Chapter 26

Yesterday.
After returning from the tests and training of the Qin Clan’s martial arts, I ate a meal and the day was over.
After a hearty breakfast, he briefly summarized his thoughts on the actual battle and fell asleep a few hours later.
Dawn broke, and the gun checks came to life.
“Hoo!”
I warmed up with some simple exercises and breathed in the harmonizing energy.
The energy in his white gray blood coursed through his body, revitalizing him.
“Woohoo!”
He exhaled, and then opened the door and stepped outside.
As I descended the stairs, I saw the same scene as yesterday.
I sighed a little as I watched them sip their tea, and then sat down across from Yeonhwa.
Yeon-hwa sipped her tea with grace.
I also naturally lifted my teacup and drank tea.
The same tea as yesterday, a supply stop.
When I had almost finished my tea, the food came out.
Nothing different from yesterday.
The only thing different was that porridge was served with it?
Everyone ate the food without a word, probably because of yesterday’s incident.
Once outside, the disciples of the Sect of the South also appeared soon after.
Elder Wen Hu and Elder Ling Feng stepped forward and greeted each other.
They then discussed something, and after a while, they dragged the Sect’s disciples with them and headed off somewhere.
Soon after, they arrived at a large hall.
Once inside, the interior was even more spacious than they had expected from the outside.
Twenty-four disciples.
It was wide enough for all of them to spread out their martial arts and not bump into each other.
“Stand as you did yesterday.”
As they stood still, someone walked over.
It was Top Hiyun and Hyunpa.
“Good to see you.”
“Nice to meet you…….”
Yeonhwa smiled warmly and turned her attention to Elder Moonhu.
As they stood in an orderly quadrilateral formation, Elder Lingfeng nodded and spoke.
“Yesterday’s lesson. There were some who escaped too easily.”
Elder Lingfeng looked at Man Qingfeng and Yu Hyuk’s group.
“I honestly didn’t expect you to be so good. Perhaps I’ve underestimated you, which is why I’m going to test your skills today.”
He glanced around the room as if to say, “Does anyone else get it?
When no one raised their hand, Elder Lingfeng nodded.
“One by one, come forward.”
First group.
The Sect Master’s disciple was the first to step forward.
“State your name, position, and age.”
“My name is Wu Jiexiu, I am seventeen years old, and I am a thirty-sixth swordsman.”
“What are you confident of?”
“The Sea Wall Sword of Zhongnan.”
“Let us begin.”
Oh Jae-hyuk takes the flag ceremony.
He drew his sword and held it at an angle.
His left foot was half a step behind him, and his left hand was clenched as if to block something.
“Hot!”
With a flourish, Oh unleashed the Sea Wall Sword.
The sword lived up to its name with a tremendous sense of weight.
A shield like the sea.
It was like a thick shroud, as if no attack could penetrate in front of that sea wall.
But the wielder’s skill is not up to the task.
He forges a thick shield, but it is only thick, not solid.
He pressed heavily, but there were gaps.
“Enough.”
Oh lowered his sword with a disappointed look on his face.
“I see, enter.”
He slid the sword back into its scabbard and returned to his seat.
The sword gong is like a thick shield, pursuing the pinnacle of heavy swords.
His martial arts excelled, but he was no match for a human.
I shook my head in disappointment and watched the next man come forward.
This time, it was Hua Shanfa.
“Speak.”
“My name is Qi Tianping. He is eighteen years old and a swordsman.”
Excess, like softening.
As a disciple of Bo Ping, he became a swordsman through hard work and without anyone noticing.
However, since he is not a direct apprentice, his allotment is lower than mine.
No, not distribution, but his position in the main mountain.
“What are you confident in?”
“The Six Combined Sword Technique of the Volcano.”
“Let us begin.”
The flag ceremony begins.
Qi Tianping raised his sword in the air.
‘A stance that can move in any direction…….’
It was the right stance.
“Ha!”
The Yukhap Sword Technique.
A poisonous sword technique of the Huashan Sect, it was a sword technique that utilized the power of the flesh to completely block all possible directions of movement.
Fast or slow, heavy or light.
It is westward, but it is also eastward, and it is southward, but it is also northward.
Qi Tianping’s sword had created a web of swords so dense that nothing could escape it.
“Enough!”
He sheathed his sword and retreated.
Next to step forward was…….
“Majin Tian…….”
Zongnan’s half-dragon.
He walks out with a smile on his face, and I can tell he’s hiding in the grass.
A tiger who hides himself from everyone, waiting for the right time to strike.
He hid himself so that even the elders would not recognize him.
A man whose level of martial prowess was beyond my comprehension.
“His name is Ma Jin Tian. I am nineteen years old, and I am an Eighteen Swordsman.”
“What are you confident of?”
“The Heavenly Thirty-Six Swords of Zhongnan.”
“Let us begin.”
The Thirty-Six Swords of Heaven.
Zhongnan’s secret sword technique, the most well-known sword technique in the world.
Ma Jintian drew his sword and began to unleash his initial attack.
Ol’ Ol’ unleashed his first move.
The sword moved with a swiftness that seemed to stare down the heavens.
A sword so strong and gentle that nothing can compare.
It was a swordplay that harmonized strength and tenderness, a swordplay with power worthy of its name.
It’s a shame, though, that he’s hiding it.
“Enough!”
Elder Yingfeng hung up his sword and returned to his seat.
I want to see more, it’s a pity, but I can’t help it.
Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, he focused his gaze on the next person to come forward.
“Her name is Huang Gong. He is seventeen years old and is an Eighteen Swordsman.”
“What are you confident in?”
“The spectral sword.”
“Let us begin.”
Spectral Sword.
A sword technique known as the poisoned sword technique of Sect Elder Light Sword Dao Yan.
A sword so fast it can cut through light.
True to its reputation, Fang Gong demonstrated a sword of extreme speed.
With a single swing, he scattered three strands of light, and by the time he recovered, the sword was already outstretched.
One second with the transformed plum blade was also a sword of extreme pleasure.
There was much to learn from the spectral sword.
Abandon the line, attack the dot.
Not a circle, a straight line.
The sword swung at a tremendous speed, and in an instant, the area around Feng Gong was covered in sword light.
“Stop!”
Elder Ning Feng’s words caused Fang Gong to sheathe his sword.
It was a tremendous move worthy of an eighteen sword master.
The eyes of the other disciples were also dazzled, as if everyone was impressed.
But that was short-lived, as the next disciple stepped forward, and they turned their attention to him.
“His name is Makhu (Curtain?). He’s seventeen years old and a land rights master.”
This time, it was Makhu, the landlord.
A fellow landless disciple.
He’s one of the few land rights holders in the Volcano Sect, and is said to be the best of them all.
“What are you confident in?”
“Bokohokwon (Tiger Subduing Fist).”
Bokken.
The Hua Shan Sect’s sole kung fu method, the most well-known in the world.
And like Zhongnan’s Thousand and Thirty Six Swords, it is as powerful as it is well-known.
Pow!
The prone tiger moves.
Mak Hu throws out his fist with great speed.
The saying that the faster you are, the less powerful you are doesn’t apply to fencing.
It’s fast, but within that fast punch is the power of a thousand muscles.
A punch that resembled a tiger.
It attacks with terrifying momentum.
It strikes at the bottom, and then leaps forward in an instant to strike at the head.
The power of the punch increased as it progressed.
The speed also increased.
“Stop!”
Just as he was about to reach the climax, Elder Ning Feng’s words made Mak Hu correct his posture and take a deep breath.
When he calmed down, he returned to his seat.
The next person to speak was Man Qingfeng.
“My name is Man Qingfeng. I’m seventeen years old, and I’m a swordsman.”
“What are you confident in?”
“The Plum Blossom Thirty-Six Divine Sword Form.”
“Begin.”
Shi Xing took up the flag ceremony.
The Plum Blossom Thirty-Six Divine Sword Form, a variation of the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique that was recognized by the volcano.
Just as I had transformed Jiang Tianxu, Elder Wu Qingfeng, the Plum Blossom Maniac, had also delved into the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Method and created a new sword method.
It was called the Plum Blossom Thirty-Six Body Sword Form.
Whereas the original Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique was fast and sharp, the Plum Blossom Thirty-Six Divine Sword Technique seeks to harmonize strength and yu.
“Hmph.”
Man Qingfeng exhaled deeply and moved his sword.
Starting from the first second of the traditional Twenty-Four Plum Blossoms Sword Technique, the sword path gradually changes.
The sword moved gently, thrusting out forcefully, changing directions in an instant, and becoming bizarre.
Beautiful plum blossoms bloomed, releasing fragrance.
He was immersed in the plum blossoms.
The Plum Blossom Thirty-Six Body Sword Form was very similar to my Plum Blossom Sword Furnace.
I’m learning new things I didn’t know before, like how to conduct Qin Qi, where to place my feet and how to center myself.
“Enough!”
I put the sword away and return to my seat.
The Plum Blossom Thirty-Six Sword Form and my Plum Blossom Sword.
They fuse together in my mind.
I close my eyes and meditate.
A new sword path is born, and the unchanged sword path is built upon.
When I opened my eyes after organizing my thoughts, it was the turn of the group in front of me, Yoo Hyuk.
“His name is Yoo Hyuk. I’m seventeen years old, and I’m a master swordsman.”
“What are you good at?”
“The Falling Flower Sword Method.”
“Begin.”
The sword is extended toward the ground.
A perfect natural object.
It exudes a powerful momentum, as if it has transformed into a giant mountain.
The sword is raised.