Chapter 75
Chapter 75
Mount Hua (6)
***
‘A perfect tie… it seems like Mu-yeong is ahead for now, but.’
The reality was different.
Hyun Mujin-in, who had barely noticed that fact, swallowed hard.
The result that surpassed his imagination confused him.
Even if he had seized victory from Myeong Ryong-geom, Mu-yeong’s skill and strength were no exaggeration to say that he was the strongest among the Seven Dragons, the top martial prowess group among the rising generation.
‘In fact, it was absurd that Yeong-ah was included in the mere Seven Dragons in the first place…’
A coldness began to appear in Hyun Mujin-in’s eyes.
Only Hyun Mujin-in could describe the Seven Dragons, who possessed the highest martial prowess among the rising generation, as ‘mere’.
In Hyun Mujin-in’s eyes, the Seven Dragons were also just a child’s play of kids who had not even become peak masters.
In fact, in terms of seniority, Mu-yeong was only young in age.
As a great disciple of Mount Hua, he had a position that surpassed the elders of the sect.
The person named Mu-yeong was not a being that could be judged by the level of a rising generation.
“But…”
Hyun Mujin-in smiled faintly and continued his thoughts.
From his perspective, the appearance of Eun Ha-seong was a pleasant miscalculation.
Until a few days ago, he and the surrounding elders were not hoping for Eun Ha-seong’s growth, but for him to return safely without dying.
In that sense, the growth of Eun Ha-seong, who was considered the best talent of Mount Hua, was now considered to have reached a certain limit, and the expectations for him were entering a stage of resignation.
But in just a few months after he had left, he had returned after fully utilizing his intelligence and talent to master the mature peak.
‘If he replenishes his lacking internal energy, and learns the heart and sword secrets that are only passed down to the great disciples, the secret arts of Mount Hua… how far can that child grow.’
Just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine.
Hyun Mujin-in, who felt goosebumps on his back, quickly rolled his eyes.
The space that was once a training ground had already become a mess and the muddy ground was beginning to be revealed.
The scars from the sword qi and qi waves were raising a thick cloud of dust.
“It’s dizzying…”
Hyun Mujin-in muttered softly.
***
The tip of the sword twisted.
The shoulder was struck.
The balance gradually crumbled.
Signs of various defeats began to be felt.
But why?
“Haha!”
The spar with Mu-yeong was something that brought me a tremendous amount of excitement.
I couldn’t help but laugh during the spar.
And it seemed that Senior Brother felt the same way,
“……”
He didn’t say anything, but he was also smiling broadly while swinging his sword with joy.
‘The end is near.’
My pupils moved quickly up and down.
In order not to miss the opponent’s agile movements, I had not blinked my eyes once since the spar began.
My veins were bulging, but I had no time to care and had to focus on the spar.
At that moment, Mu-yeong began to slowly gather his qi to unfold the Thunder Dragon Flash again.
“……!”
‘It’s almost as if he’s drawing power from the very edge of his soul.’
I was now somewhat used to the Lightning Shadow Sword Style that Mu-yeong unfolded.
Perhaps that was why it was not so difficult to counter the secret move that Mu-yeong unfolded.
But—
“This is…?!”
I felt an indescribable sense of unease from the sword style that Mu-yeong unfolded.
Pajijik—!
At every tip of the sword that Mu-yeong unfolded, at the formidable lightning qi that was felt from the afterimages he left behind as he moved, I flinched and trembled my shoulders.
Deudeudeuk—
From the already heavily dug floor of the training ground, a sandstorm began to rise again.
In that situation, Mu-yeong muttered softly.
“Lightning Shadow Sword Style secret art, Lightning Thunder Extreme Heaven.”
“……!”
“Let’s play one last time.”
“Haha… ha.”
I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh because it was so absurd.
I could feel it in an instant.
If the Thunder Dragon Flash was a kind of secret move, then the Lightning Thunder Extreme Heaven was a kind of decisive secret art.
If you were to ask what the difference was, I could only answer like this.
‘If the Thunder Dragon Flash itself is seen as an all-out offensive, that is, an attack that focuses everything on the qi wave, then the Lightning Thunder Extreme Heaven is a secret art that adds acceleration and power to every strike that is unfolded simply by opening it…!’
Plum Blossom Sword Technique and Lightning Shadow Sword Style.
Lightning Shadow Sword Style and Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
Before thinking about the compatibility between the two, if we were to compare the completeness of each martial art.
The completeness of the Lightning Shadow Sword Style was overwhelmingly high.
Perhaps it was natural.
Because the true power of that sword style, which Mu-yeong had honed for his entire life, was in his proficiency that had been added over a period of decades.
‘On the other hand, the Plum Blossom Sword Technique is a sword technique that has not even finished creating all its moves. Although it is on the verge of completion, the fact that it is incomplete does not change.’
But, I could not give up just like that.
Swish—
In front of the huge storm of lightning qi that Mu-yeong had created, I slowly raised my qi to Falling Star.
If I couldn’t dodge it, a catastrophe would occur, but I had long since stopped caring about such trivial matters.
‘Anyway, before a real tragedy occurs, the sect leader will take care of it. There is a better way for me to respond now…’
The tip of the sword began to take on a supremely Yang energy, as if it were being heated in molten iron.
The purple sword qi was not just faintly visible, but now filled the floor of the training ground enough to cover it with a thick purple mist.
Deudeudeuk—!
Mu-yeong slowly formed a hand seal and then rushed towards the direction I was standing.
‘I can’t just be busy blocking.’
Even in the serious situation, I smiled faintly.
At the reckless charge of Mu-yeong’s sword strike, I began to close the distance as much as I had quickly retreated for a moment.
Tatat—
At that moment, the distance between us narrowed in an instant.
Kugwagwang—!
The tearing sound shook the earth.
“……!”
The formidable vibration, and the tearing sound caused by it.
Hyun Mujin-in’s eyes, who was watching the life-and-death struggle between me and Mu-yeong, who were rushing towards each other like fire, narrowed for a moment.
In the thick sandstorm, we continued to clash our secret moves and crossed swords with Mu-yeong hundreds of times.
At the end of a fierce close battle, where it was not even clear who had won.
“……Kuk.”
Pingreureu—
Mu-yeong’s beloved sword, which he had been holding firmly, quickly lost its direction and soared into the air,
“Kulluk…!”
Degureureu—
Tumbling across the ground, I lost my grip on Falling Star and was forced into a somersault.
I could feel the acrid taste of blood in my mouth.
“Ha, kulluk…!”
At the same time, Mu-yeong also vomited out a mixture of blood as if he were coughing up blood.
Hyun Mujin-in, who was watching it from a distance, set his feet on the floor of the training ground, which had become a mess.
Kuuung—
The tearing sound caused by the weak impact of landing on the ground echoed.
Hyun Mujin-in, who was watching the situation in the training ground, which had entered a state of turmoil, swallowed hard.
“Hmm.”
“……”
“Kuk…”
Mu-yeong, who was choking, tried to say something, but at Hyun Mujin-in’s gesture as if to stop him, he quickly lowered his head.
At that moment, Hyun Mujin-in slowly opened his mouth.
“A close battle, no, it was close to a life-and-death struggle.”
“……!”
“And there was not a single bit of regret left. From a spectator’s point of view, I could watch with an interesting gaze.”
“Kulluk… does that mean…?”
As I asked that while vomiting blood once, Hyun Mujin-in smiled brightly and then said,
“It was a perfect… draw.”
“……”
Before I could even answer, ‘I see’.
I lost focus in my vision and collapsed forward.
Pulsseok—
I had lost consciousness.
***
It was a few hours later when I opened my eyes in the sickbed.
“Huk…!”
I had come to my senses, forgot that my whole body was a mess and sat up completely.
At that, an enormous amount of pain was immediately felt throughout my body.
“Kuaak…!”
“Oh, you’re finally awake.”
“W-Where is this…?!”
I witnessed my whole body wrapped in bandages, tilted my head and looked around.
A faint scent of incense was felt from all directions.
It seemed that incense was lit to cover the various medicinal smells that were bothering the tip of my nose.
‘But, it’s meaningless since the smell of incense and the smell of medicine have already mixed together and turned into an indescribable strange scent…’
I barely managed to get up from my seat while groaning and looked at a young boy who was wiping the floor with a dry cloth nearby.
He was a boy of about ten years old, an age that would be doted on as young even in Mount Hua.
As I looked at the child with a slightly questioning gaze, the boy quickly nodded his head once and said.
“This is the medical hall that exists within the sect.”
“Medical hall…?”
“Usually, it’s a place where the second or third generation disciples visit rather than the great disciples like you, or the elders.”
“……”
It was a child who spoke calmly in this situation.
I, who was staring blankly at the child’s reaction, tilted my head and asked a question.
“…Then, may I ask for your Taoist name or your name?”
“Hmm, my name is Kang-pyeong. You can speak comfortably.”
“Uh…”
“I’m a probationary disciple who entered after you left the sect.”
I, who was listening to Kang-pyeong’s words, couldn’t help but nod my head.
Suddenly, I was curious about how much time had passed, so I turned my gaze outside.
Swish—
“……”
It was already a dark night outside.