Heavenly Robe Without Seams
Luoyang Sword Family.
Special-grade closed-door training ground.
A martial artist stepped hesitantly through the entrance of the closed-door training hall. For a fleeting moment the brilliant afternoon sunlight left the interior dark to his eyes. But as a man of the murim born with a talent for governing his qi, he needed only a single blink before the chamber resolved into sharp clarity.
“So this is a closed-door training ground…?”
In his memory, a sect’s closed-door training ground had always meant nothing more than a mountain cave dressed up with fine words. It had never meant a five-story pavilion jammed solid between two sheer cliffs.
“Incredible…”
At the dazed murmur, the woman guiding him smiled.
“This is a special-grade closed-door training ground, after all.”
“Ah…!”
“Even the ordinary halls our regular martial artists use consistently receive high marks on user evaluations.”
“Ah, yes. I see…”
The two of them walked deeper along a corridor of gleaming stone.
“Heh. You still don’t seem quite used to the Main House.”
Even the woman’s faintly superior tone could not rouse the warrior, still overwhelmed by the facilities; he merely nodded.
“I was active in northern Gansu until recently. I only just joined the Sword Family—no, the Main House…”
Calling the Sword Family the Main House still felt strange on his tongue.
“Heh. Exactly. You should call it the Main House. The Gongdong Sect is part of our Luoyang Sword Family as well.”
The warrior smiled bitterly.
“Yes… the Gongdong Sect is now a part of the Sword Family…”
“Not a part. Family.”
“Yes. Family.”
He answered as required, yet neither “family” nor “member” felt natural yet. The Gongdong Sect was nothing more than a subordinate school of the Luoyang Sword Family. He felt an odd shame at the frayed grip of his own worn sword.
Nearly ten years had passed since the Gongdong Sect was absorbed—and effectively dissolved—into the Luoyang Sword Family. He and his master had drifted through Gansu like duckweed with nowhere to root. For two men with no patrons and little knowledge of the world, earning a living by “proper” means had never been easy. After his master’s death he had finally chosen, like so many other former Gongdong disciples, the road to the Luoyang Sword Family.
“Then this is your first assignment within the Main House?”
The warrior’s gaze had been stolen by the sight of martial scholars sitting at leisure by sunlit windows, discussing theory with quiet dignity. He nodded.
“Yes. My first assignment.”
Following his line of sight, the woman smiled and explained.
“The Main House’s closed-door training grounds are permanently staffed by martial scholars belonging to the Martial Arts Academy. They assist each user in refining techniques to suit that individual’s body and nature.”
She gave a light shrug.
“Of course, since this is a special-grade facility, even more—and far more excellent—scholars are stationed here.”
The warrior’s steps halted of their own accord.
“Refining techniques to suit the user…?”
From master to disciple, and from that disciple to the next—old orthodox sects had poured everything into the martial arts handed down across dozens of generations, staking their lives on correctly mastering both the transmitted forms and the intent contained within them. That had been sacred tradition.
“Of course. Apart from the founding ancestor who created a technique, how many people can ever be a perfect match for it?”
The woman openly scorned the old orthodox ways.
“Gifted talents buried under the bad habits of the past…”
Her eyes flashed.
“The Main House will never tolerate that.”
She showed him a sharp smile, then turned and continued down the corridor. Still reeling, the warrior could only follow in silence.
“Remember this.”
She opened the enormous doors at the end of the hall.
“To those who possess outstanding talent, the Main House provides limitless resources without stint.”
The wealth to make it so. The authority to make it so. The martial force to make it so. That was the Luoyang Sword Family.
The doors swung wide; sunlight poured in and revealed a broad open yard nestled between the cliffs—a training ground.
The first thing the warrior noticed was a pure, crystalline fragrance. Even a single breath of it made his internal energy stir; it was the scent of refined spiritual medicines of the highest order. Pharmacists wearing the famous badges of the Medicine Immortal Sect carefully adjusted their apparatus. Beside them sat physicians, clearly posted against any possible accident, quietly reading medical texts.
Along the edges of the training ground sat other martial artists—men and women who had received the same assignment as himself—resting with practice swords across their knees.
And in the very center.
The guide pointed.
“All of this exists for that person alone.”
A young woman stood in fierce debate with a cluster of martial scholars. She was as tall as a grown man, her body radiating an explosive, savage vitality that could be felt at a glance. The mere subtle flow of energy from her eyes seemed enough to dominate and seize the entire gathering. Faced with the unmistakable presence of one who had crossed the wall, the warrior swallowed dryly.
“That is…”
At the words of the man whose first assignment was to serve as sparring partner to such a master, the woman who had guided him smiled.
“Yes. That is the one famed throughout the Central Plains as Heavenly Robe Without Seams—the Second Young Mistress of the Luoyang Sword Family and our pride, Lady Yeon Seo-rin.”
A short while later, mealtime.
The Second Young Mistress, Yeon Seo-rin, was dining with her personal attendants.
“Ugh… spiritual medicine meals. Tastes like dirt. Gross.”
True to her free-spirited nature, she sat in the most comfortable posture imaginable while she ate—something possible only because no one else was permitted to enter this place.
One of her personal maids laughed.
“Don’t try to sneak any of it onto the floor. Chew every last bite thoroughly.”
Another chimed in with a smile.
“If you spill on purpose, we’ll collect everything that hits the ground and make you eat it again.”
“We won’t let you off just because it’s got dirt and dust on it.”
The Second Young Mistress grimaced at the thick bitterness that rose with every chew and eyed her maids sourly.
“…Don’t you dare go around telling people you’ve spent your whole lives serving me.”
“Never mind that.”
The maids smiled as usual and neatly ignored the threat.
“What did you think of that new warrior who just arrived?”
“They said he’d seen plenty of real combat wandering the murim for years—his presence was pretty fierce, wasn’t it?”
The Second Young Mistress forced the food down and answered.
“Ah, that Gongdong swordsman?”
She shook her head at once.
“I called him because I heard he’d survived a long time in the brutal north of Gansu starting from nothing—figured he might have learned some of Gongdong’s secret arts… but…”
She clicked her tongue.
“Nothing special.”
The maids gave wry smiles.
“Calling a man-hunter who’s slain multiple demonic masters in Gansu ‘nothing special’…”
“He lived off bounties alone for over a decade after Gongdong fell apart. He’s a real expert.”
The Second Young Mistress shrugged.
“If it’s nothing special, it’s nothing special.”
The Gongdong swordsman had worn a look of utter desolation after their bout, but the one who was truly more disappointed had been her.
“…Still, his instincts seemed decent enough. So instead of Gongdong arts, he’d be better off learning Hengshan’s refined Martial Image Sword Form. Or if we’re going by constitution, maybe our own family’s Heart-of-the-Sword, Sword-of-Life…?”
Watching their mistress sink once more into her private world of martial arts, the maids exchanged glances and sighed softly.
“Still a complete martial arts idiot…”
“Now she’s even managing other people’s training instead of just her own?”
Seeing that the Second Young Mistress showed no sign of returning from her private realm any time soon, the personal maids began chatting among themselves.
“Come to think of it, did you hear?”
“You mean about the people scheduled to visit the Main House a little later?”
The two shared meaningful looks, then cried out in one voice.
“Daseonrang!”
They squealed and stamped their feet while still seated.
“Maybe a Daseonrang branch will open in Luoyang!”
“Then maybe Daseonrang accessories will be supplied to the Main House too…?!”
“And since we’re the Second Young Mistress’s personal attendants, maybe we could each get just one…?!”
The commotion finally snapped the Second Young Mistress back to reality. She looked at them.
“What’s Daseonrang…?”
A woman who knew nothing but martial arts and simply wore whatever others dressed her in could hardly be expected to know of Daseonrang.
“How could you…?”
Yet the maids stared at their mistress as though she had just confessed something unforgivable.
“You don’t know Daseonrang…?”
Then a storm of explanations and rapturous praise for Daseonrang crashed down upon the Second Young Mistress without mercy.
“I get it! I get it already!”
Unable to endure any longer, she clapped her hands over her ears and shouted.
“I was wrong! I’m sorry!”
Only after scolding her a good while longer did the two maids finally release her. Leaving their dazed mistress alone, they continued chattering among themselves.
“Come to think of it, Daseonrang’s been showing interest in art pieces lately, right?”
“That’s right. The people who discovered unknown craftsmen and elevated the world of accessories to the realm of true art are now turning their eyes to real art itself!”
“Ohh. Just imagine what kind of new wind they’ll stir up in the art world…!”
“That’s why they accepted the invitation from the Grand Young Master—one of the most famous artists in Luoyang, no, in the entire Central Plains…!”
A slip of the tongue.
Even though the other maid hastily covered her mouth, the words had already escaped and reached the Second Young Mistress’s ears.
“What did you just say…?”
The maid who had clamped a hand over her companion’s mouth answered with cold sweat beading on her brow.
“N-no, nothing. Just a simple slip of the tongue. I meant the Fourth Young Master and misspoke.”
When she removed her hand, the one who had erred hurriedly nodded as well.
“That’s right. I was talking about the Fourth Young Master. The Fourth Young Master invited Daseonrang.”
“Do I look like an idiot to you?”
Veins stood out on the Second Young Mistress’s hands.
“Yeon Bi. That guy just fiddles with poisons. He’s not one of the most famous artists in the Central Plains.”
The untouched dining table began to tremble as though struck by an earthquake; teacups toppled.
“Talk.”
The personal maids had no choice but to nod.
“So-hyeon—that child—ended his seclusion?!”
The maids kept their heads bowed and said nothing.
“And not a single person told me?!”
Pacing the room, the Second Young Mistress snatched up her practice sword.
“I have to go see him right now.”
Both maids shot to their feet and blocked her path.
“You mustn’t, Young Mistress!”
“If you break closed-door training and leave, the Guard Pavilion Master will issue a severe reprimand!”
Her steps halted.
“Master…?”
The maids did their utmost to stop her.
“His Lordship ordered everyone in this closed-door training ground never to let the Young Mistress leave!”
Still facing away, the Second Young Mistress spoke.
“…And he also ordered that no word of my little brother should ever reach my ears, didn’t he.”
The maids could not answer.
“This time, I will disobey Master’s command.”