Sword God Reborn

Chapter 279 : A truly familiar sword.

Yoo Baek-gi had once asked his master in the past.

What was the most brilliant talent in learning martial arts?

The Azure Sky Sword God had asked back. What did he think was the talent of a martial artist?

Yoo Baek-gi had answered without hesitation.

A person with a divine body, a person with a sense that could feel the flow of all the qi of nature...

At that time, he was still young, and it had not been long since he had seriously started learning martial arts, so Yoo Baek-gi had said it confidently.

Believing that the answer he had given was the correct one.

But his master had given an unexpected answer.

'A thief has the highest probability of becoming the most outstanding martial artist.'

He had not understood what that meant at first.

But as time passed, he had realized what it meant.

'See, analyze, dig into, follow, and steal what others have.'

That was by no means an easy task.

In the martial world, you had to be prepared to lay down your life at any time in a fight.

To see and analyze another's martial arts, you had to fight. To dig into, follow, and steal, you had to fight for your life.

That was a life-or-death battle.

'A person who learns and quickly learns the opponent's techniques through a life-or-death battle is the true talent of a martial artist.'

For a martial artist, the pride in their own martial arts was like their life.

The stronger they were, the more dogmatic and arrogant they were likely to become.

So even if they killed a strong opponent, they would not even think of stealing their martial arts.

Like a thief who covets treasure, to see, learn, and in the end, steal all martial arts was the talent of a martial artist.

It was not an easy task. Who would throw away their pride and learn another's martial arts?

But as time passed, Yoo Baek-gi had realized that there was nothing wrong with his master's words.

In the martial world, there were as many bizarre martial arts as the grains of sand in the great desert, and there were numerous masters who had practiced each martial art to its extreme.

Yoo Baek-gi had realized.

The reason why the Azure Sky Sword God had become the Sword God, the reason why he had surpassed the number one under heaven and had approached the number one of all time, had come from his profound knowledge of all the martial arts in the world.

It was natural that Yoo Baek-gi had suddenly recalled his master's teachings in the past during the fierce duel.

'That eye... is seeing everything of me.'

A frighteningly focused pupil.

His own movements, breathing, and even his habits.

A gaze that spewed a fierce light, as if to contain everything in his eyes.

'Master...'

It was his master's eye.

'A gaze that was not like a master who had achieved the Dao, but was rather stained with the world, so it was truly bewildering.'

Even when he had faced him, when he had faced the Heavenly Demon, and when he had fought with the gangsters in the market.

What was contained in his gaze was a desire that knew no end. To steal everything.

Yoo Baek-gi also felt his heart pounding strangely.

From a junior who was a huge generation younger than him, a strong fighting spirit was burning.

'He is truly realizing the meaning of a duel. A man who has just passed his coming-of-age ceremony.'

A duel was not just a competition of martial arts.

It was a chance to directly experience, steal, learn, and make one's own the essence of the martial arts that the opponent had polished and honed throughout their life.

That was a duel.

Most martial artists just tried to win a duel. They fought to win. If they challenged numerous masters and won, they would gain a renowned reputation in the martial world.

'With such a mindset, although you may win and gain a reputation, you cannot realize the profound meaning of martial arts.'

But now, Cheon Mubaeck was not swinging his sword to win.

Each and every fiercely swung sword strike was thoroughly imbued with the enlightenment of all the martial arts that Cheon Mubaeck had learned.

It was not a gaze that craved only victory. Not even a single bit of victory or defeat was mixed in.

'He is only looking at the sword.'

A thrill ran through Yoo Baek-gi's body for a moment.

He was only looking at the sword.

His own sword, and Yoo Baek-gi's sword.

A gaze that only looked at the swords that were crossing, getting entangled in a dizzying manner, and creating a lot of sparks.

In an instant, Yoo Baek-gi's heart pounded violently.

'Ah...'

When was it?

When had he felt such an excitement?

After his master had left, he had chased the demonic path and had gone through numerous battles.

But he had never had his heart pound so purely.

Until now, he had just swung his sword with the single-mindedness of finishing what he had to do.

No matter how strong the demonic people who came out were, the fight was not exciting.

Although Yoo Baek-gi had also become experienced and mature, to be honest, it was not because he had gotten old.

'Master...'

Because it was not his master.

No opponent, no demonic person, no master could replace his master.

'Because the only opponent I could learn from was my master.'

Only one person.

Only the Azure Sky Sword God.

'But what on earth is that sword?'

Yoo Baek-gi had by no means taken the strength out of his sword. The audacious words to fight with all his strength.

At first, he had just thought it was cute, the spirit of a junior. But after clashing swords a few times, he could not be optimistic.

'I have to see him not as a junior, but as a martial artist of the same generation as me.'

At the very least, it was that much.

It was not just because his internal energy was surprisingly pure.

'Experience is melted into it.'

Yoo Baek-gi's sword, which had seemed to be heading downwards for a moment, suddenly shot up.

A strike that stabbed from the lower to the middle.

There were two answers. To dodge or to block.

Yoo Baek-gi had hoped he would block here. No, he had induced him to do so. The space was too narrow to dodge. He had created a situation where he had no choice but to block. The moment he blocked, he would use the repulsive force to cut his shoulder horizontally.

But the choice that Cheon Mubaeck made next was unexpected.

Kwajik!

"......!"

Cheon Mubaeck's left hand suddenly grabbed the sword.

Who in the world would grab the Sword Venerable's sword with their bare hands?

To be precise, it was not a bare hand.

A halo that was whiter and more transparent than pure white.

'Gwigok Gwang-ae...!'

How could he not know? His master's unique martial art and his own peerless technique, the Gwigok Gwang-ae.

He had injected it into his left hand and had grabbed the sword.

Yoo Baek-gi's pupils shook violently.

It was not just a level of imitation.

'It is a complete Gwigok Gwang-ae. A Gwigok Gwang-ae without a single mistake.'

It did not end there.

'Ice technique!'

An extreme cold qi that would freeze even his breath seeped into Yoo Baek-gi's sword blade.

At the same time, Cheon Mubaeck's right hand wriggled like a snake.

Although it wriggled, it was not slow. Rather, it was faster than a flash of lightning. Yoo Baek-gi forcibly pulled out the grabbed sword and jumped back.

'He's mature. He's too mature.'

Young spirit and hot blood were naturally something that a young martial artist would have.

But they could not have the experienced maturity. Even if they were the number one rising star. The experience that came from accumulated experience was carried on the tip of Cheon Mubaeck's sword.

Yoo Baek-gi stared at Cheon Mubaeck for a moment, and then he rushed in again.

The fight was not easy for Cheon Mubaeck either.

Numerous offenses and defenses were exchanged in a single clash. Cheon Mubaeck replayed the offense and defense in his mind. He recalled Yoo Baek-gi's sword before he died and replayed it. And he compared it with the present.

The conclusion came out.

'He has become not the disciple of the Azure Sky Sword God, but the Sword Venerable.'

A faint smile spread on Cheon Mubaeck's lips.

Before he had died, he had been the disciple of the Azure Sky Sword God, as anyone could see.

He had used the martial arts of the Azure Sky Sword God, had swung the sword of the Azure Sky Sword God, and had been armed with the techniques of the Azure Sky Sword God.

His own originality was somewhat lacking. Perhaps it was a natural thing.

The martial arts that Cheon Mubaeck had accumulated during his time as the Azure Sky Sword God were not martial arts he had accumulated in one lifetime.

They were martial arts that had melted all the enlightenment he had gained through tens, hundreds of lives.

Even for the genius of the world, Yoo Baek-gi, that alone would have been overwhelming. He would have been busy just following.

But not now.

'He has established his own sword.'

Had he said that his goal was to be bluer than indigo?

Cheon Mubaeck nodded. He had almost surpassed the Azure Sky Sword God. The current Yoo Baek-gi.

He was not at all disappointed. Was he happy that his disciple had grown?

That was not it either.

'Beyond the realm I had achieved then, another realm is in front of my eyes.'

The goal of Cheon Mubaeck in this life was the sword's extreme.

To see the end of the sword and to cut off the cycle of reincarnation.

But to be honest, Cheon Mubaeck had doubted whether the concept of the sword's extreme even existed.

Beyond the martial prowess he had achieved as the Azure Sky Sword God, could there be a new realm?

Even while living this life, he could not avoid the question that came to his mind.

But now, there was no need to even have such a question.

Although it was very minor, Yoo Baek-gi, who had followed the realm of the Azure Sky Sword God and had newly established his own realm, was in front of him.

Of course, it was not just the fact that he was stronger than the martial prowess of the Azure Sky Sword God.

'It is a different martial prowess from the Azure Sky Sword God.'

It was not a realm where you could simply divide the superiority of strength. In any case, it was the same that it was the pinnacle of the pinnacle. It was just that the nature of the pinnacle was different.

Just that alone made Cheon Mubaeck truly happy.

One of the advices he had given to Yoo Baek-gi before was a creed that Cheon Mubaeck had not lost even through repeated reincarnations.

'Steal. In martial arts, be a terrible thief.'

The martial arts that each of the numerous masters had polished and honed throughout their lives.

To see, learn, and make them one's own was the path of a martial artist.

Cheon Mubaeck was truly happy as he saw the realm that Yoo Baek-gi, who was in front of him, had pioneered.

'This is not stealing.'

Yes.

'A disciple's thing is no different from my own.'

Cheon Mubaeck swung his sword carefully and with concentration.

So that even if he poured out everything he had, Yoo Baek-gi would have no choice but to take out the profound meaning of the martial arts he had hidden away.

And he was planning to digest it as his own.

His greed for martial arts was raging violently.

To be honest, he could not win against Yoo Baek-gi in the total amount of internal energy, and even if you looked at the purity, Yoo Baek-gi's internal energy was also extremely pure, so there was no big difference.

At this moment, Cheon Mubaeck fought with his senses.

With the weapon of experience that had been accumulated layer by layer, with an instinct that was fiercer and more sensitive than that of a beast.

He fought back, responded, and countered, continuing the offense and defense.

Yoo Baek-gi's face gradually hardened. As the offense and defense continued.

But it was not a fight where Yoo Baek-gi was being pushed back. Rather, he had a slight advantage. He blocked, dodged, and countered all of Cheon Mubaeck's attacks with frightening accuracy, and took the counterattack.

A heavy sword, a swift sword, a hegemonic sword... all sorts of mysteries of the sword were exchanged. All sorts of techniques were mixed in.

A real move was hidden in a false move, and a killing move flashed in a real move.

In the silence, the swords had clashed about thirty times, and martial power had been exchanged.

At some point, a heavy sigh flowed from Yoo Baek-gi's mouth.

It was a sigh that could not help but come out as all the tricks and false moves that Yoo Baek-gi had poured out were repeatedly countered.

Cheon Mubaeck felt a strange feeling as he faced Yoo Baek-gi's sword.

The gist of Yoo Baek-gi's sword was the mystery he had learned from the Azure Sky Sword God.

Even if he had melted his own experience and enlightenment, the foundation did not change.

As he faced that foundation and the sword, Cheon Mubaeck even felt as if he were fighting his own clone.

Was it because of that?

'Am I Cheon Mubaeck, or the Azure Sky Sword God?'

A sense of alienation that he fell into every time he changed his life.

A sense of alienation that came from the difference between the experience of his past life and the body of his present life.

But now, that sense of alienation was gradually fading.

That was right. As he competed with Yoo Baek-gi, who had learned the martial arts of the Azure Sky Sword God, Cheon Mubaeck was paradoxically combining the martial arts of his time as the Azure Sky Sword God and the martial arts he had achieved in this present life.

An indescribable feeling that only Cheon Mubaeck could perceive.

Was it because of that?

Yoo Baek-gi's face, who had been pushing Cheon Mubaeck with an advantage, hardened noticeably.

From an advantage to a slight advantage, and now to the point where they were almost equal.

At that moment, Yoo Baek-gi unleashed his martial power with all his might.

At the immense sword wind, Cheon Mubaeck gritted his teeth and countered it with his martial power.

But since the impact was not something he could ignore, the two jumped back and retreated.

In an instant, a silence lingered.

In that terrible silence, Yoo Baek-gi's confused voice flowed out.

"It is a truly familiar sword."

An indescribable strange emotion appeared on Yoo Baek-gi's face.

The tip of the sword, which had been facing forward, fell to the floor, somewhat powerlessly.

And the moment Yoo Baek-gi's mouth opened, Cheon Mubaeck closed his mouth.

"Have you perhaps returned to your youth and are hiding? Master."

(End of Chapter)