Six years passed.
Not idly.
Not quietly.
---
But in absolute control.
---
Kael Viremont did not grow like other children.
He did not chase approval.
He did not seek recognition.
---
He cultivated.
---
From the moment his body could sustain it, the **Endless Path Divine Art** became the foundation of his existence.
It never stopped.
Not for sleep.
Not for conversation.
Not even for a single breath.
---
Everything was refined.
His body.
His senses.
His soul.
---
In his past life as Jin Muyeon, he had walked the path of Murim to its very end.
Power there was not measured in ranks of nobility or mana—
But in realms.
---
The path began with the crude and the incomplete:
**Third Rate → Second Rate → First Rate**
---
Where the body was tempered and Qi first awakened.
---
Then came those who stood above ordinary martial artists:
**Peak Master → Transcendent**
---
At this stage, one no longer relied on technique alone.
Qi became an extension of intent.
Movement itself carried meaning.
---
Beyond that—
Few ever reached.
---
**Life and Death Realm.**
---
A boundary where one's existence itself was refined.
Where survival was no longer guaranteed—
But chosen.
---
Then—
The true peak.
---
**Natural Realm.**
---
Where one became aligned with the world itself.
Qi no longer flowed—
It existed.
---
Jin Muyeon had stood there.
At the absolute summit.
---
And then—
He had attempted to go further.
---
**The Void Realm.**
---
A realm not of the world—
But beyond it.
---
An ascension.
---
And he had failed.
---
Not from lack of power.
---
But because he had been incomplete.
---
Now—
That flaw no longer existed.
---
And in just six years—
---
Kael had reached the level of a **Peak Master**.
---
A realm that had once taken him decades.
---
Not through reckless advancement.
---
But through perfection.
---
Every step stable.
Every foundation absolute.
---
And yet—
---
He did not rush.
---
Because he remembered what waited at the peak.
---
---
This world, however, followed a different system.
---
Power was defined by mana.
---
Structured.
Categorized.
---
Controlled.
---
For mages, strength was divided into ranks:
---
**Rank 1–2: Apprentice, Mage**
The beginning.
Where one first learned to sense and manipulate mana.
---
**Rank 3–4: Great Mage, High Mage**
Control deepened.
Spells became structured.
Power became practical.
---
**Rank 5–6: Archmage, Magus**
True authority over mana began here.
At this level, one no longer followed spells—
They shaped them.
---
**Rank 7–9: Divine Mage, Sage, Transcendent Mage**
---
The highest realms.
---
Where magic ceased to be technique—
And became law.
---
A **Transcendent Mage** stood at the very peak of this world.
---
Few existed.
---
Even fewer were understood.
---
Swordsmanship followed a parallel path.
---
Though not bound by mana in the same way, its stages aligned in power:
---
A **Blade Master** stood equal to a High Mage.
A **Grandmaster swordsman** rivaled an Archmage.
---
And at the very top—
---
A **Supreme Grandmaster** stood alongside a Sage or Transcendent Mage.
---
That was the level of Duke **Aldric Viremont**.
---
One of the three strongest beings in the empire.
---
A man whose blade could decide wars before they began.
---
---
Kael existed outside all of it.
---
He had no mana.
No aura.
---
No place in this system.
---
And yet—
---
He was already walking a path that surpassed it.
---
---
Within House Viremont, power was not only measured by strength.
---
It was measured by blood.
---
And influence.
---
At the center stood the First Matriarch—
---
**Lady Seraphina Viremont.**
---
Beautiful.
Refined.
---
And utterly ruthless.
---
Her children—
Born only days after Kael—
Were the rightful heirs in her eyes.
---
**Caius Viremont.**
---
Sharp.
Ambitious.
---
And **Elena Viremont.**
---
Calm.
Observant.
---
Both gifted.
---
Both raised under Seraphina's direct influence.
---
Kael, however—
---
Was different.
---
He was the son of the second wife.
---
**Lady Mirelle Viremont.**
---
Gentle.
Soft.
---
A woman who neither fought nor resisted the currents of the household.
---
Which meant—
---
Kael stood alone.
---
Not targeted.
---
But not protected.
---
---
The day of evaluation arrived.
---
Six years old.
---
The age where potential could no longer be hidden.
---
The great hall of House Viremont was filled.
---
Elders stood in quiet observation.
Servants lined the walls.
---
At the center—
Three children.
---
Kael.
Caius.
Elena.
---
Above them—
Aldric Viremont sat in silence.
---
Beside him—
Seraphina.
---
Her gaze never once shifted toward Kael.
---
To her—
---
He did not exist.
---
---
High Magus **Eldrin Kaelthas** stepped forward.
---
"…We begin."
---
Caius went first.
---
Mana surged the moment the spell touched him.
---
Bright.
Violent.
---
"…Fire affinity," Eldrin announced. "Strong. He will easily reach the level of a High Mage."
---
Approval followed.
---
Elena stepped forward.
---
Her mana was different.
---
Sharper.
More refined.
---
"…Wind affinity. Exceptional control."
---
More approval.
---
Certainty.
---
The future of House Viremont stood before them.
---
Then—
---
Kael stepped forward.
---
The atmosphere did not change.
---
But something beneath it—
---
Shifted.
---
Eldrin cast the spell.
---
It formed perfectly.
---
Descended.
---
Touched Kael—
---
And passed through.
---
---
Eldrin froze.
---
"…No mana."
---
The words echoed through the hall.
---
Some elders frowned.
Others simply looked away.
---
"…There are no mana circuits," Eldrin continued. "No affinity. No potential."
---
Seraphina did not react.
---
She had already expected this.
---
Eldrin raised his hand again.
---
"We will test physical resonance."
---
Aura flowed.
---
Entered Kael's body—
---
And found nothing.
---
"…No response."
---
This time—
---
Silence became absolute.
---
A noble heir—
With no mana.
No aura.
---
Worthless.
---
That was the judgment.
---
Aldric finally spoke.
---
"…Is that all?"
---
"…Yes."
---
A pause.
---
Then—
---
"It is sufficient."
---
No anger.
No disappointment.
---
Only acceptance.
---
"Leave."
---
The hall emptied.
---
Elders.
Servants.
Even Caius and Elena.
---
Only three remained.
---
Aldric.
Seraphina.
Kael.
---
Seraphina rose first.
---
"…He will not interfere."
---
Her voice was calm.
---
Certain.
---
Aldric did not respond.
---
She turned.
Left.
---
Without ever acknowledging Kael.
---
---
Silence returned.
---
Kael stood alone before his father.
---
Unmoving.
---
Unshaken.
---
---
"…You are not empty."
---
Aldric's voice broke the silence.
---
Not a question.
---
A statement.
---
---
For a moment—
---
Kael allowed it.
---
---
A fraction.
---
Of what lay beneath.
---
---
Qi stirred.
---
Not released—
---
But present.
---
Absolute.
---
---
Aldric's eyes narrowed.
---
"…Interesting."
---
---
Not rejection.
---
Not confusion.
---
---
Recognition.
---
---
"…Walk your path."
---
---
Then he turned.
---
And left.
---
---
Kael remained alone.
---
---
The world had judged him.
---
Labeled him.
---
Discarded him.
---
---
Perfect.
---
---
Because it meant—
---
No one would see him coming.
---
---
Deep within—
---
The Endless Path Divine Art continued.
---
Unstoppable.
---
Refining.
---
Advancing.
---
---
Peak Master.
---
At six years old.
---
---
And this time—
---
He would not stop.
---
Until he reached the realm he once failed to grasp.
---
---
The Void.