The sparring arena located in the center of the Murim Alliance.
The arena, which had only opened during the Alliance's festivals or martial arts tournaments, was exceptionally open and gathering crowds.
The faces of those entering the sparring arena were full of beaming smiles and anticipation.
It was none other than because the two holding a public sparring match this time were no ordinary experts.
The pride of the Zhongnan Sect, the Zhongnan Sword Saint.
And the newly emerged absolute powerhouse who had raised the Huashan Sect's current reputation, the Huashan Divine Sword.
It was a sparring match between the two of them.
Perhaps because of that, those who set foot in the sparring arena could not hide their excited expressions.
"I never thought I'd see masters of the Tianwu Realm spar in my lifetime."
"What are you doing? Let's hurry up and go in."
"If we're late, there might not be any seats left."
Just like the noisy interior of the sparring arena, a great commotion was brewing outside as well.
"Why are you blocking us?"
"Let me in too!"
It had only been two days since the public sparring match between the Zhongnan Sword Saint and the Huashan Divine Sword was confirmed, but...
"No more can enter."
In less than a quarter of an hour, the sparring arena was packed to full capacity.
As the sparring arena was filled with crowds like that...
"I'm anxious."
Hyunjin's eyes, sitting in a seat with a good view of the sparring arena, wavered with anxiety.
He knew Hyundo was strong.
But the opponent was an absolute master who had reached the Tianwu Realm long ago and made a name for himself.
His anxiety grew.
"I wonder if Senior Brother will be alright."
"It looks pretty good."
Meanwhile, Cheonhwi, who was next to Hyunjin, waited for the sparring match with complete nonchalance.
'Has the Zhongnan Sect's martial arts changed a bit?'
As he looked at the sparring arena with eyes full of interest, two shadows appeared.
They were the Zhongnan Sword Saint and Hyundo.
The two came up so fast and swiftly that most of the crowd couldn't even sense them.
"I heard your rumors and thought I'd like to meet you someday."
The Zhongnan Sword Saint smiled bitterly.
"But I didn't expect it to be a meeting like this."
"I feel the same way."
Hyundo said in a stiff tone.
He had heard about the Zhongnan Sword Saint until his ears wore out.
He was a great swordsman who, at the late age of seventy, debuted in the murim, immediately revealed his absolute dignity, and carried out chivalrous deeds.
"Were you called the Divine Sword of Huashan who defeated the Hundred Demons?"
"It is an excessive title."
"Is that so."
The Zhongnan Sword Saint's eyebrows arched.
Then he drew his sword.
The sword drawn from the worn-out scabbard was a well-maintained sword.
It was a sword hard to call a treasured sword or a famous sword, but the moment it was gripped in his hand...
"Whoa! It's Okro!"
"That is the Zhongnan Sword Saint's Okro Sword!"
The worn sword became a famous sword.
"It is a beautiful sword."
Hyundo, who was watching, expressed his admiration.
The sword was ordinary.
But it was different when held in his hand.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint stroked the blade.
"This is my friend, Okro, who has been with me since I entered Zhongnan Mountain."
"I see."
Hyundo couldn't help but admire it.
Those words meant they had been together for at least dozens of years.
Yet it looked like new.
It was clearly visible how much he had cherished it.
'He is different from the other Taoists of the Zhongnan Sect. As expected, rumors aren't wrong.'
The Zhongnan Sword Saint's tone and attitude.
Furthermore, his treatment of his sword was different from the greedy Taoists of the Zhongnan Sect.
The great swordsman he had heard about in rumors.
That was exactly what he looked like.
Snap.
Hyundo also grabbed his sword and drew it.
It was a sword mixed with cold iron (Hancheol), a memento of his master.
"You also possess a fine sword."
At those words, Hyundo smiled softly.
"A sword passed down by my master. No, my friend Baekseol."
At the smile that warmed the heart just by looking at it, the Zhongnan Sword Saint smiled back.
"Baekseol, that's a very good name."
"Haha, it is."
The two, who showed smiles toward each other, seemed to have a light conversation, and then...
Whoosh!
Without anyone saying who went first, they unfolded their internal energy techniques and emitted a fierce momentum.
Then the wind began to howl.
"Gasp!"
"Ugh! W-what an incredible energy!"
The spectators raised their hands to block the sweeping storm and stared at the sparring arena.
The vortex that bloomed between the two holding swords.
It was as fierce as a dragon's claw trying to tear their space apart.
At that moment, Hyundo raised his sword and spoke.
"I will go first."
"Come."
As soon as the words ended.
Kwaaang!
A shockwave swept through the sparring arena.
The crowd, who barely managed to keep their eyes open in the storm and glared at the arena, dropped their jaws.
The storm disappeared in an instant.
However, instead, the aftermath that erupted the moment their swords clashed swept over the spectators' hair and captivated their minds.
"Since when was Senior Brother this..."
Hyunjin also stared blankly at the sparring arena.
The power of the sword techniques displayed by the Zhongnan Sword Saint and Hyundo was absurd.
Squeeze!
His fists clenched involuntarily under the pressure.
Then, the cold sweat flowing from his forehead and back slowly soaked his Taoist robe.
'Is that what a true master is...'
The two were on a different level.
Was that really human?
Just watching from afar made his body tremble as if an earthquake had struck.
A sense of despair washed over him.
'I want to be like Senior Brother...'
He made a resolution and clenched his teeth tightly.
A stinging pain was felt in his clenched fist, and he felt a hot liquid.
'No, even more than Senior Brother!'
He snapped his head up and opened his eyes wide.
And when he took in the sparring match of the two with his eyes...
"His skills have improved compared to before."
Cheonhwi also took in the clash of the two with his eyes.
Perhaps the battle with the Hundred Demons Castle had helped, Hyundo's skills had grown to a level that couldn't even be compared to the past.
Cheonhwi's gaze followed Hyundo, who was moving while swiftly unfolding his movement techniques.
If he keeps going like this, he can stand on his own now.
The sword technique, which had been stiff from merely following forms until now, had finally become a bit more liberated.
Transcending stances and reaching formlessness.
In other words, he had reached the realm where he could execute any stance he desired at any time.
'If he reorganizes it into stances that suit him from there, the Taiyi Mili Sword Art will reach grand completion.'
Learning what already exists, breaking it, and then absorbing it back as one's own.
That was precisely grand completion.
After breaking through the wall known as the Tianwu Realm, Hyundo's skills had risen quite steeply.
Although still lower than the Castle Lord of the Hundred Demons Castle, he far surpassed the level of a sect's lord.
'But it's a bit disappointing. Did the opponent have to be him of all people?'
His gaze shifted to the Zhongnan Sword Saint.
Their match appeared evenly matched at first glance, but to Cheonhwi's eyes, the exact reality was crystal clear.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint was going easy on him.
'Hum. There is no difference in internal energy, but the gap in experience and skill is clear.'
Compared to the difference of a generation, the Zhongnan Sword Saint's internal energy was surprisingly not that much greater.
But that wasn't a problem.
Because there was an even bigger gap than that.
"The current Zhongnan Sect has no choice but to be stronger than the Huashan Sect."
Cheonhwi's murmuring gaze pierced through the sword the Zhongnan Sword Saint was wielding.
The sword technique he displayed was one he had seen in the past. It was the Zhongnan Sect's sword technique, the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven.
However, it was very slightly different.
And that subtlety was enough to completely transform the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven.
'The boundless variations of the sword technique remain, but its power is much better than before.'
The Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven was a majestic and infinitely variable sword technique consisting of stances targeting a total of thirty-six directions.
But what about the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven that the Zhongnan Sword Saint was displaying now?
It was concise, and the variations were fewer.
The result of discarding useless stances.
Thanks to that, he maximized the remaining stances into one and perfectly sublimated them.
'He completely changed it, just like how I reinvented the Plum Blossom Sword Art into the Seven-Absolute Plum Blossom Sword. I don't know who did it, but they have some skills?'
He watched the sparring match with interested eyes.
However, when the match passed one tea's time and reached two tea's time, his expression grew cold.
'What kind of bullshit is this?'
He was dumbfounded.
The martial arts the two were displaying now were flashy and intense, pleasing to the eyes, but...
'This is why the Righteous Faction never progresses.'
The more he watched, the more his interest died down.
The current sparring match was just a feast for the eyes.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint's Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven drove fiercely, but it was only on the surface.
'Did he have no intention of winning from the start?'
Seeing the Zhongnan Sword Saint deliberately retreating despite being able to overwhelm Hyundo several times, his interest immediately vanished.
That wasn't all.
Hyundo also had several opportunities to aim for a fatal blow against the Zhongnan Sword Saint, yet he didn't take them.
They were accommodating each other.
'Sigh, I expected too much for nothing.'
He immediately propped his chin on his hand and looked at them with half-closed eyes.
Just then, the two distanced themselves.
Tap.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint, who stepped back, opened his eyes wide with a rather surprised expression.
"...What an amazing skill."
Hyundo opened his mouth as he caught his breath.
"Phew. It was just luck. I almost fell to a single strike."
"Haha. That's too modest."
The Zhongnan Sword Saint, who was speaking, smiled softly.
"I already feel well enough, having exchanged swords with you, that you are not someone who would be easily defeated by a single strike."
"Is that so."
"It is hard to determine superiority between you and me."
At the Zhongnan Sword Saint's words, which echoed softly through the sparring arena, the crowd buzzed.
"J-Just now, the Zhongnan Sword Saint Daehyeop acknowledged the Huashan Divine Sword Daehyeop..."
"He acknowledged him as an equal!"
Waaaah!
Cheers erupted from the spectator seats like pouring boiling oil on a blazing fire.
"Then, let's go again."
The Zhongnan Sword Saint stomped his foot first as if he had been waiting for that boiling atmosphere.
There was neither sound nor momentum.
But he disappeared in an instant.
It was awkward to call it an Illusionary Movement.
It was more like a Shrink-the-Earth Technique that crossed through space.
Whoosh!
He, who disappeared in an instant with a light leap, appeared right in front of Hyundo's nose.
'...Fast!'
Flustered by the excessively fast speed, Hyundo quickly bent his waist back, but...
Slash!
The sharp sword grazed his forehead and cut his hair.
"Keuk!"
'I need to fix my posture quickly...'
As he let out a short groan and tried to put strength back into his knees to fix his posture...
"It's not over yet."
Suddenly, a voice was heard from below.
At the same time, from all directions—no, from everywhere, sword energies slashed wildly.
"This is truly Zhongnan's..."
Soon, the sword energy struck Hyundo.
"Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven!"
Hyundo's pupils shook as he faced the killing intent and pressure that was hard to believe came from mere sword energy.
'I must not take it lightly just because it's sword energy!'
He clenched his teeth and detonated his internal energy.
The Yin-Yang internal energy contained within the Taiyi Mili Energy Art dwelled in his hand and dyed his sword.
"Haap!"
A fierce kiai erupted.
Clang clang clang!
Sounds exploded consecutively.
At the same time, plum blossoms somehow bloomed around Hyundo as he swung his sword.
"P-Plum blossoms!"
"That is the Huashan Sect's Sword Flowers!"
The crowd's expressions became excited.
Witnessing the sword flowers they had only heard about in rumors, they clenched their fists involuntarily.
At that moment, Hyundo, who had broken through the Thirty-Six Swords Under Heaven, raised his sword and slashed down grandly.
Whoosh!
Just as the swung sword seemed to touch the Zhongnan Sword Saint's shoulder...
Clang!
With a metallic sound, the sword bounced off.
"What!"
Flustered, Hyundo looked at the Zhongnan Sword Saint.
His surroundings were dyed in darkness, with stars twinkling around him.
It was the Silver River Heavenly Force Divine Art, the most heterodox and hegemonic protective aura technique among the Zhongnan Sect's divine arts.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint immediately kicked the ground.
Boom!
Putting enough force into his foot to leave an inch-deep mark on the floor of the sparring arena, he shot forward like an arrow and swung his sword at Hyundo.
Unleashing the Silver River Wandering Shadow Steps as well, he continued to cross swords with Hyundo.
Like that, it had been two tea's time since the two started their sparring match.
"..."
The crowd watched in a daze.
While everyone was staring blankly at the fast-moving afterimages and listening to the sounds of splitting air...
Step.—
The two, who had been exchanging sword strikes like madmen, retreated to their respective positions with satisfied expressions.
"As expected of Huashan."
"As expected of the Zhongnan Sect, no. This is truly the sword of a true Sword Saint."
The two acknowledged each other and smiled for a brief moment.
"This should be enough."
With those words, the Zhongnan Sword Saint sheathed his sword.
"What do you mean..."
When Hyundo opened his eyes wide in surprise, the Zhongnan Sword Saint slowly approached.
"I'm sorry."
He offered a quiet apology.
"Our kids made a mistake. Because they were wandering outside, they couldn't manage the inside."
Only then understanding his actions, Hyundo smiled softly and held his sword in a reverse grip.
"Thank you for yielding to me."
"Wasn't it originally the Huashan Sect's?"
The Zhongnan Sword Saint said softly.
"It is only now returning to where it belongs."
Some of the crowd was flustered by the two's sudden appearance of ending the sparring match, but...
"Huh?"
"W-What? Is it over?"
"It was a truly magnificent sparring match!"
Starting with someone's shout, the bewilderment disappeared, and cheers erupted from all directions.
"Y-Yeah, right. It was a magnificent match!"
"Waaaah! For those two to be members of the Murim Alliance, it's a great fortune for the Alliance!"
"Zhongnan Sword Saint!"
"Huashan Divine Sword!"
The voices cheering for the two grew louder.
"I will visit my sect and put in a good word for you."
The Zhongnan Sword Saint said, glancing back at the flustered Taoists of the Zhongnan Sect.
"Thank you."
When Hyundo said with a smile, the Zhongnan Sword Saint also smiled softly back and turned his body.
"Haha, let's meet again later if we can."
Like that, the pavilion returned to the embrace of the Huashan Sect for the first time in over ten years.