Pang!

The blade ripped through the air.

Just looking at the blade, with its tremendous power, made one’s muscles go stiff.

It wasn’t a simple thing to handle.

The blade had embraced the red blade qi and had turned itself into a fierce weapon. And now it moved like a red raging wind.

Kang!

Every time the blade was blocked, the plum blossom sword bent back as if it would break. It seemed like the strength behind the blade wasn’t something that the sword could hold back.

“Huh!”

Baek Cheon, unable to completely hold the attack back, groaned. Yeop Pyung was unlike any opponent he had faced before.

Strong?

Of course he was!

If one imagined it, even Jin Geum-Ryong couldn’t stand in front of him. But it wasn’t his strength that was stimulating Baek Cheon to fight.

It was the fierce murderous intent that followed behind the blade each time it was swung, it was almost as if the blade itself wanted the opponent to die.

The blade seemed only to target his vital points.

It was something that Baek Cheon had never experienced before, a relentless series of attacks meant to wound him fatally.

Taking stock of the situation, he bit his lips.

He felt as though his heart had already been skewered. Although he hadn’t used his body properly, his back was already wet with sweat, and the hand holding his sword was trembling.

‘This is a real fight!’

Fighting with a sword against someone who had no other intention but to kill you was something vastly different from the spars he was used to. Just by staring at his opponent, it felt like his mind was weakening, and attacks that wouldn’t normally scare him were now making him panic.

Kaang!

Baek Cheon’s plum blossom sword bent backward again.

Kiiik!

The sword screamed this time. If it hadn’t been made especially for Mount Hua by the Tang family, it would have snapped in two by now.

“Where did all the confidence you have go, Kid?”

Baek Cheon was clenching his teeth so hard, it was a wonder as to how they didn’t break.

He was desperate to block his opponent’s blade. His opponent, on the other hand, could afford to speak and this frustrated him.

Bang!

An explosion erupted as the blade and sword clashed once again.

And the body of Baek Cheon was pushed back with blood flowing down his lips. If this was a spar, his opponent would normally slow down seeing this. But the moment one showed weakness in a real fight… Yeop Pyung began wielding his blade even stronger now.

‘Damn it!’

Baek Cheon bit his lip and swung his sword.

Kwang! Kwang!

Every time the sword and blade collided in the air, explosive waves of wind accelerated out. As the collision continued once again, the plum blossom sword slowly began to dent.

The Pang family’s ability to subdue and crush their opponent with the weight of their blade was different. The Pang’s blade was marked by its swiftness and the indomitable will to defeat, while on the other hand the blade of Yeop Pyung seemed only to move with the intent to kill.

“Your snout!”

Kwaang!

“Anyone can talk!”

Bang!

“But!”

Kwaaang!

Baek Cheon’s body shot away like an arrow. After being thrown several feet and landing on the ground, he hurriedly raised his head, feeling disappointed.

“Ha!”

At that moment, what caught his eye was Yeop Pyung jumping up to slash him!

Baek Cheon rolled on the floor without even having time to groan.

Kwaaaang!

Soon, the blade of Yeop Pyung fell to the ground, and literally smashed it.

With a single step, a large pit that could fit a few people had formed.

Yeop Pyung clicked his tongue as if he didn’t like this, and looked at Baek Cheon.

“This, the people of the world should laugh at you, Noble Taoist rolling on the ground.”

“…”

Instead of refuting his opponent’s taunt, Baek Cheon simply jumped up and reformed his stance.

‘This is dangerous.’

If it had been too late for him to raise his head and grasp his opponent’s next move, by now his one head would have become two.

The dust on his face was now dripping down with his sweat.

“Ptoey!”

After spitting, Yeop Pyung shook his head from side to side.

“Kangho is a place where one has to prove themself with their skills. This is no place for young people with just mouths.”

The conversation didn’t really change.

And nor did his attitude.

But now, the pressure Yeop Pyung had was several times more than before and his words were as sharp as knives.

“You made a name for yourself as a skilled young man. It looks like your lungs are giving out, but it is the job of an adult to show the world to kids… Be careful Kid, I will rip a hole right through you.

Frivolous…

But could he really be called such?

The laidback attitude, well, he had the skills to act as such.

‘Laidback?’

Baek Cheon clenched his hand.

Did he think he could relax in front of Baek Cheon?

It felt like his stomach was on fire, as if he swallowed a pieced of white-hot charcoal. Seeing the pride break in the eyes of this young man, Yeop Pyung looked like he was having fun.

Then, without a moment’s delay, he narrowed the distance, ready to end this.

Kwaang!

Blood gushed from the mouth of Baek Cheon.

The attack from his opponent’s blade shook his insides. His knees staggered, and his bones screamed in pain. At this rate, before he could even get an attack in, he would die.

‘He is strong.’

Stronger than he had assumed.

Yeop Pyung, the Red Snake Blade.

A name he had heard many times, but he thought this wouldn’t be much different from Jin Geum-Ryong since he was the strongest Baek Cheon faced.

But it was different.

Baek Cheon could only feel desperation now. The difference in skills felt too great. There was no mistake in saying that his judgment was based on what he had seen.

“Where did your ambition go!”

Kwang!

Again, another attack fell.

Kakak!

The plum blossom sword was nicked and bent, ready to break under anymore duress. Despair was clear in the eyes of Baek Cheon.

‘C-Chung…’

Baek Cheon’s body, which had reflexively turned his head back, twitched.

And at that moment…

Paaang!

Yeop Pyun approached with blade in hand, but Baek Cheon had insane speed like never before.

“Huh!”

In shock, Yeop Pyung shook his head to avoid the attack, but he had been pushed on the defensive so fast that a red line appeared on his cheek.

He took a huge step back to widen the distance, and then touched the cut on his cheek.

“You…”

He looked at the eyes of Baek Cheon.

‘Hmm?’

The moment Baek Cheon lifted his head, Yeop Pyung’s face went stiff. Baek Ceon’s eyes were completely submerged, a different weight in his actions that didn’t exist before. Red blood eerily flowed down his lips.

“Huh?”

It wasn’t blood from a cut or wound. Yeop Pyung quickly recognized that Baek Cheon had bit his tongue.

In that moment of crisis, Baek Cheon had bit his tongue to turn become attentive and cleanly react.

‘Look here.’

Now Baek Cheon’s face looked like an actual swordsman. The way he unwaveringly stared at his opponent.

Something had changed.

However, he had no way of knowing where this change was born from.

Thinking it would be a little more fun this way, he clenched the hilt of his, and stepped forward.

‘I am stupid.’

Baek Cheon stared at Yeop Pyung with stiff eyes.

‘Why did I look back?’

Because my sajaes are there?

Was I afraid?

No.

Because there was Chung Myung behind me.

‘Moron. I had come out so confidently, but now that felt a little pushed, I turned back.’

But even so, deep inside, there seemed to have been a thought that Chung Myung would come out and help him in crisis.

There was nothing wrong with that, Baek Cheon was just someone who believed, be it in Mount Hua or Chung Myung.

So when a crisis came, it was natural to find sanctuary.

But this was what made Baek Cheon angry.

‘Am I the Great Sahyung of Mount Hua?’

Was I talking so much with such little skill?

Do not be nervous. Lower your body, and bring back the basics.

‘You spoke well.’

It was as if there was nothing left to protect.

There was no shame in what happened…

‘Not yet.’

Baek Cheon’s eyes were focused.

Chung Myung had said it. Everyone makes mistakes. It wasn’t important not to make mistakes, but to learn how to make up for them.

His opponent here was strong. The one who wielded death as a blade.

What could you do to him?

The Mount Hua sword he learned wasn’t like that.

‘Give strength to your body.’

The big toe pressed firmly to the floor.

‘Lower your body firmly, keep your muscles tense, so you can react at any time.’

Spread your legs slightly wide.

‘Keep your back straight.’

Loosen your sword which you are clenching too tight.

“Sword…”

His concentration which rose to the highest level, made him speak outm

“The sword freed.”

Shh.

Despite not thinking it through, his sword was already taking a stance to fight.

“Youuuu!”

Yeop Pyung, who noticed this change, rushed in, not wanting to give Baek Cheon initiative.

The shape of the qi wrapped around the blade changed to bright red, and it was flickering menacingly as it flew through the air. It looked as if an Asura had come up from hell.

Baek Cheon, however wasn’t panicking now.

Swisssh!

The plum blossom sword was on the verge of breaking… and with great balance, Baek Cheon added strength to his own weapon, until his strength was matching his opponents equally, diverting the blow.

The direction of Yeop Pyung’s deflected sword passed by the head of Baek Cheon and cut the cloth he tied to his forehead.

Shhhh!

The robe on his head fell down, making the hair of Baek Cheon flutter around. His eyes remained cold.

Paaang!

His sword, which deflected his opponent’s blade, cut through the air.

It felt like dozens of stabs were happening at the same time, making Yeop Pyung’s face harden.

“This!”

Kwaang!

As he felt the end nearing, he swung his blade right away. Baek Cheon’s sword form had shattered in an instant.

But Baek Cheon had already opened up some distance.

Sting!

Pang!

Just once more…

Pang!

“Eik!”

Neck, dantian, and lower body.

Yeop Pyung’s face gradually distorted at the different stab targets, which were located all over his body.

Unknowingly, he stepped back and looked at Baek Cheon.

The most forbidden act for a bandit… stepping back!

And…

Shhh!

The tip of Baek Cheon’s sword didn’t miss this chance and began to draw out plum blossoms.

Yeop Pyung screamed and ran forward.

He had never experienced it himself, but wasn’t it common sense for anyone who knew Mount Hua to realize their plum blossoms were dangerous?

It was a common saying a hundred years ago.

Yet, even those old words were passed down to the current era, and Yeop Pyung realized he had made a mistake.

In an instant, his eyes were covered with red plum blossoms.

The fact that Baek Cheon’s sword could draw out plum blossom was a surprise to Yeop Pyung.

But now, he didn’t have the time to be distracted by them.

“Ahhhhhh!”

Yeop Pyung’s sword threw out blade qi.

Before his opponent could fully release their plum blossoms, he decided to destroy the source of them. Drawing out the most intense technique he could…

“Dieeeee!!”

Kwaang!

The blade qi created by Yeop Pyung poured out at the plum blossoms.

“Avoid it!”

The plum blossoms weren’t fully bloomed, and they collided with Yeop Pyung’s blade qi, causing an explosion that seemed to burst their ears.

“Avoid it!”

“Damn it!”

The blade qi fragments were thrown all around. People on both side were terrified.

However, even at that moment, Yeop Pyung was after Baek Cheon like a beast.

‘How dare you!’

As the plum forest began to rise up, he stared at Baek Cheon.

And in that moment…

Pang!

From the moment the plum blossoms were destroyed, an eerie qi was coming from Yeop Pyung.

“I predicted that, you bastard!”

After tying down the sword qi, he moved his blade.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

“Sasukkkkk!”

The blade qi of Yeop Pyung had completely tore the plum blossoms to the side, moving everything away. The blade qi moved with the speed to flatten everything to ground, and the ground seemed hollow as a bloody wave of air seemed to spread out in all directions.

‘Dead.’

Yeop Pyung smiled.

With that guy using his sword like that, there was no way he could have recovered in time to block the blade qi. And even if he did block it, the results would be the same, because no little kid could truly block his attack.

Just as he was sure of his victory…

‘What is that…?’

His eyes looked shocked. There was a sword falling to the ground where the blade qi had been directed.

It was Baek Cheon’s plum blossom sword, but his body, the body which should have fallen, wasn’t there.

‘W-where?’

It was then…

Thud!

He felt a strong force from behind, and as he turned back his eyes further widened.

Baek Cheon was rushing forward with blood around his mouth and a fist clenched for Yeop Pyung…

Kwaaang!

Crack!

The sound of bones cracking within the body was clearly heard over the silence.

Thud!

Yeop Pyung had bounced backwards several times on the ground and was thrown into the pond close by.

“Cough!”

He opened his mouth to speak but the impact was so harsh that he continued to cough up blood, and he said…

“S-swords… swordsman… without… sword…”

Baek Cheon struggled to calm his panting breath as he chuckled,

“What of it? You should be ready to do anything to win in life.”

“…”

Yeop Pyung, whose face had turned red with this, collapsed back down.

Thud.

And when his body hit the ground, Baek Cheon coughed up the blood which gathered in his mouth.

“In real life, you die the moment you are careless. Beware of that, Kid.”

And Chung Myung who watched this, smiled.

‘So disgusting.’

This was a disease too.