Chapter 30: Chapter: Dragon Phoenix Tournament (3)

༺ Fifth Chapter – Dragon Phoenix Tournament (3) ༻

On a night when the moon shone brightly.

Mok Riwon drew his sword in a secluded area on the outskirts of the city.

And then he looked up.

‘The moon sure is bright tonight.’

The moon was sitting on a blanket of soft clouds watching over him.

Beside the moon, Mount Huang soared high into the sky, standing firm like a general protecting his emperor.

Mok Riwon smiled to himself and took on a stance, thinking that it would be a sin not to train under such a magnificent scene.

Whoosh–

Closing his eyes, he felt the wind blow.

The cool night air touched his skin and seeped into his lungs.

Mok Riwon spread the clean, fresh air throughout his body, laying it on top of his qi which was as vicious as ever.

A dark sword qi arose, and soon, his sword moved.

It was the daily routine he hadn’t skipped since the first day he learned to wield the sword.

He began his sword dance under the moonlight.

Swish–

His movements, slicing through the air, were incredibly slow.

Almost still, enough to make one question whether this was even a sword dance, but this was Mok Riwon’s method of training.

He endlessly improved upon the sword dance he had once seen Mok Seon-oh perform, concentrating on every movement to deconstruct the essence of his form.

Then, he would reassemble the taken-apart form to suit his own body, fully assimilating the martial arts known as the Starfall Seven Swords within himself.

‘Namgung Woon.’

Blue Sword Namgung Woon.

The Supreme Realm master he had met earlier that day.

He imagined a duel with him.

A middle-aged man appeared vividly in his mind, a man whose mere presence seemed to crush him with overwhelming pressure.

The man drew his sword and unleashed his sword qi.

‘The Sword of the Namgung Clan.’

He needed to overlay the man in his imagination with that, but Mok Riwon didn’t know the Namgung’s martial arts.

So, he substituted them with the Three Principles Sword Technique, which could be considered the foundation of all sword techniques, cutting vertically, horizontally, and stabbing.

That was enough.

Swish–

Mok Riwon moved his sword towards the imaginary opponent.

Then, Namgung Woon executed a vertical cut called the Weight of Mount Tai.

Thud–

Mok Riwon’s sword which clashed against his, fell to the ground after being overwhelmed by Namgung Woon’s qi.

Some might say it was impossible to judge an unseen opponent’s sword, but that wasn’t the case for Mok Riwon.

He had felt that overwhelming qi in person and could tell the weight behind that vertical cut with a mere glance.

‘So far away.’

The distance between them was too great.

Between him and Namgung Woon was a colossal wall.

Even a single vertical cut had crushed him; if Namgung Woon were to unleash the full Namgung Sword Technique, he wouldn’t even be able to breathe.

Mok Riwon opened his eyes.

The gap between them was truly despairing, but nevertheless, he had a smile on his face.

‘So that’s what they call the Supreme Realm.’

His eyes were filled with longing.

Having acknowledged all there was to acknowledge, it was time for him to look upon the path he had to take to reach that place.

‘It’s not an unsurmountable wall.’

The wall to the Supreme Realm was high, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t be able to surpass it.

Why wouldn’t he?

He had spent his childhood with Mok Seon-oh and Ma Il-seok.

When he thought of countless extraordinary displays of qi he had seen several times before, the seemingly high qi level of Namgung Woon now appeared reachable.

‘The Supreme Realm corresponds to the fifth star of the Star God Technique.’

His third star was currently in its late stages.

The fifth star was a stage that could be obtained after mastering all of the martial arts of the peak realm and realizing their true nature.

‘Of course, I’ll need my inner cultivation, but...’

Well, he wasn’t the slightest bit worried about that part.

Mok Riwon’s martial talent and efficacy of the Star God Technique were so excellent to the extent that one of the parts Mok Seon-oh and Ma Il-seok had been most concerned about in his growth was ‘qi suppression’.

‘Master, the martial world is indeed vast.’

Mok Riwon happily raised his sword again.

As he prepared to continue his sword dance, a curious sense of anticipation emerged in him.

What was this anticipation for?

It was obvious.

‘The banquet is in two days.’

The young rising stars called the Dragons and Phoenixes of this generation.

He was looking forward to using them as stepping stones to ascend to a higher realm.

At that place.

‘Huh?’

He saw her staring directly at him with a vacant expression.

“Young Hero Mok.”

Tang Hwa-seo’s voice rang out sharply, and Mok Riwon quickly looked away from Hyeung and towards her.

She glared at Hyeun and her companions with eyes full of anger.

“Don’t look around. Strange women will start flocking to you again.”

“Strange women is a bit...”

“You may not know, but the monks of the Emei Sect, despite their religion, are crazy about sex. Some of them even grind against each other. Don’t even look, it’s better not to associate with them.”

Gulp–

Mok Riwon swallowed dryly.

‘W-Woman together...’

As his lewd imagination made his cheeks blush, Tang Hwa-seo scoffed and glared at him with contempt.

“Gonna die from excitement?”

“N-No way! I wasn’t even thinking anything!”

His eyes firmly shut.

Tang Hwa-seo was feeling even more annoyed after glaring at him angrily for some reason, then clicked her tongue while looking away.

“Anyways, if that Sex Phoenix approaches you, run straight to me.”

“Sex Phoenix is a bit...”

“It’s accurate. Every year that bitch comes here looking to eat up a man.”

“Hmm... I’ve heard those rumors from an acquaintance.”

Even Zhuge San chimed in, so Mok Riwon couldn’t help but sigh.

‘T-The Emei Sect I knew wasn’t supposed to be like this...’

Mok Seon-oh had definitely told him that.

The monks of the Emei Sect were said to be genuinely great women with deep Buddhist faith and a righteous cultivation.

He had even heard that one could be struck with awe at the depth of their martial arts when exchanging swords with them.

‘Master wouldn’t lie...’

Mok Riwon’s face turned sullen.

...In fact, strictly speaking, Mok Seon-oh wasn’t lying.

At that time, the martial world was sharply divided fighting against the Blood Cult, and the female monks who emerged to truly confront the villains were indeed brave heroes.

The change in the current behavior of Emei’s rising stars could be attributed to them following the lead of the White Phoenix Hyeun.

Of course, Mok Riwon was unaware of all this and could only tremble from the sense of betrayal.

“It’s so disappointing...”

“Don’t be too disappointed. Well, apart from that Sex Phoenix, there might be other outstanding heroines.”

Tang Hwa-seo watched him pout with a satisfied look.

As their small continued, Mok Riwon suddenly realized something odd.

“...Ah, now that I think about it. There’s quite a few people gathered, but no one is coming our way.”

There were indeed a lot of people.

A myriad of martial artists from renowned sects and clans had begun talking to each other.

Yet, no one approached them.

It was so bizarre that when Mok Riwon voiced his observation, the man and woman fell silent.

“...”

“...”

“Young Lady? Brother Zhuge?”

Mok Riwon asked again with an innocent face, but both were at a loss for words.

Naturally.

Tang Hwa-seo had always been sharp-tongued, so she had no friends.

Zhuge San was known for his frivolous attitude throughout the martial world, so no one wanted to talk to him first.

To be straightforward,

They were a group of social outcasts at this banquet.

How the most innocent questions always seemed to dig deep into the wound.

Tang Hwa-seo and Zhuge San continued to be flustered for quite some time by their own circumstances. They didn’t know what to say, and as the uncomfortable silence seemed to stretch into an eternity, a lifeline appeared as if sent by the heavens.

“Oh, Monk Il-woon!”

Mok Riwon called out to Fist Dragon Il-woon, who was entering the banquet.

Upon hearing his voice, he saw Mok Riwon and the two, a man and woman, then greeted them with a beaming expression, putting his hands together.

He quickly made his way towards them.

Tang Hwa-seo and Zhuge San felt truly relieved by his approach, but if they had known his true intentions, those sentiments would have quickly faded.

‘I must keep Young Master Zhuge’s mouth shut.’

From the moment Il-woon entered the banquet, he had only one goal.

To prevent Zhuge San from revealing anything about the incident from two days ago.

“Oh, Kind Benefactors! It’s been two days since we’ve met.”

Il-woon mustered a forced calm smile.

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