Sweat poured down like a waterfall.
"Huh..."
The moment I realized I wasn't dead, my whole body began to pour out the evidence of life.
The sweat flowed so much that it was hard to open my eyes.
Soon, my body started to tremble. 'What if it had gone just a bit deeper?' No, I didn't even need it to go that deep.
If the sword had stopped just a little lower, I would have been a corpse with my head split in half.
"I... uh... uh..."
I wanted to curse, but no words came out.
I couldn't control my trembling body.
Cheongmyeong looked at me and chuckled.
"How is it?" "What...?" "How does it feel?" "..."
What does it feel like? If it were any other time, I might have found a response, but right now, I had no mental energy left for that.
"How does it feel to be dead?" "I..."
I squeezed out my last bit of strength.
"You little brat..."
"Hehehe."
Even after being cursed at, Cheongmyeong showed no sign of being upset.
Of course, he wouldn't.
Right now, I was feeling like someone who had just stepped back from the brink of hell.
If I had the strength to hold a sword, I would have charged at Cheongmyeong to kill him.
"Come on, senior brother, take a break."
Cheongmyeong spun around cheerfully.
Then he shifted his gaze to the other senior brothers who were looking at him with stunned eyes.
Flinch.
The senior brothers who met his gaze all subtly lowered their eyes.
"Senior brothers, senior brothers. Think carefully." "..."
"Do you really think you can avoid it by doing that?" 'That devilish brat.' 'How did such a human scum end up in Hwasan?' 'Is that what a Daoist is supposed to say?' If Taesangnogun saw what Cheongmyeong was doing, he would surely curse like a sailor.
"Now, let's not waste time and come out if you want to. Okay? Great senior brother?" "..."
Yoonjong looked at Cheongmyeong with a sour expression and then turned his head away.
"How about Jonghak go out?" "Huh? Senior brother, I think you called for a senior brother."
"So you won't go out?" As Yoonjong glared, Jonghak lowered his head deeply. 'Everyone has gone strange.' Still, the Yoonjong of the past had a certain dignity as the great senior brother, but ever since Cheongmyeong came, something had definitely changed.
Not just Yoonjong, but everyone had changed.
"You won't go out?" "..."
Seeing the senior brothers bickering, Cheongmyeong let out a deep sigh.
"It's a pity. That the brothers who should help each other are fighting like this." 'Whose fault is that, you fool!' 'Have you sold your conscience for a few coins!' 'If you weren't here, we would be harmonious! If only you weren't here!' The desperate cries could not escape their lips.
Watching them, Cheongmyeong nodded as if to say not to worry.
"There is only one way for brothers to unite. When everyone rolls around suffering together, brotherly love naturally blooms. Don't worry. I'll handle it fairly."
What? Cheongmyeong raised his sword.
"If you don't come, I can go. I'm going!" Don't! You crazy fool! Regardless of everyone's shock, Cheongmyeong rushed toward the three great disciples with a wild grin.
The three great disciples, terrified, screamed and fled, but Cheongmyeong chased them like a wolf chasing a flock of sheep.
"Aren't you coming?" "Would you go if you were me! You crazy fool!" Yoonjong screamed as he closed his eyes tightly, watching the sword fall toward his head.
"Ugh..."
"Hwa..."
The three great disciples sprawled on the training ground trembled with vacant eyes.
"Oh my. Mother..."
"Father, I'll be good..."
"I hid beef jerky under the bed..."
"Is that what you're thinking about now? Right now?" Cheongmyeong clicked his tongue as he looked at the sprawled disciples.
"What great thing did you do?" Normally, they would have retorted, but the three great disciples had no energy left to argue.
The experience of watching a real sword fall toward their heads at terrifying speed was something they never wanted to experience again.
Yoonjong wiped the sweat flowing down his face with trembling hands. 'That reckless brat...' Until now, Yoonjong had suffered countless times at Cheongmyeong's hands, but this was a different case.
It truly felt like he had just stepped onto the threshold of the underworld and barely escaped.
Cheongmyeong looked at everyone and spoke.
"How is it?" "What?" The one who had been hit first and was somewhat recovering, Jo Geol, struggled to respond.
"Why couldn't you block it?" "Huh?" "It was a straightforward downward strike. Why couldn't you block it?" Did he do all this just to say that? Jo Geol shouted in frustration.
"Because it's fast! It's so fast and strong that I can't think and block it! Even a three-year-old would know that!" "Is that so?" Cheongmyeong smiled as if satisfied.
"You know well."
"I..."
Jo Geol gritted his teeth.
"But why didn't the senior brothers do that?" "Huh?" Jo Geol looked at Cheongmyeong with a blank expression.
Just as he was about to retort, Cheongmyeong raised his sword and struck down.
Bang! With a sound that tore through the air, dust rose from the ground.
"Simple, right?" "..."
It wasn't just Jo Geol.
Now the other senior brothers also got up and looked at Cheongmyeong's sword.
"Is this the sword I saw?" "Yes."
"It seemed several times faster. Were you just going easy?" "It's the same. The sword falling toward my head and the sword being watched from the side cannot be the same." "..."
Jo Geol was a person of some intelligence.
Thus, he quickly understood what Cheongmyeong's words meant.
"Are you saying I can do it too?" "Absolutely."
Cheongmyeong lifted his sword.
"Look."
And he struck down again.
Bang! Jo Geol firmly etched that scene into his mind.
It was certainly not an invisible speed or some amazing technique.
It was just a fast and straightforward downward strike, without any unnecessary movements.
The moment that simple action was perfectly executed, the one wielding the sword became a picture.
Jo Geol unconsciously opened his mouth.
"This is a downward strike." "..."
Jo Geol quickly closed his gaping mouth.
"If you've built your body, you should use a sword that matches it. First, the lower body."
Cheongmyeong stomped on the ground.
"Based on a firmly grounded lower body, draw strength from the waist, transfer it to the fingertips, and integrate it with your inner strength before striking down in one go."
Bang! Cheongmyeong grinned.
"Easy, right?" "..."
After hearing Cheongmyeong's explanation, Yoonjong spoke in a heavy voice.
"I understand what you're saying. It means that instead of pursuing flashy sword techniques, it's better for us to wield the sword simply based on a trained body, right?" "And one-hit kill."
Cheongmyeong supplemented Yoonjong's explanation.
"You need the resolve not to swing the sword twice. You should have the determination that if you don't kill in one blow, you might die."
Yoonjong sighed. 'So that's why you showed it one by one.' They say seeing is believing.
There is an enormous difference between experiencing the one-hit kill sword firsthand and just hearing about it.
If the people here hadn't experienced Cheongmyeong's sword falling toward their heads, it would have been hard to accept.
"But, Cheongmyeong."
Yoonjong sighed heavily.
"I understand what you mean, but we are disciples of Hwasan. Does it make sense to win like this?" "What does it mean to be a disciple of Hwasan?" "If we are disciples of Hwasan, shouldn't we defeat our opponents with Hwasan's swordsmanship?" At that, Cheongmyeong looked at Yoonjong with a bewildered expression.
"What do you think I just did?" "A downward strike."
"What is the first basic technique of Yukhap Sword?" "A downward strike."
"Right. Isn't Yukhap the foundation of Hwasan's sword?" When Cheongmyeong looked at him with a pout, Yoonjong cleared his throat loudly.
"I was short-sighted."
"Tsk tsk tsk."
Cheongmyeong clicked his tongue and looked around at everyone.
"Yukhap is the foundation and the basics of Hwasan. Everything in Hwasan starts from Yukhap and ends with Yukhap. But!" As Cheongmyeong glared, those who felt pricked turned their heads away.
"Those who can't even properly unfold Yukhap are already talking about Nakhwa and Chilmae!" "Cough cough."
"Ah, the night air is refreshing."
"The moon is bright."
The three great disciples, their faces flushed, tried to change the subject.
"Understand this clearly."
Cheongmyeong's voice sank low.
With a tone stripped of playfulness, the senior brothers all looked at him with serious eyes.
"If you can't properly learn Yukhap, it won't matter if you learn other sword techniques. All swords of Hwasan are based on Yukhap. A building without a foundation collapses with the slightest wind. You all need to perfect what you have first."
Everyone nodded.
It would be hard to believe if they hadn't seen it with their own eyes.
But hadn't they already experienced it with their bodies? 'The Nakhwa sword that looked so strong couldn't block a single strike.' 'A simple downward strike looked like the world's best sword technique.' 'The important thing is not the sword technique, but the person wielding the sword.' Jo Geol stood up and looked at Cheongmyeong.
"Cheongmyeong."
"Yes."
"I have one question."
"Yes."
Jo Geol organized his thoughts slightly before speaking.
"I understand what you mean about Yukhap being important. But we are not you. It may sound foolish, but right now we need the strength to crush the noses of the Jongnam bastards more than the strength for the distant future."
"Hmm."
"Honestly, among us, you're the only one who can produce that strength with Yukhap. So I'm asking."
Jo Geol's eyes sparkled.
"If we do as you say, can we defeat the Jongnam bastards?" Cheongmyeong sighed instead of answering.
Jo Geol bit his lip slightly at his reaction. 'I know it's a pathetic thing to say.' Jo Geol wasn't someone who didn't understand that those who learn martial arts should not be obsessed with petty victories and should look to the distant future.
But losing to Jongnam was an experience he never wanted to go through again.
That humiliation...
"What did you hear from me, senior brother?" "Huh?" Cheongmyeong's eyes widened.
"Lose to Jongnam? Such a person doesn't deserve to live. How could a disciple of Hwasan lose to scum like Jongnam! I'll smash their heads!" Seeing the murderous glint in Cheongmyeong's eyes, Jo Geol trembled. 'No, we can let it go, but why are you so worked up about Jongnam?' He was someone who had just entered Hwasan not long ago.
"I told you, I'll make you win."
Cheongmyeong pointed his sword at the senior brothers.
"There is no such thing as a good loss." "..."
"Winning is everything in a fight. Whether you cling to their pants or throw dirt in their eyes! If you win, that's it! Cowardice? That's ridiculous! Do you think someone who has lost their head on the battlefield can talk about cowardice? You win by any means necessary!" Cheongmyeong made a declaration that would make the elders of the sect foam at the mouth, without a hint of hesitation.
Jo Geol looked at Cheongmyeong and chuckled. 'Well, this guy was always like this.' It felt somewhat reassuring.
"So what should we do now? How can we use the sword like you?" "It's simple."
Cheongmyeong grinned.
"Let's start with a thousand downward strikes."
"You're joking, right?" "Surely?" "It has to be a joke."
"No way."
"A joke..."
Cheongmyeong smiled brightly.
"Do you want to die? Do you want to die right now?" "..."
Perhaps the greater enemy than Jongnam was within Hwasan itself.