"Marked or not, every one of us has breath enough to will our own destiny into being." 

Twin brothers Jun and Sai—one is born marked and thus has a destiny, while the other is not. Jun always had to work twice as hard to earn anything his brother did. Due to an unfortunate series of events, Jun and his father are banished to the West, while his mother and brother are sent to the town where his brother will become something great. Jun is determined to make something of himself, despite his father's wishes. After being forbidden to compete in a martial arts tournament, Jun sneaks out and hitchhikes a ride there.

Along the way, he meets an unexpected teacher and begins to learn there is much more to the world than he thought. The tournament is not what anyone expected, thanks to a war-hungry general. Jun must face many trials and learns that maybe who he thought he was and what he thought he wanted wasn't what he was destined for at all. 

This book was gorgeously written, and I greatly appreciated that the MMC actually felt young, because he is. He's impulsive and gets angry, jealous, and prideful. He learns along the way. Also, the ending has me feeling. I need book two immediately. A huge thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for selecting me to receive an ARC of this one.