Dawn came.

A full day had passed since meeting Jegal Jin—and that also meant today was the day the second preliminaries started.

“Whew....”

At an early hour before the sun even rose, I came out alone and stayed at the training grounds.

Maybe because the first preliminaries had culled the junior generation in a big way, there were plenty of empty spaces at this hour.

Thanks to that, I could train without worrying about anyone.

“KGGGGK...!”

I let out a groan and pushed myself up. It felt like every joint in my body was ringing.

THUD.

THUD! THUD!

Once I fully raised my upper body, I undid all the sandbags that had been tied on.

“Whew....”

Every time one dropped, a heavy sound exploded out. They were seriously heavy. Maybe because I’d worked myself to death in seclusion, the amount of weight I could handle had gone up a lot.

‘...That’s great and all.’

But every time I adjusted, that ghostlike old man cranked up the weight again, so it was still hell either way.

That ghostlike old man.

[Are you finished?]

Yoo Cheongil asked, his blue eyes shining in the darkness.

Was he reading my thoughts? It startled the hell out of me.

“...Yes. I think this is enough.”

It sounded like an excuse, but I really had pushed as hard as I could.

I had to use my body today anyway, so if I trained too hard, I’d be the only one losing. I’d adjusted myself on purpose.

[Hmm. Fine.]

Yoo Cheongil nodded like he didn’t care. Seeing that reaction, I couldn’t help making a confused face.

‘What’s up with that old man.’

If I’m being exact, it started the moment I got back from the county seat. Since then, he’d been acting like this the whole time. I had no idea what he’d done to be making that suffocating expression.

‘Making people feel uneasy.’

It’s not like I’m worried or anything.

Like I have nothing better to worry about than that old man.

What I’m worried about is—

‘Not knowing what kind of effect that’s going to have on me.’

What if he’s cooking up some bullshit again?

What if that drags me into something weird again?

That was my entire concern.

‘It’s not like I don’t already have enough to think about—Divine Spear, Jegal Jin, all that....’

And now, on top of that, if Yoo Cheongil causes another incident—

‘Ugh....’

I didn’t even want to imagine it.

‘Damn it.’

Holding back a sigh, I picked up my sword.

Not a wooden sword.

It was the Divine Sword I’d kept carrying around.

Physical training was done, so I was going to finish by swinging it a few times—

“Old man.”

[....]

What?

“Old man!”

[Huh? Oh—yeah.]

He hadn’t reacted when I called softly, so I raised my voice, and only then did he answer.

“Watch the area for me.”

[Ah. Right. Got it.]

Why the hell is he like this? He looks like his mind is halfway gone somewhere.

It was unsettling as hell, but I grabbed the sword anyway.

And closed my eyes.

Sssssss.

The instant I shut them, I felt energy in my dantian. The Blue Moon Heart Art flowed through my body and poured into my meridians.

Warmth rose behind my closed lids.

Power gathered into my Moon Eyes. Even so, I didn’t open them.

Not yet.

‘It’s still hard to open them.’

Not only could I not keep what I’d gained for long, but if I saw unnecessary things, my head would start to ache.

In the darkness, it was at least bearable.

‘Is this the aftermath of seclusion?’

That place had been so dark it might’ve caused some kind of issue... but for now, I figured getting used to it like this was the right move.

Sssssss.

I moved my energy. I put a little more # Nоvеlight # force into my eyes—and in that moment—

WIIIIIIII—

Blue lines began to appear inside my closed field of vision.

Some were bent.

Some were straight.

Some glowed bright, while others were faint compared to them.

What did it mean?

In seclusion, it hadn’t taken as long as I thought to realize it.

Sssssss.

My sword moved. As the Divine Sword moved in my grip, I poured sword force into it.

FWOOSH—!!

When Radiant Moon Annihilation-Overturn wrapped over the Divine Sword, light rose even inside my closed eyes.

I moved the Divine Sword. A line was drawn across the black background.

SSSHIIIK.

I brought the tip of my sword to the end of the brightest line.

The light merged into one—and began to shine brilliantly.

“Sssss....”

I exhaled and moved calmly.

The sword followed the stream of light exactly.

Even with my eyes closed, Radiant Moon Annihilation-Overturn told me whether I was doing it right.

SHRAAAK—!!

I slashed up into the air. I flowed straight into the next motion. Another line was waiting for me nearby.

CREEEAK.

My toes pivoted. As my body spun, my sword path spun with it.

SHRAAAK—! Another slash, carving a half-circle.

Then a second slash.

WHIIK—! WHUP—!!

Like I refused to lose the line, I kept moving without stopping.

All of it was a sword path.

Not the forms of the Blue Moon Sword Dance—just the sword path itself.

The path the sword needed to take was being shown to me as lines of light.

And I was only moving so that path wouldn’t break.

But as I swung, the end of a line would sometimes be cut off.

When I lifted my sword and struck, the broken line would suddenly reappear two or three paces away.

TAP—!

I lowered my stance and took footwork.

How was it even possible? Sometimes, the moment I touched the line with my sword, the line vanished.

‘Kill it slightly downward... and make the sword feel like it’s scraping the floor?’

It was abstract, but I tried anyway.

KRRRK!

The sword touched the distant line.

Thankfully, it didn’t vanish.

That meant I had it right.

‘Keep going.’

I didn’t even have time to feel relieved. I continued the sword path immediately.

My breath was getting tight. The sword path had no end, but I was hitting the limits of my breathing.

‘...My inner power will run out soon too.’

Just maintaining Radiant Moon Annihilation-Overturn was exhausting.

At first, four or five times was my limit, but now I could hold it up to ten.

Ten slashes.

Ten sword paths.

And just as I reached the end—

‘One more.’

A small greed surfaced.

‘Just a little more.’

Just one slash.

Just one more line in front of me—cut it.

Even if my energy was hitting its limit, even if my body was starting to ache—

It felt like I could still cut one more right now.

‘Here I go.’

So, as the tip of my last slash left one line and I tried to link into the next—

[AHAE—!!! STOP!]

“...!”

HALT—!

A shout hit me, and I froze on the spot.

FSSSS—!!

‘Ah.’

The lines vanished. That meant my energy had bottomed out.

‘Damn it.’

What a waste. If that had worked, it felt like I would’ve gained something.

But the moment I stopped, that feeling disappeared.

“Haah....”

I let out a sigh, then frowned and opened my eyes.

I was about to chew Yoo Cheongil out—

“Why the hell did you—...Huh?”

I went blank at what I saw.

In front of me—

“Sword Phoenix...?”

Plum Blossom Sword Phoenix Yuyeon.

She was standing right in front of me, and the blade I’d been drawing was stopped beside her neck.

“Holy shit.”

The moment I realized, I jolted and yanked the sword back.

I sheathed it immediately and jumped back to create distance.

“...What do you think you’re doing right now?”

“....”

Even with me snapping at her, Sword Phoenix kept a blank expression.

“Are you insane? I almost killed you.”

This was absurd. If Yoo Cheongil hadn’t screamed, I would’ve kept moving.

And the one in front of me had to be Sword Phoenix?

‘Did she lose her mind?’

Annoyance surged up. Forget the training interruption, forget that I almost cut her throat—

‘Why didn’t you tell me.’

That was anger aimed at Yoo Cheongil.

I’d told him to warn me if someone came near so there wouldn’t be a problem.

So why the hell was he only telling me now?

[Khmm....]

Yoo Cheongil coughed awkwardly like he knew he was guilty.

‘Bastard.’

Meaning he’d been distracted and didn’t warn me.

“Haah.”

I sighed. Yoo Cheongil could wait. Later.

For now—

“Do you have a problem with me or something?”

When I asked with a deep frown, Sword Phoenix shook her head.

No problem?

“Then what is this?”

Then why the hell are you doing this to me?

From our first meeting, I couldn’t understand her.

So I stared at her with confused eyes—

SWISH.

She suddenly pulled two letters from inside her clothes and held them out to me.

“What...?”

Was she telling me to take them?

I stared at her like she was crazy, and she nodded like that was exactly it.

“....”

For now, I took them and opened them.

They had a plum blossom seal stamped on them.

“Huh?”

I read the writing inside, and my face went blank.

There was a lot written, but if you stripped away the useless formalities, it came down to this:

‘I want my cloak returned. Also, I have something to give the Sword Saint’s successor, so I want you to come to Mount Hua.’

That was the message.

‘Something to give me?’

She has something to give me? Could it be—

‘The old man’s cloak?’

That cloak Yoo Cheongil said he left at Mount Hua.

That was my first thought, but—

‘No.’

I’d already seen Sword Phoenix wearing it.

So if it wasn’t the cloak, it meant something else.

‘What is it?’

Why would Mount Hua Sect be looking for me?

The question rose—

‘What about the other letter?’

So I unfolded the other one too.

And then—

“Huh?”

This time, I had to frown.

Unlike the first, this one had only a single sentence written on it.

[Don’t you know me?]

“...What the hell.”

What does that even mean? I don’t know her?

I looked back up at Sword Phoenix with a twisted expression—

“What? Where’d she go?”

Sword Phoenix was already gone.

Did she seriously just hand me letters and run?

In that tiny span of time?

I couldn’t believe it. I looked at Yoo Cheongil in case he’d seen something.

“...Old man.”

[Huh? Oh—why?]

Yoo Cheongil flinched like I’d startled him out of his thoughts.

“....”

When I glared at him, Yoo Cheongil gave an awkward smile.

[Uh... um.... Ahahaha.]

Like he was going to laugh it off.

As if.

I let out a small sigh, then opened my eyes wide and snapped at him.

“You damn old ghost—seriously! What the hell is wrong with you since yesterday?!”

I finally exploded.

*****

By the time dawn passed and noon was nearing—

As the sky turned bright and clear, I was climbing the mountain behind Main Alliance Headquarters.

I wasn’t the only one heading there. A huge crowd was moving together.

They were the junior generation who’d finished the first preliminaries.

“...I’m nervous.”

Cheon Eujin muttered while climbing with us.

“It’ll be fine. You said you’re doing it with your senior, didn’t you?”

“...Yes. I’ve become a burden to Senior Brother.”

“A burden, my ass.”

The preliminaries were going to be two-person teams.

Cheon Eujin said he’d be on the same side as Do Hyeong.

Strictly speaking, Cheon Eujin was weaker than Do Hyeong, so it made sense for him to say that—

‘But Cheon Eujin is still solid.’

Compared to random nobodies, I’d rather trust Cheon Eujin, if anything.

Thinking that, I kept climbing—

‘...Damn, this is kind of rough.’

My legs were tingling. I’d probably overdone it with training at dawn.

“Little Sword Saint!”

A loud voice rang out as I forced myself forward.

I turned.

Thunder Dragon was walking up to me.

“So you were here.”

“Thunder Dragon.”

“I didn’t see you anywhere, so I figured you ditched me and ran. Hahahaha.”

“....”

Honestly, I kind of wanted to.

But.

“How could I?”

Thunder Dragon was still one of the Seven Prodigies.

If he was on my side, things would be easier. I had no intention of ditching him.

“...Thunder Dragon.”

Cheon Eujin widened his eyes at Thunder Dragon. Thunder Dragon tilted his head at Cheon Eujin.

“You’re Young Lord Cheon. I’ve heard a lot about you from Moon Dancer.”

“...About me? That can’t be true.”

“Oh. Damn. Caught me.”

Thunder Dragon smiled awkwardly at Cheon Eujin’s flat answer.

So it was a lie.

“Still, I do know who you are. Nice to meet you.”

Thunder Dragon held out his hand, and Cheon Eujin took it.

They shook briefly, then stepped apart. That was it.

Thunder Dragon’s eyes were indifferent, like he had no real interest in Cheon Eujin.

Did he not like him or something?

His expression changed so fast it almost felt murderous.

‘This guy’s the same type as that Peng bastard.’

Peng Dojin.

The look he’d given Poison Dragon and the look Thunder Dragon was giving Cheon Eujin felt similar.

‘...Seriously.’

The Seven Prodigies are all weird as hell.

I’d felt it from the start, but the more I met them, the more certain I became.

‘And it’s the same over there.’

I looked at the woman walking far ahead and thought the same thing.

Sword Phoenix.

A woman walking with Peng Dojin, staring straight forward without looking anywhere else.

As I looked at her, I remembered the letters I’d gotten at dawn.

‘Don’t I know her?’

No.

I don’t know Sword Phoenix.

But—

‘If she wrote that.’

That means she knows me.

When?

No matter how I turned it over in my head, nothing came up.

‘...And it’s weird.’

It bothered me.

It felt like a bug was crawling around inside my skull.

Like I was supposed to remember Sword Phoenix—and the feeling wouldn’t go away.