Chapter 159: Chapter 159
The inner energy of the Plum Blossom Divine Art spread from Cheon-hwi’s entire body, slowly encroaching upon the space.
“Amazing.”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint burst into admiration.
It was a spirit distinctly different from just before.
On top of that, it was surprising enough that he possessed such magnificent inner energy at that young age, yet he was handling it freely!
How could he not admire it?
‘My heart is pounding.’
As if knowing the Zhongnan Sword Saint’s heart like that.
Wooooong…
The Jade Dew Sword burst into a cry of joy.
‘Hoho, isn’t it enjoyable. My friend.’
With a pleasant smile on his lips, the Zhongnan Sword Saint stroked the Jade Dew Sword.
After his emergence into Jianghu at the late age of seventy, he had competed with many experts.
However, compared to the young man in front of him, everyone else lost their luster.
“Then let us go.”
The smiling man drew up his inner energy.
At that moment, his surroundings were dyed in pitch-black darkness. And at the same time, his body sparkled like a star.
It was the manifestation of the Silver River Heavenly Strong Divine Art, the most heterogeneous and domineering protective astral qigong among the divine arts of the Zhongnan Sect.
He, who exuded a bizarre appearance as if he were left all alone in this world, half-opened his eyes.
“I will go first this time.”
Along with those words, he kicked the ground.
Thump!
Exerting enough force to leave a footprint about an inch deep on the dirt ground, he flew like an arrow and swung his sword at Cheon-hwi.
Facing him, Cheon-hwi also raised his sword.
Soon, as the two swords clashed.
Claaang!
The space between the two distorted, and the heaven and earth began to howl.
Subsequently, shockwaves spread in all directions.
“Ugh!”
“Are they even human!”
The Taiji Gentleman and Heavenly Ear Beggar drew up their inner energy at the continuously erupting shockwaves.
Overshadowing that, the shockwaves shook their insides to a concussion, but they could never take their eyes off.
No, how could they look away?
Two people who had reached the supreme realm that any martial artist dreamed of were clashing!
Meanwhile, the Zhongnan Sword Saint poured out his inner energy and continuously unfolded the Heavenly River Thirty-Six Swords.
Heavenly River Dropping the Hook, Heavenly River Looking Up, Heavenly River Pouring Backward, and so on.
He thoroughly unfolded the forms of the Heavenly River Thirty-Six Swords and occupied all thirty-six directions, but.
Kaaang!
Cheon-hwi was smashing them head-on.
‘…To think it would be this domineering.’
The Zhongnan Sword Saint swallowed his surprise inwardly.
He unfolded numerous forms, but Cheon-hwi in front of him did not step back at all.
Rather, he counterattacked from the front, smashing them or breaking them completely.
‘Is the Heavenly River Thirty-Six Swords not enough?’
The Zhongnan Sword Saint loaded inner energy into his feet.
Tat!
The Zhongnan Sword Saint, who unfolded the Milky Way Roaming Shadow Flight, closed the distance in a single breath.
Seu-euk…
Subsequently, he raised the Jade Dew Sword high.
“Try receiving this once too.”
Even before his voice reached Cheon-hwi, a sharp sword light struck.
“Th-Th-That crazy bastard!”
“The Deep Limitless Sword…!”
Heavenly Ear Beggar and the Taiji Gentleman were astonished.
It was a sword path they had seen exactly once.
However, that sword path was embedded very deeply in their minds, more so than any other sword paths in the world.
The moment that Deep Limitless Sword was unfolded, a sect literally disappeared.
“That guy is someone Jianghu needs right now, what is he doing!”
“Calm down.”
“Calm down my foot! You know the power of that Deep Limitless Sword well too, don’t you.”
“Do you not trust the Sword Saint?”
The Taiji Gentleman swallowed his dry saliva.
“He must have some thought…”
At the time when he tried to defend the Zhongnan Sword Saint.
Seu-euk…
The Deep Limitless Sword was unfolded.
“What thought!”
Heavenly Ear Beggar yelled angrily.
Now that the Deep Limitless Sword was unfolded, the result was no different from being fixed.
The result of death.
Meanwhile, Cheon-hwi facing the Deep Limitless Sword felt the world moving slowly.
The falling snowflakes were suspended in the air, and it was very quiet as if the blowing wind had also stopped.
However, that was not because time flowed slowly.
The sword swung right in front of him now.
It was so fast that everything else just looked slow.
‘Is it an extreme fast sword?’
Cheon-hwi leisurely scanned the Jade Dew Sword.
The Jade Dew Sword, tainted by the Silver River Heavenly Strong Divine Art and blooming in a dark space, seemed to have created a new world.
A world where only the Jade Dew Sword existed.
“But even so, it is an illusion.”
Cheon-hwi flowed inner energy into his sword.
In an instant, a thread-like thin energy stretched out into several strands from the sword body, then transformed into plum blossoms and bloomed brightly.
Seu-euk…
Following that, he raised his sword.
Then, the plum blossoms that had bloomed around Cheon-hwi disappeared one by one.
In the end, what remained was only a single plum blossom.
Cheon-hwi slowly slashed his sword vertically towards that last remaining plum blossom.
Soon, the moment the plum blossom was cut.
Seu-eu…
The world was encroached by darkness.
Seven Absolutes Plum Blossom Sword.
Sixth Form, Dark Fragrance Unfrozen Flower.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint’s eyes, who was unfolding the Deep Limitless Sword, narrowed.
‘He disappeared.’
Cheon-hwi was in front of him until just now.
However, the moment the suddenly appearing plum blossom was cut by his sword, the world turned off.
Due to that, he lost Cheon-hwi.
No, it was not only Cheon-hwi.
He missed everything.
The spirit, the feeling, even the senses.
He felt exactly as if he alone had fallen out of this world.
And at that moment, he smelled it.
A whiff of plum blossom fragrance.
Huwuuung…
A faint wind swept past.
Cheon-hwi and the Zhongnan Sword Saint stood exactly as they were, facing each other from earlier.
However, the appearances of the two were different from before.
Their Daoist robes were torn here and there, and their disheveled hair was shaking violently in the wind.
A moment passed like that.
Trickle…
Blood flowed from Cheon-hwi’s cheek.
“Blood… It’s been a while.”
Wiping the blood, Cheon-hwi looked ahead.
“I guess you are still a Sword Saint.”
As soon as those words finished, a streak of blood was also drawn on the Zhongnan Sword Saint’s cheek.
A bead of blood formed drop by drop, flowed down his cheek, pooled at his chin, and dropped.
Drop.
The blood spread on the snow piled up on the ground.
“Hoho. This is the first time in my life.”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint gave a hearty laugh.
“There has been nothing in the world that the Deep Limitless Sword failed to cut down…”
Cheon-hwi smirked and said.
“That’s probably because you weren’t facing me.”
At Cheon-hwi’s confident words, the Zhongnan Sword Saint’s smile grew deeper.
However, that was only for a moment.
Erasing his smile completely, he asked.
“Could I know what sword form that is?”
“Dark Fragrance Unfrozen Flower.”
“Dark fragrance and unmoving…”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint closed and opened his eyes.
The plum blossom blooming in the darkness and a whiff of plum blossom scent came to mind and vanished.
And the sword that stopped midway too…
‘It was said that when speed reaches the extreme, it becomes blunt, and when bluntness reaches the extreme, it becomes unmoving.’
He nodded and said.
“It is a fitting name.”
“What is the name of your sword form?”
“It is the Deep Limitless Sword.”
“That one is not fitting.”
“Hoho, I think so too.”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint burst into laughter.
Hearing the form name Deep Limitless Sword, who would think it is a fast sword?
Around the time the two entered a temporary lull, Heavenly Ear Beggar and the Taiji Gentleman were astonished.
“H-He faced the Deep Limitless Sword head-on?”
“Just now… what was that sword form? Did the Mount Hua Sect have such a sword art?”
They had no confidence in remaining unscathed even if they faced the Deep Limitless Sword themselves.
Yet that young man not only faced it and remained unscathed, but he even wounded the Zhongnan Sword Saint.
“…What do you think?”
Heavenly Ear Beggar asked the Taiji Gentleman.
“Do you think he is related to ‘them’?”
“…”
The Taiji Gentleman fell silent.
That martial prowess at that age.
It might be so.
However.
“Among those related to them, there was no one from the Mount Hua Sect.”
“Then what happened?”
Heavenly Ear Beggar frowned.
“There shouldn’t be any experts in the Mount Hua Sect capable of the Energy Transferring Art… If so, does that mean a dragon rose from a small stream?”
When Heavenly Ear Beggar stared piercingly to figure Cheon-hwi out.
“Then let’s go again.”
Just then, Cheon-hwi raised his sword again.
“I have one thing to propose before that.”
“What is it?”
“How about we settle the match in a single move.”
Cheon-hwi stroked his chin.
If he says a single move…
He must mean he will show his ultimate technique, right?
Cheon-hwi’s eyes sparkled as he spoke.
“I don’t mind, as long as you perform a proper ultimate technique instead.”
“Hoho, do not worry about that.”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint smiled and raised his sword.
“I will properly show it.”
His eyes sank deeply.
However, unlike his words, no spirit or presence could be felt.
It just seemed like he was merely holding the sword.
But Cheon-hwi was feeling it.
That this very posture was the state where the Zhongnan Sword Saint had perfectly finished preparing.
As if that thought were right, his presence gradually faded until soon, despite being right in front, not a single trace could be felt.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint very slowly assimilated into the world and began to melt into it.
At that time, his mouth opened.
“Do you know? Right now, everyone extols me as the Zhongnan Sword Saint, but in the past, I was a dullard who couldn’t even learn martial arts properly and dared not even think of emerging into Jianghu.”
It was an abrupt remark.
However, Cheon-hwi intuited that this story was related to the ultimate technique he was about to perform now.
“To the point where I couldn’t properly handle sword qi until I turned forty.”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint wore a smile.
That smile was so ephemeral, it was incomparably faint as if it would soon disappear.
“But even to a dullard like me, something called enlightenment came. Thanks to that, I reached this realm at a late age.”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint met Cheon-hwi’s eyes.
“And what I will unfold now is my very own sword form that embodies that enlightenment.”
“That is truly something to look forward to.”
Cheon-hwi spoke with sincerity.
His very own sword form?
His heart fluttered.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint was the greatest expert among those he had seen in this life.
A sword form created by such a person containing their enlightenment.
Of course he couldn’t help but look forward to it!
It wouldn’t be an ordinary sword form, right?
As Cheon-hwi, his eyes shining in anticipation of what kind of sword form he would unfold, raised his sword.
“The name of the form is…”
A low voice flowed from the Zhongnan Sword Saint’s mouth, and the sword emitted light.
“I call it Late Blooming Morning World.”
Having finished speaking, he slashed his sword down.
It was so calm and peaceful.
He was slashing in a defenseless state, as if appealing for himself to be cut down.
It was so fragile that if one swung a sword right now, the Jade Dew Sword seemed like it would break powerlessly.
However, that was only a superficial appearance.
‘It is worthy of boasting as an ultimate technique.’
Cheon-hwi looked on with half-opened eyes.
It was because the moment that incredibly simple sword path slashing from top to bottom continued, his flesh continuously cried out, sending sharp warnings to dodge.
At that time, the Zhongnan Sword Saint took a step.
It was merely a single footstep.
However, at that moment.
Kuung!
An intense pressure crushed Cheon-hwi.
Tilting his chin up and looking at the sharp blade of the Jade Dew Sword, Cheon-hwi raised his sword.
‘Yes, this is what I wanted.’
A laugh leaked out from between his lips.
An indescribable flow emerged from the sword gripped in his hand, very softly embracing Cheon-hwi and the surroundings.
As if embracing everything.
Soon, the sword soared upwards from below toward the downward-slashing Jade Dew Sword.
Seven Absolutes Plum Blossom Sword, Seventh Form.
Eternal World Ten Thousand Li Fragrance.
A captivating plum blossom scent swirled violently.
Hwiii…
Heavenly Ear Beggar and the Taiji Gentleman, who were far away, could also smell the plum blossom scent.
The scent was so fragrant that the two lost focus in their eyes for a moment.
To the point of forgetting, for a very brief moment, that the two had clashed.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint likewise felt that plum blossom scent.
But that wasn’t all.
He saw an indescribable spirit when Cheon-hwi swung his sword.
‘Good.’
The Zhongnan Sword Saint formed a wrinkled smile.
‘Let us go. My friend.’
As he put strength into the Jade Dew Sword.
Late Blooming Morning World accurately struck simultaneously towards the spirit Cheon-hwi unfolded.
Jjeo-eong!
At the sound resembling a bronze mirror shattering, Heavenly Ear Beggar and the Taiji Gentleman came to their senses.
“J-Just now, what was that?”
“More importantly, what happened?”
The two turned their gazes.
The result produced by the two sword forms clashing was spread out before their eyes.
Drip, drip.
Fresh blood dripped down.
Looking at his left arm, where blood drops were pooling and falling from between the torn sleeve, Cheon-hwi raised his head and opened his mouth.
“It’s a draw at this rate.”
“Hoho, a draw…”
Wiping the blood flowing between his lips, the Zhongnan Sword Saint nodded.
Afterwards, he sheathed the Jade Dew Sword.
“However, it is a bit regrettable.”
His gaze was fixed on the other sword worn at Cheon-hwi’s side.
“I wanted to make you draw that sword no matter what.”
“Then do you want to spar again?”
Cheon-hwi raised his sword and suggested, but.
“No, it’s fine.”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint shook his head and refused.
“In this state, we won’t be able to properly show our martial arts to each other anyway.”
“Tsk, that is true, but.”
Swallowing his regret, Cheon-hwi sheathed his sword.
“Then we’ll continue this next time.”
“Next time…”
Hearing the same words as before, a faint smile spread on the Zhongnan Sword Saint’s lips.
“Then I suppose I must look forward to the day we meet again.”
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