Bloodline
There was no impregnable hardness in all the martial arts under heaven, and yet speed alone could never be broken.
That was the first lesson Seonghwaun had ever heard from his master.
Martial arts, at their core, were a contest of forms built upon internal energy—so how could swiftness alone be said to stand above all other wonders?
At first, he could not easily understand it, but as he learned the arts of Cheongseong, he came to grasp the truth of those words.
Cheongpung Sword Art.
A fundamental sword art that cut cleanly and directly, without a single wasted motion, its precision naturally becoming speed as one refined it.
Pine Wind Sword Art.
Like the wind flowing through pine branches, the outward forms seemed calm and understated, but within them lay power compressed to the limit. By discarding extravagance and hiding form inside speed, it became the very first step toward the state of an imperishable form no eye can see.
Nine Rivers Heavenly Wind Sword Art.
When an aura like nine rushing waterways and winds mingled together filled the space in every direction, an opponent could no longer face the form directly.
Only then did Seonghwaun understand why speed stood at the summit.
If all wonders could be unfolded through speed, was that not perfectly natural?
In all the martial arts of the world, an imperishable form no eye can see is speed that cannot be broken.
What could be seen would inevitably be shattered; what could not be seen would never break.
Once he understood, he could not help but laugh at the almost absurd simplicity of its essence.
When he thought about it, perhaps all things in the world were simple in the end.
From that day on, Seonghwaun let go of his fixation on forms.
One line.
One thrust.
One decision.
Only when will itself became the form could one truly reach speed.
Thinking that he had begun walking a road that was no longer the Cheongseong Sect's martial path, Seonghwaun could not hide his excitement and told his master of his achievement.
And yet, what was this?
His master, who should certainly have rejoiced at his disciple's progress, wore a complicated expression and could not easily speak.
As the silence dragged on, Seonghwaun's unease and worry only deepened—what if, after all, he had taken the wrong road?
Then his master finally spoke, the words dropping heavy as stone.
"Your insight is beyond fault, but I would rather you did not walk that path."
Then, with a long sigh, he began to tell him a story that was difficult to believe.
Eight hundred years ago, there had been the foremost expert of the age, born of the North Sea Ice Palace.
Three hundred years ago, there had been the greatest expert in the world, leader of the Three Great Heretical Alliance Lords.
And finally, one hundred years ago, there had been yet another peerless expert from Hwasan Sect, who roamed the jianghu carrying a banner that bore the words Ruling Over All Under Heaven.
"...They were able to dominate the world because they all cultivated a martial art called Sunflower Manual. Even the saying 'In all the martial arts of the world, an imperishable form no eye can see is speed that cannot be broken' was taken from the first line of that manual."
Seonghwaun's brow furrowed.
So what was he supposed to do about that?
Was this telling him there was already a wall he could never cross, and that he should not even try?
Looking at him, his master slowly shook his head.
"...Do not make such a face. They too had to set that martial art down in the end. You know full well what became of those who could not."
The tale of the Hwasan expert who, after receiving the combined assault of more than twenty righteous masters and cutting down fifteen of them, was ultimately brought low by the hands of the final five flashed through his mind.
"It is a demonic art. A wicked evil art that concludes every principle of martial arts as speed, and in the end causes one to devour oneself until ruin is all that remains. So, Hwaun, I beg you."
His master gripped Seonghwaun's hand tightly and spoke with urgent sincerity.
"It is shameless of me to say this now, but let us find another road together."
Seonghwaun felt fury rising in his chest.
If it was going to be like this, then he should not have taught him about speed from the beginning.
And yet, even knowing that speed could not easily be removed from any martial art, Seonghwaun could only nod with forced calm.
It seemed easier to soothe him and deceive him than to persuade him.
"I understand. This unworthy disciple has troubled you for no reason, Master."
---
So the road he had believed he had discovered had in fact already been walked by others, again and again.
The truth left Seonghwaun hollow and pained, and yet at the same time it gave him the strength to move forward.
Sunflower Manual—the martial art that had troubled his master until the very moment he closed his eyes for the last time.
He would devote the rest of his life to creating a martial art that surpassed it, and prove that his master's worries had been for nothing.
And yet, before long, Seonghwaun received an unbelievable message from the Murim Alliance Headquarters.
We will punish the Henan Im Clan for hiding and practicing a demonic art.
How could the Sunflower Manual, which had vanished from the world after Hwasan Sect, be in the hands of the Im Clan?
Only when Im Yuguang, drenched in blood, unleashed the Byeoksa Sword Art upon him did he realize those words were true.
Between each form and the next, there hid dozens of transformations; indeed, it was a martial art that had reached the extreme of speed, and a demonic art worthy of the name.
Clang!
But the more they crossed swords, the more Seonghwaun's mouth slowly curved upward.
It was more threatening than any martial art he had ever faced, and yet if he unleashed the ultimate technique he had created, there seemed to be no reason he could not cut through it.
If Cheongseong were to shatter the martial arts of the age's greatest and the world's greatest experts, what expression would his master, watching from heaven, make?
Thinking that, he was about to widen the distance and unleash his finishing strike when a sword flash came flying from somewhere and cut into Im Yuguang's back.
"No!"
As Im Yuguang's body collapsed, Seonghwaun's scream tore through the air.
He had waited all his life for this moment—so how dared anyone interfere?
His bloodshot eyes swept the surroundings, and there he saw the Namgung Clan's young lord, Namgung Cheon, approaching.
Seonghwaun did not hesitate for long.
Clang-clack!
"Seonghwaun! Have you lost your mind!"
Namgung Cheon shouted as he hurriedly knocked aside the sword aimed at him, but Seonghwaun swung his arm again.
If he let Im Yuguang die here now, then he himself would never be able to surpass the Sunflower Manual.
A vicious smile flickered at the corner of Seonghwaun's mouth.
"You, trying to steal another man's catch—aren't you the one who's lost his mind?"
---
When he heard that Im Yuguang had somehow escaped the trap at the last moment, Seonghwaun felt that heaven had not abandoned him.
Someday, that man would return to the Central Plains for revenge; all he had to do was make every preparation and wait for that day to come.
But for some reason, no matter how many years passed, Im Yuguang never showed his face again.
By the time his hair had gone from streaked with gray to pure white, Seonghwaun had no choice but to admit it.
At least in this life, he would have no chance to surpass the Sunflower Manual.
So how could he not be happy?
The dream he had once given up as impossible had returned to him once more.
"Hah!"
Countless transformations and forms converged to a single point, becoming, in the truest sense, one single burst of speed as the sword shot straight out.
Myriad Things Return as One Sword Art.
It was the instant when a martial art born from the wonders of the Sunflower Manual tried to break free of its shadow.
But perhaps the light he was reaching for was too dazzling.
The sword he was certain had pierced Cheongwol's throat had only grazed an illusion.
Crack
Though his body was still suspended in the air, his gaze fixed on the sword, which had begun to split.
"...What..."
A moment later.
The sword shattered into pieces and scattered across the ground, and Seonghwaun's body came crashing down upon them.
"Ghk..."
Agonizing pain so fierce he could hardly breathe washed over him, but Seonghwaun clenched his teeth and forced himself up.
Too late, he tried to follow the movement of the Cheongwol he had lost sight of, but it was a futile effort.
Thud!
"Keok...!"
When a fist drove into his side, he heard a sharp crack of breaking bone, and before he could even bend at the waist, a knee slammed viciously into his jaw.
"..."
As Seonghwaun reeled, his mind in chaos, Cheongwol stopped moving for a moment and looked at him.
"Don't die yet. There's still a long way to go before I've taken all your sins out of you."
At those words, Seonghwaun let out a strangled sound and lifted his head with difficulty.
When their eyes met in midair, a smile slowly spread across his face.
"So... that was it."
Seeing the murderous light rippling in Cheongwol's amber eyes, he understood at once.
Why it had been that one of the two greatest experts of the age had finally put down the Sunflower Manual.
"It is a demonic art. A wicked evil art that concludes every principle of martial arts as speed, and in the end causes one to devour oneself until ruin is all that remains!"
Though his master had not spoken with complete understanding, in the end, he had not been wrong.
Sunflower Manual was a true demonic art.
"...I should have listened to my master."
A bitter smile touched Seonghwaun's mouth.
He had not cultivated the demonic art itself, but he had followed in its wake—so, in a sense, was this not the inevitable end?
Just as he resigned himself while staring at Cheongwol's incoming palm strike, an overwhelming force suddenly pressed down over his entire body, and one knee struck the ground on its own.
Turning in surprise, he saw Namgung Cheon walking toward him.
Just as it had been that day more than twenty years ago, when he himself had let Im Yuguang go.
"The head of Cheongseong Sect should withdraw at once. That child is not of the Im Clan's blood—she is of the Namgung Clan."
---