NOVEL NEXT WORLD When the news broke that the Sword Saint was stepping down from her leadership position, the number of letters coming my way skyrocketed.
Well, of course! It’s said that the Sword Saint, who had been holed up in Hongseong for ages, might re-emerge into the murim world.
I was curious about her next moves, but asking Hongseong directly was too scary, so they were trying to gather info through me.
Besides, given what people already knew about my connection with the Sword Saint, more factions were trying to recruit me in anticipation of her return to the world.
But honestly, that wasn’t the main concern right now.
I lifted my head from the pile of letters I had to keep checking and found a crowd around the training ground in Hongseong. At one end, Hongryeon was standing, lightly stretching.
After several days of sparring with Namgoong Cheon and Chaejin, Hongryeon was fine-tuning her skills in preparation for the succession test day.
Maybe that’s why she wore a rather refreshed expression as she ascended to the training ground with her Yonghwan Sword. Sayoon, observing her, cautiously asked,
“Mister, do you think it’ll be alright?”
“Surely, they won’t be trying to kill each other.”
I glanced to my side. A middle-aged female doctor, a disciple of the righteous faction, was waiting with other doctors.
They had come as a precaution from the Murim Alliance. Originally, it was supposed to be Shinui, but he had gone off to fight the Evil Sect.
Therefore, the next best thing was his most skilled disciple, his daughter. I gave a slight nod to the refined-looking woman, and she respectfully nodded back.
“By the way, it’s surprising that the Thunderbolt Sword King hasn’t arrived.”
Chaejin, sitting next to me, remarked calmly. She had spent the last few days sparring with Hongryeon and looking after her.
I had asked if he was coming to watch the duel between the Sword Saint and Hongryeon, but he had flatly refused and headed straight to the bathhouse instead.
“When is he planning to leave, anyway?”
Honestly, I didn’t expect Namgoong Cheon to stay this long. I thought he’d just take a few days off and leave, but it seemed he had decided to make daily trips to the bathhouse instead.
With how much he enjoyed bathing, it felt like something might soon be set up in a nearby location just for that.
“Oh, here he comes.”
At that moment, I spotted a stunning beauty with blue hair walking towards us calmly.
Sword Saint Na Yerin.
She was no longer the goofy woman I remembered—she was now the head of Hongseong and a pillar of the righteous murim world, exuding an aura sharp as a blade.
Seeing her, Hongryeon slowly inhaled.
“…Master hasn’t come out of the garden for the past few days.”
“Is it that the Sword Saint is preparing in her own way?”
“Yeah, it seems so. When I brought her some food, she looked just like the old Master.”
Had she reverted to the days when she was solely focused on her martial arts, not the rounded version of herself that Hongseong had become?
I gazed at the Sword Saint, and when our eyes met, she gave me a brief smile reminiscent of the past.
But that was it. With a relaxed, faint smile, she elegantly ascended the training area and swung her great sword lightly.
Swung it.
“This time, even if you lose the test, I’ll still pass on the clan leader position to you.”
“That makes me feel a bit better.”
“So, don’t feel pressured and just show me what you’ve got.”
As the Sword Saint’s calm words finished, I headed up to the sparring ground.
Since I’m the one initiating this match, it’s only right that I set the rules. And since I say it, both of them will accept it, so this is for the best.
“Alright. Let’s set the rules. The duel must be confined to this sparring area, and if either of you gives up or steps outside of it, that’ll count as a loss.”
“Sounds good.”
“Yes.”
If beings like the Sword Saint and Hongryeon decide to fight without restrictions, the Hongseong Clan, which we just renovated, would turn into a mess. That’s not something either of them wants, so they agreed to the additional rule of losing if they stepped out.
“Shall we begin then?”
The calm Sword Saint signaled the start. At that moment…
“Ugh…”
Everyone around the sparring ground groaned in unison.
The overwhelming aura was palpable, even to me.
The faint red energy wafting around the Sword Saint proved that she had mastered the Hongseong Divine Art perfectly.
“Oh? Ryun. Are you scared?”
“…No way.”
Hongryeon, who was directly confronting the Sword Saint’s fierce aura, replied briefly and lightly swung her Yonghwan Sword. In that instant, the immense energy radiating from the Sword Saint disappeared.
“Hehe, after sparring with the Thunderbolt Sword King, this must be easy for you, huh?”
Well, having faced the King’s Sword forms multiple times, Hongryeon probably knows how to suppress the atmosphere a bit.
I watched Hongryeon, and the Sword Saint calmly said, “I’ll give you three moves.”
“I’m fine with that.”
“Oh? You’re confident. Alright then.”
-Kuuuudooooom!!!
The ground trembled. The clouds in the sky began to dissipate.
Nature was responding to one person’s aura. The Sword Saint seemed determined to go all out, and Hongryeon was no different.
When the two powerful beings faced each other…
-Kwaaaang!!!
The deafening sound of their swords clashing echoed from the Hongseong Clan. The shockwave made several onlookers step back, but those two didn’t care at all.
“Hahahaha!!”
Aren’t they going a bit too hard for being teacher and student?
Just as I was about to intervene, Chaejin grabbed my arm, and Sayoon shook her head.
Hmm…
Should I just watch then?
“Weak!! You think you can handle the Hongseong Divine Art at this level?!”
“Ugh…”
I’m being pushed back. No matter how much I’ve trained with Namgoong Cheon and Chaejin, being over a decade as a superhuman, gaining immense experience during that time, I just can’t measure up against the Sword Saint who wiped out Simma with me.
Still, Hongryeon’s eyes were shining bright.
“…Senior Sister.”
Sayoon, with a slightly clenched fist, didn’t blink as she watched the duel between the Sword Saint and Hongryeon.
No, it wasn’t just her. Everyone from the Hongseong Clan was watching.
Witnessing the techniques of the Hongseong Divine Art unfold.
The ultimate expression of the Hongseong Divine Art from both superhumans.
Hmm… but I don’t quite get it. How is this going to play out?
“I don’t understand. How is this all unfolding?”
“Who’s got the advantage?”
“Of course it’s the Sword Saint. It doesn’t seem like Hongryeon is really giving her any attention… Ah.”
At that moment, Hongryeon’s great sword swung toward the Sword Saint’s head, but her body blurred and shifted.
The Sword Saint moved so quickly that even an afterimage remained, landing a devastating blow to Hongryeon’s side, sending her rolling on the ground.
But everyone there knew that this amount of damage wouldn’t bring her down.
Yeah.
The Sword Saint knew it too.
“Ah.”
That last attack was simply to create an opening.
Before long, the Sword Saint had soared into the sky. The immense power channeled into her sword.
Meteor Shower.
The ultimate technique of the Hongseong Divine Art was about to unfold.
So Hongryeon gritted her teeth and leaped into the air.
“Could it be Senior Sister?!”
The commotion grew louder.
The Meteor Shower, the pinnacle of the Hongseong Divine Art, was something that only Hongryeon could barely use.
But to stop the Meteor Shower, she had no choice but to use the same technique, so Hongryeon decided to go all in.
Thus, the two transcendent beings.
“Ah…”
They swung their swords, and at the same time, stars began to fall from the sky.
-BAM!! KA-BOOM!! BAM! BAM!!
Stars falling from two skies collided, creating a bizarre phenomenon. The Sword Saint was laughing, while Hongryeon gritted her teeth.
Definitely feeling the pressure…
Then it happened. A burst of light erupted from Hongryeon’s Dragon Blade.
Seeing that, the Sword Saint was caught off guard, and a powerful wind enveloped her as the hail of meteors fell, forcing her down to the ground.
“AH?!”
It was an opportunity.
Just once, Hongryon had a chance to strike at the Sword Saint.
Of course, Hongryeon wouldn’t miss that chance. While the Sword Saint was trying to shake off the remaining Dragon’s Wind after her fall, Hongryeon swung the Dragon Blade forcefully.
-CHING!!
As the Sword Saint was knocked back, trying to regain her balance, Hongryeon quickly plunged the Dragon Blade toward the ground.
-WOOOOSH!!
A gigantic force engulfed the arena. Just as the Sword Saint leaped to avoid being caught in it, Hongryeon tracked her down and struck her down, causing the Sword Saint to crash to the ground.
But the impact didn’t seem too severe. She lightly rose and shouted.
“Impressive!! From now on, I’ll fight seriously…”
“I’ve won, haven’t I?”
“Uh? Wait, wait, what?!”
The Sword Saint panicked as she looked around.
The arena was completely wrecked by Hongryeon’s sword strike, and the Sword Saint’s feet were touching the ground.
Dumbfounded, the Sword Saint glared at Hongryeon and growled.
“Let’s do it again!”
“It’s the rules.”
“Grrr…!!”
Looking furious, the Sword Saint stomped her feet. But a loss is a loss. Eventually, she huffed and dashed towards me, wrapping her arms around me.
“Hee…”
“Well done. Isn’t that a fantastic result?”
From my perspective, that is.
From my perspective,
Even though Hongryeon was weaker than the Sword Saint, she could still use Meteor Shower.
Instead of getting caught up in the battle, she moved calmly and met the victory conditions.
And all of that was watched by the disciple of the deity who came from the Murim Alliance.
This proved that Hongseong Clan would evolve even further.
Although they had some minor injuries, both were safe, so from my standpoint, everything was just peachy.
“Then I acknowledge Hongryeon’s victory.”
“Wow! Senior Sister!”
“You were amazing!”
“You too, Master!”
The disciples of Hongseong Clan cheered for the Sword Saint and Hongryeon. Watching this, I shrugged my shoulders.
Yeah. Hongseong Clan really suits this vibe.
Since the competition was over, there was no need to stay in Hongseong Clan anymore. I took the disciples and healers from the Murim Alliance to the inn to rest, then I petted the moody Sword Saint who was clinging to me.
“…To lose to my disciple… snif. Please comfort me…”
As we entered the office, the Sword Saint, who had been silent for a while, whimpered softly. I prepared some tea and placed it in front of her, then sat her on my lap, where she clung like a cicada and refused to budge, gently patting her head.
“Hih…”
“Don’t be like that.”
“But…”
“You let her win.”
The Sword Saint, who was nuzzling my chest, shuddered slightly. After being stiff for a while, she slowly looked up with an embarrassed expression.
“…How did you know?”
“If you had used the Reversal Illusion Technique, you could have soared again without falling. Plus, you activated Meteor Shower, which was faster and more relaxed, but it was simultaneous with Hongryeon… did you have a plan to lose to her?”
After pausing for a moment and looking at me, a smile appeared on the Sword Saint’s lips.
“…I can’t hide anything from you, can I? Haha. That’s right. If I had used Reversal Illusion or Rising Dragon Blade there, I could have had several aerial battles with Hongryeon and blocked any opportunities given to her. I could have avoided her follow-up attacks too, but…”
“Hongryeon likely knows, right?”
“She likely does. It seems the others haven’t caught on, though…”
Only the four of us—me, the fully aware Sword Saint, the one who can use all the Hongseong Divine Art techniques, Hongryeon, and Chaejin, who has fought with both for a long time—know the truth.
“Does the truth even matter? I’m not really interested in fame or anything. Just because I lost to Ryen doesn’t mean I’ve weakened. I actually wanted to give Ryen a lot—a leadership position and the next Sword Saint’s role. So this kind of loss? I could take much more.”
The Sword Saint smiled contentedly, and I nodded at her. For her, Hongryeon is her first disciple and her most trusted student.
So she probably thinks it’s worth it to give that much away without feeling any regret.
“Anyway, if that’s the case, shouldn’t you stop throwing a tantrum?”
The Sword Saint looked at me strangely.
“That’s a different story.”
“…Ah. Yes.”
Man, she can be stiff like a sword in situations like this.