Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Falling Plum Heavenly Rain Flower
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"Th-that's Sword Flower!"
"Plum blossoms are blooming!"
The crowd's eyes sparkled with excitement.
As Cheonhwi slowly raised his sword, flower buds began to form at its tip.
One by one.
The buds continued to sprout and bloom repeatedly, increasing in number.
"Is that the Mount Hua Sect's Plum Blossom Sword Art?"
"It's bizarre, truly bizarre. To think a sword art that makes plum blossoms bloom actually exists."
The spectators clicked their tongues in awe.
The sight of plum blossoms blooming profusely in empty air was so wondrous that it was hard to put into words.
Whoosh―
At that moment, a warm spring breeze blew in.
The gentle zephyr, carrying the essence of spring as if welcoming it at last, swept the plum blossoms along.
Thanks to that,
the plum blossoms blooming in all directions began to drift leisurely with the breeze.
"How can it be this beautiful..."
Everyone lost themselves in the spectacle.
The plum blossoms were an illusion.
Yet even knowing that, they were captivated by the majestic sight of the petals undulating like waves across the sky.
By the endless cascade of plum blossoms.
"Truly beautiful plum blossoms."
The Sect Leader gazed up at the arena.
His beard twitched, and the gentlest of smiles formed on his lips.
The plum blossoms bloomed in full splendor.
As if spring had finally arrived.
And at the root of those spring-summoning, flower-blooming plum blossoms stood Cheonhwi.
Firmly, more steadfast than any great tree in the world.
In a form that seemed impervious to any natural disaster or tempest.
"Show them."
The Sect Leader murmured softly.
"Your true worth to the world."
At those words, Cheonhwi's swinging sword traced a perfect semicircle.
"This is the Plum Blossom Sword Art...?"
Choryeon was entranced by that sword path.
Though she had never seen it in her life, she was a master who had reached a profound realm.
Even if not a sword expert, she could tell that the trajectory drawn before her eyes was on a completely different level from ordinary sword arts.
"It's no ordinary plum blossom."
It was a beautiful, fragrant plum blossom.
But facing it head-on, her lips slowly twisted.
Because it carried an inner force that made her skin sting just from confronting it.
"It's this powerful!"
She had heard her ears ringing about the Mount Hua Sect's Plum Blossom Sword Art.
As a technique the righteous sects needed to beware.
Yet experiencing it firsthand, it was far more dangerous than she had been told.
"Even if I die, that guy..."
Choryeon bit her lip hard.
The more the exchange dragged on, the more her confidence in being able to kill him faded, the possibility dwindling to near zero.
But she did not give up.
Thud!
Choryeon stomped the ground with all her might.
The already cracked arena floor erupted in a massive cloud of dust from the force she poured into her sole.
And at that instant.
Crack―
Pure white chill sank downward, and from where her foot landed, frost began to spread slowly.
Soon after, the thick layer of cold fused with the ice at her feet, blanketing the entire arena in white.
Then she reached her hand upward.
As if to grasp all the plum blossoms raining from the sky in that hand.
Fear Heaven Ice Demon Hand
The ultimate technique of the Minor Demonic Arts unleashed a flurry of cold, eerie frost, manifesting not just in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult but across the Central Plains.
Crack!
The air froze, and biting cold assailed them.
The wind that turned the springlike arena into winter in an instant froze the falling plum blossoms one by one.
And then.
Craaaack!
A fierce storm of extreme cold raged.
Frost formed on Cheonhwi's sword tip and sleeves, encasing them solidly.
At this rate, all the plum blossoms would shatter, and the storm would swallow Cheonhwi whole.
But Cheonhwi remained unchanged even amid the ferocious blizzard of the Fear Heaven Ice Demon Hand.
A smile lingered on his lips, and he lost none of his composure.
As if the encroaching technique bothered him not at all.
"This is the technique you devised to defeat me?"
The Raksha Ice Demon flashed through his mind.
Her icy expression filled with battle lust.
And what Choryeon now unleashed was the successor to that will.
Cheonhwi's gaze fixed on Choryeon.
Her hair turned pure white from the cold, she extended her snow-white hands like a snow woman.
As the Raksha Ice Demon had boasted, the technique Choryeon displayed was unparalleled under heaven, without flaw.
The situation and the technique were both fitting.
Except for one thing.
It was a pity that it was not the Raksha Ice Demon wielding the Minor Demonic Arts now, but Choryeon.
"Tch, well, this is something. Facing the technique you created head-on is honor enough."
Swallowing his regret, Cheonhwi flashed a grin and slowly drew up his inner energy.
This was the Raksha Ice Demon's challenge to him.
Across three hundred years.
"Right?"
Cheonhwi, still smiling, raised his sword.
At that moment, the frost on the sword tip melted away, and a plum blossom bloomed anew.
And from there.
Crack―
The ice spreading from Choryeon shattered, and plum blossoms bloomed once more.
Like winter yielding to spring, wherever the ice melted, plum blossoms sprouted, filling the air with their thick fragrance.
"The Fear Heaven Ice Demon Hand broken so easily..."
Choryeon's pupils trembled violently.
The plum blossoms were an illusion.
Yet they did not vanish.
Instead, they pierced through the Fear Heaven Ice Demon Hand, reblooming and drifting downward.
Vividly, gorgeously.
Then.
Swoosh―
The sword descended slowly.
A simple stroke from above to below.
Yet Choryeon, facing the end of that path, could only stare in shock.
Plum blossoms were falling.
The crimson plum blossoms overturning the entire arena fell like rain, a majestic sight.
⚔ Seven Ultimate Plum Blossom Sword ⚔ Fifth Form: Falling Plum Heavenly Rain Flower
The sky filled with plum blossoms poured down toward Choryeon like a torrent.
Choryeon's heart pounded fiercely.
The shower of flowers blanketed the heavens, leaving no escape.
No, there wasn't even a gap to dodge.
At this rate, she would be engulfed by the floral rain and vanish in an instant.
"I can't end like this here!"
Shouting fiercely, she squeezed out every last drop of her remaining inner energy.
Thick cold enveloped her.
A vicious chill that would turn anything it touched to ice instantly.
However.
Ssssh―
The plum blossoms pushed aside the cold she emanated and burrowed deeper inward.
And the plum fragrance tickled her nose.
A thick, intoxicating aroma.
Then, at last.
Plop―
A single plum petal, falling ever so slowly, quietly touched the crown of her head.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ The plum blossoms and frigid storm that had swept the arena vanished as if washed away.
As if nothing had happened.
The crowd stared blankly at the arena, still immersed in the afterglow.
On the shattered arena floor, Cheonhwi and Choryeon faced each other.
Everyone watching held their breath.
"Who won?"
"Is it over? Or not yet?"
Most of the onlookers couldn't grasp what had transpired in the duel.
They had only witnessed beautiful plum blossoms blooming and a countering storm of cold raging.
But then.
"Huh?!"
Choryeon's body swayed.
Just as it began to collapse limply backward,
Swoosh―
A man suddenly appeared on the arena and swiftly supported her.
Cradling her carefully in both arms, he deeply bowed his head to Cheonhwi.
"We concede defeat."
Cheonhwi glanced at the man briefly,
"...Yeah?"
Responding nonchalantly, he waved his hand as if to shoo him away.
"Then take her and go."
As the man cautiously retreated,
"M-Mount Hua's victory!"
"Wooooah!"
Explosive cheers erupted.
Unlike the previous duels, this one was so spectacular that even those ignorant of martial arts could feel their prowess.
As the roars grew louder,
"Next."
Cheonhwi turned his body.
Precisely toward the encampment of the Shen Zhou Remnants visible below the broken arena.
"Who's next?"
Those receiving his gaze flinched in surprise and hastily averted their eyes.
"Deputy Leader."
At that moment, amid those scrambling to look away, one man stepped forward.
A youth with a smile on his face.
Displaying calm composure even in this situation, he approached the Gold Radiance Deputy Leader and politely cupped his fists.
"My apologies. We forfeit this duel."
"Wh-what do you mean all of a sudden...?"
The Gold Radiance Deputy Leader stared at him in bewilderment at the thunderbolt declaration.
But the man smiled indifferently to those eyes and said,
"Anyone else maybe, but against that little Daoist, we're outmatched."
The man shrugged.
"No point wasting energy on a sure loss."
"B-but this concerns the fate of Shaanxi! How can you forfeit?!"
"The fate of Shaanxi, huh..."
The man narrowed his eyes, trailing off.
As the Gold Radiance Deputy Leader shrank back at the chilling gaze peeking through those slits, the man continued.
"If it's that important, why don't you step up yourself?"
The Gold Radiance Deputy Leader's eyebrows shot up.
"Are you thinking of breaking the agreement now?"
"Agreement? Sounds good."
"What do you...?"
The Gold Radiance Deputy Leader shut his mouth mid-sentence.
He suddenly remembered what he had forgotten. Their agreement was to absorb the remnants of White Ghost Castle, not to claim Shaanxi.
"So you're forfeiting Shaanxi?"
"What's the gain in clinging to a fight we can't win? Cut losses and take what's available."
As the Gold Radiance Deputy Leader bit his lip at the man's calm words,
"What're you doing? Next one coming or not?"
A urging voice called from above. He glanced at the bored-looking Cheonhwi, then squeezed his eyes shut.
Finally, he forced the words out.
"...We forfeit."
With the Gold Radiance Deputy Leader's declaration of forfeit, bewildered voices rose from all sides.
"F-Forfeit?"
"Why not fight?"
"Don't you get it? They can't beat Mount Hua's young expert!"
"Still, forfeiting..."
Uproar spread everywhere.
And rightly so, for this duel concerned the fate of each sect.
When lives should be on the line, forfeiting without fighting naturally confused the crowd.
"Forfeit without even dueling?"
"What's their game...?"
Even the Mount Hua and Mount Zhongnan encampments watched the sudden forfeit with uncomprehending faces.
Tap.
Cheonhwi sheathed his sword as if declaring the end and nodded.
"I was curious what arts they'd use... but it'll come up later anyway."
Cheonhwi glanced at the man smiling coldly beside the Gold Radiance Deputy Leader, then stepped away.
He leaped down from the arena at once.
"Mount Hua Sect's victory!"
"Mount Hua and Mount Zhongnan win!"
Someone shouted, and the crowd, snapping to their senses, unleashed cheers.
The sound overturned Qingya Plain in an instant, spreading far and wide.
"Too noisy."
Cheonhwi, furrowing his brow at the cheers ringing in his ears, arrived at the encampment.
Swoosh―
All eyes turned to him.
"Tch, this is gonna be a hassle."
The Mount Hua elders who came with him couldn't hide their pride, while the disciples gazed with eyes full of awe.
And Mount Zhongnan?
The senior members looked shocked and wary of the threat, while the young disciples showed awe mixed with envy.
"You're back?"
The Sect Leader approached with a smile.
"Good work."
"No big deal."
The Sect Leader's smile deepened.
How could this be no big deal?
But he didn't voice it.
Instead, he just looked on quietly.
"Oh right! Gotta collect the prize money this time too. You can handle the rest without me, right?"
"......"
The Sect Leader, a slight headache forming, unwittingly squeezed his eyes shut.
He had momentarily forgotten Cheonhwi's willful nature beneath the confidence.
"Sigh."
A moment later, opening his eyes with a faint sigh, the Sect Leader said to Cheonhwi,
"Fine, go on then."
"Then I'm heading back to Mount Hua."
"Mount Hua...? What do you mean..."
At the words implying not just leaving but returning straight to Mount Hua, the startled Sect Leader tried to say something, but
Whoosh―
Cheonhwi had already vanished.