Baek Seogun had long enjoyed the wealth and power of a great unorthodox faction. Like the other supreme masters of the Thirteen Skies, she had made her name resound throughout the land. She was called a monster of Murim.

Unlike the orthodox martial world, the unorthodox world did not fuss over petty rules of propriety. If one's sect influence and personal martial prowess left one with few rivals, one could live a life that even a commandery prince might envy.

Living as the Sword Exalted of the evil and unorthodox paths, she had buried her life as a maidservant. She had needed to. Though this world was less particular about people's roots than the orthodox world, a lowly background, once known, was all too likely to invite ridicule from the senior figures of the great factions.

One's origins were one's foundation. The place where one was born and raised was one's roots.

That was the natural view, even in the martial world. It was full of warriors who held their sects equal to their hometowns. In this world, the place one came from carried a special meaning.

The Jeong Clan Estate of Xinye County. Baek Seogun of the Jeong Clan Estate. Baek Seogun of Xinye County...

Boredom had settled over a heart dulled by wealth and glory. Unlike the Martial Alliance elders who enjoyed life's refined pleasures until their dying days, she had lost her taste for them very early.

Was it because she had turned away from the years that formed her foundation? At some point, even precious Longjing tea had begun to smell like plain water. Not even Xifeng liquor, renowned throughout the land, could make her feel drunk.

The Martial Alliance's eldest young master, who had professed his love and tried to cling to her without knowing his place, had seemed utterly insignificant. She had felt nothing even as she slashed his face. Had the alliance leader taken issue with it, she would have walked out of the Martial Alliance herself.

Accustomed to wealth and glory, she had no desire to leave the League of her own accord. Yet her life grew more tedious with every passing day.

Then a master from the Jeong Clan Estate had made his debut in the martial world.

She had sought the alliance leader's permission and experienced Lightning Genius's sword with a rather glad heart. There had been refinement in the boy. Lightning Genius Jung Yeonshin's high guard had carried a quality she sorely missed.

The Ten Precepts of Go.

His stance embodied one of those widely known secrets of the game: one must seize the initiative, even at the cost of a stone.

A stance that sacrificed stones to seize the initiative. It also conveyed another, deeper significance.

Baek Seogun, the Sky-Swimming Sword Demon, understood the sword well enough to be called a sword demon. She was especially receptive to the intent imbued in swordsmanship—all the more so because the swordsman she had exchanged blows with was Jeong Banak's own flesh and blood, the very image of his noble features.

She had realized anew that the years she had spent growing up at the Jeong Clan Estate were not worthless. She remembered in full the teachings of Jung Daemyung and Jeong Banak, who had shown her kindness when she was a maidservant.

In a sense, Lightning Genius had restored her roots to her.

"Unbelievable."

She muttered the word as she looked down at the Jeong Clan Estate's second son.

Another face took shape before her eyes. Features graced with Pan An's beauty.

Lightning Genius Jung Yeonshin. Jeong Banak of Xinye County's third child.

She had thought he must have grown up receiving instruction without equal under heaven. The traces of the Movement Art that had polished his entire body to brilliance, the way he gripped his sword hilt in that calm yet aggressive stance, the martial attainments great enough to establish a school of his own already—all had seemed to speak of a distinguished family's teachings.

She had believed him a noble young gentleman raised in such dignity that even the Ming Cult's young cult leader had nothing he need envy.

Even his extreme arrogance had not struck her as a flaw. The informal speech he used as a Desolate Fortress captain had felt positively endearing.

'How could such a thing...?'

Baek Sogun, the Sky-Swimming Sword Demon, recalled drinking with the master of the Low Gate.

She had only received drinks, never poured them. Sitting there as though that were only natural, she had heard a profoundly shocking tale.

["... He did not have a sheltered upbringing... That is what the rumors say about the Desolate Fortress's Lightning Genius. Quite extraordinary, isn't it? It would mean he attained that martial prowess on his own at his age. Xinye County became a rural backwater after that fiend ran rampant in the late Yuan, so I cannot say how much of the villagers' talk we ought to believe."]

The master of the Low Gate had given her a likeness of the Jeong Clan Estate's second son.

She had come to establish whether those rumors were true. Even as she crossed the land with her lightness skill, she had doubted them. Could a child whose sword traced such elegant paths truly have grown up hated?

Lightning Genius's eyes had looked somewhat lonely when they met, but she had assumed the destruction of his family had made him that way. To her, the Jeong Clan Estate had been a reasonably warm martial household.

Lightning Genius Jung Yeonshin was the legacy the Master of the Jeong Clan had left before departing this world. A jewel polished with luminous meaning.

Raised in a third-rate martial household, he had become a Desolate Fortress captain fit to contend for the world. He was a child who lent still greater worth to the Jeong Clan Estate, where Baek Seogun's own childhood lingered.

She had not wanted to believe the master of the Low Gate. Not until the panic-stricken Jung Joongsan opened his mouth.

["Father kept him at a distance. He had done so since the moment he was born."]

The words had come from a blood relative of the Jeong Clan Estate. That opening statement had shocked her more than any supreme master's attack.

["Banak truly did...? I have cultivated an eye technique beyond the comprehension of that tiny head of yours. The instant I see a trace of deceit in your expression, I will rend your sinews and dislocate your bones. Banak shunned Lightning Genius? How did that come to pass?"]

["I-I am telling you nothing but the truth! In our county, any child who killed its mother in childbirth was considered tainted!"]

["Continue."]

["There is a Taoist temple in the village called the Hall of Wondrous Spirits! The Taoist who presided over it said the same thing. That he was a child who harmed the earth's energy... No one would befriend Yeonshin. Father made it that way, as part of his responsibility as a great landowner."]

["Surely not. Such ignorance...?"]

For several days, she gave the Zhongnan disciple Jung Joongsan nothing but water. She heard many things and asked still more questions.

Baek Seogun, the Sky-Swimming Sword Demon, was the Martial Alliance's second-greatest master. A powerful figure of the evil and unorthodox paths, she was well versed in tormenting people to the breaking point.

The sheltered Jung Joongsan was not made to withstand her interrogation. Day and night, he had been forced to disgorge every detail of his younger brother's life.

His faintly trembling voice engraved itself in her ears. Everything was worse than she had imagined.

A sharp, colorless wave of force flashed from between her brows. The divine sword fastened to her belt stirred of its own accord.

Her mind and core energy were one. The secret art of controlling a sword with qi had manifested through Three Flowers Gather at the Crown. At her realm, sword control answered her emotions.

Baek Seogun's lower lip trembled slightly.

"That damn stubbornness of his...!"

Jeong Banak was a bastard. He had given Baek Seogun the maidservant fond memories, and burdened Baek Seogun the Sword Exalted with shame she could scarcely fathom.

Her hands shook. Her time with Lightning Genius felt like only yesterday. The sunset that had cast their long shadows between the ravines of Seven Multitudes Gorge remained a cherished memory.

'But that child...'

Had risen on his own.

["Had I not made that great choice, I would have walked through Xinye County holding your hand. Still, this is good enough. You received plenty of the love I could not give you. Your healthy complexion tells me that."]

She recalled what she had said to Lightning Genius. What else had she said?

["It makes me wonder how he raised you."]

"..."

Her lips parted slightly. A long breath escaped like a soundless groan.

The Martial Alliance's Sword Exalted could no longer face herself without shame. That was the feeling burrowing into her chest.

The years she had thought reclaimed were sullied. Lightning Genius had not been polished by Jeong Banak's hands. Those hands had stained him instead.

"... It seems you aren't entirely worthless. Zhongnan's pursuers have caught up. There are quite a number of presences surrounding us."

She spoke in a murmur, lost in thought. Startled, Jung Joongsan looked up at her from his knees, but she did not even meet his eyes.

How was she to assuage the shame and remorse piercing her heart?

"You said Zhongnan was preparing for an attack by the Tyrant Sword Tribe. I shall lend a hand."

If she strung together a few Tyrant Sword Tribe masters' heads and offered them to her young master, might she win at least a little favor? She was even willing to join forces with the Zhongnan rabble and face the Tyrant Sword Tribe Lord.

'I simply cannot go to meet you empty-handed.'

She had seen how dearly Lightning Genius valued his subordinates. He had more affection in him than he showed; perhaps, at least, he held his niece at the Zhongnan Sect especially dear.

Even if she was wrong, it did not matter. It was well known that Jung Yeonshin had also clashed with the Tyrant Sword Tribe on Mount Zhongnan. Their heads would suffice as a courtesy gift.

The Sword Exalted's thoughts roamed freely.

She had heard that Lightning Genius had encountered the Namgoong clan in Southern Zhili. The Radiant Demon Squad under its new captain was already becoming famous for various exploits, even before it began venturing out in earnest.

Those at the head of the Thirteen Skies had access to even more secret intelligence. One such report said that White Qilin, born to the clan's assassin, its Dark Sword, was practically a subordinate of the Radiant Demon Squad captain.

Baek Seogun's pale hand suddenly swept her ash-gray hair behind her ear.

She thought:

'I will become your dark sword.'

* * *

The white-robed warrior Ma Ung was an expert of the Desolate's Ma Clan. A promising young talent who had donned white martial robes at twenty.

His future was bright indeed. Lightning Genius Jung Yeonshin and White Cat Shin Sobin of the Radiant Demon Squad were simply anomalies. If he wished to enter the Divine Sword Squad's ranks someday, many combat units would extend a hand to him.

'I do not want to fall into decline.'

Amid the escalating conflict between Ju Yeonjeong, the clan's imperial daughter-in-law, and Ma Jin, its newly appointed head, Ma Ung had sided with Ju Yeonjeong. He had done so despite being Ma Jin's cousin from a collateral line. It was a decision reached after long anguish.

He had watched the martial prowess of the clan's elders weaken pitifully. The foremost example was the previous clan head.

Ma Yeonjeok, the Indomitable Hero.

He had astonished the world by reaching purple rank at thirty. Those days of Ma Yeonjeok's life were almost legend. They said he had capably acted in place of the fortress master, who seldom ventured out—that from his youth he had made the Desolate Fortress's banner fly proudly throughout the land.

'And yet.'

Even that peerless master had not escaped decline. Such was the Ma clan's martial learning: a domineering martial art that honed its practitioners early, out of loyalty to the Desolate Fortress Master.

Practitioners of the Divine Art of United Splendor soared quickly and fell early. In that respect, it differed little from the martial arts of the evil and unorthodox paths.

Even the fortress master did not intervene, for this was the clan's own circumstance and tradition. It was a family matter in which only blood relatives had a say.

Yet the clan could not relinquish the Divine Art of United Splendor. Their ancient hereditary art was the treasure that had earned them their reputation as the Desolate Fortress's foremost martial clan. They preferred to introduce principles from other martial disciplines to remedy its shortcomings. It was that valuable.

The Desolate's Ma Clan had produced more experts than any other distinguished family under the fortress. Even the haughty Command Bureau constantly anticipated the fighting strength it would supply. Its momentum was that of a carriage drawn by eight horses.

"Nothing unusual on the flank."

"Let's rotate."

In a garden surrounding a small pavilion, five warriors shifted positions. One leaped onto the pavilion roof while four kept discreet watch in the cardinal directions. Ma Ung took his place at the main entrance.

The Desolate Fortress was vast, with many such secluded places.

The chirping of insects rang clear. Hazy light spilled over the dense pine needles. The transparent radiance of sunset carried a faint scent of winter.

Autumn had departed, taking a piece of Ma Ung's heart with it.

'Lady Ju is right.'

Ju Yeonjeong, who possessed the imperial Eight Methods of the Golden Immortal, had summoned Ma Ung privately and given him an order. Ma Jin, who had hastily become clan head, was behaving suspiciously; he was to keep a close watch on the retired clan head Ma Yeonjeok's person.

Ma Ung was, in effect, a spy for Ju Yeonjeong's faction. He served her willingly, to bring the Eight Methods of the Golden Immortal into the clan in their entirety. He believed it was for the family's good.

On the way here, he had already left signs in several places. Ju Yeonjeong's subordinates would be following.

The custody of the former clan head Ma Yeonjeok was itself a matter of grave importance. He was someone to be protected with the utmost care. The new head, Ma Jin, had no right to move him about at his sole discretion. Secrecy did not change that. He needed the Ma clan elder council's consent.

Now it was only a matter of time.

The political blow to Ma Jin would be tremendous. Ju Yeonjeong, who had built extensive connections through the Eight Methods of the Golden Immortal, would see to that. That lofty imperial noblewoman never failed to obtain what she wanted.

The esteemed elders who had joined her faction within the Desolate's Ma Clan would also consider it unavoidable.

'Clan Head, please forgive me. The family must change.'

Just as Ma Ung offered that silent apology, a sudden gale swept across the skin of his face.

THUD!

His vision blurred as a blue-robed expert appeared before him like an apparition, bringing a terrifying surge of qi.

Behind the man, a woman with exceptionally dark hair hanging long down her back parted her lips. She, too, wore long blue robes.

"Chung Myung, why did you strike without asking permission?"

It was the Wave Swordswoman, Baek Miryeo. There was no one in the fortress who did not know her for her beauty, her martial prowess, and a character as fine as a treasured sword.

"Don't take offense. Hear me out. The captain authorized me to strike first and report afterward. Just me, mind you. Anyway... there's something off about this fellow. That's how he looks to me."

The handsome face beneath the blue headcloth receded upward. Had he employed Mobility Arts?

No.

Ma Ung realized belatedly that it only looked that way because he himself was falling.

'The Radiant Demon Squad... the noble-race demonic swordsman...!'

He barely managed to turn his head. His eyes widened until they seemed ready to split.

When had he appeared?

The long tails of pitch-black robes were billowing.

With a tremendous rush, more than a dozen blue-robed experts descended to either side of him and surrounded the area like a wall.

They were familiar warriors of the Radiant Demon Squad. In that instant, the waves of qi rising from their bodies swept over the undergrowth like a tidal wave.

A protective wall of formidable elite warriors was a symbol reserved for black-robed masters. It was a power greater than any martial technique, an authority bordering on the supernatural to ordinary people.

The strength to crush every scheme in a single stroke.

A captain had arrived.

STEP.

Lightning Genius, captain of the Radiant Demon Squad, crossed the pavilion's threshold with calm, measured steps.

No one could stop him.