One snowflake, then two, drifted down.

The wind was savage, and the temperature was bitter. The sun was up, but scattered clouds veiled it, smearing its light. It was cutting weather.

“There aren’t even ten days left in this year.”

“So that’s how it is.”

“Haha! My closed-door training must’ve really been long. It was cold when I went in, and it’s winter when I come out too.”

Judging by the young man’s booming laugh, he didn’t look like a fighter of the Namgung Clan at all.

But he was the one who carried the Namgung name. A direct line of blood, and even the eldest son of the clan lord, Namgung In.

Namgung Pyo.

A once-in-an-era genius who had inherited [N O V E L I G H T] the Namgung Clan’s representative martial art, the Azure Firmament Boundless Divine Canon, before he had even fully come of age.

The world was wide and talent was plentiful, but it would be hard to find anyone as gifted as Namgung Pyo. In the realm of martial arts, he was ten years ahead of his father, Namgung In.

Even looking back through the Namgung Clan’s past prodigies, there were fewer than three who had advanced as quickly as Namgung Pyo.

Namgung In had been certain. With martial talent alone, Namgung Pyo was a genius who could raise the clan to be the greatest under heaven.

“Your qi has been refined tremendously.”

“Huh?”

“It’s far more refined than the day before yesterday, and more than yesterday too. You change by the day.”

Namgung Pyo gave an embarrassed smile.

“I haven’t grown. I’ve only started controlling the power that was running wild in all directions. My growth stopped three months before I left closed-door training.”

“Heh. Growth, you say.”

“No matter how hard I pushed, I couldn’t see past that point. So I came out.”

If someone heard that, they might sneer and call him spineless.

But Namgung In didn’t.

He knew how obsessed his eldest son was with martial arts. If his son said he couldn’t, then he truly couldn’t.

And he could understand that.

“Blindingly brilliant.”

Even on horseback, Namgung Pyo’s upper body didn’t sway at all. His waist was straight, his lower body supple.

It was like a sword standing upright. A flexible yet unshakable sword intent, as if he could unleash a mighty single strike in any situation. It was exquisite.

Namgung In smiled.

“Seems your grandfather taught you properly.”

“I thought I was going to die.”

Namgung Pyo groaned theatrically.

The groan was a groan, but it wasn’t made up. He must have undergone training harsher than imagination.

“Your grandfather’s martial arts speak to the whole world. I lacked the talent to awaken even half of what he knew, but you will surely digest all of it.”

Namgung Pyo grinned wryly.

“Well. I plan to, absolutely, but for now it feels a bit daunting.”

“I never thought I’d hear that from you. Weren’t you always brimming with confidence?”

“I only realized that the world of martial arts is far too brutal to live on confidence alone.”

“Heh.”

Namgung In was genuinely satisfied.

“If you know that, it’s enough. What you lacked before entering closed-door training was the inability to throw away arrogance.”

“Was that so?”

“I didn’t tell you because I thought you’d ignore it.”

“I am pretty stubborn.”

“The only thing that can break your stubbornness is martial arts. You learned how wide the world is because of it, so that alone makes your closed-door training worthwhile.”

He said that, but Namgung In didn’t actually think his son’s arrogance had been a problem.

There were people in this world who had the right to be arrogant. In Namgung In’s eyes, his son had that right in full.

Still, excessive arrogance inevitably created mistakes, and mistakes naturally dragged failure behind them.

His son, returning with tremendous growth in both martial arts and temperament, now carried himself without any lack as a Young Clan Lord.

“By the way...”

Namgung In asked seriously.

“How much of your grandfather’s sword have you inherited?”

Namgung Pyo answered in a bitter voice.

“Up to the first three forms of the front half.”

“The front three forms of the Sword Forms?”

“Yes. He said anything beyond that wouldn’t be necessary. In truth, I still can’t even imitate it properly, let alone reach the deeper meaning.”

Namgung Pyo was sincerely frustrated, but Namgung In thought differently.

“He awakened far deeper than I expected.”

He had assumed his son would have inherited only one form, at most two. Yet he had learned all three of the front half.

Their father did not pass martial arts to anyone unqualified, even to blood. Namgung In himself had been training those same three front forms for ten years, and only now was he grasping their profound meaning.

“Father has acknowledged Pyo.”

He felt pleased.

Namgung In knew his own limits. He was a vessel fit to lead the Namgung Clan, but not a vessel that could contend for the greatest under heaven.

Even so, hadn’t he cultivated his children flawlessly?

“Within ten years, he’ll reach my realm.”

As he looked at Namgung Pyo with pride, Namgung In suddenly thought of his father.

“Father.”

A confusion too hard to name fell over his face.

“It seems you still have no intention of returning to the world.”

The previous clan lord of the Namgung Clan, First Among Swords, and Namgung In’s father. The world had called him the Sword Emperor.

The Sword Emperor, Namgung Seung.

One of the Thirteen of Celestial Ascension, an invincible master who had made his name as the absolute powerhouse of the Central Plains sword lineage.

At least with the sword, aside from the Sword Immortal, Namgung Seung was undoubtedly the greatest under heaven. He might even have surpassed that Sword Immortal by now.

“Between those called Immortal Sovereigns, there is no real gap in martial power. The Sword Immortal pursues enlightenment, but if blades truly met, Father would be hard to surpass.”

The Thirteen of Celestial Ascension were divided into ten Immortal Sovereigns—also known as One God, Two Immortals, Three Emperors, Four Kings—and the three Three Lords directly beneath them.

Each of the ten Immortal Sovereigns was a monster who had reached the ultimate peak of martial arts. The Three Lords were masters who appeared half a generation later. Their actual martial level was clearly below the Immortal Sovereigns, but their talent was judged to be equal to or even beyond them.

In other words, the Immortal Sovereigns were the ten strongest masters under heaven, and the Three Lords were the ones directly beneath them—those already seen as the next generation of ten great masters.

Namgung Seung was one of those Immortal Sovereigns.

“He ought to come out soon.”

Namgung In wanted his father to return to the world.

That was not a child’s wish. It was a clan lord’s wish. If Namgung Seung came out and built dazzling achievements again, the Namgung Clan’s name could step even closer to being the greatest under heaven.

“What a shame.”

For Namgung In, Namgung Seung was a relationship of love and hate in many ways. Still, at least he had trained his grandson properly, and that was something to be grateful for.

“Train hard. This father only grasped the deeper meaning of the third form now, because my talent was lacking. But you can awaken it faster.”

“I will.”

“The Imperial Sword Forms... if you inherit that absolute sword path properly, you can make all under heaven kneel under your blade.”

Namgung Pyo replied with a smile, then suddenly glanced back.

Right behind Namgung In and Namgung Pyo, Namgung Hyun was riding his horse. His expressionless face made it impossible to read his thoughts.

Namgung Pyo smiled.

“And how about you?”

“Yes?”

“I heard you caused trouble while I was in closed-door training.”

Namgung Hyun’s face tightened slightly.

Namgung In said, “That’s already past.”

“It’s past, but not something we should forget. We need to confirm whether he knows his fault, and if he has the will to fix it.”

Namgung Pyo’s eyes turned cold.

“I’m sure you’ll handle it on your own, but I’ll say a word from worry. Don’t let a petty attachment make you forget the skills you learned.”

“...I know.”

Namgung Pyo watched Namgung Hyun quietly, then smiled and turned forward again.

“Well, it can happen at your age. When else, if not while you’re young, will you ever experience your heart shaking under a flood of hot blood? Haha!”

Namgung Hyun’s mouth twitched faintly.

Namgung In said, “Don’t act like an old man. You’re young too.”

“Of course I’m young. I’m only thirty. But still, isn’t this the age where that hot blood starts to settle down?”

Namgung Pyo tilted his head.

“But I heard the Je Gal Clan is still dragging out their answer?”

“They asked for time.”

Namgung Pyo shook his head.

“That’s a clear refusal.”

“I think so too.”

“Just the fact that we sent the matchmaker first was a huge burden on our side. They know that too. If we use this well, it could become the pretext to pressure the Je Gal Clan.”

Namgung In shook his head.

“Even if their power has dwindled, Je Gal is still Je Gal. People don’t call them Divine Strategist Je Gal for nothing.”

“Tch.”

“We’ll see them this time anyway, so it’s better to tie it off properly.”

Namgung Pyo laughed.

“I hope they realize they’ve kicked away a great blessing.”

Watching his father and brother talk and laugh, Namgung Hyun sank into a wordless sense of defeat.

“Damn it.”

The moment his brother ended closed-door training and returned, all of their father’s attention swung back to him.

It had been that way even before. It wasn’t new, but being stripped of what he’d briefly held still felt bitter.

No matter what, how could they talk about something as sensitive as Sanghwa right in front of him?

“One day I’ll surpass him. I will, no matter what!”

The hand gripping his reins trembled. Part of him wanted to draw and slash out with a single sword right now.

“Speaking of it, it looks like Sanghwa has completely closed the door of her heart.”

“If that’s the girl’s limit, there’s nothing to be done.”

“Father, you’re really cold.”

“Heh.”

Namgung Pyo’s eyes shone.

“Yeon Clan’s eldest son... interesting.”

He had heard all the major events that had happened over the past two years while he was in closed-door training.

The most surprising among them was, of course, the one called the Green Mountain Tiger General—Yeon Hojeong.

It was shocking enough that he had faced the Ming Clan, but even more shocking was his ability to lightly crush the friction with his own younger brothers. That wasn’t something martial strength alone could explain.

And Yeon Hojeong was said to be strong in martial arts as well. Because of his epithet he hadn’t entered the Twin Dragons and Three Peaks, but he was evaluated as already close to their level.

“Was he hiding his strength while being mocked as a tiger father’s dog son?”

“It’s possible. What matters is that he’s a genius no less than his brothers.”

“This is getting fun. Meeting exceptional talent is something to look forward to anytime.”

Namgung In’s eyes widened.

“You want to meet him?”

“He’ll come to the Alliance of the Martial World anyway, won’t he? There’s no way the Yeon Clan Lord comes alone.”

Namgung In clicked his tongue.

“Don’t cause trouble.”

“I’m not an idiot who stains the clan’s name over a moment of hot blood.”

The two of them laughed loudly. Watching them, Namgung Hyun’s face flushed red.

How long had they traveled like that?

“Once we cross just that spot, we’ll be at Mount Dabae. The Alliance of the Martial World is right ahead.”

“I see.”

Even the air felt different now. From all directions, you could feel countless martial artists heading toward Mount Dabae.

“Since we’re already here, shall we go without resting?”

“Let’s.”

That was when—

“...?!”

Namgung In and Namgung Pyo’s faces hardened.

“A master?”

From a small road far to the left, a group was riding in.

And at the head of that group, two flags fluttered in the wind in the hands of the leading fighters.

“...The Yeon Clan.”