Under Heaven — A Quiet Stirring
"The sword of Diancang Sect is swift and fierce.
But does that sword always defeat the Plum Blossom Sword of Huashan Sword Sect?
Sometimes it wins. Sometimes it yields.
Then I ask again.
Can the sword of Diancang Sword Sect defeat the sword of a single nameless man?
It is not easy.
The sword of Huashan Sword Sect is no different.
Do I possess techniques superior to Huashan Sword Sect?
No.
Am I faster than Diancang Sword Sect?
No.
Yet I can face them all."
Why?
Ask yourselves that question.
"Do you know why I say that when you return to your main mountain or main sect, you will stop there?
Do you know why I assert that it is difficult to advance further?
Because you stand in the same place.
Because you remain first-year students.
Only one who crosses realms becomes a great martial artist.
Remember this."
"In seven days, General Jin Mu-gwang and the White Dragon Unit will depart again for Haran.
They go bearing winter's cold, scarce rations, and inadequate arms, with the will to protect the people.
I stand with them.
I will not turn away from that road.
When that time comes, I depart.
I have given as much instruction as I promised.
Now I walk my own path.
Thank you."
It was a long speech.
Someone began to clap.
The sound spread until Namsan itself seemed to tremble.
No one stopped him.
Sowoon hopped down from the rock.
He crushed the speech he had written in advance into powder between his palms.
A master might have used samādhi true fire (三昧眞火) for style—
he burned it by friction instead.
Not a single line of the prepared text had been read.
The moment he opened his mouth, the words he had long carried in his heart flowed out.
The boy who walked down with a playful sway did not look like a child.
He was fifteen.
His body was young and slight.
Yet his steps carried the weight of a giant.
People felt awe.
After hearing why he was leaving, none tried to restrain him.
How does one detain a man who goes to defend his homeland?
No pretext remained to demand further teaching.
He retrieved only his sword from beneath the awning.
He turned toward the mountain path.
With a single blade hanging lightly at his waist, swaying as he walked, he seemed unburdened.
There was no hesitation in his steps.
No bond could hold him.
No reason could bar his way.
남산파 stirred all at once.
They had received all they had hoped for.
Sowoon had set no conditions.
He had asked no motives.
All understood now that he could not be kept.
A master at the realm of transcendence would enlist as a common soldier in the Northern Expeditionary Army's White Dragon First Unit.
A quiet stirring rose like a tide.
It is common in this world to let others defend the nation while one remains to pursue profit.
He chose otherwise.
Summer heat pressed down.
Hearts grew heavy.
If they returned unchanged, nothing would be achieved—
his words weighed upon them.
Jimin's heart wavered.
She had to return to Cheonsan.
She could not remain.
As one bound to a sect, her time to return had come.
Diancang Sword Sect..
Huashan Sword Sect..
Moyong Aristocratic Clan..
The leaders of the Great Blade and Small Blade factions—those who had progressed the slowest—rose first.
There was no reason to stop him.
Yet they could not return to the back alleys as before.
To descend to the market streets and live as they once had would be the easiest path.
That road no longer entered their hearts.
They had seen something else.
They had seen an immense sea.
"What shall we do?"
Small Blade spun abruptly and strode down the slope.
After a few steps he stopped, turned back.
"Hey, Great Blade. You not coming? You're going to Haran too. I'm going."
"Don't act like you're the only one with righteousness! I'm coming too! I'll follow the boy general!"
"Don't copy me, you bastard."
They had nowhere to return.
The back alley had been their whole world.
Those with little to lose decide quickly.
The stout one glanced between them.
He hesitated briefly, then made his choice.
Without a word, he followed.
"I'm going too.
Sipa, how could we send the young master alone that far?
He lost his parents young, didn't he."
"They won't refuse me just because I'm a woman, will they?"
This time, Moyong rose.
She did not glance at others.
She did not look back.
She descended the mountain.
News reaching the Moyong clan would cause uproar.
One by one, they left, each laying down their obligation to their home sect with a final word.
Some headed toward Cheonhwa Inn.
Others sought the White Dragon encampment outside the city walls.
The White Dragon Unit, which had delayed departure due to insufficient levies from the provinces, received unexpected guests.
They called themselves disciples of Namsan.
All Under Heaven began to move.
The rising elites representing the martial world set out.
Their steps turned toward the battlefield.
General Jin Mu-gwang received Sowoon's farewell.
As he watched the others arrive one by one behind him,
a faint, quiet smile touched his lips.