Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: The True Falling Petals Sword Art
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It wasn't until a full two hours had passed that the carriage carrying the group finally left the territory of the Biheaven Society and entered the domain of the Murim Alliance.
"Now I can finally breathe easy."
"Phew, that was tough."
Cheonhwi and Gu Gyeomwi slumped in exhaustion.
Perhaps because the tension they'd maintained tautly for nearly four days had finally loosened, their speech and manner had grown languid.
Hyeonjin smiled at the sight.
He understood their feelings all too well.
How much mental strain and pressure had he endured while staying at the Nangong family?
"You all did well."
Then he glanced subtly at Cheonhwi.
Leaning back against his seat, Cheonhwi was reading a martial arts manual as if detached from the others.
'Haha. Little martial brother. Are you watching closely? The disciple you brought, who was so frail back then, has become an expert who overwhelmed the Firmament Sword Dragon.'
Even now, it was astonishing.
The Firmament Sword Dragon was one of the top later-generation experts in the Biheaven Society, yet he had been defeated.
And overwhelmingly so.
A swell of pride rose naturally within him.
'The future of our sect is bright!'
Then a sudden question occurred to him.
"By the way, Cheonhwi. Who was that gentleman? The Firmament Sword Dragon was so deferential, so he can't be an ordinary figure..."
"He said he was the Retired Family Head."
The inside of the carriage froze in an instant.
"The Retired... Family Head?"
"The Retired Family Head?"
"Martial brother. Is that true?"
"Yes."
Cheonhwi answered nonchalantly, but...
"So that was the Thunderbolt Sword!"
Hyeonjin exclaimed belatedly in shock.
"The name sounded familiar from somewhere..."
He swallowed dryly.
The Thunderbolt Sword was one of the Five Great Swordsmen of the world, absolute experts whose name had rung in his ears since childhood.
'How could I have forgotten that!'
He berated himself for overlooking it.
"But..."
"Why would the Nangong family's Retired Family Head give a gift to Cheonhwi..."
His thoughts slipped out aloud.
"He said he was repaying the favor for some advice I gave on creating a martial art."
The more Cheonhwi spoke, the more shock swept over the faces of the three listeners.
"You gave advice... on creating a martial art?"
"To the Nangong family's Retired Family Head?"
"...!"
Was there ever such a tale in the annals of rivalries?
The opponent was the former absolute expert, the Thunderbolt Sword.
And he had given advice on a martial art he was creating?
It was hard to believe.
"Is that really true?"
"Why would I lie?"
At that moment.
"Martial brother!"
Gu Gyeomwi called out to Cheonhwi in a booming voice, his eyes wide open.
"C-Can I get some advice on martial arts too?"
Cheonhwi furrowed his brow.
"Advice? For that, you should ask Senior Brother Hyeonjin."
Cheonhwi, finding it bothersome, tried to pass it off to Hyeonjin, but...
"Well..."
Gu Gyeomwi's expression turned awkward as he scratched his cheek, turning his head away.
Hyeonjin laughed at the sight.
"Hahaha. I suppose my teaching is rather clumsy."
"N-No, that's not it."
Gu Gyeomwi waved his hands hurriedly, but...
'...Is it that bad?'
Cheonhwi could already tell just from observing their behavior.
"So you want advice from me?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I want to become as strong and confident as you, martial brother."
Gu Gyeomwi clenched his fists tightly.
"I don't want to stay silent anymore when our sect is disrespected."
Hyeonjin and Cheonyu flinched at his words.
It applied to them too, for staying silent back then.
They weren't braggarts.
A faint smile played on Cheonhwi's lips.
He had thought they lacked pride for staying quiet even after hearing such words.
But no.
They knew how to endure.
'And if they're humble enough to seek guidance from me, their junior brother, that means their passion to grow stronger is genuine...'
Cheonhwi watched the three suppressing their anger as they recalled that moment, then parted his lips.
"Then I'll make you that way."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ That evening, as the group decided to camp and began preparations...
"Let's go somewhere quiet for now."
Cheonhwi left his spot.
Hyeonjin, Cheonyu, and Gu Gyeomwi followed, soon arriving at a secluded clearing.
"Then let's spar."
"Phew. A spar, huh."
Gu Gyeomwi, tense to the max, drew his sword.
"Come at me."
A moment later, Hyeonjin and Cheonyu, watching from a distance, gaped in astonishment.
"He's completely toying with him."
"At this rate, Eldest Senior Brother should be learning from Cheonhwi, not me."
Cheonyu spoke with a laugh, but his back was soaked in cold sweat.
'Was Cheonhwi's skill already at this level? I thought he was extraordinary during the bout with the Firmament Sword Dragon, but this is on another level.'
He hadn't received an official title because he had to inherit the family, but Gu Gyeomwi's skill was comparable to his own.
Yet the current situation?
Not long after the spar began, Gu Gyeomwi was being overwhelmed by Cheonhwi.
Cheonhwi hadn't moved a single step, while Gu Gyeomwi darted around desperately trying to evade.
The vast skill gap was painfully obvious.
"Cheonhwi's prowess has already far surpassed the realm of later-generation experts."
Hyeonjin couldn't hold back his admiration.
But that lasted only a moment.
"However, the forms are too flashy."
The longer the bout dragged on, the deeper Hyeonjin's frown grew.
The sword arts both Cheonhwi and Gu Gyeomwi were using was the Falling Petals Sword Art.
He must have chosen the same sword art to provide guidance.
"This won't do."
Hyeonjin rejected it outright.
While the Mount Hua Sect's sword arts were renowned for their flashiness, the Falling Petals Sword Art was different.
A heavy, practical sword art.
But what was this?
The way Cheonhwi executed it was light and flashy, like a sword dance performed by courtesans.
"...His exceptional talent led him to make a mistake."
Hyeonjin pressed his hand to his forehead.
It was a sword art refined and perfected over long ages by predecessors since its creation by the Founding Patriarch.
To alter it arbitrarily?
Wasn't that a grave sin akin to extinguishing the patriarch's legacy?
Meanwhile, Gu Gyeomwi had also noticed something off about Cheonhwi's sword art.
"...Martial brother. What did you do?"
He quickly retreated and spoke with a furrowed brow.
"The Falling Petals Sword Art isn't like that."
"Why? Shouldn't it be concise and sharp? Isn't it too light and flashy?"
"Uh, er... Yeah."
Cheonhwi chuckled at Gu Gyeomwi's flustered stammering.
"It wasn't originally like that."
With those words, he raised his sword again.
"Then I'll demonstrate the Falling Petals Sword Art as you performed it earlier, Senior Brother Gu."
Unlike before, Cheonhwi moved with concise, swift motions.
It was the forms Gu Gyeomwi had used.
Kaang―
Gu Gyeomwi blocked Cheonhwi's form and said, as if asking why he hadn't done so earlier when it was possible now.
"You can execute it properly like this, so why did you do it that way before?"
"Earlier you couldn't block and were busy dodging, but now you're handling it easily."
"What...?"
"Then block this too."
Cheonhwi moved his sword again.
"Hup! Hup!"
Gu Gyeomwi barely lasted six exchanges before fleeing backward once more.
"Get it now?"
Gu Gyeomwi's head rang.
Cheonhwi's Falling Petals Sword Art had seemed so light that it felt dodgeable, yet he was scrambling just to evade.
But the original Falling Petals Sword Art?
Gu Gyeomwi swallowed hard.
"I'll execute the forms properly now, so watch closely."
Before Gu Gyeomwi could respond, Cheonhwi raised his sword and swung it widely.
It was a form different from any known Falling Petals Sword Art.
Gu Gyeomwi's eyes glazed over.
The swinging sword was so light and flashy it seemed it might flutter away with a mere puff of breath.
Truly like its name, 'Falling Petals'—petals drifting down.
"I learned it was a fast and practical sword art..."
Gu Gyeomwi, murmuring, clamped his mouth shut.
That's how he'd been taught from the start.
By the Sect Leader, the elders.
Everyone in the Mount Hua Sect.
Except for Cheonhwi, swinging the sword before him.
Having demonstrated all the forms, Cheonhwi rested his sword on his shoulder and asked.
"How was it?"
"An astonishing sword art... Hup."
Gu Gyeomwi nearly answered unconsciously but swallowed his words hastily.
Acknowledging it might spell trouble.
But before that.
"...Wh-What was that?"
Hyeonjin, who had been watching their spar, couldn't hold back and came rushing over breathless.
His face was pale.
It was a method unheard of and unseen.
Could something so light be this powerful and superior?
"It's a bit lighter and flashier than the original, but isn't it easier to follow?"
"A bit...?"
Hyeonjin was dumbfounded.
Where was the 'bit' in this?
The concise, practical forms of the Falling Petals Sword Art no longer existed.
'Yet it's stronger...'
His head throbbed.
If it were weaker, he could criticize it.
But the altered Falling Petals Sword Art was far superior to the original.
Even he, who had first thought it a grave sin, had to admit it.
'What should I do about this?'
Hyeonjin stood at a crossroads.
Should he acknowledge it?
Or deny it?
Unable to choose, he asked Cheonhwi.
"Why did you perform it that way?"
"Because that's how it's supposed to be."
Hyeonjin stiffened at the bold reply.
"It's not a light and flashy sword art."
"No. This is right, isn't it?"
"What?"
Cheonhwi continued as Hyeonjin looked bewildered.
"If it's a Mount Hua sword art."
"What does that have to..."
"Most of the martial arts created by the Founding Patriarch are flashy, aren't they?"
Hyeonjin nodded slowly.
The reason Mount Hua became famous was, naturally, its unique, spectacularly flashy sword arts playing a big part.
"But what does that matter?"
Cheonhwi felt exasperated.
'Even after explaining this much, he doesn't get it.'
"Who created the Falling Petals Sword Art?"
"The Founding Patriarch, of..."
Hyeonjin trailed off, realizing what Cheonhwi meant, and narrowed his eyes.
"You're saying since the Falling Petals Sword Art was also created by the Founding Patriarch, it should be flashy like his other martial arts?"
"Exactly."
Finally getting it.
Cheonhwi's expression brightened with relief.
"But the Falling Petals Sword Art has had practical forms for ages..."
"So what if it's practical."
Cheonhwi cut off Hyeonjin's lengthy explanation with a grin.
"This one's better anyway."