Chronicles of the Sword That Shook the Heavens

Chapter 1. Prologue

Around the hour of the dog. Seosan Mountain, Yunnan Province.

In the darkness that had begun to settle, a figure emerged, parting the bushes.

The facial features, illuminated by the dim sunset, were handsome, yet the look of youthfulness had not yet faded.

“Hah, huuk, hah….”

A boy who had not even reached the age of twenty.

But his appearance was a mess.

As if he had wandered the mountains for a long time, ragged breaths continually escaped from between his parted lips.

His navy martial arts uniform had become rags, revealing scratches and gashes in every corner.

Above all, the boy’s abdomen was stained crimson with a long sword wound.

He was trying to block it with his hand, but the bleeding wouldn’t stop, dripping down. At a glance, it was no ordinary, severe injury.

However, despite his pale complexion, the boy did not stop his hurried steps.

Swish, rustle!

With the sword held in his right hand, he cut and slashed through the obstructing things, quickening his pace.

“This way! I found a trace!”

Just then, a shouting voice was heard from not far behind him.

Grit, the boy clenched his teeth. The pursuers had already closed in to a short distance.

It was just as the boy tried to hasten his steps again.

Shwoook, thak!

An arrow flew from somewhere.

The boy quickly ducked to avoid it. But at that moment, his body swayed.

He had lost his balance for a moment due to excessive bleeding.

“Got you!”

Before he could even collect himself, a sword was thrust toward the boy. The boy quickly swung his sword as well.

Clang!

Sword and sword intertwined.

The pursuer’s sword was full of vigor. Since its purpose was to take the boy’s life, there was no hesitation.

In front of it, the boy’s exhausted sword tip seemed as if it would break at any moment.

But the boy did not get pushed back.

His whole body felt like it would shatter and his qi and blood were boiling, but even so, the boy did not lose sight of his opponent’s sword.

The path of the sword was clearly visible.

And for a good reason, as the swordsmanship of the pursuer and the boy shared the same roots.

About five exchanges came and went.

And.

Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword Style.

First Form of Sword Drawing.

Straight Sword.

Puk!

“Keuk!”

It was right after the careless pursuer’s sword had been swung wide horizontally. The boy’s sword shot out like a flash of light.

A single, simple straight line.

With a sound like a drum being torn, a penetrating wound the size of a child’s fist was carved into the pursuer’s abdomen.

Thud!

The pursuer lost his strength and collapsed.

Should I strike his neck?

The boy hesitated for a moment.

But just then, another arrow flew in. The boy, who barely managed to avoid it, turned away without any lingering attachment.

“You fucking idiot! You can’t even handle a single dying bastard!”

A torrent of curses was heard from behind him. That voice belonged to someone the boy knew very well.

How did it come to this?

The boy thought, forcefully squeezing his bursting qi and blood.

Just a few hours ago, he couldn’t have imagined he would face such a situation.

Let alone death.

Shushuk!

Again, an arrow flew in.

The boy threw his body forward.

Thud, his body, sprawled on the mud, rolled on the ground. A distant pain. Blood surged up his throat, gurgle by gurgle.

The wound was deeper than he thought.

He might never recover.

Even so, he could not die like this.

The boy stood up. And he ran.

How long had he run through the mountain terrain? Over there, between the trees, an intense light seeped in.

The sun sets quickly in the mountains.

Seeing light meant he was finally getting out of the forest. Having come down this far, perhaps.

“……”

The boy was at a loss for words.

What spread before his eyes was a cliff.

The end of a narrow and long stretch of land, like the tip of a spear. Beyond it, there was only a vast, empty space.

“Big Brother.”

Then, a familiar voice was heard from behind him.

The boy turned around.

And he faced the pursuers who were revealing themselves one by one from between the bushes.

“What’s with that face? I thought you’d show a more interesting expression when faced with your time to die.”

“……”

A calm and composed smile.

In the middle of the pursuers stood another boy. He was someone the boy had always considered his ‘younger brother’.

Step.

The boy took a step back and stood at the very edge of the cliff. There was nowhere to retreat. Thus, he aimed his sword.

“Haha, don’t tell me you still haven’t given up? A great man should know when to go, you know.”

Hoo, the boy took a breath.

One by one, he scanned the faces of the pursuers. They were all faces he had shared meals with.

And the boy’s gaze turned back to the younger brother in the center.

“Why on earth? Hyeop-ah.”

The boy asked.

Why did his one and only younger brother have to launch a surprise attack on him? What made the child like this?

“Why, you ask?”

Ha, the younger brother snorted.

“Big Brother, are you really asking because you don’t know? You’re hopelessly dense until the very end. Then again, if Big Brother had just known his place, things wouldn’t have turned out like this.”

“……”

“That sword.”

The tip of the younger brother’s finger extended.

It pointed to the sword held in the boy’s hand.

“How dare you, the son of a lowly servant, hold that sword? Is that even acceptable?”

Azure Sky Flying Sword.

It was an item passed down from the head of the Seonwoo Clan to the young master.

One year ago, the sword was passed from the boy’s father into the boy’s hands.

“Hah, that’s enough. I’ve waited for this moment for quite a long time, but it’s less fun than I thought.”

“…Hyeop-ah.”

“Ah, right. Big Brother, let’s do this.”

As if a good idea just came to him, the younger brother clapped his hands.

“Bring that sword over here. You, Big Brother, will offer it to this younger brother yourself. And then leave this place crawling on all fours.”

“……”

“Then I’ll spare your life. Well, I’ll cut your qi center and tendons, of course. I’ll let you live while recuperating, hiding somewhere in the countryside.”

The boy looked at his younger brother.

He now finally faced the twisted gaze, which he had never seen before, settled in the middle of that youthful face.

Even if I give him the sword, will he let me live?

There was no way. In his younger brother’s eyes, the boy finally sensed his end.

If there was a reason for death, it must be that he did not know the true heart of the one closest to him. No, perhaps it was because he did not try to know.

Suddenly, the weight of his life felt so ridiculous that his escape seemed pointless.

Pfft, the boy laughed.

“Alright, I’ll give it to you.”

Thwack!

The boy plunged the sword into the ground at his feet.

“Instead, you come over here and take it yourself. Shouldn’t you have at least that much guts?”

“…What?”

“Now, hurry. What are you doing, not taking it, Seonwoo Hyeop?”

The sword stuck upside down in the ground.

The younger brother’s gaze turned to its tip.

And then it slowly moved back to the boy. Gaze met gaze. The younger brother’s expression began to distort little by little.

Grind!

The younger brother ground his teeth. But soon his face turned into a smile. Hahaha, the half-brothers laughed facing each other.

“Then please die, Big Brother.”

“……”

And the younger brother averted his gaze. As if there was nothing more to say, he turned towards the surrounding warriors.

“Kill him.”

Arrows were aimed again.

Watching the tautly drawn bowstrings, the boy thought. He had no strength, no sword, and no will left.

But still, he had no intention of dying meekly. Even if it meant taking his own life.

Step.

The moment he made his decision, the boy took a step back. But there was no ground for that foot to land on from the beginning.

Twang! Shushushuk

The arrows flew in. At the same time, the boy’s body slowly tilted backward.

Puk!

One arrow dug into his abdomen.

But it was not a fatal wound. Therefore, the boy was not murdered. He would simply disappear.

“Fare… well, Hyeop-ah.”

* * *

Seonwoo Byeok. Fifteen years old.

Born as the first son of Seonwoo Gak, the 2nd head of the Seonwoo Clan, a martial family that had settled in Kunming, Yunnan Province.

His mother, a servant, died shortly after giving birth to Seonwoo Byeok.

Despite being the eldest son, his humble birth meant he was not properly treated within the clan.

However, during his growth, Seonwoo Byeok slowly began to reveal his extraordinary talent.

As children of martial families often do, he had picked up a sword around the age of seven, and by the mere age of ten, he was able to flawlessly perform the clan’s family martial art, the Azure River Sword Style.

The prodigy of the Seonwoo Clan.

Soon, Seonwoo Byeok’s talent caught the eye of his father, the Clan Head Seonwoo Gak, and he was acknowledged as a direct descendant.

And eventually, he was taught the clan’s secret martial art, the Azure River Flowing Leaf Art.

At fourteen, his talent absorbed the clan like tree roots, and Seonwoo Byeok completed the basic form of the Azure River Flowing Leaf Sword, letting it sprout.

The future of the Seonwoo Clan.

In the future, he would stand tall as the ruler of Yunnan, and further, he would receive the full expectation as the pillar who would lead the clan to the center of the Central Plains Murim.

Seonwoo Byeok received the position of the young master.

But the story ended there.

Seonwoo Byeok, who had gone out hunting with his only younger brother and the clan’s martial artists, was ambushed by those he trusted, and though he fled, he failed.

He stepped off a cliff and lost his life. It certainly should have been so.

But Seonwoo Byeok opened his eyes.

What came into his sight was a darkness where the shape of the space could not be discerned. And a musty smell.

Is this death?

“How futile.”

“Ha, a brat who still has milk on his lips talks like he’s lived through the whole world.”

A strange voice answered his soliloquy.

For a moment, Seonwoo Byeok tried to raise his body. But he couldn’t move a single finger.

“You’d better not try to move by force. I’ve anesthetized you for now, but when that wears off, it’ll be hell.”

“Who, who?”

“Well, not a grim reaper.”

“……”

“Regrettably, you and I are both still planting our feet on this dirty mortal world. Originally, in this Jianghu Murim, there are a few laws.”

“What does that mean….”

“First, a guy who falls from a place like a cliff will definitely survive. Second, he meets a miraculous encounter and achieves revenge.”

What on earth is he talking about?

In his bewilderment, Seonwoo Byeok tried to understand the situation.

If he wasn't dead, did that mean this man with the strange voice was his savior?

“Well, that kind of thing is actually all bullshit.”

Whatever Seonwoo Byeok thought, the unidentified man continued to speak.

“If you fall from that high up, whether you're a martial artist or whatever, it's normal not to even find bone powder. It's just that plausible stories are embellished to sound good and get passed around.”

“……”

“But despite that, you were incredibly lucky. You met me, your life is still attached, and your qi center is shattered.”

My qi center?

For a moment, Seonwoo Byeok checked the qi and blood inside his body. And… just as the man said, he confirmed that not a single handful of inner arts could be felt.

It was not just depleted.

The vessel was broken. Completely.

For a moment, Seonwoo Byeok was engulfed in a sense of futility. It was something he had built up his entire life, yet was losing it this easy?

But soon it became ridiculous. He had thought of death and jumped off a cliff, so what was such a big deal?

“…I see. I should be grateful that I at least survived. Savior, what kind of….”

“No, you seem to be misunderstanding something, kid. The fact that your qi center is shattered is actually a stroke of luck for you. At this point, even I'm starting to think it might be fate.”

“…Pardon?”

But the man’s story once again moved past Seonwoo Byeok and forged ahead.

“You asked who I am?”

Though he still couldn’t see anything, Seonwoo Byeok suddenly felt laughter mix into the man’s voice.

“I am your miraculous encounter.”