The Mount Hua Sect Leader
Without a word, we kept climbing Mount Hua.
The mountain was high, and it seemed the Mount Hua Sect stood at its very summit.
"Huff... huff..."
Only our ragged breathing passed between the three of us.
How long had we climbed before the Mount Hua Sect’s signboard finally came into view?
We squeezed out the last of our strength and hauled ourselves up the mountain.
"At last... huff... we made it... huff..."
The two disciples standing guard at the entrance of the Mount Hua Sect smiled and approached us.
"Welcome to the Mount Hua Sect. What brings you here?"
I struggled to catch my breath and took the Martial Alliance token from my robes to show them.
"We’ve come from the Martial Alliance. I’d like to see the sect leader."
"Excuse me, but who are you?"
"I’m... a candidate for the next alliance leader. I’m called by the unworthy title of North Sea Divine Dragon."
"Ah! So that’s you!"
As soon as I introduced myself, admiration filled both their eyes.
The two exchanged a look, and one of them hurried inside.
The other remained and led us further in.
"Wow..."
The Mount Hua Sect had so many buildings that I couldn’t even tell how they’d managed to build them all atop this mountain.
I looked around as I followed the guide and entered a large building.
From its exterior alone, it looked like the residence where the sect leader herself lived.
Once we stepped inside, a spacious hall opened up, and a woman was seated near the center.
She looked quite young, but the aura around her was anything but ordinary.
"Is that the sect leader?"
At my question, the guiding disciple nodded and quickly withdrew.
We approached her and bowed in greeting.
"Greetings. I am Han Yugang, the youngest son of the Ice Palace."
"Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you."
The sect leader greeted us with a bright smile.
Now that I was closer, she was even more beautiful, and she didn’t seem very old at all.
At most, she looked to be in her thirties.
She’s really young to be the sect leader. She must be incredibly skilled.
The sect leader led us up to the second floor.
Once we were seated in the reception room there, she began to speak.
"You must have had a hard journey coming all this way. Welcome to the Mount Hua Sect."
"Not at all. More than that, I heard you wanted to meet me."
At my words, the sect leader gave a light laugh.
"Hoho. Say it like that and people might misunderstand."
Her teasing made my face warm a little.
"I heard you defeated our troublesome brat. After hearing that you were the next alliance leader, I got curious about what kind of person you were, so I wanted to meet you."
She called him a troublesome brat, but I immediately knew who she meant.
So it was Cheongpung.
"Oh dear. He’s at it again."
"Pardon? What do you mean?"
Just as we were exchanging puzzled looks at her words, the door was flung open and Cheongpung burst in.
"I heard the North Sea Divine Dragon was here!"
He had barely stepped inside before his eyes met mine.
"Haha... There you are."
Then he caught the sect leader’s icy gaze and quietly went to sit in an empty place.
"Ahem. Anyway, to finish what I was saying, I was curious about Young Master Han’s character and wanted to have a talk. I was also interested in that famous swordsmanship of yours."
"Brother Yugang is incredibly fast and strong, Master!"
Cheongpung said this while flailing his arms through the air.
"You’re the first person I’ve ever heard describe him like that, so now I’m really curious. Shall we spar?"
I was taken aback by the sect leader’s sudden suggestion.
"You want to face me yourself?"
"There’s almost no one in the Mount Hua Sect stronger than Cheongpung anyway. I’d like to try it myself."
The sect leader smiled slyly and continued.
"If you win, I’ll give you a good present."
Honestly, I’d been wanting to spar with someone stronger than me lately, so there was no reason to refuse.
And once I heard there would be a gift if I won, I became quite curious about what that gift might be.
"A gift? What might it be, by any chance...?"
"That’s a secret. You can have it if you win."
In the end, I accepted the match, and we headed to the Mount Hua Sect’s training grounds.
There, many disciples were practicing their sword forms.
"Sect Leader! Greetings!"
The disciples straightened and greeted her in loud voices the moment they saw her.
"You’re all working hard, I see. From this point on, the North Sea Divine Dragon and I will have a duel, so take a break and watch closely."
"The North Sea Divine Dragon?"
"That legendary strongest among the younger generation?"
"I heard Cheongpung Senior Brother lost to him too?"
The disciples buzzed among themselves and gathered around the dueling platform.
"Looks like the audience’s all here. Shall we begin?"
The sect leader drew her slender sword with graceful ease.
I stepped onto the platform too, took a deep breath, and lowered my stance.
She seemed intrigued by my ready posture, since I hadn’t even drawn my sword yet.
"I’ll let you take the first move."
She smiled with complete composure.
I focused and let my internal energy surge through my entire body.
The air around us began to freeze, and I could feel the tremor of the White Moon Blade at my waist.
"Then here I come."
Ice Dragon Sword Dance First Form: Ice Dragon Emerges from the Water
I darted at the sect leader and drew the blade at my hip in one fluid motion.
At the same time, she thrust her sword forward and charged straight at me.
Her movements were so clean and unadorned that every motion looked elegant.
Plum Blossom Sword Art First Form: Blossom
It was just like before.
As when I first sparred with Cheongpung, the sect leader stopped my blade before it was fully drawn, blocking it with a thrust.
But I was different now.
From the scabbard, chill burst out in the shape of a dragon.
"Oh? The level of sword aura isn’t bad."
At the tip of the sect leader’s sword, the image of a pink blossom blooming sprang forth and halted the dragon surging from my scabbard.
Still, it had been a powerful strike, and she was pushed back a little.
I pressed the advantage, drew the dagger at my waist, and charged again.
Ice Dragon Sword Dance Third Form: Blizzard Dance
The blade exuded frigid energy as it flashed with a razor-bright light.
Plum Blossom Sword Art Fourth Form: Scattered Blossoms
As the sect leader flicked her sword through the air, the surroundings were quickly filled with plum blossoms, and her figure vanished from sight.
I tried to carve through the blossoms with Blizzard Dance to find her form, but even the sect leader’s silhouette was nowhere to be seen.
Don’t panic. Stay calm...
I could see the ice crystals drifting around me, left behind by Ice Dragon Emerges from the Water and Blizzard Dance.
Then I pushed out my internal energy and began sensing and controlling those crystals.
Ice Dragon Sword Dance Fourth Form: Ice Rain
I fired shards of ice in every direction, shattering the plum-blossom shapes surrounding me.
Only then did the sect leader’s hidden figure begin to faintly emerge.
I quickly tried to regain my stance, but her silhouette closed the distance in an instant.
"Not bad."
Plum Blossom Sword Art Third Form: Riot of a Hundred Flowers
With her attacks surging toward me without even a moment to breathe, I abandoned my draw-sword stance and poured my internal energy into the blade itself.
Ice Dragon Sword Dance Fifth Form: Flowing Sword Dance
I could deflect the sect leader’s sword, but the blossoms and floral scent pouring from its tip began to make my head spin.
Her elegant movements felt like they were slowly stealing my senses away.
For a while, I held on by frantically deflecting her attacks with Flowing Sword Dance, but that was my limit.
There was no opening to counterattack amid the relentless chain of blows.
In the end, I could feel my internal energy and stamina reaching their limit.
"Huff... I’ve lost."
I finally admitted defeat.
There was certainly a difference in skill between me and the sect leader of a prestigious orthodox sect.
Still, she didn’t seem like an insurmountable wall I could never overcome.
If my internal energy or stamina had been just a little stronger...
The thought that I might have put up a fight if I’d just been a bit stronger left me feeling regretful.
The sect leader came up to me, held out her hand, and smiled brightly.
"You’re stronger than I expected. Hehe..."
"It was a valuable lesson, Sect Leader."
"Calling me Sect Leader makes me sound too distant. My name is Yeonhwa."
"Haha... Still, I can’t exactly call you by your name..."
Feeling awkward, I took her hand and stood up.
Then Cheongpung came running from afar and shouted, "Wow! You’ve gotten stronger since last time! Let me try too! Let me fight you too!"
He was making a fuss, demanding a spar with me as well.
I was exhausted and couldn’t possibly spar again, so I refused, but Cheongpung refused to give up.
Watching the scene, the sect leader spoke up.
"Cheongpung."
At the simple call of her name, Cheongpung froze in place.
"If you’re that desperate for a spar, I’ll take your place."
The sect leader drew her sword, and Cheongpung immediately bolted.
"Come to think of it, I didn’t finish my training today!"
Seeing him flee while shouting, I couldn’t help laughing.
"Too bad. Looks like you won’t be getting your present after all."
As I lamented that, Sohui and Shin Yu-eun approached and said, "Then we never do find out what the present was."
At that, the sect leader smiled and said, "I can’t tell you exactly what it is, but if I were to give you a little hint..."
At her words, all of us pricked up our ears.
"Since I haven’t married yet, the seat beside me for a husband is still open."
When the sect leader finished with a seductive smile, Sohui’s face turned bright red.
"T-That’s a huge age gap!"
"Oh? Age doesn’t matter when it comes to love~"
Watching the sect leader leave with a relaxed smile, I thought she was just as mischievous as Cheongpung.
As I was thinking that it was all in jest, she looked back at me and said, "You may challenge me again anytime."
The sect leader smiled brightly.
The atmosphere, with such a stunning older beauty teasing me so casually, felt strangely unsettling.
This... might not be so bad?
---