The clearing still hummed with aftershocks.
Fallen leaves stirred where the duel had ended, their edges curling from the heat and residual lightning. Moonlight bathed the space in pale silver, but the ground bore blackened scars—where flame kissed soil, and lightning split stone.
So-Ri stepped forward first, her expression unreadable.
"She… she lost?" Ji-Mun asked, disbelief coating every syllable.
"No," Master Jang Cheol-Oh said, arms folded behind his back. "She surrendered. There's a difference."
Sun-Ho stood silent in the center of the field. His blade was still sheathed, but lightning flickered softly across his shoulders, vanishing into the folds of his robes.
Opposite him, the rival heir—Seo Ji-Wan—was kneeling, hands pressed to the earth in traditional salute. Her breathing was even, her defeat dignified.
"You held back," she said, lifting her gaze to his.
"You did too," Sun-Ho replied.
A faint smile tugged at her lips. "Another day, then."
He nodded. "Another day."
---
A While Later – Edge of the Heirs' Camp
As Ji-Wan's party departed into the shadows, the group regrouped. Camp had been left smoldering but intact.
Yeon handed Sun-Ho a waterskin, his small face impassive as always. But he tapped Sun-Ho's arm twice—his way of saying "good job."
"Thanks," Sun-Ho said with a soft smile.
So-Ri stood beside him, arms crossed. "She's not the strongest, is she?"
"No," Sun-Ho agreed. "But she's the most grounded. The others will be louder… more dangerous."
"Perfect," Ma-Rok muttered. "I love loud problems. Makes smashing them more satisfying."
Yul-Rin, tending a scratch on Ji-Mun's forehead, muttered, "Can we try not making enemies every time we breathe?"
Master Jang simply poured tea from a new clay pot. "Oh, we've passed that stage, dear. Now we're in the phase where enemies start plotting before we even yawn."
"Great," Ji-Mun sighed. "At this rate, even my reflection might start plotting."
So-Ri chuckled. "It already does. I saw it roll its eyes at you last night."
---
Midnight – Deeper in the Fortress
News of the duel spread like ink across parchment.
In corners of the fortress, sect disciples whispered the name Baek Sun-Ho with renewed caution. Others whispered another name—Sovereign of Balance—unaware that the man behind both titles walked quietly among them.
Behind closed doors, the remaining heirs convened.
Of the four remaining rival candidates, two stood out:
1. Kang Mu-Jin – heir of the Iron Wall Sect, a defensive titan who had never been pushed back in any duel. Cold, methodical, and backed by the conservative Grand Order faction.
2. Jin Ye-Hwa – a prodigy of the Falling Blossom Pavilion. Elegant, sword-talented, and manipulative enough to earn the nickname The Velvet Thorn. Her faction, while technically neutral, often whispered support for the old Murim elite.
The remaining two were less certain—one was a dark horse from the Eastern Wilds Sect, and the last was rumored to be sponsored by a shadow faction with ties to the court.
"So," Ji-Mun muttered, listening to the murmurs of passing disciples, "we've stepped into the eye of the storm."
"No," Sun-Ho corrected, voice calm. "We've become the storm."
---
Night Watch
That night, the camp settled early—quiet, except for the occasional pop of cooling coals.
Ji-Mun had volunteered for first watch but was promptly caught napping upright against a tree.
Yul-Rin sighed and tossed a pinecone at his forehead. "Some lookout you are."
He blinked awake with a loud snort. "I was meditating on vigilance."
"By drooling?"
Sun-Ho took second shift, sitting quietly by the edge of their boundary talismans. The moonlight traced faint patterns across his robe, and he held a piece of parchment in one hand—Yeon's latest rune diagram.
Ma-Rok sat nearby, carving yet another talisman into the butt of his hammer. "Think we'll make it out of this heir thing alive?"
"We will," Sun-Ho said simply. "Or we'll rewrite what it means to survive."
"That's either inspiring or insane," Ma-Rok grunted. "Not sure which."
So-Ri wandered out of the shadows, tossing a blanket over Ji-Mun with a fond kick to his shin. "You're both wrong. We'll make it because we've got tea, poison, fire, muscle, and sass."
Sun-Ho smiled. "And strategy."
"Strategy," she echoed. "Right. That thing you keep pretending to have."
"Watch it," he warned. "I might ask you to spar again."
She grinned. "And lose again? No thanks."
---
Later – Private Grove
As the group retired to their section of the neutral zone, So-Ri sat with Sun-Ho beneath a grove of whispering trees.
"You're evolving," she said after a long silence.
He nodded. "Faster than I expected. The lightning responded to the duel. It wasn't just resonance… it was recognition."
"You're not going to stop at just lightning, are you?"
"No. I need all five."
So-Ri leaned her head back and stared at the swaying branches. "It's scary, you know. Watching you get stronger while we're still trying to catch up."
"You're not behind," Sun-Ho said. "You're exactly where you need to be."
She looked at him sideways. "That's a very humble lie."
He smiled. "It's not a lie. I was alone in my past life. This time, I want to win with you all."
She leaned against him without a word, letting the silence stretch.
---
Bonus – Breakfast Banter
The next morning, the party gathered around a bubbling pot of Ji-Mun's questionable cooking. Yul-Rin had insisted on supervision, but somehow, he had slipped in crushed lotus petals and something called "ghost pepper lotus oil."
Ma-Rok took a bite. Chewed. Paused. "I no longer feel the roof of my mouth."
Ji-Mun grinned. "That's the ghost's blessing."
So-Ri poked hers suspiciously. "This smells like regret."
Sun-Ho tried a spoonful. His eyebrows rose. "This is… oddly energizing."
Master Jang sipped his tea in the background. "That's because your taste buds died two bowls ago."
Yeon just passed around honeyed fruit slices like a silent peace offering.
Ji-Mun held up the ladle proudly. "Next time: spicy plum porridge with volcanic ash crust!"
Everyone groaned.
---
End of Chapter 70 – Echoes and Edges