The Shifting Stars
Namgung Yeong intended to “end this quickly.” The moment the duel began, he unleashed a sword qi toward Moyong Gwang. There was no need to invoke the Imperial Sword Form; the thunder qi of the Flash Thunder Thirteen Sword Lightning alone would suffice. Yet Moyong Gwang evaded the strike with the Moyong Clan’s movement art, Phantom Flight, and immediately drew the Heaven-Earth Breaking Flash Sword, charging straight at Namgung Yeong.
Chae-ae-ae-aeng!
“Starting with such recklessness, are we?”
“This hardly qualifies as reckless.”
Moyong Gwang’s blade was fierce and swift. The Moyong Clan’s sword arts had long incorporated the principles of swift swords, and Namgung Yeong had no intention of using the Imperial Sword Form. He was wary of the Moyong Clan’s secret art, the Star Shifting Art. Though its name evoked the Big Dipper’s seasonal rotation around the North Star, the technique allowed its user to reverse an opponent’s force and return it with even greater power. At first glance it resembled the Redirecting Art, yet it was fundamentally different. Where the Redirecting Art merely deflected and returned an attack, the Star Shifting Art absorbed the strike and infused it with the user’s own inner force before hurling it back. In other words, if Namgung Yeong attacked with the Imperial Sword Form, he would have to withstand the same technique amplified by Moyong Gwang’s own power. The resulting exchange would be heavy, fast, and devastating. Thus, Namgung Yeong avoided invoking the Imperial Sword Form whenever possible.
“Huuup!!”
Kigigigigik!
Of course, Moyong Gwang paid no heed to such concerns. The instant he sensed Namgung Yeong’s caution, he poured every ounce of strength into each strike, driving his opponent into a corner. Occasionally, the thunder qi leaping from Namgung Yeong’s body numbed Moyong Gwang’s hands, weakening his grip on the sword.
So this is the head of the Namgung Clan. The title Thunder Sword is no empty boast.
Thunder Sword Namgung Yeong—that had been his epithet before he ascended to the position of Murim Alliance Leader. His specialty was seizing the battlefield with the Imperial Sword Form, then overwhelming foes with merciless thunder-infused strikes. Now, however, he fought using only the Flash Thunder Thirteen Sword Lightning, holding back his full strength, yet he and Moyong Gwang remained evenly matched.
“As expected, the Moyong Patriarch is a step behind.”
“Still, the outcome won’t be decided until the very end. The Moyong Patriarch has quite the temper.”
“Honestly, I thought he wouldn’t stand a chance, but he’s holding his own. The Moyong Patriarch has changed since the old days.”
Among the Five Great Clans, Moyong Gwang had once been the weakest patriarch. Yet at some point he had begun an astonishing ascent, reaching a level that could now rival the Alliance Leader himself. The spectators who had believed victory impossible now dared to hope as they watched the two men clash.
How troublesome.
Namgung Yeong found it difficult to adjust to Moyong Gwang’s movements, which left afterimages as he darted about with Phantom Flight. Accustomed to facing slowed opponents under the Imperial Sword Form, he struggled to catch an enemy who moved with the agility of a mountain tiger. Perhaps his battlefield instincts had dulled during his years away from real combat. Moyong Gwang, by contrast, moved like a fish in water, raining blows upon Namgung Yeong as though he had been waiting for this very day.
The Moyong Clan’s mental cultivation art, the Heaven-Earth Invincible Art, grew stronger the more fluidly its user’s strikes flowed. Against Namgung Yeong, who could not employ the Imperial Sword Form and was limited to the Flash Thunder Thirteen Sword Lightning, it granted Moyong Gwang an enormous advantage. The only problem was that Namgung Yeong had yet to draw upon the full power of the Azure Sky Thunder God Art. Moyong Gwang knew exactly why.
Namgung Yeong fears the Star Shifting Art. He dreads having his own power turned against him.
That was why Namgung Yeong continued to fight with smaller, controlled strikes rather than committing to overwhelming attacks—an ideal situation for Moyong Gwang. Yet Moyong Gwang remained calm, carefully observing Namgung Yeong’s footwork. Step by step, he circled, searching for an opening. The moment one appeared, he intended to activate the Imperial Sword Form and strike. Until now, the duel had been nothing more than a probing exchange. If it continued in this superficial manner, Moyong Gwang would inevitably lose; the difference in inner force between them was simply too great, and while he moved constantly, Namgung Yeong waited like a predator, barely stirring.
In that case…
“Huuuup!!”
Moyong Gwang drew a deep breath, and a brilliant light blazed in his eyes. Behind him, the vast image of a galaxy began to manifest. The Moyong Clan’s strongest sword art, the Galaxy Flow—the Galaxy Meteor Sword Art—revealed its magnificent form.
“That sword art…!”
“The Galaxy Meteor Sword Art! To think the Moyong Patriarch could wield it!”
The Galaxy Meteor Sword Art had been created by the first patriarch of the Moyong Clan. Its name came from the way its movements resembled meteors falling from countless galaxies. Throughout the clan’s history, fewer than three patriarchs had ever mastered it. Yet Moyong Gwang now unleashed the technique without the slightest sign of strain.
“Take this!!”
“..!”
Namgung Yeong, who had been calmly parrying Moyong Gwang’s blade, was momentarily shaken by the sudden shift in his opponent’s aura. He quickly regained his composure and met the falling meteors with his thunder-infused sword.
Kwaaaang!
“Kugh!”
“Still far from enough!”
Even so, Namgung Yeong failed to completely block the strike. The meteor-like sword qi forced him back several steps. Moyong Gwang extended his arm and thrust toward Namgung Yeong’s throat, riding the momentum. In that moment of absolute peril—
Kuuuung!
“Kek!”
“If it’s a contest of raw power, I’ll oblige you.”
The heavy inner force of the Imperial Sword Form filled the dueling platform, and an immense gravitational field bound Moyong Gwang’s movements. Namgung Yeong did not miss the opening. While Moyong Gwang’s speed faltered, he finally unleashed the secret technique he had been holding in reserve.
Pajijijijik!
“This is called the Azure Heaven Jade Thunder Divine Sword. Try and withstand it!”
“Kuuuugh!!”
Moyong Gwang’s eyes widened at the lightning bolt descending upon him. There was no time to activate the Star Shifting Art. The thunderbolt fell with terrifying speed, driving him relentlessly toward the edge of the platform. With both men now employing their ultimate techniques, the balance of the duel began to tilt decisively.
“The Moyong Patriarch… cannot exert his full strength.”
“A shame after all that anticipation. He must not have fully mastered the Galaxy Meteor Sword Art.”
“Wait. It isn’t over yet.”
Driven to the very brink of the platform, Moyong Gwang stood before an abyss with no room left to retreat. He raised his sword with serene composure and glared at Namgung Yeong, who had already dismissed the Imperial Sword Form and now regarded him with calm detachment.
“If you yield now, I will not press further. Surrender.”
“I will not surrender.”
“This is pointless resistance, Moyong Patriarch. You cannot defeat me.”
“We won’t know until we try, will we?”
“…How foolish.”
Shwaaaak!
Namgung Yeong launched a sudden sword qi. Moyong Gwang made no attempt to dodge or block it; instead, he took the attack head-on.
“Kuhk!”
“Moyong Patriarch! Have you lost your mind?!”
“If you thought this was the end, you were mistaken.”
“..!”
Kururururung.
As Moyong Gwang stomped the ground after receiving the sword qi with his body, the entire platform began to tremble. It felt as though an enormous calamity, far beyond the Imperial Sword Form, was about to descend. At the same time, the Heaven-Earth Invincible Art erupted explosively from his body.
“What… is this…”
“You may know of the Star Shifting Art, but you never understood how it is truly used.”
“What?”
“Behold. This is the true essence of the Moyong Clan!”
KuoOOOOOO!
The Heaven-Earth Invincible Art that surged from Moyong Gwang traced the constellation of the Big Dipper. A flustered Namgung Yeong tried to seize control of the surrounding space with the Imperial Sword Form, but the mass of inner force blooming from Moyong Gwang’s body had already transformed the dueling platform into a single galaxy. And Namgung Yeong was nothing more than a speck of cosmic dust within that galaxy.
“Uwaaaaaah!!”
In a final desperate effort, Namgung Yeong gathered every last trace of inner force remaining in his body and unleashed it in a single strike. It was sword aura, a power that could only be wielded upon reaching the threshold of the Transcendent Realm. The peak Hwagyeong-level Namgung Yeong had poured it all into this attack.
“Sword aura!”
“To think the Alliance Leader could use sword aura!!”
The spectators cried out in shock and leapt to their feet. Moyong Gwang, however, merely smiled as he watched the sword aura approach. After all, the Star Shifting Art had only just begun.
“I’ll make good use of that sword aura.”
“..!”
The sword aura, carrying the force to crush everything in its path, was absorbed into the Big Dipper constellation that had formed above Moyong Gwang’s head before it could even reach him. Moyong Gwang’s hand, glowing with azure light, traced a gentle diagonal line. Yet that gentle motion produced anything but a gentle result.
Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!!
Galaxy Flow—Galaxy Meteor Sword Art, secret technique: Meteor Cataclysm Rain swallowed Namgung Yeong whole.