That morning, the Black Dragon Mountains were still shrouded in a thick, cold fog. The sect bell tolled three times, but its sound no longer sounded like a languid death knell. In the courtyard in front of Evernight Gate, the atmosphere felt completely different. There was the steady pounding of breath, the sound of armor scraping against steel plates, and the clatter of construction equipment being packed into leather backpacks.
Yoe Choin, in Moen Kang Yo's body, stood atop a boulder, surveying his troops. In front of him, Jin-Pyo stood tall in his gleaming Black Iron armor, while behind him stood ten hand-picked disciples from the Demolition Unit. They were young men who, just a few weeks ago, had been starving, marginalized students, but now their shoulders were broader and their gazes more focused.
"Foreman! All the supplies have been loaded!"
Jin-Pyo reported in a voice that vibrated the morning air.
"Stone chisels, iron picks, and three days' worth of rations. We are ready to undertake the 'Eastern Pass Reclamation'!"
Choin leaped down from the boulder with efficient movements.
"Good. Remember, this isn't just a combat trip. This is your first field survey. I want you to feel every inch of the ground under your feet. If the ground is soft, note it. If there's a wobbly bridge, mark it."
The journey began. Based on Baek-Un's calculations, the journey to the Eastern Route border should only take three hours for an intermediate warrior. However, Choin realized one variable that couldn't be ignored: Structural Stamina.
After just an hour of descending the steep mountainside, the marching rhythm began to falter. The Demolition Unit students, despite their intensive physical training, were not yet accustomed to the dynamic loads of long journeys while carrying heavy equipment.
"Hah... hah... Foreman, I'm sorry..."
one of the Class 2 students fell to his knees, gasping for breath. Sweat poured from beneath his steel helmet.
Jin-Pyo immediately approached, his face furious.
"Get up! We've only walked a short distance! You're embarrassing the Demolition Unit in front of the Foreman!"
Choin raised his hand, signaling Jin-Pyo to calm down. He walked over to the exhausted student and crouched down beside him. He didn't scold him, but instead touched his backpack and adjusted the straps.
"Your center of gravity is too high, son,"
Choin said gently.
"You're strapping your weight to your upper shoulders, which puts pressure on your lungs as you climb. Shift your weight to your waist. Use your pelvic floor for support, not your back muscles."
He then turned to the rest of the unit, which had now stopped.
"We're going to slow down. What should have been a three-hour trip will take five. There's no point in getting to the project site on time if the human material is already cracking along the way."
"But Foreman, we'll lose audit time!"
Jin-Pyo complained quietly.
"Jin-Pyo,"
Choin looked at his pillar of trust solemnly.
"Building a building takes time for the cement to harden. So do they. This is a mental curing process. Let them experience the fatigue so they understand the importance of efficiency."
As the column resumed its slower pace, Choin walked ahead, letting his thoughts wander a bit. The pine forest surrounding them provided a quiet atmosphere, broken only by the sound of heavy footsteps on the muddy ground.
"Foreman... you're so patient with them,"
the voice of the original Moen Kang Yo echoed within him.
"Back then, if I'd seen such weak subordinates, I would have kicked them off a cliff to keep them from hindering my progress."
"That's the difference between us, Boss,"
Choin replied to himself.
"You see them as tools that must be kept sharp. I see them as foundations. A newly poured foundation can't be immediately loaded. It must wait until it's completely stable."
Kang Yo was silent for a long time, as if digesting the foreman's logic.
"Perhaps you're right. If these pillars hold today, they'll be stronger tomorrow. Oh, speaking of pillars... our progress towards the Eastern Passage will surely reach the Obsidian Palace. Especially that snake woman."
Choin frowned.
"You mean Empress Wei?"
"Yes. But Foreman, there's one thing I haven't had the chance to tell you,"
Kang Yo's voice softened, a faint hint of longing. "Not all the women in my father's palace are as corrupt as Empress Wei or that scheming second wife."
"You mean there are structural exceptions in your family?"
Choin asked, intrigued.
"The third wife of the demon faction leader... Lady Baek. She's the mother of my youngest half-sister. Unlike the others, she never insulted me when I was banished. She even secretly sent medicine and supplementary food to my meditation cave through her servants."
Choin paused, pretending to examine a map, but actually processing this information.
"Lady Baek? So she's the point of stability in your family's chaos?"
"You could say that. She comes from a small, nearly extinct clan, not from a large, power-hungry sect. She always told me that 'One honest pillar is worth more than a thousand magnificent, hollow ones.' Her words... sometimes resemble yours."
Chōin smiled faintly beneath his robes.
"It seems Lady Baek understands the quality of soul material. Interesting. If we ever have to deal with the central government, at least we know there's one part of the building we won't have to forcefully dismantle."
Five hours had passed. The sun was directly overhead, shining down on the valley that served as the entrance to the Eastern Region. The air here felt damper and smelled of rotting mud. The path they were walking on was now beginning to turn into a small swamp as the natural drainage system became clogged with piles of trash and fallen tree trunks.
"Foreman! Look ahead!"
Jin-pyo called out, pointing to a wooden bridge that had tilted almost 30 degrees.
Chōin activated Blueprint in his eye. Blue lines began to map the damage.
"Fatigue cracks in the main beams... wood decay has reached 60%... the foundation soil has experienced lateral shifting,"
Choin muttered.
"This is no longer a bridge. It's a death trap ready to collapse anyone who passes."
Across the bridge, a shabby wooden guard post could be seen. Several men dressed in tiger skins with rough faces sat, holding bottles of wine, staring predatorily at the Evernight group. They were members of the Ironfang Tiger Guild.
"Gentlemen!"
one of the thugs stood up and spat toward the bridge.
"You are crossing private territory. To cross this beautiful bridge, the tax is ten silver coins per head! And as for that trash prince in front... the tax is his life!"
The Demolition Unit students instantly tensed. The fatigue of the five-hour journey seemed to vanish, replaced by a surge of adrenaline.
Choin stepped forward to the edge of the damaged bridge. He didn't draw his sword. Instead, he picked up a small stone and threw it at one of the most fragile sections of the bridge, according to his analysis.
CRASH!
The section of bridge immediately collapsed into the muddy river.
"This bridge failed the quality audit,"
Choin said in a piercingly cold voice.
"Gowon, Jin-Pyo... prepare your equipment. We won't pay taxes on scrap. We will carry out a 'forced demolition' of this bridge... and everyone standing on it."
The battle for the Eastern Passage had just begun, but for Yoe Choin, this was only the first day of a massive reclamation project that would change the face of the martial arts world forever.