Wudang Sacred Scriptures-Chapter 61

―Shh!

Kwak Yeon saw Cheongun suddenly withdraw his wooden sword, then raise it high toward the sky.

In that instant, the hilt of the wooden sword seemed to slip from his palm like a living creature, gliding along the edge of his hand and up to the back of it.

Then the tip of Cheongun’s extended wooden sword grew faint—and vanished.

The final form of Flowing Cloud Sword: 'Formless, Yet Exists.'

For the first time, Kwak Yeon was startled.

He couldn’t see where the sword’s tip was aiming, so of course he couldn’t think of a technique to counter it.

―Whoooooosh!

Kwak Yeon deployed the Tai Chi Sword Form’s defensive move, Tai Chi Return Net, guarding his front, and quickly retreated with the footwork of Seven Star Dipper Formation.

―Shraaak!

Cheongun’s wooden sword tore through the front of his robe.

‘I’ve lost!’

He hadn’t cared about winning or losing anyway, so there was no sense of regret.

He thought Daoist Hyeonho would declare the result any moment now.

But—

Daoist Hyeonho simply stared in silence.

And of course, Cheongun’s fierce sword pressure came crashing in again.

―Shwoooosh!

Kwak Yeon had been driven all the way to the edge of the arena.

To avoid being struck by the wooden sword, he would have to throw himself outside the martial platform.

At that moment, Kwak Yeon realized what they wanted from him.

Submission.

If you don’t want to get hurt, jump out of the ring on your own and surrender.

A fierce resistance flared up inside Kwak Yeon.

‘I will never be driven out of anywhere again.’

He thrust the tip of his wooden sword straight toward Cheongun’s incoming sword pressure.

The Hidden Dragon Emerges from the Cave.

To face overwhelming Internal Energy Pressure head-on, the only method was to focus the technique of Four Ounces to Move a Thousand Pounds at a single point—a subtle use of coiling strength.

He relaxed every muscle in his body and slowly brought the sword tip forward to meet the attack.

Boom!

The impact traveled through the wooden sword directly into his body.

In that instant, he released the Internal Energy Pressure he had condensed.

―Claang!

With a violent burst of displaced air, Cheongun was forced backward.

Kwak Yeon’s heels had nearly crossed the edge of the arena, but he had not fallen.

Cheongun’s eyes were filled with visible confusion.

He had failed to understand the harmony of coiling strength.

Kwak Yeon used that gap to move his body back inside the arena.

Daoist Hyeonho, who was overseeing the Cheongmu Competition, was irritated.

He had thought the match would end quickly, but it was dragging on longer than expected.

And Kwak Yeon had somehow escaped the perfect chance to be knocked off the platform and made into a laughingstock.

That had been the reason he refrained from declaring Cheongun the winner.

‘If he’s going to hold out until the end, so be it.’

Daoist Hyeonho spoke to Cheongun through sound transmission.

‘Just use your ultimate move and finish this already. As I said before—break a couple of bones, nothing more.’

Momentarily flustered, Cheongun calmed his breath and raised his wooden sword.

The Supreme Azure Sword, taught to him by Great Elder Yunhak Jin.

It was like using a cow-slaying blade to butcher a chicken, but if he was using all he had, no one could criticize.

The Supreme Azure Sword was the Wudang Sect’s ultimate martial art—its peak sword discipline.

Though Cheongun had only just begun learning it, its refinement already surpassed most basic forms.

And Kwak Yeon had only learned one—the foundational Tai Chi Sword Form—so it was obvious he could not match up.

Just when it seemed he was aiming for the solar plexus, the strike would stab at the Central Meridian, or suddenly descend toward the Celestial Point between the brows—then spiral away and slash upward toward the Thrusting Qi Point inside the thigh.

―Shh! Shh! Shh!

It moved freely in all directions, ever-changing, and Kwak Yeon could not regain his senses.

Only thanks to his trained body and improved dynamic vision from physical combat drills was he barely able to escape danger by using the Seven Star Dipper Formation step, but with every attack, another piece of his clothing was torn.

Before long, Kwak Yeon’s martial robe—top and bottom—was shredded, and bare skin was left exposed.

Even so, Daoist Hyeonho, presiding over the duel, «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» showed no sign of stopping it, so it seemed inevitable that Kwak Yeon would suffer serious injury from a strike.

‘Dear me...’

Ujin Palace Lord Yunhyeon Jin felt more sympathy for Kwak Yeon than the other palace lords.

Perhaps because his disciple Hyeonmun had taught the boy, however briefly.

There must be some reason Daoist Hyeonho of True Martial Hall hadn’t declared the result yet.

But it was strange that Daoist Hyehae, who had come as the proxy of the Three Spirits Palace Lord, was simply watching in silence.

Palace lords often intervened before the presiding judge to declare a match, especially when it was clear their disciple would be humiliated—this allowed them to save face by calling it early.

‘Is he ignorant of martial arts because he’s a cave-dwelling Daoist? Or does he not know that he’s allowed to halt the duel?’

Another palace lord couldn’t make that call, so Ujin Palace Lord was about to signal Daoist Hyehae with a glance.

But Daoist Hyehae’s eyes showed no concern at all—they were calm.

It was truly strange.

‘Could it be... he actually has faith in him?’

There was no way that could be true.

At that moment, a gasp echoed across the grand sparring hall.

“Huhhh!”

The Ujin Palace Lord hurriedly turned back toward the martial arena.

Kwak Yeon was suddenly throwing himself toward Cheongun.

‘Is he insane?’

To attempt something so reckless against a technique like the Supreme Azure Sword?

Naturally, he assumed Kwak Yeon would be struck directly and collapse flat.

Though he had been overwhelmed until now, Kwak Yeon realized Cheongun was intentionally avoiding the Tai Chi Sword Form trajectories when attacking.

Of course he would—there was no way he wouldn’t know Kwak Yeon had only learned that one form.

“Know the enemy and know yourself, and you will not be defeated in a hundred battles.”

But there was something Cheongun didn’t have—something Kwak Yeon did.

A kind of martial art Cheongun had never experienced: Sanda (散打), the free-fighting style.

It sounded refined, but really, it was a street fight.

If he could just get in close, there was a chance.

He had used it against Seok Geon during the Champion Selection Tournament with some success.

Cheongun, the Registration Hall’s prized genius, had trained purely in elegant sword forms and upright martial discipline. His idea of martial arts was probably quite... pure.

But Kwak Yeon had crawled up from the bottom.

Trade flesh for bone.

That’s why, after spending the entire duel on the defensive, Kwak Yeon now threw his full body forward into an attack.

Cheongun saw the gate of the fortress, once solid, now open.

That was why he had kept knocking with patience.

‘Even a dead earthworm squirms if you step on it long enough.’

He had waited for this moment—for once a gate opened, it became a path.

―Whirl! Tuck!

Cheongun lightly swept aside Kwak Yeon’s wooden sword, which had burst forth with the technique Poison Dragon Leaves the Sea, and launched his final strike.

Great Roc Clutches the Dragon!

Kwak Yeon tried to deflect it with the flat of his wooden sword at the last moment.

‘Too late, you bastard.’

He couldn’t yell it aloud with the elders watching.

Such a feeble and pointless gesture couldn’t possibly block Great Roc Clutches the Dragon, one of the Supreme Azure Sword’s strongest techniques.

Cheongun intended not to break just a couple bones, but to shatter a whole ribcage.

So that he wouldn’t have to see that bastard again for at least a year.

He packed his wooden sword with Internal Energy Pressure.

But—

―Chiiing!

A strange sensation came over him.

And now, as if his sword had been caught in a net, it refused to move forward.

‘What... what is this?’

Kwak Yeon’s gaze, fixed on him, was as deep as the abyss.

‘This... no way—is it Coiling Force?’

Cheongun’s suspicion was correct.

Kwak Yeon had gathered all his Internal Energy Pressure to unleash Coiling Force—a refined internal meridian technique he had mastered through dozens of sessions with Daoist Cheongmu, squeezing the resin oils from pine needles.

Cheongun, having never experienced a proper internal meridian technique, was thrown into confusion—and that single mistake yielded irreversible consequences.

Slip!

His grip failed, and the wooden sword flew from his hands.

Spinning freely, the sword soared through the air and landed beyond the martial platform.

The entire Grand Martial Arena froze in shock, as if drenched in ice water.

A moment later—

―Clang!

The sound of the wooden sword clattering onto the blue-stone floor echoed through the Grand Martial Arena.

In a martial duel, to lose one's sword was a defeat—under any circumstance.

And the most shameful kind of defeat at that.

At any rate, it was Daoist Hyeonho’s duty to bring this silence to a close, and he declared in a somber voice:

“The first duel of this year’s Cheongmu Competition is a victory for Three Spirits Palace’s Disciple Hyeonmu.”

Cheongun collapsed onto the ground, and Great Elder Yunhak Jin’s brow furrowed deeply.

Kwak Yeon gave Cheongun a respectful bow.

“Disciple Cheongun, this senior was merely lucky today.”

Even if he was a nominal senior, it was a grave discourtesy to bow to someone seated on the ground during an official match—but Cheongun did not even flinch.

That was how great the shock was.

As Kwak Yeon was sheathing his wooden sword at his hip and preparing to leave the platform, the Palace Lord of Oryong Palace called out to him.

“Daoist Hyeonmu, wait a moment.”

Unable to call him Disciple, since he was from Three Spirits Palace, she called him Daoist instead.

“Just now—did you use Coiling Force?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Then you intentionally applied Coiling Force?”

“That is also correct.”

The palace lords’ expressions darkened.

“How were you able to apply Coiling Force to the Tai Chi Form Net of Heaven Reflecting the Moon?”

“When I analyzed the secret verse for Net of Heaven Reflecting the Moon, I found that Coiling Force was the correct application.”

‘Tch!’

The Palace Lord of Oryong Palace was so stunned, she couldn’t speak—so the Naman Palace Lord hurriedly asked:

“No one else taught you the interpretation of the secret verses?”

“No, they did not.”

At Kwak Yeon’s answer, a low sigh escaped the lips of the Hyeonmu Palace Lord.

“Oho! Well done indeed.”

To sigh while saying well done—it was plain that her regret came from the fact that he was a disciple of Three Spirits Palace.

If not for the trouble it might bring to Cheongjin the Guide, Kwak Yeon might have retorted openly.

‘You didn’t even teach your inner disciples the secret verses, forcing them to scrounge for scraps—and now you’re the one sighing with regret?’

But he held his tongue and lowered his head in silence under the sharp gaze of Great Elder Yunhak Jin.

“Then, this disciple will take his leave now.”

Now was a time for patience.

There was still so much to learn ahead.

The Oryong Palace Lord spoke urgently.

“Daoist Hyeonmu, if you're willing, I’d like to see you participate in the Advanced Match.”

The Advanced Match was a duel against disciples from the advanced class—those with exceptional achievements.

If one won, they could immediately be promoted and begin studying high-level martial techniques—a truly special opportunity.

The Oryong Palace Lord swiftly turned to the other palace lords and asked their opinion.

“What say you all?”

Curious to see just how far Kwak Yeon’s True Gong skills extended, the palace lords nodded one after another.

“It’s a right reserved for the top of the Divine Dragon Class—of course it applies.”

“Indeed. It would be a shame to leave it here.”

The Oryong Palace Lord turned to address Great Elder Yunhak Jin.

“Great Elder, the Palace Lords have reached a decision—let it be done.”

Great Elder Yunhak Jin’s expression hardened.

First the unexpected result—and now this unexpected ambush by the palace lords.

Knowing full well the ambitions behind their praise for talent, the Great Elder was deeply displeased.

But once the Palace Lords’ Council made a decision, not even the Headmaster of the Sect could oppose it.

Just as the Great Elder was about to speak with an unhappy look—

“The disciple of Three Spirits Palace shall end things here for today.”

Surprisingly, it was Daoist Hyehae, acting as proxy for the Palace Lord of Three Spirits Palace, who spoke.

At his words, Great Elder Yunhak Jin replied as if he’d been waiting for the chance.

“We shall follow the will of Three Spirits Palace’s representative.”

Even as the palace lords—and Kwak Yeon himself—looked puzzled, Daoist Hyehae clasped his hands toward the Master of True Martial Hall and said:

“We of Three Spirits Palace are truly grateful for the excellent guidance provided by True Martial Hall.”

The hall master of True Martial Hall gave a wry smile and nodded.

“We Eight Palaces are disciples under one roof. A disciple of Three Spirits Palace is a disciple of the sect—there’s no need for separate thanks. Daoist Hyehae, you may withdraw your bow.”

“Then we ask for your continued guidance in the future as well.”

“Naturally. You need not worry.”

Great Elder Yunhak Jin’s frown deepened.

He had just been struck where it hurt the most.

They had nailed it down—so that that boy, Kwak Yeon, would continue attending True Martial Hall regularly from now on.