I had just recognized the martial art that Wei Zhi Tian had displayed at a glance.
There was no way I could miss it.
Among your master’s martial arts, it was the one that had taken the longest to establish. ‘It was definitely the Wu Ji Sword (無極劍).’ Initially, it was the unique martial art of the Sword Lord, but over time, interpretations from my master and others had blended together, making it impossible to say whose it was.
Thus, it was the most difficult and enigmatic martial art.
Even the Sword Lord himself could not claim to have fully mastered it.
This was also the reason I intended to forge a sword with the essence of the Wu Ji. ‘The Wu Ji Sword is nearly impossible to learn alone.
No, even with a master…’ It was a martial art that would inevitably lead one to become obsessed.
Because I had designed it that way.
“Why so silent? Do you know anything about that martial art?” Wei Zhi Yeol pressed me with a stern expression.
After organizing my thoughts for a moment, I slowly shook my head. “It’s a martial art I don’t know… but the move from a moment ago was impressive, so I asked.”
Wei Zhi Yeol showed a somewhat disappointed expression at my answer. “Is that so…? In fact, it’s a martial art I don’t know either.”
“Excuse me?”
“A few years ago, I had left this place for several months while my grandson was here. During that time, someone came looking for me.”
“How did they know to come here?”
“They were skilled in our school’s formation techniques. They felt the traces of it in this mountain and came looking. But unfortunately, I was not here, and only that child was present.”
The person who came to see Wei Zhi Tian was said to be a man in black robes. - A descendant of the Blood Sect? The man had asked Wei Zhi Tian that, but Wei Zhi Tian had remained silent, fearing it might harm his grandfather.
After observing Wei Zhi Tian for a while, the man gave the boy a book with nothing written in it and said, - Do you wish to take revenge on the world? If so, learn this martial art.
If you can master it in ten years, you could become the greatest in the world.
The man in black left those words behind, and by the time Wei Zhi Yeol returned, his curious grandson had read the book several times.
“... I tried to find the man’s whereabouts, but I couldn’t find him at all. He never returned.”
“Did your grandson learn the martial art written in that book by himself?”
“At first, I was worried. It might be a demonic art that could harm his body. But no matter how I looked at it, there was nothing harmful. Rather, it was an incredible divine art that was overwhelming for me to comprehend.” Wei Zhi Yeol looked at his grandson with bloodshot eyes.
Just then, a mountain rabbit approached the boy, tilting its head curiously.
“He’s a genius when it comes to martial arts, far beyond my comparison. So I believed he could learn even a secret divine art. I hoped he would become the greatest in the world… and take revenge for his deceased father and mother. All of it was in vain…” Tears streamed down the old man’s face.
“Later, I realized he had fallen into obsession and tried to stop him, but there was no way. At first, I couldn’t bring myself to kill my only flesh and blood, and now my abilities are insufficient.”
“…”
“I beg you. Please kill that child and bring me peace. If you do that… I will give you anything you want.”
With a loud thud, the remains of the rabbit were scattered over two graves.
The boy smiled brightly and began to savor the flesh on his fingers.
“How many years has it been since you learned that martial art?”
“... About three years.”
I pondered how much Wei Zhi Tian had mastered the Wu Ji Sword. ‘Three years… it might already be too late.’ Even though the Wei family was a teenage clan of the Blood Sect, they had secured their position through metallurgy and explosive manufacturing techniques.
Their martial arts were relatively lacking. ‘If it were another clan, no matter how divine the art, they wouldn’t carelessly learn a strange martial art.’
The boy, unable to find a martial art that satisfied his talents, must have been drawn in the moment he read the secrets of the Wu Ji Sword.
“I understand. I will accept the request.” I began to descend the hill.
Wei Zhi Yeol hurriedly followed behind me.
“Be careful. Among the wandering swordsmen who came here before, there was a peak master.”
“How many exchanges did they fight before they died?”
“... As far as I remember, they couldn’t last more than fifty exchanges.”
In actual combat, fifty exchanges was truly a blink of an eye.
Yet, to have killed a peak master before reaching fifty exchanges… ‘That’s monstrous.’
As I got closer to the clearing, Wei Zhi Tian sensed our presence and turned to look at us.
“Hehe.” The boy, meeting my gaze, smiled innocently and stood up, shaking off the dirt.
“Grandfather!”
“... Tian Ah.” Wei Zhi Yeol gritted his teeth as he looked at his grandson.
Wei Zhi Tian pointed at me with his finger and said, “Is he a guest? He came to play with me!”
“... Yes. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Yeah! No one has come for a while, so I was bored!”
Wei Zhi Tian pulled out the sword that was stuck between the graves.
With a bright smile, he aimed the sword at me. “I hope you don’t die quickly!”
“…”
I carefully observed Wei Zhi Tian’s stance and slowly drew my sword, Moonlight.
At the same time, I wondered who had given that boy the secrets of the Wu Ji Sword. ‘They said he was a man in black robes.’ Coincidentally, I remembered hearing a similar story from Cheong Cheon not long ago. - …A man in black robes threw a book at me, saying that if I learned it, I would gain power… The secret that Cheong Cheon received was the Blood Demon Art, and this time it was the Wu Ji Sword.
Though the levels of the two martial arts were as different as heaven and earth, they shared one commonality: they both stemmed from the vanished Blood Sect. ‘Could the two men in black robes be the same person?’ With the information I had, I couldn’t determine that.
There were many who roamed the martial world in black robes, and I myself had worn one when I went to the wandering swordsman market.
What was certain was that someone was spreading the martial arts of the Blood Sect throughout the martial world. ‘It might be several people, or it could be an organized group.’ I still didn’t know their purpose, but perhaps…
“Grandfather! Can I kill him now?” The boy’s excited voice brought me back to reality, thinking about how I had to deal with this child first.
I turned my head to look at Wei Zhi Yeol. “I have one request. Please step back to a place where we cannot be seen until the matter is finished.”
“Why…?”
“I don’t want to show you the moment I kill your grandson. And when that moment comes, you might soften your heart and try to stop me.”
“That won’t happen…”
“Elder.”
“... I understand.”
Perhaps uncertain himself, Wei Zhi Yeol nodded and stepped back.
“Tian Ah, when grandfather can’t see us anymore, you can start playing with this brother. Do you understand?”
“It’s hide and seek! Okay!”
Wei Zhi Yeol retreated with a bitter expression.
Once he completely disappeared over the hill, Wei Zhi Tian grinned and gathered his energy.
Kwah!
The grass around Wei Zhi Tian lay flat on the ground, and his disheveled hair flew upwards in the strong wind.
The whites of his eyes turned red as he bared his white teeth.
A grayish sword aura formed around his sword.
“Brother, are you ready to play with me?”
“Yeah.”
It was an incredible aura for a boy of around sixteen.
The opponent was a master I could never have faced not long ago. ‘I’m glad I took the Seven-Leaf Herb before coming here.’ Before arriving, I had consumed the Seven-Leaf Herb I bought at the wandering swordsman market.
Thanks to that, my Reverse Heaven Divine Art had surpassed the second level and was nearing the third.
“I just needed one more root… but for now, I’ll have to make do.”
I raised my energy and infused it into Moonlight.
The blade vibrated with a pleasant sound.
At the same time, a faint red sword aura formed around my sword.
I aimed my sword at Wei Zhi Tian’s forehead.
“Show me the sword you’ve struggled to learn alone.”
“Hahaha! Just don’t die quickly!”
With a cheerful laugh, the boy charged at me to kill.
Swish.
A few strands of hair were cut off.
I thought I had perfectly dodged, but at the last moment, his sword tip wavered and changed its trajectory.
A faint line of blood appeared on my forehead, and a drop of blood formed.
“Hahaha! This is fun!”
Wei Zhi Tian looked delighted, like a child who had received a new toy.
His eyes sparkling, he swung his sword again.
“Don’t die! It won’t be fun if you die!”
“…”
The gray sword aura around Wei Zhi Tian swirled violently.
With a speed like light, he thrust his sword at me from the ground. ‘Wu Ji Yi Shen (無極一).’ The fastest move of the Wu Ji Sword.
I twisted my body immediately, but I couldn’t completely evade it.
Szzzz.
The fabric around my waist tore, and blood dripped from the long wound.
Wei Zhi Tian jumped back in surprise.
“You dodged? Amazing!”
“... You’re underestimating me.”
“Try dodging this!”
Wei Zhi Tian unleashed the moves of the Wu Ji Sword one after another, as if showing off.
I retreated, pushing off the ground with my feet, dodging what I could and blocking what I could.
Clang!
Swords clashed, and sparks flew.
In the blink of an eye, as we exchanged dozens of moves, the one getting injured was always me.
I frowned as I looked at my sword. ‘Is this really my limit for now?’
The faint red sword aura was gradually fading.
It was inevitable due to my low level of achievement in the Reverse Heaven Divine Art.
I would need to reach at least the third level to properly wield the sword aura.
It wasn’t impossible to push myself, but… “For now, if I don’t have teeth, I’ll have to make do with my gums.” Fortunately, my gums were quite strong.
Clang!
As I struck down hard and short, Wei Zhi Tian stumbled back from the rebound.
“Uh?”
Suddenly, as I switched to offense, he let out a surprised sound.
“Kid, the fun ends here.”
I changed my footwork and stepped forward.
Wei Zhi Tian, seeing my footwork, shouted in surprise.
“That’s my footwork!”
“It’s originally mine.”
The Wu Ji Sword was not merely a martial art that dealt with sword techniques.
It encompassed the movements of the feet, the body, and the methods of mental training necessary to wield a sword.
It contained all the teachings of the great masters who discussed being the best in the world with a sword.
Thwack!
I swung the sword like a whip and struck Wei Zhi Tian’s thigh.
“Ouch!”
“Your stance is wrong. Lower your center of gravity, keep your waist straight. Who taught you to wave the sword around like that?”
Wei Zhi Tian’s eyes shook with confusion.
Then, he gathered his energy and thrust his sword.
“Die!”
But the moves he had practiced so much could no longer even graze my clothes.
I struck his arm, which passed by me in vain.
Thwack!
“Keep your elbows in. Relax your shoulders and use your wrists more. The Wu Ji Sword is a martial art of softness.”
“Ahhh!”
Wei Zhi Tian’s eyes glimmered with bloodlust as he turned his body sharply.
Whoosh!
The gray sword aura flared up like flames around his sword.
However, whether it was sword aura or sword strength, if it didn’t hit, it meant nothing.
Thwack!
“Calm your excitement. You might catch a bird or a rabbit with such an attack, but do you think it will work on a person? Don’t insult the one who created this sword technique.”
“Uwaaaaa!”
On the day I escaped from the Thunder Prison, I had organized your masters’ martial arts into secret techniques and handed them over to Ma Nyo.
However, I had deliberately omitted or altered crucial parts of those secrets.
At first, it was hard to tell, but as one practiced, they would inevitably fall into obsession. ‘I intended to trick the Blood Sect… but it turned out this kid learned it.’ Because of that, I felt a slight sense of responsibility towards Wei Zhi Tian.
“Brother, you’re no fun! I hate you! I want you to die!”
Completely losing his rationality, Wei Zhi Tian poured all his remaining energy into his sword.
Whoosh!
The sword engulfed in gray flames was no longer recognizable in shape.
“Tsk…”
It looked very threatening, but to me, its flaws appeared even larger.
His footwork was a mess, and the form of his moves had completely collapsed.
A master would never fall for such an attack.
“Teaching him properly will take a long time.”
I clicked my tongue and infused all my remaining energy into Moonlight.
The sword trembled, and the faint sword aura deepened slightly.
“Yahhh!”
As Wei Zhi Tian charged at me like a madman, I quietly raised my sword.
Remembering the sword the Sword Lord had shown me on the day I escaped from the Thunder Prison, I carefully thrust my sword forward.
Wu Ji Sword (無極劍) Fifth Secret (奧義) True Wu Ji Yi Shen (眞 無極一)
In that fleeting moment, our energies crossed.
I sheathed Moonlight slowly and turned around.
“This is why having a great master is important.”
Thud.
Wei Zhi Tian collapsed to the ground, blood gushing from him.