While issuing instructions concerning the sparring challenges, Jung Yeonshin also sent word to the desolate’s ma clan. He asked them to coordinate all the house’s affairs, great and small, and arrange a quiet gathering.

Ju Yeonjeong, Ma Se-In’s mother, troubled him. Of Imperial blood, she was an authoritarian woman whose thoughts were difficult to fathom. Ma Yeonjeok had to take the Great Restoration Pills in absolute secrecy. Ma Jin would immediately read between the lines.

'As soon as their reply arrives, I need to stay by Grandfather’s side,' Jung Yeonshin thought.

Meanwhile, Chung Myung delivered his report in a clear voice.

“There are four white robes who didn’t go on the City of Master Artisans mission, plus Heon Wonchang, making five in all. Two blue robes likewise weren’t assigned to that mission, and our total number of blue robes is seventeen.”

They had changed places. Jung Yeonshin now sat in the office chair. Across the finely worked marble desk, Chung Myung and Baek Miryeo sat as his guests. Their chairs were smaller than the captain’s grand armchair.

A quiet atmosphere prevailed even without a single cup of tea. Had the matter not been so serious, they would have brought out some Tieguanyin (a type of oolong tea).

“Seventeen blue robes and five white robes... It’s hard to call that the elite force of a great faction. We qualify, but then again, we don’t. We originally had twenty-six and ten, after all. The unranked don’t count as combat strength.”

Chung Myung’s expression was calm. He showed no particular emotion over their diminished strength. It was the result of losing comrades who had lived like martial brothers and sisters.

It made no sense to lament their fighting strength, and they had already grieved too long to begin mourning anew. Beside him, Baek Miryeo brushed back the hair near her ear.

“You’ve seen the accounts, so you know, don’t you? It’s only natural that our budget falls as our numbers shrink. The problem is the restrictions on the missions we can accept. Our Radiant Demon Squad can no longer handle Mount Hua’s twenty-four Plum Blossom Swordsmen. A small difference opens into an enormous gap. A Divine Sword Squad combat unit that can’t fully hold off a great faction’s elite is bound to fall behind in merit points.”

She spoke quietly and evenly.

Every word was true. She had assessed their circumstances coldly. Their awkward level of strength made it difficult to deploy them to major incidents, which inevitably reduced the merit points they could accumulate.

It directly affected the Radiant Demon Squad’s prestige, but it also meant that Jung Yeonshin’s progress toward purple robes had been checked. That was why they spoke so gravely. Chung Myung’s presence was chillingly clear, and Baek Miryeo’s face was expressionless. They knew about Jung Yeonshin’s constitution.

The new captain of the Radiant Demon Squad spoke.

“We should count eighteen blue robes and seven white robes. Let’s begin there.”

“Why?”

Baek Miryeo’s brow furrowed. Beside her, Chung Myung tilted his head slightly.

Not just blue robes—even white robes possessed enough skill to pass for rare masters in the regional martial world. They were no ordinary martial artists. They ranked at the bottom only within the Desolate Fortress, a great faction at the summit of the martial world. Recruiting them could hardly be easy.

Blue-robed experts were even more formidable. When Jung Yeonshin had borrowed Chung Myung’s blue robe, he had wiped out the mantis sect in Shaanxi Province alone. They were treasured swords capable of taking on an entire small or midsized sect.

The Desolate Fortress’s blue robes were a major part of its strength. No captain would surrender them lightly.

It was only natural that Ha Doun, captain of the Suncheon Wing, had reacted so sensitively when Jung Yeonshin spoke of requisitioning White Qilin Namgoong Hwashin. Now, he even felt somewhat sorry about it.

Jung Yeonshin continued evenly.

“Senior Xiahou, captain of the Forest-Treading Squad, has promised me transfers. We made a certain bargain. Dawn Tree Sword Kang Changmu, Steel-Severing Saber Ho Uncheol, and Deep Chivalry Fist Gongya Miryeong will be joining us. Please prepare to receive them. I’ll be busy with a number of things, so the two of you will have to handle it.”

“You’ve only been back a few hours...!”

Baek Miryeo let out a sigh tinged with laughter.

“So you meant it? Sending sparring challenges to the captains. Honestly, I wanted to stop you, since losing would be a fucking humiliation, but now I wouldn’t dare.”

Chung Myung grinned. It was the first such smile he had shown since they entered the captain’s office.

Both had watched Jung Yeonshin break through his limits time and again. Neither was surprised anew. They were simply proud of him. Baek Miryeo’s eyes curved into crescents, and the mood lightened in an instant.

“There was someone earlier who said something to you about acting like a captain. He’ll be coming to apologize tomorrow.”

“Someone that thoughtless went out to welcome him?”

Even the breeze surrounding Chung Myung softened, its edges growing gentle. His distinctive power had become like a mild spring breeze. Had Jung Yeonshin not been wearing a black robe, he looked as though he might have stroked his head.

The renowned noble-race swordsman smiled.

“We only need to get our blue robes up to twenty-four or so. With that many, we should have no trouble accepting missions against great factions’ elite forces. I know the Forest-Treading Squad’s Dawn Tree Sword. He’s quite good with a blade. You’ve secured an excellent piece.”

“How are the iron-race artisans we brought from the City of Master Artisans progressing with the prosthetic arms?”

Jung Yeonshin thought of Ma Jin and Oh Wolhyang. His uncle had become head of the desolate’s ma clan, but the blue-robed expert Oh Wolhyang remained with the Radiant Demon Squad.

She had treated Jung Yeonshin like a son from the moment he joined. A master of saber technique, she had been called the Benevolent, Broadhearted Chivalrous Saber before losing her left arm in the City of Master Artisans.

Baek Miryeo smiled faintly.

“They said the internal-energy-powered prosthetic arms should be finished within a month. Don’t worry about that.”

“That’s a relief.”

He felt greatly reassured. Nodding, Jung Yeonshin continued slowly.

“Let’s focus on obtaining six blue-robed experts. I’ll need to work out how many black-robed seniors I must face.”

“Preferably from the Lightning Genius martial lineage, right? They’ll be easier for you to train, won’t they? The stronger a combat unit gets, the better.”

Chung Myung grinned, then began counting on his long fingers.

“Starting with the units whose captains are on leave... The Blood-Preserving Squad and the Immortal Wood Spirit command each have three blue robes who’ve learned your martial arts. It caused quite a stir. Those with worthwhile supreme arts of their own focused on the Classic of Initiating Transcendence. The others took up the Radiant Sword Art, Infinite Blossom Fist Strike, or Evading Swift Step. Sometimes they wandered over here to ask for advice. Shin Sobin became popular with them.”

“Shin Sobin...?” Jung Yeonshin echoed.

His catlike junior’s face came to mind. She had a lively disposition, spirited enough to talk back even to the Supreme Flame Dragon. A girl his own age, she was the cherished daughter of the Shin Clan under the Desolate Fortress.

Her outstanding talent had earned her white robes, and she had attracted attention as someone who might succeed Lightning Genius. He had heard that she was currently staying for a while at her family’s residence.

“I know she’s begun learning my fist art,” Jung Yeonshin said.

Chung Myung nodded.

“Regardless of robe color, you could call her a pioneer of your martial lineage. She’s very good with Infinite Blossom Fist Strike and Evading Swift Step. She practically worships you. Apparently, she beat her older sister in the Suncheon Wing to a pulp recently. Shin Binbin, that is. Seems her sister complained that you were taking White Qilin around as if he were your subordinate.”

“She challenged her to a spar over that?”

“Shin Sobin wouldn’t let it pass, and in the end her family dragged her home. I saw her expression while she was packing... She looked utterly satisfied. Anyway, plenty happened while you were away.”

“The Shin Clan overstepped its authority. I’ll have to bring her back soon.”

“That calm tone of yours is rather frightening.”

Chung Myung’s smile deepened.

“Then let’s start with the captains. The Blood-Preserving Squad Captain and the Immortal Wood Spirit Lord... They’re supreme masters you’d have no answer for if you met them as enemies. Their prowess is one thing, but their martial arts are extremely troublesome. The Blood-Preserving Squad Captain is quite mysterious, and there are all sorts of rumors about him. That he practices wicked arts of the evil and unorthodox paths, or that he’s the Blood Flame Cult Leader’s illegitimate child.”

“I know the Immortal Wood Spirit Lord well. She’s mastered a supreme art of the North Sea. As a supreme master of ice arts, she’s someone whose internal heavy-hand techniques you must be wary of. She’s an adept at freezing the inside of an opponent’s body. Her attacks are as uncompromising as those of the evil and unorthodox paths, and she doesn’t form personal friendships with Han people. You’ll need to challenge her with the resolve to fight a duel to the death. Frankly, I’m very worried.”

Chung Myung and Baek Miryeo continued in turn.

'This is nice.'

Jung Yeonshin liked these moments. It felt as though he had come home after a long absence and was chatting with a brother and sister. It felt that way despite being something he had never really experienced. They were discussing matters that should have made him tense, yet his mind softened into a pleasant warmth.

Was it because he had just returned from facing so many people’s hostility at the Alliance?

He slowly parted his lips.

“If they use wicked arts and ice arts, I should have a chance.”

* * *

A day later, three things happened at once.

News of the Radiant Demon Squad captain’s triumphant return after dominating the Martial Alliance’s founding ceremony had arrived before he did. The entire fortress had been abuzz from the outset. It was not something they were only now learning.

For something to count as a new development here, it had to be news comparable to his victories.

The transfers of the Forest-Treading Squad’s experts became known. From the Forest-Treading Squad to the Radiant Demon Squad.

Many had expected the Radiant Demon Squad’s weakness to continue as a fledgling captain assumed command. The Divine Sword Squad’s foundations had been laid by a glittering array of supreme masters, after all.

The changes in affiliation of Dawn Tree Sword and the other experts shattered those predictions. It became an enormous topic of conversation.

“Why would the Forest-Treading Squad Captain...?”

“He’s hardly a man to let go of anything in his grasp. Isn’t his pride fearsome? I once shared drinks with him, and it was truly suffocating.”

“Did he secretly cross hands with the Radiant Demon Squad Captain?”

“The Thousand-Fist, Dragon-Strength Retainer lost? Surely not...”

“Whether it was a spar or something else, there must have been some sort of wager. He isn’t a man to grant a Han person such a great favor for nothing.”

“Doesn’t that mean the Radiant Demon Squad Captain won, one way or another? What a mysterious young man. Every achievement he accumulates at his age is extraordinary.”

Whispers arose throughout the vast Desolate Fortress. Elite experts rare in all the world exchanged every sort of speculation, while officials and merchants important enough to enter the fortress listened in. People outside its ranks began compiling personal accounts of the new Radiant Demon Squad captain.

The second development was the unveiling of the Comprehensive Compendium for Breaking the Righteous Path.

It was not made public beyond the fortress. The Desolate Fortress Master was no fool. More than a hundred sects had formed an alliance to keep the Desolate Fortress in check. There was no need to draw the attention of the entire martial world.

Letters were delivered to the captains: orders to assemble the following day at the Hall of the Sword That Seeks Peace.

The black-robed experts received documents bearing the fortress master’s official seal all at once. Friendships existed among the captains, too, and this rare occurrence sparked endless speculation.

The Divine Sword deputy commander and the Forest-Treading Squad Captain looked as though they had some inkling, but neither chose to speak. They merely turned their attention to another development.

[... For these reasons, I, as captain, set aside my reservations and challenge Immortal Wood Spirit Lord Cheon Soso to a spar, proposing that, under the conditions stated above, we abide by the victor’s wishes.]

Notices from Jung Yeonshin, captain of the Radiant Demon Squad, were posted throughout the Desolate Fortress.

This was no private matter. He represented the Radiant Demon Squad. It was not the time to humble himself with talk of seniors. His words were therefore bold—and just as provocative.

Only his handwriting was neat, at odds with the Thunderclap Bomb of a message. It was written in regular script, close to the standard of Ming calligraphy.

Transfers of experts under the Divine Sword Squad were a highly sensitive matter. They were the pillars of the Desolate Fortress.

A captain had to be conscious of all the eyes across the sprawling fortress. Even those not directly involved had to be convinced. A Desolate Fortress captain represented the fortress itself. The rank granted tremendous independence while binding its holder in countless ways.

He had already used his one opportunity through the Forest-Treading Squad Captain’s unannounced decision. From the second time onward, he needed the fortress’s residents to bear public witness.

Jung Yeonshin’s words struck like a cannonball.

People gathered. The Desolate Fortress’s central training grounds filled with a crowd numbering in the hundreds, from the fortress’s martial artists to visiting guests. Artisans and merchants mingled with officials and servants. An immense pressure pulled the air over the training grounds taut.

“I’ve come from near Shaanxi. They say the new Radiant Demon Squad Captain’s swordsmanship is truly peerless. Once people see his age, they take him for a spirit beast rather than a human.”

“We’ll broaden our horizons with the Immortal Wood Spirit Lord’s Cold Heaven, Flowless Ice Art. They say it subdued the martial world beyond the frontier. If only I’d devoted more effort to my eye technique, I wouldn’t be so anxious... I fear I won’t be able to follow it.”

Curiosity and excitement seethed. A clash between supreme masters of captain rank would be a magnificent sight even to those who knew nothing of martial arts.

It was a spectacle one rarely witnessed in a lifetime. Even the Desolate Fortress’s experts seldom had the chance outside a Black-rank promotion ceremony.

The two captains already faced one another on the sparring platform: the Radiant Demon Squad Captain, the tendons of his left arm exposed, and the Immortal Wood Spirit Lord, her forehead hidden beneath ebony bangs.

They wore the same black robes and were of similar height. Both possessed extraordinary presences, and even their air was alike. Qi waves flowing from their bodies shimmered transparently. The only difference was the Immortal Wood Spirit Lord’s ears, which rose to points like the tips of leaves.

After they stood in silence, Jung Yeonshin spoke.

“Let’s begin.”

He felt no particular need to be grateful. Captains under the Divine Sword Squad always had to face challenges. They could not refuse a spar offered to them. Personnel affairs in the Desolate Fortress were akin to combat. One day, Jung Yeonshin too would be challenged by a junior in black robes.

He did not yet know what sort of person Immortal Wood Spirit Lord Cheon Soso was. After today’s spar, he would get to know her properly tomorrow at the Hall of the Sword That Seeks Peace.

For now, he knew just one thing. She was said to look down on Han people no less than Xiahou Weizhen did. Many called her an eccentric who seldom spoke even at the Hall of the Sword That Seeks Peace. Unless it was Ma Yeonjeok, the chief administrator, the Divine Sword Squad Leader, or Ak Surim, she never conversed with anyone.

“...”

As expected, she did not answer. She merely raised her internal energy in silence.

RUSTLE.

The sudden surge of her qi arts stirred the hem of her pitch-black robe. A sacred-looking white current coiled around her entire body. She wore the cold wind like an immortal of northern gales and snow. This was the realm of giving core energy tangible form. Her internal energy revealed an extraordinary mystique.

Gasps broke out all around. Someone even exclaimed that the Mystic Lady of the Nine Heavens had descended anew.

Jung Yeonshin knew instinctively. That was a divine technique.

'Radiant wheel.'

He commanded the wheel of light within his heart.

WHIRRR!

The sound rang inside him. The core of the Dharma-Surpassing Radiant Wheel Art spun like a whirlwind. The Silk-Reeling Force of the internal energy rising from his middle dantian reached the lower dantian beneath his navel. The internal energy stored in his lower abdomen reacted like a flash of light.

Outside his body, auspicious qi waves flared like wildfire.

The next instant—

WHOOSH.

Cheon Soso’s face filled his vision. Her movement technique was astonishingly fast. The distance closed in a heartbeat. She seemed to prefer settling things swiftly.

His eyes met her composed blue gaze. A light like frost in the blue heavens flashed within it.

Within the realm of thought accelerated to lightning speed, her hair, flung forward by the recoil along with her core energy, brushed up the hair at the side of Jung Yeonshin’s head. Bitterly cold air washed over his face.

She had not yielded the first move. Whether that was simply her nature or because she sensed some unease about Jung Yeonshin, he could not tell.

WHOOOSH!

From the side. A snow-white wind swept in every direction, like swirling snowfall.

He had experienced ice arts once before, but the hand now approaching from outside his field of vision was on another level. A strange sensation tickled the upper dantian in his head. It contained a spiritual nature that further elevated the martial art’s power.

It was indeed a divine technique. Nothing but the Dharma-Surpassing Radiant Wheel Art could contend with it.

HISSS.

His entire body slowed before she even touched him. She had reached the realm of applying an internal heavy-hand technique without contact. This was different from ordinary freezing qi.

The chill seeping through his skin froze his pressure points first, then climbed through his twelve primary meridians. His black robe crackled as it froze solid. It seemed Cheon Soso had drawn in all the surrounding moisture. The sight was profoundly unreal.

In that fleeting instant, Jung Yeonshin breathed out through his mouth. It was an exceedingly short exhalation.

Light arose within him. The Dharma-Surpassing Radiant Wheel Art raced through his body as though it would burn every fine meridian. The internal energy he had raised in advance filled his meridians and pressure points.

His core energy moved with tremendous violence. The radiant wheel’s rotation was literally as swift as a flash. Though he had not separately kindled True Samadhi Fire, a terrifying dynamism sprang to life.

Then, the instant Jung Yeonshin caught Cheon Soso’s right hand—

CRACK!

The frost enveloping both their bodies shattered. Amid the sunlight shining brightly down below them, fragments of ice scattered and fell, casting rays of seven-colored light.

“...?”

For the first time, an expression appeared on Cheon Soso’s face. She looked somewhat dazed.

“Now...”

Holding her wrist in his left hand, Jung Yeonshin moved his lips.

“Allow your junior to make his move.”

SHHHH...

The scattered fragments of cold descending in curling streams stopped moving. The Radiant Demon Squad Captain’s robes fluttered ceaselessly.

These were the attraction and emission formulas born of whole-body Burst Discharge. Through the movement technique Wind Body, an ultimate technique attempted in a different manner took shape. Ice fragments spread out and hovered around his black robe.

KRRR-BOOM!

With his right hand, he formed the intricate principles of a sorcerous formation. Opposing internal powers met like lightning at the Palace of Toil and Lesser Mansion points in his palm, then tore apart. Blood-art core energy and Dharma power, separated from the radiant wheel qi, produced a thunderous roar.

Blossoms Raining Across the Sky. Radiant River.

“...!”

Some of the more knowledgeable spectators shot to their feet.