Chapter 219: Chapter 219
Kaa-boom! Boom!
Danmok Chan regained his senses and opened his eyes at the continuous explosions and vibrations.
“Ugh… Just what in the world happened… Ugh!”
Raising his upper body, he grabbed his head at the sudden pain.
“…A lump?”
Touching his head with a puzzled expression, he finally remembered everything.
“Th-that guy!”
The angry Danmok Chan jumped up.
“…….”
And checking the sight before his eyes, he lost his words.
Cheon-hwi was standing in the clearing.
And the plum blossoms floating around him collided with a blue shooting star, causing brilliant sparks to scatter in all directions.
“What is this…”
Muttering blankly and taking in the sight before him, his jaw dropped.
He couldn’t help but lose his mind at the sight of two experts who had reached the supreme realm he had so desperately wished for exchanging blows.
‘How can he face Grandfather…’
His mind went blank.
He couldn’t believe it even though he saw it.
Jong-gak was an expert who had reached the Heavenly Martial Realm and was considered one of the top three in the Danmok Clan.
However, a young man who looked to have just passed twenty was facing such a Jong-gak.
No, this wasn’t just facing him.
No matter how he looked at it, it felt like a situation where Cheon-hwi had the upper hand.
‘Don’t tell me he reached the Heavenly Martial Realm at that age…?’
Danmok Chan’s entire body trembled.
It was hard to believe.
However, his two eyes clearly captured the scene unfolding before him, telling him to accept the fact.
“Haha.”
A weak laugh flowed out from between his slightly parted lips.
He had been confident in his martial arts all this time.
It was understandable since, until now, rather than attending useless banquets like the Dragon and Phoenix Gathering, he had focused on gaining experience mainly through traveling Jianghu.
And thanks to that, his skills had improved by leaps and bounds, and he had thought he had reached a level comparable to the Heavenly Dragon.
However, what was the young man in front of him?
Forget the Heavenly Dragon, he had surpassed the rising stars and reached the supreme realm.
He didn’t feel resentment or a fighting spirit.
Due to the overwhelmingly vast difference, only a sense of emptiness swept through his body.
“Tsk, he’s excited, he’s excited.”
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice was heard from the side.
The temporarily crestfallen him turned his head in wonder, and there sat a dirty beggar wearing a straw mat.
While examining him at the appearance of a person he had never seen before, Danmok Chan widened his eyes upon discovering the knots tied at his waist.
‘Beggars’ Sect?’
Feeling the gaze staring at him, Heavenly Ear Beggar glared at Danmok Chan and furrowed his eyebrows.
“Huh? What, did you wake up? By the way, what are you glaring at right now?”
“N-no, it’s nothing.”
“Then quickly put your eyes away…”
“Elder.”
When Heavenly Ear Beggar was about to say something, Danmok Rin quietly intervened.
“Eing, understood. I understand.”
Pouting his lips and grumbling, Heavenly Ear Beggar abruptly turned his head.
Danmok Rin looked at such a Heavenly Ear Beggar and sighed, then asked Danmok Chan.
“Brother. Are you okay now?”
“Y-yeah. I’m fine. But since when did that spar start?”
“It’s been about fifteen minutes.”
“Th-then this clearing became like this in fifteen minutes…?”
Danmok Chan, who hurriedly looked around at Danmok Rin’s answer, turned pale with shock.
Overlapping sword marks piled up in all directions and deepened, and the wind was also gradually gaining strength.
Was it because of that?
Even at this moment, the clearing was gradually becoming desolate.
Gulp…
He swallowed dry saliva and looked at the spar between the two, who were creating tremendous collisions.
‘I was completely crazy. To think I talked about yielding the first move and what not against a person like that.’
His back became damp with cold sweat.
If things had gone wrong, he wouldn’t have just gotten a lump, his head could have flown off.
Danmok Chan looked at Danmok Rin and asked.
“Is he in the Heavenly Martial Realm?”
“I don’t know that either.”
“Y-you don’t know?”
When Danmok Chan asked in shock, Danmok Rin silently nodded her head.
She also did not know Cheon-hwi’s exact realm.
She merely guessed roughly that he had reached a tremendously high and supreme realm.
Because of that, she, like Danmok Chan, was surprised by the martial prowess Cheon-hwi was displaying against Jong-gak right now.
“You mean you can’t tell even with your Qi sensing?”
“Yes. I can’t see it at all.”
At those words, Danmok Chan spat out a hollow laugh.
He knew better than anyone how outstanding the Qi sensing Danmok Rin possessed was.
Even his father and grandfather had been completely caught by Danmok Rin’s Qi sensing.
‘Wait a minute! Does that mean…!’
The moment he abruptly turned his head.
Pababat!
Several footprints were suddenly horizontally engraved around Cheon-hwi. At the same time, Jong-gak, who revealed himself while crossing the space, scattered sword Qi toward Cheon-hwi.
Blurry blue trajectories followed.
It was so fast that even in the eyes of Danmok Chan, who had reached the Limitless Realm, he couldn’t accurately figure out how many trajectories there were.
‘Six? No, eight?’
When his eyes scanned the trajectories and roughly figured out their number, a change occurred. The overlapping trajectories suddenly connected at length and formed a loop, soon creating a single ring.
Seeing that, Danmok Chan opened his eyes wide.
‘Falling Star Ring? And immediately following, Falling Star Single Thought to Falling Star Initial Return?!’
Realizing that it wasn’t a single move, his eyes were dyed with bewilderment.
In that short time, Jong-gak had not only executed several moves of the Falling Star Sword, but he was also operating them so that they connected smoothly.
‘But if he does that, the Qi consumption…’
Each and every move of the Falling Star Sword required a considerable amount of internal energy.
Therefore, it required quite a bit of preparation to execute even a single move.
However, Jong-gak forcibly unfolded a combo by utilizing his overwhelming internal energy and speed.
And its might was truly overwhelming.
It was clearly showing two things, destructive power and continuous connection!
And although such sword styles aimed at Cheon-hwi relentlessly regardless of the time.
Clang! Clang!
Cheon-hwi was leisurely blocking them.
The plum blossoms weren’t just blocking the falling shooting stars, they even launched counterattacks from time to time.
Sparks continued to fly in the air.
The blurry, overlapping trajectories seized the space like a net, and their shockwaves gathered together and transformed into a storm.
Soon, the aftermath swept through all directions.
Boom! Boom!
Whenever the shockwaves erupted, Danmok Chan and Danmok Rin’s martial arts uniforms and hair repeatedly surged upwards and settled down.
‘I-is this a spar unfolded by experts in a realm where martial arts reached the sky!’
His hands, which had tightly clenched into fists since some time ago, became damp with sweat.
Even so, unable to even think of wiping it, he could not take his eyes off the spar.
Rather, concentrating, he watched without even blinking.
In order not to miss a single moment!
‘Th-this is a serendipity!’
A brilliant radiance momentarily emerged in his two eyes, which had been filled with a sense of emptiness.
Sst!
At that moment, Jong-gak’s martial arts uniform was slightly cut.
However, Jong-gak did not stop.
Rather than stepping back, he took a step further forward and shot toward Cheon-hwi.
Like an arrow that had already left the bowstring!
‘It has been a long time since I used this.’
Jong-gak’s internal energy boiled.
At the same time, vitality overflowed in his body.
His feet were lighter than ever, and the boundary of the sword held in his hand was blurry.
‘Try taking this as well.’
His eyes sank calmly.
The moves of the Falling Star Sword failed to inflict any harm on the young man in front of him, Cheon-hwi.
Even a small wound, let alone internal injuries.
Even so, a smile cast over his mouth.
It was a very faint and light laugh.
At the same time, a dark light cast over his pupils, and internal force wrapped around his sword.
A strange radiance that was dark but contained light.
The sword containing light soon became one with him.
Swaaaeeek!
He further accelerated his advancing speed.
Heaven Severing Flying Sword!
A sword move and sword art created to sever the sky called Heaven Beyond Heaven.
The sword becomes me, and I become the sword.
The pinnacle of the Flying Sword Arts, surpassing the Unity of Sword and Body, revealed its appearance to the world.
“Eup!”
In an instant, Danmok Chan’s complexion turned pale.
Despite being far away, Jong-gak’s killing intent and momentum felt right now were far too intense.
He was on the verge of suffocating.
‘To think Grandfather had mastered such a sword art!’
Overwhelmed, he unconsciously took a step back.
Shock and awe mixed in his two eyes watching the spar.
It must have been because the intense killing intent of the always-benevolent Jong-gak was shocking, but admiration naturally came out for the sword move that had reached a lofty realm.
‘If I were to face that sword…’
The moment he imagined it, his teeth chattered loudly.
For an instant, the word ‘Death’ was very clearly engraved in his head.
It was a momentum that intense.
However, even seeing such a Jong-gak, his opponent Cheon-hwi instead deepened his smile.
“Oho. It seems you intended to contain the profound principles of the Mind Sword beyond the Flying Sword Arts in a single sword strike… This is quite interesting.”
Muttering while looking at Jong-gak, who had become one with his sword, he extended his sword forward.
The straightly extended sword tip accurately pointed at Jong-gak, who was shooting forward like a streak of an arrow.
It was a sword strike that looked simple.
Just a single move of thrusting.
However, Jong-gak, who faced it, had no choice but to doubt his vision.
The end of the sword tip.
A plum blossom as red as blood bloomed.
It was exactly one plum blossom.
The beautifully bloomed plum blossom forced and bound Jong-gak’s hearing and vision.
And at a certain moment, the plum blossom burst apart.
Plum blossom petals scattered in all directions, gently wrapping around the charging Jong-gak.
It was a mesmerizing sight resembling an illusion.
And through it, a single trajectory, a beautiful slash, was drawn down.
‘Is this the Plum Blossom Sword Art…?’
Astonishment spread across Jong-gak’s face.
However, before that astonishment could spread across his entire face, the slash reached him first.
Thud.
A belated sound rang out.
At the same time, the surrounding air swirled and scattered at the slash swung by Cheon-hwi.
The plum blossoms disappeared in an instant like an illusion, and a fierce gale erupted in their stead.
Huuuoong…
The strong wind that erupted centering on Cheon-hwi and Jong-gak swept away everything within a radius of thirty zhang.
“……!”
“Heup!”
“This guy again!”
And Danmok Rin, Danmok Chan, and Heavenly Ear Beggar, who were inside it, endured the aftermath by raising both their hands.
After the strong wind swept through once like that, Jong-gak, who stood in the passed clearing, opened his mouth.
“What is the name of the move?”
“Plum Blossom Ten Thousand Li Fragrance.”
At the answer, Jong-gak quietly closed his two eyes.
The scent of plum blossoms tickled the tip of his nose.
It was a deep but very refreshing scent.
One that would not be easily forgotten…
Showing a smile, he sheathed his sword.
“It is my defeat.”
His gaze had already left Cheon-hwi and was fixed on the dozens of slashes engraved around him.
Dozens of variations dwelling in a single sword strike.
The sword move shot toward him, the Plum Blossom Sword Art, far exceeded his expectations.
‘Is this the true Plum Blossom Sword Art?’
At that moment, Cheon-hwi raised his sword.
His pupils looking at Jong-gak were glaring like a hungry beast.
“Already? Let’s do a little more?”
“Any more is impossible. The internal energy consumption is large. Is there a need to do more when victory and defeat have been decided?”
Jong-gak showed a gentle smile.
It was a completely contrasting appearance to how he showed killing intent like a murderous ghost just moments ago.
Returning to being a benevolent grandfather, he dusted off his torn martial arts uniform before he knew it and opened his mouth.
“And that sword is my everything right now.”
Seeing Jong-gak stripped of his fighting spirit and killing intent, Cheon-hwi smacked his lips in dissatisfaction and sheathed his sword.
“Tsk, then it can’t be helped.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
“By the way, that sword move, no. What is the name of that sword art?”
“It is the Heaven Severing Flying Sword.”
“Heaven Severing Flying Sword, huh…”
When Cheon-hwi muttered to himself.
“Grandfather!”
“Senior Brother! Grandfather!”
Danmok Chan and Danmok Rin ran over.
Looking at the two, Jong-gak then looked at Cheon-hwi again and bore a pleased smile.
It was an unintended, unexpected meeting.
Although he had thought he wanted to see him in person someday, he didn’t know they would meet so soon.
Who would have known?
That a Taoist of the Mount Hua Sect would come to the sixtieth birthday banquet of the Zhuge Clan.
‘If this is also fate, is it fate?’
Staring intently at Cheon-hwi, he suddenly recalled the past.
At the time when Danmok Rin, who had left to find a Divine Physician, returned, the Danmok Clan was in an uproar.
It was because she had returned completely recovered, at the cost of losing her internal energy.
Everyone had rejoiced that day.
Because they had only considered it an insurmountable Heavenly Punishment, everyone in the clan had sung praises in unison, saying, ‘A Divine Physician is a Divine Physician.’
Of course, it was a pity that she had lost all her internal energy, but it was nothing compared to losing her life.
Moreover, since Danmok Rin’s talent was overwhelming, there was also the belief that she would recover her martial arts at any time.
However, that joy did not last long.
It was because on that very day, Danmok Rin revealed that she would join the Mount Hua Sect.
Everyone made a fuss about what she was doing, but they soon fell into astonishment upon hearing the truth.
That the one who saved Danmok Rin was not a Divine Physician but a Taoist of the Mount Hua Sect, and that she was joining the sect to repay his grace.
The moment he heard those words still remained vividly in Jong-gak’s mind.
It was natural.
Because most of the family members, including the Patriarch, were busy trying to stop Danmok Rin.
And wasn’t he also among them?
‘Rin’s talent was overwhelming, after all.’
Extraordinary Qi sensing, martial talent, and comprehension.
In all of those, she was an unprecedented genius in the entire history of the Danmok Clan.
And she even overcame the Heavenly Punishment?
The clan absolutely had to embrace her.
However, the Danmok Rin of that time had already decided everything.
‘I never thought Rin would commit such an extreme act.’
On the evening of the day she made the notification, Danmok Rin carried out a night flight and escaped the clan together with the Iron Sword Qi Hero Danmok Jin Gang, who was the only one on her side.
Leaving behind only a single letter in her room stating that she would cut ties with the family.
‘Heoheo, it was the first time the Patriarch had thrown such a fit of rage.’
He probably hadn’t even imagined it.
Because Danmok Rin had been very obedient until then.
‘But she looks better now than when she just followed words verbatim.’
A subtle smile lingered on his lips.
Danmok Rin had originally been a confident child.
However, after her pain began, Danmok Rin had become intimidated and seemed to lack energy.
A negative and cynical appearance toward everything.
She had looked like someone who ended up succumbing to reality.
However, she changed from then on.
No, she had regained her former appearance.
His gaze directed at Danmok Rin, who couldn’t hide her joy while looking at Cheon-hwi.
‘Rather than taking Rin back to the clan, it would be better to let them stay together.’
And one never knew.
Danmok Rin hadn’t received a Taoist title yet, and wouldn’t Cheon-hwi also be able to come out to the secular world?
‘Since the Mount Hua Sect is slightly freer in entering the secular world compared to Kunlun or Wudang anyway, they should be able to arrange a marriage as well.’
A smile played on his lips.
It was an assumption, but he had certainty.
Danmok Rin’s talent and appearance were counted among the top even within the history of the Danmok Clan.
What man wouldn’t fall for her?
Having finished his thoughts, he opened his mouth.
“I should convey it well to the Patriarch.”
* * *
“I entrust Rin to you.”
Danmok Rin was flustered at the words Jong-gak said while alternating his gaze between Danmok Rin and Cheon-hwi after getting on his horse.
“G-grandfather!”
Meanwhile, Cheon-hwi spoke nonchalantly.
“With her age, she’ll probably take care of herself. Isn’t that right?”
“That’s right!”
Danmok Rin was startled and answered.
At that, Danmok Chan frowned.
“I know you are an amazing young hero, but still, treating our Rin carelessly…”
“Brother!”
Danmok Chan, who had temporarily paused when Danmok Rin hurriedly called him, hardened his expression and opened his mouth once again.
“Rin. Think carefully. The young hero is amazing, but you’re also nothing to scof…”
Danmok Chan, who had been speaking, felt a sudden chill and closed his mouth once again.
It was because Danmok Rin was glaring at him with an unprecedentedly sharp gaze.
“A-ahem. Got it. I’ll pass on to Father that you are doing well for now.”
“Haa…”
Danmok Rin let out a deep sigh.
Then, approaching Danmok Chan with a slightly hesitant expression, she whispered.
“Um… is Father okay?”
“How could he be okay? You disappeared overnight like that. After you left without a word, Father… phew. No, let’s not speak further.”
About to speak lengthily, Danmok Chan shook his head as if he had a headache.
“Send a letter or something to Father later. Since he seems hurt as it is.”
“…Okay.”
When Danmok Rin answered despondently.
“Hurry up and get on the horse.”
Jong-gak urged Danmok Chan.
Returning to the clan was an urgent matter.
“A-alright.”
Watching Danmok Chan urgently getting on the horse as soon as the words dropped, Jong-gak bore a small smile.
Was it because he saw Jong-gak’s true skills for the first time?
Danmok Chan moved more nimbly than before.
“I’ll be taking my leave now.”
“See you next time.”
“I will also look forward to that day.”
Jong-gak, who greeted Cheon-hwi, was about to grab his horse’s reins when he looked at Heavenly Ear Beggar standing nearby and spoke.
“Great Hero, please have a safe trip as well.”
“Hmph, why are you worrying about me?”
Danmok Chan, who got on his horse, also cupped his fist.
“Great Hero, I leave Rin in your care.”
“What care.”
When Danmok Rin shook her head at the continuous overprotectiveness, the two bade their farewells.
“Let’s see each other in the future.”
“I’ll come find you later.”
Neeeigh!
Following that, as the two snatched their horse reins and left, Danmok Rin waved her hand and shouted.
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