Generational seniority in Murim was like the Yangtze River: upstream and downstream never changed places. No matter how powerful one became, one could not stand above one's master or the master's elder and younger martial brothers.

The Desolate Fortress was different. It was called the sword of the Great Ming Empire.

Promotion was a foreign concept here. The very word revealed what made the fortress unusual. It valued a keen-edged sword above all else. That was why it prohibited master-disciple ties and had introduced a system of promotion.

"Like the desolate fortress trial, this examination consists of two tests."

The speaker was a gaunt middle-aged man with deeply sunken eyes. His black outer robe hung loose around him. It only emphasized his scrawny frame, but no one laughed.

He was the captain of the Annihilation Squad. His martial prowess was said to rival that of the Radiant Demon Squad's captain.

After declaring the examination open, the Desolate Fortress Master had closed her eyes again. The Annihilation Squad captain had taken charge of the proceedings.

"Discernment and martial strength. Your records of merit will suffice for all other criteria. I will now present the questions."

Perhaps it was due to the Desolate Fortress's unusual origins. This resembled the civil service examinations used to recruit officials.

Those seated in long rows received blank sheets of paper. Jung Yeonshin, sitting somewhere in the middle, let his sheet hang from his hand. The brush and ink beside him felt unfamiliar. Was it because he had not touched them in so long, ever since the destruction of the Jeong Clan Estate?

Chung Myung's words suddenly came to mind.

'He said there wasn't much to it.'

That was not true. All manner of stone slabs, rocks, and pieces of bark were held up. The white-robed warriors had to examine the damage and identify which sect's supreme art had left it.

The more renowned a martial art, the more distinctive its traits tended to be. This was a test of their eye techniques and the breadth of their experience. With seniors whose eye techniques far surpassed theirs watching, they had no opportunity to let their eyes stray.

With his limited experience of the martial world, Jung Yeonshin answered three questions correctly: Zhongnan's Thirty-Six Swords of the Celestial River and Supreme Unity Formless Sword, and Mount Hua's Plum Blossom Sword.

His stay at the Zhongnan Sect, where he had interacted with its masters, had helped considerably.

'I've seen the Blood Flame Cult's arts, too.'

Sometimes he recognized the sect but did not know the name of its supreme art.

After the first test, he briefly returned to the Radiant Demon Squad.

Chung Myung loosed a barb with a smile. Three correct answers out of twenty was a failing score, he said—unless Yeonshin managed something close to full marks in the second test.

"It can't be helped."

"Normally, it takes a good dozen years or more of broadening one's knowledge to reach the blue robe."

"There's never been anyone quite like Lightning Genius."

His seniors in the Radiant Demon Squad patted his shoulders in consolation. Teams One and Two, however, were different.

There was not a trace of concern on their faces as they chatted about everyday matters. Even when the others questioned them, they merely smiled.

"Go on ahead. I'll catch up soon."

Heon Wonchang's expression was resolute as he spoke.

His mind could be difficult to fathom, and Jung Yeonshin often simply accepted him as he was. He had seen Wonchang wield killing swordsmanship time and again. He still could not quite tell which side of the man was the real one.

Jung Yeonshin smiled faintly.

"I suspect we'll be on the very next mission together, too."

"Hmm? How would you know that, Young Master?"

"Just a feeling."

He brushed the question aside. As his upper dantian grew, certain premonitions sometimes stirred in his mind. They usually proved right, whether they concerned utterly trivial matters or inspiration for mastering martial arts.

It was not a particularly pleasant feeling. It felt as though heaven were tossing him alms before his early death.

"Your opponent's been decided. He's a fellow from the Annihilation Squad named Hong Joogeom. This is really not good."

A junior had brought the news. She was a girl with strikingly bright, alert eyes, reportedly the same age as Jung Yeonshin.

Yes—while he had been away on a few missions, he had acquired a junior. Rumors abounded that she was another peerless prodigy, following in Lightning Genius's footsteps. She had not even relied on her family's influence, having entered through the latest desolate fortress trial.

'Shin Sobin, was it?'

She was said to be the younger sister of the heir to the fortress's Shin Clan. Jung Yeonshin had seen that young man himself. At the recent coming-of-age ceremony, he had withstood the Desolate Fortress Master's pressure alongside Yeonshin and Ma Se-In.

He thought their fine features and high noses looked alike.

"Hong Joogeom? I've never heard of him."

"I imagine you haven't, Senior. But he's fairly well known to people like me who've practically lived in the main fortress."

Shin Sobin chattered away boldly. She gave the impression of having grown up in a prestigious family, showered with love by everyone around her. She seemed the very embodiment of a cherished daughter.

"He's been a white-robed warrior for twenty years. He's positively seething by now. They say he's skilled at all sorts of tricks, and he's even turned Lazy Donkey Rolling into a finishing move. Even you should be careful, Senior."

"All right. Thank you."

Jung Yeonshin answered calmly.

Using Lazy Donkey Rolling as a finishing move? That told him something about this master called Hong Joogeom. It meant rolling across the ground despite the humiliation—in other words, putting no stock in saving face.

The rumors might well be exaggerated. Still, that was enough.

'They did say the Desolate Fortress has every sort of warrior.'

He would encounter all manner of things on future missions. Wouldn't this promotion examination also prove a valuable experience?

He gave Shin Sobin a slight nod of thanks. An odd expression crossed her face.

"Senior, are you actually taking this seriously? You'll have to fend off hidden weapons, too, you know. I'm saying he's an especially bad opponent for someone without much experience out in the martial world."

"I'm always on my guard."

"Well, all right. You have a reputation yourself. I'm sure you know what you're doing."

The other seniors seemed to be watching their two young juniors' exchange with a curious fondness.

Unconcerned, Jung Yeonshin walked away. The Annihilation Squad captain was already calling for Lightning Genius.

"Young Master Jung! I'll be thinking about our celebratory drinks!"

Heon Wonchang's shout came from behind him, accompanied by Baek Miryeo's rebuke not to put pressure on him.

* * *

"Lightning Genius against Hong Joogeom. I can see what they intend with this pairing."

"A newcomer's quick wits against a veteran's seasoned fighting skills."

"Who has the better chance?"

"By their achievements, Lightning Genius, without question. But Hong Joogeom has years of accumulated experience. I thought he might earn his blue robe this year."

The onlookers surrounding him, the examiner watching with stern eyes.

Jung Yeonshin felt a sense of déjà vu. It had been like this during the desolate fortress trial, too. That had not been so long ago. Less than half a year had passed, and here he stood again.

Back then, even the fame of his opponent, White Qilin Namgoong Hwashin, had meant little to him.

'So much was unfamiliar.'

He had knocked blindly on their door that day, thinking only that he had to survive. That had not changed.

Though there were even more eyes on him now, neither their gazes nor their pressure disturbed him in the slightest. His field of vision held only a single unfamiliar middle-aged warrior.

The colors of the Desolate Fortress's martial robes followed fairly definite standards, unlike the vague divisions of attainment in Murim. A white-robed warrior he had never met would give him a chance to gauge where he now stood.

"Lightning Genius."

Hong Joogeom was not what he had expected. Shin Sobin's story had conjured the image of a sleazy Underworld fighter.

That was not it. Was this the bearing of a ten-man squad leader who had weathered countless hardships in the northern army? He felt like a warrior from the Underworld who had learned proper martial arts.

The man, whose body bore scars in many places, continued gravely.

"I've heard of your reputation. They say the few rumors circulating about you in the martial world fall short of the truth, but our Desolate Fortress is different. We have an accurate understanding of your skills and achievements. I'm sure we all do. The arrival of such an outstanding junior is a pleasure."

"I've heard much of your name as well, Senior Hong Joogeom."

"Thank you."

He smiled wryly. Then his expression changed.

"For that very reason, I intend to unleash the true essence of everything I've learned. There may be much you've never encountered before. You may find yourself not merely bewildered, but enraged. Will you bear with me?"

"I think we can let our swords do the rest of the talking."

Jung Yeonshin answered. He was not accustomed to such embarrassing exchanges.

His hand, already resting on his sword hilt, was calling for the match to begin. At the same time, a wave of qi erupted from Hong Joogeom's body.

"Good!"

The Annihilation Squad captain stepped back from between them.

Hong Joogeom seized the first attack. He drew two daggers from inside his robe and sent them flying like lightning.

Yeonshin had not expected him to open with throwing knives. He immediately stepped forward and drew his sword.

CLANG!

He deflected both blades, yet only one ring sounded. Even as he drew, he had traced the sword path of the radiant demon arts to perfection.

A master's touch. The sensation traveling up through his grip was light. He immediately stamped his foot.

The training platform resounded with a thud. Dust rose beneath his feet and scattered around the tip of his upward-sweeping blade.

Sunlight seemed to gather from the ground. As the power of the Movement Art and the Classic of Initiating Transcendence stirred, the Radiant Sword Art's hazy radiance unfurled in an instant.

WHAM!

The single step Jung Yeonshin took with his sword strike transcended the bounds of martial learning. Overwhelming genius.

In an instant, he had claimed the distance at which his opponent could not put sufficient power into a sword draw.

He had committed everything from his very first move. He had not let this become a contest of raw martial strength. Having pushed the capabilities of his upper dantian—that union of blessing and curse—to their limit, he had already finished calculating the exchange.

Seeing the speed of Hong Joogeom's technique and the positions of his hands and feet as he threw the daggers had been enough.

CLANG!

One stroke ended it. Sword force beyond the white-robed rank sent Hong Joogeom's blade flying.

"What..."

A hastily drawn sword could not withstand the Radiant Sword Art.

Hong Joogeom's eyes widened at the sword held to his throat. The Annihilation Squad captain, watching nearby, reacted the same way.

"... That wasn't martial technique. An innate gift for combat?"

A colorless gleam flashed in the Annihilation Squad captain's eyes. He looked like a supreme master utterly obsessed with martial arts.

"No warrior of equal standing could ever contend with Lightning Genius. Is this a great blessing for the Desolate Fortress? For the first time, I envy Ma Jin. Well..."

His eyes met Jung Yeonshin's.

"You've won, Lightning Genius."

"Thank you."

"There will be no further matches for you. You receive full marks in this promotion test. Hong Joogeom, prepare for your second match."

"Yes, Captain."

Hong Joogeom nodded, then turned his gaze toward Jung Yeonshin. He seemed embarrassed by his talk of revealing the true essence of his martial learning, but Yeonshin paid it no mind and offered his respects.

At last, Hong Joogeom smiled.

"Devote yourself to the people's welfare. Yours is a talent that can reach the very pinnacle of the world."

Jung Yeonshin silently raised his clasped hands in a martial salute.

The walk back to the Radiant Demon Squad was fairly quiet. Only ripples of murmuring reached his ears.

Few of those present lacked discernment. Seniors from other martial units, people he had never met, seemed newly astonished. The white-robed seniors who had directed their pressure at him had fallen silent as well.

Jung Yeonshin merely recalled the time Namgoong Hwashin had broken his sword with a single stroke. It felt like a different age.

"How did you do that? What footwork was that?"

Shin Sobin rushed up as though she meant to seize him by the collar. She was even hopping from foot to foot.

"No, and what was that swordsmanship that scattered light? I've never seen any of those martial arts before. What family did you say you were from, Senior? Oh! Congratulations on winning!"

"..."

Jung Yeonshin gently pushed his excitable junior back by the shoulders. Her uninhibited approach was a little much when they still barely knew each other.

He looked away. Several of his seniors, including Chung Myung and Baek Miryeo, were smiling. So was Heon Wonchang.

"You've made up for it."

Chung Myung spoke, and Jung Yeonshin slowly nodded.

The promotion ceremony that followed was quite grand. Dancers, musicians, and other performers danced and played in the training grounds.

That was what blue martial robes signified. They marked their wearers as part of the Desolate Fortress's main fighting strength. Chung Myung told him such a celebration was only natural.

"May the sunlight never fade upon your path."

The Desolate Fortress Master recited a blessing unique to the noble race, then personally draped the outer robe over him.

Her hands moved delicately. This was not Chung Myung's clothing, which had been a little too large for him. Even the blue martial attire he already wore was his alone.

A blue-robed warrior of the Desolate Fortress.

It was a designation that allowed its bearer to command deference anywhere under heaven. He had reached a rank honored as a master throughout the martial world. Sensible common folk, too, were said to treat them with respect.

"Congratulations."

"The youngest ever, and in the shortest time!"

His Radiant Demon Squad seniors welcomed him.

Of the Divine Sword Squad's seventeen squads, the Radiant Demon Squad was said to be perpetually shorthanded. Its blue robes were an immensely powerful force, each warrior reputed to rival the very finest of the Nine Great Sects.

'I've heard plenty about it.'

They were so often scattered throughout the land on missions that it had become routine.

Now he, too, was one of their pillars. He had won full recognition.

"This way."

Do Yoowon, the scholar from the Command Bureau, guided him along. Everything was still a blur. He had suddenly been made to demonstrate all the etiquette he had learned since entering the Desolate Fortress.

No sooner had Jung Yeonshin finished dressing than he was heading somewhere else.

He was accompanied by the others who had been promoted, but their destination was unfamiliar. It was a secluded place deep within the Desolate Fortress, one he had never even known existed.

The hall was exceedingly lavish.

The blue-robed warriors, who had been briefed on this final part of the day's schedule, looked unhappy. Their faces had visibly stiffened. Jung Yeonshin alone remained composed.

"His Highness is prone to great changes of mood. Please take the utmost care in your conduct," Do Yoowon said.

They had come to meet the emperor's grandson and heir, who was staying at the Desolate Fortress to train in martial arts.

Yeonshin had overheard a rumor: the imperial grandson was displeased because the Desolate Fortress Master, a Grand Preceptor and royal ruler of the Great Ming Empire, had turned her attention toward Lightning Genius.

'What am I supposed to do about that?'

Before he knew it, Jung Yeonshin had begun thinking very much like a man of Murim. The unbidden thought surprised even him.