The next day at noon.

“Ugh, it’s cold.”

Yun Ho briskly rubbed his shoulders with his hands.

“Seriously, if you call people out, you should show up on time. Why is he this late?”

Dongho gave him a scolding.

“It hasn’t even been half a shichen since we got here, Senior Brother.”

“Whatever! If you call people, you show up on time!”

“Heh, says the guy who freezes up and can’t even open his mouth properly in front of that person.”

“You little punk?”

“I’m just saying.”

“Anyway, why did you even come? You should have played around at the Alliance for a bit and then gone back to the main sect.”

“It’s all because of you, Senior Brother.”

“What did I do?!”

“How am I supposed to know what kind of trouble you’ll cause? I came to keep an eye on you.”

Yun Ho snorted.

“And what do you think will change because you’re watching me? You just wanted to get some fresh air yourself.”

“Two birds with one stone.”

“Kekekek.”

“Anyway...”

Dongho looked around.

“There’s more than I thought.”

Almost fifty late-generation experts had gathered in the rear courtyard of Army-Breaking Pavilion.

Most of them were wandering martial artists from the Nine Sects. And the majority were ones who had rushed Yeon Hojeong at least twice and been beaten in sparring.

Young masters who had not yet taken on core positions in their sects. They might not be the single greatest late-generation prodigies their sects had produced, but they were more than skilled enough to be called first-rate experts.

Dongho’s brow furrowed.

“It is a bit strange.”

“What is?”

“Most of these people are from our MOUNT HUA SECT, Azure Castle Sect, Emei Sect, AZURE MOUNTAIN SECT, and Kunlun. The rest are... mm, not sure. They look like wanderers.”

“And?”

“Isn’t it weird? Not a single person from the Six Great Clans came?”

Yun Ho shook his head.

“Not weird at all.”

“Why not?”

“He’s the eldest son of the Yeon Clan. One wing of the Six Great Clans. For someone like that to be the commander of a Field Force, having people from the same six clans join under him would be an embarrassment to their pride, don’t you think?”

“Ah...”

“Well, he might actually have friends among them. But I bet their elders stopped them.”

Dongho looked at Yun Ho with eyes full of admiration.

“How do you even know things like that, Senior Brother?”

“You brat. I’m still from a respectable family, you know.”

“You’re from the Six Clans, Senior Brother?”

“...Not quite on that level. More like one of those families that strut around with their chins up in some small region?”

“You really do sound like someone who got an early education in the ways of the world. I grew up in the mountains since I was a kid, so I just don’t get worldly disputes.”

Yun Ho gave a bitter smile.

“Don’t bother trying to understand. The deeper you go, the dirtier and uglier it gets.”

“Hmmm.”

Dongho scratched his head.

“But, Senior Brother.”

“What now?”

“I purposely haven’t asked this until now...”

“What are you dragging it out for?”

“Why are you trying to get into the Field Force that Yeon Hojeong is leading in the first place?”

Yun Ho smacked his lips.

“There are several reasons.”

“The commander isn’t even here yet. Just tell me while we wait.”

“Ahem.”

Yun Ho cleared his throat with a fake cough and raised his index finger.

“First, there’s nothing for me to do at Mount Hua.”

“That is a terrifyingly petty reason.”

“Hey.”

“What about second?”

Yun Ho raised his middle finger as well.

“Second, I want to experience the rivers and lakes.”

“Huh? But you’ve gone down the mountain several times, haven’t you, Senior Brother? Didn’t you even join a bandit-suppression campaign before?”

“You brat, do you really think going down the mountain a few times means you’ve fully experienced the rivers and lakes? I want to see a much bigger world.”

“Heeeh. What if the commander just runs you around one small region in circles?”

“...I haven’t thought that far, but if that happens, then it is what it is.”

“And is there another reason?”

“Third.”

Yun Ho clenched his fist.

“You can train freely.”

“Sorry?”

“Neither of us holds any official post at the main sect. You could say we’re closer to reserve forces, but we still have to live on a fixed schedule for no good reason. Sometimes we even have to stand gate duty.”

“Well, that’s an honor in its own way.”

“It is an honorable duty. But I want to do something bigger than that. I want to come back having grown several times more than I am now.”

Yun Ho smacked his lips again.

“It’s not like I’ll be learning completely new martial arts, but I’ll at least have that much more time to contemplate, won’t I? I have no doubt this Field Force experience will be a huge asset in my life.”

Dongho’s eyes sparkled.

“That’s really admirable, Senior Brother.”

“What’s admirable about it? In the end, I just want to do things my way, that’s why I’m joining.”

“Even so. I don’t have any grand goal like you do, Senior Brother.”

“It’s not just me.”

“Sorry?”

Yun Ho looked around.

There was someone idly standing and looking up at the clouds, someone nodding off while sitting on a small rock, someone sitting cross-legged and focusing intensely on something.

They really were a motley crowd.

“They probably came here with similar thoughts. Their situations are probably similar too.”

The martial arts Yun Ho sensed from them were more than strong enough.

They were easily at the level where they would be recognized as first-rate experts in the rivers and lakes, and among them there were even a few who, like him, had just stepped into the realm of peak masters.

The only reason they fell short of the standards of the so-called great orthodox sects was because those standards were absurdly high. They themselves were more than extraordinary. Most martial artists spent their entire lives training without ever reaching this level.

But the ones gathered here were all aiming beyond that. They might not be the late-generation experts who could represent their sects, but at least in terms of pride, they would yield to no one.

Dongho let out a sigh.

Yun Ho tilted his head.

“What’s with the sudden sigh?”

“It just feels stifling.”

“You’ve got a lot to feel stifled about for someone so young.”

“You’re only two years older than me, Senior Brother.”

“...Tch.”

A look of regret came over Dongho’s face.

“Us, and them, we were all people our sects had high expectations for.”

“That’s true.”

“In the end, most of us turned out half-baked and ended up gathered here.”

Yun Ho didn’t answer.

He ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ agreed with Dongho. He just didn’t want to say it out loud, because he felt like doing so would make him feel too miserable.

“That’s just how the world is...”

In the end, all he could do was mutter something that sounded like an old man’s complaint. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“Brrr, anyway, you were right, Senior Brother. It’s really starting to get cold.”

“Exactly.”

“Ah, I wonder when our future commander is going to get here.”

That was when—

“Gasp!”

Someone sucked in a breath.

“N-no way, is that...?”

“Little Immortal Sword Okcheong!”

“Shh! Hey, he outranks us! Watch your mouth!”

They stared at Okcheong with burning eyes.

Okcheong was the sole disciple of Sword Immortal Tak Muja, who was named among the Thirteen of Celestial Ascension.

The Sword Immortal’s name carried weight wherever you went, but especially within the Nine Sects, where Daoist and Buddhist martial arts were cultivated, he stood as one of two towering figures alongside Fist God Master Muheo.

A being whom the White Path of the Martial World praised without end. Okcheong was that Sword Immortal’s one and only disciple, a genius among geniuses whom rumor said had the talent of a Martial God.

“But why is that person—no, why is he here...?”

“Don’t tell me he’s trying to join the Field Force?”

“Come on, no way. He’s got to be too busy learning from the Sword Immortal, right?”

“Yeah, that’s true.”

“...Mm, maybe he’s got some grudge against Yeon Hojeong?”

“Whoa, maybe you’re right.”

The whispering was loud enough for anyone to hear.

Okcheong looked around with an awkward expression, then headed straight for a quiet corner. He didn’t want to get entangled with people he didn’t know.

In any case, with Okcheong’s arrival the atmosphere heated up considerably. He was someone they could hardly even dream of speaking to, but if even the Sword Immortal’s disciple was coming, then it sounded like it wouldn’t be a loss of face to operate as part of the Field Force.

Looking around, Yun Ho suddenly walked straight up to Okcheong.

“Hello.”

“Ah, hello.”

Yun Ho spoke with an awkward look on his face.

“Thank you for back then.”

“When was that?”

“Um... after you sparred with Young Master Yeon...”

“Ah!”

Okcheong shook his head.

“Think nothing of it. It was only what I ought to have done.”

“Haha, still, I’m grateful. Anyway...”

Yun Ho casually slipped the question in.

“By any chance, are you also joining the Field Force, Master Okcheong?”

“I do not know yet.”

“Sorry? What do you mean, you don’t know yet?”

Okcheong replied with an awkward expression.

“I only came because of the rumors. Lord Yeon—no, Young Master Yeon did not seek me out.”

“...Sorry?”

“I heard on the way here that he personally went around making proposals to my fellow Daoists. I only came because I heard the Field Force was being formed with Young Master Yeon as the commander.”

“Ah...”

Yun Ho tilted his head.

“Why would he do that? With martial arts like Master Okcheong’s, I’d think the normal thing would be to rush over and beg you to join.”

Okcheong smacked his lips.

“It may be because my martial arts are far too lacking...”

“Sorry? Oh, come on, how can you say that? If Master Okcheong’s martial arts are lacking, the rest of us should go die.”

“No. Truly, my martial arts are nothing special.”

Yun Ho smiled faintly.

“You’re incredibly modest.”

This isn’t modesty.

Okcheong started to explain what had happened, then gave up.

The story was far too long to explain, and besides, he felt awkward chatting with someone he’d just met.

Who knows how much time passed like that.

“Mm?”

“Someone’s coming.”

Everyone’s eyes lit up.

CRUNCH, CRUNCH.

The sound of footsteps over snow-covered ground tickled their ears.

Soon, a woman appeared.

“Oh...”

“Ah, she’s beautiful.”

“An archer?”

The person who stepped into the outdoor rear courtyard was none other than Mookbi.

She seemed uncomfortable with all the eyes on her, as her face suddenly flushed.

Yun Ho’s eyes lit up.

“Isn’t that archer Young Master Yeon’s friend?”

“...”

“Master Okcheong?”

“Y-yes? Ah, were you speaking to me?”

“...Yes. Anyway, you know her too, right? That archer.”

“I do.”

I know her all too well.

Unconsciously, Okcheong rubbed his thigh.

She focused her shots around here, over and over.

Yeon Hojeong would sometimes have Mookbi shoot arrows at Okcheong.

The arrows had blunt tips without points, but each time one hit, he had to struggle not to let a terrifying scream burst out from deep in his throat. Mookbi’s arrows were so fast that, with Okcheong’s reaction speed, they were not easy to evade.

Even though we’ve never actually had a conversation, I’m sure Miss Mook’s martial arts are far above mine.

He was certain of it. The memory of that brutal pain rising from his thigh made Okcheong shudder in fear.

...Ugh, better not think about it.

It was just then, while everyone was staring at Mookbi with eyes full of curiosity.

“Oh? More people came than I expected.”

Everyone jumped and turned toward the entrance of the rear courtyard.

Yeon Hojeong was standing there.

The sight of him with the massive Mad Dragon (Axe) slung over his shoulder looked almost cheerful.

“Let’s see... one, two, three, four... roughly fifty of you, huh.”

All the late-generation experts who had been scattered about straightened their postures.

Whatever else he might be, he was the one who would be leading this Field Force. Regardless of age or martial level, they had to show at least a basic level of respect.

Yeon Hojeong smiled as he spoke.

“Got all your things packed?”

“...?”

What is he talking about?

Yun Ho spoke up on behalf of the others.

“What do you mean, ‘got our things packed’...?”

“Mm? Exactly what it sounds like.”

“Sorry?”

A grin spread across Yeon Hojeong’s face.

“Didn’t you hear? We’re heading out from the Alliance today.”