Chapter 49 Top-Tier Sword Technique-1

Chapter 49: Top-Tier Sword Technique-1

Military Report of the Martial Arts Alliance.

Zhuge Zhijiang reviewed the report submitted by Xue Wuxin.

It stated that Hae Cheong-yeon had been dealt with, but due to her powerful allies, all other team members had been lost.

Particularly noteworthy in his report was the high praise for Shufeng, the leader of the Thirteenth Division, Seventh Squad.

“Hm, Shu Feng. He single-handedly killed two at the threshold of the peak realm and seven top-tier masters?”

He then reviewed the routine report from the front lines.

It reported that Hae Cheong-yeon had been abducted by the Blood Cult. After reviewing the report, Je Gal Ji-gang nodded. He then inquired about Seol Pung.

“So his background and sect are unknown. This one is also a target for assassination after the war ends. What a waste. It won’t be easy either.”

Zhuge Zhijiang briefly pondered whether someone of that caliber could be persuaded somehow.

He thought it might be worthwhile to visit the front lines personally once more. He could kill two birds with one stone: verify whether Seolpung was indeed a talent worth recruiting and check on the disposition of Haecheongyeon.

But there was no time for prolonged deliberation.

A servant rushed in to report.

“Your Excellency! Lord Hae Un-baek, the Sword Sage, has come to see you.”

Zhuge Zhijiang, slightly startled by his name, asked.

“Sword Saint? What was it about?”

“I don’t know. He just looked extremely angry.”

Surely not…

Zhuge Zhiqiang deliberately adopted a leisurely tone.

“What could that man possibly want now? Show him in.”

“Yes, sir!”

A moment later, Jiancheng burst in with a furious expression.

“Zhi Jiang!”

Zhuge Zhijiang asked with a smile.

“Come in, please. What has the Great Hero, the Heavenly Sword Saint, come for that he is so enraged again?”

Then, Jingeong thrust out a crumpled letter and shouted.

“My daughter! Qingyan has been kidnapped by the Blood Cult’s demon leader!”

A letter?

Glancing at the letter in the Sword Saint’s hand, Zhuge Zhijiang urgently asked again.

“Qingyan was kidnapped by the Blood Sect’s demonic leader?! What on earth are you talking about?!”

The story Gyeomseong spat out in fury was this.

There was a close colleague in Hae Cheong-yeon’s squad who knew she was Jang Seong’s daughter. The moment she was abducted by the Blood Sect’s demon leader, this colleague immediately used the Pyo Bureau’s secret signal to send a letter to Jang Seong.

Upon hearing this, Jegal Jigang felt both relieved and heartbroken.

It was fortunate that the Sword Saint didn’t know the full story, but why did it have to be a colleague who knew her identity?

Trusting only Hae Cheong-yeon’s word and assuming no one else knew, failing to anticipate she would send a letter via secret token—all were his own mistakes.

Geomseong shouted.

“I’m heading straight to the front lines! And I’m taking the White Tiger Brigade with me! Consider it settled!”

The White Tiger Corps were the most devoted followers of Gyeomseong among the martial forces of the Martial Alliance.

Starting with their leader, Dongfang Wuji, the White Tiger Gentleman Sword, who was a fervent follower of Jiancheng, the other members were no different.

Zhuge Zhijiang tried to dissuade him with a troubled expression.

“If that’s true, it’s truly regrettable. But Yun Bai, you know the Alliance Leader has signed a mutual non-aggression pact with the Blood Demon, don’t you? Surely you don’t intend to disregard it first?”

Lacking political acumen, Hae Yunbaek always followed Zhuge Zhijiang’s counsel on such matters.

Therefore, Zhuge Zhijiang intended to persuade him once more.

But Zhuge Zhijiang realized he had made a mistake once again. He had underestimated the heart of a father who had lost his daughter.

The Sword Saint snorted derisively, his eyes flashing with fury as he said,

“Hmph! A non-aggression pact? If an investigation reveals Qingyan charged into the Blood Sect first and met her end that way, I won’t say another word. But! If the Blood Sect’s demons came first and kidnapped our Qingyan, then that is a clear violation of the non-aggression pact, isn’t it?! If that’s the case, I absolutely cannot forgive them! I’m heading to the front lines right now to find Qingyan! Don’t try to stop me!”

With that, the sword saint stormed out again.

There was no time left to say anything more.

Zhuge Zhijiang felt a headache coming on.

It seemed impossible to stop him now.

Of course, even if he went to the front lines, he wouldn’t be able to find Hae Cheong-yeon anymore. But…

With his mind consumed by obsession, if he learned the situation at the front lines, would he truly stop at finding Qingyan?

No way.

He’d probably turn the entire front upside down.

Just thinking about it was nothing short of a headache.

And to think he was taking the White Tiger Corps with him—there were surely warriors from the Shadow Corps among them.

What if he somehow learned about the Shadow Corps…?

Zhuge Zhijiang immediately dashed out, heading straight for the Wanqing Pavilion—the intelligence headquarters and unofficial base of the Shadow Corps.

He had to find a way to exclude at least the warriors from the Shadow Corps within the White Tiger Corps.

Suddenly, Zhuge Zhijiang considered the possibility of eliminating the Sword Saint.

‘Is it possible to eliminate him, one of the fifteen known to be the strongest under heaven?’

Realistically, it didn’t seem impossible.

After all, there were many ways to kill a man.

But regardless of whether it was possible, his stature within the righteous factions was simply too great.

For ordinary martial artists, he wielded even greater influence than the Martial Alliance’s leader, the King of Alliance.

Moreover, with the White Tiger Division in tow, wouldn’t people’s attention be even more focused?

It simply wasn’t feasible to attempt an ambush.

It was bitter in every way.

To think he’d cause me such a headache.

He even wondered if all this might be part of a deliberate plan.

But he quickly shook his head.

As far as Jegal Jigang knew, neither the Sword Saint nor anyone in his inner circle would think like this.

To him, Hae Cheong-yeon was merely his daughter’s slightly peculiar friend.

***

Whoosh!

The sharp spear tip slithered like a serpent, tracing a flexible arc as it lunged forward.

It looked like a multi-headed serpent attacking.

Swiftly swinging his sword, he parried the spear tip left and right, deflecting it.

Ting!

Then, the spear-wielder let out a battle cry and forcefully thrust the tip downward, which had been flicked upward.

“Gotcha!”

Boom!

The spear tip plunged down like an axe in an instant.

Its powerful momentum seemed poised to cleave him in two from head to toe.

But my gaze remained coldly fixed on it.

Then, at the precise moment, I flicked it aside with my sword and shifted one step to the side.

The spear strike flowed smoothly past, shifting direction like a torrent changing course—the subtle application of the Flying Wind Step of the Feather Gate Sect.

Kwaang!

The spear tip slammed into the ground with overwhelming force.

Simultaneously, my figure approached the opponent like the wind. It was a complete opening revealed after a major attack.

The startled opponent spun like a top, twisting both body and spear. It was a move to block my advance.

Wiiiiing!

But I had already entered the sword’s range. I lifted my body slightly, evading even that, and thrust my sword at him like a hawk diving from the sky.

Sunwoo Thirteen Swords, Third Strike.

Shin Eung Gang Ha.

Shhhhh!

I saw his eyes widen in shock.

It seemed this was the end.

“Guh!”

But the thrust he thought would be the finishing blow was ultimately blocked.

As he frantically spun his spear, his black spear blocked my sword with a serpentine, writhing motion.

Wiiiiiiiiing!

Ting!

True to the Qingcheng School’s Four Seasons Shooting Technique, one of the Nine Schools.

Of course, since it was an opening move executed in haste, the advantage hadn’t been lost yet.

If I kept pressing the offensive like this, I could certainly defeat him.

But I did not do so.

Frowning once, I stepped back again, giving him time to adjust his stance.

Then, the Qingcheng faction spear master, Wu Zhaojiao, who was sparring with me, glared at me with a furious expression and demanded,

“What’s with that look? You’re not seriously frowning because you couldn’t defeat me with that sword, are you?”

Hearing his words, I hastily relaxed my expression and explained.

“Ah, no, it’s not that. I was just frustrated with myself for failing to land the attack even though I thought I’d perfectly exposed your opening. Please don’t misunderstand, Captain Du.”

But he still spoke with a furious expression.

“So you’re saying you frowned because you couldn’t land a hit on me?! Just because you got a nickname, you’re as arrogant as can be!”

Then, as if no longer in the mood to spar, he glared at me and turned on his heel, walking away.

I was momentarily flustered, then gave a wry smile and saluted his retreating back.

“Good sparring. Thank you, Poison Squad Leader.”

“Hmph!”

Lately, during our squad’s evening sparring sessions, countless people from other squads would come by and request to spar with us.

Of course, sparring with diverse people was a good thing, so we gladly accepted their requests.

Then today, Dongsu-gwang, the leader of Team Five from the Cheongseongpa faction, requested a spar with me, and we ended up sparring together. But it ended like this.

“This is really something.”

As I watched his retreating figure with a troubled expression, Na Sojeo suddenly approached and comforted me.

“Don’t worry too much about it. It couldn’t be helped. Even if Master Xianwu hadn’t made that expression, he probably intended to pick a fight anyway. Maybe he said those things and left because he realized he couldn’t win and ran away.”

Bisa Yeong also came over and said.

“Yeah, don’t worry about it. Chief Officer Dok is a Qingcheng Sect disciple, but he’s completely different from Chief Officer Han of the First Division or Chief Officer Yuan of the Sixth Division. He’s an extremely authoritative and rigid person.”

“Yeah, thanks.”

Come to think of it, the Qingcheng Sect members were famously eccentric even among the Nine Great Sects.

It was just that among those in our generation, there were more who weren’t like that.

Among the three Qingcheng Sect disciples in the Thirteenth Generation, First Squad Leader Han Gyoseong had little interest in anything besides swords, while Sixth Squad Leader Won Cheongwon had such a pleasant personality that he was friendly to everyone.

So there was little chance of him clashing with others.

Only the Fifth Squad Leader, the solitary bird enthusiast, was somewhat sensitive and authoritarian, but apparently, even he wasn’t that extreme.

After all, it was said that among the disciples of the Nine Great Sects, there were quite a few who were so arrogant and eccentric that they were truly unbearable.

I, the young lady, nodded in agreement and continued.

“That’s right. And he’s also famous for not liking Squad Leader Seolpung much. Probably why he suddenly showed up and challenged Young Master Seonwoo to a duel—he was trying to embarrass our squad somehow. He probably didn’t think he could beat Squad Leader Seolpung, but figured someone like Young Master Seonwoo, who’d recently become famous, would be easy prey. Well, it was a mistake in the end.”

Saying this, Lady Na smiled faintly and looked at me with a surprised expression.

“By the way, you weren’t even giving it your all earlier, were you? You were just half-heartedly facing off against Team Leader Doksoogwang, a disciple of the Cheongseong Sect and leader of Team Five, yet you were still overwhelming him one-sidedly. Master Seonwoo’s rate of improvement is truly remarkable, isn’t it?”

I gave an awkward smile at her praise and shook my head.

“I wasn’t just going through the motions. I simply wanted to test something.”

Though I hadn’t even told my team members yet, my physical abilities and reaction speed had skyrocketed after reaching the pinnacle realm not long ago.

Moreover, the internal energy I could now accumulate up to seventy years had been completely replenished with elixirs immediately after reaching that peak.

So, the reason I could fight someone like Doksu-gwang, who was still top-tier elite, at this level was precisely because I had only exerted top-tier elite strength.

Of course, even without revealing I’d reached the peak, both Squad Leader and Young Master Qingyan seemed to have already sensed my true level.

Both had smiled meaningfully and sent their words through telepathy.

– Congratulations, Jin.

– Congratulations, Young Master Seonwoo.

And only then did I realize that Miss Qingyan had already reached the pinnacle.

Come to think of it, seeing her handle me so effortlessly when I had nowhere left to advance from the top tier, I should have noticed then…

It was actually too late.

Anyway, the reason I deliberately fought the Eagle-Eye Cult while sealing my abilities was to compare the superiority of the Qingcheng Sect’s Four Winds Spear Technique and the Sunwoo Thirteen Swords as martial arts.

The superiority of the martial arts themselves, not based on the user’s level.

And through this duel, I achieved that goal clearly.

‘A complete defeat for the Sunwoo Thirteen Swords.’

I had roughly anticipated it, but realizing just how clearly inferior it was brought a wave of emptiness.

Just look at how I failed to finish him off when his weakness was fully exposed a moment ago.

Throughout this entire duel, even when opportunities arose, I failed to seize them. I had to constantly improvise to compensate for my inherent disadvantage in the initial moves.

It was a moment that made him feel once again the limitations of the Sunwoo Thirteen Swords, limitations he had already recognized while fighting Mayu Gyeom.

The Sunwoo Thirteen Swords, considered one of Guizhou Province’s premier sword techniques, was actually a martial art lacking in many aspects when compared to the supreme arts of the Nine Great Sects.

Of course, things might be different if he completed the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Strikes. But even at the pinnacle of mastery, these techniques were too taxing to use routinely. They were only viable as a last resort, not for everyday combat.

He was troubled.

Suddenly, the fight with Mayu Gyeom came back to him.

It had been a one-sided battle, hard to believe they were both just entering their peak.

Surviving that time had been pure luck.

And in this state, even if I faced Mayu Gyeom again, the outcome would be the same.

‘No, this time I’d surely die. Even if I reached an equal level, I’d be overwhelmed by his martial prowess.’

The thought that things couldn’t continue like this rose up within him with desperate urgency.

He needed top-tier martial arts.

Martial arts that wouldn’t be inferior to the Four-Sword Technique, the pinnacle of the Point-Piercing Sect.

But such a thing wouldn’t just appear out of nowhere.

***

Dang Yeo-eun, who had been leading the team members back to their lodgings, stopped in her tracks to watch Seon Woo-jin’s duel.

The way the Eagle-Eyed One snapped at him, the way he chatted and laughed with me, Seo Yu, and the way he sank into solitary contemplation.

It was strange.

He was clearly not Myeong Sahyeon, and he didn’t seem to love her like Myeong Sahyeon did, yet watching him made her heart flutter just as it did when she saw Myeong Sahyeon.

And she wanted to lean on him again, just like back then.

To shed the cold mask he always wore in front of others.

The voices of the other team members chatting behind her reached her ears.

“That Sun Woo-jin is really something. Now he’s even surpassing Team Leader Oh Dok-su-kwang. How on earth can he progress so fast?”

“Well, it’s probably because he trained like crazy. The Seventh Team’s training volume is legendary even in our generation, right? And it’s not just him—look how much Bisea-yeong has improved. He seems to have become a full-fledged top-tier intermediate warrior now, too?”

“I doubt it’s just that. If you look at his level alone, maybe. But think about his divine technique. You have to reckon he can take on even top-tier upper-level fighters. And that’s not all. Bae Jong-gwan and Cheon Ju-eun seem to be using sword energy too? And Na Seo-yu already seems to be a top-tier elite fighter.”

“What? Really? What the hell. So all seven squad members have become first-rate or higher?”

“Even higher than that. Besides Squad Leader Seolpung, there are four other squad leader-level experts: Young Lady Cheongyeon, Seonwoojin, Young Lady Naseoyu, and Biseaeng. That makes them the strongest squad in the Thirteen Clans, doesn’t it?”

“Wow, that’s incredible. How did that happen? Is it thanks to Squad Leader Seolpung?”

“Well, I asked Bae Jong-gwan about it before, and he mentioned Seon Woo-jin’s name. He said that whatever he says, all the squad members end up training intensely without even realizing it?”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“I suppose it’s about providing motivation. After all, before he arrived, the Seventh Division wasn’t exactly receiving such high praise, was it?”

“Come to think of it, that’s true. Seonwoojin, that author really was quite remarkable in many ways.”

Dang Ye-eun, who had flashed a brief smile at the team members praising Seon Woo-jin, spoke to them again in a cold tone.

“How long are you going to just envy them? Shouldn’t we push ourselves harder? Like the Seventh Team members, I think it would be good for us to have time to train together. If you need help, just say the word. I’ll do my best to assist you.”

The Third Team members, who had widened their eyes at Dang Ye-eun’s words, soon beamed with smiles and answered in unison.

“Yes, Team Leader!”

“We’ll do our very best too!”

For the members of Team Three, who were essentially all followers of Dang Ye-eun, the prospect of training alongside her was the ultimate motivation.

Tang Ye-eun smiled faintly at their spirited expressions and spoke again.

“Then let’s discuss ideas as we go. What to train and how to do it. How we can make our training more effective.”

And as she walked, talking with her team members, someone was watching Dang Ye-eun intently.

It was Hae Cheong-yeon.

For some reason, Hae Cheong-yeon found himself preoccupied with Dang Yeo-eun.

Not long ago, this hadn’t been the case.

No matter how much people gossiped about Seonwoo Jin harboring feelings for Dang Yeo-eun, he hadn’t cared at all. But now, something seemed different.

To be precise, it started the day Seon Woo-jin saved her from Ma Yu-gyeom.

After that, Seonwoo Jin’s glances toward Tang Yeo-eun began carrying an inexplicable weight and meaning.

Of course, it didn’t seem like the kind of affection he showed for Seon Yu-yu yet.

But the problem was that Dang Yeo-eun was returning similar glances to Seon Woo-jin.

Just moments ago, Hae Cheong-yeon alone could discern that the gaze with which she watched Seon Woo-jin spar, seemingly cold, was actually anything but.

It felt strange.

It hadn’t felt like this when he realized he was in love with Na Seo-yu…

He had thought it was enough just to watch him, but now he wondered if that wasn’t the case after all.

He wondered if he had been so relaxed because he had always believed his relationship with Na Seo-yu would never come to anything.

It troubled him.