Chapter 60
Chapter 60
One month prior, right after the Gyojin Gang’s missive arrived and the clan’s council of elders had adjourned, Yanghwi and Baek Muryang entered closed-door seclusion side by side.
“Hwi. I have serious doubts about whether this can work. Spending a single month behind closed doors with you offers no guarantee that I will break through to the apex realm.”
From where Baek Muryang stood, his hesitation was entirely reasonable. Under normal circumstances, leaping into the apex realm a mere couple of months after crossing the threshold of a first-rate master sounded preposterous.
‘It is less of an ideal secondary plan and more a choice between bad options. Still, we have no alternative.’
Even so, success was far from impossible. In truth, their likelihood of pulling it off was surprisingly solid.
Yanghwi studied his father for a moment before replying.
“Father. You were the one who directed me to master the Harmonious Heaven Primordial Art and the Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords ahead of anyone else, were you not?”
“I did. Your talent for the martial path is immense enough to contend for the pinnacle beneath the heavens.”
Because Baek Muryang had issued that very order, Yanghwi had been able to comfortably impart both disciplines to his father as well as his younger siblings.
“While my personal cultivation may lag behind yours, Father, I am confident that my grasp of the core doctrines behind both arts far surpasses your own.”
The martial world recognized individuals known as martial scholars—men who never wielded weapons themselves, yet commanded an understanding of theoretical martial arts superior to nearly any warrior.
“Hwi, are you proposing to act as my martial scholar?”
“In a sense, yes. It stands as our most promising course of action at this moment.”
“Mmm. Your point is well taken. When left with no alternatives, we must pour every ounce of our effort into the attempt.”
“Shall we begin gently, then, with an exploratory exchange?”
“An excellent idea. Come to think of it, this marks our very first bout together.”
Baek Muryang drew his weapon with genuine delight in his eyes. Long before assuming the mantle of clan patriarch, he was a devoted swordsman; to him, conversing through the blade was always an absolute pleasure.
Clang! Cl-clang!
Steel struck steel, parted, and rebounded in rapid succession.
Following three or four probing clashes of that sort…
“Let us engage in earnest from here on.”
The moment Yanghwi circulated his true qi, the blade shivered, vibrating with a hum reminiscent of a bee’s fluttering wings.
Without delay, Baek Muryang also manifested the Bee Wing Sound in identical fashion.
Whirrrr!
Whirrrr!
Cl-cl-clang!
Though they executed only a single passing exchange, the clear chime of metal rang out several times over.
‘Exchanging blows with another swordsman at the Bee Wing realm is a novel experience for me as well. Throughout my prior life, no one else ever attained mastery over the Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords.’
It brought him profound satisfaction and delight. Yanghwi, too, was a martial artist to his very core. Had he lacked an intrinsic passion for martial arts, he never would have attained the apex realm above apex during his earlier incarnation.
Whirrrr!
Whirrrr!
Cl-cl-clang!
An entire day slipped away in that fashion.
Yanghwi traded blows with Baek Muryang across thousands upon thousands of passes. Through that relentless clash, uncertainty gave way to conviction.
‘This can be done. Within a month, Father will cross into the apex realm.’
Baek Muryang inherently possessed the martial gifts required to make the leap. As a direct scion of the Baek bloodline, his natural frame and disposition seemed deliberately forged for the Heaven-Splitting Sword.
“Father. The Heaven-Splitting Sword demands both unyielding steadiness and blistering pace. Precisely because its velocity outstrips all rivals, the momentum it carries bears unparalleled weight.”
When instructing his younger siblings previously, Yanghwi had emphasized that solid weight must come before velocity. Baek Muryang, however, stood at the opposite extreme, having long since moved past that introductory threshold.
“Understood, Hwi. Face me once more!”
Seven unbroken days and nights drifted past.
“Harmonious Heaven qi encompasses the vitality of the natural world. More specifically, its purpose is to blend every element into an indivisible whole.”
Like a hawk unfurling its plumage, it sheltered everything beneath its breadth. Those outstretched wings enveloped the surroundings with unwavering resolve.
“Through this harmony, it manifests wings firm enough to endure, yet swift enough to part the prevailing winds.”
“Hahaha! Marvelous. Why does your guidance feel so remarkably lucid? It sounds almost as if you are recounting a path your own feet have already traversed.”
A sudden pang of guilt tugged at Yanghwi. Deliberately curving his mouth into a grin, he swept his blade forward.
“Defend yourself!”
Cl-cl-clang!
The crystalline ringing of crossing blades resonated through the air.
‘The pitch of the chime has subtly shifted. Excellent. Should this momentum hold…!’
A second cycle of seven days and nights concluded.
“Crossing into the apex realm hinges upon achieving three specific awakenings.”
“You refer to mind-directed qi, unity of intent and qi (意氣傷人), and materialized sword energy (劍氣狀刃).”
“Precisely. Among these, how does one guide qi wherever the will desires? Ought one not simply act without calculating every movement?”
“…”
Baek Muryang maneuvered his sword back and forth without a word. His motions grew progressively unforced and organic, mirroring the way an infant takes its first steps without explicit instruction or deliberate thought. Distracting impulses drained completely from his blade patterns and his channel of true qi.
“It mirrors the identical truth you mentioned earlier. A soaring hawk expends no conscious effort to ride the heavens.”
Following that realization, a third span of seven days and nights elapsed.
“Harmonious Heaven qi intrinsically seeks to unite every disparate force. For that reason, I am convinced that Harmonious Heaven qi provides a decisive edge when condensing materialized sword energy.”
“Projecting the sword qi. Compressing its essence. Merging it together, denser and far more concentrated…”
Venturing far beyond mere reflection, Baek Muryang drifted into an absolute state of selfless absorption.
Yanghwi deftly slipped a medicinal pill between Baek Muryang’s lips and tapped a meridian point so the medicine would glide smoothly down his throat.
“As one. Bound together. Harmony and convergence. Fluid yet unshakeable, melding into a single entity…”
Trapped in that deep trance of self-forgetfulness, Baek Muryang murmured softly under his breath.
Yanghwi observed his father with profound gratification.
‘The ultimate barrier. He needs only to break through this single obstruction…!’
During his former existence, he had remained oblivious. To the youthful Yanghwi of that past life, Baek Muryang had seemed nothing more than an imposing, unapproachable figure.
‘His innate aptitude is genuinely remarkable. But naturally so. Father managed to step into the second-rate realm armed with nothing more than an inferior familial martial art.’
He had previously failed to appreciate the fact, but without an extraordinary innate foundation, Baek Muryang could never have attained second-rate standing to begin with. Such were the harsh constraints of third-rate disciplines; lacking raw, unassisted talent, an artist could never shatter their inherent ceiling.
‘Father, this is the final threshold. With your caliber, you will undoubtedly cross it!’
Eventually, the designated day of the life-and-death struggle arrived.
“Hahaha! Father! My sincerest congratulations on attaining completion!”
Whir-whir-whir!
Humming with far greater ferocity than ever before, Baek Muryang’s blade simultaneously blazed with an immaculate white brilliance. It was veritable sword energy—the definitive testament to mastering unity of intent and qi, and the hallmark of the second stage of the Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords: the Hundred Bee Wings (白蜂翼).
“Phew.”
Through half-lidded eyes, Baek Muryang cast an affectionate look toward Yanghwi before smoothly guiding the weapon back into its scabbard.
“Let us depart, Hwi.”
“Right behind you, Father!”
When the fatal duel commenced, every soul throughout Ak’an County would be left utterly dumbfounded, for an authentic master of the apex realm had just stepped into the world.
‘Unfolding exactly as anticipated.’
A subtle smirk traced the corners of Yanghwi’s lips.
At the grounds designated for the fatal contest, the assembly crowding the open clearing was struck with genuine awe.
“Sword energy!”
“Absurd! Just a short time ago, the Master of Baek Estate was unmistakably a second-rate warrior!”
“That is no crude projection of energy! He has unmistakably condensed materialized sword energy!”
Nor was that the extent of it. The suffocating momentum radiating from Baek Muryang’s posture, alongside an intent sharp as a freshly ground edge coursing with true qi, signified nothing less than true unity of intent and qi (意氣傷人).
“Ha, anyone laying eyes on this would have no choice but to concede.”
“The Master of Baek Estate has ascended to the apex realm!”
Sensing a hand press against his shoulder, Yanghwi glanced sideways to meet Gu Ak’s bewildered expression.
“Y-Younger Brother. What sort of wonder have you conjured up this time?”
“Heheheh. It is simply the natural outcome when one brilliant mind collaborates with another.”
Gu Ak’s gaze burned with raw hunger and yearning. Several years had drifted past since he broke into the first-rate tier, yet the trail leading toward the apex realm had remained stubbornly concealed from him.
“Younger Brother. If that is so… could you perhaps impart a bit of instruction to me as well?”
“Mmm. Providing guidance is simple enough, though your advancement will hardly match Father’s velocity. After all, the disciplines we cultivate stem from entirely different roots.”
“I understand that fully. Please, whenever your schedule permits, grant me even a single pointer.”
Even when facing a lethal engagement where one’s survival hung by a thread, Gu Ak had stepped forward to claim one of the three dueling slots without the slightest hesitation or retreat. Yanghwi harbored nothing but willingness to assist him.
“Very well. For now, let us keep our eyes on Father.”
Yanghwi redirected his gaze back to Baek Muryang.
At that exact moment, a blade clad in brilliant sword energy collided violently with a curved sabre.
Cl-cl-clang!
Though both combatants infused their strikes with ample true qi, it was the curved sabre of the Blood Night Wanderer that was violently thrown off balance.
Refining his internal senses, Yanghwi analyzed the two combatants carefully.
‘Father commands roughly fifty years of internal energy, whereas the Blood Night Wanderer possesses a full gapja.’
The Blood Night Wanderer held the advantage in pure cultivation depth. Even so, a clear reason explained why Father’s sword had managed to repel the curved blade with such ease.
‘Such is the might of the Hundred Bee Wings.’
Whenever an artist unleashed the initial set of forms belonging to the Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords in an unbroken sequence, the weapon shivered, crying out like a swarm of beating wings. Advancing one degree beyond that baseline brought forth the Hundred Bee Wings (白蜂翼)—an acoustic harmony tying the physical blade to its exterior sword energy. That intensified resonance doubled the destructive impact of every swing. It was an innovation Yanghwi had conceived during his former wandering days, born out of necessity when he struggled against an unavoidable shortage of internal energy.
“Ugh, how can this…!”
Flustered, the Blood Night Wanderer lost his composure. Baek Muryang offered no verbal reply, choosing instead to let his sword do the talking.
Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords (蓋天百八劍), First Form.
Arrow Feathers Pierce Rock (射羽貫巖), Seventh Variation.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Six consecutive thrusts rained down, each strike landing a scant three inches apart from the last. The Blood Night Wanderer scrambled with frantic parries and hasty steps to stave off the assault.
Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords (蓋天百八劍), Second Form.
Both Wings Fold and Slash (兩翼摺斬).
As if cleaving the air along two trajectories simultaneously, a solitary sword cast a pair of intersecting silhouettes, sweeping inward from flanking angles to trap the target between them.
‘Father has deciphered him completely.’
Like the majority of wandering martial artists, the Blood Night Wanderer suffered from gaps in his fundamental training. Although his sabre methods were reasonably competent, his maneuvering and evasive maneuvers remained unrefined. Baek Muryang, by contrast, had thoroughly internalized the Vessel Thousand Steps during their recent isolation.
“Gaaah!”
The Blood Night Wanderer failed to open sufficient distance against Baek Muryang’s seamless glide through the Vessel Thousand Steps. Grazed cleanly by the passing point of the blade, the front of the wanderer’s robe bloomed with a splash of vivid scarlet.
“Curse it all!”
Unleashing a desperate blow with all ten stars of his strength to drive Baek Muryang backward, the Blood Night Wanderer drew a ragged breath and reset his posture.
‘He isn’t an empty shell, after all. He is undeniably a seasoned master of the apex realm.’
Between the Blood Night Wanderer and his father, the wanderer undoubtedly held the superior cultivation tier alongside a richer store of internal qi, granting his raw strikes greater baseline force.
Yet…
An encounter between martial masters was never settled through cultivation and tier alone.
‘When measuring the sheer depth of their respective arts, our advantage is overwhelming.’
The Blood Night Wanderer’s techniques were quintessential wanderer fare, hammered out through crude survival. While that produced functional, lethal efficiency, the underlying philosophical principles remained relatively shallow. At best, it ranked as an ordinary apex-tier style. It stood no chance against the Hundred and Eight Heaven-Splitting Swords, which had been elevated to the realm of a divine art after being forged at the apex realm above apex.
‘On top of that, the disparity in footwork is even more pronounced.’
For any warrior, the caliber of one’s steps was every bit as vital as the weapon in hand. Footwork alone governed distance, timing, and the seamless transition between assault and retreat.
Cl-clang! Cl-cl-clang!
With every passing clash of forms, fresh cuts accumulated across the Blood Night Wanderer’s frame, and his spilled blood pooled ever wider. In contrast, the minor nicks Baek Muryang sustained amounted to trivial scratches.
“Blood Night Wanderer.”
Leaping backward to open a measure of space, Baek Muryang called out.
“Concede. Should you admit your loss, I will spare your life.”
Listening to Baek Muryang’s proclamation, Yanghwi let his mouth droop into a slight pout.
‘Father, really. In a situation like this, severing his head as a warning would serve us far better.’
Even so, it was his father’s prerogative, leaving Yanghwi no room to interfere. Knowing his father’s gentle heart and chivalrous nature, Yanghwi had fully anticipated such mercy anyway.
“Pant, pant.”
Gasping for air, the Blood Night Wanderer hesitated. As an unattached wanderer, throwing his life away for someone else’s vendetta carried no true merit.
“…I yield.”
The instant those words left the Blood Night Wanderer’s mouth, a thunderous cheer rocked the grounds.
“WOOOAAAH!”
“Victory belongs to the Master of Baek Estate!”
“Peerless in Chivalry! Peerless in Chivalry!”
“His peerless virtue is no longer confined to chivalry alone!”
“Well spoken! Alongside his integrity, declaring his blade peerless is hardly an overstatement!”
“Indeed! Would it not be entirely right to hail him as the Dual Peerless Chivalrous Sword? Hahahaha!”
“Dual Peerless Chivalrous Sword! Dual Peerless Chivalrous Sword! Dual Peerless Chivalrous Sword!”
At that very moment, Baek Muryang’s new moniker was cemented. He had moved past the title Peerless in Chivalry—a name once laced with mockery toward his meager cultivation—and earned the mantle of the Dual Peerless Chivalrous Sword, denoting peerless attainment in both the blade and moral righteousness.
“Blood Night Wanderer. Crossing swords with you proved to be an invaluable encounter. You have my gratitude.”
Observing Baek Muryang offer a respectful cupped-fist salute to an adversary he had just fought to the brink of death, Yanghwi beamed with genuine pride.
‘As expected, Father is truly qualified to stand as the pillar of our house.’
Lord of Baek Estate, Dual Peerless Chivalrous Sword Baek Muryang.
Both as a patriarch and as a dedicated swordsman, he had triumphantly steered his clan through their impending crisis.
“With this result, our house has secured two victories out of three matches. Gyojin Gang Leader, do you concede defeat?”
As Baek Muryang’s inquiry settled, every eye across the grounds swung toward the leader of the Gyojin Gang.
“…”
The man’s frame shuddered violently as a chilling, oppressive aura of murder rolled from his pores.
Observing the gang leader looking as though he might succumb to qi deviation just like his son had, Yanghwi clicked his tongue mockingly.
“My, how unfortunate. To suffer total defeat without even having the opportunity to draw your sabre.”
“…Cough!”
With his internal energies and vital blood violently reversing course, the Gyojin Gang leader vomited a thick spray of crimson.
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