"I am your accident. You are my calamity."

"So?"

"Show some respect to an accident."

"Accident, freeze to death. What a ghostly thing."

Cheongmyeong sighed heavily, filled with annoyance.

It was one thing to not sense any presence, but in this vast Central Plains, it wasn’t strange to have such a peculiar constitution.

In truth, Cheongmyeong was quite specialized in sensing people through his spiritual perception.

If he focused and utilized all five senses, he wouldn’t be unable to feel a presence at all.

The real problem lay elsewhere.

"Why are you following me like this?"

"Following?"

"… Yes."

Cheongmyeong felt a deep sadness. 'If my seniors saw me now, they would shed tears of blood… No, they would probably be rolling on the ground laughing until they couldn’t breathe.' They might even applaud until their hands broke.

Such was the nature of those gentlemen.

It was a bitter irony to show respect to someone younger than his granddaughter.

The fleeting nature of life hit him hard, as if he had been struck directly by the emptiness of the world.

The question of whether he would be accepted in the celestial realm was secondary.

- I won’t accept you, you brat.

"Hey, come on!"

Cheongmyeong sighed deeply and looked at Yuiseol.

"Why again! Why do you keep following me like this?"

"Following?"

"… Yes."

Yuiseol raised her eyebrows, as if displeased.

She seemed to be trying to look intimidating with her slightly angry face, but it was rather cute to see. 'It’s not just because I’m old that she’s cute.' As all the other three great disciples, including Jogeol, had agreed, she was indeed pretty.

If her expressions were varied and her features softer, she would attract even more attention than she does now.

But it was just skin deep.

Yet, people tend to cling to that skin.

Cheongmyeong had also greatly benefited from his handsome appearance in the past...

"Ah, I get it! I understand!"

"That sword."

Yuiseol spoke while looking at Cheongmyeong.

"The sword that blooms plum blossoms."

"I have no idea what you’re talking about."

Cheongmyeong feigned ignorance.

He could explain if he wanted to, but there was no reason to do so.

He hated trouble, so it was best to just deny it.

"I don’t know what you saw, but I don’t know anything about that, so don’t waste your effort…"

"Teach me."

"Excuse me…?"

Cheongmyeong widened his eyes slightly.

"What did you say?"

"Teach me."

Cheongmyeong narrowed his brows. 'Is that why you’ve been following me?' He thought she would annoy him by asking where she learned the techniques of the volcano or some sorcery, but he never expected such a request.

Curiosity suddenly struck him.

"I don’t know what it is… No, I really don’t know."

Yuiseol bit her lip.

"I’ll tell my masters."

"Go ahead. If they believe you."

"I’ll tell the sect leader too."

"Sure, do as you wish. Go ahead."

Cheongmyeong snorted and waved his hand dismissively. 'Let them believe what they want.'

A greenhorn who had been in the volcano for less than half a year managed to bloom plum blossoms all over the Lotus Peak? It would be a miracle if the sect leader didn’t throw him into the abyss, saying, 'Ah, my dear Yuiseol must have been suffering a lot from her closed-door training.

She’s seeing things.

Let’s throw her to my good physician.'

"I won’t tell you, so teach me."

"I said you can ask. I don’t care."

Cheongmyeong chuckled.

"So don’t disturb others’ training and just go away. Because of you, I can’t train properly."

Go away, okay? Just go away! You clingy thing!

Cheongmyeong was about to retort further when Yuiseol stared at him and opened her mouth.

"Won’t you teach me?"

"Excuse me. Accident."

"Huh?"

"You’re the accident, and I’m the calamity. Why would I teach something to an accident? If anything, I should be the one learning."

"…"

Yuiseol flinched. 'Oh, this works.' She had emphasized that she was the accident when they first met.

So this should resonate…

"There’s no hierarchy in learning."

"…"

What on earth did they learn about Confucianism? Did the Baekja clan collectively convert to Confucianism? Where did this Confucianism come from in a sacred Taoist temple? If the Grand Supreme Elder knew, he would be spitting bubbles!

"Then teach me."

"No, I have nothing to teach you!"

Cheongmyeong cut her off decisively.

"I don’t know what you saw, but it’s just a dream. Or an illusion. Or maybe you were so tired that you saw something. I don’t know what you’re talking about, so just stop and go away."

As Cheongmyeong firmly rejected her, Yuiseol narrowed her eyes.

"I couldn’t have seen wrong."

"No, it must have been an illusion…"

"I’ve seen it before."

"That was before…"

Cheongmyeong’s eyes widened.

"What?"

Cheongmyeong’s demeanor shifted.

He glared at Yuiseol with sharp eyes.

The sword that blooms plum blossoms.

Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

There were many sword techniques in the volcano that were inspired by plum blossoms.

But only a few swords could truly bloom plum blossoms.

Except for one, it was not passed down to ordinary disciples.

Only those who were at least elders could learn it.

And even then, it was only passed down through secret teachings.

That day, all the elders of the volcano perished at the peak of the Ten Thousand Great Mountains.

No one had anticipated total annihilation, so they hadn’t even left behind the secret teachings.

This meant that if someone had bloomed plum blossoms with a sword, it could only mean they had learned the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

And the only place that technique had been passed down to was...

"What’s the connection to the Jongnam Sect?"

Cheongmyeong growled slightly, and Yuiseol tilted her head.

"Jongnam?"

"…"

"What about Jongnam?"

Was it not? Cheongmyeong stared intently at Yuiseol’s face.

No matter how much he looked, she seemed completely clueless.

If this was an act, she should quickly give up the sword and become a Peking opera performer.

She could even perform in front of the emperor.

But he didn’t think Yuiseol, who had a naive side, could perfectly act out such an expression.

Cheongmyeong’s spirit deflated.

'Well.' Even if she had seen the secret teachings in Jongnam, she wouldn’t be able to properly learn the Plum Blossom Sword Technique.

The Plum Blossom Sword Technique only held meaning when practiced with the essence of the volcano.

… But could it be that these brats actually stole the essence of the volcano? No way?

With a grin on his face, Cheongmyeong shrugged and asked, "You said you’ve seen it before. What does that mean?"

Yuiseol’s face looked a bit dazed.

"A long time ago."

As if recalling an old memory, Yuiseol gazed at the dark sky before resolutely saying, "Teach me."

"I really don’t know, I’m telling you."

"Is that so?"

Yuiseol nodded her head. 'Has she finally given up?' That would be a relief...

"Then there’s nothing I can do."

"Yes. It seems you’ve finally understood…"

Suddenly, Yuiseol’s sword was drawn from her waist.

Cheongmyeong looked at the scene with a shocked expression.

"Wait, why are you suddenly drawing your sword!"

"You’re not going to teach me, right?"

Is she out of her mind? Drawing her sword just because I won’t teach her anything? What on earth were the higher-ups doing to raise someone like her?

"Why are you drawing your sword when I said I wouldn’t teach you?"

"Because you’re right."

"Huh?"

"I’m the accident, and you’re the calamity."

"…"

"Then I should teach you."

Yuiseol raised her sword, aiming it at Cheongmyeong.

Watching that scene, Cheongmyeong smiled contentedly. 'No wonder the Baekja clan doesn’t get along with her.' Of course, they wouldn’t.

She’s not in her right mind. 'Is her obsession with the Plum Blossom Sword Technique just a way to ask for flowers?' If she placed a plum blossom on her head, it would be easier to identify her, and it might be beneficial for both.

But he should avoid Gwangnyeon.

Ahem.

"I’m leaving."

"Don’t come! Stay away!"

But a mad person wouldn’t listen to Cheongmyeong.

Yuiseol charged at him, her sword pointed straight.

"Hey!"

Cheongmyeong quickly deflected Yuiseol’s sword with his wooden sword and swiftly retreated.

"No! Why is an accident attacking a calamity with a real sword!"

"Because you’re stronger than me."

Huh? That’s true, but? But what’s the basis for that thought? The accident process must have been wrong, so it’s a strange case where he can’t scold her for getting the answer right.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Just like he had seen briefly before, Yuiseol’s sword was light and graceful.

It stabbed sharply and then curved gently.

It swayed like an illusion before lightly stabbing again.

The sword of the volcano.

Since returning to the volcano, Cheongmyeong had seen numerous swords.

He had seen not only the swords of the same Cheongja clan but also the swords of the Ungeum clan, and occasionally had the opportunity to witness the swords of the elders.

But the sword unfolding before him now was more connected to the essence of the volcano than anyone else’s sword.

Just watching it made him feel a bit nostalgic.

Why was that? Was it because her temperament resembled that of the volcano? Or perhaps...

"Opening!"

At that moment, Yuiseol’s sword pierced toward Cheongmyeong’s face with the speed of light.

Cheongmyeong quickly turned his head to evade her sword.

Swish.

A few strands of his front hair were cut off.

"Yikes!"

Is this crazy girl really trying to stab me?

"Are you insane? If I hadn’t dodged, I would have died!"

"You can’t possibly miss dodging."

"Why do you have confidence in me!"

What’s wrong with her head? Why isn’t her thinking normal? No wonder she’s pretty but has no friends.

But there was no time to argue.

Yuiseol’s sword, aimed at Cheongmyeong, grew sharper.

Well, he could handle it leisurely enough.

As long as he could just defend without getting hurt.

One wrong swing of the sword, and he would become the miscreant who hit an accident.

So he had to suppress her while avoiding injury.

"Don’t use lethal moves, you woman!"

"Accident!"

"Which accident uses lethal moves against a calamity! What’s wrong with your head?"

Oh dear, oh heavens.

The volcano has come this far!

As Cheongmyeong lamented inwardly, his brows furrowed slightly.

It was evident that Yuiseol was getting more and more intoxicated with her sword, as she was freely using lethal moves.

Her eyes were gradually becoming hazy, and her sword was straying from its intended path.

'Huh? She’s reaching enlightenment during a spar?'

Jogeol wouldn’t even dare to approach her.

In terms of talent with the sword, she might be the best in the volcano.

'No, wait.'

Cheongmyeong subtly extended his wooden sword and nudged her sword, which was trying to stray onto an incorrect path, back onto the right track.

Entering a state of no-self, she was finding her own sword path.

Ordinary people would have been too afraid to intervene and would have hurriedly retreated.

A careless touch could cause enlightenment to vanish in an instant, and the worst-case scenario could lead to a mental breakdown.

But for someone like Cheongmyeong, he could predict and grasp all those sword paths and guide them onto the right path.

'Not there.

No, here.

No, no.

It’s here.'

Tap.

Cheongmyeong extended his sword and lightly tapped Yuiseol’s sword, guiding it onto the correct path.

In a situation where lethal moves were flying around, only Cheongmyeong could do such a thing...

"What are you doing! You brat!"

Suddenly interrupted, Cheongmyeong turned his head sharply.

A furious Baekcheon was charging at him with a mad speed, as if he had lost his reason.

Ah...

Why are you here, you brat!