Hwasan Sect’s Genius Swordsman Chapter 13

Chapter 13

While the disciples were going around the town to gather information about the Black Sword, Mu Hwi was sitting on the bed in his room meditating.

In his darkened vision with closed eyes, countless sword techniques that Mu Hwi knew were floating up.

Curved Horse Sword Technique (曲馬劍法)

Scattered Moon Twelve Swords (散月十二劍)

Jinra Sword Technique (鎭羅劍法)

Luring Kill Sword (誘殺劍)

Besides these, dozens of other sword techniques came to mind.

Most were evil sect sword techniques, but occasionally there were righteous sect techniques as well.

There were secret manuals bought with money from the black market, and secret manuals obtained from the possessions of opponents killed in life-or-death battles.

That’s how he learned whatever sword techniques he could get his hands on, modifying and combining them to his taste, and creating new ones. The Sword Devil, who repeatedly learned and discarded dozens of sword techniques, finally created and settled on one new sword technique. The Sword Devil attached his own name to that sword technique.

Dokgo Heon (獨孤䞿).

A name received from a wandering Taoist for a few iron coins.

“Looking at you, it seems you’ll live a lonely life without making any meaningful connections. I’ll give you the surname Dokgo (獨孤), which is ‘lonely’ (孤獨) reversed, and add Heon (䞿) meaning ‘to run away.'”

“Dokgo Heon? It sounds decent.”

“Yes, Dokgo Heon. Try to escape while loneliness is flipped over. I give you this name because you seem like someone who won’t stop even when you’re out of breath.”

The Sword Devil didn’t like that name at first. Having to run away?

Rather than running away, he wanted to fight. Why should he have to flee?

That’s why he attached ‘Dokgo’ to his sword technique’s name.

If loneliness would forever follow his life, it wasn’t to run away but to cut it down.

The Sword Devil imbued his sword technique’s name with his life and beliefs.

That’s how the Sword Devil’s signature technique was born.

Dokgo Sword Technique (獨孤劍法)

As Mu Hwi carefully reviewed the Dokgo Sword Technique, he thought of the Six Harmonies Sword. Following that, the Falling Plum Sword, Ten Thousand Fragrances Sword, and Wind-Playing Sword appeared, gradually filling one corner with Hwasan Sect martial arts.

In his previous life, he had completed it under the name Dokgo Sword Technique, but he didn’t consider it the end.

Mu Hwi firmly believed that depending on how it was done, this Dokgo Sword Technique could advance even further.

‘How should I make these blend well together?’

If the foundation of Hwasan Sect martial arts was the Six Harmonies, the foundation of the Dokgo Sword Technique was simply practicality (實利).

Just killing enemies quickly and easily.

The more he pursued this, the simpler the Dokgo Sword Technique’s movements became and the heavier the sword grew.

As he pursued cutting down opponents in a single stroke, the Dokgo Sword Technique naturally came to possess the art of weight (重) and strength (强).

‘Though Hwasan Sect’s Six Harmonies and the Dokgo Sword Technique don’t match well, this too must be a kind of prejudice.’

A sword can contain anything.

It only varies according to the capability of the martial artist wielding it.

If you put prejudice into the sword, that becomes its limit.

While Mu Hwi was introducing Hwasan Sect martial arts to the Dokgo Sword Technique, a sound from outside the door broke his meditation.

“Senior Disciple, it’s Mujin. May I come in?”

“Come in.”

Led by Mujin, Mu-cheol and Mu-hwa entered Mu Hwi’s room. It seemed they had been going around town until now.

“Senior Disciple, you said you’d move separately, but you weren’t just staying in your room while we were working hard going around, were you?”

When Mu-hwa asked with narrowed eyes, Mu Hwi gave a snort.

“The information I gathered will probably be the most useful.”

“You’re not denying it, Senior Disciple.”

Mu-hwa sat down with a thump in front of Mu Hwi, pouting her lips, and Mujin and Mu-cheol took their places on either side.

The disciples, seated in a circle around Mu Hwi, began sharing their stories one by one.

“They said life has gotten really tough since the Bloodshed Clan moved in. They extort money under the name of protection fees, eat without paying, and cause riots… Oh, right! They also run gambling houses and play money games with ordinary people.”

“All the Black Sword members belonging to the Bloodshed Clan seem to have learned martial arts. Though they say it’s third-rate martial arts, compared to ordinary Black Sword members, they’re not to be underestimated.”

Mu-cheol sat quietly in the lotus position while Mu-hwa and Mujin took turns sharing the information they had gathered through their walk.

Mu Hwi compared it with the information obtained from the Beggar Sect and nodded in satisfaction.

“You’ve gathered quite useful information. It’s pretty good for information obtained in just one day.”

Though it was information Mu Hwi already knew, it was quite good for information gathered by those new to the martial world.

It was absolutely not possible to obtain useful information just by walking around.

Especially when the period was less than a day.

That’s how important it was to dig into the core matters.

It was clear that the disciples’ movements around town weren’t just random wandering.

“But looking at your expressions, it seems your answers haven’t changed.”

Mu-hwa, who had more specifically confirmed the common people struggling under the Bloodshed Clan group’s harassment.

Mujin, who had confirmed that all Bloodshed Clan members had learned martial arts and were more dangerous than the ordinary Black Sword members they had only heard about.

“Of course, Senior Disciple.”

“That’s right.”

The two disciples who had previously judged Black Sword members only through martial world stories and their seniors’ experiences. These two nodded simultaneously with more resolute expressions than yesterday, then glared at each other.

“Senior Disciple Mujin, we train in martial arts and become stronger to draw our swords at times like this, don’t we?”

“Mu-hwa, following righteousness is important. But before that, I think considering yourself and your fellow disciples should come first.”

Strictly speaking, Mu-hwa was looking at ideas, while Mujin was looking at reality. This was also a common concern among disciples who were new to or had little experience in the martial world. There was certainly a difference between the ideas dreamed of within the Hwasan Sect and the cold reality of the martial world.

Since the choice depended on one’s personality, no one could say who was right.

Mu-cheol, who had been listening to their argument silently like a stone statue, asked Mu Hwi,

“Senior Disciple, what do you think?”

At Mu-cheol’s question, both Mujin and Mu-hwa stopped arguing and looked at Mu Hwi.

“The reason you’re arguing like this is because you’re weak. Just become strong, that’s all there is to it.”

Typically, martial artists experience the martial world and recognize the gap between ideas and reality. Then they draw a line at an appropriate point between their held ideas and the reality before them. They live in the martial world without crossing that line.

A martial artist’s ideas might be righteousness, walking alone in the martial world, being the best under heaven, unifying the martial world, supreme martial arts and miracle medicines, beautiful women and wealth. There would be many other ideas besides these.

But Mu Hwi was someone who thought there was no need to draw such a line.

Wouldn’t it be enough to become strong enough to break down the boundary between ideas and reality? In his previous life, he had continued running without stopping to break that line, and it was the same now.

This was both Mu Hwi’s view of the martial world and his Way (道).

“I’ve decided to wipe out the Bloodshed Clan.”

At those words, Mu-hwa smiled brightly while Mujin showed a worried face. Mu-cheol, of course, maintained his expressionless face. Looking at his disciples showing different reactions, Mu Hwi raised one corner of his mouth.

“Apart from other reasons, those Black Sword members will make good practical opponents for novice disciples.”

The Bloodshed Clan would be the disciples’ first real combat experience.

Strictly speaking, there was the Dark Night Palace attack, but it couldn’t be considered proper combat experience since the elders had blocked the way before the new disciples could properly swing their swords.

‘You need to shed some blood to become stronger.’

The disciples’ shared thoughts made Mu Hwi’s expression seem sinister as he let out a low laugh to himself.

“Senior Disciple, wouldn’t that be too dangerous?”

“It would be dangerous by yourselves. But with me here, it’s not at all.”

Even after that, Mujin strongly expressed his opinion, but it didn’t work on Mu Hwi who had already made up his mind.

Mujin, who had been continuously arguing his point, closed his mouth when Mu Hwi began talking about the information he had gathered.

Both the quality of the information obtained was surprising, and it was surprising that Senior Disciple, who had never left the mountain since entering Hwasan Sect, had thought to get information from the Beggar Sect.

‘How did Senior Disciple…’

Mujin felt that the gap between where Mu Hwi stood and where he stood was growing increasingly distant.

* * *

“Why is everyone so excited?”

“It seems the Hwasan Sect masters are going to teach those Bloodshed Clan fellows a lesson.”

“Is that true?”

At the cloth shop owner’s words, the old man selling sweets turned his head to look at the backs of the Hwasan Sect disciples walking down the main street spread between the stalls. Four Hwasan Sect disciples walking with dignity. The red plum blossoms embroidered on their black sleeves caught the eye with each step they took. As their sleeves fluttered with each step, the embroidered plum blossoms seemed to sway in the wind.

“But they all look young – will they be alright? The Bloodshed Clan members have all learned martial arts too.”

“Tch, look at those plum blossoms on their sleeves – even if they’re young, they’re Hwasan Sect disciples. Seeing these masters makes me miss when the Flower Stream Gate Sect was here.”

“Those were good times, weren’t they?”

“I’ve been wanting to see those fellows driven out as soon as possible, and finally my wish will come true.”

The merchants thought they couldn’t be heard from that distance, but martial artists’ senses were far more keen than common people imagined.

‘Hmm, as soon as possible…’

Hearing the merchants’ conversation faintly from behind, Mujin inwardly sighed.

Even though they were just heading toward the Bloodshed Clan, the townspeople were highly excited.

Mujin never imagined the common people’s expectations of Hwasan Sect would be this high.

If the conclusion had been reached according to his argument to just gather information about the Bloodshed Clan and plan for the future, the Bloodshed Clan would only have been dealt with after considerable time had passed.

Though he still thought that choice was rational, Mujin came to think Mu-hwa’s choice had some merit too.

Meanwhile, Mujin looked at Mu Hwi’s back as he walked one step ahead alone.

His back view had become much broader and more solid than before.

Though not as much as Mu-cheol, it was rare among the fellow disciples to have such a robust physique.

It seemed true what the fellow disciples said about him spending most of his days training.

‘It’s not new, but you’ve changed a lot.’

Hearing the merchants’ whispers and looking at Mu Hwi’s back, he recalled Mu Hwi’s final words before they parted yesterday.

-Not only are the Black Sword members good opportunities for practical combat experience, but we need to crush them now so the common people won’t be disappointed. When he heard these words yesterday, he didn’t understand. Why would the merchants be disappointed?

It wasn’t like they were leaving the Black Sword members alone, just postponing dealing with them for a while. Mujin looked again at the merchants visible around them.

Though he had experienced the merchants’ hospitality while going around town all day yesterday, he thought it was just because of the Hwasan Sect disciples’ reputation.

In Shaanxi, especially in this town close to Mount Hua, the influence of the Hwasan Sect name was considerable.

‘They were waiting. Waiting for us to step up.’

How could it simply be righteous to repeatedly help the weak and look after the people’s livelihood?. Understanding with the heart before taking action is the beginning of righteousness. Only then can one fully walk the thorny path of righteousness?

‘Though they say Hwasan Sect pursues righteousness, it’s truly difficult.’

Things that weren’t visible yesterday began to come into view only after hearing Senior Disciple’s words. Senior Disciple, while seemingly not, was looking from a different perspective than his own.

‘He’s truly hard to figure out. Has Senior Disciple changed, or did I not know his true nature?’

At first, Mujin was confident he could overpower Mu Hwi with his skills no matter how much he struggled.

But recently, as he experienced Mu Hwi up close, that confidence was gradually fading.

“This is it.”

While Mujin was walking forward only looking at Mu Hwi’s back, they had already arrived at the Bloodshed Clan.

He had heard this was where the Flower Stream Gate Sect used to be, and the Bloodshed Clan was using the half-collapsed hall after repairing it.

“Using the same grounds – what impudent fellows.”

Mu Hwi muttered, showing a cold smile as he saw the Bloodshed Clan’s signboard hanging where the Flower Stream Gate Sect’s sign should have been.

Mu Hwi kept his smile as he walked leisurely.

With no one guarding the front, Mu Hwi reached the main gate without any interference and slowly extended his hand.

CRASH!

“As expected of Senior Disciple!”

“Hmm…”

“……”

Mu-hwa clenched her fists with sparkling eyes, while Mujin frowned in confusion and sighed.

The disciples had thought he was just going to open the main gate as he slowly extended his hand. But the moment Mu Hwi’s hand stuck to the gate, it shattered with an explosion.

As dust clouds rose and wooden pieces rolled everywhere, Mu Hwi turned around and said to his disciples:

“When raiding another sect, it’s martial world etiquette to break down the main gate when entering. Remember this well.”

Mu Hwi’s demonstration of martial world etiquette seemed to work well, as noisy sounds could be heard from inside.

“What’s this noise!”

“The gate, the main gate has been shattered!”

“We haven’t even had breakfast yet, which bastards are these!”

Black path members revealed themselves from various parts of the scattered hall.

They must have been quite angry about the commotion early in the morning, as all their faces were fierce as they rushed out holding weapons.

Seeing this, Mu Hwi turned up the corners of his mouth in satisfaction.

“How nice that they gather on their own without us having to search for them one by one.”

<The meaning of Dokgo (獨孤)> End

<The disciples’ first real combat>