Chapter 14
Chapter 14
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 14
Chapter Title: Duel on Peach Grove Plain
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Atop the sparring arena of Peach Grove Plain.
Cheonhwi, standing alone there, furrowed his brows.
'How did things end up like this?'
He reflected on what had just happened.
Unlike his expectations, the Five Mountains Sword Sects gathering had ended disappointingly, and he had been planning to return to the Ten Thousand Scriptures Pavilion to read martial arts manuals.
But then the Sect Leader suddenly summoned him and ordered him to spar.
'He must have been in a hurry.'
He had a rough idea of the Sect Leader's intentions.
Having once been the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, he understood them well.
A spar to repay the humiliation of defeat.
Judging by the reactions around him, it seemed to have worked.
The attention was greater than during the Five Mountains Sword Sects gathering.
'What a hassle.'
Cheonhwi scanned them slowly.
Countless people from all directions were staring at him intently.
The Mount Hua Sect disciples looked at him with anxious eyes, while the disciples from the other four sword sects gazed with sneers or incredulous expressions.
It was only natural, perhaps.
He was still just a fourteen-year-old boy, after all.
And those gazes weren't limited to them.
The elders from the four sword sects, who had somehow ended up seated in the honored positions again for this unexpected spar, were exchanging quiet glances and conversing among themselves.
"Did Mount Hua Sect have such a young disciple of this generation?"
As everyone shook their heads, clueless, in response to Elder Jeok Uja's question...
"Ah!"
Go Gyeong-ja, the elder from Mount Heng North Sect, let out a short exclamation as if something had come to mind.
"Do you know something?"
Nodding at Mu Yeong-ja's urging, Go Gyeong-ja whispered very quietly.
"You know that rumor from before? About the Plum Blossom Sword Hero taking in a baby as a disciple. I think the child's dharma name was Cheonhwi."
"The Plum Blossom Sword Hero...!"
"That Plum Blossom Sword Hero's disciple?"
In an instant, everyone's eyes changed.
The Plum Blossom Sword Hero was a nickname firmly etched in their minds.
He had appeared like a comet at a past Five Mountains Sword Sects gathering, displaying overwhelming skill, and was known as a promising talent to lead Mount Hua Sect.
If not for the White Ghost Castle's attack eight years ago, where he and the Plum Blossom Sword Guards he led had fallen, Mount Hua Sect's prestige wouldn't have declined like this.
"Then that child is..."
"The disciple of the Plum Blossom Sword Hero."
The elders of the four sword sects grew tense.
Though just a child, being the disciple of the Plum Blossom Sword Hero made him look different.
As they gazed at Cheonhwi...
Thud.
Kang-un stepped onto the sparring arena.
Like Cheonhwi before him, he was thoroughly displeased with the current situation.
In truth, he knew.
That Mount Hua Sect had no Plum Blossom Sword Guards left, so they couldn't refuse the challenge.
In other words, it was a provocation.
To tarnish Mount Hua Sect's honor and elevate his own and Mount Heng Sect's prestige.
But the situation had turned strange.
Swoosh—
Kang-un looked at the boy ahead.
A boy a full head shorter than him.
A delicate pretty boy who seemed about twelve or thirteen, with a sword hanging at his side so long it nearly touched the ground.
Narrowing his brows at the sight of a boy who might not even be able to lift the sword properly...
'To make me face a kid like this in place of the Plum Blossom Sword Guards.'
"Haa."
He let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
'If it had been a Plum Blossom Sword Guard, at least I'd gain some fame. Winning this spar gains me nothing.'
Finishing his thoughts, he approached Cheonhwi. Though greatly irritated, he cupped his hands and bowed deeply and formally.
The opponent was much younger, but of higher seniority.
"Please guide me well."
Whoosh—
Cheonhwi glanced at him, then casually cupped his hands as if annoyed.
Kang-un's face twisted at the sight.
'This brat...'
But he forcibly smoothed his expression and withdrew his salute.
As he retreated with a smile, he muttered quietly in a voice thick with irritation.
"I need to end this as quickly as possible."
A very small whisper.
However, Cheonhwi, whose hearing was more developed than others', caught it.
'Look at this guy?'
He twisted one corner of his mouth at Kang-un's tone, which completely looked down on him.
'Feeling annoyed myself, and he walks right into it.'
It was just the moment he needed an outlet for his frustration.
He had come for the grand Five Mountains Sword Sects gathering, but all he'd seen was kids brawling.
No proper martial arts, nothing intense.
'If I'd known it'd be like this, I wouldn't have bothered coming.'
That alone was irritating enough.
Now he was even in a position to spar with some young punk whose blood hadn't even dried.
He had no choice but to accept due to the Sect Leader's order, but that only soured his mood further.
Step— step—
Harboring different thoughts, the two faced each other at a distance of five jang.
For a moment, they stared at each other.
Schling—
Kang-un drew his sword first.
The pure white White Lotus Sword gleamed in the sunlight, infused with intense inner energy along the blade.
Gazing at his sword for a moment...
Thud!
He powerfully kicked off the ground.
His form soared into the sky.
With no intention of going easy, he raised his inner energy in one breath, executed the Soaring Cloud Mist Flow Step, and closed the distance.
The five-jang gap shrank in an instant.
'I'll end it in one strike.'
With that thought, he targeted Cheonhwi.
The boy still stood motionless, as if unaware of his movement.
He swiftly swung his sword widely at the boy's fully exposed shoulder.
Screeech!
The air split, and inner energy exploded.
Flying Cloud Super Wind.
One of the techniques from the Wind Cloud Sword Art that he was most confident in was unleashed.
As Flying Cloud Super Wind was about to reach Cheonhwi's defenseless shoulder...
Clang!
"Gasp!"
Kang-un's expression stiffened as he swallowed reflexively.
He couldn't tell when the opponent had drawn his sword, but he had effortlessly blocked Flying Cloud Super Wind.
'How...'
His pupils trembled finely.
Not only drawing the sword, but he hadn't even seen when it was swung.
The moment cold sweat trickled from his forehead...
Thud!
He snapped to his senses and hastily retreated.
Kang-un wasn't the only one shocked.
The crowd watching the first exchange in the sparring arena expressed their surprise.
Especially the Mount Hua Sect disciples were the most stunned.
"He... he blocked it?"
"Phew, thank goodness."
"But how did he block it?"
They had been anxious.
Though the spar between Cheonhwi and Kang-un was arranged by the Sect Leader's order, they didn't think Cheonhwi would win.
Even now, the difference was clear.
Kang-un dominated the arena with overwhelming inner energy billowing out, while Cheonhwi exuded only the faintest presence.
Like a rabbit before a tiger.
"Please let the next attack pass safely like this too..."
"Amitabha."
As they clasped their hands together with regretful expressions, gazing at the arena...
"How did he block it?"
"Senior Brother's Wind Cloud Sword Art...!"
The Mount Heng Sect disciples flinched in shock.
Kang-un was the unrivaled talent among their second-generation disciples.
For his technique to be blocked by a young boy was naturally bewildering.
At that moment, one of the second-generation disciples burst into laughter.
"Hahaha, Senior Brother Kang-un must have gone easy because the opponent is young."
Thinking about it, that made sense. Otherwise, the current situation was hard to comprehend.
"Hahaha, Senior Brother, really."
"Lucky break."
As the Mount Heng Sect disciples gradually relaxed and watched calmly again...
Drip—
Kang-un wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Unlike what his sect brothers thought, he hadn't held back.
On the contrary, he had used all his strength.
To end it in one strike.
'But how did he block it?'
Swallowing hard, he stared at Cheonhwi.
The still-young boy gripped his long sword with small hands like lotus roots.
Without any presence or inner energy.
'...Just luck?'
As he pondered, he narrowed his eyes.
It had to be luck. Anything else didn't make sense.
'No second stroke of luck.'
Kang-un circulated his inner energy.
The inner energy of the Pure Clarity Heart Technique, cultivated since childhood, enveloped him.
Whoosh!
His eyes, infused with inner energy, gleamed sharply.
Glare at Cheonhwi as if declaring no more carelessness, he stepped forward with his left foot.
Once more, the Soaring Cloud Mist Flow Step unfolded.
Cleaving through the air, he gripped his sword tighter and slashed at Cheonhwi's defenseless side.
Screeech!
As the sword was about to reach...
"...!"
Kang-un was horrified.
Cheonhwi had somehow twisted his head, and his eyes pierced right through him.
'My movements...'
Sneer—
Suddenly, Cheonhwi's lips curled up.
Flash!
A flash of lightning erupted.
The two swords clashed in midair, beginning a contest of strength.
'F-Flying Wind Severing Sword blocked like this?'
As the flustered Kang-un tried to press harder by infusing more power into his sword...
"You said you wanted to see the Plum Blossom Sword Art, right?"
A chilling voice rang in his ear.
Immediately, tremendous force loaded onto the sword.
Bang!
His body was flung backward.
"What is..."
Kang-un muttered dazedly.
The inner energy he had just felt.
A very small amount of inner energy, yet it contained immense repulsive force.
'Not luck...'
His face subtly hardened.
But he soon shook his head.
Now he understood why the Sect Leader had sent this young boy out.
His grip tightened on the sword hilt.
'Not for nothing is it Mount Hua Sect.'
Seeing Kang-un, now properly tense unlike before and assuming a true stance, Cheonhwi let out a scoff.
Then he circulated the Plum Blossom Divine Technique.
Whoosh!
The inner energy of the Plum Blossom Divine Technique, which he had been suppressing until now, spread through his body, emanating a subtle presence in all directions.
A completely changed presence and aura.
The onlookers were stunned.
"S-Such presence."
"Incredible skill at such a young age."
Everyone was full of admiration.
The presence and existence he now showed.
A tyrannical, overwhelming energy utterly at odds with his boyish appearance.
"He was hiding his skill all this time?"
"No wonder the Sect Leader requested the spar!"
The crowd's atmosphere gradually shifted.
The Mount Hua Sect disciples' anxious eyes now sparkled with anticipation, while the Mount Heng Sect disciples trembled faintly.
"With this presence..."
"No way Senior Brother Kang-un..."
And Cheongo, watching the spar alongside them, widened his eyes.
"Not a fluke after all."
Cheonhwi filled his vision.
He had thought his eye for martial arts was exceptional, but he hadn't expected this level of skill.
Cheonhwi's inner energy felt even now was quite small.
Yet the presence and existence he exuded overshadowed that inner energy, utterly overwhelming.
Enough to dominate Kang-un, who had trained for at least ten years.
As he thought that...
'Is that even possible?'
Doubt surfaced.
For him, who knew Cheonhwi well, the current situation was hard to comprehend.
He knew he had learned martial arts.
But this growth speed was absurd.
'Do the people here watching the spar know? That Cheonhwi, emanating such overwhelming presence, has only been training for barely a month.'
Cheongo swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth. As he gazed at Cheonhwi with trembling eyes...
Whoosh!
Cheonhwi's form sank deeply into the ground.
"...!"
Kang-un, who momentarily lost sight of him, widened his eyes.
The suddenly vanished Cheonhwi was now right in front of him, staring.
"Hah!"
Shouting sharply, he swung his prepared sword for a counterattack.
A full-power sword technique.
But it didn't reach Cheonhwi.
Cheonhwi, sword in hand, had lightly deflected Kang-un's swing with the Plum Blossoms Grafting Wood technique.
Cheonhwi whispered quietly.
"Watch closely. This is the Plum Blossom Sword Art."
No sooner had the low words ended...
Whoooosh!
A massive windstorm arose.
The red plum blossoms falling with the sunset mingled with the wind Cheonhwi stirred, beginning to engulf heaven and earth.