Multiverse , Leveling Up in the World I Created

Chapter 431: 431 Return to the Volcano 17

In the meantime, I was creating a martial arts manual for the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique, which I had been pretending to restore.

I intended to give it to Sect Leader Hyeonjong before leaving after the Hwajong Meeting ended.

Then one day, after finishing training with Yui-seol and returning to our quarters, I saw a letter and a small box on the table.

Wondering what it was, I opened it and found a single elixir emanating a clear, pure energy.

Checking with [Naked Eye], it seemed to be one grade higher than the elixir I had given to Cheongmyeong before.

"It’s a Seolmae Pill."

I figured Cheongmyeong must have secretly left it there.

There was no one else at Mount Hua who could obtain such an elixir.

So I immediately unfolded the letter and read it.

—You have worked hard for Mount Hua all this time, yet we have given you nothing in return.

Please accept this small token of our appreciation without burden.

—Sect Leader Hyeonjong

—P.S. Keep this a secret from others.

It was obvious at a glance that Cheongmyeong had written it while pretending to be Hyeonjong.

If the Sect Leader were truly giving an elixir as a reward, he wouldn’t have delivered it so secretly, nor would the letter have been written so simply.

So I couldn’t help but chuckle.

’This must be payment for the elixir I gave him back then. It seems the kid isn’t completely ungrateful.’

I simply put the Seolmae Pill into my inventory.

After all, I had long since passed the point where elixirs could have any effect on me.

So I kept it to give to someone later if the opportunity arose.

A few days later, the entire Mount Hua sect began to move busily.

They were preparing to receive the guests who would come for the Hwajong Meeting.

What was interesting was that, once again, most of the work fell on the disciples.

Because Mount Hua was located on such rugged terrain, even the hired laborers used up all their energy just climbing the mountain, and by the time they arrived, they couldn’t work properly.

So unless there was work that absolutely required outside laborers, the disciples had to do it themselves.

"Honestly... we don’t need to go this far for Jongnam."

Cheongmyeong grumbled the entire time while cleaning the lodging quarters for the Jongnam disciples.

He seemed quite displeased with treating Jongnam so generously.

And he had every right to be.

For this Hwajong Meeting, much of the furniture in the lodgings had been replaced with new ones, and they had even brought in cooks from Huayin to prepare the food.

That being said, it wasn’t straining Mount Hua’s finances.

Most of the businesses had returned to normal operations, and there was still considerable funds left in the treasury.

It seemed Hyeonjong intended to use this Hwajong Meeting to once again announce to the world that Mount Hua was still thriving.

Once all the preparations were complete, the Jongnam disciples and elders arrived at Mount Hua.

They appeared a few days before the scheduled date of the Hwajong Meeting.

Presumably, because the path up Mount Hua was so rough, they wanted to arrive early to recover from their journey and be in peak condition for the sparring matches.

Jongnam also seemed to be taking this Hwajong Meeting seriously.

Now that they could no longer view Mount Hua as an easy opponent, their determination to not allow even the smallest opening was evident.

’As expected, their internal energy is higher than Mount Hua’s. They must have been fed quite a lot of elixirs.’

As expected, the Jongnam disciples possessed considerable internal energy.

Just from the energy emanating from them, it was easy to guess how much wealth Jongnam had poured into nurturing their disciples.

"You’ve had a long journey, Elder Sama.

I am Hyeonsang, an elder of Mount Hua.

We’ve met before.

It’s good to see you again."

"Likewise.

I am Sama, an elder of Jongnam.

It certainly feels more organized here than before."

"Mount Hua’s circumstances have improved, so we did some renovations.

Now, please, don’t let’s stand here.

Let’s first have something to eat.

A banquet has been prepared to welcome the Jongnam disciples."

"A banquet, you say... It seems Mount Hua thinks of the Jonghwa Meeting (what Jongnam calls the Hwajong Meeting) as nothing more than an occasion to eat and play."

"That couldn’t be further from the truth."

Elder Sama, who led the Jongnam disciples, looked like a cantankerous old man.

He didn’t openly disparage Mount Hua as he did in the original, but neither did he show any sign of respect or courtesy.

So Cheongmyeong just stared at him with an annoyed expression without picking a fight.

"Well, whatever.

I’m going to see the Sect Leader.

I’ll leave the disciples in your care."

"Understood.

We’ll do that."

Elder Sama immediately headed for the Sect Leader, and the disciples were guided by the 1st-generation disciples to their assigned lodgings.

After unpacking, they moved to the banquet hall that had been prepared and began their meal.

Thanks to the carefully prepared food, everyone seemed to be enjoying it.

I watched the scene from a distance, then returned to my quarters and continued working on the martial arts manual.

From that day on, I didn’t go out to train with Yui-seol.

With people from other sects visiting as guests, it felt a bit awkward to train.

So I spent my time in the quarters, making and eating snacks.

The Jongnam disciples stayed in their lodgings, focusing on recovering from their journey and regaining their energy.

Fortunately, there were no incidents or unnecessary friction.

The Mount Hua disciples, however, were different.

Even on the day before the Hwajong Meeting, they didn’t put down their swords and devoted themselves to training, preparing for the upcoming matches.

You might think they’d be too tired, but it had become routine for them, and they had finished training a little early that day, so I thought it would be enough.

On the day of the Hwajong Meeting, many guests visited Mount Hua from the morning.

All of them had come to watch the Hwajong Meeting, including heads of major merchant guilds, local dignitaries, and prominent figures.

This had been discussed beforehand, so neither Mount Hua nor Jongnam had any objections.

Mount Hua had no intention of stopping them if they insisted on watching.

And Jongnam also seemed to see it as a perfect opportunity to crush Mount Hua in front of so many witnesses.

So, it seemed that even the elders, not just the disciples, couldn’t hide their subtle anticipation.

When everyone was seated in the training ground, Unam, a 1st-generation disciple, stepped into the center and announced the start of the Hwajong Meeting.

"Then, we will now begin this year’s Hwajong Meeting!!"

The first ten matches of the Hwajong Meeting were to be contested by the 2nd-generation disciples.

And the vanguard was a person no one could object to: Baekcheon, the senior disciple of Mount Hua’s 2nd-generation.

In response, Jongnam also sent out Jin Geum-ryong, their 2nd-generation senior disciple.

"I can finally repay the humiliation of last time, Jin Dong-ryong!!!"

"I am not Jin Dong-ryong, I am Baekcheon of Mount Hua!"

Jin Geum-ryong was Baekcheon’s older brother.

Originally, Baekcheon had joined Mount Hua to surpass his older brother Jin Geum-ryong.

But perhaps due to my involvement, at the last Hwajong Meeting, Baekcheon had already defeated Jin Geum-ryong and achieved his long-held goal.

As a result, the flow had completely diverged from the original.

It was no longer a younger brother chasing an older brother, but an older brother chasing a younger brother’s back.

Now, Jin Geum-ryong seemed unable to hide his competitive spirit whenever he looked at Baekcheon.

I noticed people covering their mouths and giggling.

They must have been unable to hold back their laughter upon hearing Baekcheon’s real name.

’Dong-ryong is a funny name, after all.’

Jin Geum-ryong, seeming intent on giving his all from the start, gathered internal energy in his wooden sword and quickly approached Baekcheon, then began to unleash flashy techniques.

Swoosh!

"Seolhwa Twelve Forms, Seolhwa Bunbun!!!"

He swung his sword multiple times, releasing a flurry of sword energy.

What was funny was that, like Mount Hua’s plum blossoms, white petals flew from his sword energy.

Moreover, the technique itself was completely identical to the Maehwa Bunbun of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

"Those bastards, when did they start copying Mount Hua’s martial arts?!"

Cheongmyeong, sitting next to me, erupted in rage.

Yui-seol was also equally surprised.

She recognized it immediately because it was the sword technique she had been training in.

"W, what is this? That’s clearly Mount Hua’s Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique..."

"I know!!"

At this point, I decided to pretend to deduce and inform them.

"No. This is likely a case of the martial arts manual being stolen. There’s no way they could copy it so precisely otherwise. But it’s ironic, because thanks to this, Jongnam is doomed."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

Cheongmyeong explained in my place.

"Master Jin’s words mean that no matter how closely they try to imitate it, their mind technique is different, so there is a clear limit. It looks like they’ve forced it to fit, but with that, it’ll be hard to bring out the proper power."

"Right, that’s correct. The sword technique and mind technique are one."

"But that’s not the important thing. The question is when the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique was leaked to Jongnam."

"Hmm... I recall a story from long ago. When Mount Hua was attacked by the remnants of the Demonic Cult and suffered heavy losses, Jongnam sent support, albeit late. The interesting thing is that around the time Jongnam arrived, a great fire had broken out at Mount Hua. At the time, everyone thought the Demonic Cult remnants had set the fire while fleeing, but looking back now... it might not have been just that."

Cheongmyeong, with a shocked expression, asked me again.

"I, is that true?"

"Yes. This is a fact known to all the 1st-generation disciples and above of Mount Hua."

"Damn, those bastards deserve to die!"

Cheongmyeong ground his teeth in anger.

Jongnam likely had no intention of helping Mount Hua, with whom they had poor relations at the time.

But if they stood by idly while a major nearby sect was attacked by the Demonic Cult, they would incur the condemnation of the martial arts world.

So perhaps they outwardly pretended to come to the rescue, but secretly stole Mount Hua’s martial arts manual and even set the fire to ensure Mount Hua could never rise again.

Of course, there was no concrete evidence.

But considering the circumstances revealed so far, it wasn’t unreasonable to have such suspicions.

At that moment, Yui-seol asked in bewilderment.

"But how does Cheongmyeong, a 3rd-generation disciple, know the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique?"

"Well, he’s watched our training for a while, so he must have picked it up."

"Is that so?"

Yui-seol asked with a puzzled expression, and Cheongmyeong looked flustered.

But I glossed over it for him, and he let out a sigh of relief.

Baekcheon was somewhat surprised by Jin Geum-ryong’s fierce attacks, but he stepped back, channeling his internal energy into his sword to block or deflect the blows, responding calmly.

His sparring with Cheongmyeong must have helped.

"You bastard! You can’t run forever! Extreme Seolhwa Twelve Forms!!! Seolhwa Mancheon!!!"

Kwooooooh!!!

Jin Geum-ryong channeled a large amount of internal energy into his sword and swung it, causing countless Seolhwa petals to form a whirlwind that rose into the sky and then fell like rain in all directions.

Each of those Seolhwa petals was a blade of sword energy, so they could not be ignored.

"Th, this can’t be... Jongnam’s internal energy is this powerful..."

With every swing of Jin Geum-ryong’s sword, petals scattered like a storm, gradually consuming the training ground.

Baekcheon, sweating coldly at the sight, was forced back step by step.

He was struggling just to cut down the falling petals.

Before he knew it, he had been pushed to the edge of the training ground, and he couldn’t even mount a defense, let alone counterattack.

In the end, I clicked my tongue and sent a telepathic message to Baekcheon.

—"The opponent’s techniques are just hollow shells, so you can handle them. Trust your sword."

Only after I told him that did he regain his composure, channel his internal energy into his sword, and begin his counterattack using the Chilmae Sword.

"Maehwa Byeok!!!"

Baekcheon scattered numerous sword energies to create a wall in the shape of a plum blossom tree.

Then, countless plum blossom petals flew from that tree and began to oppose the Seolhwa petals.

However, the confrontation was pathetically one-sided.

The plum blossom petals erased the Seolhwa petals one by one and pushed forward.

This was the difference between one who had learned the proper internal energy mind technique and the corresponding sword technique, and one who had not.

"Th, this can’t be... My Seolhwa is fading. Why is this happening..."

Jin Geum-ryong faltered, seemingly shocked by the sight before him.

Baekcheon didn’t miss that moment and launched himself into the air.

Then, just as he had done against Cheongmyeong, he thrust his sword repeatedly in midair.

"Maehwa U!!!"

Whether it was because his mind was shaken, Jin Geum-ryong’s reaction was far too slow.

He couldn’t avoid most of the strikes and took them head-on.

Thwack, thwack, thwack, thwack!!!

"Kkeoheok!!!"

In the end, his body couldn’t withstand Baekcheon’s attacks and collapsed to the ground.

Then Unam, the 1st-generation disciple, shouted.

"Victory for Mount Hua’s Baekcheon!!!"

Wooooah!!!

"Senior disciple won!"

"I knew you could do it!!"

As the Mount Hua disciples cheered and celebrated, Cheongmyeong chuckled and added a word.

"Hmph, this is only natural! There’s no way Mount Hua would lose to someone like Jongnam."