Hwasan Sect’s Genius Swordsman Chapter 35

Chapter 35

The conventional martial arts techniques are typically created with the premise of using both hands.

However, Mu Hwi based his on using one hand, specifically the left hand.

A martial art that effectively protects the body while performing sword techniques, and simultaneously increases power while maintaining harmony with sword techniques when executed.

The martial art technique Mu Hwi wanted wasn’t just a supplementary skill for when he couldn’t use his sword, but one that could draw out the same level of power with his empty left hand as when holding a sword.

As if feeling like he was holding an invisible sword in his left hand.

Mu Hwi based it on the Ten Thousand Flowers Palm technique, which had the most variations and forms among Hwasan’s palm techniques.

He refined the power and range of the palm force focused on changes using the principles of Falling Flower Palm, and added the mysteries of dispersion and scattering from Chasing Shadow Palm to Ten Thousand Flowers Palm’s internal energy usage.

By combining the two palm techniques, he modified the twisted forms and movements by referencing the flowing and soft forms of Four Shadow Hand Technique and Bamboo Leaf Hand Technique, and mixed in the complex and practical variations of Jade Flow Eight Hand.

‘Of course, there are still many aspects that need work.’

As Ma Yeon-ho said, the basic foundation and direction were set. What remained was making detailed corrections while testing it in actual combat.

‘If I add detailed finger movements by referencing the Plum Blossom Five Hidden Finger Technique, the completion level will increase.’

Mu Hwi closed his eyes and imagined unleashing this martial art.

In offense, it would enrich sword technique variations with changes no less than the Plum Blossom Sword technique, and in defense, the palm force gathered like flower petals would wrap around the opponent’s attacks and push them away while dispersing them.

Just like how he deflected Ma Yeon-ho’s fist earlier.

The balance and transition between offense and defense, which Mu Hwi valued most, was somewhat established.

It was appropriate to name the martial art. But as Mu Hwi pondered the name, his eyes opened.

“Hmm…”

Though he had named countless martial arts while modifying them since his previous life, his sense for naming showed no signs of improvement.

No wonder the martial arts that the Sword Devil ultimately chose had names like Dokgo Divine Technique, Dokgo Mind Technique, Dokgo Palm Technique.

Seeing Mu Hwi lost in thought without answering, Ma Yeon-ho spoke.

“When your martial art met my fist, it felt like touching an invisible flower.”

Ma Yeon-ho added, recalling that sensation.

“It was as if when an invisible flower bloomed fully, the force that made contact dispersed in all directions following the flower petals.”

That was probably due to the changes achieved when the palm force, imbued with the mysteries of dispersion and scattering, interlocked with Ten Thousand Flowers Palm forms.

While listening to Ma Yeon-ho’s words, Mu Hwi’s eyes became focused as if something occurred to him.

「The blooming plum blossom pushes away the covering snow. Instead of cold snow, it fills with flower fragrance. The pushed cold disperses mixed with the fragrance. Fill by scattering to heaven and earth. Bloom by filling in all directions. Thus the deep plum fragrance remains alone.」

A part of the principles of the yet unnamed martial art flashed through Mu Hwi’s mind.

“How about this name?”

Mu Hwi derived the name from the principles that came to mind.

“Plum Blossom Scattering Hand (Maehwasansu).”

Recalling the mysteries that Maehwasansu had just shown, Ma Yeon-ho nodded.

“A fitting name. Rolls right off the tongue.”

“Plum Blossom Scattering Hand…”

As Mu Hwi was about to stand up while savoring the name of his newly created martial art, he suddenly felt Ma Yeon-ho’s face becoming blurry.

‘Oh no, did I overdo it?’

He tried to support himself by reaching for a tree, but his hand sliced through empty air.

‘After taking Whirlpool Valley Palm after so long…’

Mu Hwi’s eyebrows twitched as he recalled the terrible power of Whirlpool Valley Palm that not only stirred up his insides in an instant but also threw off his sense of balance.

Mu Hwi staggered, spat out a stream of blood, and lost consciousness right there, startling Ma Yeon-ho who shouted.

“Junior!”

* * *

Mu Hwi opened his eyes wide and sat up.

At first glance, the ceiling seemed unfamiliar, but upon closer look it was the guest house of Hwahon Sect where he had stayed for several days.

“I fainted, how embarrassing.”

As soon as he got up, Mu Hwi sat cross-legged and began circulating his energy. While observing his internal state, Mu Hwi’s eyebrows twitched.

Not only was his interior, which should have been twisted by Whirlpool Valley Palm force, completely settled, but his internal injuries were cleanly healed.

‘That’s not all.’

Several meridian points that Mu Hwi hadn’t yet managed to open were cleanly opened, and the meridian channels along his energy circulation path had broadened overall.

Thanks to this, Mu Hwi was able to finish circulating his energy and open his eyes faster than usual.

As Mu Hwi exhaled a long breath, he discovered a letter folded on the bed. But it wasn’t just one or two pages, there were easily over ten pages.

“Why write so much.”

Mu Hwi unfolded the letter and read the first page.

The angular handwriting was Ma Yeon-ho’s.

– Junior, this is Iron Mountain Fist King. Though I intended to stay by your side until you woke up, I must depart urgently to find a good sparring partner, so please understand.

It seemed Ma Yeon-ho and Woo Tae-gang had already left Hwahon Sect.

– Due to my excitement after such a long time, I ended up using more internal energy in my strikes. As your senior, I showed insufficient behavior, so while healing your internal injuries, I worked a bit on your internal system. It wasn’t too difficult, so don’t worry about it.

Mu Hwi quickly scanned the writing and turned the page.

– And while waiting for you to wake up, I’ll leave notes about Plum Blossom Scattering Hand flaws and my recently established external training method, so study hard. In particular, you may share the external training method with your disciples, so I hope you train together.

The corners of Mu Hwi’s mouth rose as he read the letter.

‘Seems I really impressed him.’

While Ma Yeon-ho wasn’t stingy about teaching his juniors, he also wasn’t the type to give away so much.

Being the Sword Saint’s disciple was one reason, but personally confirming Mu Hwi’s talent likely had a greater influence.

– Your muscles are excellent even now, but don’t be complacent and keep training. There is no end to muscle development, and strong sword techniques naturally come from firm muscles. I look forward to seeing what muscles you’ll show me next time we meet.

Mu Hwi cleanly erased the last part of the letter from his mind.

After that, as mentioned earlier, the letter was densely filled with Plum Blossom Scattering Hand flaws that Ma Yeon-ho had noticed and the new external training method.

‘For an old man whose movements have no pattern and is really hard to meet unless you find him first, this was quite a fortunate encounter.’

With this meeting, Mu Hwi could take three steps forward from his original position.

Coincidentally meeting Ma Yeon-ho at the hot spring, exchanging moves, and receiving such help now – it could certainly be called a fortunate encounter.

“Indeed, he’s not called the Iron Mountain Fist King for nothing.”

Mu Hwi muttered while reading the detailed flaws of Plum Blossom Scattering Hand that Ma Yeon-ho had left.

As more characters reflected in his pupils, Mu Hwi became absorbed in Ma Yeon-ho’s letter.

‘So there was such a way to add variations. I should also look into Open Flower Fist and Death Hallow Hand.’

Although Mu Hwi had reached mastery in his previous life, his depth regarding fist techniques was inevitably lacking compared to Ma Yeon-ho.

Ma Yeon-ho’s advice, looking at Plum Blossom Scattering Hand from a different perspective than Mu Hwi, was proving greatly helpful. Ma Yeon-ho’s eyes hadn’t missed even what Mu Hwi had yet to notice.

‘Then for this move, should I reduce wrist rotation and use elbow elasticity instead?’

As Mu Hwi read the letter, he was determining ways to improve Plum Blossom Scattering Hand by recalling martial arts and principles he could apply according to Ma Yeon-ho’s advice.

Mu Hwi didn’t even glance at the external training method on the later pages of the letter and immediately began meditating.

In his meditative state, Mu Hwi began to unfold Plum Blossom Scattering Hand.

As he did so, the flaws Ma Yeon-ho had pointed out and Mu Hwi’s answers to them harmonized, becoming one movement and internal energy operation that was added to the Plum Blossom Scattering Hand unfolding in his mind.

The palm force, gathered like plum blossom leaves, repeatedly scattered and gathered according to the movements of Mu Hwi’s wrist, back of hand, and palm, and the detailed movements of each finger joint added precision to the technique’s execution.

The palm force and hand shadows filled the darkness of his mind, blooming in red light.

Occasionally, sharp claw energy cutting through between them made the connections even denser.

Thus, the endless variations occurring at Mu Hwi’s fingertips gradually began to show vitality.

Mu Hwi repeatedly unfolded Plum Blossom Scattering Hand in his mind.

By the time the count exceeded three digits, the constantly changing Plum Blossom Scattering Hand was gradually taking shape.

Nevertheless, Mu Hwi continued to develop Plum Blossom Scattering Hand as if he had forgotten time.

Who knows how many times he had unfolded it.

Only when the red radiance of the fully directed and established Plum Blossom Scattering Hand completely pushed away and scattered the darkness in his mind could Mu Hwi finally open his eyes.

“I should take care of that guy later too.”

Mu Hwi raised the corners of his mouth thinking of Woo Tae-gang. Ma Yeon-ho’s help had been immense.

Of course, when leaving the letter, Ma Yeon-ho probably couldn’t have imagined that Mu Hwi would digest it all at once.

While refining Plum Blossom Scattering Hand according to Ma Yeon-ho’s advice, Mu Hwi not only discovered flaws that even Ma Yeon-ho hadn’t noticed but also gained independent insights.

By filling the flaws to strengthen the foundation and fully incorporating new insights, Plum Blossom Scattering Hand made great progress. At this level, it could immediately be recorded as a secret technique and placed in the Scripture Pavilion library.

“Filled one in.”

Mu Hwi looked down at his left hand that had been moving endlessly in his mind.

He needed to advance not simply by raising his level to regain his former prowess, but by filling in the lacking parts from his previous life one by one.

If he did so, just reaching the same level as his previous life would surely let him easily surpass the Sword Devil. Mu Hwi clenched the left fist he had been looking at.

‘What might that guy be doing?’

The man in the black mask.

Face and age unknown, all he knew was speculation that his martial arts were powerful and he might be related to Black Night Palace. Though it was impossible to chase or inquire about someone he knew nothing about, Mu Hwi felt an inexplicable certainty.

That if he just lived this life faithfully, they would meet again somewhere in the martial world.

“Black night.”

Suddenly, Mu Hwi raised his head to look out the window. Due to thick ink-black clouds hiding the moon and stars, only a heavy darkness lay spread out.

Perhaps because it was a black sky with nothing in it, it felt more vast than usual.

As Mu Hwi was gazing at the night sky, the door opened and his disciples entered.

“Oh, Senior Disciple! When did you finish meditating?”

“You were meditating for four whole days. Are you alright?”

Hearing Mu-hwa and Mujin’s words, Mu Hwi nodded while recalling Plum Blossom Scattering Hand which he had unfolded thousands of times in his mind.

“Four days… That makes sense.”

Mu-cheol, who had been quietly listening to the conversation from behind, asked.

“Senior Disciple, shall I prepare a meal?”

“Yes.”

Still not taking his eyes off the night sky, Mu Hwi added while watching the slightly rippling dark clouds.

“Bring some alcohol too, it’s a night that calls for drinking.”

At Mu Hwi’s words, Mu-hwa’s eyes sparkled as she reached out.

“Alcohol? I want to drink too!”

“Since we won’t even see alcohol for a while once we return to Hwasan, it wouldn’t be bad to create an occasion like this.”

“I’ll go to the dining hall.”

Hearing his disciples’ conversation from behind, Mu Hwi smiled slightly and was able to take his eyes off the black night outside the window.

Unlike his previous life, there was no reason to get lost in the black night alone now.

* * *

“Hwahon Sect. Is this the place?”

“Yes, Master.”

Two middle-aged Taoist priests wearing navy blue robes and Taoist hats. The expressions of the priests looking at Hwahon Sect’s signboard were extremely grave.

When the priests stood in front of Hwahon Sect, the gate guards slightly flinched.

This was because just a few days ago, Assassin Demons disguised as Jongnam Sect priests had caused a disturbance.

“We received a letter from the head of Hwahon Sect. I am Ilhyeon of the Jongnam Sect.”

The Jongnam Sect priests had arrived at Hwahon Sect.

< How about this name? > End

< So you’re the eldest of Hwasan’s Four Flowers. >