Hwasan Sect’s Genius Swordsman Chapter 77

Chapter 77

Mu Hwi felt a chill run down his spine as he watched the old men unleash the Hundred Form Palm Technique.

It wasn’t because of the old men’s formidable martial arts, which could rival even the elders of major sects.

The old men who had suddenly appeared on his way back after killing the Jeonjin mysterious swordsman. The old men who were after the Jeonjin Sect’s secret manual and were now using the Hundred-faced Old Demon’s Hundred Form Palm Technique.

How was he supposed to interpret this?

It seemed that the Jeonjin mysterious swordsman’s strange distortions had been influenced by the Hundred-faced Old Demon’s deceit and malice.

Perhaps the Jeonjin mysterious swordsman had been just another one of the Hundred-faced Old Demon’s many playthings.

Having briefly encountered the Hundred-faced Old Demon, Mu Hwi didn’t consider this thought to be far-fetched.

“Hundred-faced Old Demon. I thought you were wandering alone, but it seems not. Are you the leader, or is that old man also part of some organization?”

Chi Nuo and Qing Nuo didn’t bother to respond, but Huang Nuo’s expression turned fierce.

“You shouldn’t speak of that person so casually.”

At Huang Nuo’s words, Mu Hwi smirked and raised his sword.

In the meantime, the three old men—Chi, Qing, and Huang—surrounded Mu Hwi from three sides.

The fists and backs of Chi Nuo and Qing Nuo aimed at his temples.

As Mu Hwi tilted his head to avoid them, Huang Nuo’s palm rapidly expanded toward his forehead.

Huang Nuo’s palm strike, perfectly timed to exploit the gaps left by the old men’s extended arms.

Chi Nuo and Qing Nuo, who had missed their initial strikes at his temples, moved to the rear and reached out to grab Mu Hwi’s shoulders.

A palm strike from the front. Two streams of Golden Thread Technique from the rear.

The coordinated attack from three sides left no room for escape.

The precision of their combined assault was razor-sharp. It seemed the three old men had spent decades training together, perfectly synchronizing their movements.

Simultaneously deflecting attacks from the front and rear was incredibly tricky, but the Hwasan Sword Techniques, rooted in the Six Harmonies, were not bound by such constraints.

Mu Hwi’s body rotated as he lifted his left foot, slashing his sword vertically in five directions.

Clang!

The old men’s hands, reinforced with internal energy, were as hard as steel, but they were forced back by Mu Hwi’s sword strikes.

As Mu Hwi fended off the old men’s skillful combined assault, he carefully observed their attire and suddenly his eyes lit up.

“Now I remember. The Three Elders of Wuyuan. I thought you were dead since there hadn’t been any news of you for so long.”

Three elders, all at the supreme level.

Individually, their martial prowess was impressive, but when they unleashed the Wuyuan Three Formation, which they had trained together for over forty years, no one in the martial arts world could stand against them.

“Your reputation has almost been forgotten in the martial arts world.”

“It’s surprising that a young brat like you recognizes us.”

As the Three Elders of Wuyuan prepared to strike again, Mu Hwi unleashed a flurry of dozens of sword strikes.

Mu Hwi’s sword strikes spread in all directions, like branches of a tree extending outward. The relentless changes in his technique made it difficult for the old men to counter.

A gap opened in the Three Elders’ coordinated assault, and purple petals began to scatter.

The dazzling variations of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique bloomed around Mu Hwi, but the three old men were no less impressive.

The three old men, each using the Hundred Form Palm Technique, pressed Mu Hwi with their unique moves.

The constantly changing techniques intertwined, filling the surroundings.

Mu Hwi deflected Huang Nuo’s fist aimed at his solar plexus and slashed diagonally to the left, splitting the three streams of palm force.

Blocking Qing Nuo’s palm force, Mu Hwi simultaneously used his left hand to execute the Plum Blossom Scattering Hand, crushing Chi Nuo’s foot aimed at his thigh.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

As the variations clashed, the four martial artists became entangled in a dazzling display.

Even a seasoned master would struggle to keep up with the rapid exchanges as the four experts mixed their movements like a single entity.

“Building power in the shadows, huh? The Hundred-faced Old Demon, that old man’s schemes are as sinister as ever.”

Mu Hwi muttered, testing the waters while keeping an eye on the Three Elders.

The Three Elders were slightly surprised as Mu Hwi continued to speak.

They hadn’t expected him to maintain such composure while continuously fending off their attacks.

“What is the Hundred-faced Old Demon thinking, pulling off such petty schemes? Why is he doing this, old men?”

“Shut up!”

Huang Nuo’s hand drew a rough semicircle, unleashing a much larger palm force that pressed down on Mu Hwi’s entire body.

Chi Nuo and Qing Nuo synchronized their movements with Huang Nuo’s palm force.

Boom!

Ten streams of wind pressure from the sides and two streams of fist energy. Each of the old men’s attacks carried undeniable power.

With no gaps in their assault, Mu Hwi had no room to escape. But Mu Hwi had no intention of running in the first place.

The Plum Blossom Sword, exuding a rich sword aura, drew a large circle. From the edges of the sword strikes radiating outward, plum blossoms began to bloom.

It was as if Mu Hwi had become a plum blossom tree, with dozens of blossoms blooming around him.

The blooming plum blossoms scattered petals, gradually obscuring Mu Hwi.

Boom! Crash!

A barrage of attacks rained down on the plum blossoms surrounding Mu Hwi. The force was so intense that the ground shook momentarily.

Like enduring a harsh winter wind, the purple plum blossoms trembled violently but held their ground, continuing to emit their fragrance.

“Hmm!”

Chi Nuo felt the recoil in his hand and glared at the plum blossoms. The thin blossoms, which seemed like they would burst with a single palm strike, remained intact.

“Impressive. I didn’t know the Hwasan Sword Techniques had such a defensive move.”

Though some of the plum blossoms withered under their relentless assault, most remained intact, displaying their vibrant purple color and sword aura.

Plum Blossom Endurance (梅花忍冬)

A technique that Mu Hwi had created in his past life, focusing on defense rather than offense, blending the essence of heavy sword techniques with the Six Harmonies.

Using the variations of the plum blossom to deflect and redirect attacks, the blossoms themselves became a shield.

One of the techniques Mu Hwi had devised as the Sword Devil, now transformed with the insights gained from the Hwasan Sect.

Having used this newly created technique to escape the crisis, Mu Hwi slashed his Plum Blossom Sword vertically and horizontally.

Swish!

As the plum blossoms of Plum Blossom Endurance scattered, the Purple Haze Sword Energy filled the air, sweeping over the old men.

It was like petals fluttering in a spring breeze.

The petals danced brilliantly in the air, following the Plum Blossom Sword, and the sword aura grew thicker.

Deflecting Chi Nuo’s hand and blocking Huang Nuo’s palm force, the Plum Blossom Sword continued to trace elegant trajectories in the air.

The petals floating around increased, and the surroundings began to take on a purple hue.

Soon, the purple petals filled the area to the point where the old men could no longer see each other clearly.

The Three Elders of Wuyuan, who were supposed to be executing a coordinated attack, began to feel like they were being swept up in Mu Hwi’s flow.

“Break!”

Huang Nuo let out a roar infused with internal energy, but Mu Hwi’s petals only trembled slightly, remaining unmoved.

The old men swung their arms rapidly to push away the petals, but more petals kept flooding in.

“Damn it!”

The old men felt as if they were sinking into a swamp, their movements becoming sluggish.

As the old men tried to unleash powerful techniques to scatter the petals, the Plum Blossom Sword slashed vertically and horizontally.

New plum blossoms began to bloom along the sword’s path, and the petals on the ground began to ripple.

The purple ripples surged, and the plum blossoms swayed precariously. The old men, caught in the waves, were in just as much danger.

Plum Shadow River (梅影造河)

The calm flow of petals began to churn violently under the Plum Blossom Sword’s movements.

The surging petals and blossoms swallowed the three old men in an instant.

Despite unleashing palm forces and fist winds, their efforts were meaningless against the overwhelming current.

‘He keeps using techniques I’ve never seen or heard of!’

Gritting his teeth, Huang Nuo swung his arms wildly. He had no time to marvel at Mu Hwi’s continuous display of new techniques.

Swish!

Huang Nuo’s slashing gestures split the incoming wave of petals, but like a river, the flow always finds a way to continue.

The waves of Plum Shadow River seeped into Huang Nuo without stopping.

Despite channeling internal energy into his hands, red bloodlines appeared wherever the petals brushed past him.

Blood spurted from his hands, and his sleeves were torn to shreds. The spreading bloodlines seemed alive, growing and extending across his body.

“Argh!”

Yet, the blood Huang Nuo shed was swallowed by the Purple Haze Sword Energy and the purple light of the plum blossoms, leaving no trace.

Only the vibrant purple light surrounded Huang Nuo. As the overwhelming sword aura pressed down, Huang Nuo gathered his remaining internal energy and tore through the plum blossoms in front of him.

Boom!

When the waves of Plum Shadow River subsided, the three old men were barely standing.

The area around the three old men, whose bodies were riddled with petals, was soaked in a pool of blood.

As Chi Nuo, the weakest of the three, staggered, Mu Hwi’s sleeve fluttered, and Chi Nuo’s head flew off.

Thud! Thud!

The squelching sound of blood underfoot echoed with each step the old men took.

The rapid succession of sounds seemed to reflect the old men’s growing desperation.

Qing Nuo and Huang Nuo, who had leapt too late, aimed for Mu Hwi’s back, but Mu Hwi easily deflected the attacks of the two injured masters.

‘We misjudged him. To think we’d fall so easily.’

Qing Nuo’s eyes grew cold as he watched Mu Hwi, who had just torn through his arm and pierced his chest.

Mu Hwi pushed Qing Nuo away with the force of the Plum Blossom Scattering Hand and twisted his upper body to evade Huang Nuo’s finger strike.

‘That brat is different.’

Huang Nuo frowned as he watched Mu Hwi effortlessly dodge his finger strike and counterattack.

It was shocking that a junior had reached the supreme level, but even so, he hadn’t expected Mu Hwi’s martial depth to rival their decades of experience.

Yet, the more he probed Mu Hwi’s sword, the deeper it seemed, like an abyss.

‘Just who is this brat…’

Unable to gauge Mu Hwi’s depth, the Three Elders of Wuyuan were on the verge of being swallowed by it.

Mu Hwi easily disrupted Huang Nuo’s final desperate attack with the Plum Blossom Scattering Hand and tightened his grip on the sword hilt.

Thud!

Huang Nuo’s arms flew into the air as the Plum Blossom Sword slashed diagonally. Yet, Huang Nuo continued to glare at Mu Hwi.

“Just who are you?”

“You came knowing, so why ask?”

Huang Nuo, weakened by massive blood loss, knelt and collapsed.

Looking at Chi Nuo and Qing Nuo, who were no longer moving, Huang Nuo let out a hollow laugh.

“To think it would end so pointlessly.”

When the order to retrieve the Jeonjin mysterious swordsman’s secret manual had come, none of the Three Elders of Wuyuan had thought it would be their final mission.

They had been surprised that the Jeonjin mysterious swordsman had been killed by a junior and had mostly come out of curiosity to see this junior.

But to think they wouldn’t even be able to touch a single hem of his robe, let alone kill him.

“After all these years in the martial arts world, to think like this…”

Mu Hwi approached Huang Nuo and raised the Plum Blossom Sword high.

“Did you think old men would be any different?”

Mu Hwi swung his sword, severing Huang Nuo’s head.

He didn’t bother wasting time trying to interrogate Huang Nuo about the Hundred-faced Old Demon, as he doubted the old man would talk.

“Hundred-faced Old Demon… And the Society. Damn shadowy organizations.”

Mu Hwi pondered the various factions in the martial arts world, but it seemed the Society associated with the Hundred-faced Old Demon was a hidden, shadowy force.

Perhaps because the martial arts world is so vast.

There were always mysterious forces lurking in the shadows.

As long as they stayed in the shadows, it wouldn’t be a problem, but they always caused trouble when they emerged into the light.

Like the Black Night Palace from before.

Mu Hwi had a strong premonition that he would eventually have to face not only the Four Evil Path and the Paewangseong but also this Society, whose name he didn’t even know yet.

“I need to create more sword techniques quickly.”

The best way to deal with so many enemies was to become stronger himself.

Mu Hwi mulled over the new techniques he had just displayed and continued on his way to Hwasan.

***

“That boy Mu Hwi single-handedly killed the Jeonjin mysterious swordsman. It’s hard to gauge his martial prowess. Truly, the martial arts world is blessed.”

Despite the words of Wudang Sect’s leader, Yunzhong, an old man simply stood with his hands behind his back, gazing at the night sky.

The stars filled the sky above Wudang Sect, centered around the Big Dipper.

The old man, who had been observing the stars’ brilliance and movements, finally spoke after a long while.

“That boy from Hwasan Sect, Mu Hwi, was it?”

“Yes, Master.”

At Yunzhong’s respectful reply, the old man looked at a star gradually approaching the Big Dipper.

The star, shining brilliantly, grew brighter over time. It was fascinating to wonder just how bright it would become.

The old man was certain that this star’s energy indicated that Mu Hwi would leave a significant mark on the current martial arts world.

“That boy’s star is approaching the Big Dipper, so it seems he has a connection with Wudang Sect. I’d like to meet him, that boy Mu Hwi.”

At the old man’s words, Yunzhong simply bowed.

“I will make the arrangements, Master.”

Even after Yunzhong left, the old man continued to gaze at the stars in the night sky for a long time.

< Did you think old men would be any different? > End

< I’ll show you hell in person. >