"I have already learned from the Lord."Jeong Yeon-shin responded calmly.


    "Inherit my martial lineage." He doubted Shin Geom-danju was proposing a formal master-disciple relationship. The laws of Ipwang Fortress did not permit such ties between its own martial artists.


    They feared it would create personal attachments that could interfere with their duties. Only the Fortress Lord was exempt from this rule, and Jeong Yeon-shin had already received instruction from her. Sear?h the n?vel_Fire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.


    "There’s a loophole in the laws of our Fortress."


    Shin Geom-danju smirked.


    "You can learn whatever you want from whomever you wish, yet you remain no one’s disciple. That means you are free to learn from anyone. Your martial lineage will never overlap with another’s."


    Jeong Yeon-shin did not answer. He merely stared at his direct superior with wide eyes.


    Here stood a supreme swordmaster of the Purple Lords, discussing loopholes in their laws.


    "Hmm? What''s wrong?"


    Shin Geom-danju stroked his sharp jawline, appearing somewhat uneasy.


    Moonlight spilled over his elegant, scholar-like robes, giving him an air of refinement.


    Back when his knees ached from training, such an impression had never crossed Jeong Yeon-shin''s mind. But now, it felt different.


    "If one lived like that, there would be no regrets."


    The Swordmaster of Ipwang Fortress truly embodied freedom. No shackles bound him. He was unhindered—free of obstacles.


    Studying Buddhist martial arts to refine his internal energy had made Jeong Yeon-shin aware of this principle. Could such unrestrained conduct be the key to reaching the pinnacle?


    His niece Jeong Hye and the elders of the Fortress had imparted great lessons upon him—humility and freedom.


    With these thoughts, Jeong Yeon-shin clasped his hands in a martial salute.


    He composed himself. As the uncle of Hye-a, who had once shared a drink with the Lord, he should carry himself with the dignity of an elder.


    "I am grateful for your offer, but I must decline. Modifying completed martial techniques to suit my body has little merit. The Moonlit Harmony Sutra from the Lord was the same."


    "Huh?"


    "To be truly mine, it must originate from my own hands. This junior is unfit to inherit a martial lineage. Even if I learned your techniques, I would pass them down in a different form."


    Shin Geom-danju. The seventeen generations of the Shin Geom-dan masters.


    They were deeply intertwined. They would have to see each other until their final breaths. There was no need to provoke unnecessary friction with the supreme swordmaster of their era.


    A martial lineage was a tradition and an identity. No martial artist wished for their life''s work to be inherited in a completely altered form.


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