Ju Soa had also tried, if possible, not to step forward.

Even in her eyes, this was clearly not something they could resolve at their own level.

“About half a year ago, some pathetic bastards from the Sacheon Alliance came here and started throwing their weight around.”

“And?”

“I stayed silent then. And I paid for that silence too.”

Dongfang Jin grinned.

“Then stay silent this time as well.”

She shook her head.

“The circumstances are a little different. I knew that clearly, and I knew just as clearly that this was something I should stay silent about, but it’s starting to piss me off.”

Ju Soa drew her sword.

Dongfang Jin let out a snort.

“Do you have a death wish? Drawing your sword?”

“It’s not that I want to die. It’s that I want to kill.”

“...”

“Five days ago, I beat the hell out of a few of the Yangryeong Unit brats, three days ago I beat two more, and today they tried to make us run errands again.”

“...”

“There were three ringleaders. Right now, those bastards are half-crippled and lying flat on their backs.”

The muscles between Dongfang Jin’s brows twisted violently.

“...You crazy bitch... did you just lay hands on the Thirteen Divisions of Heavenly Snow?”

“You were the ones who laid hands on us first. I held back then, and I held back even now, but today I just couldn’t hold it in anymore.”

Dongfang Jin also drew his sword. Sunlight flashed coldly off the blade.

“You dare challenge someone in the Myth realm when you’re only in the Harmony realm?”

Dongfang Jin sneered.

“Fine. I’ll teach you. I’ll show you just how absolute the gap between realms is.”

“...”

“Rest easy. I won’t kill you. I’ll just... take one arm. Then what becomes of your life after that, you can figure out for yoursel—”

Before he could finish, Ju Soa’s ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) eyes flashed.

Heavenly Flower Myriad Light Sword Art.

The martial art Unhwi had created for her.

A supreme sword art of the Martial God tier.

During the time Unhwi was away, Ju Soa had trained in this sword art like a madwoman.

A streak of light shot toward Dongfang Jin’s face.

He jerked his head aside in haste and narrowly avoided it, but the passing sword-light sliced across his cheek.

“Urgh!”

Blood flowed.

“You bitch!”

Dongfang Jin’s sword shot toward Ju Soa.

Kang—!

Ju Soa raised her sword and blocked.

With a cracking sound, her legs ground into the earth.

It was a difference in strength.

It was fine. She braced her legs harder. Her body slid to the side like flowing water, and Dongfang Jin’s second strike, which came right after, cut through empty air.

Dongfang Jin flinched.

Ju Soa.

As far as he knew, it had only been about half a year since she entered the Harmony realm, but she was faster than expected.

Once again, Ju Soa’s body moved as if gliding.

Flowing Water Step.

Footwork that flowed like water.

Her body slipped into Dongfang Jin’s flank.

Her sword swung.

Kang—!

Dongfang Jin hurriedly raised his own sword and blocked. At once, Ju Soa twisted her blade. Skak—!

The tip of her sword grazed Dongfang Jin’s shoulder.

Blood sprayed again.

Not bad. Truly not bad at all.

Dongfang Jin exploded his internal energy.

Kwaaaang-!

The internal energy of a martial artist who had fully matured into the Myth realm.

The surrounding air rippled.

Ju Soa, who had been about to swing again, immediately shifted into a defensive stance.

Kwaaaang-!!

With a thunderous blast, her body was driven backward, skidding across the ground.

...Heavy.

The gap in realms was clear.

But there was no such thing as the absolute in this world. At least, Ju Soa believed that.

Before, Ju Soa had been no different from anyone else.

A martial artist in the Harmony realm could not beat one in the Transcendent realm, and one in the Transcendent realm could not beat one in the Myth realm. The difference in realms could never be overturned, the absolute law of cultivation.

That was one of the common truths that upheld Murim, but after watching a being like Unhwi from up close, she had begun to think differently.

No matter how lofty your realm, if a blade pierced your neck, you still left this world the same. Because humans were humans, there had to be openings, and the training to seize those openings—

Ju Soa had pursued it like a madwoman.

Twisting her body in midair, Ju Soa landed on the ground.

She bent her knees to absorb the shock, then immediately shot forward again.

Low, incredibly low.

As if she were almost crawling across the ground.

“...What kind of move is this now...”

Frowning at the bizarre motion, Dongfang Jin slashed downward.

Kwaang-!

The ground exploded.

But Ju Soa was gone.

Dongfang Jin turned his head right and froze, then whipped it left. A sword came flying in.

Kang—!

He blocked it.

Dongfang Jin’s rear foot slid back. Rotating his body, he swung his sword.

Jjeojeojeok-!!

Massive ice crystals shot toward Ju Soa.

A wide-area attack, complete natural qi unleashed by a Myth realm martial artist.

There seemed to be nowhere to evade.

Power gathered into Ju Soa’s sword.

One. Two. Three.

Sword-light bloomed.

Dongfang Jin’s eyes widened.

The sword-light poured out, as though flower petals were scattering.

Beautiful, and deadly.

Kwaaaang-!!!

Everyone watching was stunned.

And rightly so. Ju Soa’s attack had completely neutralized Dongfang Jin’s.

Dongfang Jin staggered back two steps in shock, while Ju Soa dropped to one knee on the spot, gasping for breath.

“Haa... haa...”

Her breathing turned ragged.

Dongfang Jin was breathing hard as well. There were shallow cuts all over his body.

Ju Soa did not have a single external wound, but the balance of momentum had already tilted completely.

“Not bad... truly not bad.”

He meant it sincerely.

Dongfang Jin raised his sword.

His thoughts shifted a little.

It would be a waste to simply kill her. Her looks, her temperament—both of them.

She seemed like the type whose fierceness would make taming her enjoyable.

If I accidentally shatter her dantian, or sever the tendons in two of her limbs...

No matter which way it went, disguising it as an accident would be best.

“This matter began from a misunderstanding, and since you refuse to bend easily, I will first knock you unconscious. Do not think my hand too harsh.”

He drew up his internal energy. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

The maximum output a Myth realm martial artist could unleash.

He poured all of it into his sword.

“Take this—!”

A gigantic sword aura flew toward Ju Soa.

A distance she could not evade. A speed she could not avoid.

And the target was... her dantian. Ju Soa felt that with absolute certainty.

Her eyes trembled.

Should she fall back? Retreat for now and wait for another opening?

No. That was wrong.

She cast aside that weak thought within herself.

Retreat was impossible.

Meeting it head-on was the only answer.

And at that moment, in Ju Soa’s mind, a conversation she had once had with Unhwi surfaced.

—The meaning of Break is something you must absolutely realize on your own.

—Once you understand it, you will grow by one step as a martial artist. No, by two.

Break...

Ju Soa tightened her grip on the sword.

For more than half a year now, day after day, she had trained only in the Heavenly Flower Myriad Light Sword Art. She had memorized its internal formulas like a madwoman and interpreted them over and over.

Become a soft sword. Become a flexible sword.

And yet the Break at the core of the Heavenly Flower Myriad Light Sword Art’s formula—she had never been able to understand it.

What exactly was it meant to break? What was it meant to shatter?

And how did it relate to the softness of the sword art itself?

One thing was certain: it was not destruction, and it was not sharpness.

The sword aura had reached right before her eyes.

The distance closed.

Time slowed. It was a truly unfamiliar experience.

The moment one grasped the hidden true meaning of a sword art was akin to the moment one gained enlightenment and advanced in realm.

Things that had been broken apart joined together as one inside her mind.

Ju Soa understood.

Break was will.

An unbending will hidden within softness.

The will to cut, no matter what.

That was Break.

Ju Soa swung her sword.

All of her internal energy.

Beyond her limit.

Her meridians screamed, but she did not care.

Her sword shone.

Heavenly Flower Myriad Light Sword Art.

Ultimate Meaning, Advancing Heaven.

It was soft. As though stroking flower petals.

But at its very end, it exploded.

Kwaaaaaaaaa-!

Ten thousand flashes of sword-light.

No, ten thousand streams of light.

They collided with Dongfang Jin’s sword aura.

Kwaaaang—!

The earth split beneath the enormous explosion.

Buildings shook, and the merchants nearby screamed as they fled. Smoke billowed upward.

“You crazy... bitch...”

She did not hear Dongfang Jin’s voice.

The instant softness transformed into explosion.

The instant flexibility became destruction.

Dongfang Jin had no choice but to raise his sword and block.

Kwaaaang-!!

A deafening blast erupted, and his body was driven backward, sliding across the ground.

Dongfang Jin tried to stand, but one knee dropped to the ground.

The impact had been stronger than expected, throwing the sensations in his body out of alignment.

Then, with a wet pattering sound, blood and chunks of flesh spilled onto the ground.

The right arm and shoulder that had held the sword, along with his abdomen, chest, and side.

Anyone looking could see it was a grave wound. No, it was a wound close to fatal.

He could not believe it.

He could see Ju Soa, kneeling and barely supporting herself with both swords.

“Haa... haa...”

Her breathing was ragged.

Blood ran from the corner of her mouth, and her body was not unharmed either. Her clothes were torn in places, blood streaming down them.

The injuries visible on the outside did not look severe, but for her the internal damage was the real problem.

Ju Soa could not rise.

“...What in the world... is this martial art?”

Ju Soa did not answer. She had no intention of answering, nor any desire to.

She only kept forcing her will into a body that would not listen.

She had to stand. She had to stand and drive her sword into Dongfang Jin’s neck. As the leader of the Yangryeong Division that protected Yangryeong Province.

Whatever happened afterward, one of the subordinates under her charge had been humiliated. Then moving was the only right answer.

That was what Unhwi had taught her: that was what an organization was.

It had to retaliate, one way or another.

“...I asked you. What is this martial art?”

Dongfang Jin slowly pushed himself up.

He had stanched the bleeding in his wounds, but he looked as though he might collapse at any moment. Even so, he did not fall. Too many eyes were watching.

If he collapsed here, the pride of the Thirteen Divisions of Heavenly Snow would be trampled into the—

“You’re curious about the martial art?”

The sudden voice from behind came before Dongfang Jin could even turn his head.

Tok, a sound rang out.

He looked back toward Ju Soa again.

Ju Soa, who had been supporting herself with her sword, was falling sideways, and there was a man catching her in his arms.

A black robe, a longsword at his waist.

Cold eyes.

And ash-gray hair.

He spoke quietly.

“The Heavenly Flower Myriad Light Sword Art. A sword that unfolds with elegance like flower petals scattering from the heavens, wielded with the utmost softness within its sword force.”

“...Y-you...”

“I’ll be the one asking. Sacheon Uk cannot possibly be foolish enough to do something like this on his own, so who put him up to it?”

At Unhwi’s cold voice, Dongfang Jin flinched.

But the moment he heard the name of the man he served—his Sect Master—spoken so bluntly and without the slightest courtesy, anger surged up in him.

“You are the Mysterious Snow— Kuhk!”

His words were cut off when Chief Seong, who had been standing behind him, drove the dagger in his hand straight into Dongfang Jin’s shoulder.

“I asked. Who put you up to it?”

“...The elder... Elder Seol Cheonhwa... from the Council of Elders...”

“And what did he tell you?”

“...He said we had to seize Yangryeong Province. That no matter what, we had to create trouble and use that to—”

Unhwi shook his head.

“That is enough.”

Still holding Ju Soa in his arms, he slowly rose to his feet.

“Are you all right?”

“...I’m all right.”

Ju Soa’s voice was weak, but there was still a trace of pride in it.

Because she already knew what Unhwi’s next words would be.