The Ice Flower's Resolve
The day after Baekri Hyeong of the Baekri Clan entered and left the territory of the Black Tiger Sword Sect, the clan erupted into chaos over the disappearance of a high-ranking executive from the Finance Hall the previous night. Fortunately, an anonymous testimony placed Baekri Hyeong inside the clan at the time, removing him from the list of suspects. When the body was discovered near the Black Tiger Sword Sect, however, the clan formally lodged a protest. The response from the Black Tiger Sword Sect revealed that one of their branch leaders had been murdered. The branch leader's subordinates insisted black path martial artists were responsible, yet the sect's executives were convinced the Baekri Clan was behind it. Then, as soon as morning arrived, a protest arrived from the Baekri Clan itself. Thanks to this, the two forces teetering on the brink of conflict reached an agreement to join hands and resolve the matter. Clashing now would bring neither side any benefit. The entire situation felt as though it had been deliberately arranged to force them into battle. If so, where was the one who had set this stage, and what was he doing?
“Hoo-eup!”
The man who had set the stage, Baekri Hyeong, was training in the practice yard as usual. Having claimed he knew nothing about the incident outside the clan, he devoted himself to his sword without drawing suspicion from anyone. Even if someone did suspect him, what could they do? The young lord of the Baekri Clan had entered black path territory and killed both his own clansman and a black path martial artist? The story was absurd. No matter how much of a genius the young lord was said to be, the notion that an eight-year-old had slain a branch leader in a single move was simply unbelievable. Even if he admitted it himself, no one would take it seriously. From the beginning, it had been right to exclude him from suspicion.
“Wow… Even with the clan in this state, you still feel like swinging a sword?”
“A swordsman exists to wield the sword. Is it any different for you, sister?”
“Me? Lately I’ve had too much on my mind, so the sword doesn’t feel right in my hand.”
“…I see.”
Baekri Hyeong answered lightly, yet inside he was quietly astonished. For a martial artist to be unable to hold a weapon—especially their primary weapon—meant they stood on the threshold of a realm where weapons were no longer necessary. Baekri Hyang, who had already shattered the wall of the Peak Realm at twelve, now gazed toward the Transcendent Peak Realm at sixteen. Breaking through that wall required a different kind of enlightenment. Though martial artists regarded their weapons as comrades, surpassing the Transcendent Peak Realm demanded they discard that belief. The thought was simple, yet for someone who had devoted their life to a single art, releasing their weapon created the perfect conditions for assassination. That was why those most frequently targeted in the murim were masters standing at the pinnacle of the Peak Realm. Baekri Hyang had reached that extreme and now stood at the stage where she could no longer grip a weapon.
“Congratulations. You’ll soon break through the wall of the Transcendent Peak Realm.”
“Congratulations to you as well. You’re almost there too, aren’t you?”
“It’s only a wall I can vaguely see. I’m still far from overcoming it.”
“Haha… The race of geniuses really is something else.”
Baekri Hyang shook her head as she watched her younger brother, who looked ready to shatter the Peak Realm’s wall at any moment. In truth, he had already reached a level beyond merely breaking through that wall. So why did he remain at the First-Class Realm? Because Baekri Hyeong himself did not wish to reach the Peak Realm.
‘Back then, I did everything imaginable to break through the Peak Realm’s wall.’
What was so important about such a realm? To cross a wall that had become visible, she had swung her sword through sleepless nights. She had attempted to circulate her qi on an empty stomach for entire days. And when she finally broke through, she realized how foolish her actions had been. If she had waited, she could have crossed in a far better state. Impatience had forcibly elevated her, and by the time she understood everything, she was already at the Peak Realm—unable to fully embrace the lower stages because of that forced advancement.
Yet Baekri Hyeong was walking that path now, deliberately setting aside the desire to grow stronger. Was it because of the Heavenly Martial Body? Or because he had inherited the Sword Sovereign’s blood so deeply?
‘What a troublesome fellow.’
If she wasn’t careful, she really might be overtaken. Even so, after only two years of holding a sword, Baekri Hyeong already stood at the threshold of the Peak Realm. If things continued as he boasted, he might surpass her within a few years. A sister losing to her younger brother—that simply wouldn’t do.
‘I have to work hard too. This time, I’ll take everything I can and break through to the Transcendent Peak Realm.’
A virtuous cycle of talent. A sister who neither envied nor resented her brother’s gift, and a brother who never flaunted his talent with arrogance. Their relationship nourished each other’s growth. Baekri Hyang had even refused the Murim Alliance’s offer of enlistment because of him. Staying by her brother’s side felt like it might provide the clue she needed to become stronger still.
Thus, Baekri Hyeong’s training had sparked a new resolve in the clan lord Baekri Hyeok and a change of heart in Baekri Hyang. And if there was another person changed by his training…
“…”
That person was none other than Baekri Hyeong’s mother, Han Seol-eun. She was a woman with snow-white hair and blue eyes that marked her as no native of the Central Plains. The world knew her not merely as the Sword Sovereign’s wife, but as the White Night Bow. Her sect was the North Sea Ice Palace, one of the outer murim powers. She now sat before a sheet of letter paper, locked in inner struggle. Ever since she had learned two years ago that her son possessed the Heavenly Martial Body, Han Seol-eun had agonized over whether to send word to the North Sea Ice Palace. She had become a complete outsider. Having fallen in love with the Sword Sovereign, she had turned her back on her sect and descended to the Central Plains to build a family. Though the Ice Palace had opposed it, she had chosen love and abandoned them. She had ignored every attempt at contact and never returned north. Now, was it right to write a letter? For her child’s sake, she needed whatever strength the Ice Palace could offer. Generations that produced the Heavenly Martial Body had always been drenched in blood. Yet if a daughter who had sent no word in years suddenly asked for help, how would they view her?
“Hoo…”
Baekri Hyeok had once said that the bond between parent and child could never be easily severed. But Han Seol-eun lacked confidence. The moment she reached out, wouldn’t circumstances force her back to the North Sea Ice Palace? Yes. She feared leaving the Baekri Clan—feared leaving her children’s embrace. She could not take them to the Ice Palace. More precisely, she did not wish to bring them among people who distrusted outsiders. She only wanted her children to live happily.
“In the end, there is no other way.”
She did not know what consequences this choice would bring. Still, she refused to live with the regret of never having acted. Having finally made her decision, Han Seol-eun began to write a letter filled with sincerity—not as the Sword Sovereign’s wife, but as the White Night Bow who carried the blood of the Ice Palace’s legitimate successor.
“Is anyone there?”
“Yes, my lady.”
“Find a merchant caravan heading toward the Ice Palace and ask them to deliver this letter. Tell them it comes from the White Night Bow.”
“Understood.”
She still could not be certain this choice was right. Yet she believed acting would bring a better outcome than remaining silent. Han Seol-eun handed the letter to the servant, hoping it would gently melt the nail driven deep into her parents’ hearts.
**********
Three years passed. During that time, the Baekri Clan underwent countless changes. After reorganizing the command structure and budget system, the long-troubled Finance Hall finally splintered apart. Thanks to this, Baekri Hyeong could remove the Finance Hall from his list of suspected traitors. Another shift saw the First Elder rise to a considerably higher position within the clan. Though the post had always been prestigious, once Baekri Hyeok began actively asserting himself, the First Elder swiftly consolidated power. Baekri Hyeong’s suspicions toward him only deepened. Finally, the Chief Steward’s duties had also changed. With the Finance Hall divided, the Chief Steward now held authority over the clan’s finances. Baekri Hyeong could not decide whether this was a favorable development. Reducing the number of targets to monitor from three to two was good, yet it also meant he would have to dig deeper. Before the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering opened in a year, he needed to root out the traitor within the clan. The clan’s destruction lay in the distant future, but with the future altered by his regression, he could no longer predict when that calamity might strike.
Then, on an otherwise ordinary day, enormous news swept across the Central Plains. The Sword Sovereign Baekri Hyeok, radiating the intent to wage war, had led the clan’s main forces toward the Murim Alliance headquarters in Anhui.