Gun Mugyeol smiled, and soon the sparring began.

Gongsun Mingyue moved.

Whoosh—

Her body moved like flowing water.

Kang Mucheol swung his sword, but

Swish—

Gongsun Mingyue was already somewhere else.

Flowing-Shadow Formless Sword.

A union of movement art as natural as flowing water and a sword art without form.

Slice, slice, slice—

Kang Mucheol’s shoulder was cut.

Then his arm was cut.

Then his leg was cut.

"Urgh...!!"

Kang Mucheol dropped to one knee.

His eyes were wide with disbelief. It was obvious that in that brief moment, he had not read even a little of Gongsun Mingyue’s attacks.

Kang Mucheol slowly rose from where he had fallen and raised his sword, pointing it at Gongsun Mingyue.

Gongsun Mingyue, who had lowered her sword, quietly watched Kang Mucheol, then raised her sword in the same way.

It was at that moment.

Tap.

With that sound, Gongsun Mingyue’s body vanished from that spot. Once again, Kang Mucheol completely missed her movement, and instinctively tried to kick off backward, but froze upright in that very posture.

A cold sensation at his neck.

A sword.

He shifted only his gaze to the side.

In his blind spot, she was there.

He had not seen her with his eyes, and had not even realized when the sword touched him.

To continue any further would be stubborn delusion.

Kang Mucheol let go of his sword.

"Winner, Gongsun Mingyue of the Gongsun clan!"

Cheers erupted.

At the very top of the spectator stands.

For a long while, Gun Mugyeol stared at Gongsun Mingyue without speaking.

"Young Master Seol."

"Yes."

"How did you see that movement art?"

Unhwi answered quietly.

"It was not separated from the sword."

"...Not separated from the sword?"

"Yes. Ordinary movement arts exist to move the body. Faster, farther, or more cunningly. But."

Unhwi paused briefly.

"Gongsun Mingyue’s movement art exists for the sword."

"...Continue."

"The movement art creates the sword’s trajectory, and the sword determines the movement art’s direction. It is not that the two became one."

"...?"

"They were never two to begin with."

Gun Mugyeol’s eyes twitched.

"You mean they were one from the start?"

"That is correct."

Unhwi nodded.

"In the Confucian path, swordsmanship and movement art are trained separately. The sword is the sword, and the movement art is the movement art. Then, at a higher realm, they try to combine them."

"That is so."

"In the Buddhist path, they speak of all things returning to one. That everything ultimately returns to one. Sword and movement art alike, all to a single Buddha-nature."

"Indeed."

"In the Daoist path, they speak of effortless naturalness. To use the sword without being bound by the sword, and to use movement art without being bound by movement art."

Gun Mugyeol listened quietly.

"But the Gongsun clan."

Unhwi’s voice lowered.

"Never divided sword and movement art in the first place. They trained them as one from the start. It is not like the Confucian path, which combines them later, nor like the Buddhist path, which returns them to one, nor like the Daoist path, which lets them flow naturally."

"..."

"It was simply one from the beginning."

Gun Mugyeol fell silent for a long while.

"...A path of their own."

"Yes."

"Belonging neither to Confucianism, Buddhism, nor Daoism."

"It is the Gongsun clan’s own path."

Gun Mugyeol gave a faint laugh.

That was why they were one of the Five Great Clans. Each walked its own path.

"But tell me."

Gun Mugyeol looked at Gongsun Mingyue again.

"How old is that girl?"

It was not Unhwi who answered that question.

It was Zhuge Yeonghyeon, who had been quietly listening to the conversation. He spoke softly.

"Twenty-five, Leader."

"Twenty-five...."

Gun Mugyeol let out a sound of admiration.

"To be at such a realm at that age. And that maturity besides is truly absurd."

Unhwi also looked at Gongsun Mingyue.

He agreed.

He had never become entangled with the Gongsun clan. By the time he had unified the martial world in his previous life, the Gongsun clan had already half-collapsed.

And that was the truly interesting part here.

Why had the Gongsun clan collapsed to that degree?

Because the Murim League had driven them as enemies of the martial world.

It had not been Gun Mugyeol alone. The other Great Clans had joined hands with him, and naturally, once the Gongsun clan fell, the martial world was left not with Five Great Clans, but Four Great Clans.

And all of them had been dealt with by Unhwi’s own hand.

Unhwi had heard of her before as well.

The peerless genius born of the Gongsun clan.

Gongsun Mingyue.

At the age of thirty, she had risen to the Heavenly-Man Realm, yet never got to show what came after, vanished, and became Gun Mugyeol’s plaything. A woman of misfortune.

"What do you think, Young Master Seol?"

Unhwi looked at Gun Mugyeol in silence for a moment, then answered in a gentle voice.

"That movement does not belong to a martial artist who has lived only twenty-five years. It is the kind of maturity that can only emerge after gripping a sword for at /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ least fifty years."

"...Indeed."

Gun Mugyeol’s gaze changed.

"As for how the Gongsun clan managed to raise such a talent."

"There is natural talent, of course, but."

Unhwi spoke quietly.

"The Gongsun clan’s martial system is exceptional."

"...Martial system?"

"To train sword and movement art as one means, conversely, that they grow twice as fast, does it not?"

"...Ah."

Gun Mugyeol struck his knee.

"While others train swordsmanship and then separately train movement art, disciples of the Gongsun clan train one and both grow."

"That is right."

"But is it not that much more dangerous?"

It carried two meanings.

The potential of the Gongsun clan itself, and the flaw contained within that martial art.

Unhwi ignored the former. Gun Mugyeol had not meant to ask about that anyway.

Gun Mugyeol continued at once.

"If either the sword or the movement art falters even slightly, both will collapse."

"That is why most disciples of the Gongsun clan never surpass the Heaven-and-Earth Fourfold Realm."

Unhwi continued in an even tone.

"But those who overcome it rise straight to the Heavenly-Man Realm."

"...Extreme."

"Extreme, but efficient."

"Then that rising star called Gongsun Mingyue."

Gun Mugyeol looked at Gongsun Mingyue again.

"Is one who has surpassed that extreme."

"Yes."

"If that rising star breaks through the wall of the Five-Qi Convergence Realm, what happens then?"

"Movement and sword will become completely one."

Unhwi stated it outright.

"And if she rises to the Heavenly-Man Realm?"

"Form will disappear."

"...Form?"

"It will become impossible to tell whether it is a sword or a person."

Gun Mugyeol was silent for a long while.

"...And the Martial God Five Realms?"

Unhwi’s voice sank low.

"She would become a Sword God."

The two met each other’s gaze.

Silence flowed between them.

"An extraordinary talent. Much like you."

"You flatter me."

Gun Mugyeol gave a faint laugh and muttered,

"What a pity."

"What do you mean?"

"That such talent is not on our side."

Gun Mugyeol’s gaze turned back to Unhwi. He smiled faintly as he continued.

"Because the Gongsun clan keeps to neutrality."

Unhwi smiled as well.

"That is right. Like the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace, they keep to neutrality."

And then,

"Neutrality sometimes becomes the most dangerous enemy."

"...Heh heh."

Gun Mugyeol burst into laughter.

But that laughter was cold.

The sparring continued.

And then.

"Next match! Seol Yeonhwa of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace, Hyeol Mujin of the Blood-Wolf Sword Sect!"

At last.

It was Seol Yeonhwa’s turn.

The martial grounds grew quiet.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Seol Yeonhwa.

A polar heir of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace.

The woman called the greatest among the rising stars.

Seol Yeonhwa stood at the center of the martial grounds.

She did not even draw her sword.

She merely stood there.

"Begin!"

With the judge’s shout, Hyeol Mujin said,

"I do feel sorry that today I must mar such a beautiful face."

His eyes flashed.

"But a match is only a match, so do not hold it against me!"

His sword flew toward Seol Yeonhwa.

But.

Swish—

Seol Yeonhwa merely turned her body slightly.

The sword cut through empty air.

"...What?!"

Hyeol Mujin was flustered.

He swung his sword again.

But Seol Yeonhwa did not even draw hers.

She merely kept evading.

To the left.

To the right.

Forward.

Backward.

As if she were dancing.

"Th-this...!!"

Hyeol Mujin panted.

He had already swung dozens of times, yet had failed to land even a single hit.

Gun Mugyeol muttered,

"...An astonishing movement art."

Unhwi said,

"One step above Gongsun Mingyue."

"...I agree."

It was then.

Seol Yeonhwa drew her sword.

Swish—

Once.

A single slash.

Clang!

Hyeol Mujin’s sword was knocked away.

"...!!"

Hyeol Mujin lost his weapon.

Seol Yeonhwa’s sword touched his throat.

"Surrender."

A cold voice.

"...I-I surrender...!!"

"Winner, Seol Yeonhwa of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace!"

The martial grounds boiled over.

Cheers and cries of admiration poured out.

"As expected...."

Gun Mugyeol marveled.

"Her reputation truly does not lie. She has developed even further than before... This is enough to make one afraid."

"My older sister possesses innate talent, but not to the degree that Leader Gun needs to be on guard."

"...Hm?"

Unhwi smiled softly.

"As for me, I walk neither the orthodox path nor the unorthodox path, and neither the path of domination nor the demonic path. But my older sister is clearly someone who walks the orthodox path, so naturally there is no reason to guard against her. Is that not so?"

"That is right. It should indeed be so. Then she is not someone to be guarded against, but rather a blessing for the orthodox martial world."

Gun Mugyeol smiled.

The sparring continued.

Seok Cheonhan cut down his opponents with his saber.

Chu Mugeuk overwhelmed his enemies with his spear.

Gongsun Mingyue toyed with her opponents through movement art.

And Seol Yeonhwa won overwhelming victories in every match.

The sun tilted westward.

Night fell.

The first examination ended.

Thirty-eight remained.

Among them, first place was, of course, Seol Yeonhwa.

Gun Mugyeol opened his mouth.

"After a break of about ten minutes, the second examination will proceed."

Everyone looked at Gun Mugyeol.

"All of you are to move to the waiting chambers."

The rising stars withdrew.

The martial grounds began to empty.

Gun Mugyeol also rose from his seat.

Unhwi rose as well.

The eyes of the two met.

"Would you care for a drink?" 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

"How could I refuse?"

Gun Mugyeol led the way, and Unhwi followed behind him.

Namgung Wonyang went with them as well.

The three walked on.

Toward the League Leader’s Hall.

***

The League Leader’s Hall.

Before the enormous hall.

But something was strange.

There were no guards.

All the escorts who should have been protecting the League Leader’s Hall had vanished.

They were deliberately withdrawn.

Unhwi looked around.

Perfect silence.

Gun Mugyeol opened the door.

"Come in."

They went inside.

A spacious room.

In the center sat a low table, and bottles of liquor and cups had been prepared.

"Sit."

With no watching eyes around, Gun Mugyeol’s manner of speaking had grown all the more comfortable, and Unhwi let out a hollow laugh.

"Are you not tired?"

"Hm?"

"Wearing a mask. Must you really go that far?"

Gun Mugyeol smiled strangely.

"Are we starting already?"

"You may think of it that way, but if possible, I would prefer that you not become conscious of it."

"..."

"If you become conscious of it, you may mistake what is far away for something close at hand."

"Heh heh, I will keep that in mind."

Gun Mugyeol sat first and continued.

"You see, wearing a mask is not something that hides me. Rather, should it not be seen as something that reveals me?"

"Is that so."

"The idea of effortless naturalness can be interpreted in many ways, and the mask placed over my face may itself be a device that both reveals and conceals my existence more fully, allowing me to live according to the principles of nature."

Gun Mugyeol smiled as he poured the liquor.

"Is that not so?"

Unhwi did not answer.