The Path of the Moon Spirit
Clang! Clang, clang!
A rapid succession of clashes. Everyone's attention was captured by the spectacle of clashing swords.
In the highest pavilion situated on one side of the sparring arena, a giant of an old man looked down at the stage with dry, sunken eyes.
"..."
The old man was none other than the current leader of the Murim Alliance and a hero of the Great War between Justice and Evil.
He was the Divine Spear, Jeok Ho-myeong.
With calm eyes, he watched the two figures on the stage.
No, not two. From the very beginning, the Divine Spear had his eyes fixed on only one person.
The handsome young man who was parrying every single strike from Un-ryong of the Wudang Sect, one of the Seven Great Talents.
The successor of the Sword Saint, the Young Sword Saint, Bang Seong-yeon.
As he watched the duel without so much as blinking, someone approached and spoke from beside him.
"What do you think?"
"..."
It was a slender old man with a cold impression—Jegal Jin, the Alliance's chief strategist and a fellow hero of the Great War, known as Cheonli Jinan.
He directed his question to the Divine Spear, who was watching the duel with interest.
Hearing the question, the Divine Spear looked at Jegal Jin and asked back, "About what?"
"That duel down there. Is he doing well?"
At Jegal Jin's words, the Divine Spear turned his gaze back to the arena.
"Which one do you mean?"
"..."
If asked whether he was doing well, which of the two was he referring to? Hearing this, Jegal Jin's face contorted.
"If you're going to joke, I won't bother asking."
Jegal Jin snapped, annoyed that the man was playing dumb when it was obvious who he meant.
Just as he was about to step away, the Divine Spear offered his assessment while looking at Jegal Jin.
"It is fascinating."
Who was this assessment directed at? That, too, did not need to be asked.
"Fascinating?"
"Yes, fascinating."
Hearing that evaluation, Jegal Jin looked back down at the arena.
Clang! Clang, clang!
Un-ryong of Wudang was relentlessly unleashing his sword against Bang Seong-yeon.
Yet Bang Seong-yeon was blocking them all as if it were nothing.
To an ordinary observer, the difference in skill seemed obvious.
It had to be. Un-ryong was frantically thrusting his sword without pause, while Bang Seong-yeon was effortlessly parrying every blow.
"Are you saying his strength is fascinating?"
Asking if it was Seong-yeon's strength that was fascinating, Jegal Jin watched as the Divine Spear gave a slight shake of his head.
"He is not strong."
"Hmm?"
"That is precisely why it is fascinating."
"What do you mean by that?"
When Jegal Jin prompted him for an explanation, the Divine Spear pointed a thick finger toward Un-ryong.
"In terms of realm and what he possesses, Un-ryong is superior."
Jegal Jin's face contorted at those words.
Un-ryong was stronger?
To say that, when...
Clang!
"Ugh!"
Once again, Un-ryong's sword failed to reach Bang Seong-yeon and was deflected back.
Just as Jegal Jin wondered how the Divine Spear could claim Seong-yeon was weaker while watching this, the old man spoke as if to help him understand.
"Because he moves first."
"Before the opponent's movements can gain momentum, he arrives first and disrupts them. That is why he can handle him with far less force."
"Arriving first... If he is capable of that, how can you say he is weaker?"
"That is why I call it fascinating."
He was weaker, yet he was faster.
His movements were delicate and unhesitating, as if he predicted every single one of his opponent's actions.
The Divine Spear watched this with wonder.
Was it talent? It was difficult to attribute it solely to that.
Occasionally, they appeared—those who could predict their opponent's movements and move as if they had seen the future.
The current masters of the Heavens Beyond Heaven, including the Divine Spear himself, were like that.
The geniuses of the younger generation, known as the Seven Great Talents, were similar.
Among them, the one who possessed a talent of an entirely different caliber was Yoo Chun-gil.
In this regard, even the Divine Spear had to acknowledge that Yoo Chun-gil possessed an extraordinary eye.
But this is different.
That boy was somehow different.
There was something about him that couldn't be explained by mere talent.
It was alien, contradictory.
Something deep inside told the Divine Spear that it was different, but he couldn't pinpoint exactly how.
That was why he found it fascinating.
Though he acted similarly to Yoo Chun-gil, there was a fundamental difference.
"..."
Blocking every attack while positioning himself in the most advantageous spot.
Bang Seong-yeon was doing exactly that, from start to finish.
He was still green.
The Divine Spear had previously evaluated Bang Seong-yeon that way, but...
Perhaps... he is more mature than I thought.
Just as he felt the need to revise his evaluation, a change occurred.
"Ugh!"
The distance between Seong-yeon and Un-ryong widened.
At that moment, a change occurred.
Swoosh.
An incomplete sword force began to coat Un-ryong's sword.
The Divine Spear narrowed his eyes.
It wasn't that Un-ryong had successfully seized the right moment to manifest his sword force.
Rather, Bang Seong-yeon had deliberately allowed Un-ryong to manifest it.
Why?
If he clashed head-on with Un-ryong in a conventional manner, he would lose.
Bang Seong-yeon had to know this. That was why he had conducted the duel with such meticulous care until now.
It made no sense that he was giving his opponent an opening at this stage.
What is he planning?
What is he trying to show? What is he thinking? The Divine Spear's dry eyes focused intently on Bang Seong-yeon.
What was on his mind?
Could he be conscious of the crowd's reaction?
If he was merely playing to the crowd because the duel was dragging on, then it was meaningless.
The Divine Spear would lose all interest in him.
His interest existed solely because the boy was the successor of the Sword Saint.
That would have been a perfect reason to dismiss him instantly, but...
Swoooosh!
The Divine Spear's eyes widened slightly as he saw the sword force rising from Bang Seong-yeon's blade.
That is...
It was that.
The Gwangwolseomgyeong.
The sword force of an entirely different dimension, which only Yoo Chun-gil had used even within Cheongwol Gate.
How many members of the Demonic Cult, how many enemies had been cut down by that moonlight?
That light had been an object of pure terror to the enemies Yoo Chun-gil faced.
Yet now, a sword force that no one in Cheongwol Gate had been able to recreate since the death of the Sword Saint was manifesting on this young man's blade.
He had already read the report stating that Seong-yeon had used sword force in the first preliminary round.
But seeing it in person was a completely different feeling.
It was true.
To think he would witness that sword force once again.
Clench.
The Divine Spear clenched his fist, the corners of his mouth curving upward.
"...Alliance Leader, are you smiling?"
Jegal Jin reacted with surprise at the change in the Divine Spear's expression.
For the Divine Spear to smile—it was something Jegal Jin hadn't seen in years.
The Divine Spear paid no attention to Jegal Jin's reaction.
His eyes were fixed solely on Bang Seong-yeon's sword.
The Gwangwolseomgyeong was incredibly beautiful, but even so, relying on that alone to face Un-ryong would be slightly insufficient.
That was why he anticipated more.
Since it was said that the boy had killed an unorthodox master in Sichuan, perhaps...
Can he use that?
Could he use not just the Gwangwolseomgyeong, but something else as well?
Such anticipation welled up within him.
While the Divine Spear watched Bang Seong-yeon with bated breath, Bang Seong-yeon's sword moved toward the charging Un-ryong.
It drew a perfect circle.
The speed was not particularly fast. The power did not seem very strong either.
The sword, gentle as if swaying in the breeze, looked as though it could never block Un-ryong's sword, which was flying in with enough force to shatter anything in its path.
But.
"Ha!"
The Divine Spear laughed aloud at the sight.
At his voice, all the Alliance officials nearby turned to look at him.
At that moment,
Clang—!
With a sharp, ringing sound, Un-ryong's sword shattered.
The fragments of the sword crumbled and scattered through the air.
"Haha, hahaha!"
Watching this, the Divine Spear laughed even louder.
He had witnessed it with his own eyes. From Bang Seong-yeon's display just now, the Divine Spear was certain.
That boy could use it.
The very thing that all demons and unorthodox martial artists feared so deeply.
The very thing that the Divine Spear himself had feared, yet yearned to defeat.
The ultimate technique of Cheongwol Gate, which only Yoo Chun-gil could wield.
The Moon Spirit Sword Path.
Bang Seong-yeon could use it.
After the duel ended, I stepped down from the arena amidst the cheers of the crowd.
"Whoaaaaaa!"
"The Young Sword Saint beat Un-ryong!"
The defeat of one of the Seven Great Talents must have been quite a shock to the audience, as the cheering showed no signs of stopping.
Moreover, since I was already the talk of the Central Plains, the fact that Un-ryong had lost to me seemed to carry significant weight.
"The Young Sword Saint toyed with Un-ryong."
"The rumors that he looks down on the Seven Great Talents are true."
"Just how strong is the Young Sword Saint?"
And so on and so forth.
By the time all sorts of wild claims were flying around just because of one victory, I had to cover my eyes with my palm the moment I stepped down from the stage.
"Argh..."
"It feels like they're burning off..."
My eyeballs felt like they were on fire.
A searing pain throbbed in my burning eyes, as if I had suffered actual physical burns.
"Whew..."
It had lasted only a split second.
I had only swung my sword once, but the backlash was incredibly severe.
"Ugh..."
As I kept my eyes closed, struggling against the pain, a harsh voice rang out, prompting me to look back.
"This... this makes no sense!"
Squinting through my barely open eyes, I saw Un-ryong screaming at the top of his lungs.
"There's no way... no way I could lose!"
Unable to accept his defeat, he shrieked, spraying spit everywhere.
What is wrong with that guy?
It was pretty pathetic to watch him throw such a tantrum, but before he could scream any further, he was dragged away by the Alliance staff.
"...I...! I am...!"
Then, Un-ryong's gaze snapped toward me.
I could instantly feel his hostility and rage.
"Geez."
Seeing that made me feel a bit regretful. I should have beaten him up a little more.
I need to get used to this backlash before I can do anything else.
As I rubbed my eyes in pain, Yoo Chun-gil spoke to me.
[Still, just maintaining it is not bad.]
"..."
I received praise, but I didn't feel particularly good about it.
Because, quite literally, maintaining it was all I did.
...After all that suffering in seclusion and the Spiritual Dream.
To think that barely maintaining it was the best I could do.
It was simply absurd.
Why is this so damn hard?
I thought, holding back a sigh.
It was the power I had obtained during my seclusion—the Moon Spirit Sword Path.
He had called it the ultimate technique of the Blue Moon Sword Dance.
It was what happened when the true form of the Moon Eye manifested and the power of the Cheongwol Mind Method properly permeated the body.
And that was...
It reveals the path of the sword.
The path of the moon guides the direction the sword must take.
Yoo Chun-gil had said that was the Moon Spirit Sword Dance.
The awakening of the Moon Eye, which revealed the opponent's movements through internal energy.
When it evolved further, the Moon Eye would now show the path I needed to take.
He called that the Moon Spirit Sword Path.
It revealed the optimal path for the sword.
It was an incredibly cheat-like power.
The conditions were the awakening of the Moon Eye and the use of the Gwangwolseomgyeong.
If those two conditions were met, the Moon Eye would undergo a second awakening, allowing the use of the Moon Spirit Sword Path.
The problem was...
...I can't even maintain it properly.
The backlash from a single activation was too intense to sustain it for long.
Of course, as severe as the backlash was, the results were guaranteed.
It was true now, and it had been true during the preliminaries. When the sword path guided me and I simply cut along it, I easily sliced through a pillar that no one else could damage.
...Can this even be called martial arts?
At this point, it felt strange to even call it a martial art.
But I knew it was an absurdly powerful ability.
If I can just master this properly...
It felt like a power that could truly make me the greatest in the world.
As I kept cooling down my eyes with those thoughts in mind, Yoo Chun-gil stopped mid-warning.
[Do not use it again today. Not that you'll have any reason to, but if you push yourself, it might cause permanent—hm?]
What was it?
Just as I wondered why he had suddenly paused, someone spoke to me.
"That was a truly wonderful duel."
Enduring the pain in my eyes, I looked up to see a beautiful woman who appeared to be around my age.
Who was she?
Her presence here meant she was a young genius participating in the Yongbong Association...
I don't recognize her face.
She was a complete stranger. Had she been at the banquet and I just missed her?
As I stared at her in confusion, the woman smiled brightly and began to introduce herself.
"Ah, I am—"
Yoo Chun-gil's eyes widened as he stared at her.
Then he spoke.
[...Huh?]
[Yeon Hui-seon?]
Yeon Hui-seon?
Was she someone Yoo Chun-gil knew?
But how did that old ghost know a member of the younger generation?
As my confusion grew, a name flashed in my mind.
...Wait, why does that name sound so familiar?
It was a name I felt I should know.
Yeon Hui-seon? Yeon Hui-seon...
Ah.
It came to me.
If she was Yeon Hui-seon...
"You're the Sword Queen."
"The beauty of the Guangdong Mi—"
"...Huh?"
"?"
I blurted it out before she could even finish her introduction.
At my words, the woman's body stiffened completely.