The Seventy-One Swords Revealed
“Gah!”
The blow struck his side.
And sent him flying.
What a merciless bastard.
Dan Hyunwoo had invited him to training named hell itself.
Yu Sucheon wanted to strangle the version of himself that had accepted that invitation with a smile.
It hurt like hell.
Actually, before the pain, there was the question of how Dan Hyunwoo even knew the Yongcheon Chilsibil-geom, the signature sword art of the Saheol Alliance.
Yu Sucheon lay face-down in the dirt.
“Kuh!”
“Pathetic. That makes three times already.”
“It is the Yongcheon Chilsibil-geom, but why does it feel nothing like the one I know?”
“Because of the flaws in your own technique. You do not watch an opponent’s sword with your eyes. You feel it with your entire body.”
What kind of nonsense was that? Yu Sucheon shouted.
“The body does not have eyes!”
Even the Saheol Alliance’s Heavenly Lord would not say something so absurd.
Yet he could not dismiss the words.
In reality, Dan Hyunwoo was already responding two or three moves ahead of the sword path.
It was impossible to believe they were using the same sword art.
Yu Sucheon reached out and grabbed Jeon Akgwan by the scruff of the neck.
“Where do you think you are running? If we die, we die together. That is what sworn brothers do.”
Jeon Akgwan wore a deathly expression.
He stared pitifully, as though desperate to die.
Sorry.
But he was not letting go of that neck.
Dan Hyunwoo sheathed his sword and spoke.
“Prepare lunch. From now on, we train between breakfast and lunch, between lunch and dinner, and again after dinner. Keep that in mind.”
“Hiiik!”
Blood suddenly spurted from Yu Sucheon’s nose, as though mirroring his horrified heart.
Yu Sucheon stepped outside, grinding his teeth.
He must have taken forty or fifty hits just this morning.
Meanwhile, he had not even managed to graze Dan Hyunwoo’s clothes, let alone his body.
Clenching his fists, Yu Sucheon declared with resolve,
“One day, I am going to land a hit on that bastard Dan Hyunwoo.”
* * *
Seven days and nights had passed since he made that vow.
Late at night, Yu Sucheon reviewed Dan Hyunwoo’s movements, forgetting sleep.
Yet his entire body ached.
That damned Dan Hyunwoo always struck exactly where it hurt most.
“Aigoo, my back…”
The pain in his struck back was so sharp he flopped onto the floor.
The ceiling above him felt impossibly high.
Just like Dan Hyunwoo’s level.
‘That swordplay of his is really…’
He closed his eyes and recalled every detail one by one.
Footwork. Sword path. Where the gaze went. Expression…
Ah, the expression. That alone made him furious.
The man’s face had never once changed from its calm demeanor.
As though he had never once felt threatened.
Then, suddenly, something flashed through his mind.
To think that damned Dan Hyunwoo’s expression would provide the clue.
The man had no blind spots.
That was why he moved two or three steps ahead.
So how was that possible?
He never shifted his gaze according to the sword.
He did not even look at the sword. He only looked at Yu Sucheon himself.
With that same calm face.
And on top of that, he felt everything through touch, sound, and the wind.
But was that something a human could actually do?
‘In the end, is it all just bullshit?’
To achieve it, one would have to spread inner energy through the meridians and swiftly retract it, constantly circulating it through the Great Heavenly Circuit against… hmm?
Thinking back, Dan Hyunwoo had shown him that movement countless times.
He had shown it so Yu Sucheon could see, and hammered it into his body so he could feel it.
‘Don’t tell me…’
Everything connected.
A new method of circulating inner energy, the true meaning of the Yongcheon Chilsibil-geom, and the profound principle of a dragon ascending to the heavens began to surface in his mind.
‘This… this is the real Yongcheon Chilsibil-geom!’
Yu Sucheon stood up and paced the room, mimicking Dan Hyunwoo’s movements exactly.
Whoosh! Whish!
It was still clumsy, but it worked.
This was really working? It felt as though his vision had suddenly cleared.
‘Insane!’
The inner energy flowed in a completely different direction than before.
Meanwhile, Dan Hyunwoo, lying on his bed, let out a small chuckle.
He could feel the change in Yu Sucheon’s inner energy flow.
‘He has finally become a servant worth using.’
* * *
The next morning.
Yu Sucheon drew his sword, a faint smile on his lips.
“Today’s match will be different from yesterday.”
He was certain that today he could finally land a hit.
How long he had waited for this day.
‘I will make him cry like a baby.’
Thanks to yesterday’s enlightenment, his skill had surpassed Hangzhou’s top experts and now ranked among the top five in Zhejiang Province.
All his weaknesses had vanished.
Bang—!
Yu Sucheon wrapped killing intent around his sword and stepped forward.
In an instant, he closed the distance to Dan Hyunwoo.
The speed was terrifying even to himself.
The Yongcheon Chilsibil-geom unfolded like a dragon soaring through the sky, and Yu Sucheon leapt toward Dan Hyunwoo’s chest.
Baring his teeth.
And then—
“Gah!”
Damn bastard. Shi—
* * *
Fifteen days had passed since the pursuit began.
It was taking far longer than expected.
Oryongsambong realized just how close they had come to disaster without Moyong Sehui.
Without her, they would have had to abandon the chase over food shortages.
Moreover, Paeng Bogwang might have died.
Naturally, Oryongsambong had united around Moyong Sehui.
None of them followed Namgung Cheol.
Moyong Sehui, looking utterly disheveled, traced the footprints pressed into the mountain with her finger.
Having gone without proper washing for so long, Oryongsambong had become the Five Earth Dragons and Three Beggars.
‘The distance is closing. But is it really?’
For some reason, Jeok San and his subordinates had been circling Sosan over and over.
As though searching for something, or trying to shake off pursuers.
For a full fifteen days.
But even they must be reaching their limit now.
Moyong Sehui could feel the pursuit nearing its end.
Indeed.
The trail left by their footprints led straight to Hangzhou.
Namgung Cheol had argued that the targets might have gone to West Lake or Yuhang beyond Hangzhou, opposing Moyong Sehui’s opinion.
But they would not have gone to West Lake or Yuhang.
West Lake was a small city by the water.
Yuhang was a fishing town.
Neither was even one-tenth the size of Hangzhou.
Places with nowhere to hide.
Recalling the time wasted because of Namgung Cheol’s objection, Moyong Sehui descended the mountain.
Following Jeok San’s trail while trying to save as much time as possible.
Even as she moved in haste, her heart swelled with emotion.
To be returning to Hangzhou, where Danga Manor stood.
The place she had grown fond of and did not want to leave.
The place filled with warmth and people who worried about her.
It kept appearing in her mind.
The closer Hangzhou drew.
* * *
Outside Hangzhou, deep in the night.
A hungry stray cat, drawn by the smell of food, approached an inn as if entranced.
Then, suddenly, it flattened its ears and raised its tail.
With trembling legs and sharp eyes, it stared at one particular inn.
“Kyaaang!”
After letting out a sharp cry, it glared at the inn once more before turning and fleeing in panic.
As though escaping from something dangerous.
The cat’s steps grew faster and faster.
There was something terrifying inside that inn.
“Interesting.”
An elderly man.
He laughed as he watched the fleeing cat from the inn’s second floor.
His eyes gleamed pure white, and killing intent sharp enough to cut at the slightest touch radiated from him.
The old wooden floor beneath his feet let out a dreadful scream, unable to withstand his inner energy.
The old man turned around.
There stood Gwanggeom Bisa Jeok San, the Saheol Alliance expert Jin Hyeolgeomgaek Seok Cheon, and twenty subordinates with their heads bowed.
Small beads of cold sweat formed on their faces.
Even though the old man wore only a peaceful smile.
The old man spoke.
“Jeok San, Seok Cheon. While you stay in Hangzhou, clean up the city.”
“According to the subordinates who arrived first, there is a man named Yu Sucheon among Hangzhou’s black path factions. He is said to be Hangzhou’s top expert, residing at a place called Danga Manor, and he supposedly killed the head of the Hebei Paeng Clan’s collateral branch, Yongmun Sega, in the past.”
“The head of the Hebei Paeng Clan’s collateral branch? So?”
The old man’s smile deepened.
“You lack confidence?”
“Of course not. It is only Hangzhou, after all.”
“Good. That level is worth handling. In that case, we might as well deal with those persistent Murim Alliance pests here as well.”
“Are we finally going to kill them?”
“I let them follow us until now, but it is time to cut them off. Especially the Moyong girl. Her skill is considerable. She could become a great threat in the future.”
The old man stroked the sword in his hand.
The map he had obtained from Bidong on Geummundo Island in Fujian Province.
That map marked the location of the treasure hidden in Sosan.
And that treasure was now the sword in the old man’s hand.
Sohacheonji, one of the Hundred Great Famous Swords.
He had spent fifteen days wandering Sosan just to find this sword.
The old man spoke in a chilling yet quiet voice.
“When will the ones I summoned arrive?”
“Tomorrow morning.”
“Jeok San, kill that black path thug named Yu Sucheon tomorrow. You clearly claimed you could.”
“I will bring back his head.”
“Seok Cheon, take fifty subordinates tomorrow and go to Danga Manor. Wipe out every last remnant of that Yu Sucheon fellow.”
“Understood. Afterward, I will cleanly deal with the Murim Alliance pests as well.”
The corner of the old man’s mouth lifted slightly at Seok Cheon’s words.
A cold smile, and killing intent that coiled around them.
He laughed.
“Hohoho, I will handle them myself.”
“You intend to kill such vermin with your own hands?”
“No one is to touch them. Especially the Moyong girl and that foolish Namgung boy.”
The old man’s smile and dreadful killing intent grew thicker.
At that moment—
Thud—! Crack—! Thud-thud-thud—!
The wooden floor of the inn within half a jang of the old man split, cracked, and was torn into countless fragments.
Jeok San and Seok Cheon broke into cold sweats, their faces pale with terror.
To tear apart the inn’s floorboards with nothing but killing intent!
‘The Moyong girl is done for. To have caught this man’s interest.’
Being in his favor meant the end of one’s life.
She would die horribly, miserably.
Like a toy he had grown tired of.
Inside the inn, wrapped in the old man’s vicious killing intent.
He spoke quietly.
“Also, the original objective. Find it as soon as possible.”
Jeok San bowed his head and answered.
“I will carry out your orders.”
“Leave. Kill them all, and make sure you find it. No matter what happens.”
“Yes.”
Jeok San left the inn with Seok Cheon.
He mulled over the old man’s words.
‘That item… Does it really exist? If it does, it must be something extraordinary.’
* * *
The next morning.
Yu Sucheon and Jeon Akgwan bought new ingredients for a special meal.
They usually ate chicken, but today it was duck.
Mother-in-law had said she wanted Beijing duck.
So they bought three plump ones.
Yu Sucheon held the quacking duck and examined it closely.
‘This one is ten times cuter than a chicken. Sehui, I could never kill that kid. No, wait. What is the point of thinking about someone who already left? Besides, I wonder how she is doing.’
He thought of her from time to time.
He had believed all young masters from prestigious Murim clans were detestable, yet she was the first one he had actually liked.
Though he would never forget the fishball incident.
Just then, a voice suddenly called out.
“Are you Yu Sucheon?”
“I am. Who are you?”
“I only need to confirm that you are Yu Sucheon.”
Papapap!
It happened in an instant.
The man drew his sword and swung it at Yu Sucheon.
At a speed too fast to see.
The moment Jeon Akgwan’s mouth fell open in shock—
Crack!
Blood sprayed through the air.
The merchants’ eyes trembled.
To think the chivalrous Yu Sucheon would fall so easily!
‘But… what is this fur?’
White fur scattered along with the blood.
Like heavy snow.
Bang—!
At that moment, Yu Sucheon burst out from between the snow-like white feathers.
Clang!
The man’s sword and Yu Sucheon’s sword clashed.
The inner energy that exploded outward kicked up a cloud of dust, spreading outward from the two of them.
Meeting the man’s eyes, Yu Sucheon bared his teeth.
His eyes gleamed with bloodlust as he spoke.
“You only needed to confirm who I am? I have not even heard your name yet!”