Listening to the whispers of the crowd, Sayoon gripped her sword tightly. Everyone was saying that Cheonhwa Palace’s Seon Soo Yeon was stronger than she was.
Sure, the move Seon Soo Yeon showed just a while ago was quite flashy and powerful.
But can strength really be determined just by that?
Sayoon stared intently at the girl standing next to the Cheonhwa Palace’s small princess, Joo Yeryeong. Perhaps sensing her gaze, Seon Soo Yeon also directed her exposed eyes toward Sayoon.
The two girls silently stared at each other. Did Hongryeon, standing behind Sayoon, notice this? She lightly grabbed Sayoon’s shoulder.
“There’s no need to get worked up.”
You can’t simply judge a person’s strength based on one attack.
Even if an attack is strong, it doesn’t mean it’ll hit. Plus, there are plenty of ways to deal with changes like that.
“You experienced that in the Hidden Realm of Radiant Light, didn’t you?”
At that calm remark, Sayoon slightly nodded.
The events from a few days ago in the hidden realm began to naturally surface in her mind.
“Is this it?”
The carriage stopped deep in the canyon. Thank goodness the path was wide. Otherwise, they would’ve had to walk all the way here from the carriage.
While the Moonlight Warriors tied the carriage and horses nearby, Sayoon looked around. The canyon was vast and the atmosphere desolate.
The energy felt in the canyon was quite grand, as if proving that a hero once fought a three-headed evil dragon here.
“Monsters typically dwell in a place like this.”
Chaeran, who loves to wander around, quipped while looking around. Sayoon smiled warmly at her.
Even on the way here, they had encountered quite a few monsters. Some monsters shouldn’t have been in this area, yet with Hongryeon, Chaejin, Chaeran, and now Sayoon, who had grown enough to be called a master, along with the Moonlight Warriors, facing monsters wasn’t too difficult.
Thus, the appearance of monsters represented a chance for Sayoon to grow.
“Once we enter the hidden realm anyway, we’ll have to fight a lot. So, what now, Lyeon?”
“Hmm… Let’s see.”
Chaeran surveyed the surroundings and found a rock resembling a sword, starting to move it this way and that.
“We need to find seven flames, meaning we need to locate and reposition seven weapons. Come on, everyone! Move! Move!”
Leading the group was Chaeran. Following her orders, everyone moved, and it didn’t take long to find and adjust everything they needed.
“Lastly, over there! Move to the position!”
As Chaeran shouted from the top of the canyon, Hongryeon dashed toward the spot she pointed at. The moment she drew up her Hongseong Divine Art, light erupted from seven rocks resembling weapons, and light began to gather at the center.
With that, Hongryeon swung her great sword.
-KWAANG!!
A deafening explosion and a cloud of dust created a pit. Inside that pit were stairs leading down underground.
They found a passage to the hidden realm.
“Wow. It really exists…”
Chaeran, coming down from the canyon, whistled in disbelief. Hearing her words, Chaejin grinned.
“Impressive, right?”
“It’s not that you’re amazing, so why are you puffing up like that?”
“This is…”
While the sisters bickered, Hongryeon took Sayoon with her and descended.
There it was. The entrance to a large hidden realm. The peculiar thing was that there were four extinguished torches at the entrance.
-FWAP!!
As Hongryeon and Sayoon stood in front of the hidden realm, two of the four torches ignited. While they were surprised by this, Chaeran, who had come down, nodded at the torches.
“Just as the Innkeeper said. Those torches seem to indicate the number of people allowed in. Everyone, head back up!!”
At Chaeran’s shout, the members of Moonlight Sword descended to the ground. When only four remained in front of the entrance, the firmly closed door of the hidden realm opened up.
“Let’s go in. Everyone stay alert.”
Hongryeon gripped her great sword tightly. In response, Chaejin frowned slightly.
“Since when did you become the leader?”
“That’s right, Hongryeon. I’m the leader. The Innkeeper gave me the position!”
Chaeran pulled out a piece of paper she was holding. When Hongryeon and Chaejin frowned at the paper from Yu Wol, she flinched and hid behind Sayoon.
“Ahhahaha…”
As they struck that pose, Sayoon simply chuckled.
As Yu Wol had mentioned, passing through the hidden realm was not going to be easy. There were many traps, and the evil monsters appearing intermittently were quite powerful.
But even so, nothing could stop the four of them.
“Looks like this is the first trial.”
After defeating the swarm of evil monsters, they reached a spacious room. Stopping in a room large enough to face the master of the hidden realm in another instance, Chaeran examined the paper. Yu Wol had informed them that there were four trials in total for the hidden realm.
The first one was the Illusion Trial.
“According to the records, the monster appearing in the Illusion Trial is called Guya Jeoksa.”
Guya Jeoksa was described as a snake-shaped monster with three tails, using them like whips for versatile attacks.
There was.
Hongryeon, pondering Chaeran’s explanation, tapped Sayoon on the back.
“Uh?”
“Do you think you can do it alone?”
“Um… yes.”
The Cheonhwa Art of Cheonhwa Palace emphasizes transformation. If you can pass the trial of illusory forms alone, it would be good practice against the Cheonhwa Art.
Sayoon nodded firmly and stepped forward.
No sooner had she entered the center of the room than a huge flame erupted, and a snake slithered out from it.
A gigantic snake with three long tails.
As the steel-like tail moved swiftly toward her, Sayoon slowly exhaled.
On the paper that Yu Wol had written, there were instructions on how to deal with the Nine Shadow Snakes.
What must be found amidst countless changes is the one true essence.
You must remember that the truth is singular and move accordingly.
Sayoon observed the tails darting like whips through the air. The two tails connected to the body remained still.
Only one tail was in motion, and among the many illusions it created, she had to discover the real one.
She recalled the words Yu Wol had inscribed.
In the end, the truth is one, and all those changes are mere falsehoods.
She slowly closed her eyes.
Change is merely an illusion.
Remembering that, as she took each step, feeling the tail’s movement, Sayoon suddenly stopped.
-BAM!!
Had she continued moving, she would have been struck by the tail.
Seeing Sayoon halt as if she’d predicted it, Hongryeon was impressed, and Chaejin let out a low whistle.
This first evasion was not by chance; Sayoon began to calmly prove it.
Targeting the head, the arms, the body.
Amidst countless transformations, Sayoon was neutralizing the Nine Shadow Snake’s attacks simply by moving lightly and wielding her sword with ease.
As Sayoon got even closer, the remaining two tails of the Nine Shadow Snake began to move.
And then.
The moment Sayoon’s grip tightened on her sword, it radiated a spectrum of colors as it swung swiftly.
Hongseong Divine Art’s sword technique, Seongtamcham.
The sword strikes of the seeker moving to find the stars cleaved through the serpent’s ever-changing tails.
A roar erupted, mixed with pain from the movements. Within that chaos, Sayoon thrust her sword rapidly toward the Nine Shadow Snake’s body.
-KYAAAH!!
She was in pursuit. She kept chasing.
As her sword strikes searched for the truth, she sliced through the Nine Shadow Snake’s body, and the serpent, in a bid to stop her, continued to whip its tails, but Sayoon remained calm, evading or blocking the attacks effortlessly.
-KRRRRAAAH…!!
With a thud, the body of the Nine Shadow Snake collapsed. As its massive frame darkened to ashes and began to vanish slowly, Sayoon let out a deep breath.
As the massive body began to fade away, turning to ash, Sayoon let out a deep breath.
“Whoo…”
“Well done.”
Hongryeon approached with a smile and complimented Sayoon, who wiped away the sweat trickling down her face.
“With your skills, you should be able to respond to the changes in the Cheonhwa Divine Art, right?”
At Hongryeon’s confident words, Sayoon smiled brightly.
“I hope so.”
…
Yeah. Compared to Gu Yajeok’s attack, Seon Soo Yeon’s assault is definitely something I can evade or block.
Hansoo was strong earlier, but wasn’t it just a variation from a single whip?
So she smiled back at Seon Soo Yeon, who was watching her.
“Alright, let’s head for the next test.”
The next trial involved sparring with a martial artist from the Murim Alliance, and it didn’t seem too difficult.
The training so far, along with everyone’s support, had definitely made her strong enough.
Confidently, Sayoon passed the test and dashed to find Sword Saint Na Yerin and Yu Wol waiting for her.
“Master! Innkeeper!”
“You did well. I knew you’d make it to the finals.”
As the Sword Saint gazed at her warmly, Sayoon felt a warmth tickling in her chest. Just being praised by her Master made her smile, but Yu Wol spoke calmly.
“You’ve gotten much stronger since the last time we met.”
“Hehe…”
Since then, it had truly been like night and day in terms of strength.
There was no way she could say that she achieved this without Yu Wol’s help.
Thus, she sincerely expressed her gratitude.
“You’ve been so much help, Innkeeper.”
“I’m glad you think so. Now, let’s draw the matchups for the finals.”
The finalists were drawing lots for the matches. The Cheonhwa Palace had already completed theirs, and Hongryeon and Chaejin were also waiting after drawing lots.
Only Sayoon remained.
Taking a deep breath, she reached into the lot where the Murim Alliance members were waiting and drew a wooden tile.
“…Ah.”
She could see who her first opponent would be.
“…I ended up facing them faster than expected.”
Sayoon quietly murmured as she gazed at the board with her name on it.
Next to her name was…
Seon Soo Yeon from Cheonhwa Palace.
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