News of Hao and Soho's upcoming execution spread like wildfire across Jiangsu and Nanjing City.
Taverns buzzed with it. Market stalls whispered it. Even soldiers murmured about it behind closed doors.
Seaside – General Jisoo
Jisoo—once a respected General, now demoted to a mere squad leader—sat alone on the seaside rocks.
He watched the sun sinking into the horizon, the sky bleeding red like a dying warrior.
Footsteps came rushing behind him.
A soldier dropped to one knee.
"General!"
Jisoo didn't turn.
His voice was calm, but heavy.
"Don't call me that.
I'm not a General anymore."
The soldier shook his head.
"We followed you through every battle.
To us, you will always be our General —
not that corrupt man who took your position."
His voice trembled with anger.
"That man only reached General rank because his father is a court official.
He doesn't care about the people.
He doesn't care about soldiers.
Not like you."
Jisoo's tone turned sharp.
"Enough."
He finally turned to face the soldier.
"Why did you come?"
The soldier swallowed.
"Ah—yes, sir.
The Murim Alliance has announced the capture of two Blood Cult members.
They will be executed in two days."
Jisoo frowned.
"Two days?
Why so fast…?
It's like they're trying to hide something."
Then the soldier said the names.
Names that froze Jisoo's blood.
"…One is Hao, from Shaolin Temple.
The other is… Soho."
Jisoo shot up to his feet.
He grabbed the soldier by the collar.
His voice cracked.
"Say that name again."
The soldier's voice wavered with fear and confusion.
"…Soho.
From the Murim Alliance.
They say he colluded with the Cult…
and helped slaughter thousands."
For a moment, Jisoo's mind went blank.
Soho…
his little brother in all but blood.
A boy he raised like his own family.
Jisoo's jaw tightened.
He released the soldier and stepped back.
"Prepare the horses."
The soldier blinked.
"General—what's wrong?
Do we need to go with you?"
Jisoo shook his head.
His expression was full of pain.
"No.
This is… a family matter."
He squeezed his soldier's shoulder once — a silent thank you.
Then he mounted the horse.
"If I ride hard, I can reach the Alliance Headquarters in Shaanxi within two days."
Without another word, Jisoo kicked the horse and sped off, riding into the burning sunset.
Toward Shaanxi.
Toward the execution grounds.
Toward the two brothers who had been framed to die.
Riding on horseback, tears streamed down Jisoo's face.
He tried to hold them back, but memories from his childhood struck him one after another.
Flashback Begins
Jisoo and Soho had always been different.
Soho was the younger brother, but he was bold, fierce, and never afraid to fight.
Jisoo, on the other hand, was shy. He avoided conflict whenever he could.
When their mother went to work at other people's houses, she would often say:
"Jisoo, why don't you stay home with your little brother?"
Jisoo glanced at ten-year-old Soho and muttered:
"I don't want to… he bites me every time we play."
Their mother chuckled softly.
"You're the older brother, and yet you're scared of him?"
Even though Jisoo avoided fighting, Soho was always the one who stepped in whenever someone tried to bully him.
But their life was far from peaceful.
Their father would come home drunk almost every night.
"Give me money," he demanded.
"I won't," their mother replied. "That's for my children to eat."
At that, he kicked and beat her in front of the boys.
Jisoo and Soho hid in a corner, holding their breath, trying not to make a sound.
After releasing his anger, the father took the money and left.
Jisoo ran to their mother, crying as he saw her bruised body.
She forced a painful smile.
"Why are you crying? I'm fine… nothing happened to me."
She endured everything, just so her children wouldn't see her as weak.
Soho, trying his best to stay calm, quietly applied ointment to her bruises.
She kissed his forehead, and a single tear escaped her eye.
Soho wiped it gently and said with certainty:
"One day, when I get stronger, I will kill that man… and protect you."
His mother couldn't say anything.
Five Years Later
Soho, now fifteen, went out to gather firewood.
When he returned, he froze.
His mother was lying on the ground, unconscious — no, lifeless.
His drunk father mumbled:
"What… did you die, you useless b*tch?"
And he kicked her body again.
That was the moment something snapped inside Soho.
A madness born from pain and rage overtook him.
He grabbed a thick wooden stick and charged at his father.
The first stab went straight into his father's eye.
"W–wait! What are you—!"
But Soho didn't hear a word.
He stabbed again.
And again.
And again.
Even after his father stopped screaming… he continued.
By the time he reached fifty strikes, his father no longer moved.
Breathing heavily, covered in sweat and tears, Soho turned around—
and saw Jisoo standing there, trembling.
Jisoo whispered:
"I… I wanted to do it too… but I never had the courage."
The two brothers stood before their mother's body.
They buried her behind the house.
No one lived nearby, so no one would ever know what had happened.
Then they set fire to the house and left.
Jisoo suggested they separate.
"If we walk together, people might recognize us."
But the truth was different — Jisoo feared his little brother now.
Soho knew… but said nothing.
Thus, they walked different paths.
Soho joined the Namgung Clan.
Jisoo went to a temple, hoping to become a monk — but the master rejected him.
"Your spirit… is not meant for this path."
So, Jisoo joined the army instead.
Through talent, discipline, and unbreakable will, he rose through the ranks.
He became the first person in a hundred years to reach the Heaven Rank Realm,
and eventually…
the youngest general of the Empire.