Star Instructor, Master Baek

I recognized Wiji Cheon’s martial art at a glance. I couldn’t help it. Of the four masters’ martial arts, this was the one I had spent the most time learning and refining.

This is definitely the Unlimited Sword (無極劍).

Originally, the Unlimited Sword was Master Sword Saint’s own sword technique, but after adding my own interpretations and those of the other masters, it became so difficult and esoteric that even Master Sword Saint was not confident that he had fully mastered it.

This ultimate sword technique was also the reason why I wanted to make a sword out of Meteor Iron and not any other weapon.

The Unlimited Sword is a martial art that is almost impossible to master on your own. No, even with a teacher, it’s still really easy to go into qi deviation… Well, I can’t deny that problem is mostly my fault.

“Hey, why aren’t you answering me? Do you know something about this martial art?” Wiji Yeol demanded sternly.

I took a moment to collect my thoughts and shook my head. “I don’t know anything about the martial art, but… I just thought that move from a while ago was amazing.”

Wiji Yeol’s face fell. “Is that so… Actually, I don’t recognize it either.”

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“A few years ago, I left my grandson here and went away for a few months. During that time, a stranger came here.”

“How did he find this place?”

“He was well versed in the ways of our cult, and he sensed the traces of the formations of the Blood Cult on this mountain, so he dismantled the formations and came here, but unfortunately, I wasn’t here, only the child.”

According to Wiji Yeol, the visitor was a man in a black hooded cloak.

“Are you a descendant of the Blood Cult?” The man had asked Wiji Cheon, but Wiji Cheon hadn’t answered for fear of bringing harm to his grandfather.

After watching him for a while, the man had given the boy a manual with nothing written on the cover and asked, “Do you want to take revenge on the world? Then learn this martial art. If you practice it for ten years, I assure you that you will become the strongest in the world.”

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With that, the man in the black cloak left. When Wiji Yeol returned, he noticed that his grandson had already read the manual several times, unable to resist his curiosity.

“I tried to follow the black-cloaked man’s footsteps, but I couldn’t find him. He never came back either.”

“Did your grandson master the martial arts in this manual on his own? Didn’t you help him or stop him?”

“At first, I was worried and thought about stopping him for fear that it might be a dangerous demonic art. However, no matter how many times I went through the manual myself, I couldn’t find anything wrong with it. In fact, it’s a great divine art that I can’t even comprehend,” Wiji Yeol said, looking at his grandson with red, bloodshot eyes.

Just then, a rabbit hopped to the boy’s side and tilted its head.

“When it comes to martial arts, he is a genius with whom I cannot compare. That’s why I believed that he could master the divine art, no matter how difficult it was. I hoped that he would become the strongest in the world… and avenge the death of his parents. However, it was all in vain…” Tears streamed from the old man’s eyes.

“I only realized that he had been consumed by his inner demons when it was too late to save him. Even then, I couldn’t bring myself to kill my own flesh and blood. Yet, the more I hesitated, the stronger he became, until it reached a point where I could do nothing about him anymore,” he choked.

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“……”

“I beg you. Please kill him and let him rest in peace. If you do that… I’ll make anything you want.”

SPURT!

The rabbit exploded, sending unrecognizable pieces of flesh and bone flying everywhere. The boy grinned broadly as he licked the raw rabbit flesh off his fingers.

“How many years has he been practicing this martial art?”

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“About three years.”

I tried to measure Wiji Cheon’s level of mastery by the time he had spent learning the Unlimited Sword. If it’s three years… it might indeed be too late.

Despite being one of the Eight Great Clans of the Blood Cult, the Wiji Clan was famous for its blacksmithing and explosives skills, not its martial arts. In fact, they had the weakest martial artists in the entire cult.

If it were any other clan, they would have the common sense not to learn an unknown martial art, even if it seemed to be a divine art. Unfortunately, Wiji Cheon is a genius who hasn’t been able to learn a martial art that matches his talents. He would have been entranced the moment he started reading the Unlimited Sword manual.

“Alright, I’ll accept your request.”

I started down the hill, but Wiji Yeol hurriedly chased after me, saying, “Be careful. Some of the freelancers who came before were peak level masters.”

“On average, how many exchanges did they make before they died?”

“Not more than fifty, if I remember correctly…”

In reality, fifty exchanges would have happened in the blink of an eye… which meant that the boy had basically overpowered more than a few peak-level martial artists.

He’s a monster.

As we got closer and closer to the straw hut, Wiji Cheon sensed our presence and turned towards us.

“Heehee,” the boy laughed innocently, then dusted himself off and stood up. “Grandpa!”

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“Cheon.” Wiji Yeol gritted his teeth and looked at his grandson.

Wiji Cheon pointed at me and asked, “Is he a guest? Did he come here to play with me?”

“Yes. It’s been a while since you had a playmate, right?”

“Yes! I was bored because no one visited me for a while!”

Wiji Cheon pulled out a sword that was stuck in the ground between his parents’ gravestones. Then, with a happy smile on his face, he raised the sword and pointed it at me.

“Hyung, please don’t die too soon!”

“……” I carefully observed Wiji Cheon’s posture and slowly drew Moon Shadow. At the same time, I wondered who the black cloaked man was. Wait, didn’t I hear a similar story just recently?

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“A man in a black cloak tossed me a martial arts manual and told me that if I mastered it, I would become strong…”

It seems that Cheong Cheon had the same experience, except that the martial art he received was the Blood Rain Demonic Art, while Wiji Cheon received the Unlimited Sword.

Although the difference in quality between the two martial arts was as great as the distance between heaven and earth, they had one thing in common.

They were both martial arts of the now defunct Blood Cult.

Could the two black-cloaked people be the same person? Unfortunately, with the information I have now, I can’t say. There are many people in the martial arts world who dress like that, including me when I went to the Freelancer’s Bazaar.

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However, there is one thing I’m absolutely sure of. Someone is deliberately spreading the martial arts of the Blood Cult throughout the murim. It could be one person, or it could be a whole group.

I don’t know their purpose yet, but maybe…

“Grandpa! Can I kill him now?”

A boy’s voice, excited at the thought of playing with a new toy, brought me back to reality.

Fuck, I have to take care of this punk first.

I looked at Wiji Yeol and said, “I have a favor to ask of you. Until we’re done, I want you to go where you can’t see the battlefield.”

“Why…?”

“Because I don’t want you to see me kill your grandson, and there’s a possibility that if you see that your grandson is about to die, you might step in and interfere at a crucial moment.”

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“I wouldn’t do that…”

“Old man.”

“…I understand.” Wiji Yeol nodded and stepped back hesitantly, as if he wasn’t sure if he was doing the right thing.

“Cheon, you can only start playing with this Hyung-nim after Grandpa is out of sight, okay?”

“Are we playing hide-and-seek? Yay!”

With a broken heart, Wiji Yeol retreated from the battlefield. When his figure had completely disappeared over the hill, Wiji Cheon smiled and gathered his qi.

ROOOOAAAAR!

The grass around Wiji Cheon’s feet flattened under the pressure, and his hair fluttered as if whipped by a strong wind. The whites of his eyes became bloodshot and he bared his pearly white teeth.

Finally, the brat’s sword glowed with an ashen hue.

“Hyung, are you ready to play with me?”

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“Yeah.”

An unbelievable amount of power was emanating from this teenage boy. If it had been the me of a few days ago, I would have been no match for him.

I’m glad I ate the Seven Stem Nine Leaf Grass!

Before I came here, I consumed the Seven Stem Nine Leaf Grass that I bought at the Freelancer Bazaar. Thanks to it, my mastery of the Heaven Defying Divine Art had surpassed the two-star level and almost reached the three-star level.

“It would be even better if I had time to eat another herb… but for now, I’ll have to make do with what I have.”

I concentrated my qi and injected it into Moon Shadow. As a faint red sword qi coated the blade, the sword began to vibrate, emitting a pleasant hum.

I pointed Moon Shadow at Wiji Cheon’s forehead and said, “Show me what you’ve achieved by practicing your swordsmanship alone.”

“Ahahaha, don’t die too quickly!” The boy let out a gleeful laugh and rushed forward to kill me.

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SWISH!

A few strands of my hair were sliced off. I thought I had dodged perfectly, but at the last moment, the tip of Wiji Cheon’s sword wobbled and changed its trajectory.

A faint line appeared on my forehead and a few drops of blood trickled down.

“Ahahaha! This is fun!” Wiji Cheon giggled, looking as happy as a child who just received a new toy.

His eyes sparkled as he swung his sword again. “Don’t die, it’s no fun if you die!” he shouted.

“……”

The ashen sword qi on Wiji Cheon’s sword swirled wildly as he kicked off the ground and slashed at lightning speed.

That’s the First Unlimited Slash (無極一刀), the fastest of the Unlimited Sword techniques.

I immediately twisted my body to the side, but I was still unable to completely dodge it.

WHOOSH!

My clothes were torn at the waist, and blood dripped from the new wound.

Surprised, Wiji Cheon jumped for joy, squealing, “You dodged? That’s amazing!”

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“… You’re really looking down on me.”

“This one, dodge this one too!”

As if to show off, Wiji Cheon unleashed one Unlimited Sword technique after another, forcing me to retreat backwards, dodging what I was able to dodge and blocking what I was able to block.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Sparks flew as sword clashed with sword. In the blink of an eye, we exchanged dozens of blows, but I was the only one getting hurt.

I frowned and looked at my sword. The faint red sword qi was getting weaker with each strike.

Is this my current limit?

This was inevitable as my Heaven Defying Divine Art was still at a relatively low level of mastery. I would have to reach at least the three-star level before I could truly unleash my sword qi.

If I force it, I might be able to do it, but…

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“If I don’t have any teeth, I’ll just have to use my gums.”

Fortunately, my gums were very strong.

BOOM!

I let out a powerful slash that sent Wiji Cheon stumbling backwards.

“EEH?” He let out a panicked scream as I suddenly switched to offense.

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“Kid, I’m done playing with you.” I changed my stance and charged forward.

Seeing my move, Wiji Cheon shouted in confusion, “Hey, that’s my movement technique!”

“No, it’s mine.”

Martial arts is not only about sword techniques. It’s also about the footwork, body movements, and mental discipline required to wield a sword.

This is what I learned from the greatest sword master of a generation.

BAM!

I swung my sword like a whip and struck Wiji Cheon’s thigh.

“Ouch!”

“Your stance is wrong. Keep your center of gravity lower and your back straighter. Who taught you to swing your sword so sloppily?”

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Wiji Cheon’s eyes flickered with confusion, but he gathered his qi and struck with all his might. “DIE!” he screamed.

However, his sword never again touched my clothes, let alone me. Instead, as he rushed past me, I struck him in the arm with the flat of my blade.

THWACK!

“Keep your elbows in, relax your shoulders, and use your wrists more. The Unlimited Sword is a graceful martial art.”

“OWOWOWW!” Wiji Cheon howled in pain. He immediately turned to face me, his eyes flashing red.

CRACKLE!

The ash-colored sword qi on his sword burned like a flame. However, no matter whether a martial artist used sword qi or sword flux, it was meaningless if it didn’t hit.

SMACK!

“Calm your nerves. You might be able to catch a bird or a rabbit with this kind of attack, but do you think it will work on a human? Don’t insult the man who created this sword technique.”

“UWAAAAAH!”

The day I escaped from the Blood Cult’s prisons, I organized the martial arts of the four masters into manuals and gave them to the Demonic Strategist. However, I left out or changed some crucial parts of each of them so that it wouldn’t seem problematic at first, but the more one mastered it, the more issues would arise.

I only wanted to mess with the Blood Cult, but… I ended up indirectly hurting that kid.

Because of that, I felt a little responsible for Wiji Cheon.

“HYUNG, THIS IS NO FUN AT ALL! I HATE YOU! I HATE YOU! DIE!” Completely losing his cool, Wiji Cheon summoned all of his remaining inner qi and injected it into his sword.

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ROAAAARRRR!

The boy’s sword disappeared, engulfed in ashen flames.

“Tsk…”

It looked very intimidating, but to me, it was full of openings. Wiji Cheon’s stance was a mess, and he wasn’t even using the techniques properly anymore. No expert would be defeated by such a shitty attack.

“Tsk tsk, it will take a long time to teach you properly and fix all your bad habits.” I clicked my tongue and poured all my remaining internal qi into Moon Shadow. The sword trembled and the weak sword qi became slightly stronger.

“YAAAAAAAAH!” Wiji Cheon bellowed, charging at me like a crazed demon.

I silently raised my sword in response, and recalled the sword technique that Master Sword Saint had shown me on the day that I had escaped from the prison. I then copied the movements engraved in my memory and lunged forward.

Unlimited Sword: Ultimate Technique (無極劍 奧義).

True First Unlimited Slash (眞 無極一刀).

For a moment, our forms intersected as we passed each other.

I sheathed Moon Shadow and slowly turned around, saying, “And this, dear brat, is why it’s important to have a good teacher.”

THUD!

Wiji Cheon fell to the ground, coughing up blood.