"You can't use Distorted Void anymore."

That was the first thing Yalu Jin of the Suncheon Ruins said.

It came right after Jeong Yeon-shin gave a brief update on the current state of Ipwang Fortress to Grand Elder Ye Il-shin of Zhongnan, Mun Gok, the Seventh Apostle, and Hyeon Won-chang.

They were seated around the same low table where Jeong Yeon-shin and Ye Il-shin had once shaken hands. Naturally, the contemporary Ming Cult Leader was part of the group now.

"You overused it in your younger years. Especially when silencing those brutes from the Western Plateau."

She sat in midair, legs crossed, directly above Jeong Yeon-shin’s head. The ends of her hair gently brushed his crown, but he intentionally didn’t react. No matter what she said, it was the same.

"Besides, heretical techniques always come with a steep recoil. You’re at the point now where it's hard to tell whether your body will tear apart in space or you'll just drop dead before your time. This is why you don’t try to cheat life."

Ssshhh—

The elegant room held a faint breeze. Around the seated Jeong Yeon-shin, the wind of qi formed a subtle vortex.

He had never felt a circulation technique like this before.

His Qi Accumulation was returning at an absurd speed.

‘More than ever before.’

Perhaps because he had grown used to the dark halos.

Just by moving micro-muscles, he could activate his entire True Body Cultivation. With internal breathing alone, he rapidly restored the three halos of his heart to their original state.

Densifying the halos came first. Only then could he make them spin independently and ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) explosively swell the amount of Qi within his dantian.

Yalu Jin, the Invincible of the Little Sky, let out a faintly amused voice.

"Ah, speaking of Distorted Void reminds me... It won’t be long now before the Number One Heretic Sword returns. The madness in Hangzhou... he seemed even worse than me."

“......”

"Anyway."

She too was cultivating Qi Accumulation, just like Jeong Yeon-shin. She casually operated both the Bright Phoenix Divine Form and the Heavenly Demon’s Secret Art at the same time. After taking a single breath, her voice fell like a smooth icicle.

"There’s no reason to risk anything for anyone but you. Even if I die, it won’t be now."

She was still the very embodiment of the phrase Sole Supremacy. Even now, sitting calmly above Jeong Yeon-shin’s crown, she looked like she could play Go in midair—serene, elegant, with strands of her hair flowing like black silk in the wake of their shared breathing technique.

Jeong Yeon-shin shook his head.

In his current condition, he would only be a burden to Ak Su-rim and the others. He had already experienced that in Hangzhou—what happened when he pushed himself too far with Lightfoot Techniques.

Now the Central Plains had to face a fully recovered Lord of the Divine Sword Corps.

He spoke slowly.

"I never planned to in the first place. I’m not asking anything of you."

He could feel her smirk tilt with Qi. Sarcastic, teasing.

"You? In this situation?"

"Live as you please. Just don’t die for nothing."

"Still so arrogant."

"You’re doing well."

Jeong Yeon-shin said it calmly.

He could feel the halos at his heart slowly returning to their original hues. At the same moment Yalu Jin's breath vanished like unraveling silk, he continued in a level voice.

"Just stay nearby like now. You don’t need to help us—but I won’t allow you to disappear either."

Yalu Jin, the Invincible of the Little Sky. If her seal were lifted, she could commit any act imaginable. Someone like that—if she could be contained—naturally had to be kept close.

“......”

Suddenly, Yalu Jin let out a thin, long exhale, showing she had turned her full attention inward for internal breathing. Jeong Yeon-shin was used to her unpredictable moods and turned his head away without hesitation.

Mun Gok was watching him.

Given his unusually tall sitting posture, he looked as though he were gazing down from above—but his expression was oddly pleased.

Mun Gok asked softly,

"Speaking like this... it shouldn’t interfere with your Qi Accumulation and Discharge, should it? I need to know, as your strategist."

"As long as I don’t make any big movements."

At the same time, Jeong Yeon-shin recalled the final stage of True Body Cultivation. With the completed martial power came a final threshold.

‘Someday...’

A state where every motion naturally triggered Qi Accumulation, where even in battle, his energy would keep rising. That’s the essence of Moving Cultivation. It was a boundary he had set for himself, as the founder of the art.

Then Mun Gok nodded lightly.

"There are two issues."

"Speak."

"First is recovery. I, too, after facing the Myungryu Lord and the sages of Mount Hua back to back, find myself in need of a bit of breathing time. Of course, the Divine Sword Corps and the True Blood Retainer remain reliable forces... but without Geomcheon and me, we’re sorely lacking if we hope to face the world."

He didn’t even mention the Ming Cult Leader.

Clearly, he didn’t expect support from the Suncheon Ruins. He saw them purely as bystanders—a reflection of Mun Gok’s thorough approach to everything.

"I’ll be recovered soon. The other?"

Jeong Yeon-shin’s response came immediately.

Ye Il-shin and Hyeon Won-chang let out slight breaths when they heard that—no doubt recalling what he’d done in Mount Hua—but Mun Gok gave them no chance to interrupt.

"The second is the Black Ones. Ipwang Spear, Lord Mookshin, White Qilin... they’ve come face-to-face with two of the Thirteen Heavens. Geomcheon is strangely calm about it, but can we really say he’s unharmed? With Cheonhamok in play, even a single unit of strength is precious now."

"The Thirteen Heavens have come into conflict with Ipwang Fortress. There’s nothing more to discuss. For now, that’s no problem."

Jeong Yeon-shin spoke without emotion.

The return of those three black-cloaked figures to their original selves meant just that. They weren’t people who needed to be looked after—so there was no need to worry.

"Is that so?"

Mun Gok smiled slightly.

At last, Ye Il-shin joined the conversation.

"I know about Shinyogwangjeokmun. It’s not something that can be brushed aside so easily."

The front of her robe was damp with sweat. Her hair—golden like molten metal—clung to her skin in strands. It was an unusually disheveled look for someone known for her mastery of ice-cold inner force.

Thud—

Waves of invisible Qi surged from her body like a threatening tide, then settled again. She was clearly struggling to stay conscious. It hadn’t helped that she’d allowed Jeong Yeon-shin access as part of the Cheonhamok.

"I never imagined they’d set up a division within Ipwang Fortress. Their base is Dongting Lake. It was once known not as a martial sect, but a music academy—where refined artists gathered. But after all these years of famine, it turned out to be a sanctuary for powerful hermits. Their Lord, Wollyo, is a monster who massacres entire areas using sound-based martial arts."

Jeong Yeon-shin stared at her for a moment before asking,

"Are you all right?"

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

"Don’t worry about me. Zhongnan has always been geographically tied to intelligence. Of course, that meant frequent contact with the branches of Cheonhamok. Ever since the Gates of Mount Zhongnan were slashed open..."

Her lips curved into a faint, bitter smile.

"Yes... aside from this time, that was the last. The blood massacre at Jeong’s Household. I didn’t expect the Sword Path Sect Leader to come in the second wave. The Sect Leader should have gone too... I’m sorry. I’ve always been sorry."

Guyang Shin of the Western Sky Sword School. Former Grandmaster of Zhongnan, slain by the Sword Path Sect Leader. Privately, Ye Il-shin’s son.

What could he possibly say to her?

Jeong Yeon-shin stared down at the teacup, its faint fragrance now gone like mist. And like Yalu Jin, he closed his mouth and said nothing.

“......”

He silently immersed himself in Qi Accumulation.

Nearby, the Seventh Apostle sat nodding off with a tilted head, and Hyeon Won-chang was raising a clenched fist vertically toward Yalu Jin, the Invincible of the Little Sky.

***

A wrinkled fist traced a large circle through the air. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

The clear mountain air didn’t even stir—it moved that slowly. The movement was extremely cautious, as if a single rash motion would cause the arm to fall off.

"This journey north has gained much... but lost just as much."

The elderly man radiated the aura of nobility.

He was the Clan Leader of Gaebong.

One of his arms had been reattached. With a mastery of martial medicine, he now muttered like a carefree old scholar.

"It’ll be difficult to use martial arts with this hand. Before long, even Trinity Essence Gathering will shatter."

In front of the main pavilion of Zhongnan’s Grand Elder.

All the bright flowers had vanished. No verdant gardens remained—only members of the Divine Sword Corps silently watching him.

The Gaebong Clan Leader gave them a gentle smile.

"If Shin-ui could treat me, that’d be ideal... but I hear even a mountain of gold can’t buy a connection with that man. Hm? Come to think of it, didn’t the Divine Sword Corps Leader have contact with Shin-ui once?"

“......”

"I’ve always wondered about that rumor. What could someone like Shin-ui—who doesn’t lift a finger for anyone but civilians—have received in return for taking the pulse of the top martial figure in the land?"

The answer came from Shin So-bin, who was leaning against one of the pavilion’s pillars.

"The world."

Her voice held no weight, neither high nor low.

The Gaebong Clan Leader chuckled.

"Ah, the peace of this vast Central Plains, is it? So he was a merchant, not a physician."

Then, like flipping a coin, his expression shifted to one of delight. Likely because the girl—known to be the top disciple of Seomye Mu-maek—had spoken up.

The old man immediately turned to her, full of questions.

"Have you ever heard of the term Sokgi-mok?"

"No."

"You answer readily. I thought you’d ignore me."

"Old men who like to ramble usually behave while they’re being humored."

"Sharp as a blade."

The Gaebong Clan Leader burst into hearty laughter.

"Sokgi-mok is a calculation merchants use to gauge a martial artist’s prowess. Only a select few merchant houses—those well-versed in Anbal Techniques—employ it. The thing is, the flow of commerce is deeply tied to the state of the martial world."

"And?"

"Sok is for speed—Lightfoot Technique mobility. Gi is for Qi—how much energy they can accumulate. Mok is for sight—the ability to read opponents. So Sokgi-mok means, in essence, ‘How long will this martial artist survive and influence the current order?’ It’s a metric."

Only then did Shin So-bin raise her delicate chin slightly toward the Gaebong Clan Leader, intrigued. He smiled in satisfaction.

"It’s mostly used when fights break out in the marketplace or when the martial artist we've bet on gets into combat during a northbound journey. For those with high Sokgi-mok scores, we send them elixirs, Golden Spear Pills, that sort of thing. A form of investment, you see. Their lives are on the line."

Rrrrummmble—

Suddenly, thunder rumbled in the distance. Something was approaching.

But the Gaebong Clan Leader continued at an unhurried pace.

"The stronger one is, the more their Sokgi-mok reflects their true prowess. In the martial world, survival is the ultimate strength. Of course, the standards and limits of Sokgi-mok vary from house to house..."

"I didn’t need a conversation partner after all."

"From one to ten. One youth rated a blue-clad soldier from Ipwang Fortress who protected his caravan as a perfect ten. Another bragged about spotting an elder of a reclusive sect and also gave him a ten."

As he spoke so casually, a proud smile crept onto the Gaebong Clan Leader’s face.

"To me, a ten was the Late Emperor Gunreung. The information I’ll soon deliver to the Divine Sword Corps Leader will be measured by that same scale. And..."

His meridians and energy vessels still hadn’t fully reconnected. With a trembling hand, he pointed to the sky.

"That Daoist over there is a nine. I saw it with my own eyes. He’s no less than a monster."

Step.

Worn straw shoes touched down on the ground.

A Daoist with long, faded sleeves trailed like mist. He looked like a member of the Ming bloodline—yet no one sensed his presence despite seeing him. His body seemed to blur between reality and unreality.

"Hu Cheon Gwangseong-ja... he looks just like the portrait of the Joint Sect Leader."

The one who spoke was Oh Wol-hyang, the one-armed swordswoman. By then, every Divine Sword Corps member had already risen and drawn their weapons.

Hu Cheon Gwangseong-ja spoke without moving his throat or lips.

"No disciples of Zhongnan are present, so there’s no need for apology. I must speak with the Divine Sword Corps Leader about his next steps. Notify him."

Woooong—

A pale-white energy began to weave through the Divine Sword Corps like mist. In the blink of an eye, the area thickened with fog. It was impossible to tell who had initiated the Light Illumination Formation Wave.

At the same time, Shin So-bin asked the Gaebong Clan Leader,

"What about me?"

"Hm?"

"Sokgi-mok. What would my score be?"

"I’m no sage. If I were to gauge only by your Qi flow, I’d need to see you in action. Still, if I had to guess... you’d struggle to go past three. But that alone is an impressive feat."

At that moment, the door of the pavilion behind Shin So-bin quietly slid open.

It was Seomye, the Divine Sword Corps Leader.

An impassive face. He stood alone, no support team or escort.

The Gaebong Clan Leader brightened.

"Now he I can gauge. This just got interesting. Let’s see... currently, he’s about a five... an astounding rate of internal recovery, I’d say... Hm?"

Screeeeeee—

The sound rang in the old merchant’s ears. A frictional screech like a cartwheel turning. At that very moment, the number floating in his mind from his mental martial calculations began to shift rapidly.

From five, to five and a half... then six... seven... then the glyph in his mind broke through eight like a thunderclap and twisted itself—until it reached nine. Then, in the span of a single breath, it transformed again.

Straight to ten.

“......!”

"Would I have any other destination?"

The Divine Sword Corps Leader spoke, his Qi Accumulation complete.