SKRITCH—!!

KRAK—!!

Swords whipped into a frenzy. The forest ruptured, and the instant leaves dropped from their branches, they were ground to shreds.

A banquet of storm. As if a real storm had arrived, wind kept smothering everything in every direction.

The shocking part was that it truly wasn’t wind.

It was all energy.

Momentum.

Fighting spirit.

Killing intent.

Every kind of qi a martial artist exhaled had become wind pressure, spitting out raw force.

“Hup!”

BOOM—!!

A flash rebounded. In the dark night, light collided again and again.

Blue light and deep magenta.

Two streaks repeated their impacts. Every time they crashed, the wind grew fiercer.

KRAAAACK—!!!

Sword qi was mixed into the wind, and trees were sliced apart.

CLANG—!! CLANG—!!

BOOM—!!

Even when blades met, sword aura burst and explosions erupted.

The sound couldn’t even keep up anymore.

After they’d been colliding at that violent speed for a long while—

SHING.

On the magenta-flash side, the light intensified.

Plum Blossom Swordsmanship.

Plum Blossom Hard to Illuminate.

WOOOOOOOO—!!!

Energy gathered and pressure shaped like flower petals shot up into the sky.

That force, like a pillar of light, swelled in size and detonated with a brutal blast.

KRAAAACK—!!!

The violent explosion swallowed the ground. Rock and tree alike were drowned in light, their very existence erased.

And within that light, not long after, someone burst out.

“...Hoo.”

It was the Small Moon Unit Leader. He brushed the dust off his body and tightened his grip on his sword.

He widened the distance, glaring into the light—

SHHHRIIIK—!!!

A blade of sword aura flew out from inside.

GRAB—!

The Small Moon Unit Leader snapped his sword up and knocked the aura aside.

Then—someone inside drove straight into his reach.

SKREEEEK—!!!

Blade met blade. They locked, started a contest of strength, and traded stares.

“Not enough strength?”

An old man. At the Plum Blossom Commander’s words, the Small Moon Unit Leader narrowed his eyes.

“Does it look that way? Then you’re mistaken.”

“I’m just saying you don’t look all that different from your ‘that brat’ days.”

“I don’t entertain stupid word games.”

GRAB—! He knocked the blade up and twisted his waist.

Moon Howl.

A crescent moon carved across the night.

It stabbed in sharply toward the Plum Blossom Commander—

“Hm.”

Plum Blossom Sacred Chaos.

The Plum Blossom Commander’s blade redirected his.

The crescent bent. The Blue Moon Sect’s swordsmanship was blocked, but the Small Moon Unit Leader didn’t care.

Even that was within the calculation.

THUD.

He stomped the ground hard, then calmly rotated the path of his sword.

Blue Road Cloud-Shadow Sword Form.

He displayed the foundational sword form that became the root of the Blue Moon Sword Dance.

Clouds that hide the moon.

Light that seems light, yet can never truly be concealed.

Clean, unadorned sword strokes that expressed bursting light stepped lightly over plum blossom leaves and advanced toward the Plum Blossom Commander.

SKRITCH—!!

Leaves gathered, blocking the sword.

The rapidly spinning blades clashed like that several times, but—

CLANG—!

In the end, no verdict was reached. They only widened their distance.

“...”

About ten steps.

In that widened gap, the Small Moon Unit Leader’s eyes tightened.

‘I’m getting pushed back.’

He admitted it without hesitation. Compared to the Plum Blossom Commander—by a hair.

Just that hair. Exactly that hair was the difference.

He hadn’t taken a major wound, but small cuts had piled across his body.

And even in that last exchange, he could feel his inner power wobble.

‘Was he always this strong?’

The last time he crossed swords with the Plum Blossom Commander was long ago.

Back when he’d been called “that brat,” like the man just said.

Back when he was a rising junior—or only a little above that. He’d crossed blades once because he wanted to learn the sword.

Back then, it had been a wall.

Back then, the Plum Blossom Commander had already been a supreme master—one of Mount Hua’s heroes.

And he had been nothing more than one martial artist among many.

And yet, time had flowed—

‘Still.’

Even after all that time, the man was still strong?

Maybe that was only natural. Unless a martial artist neglected training, strength could only increase.

‘...Something’s wrong.’

The Small Moon Unit Leader had to feel something strange in this fight.

‘Something’s off.’

He couldn’t pin down a single point.

It was just wrong.

‘Was it always like this?’

Mount Hua’s sword.

The freshness and abundance he used to feel within it.

A Daoist sword so refined it bordered on awe—its noble bearing should have overflowed.

‘What is that sword?’

The Plum Blossom Commander’s sword was wrong.

It was a sword with something missing—something that should have been there.

“What did you do?”

The Small Moon Unit Leader couldn’t hold back his curiosity.

“What are you talking about?”

The Plum Blossom Commander asked while letting energy spill out. He answered honestly.

“Even if you fell, your sword shouldn’t have. I’m asking how it changed this much.”

“...”

“Plum Blossom Commander. Did you truly turn even your sword ugly?”

“Ha.”

At those words, the Plum Blossom Commander let out an empty breath.

“Pathetic tongue. Is the fight that heavy for you?”

“...”

“Crude. Clumsy. Stop talking nonsense and raise your sword. There isn’t much time.”

Maybe he took it as provocation—the Plum Blossom Commander snapped.

Did he really not know? No. The Small Moon Unit Leader didn’t believe that.

Because—

“So you knew yourself.”

“...What?”

“You know it all, that’s why you’re angry. You changed too much.”

“...”

The Plum Blossom Commander’s face twisted.

But he couldn’t spit anything else out. It looked like the truth had hit dead center.

The sword had changed.

That sentence carved his insides out.

“You don’t know your place... how dare you...”

KRAAAACK.

The Plum Blossom Commander leapt, killing intent pouring out.

Watching, the Small Moon Unit Leader raised his sword again.

BOOM—!!

The collision began again.

He pushed aside, blocked, redirected, and cut.

Inside those simple exchanges, countless paths repeated—

And each time, the Small Moon Unit Leader’s thoughts deepened.

‘I’m getting pushed back.’

A certainty as a martial artist.

He was gradually being forced back. Not by stamina. Even with the sword fallen and changed, the Plum Blossom Commander still had the enlightenment and strength within Heaven itself—and that was what he was losing to.

‘This won’t be easy.’

What should he do. No answer came easily.

‘...Hm.’

How did it end up like this. If he was going to argue, that was the real problem.

Why was he here, staking life and death against the Plum Blossom Commander?

In the flow of it all, the Small Moon Unit Leader narrowed his eyes.

‘Because of that bastard.’

Leaving aside that the Plum Blossom Commander was a spy—this was all because of Bang Sungyeon.

After meeting that bastard, everything twisted.

No. It was more accurate to say everything changed after seeing what that bastard showed him.

‘That...’

What Bang Sungyeon had shown.

White hair, blue eyes—beautiful, holding moonlight.

The previous sect master, the hero who saved the world.

And the form that held the very ideal he dreamed of: Yoo Cheongil.

‘What did he call it?’

Moon Heaven? Yeah. That was it.

The true ultimate of the Blue Moon Sect, created by Yoo Cheongil.

He fell for that and came all the way here.

He lowered his pride, did everything, just to learn that one thing.

‘...Idiot.’

Even he thought it was ridiculous.

What was it, that he had to go this far?

‘Even taking that worthless training.’

Movements that meant nothing to him. The claim that Bang Sungyeon would learn from Yoo Cheongil and teach him.

Was that true?

There was certainly something—some enlightenment—coming from it, but he didn’t know if it was the road to the ideal he wanted.

He couldn’t be sure.

And because he couldn’t be sure, anxiety existed.

That anxiety kept grabbing his ankle.

Like now.

GRAB—!!

“...!”

The Small Moon Unit Leader’s sword shot up. Just like that—

SLASH—!!

“Ghk!”

The Plum Blossom Commander’s blade raked across his upper body.

Blood burst out.

The Small Moon Unit Leader hurriedly retreated.

TRICKLE—!

Blood poured straight onto the ground.

“...”

He sealed the wound in a hurry with inner power, but the pain was intense. Still, at least it seemed he’d avoided anything vital.

“Your head is full of stray thoughts.”

At the Plum Blossom Commander’s words, the Small Moon Unit Leader steadied his breathing.

“Is fighting me that boring?”

“Sorry. I must have let my guard slip, thinking it was a fallen sword.”

“Hahaha. Your tongue is still long. Because you’re young?”

Young. Compared to the Plum Blossom Commander, sure.

“Hoo...”

Maybe because he’d spilled so much blood at once, his head felt foggy.

On the other hand, heat surged up hard.

‘...My focus broke.’

Even now, thinking about Moon Heaven?

Even he thought it was absurd.

‘In truth, it’s all meaningless.’

What is that light, anyway.

If he chased after someone already gone, would anything change?

What was he trying to gain?

He didn’t know.

SHHHRIIIK—!!

‘Think simply.’

That was what he was best at.

Look simply.

‘Only look at the enemy in front of you.’

What did he need to look at right now?

Only that.

In front of him was someone he had to kill.

It was the same with Strange Demon, and the same here.

A few mistakes meant a lack of skill.

Would he stay like that? He couldn’t.

—Nothing is as crude as giving up, right?

When he was exhausted from training and tried to run, his idol had said that to him in the rain.

—Just do it. If you do, you’ll realize you’re already moving forward, even though nobody shoved you.

Just do it.

That was the only thing he knew how to do.

“Plum Blossom Commander.”

“Speak.”

“Do you have no regrets about your choice?”

“Regrets?”

Would someone who walked another road have regrets?

It slipped out before he could stop it.

“Is that something I need to answer?”

“No.”

That was enough of an answer.

A brief silence. Eyes that wavered. A fallen sword.

That was plenty.

“You asked me earlier.”

He considered the answer.

“What I ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) think of the Blue Moon Sect Master.”

The answer had been decided long ago. He didn’t even need to think.

“Someone I have to overcome someday.”

I’ll defeat him.

He said it with a smile.

“...Ha? In the end, you’re no different—”

“But my method can’t be shaken.”

That was the Blue Moon Sect’s way of existing.

The strongest became sect master. Every warrior of the Blue Moon Sect climbed toward Heaven.

The sect master knew that too. He knew the man swore loyalty, while also staring up with a warrior’s hunger.

Someday, I’ll defeat the Moon Immortal Sword.

And I’ll become sect master.

But—

“Using some other trick for it would piss me off.”

I’ll do it my way.

Only then does it mean something.

“That’s why I’m disappointed in you.”

Running away in a pathetic way.

A swordsman he once respected falling that far.

“Pretty damn ugly. I’m scared I’ll end up old like you.”

It was truly ugly.

“...”

The Plum Blossom Commander fell silent.

No words—

WHOOOOOONG—!!!

But momentum boiled up.

It looked like he’d been scratched in exactly the right spot.

“...No matter what, I have to kill you here.”

“Glad we agree.”

SKRITCH.

He tightened his grip on the sword.

WHOOOOOONG—!!!

Sword aura formed.

His upper body throbbed.

He ignored it.

And then—

Whoosh!

‘Huh?’

For a moment, it felt like the air surged upward.

Was his body light?

For an instant, his head went blank.

BOOM—!!!

The Plum Blossom Commander charged.

Plum Blossom Chaotic Motion.

WHIIIISH—!!!

Petals writhed in chaos. In the storm, countless leaves lashed without leaving a gap.

Seeing it, the Small Moon Unit Leader steadied his breath.

He held the sword and raised it.

Then—

A jolt!

Without any grand sword at all—

He simply brought it down.

His foggy mind carried it through.

Can I do this? He didn’t even have time for the question.

He just dropped it.

As if—

‘Like that time.’

The slow movement Bang Sungyeon talked about.

He copied it exactly.

FSSSS.

Energy flowed loosely, following the motion.

Energy that should have invaded the blood channels in an instant slowed its step.

Warm.

Maybe because his temperature was high.

Maybe because that slow energy carried a feeling like that.

He didn’t know.

An alien energy wrapped his whole body.

At this rate, he wouldn’t block the sword—he’d be swept up and die.

He knew it all, and his body still did it.

WOOOOOOOO—!!!

The moment the petals reached right in front of the Small Moon Unit Leader’s eyes—

DRIP.

The flowing energy rebounded at his fingertips.

WOOOOOOOO—!!!

Light burst—

And the sword came down lightly.

SLICE—!

“...”

“...”

The Small Moon Unit Leader stood calmly.

A small sound.

That was the end.

“...You...”

The Plum Blossom Commander, passing by him, muttered.

“Enlightenment... how...”

He couldn’t finish.

PSSHT—!

Blood burst out, and the Plum Blossom Commander collapsed.

“...”

Even then, the Small Moon Unit Leader didn’t turn around. He stared at his sword.

“...This is...”

The color of the sword aura was no different.

But the tip—somehow, subtly different.

Something that shone calmly had seeped into it.

“Ah...”

Seeing that, the Small Moon Unit Leader understood.

Radiant Moon Annihilation-Overturn.

The Sword Saint’s sword aura was mixed in—just by the slightest margin.