Chapter 67
Three days later, Baek Mu-Gun visited the side building where the Justice Martial Sect was staying and met Jeong Won-Hyo.
“Come in.”
Won-Hyo welcomed Mu-Gun.
“How is the enhancement of our sect’s martial arts?”
“I have completed it. Would you like to see it for yourself?”
“That would be great.”
Won-Hyo and Mu-Gun immediately headed to the training hall.
“Let me demonstrate the martial arts before I explain it to you.”
Mu-Gun unsheathed his sword and stood in the middle of the training hall. He then began to display the 12 Heavenly Flame Blades, which were based on the Justice Martial Sect’s martial arts and the essence of the Vermillion Fire Sect’s martial arts.
The 12 Heavenly Flame Blades could only be used at its peak by using it alongside the Heavenly Flame Origin Cultivation Method, which was an enhanced cultivation method based on the Sunlight Origin Cultivation Method. Mu-Gun couldn’t learn the Heavenly Flame Origin Cultivation Method. Hence, he instead used the Heavenly Thunder Constellation Divine Art and tried to match the Heavenly Flame Origin Cultivation Method’s characteristics as much as he could before performing the 12 Heavenly Flame Blades.
The techniques of the 12 Heavenly Flame Blades Mu-Gun demonstrated didn’t differ that much from the 12 Pure Sun Blades. However, the power and energy they contained were in an entirely different league.
Won-Hyo’s eyes widened when he saw the sword technique, which boasted a completely different level of power despite being a nigh-similar technique to the original. It wasn’t just Mu-Gun’s strength that caused the difference in power. Although the techniques of the sword art were nearly the same, they contained an extremely high level of internal energy application that changed their power.
The Baek family’s ability to transform the 12 Pure Sun Blades into a sword art of a completely different level in just three days astonished Won-Hyo beyond belief. He couldn’t help but look forward to how much progress he would make if he mastered the revamped 12 Pure Sun Blades. Mu-Gun gained Won-Hyo’s admiration. He stopped swinging his sword after displaying the twelfth and final technique.
“What do you think?”
“It’s so amazing that I’m at a loss for words.”
“There’s more to it than what I just showed you. If you master the Heavenly Flame Origin Cultivation Method and the 12 Heavenly Flame Blades to the 5-star Realm, you’ll be able to imbue the hellfire aura in your sword. As you may have already guessed, the Heavenly Flame Origin Cultivation Method and the 12 Heavenly Flame Blades are the names of the revamped Sunlight Origin Cultivation Method and the 12 Pure Sun Blades.”
Shocked about what he had heard, Won-Hyo clarified, “Did you just say that I will be able to exude hellfire aura?”
“That’s right. I focused on the fact that the Sunlight Origin Cultivation Method and the 12 Pure Sun Blades were techniques based on the characteristics of the sun, so I incorporated the fire element into it in order to maximize the martial art’s power.”
“Empowering martial arts with a specific attribute is difficult even for Absolute Realm masters. Your ability to incorporate the fire element into our sect’s martial sects shows that the Baek Sword Sect’s martial prowess is at an astonishing level.”
“I managed to get my hands on a martial art containing the fire attribute in the Heavenly Sea God Sect’s secret cave. All I did was use that as a reference.”
Mu-Gun convinced Won-Hyo with a plausible lie just in case it raised suspicion.
“Even so, it’s still amazing. Even if you refer to a martial art containing the fire attribute, it’s not as easy as it sounds to imbue the fire attribute to a completely different martial art. Are you the one who developed all the improvements to our sect’s martial arts?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. I’m envious of you. I’d love nothing more than for Ho-Gun to be at least half as good as you.”
“Don’t say that. Ho-Gun’s talent is already plenty amazing. If you give him proper guidance from the side, he will become a martial artist capable of making a name for himself in murim in the future.”
“While we’re on the topic, what do you think about guiding Ho-Gun from the side?”
“Do you really want me to?”
“I’m ashamed to say this, but I think you’ll be more helpful to Ho-Gun than I can be. Receiving your help would also stimulate him a lot since you’re his friend. Won’t he put in more effort as a result?”
“I’m fine with it, but I don’t know how Ho-Gun will feel about it.”
“I’ll explain it to Ho-Gun myself, so you don’t have to worry about that.”
“Okay. As long as Ho-Gun is fine with it, I will oversee him from the side as much as I can.”
“Alright. Thank you.”
“Well then, allow me to start teaching you the revamped martial arts.”
“I’ll be in your care.”
It took Mu-Gun two days to teach and pass down the Heavenly Flame Origin Cultivation Method and the 12 Heavenly Flame Blades to Won-Hyo.
***
While teaching Won-Hyo the Heavenly Flame Origin Cultivation Method and the 12 Heavenly Flame Blades, Mu-Gun also gave Jo Jin-Myeong, the Flying Lance Sect’s patriarch, the same offer he made to Won-Hyo. The only difference from before was that Won-Hyo, the Justice Martial Sect’s patriarch, stepped up to convince Jin-Myeong as well. In response to Mu-Gun and Won-Hyo’s persuasion, Jin-Myeong promised to support the Baek Sword Sect as the Zhejiang Martial Alliance leader. Mu-Gun promised to enhance the Flying Lance Sect’s martial arts in return, so he asked for Jin-Myeong to show him their current martial arts.
Jin-Myeong hesitated to tell Mu-Gun about the Flying Lance Sect’s martial arts at first. However, he changed his mind and began to explain it to Mu-Gun after hearing about the overwhelming power of the Justice Martial Sect’s improved martial arts from Won-Hyo. As could be inferred from their sect’s name, their martial arts revolved around spearmanship.
It had to have been questionable whether Mu-Gun, whose main weapon was a sword, was capable of enhancing spear techniques. However, that was nothing but needless worry. Mu-Gun handled various weapons throughout his various reincarnations. He had experience with not only swords and sabers but spears and bows too. Of course, just because he had used spears as a weapon before did not mean he could enhance all types of spear techniques. Performing such a feat required enlightenment on spearmanship at the very least.
Fortunately, Mu-Gun’s enlightenment in spearmanship was as high as his enlightenment in swordsmanship. In his fifth reincarnation, Mu-Gun lived as the leader of the Northern Gale Brigade, which conquered the immigrants in the north.
The Northern Swift Wind Spear Art, which the members of the Northern Gale Brigade had mastered, was known as the greatest spear art of murim. It was strong enough to terrorize the immigrants. Moreover, at the time, Mu-Gun’s Northern Swift Wind Spear Art was at such a high level that no one could best him.
Mu-Gun’s enlightenment back then still lingered in his mind. Having decided to incorporate the essence and principle of the Northern Swift Wind Spear Art into the Flying Lance Sect’s spear art, he began to revamp their martial arts. It took him three days to complete it, which was the same duration it took for him to improve the Justice Martial Sect’s martial arts.
However, even though he had completed the enhancement, it lacked an ultimate trump card like the 12 Heavenly Flame Blades, which could call forth a hellfire aura. After much thought, Mu-Gun came up with a good idea.
To be in line with the Flying Lance Sect’s name, Mu-Gun decided to add the element of the Flying Lance, which was a technique that threw a spear at the opponent. To create it, Mu-Gun reformed the Flying Golden Shield Scripture and held a spear to test it. He invoked the Flying Divine Coil Scripture, which was the revamped Flying Golden Shield Scripture, and tossed the spear forward. Thrown into mid-air, it coiled at high speed, causing a sharp ear-splitting sound.
The spear ripped through the air and accurately hit the wooden doll erected a hundred feet away, causing a deafening blast. When the spear struck its chest, the wooden doll shattered to pieces beyond recognition. Even then, the spear’s insane level of power didn’t decrease. It continued flying for quite some time before falling to the floor. Despite being the technique’s creator, Mu-Gun gasped at its power. It was a technique so powerful he wondered if he should actually pass it down to the Flying Lance Sect.
However, he soon stopped worrying about it. The Flying Lance Thrust, which used the Divine Flying Coil Scripture, was extremely profound and difficult to learn. The only reason it exerted so much power was that Mu-Gun was the one who executed it. Without talent and effort, it would be difficult to properly master the Flying Lance Thrust. Even if the practitioner did have both, those were just the bare qualifications to learn it.
Above all, the Flying Lance Sect promised to support the Baek Sword Sect as the Zhejiang Martial Alliance leader. He agreed to improve their martial art in exchange, so it was only fair to pass down the Flying Lance Thrust to them. Mu-Gun met up with Jin-Myeong, the Flying Lance Sect’s patriarch, and personally showed him the improved martial arts. Jin-Myeong couldn’t help but admire Mu-Gun’s spear techniques.
He was also very satisfied with the martial arts that Mu-Gun had revamped. He was shocked beyond belief in particular when he witnessed the last technique, the Flying Lance Thrust. Mu-Gun then passed down the Divine Wind Spirit Cultivation Method and the Divine Swift Wind Spear Art, the revamped martial art of the Flying Lance Sect.
In the midst of all that, the final day of the regular meeting came. The next day, the Ten Clans of Zhejiang would leave the Wind Saber Sect and return to their respective home. The Wind Saber Sect held a banquet that evening to wrap up the event. Unlike the banquet on the first day, the banquet held on the last day was attended by all the patriarchs and the rising stars of the Ten Clans of Zhejiang.
It was tradition to spice up the party by having a sparring session among the rising stars on the last day’s banquet. The Ten Clans of Zhejiang considered it a very important event since their position was indirectly evaluated according to its results. In short, the spar between the descendants was a showdown with the Ten Clans of Zhejiang’s pride on the line.
Mu-Gun used to receive the most attention. However, during the three years that Mu-Gun was inflicted with qi deviation, Byeok Jin-Woon and Tae Mu-Gang boasted the greatest skills. Last year, the Byeok Sword Manor’s Byeok Jin-Woon defeated Tae Mu-Gang by a narrow margin.
Except for Won-Hyo and Jin-Myeong, who had already confirmed Mu-Gun’s skills, the other patriarchs of the Ten Clans of Zhejiang were curious about his ability since he made a comeback after recovering from qi deviation. Byeok Sword Manor patriarch, Byeok Cheol-Gun, in particular, hoped that Jin-Woon would defeat Mu-Gun at this banquet and prove that their clan’s martial arts were the best among them. Cheol-Gun wasn’t aware that Mu-Gun had bested Jin-Woon at the banquet held on the first day of the regular meeting.
Jin-Woon purposely kept quiet about it for fear of being reprimanded. Jin-Woon was concerned about Mu-Gun’s skills since the latter could heat the alcohol bottle, but he tried to rationalize it as some kind of trick and not martial arts. Hence, he believed he would naturally win against Mu-Gun in a martial arts match.
Jin-Woon was determined to show everyone that he was superior to Mu-Gun through this sparring session. Still, just in case, he was more focused on martial arts training than ever during the last seven days. One could wonder what would change from focusing on martial arts training for only seven days, but Jin-Woon managed to break down the bottleneck wall that prevented him from progressing further and gained a bit of enlightenment.
As a result, he managed to advance beyond the First-rate Realm and into the Upper First-rate Realm. Jin-Woon’s confidence rose enough to be convinced that he could defeat Mu-Gun. As he looked forward to his sparring session with Mu-Gun, the banquet continued.
The Wind Saber Sect prepared various performances for the banquet, so there was no shortage of events that spiced it up. The Ten Clans of Zhejiang’s patriarchs and descendants joyfully enjoyed them. However, if there was a beginning, there was bound to be an end.
When all of the Wind Saber Sect’s prepared entertainment was over, Wind Saber Sect’s patriarch, Tae Gong-Pyo stood up from the table of honor. He then asked the other patriarchs, “How was it? Did you like the performances?”
“It’s better than what I expected. I can see how much effort the Wind Saber Sect has put into this banquet,” Kang Household's patriarch, Kang Won-Hee complimented.
“I’m glad to hear that. Now, why don’t we take a look at the skills of the rising stars who will one day lead the Zhejiang Martial Alliance?”
“I’ve actually been waiting for this. I’m looking forward to who will entertain us this time around,” Mei Household's patriarch, Mei Jung-Hak said, his expression filled with anticipation.
“What would be the winner’s prize? It is a competition in essence, after all, so shouldn’t there be one?” Cheol-Gun asked Gong-Pyo.
Gong-Pyo frowned. Up until now, there had never been an instance where a prize was up for grabs in the sparring session between the descendants. Cheol-Gun was aware of it, but the reason he mentioned a prize was that he wanted to embarrass the Wind Saber Sect. If the Wind Saber Sect failed to present a prize here, they would lose face.
However, it was impossible to swiftly prepare an unplanned prize. In that situation, all Gong-Pyo could offer was money, but how much? For the sake of the Wind Saber Sect’s honor, they couldn’t afford to pay too little. After much consideration, Gong-Pyo came to a decision.
“Of course. If I could, I would have loved to give a spiritual pill as the prize, but it’s not easy to procure one, as I’m sure you’re well aware. Instead, I will give 10,000 silver nyang to the winner of the sparring session.”
“All descendants, heed my words. The Wind Saber Sect’s patriarch has decided to award 10,000 silver nyang to the winner of the sparring competition. Make sure you perform your best at this sparring session.” When Cheol-Gun spoke to the descendants, they all cheered.
Gong-Pyo was furious that he ended up spending 10,000 silver nyang, which was unplanned. Despite so, Cheol-Gun kept showing off in front of the descendants as if he was the one who prepared it. The sight irritated Gong-Pyo. He hoped for Mu-Gang to somehow defeat Jin-Woon so he could trample on Cheol-Gun’s pride.
The sparring competition between the descendants would proceed in a Last-Person-Standing manner. Last year’s winner would be the first to participate. The descendants could challenge him, and if the challenger emerged victorious, he would in turn face the other challengers in the place of last year’s winner. The last person standing would become the sparring competition’s winner.
However, not all the descendants participated in it since the rising stars who didn’t want to join had the option not to. Normally, only three or four descendants participated. Those who weren’t confident of beating their opponents didn’t have to force themselves to join.
According to the format of the sparring competition, Jin-Woon would become the first participant since he remained until the very end of the previous sparring competition. Any descendants confident in beating him could come forth and challenge. Jin-Woon did not glance at the other descendants. Instead, he was fixated on Mu-Gun.
‘If you’re confident, step forth.’
His gaze seemed to be challenging Mu-Gun. The attention of the people attending the banquet was focused on the two. Even the most tactless person could see that Jin-Woon had called out Mu-Gun as his opponent, and if Mu-Gun didn’t challenge Jin-Woon here, it would be no different from admitting defeat. Mu-Gun chuckled at Jin-Woon’s provocation and stood up.
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