Yeop Hyun carried Yeop Ryung and arrived at his residence. Gently laying his sister on the bed, he inspected her swollen cheek.
"That must hurt…"
Wiping her tears, Yeop Ryung spoke.
"No, it doesn't hurt at all! How could they oust you when you fought with your life for the family? Just because Yeop Rang is a Cheonseonjin? This is so unfair!"
Yeop Hyun lightly stroked her cheek, shaking his head.
"That doesn't matter. What bothers me is that my own incompetence caused you to get hurt."
Yeop Ryung shook her head, tears flowing again.
"It's all my fault! I couldn't even protect you… I'm not even worthy of being your sister!"
Yeop Hyun smiled softly and pinched her nose gently.
"Fool, it's my job to protect my sister. Who says it the other way around?"
Struggling, Yeop Ryung sat up.
"Brother! Once I recover, I want to learn martial arts too. Then I'll protect you!"
Seeing her serious expression, Yeop Hyun smiled warmly.
"Good. Then I'll make sure you recover quickly! But it's late, so you should sleep first, right?"
Yeop Ryung nodded.
"Then tell me a story from the old days."
Yeop Hyun chuckled and began.
"Long ago, there was a hermitage on a mountain, and in that hermitage…"
Peeking at him with squinted eyes, Yeop Ryung said,
"Brother, I know I've heard this story hundreds of times, but I still want to hear it… hehe."
Soon after, Yeop Ryung fell completely asleep.
Yeop Hyun sat on one side of the room, rolling up his robe to reveal a deep wound near his abdomen. The cut had split open, and blood was flowing.
It had been inflicted during a recent struggle with the Lee family over mining rights.
While fighting twelve warriors, he had been ambushed from behind. Though he survived and killed his attacker, his dantian had been pierced.
The feeling was bad. Instinctively, Yeop Hyun knew his dantian had been destroyed.
'My dantian… destroyed…'
Closing his eyes slowly, Yeop Hyun understood that this meant he could no longer use internal energy. Reaching Yegyeong (the level of mastery he had aimed for) with his damaged dantian was impossible.
The dantian wasn't his only worry; Yeop Hyun was more concerned about Yeop Ryung. Despite being covered with three blankets, her face looked pale. She seemed to be feeling extreme cold.
Shanghan Disease.
From childhood, Yeop Ryung had been frail and especially sensitive to cold. Yeop Hyun had risked his life to claim the crown prince's position and accomplish countless feats for the family.
The Yeop family sent her medicinal elixirs every month. Without them, she would not have survived.
Yeop Hyun clenched his right hand.
'Now that I'm no longer crown prince, they probably won't send her any medicine.'
Her condition was worsening. To save her, he would have to go to Changmok Academy in the imperial city of Ganguk, home to the kingdom's greatest doctors.
To enter Changmok Academy, he had to reach Yegigyeong (the level of mastery) before turning eighteen. Yeop Hyun would be nineteen in six months—time remained, but with his dantian destroyed, reaching Yegigyeong was now impossible.
Turning to look at Yeop Ryung, who was lost in sleep, he whispered,
"I'll make you well… no matter the cost."
Suddenly, an idea came to him. He rummaged through his pocket and pulled out a black ring left by his mother.
Yeop Hyun's memories of his mother were vague. She had disappeared when he was ten.
The day she left, he had been held in her arms at the back gate of the Yeop residence. Behind her, a man in a black robe hovered in the air. Yeop Hyun still remembered his words:
"Miss, you must leave quickly. If the clan leader learns of the young master, even his life may be in danger!"
Finally freed, his mother had handed him the black ring.
"Hyun, take good care of Ryung. Please be careful, and do not hate me too much…"
With that, she left in a hurry. Yeop Hyun had run after her, but she and the man were already flying into the sky. He watched until they disappeared into the clouds.
Recalling his mother, Yeop Hyun clenched the ring in his right hand. Blood from an existing wound dripped onto the ring.
The ring trembled suddenly. Shocked, Yeop Hyun watched as it transformed into a streak of black light and entered his forehead.
His body vanished from the room in an instant.
Moments later, he found himself in a mysterious space filled with countless stars.
In front of him floated a twelve-story tower, bound at the four pillars by massive chains. At the top of the tower were three embedded swords.
Taking a deep breath, Yeop Hyun focused on what seemed to be the tower's entrance. Above it, large red characters were written:
"Gyeokok (Prison of Realms)."
On either side of the entrance were more red inscriptions:
[Left: Imprison Heaven, Imprison Earth, Imprison All Heavenly Gods and Demons.]
[Right: Forbidden Path, Forbidden Life, Forbidden Ten Thousand Realms Humans and Immortals.]
Looking at the black tower, Yeop Hyun's heart raced. He had never encountered anything like it.
Calming himself, he reminded himself this might be a rare opportunity—or a trap.
'Either way, I can't turn back now.'
He opened the tower door and stepped inside.
The first thing that greeted him was a skeleton seated cross-legged, a long sword planted beside it.
Yeop Hyun's eyes fell on an inscription before the skeleton:
"Master of the Azure Realm Sword! Took up the sword at twelve, achieved greatness at seventeen. By twenty-one, unmatched in the Azure Realm. By twenty-seven, perfected the Supreme Sword Way, reaching the level of destroying souls with the sword. Trapped here for 1,200 years. Today is the last day; I leave everything behind. If you are worthy to inherit my legacy, take good care of the Azure Sword Sect."
'Master of the Azure Realm Sword?'
Yeop Hyun could barely comprehend the meaning. At the base lay a fist-sized jade stone.
'A Legacy Stone!'
His blood boiled.
'I could become a sword cultivator!'
Sword cultivators were rare in Cheongju, as they required a special spiritual root. Yeop Hyun didn't know the details, but he understood it wouldn't be easy.
He carefully pocketed the Legacy Stone. As he tried to proceed inward, an invisible force immobilized him.
Confused, Yeop Hyun muttered,
"Huh?"
[A new arrival, I see?]
A woman's voice echoed from nowhere. Startled, Yeop Hyun took a step back and scanned his surroundings.
'Did I hear that wrong?'
The voice spoke again.
[Who governs the Way of Heaven?]
Yeop Hyun shouted in surprise,
"The Way of Heaven? What is that?"
A moment of silence passed before the voice spoke again.
[And why are you so weak? Ah, you're not a prisoner!]
Yeop Hyun could not understand what it meant.
Then the woman's voice expressed surprise.
[Not only are you a Heavenly-born Dao Body, but you also possess a Dual Spiritual Root! Two beings in one body—no wonder the Gyeokok Tower chose you!]
'Heavenly-born Dao Body? Dual Spiritual Root?'
His curiosity surged.
"Who are you? Can you at least tell me your name?"
[With such talent, you should have already reached a certain level. Tsk tsk, why are you still so weak? Your physical foundation is incomplete as well. I cannot bear to watch in this state!]
"…."
The woman continued, questioning him.
[How have you trained your body?]
Yeop Hyun hesitated, then spoke.
"I do push-ups, carry iron weights while running, and train with a club. Why do you ask about my training method?"
The woman clicked her tongue.
[Do you think this is the primitive era? With such outdated methods, you could ruin both your body and spiritual root!]
Yeop Hyun hesitated.
"But everyone in Cheongseong trains like this!"
The woman fell silent. Yeop Hyun looked around but saw no trace of her.
'Does she even have a physical form?'
After a while with no response, Yeop Hyun's gaze returned to the Legacy Stone. As he approached carefully, the voice spoke again.
[Do you wish to learn the sword?]
"I do!"
Who walking the path of martial arts hasn't dreamed of mastering the sword and surveying the world with it?
[But with a broken dantian, it will be difficult to practice the legacy of a sword cultivator before you.]
Yeop Hyun's face darkened instantly.
It wasn't just sword cultivation—he couldn't even become an ordinary martial artist in his current state.
The woman continued.
[However, I have another method. Will you try it?]
"Can I learn without a dantian?"
[Even better if you don't have one.]
'Learn the sword without a dantian?'
Yeop Hyun's heart leapt, though he calmed himself to speak.
"Thank you for teaching me swordsmanship, but what must I offer in return?"
There would surely be a price. Though excited to learn without a dantian, he feared the unknown cost.
The woman replied.
[Listen! Recently, this tower suffered great damage. As a result, the Nine Dao Principles scattered into Cheongchang-gye, loosening the tower's seal. The previous sword cultivator's death before your arrival was fortunate. Otherwise, you would already be a corpse.]
"…."
She continued.
[You must have many questions about this tower, but the profound principles here cannot be understood yet. I will only give you the basics. The tower has twelve levels. Each floor contains absolute beings of this world—humans, spirits, demon clans, even the souls of heaven. The tower once had the power to imprison them all, but the seal has weakened. It will not hold much longer.]
Having just entered, Yeop Hyun was stunned.
'Not hold much longer?'