Chapter 219: It’s an Important Day

Their fight to the death continued past midnight.

A pinnacle expert against a supreme master.

To any observer, it would have looked hopelessly unfair. In reality, however, the pinnacle expert was not the one at a disadvantage.

“Whew. How about a little break?”

“You bastard...!”

Kim Muhyuk could fight whenever he wanted and stop whenever he pleased.

The moment things began to look dangerous, all he had to do was turn and flee. Then he could return to the camp his crew had established on the coast, have his wounds treated, and rest.

“You think I’ll let you escape again?!”

SHRASH-SHRASH-SHRASH!

Evading Yang Seonu’s murderous pursuit was both thrilling in its own way and invaluable experience.

Once Kim Muhyuk escaped the chase and reached the coast, Choi Geon would appear with his hands clasped behind his back and bar Yang Seonu’s path.

“That is far enough.”

“Ghk...!”

The chilling pressure rolling off Choi Geon promised that a single step closer would get him cut down. Each time, Yang Seonu had no choice but to stop, his face twisting with frustration.

Unable to bring himself to swing his sword at Choi Geon, he sneered at Kim Muhyuk over the old man’s shoulder.

“Running away in the middle of a fight to the death. Are you not ashamed to call yourself a martial artist?”

“Why should I be ashamed when my opponent is a beast, not a martial artist?”

“...!”

Yang Seonu tried provoking Kim Muhyuk. He laid traps and attempted to lure him into them.

None of it worked.

Kim Muhyuk’s instincts were almost preternaturally sharp. He never went near a trap, and even when he lost himself in the frenzy of battle, he regained his reason the instant danger approached.

How can a twenty-year-old brat be as seasoned as an old man who’s survived every hardship imaginable?

His anger giving way to incomprehension, Yang Seonu stared at Kim Muhyuk as though he were some unfathomable anomaly.

Then he ground his teeth and retreated into the forest once more.

“...Muhyuk. Are you all right?”

Choi Geon looked over his wounded disciple with concern.

This was a fight to the death against a supreme master.

No matter how close Choi Geon remained, a single mistake could still leave Kim Muhyuk gravely injured.

Kim Muhyuk, however, looked delighted.

“...It’s fun. And I’m learning a lot.”

“Tsk. You are hardly sane yourself. Sit down and circulate your qi.”

Under Choi Geon’s protection, Kim Muhyuk sat cross-legged, replenished his internal energy through controlled breathing and qi circulation, and reflected on everything he had felt during the fight.

HUMMM—!

Then he rested comfortably within the coastal base camp protected by Kim Bokja’s spellcraft. Yang Seonu attempted several surprise attacks from afar, including throwing concealed weapons, but every one of them failed.

“Wow. Isn’t this basically a ten-times-EXP event where Muhyuk gets all the rewards?”

Shin Kangheon grumbled enviously as he watched Kim Muhyuk head back into the forest.

But he knew the truth.

This fight isn’t easy at all.

The situation might appear overwhelmingly favorable to Kim Muhyuk, but only Kim Muhyuk could make use of it this way.

He was gaining real combat experience against an enraged supreme master in the middle of a forest. One moment of carelessness, and his head would come off.

The match would not even have been possible for anyone without Kim Muhyuk’s innate senses and talent, not to mention his familiarity with Choi Geon’s swordsmanship.

If that were me...

Shin Kangheon imagined himself fighting Yang Seonu in the forest. No matter how he pictured it, he could not see himself returning with all four limbs still attached.

He scratched his head furiously.

“Damn it! I’m starting special training today too!”

Suddenly fired up, Shin Kangheon tore off his shirt and began swinging his saber on the beach.

Choi Geon watched him with satisfaction, then made Hwang Suksu and Han Jaechun join in as well.

“You two, train with him. I shall temper you while Muhyuk is away.”

“U-Us too?”

“We were planning to spend today fishing...”

Choi Geon narrowed his triangular eyes, raised his sword like a switch, and whipped it toward them.

“Muhyuk is fighting for his life in there, and you two intend to lounge around stuffing your faces? Pick up your swords this instant!”

“Aaaagh!”

“We will! We’ll do it!”

Kim Bokja reclined on the sunbed she had brought, reading a book as she leisurely watched the commotion.

“I wonder how many days this’ll take. We won’t be able to pull off the surprise if it drags on too long... Right, Apricot?”

Pyaat!

Apricot nodded while pecking away at the fruit on the table.

*****

Three more days passed after they arrived on the deserted island.

“Aaaaaaaaaagh! Stop right there!”

Listening to the howl echoing from the island’s interior, Choi Geon clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, tsk. That one beast living on this island is scaring away all the fish.”

He sat in a chair aboard the boat with his fishing line cast into the sea.

The rod had originally belonged to Hwang Suksu.

The other crew members were either sweating through their training or lying on sunbeds, eating snacks and tanning.

“He’s screaming his head off again. Muhyuk should be back soon, right?”

“Imagine how pissed he must be. If that were me, I’d have given up and thrown myself into the sea.”

“You’ve got to admit, he’s persistent too. He hasn’t been able to eat, drink, or sleep properly, and he’s been fighting day and night.”

A short while later, Kim Muhyuk returned to the base camp, drenched in sweat.

“I’m back.”

Compared to three days earlier, however, he bore far fewer wounds. At first, his clothes had returned in tatters and needed to be replaced immediately. Now, they were barely damaged.

Yang Seonu, meanwhile, had stopped far beyond the boundary.

His hair was wild, and his clothes were so thoroughly soaked in blood that their original appearance was impossible to discern.

He glared at Kim Muhyuk and muttered under his breath.

“You cowardly bastard... You wretch who deserves to be torn apart... Even ripping out your heart and chewing it while you’re still alive wouldn’t satisfy me...!”

He looked like a madman who had nearly lost all reason. He no longer even bothered concealing his killing intent.

“...The evil in you has steeped itself in venom.”

Choi Geon narrowed his eyes at Yang Seonu.

After three days without proper food or sleep, the man had grown gaunt beyond recognition.

Even a supreme master’s body and mind could not help but deteriorate under such conditions.

But that also meant he had become extraordinarily dangerous.

“You think I’ll die like this? If you do, you’re sorely mistaken!”

Yang Seonu glared first at Kim Muhyuk, then at Choi Geon, before reaching toward a nearby tree.

CRUNCH!

He crushed an insect clinging to the bark in his hand. Then he tossed it into his mouth and chewed.

“Heh... hehehehe...”

His eyes bloodshot, Yang Seonu wandered around the edge of the base camp, cackling strangely, before slowly vanishing back into the island’s interior.

“Ugh. That’s disgusting.”

Kim Bokja shuddered in revulsion, then turned to Kim Muhyuk, who was sucking down an energy gel.

“So how long are you planning to keep this up?”

At first, the thought of Kim Muhyuk engaging a supreme master in a life-or-death spar had filled her with worry. After several days, however, a different sort of impatience had crept into her expression.

The other crew members felt the same way.

Everyone except Choi Geon traded glances, then began offering Kim Muhyuk their opinions one by one.

“We probably should wrap this up soon...”

“What about leaving him trapped on the deserted island and coming back later? He’s stubborn enough that I doubt he’ll die easily.”

“Oh! You mean we keep him around as an EXP mob for supreme masters?”

“K-Kangheon. I know he’s a bad person, but that’s a little...”

Kim Muhyuk alone had the authority to decide when the life-or-death spar would end.

He could easily dispose of Yang Seonu with the crew’s help if he wished. Or, as Hwang Suksu suggested, they could leave him stranded on the island and return later.

“Is there some urgent matter awaiting you?”

Choi Geon alone tilted his head, unable to understand their haste.

His disciple stood on the verge of reaching the supreme-master realm.

What could possibly be more important to a martial artist?

As a master who wanted his disciple to fight and grow to his heart’s content, he was almost disappointed that everyone kept trying to rush him.

“...I’m almost there.”

Kim Muhyuk wiped his mouth as he spoke.

He had been keeping track of the date as well.

As it happened, tomorrow was D-Day.

“This seems like the perfect time.”

Kim Muhyuk dropped into place, steadied his breathing, and sat cross-legged. He laid across his knees the sword he had been wielding only moments before.

“Master. Would you stand guard for me?”

Choi Geon studied his disciple’s distant, unfocused gaze, then drew his sword and nodded.

“Not even a fly shall approach you. Focus wholly upon yourself.”

“...Yes.”

Kim Muhyuk closed his eyes and began to meditate.

His five senses shut down, and everything he had felt around him disappeared.

Let’s begin.

Two sword-wielding figures appeared within his mental world.

One was Kim Muhyuk himself.

The other was Yang Seonu.

They immediately clashed blades and began to fight.

The sword patterns Kim Muhyuk had seen countless times over the past three days flashed through his mind. They changed or skipped ahead at intervals, steadily accelerating and compressing.

If it were Master...

Yang Seonu’s face transformed into Choi Geon’s.

The sword path grew sharper.

The footwork became bolder.

Every move carried the stubborn conviction of a man who would not compromise a single inch when facing evil.

The sword I want to resemble. The sword I want to surpass. And...

Kim Muhyuk did not believe enlightenment came overnight.

Some claimed that realization arrived in a sudden flash, but most progress was made little by little through long years of repetitive training and contemplation.

Then came the day when one finally recognized that change.

Perhaps enlightenment was simply the moment one suddenly realized that a wall had already been crossed.

The sword that helped me grow as a martial artist.

Sssssss...

The two figures fighting within his mind disappeared.

Only a single sword remained suspended in the air.

It was not Phantom Dream.

Nor was it the sword he had wielded against Yang Seonu.

It’s me.

The moment Kim Muhyuk understood, he reached out and seized the sword that represented him.

It was the instant he crossed the wall that had blocked his path for the past three days.

FWOOSH—!

His mind flooded with brilliant light, and he emerged from his mental world into reality.

“Fuuuuuh...”

Kim Muhyuk slowly opened his eyes as he exhaled at length.

It felt as though morning had passed only moments ago, yet the dim glow of sunset was already sinking beyond the horizon.

Kim Muhyuk murmured blankly.

“The time...”

“You sat there for more than ten hours.”

At the gentle voice, Kim Muhyuk turned his head.

His master was smiling even more happily than his disciple.

“How does it feel to become a supreme master at twenty years of age?”

“...Surreal. Part of me keeps wondering whether this is really happening.”

“Heh heh. You wonderful brat!”

Choi Geon reached out and vigorously tousled Kim Muhyuk’s hair.

After enduring his master’s affection for some time, Kim Muhyuk suddenly remembered something.

“...Where are the others?”

“Who knows? They kept looking at the time, then said they needed to go somewhere for a while. I told them to be off. Honestly, what could they be thinking, leaving at such an important moment...?”

Choi Geon sounded somewhat disappointed that the other crew members had not been there when his disciple ascended to a new realm.

Kim Muhyuk, who knew the reason, was not disappointed in the slightest.

He sprang to his feet.

“Master. I’m going into the forest.”

“Hah. Are you itching to test yourself already?”

Fortunately, Choi Geon did not find anything strange about his disciple’s haste. He simply nodded and told him to be careful.

Kim Muhyuk bowed, then strode into the deserted island’s interior.

“...Interesting.”

His qi perception had become slightly more refined. The qi coursing through his pressure points felt denser, and his body seemed a little sturdier.

Yet that “little” was profoundly special.

It was a sensation difficult to put into words.

Kim Muhyuk unleashed his lightness technique and raced straight toward Yang Seonu.

“Senior Brother! There you are.”

Yang Seonu was easy to find.

He had been sitting on a rock, chewing on a rat. The moment he saw Kim Muhyuk, he shot to his feet.

“You... Don’t tell me...”

As though he had noticed something different about the approaching Kim Muhyuk, Yang Seonu began inching backward.

“Tomorrow is a very important day. So I came to say one last goodbye to my senior brother before I leave.”

Kim Muhyuk walked toward him with a broad grin.

“How... How could you... It’s only been a few days...!”

Yang Seonu rasped through the phlegm in his throat, unable to believe what he was seeing.

His face slowly drained of color with fear.