"A theoretical sword duel...?"
Disappointment colored Cheon Hwi's expression.
"I'd rather just have a real duel."
Cheon Hwi was unsatisfied with the answer.
They called it a duel, but...
A theoretical sword duel meant describing martial arts and techniques verbally and imagining each other's techniques.
It was almost embarrassing to call it a duel.
'Crossing swords directly would be the best.'
But the Zhongnan Sword Saint was resolute.
"I wish to keep it simple."
"Tch."
Though disappointed, he swallowed it inwardly.
That was understandable since the Zhongnan Sword Saint, whose eyes were already gleaming, seemed to have come determined to do a theoretical sword duel and showed no intention of backing down.
'It's not ideal, but it's still better than doing nothing.'
Eventually, he answered with a reluctant expression.
"Tch. Fine."
The Zhongnan Sword Saint smiled lightly at Cheon Hwi's answer, spoken with clear dissatisfaction.
Shortly after, the two sat in chairs.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint's gaze, which had been looking down at the dusty table, shifted to Cheon Hwi.
"I shall yield the first move to you."
"Alright."
Cheon Hwi immediately raised his index finger.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint's eyes sparkled as he watched Cheon Hwi instantly assume a martial artist's stance.
'His posture passes.'
When sparring with a master of overwhelmingly high rank, one would naturally be nervous.
Even if it were a theoretical sword duel.
But the Cheon Hwi before him now was different.
He was dignified.
Fearless? It was different from that.
It was the appearance of a martial artist overflowing with confidence in his own martial arts.
At that moment.
Swish—
Cheon Hwi's index finger traced across the desk.
A flawless clean straight line parted the dust on the desk.
In that instant, the Zhongnan Sword Saint's eyes shone.
"Is that your first move?"
"It is."
What Cheon Hwi had displayed was Mount Tai Presses Down.
A simple and easy technique of just swinging the sword down from above.
Even a third-rate warrior would never use it as a first move; it was that simple a sword technique.
But the fact that he had used this meant...
'He's proposing a probing match.'
Having read Cheon Hwi's intention, he added a light hand gesture as if flowing past the swiftly descending Mount Tai Presses Down and said,
"Then I shall unfold Heaven's Secret Web and trap Mount Tai Presses Down."
"How so?"
Instantly his hand gestures moved in all directions and became as dense as a spiderweb.
The gesture, as if grasping the void, instantly drew in the dust on the desk.
A moment later, the Zhongnan Sword Saint, who had stopped his hand gestures, added an explanation of Heaven's Secret Web.
"Heaven's Secret Web is a chaotic sword wielded by occupying the eight directions."
The Zhongnan Sword Saint's hand stopped.
"The simply downward-swinging Mount Tai Presses Down will be trapped within it."
"And you'll counterattack as well, right?"
"……!"
The Zhongnan Sword Saint's eyes widened.
'How did he know that? Has he seen it before?'
Heaven's Secret Web was the most heterogeneous technique among the Thirty-Six Swords of Heaven, and those who understood this technique were rare.
'Did he grasp it in that instant?'
As his thoughts deepened, his pupils grew increasingly deeper as well.
Meanwhile, Cheon Hwi recalled the Heaven's Secret Web he had seen in the past.
'Heaven's Secret Web, huh. It has indeed evolved.'
A very long time ago, the chaotic sword that an unnamed old Taoist of the Zhongnan Sect had wildly swung was a technique that protected the Taoist like a beast's claws.
'At that time it was a defensive technique, but now it simultaneously attacks and defends?'
Cheon Hwi recalled the hand gesture the Zhongnan Sword Saint had just displayed without any internal energy.
It was a lightly wielded hand gesture.
'But if he had held a sword, it would have been a technique that could never be ignored.'
In his mind, the Zhongnan Sword Saint wielding Heaven's Secret Web against martial artists rushing in from all directions came to mind.
Flesh and blood scattering in all directions.
And the Zhongnan Sword Saint standing alone there without a single drop of blood on him.
Contemplating this, Cheon Hwi nodded.
"Then I shall do this."
"How so?"
The Zhongnan Sword Saint gazed at Cheon Hwi, who spoke plainly.
There were dozens of techniques he knew of that could break through Mount Tai Presses Down.
There was no need to go as far as superior sword techniques.
But he had deliberately used Heaven's Secret Web, the most heterogeneous and unique among the Thirty-Six Swords of Heaven.
His intention was simple.
Heaven's Secret Web appeared to be a perfect technique for both offense and defense, but to properly execute it required considerable internal energy.
A clear weakness.
He had deliberately displayed it to gauge whether he could grasp that.
'A peak master would try to break through Heaven's Secret Web and instead be broken. But a master of the Limitless Realm would avoid a direct confrontation and try to drag out the fight...'
As the Zhongnan Sword Saint calmly waited for the answer, Cheon Hwi's lips parted.
'What choice will he make?'
He waited for the words to come from between his lips.
To find out whether he was at the peak or a master of the Limitless Realm.
However.
"Then I'll use Dark Fragrance Steps to penetrate inside and then unfold Wandering Star Fall to counterattack."
Cheon Hwi's response was neither.
Rather than breaking through or avoiding, he was stepping through with footwork and then counterattacking.
'A counterattack?'
The Zhongnan Sword Saint's eyebrows twitched.
"Do you think you can counterattack after evading Heaven's Secret Web's sword technique?"
"Enough so."
As the Zhongnan Sword Saint's brow furrowed, Cheon Hwi immediately began to explain.
"Heaven's Secret Web looks dense, but looking closely, it's all just the eight directions. So if you time it when swinging from the upper right, step with Dark Fragrance Step to twist your body, and spring out through the empty space here..."
As Cheon Hwi's explanation continued, bewilderment settled on the Zhongnan Sword Saint's face.
The theory was perfect.
Time it when the true eight directions of Heaven's Secret Web are swung and aim for the gaps.
However.
'An impossible method.'
He could say so definitively.
To do as the theory suggested, one would need to master speed-focused footwork and also learn the matching Heavy Sword.
Quite complicated conditions.
'One who has mastered the Heavy Sword would not learn such agile footwork as Dark Fragrance Step.'
The Heavy Sword was a sword that focused entirely on power, treading a different path.
Conversely, Dark Fragrance Step was a footwork that dealt with speed, and the two could not be compatible.
To wield the Heavy Sword, one would abandon agile footwork and instead use it with a footwork like Thousand Pound Weight that loaded force with weight.
'Of course, one could learn it but...'
It would be close to a waste of time.
Because the two could not coexist.
Even if one were to learn it, they would have to suffer for at least several years to decades.
And who would willingly seek such hardship?
'Still, it's worth considering.'
The Zhongnan Sword Saint's gaze changed.
Until now, he had thought Heaven's Secret Web was perfect in both offense and defense.
But there was a weakness.
It was nearly impossible right now, but who knows what might happen.
'An absolute master could pull it off.'
He, who had been thinking, flinched.
'Don't tell me...'
His pupils gazing at Cheon Hwi shook slightly.
'Is it a coincidence? Or...'
Staring intently, he shook his head and raised his index finger.
"Then I shall do this."
His voice grew heavy.
"I'll withdraw Heaven's Secret Web here and unfold Cloud Dragon Movement. If you aim for the flank right away, there will be no opening for a counterattack."
Cheon Hwi looked at the suddenly serious Zhongnan Sword Saint and twisted the corner of his mouth.
'Now he's going to do this properly?'
Knowing that the Zhongnan Sword Saint hadn't been taking the theoretical sword duel seriously, he had deliberately chosen an intense one among the many ways to break through.
And that choice was correct.
'Now let's have a proper theoretical sword duel.'
Cheon Hwi immediately raised his index finger and said.
"Then I'll block it like this."
"Hoho. Is that so?"
"Then I'll do this."
"Hmm. I'll evade and counterattack."
The exchange of offense and defense continued.
The Zhongnan Sword Saint continuously let out exclamations of admiration each time Cheon Hwi spoke.
'How did he come up with such a method?'
A vast and systematic martial theory.
It could be said to be broader and deeper than anyone he had ever met.
'His martial learning is already complete.'
He clicked his tongue in wonder.
The world's number one of the later generation?
That wasn't the level.
If he had both internal energy and martial prowess combined.
Wouldn't it be possible even right now!
Having confirmed the source of the confidence Cheon Hwi had shown earlier, the Zhongnan Sword Saint's long-forgotten martial blood began to boil.
'He's not at a level to be taught.'
Acknowledging him as an equal though only in martial theory, he raised his index finger once more and attacked.
"Cloud Heavy Blue Dragon Steps..."
The Zhongnan Sword Saint's attitude, which until just now had spoken as if yielding, changed to one of gravity.
As a result.
'Now he's unfolding everything without hiding.'
Cheon Hwi's smile deepened.
Shortly after, the fervor of the two, deeply immersed in the theoretical sword duel, consumed the room.
The theoretical sword duel continued.
Without knowing how much time had passed, they continued to share their techniques with each other.
However long that was.
The moon set and the sun rose.
The world that had been buried in darkness slowly revealed itself, and eventually sunlight poured into Cheon Hwi's room through the open window.
"...Hoho. Has the sun risen?"
The Zhongnan Sword Saint spoke softly.
He hadn't noticed the time passing.
'Hoho. I meant to observe his disposition, but I unknowingly fell into the theoretical sword duel.'
He lightly shook his head.
His martial blood had boiled for the first time in a long while, and he had become intoxicated with excitement.
'Still, it's not bad.'
His heart felt refreshed.
Though they hadn't crossed hands directly and it was only a theoretical sword duel, he had unfolded everything for the first time in a long while.
"Let's end it here."
"Already?"
At Cheon Hwi's slightly disappointed question, the Zhongnan Sword Saint smiled lightly.
"I too would like to continue our theoretical sword duel, but wouldn't it be best to leave it at this for now?"
"It's a shame."
"Hoho. Regret always remains with everything."
"Then let's do it again when we meet later."
"Next time..."
The Zhongnan Sword Saint, seemingly pleased, savored the word "next" and then beamed with a bright smile.
"Good. But instead, next time let's not have a theoretical sword duel but actually cross swords."
* * *
The afternoon of the day after the Zhongnan Sword Saint left.
In a rear garden incomparably larger than the one at the former pavilion, Cheon Hwi, Cheon Yu, and Gu Gyeom-wi stood.
"Come."
As Cheon Hwi beckoned with his finger to Gu Gyeom-wi and Cheon Yu, who were standing across from him taking their stance with nervous faces,
"Here I come!"
"Let's go!"
Gu Gyeom-wi and Cheon Yu immediately charged at Cheon Hwi.
Perhaps thanks to having sparred with Cheon Hwi several times, Cheon Yu and Gu Gyeom-wi coordinated their attack as if they were one person.
"Eldest Martial Brother!"
"Good!"
The moment the two nodded.
Tap! Tap!
At the same time, the two split to the sides.
Cheon Yu, who had instantly closed in on Cheon Hwi, lowered his body to Cheon Hwi's waist level and threw a fist aiming for the blind spot.
At that moment.
"Not bad. You've improved quite a bit."
Cheon Hwi grabbed Cheon Yu's head.
Cheon Hwi's palm, which had somehow already unfolded, devoured Cheon Yu's field of vision and began to take away even his consciousness.
"N-not yet..."
Barely clinging to his consciousness, Cheon Yu grabbed Cheon Hwi's wrist and shouted loudly.
"Third Martial Brother Gu!"
At that moment, a sharp wind shot from behind Cheon Hwi.
A sword wind like crashing waves.
It was precisely Plum Blossom Surging Waves.
"Oh. Now you're using your head."
Cheon Hwi smirked.
Give flesh to scrape bone.
The technique of Flesh-Severing Bone-Breaking, which Cheon Hwi liked, unfolded from their hands.
'In the past, they wouldn't have even thought of this. They've grown a bit.'
Cheon Hwi swung his left hand.
Boom!
With the sound of air bursting, Gu Gyeom-wi's charging body was sent flying backward.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Gu Gyeom-wi, who bounced several times like a skipping stone, soon lay spread-eagle on the ground.
Gurgle—
Such was the impact that froth rose from his open mouth.
"H-haha."
Cheon Yu, watching Gu Gyeom-wi's state through the gaps of the fingers holding him, laughed awkwardly.
"H-haha. Was it okay, Junior Brother?"
"It was quite a good coordinated attack. First drawing attention to force my hand, and then the coordinated attack from Third Martial Brother Gu who had hidden his presence."
"R-right?"
"But you need to properly hide your presence."
Cheon Hwi put force into his fingers.
"K-keuaaak!"
Cheon Yu, who had been struggling, gradually lost strength in his body and eventually slumped limply to the ground.
"Still, you've improved quite a bit..."
With those words, he dusted off his hands.
Compared to their first spar when they couldn't even land a single hit and immediately fainted, they had shown quite rapid growth.
"Still, being the eldest martial brother makes a difference."
His gaze turned to Cheon Yu.
At first, his growth had been slow.
No, even now it was on the slower side.
But Cheon Hwi, who had been examining Cheon Yu closely, knew of his changes.
'Is he hiding about thirty percent?'
Though he was trying to hide it, Cheon Hwi already knew everything about him.
'His internal energy cultivation method seems to have stabilized as well.'
Cheon Yu's internal energy cultivation method was different from the other Plum Blossom Sword Guards, no, from the other disciples of the Huashan Sect.
That was natural since he was Huashan's eldest disciple.
He had learned the Purple Dawn Divine Art.
'I hastily converted the Purple Dawn Sword Method into a fist technique, but it suits him quite well now.'
Cheon Hwi recalled the fist technique Cheon Yu had just displayed.
Purple Dawn Fist Method.
It was a new fist technique recreated by adapting the Purple Dawn Sword Method to suit Cheon Yu.
'I only roughly taught him two techniques, but even with that, he should be more than sufficiently evaluated as first-rate in the martial world.'
It wasn't for nothing that the Purple Dawn Sword Method was called an Absolute Sword Art; even recreating a single technique took time.
'I haven't been able to create a few techniques yet, but he should be more proficient with it than the Purple Dawn Sword Method.'
Having withdrawn his interest, Cheon Hwi surveyed his surroundings.
Besides the fallen Cheon Yu and Gu Gyeom-wi, there were also Plum Blossom Sword Guards lying unconscious from earlier spars.
"Now all that's left is martial arts training and physical conditioning, huh."
There was nothing more to teach.
What remained was ultimately just effort.
At the very least, he himself only accelerated his achievements through real combat.
Just as he was about to move to wake them up, Hyeon-jin came running urgently.
"Cheon Hwi!"
Seeing his appearance, which was different from his usual calm demeanor, looking urgent, he tilted his head.
"What's the matter?"
Hyeon-jin, who had run breathlessly and stood before Cheon Hwi, handed over the scroll in his hand.
"A l-letter has arrived from the main sect."
"A letter?"
The moment Cheon Hwi picked up the scroll thrust before him and unfurled it.
"Hmm?"
His brow slightly furrowed.
"Return immediately?"