Chapter 20
(Qingyun’s pov)
I proudly watched as the sect leader dominated that arrogant brat from the Black Tiger Sect throughout the duel.
‘What a cocky kid. Guess he’s finally getting a taste of his own medicine!’
Every time the leader swung his sword in that exemplary blend of softness and strength, a refreshing breeze would blow through the air.
That was the Clear Flow Chengtian Sword Art—an exclusive martial art passed down only to the leaders of the Qinghua Sect.
I swore that someday, I would inherit that sword art. My eyes burned with determination.
‘But wait… didn’t that guy say he was from the Black Tiger Sect?’
Could a scumbag like him really radiate such pure energy?
As the duel between the leader and that brat momentarily halted, I couldn’t hide my skepticism until the moment the leader sheathed his sword.
But then, out of nowhere, that brat who had been chatting with the leader suddenly charged at him! The leader had already sheathed his sword!
“What the…!?”
I leaned forward, ready to rush in, but a small figure stepped in front of me.
“Don’t interfere. This is important.”
“It’s you….”
It was that brat who hung out with the cocky guy. Not wanting to hurt a child, I tried to reason with her.
“Hey, kid, just take a look at what’s going on. Hanging out with that kind won’t do you any good. Why not come over to the Qinghua Sect instead? If you work hard, you might even become one of our disciples….”
I froze. I hadn’t even noticed the sword aimed at my throat.
The little brat’s eyes gleamed with an eerie light.
“Shh. Just keep quiet and watch.”
Chun-bong clicked her tongue in annoyance and withdrew her sword.
(Chun-bong’s pov)
Seriously, even these supposedly righteous sect guys are getting on my nerves. No good can come from associating with them, yet they act like they know everything.
Focusing back on the resumed duel, I couldn’t help but smile.
‘Right on.’
I felt a thrill watching Seo-jun press the sect leader.
Before I knew it, sweat was forming in my clenched fists.
Suddenly, my eyes widened in shock.
“…Huh?”
Seo-jun’s sword was enveloped in a thick, sticky aura.
What’s that? That’s definitely not something I taught him!
As my mind raced, Seo-jun let one word slip from his lips.
“Unifying.”
That name evoked a memory: Essence-Unity Divine Technique. Wasn’t that supposedly a blend of the Yellow Cloud and Clear Sky techniques? And now, he’s mixing it with the Clear Flow Sword Art?
“There’s not even a trace of it left.”
This wasn’t the clumsy Essence-Unity Divine Technique I had seen just that morning.
This was a proper martial art, not some patchy mix.
I realized that maybe—just maybe—a true martial art worthy of its name might come to life later on.
A fire ignited in my eyes.
*
Unifying—混元.
The first technique of the Essence-Unity Divine Technique.
Actually, calling it a technique is a bit misleading; it didn’t even have any formal structure.
It was merely a stepping stone toward the foundation of the Essence-Unity Divine Technique that would be created in the future.
“Watch closely. And don’t tell anyone.”
Dozens of sect members watched with puzzled expressions, but Seo-jun didn’t care.
Time to get serious.
“Breathe in…!”
Seo-jun swung his sword. The murky aura transformed.
Boom—!
The leader jumped back in shock as Seo-jun’s attack crashed down.
With a swish, a thorn shot from the aura, grazing the leader’s cheek.
“Where did this martial art come from…!”
As the leader stumbled back, pulling his sword, he focused hard. The energy in his sword seemed to thicken rapidly, channeling the wild, rushing flow of a river.
Bullying River.
The opening move of the Clear Flow Chengtian Sword unfolded.
Seo-jun locked eyes with it, having seen many martial arts before. He could predict what would come next.
Hiss…
Taking a deep breath, he angled his sword.
Then, like two streams merging, he smoothly intertwined his sword with the leader’s, redirecting it downward.
“What—!”
The leader’s eyes widened. The move he had opened with earlier was now executed flawlessly by his opponent.
But he was too furious to care about that; his sword gleamed a different color.
Despite their differences, was the golden energy changing entirely to another shade?
This is unreal. It defies common sense.
A single person cannot wield two different energies.
That’s why the Yang God Art is known as a divine technique; it’s a miracle to manage two energies within a single body.
But how is this possible?
Even that Yang God Art requires a peak level to work properly!
“Do your best to block.”
Seo-jun’s eyes glimmered with blue light. The now-blue aura danced around his sword.
An eerie chill ran down the leader’s arm.
Seo-jun thrust his sword skyward, employing the Taishan Pressure from the Three Calamities Sword Technique.
The leader, gathering all his strength, raised his sword to counter.
BOOM—!!
The clash sent shockwaves through the area.
The leader’s face contorted. His mostly frozen arm felt numb.
“What— are you using a demonic art…?”
“Demonic art? Nah, this is a divine technique.”
Seo-jun pressed down upon the leader’s weapon.
Screech—!
With the swords locked, the two martial artists fixed each other with chilling gazes.
Then, Seo-jun grinned widely.
“Getting adjusted yet?”
The aura that had enveloped the leader’s arm suddenly melted away.
Whatever he had done was resisting the dark energy.
The leader’s expression hardened as he faced Seo-jun’s twisted smile.
He remained cautious, knowing that Seo-jun’s next move was beyond anything he could imagine.
Yin-Yang Reversal.
The dark energy transformed into light. The once blue aura ignited to a blinding gold, radiating heat.
Fizzle—!
“Ugh!”
The leader stumbled back, feeling scorched. Seo-jun chased after him while flinging a strike.
Smash—!
The leader scrambled to swing his sword in defense.
“That’s nonsense…!”
A chill passed through the blade he defended with. Seo-jun’s attack contained a mix of dark energy.
“Sun-Moon Magic!?”
Also known as the Moon-Sun Art. It was the only way to control dark and light energies so freely.
“Guess you recognize the name of a technique, huh.”
Seo-jun was already upon him, gripping the sword tightly.
The leader rushed to dodge, but his slow, sluggish movements were no match against the infiltration of light and dark energies.
Seo-jun, confident of his victory, dropped the sword to the ground. Simultaneously, he clenched his right fist.
“Chun-bong…! I won…!”
Thwap—!
“Ugh…!”
The leader doubled over, clutching his stomach after Seo-jun’s punch struck home.
Seo-jun stood brightly, grinning at him.
“I came here to test the Clear Flow Sword Art, but then you started talking trash like that. You deserve to get hit, right?”
Boom!
*
(Chun-bong’s pov)
“Ow, Leader!”
“Are you alright!?”
“Did you see that wicked punk? Someone needs to kill him!”
The sect members shrieked with concern for their bruised leader.
Despite everything, they looked quite worried about him. I pouted while glaring at Seo-jun.
“Hey, you. If you keep hitting like that for being rude, you might actually get killed!”
“Oh, come on. Why pretend to be upset when you’re clearly happy?”
Seo-jun poked me in the side. Struggling to hide my smile behind a pout, I eventually grinned.
“What the heck! I didn’t think you’d actually win!”
“Of course! I had support; winning was a given!”
“Stop bragging.”
That kid’s got a good head on his shoulders, I chuckled at the banter.
The leader approached us, narrowing his eyes as he took a deep breath.
“Though it’s late, I am Cheongmu-won, the 13th leader of the Qinghua Sect. I apologize for my rudeness.”
“Oh, it’s totally fine; all’s forgiven after a good smackdown.”
After dropping his guard, Seo-jun felt a sense of relief.
He waved off the leader’s apology with a smile.
“Honestly, that Essence-Unity Divine Technique is fascinating. A combination of Yellow Cloud and Clear Cloud techniques? It’s impressive for an art I’ve never heard of!”
“I think so too.”
“Ha-ha… exactly.”
With a chuckle, the leader’s gaze lingered on Seo-jun.
Despite his street-urchin attitude, Seo-jun emanated a clean, refined energy. However, buried within that energy were rebellious and worldly thoughts.
He didn’t seem like someone from the older sects. Maybe he was from a lesser one?, he thought.
Lost in thought, the leader decided to pose a straightforward question.
“Let’s just cut to the chase. Where exactly is your sect?”
“I couldn’t say.”
“…Alright, I guess that’s that.”
“If you’re really that curious, ask her. This kid is my master.”
“What?”
The leader’s eyes widened, and I felt a chill run down my spine.
“What do you mean?”
“How dare you speak like that to your master! Don’t you know military principles dictate respect?”
The bond between a ruler and a master should be treated as equal, meaning that a master should be considered like a ruler or father.
Even I know that much.
Seo-jun nodded proudly, and I could see veins pulsing at the leader’s temples.
“No matter how young you are, a master is a master! You better acknowledge that right now!”
“What?”
Seo-jun’s eyes grew wide as he turned to me.
“Uh, Mistress…?”
“Haa… how do I deal with this kid?”
With her forehead in her palm, I glanced back at the leader.
“Since he’s not technically my teacher, there’s no need to get worked up. He’s just a joker who treats everything like a game.”
“…But…”
“Look, I don’t want him calling me ‘Mistress,’ so please just go with it.”
The awkwardly polite yet rude words made the leader nod reluctantly.
“…Fine then.”
*
“…Make yourself comfortable and rest.”
“Are you sure it’s alright? You seem a bit irritated.”
“…What can I say? The loser has no room to complain. It’s not like I threw a fit, so I can’t really say much.”
With a wave, the leader called Qingyun to assist us, leading the way to the main hall.
The leader’s posture was slumped and weary as he trudged onward.
‘Oh, I meant to ask him about something.’
I’ll have to catch him later.
My mouth watered as I watched Qingyun.
“Uh, hey there?”
“…That’s enough. Why are you suddenly getting all chummy with me? I’ll show you to the guest room.”
Maybe it was because their leader got beaten up, but she looked pretty upset.
Drawing on my modern-day social skills, I decided to charm my way through.
“Uh, so that was the Clear Flow Sword? It’s a pretty stellar martial art!”
“Only… in terms of basic arts. The Clear Sky Sword is just a fundamental practice of the Qinghua Sect.”
“Sounds like a total letdown, huh?”
“What on earth does that even mean…?”
“Ah, never mind. I just meant the Clear Flow Sword is quite impressive.”
I definitely didn’t mean to imply that they were subpar.
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