Chapter 8: Passed Candidates 4

Before they knew it, night had fallen, and a crescent moon hung in the sky, sliced cleanly as if by a blade.

Even now, no additional passers had arrived besides Baek Moo-jin, Seo Moon-geuk, and Ju Ja-woon. It seemed these three were the final passers for the fourth rank. Yet, as they talked, Seo Moon-geuk found himself once again feeling intimidated by Baek Moo-jin. This was because Seo Moon-geuk and Ju Ja-woon were fifth-rank martial guests, while Baek Moo-jin alone had passed as a fourth-rank martial guest.

Seo Mun-geuk sighed occasionally as he looked at Baek Moo-jin.

‘So that’s why he faced the Black Sword Corps Commander in the trial.’

It wasn’t surprising news, given his proven skill. Only then did an official from the Executive Office emerge, briefly outline the upcoming schedule, and withdraw. The three were finally free.

After being shown to their respective lodgings for the time being, they literally had nothing to do.

Baek Moo-jin stepped out alone onto the veranda of the White Sword Corps building to gaze at the moon. Unlike the snowy mountains, the chill wind didn’t blow, making it a pleasant moonlit night for a stroll.

He had passed the Northern Heaven Alliance exam as he intended, yet he felt little emotion.

Baek Moo-jin possessed martial arts skills far beyond those of a mere fourth-rank martial guest.

Baek Moo-jin took out the letter he always carried in his robe and read it again under the moonlight. And he recalled once more.

That moment when he had encountered the fate that compelled him to grow stronger…

It was because of the letter left by Baek Moo-jin’s father and the secret history of his family.

2.

My son…

Years have swiftly passed since you entered Seolui Peak, forbidden to our family.

Just imagining how strong you must be now fills me with pleasant thoughts even as I lie in bed.

I wish I could see you once more, but my health won’t allow it. When you eventually descend from Seolui Peak, engrave the words I left in my letter upon your heart.

This is the story of you, me, and us.

Rumors that the origins of the White Flower Divine Art we mastered trace back to the demonic path once endangered our family.

Though I cannot say exactly when this occurred. It was a tale passed down from father to son.

In any case, our family faced a crisis where we could easily have been branded as enemies of the martial world. Our late patriarch likely had few options. That is precisely why he left our homeland and settled in the Snow Mountains.

In other words, even before settling in the Snow Mountains, our family had always practiced a unique martial art known as the White Flower Divine Art.

Our ancestors believed our martial arts could not be judged as demonic arts solely because they diverged from the mainstream martial world’s path.

It is said there were also malicious slanders from others. They hoped things would eventually quiet down, but people only heard what they wanted to hear, and our ancestors found themselves in a difficult position.

It was said that it was difficult for our family alone to change the perception of the martial world, which was wary of demonic arts.

We had to retreat to the snowy mountains and live quietly, as if the entire family had entered seclusion for intensive training.

Quietly and coldly.

During those bitter years, the previous heads of the family created forbidden grounds and made various preparations, hoping the future head would use them. That is the true nature of Seolui Peak, where you now reside.

It was purely the arduous and stubborn work of the family heads alone.

One patriarch brought the Snow Lotus found at the edge of the Ten Thousand Barriers Valley in the Heavenly Mountains. Another journeyed to the South Sea to procure Mystic Iron. Yet another obtained the Poison-Repelling Ring, said to be harder to find than any renowned sword.

And that’s not all. I was no exception, nor was your grandfather.

Whenever it might be, and whoever it might be, we vaguely hoped that the head of the family inheriting our legacy would make a name for themselves throughout the land.

It would have been good to prepare wealth too, but unfortunately, we lacked that talent. Also, our strict restraint from external activities was likely another reason we failed to accumulate wealth.

Son, what do you think about the state of affairs in our declining family?

You must engrave that grace upon your heart and live accordingly.

For it was not prepared with any expectation of something from you. The heads of the family endured long years of hardship, waiting in their own way for the time when the family might rise again.

Snowcloth Peak is such a place.

With such a profound destiny prepared over countless years, how could it be called merely a ‘fateful encounter’ as martial artists speak of?

It was to pass down to their descendants a destiny greater than any mere opportunity.

My grandfather once said this:

The reason we were driven into the realm of darkness was not because we were actually descendants of darkness, but simply because we were weak.

I deeply resonated with those words.

The reality when I became head of the household was also extremely shabby, but whenever I saw the things prepared for the forbidden, I couldn’t help but feel a shiver run through my entire body. I also had to agonize. Should I take this into my own hands and rise up? Or should you, whose five senses are sharper than mine, inherit it?

The deliberation was brief.

Just as your grandfather yielded to me, I resolved to pass this on to you wholeheartedly and with joy.

The legacy of our family, that destiny, is yours.

And the burden of resolving our ancestors’ suffering and grievances is yours as well.

In any case, your five senses far surpass mine, so as your father and your teacher, this was the natural choice.

Mujin, I earnestly hope that even after receiving the family legacy, you will strive with all your heart and strength. Your unworthy father will eagerly await the day when your journey into the martial world leads you to reign supreme. Whether I dwell in heaven or the hell beneath the earth, I will await your news.

3.

How could a letter left by one’s father stir the heart so profoundly?

Baek Moo-jin found the meaning he took from the letter changed day by day with each reading. The first time he read it, his emotions ran so high he could barely grasp the words. When he read it again with a clearer mind, he couldn’t help but wonder why his father hadn’t taken the inheritance gathered in the family’s forbidden chamber.

After more time passed and he read it again, he left all the lingering questions and incomprehensible parts behind, simply accepting it with his heart.

He had accepted not only the family’s inheritance but also its suffering as his own.

Baek Moo-jin tucked the letter into his robe, then leapt nimbly onto the wall, taking in the vast panorama of the North Heaven Alliance.

To Baek Moo-jin, the North Heaven Sect was not a place to pledge loyalty.

It was merely a place of learning.

As long as the North Heaven Sect did him no harm, Baek Moo-jin intended to gain experience here and spare no effort for the sect.

However, if he were to be looked down upon here simply because his martial arts were unusual, like his ancestors before him, he was prepared to leave the North Heaven Sect at any moment.

Baek Mujin resolved to become a man bound by nothing except the contents of the letter he held close to his heart. He silently vowed to the former clan leaders watching over him from somewhere.

‘I will live freely, yet become stronger than anyone else.’

Baek Moo-jin looked down at the poison-resistant ring on his right ring finger, then turned his palm skyward and activated the White Flower Technique. The white-colored external energy manifestation force that began erupting from his palm shimmered in the moonlight, then swiftly formed into a small white flower shape amidst a swirling vortex before departing from his palm.