Silence enveloped the estate. It was broken by Baek Mu-ryang's hearty laughter.
"Hahaha! Hahahaha! I took in a son to save my household, but now it seems I've gained an outstanding talent instead. Isn't that right, everyone?"
Speaking on behalf of the retainers, Chief Steward Han replied.
"He resolved the situation with nothing but his three-inch tongue, so there's no doubt he's no ordinary child."
"What do you think, Chief Steward Han? In my eyes as clan head, Hwi has done us all a great favor."
Chief Steward Han couldn't bring himself to deny it. As the oldest and most experienced here, he knew full well that the earlier crisis had been a dire one for the Baek family.
'He said he'd gild it with silver to give it legitimacy. Could that child have foreseen everything?'
Baek Mu-ryang harbored the same doubts as Chief Steward Han.
"Hwi, did you know in advance that the Crimson Sect Hall would raid our main estate?"
Yang-hwi bowed his head politely.
"The Muddy Black Gang thugs weren't careful enough to watch their words in front of a slave boy they planned to sell. I overheard them mention the Crimson Sect Hall."
To the others' ears, it sounded like he'd pieced together the entire sequence of events—from the info gained from the Muddy Black Gang to predicting what would follow.
And all that from a mere eight-year-old boy.
'What a clever child. With him...'
He'd decided to adopt him because of their fateful connection, but it was undeniable that it had started from simple pity.
But now, it went beyond pity. Looking at Yang-hwi, Baek Mu-ryang felt greed stir within him.
He was always busy with outside work to sustain the family, and his frail wife spent most days bedridden.
That left him constantly worried about his son and daughter. This boy could serve as a fine role model and eldest brother.
Baek Mu-ryang glanced around at the retainers.
"An orphaned beggar who slept under the open sky has warded off disaster from our main estate—a true stroke of great fortune! Our Baek family now owes him a debt. In repayment, I shall give this child who had the heavens as his roof a new one under our roof. Does anyone object to this decision?"
Jeong In-hwa replied with a gentle smile.
"The clan head's will is firm, cough, so we shall simply follow."
Chief Steward Han bowed his head as well.
"The clan head's benevolence has brought prosperity to the family. We can only praise your righteous heart and marvel at your foresight."
With the retainers and chief steward acquiescing and bowing their heads, the other household members shared the positive sentiment.
Yang-hwi, however, checked the faces of his two new siblings, Baek Heon-so and Baek Yeon-yeon.
Baek Heon-so's cheeks were puffed out in full sulk.
In contrast, the youngest sister, Baek Yeon-yeon, wore the wide-eyed, innocent curiosity of a child encountering something wondrous and new.
'So's reaction is just as expected. But our Yeon-i... she's adorable no matter when I see her.'
His youngest sister—three years younger than his eight years, two years younger than seven-year-old Baek Heon-so.
Even in his previous life, Baek Yeon-yeon had been the family's beloved darling.
'That girl... I won't let it happen again this time.'
He recalled the unhappy trajectory of Baek Yeon-yeon's life.
The emotions felt when enshrining their mother, who succumbed early to chronic illness, at the temple.
And even the reason their father—who wasn't of high realm but diligent in training, thought to last until sixty without issue—had left the world...
'There's so much to change this time around.'
It was a good thing. Because Yang-hwi was confident he could upend everything.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
That night.
After bathing and changing into clean clothes, Yang-hwi lay down on the bed in his assigned room.
How long had it been since he'd lain on a proper bed?
By his current life's standards, it felt like the first time since birth.
His young body, unlike his alert mind, was reveling in this novel sensation.
'Ah, this is comfortable.'
He could have fallen asleep right then, but Yang-hwi sat up.
'No time to rest.'
He'd returned thirty years back to this fresh, unripe body.
For the first time, he could retrain in martial arts from the beginning.
In truth, Yang-hwi was barely containing his itch to start cultivating right away.
'In my past life, I left the clan at around twenty and wandered the martial world for eighteen years, barely crossing the threshold into the Transcendent Realm.'
Even by his own assessment, Yang-hwi was a genius born with extraordinary talent.
His senses were so keen and precise they deserved the term unprecedented and unparalleled.
A sturdy body and bones that never caught so much as a cold despite living rough from infancy.
An intellect that grasped principles and insights from a single glance, paired with an unfailing memory.
'If only I'd learned the arts of a famed sect, I could have become the world's greatest.'
Bluntly praising himself, Yang-hwi sat in the lotus position.
He was about to circulate the Heavenly Harmony Origin Art—the modified heart formula he'd created by overhauling the clan's Harmony of Principles and Six Unions Art.
'Creating this was pure hell.'
Sword techniques were mere swings and thrusts—even third-rate warriors could invent them.
Upon reaching the Peak Realm, one could develop footwork suited to their style even without prior training.
But heart formulas were different.
Only those at the grandmaster level could create them.
Why? Trial and error could lead straight to death.
'Looking back, it was foolish. Trying to change my inner cultivation method at merely the Peak Realm.'
The price had been qi deviation. He hadn't died or suffered severe injury, thank goodness, but it left lifelong aftereffects.
Damage to his meridians had caused issues with qi circulation.
'And yet I earned the title Best Sword Among Wanderers. Guess I really am a genius.'
This life would be different. He wouldn't settle for "best among wanderers."
He was confident.
At just eight years old, he could now engrave into his body an inner cultivation method and sword art worthy of being called divine skills.
'How far can I go this time?'
The sudden question turned into resolve and determination.
'The world's supreme sword—no, the world's supreme martial artist.'
He thought of the current world's supreme clan, the Great Namgung Clan.
Recalling Namgung Cheon-yeong's face from his past life's end, when he'd ambushed to eliminate a "threat."
"I can't let a clan like that bear the title of World's Supreme Clan. I'll make our Baek family the World's Supreme Clan."
Ho. He exhaled.
Heuk. He inhaled.
Between breaths in and out, the natural qi of heaven and earth began flooding in.
Heavenly Harmony Origin Art. Harmonize with heaven and earth to benefit the origin.
The influx of qi circulated through his meridians, transforming into inclusive true qi capable of harmonizing with anything.
'Before the qi deviation, and in this young body? No wonder it feels so refreshing.'
The qi itself felt pure and clear, unlike before.
To the point where he could swear its very nature had changed.
The impact of qi deviation had been that profound.
"Sseup. Haa. Sseup. Haa."
How much time passed?
Absorbed in meditation, Yang-hwi surfaced at the sound of knocking.
"Young master. Are you awake?"
Opening the door revealed a fresh-faced maid around fifteen.
"What's the matter?"
"The clan head commands you to join the dawn training."
Baek Mu-ryang left early each morning to sustain the family.
Yet he always made time to teach his children, holding drills at the crack of dawn.
"I'll head out right away."
He'd pulled an all-nighter, but the circulation had left him far from tired. A seed of qi had taken root in his formerly ordinary body.
Yang-hwi quickly prepared and headed to the small training ground in the estate's center.
"Hwi, did you sleep well? The bed must have felt strange."
"It was the soundest sleep in the world. Thank you for your concern."
"Good to hear."
Beside Baek Mu-ryang stood sulky-faced Baek Heon-so and curious-eyed Baek Yeon-yeon.
"Yesterday, I deliberately gave you no time to greet each other as siblings. I thought you each needed time to think and adjust. Now, say hello."
Yang-hwi first looked at Baek Heon-so and Baek Yeon-yeon before speaking.
"As of yesterday, I'm Baek Yang-hwi, your eldest brother. Let's get along well."
"Yay, I have another big brother! Big brother, I'm Baek Yeon-yeon!"
Watching her bounce over with sparkling eyes brought an involuntary smile.
"Can I call you Yeon-i from now on?"
"Of course, big brother!"
She was so cute he absentmindedly reached out to pat her head.
A habit from his past life, but thankfully, she didn't dodge.
'Our Yeon-i really is so kind and proper.'
Worlds apart from Baek Heon-so glaring from over there.
'So's always full of complaints, past and present. Consistent, at least.'
His brother, suddenly demoted to second eldest after Yang-hwi's adoption.
The boy had always eyed him with jealousy and resentment, as if something precious had been stolen.
Past Yang-hwi had been thrilled to have family and yielded to him constantly, even liking that side of him.
'Father's good nature meant he never disciplined So strictly. In the end, the boy grew up crooked.'
One reason he'd left the clan right at twenty in his past life was the influence of Baek Heon-so, who had become clan head by then.
'This time, I'll straighten you out too, So.'
"Baek Heon-so. I'm Baek Yang-hwi, your brother. I'll call you So from now on."
"...Hmph!"
"So, that's no way to speak to your brother."
"...But, Father..."
As Baek Heon-so showed no remorse and Baek Mu-ryang prepared to gently admonish him, Yang-hwi intervened.
"Father. I believe sibling bonds grow all the more precious when built by our own hands. I'm fine, so why not give So time to accept me as his brother?"
"Hwi, if that's your thinking, then so be it."
Baek Mu-ryang gave a warm smile at the mature words and continued.
"Hwi, now that you're part of the martial clan, you must train in martial arts starting today."
"Understood."
"Our main estate's hereditary arts are two: the inner cultivation Harmony of Principles and Six Unions Art, and the sword art Heaven-Covering Sword."
He knew them well. Well enough to have mastered all twelve levels and overhauled them completely.
"Let's start with the sword. Our Heaven-Covering Sword Art consists of three forms total."
After demonstrating the sword forms, Baek Mu-ryang said to Yang-hwi.
"Try following once."
Yang-hwi quietly raised the wooden sword.
'How much should I show?'
After a moment's thought on his future path, Yang-hwi made up his mind.
Then, he swung the wooden sword.
At that instant.
Baek Mu-ryang's eyes widened hugely.
"H-How...!"
He had no choice but to react that way.
Yang-hwi's Heaven-Covering Sword was more perfect than his own.
Heaven-Covering Sword Art. A crude technique with most of its many forms lost, leaving only three—its name of "covering the heavens" now a joke.
Even so, it far surpassed the likes of street-level Three Disaster Sword scattered among the lowly.
Though full of holes here and there, the depth of each form was not to be dismissed.
It wasn't something one could mimic perfectly after one glance.
Yet Yang-hwi's display was flawless.
Thus, Baek Mu-ryang was stunned.
'Could he have learned it before...? No, impossible.'
He briefly suspected a leak of the art but quickly realized it was wrong.
They'd already confirmed no prior training traces on Yang-hwi's body.
Indeed, his muscles now trembled throughout from the strain.
'His body couldn't handle the technique he performed.'
Didn't the Shaolin make novice monks labor a year before martial training?
All martial arts, swordsmanship included, required physical conditioning first.
Yang-hwi's reaction was that of an ordinary boy ignorant of even the "wu" in martial.
So how had he executed the Heaven-Covering Sword Art perfectly?
"Hwi. Can you do it once more? No need for the wooden sword this time."
His body still quivering, Yang-hwi silently obeyed his father.
Hands empty, he assumed the grip as if holding a sword. From his inexperienced young body, he drew forth the three forms etched into his soul.
The shock on Baek Mu-ryang's face deepened.
'Indeed. Perfect.'
A form shown just once, flawlessly replicated by a body never trained in martial arts.
The implication was simple.
"Hwi..."
From first sight, he'd sensed this child was extraordinary.
Drawn by eyes that had never known the world's light, he'd offered adoption.
But it had been a choice born of his values—of pursuing righteousness.
Now, however. Baek Mu-ryang realized.
This child, face smeared with soot, clothes caked in mud, body slumped in the mud pit, was in truth the world's greatest gem.
"I only sought to save my household... and a once-in-a-millennium genius has rolled into our home."
Yet.
Instead of joy, Baek Mu-ryang's expression grew grave.
Seeing the change, Yang-hwi felt puzzled.
'Why the long face?'