Chapter 84: Chapter 84
The martial arts arena located in the center of the Murim Alliance.
The martial arts arena, which was normally only opened during the alliance’s festivals or martial arts tournaments, was exceptionally opened and gathering a crowd.
The faces of those who entered the martial arts arena were filled with bright smiles and expectations.
It was because the two people having a public spar this time were no ordinary formidable masters.
The pride of the Zhongnan Sect, the Zhongnan Sword Saint.
And the newly emerging absolute powerhouse who raised the reputation of the Mount Hua Sect, the Mount Hua Divine Sword.
It was a spar between the two of them.
Perhaps because of that, those who set foot in the martial arts arena couldn’t hide their excited expressions.
“To think I would live to see a spar between masters in the Heavenly Martial Realm.”
“What are you doing? Let’s quickly go in.”
“There might be no seats if we’re late.”
Just like the noisy interior of the martial arts arena, a great commotion arose outside as well.
“Why are you blocking us?”
“Let me in too!”
It was only two days ago that the public spar between the Zhongnan Sword Saint and the Mount Hua Divine Sword was confirmed.
“No one else can enter.”
In barely a quarter of an hour, the martial arts arena was full.
As the martial arts arena was filled with a crowd.
“I am anxious.”
Hyeon-jin’s eyes, who was sitting in a seat with a good view of the martial arts arena, shook with anxiety.
He knew Hyeon-do was strong.
But the opponent was an absolute master who had reached the Heavenly Martial Realm long ago and spread his fame.
His anxiety grew.
“I wonder if Senior Brother will be alright.”
“I can see quite well.”
Meanwhile, Cheon-hwi, who was next to Hyeon-jin, waited for the spar with an easygoing attitude.
‘I wonder if the Zhongnan Sect’s martial arts have changed a bit.’
After looking at the martial arts arena with eyes full of interest for a moment, two shadows appeared.
They were the Zhongnan Sword Saint and Hyeon-do.
The two of them came up so fast and swiftly that most of the crowd couldn’t perceive it.
“I heard the rumors about you and thought I wanted to meet you someday.”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint smiled bitterly.
“I didn’t expect it to be a meeting like this.”
“I feel the same.”
Hyeon-do spoke in a stiff tone.
He had heard so much about the Zhongnan Sword Saint that his ears were ringing.
He was a great hero who stepped into the Jianghu at the late age of seventy, immediately revealed the majesty of an absolute, and performed chivalrous deeds.
“I heard you are called the Divine Sword of Mount Hua who defeated the White Ghost?”
“It is an undeserved title.”
“Is that so.”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint’s eyebrows arched.
Following that, he drew his sword.
The sword drawn from the worn-out scabbard was a well-maintained sword.
It was a sword that was hard to call a precious sword or a famous sword, but the moment it was grasped in his hand.
“Waaah! It’s Jade Dew!”
“So that’s the Jade Dew Sword of Great Hero Zhongnan Sword Saint!”
The old sword became a famous sword.
“It’s a beautiful sword.”
Hyeon-do, who was watching, expressed his admiration.
The sword was ordinary.
But it was different when held in his hand.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint stroked the sword body.
“It is Jade Dew, my friend who has been with me since I entered the Zhongnan Sect.”
“So that’s why.”
Hyeon-do could not hide his admiration.
Those words meant that they had been together for at least several decades.
Yet it looked as good as new.
It was obvious how much he had cherished it.
‘He is different from the other Taoists of the Zhongnan Sect. As expected, the rumors are not wrong.’
The Zhongnan Sword Saint’s tone and attitude.
Furthermore, his attitude towards the sword was different from the other greedy Taoists of the Zhongnan Sect.
The great hero he had heard in rumors.
It was exactly that appearance.
Clack.
Hyeon-do also grabbed his sword and drew it.
It was a sword mixed with cold iron, a keepsake from his master.
“You also possess a good sword.”
At those words, Hyeon-do smiled softly.
“It is the sword my master passed down to me. No, it is my friend, White Snow.”
At the smile that warmed one just by looking at it, the Zhongnan Sword Saint smiled back.
“White Snow, it is a very good name.”
“Haha, it is.”
It seemed the two, who smiled at each other, were having a light conversation.
Hwaaak!
Without saying who was first, they unleashed their internal qi arts and emitted a fierce momentum.
Following that, a wind began to rage.
“Heup!”
“Ugh! W-what tremendous energies!”
The spectators stared at the martial arts arena while raising their hands to block the raging storm.
The vortex that bloomed between the two holding swords.
It was as fierce as the claws of a dragon trying to tear apart the space between them.
At that time, Hyeon-do raised his sword and spoke.
“I will go first.”
“Come.”
As soon as the words ended.
Kwaaaang!
A shockwave swept through the martial arts arena.
The crowd, who struggled to open their eyes in the storm and glared at the martial arts arena, gaped in astonishment.
The storm disappeared in an instant.
However, instead, the aftermath that erupted the moment the two swords clashed swept the crowd’s hair and captivated their minds.
“When did Senior Brother get such…….”
Hyeon-jin also stared blankly at the martial arts arena.
The power of the sword arts displayed by the Zhongnan Sword Saint and Hyeon-do was ridiculous.
Squeeze!
His fists clenched naturally under the pressure.
Subsequently, cold sweat flowing from his forehead and back slowly soaked his Taoist robe.
‘Is that what a true master is…….’
The two were on a different level.
Were they really human.
Just watching from a distance made his body tremble as if there was an earthquake.
A sense of despair swept through his body.
‘I too, like Senior Brother…….’
Making a resolution, he gritted his teeth tightly.
A stinging pain was felt in his clenched hands, along with a hot liquid.
‘No, more than Senior Brother!’
He sharply raised his head and opened his eyes wide.
And when he captured their spar in his eyes.
“His skills have improved from before.”
Cheon-hwi also captured their clash in his eyes.
Perhaps the battle with the White Ghost Castle had been helpful, Hyeon-do’s skills had grown to a point where they were completely incomparable to the past.
Cheon-hwi’s gaze chased after Hyeon-do, who moved while swiftly executing footwork.
At this rate, I can take my hands off.
His sword arts, which had been stiff from following forms until now, were finally a bit free.
Escaping from forms and reaching formlessness.
In other words, he had reached a state where he could execute any desired form at any time.
‘If he re-establishes it into forms suited for himself from there, the Taiyi Mysterious Sword Art will achieve great completion.’
Learning what existed previously, then destroying it, and absorbing it as one’s own again.
That was precisely great completion.
After breaking through the wall called the Heavenly Martial Realm, Hyeon-do’s skills rose quite steeply.
He was still lower than the Lord of White Ghost Castle, but he still far exceeded the level of a sect leader.
‘But it’s a bit regrettable. To think the opponent had to be that guy.’
His gaze shifted to the Zhongnan Sword Saint.
It was a confrontation between the two that seemed evenly matched at first glance, but the exact reality was clearly visible in Cheon-hwi’s eyes.
That the Zhongnan Sword Saint was going easy on him.
‘Hmm. There’s no difference in internal qi, but the difference in experience and skill is obvious.’
Compared to the difference of one generation, surprisingly, the Zhongnan Sword Saint didn’t have much internal qi.
But that wasn’t a problem.
Because there was an even larger gap than that.
“The current Zhongnan Sect is bound to be stronger than the Mount Hua Sect.”
The murmuring Cheon-hwi’s gaze pierced through the sword the Zhongnan Sword Saint was wielding.
The sword art he unleashed was one he had seen in the past. It was precisely the Zhongnan Sect’s sword art, the World’s Thirty-Six Swords (六).
However, it was ever so slightly different.
And that slightness was enough to transform the World’s Thirty-Six Swords.
‘The fact that the transformations of the sword art are unparalleled remains the same, but its power is much better than before.’
The World’s Thirty-Six Swords was a magnificent yet highly adaptable sword art composed of forms aiming at a total of thirty-six directions.
But what about the World’s Thirty-Six Swords that the Zhongnan Sword Saint was unleashing now?
It was concise and had few transformations.
The result of discarding useless forms.
Thanks to that, the remaining forms were maximized into one and perfectly sublimated.
‘He completely changed it, just like how I recreated the Plum Blossom Sword Art into the Seven Absolutes Plum Blossom Sword. I don’t know who it is, but they’ve got some skill.’
He watched the spar with exciting eyes.
Then, as it went past one quarter of an hour and reached two quarters, his expression grew cold.
‘What the hell are they doing?’
He was dumbfounded.
The martial arts the two were showing now were flashy and intense, satisfying the eyes, but.
‘This is why the Orthodox Faction has no development.’
The more he looked, the more his interest died down.
The current spar was merely eye candy.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint’s World’s Thirty-Six Swords raged intensely, but it was only on the surface.
‘Does he not even have the thought of winning in the first place?’
Seeing the Zhongnan Sword Saint intentionally stepping back despite being able to overwhelm Hyeon-do several times, his interest vanished immediately.
That wasn’t all.
Hyeon-do also had opportunities to aim for a fatal blow on the Zhongnan Sword Saint a few times, but he didn’t aim there.
They were being considerate of each other.
‘Sigh, I looked forward to it for nothing.’
He immediately rested his chin on his hand and glared at them.
Just in time, the two widened their distance.
Tap.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint, who stepped back, opened his eyes wide with a fairly surprised expression.
“……It’s an amazing skill.”
Hyeon-do caught his breath and opened his mouth.
“Phew. I was just lucky. I almost fell to a single strike.”
“Hoho. That’s an exaggeration.”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint, who was speaking, smiled softly.
“I’ve already fully felt that you are not of a skill to fall to a single strike while exchanging swords with you.”
“Is that so.”
“It would be hard to determine superiority or inferiority with you.”
At the Zhongnan Sword Saint’s words ringing softly through the martial arts arena, the crowd buzzed.
“R-right now, Great Hero Zhongnan Sword Saint called Great Hero Mount Hua Divine Sword…….”
“Acknowledged him as a rival!”
Waaah!
Cheers erupted from the spectator seats as if boiling oil was poured on a burning fire.
“Then I will go again.”
As if he had waited for that boiling atmosphere, the Zhongnan Sword Saint stamped his foot first.
There was neither sound nor momentum.
But he disappeared in an instant.
It was ambiguous to call it Form Shift Position Swap.
It was like the Ground Shrinking Art that traversed space.
Whoosh!
He, who disappeared in an instant with a light leap, appeared right under Hyeon-do’s nose.
‘……He’s fast!’
Hyeon-do, flustered by the excessively fast speed, urgently bent his waist backward, but.
Slash!
A sharp sword passed by his forehead and cut his hair.
“Keuk!”
‘I need to quickly correct my posture…….’
Just as he tried to correct his posture by putting strength into his knees again with a short groan.
“Not yet.”
Suddenly, a voice was heard from below.
At the same time, soon, sword qi slashed from all directions, no, everywhere in general.
“This is truly the Zhongnan’s…….”
Eventually, the sword qi engulfed Hyeon-do.
“World’s Thirty-Six Swords!”
Hyeon-do’s eyes, which faced sharpness and pressure hard to believe was sword qi, trembled.
‘I shouldn’t look down on it just because it’s sword qi!’
He gritted his teeth and erupted his internal force.
The yin and yang internal force harbored in the Taiyi Mysterious Art dwelled in his hand and dyed his sword.
“Haap!”
A rough shout erupted, and.
Clang clang clang!
Sounds erupted continuously.
At the same time, plum blossoms bloomed before anyone knew it around Hyeon-do, who swung his sword.
“P-plum blossoms!”
“That is the Mount Hua Sect’s sword flower!”
The crowd’s expressions were excited.
They unwittingly clenched their fists after witnessing the sword flower they had only heard in rumors.
At that moment, Hyeon-do, who had dismantled the World’s Thirty-Six Swords, raised his sword and swung it down widely.
Hwuuuung!
Just as the swung sword was about to touch the Zhongnan Sword Saint’s shoulder.
Kkang!
With a metallic sound, the sword bounced off.
“What!”
A flustered Hyeon-do looked at the Zhongnan Sword Saint.
His surroundings were dyed in darkness, and stars were twinkling around him.
It was the Silver River Heavenly Strong Divine Art, the most heterogeneous and domineering body-protecting qi art among the Zhongnan Sect’s divine arts.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint immediately kicked off the ground.
Kung!
He, who had put enough force to leave a mark about an inch deep on the floor of the martial arts arena, flew like an arrow and swung his sword at Hyeon-do.
Unleashing even the Silver River Wandering Shadow Flight, he continued to tangle swords with Hyeon-do.
Like that, the two had been sparring for two quarters of an hour.
“…….”
The crowd stared in a daze.
Around the time when everyone blankly listened to the sound of breaking air and fast-moving afterimages.
Step-
The two, who had been clashing swords crazily, retreated to their respective positions with satisfied expressions.
“As expected of Mount Hua.”
“As expected of the Zhongnan Sect, no. This is truly the Sword Saint’s sword.”
After the two acknowledged each other and smiled for a moment.
“This should be enough.”
With those words, the Zhongnan Sword Saint sheathed his sword.
“What does that…….”
When Hyeon-do opened his eyes wide in surprise, the Zhongnan Sword Saint slowly approached.
“I’m sorry.”
He offered a quiet apology.
“Our children made a mistake. I was wandering outside and couldn’t manage the inside.”
Only then did Hyeon-do understand the action, smiled softly, and gripped his sword in a reverse grip.
“Thank you for yielding.”
“Isn’t it originally the Mount Hua Sect’s.”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint spoke gently.
“It’s only returning now.”
Some of the crowd were bewildered by the appearance of the two seemingly ending the spar suddenly, but.
“Huh?”
“W-what? Is it over?”
“It was a truly wonderful spar!”
Starting with someone’s shout, the bewilderment disappeared, and cheers erupted from all directions.
“Y-yeah. Right. It was a wonderful spar!”
“Waaah! To think those two are members of the Murim Alliance, it’s a great fortune for the alliance!”
“Zhongnan Sword Saint!”
“Mount Hua Divine Sword!”
The voices chanting their names grew louder, and.
“I will visit the main sect and put in a good word.”
The Zhongnan Sword Saint spoke while glancing at the bewildered Taoists of the Zhongnan Sect behind him.
“Thank you.”
When Hyeon-do smiled and spoke, the Zhongnan Sword Saint also smiled back softly and turned his body.
“Hoho, let’s see each other later if we can.”
Like that, the pavilion returned to the arms of the Mount Hua Sect after more than ten years.
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