Flame Burst.

The heat radiating from Gu Cheolun’s toes gradually morphed into energy, transforming into flames.

The flames that began to scorch the ground soon turned into mirages, rising more violently as if expressing their master’s emotions.

How could one not feel anger? He wanted to burn everything right then and there.

Yet somehow, he endured.

If one were to describe Gu Cheolun’s life, it would be a life of endless restraint and suffering.

This was the fate that every bloodline born into the Gu Clan would suffer.

Among them, Gu Cheolun’s existence was particularly unique.

A clan born to atone for the sins of their ancestors and inherit their burdens.

Since the inception of the Gu Clan, there had never been anyone like Gu Cheolun in history.

Everything about him was extraordinary.

Back when his father was still just a father, he would often tell Gu Cheolun.

“There’s no one like you in the history of the Gu Clan.”

Indeed, to prove those words, Gu Cheolun was special. Despite being smaller in build compared to the Gu Clan’s bloodlines, he possessed a surprisingly large frame and entered the realm of rationality immediately upon starting to master the Technique of the Flame Wheel.

It took him less than a year to reach the coveted state of five senses, a process that typically took around five years.

They say just breathing and sleeping alone would make one stronger.

That was something Gu Cheolun had heard told as a joke.

A genius bestowed by the heavens.

A being that could be compared to Yeon Ilcheon, who perhaps prevented the Blood Calamity.

Gu Cheolun was indeed such an entity within the Gu Clan.

Merely a figure stuck in Mount Shan. Yet far too precious a being to lose its shine in the Gu Clan.

Thus, Gu Cheolun’s father, the current Gu Clan leader, made a choice.

For the first time in history, he sent a direct descendant of the Gu Clan out into the world.

An unprecedented action.

While one could go out once they ascended to the position of clan leader or lesser clan leader, there had never been a case like this where someone was sent completely outside.

How could such a decision have been made?

It was difficult to comprehend. Hence, he wanted to ask, but it was no longer possible now.

The clan leader of that time was no longer around.

Even though he called him “father” and referred to him as the former clan leader, that man no longer existed.

He had accepted the responsibilities of a clan leader. It was a path Gu Cheolun would have to follow someday.

Thus, according to the clan leader’s will, nineteen-year-old Gu Cheolun entered the world, with no grand purpose.

He merely accepted his father’s wish to go experience the world.

Sometimes, Gu Cheolun mused over whether those experiences had truly been beneficial.

Would the things he saw and the events he endured—which he could have avoided—really yield the right outcome, as his father hoped?

The answer that surfaced was a resounding “no.”

Nothing in the world had changed.

If anything, it had worsened; there was nothing that had improved.

Only the changed self remained.

Then, could that be deemed the right result?

No, that couldn’t be said either.

Initially, there was no way to discern right from wrong. He couldn’t even judge what was correct himself.

Such was the nature of all life.

What, then, was the purpose of living like this? What meaning does a belief without intention hold?

He couldn’t know, nor did he wish to find out.

He just thought, “Isn’t it enough to live quietly, without a substantial belief?”

Such thoughts lingered in the mind of the young man.

– Nice to meet you.

One day, he met a woman, and a crack opened within him.

Something began to fill the void that had been there all along.

It didn’t take long for him to realize that it was emotion.

At the same time, a belief was born.

It was nothing special. At first, it was all about listening.

– Don’t do that.

Before taking action, he found himself thinking twice and enduring whenever possible.

– You have to eat, right? Be careful because it’s cold.

– Understood.

– Don’t go hitting people again.

– Understood.

The smaller things strangely began to fill him up.

This, oddly enough, gave him the strength to endure a desperate life.

Before he knew it, he had stopped pondering over right and wrong.

When he realized it, what mattered to him was only one thing.

There was nothing grand to call it a belief.

It was simply a wish.

A simple desire to protect someone. A need to protect her.

A promise that he would safeguard her at all costs, no matter what storms came.

At that time, for Gu Cheolun, that was enough.

No, even now, it should suffice. The only difference was that it had expanded beyond just her.

He had weathered harsh tempests.

Without caring for what was right or wrong, he lived focused on just one thing.

Living for someone else wasn’t necessarily bad. If he could, he wanted to do anything for them.

Thus,

– …please.

At the end of time crafted with great effort, he ultimately let go of her, someone more valuable than life itself. In the end, it was because of all this.

– Please take care of the kids.

The last words echoed.

Such a cruel thing to say. How could he manage without her? Gu Cheolun swallowed the words he couldn’t bring himself to say.

It was as if he were proclaiming that without her, he was nothing.

Watching the children crumble and fall apart, he felt powerless.

It was only then that Gu Cheolun realized he had never lived as a father.

There was nothing that couldn’t be done. If he wanted it, he could have accomplished anything.

Yet, being a father meant he could not do so.

His daughters, who had begun to fear him.

His son, filled with terror and resentment, looked at him hopelessly, unsure of what to do. An empty space was ample enough to shatter something.

He turned a blind eye—not because he had no choice.

He merely chose to ignore them shamefully.

He shielded his open eyes.

He closed his listening ears.

Even if he could do something, he chose not to.

“Maybe it’d be okay to just numb myself like this? Is it alright if I let myself be swept away and diluted?”

Such thoughts crossed his mind. He couldn’t tell how many years had passed.

Slowly, he submerged himself. Nothing seemed important anymore.

And so, while living another day, waiting for the next.

– … I can’t not do it, right?

At a sudden voice that broke into his thoughts, he raised his head.

– Yes, I can’t ignore it. I’ll do it.

His hazy gaze began to clear up. Something felt different this time.

– But do I really have to…?

– …?

– Yes. I’m going out now…

It was his son. When he looked, his son flinched and walked out, grumbling under his breath.

Gu Cheolun tilted his head in curiosity.

What was that?

Something felt different.

Yet he couldn’t pinpoint what exactly was different.

At a glance, it appeared the same as usual. His son seemed broken just like him since that day.

Knowing that, he felt unable to act. It was like being shackled by fear.

When he realized that, it was already too late.

He had thought so, that it was far too late. He thought that anything he wanted to turn back had already passed.

Yet despite thinking that.

– They say the First Prince is battling the Thunder Dragon.

To his surprise, change occurred.

– The Thunder Dragon?

– Yes. And he even won…

– …

His child was changing.

Fortunately, it didn’t take long to grasp what this meant.

– The First Prince has returned from Shaanxi -.

– The First Prince at the Dragon Meeting -.

– The First Prince at Shinryong Temple -.

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

From the moment he recognized that his child was changing to the present.

While he remained stuck in place, his child was preparing to rise alone.

He must have had wounds and resentments.

Be it to endure or to overcome, his son was trying hard to change.

What kind of psychological changes or processes had he gone through?

Had it been because he accepted the Sword Sovereign and their granddaughter? Gu Cheolun didn’t know.

It wasn’t a topic worth contemplating, and the important thing remained.

Perhaps his child, who might have been suffering more than him, was struggling to rise like that.

What was he, then?

– Please take care of the kids.

The voice he had tried to forget sounded once again.

He thought that after sending away what he was supposed to protect, absolutely nothing remained, yet it turned out to be the opposite.

There were far too many things he should have embraced and many things he needed to safeguard.

Yet he had done nothing.

It had been a decade, a decade of doing absolutely nothing.

While his child changed, he had wasted time doing nothing.

– Father.

One day, his son called him “father.”

He had thought he’d never hear that word again, and he hadn’t wished for it either.

He had never been worthy enough to be called “father.” Yet that very word resonated deeply within him.

It was the moment he felt what he was supposed to protect.

– Please.

The words he had seen every day were always the same yet different every time, and so it was this time.

What does it mean to be a father?

He didn’t know. He had never truly experienced it himself.

Was it really okay to come to understand this so late?

A question flickered but hesitating time was no longer an option.

It was too late to hesitate.

What could possibly be later? What was he hesitating for?

“Speak.”

Thus, he needed to do what he could do.

He hadn’t been able to, so now he had to.

Crack.

“Ugh!”

He gripped the old man’s neck, easily breakable.

“Remove your excuses. Do you think I’d be oblivious to that intention of yours?”

He longed to burn everything right then, but he managed to restrain himself.

The habit of pausing before taking action had developed over dozens of years.

He loosened his grip slightly.

“Whew… huff.”

To hear a response.

“Speak.”

According to the answer, Gu Cheolun would make a choice.

Whether to erase the Martial Alliance from this world or to endure it.

As he pondered this, staring at Muk Yeon.

“… Great Lord Gu.”

Muk Yeon spoke to him. Hearing those words, Gu Cheolun twitched his eyebrows in response.

“Address me properly. Am I still a Great Lord?”

“I’m sorry…”

“I didn’t call to hear an apology. I told you to explain.”

Gu Cheolun’s firm demeanor made Muk Yeon halt for a moment.

How should he begin to speak? A moment passed before he managed to start.

“… It’s because the Gu Prince was needed by the Martial Alliance. He also knew this was part of his choice.”

“Are you trying to justify it as the child’s choice?”

“The Gu Prince had desires from the alliance, and the Main Sect had its desires for him, too. It was merely for a transaction-.”

“I see.”

Even though Muk Yeon was strenuously trying to explain, Gu Cheolun nodded as he listened.

“You haven’t changed. Still shifting the blame elsewhere.”

Muk Yeon’s eyes widened in surprise.

“I was certain.”

That’s why he realized what Gu Cheolun’s choice would be.

“You are not needed. Neither then nor now.”

Flame Burst.

The embers erupted.

Gu Cheolun’s body ignited in flames. He had made his decision.

Today, he would erase the Martial Alliance from the world.

The consequences of that would be something he would bear.

As an inept father, he could manage that much.

Moreover,

‘So too, the burden he carried.’

He would sever all the shackles and burdens that the Gu Clan had borne.

He wouldn’t let that unnecessary atonement reach his son.

Thus thought Gu Cheolun as he released his energy.

The Sword Sovereign moved.

Energy enveloped the broken sword.

Gu Cheolun moved his hand first. The fire energy shifted to his touch.

Before the sword master could move his arm, Gu Cheolun’s hand lunged towards his face.

At that moment.

Swoosh—!!

A gust of wind suddenly howled and separated Gu Cheolun from the sword master.

“…!”

Seeing that, Gu Cheolun recoiled, furrowing his brows as he distanced himself.

There was no need to avoid it.

Had it been under usual circumstances, he would have decapitated the sword master, ignoring the gale completely.

But he took a step back.

The reason being, it was because the one wielding the wind had caught his attention.

The wind that separated Gu Cheolun from the sword master was undeniably dazzling golden.

As if it had absorbed the moonlight.