Shaanxi Sword Gathering (4)
Cheong-ha tried to stop the surging waves of sword wind with all three of his sword arts.
Like a mountain sword scattering fragments of force, his Mountain Sword was swept away and erased by the sword wind. His Swift Sword, so quick it could become a single breath of air, was driven back by the overwhelming jin release of the wind. His Illusory Sword, which wove phantoms like sunlight and shadow, lost all meaning as every illusion was torn apart and swallowed by the gale.
It was the moment the higher sword arts of the Huashan Sect knelt before a sword wind steeped in the principles of the heavy sword.
Even if he blocked the attacks, his defenses would clearly collapse, so Cheong-ha had no choice but to evade. The frantic dodge left an opening, and Cheonhwa did not miss it. He charged straight at Cheong-ha.
In that instant a smile curved Cheong-ha’s lips. The opening had been bait, deliberately shown to draw Cheonhwa in. At this distance a single strike of the Swift Sword could reverse everything.
He poured the stored force he had built while deploying all three arts into the Wind Playing Sword Art and prepared to thrust—yet Cheonhwa had already seen through the ruse.
The greatest of the Huashan third-generation disciples would never fall so easily.
Cheonhwa trusted his opponent’s skill. There was no way Cheong-ha would simply accept defeat and collapse. He would certainly prepare a reversing blow and drive it home. Because Cheonhwa believed that, he refused to be drawn into the trap and answered it cleanly.
Their auras swelled and began to pulse with violent force—the telltale sign of Stored Jin, the sudden release of every scrap of power held within the body. The final, decisive strikes flew toward each other.
Cheong-ha’s blade, accelerated by the Swift Sword, was about to land first—when Cheonhwa’s wooden sword, driven by the sword wind, caught up. He had filled the gap in speed with a form of the Heavenly Wind Demon.
Stored Jin crossed Stored Jin. Under ordinary circumstances the collision of force would have exploded into a shockwave, yet no such blast came. Cheonhwa had swallowed it whole with the Heavenly Rain Pool.
Having absorbed the impact of two Stored Jin at once, the wooden sword shuddered as if it would burst at any moment. Cheonhwa even pulled his will into the blade and unleashed the final form.
Fifteenth Form: Heavenly Sudden Rain
Double Stored Jin
Kwa-rung!
With a roar like a thunderbolt striking the earth, overwhelming force erupted from Cheonhwa’s wooden sword. The training blade could not withstand the recoil and shattered into splinters—yet Cheong-ha, who had taken the layered Stored Jin head-on, fared little better. He somehow stayed on his feet, but the crushing force drove him clean off the stage.
The referee saw it and declared the result.
“That is enough! The victor is Cheonhwa, third-generation disciple of the Zhongnan Sect!”
The moment the judgment fell, cheers erupted as though the crowd had only been waiting for the signal. The other third-generation matches had offered plenty of spectacle, yet the final duel between Cheonhwa and Cheong-ha had been more thrilling than any that came before.
“To change sword arts in mid-flow like that… I’ve never seen such dazzling principles of Transforming Sword. Truly the prodigy Huashan places its hopes upon.”
“And the Zhongnan side, which seemed to be pushed back by that brilliance, seized the exchange in an instant with sheer sword power. Who could have expected a reversal like that?”
“Cheonhwa of the third generation… I heard he is only a Flower-Rank great disciple. I shall have to watch him carefully from now on.”
Invited guests traded impressions of the bout; even the masters of Huashan and Zhongnan spoke among themselves.
“Hoh. To display that level of skill with nothing but the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven… remarkable.”
“Huashan is no less impressive. To think we would see Transforming Sword refined to such a degree. At that level he will soon be learning higher martial arts.”
“He didn’t receive the Jade Plum Sword for nothing. Confidence is fine, but the boy had too much of it. I hope this proves good medicine.”
Everywhere, the talk was of Cheonhwa and Cheong-ha.
Meanwhile, as Cheonhwa left the stage he came face-to-face with Cheong-ha.
“Wow, I never thought I’d lose. I was sure that last move had landed cleanly.”
Cheong-ha spoke with an easy grin that made it hard to believe they had just exchanged furious blows. The unflappable poise he had shown even before the match clearly sprang from that cheerful nature.
“We look about the same age—mind if I drop the formal speech?”
“That’s fine.”
“Thanks! So tell me, how did you see through that final strike? I don’t mean to brag, but I thought I sold the feint pretty well.”
“I simply believed. I knew you would never go down without a fight.”
“You believed in me—your enemy?”
The unexpected answer left Cheong-ha blank for a moment; then he burst out laughing.
“Hahahaha! I never thought I’d hear something like that. You trusted that I would counterattack… Feels like I just got acknowledged. Feels good right now.”
He laughed so freely that he choked on his own breath and coughed. Blood speckled the cough.
“Are you all right?”
“No—it hurts like hell. I couldn’t fully disperse the jin release I took at the end, so I’ve got internal injuries.”
“Then this is no time to stand around chatting!”
“I can’t stand not knowing more than I can stand the pain.”
Cheonhwa, half-exasperated, hurriedly half-carried Cheong-ha to the Medical Hall. As an extra bonus, the Hall Master scolded Cheong-ha thoroughly for wandering around before finally showing up.
After that, the Shaanxi Sword Gathering drew to a successful close.
The famous guests invited to the event had seen with their own eyes that both the Zhongnan Sect and the Huashan Sect remained strong, and they had witnessed the achievements of the third-generation disciples who would one day carry each sect’s future. Every guest departed with a satisfied expression.
Huashan, too, reaped its own rewards. Directly clashing with a different martial tradition had given them fresh experience, and simply exchanging words with martial artists of similar age set their hearts racing.
“I lost this match, but I won’t lose the next one. You’d better be ready!”
Cheong-ha, speaking for the third-generation disciples of Huashan, declared that he would turn this defeat into greater strength. Cheonhwa answered for the third-generation disciples of Zhongnan.
“We have no intention of losing easily either. By the time we meet again, we’ll be even stronger.”
The senior figures of both sects smiled with quiet fondness at the exchange.
“Brings back old memories.”
“We traded the same kind of answers back then.”
Zhongnan and Huashan had held the Shaanxi Sword Gathering countless times across the years. Disciples of both sects formed friendships and polished each other’s martial arts in mutual tempering. The current third generation was no different.
While the disciples continued their exchanges, Gakhyeon and Baekju met separately to speak.
“Contrary to what we expected, the unorthodox side never moved.”
“There was no direct action like the previous ambush, yet we still caught signs of activity beneath the surface.”
This Shaanxi Sword Gathering had been meant to display the enduring strength of Zhongnan and Huashan; at the same time it had been bait to test the Six Tyrant Coalition and the forces that moved in the shadows. Inviting the influential figures of Shaanxi had not been mere display either—it was a chance to exchange intelligence from every region and prepare for danger.
“Paegeommun’s influence has waned, and the Dark Night Assassination Pavilion has gone quiet ever since their branch was smashed. What bothers me is how silent the rest of the Six Tyrant Coalition has become.”
“The Coalition itself is a problem, but so are the independent unorthodox bands that act on their own. For all we know, a new unorthodox power to rival the Coalition may yet appear.”
“I can’t deny it. The unorthodox side has been restless of late. The scale may not be large, yet noise keeps rising from every corner.”
The martial world, long peaceful under orthodox dominance, now showed ominous stirrings everywhere. News carried through the Martial Alliance confirmed that other sects were sensing the same signs. This was no longer a matter confined to Shaanxi Province; a storm was gathering over the entire Central Plains.
“Large or small, something is bound to break soon.”
“I agree. We will need to prepare.”
On a day of meaningful exchange among the young of Zhongnan and Huashan, the Sect Leader’s disciple of Zhongnan and the leader of the Huashan contingent both sighed at the dark shadow falling across the martial world’s future.
After the Shaanxi Sword Gathering ended safely, Cheonhwa stood looking at a wooden box that had been left on the table in his private quarters.
I never imagined I would receive this.
Inside the box rested a pill that glowed with a faint crimson light—the Plum Fragrance Pill, a spiritual elixir of the Huashan Sect.
At the Shaanxi Sword Gathering each sect customarily presented a spiritual elixir to the participant from the opposing side who had shown the most outstanding results. Zhongnan had chosen Cheong-ha; Huashan had chosen Cheonhwa and bestowed the pill upon him.
Senior Brother Myeonghwa made a fuss that it was a higher-grade elixir than the Plum Blossom Pill or the Snow Plum Pill.
According to what he had heard, Huashan’s spiritual elixirs fell into four broad ranks: lower-grade elixirs such as the Plum Blossom Pill; mid-grade elixirs such as the Snow Plum Pill; upper-grade elixirs such as the Plum Fragrance Pill; and the Purple Firmament Pill, which only those who had mastered the Purple Mist Divine Art—secret to the Huashan Sect Leader alone—could consume. The Plum Fragrance Pill was the highest grade of elixir an ordinary Huashan martial artist could hope to obtain, and special care had been taken in its refinement precisely so it could be given as a gift to another sect.
An elixir one rank above the Heavenly Blessing Pill or the Heavenly Gold Pill I took before. If I consume this, I should be able to bring the Vast Heaven Qi Art to great completion.
The reason Cheonhwa had not yet perfected the Vast Heaven Qi Art was simply insufficient accumulated qi. He had already spent five years learning and training the art; under ordinary methods he would still need another year or two. Even that pace was remarkably fast. The average time required to bring a single high-level mind method to great completion was roughly ten years—and that figure already assumed the aid of spiritual elixirs.
If I can cut that time drastically, there is no reason not to take it.
Cheonhwa tucked the wooden box containing the Plum Fragrance Pill under his arm and headed straight for the training cavern. The cavern was a place that shut out outside influence, useful not only for closed-door cultivation but also for consuming spiritual elixirs.
He took the Plum Fragrance Pill from the box and placed it in his mouth. A rich plum fragrance filled his entire oral cavity. Before he had even chewed more than a few times the elixir melted and was absorbed into his body. Cheonhwa settled into a full lotus posture and began circulating the Great Heavenly Cycle, carefully guiding the vast power of the Plum Fragrance Pill that had seeped into him so that it would dissolve slowly through his system.
Don’t rush. Even if I cannot absorb every last scrap of internal energy, that is fine. If I grow impatient and injure myself, that will be the greater problem.
The finer a spiritual elixir, the greater the power it contained—and the harder it was to absorb. Those who could take in an elixir’s energy without the slightest waste on the first Great Heavenly Cycle could be counted on one hand. Forcing absorption too eagerly risked qi deviation, while any unabsorbed energy simply remained in the body and continued to confer benefit. Rather than hurry, Cheonhwa steadily performed the Great Heavenly Cycle and focused on drawing the power in.
After spending a full day digesting the elixir, Cheonhwa slowly opened his eyes. He had absorbed roughly half the energy—a respectable result for his first upper-grade spiritual elixir. That half alone supplied more than enough internal energy to bring the Vast Heaven Qi Art to great completion.
This is…!
The instant the Vast Heaven Qi Art reached great completion, a new capability awakened. From crown to sole he could now perceive every detail of his body without conscious effort—flesh, meridians, and internal energy alike. A new sense had opened that allowed far finer control than before.
I can feel the movement of muscle and bone, the flow through every meridian, and the circulation of internal energy with perfect clarity.
It felt similar to the way he had once opened new horizons of sensation by awakening qi sense and mind-consciousness. Had those born with extraordinary senses always felt the world this way?
I had guessed that perfecting the Vast Heaven Qi Art might grant a new ability, but what I received is greater than I expected.
For others, completing the art merely linked the middle and lower dantians through the union of sun and moon. Because Cheonhwa alone had cultivated the mind method in the correct sequence established by the founding ancestor, he had awakened a previously unknown capability of the Vast Heaven Qi Art.
With this I can manage internal energy more delicately and employ a wider range of jin releases.
Having already borrowed the training cavern, he had no lack of a place to train. Cheonhwa threw himself into practice, determined to discover just how far the new ability of the Vast Heaven Qi Art could reach.
Some time later, Cheonhwa received a summons from Muwol and went to Sanghyeon Hall. Others had been called as well—Yeobhwa and Myeonghwa.
“It has been a while, Junior Brother Cheonhwa. Have you been well?”
“You got a spiritual elixir as a gift and immediately buried yourself in the training cavern again, didn’t you? Don’t get so lost in training that you forget to see people once in a while.”
Yeobhwa asked after him in ordinary fashion; Myeonghwa fretted that Cheonhwa was burying himself too deeply in practice. While they exchanged everyday conversation as always, Muwol arrived.
“I have called the three of you because there is a matter I would like you to handle after you leave the mountain.”
“Us, sir?”
“Yes. After witnessing your skill at the recent Shaanxi Sword Gathering, I have judged that you are ready to pull your weight in the martial world.”
Muwol’s gaze flicked briefly toward Myeonghwa as he continued.
“The task you will undertake this time concerns the Cheongun Merchant Group, a secular household of our main mountain.”
At Muwol’s words, Myeonghwa’s face hardened like stone.