant Wheel Art, Jung Yeonshin possessed an exceptional presence.

Even a small gesture asserted it vividly, despite his standing between the two captains.

“Relax the gluteus maximus and the pelvic muscles, and perceive the force descending from the Shenshu point at your right waist into the meridians. That will achieve it. The meridians of our bodies are deeply mysterious. Merely coordinating core energy and muscle from farther up allows the internal power reaching the plantar fascia to acquire elasticity on its own. That is how the twelve primary meridians are connected.”

This was the essence of Wind Body.

The plantar fascia was a bundle of muscle supporting the sole of the foot. It was also where the Yongquan point, central to many Mobility Arts, was located.

The explosive power unique to the Lightning Genius martial lineage sprang from the combination of flexibility and strength.

To Jung Yeonshin, this was an utterly obvious principle. If anything, he found it strange that Xiahou Weizhen walked so unlike the noble race despite possessing such an immense degree of refinement in internal energy.

‘If my internal energy were at that level... I could use my body like a swift sword.’

After finishing his explanation, he could not help asking. He simply did not understand.

“I do not know why you have not done this. If there is some particular reason within the system of martial arts you practice...”

“... Because I did not know.”