“We greet the Head of the Namgoong Clan. You must have had a hard journey.”

“Even with this sudden visit, you have welcomed us so warmly. I had heard much, but now that I see it myself, I understand the reputation of Mount Hua was no exaggeration.”

“Haha, you flatter us.”

When the delegation from the Namgoong Clan arrived at Mount Hua, all of the sect's elders and disciples came out to receive them.

In the absence of the Sect Leader, the one acting in his place was Nobaek, head of the Martial Studies Pavilion.

He, too, had once roamed the martial world and shared a history of battling dark path forces alongside Namgoong Mucheon.

“Will you take a moment to rest? The others will be guided to the guest quarters by our disciples.”

“That will be fine.”

Namgoong Mucheon followed the elders toward the main hall, while the rest of the Namgoong group—Seolhwa included—were approached by three individuals.

The man in the lead stepped forward and offered a martial salute to the Black Dragon Division Commander and Seolhwa.

“It is an honor to meet you. I am Yu Baek, first-generation disciple of Mount Hua.”

The Black Dragon Division Commander returned the salute in surprise.

“Are you not the Flowing Cloud Sword? I have heard many praises about the man destined to be Mount Hua’s next Sect Leader. Ah, I am Namgoong Hyeok, Commander of the Namgoong Clan’s Black Dragon Division.”

The Flowing Cloud Sword—Yu Baek.

He was the eldest of Mount Hua’s first-generation disciples and the designated heir to the sect leadership.

There were many stories circulating about the young elites of great sects and clans, and the Commander of the Black Dragon Division had heard much of Yu Baek’s reputation.

“Haha, you flatter me. These are my junior brother and junior sister. Come, greet them.”

At Yu Baek’s words, the two disciples standing behind him stepped forward and introduced themselves with martial salutes.

“I am Yu Cheong, first-generation disciple of Mount Hua.”

“I am Yu Seong, first-generation disciple of Mount Hua.”

“Ah.”

The Black Dragon Division Commander stepped aside and gestured toward the girl standing behind him.

“My apologies for the late introduction. This is Lady Namgoong Seolhwa, the eldest granddaughter of our clan’s Head.”

Seolhwa stepped forward and bowed respectfully to the three disciples.

The eyes of the three Mount Hua disciples lit up at the sight of the young woman who had recently become the center of the martial world’s attention.

Yu Baek offered her a second greeting.

“I have heard much about you, Lady Namgoong. It is truly fortunate that you have returned safely to your family.”

In truth, the rumors about Seolhwa were not very favorable within Mount Hua.

Part of it stemmed from the widespread speculation in Shaanxi about the Antidote Pill she had released, and part of it came from Yu Pyo’s less-than-glowing reports after returning from the Namgoong Clan.

But Yu Baek betrayed none of that in his expression.

The two disciples behind him were the same.

Seolhwa answered with a soft smile.

“Thank you. I also consider it an honor to return to my clan and meet disciples of Mount Hua in person.”

Yu Baek laughed warmly at the clear and confident tone in her voice.

They said the young lady of the Namgoong Clan was rude...

Yu Pyo, with his prickly nature, always held others to a high standard and was rarely generous with his assessments—but this time the contrast felt especially stark.

‘Such a clever and bright child.’

It felt like looking at one of the stray cats that wandered Mount Hua—the ones he fed from time to time.

Caught in her sparkling eyes, Yu Baek almost reached out to pat Seolhwa’s head, but managed to restrain himself. Instead, he addressed the guests from the Namgoong Clan.

“You must be weary from the road. We will escort you to the guest quarters. Please, follow me.”

With the Black Dragon Division Commander at the lead, the Namgoong party followed the first-generation disciples.

At some point, Yu Pyo had moved forward as well, naturally inserting himself among the three disciples, while Seolhwa casually fell to the rear with Yu Gang at her side.

She turned to look at a group of young Mount Hua disciples whose eyes had been gleaming in their direction from the start.

They were around her and Yu Gang’s age.

“Those must be the second-generation disciples?”

Following her gaze, Yu Gang looked over his shoulder. His face brightened and he nodded.

“Yeah. Want me to introduce you?”

“Sure.”

Seolhwa used a sound transmission to call the Black Dragon Division Commander.

He turned to her in the middle of his conversation with the first-generation disciples.

– I will go speak with the second-generation disciples.

– Yes, my lady.

Seolhwa and Yu Gang stepped out of the procession, joined by Ryeong, her silent bodyguard.

Just as they had planned before arriving at Mount Hua, the group was now split.

“Senior!”

“Senior Yu Gang!”

The moment the three broke away, the second-generation disciples rushed over in a crowd.

As expected, it was Yu Gang they had been waiting for.

“Haha! You all been doing well?”

Yu Gang greeted his juniors like someone completely used to this sort of welcome.

“Training was canceled for two whole days because you disappeared!”

“Where on earth did you go? The elders and other seniors were all worried sick!”

“Is it true you were at Suro Stronghold?”

The second-generation disciples fired off questions one after another, barely giving time to breathe.

As expected, Yu Gang’s popularity within Mount Hua was immense.

“Whoa, whoa, wait a second! I get that you’re all curious, but shouldn’t you greet the guest first?”

He looked like he was about to be interrogated for hours, so he tried to stall for time—and grabbed Seolhwa’s hand, pulling her forward.

Seolhwa, slightly startled, found herself standing face to face with the young disciples of Mount Hua.

“This is Lady Namgoong,” Yu Gang said. “She’s my friend, so even if she looks younger than you, you should treat her with respect.”

The second-generation disciples stared wide-eyed at Seolhwa.

To the eye, she looked around their age—or perhaps a little younger. But if she was a friend of a first-generation disciple like Yu Gang, then in Mount Hua, where rank and decorum mattered deeply, she was not someone they could treat lightly.

As one, the second-generation disciples performed a martial salute toward her.

“The second-generation disciples of Mount Hua greet Lady Namgoong.”

Startled by their thunderous voices, Seolhwa returned the greeting with an awkward smile.

“Nice to meet you. I am Namgoong Seolhwa.”

Yu Gang grinned broadly.

His face was glowing with that look of “You saw that, right? I did well, right?”—so Seolhwa gave a faint, amused laugh.

“?”

Just then, Seolhwa caught sight of a child peeking at them from behind one of the building’s columns—partially hidden, only their face visible from behind Yu Gang.

Who is that?

Yu Gang noticed her gaze shift and turned to look behind him.

“Huh? That’s Myeong! Myeo—!”

But in that instant, the child bolted.

“Ah!”

Yu Gang turned back to Seolhwa with an apologetic expression.

“Lady Namgoong, I’m really sorry, but could I go talk to that kid for a second?”

“Go ahead.”

“Really sorry! I’ll be right back!”

With that, he dashed off after the child.

Seolhwa tilted her head as she watched him run off in such a flustered hurry.

Myeong?

Who was Myeong?

From the absence of a shared character in the name, the child was likely not a full disciple—or had not yet been granted /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ a dao name.

...Was there a name like that among the spirit tablets in my past life...?

When she met the first-generation disciples earlier, she had heard their dao names—Yu Baek, Yu Cheong, and Yu Seong—and remembered them.

Two of those names were ones she had watched Yu Gang inscribe himself, just before his death.

And she herself had stayed beside the graves until dawn, so she could remember most of the names if she heard them.

But among all those countless graves, there had been no “Myeong.”

...

A subtle sense of dissonance prickled at her.

Myeong. Myeong. Myeong...

“Senior Yu Gang takes special care of her!”

Startled, Seolhwa turned around to find a child had approached her without her noticing.

While the other disciples had scattered after Yu Gang’s departure, two girls—both looking around ten years old—had remained at Seolhwa’s side.

“...Huh?”

“Myeong! She’s kinda like Senior Yu Gang! They’re alike. The elders said she was picked up off the street—”

“Jinyeong, that’s not something you should say so casually.”

The more composed of the two girls scolded the one who had spoken—apparently named Jinyeong.

Then she turned to Seolhwa and respectfully offered a martial salute.

“I am Jin Ye, second-generation disciple of Mount Hua. I have heard a great deal about you from Senior Yu Gang. I’ve always wanted to meet you.”

“...Me?”

Jin Ye smiled and nodded.

“Senior Yu Gang always spoke so highly of someone incredible from the Namgoong Clan.”

“That’s right! He said you were really amazing!”

Seolhwa blinked.

Incredible? Amazing?

He talked about me... like that?

“And really strong too! He said you knocked him flat!”

“Jinyeong!”

“What? That’s what he said!”

Jinyeong grinned brightly and clung to Seolhwa’s arm.

“In Mount Hua, none of the second-generation disciples can beat Senior Yu Gang! Even the seniors who joined before him can’t win against him!”

“You know that kind of talk upsets the others.”

“So what! It’s true! The elders all praise Senior Yu Gang too! They say that someday, he might be the strongest person in all of Mount Hua!”

“Hmph...”

Seolhwa turned her gaze in the direction Yu Gang had disappeared.

In her past life, he had reached the Flowing Realm at roughly the same age she had.

Though he had only just entered the realm, and never fully stabilized it before his death...

If he had survived, he probably would have become one of the top masters in the entire martial world—not just Mount Hua.

There had surely been circumstantial pressures in his previous life that forced him to push beyond his limits.

In any case, it was clear now that his talent was acknowledged within Mount Hua.

But more than that...

She wanted to know more about this child called Myeong.

“Could you tell me more about what you said earlier?”

“Huh? What part?”

“The part about her being picked up off the street.”