Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Verbal Sword Spar
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“Verbal sword spar...?”
Disappointment flickered across Cheonhwi's face.
“Why not just spar for real?”
Cheonhwi sounded dissatisfied with the response.
It was called a spar, but...
A verbal sword spar meant verbally describing martial arts techniques and forms, then imagining each other's moves.
It was hardly worthy of the name spar.
'Clashing swords directly is the best.'
Yet the Mount Zhongnan Sword Sage was firm.
“You want to keep it simple.”
“Tch.”
He swallowed his regret inwardly.
And rightly so—the Mount Zhongnan Sword Sage's eyes were already gleaming with anticipation. It seemed he had come determined to engage in verbal sparring and had no intention of backing down.
'Not ideal, but better than nothing.'
In the end, Cheonhwi replied with a reluctant expression.
“Tch. Fine.”
The Mount Zhongnan Sword Sage let out a small chuckle at Cheonhwi's begrudging response.
A moment later, the two sat down in chairs.
The Sword Sage's gaze, which had been fixed on the dust-covered table, suddenly locked onto Cheonhwi.
“I'll yield the first move.”
“Alright.”
Cheonhwi immediately raised his index finger.
The Mount Zhongnan Sword Sage's eyes sparkled as he watched Cheonhwi instantly assume the stance of a true warrior.
'His posture passes muster.'
One would normally be tense facing a spar with a senior of such lofty status.
Even if it was just verbal.
But the Cheonhwi before him was different.
He was composed.
Reckless? No, it was something else.
It was the bearing of a warrior brimming with confidence in his own martial arts.
Then.
Swoosh—
Cheonhwi's index finger slashed across the desk.
A flawless straight line cleaved through the dust on the table, without a single flaw.
In that instant, the Mount Zhongnan Sword Sage's eyes lit up.
“That's your opening move?”
“It is.”
What Cheonhwi had executed was Mount Tai Crushing Strike.
A simple, straightforward downward slash.
A basic sword form that even a third-rate warrior would never use as an opener.
Yet deploying it meant...
'He's proposing a probing exchange.'
Having grasped Cheonhwi's intent, he responded by lightly flicking his hand as if deflecting the downward Mount Tai Crushing Strike.
“Then I'll counter with All-Heaven Dense Net to trap your Mount Tai Crushing Strike.”
“How?”
His hand gestures suddenly scattered in all directions, weaving a dense web like a spider's silk.
The motions, as if grasping at the air, sucked up the dust on the table in an instant.
A moment later, he stopped and added an explanation of All-Heaven Dense Net.
“All-Heaven Dense Net is a chaotic sword that dominates all eight directions.”
His hand paused.
“Your simple downward Mount Tai Crushing Strike will be ensnared within it.”
“And you'll counterattack too.”
“...!”
The Mount Zhongnan Sword Sage's eyes widened.
'How did he see that? Has he witnessed it before?'
All-Heaven Dense Net was one of the most unconventional forms among the Thirty-Six Heavenly Swords, rarely comprehended by anyone.
'He grasped it in that instant!'
The deeper his thoughts delved, the more profound his gaze became.
Meanwhile, Cheonhwi recalled the All-Heaven Dense Net he had seen long ago.
'All-Heaven Dense Net, huh. It's evolved.'
Long ago, an unnamed elder of Mount Zhongnan had unleashed this chaotic sword like a mad beast, its claws guarding the elder.
'Back then, it was purely defensive, but now it handles offense and defense simultaneously.'
Cheonhwi pictured the hand gestures the Sword Sage had just performed without a trace of internal energy.
Light flicks of the hand.
'But if he'd wielded a sword, it would have been an unstoppable technique.'
In his mind, he envisioned the Sword Sage unleashing All-Heaven Dense Net against warriors charging from all sides.
Flesh and blood spraying everywhere.
And standing alone amid it all, the Mount Zhongnan Sword Sage, not a drop of blood on him.
Cheonhwi nodded as he thought it over.
“Then I'll do this.”
“How?”
The Mount Zhongnan Sword Sage stared intently at the impassive Cheonhwi.
There were dozens of counters to Mount Tai Crushing Strike that he knew.
No need to delve into advanced sword arts.
Yet he had deliberately chosen the most unique and unconventional All-Heaven Dense Net from the Thirty-Six Heavenly Swords.
His intent was simple.
All-Heaven Dense Net appeared perfect in offense and defense, but properly executing it required substantial internal energy.
A clear weakness.
He had revealed it to gauge if Cheonhwi could spot it.
'A peak master would try to shatter it and crumble instead. But a transcendent master would avoid direct confrontation and turn it into a battle of attrition...'
The Sword Sage calmly awaited his response. Then Cheonhwi's lips parted.
'What choice will he make?'
He waited for the words to emerge, to discern if he was peak or transcendent.
But.
“Then I'll use Dark Shadow Step to slip inside, then counter with Meteor Fall.”
Cheonhwi's response was neither.
Not shattering it, not evading—it was stepping with footwork and countering.
'Counter?'
The Sword Sage's eyebrow twitched.
“You think you can dodge All-Heaven Dense Net's sword forms and counterattack?”
“Easily.”
As the Sword Sage's brow furrowed, Cheonhwi immediately explained.
“All-Heaven Dense Net looks dense, but it's just covering the eight directions. So, timing it with the upper-right swing, I step with Dark Shadow Step, twist my body, and strike the gap here...”
The more Cheonhwi explained, the stranger the Sword Sage's expression grew.
The theory was flawless.
Target the gaps when the true eight directions are swung.
But.
'Impossible.'
He could say it definitively.
To execute it theoretically required mastering speed-based footwork and matching it with heavy swordplay.
Highly complex conditions.
'One who masters heavy sword won't learn flashy footwork like Dark Shadow Step.'
Heavy sword emphasized power above all, on a different path.
Conversely, Dark Shadow Step was footwork focused on speed—they were incompatible.
To wield heavy sword, one abandoned flashy steps for weight-emphasizing ones like Thousand-Jin Thrust.
'Of course, it could be learned, but...'
It would be a waste of time.
They couldn't coexist.
Even if pursued, it would take years or decades of grueling effort.
And who would bother?
'Still, worth considering.'
The Sword Sage's eyes changed.
He had thought All-Heaven Dense Net perfect in offense and defense.
But it had a weakness.
Nearly impossible now, but who knew the future.
'An absolute master could pull it off.'
The thought made him flinch.
'No way...'
His gaze on Cheonhwi wavered slightly.
'Coincidence? Or...'
He shook his head firmly after staring piercingly, then raised his index finger.
“Then I'll do this.”
His voice grew heavier.
“I'll retract All-Heaven Dense Net here and advance with Cloud Dragon Stride, targeting your side—no room for counter then.”
Cheonhwi smirked at the suddenly serious Sword Sage.
'Finally getting serious?'
He had known the Sword Sage wasn't fully committed to the verbal spar, so he deliberately chose a striking counter among many.
And it was the right choice.
'Now he'll spar properly.'
Cheonhwi raised his index finger right away.
“Then I'll block like this.”
“Haha, like that?”
“Then this.”
“Hm. Dodge and counter.”
The exchange of offense and defense continued.
The Sword Sage let out exclamations of admiration with every word from Cheonhwi.
'How did he conceive such a method?'
Vast and systematic martial knowledge.
Broader and deeper than anyone he had met.
'His martial arts are already complete.'
He clicked his tongue in awe.
Future world's greatest?
Far beyond that.
If he possessed internal energy and inaction to match.
He could claim it now!
Having confirmed the source of Cheonhwi's earlier confidence, the Sword Sage's long-dormant warrior's blood began to boil.
'Not a student to teach.'
Acknowledging him as an equal in martial arts alone, he raised his finger for another attack.
“Cloud-Heavy Azure Dragon Step...”
His previously yielding tone turned grave.
Thus.
'Now he's unleashing everything.'
Cheonhwi's smile deepened.
A moment later, the room filled with the heat of their immersed verbal sparring.
The spar continued.
Oblivious to the passage of time, they exchanged forms relentlessly.
How long had it been?
The moon set and the sun rose.
The world, buried in darkness, slowly revealed itself, and sunlight finally filtered into Cheonhwi's open-windowed room.
“...Haha. The sun's up already.”
The Mount Zhongnan Sword Sage murmured softly.
He hadn't noticed time flying.
'Haha. I meant to gauge his character, but I got lost in the verbal spar myself.'
He shook his head lightly.
His warrior's blood had boiled after so long, intoxicating him with excitement.
'Not bad, though.'
It felt refreshing.
Verbal spar, not physical, but he had unleashed everything after ages.
“Let's end it here.”
“Already?”
The Sword Sage chuckled softly at Cheonhwi's slightly regretful question.
“I'd love to continue, but this is enough for now.”
“Shame.”
“Haha. Everything leaves some regret.”
“Then let's do it again next time.”
“Next time...”
The Sword Sage savored the word pleasantly, then grinned broadly.
“Good. But next time, real swords, not words.”
* * *
The afternoon after the Mount Zhongnan Sword Sage departed.
Cheonhwi, Cheonyu, and Gu Gyeomwi stood in a vast rear garden incomparable to the previous one's.
“Come on.”
Cheonhwi crooked a finger at Gu Gyeomwi and Cheonyu, who stood tense in horse-riding stance opposite him.
“Here I go!”
“Charge!”
Gu Gyeomwi and Cheonyu rushed at Cheonhwi.
Thanks to numerous spars with him, they attacked in perfect unison, like a single person.
“Eldest Senior Brother!”
“Good!”
The moment they nodded.
Thud! Thud!
They split to the sides simultaneously.
Cheonyu, clinging to Cheonhwi in an instant, bent low to his waist, aiming for the blind spot with a fist thrust.
Then.
“Not bad? You've improved quite a bit.”
Cheonhwi grabbed Cheonyu's head.
His suddenly extended palm filled Cheonyu's vision, beginning to steal his consciousness.
“Ah, not yet...”
Cheonyu barely clung to awareness, grabbing Cheonhwi's wrist and shouting loudly.
“Junior Brother Gu!”
In that instant, a sharp wind shot from behind Cheonhwi.
Sword wind like surging waves.
It was Plum Blossom Surging Waves.
“Oh. Using your head now.”
Cheonhwi chuckled.
Flesh offered to cut bone.
The flesh-severing, bone-chopping method he favored unfolded from their hands.
'They wouldn't have thought of this before. They've grown.'
Cheonhwi swung his left hand.
Boom!
With an air-bursting sound, Gu Gyeomwi's charging body flew backward.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Bouncing like a skipped stone several times, Gu Gyeomwi ended up sprawled flat on the ground.
Gurgle—
Such was the impact that froth bubbled from his open mouth.
“Ha, haha.”
Cheonyu laughed awkwardly, peering at Gu Gyeomwi through the gaps in Cheonhwi's fingers gripping his head.
“Ha, haha. Junior Brother, you okay?”
“Very good teamwork. Drawing my attention to force a hand, then Senior Brother Gu's hidden approach.”
“R-right?”
“But you need to conceal your presence properly.”
Cheonhwi tightened his grip.
“Gah, argh!”
Cheonyu thrashed but gradually lost strength, slumping limply to the ground.
“Still, impressive growth...”
He shook off his hand as he spoke.
Compared to their first spar, where they blacked out without landing a hit, this was rapid progress.
“As expected of Eldest Senior Brother.”
His gaze turned to Cheonyu.
His growth had been slow at first.
Still slow, even now.
But closely observing Cheonyu, Cheonhwi knew his changes.
'Hiding about thirty percent.'
He hid it, but Cheonhwi already knew everything about him.
'His internal energy method seems stable now.'
Cheonyu's internal art differed from other Plum Blossom Sword Guards—no, from Mount Hua Sect disciples.
For he was Mount Hua's head disciple.
He cultivated Purple霞 Divine Art.
'Rushed to convert Purple霞 Sword Formula to fist art for him, but it suits well.'
Cheonhwi recalled the fist art Cheonyu had just used.
Purple霞 Fist Formula.
A new fist art recreated from Purple霞 Sword Formula, tailored for Cheonyu.
'Taught him just two forms roughly, but enough to rank as first-class in the jianghu.'
Worthily called Absolute Sword Art, even recreating one form took time.
'Haven't made a few more yet, but he'll handle it better than the original sword version.'
Intrigued, Cheonhwi scanned the surroundings.
Besides the fallen Cheonyu and Gu Gyeomwi, other Plum Blossom Sword Guards lay unconscious from prior spars.
“Now it's just martial training and stamina building left.”
Nothing more to teach.
All that remained was effort.
At best, he could accelerate their progress through real combat.
As he moved to wake them, Hyeonjin came rushing up.
“Cheonhwi!”
His urgent expression, unlike his usual calm, made Cheonhwi tilt his head.
“What's up?”
Panting as he reached Cheonhwi, Hyeonjin handed over a scroll.
“A letter from the sect.”
“Letter?”
The moment Cheonhwi took and unrolled the proffered scroll.
“Hm?”
His brow furrowed slightly.
“Return immediately?”