The Sheathed Blade's Mercy
Jang Muhwi smiled.
In that instant, his entire aura transformed completely.
From a tranquil river into a colossal wave that swallowed everything in its path.
Hyeon-gok must have sensed the instinctive threat, because he swung the Cheonroe Sword with even greater ferocity.
The blue lightning qi coiling around the Changryong Sword was so intense that the spectators flinched in reaction.
CRACK!
Hyeon-gok’s blade plunged toward Jang Muhwi’s shoulder.
But before the lightning qi could fully condense at the tip, it scattered into nothing.
Jang Muhwi’s scabbard had already blocked its path.
This was no simple defense.
His scabbard had precisely cut off every route Hyeon-gok’s sword could take.
It neither met the strike head-on nor deflected the lightning.
Hyeon-gok ground his teeth at the unpleasant sensation.
He refused to yield and swung his blade faster, more intricately. The result was the same.
No matter what technique Hyeon-gok attempted, Jang Muhwi read the sword path in advance and moved one step ahead.
When Hyeon-gok tried to channel lightning qi, he severed the flow.
When Hyeon-gok attempted footwork, he stole the space beneath his feet.
The flower known as lightning strike never even got the chance to bloom.
Jang Muhwi was slicing the buds before they could open.
Thus, the lightning could never blossom.
Yet no matter how much Hyeon-gok thought about it, he could not understand the situation.
The Cheonroe Sword was so vicious that he had never revealed it to others until he had mastered it completely.
Its true essence was to burn away even the opponent’s will with lightning qi.
And yet his Cheonroe Sword was being completely blocked?
Before the lightning strike could even bloom?
What infuriated him even more was that the one blocking him was Jang Muhwi.
He had been certain that no one in the Murim Alliance could stop his lightning strike.
He had been convinced that even Baek Mujin—the strongest of the Four Divine Squads—wouldn’t last more than ten exchanges.
But Jang Muhwi?
Hyeon-gok unconsciously let out a strange shout.
“Aah… you bastard!”
“Whoa, whoa. Let’s calm down first.”
Jang Muhwi leisurely blocked Hyeon-gok’s sword path and took a step back.
Hyeon-gok gnashed his teeth.
“You were hiding your true strength?”
“Isn’t it the same for both of us? Doesn’t the Chief still have one final move left? I’d like to see it. Will you show me?”
“You… this bastard.”
Hyeon-gok, who had been repeating the same words, drew even more internal energy from his dantian.
Shhhk.
The lightning energy began racing through his meridians once again.
What Hyeon-gok had received from his maternal grandfather was not only the Cheonroe Sword.
He had also been given the vast collection of spiritual medicines held by the Namgung Clan, the absolute power of Anhui.
The gazes of others no longer mattered.
All that mattered was crushing his opponent.
Faster!
Stronger!
With the internal energy circulating through his entire body, he could push his physique to its absolute limit.
Hyeon-gok’s movements changed.
It felt as if he had suddenly become twice as fast.
Thud, thud, thud!
Hyeon-gok charged at Jang Muhwi again, kicking up clouds of dust.
He thrust the Changryong Sword straight forward.
The tip was aimed directly at Jang Muhwi’s heart.
Anyone could see it was a killing strike.
Hyeon-gok no longer considered this a simple spar.
From now on, it was a fight to the death.
The opponent’s life meant nothing to him.
The spectators were horrified by Hyeon-gok’s lethal intent. His aura had grown far more ferocious.
It was as if he had finally revealed his hidden trump card.
While everyone was shocked, the Thunder Force Sword calmly observed the duel.
He currently favored Hyeon-gok’s chances.
It was true that Jang Muhwi had held his own against Hyeon-gok so far.
The Thunder Force Sword had seen true genius in the way Jang Muhwi completely shut down every path of the Cheonroe Sword.
But that was as far as it went.
With the energy Hyeon-gok was releasing now?
It could not be stopped.
He believed the fierce contest was finally coming to an end.
That was when it happened.
The Thunder Force Sword’s eyes widened.
Jang Muhwi had effortlessly blocked the attack that should have been impossible to stop.
Hyeon-gok’s lightning strike scattered before it could even bloom.
Yet the spectators were marveling at Hyeon-gok’s dazzling swordplay.
The way the lightning qi bloomed and faded repeatedly looked quite spectacular to the average observer.
While everyone was gasping in admiration, Hyeon-gok himself was in utter confusion.
A strange sensation—as if power was being drained from his blade.
He had never felt anything like it before.
After a brief moment of hesitation, Hyeon-gok swung his sword like a madman once more.
This time he targeted Jang Muhwi’s lower body.
The result was identical.
Before his will could even travel through his fingertips into the blade, it dissipated.
Jang Muhwi’s scabbard was once again blocking his sword path.
It was as if the man could read his thoughts in advance and seal off every move.
Srrr.
The lightning energy he had desperately gathered failed to condense at the tip and scattered into the air like pollen.
“Why… why is my sword…!”
Hyeon-gok unconsciously muttered to himself.
At last, he realized the reason.
Jang Muhwi wasn’t simply blocking his attacks.
He was sealing off every single space where Hyeon-gok could extend his sword and exert power.
It was like a spiderweb—meticulously woven across the entire area.
His Cheonroe Sword was nothing more than a butterfly caught in that web.
That was when it happened.
Jang Muhwi’s blade flew toward the crown of Hyeon-gok’s head.
More precisely, it was the scabbard—but its momentum was sharper than any real blade.
Swoosh!
The moment Jang Muhwi’s attack began, the spectators’ jaws dropped.
THUD! THUD-THUD! BOOM!
It was a merciless barrage.
Hyeon-gok tried to block the scabbard slamming down toward his head, but it was useless.
Jang Muhwi’s scabbard knocked his sword aside.
WHACK!
Then it struck his shoulder and elbow simultaneously.
It was fortunate that it wasn’t a real blade.
Had it been a true sword, the strikes were sharp enough to have dismembered him completely.
Finally, a pained groan escaped Hyeon-gok’s lips.
“Ugh!”
The spectators pointed at Jang Muhwi in shock.
“T-that’s…!”
“A scabbard? He’s doing that with a scabbard…?”
“That’s impossible! What kind of speed and precision is that?”
The spectators stared wide-eyed, unable to even blink.
At first, everyone had been puzzled that Jang Muhwi was fighting with his sword sheathed.
But now they understood what it meant.
“Wait a second. Then the reason he tied his scabbard earlier… no way!”
“If he had drawn his real sword… Chief Hyeon-gok would already be…”
“So he was showing consideration for his opponent by fighting with the scabbard?!”
An uproar spread across the entire training ground.
Jang Muhwi’s behavior had not been arrogance.
It was consideration born from an overwhelming difference in skill.
Someone murmured softly.
“This is what a true master’s bearing looks like!”
“But the Blue Dragon Chief’s Cheonroe Sword was also incredible, wasn’t it?”
“The one who broke it—rather, the Xuanwu Chief’s scabbard—is even more impressive.”
“Haha…”
Some people laughed in disbelief.
Just as every eye was focused on Jang Muhwi, Hyeon-gok raised the Changryong Sword once more.
“You… you bastard…”
Hyeon-gok bit his lip as if he had come to a decision.
Then he glared at Jang Muhwi.
“This is all your fault. You said you wanted to see my final hidden move, didn’t you? Fine! I’ll show you.”
Having finished speaking, Hyeon-gok took a new stance.
It was completely different from before.
He lowered the tip of his sword extremely close to the ground.
Jang Muhwi shrugged.
“By all means.”
With those words, he crooked his index finger in a beckoning gesture.
Everyone swallowed dryly at the sudden change in Hyeon-gok’s aura.
Hyeon-gok ignored the stares and focused solely on the Changryong Sword.
Blue lightning qi began to condense.
Then, in moments, the blue energy turned pitch black.
It was true what some painter had once said: the deeper the blue, the blacker it became.
That was exactly what was happening to Hyeon-gok’s Changryong Sword.
The technique he was about to unleash was Cheonroe Myeolgeop—Heavenly Lightning Annihilation.
If the Cheonroe Sword had been created by the Thunder Force Sword after witnessing a lightning strike, then Cheonroe Myeolgeop was the lightning strike itself.
When performed properly, it was a technique no opponent could block! Even if not performed perfectly, it was said that no one among the younger generation could withstand it.
This was no arrogance.
A ferocious energy suddenly engulfed Jang Muhwi.
Yet even before that violent force, Jang Muhwi remained completely unshaken.
Instead, his eyes grew even deeper as he gazed at his opponent.
Hyeon-gok’s energy was stronger than before.
On top of that, his sword speed had increased as well.
There were no longer any openings like the ones he had shown earlier.
Of course, those had been openings only against ordinary opponents.
Jang Muhwi’s eyes pierced straight through Hyeon-gok’s sword path.
He also knew that this move was Hyeon-gok’s final desperate struggle.
The problem was that in his current state, even Hyeon-gok’s own meridians would not survive unscathed.
Jang Muhwi looked at him with a hollow expression.
That determination to destroy his opponent even if it meant ruining his own body.
The only issue was that the direction of that determination was aimed at him.
Jang Muhwi decided he needed to thoroughly shatter that will.
His eyes flashed as he sliced through Hyeon-gok’s sword path with a single decisive strike.
WHACK!
In that instant, Hyeon-gok’s momentum was severed.
Jang Muhwi leaped into his opponent’s embrace.
He poured his energy into the scabbard.
‘Ilseom!’
The massive energy concentrated in the scabbard.
It was aimed directly at Hyeon-gok’s abdomen.
BANG!
Hyeon-gok’s body was hurled backward.
In the same moment, Jang Muhwi closed in on the flying Hyeon-gok.
BANG!
Jang Muhwi’s scabbard slammed down on the Changryong Sword.
Hyeon-gok was helplessly pushed back.
Jang Muhwi extended his weapon again.
BANG!
With a sharp crack through the air, Hyeon-gok was driven back once more.
No four characters could describe the situation better than soksu-muchaek—completely helpless.
Hyeon-gok’s mind was filled with nothing but the thought of enduring as he struggled just to block Jang Muhwi’s attacks.
Gradually pushed back, Hyeon-gok was driven all the way to the edge of the sparring platform.
At the edge of the platform stood a massive drum prepared to signal the beginning and end of the match.
Jang Muhwi continued his relentless assault.
BANG. BANG!
Jang Muhwi’s strikes carefully avoided Hyeon-gok’s vital points.
The saying “even a dog has its day” fit the situation perfectly.
Suddenly, the drum sounded.
BOOM!
Hyeon-gok’s body, driven backward, had struck the drum.
BOOM!
As the drum continued to sound, the spectators swallowed dryly.
The right hand of Hyeon-gok, still gripping the Changryong Sword, slowly lowered.
THUD!
Hyeon-gok’s body collapsed powerlessly to the ground.
The people’s eyes widened.
The Murim elders were astonished by the dismantling techniques Jang Muhwi had displayed, but the lower-ranked warriors and spectators were stunned by his final move.
It was only natural—the power they had witnessed was simply too overwhelming.
Everyone was swallowing nervously when it happened.
Hyeon-gok slowly rose to his feet.
But he staggered as if he had lost all strength.
Those who saw the swaying Hyeon-gok all let out sighs of relief.
Some had even worried that he might have died after taking Jang Muhwi’s brutal strikes with his entire body.
That was when it happened.
Jang Muhwi reached toward Hyeon-gok like a gust of wind.
SWISH!
Everyone’s eyes widened.
Now that they thought about it, it was Hyeon-gok who had struck the drum.
Chief Wang Jimak had not yet declared the end of the match.
Nor had Hyeon-gok declared surrender.
Up until now, Hyeon-gok had shown clear killing intent toward Jang Muhwi.
Once a counterattack had begun, a warrior was expected to see it through to the end.
Since Hyeon-gok had used lethal techniques, it was only natural!
The spectators watching them swallowed dryly once more.
But only for a moment. Then they tilted their heads in confusion.
Jang Muhwi had not reached out to finish Hyeon-gok.
With his hand extended calmly, Jang Muhwi spoke in a composed voice.
“Is that all you have to show me, Chief Hyeon-gok?”
“…”
Hyeon-gok silently took Jang Muhwi’s hand.
He did so because of the look in Jang Muhwi’s eyes.
Though his voice was gentle, his gaze clearly said that if Hyeon-gok refused, he would send him flying again.
Only then did Hyeon-gok realize that Jang Muhwi was an existence he could never hope to challenge.
In both martial arts and tactical insight.
At that moment, someone’s voice broke the silence.
“To show consideration for his opponent until the very end.”
“Exactly. Even though his opponent used killing techniques, he still thought of the other person like that. Truly remarkable.”
That was only the beginning.
While everyone buzzed with conversation, Jang Muhwi helped Hyeon-gok to his feet.