Chapter 44

The Small Moon Commander disliked Bang Sungyeon.

From the moment he appeared, claiming to be the Sword Saint’s heir, to the audacity of declaring he wanted to be the next Young Sect Master—it all grated on him.

Most of all, he simply found the man distasteful.

‘Men who live by their tongues rather than their swords.’

He especially loathed such types. If one were truly a martial man, then to rely on words above steel was all the more intolerable.

Bang Sungyeon embodied precisely what he detested.

A martial man who lived by his mouth, not his sword.

The Sect Master seemed to have some fondness for him, but the Commander felt the opposite.

‘A hindrance.’

That’s what he was. Even the claim of being the Sword Saint’s heir—he couldn’t accept it.

No matter how convincing the evidence, the Commander could not believe.

‘That man would never leave behind such a thing.’

His proof had always been his blade.

Faith was proven only through strength.

Sword Saint Yoo Cheongil was the archetype of a warrior whose existence was validated by the sword. The Commander revered him even more than the current Sect Master, Cheon Seonghwa.

And now his so-called heir appeared—a man utterly opposite.

‘I will not acknowledge him.’

The Commander could not, would not.

All the more so because—

‘The Young Sect Master’s mantle fits Lady Cheon better.’

Her talent, her strength, even her cunning—all far surpassed Bang Sungyeon’s.

Her position as well.

Within the Blue Moon Sect, Cheon Hyein was already treated as the half-official successor.

For Bang Sungyeon to suddenly appear and stake a claim as the Sword Saint’s heir, to contest that seat?

Impossible. Unless—

‘Unless he truly wields the power worthy of that name.’

Before that kind of power, all schemes and numbers of men meant nothing.

The moon he raised crushed all beneath it like insects.

Such was the Sword Saint’s blade.

If Bang Sungyeon possessed that kind of strength, ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) perhaps he could overturn the board.

But—

‘Not a chance.’

The Commander, a master, could see clearly.

Bang Sungyeon was, at best, second-rate.

Even if he had the Eye of the Moon, it was not enough.

True, the Moon Wave he had unveiled was remarkable—

The Commander admitted as much. It had been beautiful, and undeniably reminiscent of the Sword Saint’s own technique.

But that was all.

‘At most, an imitation.’

A child mimicking footsteps does not mean he can run—or fly.

So the Commander thought.

Until—

“Head. Block it.”

He saw Bang Sungyeon’s blade cut toward Seom Seonggyeong—

And his eyes widened.

Clang!

With a clear ring, Seom Seonggyeong dropped to his knees.

****

It was night.

A night pouring down from the heavens, so dark that not a step ahead could be seen.

Thud—

“Ah...”

Seom Seonggyeong exhaled. Shaking, he steadied his vision and lifted his head.

‘Just now...’

What had just happened? His memory was blurred.

What was he even doing?

“...!”

Awareness snapped back.

‘The duel.’

He was in a duel. He scanned the situation immediately.

“...Huh?”

His voice came out dazed. No wonder.

“What the...”

He was on one knee. His sword lay discarded on the ground.

What had happened? His eyes trembled, unable to comprehend.

Throb—!

“Ghk!”

Pain shot through his right wrist. A dull, biting ache.

What was this?

“Get a hold of yourself.”

“...!”

He looked up at the voice.

“I even warned you beforehand. How can you be so slow-witted?”

Bang Sungyeon stood before him, gaze flat and unfeeling. The sight made Seom Seonggyeong swallow hard.

‘Those eyes...’

The eyes of a youth barely past twenty. Yet they were void of emotion.

‘...No.’

On second thought, not void.

‘Too full of one thing.’

Disappointment.

His gaze was saturated with it.

“How much of my time must I waste on you? Or is this all you had?”

Thunk. Bang Sungyeon kicked the sword back toward him. Clatter—! It landed at his feet.

“I don’t have time. Pick it up, or end it here.”

“....”

Seom Seonggyeong’s eyes flicked aside—to Cheon Hyein.

Like the rest, she was staring at Bang Sungyeon in shock.

She wasn’t even looking at him.

“Ghh...”

Seom Seonggyeong clenched his teeth and seized the blade.

He rose. But Bang Sungyeon’s eyes remained heavy.

“Hmph.”

Seeing him, Bang Sungyeon spoke quietly.

“Hardly worth calling grit. Is your sword only good when you have someone to impress? No wonder it felt so light.”

Crk—!

His teeth ground.

“...What do you know—”

“Don’t speak.”

The command shut his mouth before he knew it. His eyes widened.

He hadn’t even meant to obey.

“Anything you say is just excuse. The longer you talk, the filthier it gets. Decide—will you raise your sword, or not?”

“....”

Scowling, Seom Seonggyeong lifted his blade. His arm still trembled.

Bang Sungyeon’s voice was calm.

“Come.”

And Seom Seonggyeong stepped forward—without knowing why he obeyed.

It didn’t matter. What mattered was—

‘Damn it.’

Cheon Hyein’s blue eyes had finally turned his way.

Shhhkk—!!

His sword cleaved the air.

Flustered though he was, he was still a warrior of the Small Moon Unit, still a trained swordsman.

His blade straightened quickly.

Swish—! Swish swish—!

The most fundamental forms, honed over a decade. Sharp and precise.

Even infused with the Blue Moon Sect’s distinctive azure qi.

“Hrrmph!”

He carved lines through the air, his blade-work a testament to his skill.

To the eye, it was immaculate.

“Not landing...”

“How is it that perfect—?”

“Not even brushing his robes...”

Yet all eyes were on Bang Sungyeon.

For Seom Seonggyeong’s sword, no matter how flawless, never touched him.

And a sword that fails to touch is meaningless.

‘Damn it—!’

Seom Seonggyeong cursed and struck harder.

But every time, Bang Sungyeon slipped aside with the tiniest motion.

“Your sword is eaten by emotion. That’s why your stance is stiff below.”

The voice brushed his ear.

“You swing with your right arm—why put strength in your left shoulder? Does that make it better?”

“Your knee buckles, so the blade won’t stay straight. That strength should’ve gone there.”

Critique after critique, each cutting to the bone.

It drove him mad.

‘Shut up.’

He wished the man’s damned mouth would close.

Worse still—

‘Why am I listening?’

He kept adjusting his form as if the words compelled him.

And the worst of it—

‘...He’s right.’

Every correction struck at flaws he hadn’t even realized.

This wasn’t a test anymore.

‘It’s become a lesson.’

Not a match where he was teaching Bang Sungyeon—

But one where Bang Sungyeon was teaching him.

Squeeeeze—!

His pride screamed. He hadn’t stepped forward only to be humiliated like this.

If he went back like this, who knew what his junior sister would do? She might expose the secret she held over him.

‘Unacceptable.’

He could not allow it.

‘...No matter what.’

He had to seize victory.

So he drew deep on his strength, hunching low as he swung.

Bang Sungyeon’s eyes twitched faintly.

The blade came down. Azure sword-qi filled the air, streaking for his shoulder.

Just as Bang Sungyeon moved to counter—

‘Now.’

Seom Seonggyeong twisted the strike.

A feint. To lure him open.

He thought it worked.

“Click.”

A tongue cluck, faint, too faint to notice with his focus locked on the tip.

Fwoooosh—!!

Qi swelled, pouring into the strike. His waist twisted, his power surged.

Everyone watching knew what he was about to unleash.

“Hahh—!”

“Senior... no way.”

“In a duel...?”

Gasps rippled.

Sword-qi crashed like a wave.

His eyes burned as he struck with all his might.

‘This will land.’

It had to.

Blue Moon Sword Art.

First Form: Moon Wave.

A crescent moon rose from his blade—

“You fool.”

Clang—!

“...What?”

It shattered.

The forming crescent exploded in fragments, scattering to nothing.

Seom Seonggyeong blinked dumbly at his sword.

His form was broken. His blade flung wide, his chest bared.

Then—

“Pathetic.”

The voice rang with fury.

Bang Sungyeon frowned, and moved.

His sword swept down—

Huuuu—!!

Qi suffused the edge.

Seom Seonggyeong thought,

‘It’s dark...’

As though the world had turned black.

Night.

That was it.

So the vision before he collapsed earlier—this was it.

His sword came closer.

A straight, unrelenting cut.

Blue Moon Sword Art.

Second Form.

Night Moon.

Night fell.

The qi wasn’t black.

It was the same azure energy.

But—

‘So pure... so bright.’

Far more radiant, far more beautiful.

‘...Ah.’

It wasn’t that the world turned black.

It was that his eyes were seized by that blade—so brilliant it eclipsed all else.

And so all that remained in sight was—

‘The moon.’

The blade descended like a rising moon.

It touched his throat.

Thunk.

The strike stopped there.

A thin line of blood welled.

And no more.

“....”

Seom Seonggyeong’s knees buckled.

Thud—! He collapsed to the ground.

“Haah... haah... haah...”

Breath ragged, drenched in sweat.

“Without night, how can the moon rise?”

Bang Sungyeon’s words made him look up.

“Your sword has no night in which to set a moon.”

Those eyes, stripped of interest, bored into him.

The blue gaze made him tremble.

Bang Sungyeon turned toward the Sect Master.

“Must I drag this out further?”

His voice dripped with annoyance.

The Small Moon Commander hesitated—then spoke.

“...Bang Sungyeon. Victory.”

No one reacted.

Every face was frozen in shock, eyes fixed only on Bang Sungyeon.