Wudang Sacred Scriptures

If this old man were to make up his mind, getting past him wouldn’t be easy.

Kwak Yeon had already made arrangements with the abbot and monks of Yeongheung Temple—but it wouldn’t take long for rumors to leak.

He had begged them earnestly out of concern that the Special Blood Unit captain and his remaining subordinates might disappear as soon as they caught wind of what had happened.

And yet—

“Well, naturally so. But the Danmok Clan still has its honor to uphold, so I ask that you first concede and exchange one move with me.”

The old man spoke stubbornly, his tone breezy and pleasant.

“Daoist Kwak, for the sake of Wudang’s revered elders, I ask you not to disgrace me.”

The moment Kwak Yeon heard the old man respectfully call him ”Daoist Kwak” and invoke the Wudang Sect, he understood the man wouldn’t back down no matter what.

What should I do...?

After a brief pause, Kwak Yeon replied:

“I cannot refuse the words of a senior elder, so with humility, I shall receive one instructional stroke.”

Danmok Seong let out a hearty laugh.

“Wise decision! I’ve heard that Samnyeonggung of Mount Wudang is the root of the sect’s martial vein. I’ve long wanted to see its style with my own eyes—now that I’ve met Daoist Kwak on the road like this, I’ll take this chance to satisfy that old wish properly.”

Satisfy that wish properly!

That meant he wouldn’t let go until it was settled decisively.

Then I truly have no choice left.

Resolving himself once more, Kwak Yeon respectfully asked:

“Then, as the junior here, may I be permitted to strike the first blow?”

Danmok Seong nodded gladly.

“It is only right that a senior yields the first move to his junior.”

“In that case, I, this unworthy junior, shall not refuse.”

Without further hesitation, Kwak Yeon drew his Cheonggang Sword and surged forward.

―Shhhiiit!

To Danmok Seong’s eyes, Kwak Yeon vanished—only a massive sword remained in view.

It wasn’t that the sword had grown larger. Rather, the surrounding light had dimmed, all intensity drawn into the blade. That meant it was moving with overwhelming speed and force.

To open with oneness of sword and body...

It should have been met with a counter-strike, but since he had promised the first move, Danmok Seong had no choice but to dodge.

“Well done!”

Leaping aside from the main road, Danmok Seong exclaimed in admiration as he drew his own sword.

“Then I too shall begin in earnest—hm?”

But Kwak Yeon, who had already crossed the line drawn on the road, did not stop and instead continued running straight down the path.

“What the...?”

As Danmok Seong stared in disbelief, Kwak Yeon’s voice reached his ears:

“As you promised, Elder, we have exchanged one move. As your junior, I shall now take my leave.”

“Why, that little—!”

When Danmok Seong had spoken of ‘exchanging one move,’ he had naturally meant to determine victory or defeat. But Kwak Yeon had twisted that phrase cleverly, taking it to mean just one attack each.

Kwak Yeon had unleashed a stroke using sword-body unity, and Danmok Seong had dodged. So in that sense, a single exchange had indeed occurred.

Kwak Yeon’s voice echoed from afar:

“...And I thank you, Elder, for granting me passage.”

He had rushed in with such a powerful, flawless sword-body unity that Danmok Seong had no choice but to step aside—and now Kwak Yeon was treating that as if the elder had allowed him to pass. Danmok Seong could only feel deflated.

“Hah! Wudang has produced another monstrous talent!”

Danmok Seong let out an astonished exclamation and shook his head.

“No... this one will surpass even that old Sword Immortal of Wudang.”

As he stood there blankly watching Kwak Yeon vanish into the distance—

“Supreme Elder! Why do you not pursue the fleeing traitor?!”

A group of elite warriors from the Danmok Clan emerged behind him.

Danmok Seong already knew they’d been watching from afar the entire day.

And he knew perfectly well why the clan head had sent them.

Not because he feared for Danmok Seong’s safety—but because he was afraid the old man might let the enemy go.

Annoyed by the clan head’s nagging, Danmok Seong had pretended not to notice their presence and let them be.

“We can still catch him—just give the order!”

“Forget it.”

“Sir?”

“You think any of you could catch him?”

“Well... no, but—”

“He ran because he meant to run. Or rather—let’s just say that’s what happened.”

“Sir? I don’t follow...”

“It’s exactly what you saw with your own eyes.”

“Ah... Yes, understood.”

Danmok Seong felt relieved they had stayed far enough away not to have caught the details.

If they had, it would have been obvious that he had been tricked by Kwak Yeon.

Yes... It’ll be easier to tell the clan head that a Wudang Daoist ran away than to admit I got outplayed. Naturally.

And yet, a different thought tugged at the back of his mind.

Would I have actually won if we had fought for real?

He couldn’t shake the image of that sword-body unity technique Kwak Yeon had unleashed.

At the time, all he had seen was a single, massive sword cutting through space.

Its power went beyond what one would expect from ordinary sword-body unity.

If that’s the case...?

Danmok Seong turned and looked down at the line he had drawn across the road.

The Sword Threads wall he had formed with his perfected Stellar Vein True Qi was completely shattered—without a trace.

Now, it was nothing more than a meaningless line on the ground.

Hah... Wudang didn’t produce a prodigy. It created a monster.

Danmok Seong realized now that Kwak Yeon had shown mercy to his grandnephew, Danmok Cheong.

A master who had reached the absolute pinnacle.

And a disciple of Samnyeonggung—one of Wudang’s purest lineages. A man who would not act recklessly without cause.

That damn clan head... What has he been doing, letting the house fall to this?

Spoiling his beloved nephew with nothing but indulgence... he’d ruined even the boy’s martial path.

Meanwhile, the son of another house is soaring through the heavens...

And to make matters worse, that other house’s son was much younger than his grandnephew.

Danmok Seong couldn’t help but seethe inside.

“We’re heading back. Now!”

The elite warriors of the Danmok Clan had never seen the Supreme Elder Seong look so wrathful.

Wasn’t this the man always calm and warm-hearted, called the Benevolent Dragon of Danmok?

Could it be... he’s angry because he couldn’t stop that Cave Daoist from escaping before his very eyes?

They could think of no other reason.

****

The Special Blood Unit captain was pressing Sa Cheol-seung, the Branch Master of Black Heaven Hall.

“You still haven’t found that damned Cave Daoist’s whereabouts?”

“Captain, we’ll track him down soon.”

Sweat was visibly beading on Sa Cheol-seung’s forehead as he responded.

“But the Hao Clan’s been dragging their feet this time, sir.”

The Special Blood Unit captain’s eyes gleamed sharply.

“Branch Master Sa, are you saying those Hao Clan bastards are ignoring the Cult of the Evil Way’s commission?”

“Captain, as if! The Hao Clan would sell their own father if someone paid them enough.”

“......”

“So we’ll find that Cave Daoist soon. I’ve been sending men to pressure them constantly.”

Noticing the sweat on Sa Cheol-seung’s forehead, the Special Blood Unit captain softened his voice.

“Alright. We’ll give it a little more time.”

“Thank you, sir.”

“Still, I appreciate your effort this time, Branch Master Sa.”

“I was just doing what I ought to.”

Finally catching his breath, the Black Heaven Branch Master wiped the sweat from his brow with his sleeve.

Though several of his subordinates had been sacrificed, the operation had secured a major achievement.

“Captain, there shouldn’t be a problem with establishing a Black Heaven sub-branch in Geyang-hyeon, right?”

“For now, let that Overseer act as the acting branch master. If Black Heaven moves in openly right now, the Wudang Sect will start getting suspicious. Once things settle, we can replace him quietly.”

“That Overseer won’t step aside willingly, though.”

Any organization with a solidified hierarchy would encounter resistance. And this particular overseer, Yi Gwal, was clever—too clever, and therefore worrisome.

“He’s nothing but a glorified errand boy. Becoming a Branch Master of a dark sect is far beyond his reach.”

“......”

“The truth is, the higher-ups aren’t exactly thrilled with how deeply this overseer got involved in the matter. They’re hoping that with him, all our dealings with Wudang will come to a clean end.”

“Ah!”

If that was the Cult of the Evil Way’s will, then it was certain that Black Heaven Hall would extend its influence all the way into Geyang-hyeon.

“In any case, I hope you carry out this last mission to the end.”

“Captain, I’ll go at once and press the Hao Clan harder.”

Sa Cheol-seung was elated. All that was left for this final mission was to track down the Cave Daoist.

The only problem was that the Hao Clan’s Jeongyang Branch seemed to be strangely sluggish with this request.

I’ll need to go in person and put pressure on them directly.

Just as he had resolved to do so and was rising to his feet—

Urgent footsteps echoed from outside the branch master’s office.

“Branch Master! He’s here!”

“Who is?”

“That Cave Daoist from Mount Wudang!”

“What?! Why the hell would he be here...?”

“He’s rampaging in the outer court as we speak—we can’t stop him at all!”

The Special Blood Unit captain shot to his feet.

“I don’t know why he came, but this is perfect. No need to go hunting him down now.”

The captain strode out of the office with ten elite soldiers behind him.

When Sa Cheol-seung followed him into the outer court, the sight was devastating.

Not a single one of Black Heaven Hall’s enforcers was still standing.

And the Cave Daoist—hadn’t even drawn his sword.

Even while witnessing it firsthand, Sa Cheol-seung couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

He had always considered himself a hegemon of the Jeongyang region’s unorthodox sects. And now he was preparing to extend their domain into Hubei Province.

Yet this—this was complete annihilation.

This can’t be real...

Kwak Yeon looked calmly at the shocked Black Heaven Branch Master and the Special Blood Unit captain.

“Which one of you is the Special Blood Unit captain?”

“I am.”

The captain gave Kwak Yeon a chilling grin.

“Hah, I didn’t see this coming. You actually walked in here yourself.”

Ignoring the captain entirely, Kwak Yeon turned to Sa Cheol-seung.

“Then you’re the Branch Master of Black Heaven Hall?”

“......”

“I spared your enforcers, since they were merely following your orders. Though they’ll never be able to hold a blade again. But your life, I will take.”

Sa Cheol-seung turned pale. He’d heard the terrifying rumors about the Cave Daoist of Mount Wudang.

But he had been certain they would never meet, as the Special Blood Unit was assigned to deal with him.

But how did he know to come here...?

Just the current situation alone was catastrophic. Even if the captain and his elites managed to kill the Cave Daoist, the damage was already irreversible.

Sa Cheol-seung realized that he’d fallen even lower than Overseer Yi Gwal of the Black Serpent Hall.

No... there’s still hope. If the Special Blood Unit captain and his men can kill him, I can just take over what Yi Gwal built and start fresh.

Just as he squared his shoulders and regained a hint of courage, the captain’s bold voice rang across the outer court.

“You arrogant bastard! But tell me—how did you know to come here?”

Kwak Yeon looked at him calmly.

“I heard it from your subordinates left behind at Yeongheung Temple.”

The captain’s eyes twitched wide.

“Then...?”

“Yes.”

Kwak Yeon nodded slowly.

“They’re all waiting for you in the afterlife.”