The late cold froze the dawn air on the mountain behind Jeong Estate.

Jeong Yeon-shin thought:

If the wind blowing through the valley had a color, it would be grayish-white.

The people of Jeong Estate, who once ruled Hyeon, laid their bodies under seeds that would sprout next year.

All night long, they carried and buried corpses.

Jeong Yeon-shin, the steward, a few surviving workers, and the Zhongnan faction experts led by Jeong Jung-san were covered in dirt.

His niece, curled up to one side, alternated between crying and sleeping.

Glancing at Hye-ah, Jeong Yeon-shin spoke.

“It’s over.”

“Indeed. It will be a sad mountain. It didn’t even have a name.”

The steward agreed. Jeong Yeon-shin shook his head.

“No. I mean Jeong Estate is over.”

“……”

“Master Precipice Sword, Master Shadowless Fist. Thank you again for your help.”

Leaving the bitter steward behind, he bowed to the Zhongnan faction warriors.

Even covered in dirt, their eyes shone with spirit.

They returned the gesture sincerely, showing respect even to a mere boy.

“It’s now your disciple’s household, so it’s not like that.”

“Also…… it’s hard to say we’re not responsible for failing to stop it.”

Following Precipice Sword, Shadowless Fist spoke with gravity between his thick eyebrows.

Jeong Jung-san, ready to leave with them, held his niece Jeong Hye and looked gloomily at his third younger brother.

He seemed to have changed a bit after experiencing the bloodshed.

“How can one apologize with a single word for things accumulated over long years?”

Jeong Jung-san said. He looked strained.

“When we meet again, I’ll try to be a proper older brother. I’ll make an effort, so you survive.”

“Though I’m belatedly entering Zhongnan martial arts, I’m not exceptionally talented. That’s how I see it.”

For the first time in his life, Jeong Yeon-shin honestly told the truth to an elder.

He felt refreshed, wondering why he hadn’t done this earlier.

“You’ll have to train to death. And take good care of Hye-ah.”

“…I understand.”

And so the Zhongnan faction experts, his second older brother, and young niece departed.

Turning around, he saw the steward standing with the workers, carrying bundles.

“Where will you go, steward?”

“I said I made contacts. There are small branches of Jeong Estate throughout Namyang. Since there are still Jeong bloodlines alive, I should naturally serve them with the remaining family assets.”

“But Jeong Estate has fallen, hasn’t it?”

The steward smiled faintly.

“It’s a large landowner family. The family-owned farmlands aren’t only in Xinye.”

He didn’t know the man was this loyal. He seemed too good for Jeong Estate.

“As you know, I’m going to Desolate Sect. I hope we can see each other occasionally.”

“Of course.”

The steward had also learned martial arts. He should be able to take care of himself.

“I hope even the steward lives a long life. Take care of yourself.”

“I’ll pray for your success, young master.”

It was farewell to both the steward and Jeong Estate. The steward silently watched the boy’s back as he left without looking back.

‘Live a long life…? Have I ever heard such words from a Jeong bloodline after receiving grace from previous generations?’

Jeong Yeon-shin sensed that presence but deliberately didn’t turn his head.

A new air surrounded his steps as he pushed through the grass.

* * *

It was his first time outside Xinye County.

He could follow the official road after getting detailed directions from the steward, but he inevitably attracted a lot of attention.

The main road where the dirt ground began to welcome the sunlight at dawn.

The official road connecting Namyang and Xiangyang was also the road connecting Henan and Huguang provinces.

With a major road to Shaanxi not far away, he couldn’t help but occasionally check if the pack on his back was still intact.

That’s how many people he encountered.

“His clothes are unusual for a beggar.”

“Isn’t that silk? Using silk for martial clothes…”

“Silk? But that appearance……”

The porters from a convoy whispered as they passed by.

He had heard that merchant groups or convoys encountered on the road sometimes turned into bandits.

Jeong Yeon-shin walked silently, keeping his hand close to his sword hilt.

‘This is troublesome.’

But he couldn’t use the less populated mountain paths either.

As a novice who had just entered the martial world, he lacked experience. Getting lost would be disastrous.

However, being cautious alone wasn’t enough.

Wolves eyeing clothes and wealth were everywhere. In a world where robbery and murder were common.

Eventually, he clashed with wandering swordsmen, and those rogues paid the price of underestimating the young swordsman with their necks.

They were incomparably weak compared to the warriors of the Thirteen Heavens, to the point of bewilderment.

‘What were they relying on to attack?’

Though called rogues, among the martial artists commonly seen on the roadside, even those properly initiated into internal energy were rare.

It was a world where learning was precious.

From Xinye to Xiangyang.

It’s a short distance for experts who can use lightness skills as if flying through the sky.

But for Jeong Yeon-shin with limited lightness skills, he experienced the troubles of the martial world and bloody real combat.

Among them, no one could block a single move of his swift sword, and as he cut down rogues with his sword strikes, the Jeong family’s pupil technique melded into his swordsmanship.

It was different from when he trained his body alone.

As he wielded his sword in real combat while using the pupil technique, his body changed once again.

The muscles throughout his body adapted to instantaneous explosive power, and his flexibility increased even more.

Swift sword, swift sword, and more swift sword.

The swift sword technique, which was already fast, now couldn’t be seen even by his own eyes as he executed it.

As his body, which could be called the foundation of martial arts, actively changed, the effectiveness of his vital energy was inevitably amplified.

‘They called it divine skill.’

Perhaps due to the merit of achieving mastery by practicing the Jeong family’s pupil technique for a short lifetime, he could visually confirm the changes in his transforming body.

One week.

It was a time of enduring his first outdoor sleeping, hard beds, and chilly night air.

“Phew.”

The boy sighed as he entered an inn and unpacked his belongings. He had arrived in Xiangyang.

A city that has been thriving and prospering since the establishment of Desolate Sect.

Tens of thousands of people come and go daily, and thousands of types of goods are exchanged.

It can be considered one of the top metropolises in the Central Plains in terms of trade volume and cultural level.

“It’s even more so now! That Form guy is really having a field day! They say they can’t sell enough alcohol!”

It was a conversation between what seemed to be merchants.

Jeong Yeon-shin, who had gotten a room and come down to order a meal from the waiter, listened closely.

“People gather from all over the Central Plains with dreams of success. I heard there are even martial artists throwing around silver.”

“These days, taverns are busy day and night. Martial artists who came to take the entrance exam are drowning in alcohol!”

“Desolate Sect is really something.”

“Of course! Isn’t it like grabbing Xiangyang as it was dying and feeding it to the point of bursting!”

“My, what a metaphor! Hahaha!”

Jeong Yeon-shin agreed with at least the last statement.

He could feel the extremely high cost of living from the lodging fee, and it was obvious that his money would run out in just another month at this rate.

He thought he had brought a lot, secretly from the Blade Sect.

That’s when it happened.

“Did you also come to enter Desolate Sect, young brother?”

A young man sat down across from him with a friendly smile.

The sword at his waist was clearly not an ordinary famous sword even at a glance, and above all, the blue band around his head was impressive.

An item called the hero’s headband.

These days, it’s an accessory that isn’t worn unless one is really trying to show off, but this one even had a dragon embroidered with gold thread.

“And you are?”

“Ah! I didn’t introduce myself. I was just curious seeing a challenger younger than me.”

The young man continued with a smiling face.

“I’m Heon Won-chang. I came from far away Shanxi.”

“I’m Jeong Yeon-shin from Xinye.”

“Xinye? Where is Xinye?”

“It’s a county in Namyang, Hebei.”

“You came from nearby! The journey must have been comfortable. I crossed swords with bandits in the green forests and raced in swimming with river bandits! Those river bandits’ water skills were quite fierce!”

“Well… I guess mine was comfortable.”

Jeong Yeon-shin brushed it off vaguely.

“Right, so it seems you’re a comrade preparing for the Desolate Sect entrance.”

“What’s your business?”

“Just want to make acquaintances! Exchange information if we have any. Almost no one passes the Desolate Sect test on the first try. It might happen once in a thousand times, and even then, it’s usually the later-rising talents from famous martial families. I know that most people pass after accumulating two, three, or even ten attempts.”

“There’s a test?”

At those words, he opened his eyes wide as if to say ‘you didn’t know?’ His exaggerated expression suited him very well.

“It’s called the Desolate test! Desolate Sect itself is different in nature from ordinary sects. Just as you need to take the military or civil service exam to enter official positions, there’s a separate test to enter Desolate Sect.”

“So that’s why there are so many people…”

“Whether you have a foundation or not, the moment you enter, a world of learning and opportunity opens up, so it’s not strange that martial artists from all over the world flock here. There must be at least thousands practicing all sorts of martial arts to pass this.”

Desolate Sect.

If you want to criticize the world with a single weapon, go to Desolate Sect, even officials will be wary of you.

It was a common saying. A cradle of martial arts that would make anyone’s heart race.

As the imperial court that rules the entire Central Plains moved directly to suppress the martial sects, it was said to be full of precious medicines and advanced martial arts gathered from all nine provinces of the world.

“Some people value traditional large sects more. That’s truly ignorant talk. A sect established by mere commoners is stronger than Desolate Sect? If so, those guys would establish an empire and play emperor, how could the Great Ming Empire be maintained? Those guys who collect protection money and donations in their own regions and are treated like kings.”

“I see.”

Jeong Yeon-shin just went along with it. He wondered if this person had a grudge against large sects.

“Anyway, coming to take the Iphwang test is an excellent choice. …If you can pass, that is.”

He spoke with a suddenly gloomy expression.

Jeong Yeon-shin found the Heon Won-chang person in front of him quite interesting.

It was the first time he had seen such a chatterbox whose mood went up and down so much.

“If you pass, you’ll immediately gain the reputation of a later-rising talent, the best among juniors of your age! A martial artist of your age in Desolate Sect would undoubtedly be an outstanding rising expert!”

The strength drained from Heon Won-chang’s voice again as he spoke with a smiling face.

“…But the walls of Desolate Sect are dizzyingly high, as much as its prestige.”

“Yes. I see.”

Just as Jeong Yeon-shin was starting to get bored, the food arrived.

Kung pao chicken and vegetable dishes including small vegetables.

Having not eaten properly for days, even the smell was welcome.

Heon Won-chang, who had been watching him eat with a complicated expression, opened his mouth.

“So, how about we go take the test together tomorrow?”

“Sure, let’s do that.”

Jeong Yeon-shin answered nonchalantly.

In fact, he was glad that he could enter just by taking a test.

He didn’t want to beg for help from his maternal relatives whom he didn’t even know where they lived or what they looked like.

It was both a resolution and youthful pride not to become pitiful even if his life was at stake.

* * *

The next day.

“We’ve come to the right place.”

Standing in front of Desolate Sect, Jeong Yeon-shin was no longer the third son of Jeong Estate.

A swordsman who had weathered an especially harsh week for a child with wealth. The boy had become a martial artist.

‘It’s enormous.’

Looking up at the main gate, he marveled. It was a scale he had never heard of before.

The fortress spread out its massive presence, shoulder to shoulder with the azure of the clear sky.

“Impregnable.”

Heon Won-chang muttered beside him with a mesmerized expression. Jeong Yeon-shin inwardly agreed.

The double-layered, towering walls looked solid.

A form that enclosed an area so wide that the beginning and end were far apart.

Around it was even a moat, surrounding it with a vast band of water.

The wide-open, huge main gate was the confidence of a place claiming to be the best in the martial world.

Jeong Yeon-shin slowly stepped forward.

There was a fenced training ground in front. It must be the location for the first test Heon Won-chang had mentioned.

“Let’s go.”

“Indeed.”

The two approached the reception desk at the very front and stated their personal details.

The receptionist in scholar’s attire wrote it down and asked again.

“Jeong Yeon-shin from Xinye County, Namyang, Henan Province, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Enter the training ground.”

He received one of the round tokens piled up on one side of the fairly large desk and turned around.

The token had the character thirteen (十三) engraved on it.

‘It’s noisy.’

It wasn’t just examiners and applicants around.

Besides young martial artists dreaming of ascending through this gateway, there were overflowing spectators, merchants, and gamblers.

Desolate Sect didn’t restrict them separately, as if inviting people to watch and enjoy.

“Over here.”

As he passed through the fence gate with Heon Won-chang, a martial artist in charge of the test called them.

Neat martial clothes and a firmly condensed aura. The feeling was no less than the experts of the Thirteen Heavens.

The examiner said:

“The first test is the swift sword form.”

“Pardon?”

…