Chapter 64
At first glance, it had seemed like nothing more than a peaceful village.
But the scenery that greeted Bu Eun-seol upon his return to Langya Pavilion was utterly transformed.
A dragon’s pool and a tiger’s den.
Now, it appeared to him as a pond where dragons lurked and a den where tigers crouched.
The elderly man sitting at the street stall had piercing eyes and an icy aura swirling around his entire body.
The man carrying cabbages on his back, the youth hauling firewood—each was a terrifying master rarely seen even in the martial world.
'The one who changed was always me.'
Bu Eun-seol let out a deep sigh as he swept his gaze over the interior of Langya Pavilion from its entrance.
In the year he had been away, Langya Pavilion itself hadn't changed. It was only because he had experienced countless battles in the martial world and fought against formidable experts that he could now truly gauge the strength of Langya Pavilion's members.
"Master Cheol."
After returning to his quarters within Langya Pavilion, Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands together before Master Cheol, who stood in front of the forge.
"It's been a long time."
Wang Geol nodded slightly, sensing the entirely transformed energy in Bu Eun-seol's greeting.
"You've made remarkable progress."
"It's all thanks to you opening the path for me."
"Opening the path, you say..."
Master Cheol let out an uncharacteristic chuckle.
"Pushing someone into a death ground—these days, they call that 'opening a path,' it seems."
Though spoken in jest, it was the truth.
Bu Eun-seol had sought a place where he could cultivate Practical Combat Martial Arts, and Master Cheol had shown him the way.
The only catch was that the place happened to be an Asura Battlefield where survival was never guaranteed.
"Calling it a death ground doesn't do justice to the invaluable time I spent there."
"Not just your martial arts—your way with words has improved too."
Master Cheol narrowed his eyes slightly as he spoke.
"Once you've settled in, head to the training ground in the rear garden of Clear Breeze Studio."
The training ground of Langya Pavilion.
A place where bamboo groves and reed fields stretched out, where the masters of Langya Pavilion engaged in duels so fierce they resembled real battles.
It was also where Bu Eun-seol had first learned the foundations of Practical Combat Martial Arts from Dan Cheong.
"The Deputy Pavilion Master instructed me to send you there upon your arrival."
"Understood."
Just as Bu Eun-seol bowed once more and turned to leave—
"Welcome back."
Welcome back. Those words bestowed upon a person an immeasurable sense of relief and tranquility.
As Master Cheol's quiet voice resonated in his ears, Bu Eun-seol's vision blurred slightly.
"Thank you."
Whoosh.
A desolate wind swept through the yellowed reeds.
'He's late.'
Having entered the training ground in the rear garden of Clear Breeze Studio, Bu Eun-seol stood motionless in the heart of the reed field.
"...!"
His empty gaze, which had been fixed on the distant sky, suddenly sharpened.
Crunch. Crunch.
Turning slowly, he saw a towering man, his body entirely sheathed in muscle, striding toward him through the reeds.
His face looked as if it had been carved from stone, and a massive great saber rested on his shoulder.
His gait was deliberate, like a lion stalking its prey with slow, measured steps.
It was none other than the leader of the Innovation Unit, So-jeon.
"Captain So."
As Bu Eun-seol clasped his hands together, So-jeon abruptly thrust out his great saber.
"Draw your sword."
"My sword?"
"Due to certain circumstances, I've postponed your test for quite some time."
So-jeon bared his long canines in a grin as he looked down at Bu Eun-seol.
"Shall we begin now?"
"You mean right now?"
Bu Eun-seol shook his head as he met So-jeon's gaze.
"I only just returned to Langya Pavilion today."
"And what of it?"
So-jeon snorted dismissively.
"Do you think the battles of the martial world wait for your convenience?"
The words struck like a blade to the gut.
Steeling his loosened resolve, Bu Eun-seol tightened his grip on his sword hilt.
"Hmph."
At that moment, an overwhelming pressure erupted from So-jeon's body as he adjusted the great saber on his shoulder.
Heaven Conquering Blade Ultimate Stance.
A peerless saber technique that unleashed tremendous power through stance alone.
'The difference is staggering.'
Bu Eun-seol had also been refining his own Heaven Conquering Blade Ultimate Stance all this time.
But facing So-jeon's version now, he realized the gap between them was as vast as heaven and earth.
The sheer pressure made even drawing his sword a struggle.
Shiiing.
In a motion swift as lightning, Bu Eun-seol unsheathed his blade and thrust straight for So-jeon's throat.
'I have to break his stance in one relentless assault!'
So-jeon was a superlative martial expert—someone Bu Eun-seol could never face head-on. Even if he poured everything into a surprise attack, how long he could last remained unknown.
Tremble.
The tip of his sword quivered faintly as his single strike split into four, each aiming for vital points on So-jeon's chest.
Hummm.
But before the four prongs could reach him, they veered wildly off course.
The pressure of Heaven Conquering Blade Ultimate Stance had warped their trajectories. Seizing the opening, So-jeon swung his great saber.
Swoosh!
With a sound like splitting air, the blade swept horizontally toward Bu Eun-seol's waist.
Clang!
In that instant, sparks erupted in all directions, ringing with a metallic clang.
Bu Eun-seol had raised his sword just in time to block So-jeon's strike.
"Oh?"
So-jeon arched an eyebrow as Bu Eun-seol deflected his blow.
"Han Dan's Heavy Sword Art, I see."
So-jeon's great saber carried the force of ten thousand pounds.
A direct clash would have shattered an ordinary longsword. But Bu Eun-seol had used the principles of Heavy Sword Art to repel it.
"Let's see you block my stance again!"
Whoosh.
So-jeon's great saber carved a crescent through the air, descending toward Bu Eun-seol's skull.
In that moment, pressure like a collapsing mountain bore down on him, forcing Bu Eun-seol into a low crouch.
'Resisting the pressure would be a mistake.'
Even with the Heavy Sword technique, completely blocking the overwhelming force behind So-jeon's Great Blade was nearly impossible.
'Instead of opposing his strength, I must flow with it and unfold my swordplay.'
Through his missions with the Slaughter-Seeking Squad, Bu Eun-seol had faced countless real battles.
Among them were masters like So-jeon—men with monstrous internal energy and Innate Divine Strength.
Each time, Bu Eun-seol had refrained from directly opposing their power. Instead, he adapted his sword techniques to match their movements.
It was like performing a preordained Sword Dance, perfectly synchronized with the enemy's attacks.
'This bastard—!'
So-jeon's eyes flickered with surprise.
As Bu Eun-seol yielded to his force rather than resisting, the crushing pressure from the Heavenly Domination Saber Extremity visibly weakened.
"You've gained considerable real combat experience, I see."
So-jeon exhaled in admiration, his eyes crackling with lightning.
"But that alone won't be enough!"
At last, So-jeon abandoned the Heavenly Domination Saber Extremity and unleashed his own personal combat saber art—
A ruthless, high-speed style akin to the Peerless Thunderbolt, honed through Langya Pavilion's brutal practical teachings, designed to exploit an enemy's vulnerabilities.
'I must intercept it.'
If Bu Eun-seol stubbornly clung to pure defense against So-jeon's tyrannical and cunning saber techniques, he would inevitably be overwhelmed or pierced through a gap.
Whoosh!
As the Great Blade carved a crescent through the air, unleashing saber techniques swift as lightning, Bu Eun-seol responded by deploying his swordplay at full strength.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Sparks erupted with each collision of sword and blade.
'Ghk—!'
Every impact sent searing shocks through Bu Eun-seol's hugu (tiger's mouth—the webbing between thumb and forefinger), as though his grip were being torn apart.
The force and internal energy behind the Great Blade exceeded his limits. Yet retreat was no longer an option.
'Endure—!'
Kang!
Channeling every ounce of his internal energy, Bu Eun-seol deflected the Great Blade and thrust his sword toward So-jeon's armpit—
The sole weak point in his saber technique.
"To think you discerned the flaw in my technique in such a short time."
Despite being countered, So-jeon showed no alarm. Instead, he chuckled darkly and fluidly altered his saber art.
Swoooosh—!
Bu Eun-seol, too, shifted his swordplay in response—
Not through refined technique, but through sheer desperation to survive So-jeon's onslaught.
"No one adapts as swiftly as you in the heat of battle."
As Bu Eun-seol matched even the explosive, flame-like transitions of So-jeon's saber strokes, the latter grinned approvingly and shoved his Great Blade forward.
"Good."
Boom—!
An overwhelming pressure hurled Bu Eun-seol back thirty or forty feet away. So-jeon planted his Great Blade upright and declared:
"Now, block the final stroke of my technique."
Groooowl—
An immense force gathered as So-jeon's figure seemed to fade into the encroaching darkness.
'A killing move?'
The murderous aura radiating from So-jeon's body constricted Bu Eun-seol's breath like a noose.
He was preparing to unleash a lethal technique—one that could sever life in an instant.
"You'd best give it your all. This may be the last sight you ever see."
So-jeon raised his Great Blade with a grin, tossing out the words like some horrifying joke.
Flash—!
In that instant, Bu Eun-seol saw only a streak of light.
That a Great Blade could move with such speed was inconceivable. The moment he glimpsed that radiance, he felt himself plunging into endless darkness.
He knew—if he failed to escape, death would be the only outcome.
"Haa..."
Gathering every shred of his internal energy, Bu Eun-seol swung his sword with all his might.
Instinctively, his blade traced a perfect circle.
Within that circle lay all his accumulated realizations, the lives of his adversaries, and even his own existence—condensed into a single, desperate strike.
Swoooosh—!
As the circle completed, the black void dissolved like a receding tide, accompanied by the faint sound of waves.
Before him stood So-jeon, Great Blade still raised, his face frozen in shock.
"Hoh."
An involuntary sigh escaped So-jeon's lips.
"Not only did you intercept the Blade Tip One Gust, you shattered it..."
For a moment, he was at a loss for words.
"What is the name of that technique?"
"It has none."
"None?"
As So-jeon's brow arched, Bu Eun-seol replied softly:
"I merely moved in response to your technique to survive. Nothing more."
"You 'moved in response'? Hahahaha!"
So-jeon's laughter boomed across the field before cutting off abruptly.
"It's been a while since someone worthy entered the Main Pavilion."
With a whoosh, he sheathed the Great Blade across his back.
"You pass the test."
Bu Eun-seol shook his head at So-jeon's breezy declaration.
"But I didn't execute that swordplay intentionally."
It had been nothing but a struggle to survive—a fleeting, instinctive sword stroke he couldn't replicate even if ordered.
"That's how it always begins."
Leaving those cryptic words hanging, So-jeon turned without hesitation and strode from the training grounds.
'I'm still far beneath him.'
Pride in his martial arts had always been his compass. Yet even at full strength, all he'd managed was to dissect a single stroke of So-jeon's technique.
'Had this been a real battle, my head would already be rolling.'
So-jeon had used just one technique.
If it had been life-or-death? The Blade Tip One Gust would've been followed by the Heaven Collapse Strike—a blow capable of splitting earth and sky.
But there was one thing Bu Eun-seol didn't know—
In all of So-jeon's tests thus far, no one had ever blocked the Blade Tip One Gust.
"Quite the spectacle you've made!"
Just then, a middle-aged man in blue robes emerged through the trampled reeds.
His languid eyes and carefree demeanor belied the lightning flickering in his pupils—
Dan Cheong, Deputy Pavilion Master of Langya Pavilion.