"Is that guy crazy?" Baek Cheon could hardly contain his astonishment.
Cheong Myung was walking over, tilting his head side to side.
The sight resembled a street thug threatening innocent people.
The reason Baek Cheon was flustered was twofold.
First, Cheong Myung looked too fitting in the role of a thug.
And second, the person Cheong Myung was threatening was none other than Baek Cheon himself.
"Is he out of his mind?" Baek Cheon was Cheong Myung's senior disciple.
Of course, in this duel, he would consider it a matter of no distribution or hierarchy, as Baek Cheon had said himself, so that wasn't important.
What mattered was that the difference in their levels was significant.
Baek Cheon had entered the martial arts world at a younger age than Cheong Myung was now.
In other words, he had been practicing martial arts for over fifteen years.
On the other hand, what about Cheong Myung? "He's only been in for half a year."
Even if he had learned martial arts in his mother's womb, he could not have practiced longer than Baek Cheon.
In other words, even if Cheong Myung's talent was comparable to that of the great masters, it was impossible for him to defeat Baek Cheon at this moment.
Talent needs time to manifest.
If one could easily surpass the barriers of time with talent alone, who would bother to learn martial arts through hard work?
"But what is that reaction?" Yet, Cheong Myung acted as if it was only natural for him to win against Baek Cheon.
It was so absurd that Baek Cheon couldn't even speak.
"…You really have gone mad."
"No, that's you who's gone mad."
"What?"
"Would you dare to provoke me if you weren't crazy?" If those who had been entangled with Cheong Myung in the past were present, they would all nod in agreement.
In Jongnam, he was known as the evil spirit descended from Hwasan, and in the Mu-dang sect, he was called the only scoundrel in Daoist thought.
Cheong Myung's reputation soared to the heavens, but his infamy covered the earth.
"You're going to die."
Cheong Myung relaxed his hands.
Surprisingly, he didn't particularly favor violence.
Huh? What had he been doing until now? Well, if he didn't hit them, they wouldn't listen.
For Cheong Myung, violence was merely a means to an end.
What he ultimately desired was for everyone to do well without needing to lay a hand on them or shout at them.
If that were the case, why would he bother to exert himself and use violence? The problem was that it didn't work that way.
However, at this moment, Cheong Myung felt a desire to use violence as an end rather than a means.
"Your arrogance knows no bounds. My hands are poisonous, so don't blame me…"
"Keep going."
"What did you just say?" Cheong Myung shrugged.
"I usually don't like to talk much before a fight, but you will listen. After all, soon enough, you won't be able to speak even if you want to."
"This brat!" Baek Cheon gripped his sword tightly.
He too had no intention of dragging this out any longer. 'I'll make you regret this.' Baek Cheon gritted his teeth.
No matter that this wasn't a duel, he couldn't just kill a disciple.
But he could certainly strike him with the flat of his sword.
Since it had come to this, he intended to make Cheong Myung wet his pants just by locking eyes.
Baek Cheon tightened his grip on the sword and charged at Cheong Myung.
His sword flew swiftly toward Cheong Myung.
It was a sword distinctly different from Yu Yi-seol's.
At first glance, it might seem similar, but it was much heavier and more powerful than hers.
In a way, it was the very essence of the righteous path.
It minimized the colorful variations that were the foundation of Hwasan's sword and emphasized its strength.
With just a moment of sword intent, Cheong Myung grasped the nature of Baek Cheon's sword. 'How peculiar.' Jongnam had abandoned their swords to imitate Hwasan's flamboyance.
Yet Baek Cheon had done the opposite, reducing Hwasan's flamboyance and incorporating Jongnam's honesty into his sword.
'Well, that makes sense.' Upon reflection, it was only natural.
A sword always changes.
And the direction of that change aims for a more advanced realm, a more impressive state.
During Hwasan's heyday, Jongnam, oppressed by Cheong Myung, must have thought that Hwasan's flamboyance was the answer.
Conversely, during Jongnam's peak, Hwasan's second-generation disciples, who felt the gap through the Hwa Jong Association, must have regarded Jongnam's sword as the answer.
It was understandable that they would try to resemble each other.
"Pathetic fools."
Cheong Myung narrowed his eyes.
Were they so lacking in their own skills that they had to learn Jongnam's sword? Regardless, he found this brat utterly displeasing. 'A guy who can't even handle his own skills is coveting someone else's?'
It seemed he needed to show them what Hwasan possessed.
At that moment, Baek Cheon charged in and shouted, "I'll correct your habits today!"
Cheong Myung, watching Baek Cheon rush at him, clenched his fist.
"Me!" He pulled his right foot back.
"Your habits!" His waist twisted backward.
"Until now!" And with a fully drawn back fist, he thrust it forward.
"No one has corrected them, you brat!"
It was a boast.
Cheong Myung's fist pierced through the changes created by Baek Cheon's sword.
A punch that extended with precise angles and appropriate speed, targeting the gap between changes.
Baek Cheon’s eyes widened in shock as he saw Cheong Myung's fist coming through his sword's aura.
It was easy to say.
But how could one shove a fist into the sword's aura, where just touching it would mean losing an arm? From Baek Cheon's perspective, it felt like a ghost's hand suddenly popping out between the sword's auras.
But there wasn't much time to be surprised.
Boom!
Baek Cheon's jaw snapped back.
Crack! A sound echoed from the back of his neck as something dislocated.
For a moment, his consciousness faded away and then returned.
When he came to, his body was being flung backward.
'What?' What just happened? The sense of reality faded.
Even as he was being thrown back, Baek Cheon couldn't grasp what had happened to his body.
And then, the fading sense of reality suddenly crashed back onto him.
Boom!
"Ugh!" The moment his body hit the ground, indescribable pain engulfed him.
"Ugh."
His back hitting the ground was bearable.
The real pain radiated from his jaw.
Baek Cheon clutched his jaw and groaned.
Learning martial arts was not much different from getting used to pain.
The pain of pushing the body to its limits, as well as injuries from sparring and dueling, were frequent occurrences.
But this was unlike any pain he had ever experienced before.
It felt like a new world of pain was opening up.
"Get up, you fool."
Cheong Myung approached Baek Cheon, shaking his head.
Seeing this, Baek Cheon staggered to his feet.
Cheong Myung's eyes widened in surprise.
"Oh? You're getting up?"
You told me to get up? While enduring the pain in his jaw, Baek Cheon felt as if all his strength was being drained just from understanding the situation.
Nevertheless, he desperately calmed his trembling legs and raised his sword.
He tasted the metallic tang of blood in his mouth.
"How, how?" Baek Cheon was no fool.
The exchange of blows that had just occurred was no coincidence.
No one would willingly shove their arm into a sword's aura, hoping for luck.
In other words, it meant that Cheong Myung had clearly seen Baek Cheon's sword.
"How could that be?"
Cheong Myung looked at Baek Cheon as if he were pathetic.
"You altered the sword technique that was originally based on change and reduced its variations. Do you think there wouldn't be any flaws? You know one but not two. Of course, there will be gaps!"
Baek Cheon's eyes turned bloodshot.
"N-no one has ever found such a gap."
"That's because the people you're facing are all mediocre. If you were up against someone at the elder level, they would have noticed it right away!"
Is that so? Wait… What is the current level of the elders? Huh? Let's move on.
"Are you saying my sword is flawed?"
"Yes."
Cheong Myung said without a second thought.
"Right now, you might be able to get a little ahead of others based on that. But as time passes, your fellow disciples will start to surpass you."
"How do you know such a thing? You're just a beginner!"
"Oh, believe what you want."
Cheong Myung chuckled.
The mistake Jongnam made was being repeated by Hwasan's disciple.
And Cheong Myung understood why this was happening.
"This isn't strange."
Such events must have occurred countless times even in Cheong Myung's era.
But back then, he had no idea what results such changes would bring.
After many experiences and reaching a high level, he had gained the insight to see how swords would develop.
Now, seeing those who were just beginning to forge their swords, things began to appear that he had not seen before.
"Be grateful that you're a disciple of Hwasan."
"What?" Cheong Myung lifted his wooden sword.
If it were up to him, he would want to beat him to death with his fists, but this was still a cute disciple of Hwasan, wasn't it? If he were to hit him, he might as well do it in a way that would help him grow.
"Don't worry. I'll hit you with a sword, not my fists. Ah, I'm so considerate."
"…"
Is he crazy? No, he definitely seems crazy.
Seeing Baek Cheon in disbelief, Cheong Myung took a deep breath.
"Some say that the sword of Hwasan aims to resemble the plum blossom. But that's a statement made by those who don't understand Hwasan's sword. The sword of Hwasan doesn't imitate the plum blossom. What the sword of Hwasan aims for…"
As Cheong Myung spoke seriously, he suddenly frowned.
"Ah, never mind. Would you understand if I told you? It's easier to understand through experience. Here I go!"
"Uh, wait?" Baek Cheon unconsciously took a step back.
But Cheong Myung charged in twice as fast.
Baek Cheon swung his sword to strike Cheong Myung as he charged.
The instincts he had honed as a swordsman moved faster than his thoughts.
But in that moment, Baek Cheon saw it.
Cheong Myung's fingertips trembled slightly, and his wooden sword multiplied into dozens, filling his vision.
'W-what is this…?'
"Lower body!"
Thwack! The wooden sword struck Baek Cheon's shins.
Tears welled up from the pain as Baek Cheon gasped.
But it wasn't over.
"Wrist!"
Thwack! Cheong Myung's sword accurately struck Baek Cheon's wrist, which was holding the sword.
It felt as if his wrist and hand had almost vanished, and he nearly dropped his sword.
'H-hold on…'
At that moment, a sound he didn't want to hear pierced Baek Cheon's ears.
"Head! Head! Head! Head! Head!"
Why is it not just once, you brat?
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Baek Cheon, struck by a flurry of blows that felt like they would burst his head, opened his mouth wide and fell sideways.
Even as he fell, a thought dominated Baek Cheon's mind.
'Why did he say it five times and hit me six?'
It was a question he couldn't resolve even as his consciousness faded away.