Supreme Sword of the World
A day ago.
The capital of Anhui Province, Hefei.
In Hefei, there stood a grand mansion with a plaque inscribed with the words “Supreme Sword of the World Family” in a bold, powerful script.
This was quite unusual.
Typically, such plaques would display the name of the sect or family, but this family had chosen to flaunt an arrogant title instead.
Oddly enough, this plaque perfectly represented the nature of the family.
Past the grand plaque, in the heart of the mansion, there was a hall named “Sky Pavilion” where the head of the family resided.
The middle-aged head of the family read a letter on the table with an indifferent expression for a moment.
“Come in.”
He spoke upon sensing a familiar presence outside the hall.
“Greetings, Master.”
“What brings you here?”
The master asked without any concern for formalities.
“Jegal Gi-hwan and the one-armed guest Yeom Do-cheol, who were resting in the outer hall, have disappeared.”
“You came here just to report that?”
He wasn’t questioning why they had bothered to come; rather, he was asking if this trivial matter was worth interrupting his work.
A few days ago, Jegal Gi-hwan and the one-armed guest Yeom Do-cheol had visited.
They reported that the Wudang Sect had interfered in the Jegal Family’s struggle for the head position.
However, this wasn’t of much importance to the head of the Supreme Sword of the World Family.
In fact, he already knew that it wasn’t a mere competition for the head position but a rebellion initiated by Jegal Gi-hwan. Yet, this wasn’t significant either.
People often grouped them with the Jegal Family and referred to them as part of the Five Noble Families, but they didn’t care about the Jegal Family.
Public perception was meaningless. What mattered was their own mindset.
They prided themselves as kings, so the world’s evaluation didn’t sway them.
Being a warrior of the Supreme Sword of the World Family, the subordinate was aware of the master’s thoughts.
He knew the master wouldn’t care about such trivial news.
Nevertheless, he had come to report in person for a reason.
“Moreover, the Supreme Elder has also been missing since this morning.”
It was because the Supreme Elder had disappeared along with the two.
“Father?”
The head of the family, Namgung Chang-hwi, fell into brief contemplation. Why had his father disappeared with them?
He soon realized the reason.
“Leave it be.”
“But if the Supreme Elder is involved, other forces might swarm like ants to a honey jar...”
The subordinate started to express his concerns but was cut off by the master’s cold tone.
“Can you stop my father?”
“How could I dare to stop him? I was merely worried that he might go alone into a potential battlefield.”
“That’s even more absurd. Who would dare guard him?”
The subordinate hastily bowed and replied to the master’s icy remark.
“I spoke out of turn. Please punish me.”
“It’s fine. You may go.”
“Understood.”
After the subordinate left, the master glanced back at the letter on the table and then at the plaque hanging above the entrance.
Amusingly, it bore the same inscription as the main plaque: “Supreme Sword of the World Family.”
The difference was that this plaque was inscribed by the Supreme Elder himself when he became the head of the family.
Back then, the current master, Namgung Chang-hwi, had asked his father a question.
– Father, our Namgung Family is the greatest in the world. Why do we have a plaque that says ‘Supreme Sword of the World Family’ instead of ‘Supreme Family of the World’?
To this, his father, Namgung Muguk, who is now one of the Three Swords of the World, replied.
“What’s wrong with a king enjoying tributes! Blame yourself for hiding in the mountains, playing the Daoist.”
“You’ll only cure your king’s disease once you ascend to heaven!”
Though their words were harsh, the power of their swordsmanship was anything but friendly.
Boom!
The force of their techniques turned the surrounding area into a battlefield.
“That’s enough warming up.”
After devastating the natural surroundings, Namgung Muguk leisurely raised his sword to the sky.
‘Emperor’s Sword Form!!’
Mu-jin could predict Namgung Muguk’s technique easily, having seen Namgung Jin-cheon perform it at the Yongbongji Conference.
However, the power was on a completely different level.
“Ugh...”
Most of those watching the duel from the wall groaned under the immense pressure.
Namgung Muguk’s Emperor’s Sword Form dominated the entire area, unlike Namgung Jin-cheon’s which targeted a single person.
‘This is insane...’
Even the formation around the Jegal Family was affected, distorting the scenery.
‘If this pressure is so intense here, how strong is it at the center?’
While Mu-jin pondered, Namgung Muguk’s sword emitted immense energy.
As expected of one of the Three Swords of the World, stars formed around his sword, but Namgung Muguk didn’t swing it immediately.
Instead, he kept gathering more energy, creating an explosion of pure energy.
It was a Sword Ring.
But while Namgung Muguk was forming the Sword Ring, Yunheo Zhenren wasn’t idle.
“Cheongsu!”
Yunheo Zhenren reached out, and Cheongsu’s sword flew to him, tracing a Taiji pattern towards Namgung Muguk.
Yunheo Zhenren also started forming a Taiji pattern with the Songmun Antique Sword in his hand.
With two Taiji patterns, he faced Namgung Muguk’s Sword Ring.
Sss...
But even the two Taiji patterns couldn’t completely withstand the force of the Sword Ring.
The Taiji patterns were crushed and shattered, forcing Yunheo Zhenren to retreat with each impact, constantly redrawing the Taiji patterns.
After several steps back, Yunheo Zhenren, disheveled and tattered, finally managed to completely disperse Namgung Muguk’s Sword Ring.
“Is this enough?”
“It’s just the beginning.”
“Instead of troubling an old man, why not go after Sa-doryeonju who harms the common people?”
“Humph. I have no interest in such riffraff.”
Namgung Muguk snorted and began gathering
energy for the Emperor’s Sword Form again.
As Mu-jin watched their duel, he noticed something odd.
‘That old man doesn’t seem to care about the Jegal Family.’
Namgung Muguk had been looking for Yunheo Zhenren from the beginning, threatening to attack the Jegal Family if he didn’t fight.
‘Could it be...’
Recalling Namgung Muguk’s history mentioned in the novel, Mu-jin formulated a hypothesis.
He used the Golden Turtle Technique to push away the oppressive energy and shouted.
“Is the Namgung Sword Emperor here to prove himself as the Supreme Sword of the World?”
In the past, he had sought out masters for duels, earning the title of one of the Three Swords of the World.
Perhaps he wasn’t satisfied with just that title.
Namgung Muguk ignored Mu-jin, continuing to form the Sword Ring.
But Mu-jin’s next words caught his attention.
“Defeating Taiji Sword Immortal would be meaningless. The current Supreme Sword of the World is in Shaolin!”