Chapter: 273
Gu Yeonseo, the blood relative of the Sanseogu family and the second daughter of the family head, believed herself to be a genius to this day.
Her achievements in martial arts were impressively fast for her age.
As her older sister, Gu Huibi, was celebrated among the highest ranks, Gu Yeonseo thought she would also measure up.
In fact, her belief in herself produced results; she trained diligently and saw success.
Her family martial art, Gu Flame Wheel Technique, had reached Samsung level, and her martial arts skill had surpassed the second tier.
Compared to her peers of similar ages, her progress was notably rapid.
Gu Yeonseo held confidence in herself.
“One day, I will become the representative warrior of the Sega,” she thought, that spark of confidence shining bright.
Her talent justified her self-assurance.
However, the timing was slightly unfortunate.
It wouldn’t take long for Gu Yeonseo to realize this and for her confidence to come crashing down.
When did that solid self-assurance of hers shatter?
Clearly.
On a certain spring day of the past.
Yes, it was around the time of the Nine Dragons Ceremony.
When Gu Yeonseo got slapped by Gu Yangcheon and fell to the ground.
That had to be the moment.
The only son of the family head, he was the younger brother with unremarkable talents, yet he was groomed to take over.
Even so, she hated the attention he received from Elder Lee and her sister at that time.
Still, Gu Yeonseo thought, given her brother’s incompetent talents, she would never lose out in that department.
But on the night of the Nine Dragons, as she was defeated by Gu Yangcheon and lay sprawled on the stage, she lost everything.
Confidence too.
Possibilities and hope.
She lost it all.
Her younger brother, whom she deemed incapable, suddenly showcased talents he had hidden away.
In an instant, he soared into the sky.
He took the place she had long dreamt of — the current generation’s dragon of Meteor.
After hearing this news, Gu Yeonseo found she could not meet Gu Yangcheon’s gaze.
No matter how intoxicated she had been at that moment.
What she had said to Gu Yangcheon, words that should never have been spoken, echoed painfully.
She could not look into his eyes that now sparkled as he flew high.
Was that all?
Moreover, she encountered Gu Jeolyub, a descendant of the Gu Sunmoon family, while on her way to Shinryonggwan.
He was the grandson of the former elder, Gu Changjun, who had lost his honor through treason against the Sega.
When Gu Yeonseo unexpectedly crossed swords with him, she was left amazed by his growth.
“How…?”
Just a little while ago, Gu Jeolyub, who had seemed at least comparable, had transformed into a master beyond reach.
He had surely surpassed the first tier.
Time had passed, and Gu Jeolyub had reached the top level.
Meanwhile, she struggled to leave the second tier.
Though she briefly touched on the wall leading to the first tier, she had no idea when she could break through.
A wave of self-doubt flooded to her throat.
She even watched her younger brother practicing from a distance.
To be honest, it wasn’t really practice; he was just standing there with his eyes closed, like a statue.
Yet, Gu Yangcheon called it training.
She also spotted her sister’s fiancé, the beautiful Sword Dancer.
A strikingly lovely woman.
Her beauty was beyond belief, so perfect that Gu Yeonseo could hardly forget it.
Moreover, it seemed she possessed more than just looks, spending every waking moment swinging a sword, except for sleep.
And then there was the descendant of the Moyong clan, Seolbong.
He didn’t seem to practice much compared to others.
Nevertheless.
Gu Yeonseo noted that everyone she had seen was clearly stronger than her.
They surely were of similar ages…
“What in the world…?”
How had it come to this.
Was it that she hadn’t tried hard enough?
No.
She had scrimped on sleep to practice diligently.
She had put in the effort to fill in her shortcomings.
But why?
How had she become this way?
Gu Yeonseo continued to ponder.
The journey persisted.
Eventually, she arrived in Hanam without any hiccups.
Gu Yeonseo participated in the Shinryonggwan pilgrimage as per her father’s wishes, though she still couldn’t face Gu Yangcheon’s eyes. Everything felt awkward.
Of course, Gu Yangcheon did not seem to mind this discrepancy.
It appeared only Gu Yeonseo was hyper-aware of the situation.
And then, as they reached the end of this long yet seemingly brief journey, Gu Yeonseo faced an incident.
The Five Dragons and Three Peaks—now upgraded to the Six Dragons and Three Peaks.
Two figures from the Meteor generation, the ones Gu Yeonseo desperately wanted to join, were reported to be dueling in the streets of Hanam.
“…Ah.”
The moment she heard this news, she rushed over.
What greeted her was a tumult of excited spectators.
At the center of it all, like a rumor come to life, two young warriors were sparring with swords.
One in white attire — the Sword Dragon.
The other in light blue, undoubtedly the Shaman — the Sleeping Dragon.
But in Gu Yeonseo’s eyes, the dance of their swords was nothing but a blur.
It was simply so fast that she struggled to even process it.
Clang!
The sound of their blades meeting rang out, sharp and clear.
The noise of their clash echoed like an explosion, almost unreal.
Was this truly the Meteor Generation?
Gu Yeonseo felt the weight of the realization hit her — no matter how much she tried, she could never reach their heights.
Just a fleeting glimpse was enough to conclude.
At the last Yongbong tournament, the warriors she had seen then were not in the same realm as these two.
She’d seen the Lightning Dragon, the Poisonous Snake, even the rising star of the Shinsung.
But the two she faced now stood leagues apart from them.
Real warriors indeed.
As the spar continued to escalate in intensity, it seemed the presumed Sword Dragon paused, falling into a moment of calm.
But Gu Yeonseo sensed the rising tension.
Even she, watching from a distance, could feel the solid energy racing towards her.
She had no idea what was going down, but whatever it was, it wouldn’t just fizzle out lightly.
“Will this be alright?”
The moment she recognized this, Gu Yeonseo scanned the surroundings.
The area was swarming with folks hungry to watch the duel between the two upper-tier warriors.
How could one not want to observe when it came to the Six Dragons and Three Peaks – they were the brightest in the current generation to lead the Central Plains!
Yet, there were indeed civilians among them, which heightened the risk of collateral damage if those two clashed in earnest.
“Aren’t there any other masters around?”
Was there really no one to intervene against these two?
Whether by coincidence or fate, there wasn’t anyone particularly notable in her sight.
Gu Yeonseo could not slip through that gap.
The aura radiating from the Taoist warriors was overwhelmingly dense.
Swords clashing, the fierce energy felt apart from the ordinary, resonating deeply with her senses.
She was trapped, unable to intervene.
Chomp!
As Gu Yeonseo bit down on her lip, simply watching, she sensed movement beside her.
It was Gu Jeolyub, accompanying them to Hanam.
Knock! Knock!
He drew his sword, stretching out, preparing himself.
Gu Yeonseo had to suppress her astonishment.
“Is he really going to leap through that gap?”
Was he thinking of stopping the duel?
Gu Yeonseo mentally cried out, how reckless!
As Gu Jeolyub limbered up, another figure appeared alongside him.
Muyeon, Gu Yangcheon’s escort.
Muyeon looked at Gu Jeolyub and asked, “Are you sure about this?”
At Muyeon’s question, Gu Jeolyub frowned slightly.
“…Well, I suspect if I don’t, there will be trouble anyway. And letting this go would be foolish, wouldn’t it?”
“I’ll lend you a hand,” Muyeon asserted.
Nodding in response to Gu Jeolyub, Muyeon pulled out his sword.
With that, it appeared they were both ready to jump in together.
Gu Yeonseo could only watch in horror, unable to voice her concerns.
She knew Muyeon’s reputation as an elite warrior.
The past stir within the Sega made mystery linger over how far he could go against those titans.
But would even an unprecedented elite be able to jump right into that?
Just as Gu Yeonseo’s mind swirled with these thoughts, Muyeon and Gu Jeolyub raised their swords, preparing to leap into the fray.
Thud!
In a shocking turn of events, both Muyeon and Gu Jeolyub froze mid-motion, as if an unseen force held them back.
It was as though they sensed something monumental.
“What?”
Such bewilderment filled Gu Yeonseo’s head, another mystery cracking open.
“Oh, those annoying fools! Why come all the way here and start causing ruckus? Did they eat something rotten?”
A passerby audibly brashly remarked as they slipped by Gu Yeonseo.
His tone dripped with irritation.
A voice still wobbling from adolescence, it reminded her slightly of her father.
As Gu Yeonseo glanced toward the source of the voice, she found the speaker had already disappeared, leaving only a fleeting sound behind.
In that very moment.
Whoooosh!
A colossal gust of wind whipped past, brushing Gu Yeonseo.
Woohyuk, a youth dubbed the Sleeping Dragon.
As was always the case.
A sound echoed in Woohyuk’s ears.
-From the right, upwards—
At the voice piercing his ear, Woohyuk immediately turned his head.
It had been this way since childhood.
From the moment he became aware he was within the Shaman realm, he recognized his ears were different.
The sounds of all things reached the ears of small mortals.
Woohyuk’s hearing worked like that.
The rustle of leaves.
The patter of raindrops.
From his perch at the cliff’s edge, he could hear Jang Moon-in yelling in fury from afar.
Every noise was caught by Woohyuk’s ears.
All of it, even sounds others couldn’t detect.
They rang louder.
He heard a bit more.
This was both a curse and a blessing.
The noise grew so loud that even with closed eyes, he couldn’t find peace.
Amidst the breeding clamor of sound, maintaining clarity was nearly impossible.
Thus, he could assert it as a curse.
A curse placed upon himself, indeed.
Then what of the blessing?
If unable to sleep due to cacophony, and if one’s mind lacked clarity, what would blessing entail?
The answer was simple.
-Slightly bent at an angle.
Aside from the sound, he moved his body, and with a swoosh, the tip of a sword whisked past his cheek, almost like it had been waiting.
If all sounds held significance.
Then Woohyuk could also perceive the movements of his opponent.
-Be sure to turn sideways, keep your toes back. One strike.
Whoosh!
The sharp blade energy pierced into his chest.
Yet, before it could reach him, Woohyuk had already slipped away.
Could that possibly be the voice of the other’s spirit?
In truth, it mattered not.
For no matter how enviable an ability it was for a warrior, for Woohyuk, it only served to make his existence dull and miserable.
This time would be no different.
Woohyuk had already made his judgment — this swordplay would be just as dull.
One.
Whoosh!
This felt just slightly different.
“…oh.”
When Woohyuk turned his head, the sword barely grazed against his chin, a sensation he felt, to his astonishment.
As he focused, he took a sharp breath, noticing the air around him grow tense.
Woohyuk’s eyes observed the tip of his opponent’s sword.
Within the gaps of many swords flashing by, a constant rhythm could be discerned.
A bleak fastness.
And yet it remained swift.
As he watched the Sword Dragon, Woohyuk thought.
‘This feels different now.’
Bolstered by a surge of energy, Woohyuk locked his gaze forward.
In his focus was a figure expected to ascend to the highest echelon, ready to leave their name behind for others to revere.
The First of the Volcanoes.
The youngest of the Plum Blossom Inspectors.
A swordsman many believed would eventually be crowned King of Swords.
Plum Blossom Sword Dragon, Youngpung.
Here he stood, facing Woohyuk.
‘What transpired?’
Observing Youngpung, questions stirred in Woohyuk’s mind.
How many years had it been?
The day he first faced Youngpung.
Back then, he had been younger, yet his blade had already seemed to bloom with plum blossoms.
Proudly, he’d showcased his status, placing a plum leaf on his breast.
Yet he appeared somewhat different than now.
Most warriors from the Volcano exhibited a distinctive humility.
A blend of manners laced with bubbling confidence and arrogance always nearby.
Youngpung had embodied that persona then.
He could understand.
Far from trivial, his skill had swiftly signified that he was among the best in the Volcano.
Who would not carry an air of superiority?
If not hindered by his peculiar ears, perhaps he would have turned out just as haughty.
But that’s why it lacked the excitement.
Those intoxicated by the world soon met their demise.
After all, his former mentor, always so cool-headed, had met the same fate.
Knowing this, Woohyuk suppressed his interest in Youngpung.
After all, it seemed a flame that would extinguish.
In those days, Youngpung’s skillful swordplay had been clean and swift, an embodiment of his talent.
But even that was merely it.
‘So how about now?’
What had Youngpung become in the present day?
In Woohyuk’s eyes, Youngpung had undergone a complete transformation in just a handful of years.
Swish!
The blade skimming his cheek.
Woohyuk rolled his eyes back, adjusting his posture.
His gaze never left the blade’s tip.
The sword was quick.
It was sharp.
And on top of that, it held a sense of freedom.
It felt like plum leaves cascading through the air, every movement hard to decipher.
Such sensations hadn’t been clear when he had observed before.
-The tips of his feet pivoted leftward. Apply the heel technique.
As the sound resonated, a flash of light dazzled before him.
Knowing this was a deception, Woohyuk stepped forth.
Swish!
Strength surged through his core, drawing energy into the blade.
Not from a gap formed by Youngpung.
Instead, he wielded his sword through a fresh opening unveiled amid the shifting blades.
Whoosh!
“…!”
Bam!
Youngpung, as if anticipating this, twisted his blade and lashed out.
Woohyuk, barely managing a defense, retreated a couple of steps.
‘That was close.’
What on earth just transpired?
The sound couldn’t keep pace.
What a surreal sensation.
It was one he’d never felt, even among lifetimes of training beneath the elders and heads of the Shaman.
Could the Sword Dragon indeed be faster than them?
No, that couldn’t be the case.
No matter how splendid the Sword Dragon, he was ultimately just a late-game contender.
Not on par with the elite.
So what had resulted in this distinction that he felt so pronounced?
‘…This.’
How intriguing.
The corners of Woohyuk’s mouth involuntarily turned upwards.
It was a feeling he hadn’t experienced in years.
After widening the distance between them, Woohyuk opened his mouth, aiming his gaze at Youngpung.
“To meet again after so long for a brawl with blades? What made the world’s sword dragon so fierce?”
This wasn’t a sneak attack.
Youngpung had approached, and in full recognition, he drew his blade.
How could one miss the fierce combatphere felt from so far away?
Youngpung smiled awkwardly upon hearing Woohyuk’s words.
“I hadn’t intended it to end up like this, but… I couldn’t resist my curiosity about the dojo’s sword.”
“Oh? That sounds lovely, but tell me, how do you feel about my sword after a taste of it in exchange for courtesy?”
“Just as expected.”
Youngpung chuckled, lowering his arms.
Woosh!
As he flicked the sword back, the lingering energy erupted in the air.
“Indeed, expected. Woohyuk dojo is formidable.”
“Thank you for the flattery.”
“I’m just glad to realize once more how confined my own world has been.”
Such subtle words.
How constricted his world had been.
Youngpung was, in essence, admitting he had been a frog at the bottom of a well.
‘What could’ve triggered this?’
It was strange but intriguing.
Yet, Woohyuk didn’t wish to pry too deeply.
“Well… Even upon reaching this point, it’s painfully clear there’s a long way yet to go.”
“Hmm?”
Is he referring to the master?
With a subtle interest arising, Woohyuk turned his focus back to Youngpung.
But quickly forced himself to downplay it.
Whooooosh…
The winds shifted.
The winds that enveloped Youngpung began to swirl.
With this observation, Woohyuk spoke to him, perhaps a tad alarmed.
“Isn’t it a bit dangerous to continue here?”
“Thank you for yielding to my whims, Woohyuk Dojo.”
“…Um… that wasn’t exactly yielding.”
Gu Yeonseo merely found it momentarily amusing, breaking the monotony of life.
It was sorta entertaining, no doubt.
Yet, Woohyuk’s expression remained laden with annoyance and utter nonchalance.
The winds brushed past him, kissing his cheek.
The scent of flowers teased his nose.
It’s going to bloom.
A voice rang in his ears, as if it had been there all along.
An unidentifiable whisper.
Yet, absurdly, it felt utterly familiar.
If it’s the Volcano’s martial prowess that blooms, what could emerge?
It was something even the Shaman himself was aware of.
The only bloom the Volcano bore as a blade was the plum blossom.
‘…I really don’t want to put forth the effort on that.’
Kuuk…
Woohyuk gathered his energy.
Yet rather than forceful and arrogant, it felt distinctly serene.
Whoosh.
The moment he tapped into that collected energy, plum petals began to cascade down.
Slowly, softly.
As those fluttering blossoms landed with purpose,
The area around him was sure to become draped in plum blossoms.
‘…Hmm.’
Observing it, Woohyuk pondered.
Would just one strike be enough?
It’s been ages since he last unleashed such force.
Would that really suffice?
Yet he concluded.
It would be a hassle to drag this out.
He was eager to return and get some rest, so he wouldn’t be held back by prolonged contemplation.
As the petals descended, Woohyuk filled himself with power and shifted his eyes in Youngpung’s direction.
“Hmm…?”
He then slipped a completely unexpected phrase.
It made perfect sense.
For the blossom had already settled and turned to dust long ago.
Yet, Youngpung’s expression showed no indication; he merely stood without reaction.
What caught Woohyuk’s eye was the sight of Youngpung beginning to disintegrate.
“What…?”
Why was this guy collapsing all of a sudden?
In the instant of his confusion,
Thunk!
“…!”
With a sudden jolt perceived in his abdomen, Woohyuk twisted his body.
As he felt the impact, he quickly sprang into action.
But by then, his legs had already lifted, hanging in the air.
And then,
“Damn those bastards! Think they can just destroy everything around here?”
A rough voice echoed in Woohyuk’s ear.
His body rolled helplessly on the ground.
He should’ve landed smoothly.
There was no way to know what had hit him, nor his body felt the energy to move.
Certainly, it hadn’t been a major shock.
“Damn, why are these idiots bringing chaos the moment I step in? What a bother.”
Grrk…
“Ah, for crying out loud, anyone wielding a sword is completely insane! Once they grab a blade, they never look around.”
He couldn’t lift his head.
Whose voice was this?
Whack!
“Gack!”
Just when he barely attempted to move, someone struck Woohyuk on the head.
“What’s with you suddenly acting wild the moment we meet again?”
“Grrg…”
Woohyuk felt as if his skull had reverberated.
How could a hit bear so little energy cause such a reaction?
Was it from the shock? Woohyuk felt his grip on consciousness slipping further.
His vision began to blur.
In that hazy perception, Woohyuk realized he was enveloped in an almost eerie silence, with no noise at all.
“Ah…”
Thud.
As he uttered a confused sound, he slipped into unconsciousness.
“What’s with this dude lying there with such a ridiculous expression?”
Gu Yangcheon smirked at Woohyuk’s fallen form before stepping away, disgust on his face.
Simultaneously, those around who had been watching in hysteria all fell to silence.
What had once been a raucous street had quickly descended into a serene hush.
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