When Geom Mugeuk opened the window, a chill entered the room.
A pale morning mist flowed through the alley in front of the tavern.
He had entered the Space-Time Displacement Art in the evening and had just finished.
In real time, four hours had passed, but he had actually trained for two full days.
The steadily improving Heavenly Time Secret Art now provided him six times the normal flow of time.
For two days, he had completely exhausted his inner energy, recovered it, exhausted it again, and recovered it once more.
He had no idea how many times the evil spirits had appeared and vanished.
And at the end of his training, he had unfolded a space just for himself within the Space-Time Displacement Art.
He had created a hot spring in a snowy field, where the rising steam created a dreamlike atmosphere.
Soaking his body there relieved the fatigue from a day and a half of continuous training.
Truly, he had practiced the Nine Calamities Demon Art so many times that it felt as though the evil spirits themselves might appear through the rising steam, asking to loosen up their own bodies.
He could feel it.
The Seven-Star Nine Calamities Demon Art was about to ascend to another level.
The experience and enlightenment gained from the fight with the King of Darkness, combined with the insights from reinterpreting the forms of the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique, were causing his martial arts mastery to stir.
This experience of reinterpreting the Sword King's reinterpretation was providing an unexpected and special enlightenment.
It was the first time he had ever reinterpreted the martial arts of a martial hall with a master like the Sword King.
‘I have to keep this going.’
He felt that this work with the Sword King would bring him great achievement.
Just then, the window of the room next door opened, and someone poked their head out.
“Are you not sleeping?”
It was Lee Ahn.
“What about you?”
“I was training my heart technique and lost track of time.”
She could feel that the current atmosphere was anything but ordinary.
An enemy who made Geom Mugeuk more tense than anyone else in this place full of novices had appeared.
How could she possibly sleep?
“Training is good, but sleep is also important.”
“Look who’s talking.”
She knew that Geom Mugeuk always trained until dawn.
Of course, since he trained quietly in his room, she thought he was just practicing heart techniques, but she had no idea how many flurries of Sword Qi and Sword Force were raging in the room right next to hers.
“I’ll sleep plenty when I’m dead!”
Geom Mugeuk smiled faintly at her words.
‘You’ve already slept plenty.’
So in this life, stay awake.
Stay awake until you become an old woman with white hair, looking at the world with those beautiful eyes.
An aged Lee Ahn with white hair would surely be beautiful.
Would they still be able to stand side by side like this, watching the world together?
“That person… he’s strong, isn’t he?”
For the first time, Lee Ahn asked about the Sword King.
Geom Mugeuk nodded honestly.
“How strong?”
“Have you ever seen a true master who walks around barefoot?”
“No.”
“He’s that strong.”
Although she understood it meant he was a special kind of master, Lee Ahn deliberately spoke as if it were no big deal.
“Well, that should be fine. The Young Master is quite special himself, isn’t he?”
As she spoke, she tapped her left chest twice.
“To pierce the Young Master’s heart, they’ll have to pierce not one, but two.”
Half-joking, half-serious, Geom Mugeuk laughed with amusement.
But his gaze toward her deepened.
Because she had already experienced what she just said.
“Is this the advantage of having two hearts?”
“Just trust me!”
“Your heart must never be pierced! Trusting in that heart, I’m going to sleep!”
“Please get a good night’s sleep for my sake as well.”
Of course, in Geom Mugeuk’s mind, the order was reversed.
To pierce her heart, they would have to pierce his first.
And his heart would never be pierced in a way that the blade could reach Lee Ahn’s.
All this effort was to ensure such a moment would never come.
As Lee Ahn gazed at the stars in the dawn sky, a fierce battle where the ground split and cliffs crumbled was unfolding silently in the next room.
The next day, the Sword King came to class on time.
He had even prepared the next three forms of the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique.
“Alright, today I will teach you the Fourth through Sixth Forms.”
What on earth did this person want?
The thought came to Geom Mugeuk naturally as he looked at him, but at least he could understand why he was teaching the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique again.
The Sword King’s gaze toward him said it all.
—Let’s have another match!
He had lost the reinterpretation battle yesterday, having admitted that Geom Mugeuk's reinterpreted form was better.
That was why he wanted another match today.
No matter how you build upon my reinterpretation this time, you won’t be able to make it better.
Geom Mugeuk replied with his eyes.
‘Let’s do it. Even if we must kill each other, for now, let’s enjoy this.’
They both knew instinctively.
For a martial artist, meeting such an opponent was an opportunity that might come only once in a lifetime.
The Sword King demonstrated the Fourth to Sixth Forms.
The hall members watching him whispered as they glanced at each other.
“What is that?”
“It’s different from yesterday, too.”
“He just does whatever he wants.”
The Sword King’s interpretation of the forms today was yet another interpretation.
The Yellow Dragon Sword Technique he had shown yesterday was as soft and fluid as water.
So much so that it had looked like a dance.
But today, it was indifferent.
There was truly no other way to describe it than indifferent.
He swung the sword indifferently, strode forward and stabbed.
A series of movements followed, like kicking a stone on the ground.
Of course, the hall members could not discern the deep essence of martial arts embedded in each and every move, so this too seemed like a half-hearted demonstration.
Geom Mugeuk, on the other hand, took off his shoes and followed his forms barefoot.
At this sight, the hall members scowled even more.
They had considered his offer to be a shield for Lee Ahn and Seo Jin a ploy to look good in front of them, and now they thought he was training barefoot to curry favor with the instructor.
“Shouldn’t we call the seniors from the Black Dragon Class to teach him a lesson?”
“He’s truly an eyesore.”
Whispers like these even began to surface.
Of course, not all the hall members were like that.
Yu Gwang and Gyo-seok were trying their best to follow along.
Gyo-seok was doing it for his friend, and Yu Gwang was doing it for Lee Ahn.
Since Lee Ahn was following so diligently, he couldn’t just stand by and watch.
“Do you like that woman that much?”
When Gyo-seok shook his head, Yu Gwang shook his head even more vehemently.
“That’s not it.”
“Then what?”
“Lately, I’ve been so anxious I can barely sleep. But whenever I see Miss Lee, I feel at ease. Strangely, all my anxiety vanishes. There’s something about that woman.”
“It’s just because she’s pretty.”
“No, it’s not!”
Yu Gwang tried his best to follow.
Gyo-seok, as if he couldn’t win, followed the movements too.
Though he always scolded his friend to stop daydreaming, he knew there was something special about him.
And so, the second day of class ended.
Geom Mugeuk and the Sword King met again at the same place they had met on the first day.
Watching Geom Mugeuk perform his martial arts, the Sword King wore a pleased smile.
Yesterday, he had reinterpreted what was taught, but today, he was performing it exactly as he had been taught.
“Today, the Instructor’s reinterpretation of these forms is perfect. It would be disrespectful to ruin such fine forms out of a desire to win, wouldn’t it?”
When he honestly admitted defeat, this time it was the Sword King who sighed.
“Why are you sighing when I’ve admitted defeat?”
“Because you admitted it so cleanly.”
Then came his unexpected words.
“A Young Cult Master like you is a rarity in the history of the Demon Sect. A man sent from heaven, and I must kill him with my own hands. Of course, I would sigh.”
He was still brimming with confidence that he could kill Geom Mugeuk.
“The one who will die is you, Instructor. Just like your colleagues who died at my hand before.”
It was the first time he had mentioned the other Twelve Zodiac Kings to him.
How would he react?
“Colleagues? Who are my colleagues?”
The Sword King did not consider the previously fallen Twelve Zodiac Kings his colleagues.
In fact, he, who was always so composed, showed his displeasure for the first time at being placed on the same level as them.
“I will show you my colleagues.”
The next moment, the Sword King released his aura.
It was the first time he had revealed his aura since they had met.
Shaaaaaa.
The entire area sparkled.
At first glance, it looked like jewels glittering in the sunlight.
But it wasn’t.
They were all blades.
From the walls, the floor, the ceiling, blades protruded from every direction.
Hundreds, thousands of blades.
The entire space was so densely packed with blades that the slightest movement would result in a cut.
When Geom Mugeuk turned his head to the side, a blade was pointed at his face.
Another blade protruded from the opposite side.
There were blades in front of him and above his head as well.
Geom Mugeuk reached out a hand and touched a blade.
Slice.
His finger was cut by the blade, and blood flowed.
The aura was so sharp that his finger was actually cut.
Of course, it was also because he hadn’t deployed his protective energy.
Far in the distance, among the glittering blades, the figure of the Sword King was visible.
“How do you like my friends?”
His meaning was that only the sword was his friend.
In this place filled with such loneliness, where could one find a friend?
Geom Mugeuk smiled pleasantly and said to him.
“You have so many friends that there’s no room for me to squeeze in.”
As if pleased with the answer, the Sword King laughed along with him.
Sssss.
As the Sword King’s aura faded, the surrounding swords vanished in an instant.
“Later, before you die, would you grant me one request?”
Geom Mugeuk could feel it.
The Sword King had appeared before him, and had been so leisurely exchanging lessons, perhaps all for the sake of making this request.
“Very well. I will grant your request before I kill you, Instructor.”
Of course, he didn’t just agree meekly.
“In return, please grant one of my requests as well. I shall state mine right here and now.”
“Speak.”
“Please continue to reinterpret the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique to the very last form, just as you have been. Let’s continue our wager.”
Naturally, a hint of doubt crossed the Sword King’s face.
“No matter how well I reinterpret it, it’s a martial art you have no need for.”
“There are three reasons.”
“Three, you say?”
“First, I am thoroughly enjoying this wager.”
He believed this enjoyment was shared by the Sword King.
Otherwise, they wouldn’t be having this conversation here and now.
“Second, there is someone I wish to pass on the completed martial art to.”
And finally,
“This is just my intuition, but I feel my level of martial arts mastery will rise by the time this process is over.”
And yet you ask me to teach you? With that expression, the Sword King smiled and asked.
“Where on earth did you learn this shameless level of honesty?”
“From people who aren’t trivial. They never took my honesty as a weakness.”
A strange emotion flickered across the Sword King’s face.
Yesterday, as they parted, he had said that there were too many trivial people in this martial world.
“Didn’t we meet as a student and an instructor? Since fate has brought us together like this, I want to learn everything I can.”
Though it must have been a difficult request, the Sword King’s deliberation was not long.
“To not be a trivial person, I suppose I can’t refuse. Very well, I will grant your request.”
“Thank you.”
As the Sword King was about to turn away, he suddenly asked.
“What if the request I ask of you is one you cannot grant?”
Geom Mugeuk smiled apologetically and replied.
“That’s why I made my request first, isn’t it?”
Even though he had been told the intention was to get stronger and kill him if need be, the Sword King, as promised, taught him all the final forms of the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique.
This had not been in his plans when he first became a temporary instructor.
On some days, Geom Mugeuk’s reinterpretation was better, and on others, the Sword King’s was.
Sometimes they combined and supplemented each other’s, and at other times they created something entirely new.
The forms flowed like water, then blew like the wind, then erupted into hot flames, and on other days, lightning struck.
It was as if the two were playing a game of Go, one move at a time.
It was a game they would never experience again in their lives, and also a battle of pride.
The hall members sensed that something was happening, but they didn’t know exactly what was going on.
None of them could grasp the deep essence of the martial arts.
On the day they learned the final form, the Yellow Dragon Sword Technique was newly completed.
The forms the two completed were different from each other.
Though they endlessly influenced one another, in the end, they arrived at different interpretations.
While they were doing it, they had been burning with competitive spirit, but once it was over, neither of them cared who had won more.
Geom Mugeuk handed something wrapped to the Sword King.
“What is this?”
“A gift.”
“A gift of death? One that spreads Formless Fatal Poisons when opened?”
“For that, I’m afraid my wrapping is a bit too clumsy.”
The Sword King unwrapped the package.
Inside was something he had truly not expected.
It was a pair of shoes.
“They looked too worn out.”
For the first time, a flicker of bewilderment crossed the Sword King’s eyes.
But soon, the Sword King turned the shoes upside down and shook them, as if checking for hidden weapons inside.
“Why are you giving me this?”
To his question, Geom Mugeuk answered honestly.
“My martial art has risen to the Eighth Star.”
The turbulent level of his Nine Calamities Demon Art had finally reached the Eighth Star the night before.
Geom Mugeuk had been ecstatic at the power of his enhanced Nine Calamities Demon Art.
He had reached the level of the Eighth Star in the shortest time of any Cult Master in history.
Though it was news to be feared and wary of, the Sword King, on the contrary, smiled brightly.
“Why are you smiling? Aren’t you concerned?”
“Winning against an Eighth Star is more glorious than winning against a Seventh Star, and losing to an Eighth Star is less shameful than losing to a Seventh Star, isn’t it?”
Geom Mugeuk could feel it for certain.
Facing this man would be more difficult than facing the Martial King and the King of Darkness combined.
In every sense of the word.
The two men stared at each other in silence.
The Sword King asked with a calm gaze.
“You’ve grown stronger, so why are you handing me shoes instead of a sword?”
Geom Mugeuk faced him with honesty to the very end.
“It seems I want to become even stronger.”