Psssh.
Blood sprayed from the shoulder of Wi Hyeok-gun, who was holding his defensive stance.
If his posture deviated even slightly, or if his spirit wavered for even a moment… the sword energy of the Heon Won Bright Sword enveloping his body would instantly pierce through.
Bu Eunseol, too, remained motionless with his sword extended.
In truth, the Heon Won Bright Sword he had just unleashed was not fully complete.
The technique only concluded when the opponent’s breathing ceased.
Bu Eunseol continuously poured inner energy into maintaining the shape of the sword energy wrapped around Wi Hyeok-gun’s body.
Meanwhile, Wi Hyeok-gun held his perfect defensive posture and searched for a way to break the Heon Won Bright Sword.
‘So that is the Sword King Seon Woojin’s sword art.’
The gathered martial artists held their breath and watched the scene.
No matter how diverse the martial world’s techniques might be, to recreate the enemy’s exact form with sword energy in such a way that neither evasion nor defense was possible?
Most of the martial artists, unfamiliar with the Heon Won Bright Sword, mistook it for a highly unique and terrifying new sword art created by Seon Woojin—one that shattered the common principles of swordsmanship scattered across the martial world.
Chik. Chik-chik-chik.
At that moment, sparks suddenly began flying from Wi Hyeok-gun’s Red Advantage sword along with a grating friction sound, even as he maintained his defensive stance.
Though he appeared calm, he was responding to the changes in the Heon Won Bright Sword with extremely minute movements of his blade.
One second, two seconds, fifteen seconds… thirty seconds.
He slowly counted the roughly one hundred and eighty variations of sword forms surrounding his body, and one by one, he began dismantling them.
Shwaaaa!
Suddenly a piercing sword cry from the Red Advantage echoed across the entirety of Poseok Island.
A round wave of energy formed at the furiously spinning tip of the blade and gradually expanded into something enormous.
Boom!
The massive wave of energy erupted in a brilliant explosion, then scattered outward as hundreds of fragments carried by a gale.
Paaaaah.
A storm that seemed capable of sweeping the world clean, along with countless points of light crumbling like sand, filled the plain.
As millions of radiant specks flooded the area, the spectators felt as though they were witnessing a beautiful fireworks display made of pure light.
“Ooooh!”
Just as the martial artists watching the sword art unconsciously let out gasps of admiration,
Shwaaaak!
With a sound sharp enough to tear eardrums, the sword light that had filled the plain vanished all at once.
At the same moment, the two figures became visible again.
Bu Eunseol still held his sword extended in the same posture.
Wi Hyeok-gun likewise maintained his defensive stance unchanged.
But the sword energy of the Heon Won Bright Sword that had enveloped Wi Hyeok-gun’s body was now gone.
‘The sword art has been broken!’
The crowd widened their eyes and shouted inwardly in shock.
The profound technique of Seon Woojin had ultimately been shattered by Wi Hyeok-gun’s hand.
“What a pity.” Wi Hyeok-gun gave a faint smile. “If it had been the complete technique, that single move would have taken my head.”
The Sword Demon, Wi Hyeok-gun—the man said to wield the sword best in the Demonic path—had instantly seen through the fact that Bu Eunseol’s Heon Won Bright Sword, with its one hundred and eighty variations, was not perfectly executed.
It was an incomplete sword art.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
Yet beneath Wi Hyeok-gun’s legs, red blood was steadily dripping to the ground.
Though he had found the minute flaws in the Heon Won Bright Sword and dismantled its changes one by one, because he had broken the technique while still enveloped in the sword energy, large and small wounds had opened across his entire body.
Even so, a victorious smile lingered on his lips.
“If you have no sword art more powerful than that single move…”
The cold gleam in Wi Hyeok-gun’s eyes fixed firmly on Bu Eunseol’s face.
“…then you die.”
Kuuung!
At the same moment, a low vibration sounded from somewhere.
It was like the echo that reverberates in the heart after receiving a tremendous mental shock.
The spectators looked around in confusion.
Where on earth was that sudden vibration coming from?
Pat!
Suddenly Bu Eunseol sprang nearly five zhang into the air, spun violently in midair with a somersault, and landed back on the ground.
‘Is he suddenly showing off his qinggong?’
The crowd tilted their heads in puzzlement but then, as though on cue, they all let out a collective gasp.
Where Bu Eunseol had stood moments before, a sharp sword energy now shot skyward.
It had simply been too transparent to see clearly with the naked eye.
Drip. Drip. Drip.
But something was strange.
Even though he had somersaulted perfectly to evade the technique, blood was flowing from Bu Eunseol’s back.
“There’s more above!” Someone in the crowd shouted out.
It turned out the sword energy had not only surged from the ground but had also poured down from overhead.
It was the second form of the Hwa Wu Sword: High and Low Mutual Inclination.
“Hmm.”
Even though Bu Eunseol had narrowly avoided High and Low Mutual Inclination, he did not immediately counterattack. Wi Hyeok-gun’s gaze turned icy.
“So that single opening move was all you had?”
The Heon Won Bright Sword Bu Eunseol had displayed moments ago possessed such mysterious power that even Wi Hyeok-gun could not guarantee victory or defeat against it.
But because it had not been a perfect technique, he had been able to unravel its changes and launch an immediate counter.
Yet even after sensing the High and Low Mutual Inclination form, Bu Eunseol had not met it with swordsmanship. Instead, he had deliberately evaded it with footwork.
Which meant he had no sword art capable of breaking the Hwa Wu Sword and striking back.
That first Heon Won Bright Sword was the entirety of Seon Woojin’s arsenal.
“Hahaha.”
Having grasped the full situation, Wi Hyeok-gun burst into incredulous laughter.
“Hahahaha!”
After laughing heartily for a long while, he shook his head in disbelief.
“What a madman.”
Contempt poured from Wi Hyeok-gun’s eyes.
He had thought that with the grandiose title of Sword King, the man must have mastered some extraordinary sword art.
Yet it turned out he had dared to challenge him relying only on an incomplete opening move.
“Did you think this duel was some friendly spar where being half a move ahead guarantees victory?” Wi Hyeok-gun muttered lowly. “This is a life-and-death battle—where you must sever the throat, pierce the heart, and completely sever the limbs.”
Flash!
The Red Advantage once again emitted a dazzling gleam.
No more conversation was necessary.
No need to pause the assault to let the opponent catch his breath.
From now on, he would attack without cease until he severed that bastard’s head and shredded his heart.
Kwaaa!
In the time it would take to flick a finger, Wi Hyeok-gun unleashed seventy-two sword strikes in a chaotic barrage.
Though it appeared as though he poured out different forms one after another, in reality it was all executed in a single instant.
The fourth form of the Hwa Wu Sword: Unfathomable and Unpredictable.
Kwaaa!
The sword forms pouring in every direction transformed into sword energy that surged like a tidal wave along with condensed force, devouring every possible space for evasion and enveloping Bu Eunseol’s body.
‘He has no technique to counter this.’
Wi Hyeok-gun wore a sardonic smile.
He had already seen through the fact that, aside from the incomplete opening Heon Won Bright Sword, Seon Woojin had not mastered any orthodox sword art of comparable level.
Slash-slash-slash!
At that moment Bu Eunseol swung the Silent Tiger Soul Sword and unfolded a gentle sword art.
It was a rather refined but utterly lacking in power—second-rate orthodox swordsmanship.
The Vast Heaven Sword Art.
Sssk.
Yet with the sound of paper being sliced, the Vast Heaven Sword Art Bu Eunseol unleashed was completely erased by the sword energy Wi Hyeok-gun had created.
Now he would inevitably have his head severed.
Shiiik!
But something strange happened.
Suddenly a sharp condensed force shot out and began clashing against the pouring sword energy.
It was not the Silent Tiger Soul Sword that had used the Vast Heaven Sword Art but the energy extending from his left hand.
He had unfolded the Thirteen Guiding Energies using the single fist technique Empty Fist One Form, which he had learned in the Martial Emperor’s Secret Vault.
The Empty Fist One Form was a light, cloud-like single punch, yet the accompanying Thirteen Guiding Energies possessed terrifying destructive power capable of collapsing even Mount Tai.
Shiiik! Shiiik!
The Thirteen Guiding Energies instantly pierced through Wi Hyeok-gun’s sword energy, creating a minute gap.
Bu Eunseol did not miss the opportunity—he threw himself straight into that gap.
Kwaang!
The spot where Bu Eunseol had stood a moment earlier exploded with a thunderous sound.
He had escaped from the form he had just endured—the fourth form of the Hwa Wu Sword, Unfathomable and Unpredictable.
Psssh!
Even though he had moved three zhang out of the sword’s range, blood still gushed from Bu Eunseol’s shoulder.
Had the overwhelming power of the Thirteen Guiding Energies not created that opening, his body would have been torn into dozens of pieces.
Flash!
Wi Hyeok-gun gave Bu Eunseol not even a moment to breathe.
Closing the distance like a ghost, he unleashed a relentless series of lethal sword strikes.
Sss-sss-sss!
Each time sharp lines were carved through the air, nearby trees and rocks turned to powder and scattered, and gales roared in every direction.
The spectators closest to the duel site began to retreat step by step.
Even though they stood dozens of zhang away, the skin touched by the sword wind felt as though it were being torn apart.
‘So this is the Sword Demon…’
The term “Sword Demon” meaning the foremost swordsman of the Demonic path had at some point become the hereditary title passed down through generations of the Hwa Wu Sword Sect’s swordsmen, a name that commanded awe in the Demonic martial world.
Because of this, the Hwa Wu Sword Sect had sometimes been criticized for using the sect’s prestige to cling to the title “Sword Demon.”
But that was a false rumor.
The Demonic path was extremely fair.
It precisely distinguished those qualified to bear the title of foremost Demonic swordsman and bestowed the name accordingly.
It was simply that the disciples of the Hwa Wu Sword Sect had overwhelmingly dominated, and so almost everyone qualified to claim the title of foremost Demonic swordsman had been from the Hwa Wu Sword Sect.
That was how the misunderstanding arose.
Kwaaa! Paaa!
Before long, Wi Hyeok-gun’s sword energy no longer emanated only from the Red Advantage—it burst from his entire body.
The boundary between weapon and flesh had completely vanished.
He had transcended the unity of man and sword, reaching the realm of Sword in the Heart, Sword Follows the Mind.
Kwaaa!
That overwhelming sword energy turned into a tornado, sending dirt, dust, and rock fragments flying chaotically in every direction.
Trapped within the sword energy, Bu Eunseol stood in the center of the clearing, unable to move freely.
Raising only one arm, he wildly swung his sword in defense.
Shiiik! Shiiik!
Though Bu Eunseol’s swordsmanship lacked refinement, he somehow managed to fend off Wi Hyeok-gun’s attacks.
This was thanks to the mysterious power of the Thirteen Guiding Energies—its force did not dissipate even when clashing against the pouring sword energy.
“Sword King, is it? That title is wasted on you.”
Wi Hyeok-gun let out a mocking laugh of disbelief.
“Miscellany King would suit you better.”
Even as he spoke such words, he did not slow his onslaught.
Though the Thirteen Guiding Energies could not compare to the Hwa Wu Sword in power, they poured out endlessly at precisely the right moments and strange angles, disrupting Wi Hyeok-gun’s flawless sword forms and somehow creating openings for Bu Eunseol to evade.
“Hmph!”
When Bu Eunseol stubbornly endured, Wi Hyeok-gun crossed the Red Advantage in a perfect cross.
He unfolded the seventh form of the Hwa Wu Sword: Radiant Wind and Clear Moon.
Saaaa!
The Thirteen Guiding Energies that had not been extinguished by the sword energy evaporated in an instant.
Wi Hyeok-gun did not miss the opportunity.
He once again generated countless strands of sword energy to surround Bu Eunseol.
It was a variation of the first form of the Hwa Wu Sword: Profound and More Profound.
Slash-slash-slash!
The sword energy spreading in every direction left razor-sharp afterimages as it dug toward Bu Eunseol’s body.
If this had been the original Bu Eunseol, he could have unfolded Swift Beyond Shadow, shifting directions on the spot and letting the sword energy flow harmlessly past.
But now he was Seon Woojin.
Instead of that mystical power, he stepped in the Illusory Ring Confusing Principle Steps he had seen in the Martial Emperor’s Secret Vault, and chaotically unfolded the Dragon-Tiger Sword of the Dragon-Tiger Sect and the Heavenly Immortal Sword Art of the White Moon Gate.
Kuuung! Kuuung!
When sword energy clashed against sword energy, compressed air exploded outward, sending waves of true energy rippling in every direction.
Sss.
It seemed Bu Eunseol had been pushed back in both power and technique—he retreated three full steps.
A thin line of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth, as though he had suffered a light internal injury.
Seeing this, Wi Hyeok-gun paused his attack for a moment and narrowed his long eyes.
He had sensed something strange.
‘Why is he deliberately using worthless orthodox sword arts and putting himself at a disadvantage?’
Even if he had not mastered any high-level sword art like the Heon Won Bright Sword, as the Lord of the Intelligence and Secret Affairs Division, he should have unrestricted access to the second floor of the Pavilion of Martial Enlightenment.
He could have learned a variety of superior sword arts at will—yet he chose only mediocre ones?
‘Is he so eager to die that he’s gone mad?’
Even if he managed to block the Hwa Wu Sword using the secret arts of the Martial Emperor, there was no need to deliberately use sword arts that could not even compare to it and create such precarious, dangerous situations.
‘He must have a hidden trump card.’
Even combining the secret arts of the Martial Emperor, to block the Hwa Wu Sword with such clumsy swordsmanship?
That could only mean the man’s actual martial prowess was extraordinarily high—and his swordsmanship had reached a terrifying level.
So why was he toying with his own life?
‘No need to overthink it. Just cut off his breath in one stroke!’
Slash!
Wi Hyeok-gun unfolded another sword art.
It was the most profound and exquisite form of the Hwa Wu Sword: Walking the Great Path.
Pat-pat!
Normally, even a graze from this sword energy should have separated muscle from bone across the entire body.
Yet even when grazed, all that happened was torn clothing and spurting blood.
Thanks to the power of the Thirteen Guiding Energies, he stubbornly endured without suffering fatal wounds from the Hwa Wu Sword.
‘Something… is off.’
As time passed, even the spectators began to wear strange expressions.
Wi Hyeok-gun, pouring out sword techniques, was displaying an overwhelming might truly worthy of the name Sword Demon.
Yet right in the center of that sword domain, Bu Eunseol stood precariously, unfurling seemingly unremarkable sword arts—and yet he was not falling. He was holding his own.
‘No matter how you look at it, those techniques don’t seem impressive at all.’
Occasionally sharp condensed energy would shoot from his hands and feet, but even to their eyes it was not enough to completely block the Hwa Wu Sword.
His footwork and movement were fairly agile and swift, yet not swift enough to evade the Hwa Wu Sword entirely.
It was painfully obvious that he had only recently begun training these techniques.
The rumor that he had only recently obtained the opportunity in the Martial Emperor’s Secret Vault was clearly true.
Yet despite all that, he refused to fall and continued exchanging blows without cease.
What in the world was happening?
‘Moreover, isn’t what Seon Woojin is using just second-rate orthodox swordsmanship?’
The techniques Seon Woojin employed were well-known second-rate orthodox forms—ones whose paths any orthodox practitioner could recognize at a glance.
At times he even unleashed extremely common sword forms that could be blocked with eyes closed.
So how could he possibly block the Hwa Wu Sword, whose name resounded throughout the world?
‘Could it be that the Hwa Wu Sword only looks flashy on the surface, but is actually overrated?’
Buzzing.
Hearing the murmurs among the crowd, Wi Hyeok-gun’s eyes shot upward in fury.
The reason Bu Eunseol could endure while constantly using such sloppy swordsmanship was because he was using the Thirteen Guiding Energies, whose technique appeared unremarkable to the eye but actually contained bizarre and terrifying power, to offset the force of the Hwa Wu Sword whenever it touched his body.
Those with high martial attainment could sense that the Thirteen Guiding Energies Bu Eunseol used were extremely refined and powerful, and that he was blocking the Hwa Wu Sword with them.
But most of the lower-level martial artists lacked the ability to appreciate such subtlety.
To them, it simply looked as though Bu Eunseol was blocking the world-renowned Hwa Wu Sword with ordinary second-rate techniques.
Pap-pap-pat!
As Wi Hyeok-gun’s fierce onslaught continued, blood once again sprayed from Bu Eunseol’s body.
Yet even within the unavoidable storm of sword energy, while seeming on the verge of collapse, he relentlessly poured out unremarkable sword arts and condensed energies, stubbornly enduring against the Hwa Wu Sword that was said to shatter the heavens and split the earth.
‘So that was his plan from the beginning.’
Crimson flames blazed in Wi Hyeok-gun’s eyes.
‘He intended to pull this rat-like stunt.’
Finally, ripples disturbed the calm lake-like serenity of Wi Hyeok-gun’s spirit.
The Hwa Wu Sword was invincible; each form seemed to concentrate the essence of dozens of superior sword arts.
He had intended to use this duel to demonstrate the terror of the Hwa Wu Sword to the entire martial world and once again exalt the prestige of the Hwa Wu Sword Sect.
Yet because Bu Eunseol was facing him with such bizarre tactics, the majority of these foolish martial artists were mocking the absolute sword art of the Demonic path, the Hwa Wu Sword.
“Let’s see just how far you can keep up this farce!”
In a rage, Wi Hyeok-gun consecutively unfolded the hidden ultimate forms of the Hwa Wu Sword.
He revered the Hwa Wu Sword Sect as dearly as his own life; his loyalty was higher than Mount Tai and deeper than the sea.
Yet as Bu Eunseol deliberately dragged out the fight with pathetic swordsmanship, the calm composure that every swordsman must maintain above all else was gradually crumbling.
Shiiik!
The angrier Wi Hyeok-gun became, the more ferocious and powerful his swordsmanship grew.
Nevertheless, Bu Eunseol steadfastly maintained his strategy, skillfully mixing the Thirteen Guiding Energies with orthodox sword arts to endure.
In truth, the only reason such an exchange was even possible was because he had trained the fundamentals of the Hwa Wu Sword more solidly than anyone else back on Hell Island.
‘It seems the Hwa Wu Sword has been overrated all this time.’
After this situation repeated several times, the awe-inspiring might of the Hwa Wu Sword that was said to dominate the world began to plummet in the eyes of the spectators.
‘Do I really have to unfold my true Hwa Wu Sword?’
Wi Hyeok-gun bit his lip.
In fact, all the sword arts he had displayed so far were those recorded in the ancient original edition of the Hwa Wu Sword, completed in the early days and passed down through generations of the Hwa Wu Sword Sect.
‘I had hoped to avoid using my personal Hwa Wu Sword if possible!’
What made the swordsmen of the Hwa Wu Sword Sect so powerful was not only the constant refinement over generations, but also the fact that each had developed their own unique version of the Hwa Wu Sword, tailored to their individual characteristics and temperament.
Wi Hyeok-gun had no intention of revealing his personal Hwa Wu Sword in front of so many martial artists as he had believed the orthodox Hwa Wu Sword would be more than sufficient for victory.
But because of the bizarre power of the Thirteen Guiding Energies, this situation had arisen.
‘The forms are flashy, but they lack substance, don’t they?’
‘Indeed. Haven’t people been saying lately that Nangyang is the best in the Demonic path?’
‘The Hwa Wu Sword Sect seems to be a setting sun now.’
Hearing the nonsense from the majority of low-level martial artists who lacked even the ability to appreciate the refinement of the Thirteen Guiding Energies…
Wi Hyeok-gun’s patience finally reached its limit.
‘What nonsense are they spouting!’
But he could not shout at the crowd without losing face, so…
“Sword King? That title is wasted on you!”
He unfolded the Hwa Wu Sword once more and roared at Bu Eunseol.
“In a duel between swordsmen, victory must be decided by the superiority of swordsmanship!”
He had assumed that someone bearing the title Sword King would naturally face him with a high-level sword art befitting the name.
Yet this rat-like bastard was using strange tricks, pretending to wield second-rate swordsmanship, and in doing so insulting the great Hwa Wu Sword Sect.
“If you are truly the Sword King, then unfold a proper sword art!”
Wi Hyeok-gun unfolded the fifth form of the Hwa Wu Sword—Heavenly Gate Opening and Closing—cutting off Bu Eunseol’s retreat.
“Does what I’m using look like daoist techniques to you?”
Deftly pouring out the Thirteen Guiding Energies to annihilate the sword energy of Heavenly Gate Opening and Closing, Bu Eunseol shouted back boldly.
“I have been unfolding sword arts the entire time—yet you keep saying strange things.”
Even as blood covered him like a crimson figure, Bu Eunseol kept running his mouth.
Rage flared in Wi Hyeok-gun’s eyes.
“Stop spouting nonsense!”
“What nonsense?”
Bu Eunseol raised the Silent Tiger Soul Sword with a solemn expression.
“I will now unfold a new sword art—so be careful.”
Then, with a majestic motion, he began to display a sword technique.
Wi Hyeok-gun thought for a moment that he was finally about to see a proper sword art and prepared to assume a defensive form—
“You bastard!”
—but in the next instant, he roared with thunderous fury.
The “majestic” sword art Bu Eunseol had unfolded was none other than the Yellow River Fifteen Swords—an eighth-rate sword art so lowly that even the ruffians of the Black Fang would be ashamed to practice it.
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