Peeking Behind the Heavenly Sword Empress
Immediately, we headed north.
The destination was the southern section of the Taihang Mountains, on the border between Shanxi Province and Hebei Province.
Looking at the map, it was at the far northern tip of our current location in Henan Province, so it wasn’t far at all.
With Se-ryeong and Ye-hwa both being skilled at light body techniques, we reached the destination in no time.
We were racing through the mountains at high speed when we finally arrived at a point where my inner energy was stirring.
I told Se-ryeong.
“From now on, you have to pass through the formation. Follow closely behind me.”
“Indeed. Is there a poor girl that the owner has marked as the next hunt beyond this?”
“Yes.”
“If the owner finds her desirable, she can’t be an ordinary woman.”
“She is a prodigy who inherited the legacy of the Swordless Demon Emperor. Her appearance is no less beautiful than yours.”
The Swordless Demon Emperor, or the Sword Immortal Baekri Jong-gwon.
He was the man who had been hailed as the undisputed strongest martial artist in the entire wulin for his entire life.
Baekri Jong-gwon had created the ultimate divine art Wu Ji Qian Jian by combining the insights he had gained throughout his life, but unfortunately, his talent had been lacking, so he had never fully realized Wu Ji Qian Jian.
Of course, that alone did not allow one to belittle Baekri Jong-gwon.
After all, although Baekri Jong-gwon had been exceptionally talented, he had not been at the absolute peak of the world, and it was precisely his thorough research and understanding of his own martial arts and his bone-crushing effort that had brought him to the pinnacle.
At the time when he was lamenting that heaven had given him only the five stars needed to create the ultimate divine art but failed to bestow the talent required to fully realize it, Baekri Jong-gwon took in the granddaughter he had never known about and raised her.
Baekri Jong-gwon’s only son had lived only for the sword, resenting his father his whole life, and had almost severed all contact with his father, living at the brink of disownment.
But that son died in a sudden accident, and his wife also passed away soon after from a long illness, leaving only their young daughter alone in the cruel world.
Late in hearing the news of his son’s death, Baekri Jong-gwon slaughtered everyone involved in his son’s death and headed to his friend’s house, where his granddaughter was staying.
And there, he discovered that the granddaughter possessed a talent for martial arts that far surpassed his own, a talent bestowed by heaven.
At the age of seven, the young girl who had lost her parents began receiving instruction in Wu Ji Qian Jian from her grandfather.
Later, she grew into a master of swordsmanship who surpassed Baekri Jong-gwon.
During the war with the Blood Cult, she outshone every warrior of the Righteous Path Alliance, and she was even elected as the leader of the Wulin Alliance.
That was none other than my other future wife, the Heavenly Reverence Sword Empress Baekri Ye-hwa.
At present, she was living alone in a small hidden hermitage in these mountains.
Two years ago, during the official great war, I had heard that Baekri Jong-gwon had fought to the death with the Blood Wind Blade Ghost Wang Zhong-san, and that Ye-hwa had devoted herself to cultivation in the hermitage where she had stayed with her grandfather to forget her grief.
Having passed through the formation, we emerged into a breathtakingly beautiful place like the Land of Peach Blossoms.
In the center stood a small hermitage, and in the courtyard in front of it, someone could be seen standing by the pond.
Her dazzling blonde hair, which could never be seen among Central Plains people, and her crystal-clear jade-colored eyes, along with her skin as white and transparent as fresh snow, were the result of the blood of a foreign race that had been passed down from her mother, who had originally been from the North Sea Ice Palace.
Thanks to these exotic features, her beauty stood out even more, and the phrase “beauty that could topple nations and cities” immediately came to mind.
Anyone who saw her smile would think that even if the entire country collapsed, it wouldn’t matter, and I was no exception.
“Who is there!”
Ye-hwa, who had sensed our presence, grabbed the hilt of the sword at her waist and stamped the ground.
She leaped like a fairy, gracefully soaring over the pond and landing lightly right in front of Se-ryeong.
It was the walking technique Immortal’s Stroll, which complemented Wu Ji Qian Jian.
I gave her a respectful bow and recited the setup I had prepared in advance.
“If I have startled you, I apologize. My name in the martial world is Jeok Mu-hwi, and this is my junior martial sister Dan Se-ryeong. We are disciples of the Profound Dragon Gate settled in Suzhou Province, and we were touring the rivers and lakes in order to nurture our heroic spirit when we happened to come to this Taihang Mountains, famous as one of the greatest scenic spots under heaven.”
After that, we happened to discover the location where the formation was deployed, and while we were searching for possible hidden manuals or spiritual medicines left by the ancients, we ended up here.
Se-ryeong gave me a sideways glance with an expression of “What kind of trickery is this guy pulling this time?” but remained silent.
Incidentally, Se-ryeong’s setup was that she would always ignore and bully her older brother who was weaker in martial arts, but in reality, she was a cute little sister who waited only for the day when her older brother would remember his childhood promise and take her as his bride.
Confirming that we had no hostility toward them, Ye-hwa’s attitude softened a little.
“You have pierced through the World of Peach Blossoms Separated by Time. You are no ordinary people. However, this is my private property. I cannot allow you to enter carelessly.”
Unlike Ye-hwa, who had always looked at me with kind and affectionate eyes before my regression, the twenty-two-year-old beauty in front of me now secretly had a sharp side.
At that time, she had been very shy and especially avoided men.
But I found even that appearance of Ye-hwa refreshing and liked it.
I couldn’t help imagining the sight of her cold and stiff gaze melting on the bed.
...I barely stopped the flow of blood rushing to my lower part.
Standing here would get me in trouble. It would be in every way possible.
While quietly reciting the Heart Sutra of Perfect Wisdom, I said to Ye-hwa.
“I’m really sorry about that. But young lady, are you perhaps… the Heavenly Fairy Sword Princess Baekri Ye-hwa?”
Ye-hwa didn’t find it strange that a hick from Suzhou Province claimed to be her.
Even at this time, the granddaughter of the Swordless Demon Emperor, the glamorous blonde beauty, was well-known.
“It is embarrassing for a martial world friend who has come from afar to know my true name.”
“Hahaha, I have heard countless times how even flowers lower their heads in front of the Baekri young lady, and there is not a single lie. Today, this red-haired man has truly opened his eyes wide.”
“Such excessive praise.”
Ye-hwa responded with an obviously annoyed tone.
Actually, from the beginning, she had had no interest in me at all.
Her only interest right now was undoubtedly Se-ryeong, who was making a displeased face while looking at me, who was acting all lively with a kind face.
“You said Dan Se-ryeong, didn’t you?”
“Yes.”
Se-ryeong, who had equipped the Heavenly Demon self, used casual speech toward anyone she met for the first time.
But the broad-minded Ye-hwa didn’t mind the small rudeness and continued to speak politely.
“Your qi is extremely high. Honestly, I was a little surprised. Because my knowledge is narrow, I had never met someone with this level of achievement at my age.”
“You’re pretty good too.”
Between the two of them who exchanged glances, greetings were exchanged, and sparks ignited.
Both had immediately recognized each other’s true worth. The opponent possessed an innate talent for martial arts that rivaled their own.
It was natural for pride to arise when facing a peer-level martial artist for the first time.
And for Ye-hwa, whose progress in cultivation had been blocked by the wall she had recently hit, Se-ryeong’s arrival was like a ray of rain in a drought.
As I had expected, Ye-hwa spoke to Se-ryeong first.
“If it is not impolite, may I ask Dan young lady to expand my knowledge through a duel?”
Se-ryeong glanced sideways at me. Her eyes asked how I should respond.
I answered with a cheerful face.
“That sounds good. Actually, the journey we are on in the rivers and lakes right now is entirely for the sake of our junior sister. There is no one left in our main sect, a small security force in the countryside, who can teach her anymore. It would greatly benefit our junior sister’s growth if she studied the Sword Immortal’s martial arts.”
Everything was going according to plan.
***
We all headed to the training ground behind the hermitage.
Se-ryeong and Ye-hwa drew their swords and faced each other, and I, taking the role of referee, declared.
“Duel begins!”
The first move was Se-ryeong’s.
Whoosh!
Se-ryeong, who had kicked off the ground and narrowed the distance to Ye-hwa with explosive acceleration, had her sword wrapped in majestic inner energy within that short time.
Not only the movement, but the release of qi was ridiculously fast.
If it had been anyone else, they would have been split in two without even recognizing Se-ryeong’s movements.
But Ye-hwa caught Se-ryeong’s sword without the slightest hesitation and began swinging it fluidly.
Crack!
Savage qi surged diagonally behind Ye-hwa, leaving scars on the floor of the training ground.
Ye-hwa had released the heavy destructive power contained in Se-ryeong’s sword.
That was exactly Wu Hui Shui Yue.
It was the ultimate sword technique of Wu Ji Qian Jian, a basic and profound move that twisted the flow of power with the principle of the hundred flowers blooming together and neutralized all attacks.
“Oh?”
Se-ryeong let out a short exclamation of interest and continued her attack.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Art was not a sword technique like Wu Ji Qian Jian.
Without relying on weapons alone, it incorporated diverse fist techniques, palm techniques, and leg techniques to manifest a domineering and forceful clash.
In short, Se-ryeong’s limbs were weapons that could not be inferior to any divine weapon.
If blocked by a sword, then a kick; if blocked by a kick, then a fist; if blocked by a fist, then a knee; if blocked by a knee, then a sword would fly back in a storm of continuous attacks.
Ye-hwa blocked all of it with just one sword.
Not only was she focused solely on defense, but she also counterattacked Se-ryeong with sharp sword moves in the middle.
Whoosh!
Se-ryeong arched her upper body tightly, narrowly dodging Ye-hwa’s sword and smiling.
“You’re quite good. It feels like swinging a sword at flowing water. To have a martial art that contains the ultimate of softness, I was honestly quite surprised.”
Ye-hwa smiled just as brightly.
“Dan young lady’s martial arts is truly a divine art that cannot be found again in the world. Each sword move is filled with the momentum to shatter mountains, yet it is so exquisitely refined. It looks like the harmony of heaven rather than human action.”
The two people who recognized each other’s strength collided again.
Both pulled out their hidden trump cards, and the exchanges became even fiercer.
For now, it looked like an evenly matched fight.
But I had already guessed how the outcome of this fight would go.
In the history before my regression, it would have been a draw.
But in the current history, Se-ryeong had lost to me and learned her own shortcomings.
Therefore, she no longer casually unleashed powerful qi blasts and fought carefully.
Just that alone had brought her martial skill to a great leap beyond what it had been before meeting me.
On the other hand, Ye-hwa had hesitation mixed with her sword because of the wall she had recently bumped into.
Moreover, at present, she was experiencing her first martial art that struck the entire space rather than just points or lines, unlike the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
That was why she had not been able to perfectly deflect Se-ryeong’s attacks and had accumulated small impacts on her wrists and shoulders.
Eventually, Ye-hwa’s sword path began to waver, and Se-ryeong took that opportunity to prepare a powerful final blow.
“Take this!”
A mass of extremely compressed inner energy was generated in Se-ryeong’s left hand, and she pushed it forward with her palm.
Kwakwak-kwa-kwak!
It was the Frantic Roar Wave Palm of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
The ultimate move that turned enemies into minced meat with seven explosions of inner energy in an instant.
Ye-hwa had not been able to properly release the complexly tangled flow of power caused by the continuous explosions.
“Kyahaaaah…!”
With a delicate scream, Ye-hwa was sent flying about three zhang backward and fell on her buttocks to the ground.
Of course, since it was a duel, Se-ryeong had held back her strength so that Ye-hwa’s protective inner energy would not be broken, so Ye-hwa was in no way injured.
But in a duel, if you fall down even once or your knees touch the ground, you lose.
This duel was clearly Ye-hwa’s defeat.