The World’s Greatest is Dead

‘… What…?’

My eyes widened at the old man’s words. What did this old man just say?

I wanted to ask, but with the Virtuous Moon Sword in front of me, I couldn’t open my mouth.

“What’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

I rolled my eyes to look at Yu Chun-gil, but Chun-gil merely met my gaze and gave me that peculiar, annoying smile.

『Hehe. Your expression is quite a sight. You look wonderfully shocked.』

Chun-gil didn’t seem to care that someone else was in trouble; I just laughed as he looked at me.

‘What is this…?’

I cursed with my eyes, but the old man’s smile only deepened.

『Why? Are you flustered because I said I wouldn’t help you?』

How could I not be flustered? This insane old man.

『Your eyes say you’re cursing me up and down on the inside.』

How could someone with such sharp intuition suddenly go mad? I couldn’t understand.

『Don’t look at me with such resentful eyes.』

‘Ridiculous.’

Then how should I look at this situation? Because of whom was I in this mess, and now they wouldn’t help me?

It was utterly absurd.

『It’s because we need to confirm something clearly.』

Confirm what? I stared with curiosity, and Yu Chun-gil added more words.

『Confirming that you can manage this alone. You need to see that, too.』

‘… What…?’

Do it alone without the old man’s help?

I thought it was nonsense. What could I do when the mind technique had only entered my body days ago?

I had no confidence.

But,

“In that case, I look forward to it.”

‘Wretched.’

The situation was already unfolding horribly. I was standing at the edge of a cliff.

That crazy old man had pushed me off.

* * *

What would one usually do to prove something?

Especially to prove one’s qualifications?

Probably, it would involve showing the value of one’s existence. Simply put, it could be seen as that.

The value one holds as an individual.

Whether one can keep their word or not.

It was an act to show that.

‘Honestly…’

So far, it was all right. If they asked me to show, I would show.

After all, I had the malevolent ghost, Sword Saint Yu Chun-gil.

Though the time he could possess me was but a fleeting moment.

Even that short time was enough.

As much as Chun-gil was a hateful and a wretched old man, I admitted this part.

‘The level is different.’

The life lived and the spirit possessed were different in value. I still wasn’t certain if he really was Sword Saint Yu Chun-gil.

But, regardless, I now knew Chun-gil was an incredible warrior.

However,

‘Do it alone…?’

Without Chun-gil’s help, what could I possibly accomplish?

With such questions swirling in my mind, I found myself standing in a training hall.

Holding a real sword, no less.

The heavy weight in my hand, and I felt the stares from all around.

I glanced sideways. Glaring eyes, not unlike will-o’-the-wisps, watched me.

The ones who interrogated me earlier, led by Virtuous Moon Sword, stood there.

Most of them had blue eyes and were glaring at me as if they weren’t going to miss a single move I made.

‘… This is going to give me indigestion.’

Just handling their gazes made my stomach churn.

I had to do my best not to show this discomfort.

The training ground was too wide for one person to stand alone.

Standing there with just a single sword, peculiar emotions swept over me.

‘What should I do?’

I didn’t know what I should be doing here.

Even now, as I stood there, I had no idea. So, I looked at the Virtuous Moon Sword.

“What do I need to show you?”

“Show us what you can do.”

Damn. What a kind response. Ultimately, if I interpreted it, it meant I had to find a way to satisfy them on my own.

‘Tsk.’

What could I do? Was there even such a thing?

‘It was only possible because that old man was there.’

Without him, what could I possibly do?

As I thought about this, doubts and irritation rose.

‘What the hell is this about?’

Why did they spend the entire night planning if this was going to happen?

If they didn’t help me, Yu Chun-gil would face problems too.

In fact, it made more sense to help me to achieve what he wanted.

‘What’s his intention?’

Why did he push me off a cliff?

I couldn’t understand it. I couldn’t comprehend it, nor could I respect it.

How could I respect it when my life was on the line?

In my heart, I wanted to tell him to come and end this situation immediately, but.

‘… Would that old man have put me up here without any thought?’

Despite my irritation, one thought kept coming to mind.

Knowing that damned old man’s personality, he wouldn’t have put me here without a plan.

‘What does he want me to do?’

Did he want to confirm something?

‘Confirmation that I could handle this on my own.’

He had said that he wouldn’t help me due to that.

‘So what should I do?’

What could I do if I could?

I didn’t know. I glanced around, sneaking a look.

‘… Why are their gazes so fierce?’

Their eyes looked like they were about to burst into flames.

I stifled a sigh and lifted my head.

‘What I can do.’

They must have told me because there was something I could do.

Thinking that, I focused my mind.

What could I do? With my eyes closed, I tried to recall.

At that moment.

‘The moon chooses no land to rise over.’

I remembered something the old man had shown me once.

An absurd act of creating a moon with a sword.

The scene from when he shattered Young Azure Sword.

That moment came to mind.

How did he do it that time? I slowly tightened my grip on the sword’s hilt, trying to recall those feelings.

And from this point, my mind began to cool down little by little.

* * *

『Tsk tsk.』

The old man quietly laughed while looking at the young man’s back.

『He keeps grumbling, but he’s quite something.』

He was a guy who had just been criticizing with his eyes, but suddenly the atmosphere had shifted.

Seeing this, the old man smiled with satisfaction.

『Indeed, an interesting lad.』

He truly was amusing.

Having lived for decades and met all sorts of people, that young man stood out as unique among them.

『To be able to focus even in such a situation.』

People who would glare as if they wouldn’t let you be if you even made the slightest mistake.

Situations where anxiety would rise to make lies seem like truth.

For an ordinary person, it wouldn’t have been strange to crumble by now.

But that young man, Bang Sung-Yun, did not have such weaknesses.

『Focuses solely on the situation given.』

No matter what situation arose, he maintained his composure.

Just like the saying goes, “Even in a tiger’s den, if you keep your wits, you will survive.”

Bang Sung-Yun epitomized that saying.

Look at him.

『He can’t see the surroundings anymore.』

Bang Sung-Yun, holding his sword, had his eyes closed.

His previous ragged breathing had calmed down.

His chaotic energy was also controlled.

『Indeed.』

In satisfaction, the old man smiled.

『The lad probably doesn’t know.』

He probably didn’t know the value he possessed.

And furthermore,

『I won’t tell him until he realizes it himself.』

The old man had no intention of revealing the worth Bang Sung-Yun possessed to him.

As he closed his eyes, energy began to fluctuate gradually.

Narrowing his eyes, he watched the faint blurs of the Blue Moon Mind Technique that began to appear.

It was a task the old man had assigned to Bang Sung-Yun.

He had told him to perfectly emulate the mind technique he had shown him before they reached the Blue Moon Sect.

However, there was a flaw in these words.

『This isn’t something that can be achieved in just a few days.』

At the very least, it required a year.

Even with talents well-suited to the Blue Moon Mind Technique, that was the case.

The old man himself had taken three months to achieve it.

『To grasp it in less than seven days…』

Bang Sung-Yun had comprehended it within days.

It was indeed incomprehensible.

Did he say he simply memorized and emulated what he experienced with his body?

『Ha.』

He easily said something that was unfathomable.

Did he even know how many reactions the body had during a single motion?

Not to mention, he had to be mindful of the movement of energy when demonstrating martial arts.

Was he claiming he just memorized and emulated that?

『He doesn’t seem to realize the absurdity of what he’s doing.』

At this point, the old man couldn’t understand.

Why would such a guy have lived as a mere third-rate class?

Even if he had received fortuitous encounters, without them, Bang Sung-Yun was not someone who would have been stuck as a third-rate.

Something felt off seeing this.

『Let’s see what you can show.』

For now, there was something more important to see.

The foxes are looking at him skeptically.

The old man was curious about what Bang Sung-Yun would show them.

The sound of a gentle swing filled the air.

Thus, Bang Sung-Yun began to move. With a crouched posture and power gathered in his thighs, he focused on the grip of his sword. Yu Chun-gil’s smile widened to the point of splitting.

‘This crazy guy’, he thought.

Bang Sung-Yun’s sword moved.

Uuuuuuuuung—!!!!

A vibration resonated from the tip of the slowly swinging sword. As his waist moved, the sword gradually cut through the air.

『Hahahahahaha—!!!』

Watching this, the old man laughed out loud.

In the sight of Bang Sung-Yun swinging his sword, Yu Chun-gil saw himself.

Bang Sung-Yun had embodied Yu Chun-gil in his movements, and at the end of his hand…

『He’s truly evoking the moon』, Yu Chun-gil thought.

The moon that Yu Chun-gil loved so dearly was rising.

The terrified man from a moment ago was nowhere to be seen.

Kikikikik—!!!

One Sword (一劍).

Just a single swing.

In terms of time, it was a moment, and in terms of movement, it was insignificant.

Yet.

“… Oh…”

“… What…”

Those who faced Bang Sung-Yun’s sword were left speechless.

They were also warriors of the Blue Moon Sect. There was no way they didn’t recognize what Bang Sung-Yun had just displayed.

Blue Moon Sword Dance (靑月劍舞), first Form (一式).

Moon Wave (月浪).

It was the first moon form that could only be displayed after opening the Moon Eye.

That beautiful sight had unfolded from Bang Sung-Yun’s hand.

Moreover,

“That just now…”

“It was… his…”

Even within the same Blue Moon Sword Dance, not all forms were the same.

The only one able to perform such a rough yet noble move was but one person.

No, he too had vanished, and they believed no one could perform it anymore.

Yet such a sword form had been displayed by a young man not even in his prime.

So surprising it was that even the Virtuous Moon Sword, who maintained a stern expression all along, was stunned.

At that moment.

Bang Sung-Yun, who had frozen after performing Moon Wave, reacted.

He opened his previously closed eyes.

Light shimmered in his blue eyes, and a faint blue aura emanated from his body, likely a result of the mind technique he had used. He appeared mysteriously enchanting.

As everyone focused their attention on him,

“Ah.”

Bang Sung-Yun muttered softly.

“Wow.”

Then, with a wry smile, he added,

“This…”

His voice hinted at disbelief.

“It’s easier than I thought?”

[Hahahahahahaha—!!!!]

Upon hearing this, Yu Chun-gil burst into hearty laughter.