“I will let you two feel yet another Wall.”
The declaration teemed with arrogance.
“…What?”
Baek Cheong, the Steel Dragon Fang, stared blankly for a moment before a string of curses erupted from his lips.
“…You lunatic!”
Did he dare? Not facing mere rabble, but two masters of the Great Wudang Sect simultaneously?
“For the likes of you, I alone am enough!”
Naturally, it was the younger Baek Cheong who fell for the Grand Young Master’s provocation first. And Baek Cho had no intention of stopping him.
First-generation disciples, listen.
Beyond Baek Cheong, who shot out like a swallow skimming water, Baek Cho’s sound transmission pierced the minds of the first-generation disciples of Wudang.
Block Seamless Heavenly Robe with everything you have.
We obey your command.
The hierarchy of Mount Wudang was absolute; their hesitation was surprisingly minimal.
We will dispose of the Grand Young Master quickly, so hold on.
Instead of a verbal answer, the sound of Yeon Seo-rin’s refreshingly loud laughter grated on their ears.
“Hahaha! Good!” She laughed in satisfaction as she clashed with the Wudang disciples charging in unison. “Is this the spirit of Wudang, prepared for death!”
Leaving them behind, Baek Cho raised his sword in a lofty stance. Perhaps it was a foolish decision that would increase the casualties among his disciples. However, he could not endure it.
“…Bastard.”
All those long years. How long had he cultivated himself while dirtying his hands in the shadows? How many enemies of Wudang had died by his blade? Among them, countless strong foes had fallen. Even before the Grand Young Master was born—no, even before the boy’s mother was born—Baek Cho had lived in the shadow of the rugged Mount Wudang and the gloom of the rough Gangho.
Conversely, what of the Grand Young Master?
Green in age. Hands and face without a single scar. An origin suggesting he had grown up without knowing true hardship. The boy’s provocation was enough to incense even the cool-headed Baek Cho. The scars, big and small, on the old man’s face flushed crimson.
“You will not die pleasantly.”
***
“Grand Young Master!”
Baek Cheong let out a thunderous roar, spewing lightning from his sword.
“I will cut off your arrogant head and offer it as a sacrifice to the Patriarchs of Wudang!”
Wudang Sect. Supreme Clarity Sword Art. Eight Trigrams: Eight Gates Sealing the Earth.
“Ha…!”
The Grand Young Master scoffed.
Without unclasping his hands from behind his back, he drew a Taiji symbol with one hand and one foot, pinpointing the flat of Baek Cheong’s blade and deflecting it with the back of his bare hand.
It was an acrobatic feat—no, it was a skill worthy of being called high art.
Crash!
“A pity.”
Ignoring Baek Cheong’s sword strike, which had been deflected backward to tear up the roof tiles, the Grand Young Master smiled leisurely.
“Your head lacks such value, so I cannot use it for my family’s ancestral rites.”
A sword strike frustrated with futile ease. Yet, in Baek Cheong’s eyes, there was not a speck of anxiety or shock.
It doesn’t matter…!
From the start, the Eight Gates Sealing the Earth of the Supreme Clarity Sword Art was a technique intended to bind the opponent’s feet. That arrogant Grand Young Master, trying to show off his skill by blocking the sword in place, had walked right into the trap.
“Huuuup—!”
The long breath he had been drawing since the first strike left his sword tip reached its peak. Feeling his lungs fill instantly with the Qi of Great Nature, Baek Cheong locked his breath.
Ziiiing.
All color vanished from his vision, and time stretched out as if frozen.
One Origin. Power returned to his sword, which had been deflected by the Grand Young Master.
Two Poles. In his Middle Danjeon, the Qi of Great Nature and his own energy mingled and harmonized.
Three Powers. Centered on himself, his foot pressed the earth, and his sword pointed to the night sky.
Four Symbols. Greater Yin Sword, Greater Yang Art, Lesser Yin Seat, Lesser Yang Cycle. The four roots forming the basis of Wudang’s martial arts intertwined to form the sun, moon, and stars.
Five Elements. Within that, five energies repeating the cycle of mutual generation and conflict were born.
Six Lines. Based on the Three Powers, they raced toward Heaven’s Yin, Heaven’s Yang, Earth’s Yin, Earth’s Yang, Man’s Yin, and Man’s Yang.
Seven Stars. Receiving the energy of the Northern Dipper—Dubhe, Merak, Phecda, Megrez, Alioth, Mizar, and Alkaid—the momentum grew mighty.
Eight Trigrams. The Earlier Heaven Eight Trigrams and Later Heaven Eight Trigrams circulated in opposite directions, reaching equilibrium.
Nine Palaces. Reaching the extreme of ten thousand changes, all directions stood in their proper places.
Only those who had reached that final enlightenment were chosen to inherit Wudang’s Ultimate Sword.
Wudang Sect. Do Not Teach Outsiders. Do Not Let Techniques Leave the Sect.
“—-!”
With a low shout whose meaning was indecipherable, Baek Cheong’s sword regained its position as if frozen time was rewinding. The moment it did, it thrust straight out, parting the raindrops suspended in the air as if dividing all creation.
That was the Ultimate Sword Art passed down from the Patriarch Zhang Sanfeng.
Supreme Unity Wisdom Sword.
Flash—!
Perfect stance. Perfect execution. A strike more alive and flawless than ever before.
A smile hung on Baek Cheong’s lips.
He was the one called a genius among geniuses, even in Wudang’s long history. Because he was such a person, he became the disciple of the former Sect Leader and shared the same generational rank as the Elders. Because he was such a person, he could inherit the Supreme Unity Wisdom Sword.
And because he was such a person, in this moment, he could perfectly unfold this swo—
Clang—!
With a rough metallic sound, his sword bounced off.
“……!”
Baek Cheong’s eyes widened until they threatened to tear, his pupils trembling convulsively.
“W-What…?!”
It was a perfect Supreme Unity Wisdom Sword. It was Wudang’s pride and glory.
“Tsk.”
The Grand Young Master clicked his tongue softly. He took a long, deep step forward, extending a sword finger straight out as if scattering everything.
“Although all those teachings were recorded and passed down to the distant future generations…”
“T-That stance is…?”
Surprisingly, that stance matched Baek Cheong’s exactly.
“It is regrettable that dull descendants cannot understand the vast enlightenment of the Immortals.”
All roots within Baek Cheong began to shake at once.
“Y-You…?!” Amidst confusion and chaos, Baek Cheong screamed until his throat tore. “How in the world do you know Wudang’s Supreme Unity Wisdom Sword?!”
“In this era,” Grand Young Master Yeon So-hyeon answered calmly, “there are countless and diverse martial arts rooted in Taoism across the Central Plains, but originally, the source of all that study comes from one place.”
“……?”
Baek Cheong couldn’t understand what he was saying.
“In the current Sword Clan, there are Diancang, Kongtong, Hengshan, and Zhongnan among the Taoist sects of the Nine Sects, and the small and medium Taoist sects are too numerous to count.”
“What does that—”
“Therefore,” Yeon So-hyeon interrupted, his gaze piercing, “if you find the commonalities among those countless teachings and trace them back to the great root…”
He continued, slowly drawing a Taiji symbol in the air.
There were countless Taoist sects teaching the principles of Taiji.
If unfolded as a fist art carrying the spirit of Wudang, it was Supreme Unity Fist. If unfolded as a sword art carrying the will of Mount Hua, it was Falling Flower Willow Sword. If unfolded as a staff art carrying the enlightenment of Zhongnan, it was Eight Forms of the Continuous Banner. If unfolded as footwork carrying the spirit of Kongtong— Carrying the meaning of Hengshan— Of Diancang—
“Just as brooks gather to become a river, and rivers gather to flow into the sea.”
The Grand Young Master’s stance wavered, drawing countless Taiji symbols in the air like afterimages. Those symbols overlapped, eventually transforming into the starting stance of an extended sword finger.
It was, unmistakably, the starting stance of the Supreme Unity Wisdom Sword.
“They return to a single, deep, and vast enlightenment.”
“…Bullshit!”
He couldn’t understand. He couldn’t admit it.
“Don’t give me that crap!”
Baek Cheong shouted convulsively, forcing strength into his arm, which trembled from the shock received from the Grand Young Master’s Supreme Unity Wisdom Sword.
“You must have stolen our Wudang’s teachings somehow, just as your Noble Clans always do!” He forced his energy to rise, his face contorted. “Undoubtedly, you bribed some traitor of Wudang with dirty money and extracted the martial arts!”
To master Wudang’s martial arts through the teachings of other Taoist sects? And Wudang’s ultimate art at that? He had never heard such nonsense in his life. He had no intention of listening to such bluffs.
“With martial arts learned by theft…!”
Once again, he assumed the starting stance.
“I will show you that you cannot surpass the true Supreme Unity Wisdom Sword!”
“Tut-tut.”
Grand Young Master Yeon So-hyeon clicked his tongue, watching him take the same stance.
“I show them, but they cannot see; what should I call such a person? I tell them, but they cannot know; what should I call such a person?”
“Shut up!”
Even while vomiting blood from the internal injury caused by the agitation of his Upper Danjeon while accepting the massive Qi of nature, Baek Cheong moved like a genius.
From One Origin to Two Poles, to Three Powers. From Four Symbols to Five Elements. Passing through Six Lines, crossing Seven Stars, piercing Eight Trigrams, and reaching Nine Palaces.
Baek Cheong succeeded in manifesting the Supreme Unity Wisdom Sword once again.
However.
“Wrong.”
Grand Young Master Yeon So-hyeon began to manifest the Supreme Unity Wisdom Sword at his fingertips in the exact reverse order of Baek Cheong.
“Did I not tell you?”
Just as brooks gather to become a river, and rivers gather to flow into the sea.
From Nine Palaces to Eight Trigrams. From Eight Trigrams to Seven Stars. From Seven Stars to Six Lines. From Six Lines to Five Elements. From Five Elements to Four Symbols. From Four Symbols to Three Powers.
Three Powers become Taiji. And Taiji returns to a single source.
A vast enlightenment. That is, it returns to One Origin.
“……!”
In that extremely brief moment when heaven and earth turned white.
Amidst the cluster of light erupting from the Grand Young Master’s fingertips, the sword slipped from Baek Cheong’s powerless hand.
He knew.
No matter how much strength he put into his grip. No matter how much power he drew from his entire body. Even if he burned his life and ignited his will.
He could not surpass the Grand Young Master’s single sword.
That single strike was clearly engraved in his eyes.
The true—
And, right at that moment.
“……”
Behind the Grand Young Master, who was unfolding the Supreme Unity Wisdom Sword, a figure shot up abruptly as if springing from his shadow.
In the old man’s face dwelt a killing intent refined to the limit. In the old man’s body, suppressed rage was condensed to the limit. And all of that was contained in a single sword honed to the limit.
Kill!
It was the ambush of the Manifestation of the Profound, Baek Cho, who had hidden his presence and waited for an opportunity until the very last moment.