Chapter 070 - Huashan Branch (3)
His slackened nerves pulled taut.
Stepping onto the sparring platform, Kim Sun-woo faced his opponent with tension for the first time since arriving at the Huashan Sect Dongdaemun Branch.
It wasn't just because he'd dismissed the guild master like a child.
The opponent's presence wasn't particularly overwhelming either.
At a glance, he seemed like an ordinary person who hadn't even trained in martial arts.
But Kim Sun-woo's senses were screaming warnings more fiercely than ever.
···He's a master. Maybe even stronger than the guild master.
At the very least, he wasn't some novice upstart.
Why had a master like this entered the sparring matches?
"I came here on some pointless errand and planned to end it quickly, but it looks like I'll have some fun for the first time in ages."
At Shin Cheol-hyeok's glance, a Huashan martial artist signaled the start of the match.
···No way. Did he really enter just to keep the White Tiger Armor from falling into someone else's hands?
No, that seemed too trivial for a master of his caliber to bother with.
Kim Sun-woo shook his head.
Plenty of time for stray thoughts later.
Srulk.
He dragged his foot slowly across the platform.
Shin Cheol-hyeok responded with a casual wave and a grin.
"Show me your tricks, then."
—Paht!
It was a provocative taunt.
But Kim Sun-woo's charge wasn't mere retaliation.
It was a surprise assault timed for the moment his opponent spoke.
Unlike his previous matches focused on counters, he went on the aggressive from the start.
Shyaaak!
A sharp thrust in the form of Flying Thunder Flash pierced the air.
As Shin Cheol-hyeok tilted his head to dodge, he eyed the sword tip still aimed at his face and showed a flicker of surprise.
He read my movement?
No, that wasn't it.
He'd adjusted the trajectory mid-strike.
Being able to control speed and rhythm like that meant he hadn't gone all-out in that first attack.
Yet he read my presence and still showed this much leisure.
···Interesting.
Shin Cheol-hyeok grinned and pulled his foot back long.
Shyaaak!
The wooden sword sliced through empty air.
Shin Cheol-hyeok's form sank into the ground and vanished.
As Kim Sun-woo widened his eyes searching for him, a sharp, slicing presence suddenly crashed in from his right flank.
"······!!"
It was a completely unforeseen move, so Kim Sun-woo freaked and immediately stepped into Flash Flow Step.
Thuk!
A sword strike similar to Flying Thunder Flash pierced his afterimage.
Barely evading, Kim Sun-woo furrowed his brow at the trickle of blood scattering in the air.
···His nape had been lightly grazed and torn.
"Good."
Having tasted blood, the corner of Shin Cheol-hyeok's mouth curled up.
His eyes gleamed red with rising excitement.
Shin Cheol-hyeok immediately kicked off the ground and charged.
Kaang! Kaang!
Though they were wooden swords clashing, the sound rang out like metal.
This was a brutal fight far beyond the bounds of a sparring match.
"Uh······."
The emcee looked troubled, unsure what to do.
Sparring matches inevitably heated up, but if the atmosphere got this intense, problems were bound to arise.
He knew well how fighters lost their heads and turned reckless.
Just as he resolved to intervene—
"Leave them be."
"···Ah, yes, sir."
Baek San-hu stepped in and stopped him.
With the Plum Blossom Sword Saint himself intervening, there shouldn't be any major issues.
But even Baek San-hu felt troubled.
I shouldn't have pushed him into this.
Busy with recent duties, he'd paid little attention to headquarters matters.
He knew they were using the branch gathering for a comeback, but he hadn't expected them to recruit that man.
Back when Baek San-hu was still at the peak realm in the Central Plains, this man had been a demonic lord of the Demonic Cult who defected and sought refuge with the Murim Alliance.
The exact reason for his turn to righteousness wasn't widely known.
He hadn't engaged in much public activity afterward either.
But the title before his name was absolute.
One of the supreme swordsmen debated as the world's greatest, alongside the Sword King of the Nangong family, the Sword Immortal of Huashan, and the Sword Fiend of the Sado Alliance.
The Sword Demon, Shin Cheol-hyeok.
That he was an Earthling was surprising enough, but choosing Huashan out of all sects was even more shocking.
Whatever deals the higher-ups had made, a master like the Sword Demon joining would greatly benefit headquarters.
The problem was that his debut was at the branch gathering—and this sparring tournament.
The White Tiger Armor was bait to draw eyes, after all.
If he'd known in advance, he'd have given a heads-up······.
Kaang! Kaang!
The match reached its climax.
Kim Sun-woo gritted his teeth, batting away the onslaught of strikes.
His hands trembled, his wrists twitching in fine spasms.
The urge to channel his inner energy and unleash sword gang surged to the top of his head.
But he couldn't do that in a sparring match.
With superhuman endurance, Kim Sun-woo calmly met Shin Cheol-hyeok's blade.
This is actually good.
How long had it been since he'd been pushed back purely by experience and skill?
Lascael in Haesinjeon had been a tough foe, but that was raw power difference—not this gap in fundamentals.
Kaang! Kaang!
The more their swords met, the more he marveled at the yawning chasm from unfathomable depths.
Like watching a master painter birth a masterpiece with a few brushstrokes from point-blank range.
So how could he match it?
···More precisely.
Kim Sun-woo trusted his instincts.
His experience and technique might lag, but his innate senses wouldn't yield to theirs.
No—they'd surpass them.
Abandoning thought, he let pure sensation guide him.
"Ha-hat!"
Sensing the shift in Kim Sun-woo's movements, Shin Cheol-hyeok burst into laughter.
The sword that had rigidly parried his attacks now flowed like water.
Not prediction or reaction, but blocking paths as if they had to be.
Natural form. Gaining enlightenment even now.
What caught Shin Cheol-hyeok's eye was the shape of Kim Sun-woo's martial art.
Unfamiliar, yet carrying an odd sense of déjà vu.
As if someone had cleverly altered the outer form of a technique he knew.
Kaang! Jjeok! Kung!
The wooden swords clashed fiercely.
The limit hit Kim Sun-woo first, naturally.
Each clash flooded him with massive data.
To others, mere collisions—but to him, each motion was a new horizon.
The strain on body and mind spiked, screaming overload.
Even lifting the wooden sword without inner energy was now a struggle, so he let out a breath—
···Pa-gak.
The swung wooden sword shattered.
Shin Cheol-hyeok shrugged and raised his half-broken sword.
"I lose."
"···Waaaaaaaaah!!!"
His declaration of defeat unleashed massive cheers from the crowd.
It had been a match brimming with tension and thrill.
Even those confident in their skills had gripped sweaty palms.
Anyone could have won, so the cheers were genuine.
Tok.
Tossing the broken sword, Shin Cheol-hyeok glanced forward.
"······."
Kim Sun-woo, shoulders heaving as he panted, quickly composed himself and offered a fist salute.
"Thank you for the lesson."
"What relation do you have to the old man?"
"The old man...?"
"Sun-woo."
"Is his title truly Baek Ryuk Geom?"
Shin Cheol-hyeok nodded, then widened his eyes as realization dawned.
"That senile fool didn't even teach you my name?"
"···Yes."
"Where is he? I only learned late in life that he's an Earthling like me. We promised to meet again if he returned, but I was too late."
"······."
Kim Sun-woo froze.
From his words, Shin Cheol-hyeok seemed to have been friends with Master Baek Ryuk Geom.
His barrier technique would keep voices from leaking.
"···He ascended a few years ago. Due to chronic illness. I've never met him in person either."
"······."
Shin Cheol-hyeok paused.
He seemed at a loss for words, caught off-guard.
After chewing his lip briefly, he let out a deep sigh.
"···I see. This isn't the place for talk. We'll set a proper date later."
Shin Cheol-hyeok released the barrier.
With a glance at the emcee—who'd been hovering nervously—the man bellowed.
"The winner has been decided! Now, straight to the next match······!"
The tournament wrapped up without incident, Kim Sun-woo's victory undisputed.
The other participants who'd witnessed his bout with Shin Cheol-hyeok had no fire left to fight.
Even without inner energy, the difference in realms was obvious at a glance.
Huashan's original goal had been to announce the Sword Demon's joining, but it ended up etching the name Kim Sun-woo into minds instead.
The guild must have been notified too, as Han Su-ah messaged first.
She asked permission to add his "Inaugural Huashan Branch Champion" title to Essential Armory's promo copy.
"Sharp eyes. Most would've glossed over it."
Kim Sun-woo was genuinely surprised by this.
She hadn't even seen it live—just an edited video—yet spotted the graze from Shin Cheol-hyeok's wooden sword.
"···Haha."
He'd been completely outplayed in the mind game.
Letting out a wry chuckle, Kim Sun-woo nodded.
"Already treated it. Just a light scratch—fully healed."
The White Tiger Armor seemed a novelty to Han Su-ah too.
Not something you could buy just because you had money.
"Sure. Catch you later."
Ending the call, Kim Sun-woo looked back at the Huashan grounds.
The major events were done, night deepening, so people were starting to leave one by one.
He had no plans to stay overnight, so he bid farewell to Baek San-hu and the others before exiting.
He'd come for the gathering to rest for the day.
Never expected this.
Still, discovering a place carrying Master Baek Ryuk Geom's legacy was a big win.
Trudging down the street, Kim Sun-woo pulled out his smartphone at the vibration from his pocket.
"Yes, Team Leader."
"Did the Huashan gathering go well?"
"Just heading back now."
It was Robert Team Leader.
He rarely called for personal matters outside training, so why at this late hour?
A spark of curiosity lit, but his words were as expected.
"The Hunter Association reached out."
"···The Association?"
"A designated request. They have a job they want to entrust to you."