Tak. Tak. Tak.
Hands moved back and forth like beams of light. It was Leader Jin Mu who opened his fist first.
Round! Tak!
As he lowered his hand, he pulled the other person’s arm towards him and then rotated in a circle.
This was to prevent it from being shaken off.
Tak! Crack.
Then, the sect leader grabbed the wrist of the opponent to prevent him from running away.
At the same time, with a pulling motion while applying force again—
Swish!
He aimed for the chin of the opponent but failed.
Pat!
Jin Mu let go of the opponent’s wrist and then avoided it, along with an instant counter.
The sect leader, however, defended himself with both hands as he expected it. His hand once again burrowed into the arms of Jin Mu.
A clasp attack?
Jin Mu reacted quickly and tried to counterattack, but the opponent had gone back.
Is this some new trick?
That was what he thought, but it was not that.
Two steps back, the sect leader was crossing his palms.
At that sight, this one word came to his mind suddenly.
Strength Palm Arts?
This man was actually using the technique for pushing things!
Wooong!
As the energy was released, the body of Jin Mu was pushed back. But he immediately regained his balance, and as soon as he landed, he made sure the shock was released from his body.
“Huh.”
“Sppp.”
While both people were catching their breath, the crowd was boiling over with excitement.
Woahhh! Woahhh!
One was Jin Mu, and the other was the sect leader.
As the saying went, it was a battle between two of the best warriors in the sect. If one’s heart did not boil upon seeing the true essence of Taiji come out, then they would not be a Taoist of Wudang.
First, the martial arts of the sect leader. It was the most basic of Wudang arts, with the strength of ten levels, which begins to widen the legs for more balance, and then twists the waist and all the way to the shoulders and arms.
There was a harsh opinion in the world that Taiji was like water, soft as water. But when the water turned into a swirling vortex, it had the strength to even break through logs in an instant.
This was demonstrated by the sect leader, and it was Jin Mu who responded, floating in the air.
The essence of Taiji, which redirected a strong force using softness.
He used it while flying, dispelling the sect leader’s attack and blowing it up.
Srrng
Amid the cheers, which were burning out like Mount Hua, the sound of metal-like clanging resounded. It was the sound of the sect leader pulling out his sword.
Srng
Next, Jin Mu pulled out his sword.
It seemed as if the fight before was just being polite and the real life or death fight had just begun.
Pat
The sect leader and Jin Mu. The two jumped in at the same time, and from then on, the eyes of those watching began to move busily.
Wheik! Papak! Srng!
Their striking movements were so fast that numerous martial arts techniques passed in an instant. And it continued to happen.
Swords collided, and sometimes the combatants were using their fists and legs instead of their swords. They constantly attacked.
Bang! Bang!
When the sect leader’s body rotated and he used his fist, Jin Mu made the same rotating motion.
He lifted his leg up to his knee, and as they collided, they were pushed back and groaned again. This time, Jin Mu was pushed back.
Paat!
But as if Jin Mu was aiming for this, before the sect leader even stepped on the ground, a surprise attack came.
Crack!
Then the sect leader showed another technique. While falling, he used footwork and bounced back into the air.
“Cloud Ladder Technique!”
“Ahh…!”
“Woah…”
Those watching could not stop admiring the spar and completely forgot about who won or lost. The martial arts were performed by the best warriors.
What they practiced was a martial art in which every move was linked, all like a flow.
As they attacked directly, their forms resembled two people dancing with weapons. Thus, the one who had the advantage in the battle seemed to constantly change.
They took a step back from each other for a moment, and when a moment of calm occurred, the sect leader said,
“Are you coming this time?”
Jin Mu nodded.
“Yes. I will take this more seriously now.”
“I look forward to it then.”
Jin Mu naturally turned the sword in a circular motion and gathered energy. As a slight wave of energy emerged, the waves created made the sect leader frown and mumble.
“Ten-point technique…”
Swish…
The form was familiar, but the content of it was not that simple.
The Ten-Point technique, which was much stronger than the normal one. Containing this explosive energy within the air, in a way, it was a level higher than the original one.
Euk
The sect leader had to lower his stance. He also recognized that this possessed a certain level of strength.
“Now please take this too.”
After completing preparations, the tip of Jin Mu’s sword was pointed at the sect leader.
Paaah—
The power of this technique, extending from the sword, was unexpected. It was not a sharp straight sword-like attack but was fired in a fan-like shape.
“Haa!”
Meanwhile, the sect leader raised both arms to block this attack.
He was putting a lot of effort into preparing for what was done.
Dududuk!
The destructive energy of the technique, which seemed to shake up the space, soon came under the influence of the sect leader and, at the same time, it intertwined with the Taiji qi and began to strongly resist.
Tuk. Tuk.
It did not seem easy, though.
Blood flowed from the nose and mouth of the sect leader. All the blood vessels felt like they would burst.
No matter how much strength he could release with the technique, there was always a way to counter it.
The wave of the qi that was coming in right now was too strong to be countered using the Taiji principles.
Kukukuk—
A crazy, insane typhoon came in, but Hye Woo, a member of Wudang, ran through the Taiji technique with all his might despite his internal injuries.
Slash
Then, a shocking thing followed. With strength that seemed to exceed even tons of weight, the waves of qi were deflected by Taiji.
“Ahhh!”
The sect leader’s efforts to squeeze out all the potential were not in vain; the strength of the Ten-Point technique soon changed, and the direction moved towards the opponent who used it.
“Huh!”
Jin Mu felt the alarm bells ringing in his head. He could not understand how such a force had even been attempted to be released, and now, what he did was coming back to him.
It was exciting when he started it, but now that his own attack was coming back to him, his mind went blank, unable to decide what to do.
Was this man the sect leader of the sect? Jin Mu could not accept that he could not take down Hye Woo, who had learned about Taiji.
If he tried to take on his own ability, he would suffer internal wounds.
“It cannot be helped.”
In the end, after much deliberation, he made his decision. He could not stand the situation any longer.
Now, all that was left was to completely destroy the attack with a strength other than the techniques of Taiji.
Euk!
This low groan came from the mouth of Jin Mu.
Crack!
And then, a crackling thunderstorm began to happen.
Eukk!
“Kuak!”
Everyone was shocked at what they witnessed; those who were seated got up. The sect leader’s counter was amazing; it was like it could swallow everything.
And this was because, the moment it went close to Jin Mu, they witnessed a scene where the thunder and lightning came from the wind.
It was not just about splitting the force or cutting it, but utter suppression.
The sect leader was also looking at this shocking thing with a surprised face.
“So you won’t hide it anymore.”
Crackle
When everyone was shocked, Jin Mu raised his sword.
“I will show you the martial arts attack, so will you try to handle this?”
He said, now, the strength of Taiji ends there and Wudang too. He decided not to touch it anymore.
This was a form of warning. From now on, it would go beyond sparring and become a battle for life or death.
“Well.”
The sect leader naturally raised the sword and said that.
He too was looking forward to this moment.
How strong would this be? How helpless was he to accept this power?
“Excuse me…”
In front of the great hall, Seol-Hwi scratched his head.
It was because the Taoist monks who seemed to be guarding the door were peeking in through the light gap.
“Uh?”
“Hm!”
Those who realized Seol-Hwi’s presence became shocked for a moment and then looked solemn.
He had to ask,
“What is it?”
“It is said that there is a spar happening. I came here because leader Jin Mu had invited me. Can I enter?”
“…?”
The expressions of those watching changed, and they spoke worriedly,
“No one except the designated people can enter…”
“No, no, leader Jin Mu actually said so. Well. So he can go in.”
After hearing such ambiguous words, Seol-Hwi slowly walked through the half-open door, and he could sense the presence of a fight happening. The thunder qi was erupting.
Tsk, crackle!
Elder Hye Woo was holding a sword. The thunder qi was destroyed in an instant around him, but it stayed in the air.
There was this attempt to drain the other person’s energy, but it failed.
It evaded the strength of Taiji and instead broke through and hit the hand.
“The power to escape from Taiji, which is also at the perfect state…”
The sect leader released the thunder qi he received from Jin Mu. But the moment he stretched out his hand, he realized that something went wrong.
The flow where Taiji existed, the thunder qi moved wildly and hit him, breaking the flow of Taiji.
Crackle!
The arms, almost crooked, were hanging down.
“I will go again. It will be a bit rough this time.”
Chak
The thunder qi of Jin Mu had expanded to several times that of the previous attack.
Ta-dang!
The lightning that fell from the dry sky pierced part of the ceiling of the Great Hall, and its strength was evident.
That sight seemed as if it would envelop all the people with the strength of lightning.
If you stay still, you will be hit.
The sect leader, having seen the thunder qi, decided…
Somehow, he had to do something to defend or resist.
Papa
The best defense was offense. With that in mind, the sect leader stretched out his sword.
“Haa!”
The sword spread out and approached Jin Mu’s sword. But the sword energy that flowed out was not normal.
Left, right, down. It was so arbitrarily used that it felt impossible to control. But that was not all.
Shhh
The flow of air formed on the top of the sword had this blurring effect.
Sword Around the Finger and Flowing Clouds Sword technique. He was the sect leader of Wudang who had practiced the technique that represented them for a long time.
Euk!
However, it took just one swing for that amazing sword technique to collapse.
The thunder qi instantly took down the sword energy, broke through the defense, and struck the sect leader on his shoulder.
“Ahem!”
Stumble!
The sect leader, who was trying to run to Jin Mu, was stopped, and this was a huge shock to him.
He did protect his body with internal qi, but he was unable to block most of it.
Crack!
A terrible shock ran through his entire body. Turning over the five energies, all the energy and blood had flowed back.
So he quickly took control of the flow in his body.
And the sect leader witnessed it then.
The strength of the thunder qi continuously grew stronger.
“Ah!”
“This…”
The thunder qi created was literally a storm of lightning. The thunder qi, which could be called the strongest in heaven and earth, was gushing out lightning.
Jin Mu gathered his strength into his sword, creating a grand spectacle. He looked at the sect leader across from him and said,
“Sect leader. I will end this now.”
“…Yes, come.”
Although his determination remained unyielding, he felt as though he could collapse at the slightest touch.
And he was not even sure his body would accept it.
I will die this way.
However, as a member of Wudang, he would never avoid even the harshest attack.
Even if he died, he wanted to end it here.
When had Wudang ever shown such an odd appearance of backing out? Even though he did not say it, he did not want to deny the path of his disciples.
He wanted all of this to end here.
Taiji… is life.
He reorganized the atmosphere of Taiji, which had already seen failure. Whether it worked or not, he wanted to end his life with this.
Together with Taiji, which always presented questions before him and showed him the way.
“Let us start then.”
Unsure of what was being thought, Jin Mu raised the sword with a serious expression.
Crackle!
The sect leader clearly saw the flash of lightning and had a hunch.
It was not something someone like him could fight against, and he had no choice but to bow to this strength. Unfortunately, the Taiji he knew could not win again… this… is helpless…
Taiji, which had been used before, collapsed in front of the thunder qi.
At the same time, he witnessed a miracle happen.
Shhh
“…?”
In the midst of falling Taiji, Taiji bloomed again.
It was clearly Taiji like his.
But even if Jin Mu’s lightning cut it, it did not vanish.
Rather, it continued to create Taiji as if it were an illusion.
What the hell is this…?
Realizing that he was not the one using it, he turned his head. And then he saw a man standing next to him, or rather, the core of Taiji.
“Even if it looks weak and slow, it will eventually get there.”
Seol-Hwi—
Had decided to step into the fight.
“Can I spar with you?”
He suggested then.
