Return of the Mount Hua Sect

The sword came falling down.

Mu Jin reflexively rolled his body to the side.

A lazy donkey roll.

It referred to how the technique looked like a tired donkey rolling around. It was an absolutely shameful sight to show others, but Mu Jin didn’t have time to consider that now.

Kwang!

Soon after, the ground exploded and was hollowed out at his former position.

Having seen such destructive force, Mu Jin’s face turned stiff.

What if he had been hit?

Instant death.

“What? You avoided it?”

Chung Myung, who had just pierced the floor, looked at the trembling Mu Jin.

Mu Jin just bit his lip and got up.

With a greater sense of caution than before, he stared at Chung Myung.

‘He’s strong.’

He could feel the hair on his body standing up.

One blow.

Just that one blow was enough to estimate the true strength of this opponent.

Perhaps, this man was a formidable enemy, unlike anything Mu Jin had ever faced before. Contrary to Chung Myung’s mischievous and insane attitude, his skills were genuinely on a whole different level.

Mu Jin couldn’t understand why such a powerful opponent would even bother attempting such strange behavior while disguising himself. But now, Mu Jin recognized that he couldn’t judge this man by his appearance and had to let go of his preconceived notions…

Mu Jin bit his lip.

‘Does this mean I’m still trapped by my previous thoughts?’

Disrespect is a privilege guaranteed to the strong. But now, he was clearly ‘weak’ compared to Chung Myung.

“Phewww.”

Mu Jin took a deep breath and looked at Chung Myung.

“What are you doing?”

“…”

It was unexpected, but Mu Jin wasn’t agitated this time and managed to remain calm.

“Oh?”

‘Well, a Wudang is a Wudang.’

Chung Myung smiled as he walked toward his opponent.

Mu Jin’s sword moved up and down lightly, following the movement of his steps.

Chaaak!

With the sound of rushing waves or something being cut, a blue qi began to overflow from Mu Jin’s sword once again.

Clear Flowing Sword.

He was a man that truly lived up to his title.

“Ahhh!”

Mu Jin exclaimed as he shook the sword.

Clean Endless River.

A scene where dozens of thin blue lines were unfolding like silk emerged. Even the disciples of Wudang, who were already familiar with Mu Jin and his swordsmanship, stood in stunned silence with their mouths agape.

Every one of these silken strands had the same amount of strength imbued within.

The unbreakable sword qi is unique to the Wudang. Unlike common sword qi, this technique required several times greater mental and internal energy.

It was soft.

Infinitely soft.

But hidden inside the softness is an irresistible strength. Truly the most splendid sword qi.

“Oh?”

After a brief exclamation, a smile formed on Chung Myung as he dashed through the dozens of sword qi lines flying at him.

Shhh.

His form seemed to blur as he stepped, and he soared into the air.

Dark Fragrance Floating.

As he utilized Mount Hua’s light footwork, like plum blossom petals silently falling through the deep night, Chung Myung’s body began to swim through the torrential blue sword qi that poured down on him.

The scene reflected the sight of a scarlet butterfly fluttering over a raging waterfall.

Jin Hyeon’s eyes widened.

The level was different.

Jin Hyeon thought he was fully aware of Mu Jin’s level, but his actual abilities had vastly exceeded all expectations. While Chung Myung’s skills were at a level that he could never have even imagined.

‘This is a bloody battle between masters.’

His entire body felt like it was on fire.

All thoughts of winning or losing had disappeared from his mind. He simply wanted to watch this battle without missing a single moment.

Perhaps the other disciples had similar thoughts, as the others focused so deeply that not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

Kakaka!

The waves of sword qi severed the earth as they came crashing down.

Who could have imagined that those silky waves which seemed to flow softly could contain such power?

Merely brushing past, it would split flesh open and crack the bones.

But even more remarkable than Mu Jin, who displayed such brilliant swordsmanship, was Chung Myung, who casually traversed through such an incredible technique.

Swosh!

The sword qi narrowly passed by Chung Myung’s head.

Tata!

Chung Myung, who lifted his sword lightly, hurried through the torrent towards Mu Jin.

Light movements without any harshness!

There was a faint smile on his face as he moved through the air toward Mu Jin.

‘This is how it should be!’

This was the swordsmanship of Wudang that he was familiar with.

‘Maybe the Three Swords of Wudang are more deserving of their names than I thought.’

However!

“This much isn’t good enough!”

At that moment.

Shhh!

Along with the sound of slicing wind, a new wave of sword qi flew toward Chung Myung at a speed incomparable to before.

But Chung Myung wasn’t the least bit flustered. The smile on his lips grew wider.

The sword of Chung Myung gently stretched out, cutting through the waves.

Chak!

The waves of sword qi that came rushing in were severed left and right by Chung Myung’s sword. Chung Myung pierced his sword deep into the waves as he moved further up.

Paah!

The scene of pouring waves collapsed in an instant. Chung Myung, who ascended farther with the help of the waves, fell down in the moonlight.

Mu Jin’s face went stiff the instant he saw this.

“Ahhha!”

It wasn’t easy to stop such violent sword qi. Chung Myung’s abilities exceeded the realm of ordinary swordsmanship. Now that he had escaped the waves of qi, Mu Jin’s sword felt wasted and continued traveling in the wrong direction.

Thanks to that, gaps were revealed.

Chung Myung quickly flew toward Mu Jin, the moon shining behind him.

“Ha!”

Mu Jin extended his left arm towards Chung Myung. A long, elongated, thorn-like qi extended towards Chung Myung.

‘Graceful Palm!’

A technique representative of the Wudang!

The energy flowed smoothly, like a stream of water! However, the power inside it was second to none.

Chung Myung, who was still descending, kicked the air behind him. The Graceful Palm swept across his side and continued into the sky.

It was then.

Chung Myung’s face stiffened, and his body twisted mid-air. The palm technique had shifted direction mid-air and came flying back at him from behind.

‘Whirling Palm too?’

A technique that cannot be used unless one is at an advanced level.

“Good!”

Mu Jin was alert and predicted where Chung Myung would move in order to seize this opportunity.

Chung Myung straightened his leg, pulled back, and kicked at the approaching danger.

Kwang!

A loud explosion erupted in this once quiet area. Chung Myung used the recoil from kicking away the Whirling Palm technique and rushed toward Mu Jin at an incredible speed.

“Ahh!”

Mu Jin, who recovered his sword, went stiff and hurriedly lifted his sword.

And!

Mu Jin began to trace a soft circle in the air with his sword with narrowed eyes.

A sword qi that was both white and black covered this circle.

“Wisdom Sword!”

Jin Hyeon unconsciously exclaimed, nearly screaming.

The Taiji Wisdom Sword.

A sword technique that symbolized the highest level of swordsmanship in Wudang.

An incomprehensible sword that no one had been able to complete in ages.

‘Sasuk has already begun learning this sword?’

Jin Hyeon clenched his fists tightly.

Clench!

There were moments of doubt, but the match would end if this technique could be used.

‘The Taiji Wisdom Sword is invincible.’

‘No matter how talented he is, escaping from that sword is—’

It was then.

“No, you bastard!”

Chung Myung’s sword shone a sunset red as it struck through the glowing black qi and slashed down the Wisdom Sword technique that had formed in the air.

Kwaang!

The Taiji that had formed was broken.

“Kuak!”

Mu Jin shook and began to cough blood from the impact.

Thud!

Falling to the ground, he grabbed his mouth as blood continued to spew out. It seemed like he had suffered internal injuries.

Mu Jin’s eyes trembled, and he looked at Chung Myung in disbelief.

“H-How?”

He wanted to win.

The opponent was too strong. The Wudang’s honor would have been trampled over at the rate things were going. So, even though he was ordered not to use it, he utilized the Taiji Wisdom Sword.

The Taiji Wisdom Sword is invincible; it should have been simple to defeat Chung Myung using it.

But a single strike.

It collapsed with just one attack.

How could such a thing happen?

Mu Jin couldn’t understand.

Tak!

Chung Myung landed on the floor with a distorted face. Even though he wore a mask, it was apparent from his eyes that he was frowning.

“What the hell are you doing!?”

“… Um?”

What was he talking about?

“Haaa. Kids these days. Bringing out sword techniques that aren’t even fully trained!”

“…”

Mu Jin was shocked.

“Shouldn’t you already know this since you’re a bastard of Wudang!? Hey! Will you get better results just because you use more advanced techniques? Then why bother learning the basics? Just go and learn the strongest technique right from the start!”

“Ah…”

“Even if it means death, you should stick to what you can use confidently. How could you foolishly try and use an unfamiliar sword technique? If this was a battlefield, you’d already be dead.”

Chung Myung clicked his tongue.

‘This is the problem.’

This was the reason that Chung Myung taught Mount Hua the Seven Sages Sword and not the Plum Blossom Sword technique.

There is a reason why all sects pass on their martial arts in stages. Those who fail to master the basics are bound to break down one day.

How could anyone that fails to master the Seven Sages Sword even hope to learn the Plum Blossom Sword technique?

‘You’ll get eaten by the sword.’

Like Mu Jin now.

An improperly learned technique is like a poison. If Mu Jin hadn’t used the Taiji Wisdom Sword, he would have been able to endure for a while longer.

“A hollow boulder can be crushed by a dense stone. A fancy sword that only scratches the surface isn’t as useful as fully mastered basics.”

Mu Jin’s eyes fluttered. Only then did he realize what a mistake he had made.

‘What I’ve built till now….’

Taiji Wisdom Sword

He had been mesmerized by the technique’s reputation. Mu Jin believed that if he could fully master that technique, he would be invincible throughout the world.

He had abandoned the basics he had stacked up for a fleeting nothingness.

He forgot that he wasn’t growing.

Mu Jin struggled to get up, and with trembling hands, he spoke.

“Thank you for teaching me.”

He lost.

However, he had learned a valuable lesson that he would never forget. So, even in the face of this crushing defeat, he had no regrets.

Mu Jin expressed his sincere gratitude to Chung Myung with a refreshing smile.

Chung Myung smiled in return and responded.

“Hey.”

“… Yes?”

“What’s with you acting like this is all over?”

“…”

“Come here. You still need a beating.”

“…”

Mu Jin was visibly flustered. He raised his head, looked up, and saw Chung Myung’s raging eyes.

‘What?’

‘Why is he so angry?’

But Chung Myung simply grabbed his sword and slowly approached. Clearly, he had no intention of resolving Mu Jin’s burning question.

With all sorts of petulant emotions on his face.