Chapter 296

By the time the day sank and night took over—

WHISH—!

In a dark space where not a single light burned, I slowly thrust my sword out.

SHHHIIIK—!!

At this leisurely speed, no flash appeared.

Just focusing on posture and moving.

I swung the sword calmly, keeping it within a range that wouldn’t strain my body.

Half a step forward. I checked that my upper body wasn’t pitching too far, then raised the blade.

SHIK—!

The tip stopped at a fixed angle.

No hesitation. I used the rebound.

As it rose, I used the acceleration packed into the blade and drew a half-circle.

SHHHIIIK—!!!

The sword, now carrying speed, cut straight through the air.

Clean.

A completely different precision and weight from when I first started using a sword.

Seeing it like this, I could tell—quietly—how much I’d grown.

“HOOOOOO—!”

I exhaled and took another step.

THUD—!

I dragged power up from the foot bracing the ground.

Just like that, a vibration wrapped around the Divine Sword, and I traced it twice.

SHIK—! SHIKSHIK—!!

I felt the air speeding up. Instead of my breathing growing ragged, I let my body ride the flow.

I started to draw another half-circle—

TZZT—!

“...!”

Pain shot through me, and I stopped.

“Aaagh.”

I grabbed my waist and let out a groan. My injured lower back hurt.

“Tsk...”

It wasn’t pain like I was dying, but it made movement inconvenient.

So that’s why he told me to move as little as possible.

Of all places, my waist. Even if the treatment was over, it was obviously still a risky spot.

[Then why the hell are you posturing around at night like an idiot?]

Yoo Cheongil spoke like I was pathetic. I half-ignored him and answered.

“I’m trying to do something, at least.”

Clack.

I slid the Divine Sword back at my waist and returned to my thoughts.

So what the hell am I supposed to do?

Erasing the thoughts in my head.

I was still stuck there.

How was I supposed to do that?

Even just now—

Two steps.

The moment I took half a step and then a full step and drove the sword out—

In that tiny sliver of time, how many things did I calculate?

Even in a process like this, my thoughts were that crowded.

So how was I supposed to not think?

“Hm.”

Sword Emperor. Yoo Cheongil.

Absolute beings in Heaven-Beyond-Heaven.

If both of them were saying it with one voice, then yes—it was my problem.

And even if they weren’t—

I need it.

I felt the need myself. I’d felt it in that short clash with Yuyeon.

If I thought about a hundred things, I wouldn’t do a single thing properly.

A match is speed, in the end.

As you approach the superhuman, you end up fighting beyond sound itself.

Countless movements happening inside that speed.

If I kept calculating nonstop in those gaps—

I won’t endure it.

I’d get swallowed in an instant and destroy myself.

So I’d been practicing, like Sword Emperor’s lessons—trying to wipe the calculations out of my head—

But.

“Goddamn it, this is hard as hell.”

It wasn’t easy.

I wiped sweat and bit my lip.

No matter what Sword Emperor tried to give me, absorbing it wasn’t simple.

Even if I tried to lean on Yoo Cheongil—

Right now, listen to that bastard.

That was all he’d say, refusing to teach me any further because Sword Emperor was better for this part.

If an old man who was usually desperate to teach me was saying that, then Sword Emperor really was better here.

“Tsk.”

Nothing is easy.

No matter what it is.

“...Let’s go back.”

[Yeah.]

I turned around. There was no answer here, and soon the moon would climb to the middle of the sky.

That greasy chill creeping into the air made my body stiffen.

It was about to be the hour when ghosts ran wild.

There was no point staying. I wouldn’t see anything good. I decided to return to Mount Hua Sect first.

“Are you finished?”

“Hm.”

When I walked down, the Small Moon Unit Leader greeted me. Since I’d said I was training, he must have followed as escort.

I moved with him.

If we just went like this, we’d reach my quarters—

Uuuuuung.

Huh?

I stopped at the aura I felt.

What is that?

I turned my head.

SAAAAA—!!

Spirits that hadn’t passed on drifted between the trees.

That alone wasn’t strange. Those were everywhere.

But—

They’re running.

The spirits looked like they were fleeing something.

What is it?

Was something there?

It was unusual for spirits to react like that.

I turned my foot, uneasy.

“...Teacher?”

“Just a second.”

Leaving the confused Small Moon Unit Leader behind, I headed in the direction the spirits were running from.

What was making them act like that?

Normally, if something felt off, I wouldn’t go anywhere near it.

But—

It feels different.

It wasn’t malice.

That was why I was going.

What was it that felt like this?

As I walked slowly, feeling it—

Saaa.

“Huh.”

A scent brushed the tip of my nose.

No—calling it a scent wasn’t quite right. It was closer to an aura than a smell.

The aura I’d been feeling constantly ever since coming to Mount Hua.

Plum blossoms.

Plum blossom aura.

And it was coming from the direction the spirits were fleeing.

As I drew closer to where it thickened—

SHIK—! SHIKSHIK—!!

I heard the sound of a sword moving.

Only after hearing it did I stop.

It was in my sight.

Far away.

Beyond trees and grass, where moonlight fell softly—

SHHHIIIK—!!

Someone was swinging a sword.

A thin line drifted smoothly through the air.

It looked like a dance.

The way it moved—like it was riding a current—summoned wind.

And mixed into that wind was the scent of plum blossoms.

The one swinging a sword so beautifully—

I knew that face.

Yuyeon.

The greatest of the younger generation.

Sword Phoenix Yuyeon.

She was dancing a sword dance at the center of the forest.

...Holy hell.

I held back an empty breath.

Beautiful.

Not her appearance—there was nothing to say about that.

But—

Her movements...

The soul packed into them.

The soul of talent itself lived in every motion.

That alien pressure pouring out of it was probably what was driving all the spirits away.

This is insane.

Watching her made admiration spill out of me.

Yuyeon was like that.

[Hmm.]

Yoo Cheongil stared, focused.

[...Even now, it’s strange. How can she do that?]

A question mixed with awe.

Was even Yoo Cheongil unsettled by Yuyeon’s existence?

Was she that much of a genius?

I mean—

Was it called Tuan?

Eyes that could see the flow of battle.

Yoo Cheongil had said he didn’t even possess it—said he’d created it as an internal art instead, meaning it was a higher-order vision.

And Yuyeon had it.

Which meant she was absurdly gifted.

And she was.

My eyes are already stolen.

What, exactly, was packed into that sword carving through empty air?

Before I knew it, I was standing there, staring.

And then—

“...You should stop watching.”

The Small Moon Unit Leader warned me.

Only then did I realize.

Oh, right.

I’d forgotten.

You shouldn’t watch someone else’s training without permission.

Here, there was hardly anything more disrespectful.

And I’d done it without thinking.

I hurried to turn my head away—

But.

“......”

Too late.

Yuyeon had stopped her sword and was staring straight at me.

“Uh... hi?”

I greeted her, but Yuyeon didn’t respond.

She only stared at me.

What do I do?

Is she angry?

If so, I didn’t really have an excuse.

“Well. I wasn’t trying to watch, on purpose.”

“......”

“I was just done training too, and on my way back... and I happened to see you.”

No answer, so my tongue ran longer.

For something that was supposed to be an explanation, it was pathetic.

“Haha... Sorry.”

So I stopped mid-stream and apologized.

It felt like the only answer.

Then—

Step.

Yuyeon started walking toward me.

With her sword still in her hand.

...What now.

Her face was blank. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

And why wasn’t she sheathing the sword?

Don’t tell me—

Is she going to cut me with that?

That would be a problem. I made a mistake, but isn’t that too much?

While a thousand thoughts flashed through me, Yuyeon was already right in front of me.

Is she seriously going to—

I panicked and started thinking of ways to respond—

Swish.

“H—!”

Yuyeon moved.

And making my flinch look ridiculous, she just checked the collar area near my waist.

“...What?”

With indifferent eyes, she looked around, then stared up at me.

“...Why?”

I asked, but I was already thinking I wouldn’t get an answer.

Then she moved the unsheathed sword and wrote something on the ground.

[Are you okay?]

“...Ah.”

So that’s what she was looking at—my wound?

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Of course.”

Nod.

She nodded too, like she was relieved.

“...And sorry. I really didn’t mean to watch.”

Yuyeon tilted her head, then moved the sword again and wrote.

[For what?]

She didn’t even seem to know what I was apologizing for.

“I watched you train. I meant I’m sorry about that.”

“......”

Yuyeon fell into thought.

A short span—short enough to count on fingers—passed.

Nod.

That was all.

Was that her saying it was fine...?

She didn’t look bothered.

“...Okay. Thanks.”

If she accepted it, that was great for me.

“......”

“......”

Silence went back and forth.

Awkward as hell.

Should I just leave like this?

I hesitated, but I couldn’t.

Even if I’m the one who messed up, just turning around and leaving is...

Anyone with a shred of social sense knows that’s not it.

So I asked something—anything.

“Do you usually train at this hour?”

Nod.

“Ah. I see.”

“......”

“......”

Jesus Christ.

I’m screwed.

How the hell am I supposed to talk with someone who can’t speak?

This kind of conversation was new to me.

From the start—

I thought she could talk...

Back when I knew Yuyeon as a man, I swear she spoke just fine.

I had no idea why she’d become mute now.

I figured there was a reason, so I didn’t ask.

And it’s my first time talking to her this long.

Right after we met again at the Dragon-Phoenix Gathering—

And up until now.

We’d spent some time near each other, sure, but we hadn’t really talked.

There were things I was curious about.

But—

...What am I supposed to ask?

Why she lived as a man under the name Hong Daecheon.

Why she was suddenly in Mount Hua now as Yuyeon.

What happened in between.

Why she couldn’t speak.

If I just asked those directly, it would be easy.

But—

...Do I need to?

I knew those would be uncomfortable questions.

So I couldn’t bring myself to ask.

And that was why the conversation kept dying.

“......”

“......”

After standing there like that for a long time, I finally couldn’t take it and spoke.

“Alright. Train hard. I’m going to head back.”

“......”

Yuyeon’s eyes widened at my words.

She looked like she had something to say.

But—

“......”

She ended the ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) hesitation and nodded.

What was she trying to say?

I thought about asking, but I didn’t.

There was no need to drag words out of someone who chose not to say them.

“I’m going. See you next time. Let’s go, Teacher.”

“Ah, yes... No, uh. Right.”

I spoke to the Small Moon Unit Leader, who’d been standing back, and turned away.

Then I left Yuyeon behind and headed toward Mount Hua Sect.

As I walked away from her, I realized—belatedly—there was one thing I should’ve asked.

“Ah. Right.”

That’s what I should’ve asked.

Why she can’t kill people.

Why she’d been so useless in that complicated battlefield.

Yuyeon couldn’t kill.

Unlike a match, she hadn’t been able to use her strength. I figured that was why.

I thought about going back and asking that much, at least—

But.

“I didn’t ask that either.”

I scratched my cheek.

It wasn’t really something that mattered right now.

She probably had reasons for that too.

I was about to move on with that simple thought—

[It really is strange. Every time I see her, it’s strange.]

Yoo Cheongil spoke in a flat tone.

It was the same line of thought as earlier. Was Yuyeon’s talent really that insane?

If he reacts like that, he’s seriously interested.

So I listened with curiosity—

[To carry the Heavenly Killing Star and still not kill anyone... What in the world did that Mal-ko bastard do to that little girl? Hm...]

I stopped dead.

“...What?”

Something in that sentence was wrong.

“What ‘star’?”