Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Seven Ultimate Plum Blossom Sword
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The Plum Blossom Sword Art was a fine sword art, but it fell short of being an Absolute Sword Art.
To be precise, in Cheonhwi's eyes, it was truly a regrettable technique.
It consisted of twelve initial forms and twelve later forms, totaling twenty-four techniques. It was the sword art that had contributed to the downfall of the Sa and Ma factions wielded by the Mount Hua Sect's Plum Blossom Sword Guards, and it had been renowned since ancient times.
Moreover, when one reached a certain realm, the sword flowers and sword fragrance that bloomed from the blade drew even greater attention, spreading its name far and wide across the martial world.
Even he, the former Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult located in the Tianshan Mountains, had known of it.
'No, now I know the Plum Blossom Sword Art better than anyone else.'
Cheonhwi's pupils gleamed brilliantly.
He was confident that he understood both its strengths and flaws more deeply than anyone currently in the Mount Hua Sect.
'I've experienced it against that snub-nosed Daoist called the Plum Blossom Divine Sword, and now I've even mastered it myself.'
He recalled the details of the Plum Blossom Sword Art.
A soft yet fierce sword art.
It embodied principles befitting its reputation as the pinnacle of illusory swords.
But.
'Even back then, its limits were clear.'
It wasn't enough to qualify as an Absolute Sword Art.
Of course, it was an outstanding technique, but to call the Plum Blossom Sword Art an Absolute Sword Art?
Absurd.
Compared to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult's Absolute Sword Arts like the Heavenly Demon Supreme Sword or the Heaven-Descending Blood Dragon Sword Art, or the Mount Wudang's Supreme Harmony Insight Sword, or even the Purple霞 Sword Manual that the snub-nosed Daoist had unleashed.
The Plum Blossom Sword Art was just a hair short—an regrettably incomplete sword art.
That was the evaluation from him, the former Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult and Absolute Heavenly Demon.
'That's why I changed it.'
Cheonhwi reminisced about a month ago.
The moment he had danced the sword dance.
The instant he comprehended the principles of the Plum Blossom Sword Art and performed the sword dance, he had mastered it.
And recognized its deficiencies.
The soft illusory sword contained within the Plum Blossom Sword Art was quite sharp and keen.
But that was all. The reason it couldn't become an Absolute Sword Art was plainly evident.
The moment he realized that, he devoted most of his time to transforming the Plum Blossom Sword Art into something comparable to an Absolute Sword Art.
At the very least, it had to reach that level to be worthy of him practicing it.
'It took a bit of time, but...'
Cheonhwi's eyes settled calmly.
In the process of reinventing the Plum Blossom Sword Art, the twenty-four forms gradually dwindled to just seven.
Those seven forms encapsulated the essence of the Plum Blossom Sword Art, infused with his own霸道, creating a new sword art.
The Seven Ultimate Plum Blossom Sword.
Whiiing—
A storm suddenly swept across Peach Grove Plain, accompanied by the thick fragrance of plum blossoms.
"...!"
"What!"
Gangun, who was directly struck by the fierce wind, along with the crowd, were thrown into disarray.
Gangun in particular couldn't withstand the wind pushing him back and was sent flying.
Roll—
After tumbling about three zhang across the ground, he hurriedly planted his hands down and pushed himself up.
"Kuh!"
However, unable to dissipate the impact, he let out a short groan. Then, he gasped for the breath that had been caught in his throat.
"Huff, huff."
Breathing heavily, he calmed his pounding chest and stared at Cheonhwi.
'W-what just happened?'
Cheonhwi pitifully looked at Gangun, who had been blown away because he couldn't withstand the ki-infused internal energy.
'Can't even endure this much and rolls on the ground like he's been hit by the Supreme Heavenly Demon Force.'
Since the spar was already underway,
he intended to vent his frustrations properly.
In the exact manner Gangun had wanted.
But the opponent was far too weak.
'Tch, might as well end it quickly.'
Swoosh—
Cheonhwi raised his sword and pointed it straight at the rigidly frozen Gangun.
It was a very light motion.
'Th-this...!'
Gangun could barely keep his wits about him.
The moment the sword pointed at him, the diminutive Cheonhwi appeared gigantic.
As the overwhelming presence bore down on him, turning his face pale,
swoosh—
the sword in Cheonhwi's hand moved.
Fwaaah!
Countless flowers bloomed from the sword.
Beautiful plum blossoms tinged with sunset hues.
"...!"
The crowd was instantly seized by shock upon seeing the plum blossoms bloom from Cheonhwi's sword.
What was a sword flower?
It was said to only manifest upon truly mastering the Plum Blossom Sword Art.
Yet Cheonhwi, who was barely fourteen, was producing sword flowers, so their astonishment was natural.
"At such a young age..."
"Already blooming sword flowers!"
As everyone erupted in bewilderment,
thud!
The Mount Hua Sect's Sect Leader and elders shot up from their seats upon recognizing the sword art Cheonhwi was wielding.
"...!"
"That just now!"
They too were shocked by the sword flower.
But what astonished them even more was Cheonhwi's sword art.
"What technique is that?"
"How can sword flowers bloom from such a form...?"
"Plum Blossom Falling? No, it's too sharp for Plum Blossom Falling. Then Plum Shadow River...?"
They were plunged into confusion.
The forms of the Plum Blossom Sword Art Cheonhwi displayed were entirely new ones they had never seen before.
Shaking their heads one by one as they enumerated the forms, they murmured softly.
"It's not a form of the Plum Blossom Sword Art."
"But it is the Plum Blossom Sword Art."
"What kind of bizarre..."
Their eyes wavered greatly.
From the sword flower, it was clearly their sect's Plum Blossom Sword Art.
Yet it wasn't.
A contradictory statement.
But it was the only way to accurately describe the sword art Cheonhwi was unleashing.
As they panicked,
'Heh, to think he'd alter the Plum Blossom Sword Art.'
Hyeondo gazed fondly at Cheonhwi, who was blooming sword flowers atop the sparring platform.
Unlike the other Mount Hua Sect elders, he accepted the current situation.
Of course, even he was surprised.
That Cheonhwi had changed the Plum Blossom Sword Art.
And in his view, it was even more concise and powerful than the original.
In the past, he would have ranted about such nonsense, but now he accepted it immediately.
'Because it's Cheonhwi.'
And rightly so—for in the past month of training with Cheonhwi, how many absurd situations had he faced?
As he recalled the outlandish events Cheonhwi had caused over that month,
『Did you know about this?』
A transmission laden with surprise reached him.
Turning to the head seat, the Sect Leader was looking at him.
He appeared composed, but Hyeondo, who had known him for so long, knew.
That he was greatly shocked.
He immediately activated sound transmission.
『I didn't know either.』
『Heh, astonishing. Truly astonishing.』
The Sect Leader let out a sigh of admiration.
He too was bewildered, but his joy far outweighed it.
He then focused on Cheonhwi, his eyes gleaming. Cheonhwi's overwhelming talent was a blessing upon the current Mount Hua Sect.
'The Heavenly Sovereign is watching over our sect.'
With that thought, the corners of his mouth rose endlessly toward the sky.
It was a bit vexing that Cheonhwi hadn't told him, the Sect Leader, about arbitrarily changing the Plum Blossom Sword Art, but his delight overshadowed that.
As everyone watched Cheonhwi with eyes full of admiration and shock,
whoosh—
Cheonhwi's aura abruptly changed.
The sword that had been blooming plum blossoms now pointed at the sky instead of Gangun, erupting with massive internal energy that encroached upon the sparring ground.
For an instant, the wind on Peach Grove Plain ceased.
In the deathly stillness atop the sparring platform, as if time had frozen, Gangun shuddered under the crushing pressure and gritted his teeth.
'I can't lose!'
Strength entered his eyes.
How arduously had he trained for this very day, mastering his sword art?
He gripped his sword with both hands.
Then, he poured all of his Clear Bright Heart Art's internal energy into the blade.
In that moment, a faint energy coalesced on the sword.
Blurry, but unmistakably sword qi.
Having barely manifested sword qi by expending all his internal energy, Gangun glared at Cheonhwi.
Overcoming the pressure, he took a large step forward with his left foot.
"Hah!"
With a mighty shout, he raised his sword high and swung it toward Cheonhwi.
The final ultimate technique of the Wind Cloud Sword Art.
The form that summoned wind and clouds.
The manifestation of Wind Cloud Summoning Strike.
'Sword qi, huh.'
Cheonhwi viewed Gangun's all-out Wind Cloud Summoning Strike with indifference.
Sword qi was proof of reaching first-class, but to him, it was just the trivial sight he had seen countless times.
Swoosh—
With an impassive expression, Cheonhwi channeled internal energy into his sword-gripping hand.
In an instant, thread-like strands of energy extended from the blade in multiple threads, soon transforming into plum blossoms that fully bloomed.
Watching the sword flowers bloom around him, Cheonhwi raised his sword high.
Whirring—
The moment the sword pointed to the sky, the halted wind blew once more.
The plum blossoms from Cheonhwi's sword began to dance in the gentle breeze,
and then—
Screeech!
the sword swept downward.
The first form of the Seven Ultimate Plum Blossom Sword.
Wind Heaven Plum Blossom Dance.
Plum blossoms blanketed the sky.
The moment one plum blossom collided with Gangun's full-power Wind Cloud Summoning Strike—
Flash!
A brilliant light erupted, and the plum blossoms that had filled the sparring ground vanished in an instant.
As if the clash that had just occurred was all an illusion.
"...">
Silence fell over Peach Grove Plain.
There was no sound, no aftermath.
Gangun and Cheonhwi stood facing each other atop the sparring ground.
The tip of Gangun's sword extended toward Cheonhwi's throat.
In contrast, Cheonhwi's sword was already sheathed.
At a glance, it looked like Gangun's victory.
But then.
Crack—
A crack appeared on Gangun's sword.
The ominous sound grew louder until the blade shattered completely.
Clatter—
Fragments fell to the ground.
Gangun stared blankly at his now bladeless sword.
It had been just one plum blossom.
That single one had clashed, crumbling his full-power Wind Cloud Summoning Strike effortlessly and utterly destroying his sword.
Flick—
Cheonhwi glanced at the dazed Gangun and turned away without delay.
Then, he slowly descended the sparring platform.
Step— step—
Footsteps echoed in the silence.
At that moment, red plum blossoms fell like rain, lightly settling around him as he left the sparring ground.
As if heralding the beginning of a new era for the Mount Hua Sect.