111
Chapter 111
An undefeated life lived as a martial artist.
He had taken it for granted, but when he saw the plum blossoms blooming at the tip of a sword, the sword of the Sword King, who had never known defeat, began to wane.
With his sword and spirit, which had served as milestones on his martial path, now broken, it was only natural that he would lose his way and wander.
‘That day’s defeat was a mistake.’
Instead of straightening his twisted sword and heart, he filled the path ahead with obsession and arrogance. As a result, the Sword King’s martial way did not advance but merely stagnated.
A desolate light flickered in Baekri Gok’s eyes as he observed Mu Hwi’s silent presence.
“A new Hwasan Sword Saint?”
Baekri Gok did not wish for this.
All he wanted was to wash away the sins of the past. The Hwasan Sect, as it always had, should have continued its slow decline.
Only then could the Baekri Family take the place of the Hwasan Sect and claim the prestige of being one of the Three Great Sword Sects of the World. For that, he would gladly trample any newly blooming flowers in the Hwasan Sect.
‘Recently, I heard that the Hwasan Sect has been regaining momentum, centered around that bastard.’
Baekri Gok made his decision. To crush the rising momentum of the Hwasan Sect by trampling Mu Hwi.
Was it unreasonable for a senior to oppress a junior?
Baekri Gok had neither the mind nor the leisure to care about such hollow formalities.
As if demonstrating his will, the white sword energy following his blade rapidly expanded. Baekri Gok unleashed the Heavenly Wing Sword Technique, the very same technique Baekri Sang had displayed in their past duel.
A massive sword energy, as if ripped from the wings of a great rock, attempted to bisect Mu Hwi’s head.
A somewhat crude sword technique, flaunting the endlessly surging internal energy unique to a Transcendent Realm master. But if one possessed the skill to properly control such immense energy, there was nothing better.
Whoosh!
The sword energy, tearing through the air, twisted and split into four strands in an instant. The sight resembled two pairs of wings flapping in the void.
Heocho—a technique that momentarily heightened the sword energy’s power to sever the opponent’s rhythm. From the very first move, Baekri Gok showed his intent to leave no room for Mu Hwi, aiming to crush him outright.
Against this, Mu Hwi’s thin, long Plum Blossom Sword seemed pitifully fragile.
Kwa-kwa-kwa-kang!
A single sword strike delivered four consecutive impacts. The Plum Blossom Sword, straining to block, bent as if about to snap.
With just one swing, a fierce wind swept through the cave, churning the ground and kicking up dust.
“Such destructive power in a single sword strike!”
“Mu Hwi!”
“Senior Disciple!”
The Plum Blossom Swordsmen trembled at the might of that single strike, but Mu Hwi only wore a faint smile.
Even Baekri Gok’s fierce sword strike could not shatter Mu Hwi’s Plum Blossom Sword endurance.
Seeing the vivid plum blossoms blooming clearly, blood vessels bulge in Baekri Gok’s eyes.
Despite being conjured by a sword, those lifelike blossoms—
They reminded him of the Hwasan Sword Saint, Hyeon Jo.
“The Sword King has fallen.”
Such was Mu Hwi’s evaluation after blocking Baekri Gok’s strike.
Merely heavy and intense—he felt no threat whatsoever. The bloated sword energy focused solely on power, its precision and intent blurred.
Was this truly the sword of a man called the Sword King?
Though muttered softly amid the roaring energy, Baekri Gok’s sharp senses caught every word.
“How dare you! A mere whelp like you dares to judge me?!”
His beard fluttered wildly as surging energy erupted from him. His tied-back hair came undone, scattering wildly.
Baekri Gok lunged at Mu Hwi. Mu Hwi, instead of retreating, twisted his foot and stepped forward. His form blurred like mist as he executed the Dark Scent Flutter.
Ka-ga-kang!
In the blink of an eye, over a dozen exchanges of sword strikes erupted.
Sparks flew as the shockwaves of their clashes spilled in all directions. Surging sword winds, like clouds, violently battered the cave’s walls and ceiling.
To the Plum Blossom Swordsmen, their swords seemed to clash only two or three times due to the overwhelming speed.
And that speed only increased—the figures of the two Transcendent Realm masters grew hazier.
“Could it be… Mu Hwi…?”
Hyeon Baek was speechless at the sight. The other Plum Blossom Swordsmen felt the same.
Mu Hwi had not informed the Hwasan Sect of his breakthrough to the Transcendent Realm. That was why the first-generation disciples had tried to protect him earlier.
But now, facing the Sword King without yielding an inch, his silhouette eerily resembled Hyeon Jo’s.
“Mu Hwi… Have you finally reached it?”
Hyeon Baek clenched his fists, staring intently at Mu Hwi’s plum blossom-adorned robe. Meanwhile, Mu Hwi’s movements grew even faster—only the rippling purple light around him was faintly visible.
With their eyes unable to follow, they couldn’t tell who held the advantage, but Hyeon Baek had no doubt of Mu Hwi’s victory.
‘That boy has always been like this!’
Kkeo-geo-geng!
The Plum Blossom Sword trembled as it blocked a horizontal slash aimed at his waist. The impact forced Mu Hwi’s left foot back, digging deep into the ground.
The Heavenly Wing Sword Technique prioritized sheer power compared to other Baekri Family sword techniques. Its essence was clear—to suppress the Hwasan Sect’s dazzling variations and speed with overwhelming force.
Four strands of sword energy surged from different angles, pressing down on Mu Hwi’s entire body before attempting to tear him apart.
Mu Hwi twisted his sword subtly, conjuring purple sword energy. Graceful arcs formed branches upon which purple petals danced.
He deflected the sword energy in succession while spinning his body. As his sword completed a full rotation, dozens of sword shadows traced a circle, and plum blossoms bloomed atop them.
Each time the Plum Blossom Sword flexed and pierced the air, clusters of purple petals cascaded down.
Kwaang!
Baekri Gok stomped the ground, swinging his sword diagonally upward from below. The crude slash tore through the blooming plum blossoms.
A fierce gust of wind blasted Mu Hwi’s face, but he didn’t even blink—instead, he thrust his sword forward. At the same time, Baekri Gok slashed downward.
Just as their blades—one slashing, one thrusting—were about to meet, the Plum Blossom Sword shifted at the last moment, leaving only a hair’s breadth between them.
Suddenly angling diagonally, Mu Hwi’s sword deflected Baekri Gok’s strike to the side while simultaneously thrusting toward his chest.
Baekri Gok pulled his wrist back, transitioning his vertical slash into a horizontal sweep to parry the thrust—a seamless shift in technique.
Jjeo-eong!
As their swords rebounded, both swordsmen extended their empty left hands toward each other.
Plum Blossom Scattering Hands—a palm technique that drew a half-circle. Shadows of hands blossomed like flower buds before layering and cascading down.
A chain of falling plum blossoms.
Dozens of hand shadows converged on a single point, met by a fierce fist strike. The petal-like shadows shattered instantly.
Kwaaang!
A deafening explosion shook the cave as a dust cloud engulfed the area. But white and purple trajectories crisscrossed chaotically, dispersing the haze.
In an instant, Mu Hwi filled every direction with hundreds of sword strikes. The skill to produce such countless variations with a single sword was nothing short of miraculous.
It wasn’t merely swinging the sword fast and frequently. Despite the hundreds of simultaneous changes, their precision harmonized like a single landscape.
Plum Blossom Nine Variations.
Plum Blossoms in Full Bloom.
As the techniques unfolded, dozens of plum blossoms bloomed before Baekri Gok’s eyes, scattering sword fragrance.
“The Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Technique.”
Baekri Gok gritted his teeth. He had heard of the Hwasan Sect’s new sword technique. Though he had only seen a few moves, he could tell.
This sword technique surpassed the Three Great Plum Blossom Sword Techniques—it was a peerless martial art that would solidify the Hwasan Sect’s prestige.
Unleashing his energy without restraint, Baekri Gok gripped his sword with both hands, adopting a dual-handed stance.
Large cracks spiderwebbed outward from his feet.
As the terrifying internal energy unique to the Transcendent Realm condensed into his sword, Baekri Gok’s blade expelled a massive sword energy.
A chilling sword wind gushed forth like a spring, vibrating the air. The sword energy split at its tip as the blade tilted.
Whooong!
As the Heavenly Wing Sword Technique began flapping its wings again, the plum blossoms Mu Hwi had created were swept away.
Before long, Baekri Gok’s sword energy split into six strands. Three pairs of wings formed, fluttering as the sword energy stretched left and right.
No matter how many variations Mu Hwi produced, Baekri Gok suppressed them all with sheer power.
With overwhelming sword strikes, Baekri Gok advanced relentlessly.
Jjeo-eong!
The purple petals were tossed chaotically, and the plum blossoms wavered, their glow dimming.
Mu Hwi was forced back, his feet carving deep grooves into the ground as he endured the full force of the Heavenly Wing Sword Technique.
The six-winged sword energy dominated the space, ceaselessly flapping and crushing the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Technique
Mu Hwi, standing before it, seemed barely able to hold his ground. Seeing this, Baekri Gok burst into laughter and swung his sword freely.
“Kehaha! Behold! This is the sword technique of the Baekri Family!”
Mu Hwi flicked away the incoming sword wind with his sleeve and offered a simple remark.
“Not impressed.”
Despite being cornered, his voice was steady and eerily calm.
“What?”
“The Heavenly Wing Sword Technique, wasn’t it said to be the culmination of the Baekri Family’s martial arts?”
Mu Hwi’s stance, which had seemed precarious like a candle in the wind, shifted abruptly. As if he had merely been observing the Heavenly Wing Sword Technique until now.
A sublime energy radiated from his entire body.
His plum blossom robe fluttered elegantly as a purple glow spread across it.
“I’ll show you a technique that encompasses all of the Hwasan Sect’s swordsmen.”
“Hah! Arrogant brat!”
Baekri Gok raised his sword high and slashed downward. The six-winged sword energy folded into a single strand, plunging like a meteor.
Watching the tyrannical trajectory that seemed to split space itself, Mu Hwi used the Dark Scent Flutter. With that ethereal footwork, he transformed into the scent of plum blossoms.
That subtle movement permeated the cave.
Baekri Gok’s sword chased Mu Hwi’s twisting form, but dozens of sword shadows tapped the blade’s side, minutely altering its path.
By the narrowest margin, Baekri Gok’s slash grazed Mu Hwi’s shoulder before cleaving the ground.
Kwaaang!
A thunderous roar erupted as the cave floor split open violently.
The fierce wind and shockwave rattled Mu Hwi’s lower body, but it didn’t hinder his movement.
Closing the distance to Baekri Gok, the Plum Blossom Sword moved slowly yet deliberately.
Baekri Gok’s pupils dilated.
Though his sword and spirit had been broken, wasting years of his life, he was still a man once called the Sword King.
Seeing Mu Hwi deflect his ultimate technique with a momentary skill and close the distance, alarm bells rang in his mind.
In Mu Hwi’s figure, Baekri Gok now saw the reflection of Hyeon Jo.
“Hwasan Sword Saint!”
Thick veins bulged in Baekri Gok’s eyes. Roaring, he raised his sword high above his head.
Swaaa!
Sword energy surged like a geyser from the raised blade. The terrifying internal energy caused shockwaves that swallowed the cave.
Even the Plum Blossom Swordsmen watching from afar staggered from the typhoon-like force. Only Mu Hwi moved freely, unaffected.
Chwaa!
Piercing through the storm of sword energy, eight wings emerged—Eight Wings. The maximum number of wings Baekri Gok could manifest.
Eight Wings of the Soaring Roc.
Eight strands of sword energy began flapping along their own trajectories. The movements brimmed with power, as if they would soon pierce the cave’s ceiling and soar into the sky.
Despite his robe fluttering wildly in the surging sword winds, Mu Hwi’s Plum Blossom Sword remained perfectly steady in mid-stance.
Like the deep-rooted plum tree atop Yeonhwa Peak.
Oooong!
The Plum Blossom Sword, infused with purple energy, turned violet and emitted a resonant hum. Petal-like energy droplets fell from its finely trembling blade.
The first twenty-two moves of the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Technique were born from the fusion of the Hwasan Sect’s martial arts, the insights of past Hwasan Sword Saints, and the techniques of Sword Saints and Sword Devils.
And the twenty-third move—a single sword strike that encompassed all twenty-two preceding ones.
Extreme Speed, Extreme Illusion, Extreme Variation.
A sword strike embodying the pinnacle of the Hwasan Sect’s essence manifested.
The Plum Blossom Sword merely trembled in mid-stance, yet countless sword trajectories filled the air.
With each vibration, petals scattered, and plum blossoms bloomed. The cave’s ceiling was dyed purple, and below, petals and blossoms filled the space.
In less than a single breath, a forest of plum trees seemed to sprout before their eyes. The sword hadn’t even moved—what kind of sorcery was this?
‘No! It’s not that it’s not moving.’
Baekri Gok’s eyes, pushed to their limits, barely caught it—a sword strike so fast even a Transcendent Realm master’s vision struggled to follow.
A sword strike of Extreme Speed, appearing motionless due to its sheer velocity, its blade trembling from hundreds, no, thousands of variations.
A single sword of Stillness Within Motion.
The Hwasan Sect’s ultimate sword was as subtle and profound as the faint scent of plum blossoms, yet immovable, exuding dignity and nobility.
As the Plum Blossom Sword, once held in mid-stance, slowly tilted, the sword trajectories carved into the void caused the purple energy and blossoms filling the cave to vanish instantly.
As if sucked into the sword itself.
Then, a single purple sword strike stretched like a meteor, its luminous trail severing the eight resplendent wings.
The elegant trajectory that shredded the eight sword energies into dozens of fragments resembled a single flower.
Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
Amhyang Budonghwa (Fragrant Blossom Unmoved by Wind).
The wings of the Baekri Family’s ambition were shattered, falling helplessly.
Once again, before that accursed flower.
“This cannot be!”
The backlash from his technique’s collapse overwhelmed Baekri Gok.
The natural energy he had drawn and pushed to its limits recoiled violently, twisting and severing his internal energy flow.
The rebound caused severe internal injuries, but even as he vomited blood, Baekri Gok tried to raise his sword.
At that moment, he caught a faint whiff of plum blossoms. Simultaneously, his right arm—still gripping the sword—thudded to the ground.
Blood gushed from the severed stump, yet Baekri Gok paid it no mind.
His gaze was fixed solely on Mu Hwi.
“Does this mean… The sword of the Baekri Family can never surpass the sword of the Hwasan Sect?”
“The question itself is flawed.”
“What nonsense is that?”
“It’s not that the Baekri Family’s sword techniques are lacking. You lost because you are weaker than me.”
The same martial art could display entirely different prowess depending on who wielded it.
What mattered was not the martial art itself, but the martial artist who executed it. The measure of strength lay in the hands of the person.
This was why there could be a Greatest Under Heaven, but never a Greatest Martial Art Under Heaven.
“For a man called the Sword King to fail to grasp such a simple truth—your eyes are truly blind. Wake up.”
Without hesitation, Mu Hwi flicked his sleeve and walked past the Sword King. As the Plum Blossom Swordsmen followed, Hyeon Baek paused briefly.
“Senior, Sword King. Here are golden wound ointment and bandages. They will help stop the bleeding.”
Hyeon Baek glanced at the dazed Baekri Gok, then quietly placed a bottle of medicine and a roll of bandages beside him before following Mu Hwi.
The cave, now empty save for corpses.
A desolate breeze drifted in from somewhere.
Only then did Baekri Gok look down at his severed arm. Though a lifetime companion had been lost, he felt strangely numb.
Only Mu Hwi’s words echoed in his mind.
Slowly, Baekri Gok knelt and collapsed to the ground.
“Heh… How foolish.”
His hollow laughter rippled softly through the cave.
***
End of the Cave.
The middle-aged man who had been standing there opened his eyes.
The clashing energies deep within the cave—he immediately recognized it as a battle between two Transcendent Realm masters.
“Two Transcendent Realm masters… This just got more interesting.”
The middle-aged man chuckled lowly.
As he did, he stroked the Black Iron Greatsword embedded beside him. The sword bore a massive crack—miraculously unbroken, but barely.
“How entertaining. Truly entertaining.”
< Fragrant Blossom Unmoved by Wind > End.
< Still up to your dirty tricks, I see. >