Whose Sword is the Fastest? (3)
“Do you have a preferred method?”
Hyeon Yucheon asked.
He intended to accommodate them as much as possible.
That way, there’d be no room for complaints later.
“Two rounds total.”
Namgung Ungwang replied immediately, as if he’d been waiting.
Normally, given his temperament as a senior in the martial world, he might have yielded somewhat.
But he ground his teeth in fury at this insolent brat.
I’ll crush that arrogant nose of his flat.
“First round: stationary targets. Second round: moving targets.”
Setting aside the petty schemes of the Five Great Families and Namgung Ungwang, Hyeon Yucheon found the proposal intriguing enough.
“Fine by me. But what will the targets be?”
Without a word, Namgung Ungwang raised his hand and pointed to the flowering plum blossoms.
Hm?
Hyeon Yucheon blinked in slight surprise.
The weather was still quite chilly, and the plum blossoms that burst forth in full spring bloom hadn’t yet opened.
“Look closely at the tips of the branches. See those unripe buds? They’re there, right?”
For the first round, Namgung Ungwang had chosen nothing less than the tiny, immature plum blossom buds.
Hyeon Yucheon focused his gaze, and sure enough, at the ends of the bare twigs, he spotted buds the size of a few grains of barley.
These buds endured in stoic patience, awaiting the glorious bloom of spring.
“As you know, plum blossom buds are tiny and soft—hard to hit even from right in front.”
Namgung Ungwang was right.
Even hidden weapon masters struggled with such targets, yet he’d made them the object of a speed contest.
“Then the first to slice off a bud wins.”
“Exactly. And not just a graze—a clean, perfect cut. Do you agree?”
No need to deliberate further.
Hyeon Yucheon nodded crisply and assumed his stance.
At a glance, it seemed insolent toward a martial world senior, but far from it.
Fair words beget fair replies, and if insolence were the measure, the Five Great Families and Namgung Ungwang were far ruder by orders of magnitude.
“Who gives the draw signal, and how?”
Hitting the target mattered, but the signal for drawing—even more so.
Swoosh!
Then, Dang Bijan—the Thousand Blood Poison Maniac, lord of the Dang Family, who’d been silently glaring at the Demon Sword Sect warriors—drew a steel orb the size of a child’s fist from his robes.
It was a type of hidden weapon, but today’s purpose was different.
“For fairness, no verbal signal. I’ll toss this upward; the moment it hits the ground, we begin.”
A solid proposal.
Using separate orbs might differ, but one shared signal ensured simultaneity.
“Agreed.”
“Then prepare yourselves.”
Now, the absolute quick-sword masters representing the righteous and unorthodox factions—fully aligned in agreement—took their stances.
Crack!
Ssswish!
Their postures were polar opposites, like the chasm between righteous and unorthodox.
First, Crimson Sky Sword King Namgung Ungwang embodied the orthodox sword sect warrior: faithful to fundamentals.
Hand on hilt, classic quick-sword draw stance.
Hyeon Yucheon, by contrast, was bare-handed—like a hidden weapon expert poised to hurl.
“Hm?”
“What?”
The onlookers watched eagerly, but even the Demon Sword Sect experts voiced doubts.
To reiterate: inner power use was forbidden in this quirky duel.
Not true combat, but who struck the target faster.
Yet Hyeon Yucheon’s stance was, as always, the Formless Flash Quick Sword posture.
……!!
Namgung Ungwang’s mind wavered at the unchanging form, but he hid it well.
No matter. If he uses inner power, the other family heads will catch it.
Indeed, the Five Great Families’ heads scanned Hyeon Yucheon head to toe with predatory intensity.
Dang Bijan, tasked with dropping the orb to start, hadn’t relaxed his vigilance.
“Ready.”
Shock from Hyeon Yucheon’s stance was fleeting.
Dang Bijan shouted the preparatory call.
And simultaneously—
Whoosh!
He dropped the heavy steel orb.
Thud!
The instant it struck ground, Hyeon Yucheon and Namgung Ungwang whipped their hands like lightning—no contesting who first.
Despite mental shake from Hyeon Yucheon's stance, Namgung Ungwang drew admirably.
A thrusting form from the Emperor Sword Form, peerless for severing or slicing.
Whoaaa!
The crowd roared in delight at beholding the famed Emperor Sword Form.
Flash!
Hyeon Yucheon didn’t thrust long; he swept his hand as if unleashing Formless Flash Quick Sword’s invisible sword aura.
No inner power, naturally.
But many, including Namgung Ungwang, didn’t know this:
Once Formless Flash Quick Sword reached the Formless Mystery realm—surpassing mere proficiency—even without inner power, one could generate devastating sword wind bare-handed.
Fwiiiish!
Hyeon Yucheon’s crescent-shaped sword wind hurtled forward at terrifying speed.
From draw to bud-strike: not even time for a breath.
Slowed for description:
Crack!
Like lightning, in a blink, the unbloomed plum bud was severed.
Result: Hyeon Yucheon’s victory, plain as day.
Colors told it: before Namgung’s blue-sky emblem reached, sharp wind sliced first.
“I-Impossible!”
Most hadn’t grasped winner or whose sword was swifter—but the wielders knew.
You can’t fool yourself, even if others.
Drip.
A thick bead of sweat rolled from Namgung Ungwang’s brow in defeat’s shock.
As the crowd puzzled:
“Cheating! I saw it! Invisible sword qi from the Formless Flash Quick Sword overtook Namgung Family Head’s blade!”
Dang Bijan, who’d dropped the orb, seized the chance.
Already irked by the Demon Sword Sect thorns in his side, perfect pretext.
“I swear—no inner power used.”
Hyeon Yucheon raised his hands, showing palms. Proof existed besides.
Step, step.
He fetched the bud he’d severed.
Held it up, pointing to the cut.
“See for yourselves. No inner power, no invisible sword aura or qi.”
The bud’s cross-section was jagged, like crudely hacked by stone knife or axe.
Inner power would’ve yielded clean, razor edge.
This irregularity proved none used.
“Merely... powerful sword wind.”
Undeniable.
His Formless Flash Quick Sword enlightenment had surpassed his master’s; now, bare-handed, he could behead foes with wind alone.
“I-Incredible! Lies!”
Namgung Ungwang shrieked in denial.
“Uoooh! Right!”
“Fraud!”
“Coward’s trick!”
Righteous martial artists led the jeers, as if rehearsed.
“Sigh.”
Hyeon Yucheon sighed deeply, resolving to demonstrate—slowly, very slowly.
“I’ll show the technique again.”
This time, one finger raised for clarity.
Formless Flash Quick Sword stance; he lightly traced the air.
Slash!
A gruesome sound—and a flag bearing a jeering onlooker’s emblem was rent!
Whoaaa!
Verification complete, the fools finally grasped Hyeon Yucheon’s prowess, erupting in cheers.
Despair gripped Dang Bijan, Namgung Ungwang, and other family heads.
Only one eyed it knowingly: Heaven King Axe Pang Cheonhu, who knew the Demon Sword Sect’s terror best.
“This... can’t be!”
Namgung Ungwang bellowed, veins bulging, refusing his pathetic loss.
His lofty grace gone, ugliness remained.
“You know our sect’s Formless Flash Quick Sword better than I? I mastered it, proved it—doubting isn’t disbelief; it’s refusal.”
Hyeon Yucheon mocked lightly, shaking his spirit.
Honestly, Namgung Ungwang’s sword was faster than expected.
The righteous world’s famed sword art, Emperor Sword Form, was fearsome—even Hyeon Yucheon and Demon Sword Sect first-timers startled.
Yet victory came two-fold:
First: Namgung’s overconfidence bred complacency.
Second: Hyeon Yucheon’s blatant Formless Flash Quick Sword stance pre-start rattled him.
Combined, Namgung faltered; Hyeon Yucheon exploited the gap for perfect first-round win.
“A quick-sword master whose mind wavers, blade-tip shakes—what use?”
He pressed, provoking for round two.
Tremble!
It hit home; Namgung Ungwang’s fists shook with uncontained rage.
As Namgung family head and respected warrior, such humiliation was unprecedented.
Crimson Sky Sword King Namgung Ungwang had planned two rounds for total dominance.
Now, in ruins.
Stay calm, Namgung Family Head. Round two remains.
We prepared for this. Win it, and your fame matches Hyeon Yucheon’s—victor over Heaven’s Five Venerables.
The transmission offered little comfort.
Namgung believed himself fastest in pure speed.
That shattered; no solace reached.
“Come on, hurry. Sun’s setting. Where’d the duelists wander off for dumplings?”
Hyeon Yucheon’s taunt scraped the wound; Namgung Family Head faced life’s direst crisis.