It was a time when the Korean martial world was in chaos, inside and out.

The Eight Great Sects were reeling from nonstop scandals and exposés, and the Martial Alliance—riding public opinion—was swinging around an unprecedented, absolute kind of authority, but—

“Mu-hyuk! Breakfast!”

“Yes.”

I lived like it was all somebody else’s problem.

I ate breakfast with my parents, then trained at home afterward.

Most of it was organizing the realizations I’d gained from replaying the ten-exchange spar with the Martial Alliance Leader in my head, or circulating the Five Elements Divine Art while observing the inside of my body.

To go beyond pinnacle and become a top expert... I have to awaken all five elements of energy past a certain threshold.

It was something I’d come to understand instinctively while training the Five Elements Divine Art.

Right now, water and metal overwhelmingly dominated, with fire—and then wood and earth—following behind.

If I balanced all five energies and became able to handle them simultaneously...

I feel like something huge will change.

After that, I had a hunch I’d be able to cross blades even with the top experts called the Ten Great Masters of Korea.

And if I beat them all, I’d become the strongest in Korea.

“...My heart’s already itching.”

It was obviously too early to say it out loud, but I had the confidence that I could reach it someday.

Hoooo—

After finishing my breathing and circulation, I did a little foreign language study by watching sparring tournament videos and interviews of foreign masters.

Then a light lunch.

Once I’d let it digest properly, I went to the sparring hall I’d reserved, loosened up, and waited for Choi Geon.

“Yaaawn—Disciple. You came early again today.”

“Master. You pulled an all-nighter again? I told you not to push yourself.”

“Heh. You say that because you don’t know how fun it is to go around beating the hell out of guys with dirty secrets.”

He looked tired, but the smile never left Choi Geon’s mouth.

He’d had a bad history with the Eight Great Sects for decades.

Every time their mistakes and evils were exposed and they got hammered by public opinion, it felt so refreshing that these days, even sleeping two hours made him feel light on his feet.

“You’re really not thinking about officially returning, right?”

But whenever I asked whether he planned to return to the Martial Alliance, Choi Geon just waved both hands.

“No. Living like this is much more comfortable.”

Choi Geon had decided to become the Martial Alliance’s Shadow Sword.

He still used the Bone-Reversal Art to change his face—or wore a mask—and helped the Martial Alliance from the dark.

Even within the Martial Alliance, the only people who knew the Sword Demon Choi Geon had returned were Yeo Pilgeuk and No Gucheon, and the Glacier Priestess had also promised to keep the secret.

“I’ll handle my own matters. Did you eat a solid lunch?”

Choi Geon spoke as he lifted a sword that had been placed off to one side of the sparring hall.

Even while he was busy with Martial Alliance work, he always found a way to carve out time to teach his disciple.

In answer, I lifted my own sword and grinned.

“I came ready to throw it all up.”

“Heh. Then I shouldn’t disappoint you.”

The softness vanished from both our eyes at the same time, and a blade-like edge flowed out of us, like you’d get cut just by touching it.

My grip tightened on the sword hilt, and a spar that was no different from real combat began immediately.

KRA-KA-KANG!

Blade wind whipped in all directions. Every time our strikes flashed, our clothes snapped harshly, and our footprints tangled into a mess across the sparring floor.

“Even if enlightenment changed your path, that doesn’t mean you’re allowed to lose sharpness!”

Choi Geon pressed me hard while correcting me.

His sword, fast and heavy like a tiger’s claws, hunted my vital points in succession.

“Ghk! I know... that!”

As I answered while barely defending, Choi Geon shot me a sharp look and asked,

“If you know, why are your movements so full of vanity?”

“That’s—”

KRAAANG!

I got shoved back hard by the heavy sword he swung. Choi Geon didn’t waste the opening and drove right into my range.

And as if I’d been waiting, my sword shot up from below—WHIP—slicing his sleeve hem.

Look at this brat.

A disciple who clenched his teeth and rushed in like he hated losing even to his master.

It almost made me smile in spite of myself, but Choi Geon forced his face back into coldness.

KRRRANG!

Our swords collided fiercely for dozens of exchanges.

But it didn’t mean we were evenly matched.

It was a one-sided beating, with Choi Geon overwhelming me.

“Did you think becoming a pinnacle expert meant you’d become the strongest under heaven?”

“Not at all...!”

Even without using internal energy, the gap between us was laid bare.

Choi Geon narrowed his eyes, a sneer tugging at his mouth.

“Or are you copying the Martial Alliance Leader’s martial arts? Your sword path is so upright and weighty it feels like I’m fighting the Martial Alliance Leader’s fists.”

“That—”

The moment I opened my mouth, flustered like I’d been stabbed in a blind spot—

THUD!

Choi Geon’s sudden kick sent me flying into the wall.

“KHK—KHEHK!”

As I struggled to breathe, Choi Geon walked up, patted my back, and grinned wickedly.

“Well, I’d probably do it too. The Martial Alliance Leader really is that kind of man. Great enough to make you forget even the sword art you learned from your master. Isn’t that right?”

“That’s not it... I’m sorry. I guess I was influenced without realizing it.”

Choi Geon lightly pinched my cheek like I was genuinely helpless, then laughed.

And then, with a face that had somehow warmed again, he gave me advice.

“Mu-hyuk. You’re talent that doesn’t need to imitate anyone. That’s why I never insisted you learn my sword art. Not because it was too precious—because I was afraid I’d make you take a detour from the path you need to walk.”

“...”

I’d forgotten for a moment.

That Sword Demon Choi Geon was also a top expert who could stand shoulder to shoulder with Yeo Pilgeuk.

Even though I knew better than anyone.

Even though I’d been taught by him for months.

It was true—I’d been briefly captivated by the martial arts of that giant called the King of Fists.

“...I’ll take it to heart. And I’m sorry.”

Choosing someone as a role model and chasing after them.

That was natural—but if you took it too far, it could become an Inner Demon.

Getting trapped in another person’s shadow and losing your own path for life was common enough.

“I know it in my head, but I guess I got influenced for a while without noticing. Your disciple is still this lacking.”

As I scratched the back of my head with an awkward smile, Choi Geon nodded.

“Masters who’ve reached the peak in a single field have a tremendous influence on the juniors watching them.”

“Like how I’ve been influenced a lot by your swordsmanship, Master?”

“What? Hahaha! This brat’s sneakily good at flattery!”

After our spar ended, we watched the video we’d filmed on camera and reviewed it together.

“Here, your judgment was late. You should’ve noticed immediately that my sword became 1.5 centimeters longer than usual.”

“You used to be a guy who didn’t even keep a single sword at home. Where do you keep getting swords that ‘grow’?”

“Heh. That information broker happened to have a few similar swords, so I borrowed them. When I was young, your master used to carry five swords at a time—same shape, only different lengths.”

“Using tricks like that on your disciple is kind of cowardly, isn’t it...?”

“In a fight, you live if you win and you die if you lose. Where’s the cowardice in that?”

Serving Choi Geon as my master, I learned far more than I’d hoped for.

Not just his swordsmanship, but his attitude toward the sword, his mindset as a martial artist, and advice born from a wide range of experience.

I’d learned and realized a lot from the Martial Alliance Leader, but it was only possible because my master Choi Geon’s teachings formed the foundation.

I’m still far from completing martial arts that are truly mine...

In the ten-exchange spar with the Martial Alliance Leader, I’d set myself a goal: Stand Alone Under Heaven.

My unique martial art, the Solitary Life-and-Death Sword, would keep developing and changing again and again toward that goal.

Just imagining the process made my heart pound so hard I felt like I’d lose sleep at night.

“Alright. We’ll stop here for today.”

Choi Geon said it as he brushed himself off and stood.

It had been two hours together in the sparring hall.

“...Already?”

Choi Geon playfully smacked the shoulder of his disappointed disciple.

“Take it easy. My old bones are going to crumble.”

He worried how long he’d be able to keep teaching a disciple whose growth was terrifyingly fast—but at the same time, he hoped the day would come when I surpassed him.

If that day came, he felt like he’d be happier than anyone in the world.

As I packed up my things, I asked,

“Master. You hardly stop by The Dark Den these days, right?”

“I don’t think I can go for a while. I want to check on that brat Kangheon too... You bring him by now and then.”

“Looks like the lunatic’s busy these days too. Still, I’ll drag him over soon.”

The two of us left the sparring hall and walked together for a bit, talking.

Choi Geon looked up at the sky for no reason and asked.

“Ahem. What are you thinking of doing next? You should choose an affiliation soon. I hear applications to the Martial Alliance have increased too, with the backlash against the Eight Great Sects lately...”

He was subtly showing that he wanted his disciple to join the Martial Alliance and lend strength, like he once had.

I’m sorry, but I don’t think I can do that.

I couldn’t give my master the answer he wanted.

If I belonged to one place, it would make it far too inconvenient to move according to my plans afterward.

But I wasn’t planning to go down a completely different road, either.

“I think it’ll be decided soon anyway. I’m supposed to have an important meeting.”

“...A meeting?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier. I was going to tell you once it was confirmed.”

“No. Your future is yours to decide. But who are you meeting with—”

BZZZZZT—

The vibration from the smartphone in my pocket made both of us flinch and stop.

When I pulled my phone out to check, a text had arrived.

[It looks like the approval will come through. Can you meet me in person soon?]

“Perfect timing. The place I’ve been waiting on just got back to me.”

Seeing the pleased smile on my face, Choi Geon nodded like it didn’t matter anymore.

*****

A few days later.

“Where are we even going this early in the morning?”

“Can’t you tell us already?”

Kim Chanho and Park Jiyeon were following their son out without understanding a thing.

They’d both hurriedly taken a day off the day before.

Because their son—who’d never thrown a tantrum in his life—had asked them to come with him, saying it was truly important.

But even now, with the destination nearly reached, he still hadn’t told them what we were going to do.

“I’m not in trouble and going to get punished. It’s something good. Something good.”

“...Something good? Really?”

“These days, anything involving martial artists is nothing but bad news...”

“Exactly! My kid placed first on the license exam and I can’t even brag properly!”

At his wife’s sigh, Kim Chanho scowled like he was furious.

A moment later, the three of us arrived at the parking lot of a four-story building in Yeonnam-dong.

“The navigation says this is the right place...”

Kim Chanho said it while staring up at the building, which looked abandoned.

“No, but this is a great location. Why is it empty?”

“It’s got to be worth at least several billion won.”

Park Jiyeon also looked the building and its surroundings over, muttering like she couldn’t understand it.

As they kept looking around, I nudged their backs from behind.

“Alright, alright. We just go in here.”

“...In there?”

“Isn’t it an empty building?”

When we opened the door and walked in, someone who’d arrived first was sitting inside, waiting for us.

No Gucheon, an elder of the Martial Alliance, rose to his feet and made a folded-fist salute.

“I’m No Gucheon, working with the Martial Alliance. We met once before—do you remember?”

“Oh—of course I remember! My goodness, you must be incredibly busy these days...”

“Did Mu-hyuk get himself into some kind of trouble?”

“Seriously, I told you it’s not trouble.”

After the four of us exchanged a bit of small talk and asked after each other, No Gucheon’s face turned serious as he got to the point.

“I’ll be direct with you.”

While Kim Chanho and Park Jiyeon swallowed and tensed up, No Gucheon said something neither of them had even imagined.

“The Martial Alliance would like to lease this building to Kim Muhyuk at no cost.”

“...What?”

“...Pardon?”

“The term is ten years. If you want, it can be longer.”

As my parents turned to me like what is he even talking about, I shrugged.

“Mom, Dad—you said you wanted to run a café for a long time, right?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“What if you start here?”

I’d never seen my parents make that expression before.