novelraw Chapter 140 : Are you the sword that protects Wudang?
Chapter 140 : Are you the sword that protects Wudang?
Cheon Mubaeck had previously climbed Tianzhu Peak and had grasped the entire view of Wudang.
A pavilion that was not there before.
But the place Cheon Mubaeck was heading to was not the Hyeopui Pavilion where the Red Scarf Society was located, but the outermost peak among the 72 peaks of Mount Wudang.
A dizzying peak with no stairs, made of strange rocks and sheer cliffs.
It was not an easy task to climb, but Cheon Mubaeck strode forward.
The sight of him walking up a cliff that one would have to use their hands to climb with just his two legs was unbelievable.
Cheon Mubaeck appropriately applied the Heaven and Earth Eagle Step and climbed the peak.
"...What brings you to this place?"
The one who greeted Cheon Mubaeck at the peak was Chuhonsak.
A flushed red face and rough breathing. A sword gripped tightly in his hand.
Cheon Mubaeck, who took his eyes off the sword, said lightly.
"You seem to have been training."
"The fact that you came to this place where no one climbs seems to indicate that you knew I was training here."
"That's right."
"How did you know?"
"I heard the sound of a sword crying."
Chuhonsak's brows narrowed.
Perhaps thinking that he was being mocked, a slight displeasure appeared on Chuhonsak's face.
"Why did you come?"
"Well, I came to talk."
Chuhonsak made a reluctant expression.
Cheon Mubaeck climbed the peak, looked around at the whole view of Wudang, and said nonchalantly.
"It seems the former sect leader and the Red Scarf Society were not on good terms?"
"What do you mean by that?"
"I came at the request to treat the former sect leader. But isn't the Red Scarf Society constantly being obstructive?"
"Obstructive, you say. Wouldn't it be fine if the Great Purity True Man just allowed the Red Scarf Society to observe?"
"Is observation important? More than the former sect leader returning to his original state?"
"...It seems you already know to some extent."
"I do know. Wudang's suspicion that you guys killed the former sect leader and turned him into a Bidara."
"Hoo."
Chuhonsak sighed.
"Is Wudang really trying to cast out the Red Scarf Society..."
Chuhonsak's eyes, which had been letting out a long sigh, suddenly shot out fire.
"The Red Scarf is the sword that protects Wudang. It does not harm Wudang. This has not changed 40 years ago, or now."
Cheon Mubaeck stared at Chuhonsak's face.
He saw a firm belief that did not waver in the slightest. Only then did he smile, seeing that face overlap with a face he had seen in the past.
At the sudden laughter, Chuhonsak's face contorted strangely.
"Are you mocking me?"
"Of course not. I just smiled, feeling pleased that not everything has changed."
"Not changed?"
Chuhonsak tilted his head at the incomprehensible words. But at that moment, Cheon Mubaeck suddenly operated the Heaven-Shaking Soul Art and released his aura.
A sense of tension filled Chuhonsak's entire body.
"What?"
"Jeok Wangyu tried to inspect me earlier. Whether I had the qualifications to enter Wudang."
"Didn't I apologize for that?"
"That's right. This is a different matter. I will verify whether you, whether the Red Scarf Society, has the qualifications to observe. If you pass the verification, I will request the Great Purity True Man and we will go to see the former sect leader together."
"...!"
A strange light appeared on Chuhonsak's face. Cheon Mubaeck did not doubt for a moment that Chuhonsak would accept this proposal.
A martial artist who walked only the path of martial arts.
Since he was a person who showed that belief, he would not refuse Cheon Mubaeck's proposal.
Cheon Mubaeck intentionally, and blatantly, exuded his aura.
But he did not exude all his aura.
If he opened his upper dantian, the supreme yin energy in his lower dantian would react sensitively.
He could not unleash all his power.
He maintained that appropriate line and operated the Heaven-Shaking Soul Art, and that alone was enough to ignite Chuhonsak's fighting spirit.
"The renowned Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero of the martial world..."
Chuhonsak muttered so and drew his sword.
It was a heavy greatsword.
It was thicker and had a wider blade than Cheon Mubaeck's sharp longsword.
"I have never stepped into the martial world, so I have no moniker or fame. But, I am never ashamed of my sword."
A faint heat rose on Chuhonsak's face.
But he was not excited at all.
He stared at Cheon Mubaeck with sunken eyes. Cheon Mubaeck also met his gaze.
"..."
There was no change. No wavering. No slight, momentary movement.
Silence.
There was no word easier to describe Cheon Mubaeck than that.
A person would naturally have idle thoughts, and they would show on their face.
Cheon Mubaeck had no such thing.
Chuhonsak felt it instinctively. His heart slowly pulsed.
'A master. A real master.'
Among the people he had met in Wudang, it was an aura he had only felt from the sect leader, the Great Purity True Man, and the Red Scarf Society Leader, Mucheonak.
Although there were one or two among the great elders of Wudang who exuded such an aura,
The density of the tension now was two or three times greater than then.
"I am the vice-leader of the Red Scarf Society, Chuhonsak."
"I am Cheon Mubaeck of the Azure Star Escort Agency."
After a brief exchange of greetings, Chuhonsak slowly took a starting stance.
On the other hand, Cheon Mubaeck was in a comfortable posture.
Chuhonsak immediately swung his sword. In terms of age and rank, he was much higher. In a spar like this, it was a virtue to yield the first attack to the junior. He didn't even have such a thought.
The huge greatsword was swung like a ray of light.
Shweeeeeeek!
A rough sound of something cutting through the air tore through the atmosphere. Chuhonsak expected Cheon Mubaeck's reaction. Anyone would expect it, seeing Chuhonsak's build and greatsword. That he would use a heavy sword or a hegemonic sword.
But his sword was a fast sword.
The sword is heavy? What does that matter? He could swing it faster, swing it more fiercely, and get closer to the extreme of the fast sword.
The way to deal with a fast sword and the way to deal with a hegemonic sword were clearly different.
An ordinary martial artist, or rather, a more experienced martial artist, would have implicitly prepared for a hegemonic sword in their heart.
How would Cheon Mubaeck react?
Perhaps, Chuhonsak thought he could gain the upper hand against Cheon Mubaeck with this one blow.
The moment the greatsword reached Cheon Mubaeck's vicinity in an instant.
Cheon Mubaeck's half-closed eyes flashed open.
Kagagagang!
"...!"
Astonishment appeared on Chuhonsak's face.
'This guy... did he even draw his sword?'
A question that came to mind for a moment.
That was right.
Until the sword reached his vicinity, Cheon Mubaeck's sword was in its splendidly decorated scabbard.
That sword had somehow blocked Chuhonsak's greatsword.
Not with the flat of the sword, but with the tip of the sword.
Cheon Mubaeck's sword tip rested on the very center of Chuhonsak's sword's surface.
Could it be said that he had blocked it?
It was physically impossible. Cheon Mubaeck was blocking Chuhonsak's sword with the tip of his sword, and Chuhonsak had swung his sword with all his strength.
But, it was blocked.
"...!"
No, it wasn't just blocked.
A dizzying shock and pain transmitted to his wrist.
A sword drawing that had reached the extreme, containing the mystery of the piercing that pierced through everything.
Chuhonsak bit his lip and hurriedly withdrew his sword.
'He's strong, truly!'
Chuhonsak, who had shuddered once, launched an offensive without hesitation.
A graceful release of the powerful internal energy contained in the sword.
A swift sword strike that tore through the atmosphere.
A family martial art perfected through endless training since he first held a sword, born in Wudang.
A continuous chain that flowed like water after the release and the fast sword.
Everything was aimed at Cheon Mubaeck's entire body and was swung countless times in a short moment.
It was so powerful that even a single, a single attack would be a fatal wound.
'He has studied and trained in martial arts for a long time as a martial artist.'
He was strong.
This was a pure strength that was felt beyond the total amount of internal energy, the value of the learned martial arts, and the experience that came from experience.
But.
'He has only lived one life as a martial artist.'
Cheon Mubaeck's eyes flashed.
He blocked all the pouring rays of light-like sword strikes and looked for an opening.
Dozens of forms that made up a single posture.
Even in the sword speed that flowed like water, there was a break between the forms.
'I have existed as a martial artist in countless lives.'
Cheon Mubaeck's sword stretched out.
"......!"
A flow of the sword that no one could see, that only a person who had walked the path of martial arts for hundreds of past lives could see.
The outstretched sword stopped.
And it rotated.
The internal energy extending through the upper dantian slowly rotated.
The muscles moved roughly and rotated. One rotation, two rotations, three, four.
It was twisted and twisted countless times, but the sword was stationary.
But within it, countless rotational forces were contained.
The moment the mystery of the will was perfectly contained in the tip of the sword.
It broke the connection of the postures, the flow of the forms.
Kakakakang!
The greatsword could not cut Cheon Mubaeck and stopped.
The chain of sword strikes that had been continuing at a swift speed like flowing water stopped in an instant.
The moment Cheon Mubaeck was about to counterattack and take a step forward.
A strange light appeared in Cheon Mubaeck's eyes.
Chuhonsak's sword pulled back greatly, and then was thrust out at a swift speed, carrying a huge force.
It was heavy. A very heavy sword.
And it was strong. A powerful energy was contained in that heavy greatsword.
But it was fast. Swift.
A swift movement that would have been missed if not for Cheon Mubaeck's eyes.
It was a fast sword, but it contained the mystery of a hegemonic sword and a heavy sword.
'The sword of the Chu family has not completely disappeared.'
A smile slowly appeared on Cheon Mubaeck's lips. Surprisingly, there was no emotion or expression on Chuhonsak's face.
A state of selflessness.
The weight of the hegemonic sword and the swiftness of the fast sword approached, aiming for Cheon Mubaeck's solar plexus.
Although he could have been surprised by the formidable power and speed, Cheon Mubaeck rather smiled as if he was pleased.
He pulled his foot back.
At the same time, he gripped his sword firmly.
Even at the risk of the supreme yin energy in his lower dantian reacting sensitively, he completely opened his upper dantian.
The supreme yin energy rampaged sensitively in his lower dantian, and his chest ached, but he endured it and focused solely on his upper dantian.
A huge energy poured down like a waterfall.
All that energy was contained in the sword.
He compressed and compressed all the madly pouring energy and contained it in the sword.
When it could no longer be contained, when the sword could no longer bear it.
All that momentum overflowed and was released outside the sword.
Overflow.
The enormous internal energy was materialized and spread around.
The overflow, the overflow, covered Chuhonsak's sword, which had been approaching swiftly.
Kkang!
"..."
Only then did Chuhonsak awaken from his selflessness at the emptiness transmitted from his hand.
He plopped down and looked at his hand with a blank gaze. The sword that had only the hilt left in his hand, completely broken and with no trace.
When he raised his head, he saw Cheon Mubaeck with a light smile.
"Ah..."
Defeat.
And, a perfect defeat.
For the first time in his life, he had experienced selflessness during a fight, and his subconscious had poured out all its potential. It was a fight with no regrets.
And yet he had been defeated.
He closed his eyes tightly.
A soft voice from Cheon Mubaeck pierced his ear.
"I thought you had completely forgotten."
"...What?"
"If it's too heavy, it looks as if it's not moving at all. But there is movement within it."
That was the heavy sword.
"The powerful force contained in the heaviness makes the heaviness powerful."
In other words, it was a hegemonic sword.
"If it's too fast, incredibly fast, it looks as if it's not moving."
It was a swift fast sword.
"Your sword only had the fast sword."
That was right.
Unlike its appearance, it was a fast sword.
"But, just now, it was a sword that contained heaviness, power, and swiftness. Like the sword of the Chu family that I knew."
Chuhonsak's pupils shook.
"Time is truly cruel. It makes you lose a lot, or it changes a lot..."
A somewhat bitter light flickered in Cheon Mubaeck's eyes.
"Your martial arts, and the meaning of the Red Scarf Society as the sword that protects Wudang."
Chuhonsak had only learned the mystery of the fast sword among his family's martial arts. Had it changed over time?
"Tell me."
If so.
"Red Scarf Society, Mucheonak."
Chuhonsak's pupils shook.
"Is he truly the sword that protects Wudang?"
Silence fell.
(End of Chapter)