Chapter 116
As Jeong Cheon stepped into the office, he let out a deep sigh upon seeing Dam Yu-yeon.
"I came upon hearing news that a three-hundred-thousand-nyang Designated Commission had been resolved... but to think such a thing had occurred."
With his exceptional hearing, he seemed to have caught every word of their conversation from outside the door.
"Young Hero Seol. My apologies."
Jeong Cheon clasped his hands together respectfully toward Bu Eun-seol.
"The Hall Master of Scripture Instruction Hall has made a grave mistake. Allow me to offer my apologies in her stead."
"I've no need for apologies."
"As I expected."
Jeong Cheon nodded with a faint smile.
"Very well. Then, shall we step outside?"
"Cheon Orabeoni!"
Dam Yu-yeon immediately blocked his path.
"The Mysterious Physician explicitly ordered you not to use martial arts for three years! If you circulate your Internal Energy too forcefully again—"
"Branch Master... no, Yeon-a."
Jeong Cheon gazed at her with a gentle smile playing on his lips.
"This brother of yours will never suffer another episode. Set your heart at ease."
'An episode?'
Just as Bu Eun-seol's eyes flashed with realization, Jeong Cheon pointed toward the outer door with a chuckle.
"Now then, shall we have our bout?"
Southeast of the Red Sky Curtain Branch.
The reeds, bathed in the crimson hues of the setting sun, appeared drenched in blood.
As a desolate wind momentarily swept through the Reed Field, Bu Eun-seol and Jeong Cheon stood facing each other.
"You truly are an unusual one."
Jeong Cheon, who had been idly tracing the wind with his outstretched hand, slowly spoke.
"To think a martial artist like you still exists in this day and age."
When Bu Eun-seol gave him a puzzled look, he let out a soft chuckle.
"One who burns himself without hesitation, like a flame."
Jeong Cheon smiled faintly.
"Flames are beautiful, but they never last. Only their brilliant light remains briefly in memory."
"Each person pursues different paths."
Bu Eun-seol shook his head.
"There are those who live their entire lives striving to blaze with that very brilliance."
"That may be so. But I could never live that way myself."
Jeong Cheon straightened his posture, looking down at Bu Eun-seol with an admiring expression.
"You've advanced another level since we last met. Your qi has grown even more refined."
Perhaps it was due to his confrontation with Jamochang.
Even the slightest enlightenment in the principles of martial arts could become the trigger for a breakthrough in one's martial realm.
Swoosh.
Jeong Cheon drew the longsword sheathed at his waist.
Not only was Jeong Cheon exceptionally tall, but his limbs were also remarkably long. And the sword he drew was equally slender and lengthy.
'It seems about a handspan longer than Seomun Gyeong's Odd-shaped Sword.'
Jeong Cheon's sword bore a striking resemblance to the one wielded by Seomun Gyeong during the Martial Arts Tournament. But the energy radiating from their bodies was entirely different.
If Seomun Gyeong gave the impression of severing everything that came near him, Jeong Cheon seemed to draw all surrounding things into an abyss of darkness.
"Are you ready?"
Jeong Cheon rested his sword casually against the ground, speaking with a relaxed expression.
"You may take the first move."
Bu Eun-seol did not decline and drew Ink Sword.
Jeong Cheon was a Master of the upper echelons—one who would not tolerate even a grain of carelessness.
Swoosh.
As he channeled his True Qi into the drawn Ink Sword, the applied rust flaked away, and a mysterious dark light emanated from the blade.
Jeong Cheon nodded approvingly at the sight of Ink Sword.
"A fine blade."
"Be on your guard!"
Flash!
With a brilliant gleam, Ink Sword was already at Jeong Cheon's throat.
"A splendid Sword Stroke."
But Jeong Cheon had seemingly anticipated the move, swiftly retreating a step.
Simultaneously, an icy Sword Qi erupted from his Treasured Sword, cleanly slicing through the surrounding reeds.
Splat!
A thin streak of light grazed past—and crimson blood trickled from Bu Eun-seol's cheek.
For the first time since entering the martial world, he had been wounded by an opponent's opening strike.
Swish!
Before Bu Eun-seol could counter, the Treasured Sword spun midair and thrust once more toward his neck.
Though Bu Eun-seol evaded with ease, Jeong Cheon's blade pursued him like a vengeful specter.
"Tch!"
As Bu Eun-seol shifted leftward, Jeong Cheon's sharp sword abruptly lunged forward—as if perfectly timed to his evasion.
It was as though the blade had disregarded spatial constraints, emerging suddenly from empty air.
'This is the Practical Sword Study of the Grass Sword Wave.'
Had Bu Eun-seol not mastered the Way of the Beast, his throat would have been pierced in that single move.
'If I keep dodging like this, I'll die.'
Bu Eun-seol twisted his body along the death line, narrowly avoiding the attack, and from his Ink Sword, a surge of Sword Qi bloomed forth.
Clang!
As the Ink Sword clashed against the treasured sword, a bone-chilling Sword Qi radiated outward, scraping against the very air.
The moment their blades met, the Internal Energy imbued within their weapons locked together like magnets, initiating a fierce contest of strength.
"...!"
Jeong Cheon's eyes widened slightly.
To his astonishment, Bu Eun-seol's Internal Energy stood perfectly balanced against his own, not yielding even an inch.
"Your Internal Energy is quite impressive."
Jeong Cheon let out an admiring murmur as he pushed the Ink Sword away and unfolded another sword technique.
With just a single thrust of his blade, the area within about nine meters of Bu Eun-seol became densely packed with razor-sharp Sword Qi.
The speed was so unfathomably fast that there was no room to evade.
Clang!
Once more, the Ink Sword and the treasured sword collided.
Sparks erupted, and this time, Bu Eun-seol was forced a step back. The rebellious force behind the treasured sword had grown even stronger than before.
'He's strong.'
Every time their swords clashed, the hairs all over his body stood on end.
Jeong Cheon was truly strong.
So strong that even if Bu Eun-seol poured everything he had into this fight, victory still felt uncertain.
Fwoosh!
A blinding white flash erupted from Jeong Cheon's treasured sword.
The Sword Qi unfurled like a dancing veil, enveloping Bu Eun-seol from all directions.
Ping!
But as Bu Eun-seol spun the Ink Sword behind him and raised its edge, the cascading Sword Qi scattered in all directions.
He had executed the Sky-Shattering Sword Pinnacle Stance, disrupting his opponent's Sword Stroke and Internal Energy with nothing but the flow of energy at his blade's tip and his stance.
"A Sword Pinnacle Stance, is it?"
Jeong Cheon chuckled low before swinging his treasured sword again.
"But techniques like these only put you at a disadvantage in the opening moves."
Effortlessly shaking off the pressure of the Sky-Shattering Sword Pinnacle Stance, Jeong Cheon unleashed twenty-five streaks of Sword Qi in an instant.
As the dazzling white flashes spiraled and encircled him, Bu Eun-seol thrust the Ink Sword forward with all his might.
Flash!
A brilliant radiance erupted, and the condensed light bursting from the Ink Sword annihilated Jeong Cheon's Sword Qi in an instant.
He had used Cheon Un-gwang's Peerless Thunderbolt.
"A formidable Killing Sword indeed."
Jeong Cheon smirked before letting his treasured sword droop toward the ground once more.
"Shall we get serious now?"
He already knew.
That Bu Eun-seol had been deliberately holding back his True Void, feigning a defensive stance while observing his sword techniques.
"I'd like to see your swordplay as well."
"Very well."
A brilliant surge of Sword Qi erupted from Bu Eun-seol's Ink Sword.
He unleashed the Formless Heavenly Flow, the culmination of every sword technique he had mastered thus far.
Whoosh!
The Ink Sword, drawing in the surrounding air with immense force, extended a single streak of radiance.
Clang!
A blue flame burst in midair, and Jeong Cheon's body was sent sliding back about nine meters.
"It's as if you've merged the Fast Sword and the Heavy Sword Art."
Jeong Cheon's brief praise was cut short.
Bzzzt—
The tip of the Ink Sword, rebounding from the air, trembled violently before a whirlwind of black energy coiled around Jeong Cheon's body.
Crack-crack-crack!
His clothes, ensnared in the black-tinged wind, tore apart like rags, and once again, he was forced back about nine meters.
Drip... drip...
This time, a trail of crimson blood trickled down Jeong Cheon's cheek.
Bu Eun-seol could have cleaved through his chest or flank, but instead, he had aimed for his cheek—as if repaying the wound from before.
"Hahaha."
Jeong Cheon let out a low laugh as he gazed at the blood dripping from his cheek.
Simultaneously, a crimson heat haze flickered to life in his previously calm eyes.
"I can't even remember the last time this happened."
Straightening his posture, Jeong Cheon rested his treasured sword on his shoulder, baring his teeth in a grin.
"To fight with all my strength, unleashing my swordplay to its fullest!"
With a single battle cry, Jeong Cheon's body transformed into a streak of crimson mist, surging toward Bu Eun-seol.
Swish-swish-swish!
Like the ribs of a fully opened fan, countless streaks of Sword Qi spread out, encircling Bu Eun-seol's body.
The speed was so overwhelming that he couldn't even find an opening to dodge—he had no choice but to block.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
The Ink Sword and the treasured sword clashed repeatedly, sending sparks flying in all directions.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Jeong Cheon erupted with laughter as he swung his sword with blinding speed.
His usual gentle demeanor had vanished without a trace—now, he looked like a crimson demon, slashing wildly as if consumed by madness.
'Fast!'
Bu Eun-seol summoned his full strength and unleashed his sword technique once more.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The tip of the Ink Sword precisely struck down the thrusting edge of the treasured sword.
For a brief moment, Bu Eun-seol couldn't fully neutralize the sword strokes—so he adapted the stance of Return to the Rightful Owner and applied it to the sword strokes themselves.
"Got you!"
The instant the Ink Sword deflected the sword stroke, Jeong Cheon closed the distance until their faces were nearly touching.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
At the same time, Jeong Cheon's longsword condensed into a shorter form, and an uncountable number of sword qi erupted in all directions.
'Chaotic Sword?'
Now it was clear—Jeong Cheon's True Void was a sword technique that sealed off both escape routes and attacks at point-blank range. It was the Chaotic Sword.
'Completely unexpected!'
As the razor-sharp Chaotic Sword surged toward him like a tidal wave, Bu Eun-seol bit his lip.
Jeong Cheon wielded an unusually longsword—so Bu Eun-seol had never anticipated he would use Chaotic Sword techniques.
Flicker!
Jeong Cheon's blade condensed further, and his sword strokes grew even faster. The distance between them had narrowed to less than six steps.
Moreover, Jeong Cheon's once-gentle eyes now burned like blazing coals.
"You're holding up well!"
His bloodshot whites and crimson pupils, overflowing with killing intent, made him seem like a wild beast.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
Bu Eun-seol's clothes were torn to shreds like rags, and blood splattered.
No matter how much he tried to deploy the Formless Heavenly Flow, Jeong Cheon's Chaotic Sword coiled around him from all directions, leaving no opening.
Not only that—his sword seemed solely intent on severing Bu Eun-seol's life, ruthlessly pouring out nothing but killing moves.
"Don't worry. I won't have another fit."
Only now did Bu Eun-seol understand the meaning behind Jeong Cheon's words to Dam Yu-yeon.
'He's detonating his latent killing intent to amplify the power of the Chaotic Sword.'
Jeong Cheon was unleashing a unique Chaotic Sword technique—one that used killing intent to push his physical abilities to their absolute limit.
And this method, if mishandled even slightly, could turn him into a deranged madman who had lost all reason.
'Then—!'
Biting his lip, Bu Eun-seol suddenly opened the hand gripping the Ink Sword and closed his eyes.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
At once, the Ink Sword began leaping and dancing, unraveling Jeong Cheon's relentless sword strokes one by one.
The Strange Sword Study—Fluorescent Sword Control—had been activated, reacting to the killing intent.
Clash! Clash! Clash!
As the Chaotic Sword, which had been cleaving toward Bu Eun-seol with unstoppable force, was blocked in rapid succession, an even thicker killing intent surged from Jeong Cheon's body.
"You dare block my sect's Chaotic Sword?!"
Jeong Cheon's pupils had rolled back, leaving only white, and killing intent dripped from him like blood.
His face, now shrouded in killing intent, was utterly unrecognizable from before.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Bu Eun-seol poured all his combat power into Fluorescent Sword Control.
A single mistake, and his flesh-and-blood body would be torn to pieces by the Chaotic Sword.
"HAHAHA!"
Meanwhile, Jeong Cheon's killing intent intensified further, and his sword strokes grew even faster.
But as they did, Bu Eun-seol's gaze grew colder.
The faster and more powerful Jeong Cheon's Chaotic Sword became, the more he lost control—and Bu Eun-seol could see the precision of his sword strokes deteriorating.
This was an insight he had gained from facing Mother-and-Child Spear.
'At this level, I can see it.'
As the once-mystifying sword strokes of the Chaotic Sword shifted toward sheer speed, their intricacy faded—and the Sword Path became visible.
Fluorescent Sword Control.
This technique, designed to barely withstand the attacks of a high-level opponent, had given Bu Eun-seol a thread-thin opportunity.
'Now—I go!'
While maintaining Fluorescent Sword Control, Bu Eun-seol gathered his strength and unleashed the Formless Heavenly Flow once more.
And this time, he deployed a sword stroke he had never used before—at full power.
'Ten Thousand Swords Return to the Origin!'
The fifth form of the Formless Heavenly Flow.
A sword stroke of Practical Combat Martial Arts—one that mimicked an opponent's sword strokes.
Whoooosh!
Hundreds of sword qi erupted from the Ink Sword, scattering in all directions before crashing into Jeong Cheon's Chaotic Sword.