Chapter 126
You don't know Gong Mu-jin?
The Historian?
Hmm…
That's strange indeed. No matter how much time has passed, the name of Gong Mu-jin, the Plum Blossom Sword Ghost, shouldn't have been forgotten to that extent.
Did something happen in between?
Anyway, at that time, Gong Mu-jin was making a name for himself throughout the land under the title Plum Blossom Sword Ghost.
Wei Yan-ho?
In terms of fame at that time, comparing the two would be extremely rude to Gong Mu-jin. Wei Yan-ho didn't even have a title back then.
Of course, he was called Lazy Turtle in Guangdong before that, but you couldn't really call that a title, could you?
So imagine how upset Gong Mu-jin must have been when some young greenhorn with no title was glaring at him with blazing eyes and talking back.
If I had been in such a situation, I would have immediately measured the thickness of his skull with my club, so you can't say Gong Mu-jin's reaction was excessive.
But…
You know how Wei Yan-ho is.
Yes, now you understand well.
You shouldn't get involved.
If you get involved, you're bound to suffer. Everyone who gets entangled with Wei Yan-ho ends up in such a state.
Huh?
How did the match turn out?
Why ask such things?
The important thing isn't the outcome. What matters is that two great swordsmen of the age met and crossed blades.
It was the moment when Wei Yan-ho's Light Sword, completely unknown to the martial world at the time, clashed with Gong Mu-jin's Plum Blossom Sword Formation, praised as an unprecedented ultimate technique.
Though no one witnessed it.
Huh?
So what was the result?
Goodness, you're quite impatient. And more foolish than I thought.
The result was…
Do you really need to hear it?
* * *
"All swords under heaven, the Light Sword reigns supreme?"
"Eh…"
Wei Yan-ho grinned sheepishly.
"It wasn't such a grand statement. I just repeated something I overheard."
"Did your master say that?"
"Yes."
"Hahaha!"
Gong Mu-jin laughed mockingly.
"Your master is quite arrogant. How dare he utter such words. Did some nameless fool claim to have achieved enlightenment in the mountains?"
It was clear provocation.
Normally, it wouldn't be appropriate provocation for someone to use against someone younger, but Gong Mu-jin was already sufficiently annoyed, so he was being a bit malicious in provoking his opponent.
However, the reaction that came back was completely different from his expectations.
"He does have that tendency."
"Huh?"
"Actually, while he says such things, I also have some doubts about whether our master was really famous. He claims so, but there's no evidence…"
Watching the bewildered Gong Mu-jin, Wei Yan-ho whispered softly.
"And I'm only telling you this, but he's actually a bit petty too. This is something master told me not to tell others, so please keep it to yourself."
Gong Mu-jin's face turned bright red.
"You brat!"
Thinking he was being mocked by a young fool, Gong Mu-jin immediately drew his sword.
"I acknowledge your sharp tongue. So let's see if your sword is as sharp as that tongue of yours."
"Even when I tell you the truth, you don't believe me. I'm learning anew just how harsh the world can be. Since you're helping me realize that master's words were correct, strengthening the trust between master and disciple, I suppose I should be grateful."
"To the very end!"
Gong Mu-jin gritted his teeth.
This brat had clearly devoured all respect for his elders.
Yi Seol-hwa stamped her feet anxiously, watching Gong Mu-jin's anger reach its peak.
"But you said you wouldn't fight!"
At her sharp voice, Seomun Da-yeon could only look helplessly into the distance.
Who could have known that lazy one would actually want to fight? Objectively speaking, this couldn't be called her fault.
"What should we do…"
Tears welled up in Yi Seol-hwa's eyes. It looked like they might fall at any moment.
"Surely he won't kill him?"
"…"
"If a senior of the martial world injures a junior during a duel, how could he bear the pointing fingers? It will end appropriately, so don't worry too much."
"You're saying that because you don't know our master."
"What?"
"When master gets angry, he doesn't distinguish between men and women, young and old. Previously, he got angry and slashed a third-generation disciple of Qingcheng with his sword, nearly causing a critical situation with Qingcheng."
Seomun Da-yeon looked at Wei Yan-ho with a shocked expression.
Since Gong Mu-jin was currently a first-generation disciple, a third-generation disciple would be two generations younger.
But he injured such a child? There would be such a difference in martial prowess that he could subdue them with his bare hands, let alone a sword.
"What should we do?"
She couldn't really answer. And Yi Seol-hwa didn't seem to expect an answer either.
"If he gets hurt…"
Hmm?
Seomun Da-yeon looked at Yi Seol-hwa with slightly subtle eyes.
She understood thinking of him as a benefactor, but the worry seemed a bit excessive from earlier.
Was it just her imagination?
But the situation was too urgent for deep thought.
"Ah!"
Yi Seol-hwa's short exclamation cut off her thoughts. Seomun Da-yeon opened her eyes wide and looked at the duel scene.
"I don't know who your master is, but…"
At that moment, Wei Yan-ho raised his hand.
"Huh?"
What kind of behavior was that suddenly?
Wei Yan-ho shook his head and opened his mouth.
"While promoting friendship through conversation is a very good thing, I'm a bit tired. I didn't get much sleep either. I want to finish quickly and go in to get some rest, so shall we stop talking and just have a quick bout?"
Gong Mu-jin raised his hand to massage his ear.
He wondered if smoke might be coming from his ears. He thought if he got any angrier, he might collapse clutching his neck before even dueling.
"Fine! I'll make you regret those words!"
Gong Mu-jin's eyes blazed as he raised his sword.
Normally, there should be courtesies exchanged before a duel, but Gong Mu-jin currently had neither the mind nor the will to show courtesy. He was filled only with the desire to completely destroy that rotten young brat.
His aura changed as he held his sword.
A cold momentum like a cutting wind stabbed toward Wei Yan-ho. Feeling Gong Mu-jin's transformed aura, Wei Yan-ho nodded.
"You're stronger than I thought."
"Grr…"
Gong Mu-jin took a deep breath.
This is provocation! Provocation! I mustn't fall for this young brat's provocation…
"But aren't you coming? I want to finish quickly and rest…"
"AAAAHHH!"
Gong Mu-jin lost his reason and charged at Wei Yan-ho.
Mount Hua's sword is splendid.
If Wudang's Taiji pursues softness, and Shaolin's Arrow Shooting pursues speed, then Mount Hua's Plum Blossom pursued change.
Like countless plum trees simultaneously blooming, Mount Hua's sword boasted splendid variations.
But Gong Mu-jin's sword was sharp and swift rather than splendid.
Though sometimes scorned as heretical, Plum Blossom Sword Ghost Gong Mu-jin was the one who changed that heretical evaluation with his sword alone.
His sword could be called not the splendid spring plum blossom, but the winter Snow Plum blooming in the cutting wind. Though not as splendid as spring plum blossoms, Gong Mu-jin's sword held even greater coldness and beauty.
Plum Blossom Gradual Advance, reaching its peak.
The first move of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique, called Mount Hua's pride and everything, was being perfectly reproduced by Gong Mu-jin's hands.
'Ho?'
Wei Yan-ho felt like he was having an epiphany watching Gong Mu-jin's swordplay.
Splendid.
But not excessive.
The mystery of stillness within motion was hidden in his sword, not losing the sword's center even amid endless changes.
If one was captivated by the seemingly beautiful changes, their neck would fall in an instant.
But that was all.
'That uncle seems pretty strong too… '
But if it's only this much?
"Just how strong is our master?"
The one who made him think that despite all the hardships he'd endured and was still enduring, he hadn't even reached his toes yet, was his master Baek Mu-han.
Compared to Baek Mu-han's sword, the sword before his eyes was merely pretty swordplay.
Wei Yan-ho's eyes slowly sank.
No matter how playfully he spoke, his sword wasn't his alone. Having inherited Baek Mu-han's sword, Wei Yan-ho had a duty to show the Light Sword's majesty to the world.
Wei Yan-ho slowly pushed his sword forward.
The White Sword in Wei Yan-ho's hand brilliantly reflected the sunlight.
It wasn't simply reflecting sunlight. The White Sword was literally shining, emitting pure white light on its own.
'No!'
Gong Mu-jin's eyes widened as if they might tear.
A sword that emitted light!
Wasn't this swordplay he'd never heard of or seen before?
What was even more shocking was that the light flowing from Wei Yan-ho's extended sword was cleanly erasing the Plum Blossom Gradual Advance sword energy he'd created, as if it had never existed.
He couldn't even feel any recoil at his fingertips.
It wasn't sword energy clashing with sword energy and being destroyed.
The overwhelming white light was literally annihilating his plum blossoms.
'Un, unbelievable!'
Light that erases sword energy? What principle was that?
Though his heart was pounding so hard it seemed it might jump out of his throat, he couldn't just stand there in shock. He wasn't a spectator of the duel but a participant.
That dazzling white light was targeting none other than himself.
Before the Plum Blossom Gradual Advance sword energy could completely disappear, Gong Mu-jin desperately gripped his sword and deployed Plum Blossom Brilliant Display.
Flame-like brilliant energy shot up into the air along his sword.
But that was all Gong Mu-jin could do.
Though the Plum Blossom Brilliant Display he drew out was perfect, befitting the name Plum Blossom Sword Ghost, it was insufficient to handle the majesty of the white light rolling toward him like massive waves.
"Ah!"
Overwhelmed by the enormous light wave that covered his entire field of vision, Gong Mu-jin unconsciously let out a groan.
'Is this an illusion?'
It was too fantastic to be reality.
Whooom!
At the same time, the pure white light enveloped Gong Mu-jin's body.
"Master!"
Yi Seol-hwa, who had jumped up from her seat, ran toward Gong Mu-jin.
She clearly saw the white light that Wei Yan-ho had unleashed strike Gong Mu-jin.
Given the majesty of the white light that cleanly erased Plum Blossom Gradual Advance, there was no way a person could be unharmed inside it. Yi Seol-hwa gritted her teeth and ran towards the white light.
But a person cannot be faster than a sword.
Before she could even arrive, the white light had already enveloped her master.
"Ah…"
Yi Seol-hwa collapsed in place.
And the white light disappeared as if it had been an illusion from the beginning.
"Huh?"
Yi Seol-hwa rubbed her eyes.
Where the white light had disappeared, her master stood tall without even a small scratch.
Yi Seol-hwa's head tilted.
Strange?
Why is he fine?
At that moment, Gong Mu-jin, who had been quietly looking down at his own body, took two steps toward Wei Yan-ho with a stern expression.
"Listen here."
"Yes?"
Wei Yan-ho answered with a puzzled expression.
Gong Mu-jin, his face completely distorted, shouted in a loud voice:
"Co, could we have just one more bout?"
Sword Ghost Gong Mu-jin.
He was a man who didn't know how to give up.