Return of Mount Hua Sect

Woong!

A sword with great force had fallen on his head.

The Soul Breaking Killer frowned and took a step back. The sword, which had passed before his face, suddenly stopped midair as if it were a lie and then rushed toward his neck at lightning speed.

‘Kuak.’

The Soul Breaking Killer twisted his body and slashed at the flying sword with his hand. The sword bent with a thud, but the tip quickly found its place, and its direction didn’t change at all.

The sword passed by his shoulder, drawing a thin red line.

At that moment, the eyes of Soul Breaking Killer were filled with killing intent.

Woong!

With a sound like hundreds of bees flying at the same time, a deep, blood-red qi shot out from both his hands.

Soon, that qi rushed towards Hyun Sang like lightning.

Thung!

Hyun Sang then twisted the sword and slashed away the flying qi with his blade. But this was something even the Soul Breaking Killer had expected.

Paat!

Soul Breaking Killer unleashed a dozen or so punches in succession. The bloody red qi flew in as if it wanted to envelop Hyun Sang.

Hyun Sang’s eyes darkened for a moment. His sword, which had briefly stopped, simultaneously created a dozen or so afterimages and collided with the fist qi flying in.

Boom! Kwang! Kwang! Kwang!

A series of explosions erupted.

The strong force made Soul Breaking Killer take four to five steps back. He could endure it if he wanted to, but he didn’t feel the need to force himself.

“…”

What caught his eye was the figure of Hyun Sang, who hadn’t even stepped back a single step and stood firmly in place.

They must have felt the same force, but one side had stepped back while the other didn’t. Of course, this alone wouldn’t be enough to evaluate their skills, but it was clear who benefitted from this exchange.

The Soul Breaking Killer’s eyes went stiff.

Strong.

It felt as if he had pushed against a huge wall. The sensation he felt at his fingertips was as solid as a mountain.

‘Why has someone like this been hiding all this time?’

He had never heard of a skilled veteran warrior in Mount Hua. Any veteran warrior who recently joined Mount Hua would have had enough fame.

That wasn’t the only suspicious thing.

“You.”

Hyun Sang met his gaze with the man who sounded like scraping iron.

“… the sword technique you use seems to be different from that of your disciples.”

Hyun Sang felt a sense of awe upon hearing those words.

“It couldn’t be helped. I don’t have the youth those kids have.”

The sword of Mount Hua was splendid and sharp. When he saw the sword th,e kids, even Hyun Sang, felt shocked.

But…

When Hyun Sang was learning it, there was no such sword technique left in the sect. When the real sword of Mount Hua returned to Mount Hua, he was at an age where he couldn’t learn new techniques.

Those kids were like blank sheets of paper. That was why they could learn and accept everything. One can write anything on a white sheet of paper.

But Hyun Sang wasn’t like that. He had already learned a different sword technique than the kids for decades.

Wasn’t it impossible to write new letters on a sheet of paper that was already filled up? It was also nearly impossible to completely renew everything he had learned and fully accept new martial arts.

But…

‘What does it matter?’

Hyun Sang didn’t despair.

He didn’t necessarily have to be like these kids. It was alright, even if gorgeous plum blossoms didn’t bloom at his fingertips. He was no longer the one who bloomed. He was the one who should be the solid foundation for the kids who could bloom.

“A little late, a little dull. But a little stronger.”

“…”

The eyes of the Soul Breaking Killer sank in.

He knew from long experience that these people were more difficult to handle.

He didn’t have the luxury of time to deliberate on the outcome. The situation was becoming increasingly unfavorable, and if he delayed any longer, he wouldn’t have the chance to escape, even if he managed to win.

But.

Crack.

The sound of his knuckles cracking resonated around him.

That didn’t mean he was afraid. The fact that he possessed such skill yet failed to gain fame indicated that he had little experience in actual combat.

‘No matter how old he is, if he has no actual experience in combat, he is nothing more than a kid.’

He lowered his stance slightly. He knew better than anyone when these people panicked the most.

“You should say that after you survive, old man!”

Thud!

The tips of his feet pushed off the ground at once.

Soon, the Soul Breaking Killer, who was almost crawling on the ground, rushed toward Hyun Sang. Then, he touched the ground and changed direction.

As soon as he turned his body, he kicked off the ground again and shot forward. His eyes, moving violently like a snake, rushed diagonally and gleamed with a fierce light.

Of course, when he saw the swords of the young kids, it was clear they had undergone unimaginable hardships. But training was just training, after all. In a real battle where life and death are decided in an instant, a moment of confusion could easily lead to a fatal mistake.

‘And people become less adept at improvising as they age!’

With bizarre movements, his hands, which had closed the distance, turned an eerie crimson color and bent like the talons of an eagle. Then, they stretched out, aiming for Hyun Sang’s ankles.

Swish!

At that moment, Hyun Sang’s sword flew in like lightning, targeting the right hand of the Soul Breaking Killer, which was aiming for his ankle. He intended to pierce the hand and pin it to the ground.

But the hand of the Soul Breaking Killer twisted as if waiting for that moment, pushing the side of the sword away with his palm.

Kakakak!

The creepy sound of metal being scraped echoed as the sword’s surface and hand met.

The sword qi sharpened even the surface. The skin on the hand was cut, and blood splashed out. But in return, he succeeded in making the sword, which had been thrust downwards, land on the ground instead of his hand.

At that moment, the man’s eyes had an eerie light in them. He instantly flipped his body up and swung his hands like lightning.

Kwakwakwak!

A red form erupted from below. It was as if blood was bursting out of the ground.

But the oddness itself was more dangerous than the eeriness of the sight. Even if they had been through a fair amount of battles, would they ever experience a force rushing in like a storm from beneath their feet?

With that one move, the Soul Breaking Killer clearly proved who he was.

Kwang!

As expected, Hyun Sang couldn’t find a way to deal with the attack, which seemed to rise from below, so he kicked the ground and drew his sword to jump into the air.

At the same time, the sword hurriedly struck the qi that was fiercely pursuing him.

But that was exactly what the man wanted.

Kwang!

The Soul Breaking Killer slammed his hand hard on the ground. In reaction, he chased Hyun Sang, who had shot up in the air like an arrow. He could see the venom in his eyes, indicating he wouldn’t give up the win he had once seized.

The one running and the one chasing.

At that moment, Hyun Sang kicked the air once, slightly increasing the distance between him and the Soul Breaking Killer, and then raised his sword.

Woong!

In the end, Hyun Sang’s sword, which contained the strength of sword qi, drew a clean arc from top to bottom.

With just the qi from the sword slash, the human body made of flesh and bones seemed like it would be torn in two in an instant. But the moment he saw that dangerous sword, pleasure filled the eyes of the Soul Breaking Killer.

‘Caught you!’

Woong!

As he pushed with all his strength, his hand turned red, almost black.

“Ahhh!”

The Soul Breaking Killer let out a loud roar and ran toward the flying blade. He crossed his hands and grabbed the sword.

Kakakang! Kakakang! Kaakang!

The sharp blade scraping against the rust-colored hand resonated eerily. Hyun Sang’s sword, caught in that bloody hand, swung like a live fish caught by a fisherman, literally cutting into the hand.

But even as the palm was being cut open, the eyes of the Soul Breaking Killer held onto Hyun Sang’s sword and didn’t let go.

‘A swordsman is nothing without a sword!’

When a swordsman could not firmly plant his foot on the ground as he usually did, the sword slash was bound to lose strength. It might be sharp, but it would be difficult to have strength. If that was the case, he could sufficiently subdue it with his own hands.

He had faced such people many times. The sight of their faces turning pale as he demonstrated his techniques never got old for him.

Crack.

And so he looked at Hyun Sang, who had driven the blade into the hand bone firmly and fixed it perfectly. At that moment, there was no way to check what kind of expression was being made.

But… it didn’t go as he expected.

What he saw wasn’t Hyun Sang’s face but something bluntly approaching his face.

Before he could even confirm its identity, his eyes widened. At the same time, he realized it was Hyun Sang’s elbow. The tremendous impact hit his face instantly and knocked him unconscious.

Kwaang!

Blackout.

The world turned black for a moment, then regained light. All the Soul Breaking Killer saw was a pure blue sky.

“Kuak…”

Soon, unimaginable pain struck his face as if crushing it.

‘This…’

Before his thoughts could be organized, his instincts kicked in. The moment he twisted his body to avoid the following attack, his hand was pulled as if tied by something.

‘What?’

The moment the body, which had been bent as if it might collapse at any second, was forcibly pulled back, the very elbow he had seen just moments ago came into view.

Kwaang!

The Soul Breaking Killer’s body flew back like a cannonball. He bounced off the ground, leaving a large mark, and fell back down, spraying blood everywhere.

“Cough! Cough!”

Before he could even groan in pain, clumps of blood that had been crawling up his throat were continuously pushed out of his mouth. With just two attacks, his insides were completely turned inside out.

“Kuak…”

The body, which had tried to lift itself by pushing against the floor with his hands, fell down again. In his blurred vision, he saw the cross-section of his hand, neatly severed.

“Cough! Cough!”

However, what tormented the man wasn’t the pain from his completely sunken face, nor the shock of losing the hand that had always protected him.

It was the sheer incomprehensibility of the situation itself.

‘Like this…’

He understood it intellectually.

The moment he had the sword stuck in his hand and fixed it, the man had pulled the sword, dragging him in, and simultaneously smashed his face with the elbow of the left arm that wasn’t holding the sword.

Since the sword was fixed and stuck into the bone, there was no way for the man to escape.

Right. He understood what happened. But how did it happen?

How could that old man respond so perfectly in an instant? Normally, when someone used a sword, their mind would go blank, and they wouldn’t know what to do when the sword was overpowered by their opponent…

Thud!

At that moment, Hyun Sang, who had come down in front of him, stared at the Soul Breaking Killer with serious eyes.

“Not a bad move, but you overlooked one thing.”

“….”

The man looked at Hyun Sang, trying to lift his head, which was engulfed in pain. His eyes were filled with questions.

Overlooked?

Hyun Sang opened his mouth calmly as if he was ready to answer at any moment.

“From my perspective, your attack was neither strange nor irregular. Rather, it was horrifyingly obvious. Unfortunately, there are those in Mount Hua who don’t mind biting the sword with their teeth.”

“….”

“It would have been a good match if you hadn’t rushed so quickly.”

Hyun Sang shook his head slightly and raised his sword.

“Your defeat was because you underestimated your opponent. In battle, the one who lets his guard down is the first to die. Just like that guy says.”

The face of the Soul Breaking Killer contorted. No, it was already so distorted that it couldn’t be more distorted; it was grotesquely contorted.

‘Obvious?’

His shoulder was drenched in blood.

‘Am I the one not used to fighting?’

A groan escaped his mouth.

“Ugh…”

The pain from Hyun Sang’s words was greater than the pain he felt in his body. Eventually, the groan turned into a howl.

“T… this fucking dog! UHHHHHHH!”

Slash!

At that moment, Hyun Sang’s sword cut off the neck of the Soul Breaking Killer in one swift motion.

Tak.

The head, with its contorted expression, fell to the ground and rolled.

“But it will be a fitting end for you. Go to hell and apologize for all the sins you have committed.”

Hyun Sang, having shaken off his sword, glanced at the headless, collapsed body of the Soul Breaking Killer and turned around without regret.