"Hmm?"

So Cheonmujuk suddenly lifted her head.

Her silver mask scattered the clear sunlight in all directions, and behind it, the black light in her eyes spread faintly to the whites, like ink excessively smeared.

Underneath the signboard of Shaolin, where So Cheonmujuk sat impiously, one knee raised like the Great Sage Son Wukong, Mun Gok, who had been looking up at her, furrowed his brows.

"Is this upper dantian insight? Since the Northern Emperor intends to somehow recruit you through negotiation, I ask that you conserve your upper dantian strength."

Right at the center of Shaolin's mountain gate, crowded by countless martial artists, he spoke these loaded words. Yet the one they were meant to startle only tilted her head with a sly smile.

"Didn't you see it?"

"See what...?"

"The sky was spinning."

A cryptic remark.

"The sky...?"

Mun Gok did not dismiss it as mere nonsense.

The Church Master's words were always like this — she often unraveled things that others found impossible in her own absurdly simple way.

Those lucky enough to survive being her conversation partners — be they commoners or martial wanderers — were often seen as blessed and divinely enlightened by others.

Even here, at Shaolin's gate, where an overwhelming crowd had gathered, not a single Shaolin monk had yet stepped forward to chastise her.

Thus, when So Cheonmujuk opened her mouth, several cautious noble martial families quickly spoke up.

"Rumor has it the Master of the Divine Sword Corps cut down the Gate of Songshan. Is it true? Is that why the heavens are furious...?"

"The heavens are furious? Nonsense!"

"But that's what the Church Master just said."

"If the rumors are true, we should be venerating the Master of the Divine Sword Corps. I have already packed my family's treasures to offer at the distant homeland of the Lotus Manifestation. I would even beg them to cut down another gate. If you mean to sprinkle salt instead, then you'd best first endure our family's sword techniques."

Srrng.

Amidst their confrontation, one middle-aged man even drew his sword.

Even though martial aristocrats traditionally despised and feared Ipwang Fortress the most.

There were even scholarly types among them — men who, at first glance, seemed completely detached from the martial world.

Though they spread countless stories with their high prestige and deep knowledge, they rarely revealed their faces in Jianghu — the gossipmongers.

"Could it be that the rumors are true, and some law of nature has been broken? It has been hundreds of years since gates appeared throughout the world."

"We've stayed up all night. Now we must know why the Church Master stands in our way. Of all people, why would the Church Master...?"

"Look at that Yozoku and the limbless blind man too. What exactly is happening in the world right now...!"

Amidst the gathering of those who had all but lost their wits, Im Jin-myeong suddenly lowered his gaze. The ground beneath his feet was faintly trembling.

Kururung—

The ground force, piercing through the Yongcheon point of his sole, engraved small words,

bouncing their meaning directly up into his mind.

—Reporting to the Grand General regarding the retreat of the Great Pure and True Alliance.

Myeongryudae’s Kun King Transmission Art.

It had come from far, far beyond the base of Songshan.

—Regardless of the light-footed movement of the martial army, Luoyang and Songshan are nearby, yet it has been confirmed that they halted their retreat midway. The number of high-ranking personnel has suddenly increased. It appears that the so-called Greatest Sword of the World, Lord of Severed Sword Sect, has joined them.

‘Lord of Severed Sword Sect, Dan Seong-eum...?’

Im Jin-myeong paused for a moment. The long-distance transmissions from Myeongryudae continued to strike with slight intervals.

—Internal strife. Liu Yuan Star Lord Mugok challenged Lord of Severed Sword Sect to a duel. As soon as they clashed, Mugok was blown over a peak in one move. It seems the first of the Three Desolation Breaking Styles was unleashed. Though I could not confirm the sword strike itself, the plain that received the sword wind has turned into a ravine.

—Mugok's laughter echoes, but his breathing is ragged. It appears Lord of Severed Sword Sect suffered no harm. However, judging by the vacant look as he sheathed his sword,

he has clearly lost his mind.

—Mugok has rejoined the army. They are returning the way they came, straight toward Songshan.

All of this must have happened in the blink of an eye. A refined martial army like that was a disaster that struck and vanished without warning. Normally, they would have been ambushed without any chance to react.

But not this time.

Though Ipwang Fortress’s intelligence no longer covered all of the Central Plains, within hundreds of li nearby, everything was still under Im Jin-myeong’s grasp. That was why Myeongryudae had existed.

Whoosh—

At that moment, a transparent barrier of qi rose at the tip of the Grand General’s toes, enveloping only the people of the fortress.

Nearby martial artists widened their eyes at the surreal internal energy display, but Im Jin-myeong calmly spoke.

"Those who have mastered upper dantian studies could eavesdrop even on transmissions, but now there is no worry. More importantly... Won-chang."

"Yes, Grand General Im."

"Stand guard at close range around Master Jeong. Maintain seven-tenths of the seal."

"I receive your order."

At the same time, a dark shadow rippled like a wave and crossed over Shaolin's gate.

So Cheonmujuk glanced briefly at it but soon turned her gaze back to the far sky.

The blind man with the bluish sword he used like a staff followed her gaze.

"Hmm..."

While carefully observing the sideways tilt of the First Sword of the Evil Path’s head, Im Jin-myeong received further transmissions from around the region.

—Intelligence reports the head of Cheongseong Sect has appeared at the Buddhist Inn in Deungbong-hyeon. The atmosphere of the city is extremely grim. They say those who approached him had their arms severed by a single strike...

Deungbong-hyeon, a village under Shaolin’s protection. Close to Songshan.

Meanwhile, the calligraphy of the messages piercing his Yongcheon point varied.

Some even carried emotions too complex to describe.

—Urgent news. The Castle Lord has manifested at the inn. The reason is unknown.

"......!"

—He appeared accompanied by the Dragon Sword Duke, known as the leader of the Five Heavenly ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) Swords. We lost sight of them immediately. The Dragon Sword Duke is currently before me, and the weapon he carries is identical to the Divine Sword. Because of the Castle Lord, the legitimacy of the Divine Sword Corps’ seat may be undermined...

The report was suddenly cut off.

Im Jin-myeong took a few deep breaths.

Soon after, another Myeongryudae transmission shook the earth.

—The God of War is moving from the western edge of Nanjili to Henan. Because he pierces mountains as he moves, his path is trackable. Calculating the shortest straight line, Songshan lies directly along it.

"What?"

—The speed of information transmission by Haomun is beyond imagination. It is believed the God of War has heard rumors of Master Jeong cutting down the Gate.

In the next moment, Mun Gok, noticing Im Jin-myeong’s stiffened face, turned to him at just the right time.

Their eyes met instantly.

—Commander Im, if you have anything to say to me...?

Im Jin-myeong remained silent.

Then he turned his gaze beyond Shaolin’s shattered walls, toward the Master of the Divine Sword Corps, who never arrived late for a great matter.

***

Jeong Yeon-shin closed his eyes once and opened them again. The view was filled with thickly overgrown woods.

"......."

There was no face of Master Sambong distorted on an overwhelming scale, nor the sky twisting above. Only the clear cries of a few mountain birds and the leisurely drifting clouds.

He extended his gaze straight ahead.

From quite a far distance, Master Sambong, appearing merely like a tiny dot, was unmistakably facing off against the young Empress Dowager Wi Yeon of her youth.

As if they represented some axis of this vastly distant time.

A forest still peaceful.

Nothing seemed to have happened.

Jeong Yeon-shin thought.

This is not an illusion.

'It must not be dismissed like that.'

Those who had reached the pinnacle of Jing-Qi-Shen possessed absolute confidence in their own senses. Naturally, Jeong Yeon-shin was no exception. He trusted his five senses and internal qi perception as much as he trusted the Divine Sword Corps.

He had definitely seen and heard it. The sky revolving entirely, as if he had slipped into the cracks of time. The voice of the Furious Blade Master filling his ears like a grim warning.

There was no room for doubt.

Even if the World Tree merely recalled past events, Master Sambong was transcending the flow of time.

As if deliberately refusing to fulfill the desires of the World Tree.

Suddenly, he recalled the Heavenly Demon’s words:

―"When I have already been engraved into the myriad things of creation, what meaning is left beyond myself?"

It was like a character in a storybook moving of their own accord, preventing the reader from flipping through the original narrative.

Even though he had nearly convinced himself, Jeong Yeon-shin still found it hard to believe.

Is that truly a human being?

Would he have to surpass even such an existence to defeat his united master?

Moreover, not only would he have to break through the World Tree's martial army, but there was also the God of War who had declared he would kill the Lord of Ipwang Fortress, and the chaotic unification and division of the Great Pure Alliance.

Jeong Yeon-shin stood silently for a long while.

'...If I regress one more time.'

What would happen?

The question yielded no answer.

He simply took one step forward.

Jeobeok.

The surroundings faintly distorted, and he tread on grass beside his young master.

As he had done many times before.

[Are you a man of Yuan's martial world!]

The shout of Wolpung.

It had begun again.

Using Ju Gwang-shin’s lightness techniques, the rugged mountain terrain, and his supreme body-shifting art, he shook off Wolpung.

Of course, always alongside his young master.

Thus continued the sequence: exchanging moves with the not-yet-fully-developed Lord of Ipwang Fortress in the secluded woods, pursued by the roots of the World Tree, and facing the Great Pure Alliance’s martial army and the Southern Emperor.

It was the time loop Jeong Yeon-shin had crafted for himself.

Just as the World Tree endlessly replayed the past centered around Master Sambong.

'But...'

It was different now.

The air had changed.

The breeze that had once blown fresh like the breath of a mountain spirit had turned cold, and it felt as if a clear gaze was sticking to his back. Even from the upper dantian, he could feel a faint sense of disappointment and regret.

Yet it was not burdensome at all. The Lord of the Divine Sword Corps was one who bore great burdens by nature.

"I intend to fulfill my duty as a disciple."

He stepped onto the soil by pressing down the young girl’s sword to the ground, bowing his waist until his lips reached her ear. At the same time, he whispered. As if offering excuses to the young master and Master Sambong alike.

"You took me in when I had nowhere to go, opened the gates of Ipwang Fortress for me, and saved my life countless times."

"......?"

"I am now the Lord of the Divine Sword Corps. How could I possibly let go of your hand so easily?"

He had sought to learn everything.

The young master’s internal breathing, her muscles, bones, body type, her disposition at this age, whether her pupils or fingertips moved first when encountering incomprehensible words or falsehoods, and even the slight directional preferences during the transitions of her sword fundamentals.

Jeong Yeon-shin had not been arrogant.

He constantly doubted his upper dantian’s insight and sought forgiveness from Master Wonjeok.

―"Master, I am truly sorry. Truly sorry."

―"Yes, now I understand. I should have seen through your struggles earlier... Though I have long since transcended such concerns. Still, something feels off — be cautious."

There had been over a hundred regressions.

Until the young Lord of Ipwang Fortress became like an open book in the mind of the Lord of the Divine Sword Corps.

"...This will be the last time."

The white-haired girl showed a faint trace of puzzlement across her otherwise emotionless face.

Now, Jeong Yeon-shin could even read such minute emotional shifts, as if recalling how the Seven Apostates had once drawn anatomical maps of him. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

'Hope you are well.'

Thud.

Jeong Yeon-shin suddenly sat down where he stood and drew over a large nearby boulder using Air Grasp Technique.

He doubted whether all this effort truly held meaning, questioning himself like the other young men of his age.

[Have a drink.]

With a snap of his fingers, the boulder flattened. It became a table.

Then, several cups flew through the air and landed before them.

Stone cups created by Jeong Yeon-shin’s sword winds.

Meanwhile, the bark of an old tree split apart on its own, and transparent sap rose like a constellation.

The sap swirled in the sunlight before gently pouring into the cups.

The young Lord of Ipwang Fortress widened her eyes — a rare sight.

"...To attain such a level of internal energy manipulation, what kind of training would be proper?"

Even toward the one who had captured her, she sought instruction.

One could imagine what kind of era this was, and how she had lived.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly opened his mouth.

"I have always wanted to share a drink with you like this."

"What?"

"If you take a sip, I will tell you."

Jeong Yeon-shin captured her face with his eyes. It was almost time to wake up.

***

"It’s time to leave."

"Lord of the Dragon Sword."

"That liquor bottle...?"

"It was in my pocket, but I forgot to take it out."

"Thunder Fairy Gourd. A sacrilegious drink. How can you carry something brewed from the sap of trees?"

"Enough. Let’s go."