Episode 507: The Return of the Demon Sect Master
“Huff, huff, huff…!”
Yoo Ja-yang’s hands trembled as he gripped his sword, his legs barely able to support him. He stared at Sa Bi-gang with disbelief.
“How is this possible…?”
A short distance away, Hye Hyun-sa Tae, also holding a sword, was drenched in sweat, his expression equally incredulous. Even Dang Mu-yeol, who appeared relatively calm, couldn’t help but be inwardly impressed.
“Truly, his reputation is well-deserved. I had heard of his skills, but to witness Sa Bi-gang’s prowess firsthand is something else entirely…!”
From the moment the duel began, the three of them launched a coordinated attack. Though they had never practiced together, their mastery was such that their movements naturally synchronized, creating a seamless assault.
With each clash of swords and burst of energy, the crowd gasped in awe. The attacks, though part of a formal duel, were lethal enough to threaten life itself.
Yet, what astonished everyone even more was Sa Bi-gang’s response. He deflected the fierce energy and sword strikes without so much as a twitch of an eyebrow, weaving effortlessly between the three attackers with his mysterious footwork. The gathered spectators, including the three sect leaders, watched with mouths agape.
They had endured twenty exchanges. Thirty more remained.
Sa Bi-gang surveyed the three with calm, steady eyes.
“Shall we get serious now?”
The three sect leaders looked at Sa Bi-gang in shock. Get serious now? Did that mean he hadn’t been serious before?
Yoo Ja-yang frowned.
“Master Sa, I acknowledge your martial prowess, but such bravado is unbecoming.”
“Indeed. We are willing to reconsider if you change your mind. We only need the funds necessary for now,” Hye Hyun-sa Tae added.
But Sa Bi-gang responded with his usual eerie smile.
“No, I am not yet satisfied.”
“How infuriating!”
With a roar, Yoo Ja-yang launched himself into the air, his sword slicing through the air toward Sa Bi-gang.
Swoosh!
A fierce sword energy shot straight at Sa Bi-gang.
Clang!
As Berthas blocked the sword energy, a loud sound echoed. Sa Bi-gang spun his body, swinging Berthas horizontally.
“Gah!”
Yoo Ja-yang swallowed hard, twisting his body to parry the attack.
Clang!
Sparks flew with the metallic clash. As Yoo Ja-yang staggered,
Tap! Tap-tap!
Sa Bi-gang swiftly struck, targeting pressure points.
“Ugh!”
Yoo Ja-yang cried out in surprise. He hadn’t been cut by the sword, but his pressure points had been hit! In a battle between masters, such a situation was rare indeed.
Whether it was a vital point or not, Yoo Ja-yang’s body stiffened, leaving him unable to move. Sa Bi-gang left him and charged toward Dang Mu-yeol.
“Gah!”
Dang Mu-yeol leaped back, spreading his arms wide.
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!
Hundreds of hidden weapons rained down like a shower of light.
“Oh! The Dang family’s ultimate technique, Mancheonhwau!”
“Who knew hidden weaponry could be so beautiful…!”
The spectators exclaimed in admiration. The weapons covered such a vast area that it seemed impossible for Sa Bi-gang to find a place to evade.
They assumed he would use his formidable inner strength to shield himself. But to their amazement, Sa Bi-gang dove into the storm of weapons.
The terrifying aspect of Mancheonhwau was the unpredictability of each weapon’s movement, like petals scattered by the wind. Yet, Sa Bi-gang, using his mysterious footwork, moved through the storm like a bee among flowers.
The spectators watched in awe, their mouths agape.
“Incredible! To dodge the Dang family’s Mancheonhwau like that!”
“I thought I was lucky to witness the Mancheonhwau, but to see someone evade it is even more astonishing!”
“Just how far does Master Sa Bi-gang’s skill go?”
Even Dang Mu-yeol was inwardly astonished.
“Truly, he is someone to admire! To withstand our combined assault and even counter our ultimate techniques! But I won’t hold back, Master Sa!”
Dang Mu-yeol quickly gathered his inner strength, changing the shape of his hands. The weapons, which had been falling like a rain of petals, transformed into a swarm of butterflies, flying toward Sa Bi-gang.
This time, it seemed impossible to evade. The Mancheonhwau was followed by the Dang family’s ultimate technique, Chuhonbijeop, in a seamless sequence.
To control thrown weapons in such a manner was a testament to extraordinary skill.
The spectators, exhausted from their earlier exclamations, could only watch with their mouths agape.
In that moment, Sa Bi-gang once again employed his mysterious footwork, his hands moving in a blur.
At first, it seemed he would use his energy to deflect the incoming weapons. But then, like the flowing movements of Tai Chi, he created a large current, controlling the weapons with his energy.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang…!
Hundreds of weapons were caught in a vortex of energy, colliding and sparking continuously.
Eventually, the weapons, now a large, round mass, were completely trapped within the vortex.
In essence, the hundreds of weapons Dang Mu-yeol had launched were now under Sa Bi-gang’s control.
Dang Mu-yeol’s eyes widened in disbelief.
“Impossible…!”
What level of mastery was required to achieve such a feat?
Even as a master among masters, Dang Mu-yeol felt like a child before an adult.
At that moment, Hye Hyun-sa Tae, who had been watching, let out a sharp cry and lunged with his sword.
It was the ultimate technique of the Emei Sect, the Myeoljeol Sword.
“Haaah!”
In that instant, Sa Bi-gang released the weapons trapped in the vortex.
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!
“Ugh!”
Hye Hyun-sa Tae swung his sword frantically, deflecting the incoming weapons as he retreated.
Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang!
Meanwhile, Dang Mu-yeol watched in shock, unable to close his gaping mouth.
“My, my…! That…!”
He lost his balance momentarily, unable to believe his eyes.
The technique Sa Bi-gang had just used was undoubtedly from the Dang family. Yet, it wasn’t.
“To combine Mancheonhwau and Chuhonbijeop!”
Indeed, combining Mancheonhwau and Chuhonbijeop in a seamless sequence was already astonishing. But Sa Bi-gang had perfectly merged the two techniques.
Hundreds of petals scattered, with butterflies weaving through them!
The weapons were clearly divided in such a manner.
Ultimately, Hye Hyun-sa Tae couldn’t deflect all the incoming weapons.
Swoosh!
“Ugh!”
A weapon grazed his shoulder, and then,
Swish, thud!
Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!
The weapons that followed landed at his feet, surrounding him and pinning him in place.
The weapons were sharp on both ends, leaving Hye Hyun-sa Tae unable to move without risking injury.
He was effectively trapped in a field of weapons that sprouted like new shoots.
Hye Hyun-sa Tae had no choice but to fend off the last of the incoming weapons from his position.
“Hmph! You wouldn’t claim to have defeated me with just a scratch on my shoulder, would you?”
Clang!
Having deflected the final weapon, Hye Hyun-sa Tae glared at Sa Bi-gang.
Sa Bi-gang spoke suddenly.
“Myeoljeol Sword.”
“What?”
“The technique you just used was the Myeoljeol Sword, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, it was.”
Sa Bi-gang shrugged.
“I recognized it from the initial stance.”
“Hmph! So what if you recognized the Myeoljeol Sword from the stance…!”
Suddenly, Hye Hyun-sa Tae couldn’t continue speaking.
“This is…?”
She looked down at her body in shock.
Could it be a coincidence?
Hye Hyun-sa Tae was now in the exact stance of the Myeoljeol Sword.
This was undoubtedly…
“Not a coincidence!”
It was too precise to be mere chance.
Why?
As she furrowed her brow and looked down at her feet, she felt as if she had been struck on the back of the head.
“The direction of my toes…!”
It had changed.
A very subtle difference, but it was there.
To an outsider, it might be imperceptible, but Hye Hyun-sa Tae felt the difference keenly.
She recalled the moment she deflected the last weapon and assumed the same stance.
”…!”
Sa Bi-gang smiled gently as he watched Hye Hyun-sa Tae shiver.
“Your weight should be shifted forward by a fraction, and the angle of your foot should be adjusted by the thickness of a sheet of paper. Correct that, and you might achieve greatness.”
Hye Hyun-sa Tae felt a shiver run through her entire body.
It wasn’t a feeling of humiliation or shame.
In fact, it was closer to the joy of finally finding an answer that had eluded him for so long.
The idea that a top-tier martial artist couldn’t master their sword technique because they hadn’t properly grasped the fundamentals might sound laughable.
Yet, the more skilled a master becomes, the more stubborn they can be, often solidifying bad habits.
When this stubbornness leads in a positive direction, it can result in new martial arts techniques and trends. But when it doesn’t, it becomes an insurmountable obstacle to true mastery.
Moreover, when the difference is as subtle as this, even a seasoned expert might never identify the root cause of their stagnation.
Hyehyeon Satae had reached the pinnacle of martial arts, but his sword technique had not achieved its full potential.
And to think it was such a simple issue!
What was even more astonishing was how the problem was revealed in this manner!
“Just how far is Sabigang planning to surprise me?”
Leaving the frozen Hyehyeon Satae and Dang Muyeol behind, Sabigang approached Yoo Jayang, who was still reeling from the pressure point strike.
As Sabigang placed a hand on his back, Yoo Jayang flinched and asked, “W-what are you doing?”
“Just helping the flow of your energy.”
With a curt reply, Sabigang infused his internal energy through his fingertips.
“Ah!”
Yoo Jayang closed his eyes, feeling the energy coursing through his meridians.
“The quality of this energy feels different! Wait… could it be…?”
Sensing Yoo Jayang’s curiosity, Sabigang elaborated, “It’s mana. The martial arts of the Cheongseong School harmonize well with mana. Even a single thread of it can enhance your internal energy. I’ll guide your energy flow now, so remember this method and practice it daily.”
Yoo Jayang nodded, committing the sensation to memory as Sabigang guided his energy.
When Sabigang finally withdrew his hand, Yoo Jayang felt an indescribable joy.
He had thought he was stuck, unable to progress any further, but now it felt as if a massive wall had crumbled before him.
Dang Muyeol rushed over next.
“What was that technique you just demonstrated? How do you do it?”
“It’s a combination of the Tang family’s Mancheonhwau and Chuhonbijeop.”
“So how can I learn it?”
“Admit defeat, and I’ll teach you. There are twenty-four moves in total. As it stands, it seems I’ve won this duel… What do you say?”
Sabigang grinned.
The hall fell silent as a mouse.
Then, as if on cue, the three sect leaders bowed and shouted in unison, “We have learned a valuable lesson from you, Lord Sabigang! Thank you!”
Their words were not mere formalities of a defeated party, but heartfelt expressions of gratitude.
“Wow!”
Cheers erupted around the training ground.