Hwasan Sect’s Genius Swordsman Chapter 33

Chapter 33

Since they couldn’t have a martial arts match at the hot springs, Mu Hwi invited Ma Yeon-ho to Hwahon Sect.

Although they had sent Mu-hwa ahead to notify them, since it was the Iron Mountain Fist King visiting, Hwahon Sect was in quite an uproar.

“I apologize for visiting so suddenly like this, Head of the House.”

“Ah… Not at all.”

At the Iron Mountain Fist King’s casual apology, Kang Bo-eum could only bow his head.

‘The Iron Mountain Fist King, and his disciple at that.’

Kang Bo-eum turned his gaze to watch the two men facing each other in the training grounds.

Although Mu Hwi was tall and sturdy compared to other late-stage disciples, he still paled in comparison to Woo Tae-gang standing opposite him.

‘Hmm, I can’t predict how this match will go.’

The training grounds were crowded with Hwahon Sect disciples. This was thanks to Ma Yeon-ho readily permitting them to observe the match.

“Even though it’s Master Mu Hwi, I’m not sure how this will turn out.”

“Well, he is the Iron Mountain Fist King’s disciple after all…”

“Has Young Master Woo’s match record been undefeated so far?”

Woo Tae-gang’s martial arts matches were quite famous in the martial arts world.

This was because all of Woo Tae-gang’s opponents, despite him being new to the martial arts world, were quite renowned martial artists.

Having achieved victory against all of them, it was true that Mu Hwi’s achievements seemed rather dim in comparison.

“Master Mu Hwi won’t be defeated so easily.”

“I just hope he doesn’t get hurt.”

While the Hwahon Sect disciples were looking at Mu Hwi with concern, Mu Hwi could hear all their whispers.

‘Wow, this is the first time I’ve received such worried glances.’

It seemed the Hwahon Sect disciples were anticipating his defeat. Mu Hwi twisted his lips as he looked at Woo Tae-gang.

Burly muscles and large, bright eyes. At first glance, he looked like a very gentle bull.

But now it was different.

From his slightly narrowed eyes flowed an incredible fighting spirit that made one wonder how he usually managed to hide it.

Though it was just a change in his eyes, this alone made Woo Tae-gang’s impression completely different.

Like a water buffalo threateningly pointing its sharp and massive horns.

‘This makes me want to stomp you down.’

Woo Tae-gang’s aura was so intense that even the disciples watching from afar flinched.

“Master Mu Hwi, here I come.”

When Mu Hwi nodded, Woo Tae-gang lowered his stance as if taking a horse stance, then bent forward to lightly touch the ground with both Fists.

This made for a rather comical posture with all four limbs touching the ground and his body crouched, but Mu Hwi merely raised his sword in a middle stance.

That comical posture was the opening stance of the Heaven-Piercing Iron Fist.

Crack!

The tendons in both thighs twisted frighteningly, and suddenly the training ground floor caved in.

With a thunderous boom, Woo Tae-gang’s body shot forward.

“Huh?”

“What just…”

At this explosive movement, most of those watching the match lost track of Woo Tae-gang’s movement.

To the observers’ eyes, Woo Tae-gang suddenly disappeared and all they could see was the ground where he had been breaking apart and debris flying up.

‘It’s like a boulder flying at me, unmistakably that old man’s disciple.’

Compared to the Iron Mountain Fist King’s charge, which felt like an entire mountain dropping from the sky, this was still lacking, but it indeed felt like the work of the Iron Mountain Fist King’s disciple.

Whoosh!

A strong wind blew from Woo Tae-gang’s charge. This made Mu Hwi’s bangs flutter upward. Mu Hwi slightly narrowed his eyes and tilted his sword.

His sword, which had somehow turned red, left a red line in the air.

Following this, red sword images spread in all directions as if branches were growing.

Like painting a picture, the red sword images and sword energy mixed together to fill the empty space.

But Woo Tae-gang boldly launched his body into the painting Mu Hwi had created.

Those watching were shocked to see Woo Tae-gang throwing himself into the space filled with red sword energy.

Who could possibly throw themselves between flying sword energy?

Some frowned or slightly turned their gaze away. They naturally imagined Woo Tae-gang’s body becoming covered in blood from the sword energy.

Kagagak!

Those who had turned their heads away quickly looked back at hearing a completely different dull sound instead of the sound of flesh being torn.

The sword energy flying through the air couldn’t leave even a scratch on Woo Tae-gang’s body.

Mu Hwi carefully observed as the sword energy bounced off the rippling muscles.

‘He must have surpassed the fourth level at least.’

The Iron Mountain Fist King’s Silent Mountain Standing Achievement.

A martial art that allows one to stand like a quiet mountain.

One of the Iron Mountain Fist King’s martial arts that, when mastered beyond the eighth level, is said to be no less than Shaolin’s Vajra Indestructible Divine Art.

The reason Mu Hwi raised sword energy right at the start was to confirm the achievement level of the Silent Mountain Standing Achievement.

“He’s deflecting sword energy with his bare body?”

“Is it a protective technique? Amazing.”

While the disciples were shocked, Mu Hwi boldly stepped forward with his sword extended.

Silent Mountain Standing Achievement that blocks sword energy?

Mu Hwi wasn’t scared or burdened at all.

The reason why Shaolin martial monks who mastered the Vajra Indestructible Divine Art aren’t invincible.

It’s because there exist masters who can cut through and break the meaning of the words ‘Indestructible’.

Since there are no invincibles in the martial arts world, there’s always a clear distinction between the strong and the weak.

Mu Hwi thrust his sword forward without hesitation.

Like plum blossoms revealing their hidden thorns when shaken by the wind, Mu Hwi’s sword suddenly emerged between the scattered bundles of sword energy.

Woo Tae-gang noticed Mu Hwi’s sword thrusting straight toward his shoulder.

A simple thrust without even sword energy gathered.

‘Such a thin and long sword can’t pierce through Silent Mountain Standing Achievement.’

The sword would bounce off the Silent Mountain Standing Achievement’s elasticity and Master Mu Hwi would be flustered. Then he could strike with his Fist through that opening and end the match.

In fact, Woo Tae-gang had ended many matches in a single exchange using this method.

‘Surprisingly easy…’

Just as the sword tip came within two finger joints of his shoulder, Woo Tae-gang’s back muscles twitched.

A sudden chill ran down his back.

Bang!

Woo Tae-gang suddenly planted his foot firmly to stop his charge and quickly pulled his body back, retreating five steps.

“How…”

Woo Tae-gang looked down at his shoulder. There was a faint blood line drawn on it.

Although he had quickly pulled back, he hadn’t completely avoided the sword strike.

‘Well, he has decent instincts.’

Mu Hwi licked his lips as he watched Woo Tae-gang touching his shoulder in apparent shock.

If Woo Tae-gang had trusted in his Silent Mountain Standing Achievement and continued charging, the match would have ended with his shoulder pierced by the sword.

Contrary to Woo Tae-gang’s expectations, with Mu Hwi’s victory.

‘Clearly there was no sword energy gathered in the blade.’

Even though he had blocked sword energy, why had a simple thrust cut his shoulder?

Seeing Woo Tae-gang’s confused face, Mu Hwi gave the answer.

“Young Master Woo. You should remember that sword energy, Fist energy, internal energy – they’re all ultimately secondary.”

Ma Yeon-ho nodded at Mu Hwi’s words.

Internal energy is inseparable from a martial artist.

With internal energy, one can move longer and faster, cut what cannot be cut, and protect the body from powerful impacts.

Internal energy is a force with endless possibilities depending on how it’s used.

However, internal energy isn’t the essence of a martial artist.

If it were, the strongest under heaven would be the one with the most internal energy in the martial arts world.

The essence of a martial artist is martial arts itself.

Just as there exist those in the martial arts world who can split famous swords filled with internal energy using mere tree branches.

Although Mu Hwi hadn’t reached such a level yet, he was confident he could break through Woo Tae-gang’s Silent Mountain Standing Achievement even without wrapping sword energy.

When his foot lightly left the ground, Mu Hwi was already moving his elbow in front of Woo Tae-gang.

A horizontal strike as if to split the chest.

Woo Tae-gang only recognized Mu Hwi’s movement after hearing the sound of his clothes fluttering.

A large semicircle was drawn and Woo Tae-gang bent his waist backward to dodge, then used that momentum to shoot forward and throw a punch.

Swoosh!

Woo Tae-gang’s fist burst forth with a fierce air-breaking sound.

With innate physical strength enhanced by internal energy, the power behind his fist tore through the air.

But Mu Hwi merely twisted his sword grip slightly. Changing the blade’s direction to strike the side of the fist with the flat of the blade, deflecting its trajectory.

Ting!

Mu Hwi’s blade, bent from the impact, straightened again naturally and stabbed toward Woo Tae-gang’s side.

Usually, he would have trusted in his Silent Mountain Standing Achievement and continued his offensive, but Woo Tae-gang couldn’t do that now.

The sword’s intent lingered thickly in the air as it barely grazed past.

‘If I don’t dodge, I’ll be cut.’

So Woo Tae-gang had no choice but to dodge the sword and counterattack, but Mu Hwi didn’t give him the chance.

“Ugh.”

Woo Tae-gang who was about to extend his fist flinched and quickly rolled up his leg to deploy a footwork technique.

But at that moment, sword wind roughly swept across the lower level. Woo Tae-gang jumped up with a pale face.

The increasingly elaborate variations, and the swift sword strikes pouring irregularly through them were preempting all the attack paths Woo Tae-gang had tried to take, breaking his flow.

As if seeing through and anticipating all of Woo Tae-gang’s movements.

Swish!

“Urgh…”

With at least seven sword strikes flying in a single breath, Woo Tae-gang’s movements became increasingly confused.

‘Hehe, this fellow has met his match.’

Ma Yeon-ho let out a low laugh watching Woo Tae-gang struggle.

Until now, Woo Tae-gang had shown a tendency to rely heavily on Silent Mountain Standing Achievement during matches.

But Ma Yeon-ho hadn’t bothered to point it out.

This was Woo Tae-gang’s strength, and naturally, one should know how to win using their strengths.

Also, one must master the opposite case.

How to win and survive when your advantages don’t work against the opponent.

Thanks to Mu Hwi, Woo Tae-gang is facing this question for the first time.

Ma Yeon-ho was even more delighted since Woo Tae-gang hadn’t been this flustered even when fighting the Sword Devil’s disciple.

Swoosh!

Woo Tae-gang’s eyes moved quickly as he twisted his waist left to avoid the sword strike.

‘Even Young Master Dokgo’s middle sword wrapped in sword energy wasn’t this threatening.’

The sword extended diagonally then suddenly bent vertically to strike. Behind it followed sword energy that was hard to predict, like tree branches.

Bang bang bang!

Woo Tae-gang’s fists struck the air repeatedly releasing fist wind, but Mu Hwi didn’t stop.

Rather, he was splitting even the fist wind in two and pouring sharp light through the gaps.

‘Woo Tae-gang is decent. But even so, how could someone who learned the Dokgo Sword Technique lose? Keep wandering the martial world, my disciple. When you meet him, it won’t be easy.’

Mu Hwi’s eyes flashed coldly as he thought of his disciple.

Seeing this, Woo Tae-gang needlessly swallowed, thinking the look was meant for him.

Swoosh!

Every time the sword flashed, sword energy, sword images, and sword wind mixed chaotically and scattered in all directions, making Woo Tae-gang dizzy about where to look.

Woo Tae-gang’s occasional punches only struck empty air.

‘So fast!’

The dazzling variations were bothersome enough with their eye-confusing sword paths, but even more threatening was the footwork that showed ghostlike movements utilizing the scattered sword energy and sword images.

It felt like facing a large predator hiding in the bushes, aiming for one’s neck.

Before he knew it, a drop of sweat was running down Woo Tae-gang’s sideburns.

Watching Woo Tae-gang completely lose control of the flow, Ma Yeon-ho shifted his gaze to Mu Hwi.

‘His movement technique is strangely similar to the Sword Devil’s. He said he’d met the Sword Devil, did he receive teachings too?’

The Sword Devil’s Dokgo Sword Technique was fearsome in its power alone, but when combined with the Sword Devil’s unique spirit-draining movements, few could properly defend against it.

Especially the irregular movements utilizing the massive size and weight of the middle sword were the Sword Devil’s specialty.

Although Mu Hwi didn’t use a middle sword, he instead used Hwasan’s unique flashy variations to diversely expand his range of movement.

Ma Yeon-ho let out a chuckle watching Mu Hwi slide with his body tilted backward, aiming for Woo Tae-gang’s thigh.

‘A fellow showing both Hyeon Jo and Dokgo Heon’s forms at once… Interesting.’

Bang!

Woo Tae-gang, his thigh lightly cut, stomped down with internal energy. This flipped the ground within a range of one zhang (about 3 meters).

Mu Hwi, who had been about to follow up with another strike, stabbed his sword into the ground and used the elasticity of the bending blade to fly backward.

“Haah…”

Woo Tae-gang let out a light sigh as he examined his whole body. His martial clothes were torn in so many places, it would be faster to find the intact spots.

Though his whole body was covered in small wounds, he knew well this was thanks to Mu Hwi showing restraint.

If Mu Hwi had wanted to, the match would have ended in that moment.

“Master Mu Hwi, you’re strong. This is the first time I’ve felt so flustered and overwhelmed during a match.”

Though his tone seemed to admit defeat, Woo Tae-gang’s fighting spirit was growing even fiercer.

“I’m ashamed to have shown such a poor performance, but may I end this match by showing my most confident technique?”

At Woo Tae-gang’s words, Mu Hwi licked his lips.

‘Ah, I want to swing my sword more.’

Looking at his previous opponents, matches had ended before he could even warm up, so Mu Hwi hadn’t felt any satisfaction from wielding his sword.

The reason Mu Hwi hadn’t ended the match and dragged it out somewhat was because Woo Tae-gang had the ability to receive his sword.

If that hadn’t been the case, Woo Tae-gang would have fallen long ago – the very fact that Woo Tae-gang was still standing meant Mu Hwi had acknowledged him to some degree.

Seeing not just fighting spirit but deep regret in Woo Tae-gang’s eyes, Mu Hwi nodded.

“Let’s do that.”

Mu Hwi said as he lightly lowered his sword to a low stance.

“Thank you, Master Mu Hwi.”

With his response, Woo Tae-gang raised his internal energy to its peak.

A single moment of decision.

He planned to pour all his internal energy into one strike without thinking about what came after.

The eyes of the martial artists gathered around grew wider at the fierce energy waves emanating from Woo Tae-gang’s entire body.

Only Mu Hwi calmly gazed at Woo Tae-gang. When that energy wave reached its peak, Woo Tae-gang’s fist shot out.

Mu Hwi’s eyes widened slightly as he slowly raised his sword to take a high stance.

‘Would you look at this guy?’

Seeing Woo Tae-gang’s fist, Mu Hwi let out a short laugh.

<This makes me want to stomp you down.> End

<Have you decided on the name for the new technique?>