KWAJIK!

The whirlwind shattered, and Pung Muhwi was driven back.

How… how could he strike the very core of the cyclone so precisely…?

He shook his head clear. His body surged forward on the Wind Shadow Step (Pungyeongbo).

Cold Wind Sword (Hanpung Sword).

A freezing gale burst from Pung Muhwi’s sword and wrapped around Unhwi. It was no mere chill. It was a blade art that froze the opponent’s very qi itself.

Yes—ice.

For the first time, Unhwi drew his body sharply back, widening the distance. At the same moment, he brought the Heavenshaking Spiritblade crashing down.

Heaven-Snow Flying Decisive Sword (Cheonseol Bijol Sword).

Second Form—Cold Sky, Falling Snow (Han Cheon Rak Seol).

From Unhwi’s sword stance, as though snow were pouring from the heavens, cold descended.

It enveloped Pung Muhwi’s sword-qi entirely… but no further.

No matter how profound his Great Void qi was, it was still insufficient to contest the raw realm of a Mythic expert head-on. His current cultivation was still bound.

But this much sufficed.

Pung Muhwi’s sword force faltered for an instant, and Unhwi did not miss the chance. Spinning his body, he thrust the Heavenshaking Spiritblade forward.

KWA-RU-RU-RU-RUNG—!

Thunder boomed as lightning burst from the blade, and in that instant it fused with the ice crystals unfurling from Unhwi’s body.

Heaven-Snow Flying Decisive Sword.

Third Form—Snowstorm in Turmoil (Seolpung Nanmu).

At blinding speed, Unhwi’s sword lashed out three times in succession.

JJEOOONG—! JJEOONG—! JJEOOK—!

Pung Muhwi parried all three strikes, and in that instant, great admiration welled within him.

He is wielding the might of one of the Ten Great Swords, combining it seamlessly with his own martial arts, commanding two elements at once.

What astounded him most was the speed. Maintaining perfect balance without the slightest deviation, and yet ever increasing in pace.

Even as he thought it, five more strikes rained down, and he parried them all.

Magnificent. Truly magnificent.

The future of this man shone dazzlingly. If only he did not cross the line.

If only he were not so arrogant.

Had it been otherwise… perhaps he might have joined hands with him.

Unhwi’s blade surged forth again.

In that fleeting moment, Pung Muhwi’s body vanished without warning.

The Wind Shadow Step, driven to its utmost.

Swift as the wind, he appeared behind Unhwi, his sword stabbing for the abdomen. He had no doubt it would pierce through.

Unhwi turned his body. No matter. Too late.

And yet—

Unhwi’s left hand seized the blade. A white glove.

Pung Muhwi, not knowing its nature, faltered in shock, while Unhwi’s expression did not change.

To read moves—that was only natural.

To target the back—that too was natural.

If a warrior pours relentless strikes from the front, of course the rear will open, and to strike there is the surest path to victory.

Had it not been for the Buddha Hand Seal (Bul Su Injang), it surely would have been so.

KAAANG—!

Even while receiving head-on the sword-qi of a Mythic realm warrior, the Buddha Hand Seal bore no scratch. Yet it could not block the inner shock. Blood trickled from Unhwi’s lips.

It was fine.

His eyes flashed. His right shoulder twitched violently.

The Heavenshaking Spiritblade came down in a crashing cleave.

SRAAK—!

Though Pung Muhwi desperately dodged, it was not perfect. Blood splattered from his shoulder.

Driven back several steps, Pung Muhwi lifted his head.

A warrior of the Mythic realm—how could he suffer a wound from one of the Ogijo?

It was humiliation.

Retreating further, he swept his blade wide.

Typhoon Sword (Taepung Sword).

The trees atop Mount Seowon tore up by their roots and flew. A destructive gale sought to sweep away all.

Unhwi planted the Heavenshaking Spiritblade into the ground and lowered his stance. Cloaking himself fully in Great Void qi, he met the storm head-on. An icy barrier formed around his sword, bleeding away some of the typhoon’s might.

Yet the difference in realms was absolute. The ice armor cracked, his right shoulder, his flank, his left °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° shoulder—all scored with wounds, blood spraying.

Unhwi rose, drawing forth the Heavenshaking Spiritblade once more. His right arm trembled from injury, yet his grip remained unyielding.

“Why not end it here?”

So spoke Pung Muhwi.

Unhwi’s reply was curt.

“Kneel before me, and I shall stop.”

“…Even when granted a chance, you fail to grasp it.”

Flicking the blood from his sword, Pung Muhwi’s figure blurred.

Unhwi instinctively swung wide.

KWA-AANG—!!

Their blades clashed, but it was Unhwi driven back.

Pung Muhwi’s sword blurred like mist—substantial yet insubstantial, its trajectory impossible to predict. The strikes poured down in torrents.

Smoke-Wind Sword (Yeonpung Sword).

In that instant, Unhwi gathered every ounce of his focus.

The flow.

He must see the flow.

KAANG—! KAANG—! KAAANG—!

Reading the trajectories, he struck them aside with the Buddha Hand Seal.

Simple to say—yet for one of lower realm to accomplish such a feat should be impossible. Yet here he was, doing it.

Not once or twice, but continually.

For Unhwi, who read the flow, blurred strikes and feints were meaningless. He could see them all, and he could read them all.

Pung Muhwi’s sword stormed like mountain winds, shifting direction unpredictably, sometimes bearing sword-qi, sometimes channeling the natural qi. Attacks from every quarter, yet all were blocked.

And Pung Muhwi no longer spoke.

This… no.

What kind of monstrous brat is this?

In that moment, Unhwi’s sword swept grandly, carving an arc through the air. Pung Muhwi, watching the ice crystals blossoming in its wake, felt something was terribly wrong.

Thousand-Year Ice-Snow, Responding to Heaven’s Heart (Cheonnyeon Bingseol Eung Cheonsim).

A thousand years of ice and snow answer to Heaven’s heart.

Natural Qi Transformed into Mystic Spirit (Jayeon Jigi Hwa Yeonghyeon).

The breath of nature transforms into sacred mystery.

Ten-Thousand-Year Glacier in Communion with Spirit (Manjae Bingha Tong Yeonggi).

The glacier of ten millennia communes with the spiritual essence.

One Thought, Resonating, Shattering the Azure Sky (Il Nyeom Eunghwa Pa Chang-gong).

One thought resounds and breaks the firmament.

Poem of Profound-Origin Ice and Snow (Hyeonwon Bingseol Si).

Countless ice crystals bloomed.

Of the four poetic sword canons recorded in the Compendium of Ten-Thousand Snows, this first—Poem of Profound-Origin Ice and Snow—Pung Muhwi had at least heard of.

Beautiful… truly beautiful.

Alas, what he should have done in this moment was strike, not admire.

JJEO-JEO-JEOK—!

Pung Muhwi’s sword, and his body, froze.

Unhwi spun the Heavenshaking Spiritblade and thrust.

With that, the ice shattered.

Though Pung Muhwi twisted his body in panic—

PWUUK—!

A deep slash carved across his side. Flesh and blood sprayed.

He flung out his left arm, meaning to seize Unhwi’s hair.

But in that instant, Unhwi’s eyes turned pure white.

Heaven-Snow Might (Cheonseol Jise).

JJEOK-JJEOK-JJEOK.

His arm and body froze once more. Not frozen entirely to the core, but slowed enough to hamper him.

Impossible.

His heart pounded violently. Something was going terribly wrong. By all rights, he was overwhelming his foe—so why did it feel as though he was being pushed back?

Why was his heart filled with such unease?

Unhwi drove his body into him.

The distance was too close to swing a blade, too tight to reach with an arm.

KWAAAANG—!!

The ice shattered, and Pung Muhwi’s flesh shattered with it.

Unhwi exhaled raggedly. He was gravely wounded.

Pung Muhwi too let out a breath. He was gravely wounded as well.

And yet, curiously, in this instant the gaze of both men grew only sharper.

Pung Muhwi slowly raised his blade.

He felt—this man must be killed. No, he absolutely must die.

Winds gathered around him. Nature itself was responding to his sword.

In an instant, every gust of Mount Seowon converged upon him. He was no longer a man—he was the king of wind, cloaked in nature.

Yet—

“You still do not understand.”

Do not understand what?

“From where the wind truly blows.”

His brow furrowed.

This insolent brat…

Dares to lecture the Pavilion Lord of the Wind Sword Pavilion on the nature of wind?

Fury surged.

Every current bent to his will, every wind brimming with sword-qi. From sky, from earth, from all directions, wind-blades charged upon Unhwi.

Wind-God Wish-Fulfilling Sword (Pungsin Yeoui Sword).

The supreme technique of the Wind Sword Pavilion, the very spirit that sustained it through the ages.

Unhwi raised the Heavenshaking Spiritblade before his chest, drawing his Great Void qi to its absolute limit. From his eyes, frost began to spill.

Thousand-Year Spirit Qi, Answering to All Things (Cheonnyeon Yeonggi Eung Manmul).

For a thousand years, the spirit-qi has answered to all things.

Heart of Profound Ice, Connecting to the Nine Heavens (Hyeonbing Jisim Tong Gucheon).

The heart of dark ice communes with the Nine Heavens.

Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Qi, Transformed into Mystic Spirit (Manjae Seolgi Hwa Yeonghyeon).

The snow-qi of ten millennia transforms into sacred mystery.

One Thought, Fully Comprehending, Breaking the Wasteland Sky (Il Nyeom Tongdal Pa Changhwang).

One thought attains comprehension, shattering the desolate firmament.

Poem of Heaven-and-Earth Ice and Snow (Cheonji Bingseol Si).

At once, the world was hushed. Unhwi’s Great Void qi burst outward in all directions. They turned into snowflakes, swirling madly about him.

Each flake, alive as if with spirit, each one bearing lethal sword-qi.

Pung Muhwi was aghast.

Could it be… the Poem of Heaven-and-Earth Ice and Snow? And that one of the Ogijo realm could manifest it?

Aghast indeed.

For as the snowflakes met his wind-sword qi, they froze it all.

An icy prison, shaped like the wind itself, formed in the air.

Pung Muhwi’s face turned pale.

“This cannot be…”

His Wind-God Wish-Fulfilling Sword was utterly neutralized. His martial art of commanding the natural wind sealed in an instant.

Reeling in shock, Pung Muhwi lost sight of Unhwi.

Like smoke, Unhwi vanished and reappeared behind him, his Buddha Hand Seal crashing into the back of Pung Muhwi’s neck.

THUD!

Pung Muhwi’s eyes rolled back as consciousness fled.

KUNG!

The Pavilion Lord of the Wind Sword Pavilion fell upon the snow.

Unhwi slowly exhaled, surveying the summit. All of Mount Seowon’s peak was blanketed in white snow.

***

After Unhwi’s departure, those gathered in the Hall of the Azure Dragon each took up their cups and drank in turn.

Whatever this had become, it was clear—it was entangled beyond measure.

“I did not expect Mae Widong to summon men here.”

At Wi Geumcheon’s words, several nodded.

“Well, let us not belabor it. We all came here for the same reason.”

The Everlasting Snow Palace.

The strongest power outside the Central Martial World.

None dared provoke such a force.

Whether Seol Unhwi had been exiled here by the Everlasting Snow Palace, or whether he came of his own accord—such things mattered not.

The one fact that mattered: Seol Jungcheon, Lord of the Snow Palace, had attained the Heaven-and-Earth Solitary Apex.

That was paramount.

And also, they were curious—what sort of man was Seol Unhwi, the Go prodigy?

That was why they had come. Yet unexpectedly, one man disputed Wi Geumcheon’s words.

“Ah, but I must ask you to exclude me.”

It was Ham Jangsik of the Beggar’s Sect.

“I came here solely to aid Young Lord Seol Unhwi.”

At that, Wi Geumcheon and the rest all let out hollow laughter.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep