Episode 79

As we rushed together toward the Guanyin Hall, we suddenly came upon a fierce battle unfolding right in front of it—Amipa disciples clashing with the Blood Sect warriors.

Among them, I spotted Sojeo locked in a tense standoff with what appeared to be the leader, Madwoo. At that moment, Jeongan Sojeo let out a scream, almost like a shout.

“Jeonghye Sajeo?!”

Jeonghye was apparently a fellow disciple of the same master, someone Jeongan Sojeo had boasted about repeatedly on our way here—praising her as an incredibly wise person.

Then, Hwayoungbin of the Jeokha Divine Sword, who was running alongside us, caught sight of a middle-aged woman fiercely battling three top-tier masters alone and said,

“That’s Gyeoljinsaetae. We need to hurry!”

As he spoke, he quickened his pace. Suddenly, Biseayeong, who was running beside Jeongan Sojeo, exploded forward with explosive speed.

Bang!

He shot forward like an arrow fired from a divine bow.

It was clear he was using the Pojinbo technique.

Though Pojinbo wasn’t a Blood Sect martial art, it was a remarkable secret skill he must have learned through the Georyeokma’s hidden teachings. It was simply a technique for a brief burst of rapid acceleration, but that single effect was incredibly powerful.

Using it, Biseayeong’s speed was nothing short of a raging gale.

I heard Jeongan Sojeo running nearby exclaim with a bright expression,

“Wow! As expected!”

But when I saw the direction Biseayeong accelerated toward using Pojinbo, I smirked. He was heading straight for Jeonghye Sajeo, the very disciple Jeongan Sojeo had mentioned.

I’d been sensing it all along—he was truly sincere.

Grinning, I thought to myself,

“You can’t just turn your back on a friend’s fight!”

And without hesitation, I too activated Pojinbo and surged forward.

Paang!

The scenery around me blurred past at a terrifying speed.

The extreme velocity, far beyond my usual pace, sent a thrilling rush through me.

My target was the one facing off against Jeonghye Sajeo—the clear leader of the Blood Sect warriors.

His internal energy seemed to be around eighty years’ worth.

Just then, like a whirlwind, Biseayeong succeeded in rescuing Jeonghye Sajeo and shouted,

“I’ve got your back!”

I charged at Madwoo, shouting back,

“Of course!”

I could have approached silently for a surprise attack, but I chose not to.

This was exactly the opponent I wanted.

Someone who could truly test my current strength.

There were still many enemies left, but I felt confident leaving them to Hwayoungbin, a master who was already engaging them from behind.

Sure, the enemy numbers were high, but with Gyeoljinsaetae fighting alongside, it should be manageable.

This moment—right now—was the perfect chance to fight exactly as I wished, without any distractions.

What a magnificent moment.

A smile naturally spread across my lips.

Then I noticed Madwoo stepping back, adopting a defensive stance.

He must have felt threatened by my speed.

“Hmm, if that’s the case…”

Normally, Madwoo was two levels above me in skill. If he was settling into defense, the wise move would be to use the Hwan Sword and divine techniques to circle around and buy time.

But…

“I don’t want to do that at all right now!”

I charged straight in, unleashing my sword technique.

Seonwoo’s Thirteen Swords—Ilcho.

Shin Eung Bisang.

My sword shadow blossomed into even more radiant wings.

Shuhaaak!

Seeing this, Madwoo sneered and swung his sword.

“Tricks and gimmicks!”

Recognizing the Hwan Sword, he aimed to shatter it with a powerful strike.

But a smile returned to my lips.

How long had I waited for a moment like this?

Buaaaang!

As he swung with fierce momentum, the wings of light bent gracefully, evading his strike.

It was just like a real bird’s wings flapping—the very technique Mukrang had shown me.

The thrill of flawlessly executing a move I’d only practiced in my mind at the perfect moment sent a shiver down my spine.

Madwoo’s eyes widened in shock.

“?!”

The wings of light that had dodged his strike suddenly spread wide, enveloping him.

This was a seamless transition from Ilcho Shin Eung Bisang to Sib Ilcho Daebungmanri.

“Ugh!”

I saw confusion flicker in his eyes, and he gritted his teeth, swinging his sword again.

“Uhaaap!”

Puhwaak!

Just as the wings of light were about to fully encase him, he violently expelled bursts of sword energy in all directions, knocking away the encircling blades.

A powerful, flawless sword strike befitting a master with over eighty years of internal energy.

But that was exactly the response I had anticipated.

My eyes flashed.

An opportunity.

“Haaap!”

Sail Sword Technique—Samcho.

Samjosamjeol.

I had already shifted to his side, releasing three ultra-fast beams of light like three strands of a single sword.

Shyiik!

“Guhk!”

Pfft!

Blood burst from his left shoulder and chest.

He hadn’t fully dodged my Samjosamjeol, and this was the price he paid.

I clicked my tongue sharply.

“Tch!”

I had hoped to finish it here, but it seemed he wouldn’t die so easily.

Desperately retreating, he gritted his teeth and finally launched a counterattack.

His face twisted with all his might.

“Die! Gwangryongpacheon!”

Kukwakwakwakwakwa!

A furious red sword energy surged forward like a mad dragon, charging in an erratic path.

The Gwangryong Sword Technique—a famous Blood Sect sword skill.

My heart pounded.

“Can I really pull this off?”

Aside from the Gongjeuksisaek technique Mukrang had shown me but I couldn’t yet use, the move I most wanted to try was the one where Georyeokma’s all-out attack was cut off by a single Sailsword strike.

That one move, which stopped a tidal wave of furious attacks by precisely severing the opponent’s wrist.

It felt like a miracle—like stopping a charging cart with a single pine needle.

It required insight to observe the opponent’s offense from a higher plane and the ability to sever its flow exactly.

I’d always wondered—

Could I really do it?

That move, perhaps even more advanced than Gongjeuksisaek?

The thought didn’t linger long.

I steadied myself, watching the red dragon of sword energy rushing at me at terrifying speed.

Calm.

Exhaling, I settled my mind.

Insight.

I summoned all my senses to observe the entire furious charge of red sword energy.

Then I extended my arm, my sword becoming one with it.

Sail Sword Technique—Ilcho.

Il Sisa Il.

Shyiik!

My blade, transformed into a beam of light, shot toward the tail of the red dragon.

Siiik!

But it didn’t sever his wrist—it only grazed it strongly.

A failure.

“Damn it!”

At that moment, the greedy maw of the red dragon loomed right before me.

Then came a massive collision.

Kwakwakwakwakwakwak!

The impact was so powerful it left a huge dragon-shaped imprint on the ground.

Madwoo stood on the scorched earth, clutching his wrist, which was sliced about a quarter through and bleeding profusely.

He turned to glare at me with furious eyes.

I stood about three jang away, clutching my pounding chest and muttering,

“Whew, that was a close call.”

I barely managed to dodge at the last moment.

If not for Pojinbo, and if my sword hadn’t grazed his wrist just enough to alter the sword energy’s path, I might have truly died.

A bitter taste filled my mouth.

“Maybe this level is still beyond me.”

Thanks to that near-death experience, my hot-headedness cooled, and regret washed over me.

“Risking my life on baseless confidence… I must be crazy, Seonwoo Jin.”

But earlier, I’d felt an overwhelming confidence that I could do it.

In fact, I almost succeeded.

Suddenly, my head began to heat up again.

“Maybe I just need to try one more time.”

The regret vanished, replaced by a defiant spirit.

Like a wildcat eyeing its prey, I stared at him and licked my lips.

---

Jeokha Divine Sword Hwayoungbin watched the backs of the two Biryong Corps members who had dashed off at a speed even he couldn’t match.

Both were incredible, but especially his friend Biseayeong’s divine technique—it was astonishing.

A first-rate warrior at the pinnacle of mastery, beyond even his own reach, made him chuckle bitterly.

“Even seeing it with my own eyes, I can’t believe it’s possible. Just judging by the divine technique alone, he deserves to be called a prodigy of the ages.”

And the other one, Seonwoo Jin, was remarkable in a different way.

Though his internal energy seemed only about seventy years’ worth, he was pushing back a Blood Sect warrior who looked like he had over eighty years.

“Is he a genius? A different kind of genius than a disciple.”

When Hwayoungbin’s master, Cheonggwang Jin-in, first brought his disciple Igeon and began to nurture him with care, Hwayoungbin couldn’t even feel jealousy.

The talent was so overwhelming, he didn’t even consider it.

His own pride in his abilities suddenly felt pathetic.

At the same time, he felt relieved.

Since he had made it his lifelong goal to take revenge on the Blood Sect, he knew he could no longer fulfill his master’s dream of reaching the Divine Mirror.

He believed that his disciple Igeon would surely carry out his master’s will.

That he would reclaim the title of “Divine” that had been lost for a hundred years.

Compared to that, this friend Seonwoo Jin was… a curious case.

“He doesn’t exactly radiate the overwhelming talent of a master… but still…”

Compared to the potential Hwa Young-bin had estimated, what this young man was showing now—and all that he had accomplished so far—was nothing short of astonishing.

Hwa Young-bin himself had once been part of the Biryong Corps.

It was right after the Jeonghyeol Tournament ended; he could never forgive the Blood Sect’s demon leaders who had stolen his lifelong soulmate from him.

From that moment on, his sole purpose in life was to destroy the Blood Sect.

“But… the Biryong Corps wasn’t the place to achieve that.”

He had quickly fallen into despair after joining the Biryong Corps.

He realized it wasn’t an organization dedicated to toppling the Blood Sect, but merely a group of sentinels guarding their territory.

So, after serving his five-year term, he left without hesitation, convinced he could do nothing there.

“Yet…”

Meeting these juniors from the Biryong Corps rekindled a warm connection, and on his way here, Hwa Young-bin had many conversations with the two of them.

What he learned shocked him deeply.

“The Blood Demons’ feud with the Jeomchang faction, the existence of the Amyeong Corps, and even the Blood Sect’s forward base infiltrating the martial world?”

These were the revelations they had uncovered.

All of it was information Hwa Young-bin had been completely unaware of during his five years in the Biryong Corps.

He felt a wave of self-reproach—what had he been doing all that time?

And from what he heard, it seemed that this junior, Sun Woo-jin, was at the very center of it all.

Truly an astonishing and admirable junior.

“And that sword…”

Hwa Young-bin carefully studied the sword Sun Woo-jin wielded—the ‘Mookrang.’

It bore a striking resemblance to the sword of ‘that’ person he had met only once.

“Could it be…?”

Before he could finish the thought, Sun Woo-jin’s new form burst into the midst of the Blood Sect warriors.

“Haah!”

Shing!

“Gah?!”

“Arrgh!”

As he swung his sword, a majestic sunset spread across the battlefield.

A cruel sunset, heavy with the scent of blood.

The Blood Sect members, terrified, began to scream.

“That’s the Red Scythe Sword!”

“How is the Red Scythe Sword here?!”

Watching intently, Hwa Young-bin saw Sun Woo-jin swiftly dispatch three demon leaders who had been pressuring Jeoljin Satae at the peak of the battle, then mop up the remaining stragglers with ease.

So, while Hwa Young-bin was slaughtering the Blood Sect warriors, he focused entirely on Sun Woo-jin’s fight.

Sun Woo-jin faced a demon leader more skilled than himself, yet never once slowed his offense.

From start to finish, he never lost the upper hand.

The demon leader, having injured his right wrist, was forced to use his left hand for sword techniques, but it was clearly less skilled.

Hwa Young-bin even wondered if he could really defeat someone two levels above him like this.

“Haah!”

Sun Woo-jin’s phantom sword spread out like radiant wings, sweeping down on the demon leader, who gritted his teeth and swung his blade.

“That move again?!”

The demon leader’s long-reaching sword strike cut deep, determined not to miss this time.

But before the blade could land, the wings of light shattered midair like broken glass.

Crash!

“?!”

Amid the scattering light, the demon leader spotted Sun Woo-jin’s sword piercing forward at lethal speed and hastily retreated.

Swish!

It was a hair’s breadth away.

The lightning-fast sword barely grazed his collar.

Seizing the moment, the demon leader launched a fierce counterattack, slashing down at Sun Woo-jin.

“Yah!”

Like a wild dragon thrashing forward with an erratic path, the furious strike landed.

Bang!

It seemed to hit Sun Woo-jin.

Or so it appeared.

But instead of being cut, Sun Woo-jin’s new form shattered into countless fragments, like petals scattering in the wind.

An afterimage?

At this moment?

Hwa Young-bin was amazed by the incredible technique.

Like petals fluttering in the breeze, Sun Woo-jin dispersed into multiple afterimages, then suddenly reappeared behind the demon leader, unleashing a dozen phantom swords.

“Not a chance!”

The demon leader gritted his teeth and swung his blade to sweep them away.

At that moment, one of the phantom swords suddenly accelerated, slicing through the demon leader’s thigh.

Shing!

“Ugh!”

Hwa Young-bin was once again impressed.

The combination of phantom and real swords was exquisitely clever.

This brilliant pairing, fused with the extraordinary new technique, left even a master two levels above utterly unable to respond.

But perhaps due to lack of experience?

The demon leader, losing balance from the leg wound, was immediately met with a direct thrust from Sun Woo-jin’s sword.

To Hwa Young-bin, it was a reckless move.

He couldn’t help but exclaim in regret.

“No!”

Sure enough, the demon leader’s eyes flashed as he unleashed a sword technique—Gwangryong Pacheon—that he had shown earlier.

“Ugh!”

Crash! Crash! Crash!

A crimson dragon surged toward Sun Woo-jin’s sword.

In a head-on clash, the demon leader’s superior internal energy and martial skill gave him a clear advantage.

He unleashed a burst of red light.

“Hahaha! Die!”

The demon leader’s dragon-like sword strike swept away Sun Woo-jin’s sword, which was but a thin ray of light.

Sun Woo-jin’s blade vanished like sand in the wind.

“?!”

But then both the demon leader and Hwa Young-bin realized—it had been a phantom sword all along.

Sun Woo-jin grinned fiercely and thrust his real sword forward.

The speed was incomparable to the phantom sword—the ‘One Moment, One Sword’ technique of the Saille Sword Style.

Thrust!

“Ugh?!”

Sun Woo-jin’s blade pierced the demon leader’s wrist precisely.

The raging crimson dragon charge abruptly vanished.

In the next instant, with a slight movement of his wrist, Sun Woo-jin effortlessly dislocated the demon leader’s wrist.

Pop!

“Argh!”

Blood spurted from the severed wrist as the demon leader screamed.

Sun Woo-jin smiled slyly and muttered,

“See? Told you it works if you try again.”

Then, like a streak of light, he slashed both of the demon leader’s defenseless shoulders.

The demon leader was utterly powerless.

Watching Sun Woo-jin, who had just defeated a superior opponent, Hwa Young-bin couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

Looks like his master, Lee Geon, finally has a worthy rival.