A New Beginning
Time flowed like a running river.
The warm spring faded, and the scorching summer passed.
It was now early autumn, with a refreshing chill in the air.
Across the Central Plains, rumors about a certain master began to spread like wildfire.
“A new rising expert has appeared in the black path.”
“Even the Black Pavilion is showing interest in him.”
“The Five Great Families have finally turned their eyes toward the actions of this black path master.”
And so on.
Of course, the person at the center of those rumors was calmly sipping tea with Mong Yeo-rin.
“Ah, this is nice.”
Mong Yeo-rin seemed to have grown considerably compared to before.
She was a little taller, and her peerless beauty shone even brighter.
Just a few months ago, her face still held traces of youth. Now, a mature elegance was beginning to emerge.
It looked like she was finally losing her baby fat.
And the same could be said for me.
“You’ve changed quite a bit, haven’t you?”
“Have I?”
“Yes. You seem much taller. And above all, your face…”
That’s right. I had changed too.
My jawline had sharpened, giving me a distinctly masculine appearance.
With the baby fat gone, my nose had straightened elegantly, and my eyes had grown deeper and more piercing.
But what had changed most of all was my martial arts.
Crack!
A fissure appeared in the teacup Mong Yeo-rin was holding.
“Aigoo.”
Eventually, she gave up and set the teacup down.
I had been competing with her in a battle of internal energy.
Because she possessed an overwhelmingly powerful aura unlike anyone else, I hadn’t been able to defeat her for a long time.
In fact, it seemed impossible to beat her in a pure contest of inner force alone.
But a tree that never gives up eventually grows lush leaves.
Finally! At last, I had begun to gain the upper hand in our internal energy clashes.
“Does it feel refreshing now?”
Mong Yeo-rin glared at me with sharp eyes.
But the sight wasn’t particularly displeasing.
“More than refreshing, it feels like I’ve accomplished something.”
“Really now, is that what you call it?”
Mong Yeo-rin had changed not only in appearance but in aura as well.
Before, there had been a certain awkwardness and unfamiliarity between us. Now, the two of us conversed as comfortably as real siblings.
“To beat such a beautiful woman and then say it feels like an accomplishment? Tsk.”
“I admit you’re beautiful, but the sense of accomplishment is also true.”
At my words, Mong Yeo-rin finally threw up both hands in surrender.
“You really never lose, do you? Not even once.”
“I’ll buy you dinner instead.”
“Oh? Really? No take-backs.”
“Of course.”
I genuinely enjoyed the time I spent eating with her.
These days, I either ate alone or joined the stiff, formal meals in Geomhonjeon with everyone else.
Thanks to her endlessly varied reactions, mealtime had become quite entertaining.
After finishing our light conversation, I had just left her residence when—
“Young Master! Young Master!”
Dan-hee came running in a frantic hurry.
Wondering what trouble had arisen this time, I immediately frowned.
But Dan-hee’s expression was bright.
“The eldest young lady has returned!”
“…Ah.”
The eldest young lady.
Ju Seung-gyeong, my eldest sister, had come back.
“The second young lady is with her too!”
The second young lady would be Ju Sang-ah.
My cold and aloof second sister.
“So it’s that time already.”
Exactly one year had passed.
The day they returned to the family.
Both of them were students at Cheonmu Academy in Luoyang.
It was an institution attended only by exceptional talents, not a place just anyone could enter.
Anyway, since the two of them had returned after a year, I needed to greet them.
I headed straight for the gate.
* * *
Ju Seung-gyeong.
As the eldest daughter of the Ju Family and Ju Seung-hyeok’s younger sister, she possessed such incredible martial talent that she would have been the next heir if not for him. With her innate boldness and fighting spirit, even most men avoided sparring with her.
“You’re here?”
“…”
I offered her a greeting.
But Seung-gyeong simply stared up at me for a long while without saying anything.
Then, after a moment—
“Huh? You… you’re Woo-jin, right?”
I nodded.
A gasp escaped Seung-gyeong’s lips.
“You, you… what the hell happened? Your height… no, your whole body…”
She began poking and prodding every part of me.
The firm texture of my muscles sent electric thrills through her palms and across her entire body.
“You crazy bastard! What on earth happened? Where did that soft, chubby little piglet go?!”
Honestly, the way she talked…
Leaving behind my loudly fussing sister, I turned to the other one standing there blankly.
I gave a light bow to Ju Sang-ah as well.
“It’s been a while, Sister.”
“…Yes.”
Ju Sang-ah nodded quietly.
She looked surprised too, but she didn’t show it openly.
The calm, ice-cold second sister and the fiery, hot-tempered eldest sister.
Their personalities were complete opposites.
If you mixed the two of them in moderation, wouldn’t you get our eldest brother?
“You. Come with me for a moment.”
At that moment, Ju Sang-ah called out to me.
Wondering what it was about, I followed her.
She stopped in a secluded spot and turned to face me.
“What exactly have you been doing?”
“Hm?”
Her abrupt question made me tilt my head.
“Jin-woo. That’s you, isn’t it?”
“…!”
I was slightly taken aback.
Jin-woo.
It was my name read backwards—a new alias.
And it was also the name I used when operating as a member of the Black King Faction.
The name of that rising black path expert who had become the hottest topic in the current martial world… was precisely Jin-woo.
“What makes you think so?”
Ju Sang-ah gave a crooked smile at my question.
“That reaction tells me I’m right. A normal person would have denied it first.”
“You’re correct. There’s no need to hide it. How did you know?”
She let out a small laugh.
“You reversed your name. How could I not notice? And from the beginning, Jin-woo’s activities started in the Jiangxi region. Of course I’d know.”
No, sorry, but if it were that obvious to everyone, the entire martial world would already be in an uproar.
This was simply because Ju Sang-ah herself was exceptionally perceptive.
Her gaze grew even colder.
“I don’t care what you do. But… stop associating with those black path thugs.”
“I know the black path is dangerous. But why exactly?”
“Because it’s dangerous.”
She took a step closer and firmly gripped my shoulder.
Her voice was low, but it carried a strange intensity.
What was interesting was that she had never shown any concern for me before.
She had always pretended not to notice and ignored me. Why this sudden reaction?
“If you weren’t the youngest of the Ju Family, maybe it wouldn’t matter. But you carry this family’s blood, and the family can be exploited no matter what you do.”
Ah, so that was the context.
Was she worried I might be deceived and manipulated by the black path?
I looked her straight in the eyes.
“Even so, I can’t just sit back and do nothing. In the martial world, if you stay still, you get eaten.”
Ju Sang-ah let out a short sigh.
Her eyes held a mixture of acknowledgment, worry, and reluctant understanding.
“You… take after Father.”
Her unexpected words left me momentarily stunned.
“Isn’t that a good thing? A child resembling his father.”
“It’s not the good side that you resemble.”
She gave a bitter smile.
“Father sometimes chooses paths that are impossible to understand.”
Having said her piece, Ju Sang-ah turned away.
“Be careful. No matter what face you wear, you have only one place to return to.”
After she left, only a strangely light breeze remained.
I couldn’t tell whether she had been worrying about me or warning me.
“Hey, little brother.”
Ju Seung-gyeong threw an arm around my shoulder with a thud.
Since I was now much taller than her, I had to lower my shoulder slightly to accommodate her.
“How about a match with this sister? Hm?”
“…”
Sigh. Here we go again.
I had already gathered information about her through the Black King Faction.
‘The world’s mad dog. Fighting hound, rabid bitch,’ and so on.
Rather fierce nicknames for a woman.
“How about it right now?”
At her question, I lightly brushed her arm away and shook my head.
“You’ll die if we fight.”
“…”
The atmosphere suddenly turned icy.
Did I speak too harshly?
But unfortunately, I had no intention of sparring with her.
The outcome was obvious, and crushing her spirit might slow down her development.
“First, unpack and rest. You must be tired.”
I quickly left those words behind and fled the scene.
Behind me, I could hear Ju Seung-gyeong, who had finally recovered from the shock, rampaging wildly, but I had already left the area.
Even before I learned martial arts, she couldn’t catch me when I ran. Nothing had changed now.
“Hmm.”
That aside.
I looked in the direction Ju Sang-ah had disappeared.
She was heading toward Geomhonjeon.
Being the model student she was, she would report her return to Father first before heading to her quarters.
I had something to say to her.
I moved ahead and blocked the path she would take.
* * *
Ju Sang-ah.
She had been born with a naturally quiet, introverted, and gentle disposition.
She didn’t like stepping forward. She simply did her best in silence, like a shadow.
That didn’t mean she lacked ambition.
She was a woman with just as much desire as anyone else.
“…”
Ju Sang-ah’s expression was dark as she left Geomhonjeon.
She had announced her arrival to the Lord, but he hadn’t spared her even a proper glance.
Yes, she already knew.
The Lord only ever cared about the youngest.
To her eldest brother Ju Seung-hyeok, he showed not affection but merely a sense of duty.
And to her second brother—and her full sibling—Ju Sang-jin, he showed cold indifference.
The contrast was stark.
Whenever the Lord smiled or showed sorrow, it was always because of Woo-jin.
When the boy was sick, the Lord would always leave Geomhonjeon empty.
She knew that he would secretly hide near Woo-jin’s residence and watch over him.
Was that all?
Even when Woo-jin caused so many accidents and troubles, he was never driven out.
‘He told me that if I didn’t do well, I would be kicked out of the house.’
That had been a wound to her.
From a young age, one of Ju Tae-sung’s words had been deeply embedded in her heart.
‘If you wish to continue living in this house, you must behave properly. If I am ever dissatisfied, I will throw you out at any time.’
Grind.
Ju Sang-ah clenched her teeth.
She endured and endured.
Despite hearing such harsh words, she did not hate the Lord.
Even with such favoritism, she did not hate Woo-jin.
Because if she did well, he would surely look at her.
More. Even more than now…
“How…?”
But how?
Her shoulders slumped.
The Cheonmu Academy end-of-term evaluation for the second half of the year. Over a thousand students in total.
And among them, Ju Sang-ah had taken first place.
Moreover, she was the youngest first-place student in history.
It was a record that had not been set in the two hundred years since the academy’s founding.
She had proudly reported this fact at Geomhonjeon, but all she received in return was cold indifference.
There had been no praise.
She had tried so hard to do well.
She had only wanted to receive a little attention.
Her heart crumbled.
Her future crumbled along with it.
It was becoming too hard to endure any longer.
Tears finally spilled from her eyes.
‘I don’t hate him. If I just… do better. I can do better. That’s all I need…’
She would do it again.
Because she was the proud second daughter of the Ju Family, Ju Sang-ah.
Tap, tap.
Just as she was wiping away her flowing tears, someone touched her shoulder.
“…Huh?”
It was a familiar face.
“Ah, you…”
That was when it happened.
Crack!
A gale erupted, and her figure vanished without a trace.