"What's this book... Breaking the Righteous Path, a compendium...?"

Blood-Preserving Squad Captain Jin Myeongjo raised his eyes. A faint red shadow fell beneath his fine eyelashes. In a smooth shift, his pitch-black eyes turned crimson for an instant before returning to black.

Something different from an eye technique had manifested in response to his thoughts. Besides hinting at some particular ability, the sight attested to his attainment of Three Flowers Gather at the Crown.

Only those who had cultivated essence, qi, and spirit in equal measure sat here. To the captains of the Desolate Fortress, it was nothing remarkable. The supreme masters from lofty clans found Jin Myeongjo's origins deeply distasteful.

The noble-race captains, including Immortal Wood Spirit Lord Cheon Soso, shot him sidelong looks. But they had to turn their attention back. The black-robed experts seated in the stone chairs had other concerns. Chief Administrator Im Jinmyeong was not a frivolous man.

Every captain's gaze settled squarely on the book he had produced.

"Judging by the context of our discussion..."

Thousand-Fist, Dragon-Strength Retainer Xiahou Weizhen stroked his chin with a thick forefinger.

"That phrase, 'Breaking the Righteous Path,' means what I think it does, I presume?"

"Your guess is correct, Captain Xiahou."

The chief administrator slowly stroked the book's cover with a faint smile. His calluses rasped over the words Comprehensive Compendium for Breaking the Righteous Path, yet his touch could not have been gentler.

He seemed to be handling a priceless treasure. There was even a trace of reverence in the gesture.

"The world is descending into chaos. The way the martial sects scatter and gather is markedly different from before. Alliances of all manner of martial lineages have begun rising everywhere, and the prospect of rival powers carving up the land is most alarming... Should our fortress not make preparations as well?" he said.

The Desolate Fortress had managed a world in which martial sects lay scattered far and wide. It was a vast world. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say they had barely held on.

Gathered together, the elite experts of the Divine Sword Squad's seventeen squads constituted an absurdly powerful force. Yet they were too few to safeguard the common people throughout the land.

An increase in martial lineages banding together like the Martial Alliance posed a serious problem.

Jin Myeongjo's earlier, self-deprecating remark had been right. Hostile sects had always been all too willing to murder people in remote hills to silence them. If those enemies grew stronger still, more of the fortress's warriors would die far from home on missions.

Jin Myeongjo twisted his lips slightly. It was less a sneer than a smile tinged with disillusionment at the state of the world.

"Just look at what happened to the Radiant Demon Squad under its former captain. Were they not helpless against the combined assault of the Ten Perfections Sect and Pure Demon Alliance? It would have been no different for the Blood-Preserving Squad. As more great factions run rampant, frantic to stockpile scarce food, there is no guarantee such a thing will not happen again. Solo missions and small-party assignments will become dangerous too... As the chief administrator says, we ought to prepare."

He continued slowly.

"Assuming this is something we can prepare for. Comprehensive Compendium for Breaking the Righteous Path... Does that not mean it proposes to break all the martial arts of the righteous path? Whoever wrote it is arrogant indeed. I am sure the chief administrator did not bring it without reason, but its exaggerated title does little to raise my expectations. I fail to see how it differs from those who look down on the low-born using the word 'bright' in the name of their noble race."

Having finished, Jin Myeongjo immediately lowered his gaze, deliberately avoiding the terrifying looks from the Immortal Wood Spirit Lord, the Law Enforcement Squad Captain, and the Captain of the Forest-Treading Squad.

"What?"

He tossed out the word with his head slightly bowed, slowly running his hands over his fingertips. His nails, extending sharply by the length of a finger joint, were the weapons emblematic of his famed ultimate technique.

Blood-Preserving Squad Captain Jin Myeongjo was renowned as a master of all manner of fist and palm arts, as well as the Flashing Blood Claw Art.

The chief administrator grinned.

"Then you can read it later, Captain Jin. I guarantee that before long, the captains will be fighting over the right to peruse this book. That is why copying it is forbidden. It is a very dangerous thing."

"Our blood fiend's discernment leaves much to be desired."

Xiahou Weizhen interjected, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

"I have had my eye on that book. I shall read it first."

Xiahou Weizhen, Captain of the Forest-Treading Squad, had previously accompanied Lightning Genius, captain of the Radiant Demon Squad. In other words, he had witnessed the Desolate Fortress Master's reaction to the Comprehensive Compendium for Breaking the Righteous Path firsthand. What he had seen had felt anything but ordinary.

'She praised Lightning Genius on the spot.'

She had not even opened the book. She had merely read its title and smiled. The smile alone had been unprecedented.

Was it the insight possessed by the noblest being of the noble race, or her trust in the newly risen Black? Perhaps both.

Just what was in it?

Xiahou Weizhen was intensely curious. He had merely refrained from showing it out of a loyal retainer's sense of propriety.

"Over here."

He beckoned to Chief Administrator Im Jinmyeong. Even among the captains, Xiahou Weizhen of the noble race was exceptionally old. No one objected to his treating the chief administrator like a subordinate.

Nor did anyone object as the chief administrator obligingly approached his seat with the book.

"This treasure carries such symbolic weight that it must not suffer even the slightest tear. Please handle yourself carefully, Captain."

"You worry far too much, Chief Administrator."

The Comprehensive Compendium for Breaking the Righteous Path was just passing into Xiahou Weizhen's grasp.

A hand suddenly slipped between them, its five fingers carrying formidable waves of qi. Refined power rippled from a hand so delicate it seemed never to have practiced martial arts.

It bent Xiahou Weizhen's middle finger backward and flowed over to the side as naturally as running water. Having slipped in without a sound, it snatched the book away with an exquisite move. It was a grappling technique of the highest order.

Ak Surim had appeared beside him and taken the compendium.

"Now, shall I savor a little more of Lightning Genius's handwriting?"

Smiling broadly, she turned to the first page.

Xiahou Weizhen blinked his large eyes.

"Desolate Divine Spear. You shameless human, what do you think you are..."

"Don't start feeling wronged now, big fellow. Rank in our fortress depends on martial prowess, doesn't it? Even ultimate moves have their proper order of execution, so I'll look first."

Ak Surim did not even look at him. She began reading, turning the pages without hesitation, yet carefully.

It was unconventional, like the short black hair she had swept behind her ears as though it were a nuisance. She always behaved this way. This was nothing new.

Xiahou Weizhen did not bother getting angry. His mouth twitching, he lifted his massive frame from the stone chair and read the compendium over Ak Surim's head.

"Countering forms, just as I thought. The Verdant Abundance Sect? What obscure little sect is..."

"Would you stop chattering? If your breath ruffles my hair one more time, I'll trim both those ears down to blunt stubs. You do realize that would be child's play at this distance?"

Ak Surim spoke without lifting her gaze.

Her casual question carried astonishing spirit. With the Captain of the Forest-Treading Squad, a master of both internal and external training, right beside her, she had declared her superiority in close-quarters combat. No answer came.

A moment later, however, Xiahou Weizhen drew his head back slightly, openly disappointed.

"I can see that Lightning Genius's intuition is fearsome. The connection between the countering form's internal-energy circulation formula and its sword moves is truly remarkable. It is exceptionally complete. I could believe these forms were refined over many years by the Verdant Abundance Sect master's own teacher. But... if he goes into such detail about countering an insignificant lineage he encountered at the Alliance, it hardly inspires hope for the rest."

He had expected a secret manual containing ways to counter advanced martial arts.

The ultimate moves of illustrious houses were generally complex and full of variations. Analyzing them required accounting for all manner of muscular movements and hundreds of possible trajectories.

That was why truly effective counters to prestigious martial lineages were so rare. Their arts had stood firm for centuries.

And that was why the words 'Breaking the Righteous Path' had come as such a shock.

But before he could put his disappointment away, his eyes fell on the next page. Xiahou Weizhen's mouth slowly closed as Ak Surim's forefinger turned another leaf.

[Zhuge Clan. Endless Gathering Winds Fan Art.]

"..."

Silence fell for a moment.

"... Endless Gathering Winds Fan Art. I've suffered at the hands of Sleeping Dragon Reborn before."

"Is it genuine?"

By then, Cheon Soso and Un Soyu had approached as well. They formed a circle with Ak Surim, their foreheads nearly touching, and the sight was not awkward.

They got along well in their own way. Each captain of the Divine Sword Squad's seventeen squads had different friends. Their personalities were as distinctive as their peerless martial arts. Some captains were compatible, while others were practically sworn enemies.

Left out, Blood-Preserving Squad Captain Jin Myeongjo rose too, folding his arms with dignity. He, too, sensed that this was no ordinary matter.

"So..."

Law Enforcement Squad Captain Un Soyu spoke again. She headed the combat unit responsible for enforcing the Desolate Fortress's laws. Both revered and feared within the fortress, she was an expert in countering martial arts. Most often, it was the arts of the fortress's own warriors that she dismantled.

"Where is the captain of the Radiant Demon Squad?" she asked the chief administrator.

* * *

An unnamed garden in the Desolate Fortress's inner citadel.

The Radiant Demon Squad's experts did not even use forceful stomps. Their captain was in the pavilion behind them. They fought in near silence, excluding every form that produced powerful shock waves, afraid they might adversely affect him.

HUM! SWISH!

Dozens of trajectories swept through the air to the resonance of core energy. Forgoing forceful stomps, they fought with less weight behind their blows. Every form, whether a punch or a sword strike, hid its presence in the wind.

A group battle of extraordinary skill unfolded. It was fierce enough to be called a pitched struggle.

Their enemies were different. They let their swords resonate without restraint and slammed feet laden with heavy internal energy into the ground. They had no hesitation in using forceful stomps to launch crushing blows, bringing violent collisions.

CLANG! BOOM!

Their stated cause was clear.

"Captain of the Radiant Demon Squad, cease this reckless act at once!"

"We fear your clumsy medicine may harm the retired clan head!"

The warriors of the Desolate's Ma Clan clashed with the Radiant Demon Squad's blue-robed experts. Hundreds of sword paths and combat paths sprang from dozens of hands. Dust swirled everywhere.

The force of Burst Discharges from swords and fists collided and scattered invisibly, while swirling waves of force stirred hazy gusts.

Ju Yeonjeong and Baek Miryeo stood at the center, exchanging attacks in rapid succession.

Ju Yeonjeong suffused the fine channels of her right arm with power. It was a fist-and-palm technique of the Eight Methods of the Golden Immortal. Among her twelve primary meridians, the Hand Yangming Large Intestine Meridian, which ran straight from shoulder to forefinger, filled with golden light. It even shone faintly through the forearm cutting through the air before her.

It struck Baek Miryeo's palm hard.

BOOM!

Golden and ink-black currents distorted. The Burst Discharge produced a powerful shock wave that jarred both hands, raced down to their feet, and kicked up dust.

They had already exchanged dozens of blows. The anxiety on both sides had reached an extreme. Ju Yeonjeong and Baek Miryeo were alike in that. Had things gone well? Or had something gone wrong?

And so it continued.

The sunset faded completely, and dusk deepened beneath the pavilion's eaves.

They fought and fought. Despite the passing time, their exchanged attacks lost none of their strength. Each had a desperate reason. Their martial arts unfolded in fierce trajectories to achieve their aims.

Until, at some point, two people who had not been there before suddenly appeared on the battlefield.

STEP.

Between Ju Yeonjeong and Baek Miryeo, who had paused to catch their breath, pitch-black robes and soft pink sleeping clothes appeared together like phantoms.

The captain of the Radiant Demon Squad had suddenly alighted there with an unfamiliar young man.

Lightning Genius, captain of the Radiant Demon Squad, stamped his foot, his face expressionless.

BOOOOM!

The earth shook with a tremendous roar. Cracks from his stomp crushed the garden's shrubs and raced outward in branching lines.

An immense wave of qi became an explosion that reverberated in every direction. That single stamp commended the Radiant Demon Squad's efforts to keep quiet until now.

"Enough. Stop."

Jung Yeonshin spoke with his hands clasped behind his back. His voice was as clear as the moonlight resting on his finely drawn jaw.

Ju Yeonjeong's mouth twisted.

"Being a captain gives you no authority to command me. You should be bringing the retired clan head here at once, yet you dare...!"

Her words abruptly stopped. She had caught sight of the man standing beside Lightning Genius.

He looked about thirty.

Pitch-black hair hung roughly about his head in a short cut. His body and face were pitifully gaunt, yet a strange power overflowed from him, as though fortress walls encircled his entire body.

There was a transcendence about him that martial power alone could hardly explain. His indomitable spirit seemed to have taken tangible form. Clear heat haze surged from his whole body. Waves of qi truly poured from him like a raging torrent.

"I am Ma Yeonjeok," the man said.