Chapter 32: Fools and the Knowing Deceive One Another (3)

“...This is impossible.”

Eun Byeok sensed it instinctively.

There was no way he could withstand even a single move of that Sword Light.

That was the stage just before Sword Qi, the hallmark of a Transcendent Apex master.

It simply had not yet manifested outside the sword body...

But it was no different from Sword Qi trapped within the blade.

Even Myungjeok, inside the tent, ground his teeth.

Of course, just because a Transcendent Apex master who had reached Sword Qi was at that level did not mean they were invincible.

How many Transcendent Apex masters had died trusting only in their Sword Qi?

How many Apex experts had died trusting only in their Sword Light?

It was proof that a human had surpassed the limits of steel.

But that did not mean the skill that killed people always had to align with that.

Even so.

Even so, there was no way the swordsmanship of someone at that level was going to be that of a fool.

A martial artist of lower realm killing a master of higher realm with nothing but exceptional technique?

There were only a handful of such tales passed down by word of mouth.

Even if one counted all the eccentric geniuses of the martial world, they did not number ten.

Unfortunately, Cheonhwa was not one of those “eccentric geniuses.”

Nor was Cheon Soyak any kind of “fool” on that level.

Everyone who had watched the duels up to now knew that much.

Even so, Cheonhwa staked her hopes on a miracle and thrust her sword.

BANG—!!!!!

Inner power gathered full in Cheonhwa’s small foot.

The floor of the Sparring Stage where she stomped down hollowed in shallow concentric circles—

And her body soared up.

It was the last of the opening three moves of Ninefold Heaven Plum Sword.

The waterfall you brought crashing down to move into the middle sequence.

The single most powerful strike in terms of sheer force.

Ninefold Heaven Plum Sword, Third Form—

Fallen-Blossom Torrent.

The countless cascade of a profusion of blossoms in full bloom.

Like the roar of a beast, her Sword Cry screamed.

Scarlet red plum blossoms embroidered the sky, one strike, then another.

She had poured all the inner power in her whole body into the sword tip, save for her innate qi.

Her realization was still shallow, and she had not been learning it long.

But she staked everything on Fallen-Blossom Torrent.

When she saw that flash of starlike light in those pitch-black eyes, she understood.

If she was broken on the first move, that would be the end of it.

So she would stake everything.

So that at the very least, she would have no regrets.

So that she could tell herself she had done her best.

In the end, crimson plum blossoms filled every place her sword tip reached.

She could not make them bloom enough to cover the sky.

But her core was empty, and her heart felt like it was about to burst.

She had poured out everything she could.

“...I understand, Senior Sister.”

She felt the sincerity, the resolve.

In those eyes flashing with wildness, she could feel the desperation and the extremity.

So how could she answer half-heartedly?

The inner power of Harmonization Scripture swept through her whole being.

And then, her sword tip...

Drew the first form of Ninefold Heaven Plum Sword.

“...!!!!”

Cheonhwa’s face twisted.

Ninefold Heaven Plum Sword?

Cheon Soyak?

Since when had she learned it and trained in it?

But it was already too late.

The sword tip lightly scraped along the ground.

It drew a circle—and from its outer edge, the branches of a flowering tree sprouted.

It was full bloom.

It covered the whole Sparring Stage.

That still wasn’t enough; it bloomed all the way up to just in front of the tent where the masters sat.

A dizzyingly distant plum fragrance filled the space before Red-Tile Pavilion.

Everyone gathered there was so entranced by the sight and the scent that they forgot even to gasp.

It was an almost surreal scene.

Who could create such a spectacle?

This vista raised not with red plums, but with Black Plum Blossoms.

Plum blossoms so red they were nearly black covered the whole ground...

And along the raised sword tip, they swirled as if seized by a waterspout.

Ninefold Heaven Plum Sword, First Form—

Spring-Blooming Blossoms.

They surged up like flowers in full bloom greeting the coming of spring.

What Cheonju had done had been no more than a mere imitation.

Of course, even what Soyak was performing now was not the original Spring-Blooming Blossoms of Ninefold Heaven Plum Sword.

Not knowing the verses, she had created an offshoot of her own to fit Harmonization Scripture.

Even so, in its completeness, in its profundity—

There was not a single place where it fell short of the original Ninefold Heaven Plum Sword.

Every blossom summoned by Fallen-Blossom Torrent crumbled apart one by one.

Each time they touched the vortex of blackish plum blossoms, they shattered and vanished without strength.

“Why, why...”

“You modeled yourself after immortality. How could you understand the beauty of flowers?”

The plum blossoms of Mount Hua are eternal.

They say no flower blooms red for more than ten days, yet for over ten thousand days they had never once fallen.

The immortal plum.

It had already been thirty years.

So Ninefold Heaven Plum Sword of Mount Hua also ends up modeling itself after immortality.

But the true beauty of flowers lies in yielding way when the time comes.

Only when the flower falls does the fruit set.

Only when the fruit sets does the seed ripen.

Only when the seed ripens does a beast eat it and spread it elsewhere.

Life and death turn and turn like that, making an eternal cycle.

Flowers are most beautiful when they fall.

The brilliance of life shines because it has an end point.

So the plum blossoms of Mount Hua had already lost their luster.

Until they regained their original form...

They could not but be powerless before the capacity of the black qilin, natural enemy of immortality and psychopomp of the undying.

In the end, every blossom of Fallen-Blossom Torrent vanished in vain.

However, the sword in her hand did not break.

Nor did Soyak shred Cheonhwa to pieces with the blossoms she had summoned.

And thus, sword and sword collided.

—KAAAAAAAANG!!!

A shrill scream of steel rang out.

Sword Cry and Sword Light collided and exploded.

But that was as far as it went.

“It’s over, Senior Sister.”

SHEEN—.

Soyak’s Sword Light had already reached its peak.

Though it had not manifested outside, it was the same as Sword Qi.

There was no way a half-Black-Iron sword and a Sword Cry barely clinging to the middle of First-Rate could withstand it.

In an instant, the sword in Cheonhwa’s hand was cut away.

At the empty sensation in her fingertips, Cheonhwa lost her balance.

And into the pit of that Cheonhwa’s stomach, the pommel end of Falling Blossom Tranquil Edge slammed.

“...Khup!”

A painful sound like exhaled breath.

Cheonhwa tried to move, but her consciousness was already fading.

Her vision receded, and her sight went dark.

That was the end of it.

“...The winner!!!!”

Soyak gently lifted Cheonhwa and laid her down on the floor.

Cheonju leaped up onto the Sparring Stage.

“The youngest disciple of Second Generation, of the Great Mount Hua Sect’s White Plum Scholar Eunsong!!!!!”

Cheonju, faster than anyone, took Cheonhwa’s pulse and stroked her cheek.

Only after realizing that her breathing and pulse were normal did he collapse in relief.

“Is Young Hero Cheon Soyak!!!!!”

And then, everyone’s cheers erupted.

Soyak sheathed Falling Blossom Tranquil Edge and bowed toward those who were clapping for her.

Then, before she knew it, she was whispering to Cheonju, who had Cheonhwa on his back.

“Was...my hand a bit too heavy?”

Cheonju shook his head.

Without a decisive strike of at least this level, she could not have broken it on the first move.

If it had dragged on all the way to three moves...

There was a high chance Cheonhwa, who had poured everything into her first move and was staggering, would have been defeated in humiliating fashion.

“No. I’m grateful, if anything.”

That had likely been Cheon Soyak’s stake.

That was what Cheonju believed.

There is a saying in the martial world to always hide twenty percent of your strength.

Soyak had broken that saying to do her utmost.

How could he not be grateful?

But Cheon Soyak just gave an awkward smile and shrugged.

Because she hadn’t shown all she had.

And because she had realized what misunderstanding he was under.

She had yet to reveal Falling Plum Elegy even once.

As for Harmonization Scripture, only Eunsong knew of it.

“Then, please take good care of Senior Sister Cheonhwa.”

“Yeah. Leave her to me.”

With Cheonhwa still on his back, Cheonju glanced toward Eun Byeok’s tent.

Eun Byeok was standing there as if nailed to the ground, staring this way.

But those eyes were not looking at Cheonju and Cheonhwa.

At Cheon Soyak.

He was looking at Soyak.

****

“You idiot!!!!”

Jeongyang roared.

Fortunately, there was no one outside who could hear.

Red-Tile Pavilion had at least that level of precaution.

“So you just handed over Cheonju and Cheonhwa!!”

“Grand-Elder Jeonggang even stood as notary, so......”

“You should have backed out!!! You should have pulled out even if you had to cover yourself in shit!!!”

At the Sect Leader’s bellow, Eun Byeok’s complexion turned pale.

Behind him stood Myungjeok.

Pressure pressed in from front and back.

If Eun Byeok’s martial skill had been even a bit weaker, he would probably already have fainted.

There was nothing they could do.

Eun Byeok had been the one to first make a demand that violated natural bonds.

He had been the one who’d fallen for it whole.

On top of that, an elder-level figure had even stood as notary.

By rights, it was a wager that should never have been valid.

Even so, once an elder had stood as notary...

Undoing it had become impossible.

“...There is only one way, Master.”

Myungjeok, who had been standing quietly behind, stepped forward with his head bowed.

Only then did Jeongyang’s expression soften.

“Speak. What way?”

“Those children were failures anyway, even after we had them undergo monthly Hair-Cutting and Marrow-Washing for lack of sufficient aptitude.”

The corners of Myungjeok’s mouth curled up.

In that instant, even Eun Byeok felt a chill run down his spine.

He couldn’t even guess what his own master was thinking.

“There is that thing we sealed under the highest South Peak.”

“...Huh?”

Even Eun Byeok couldn’t follow the conversation.

If you went down along the cave beneath South Peak, the dungeon deep underground...

A remnant of ancient evil that only the Sect Leader and the next Sect Leader knew of.