Survival Guide for the Reincarnated Chapter 386

Gun Mugyeol smiled, and soon the sparring began.

Gongsun Mingyue moved.

Whoosh—

Her body moved like flowing water.

Kang Mucheol swung his sword, but

Swish—

Gongsun Mingyue was already sowhere else.

Flowing-Shadow Formless Sword.

A union of movent art as natural as flowing water and a sword art without form.

Slice, slice, slice—

Kang Mucheol’s shoulder was cut.

Then his arm was cut.

Then his leg was cut.

"Urgh...!!"

Kang Mucheol dropped to one knee.

His eyes were wide with disbelief. It was obvious that in that brief mont, he had not read even a little of Gongsun Mingyue’s attacks.

Kang Mucheol slowly rose from where he had fallen and raised his sword, pointing it at Gongsun Mingyue.

Gongsun Mingyue, who had lowered her sword, quietly watched Kang Mucheol, then raised her sword in the sa way.

It was at that mont.

Tap.

With that sound, Gongsun Mingyue’s body vanished from that spot. Once again, Kang Mucheol completely missed her movent, and instinctively tried to kick off backward, but froze upright in that very posture.

A cold sensation at his neck.

A sword.

He shifted only his gaze to the side.

In his blind spot, she was there.

He had not seen her with his eyes, and had not even realized when the sword touched him.

To continue any further would be stubborn delusion.

Kang Mucheol let go of his sword.

"Winner, Gongsun Mingyue of the Gongsun clan!"

Cheers erupted.

At the very top of the spectator stands.

For a long while, Gun Mugyeol stared at Gongsun Mingyue without speaking.

"Young Master Seol."

"Yes."

"How did you see that movent art?"

Unhwi answered quietly.

"It was not separated from the sword."

"...Not separated from the sword?"

"Yes. Ordinary movent arts exist to move the body. Faster, farther, or more cunningly. But."

Unhwi paused briefly.

"Gongsun Mingyue’s movent art exists for the sword."

"...Continue."

"The movent art creates the sword’s trajectory, and the sword determines the movent art’s direction. It is not that the two beca one."

"...?"

"They were never two to begin with."

Gun Mugyeol’s eyes twitched.

"You an they were one from the start?"

"That is correct."

Unhwi nodded.

"In the Confucian path, swordsmanship and movent art are trained separately. The sword is the sword, and the movent art is the movent art. Then, at a higher realm, they try to combine them."

"That is so."

"In the Buddhist path, they speak of all things returning to one. That everything ultimately returns to one. Sword and movent art alike, all to a single Buddha-nature."

"Indeed."

"In the Daoist path, they speak of effortless naturalness. To use the sword without being bound by the sword, and to use movent art without being bound by movent art."

Gun Mugyeol listened quietly.

"But the Gongsun clan."

Unhwi’s voice lowered.

"Never divided sword and movent art in the first place. They trained them as one from the start. It is not like the Confucian path, which combines them later, nor like the Buddhist path, which returns them to one, nor like the Daoist path, which lets them flow naturally."

"..."

"It was simply one from the beginning."

Gun Mugyeol fell silent for a long while.

"...A path of their own."

"Yes."

"Belonging neither to Confucianism, Buddhism, nor Daoism."

"It is the Gongsun clan’s own path."

Gun Mugyeol gave a faint laugh.

That was why they were one of the Five Great Clans. Each walked its own path.

"But tell ."

Gun Mugyeol looked at Gongsun Mingyue again.

"How old is that girl?"

It was not Unhwi who answered that question.

It was Zhuge Yeonghyeon, who had been quietly listening to the conversation. He spoke softly.

"Twenty-five, Leader."

"Twenty-five...."

Gun Mugyeol let out a sound of admiration.

"To be at such a realm at that age. And that maturity besides is truly absurd."

Unhwi also looked at Gongsun Mingyue.

He agreed.

He had never beco entangled with the Gongsun clan. By the ti he had unified the martial world in his previous life, the Gongsun clan had already half-collapsed.

And that was the truly interesting part here.

Why had the Gongsun clan collapsed to that degree?

Because the Murim League had driven them as enemies of the martial world.

It had not been Gun Mugyeol alone. The other Great Clans had joined hands with him, and naturally, once the Gongsun clan fell, the martial world was left not with Five Great Clans, but Four Great Clans.

And all of them had been dealt with by Unhwi’s own hand.

Unhwi had heard of her before as well.

The peerless genius born of the Gongsun clan.

Gongsun Mingyue.

At the age of thirty, she had risen to the Heavenly-Man Realm, yet never got to show what ca after, vanished, and beca Gun Mugyeol’s plaything. A woman of misfortune.

"What do you think, Young Master Seol?"

Unhwi looked at Gun Mugyeol in silence for a mont, then answered in a gentle voice.

"That movent does not belong to a martial artist who has lived only twenty-five years. It is the kind of maturity that can only erge after gripping a sword for at /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ least fifty years."

"...Indeed."

Gun Mugyeol’s gaze changed.

"As for how the Gongsun clan managed to raise such a talent."

"There is natural talent, of course, but."

Unhwi spoke quietly.

"The Gongsun clan’s martial system is exceptional."

"...Martial system?"

"To train sword and movent art as one ans, conversely, that they grow twice as fast, does it not?"

"...Ah."

Gun Mugyeol struck his knee.

"While others train swordsmanship and then separately train movent art, disciples of the Gongsun clan train one and both grow."

"That is right."

"But is it not that much more dangerous?"

It carried two anings.

The potential of the Gongsun clan itself, and the flaw contained within that martial art.

Unhwi ignored the forr. Gun Mugyeol had not ant to ask about that anyway.

Gun Mugyeol continued at once.

"If either the sword or the movent art falters even slightly, both will collapse."

"That is why most disciples of the Gongsun clan never surpass the Heaven-and-Earth Fourfold Realm."

Unhwi continued in an even tone.

"But those who overco it rise straight to the Heavenly-Man Realm."

"...Extre."

"Extre, but efficient."

"Then that rising star called Gongsun Mingyue."

Gun Mugyeol looked at Gongsun Mingyue again.

"Is one who has surpassed that extre."

"Yes."

"If that rising star breaks through the wall of the Five-Qi Convergence Realm, what happens then?"

"Movent and sword will beco completely one."

Unhwi stated it outright.

"And if she rises to the Heavenly-Man Realm?"

"Form will disappear."

"...Form?"

"It will beco impossible to tell whether it is a sword or a person."

Gun Mugyeol was silent for a long while.

"...And the Martial God Five Realms?"

Unhwi’s voice sank low.

"She would beco a Sword God."

The two t each other’s gaze.

Silence flowed between them.

"An extraordinary talent. Much like you."

"You flatter ."

Gun Mugyeol gave a faint laugh and muttered,

"What a pity."

"What do you an?"

"That such talent is not on our side."

Gun Mugyeol’s gaze turned back to Unhwi. He smiled faintly as he continued.

"Because the Gongsun clan keeps to neutrality."

Unhwi smiled as well.

"That is right. Like the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace, they keep to neutrality."

And then,

"Neutrality sotis becos the most dangerous enemy."

"...Heh heh."

Gun Mugyeol burst into laughter.

But that laughter was cold.

The sparring continued.

And then.

"Next match! Seol Yeonhwa of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace, Hyeol Mujin of the Blood-Wolf Sword Sect!"

At last.

It was Seol Yeonhwa’s turn.

The martial grounds grew quiet.

Everyone’s gaze was fixed on Seol Yeonhwa.

A polar heir of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace.

The woman called the greatest among the rising stars.

Seol Yeonhwa stood at the center of the martial grounds.

She did not even draw her sword.

She rely stood there.

"Begin!"

With the judge’s shout, Hyeol Mujin said,

"I do feel sorry that today I must mar such a beautiful face."

His eyes flashed.

"But a match is only a match, so do not hold it against !"

His sword flew toward Seol Yeonhwa.

But.

Swish—

Seol Yeonhwa rely turned her body slightly.

The sword cut through empty air.

"...What?!"

Hyeol Mujin was flustered.

He swung his sword again.

But Seol Yeonhwa did not even draw hers.

She rely kept evading.

To the left.

To the right.

Forward.

Backward.

As if she were dancing.

"Th-this...!!"

Hyeol Mujin panted.

He had already swung dozens of tis, yet had failed to land even a single hit.

Gun Mugyeol muttered,

"...An astonishing movent art."

Unhwi said,

"One step above Gongsun Mingyue."

"...I agree."

It was then.

Seol Yeonhwa drew her sword.

Swish—

Once.

A single slash.

Clang!

Hyeol Mujin’s sword was knocked away.

"...!!"

Hyeol Mujin lost his weapon.

Seol Yeonhwa’s sword touched his throat.

"Surrender."

A cold voice.

"...I-I surrender...!!"

"Winner, Seol Yeonhwa of the Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Palace!"

The martial grounds boiled over.

Cheers and cries of admiration poured out.

"As expected...."

Gun Mugyeol marveled.

"Her reputation truly does not lie. She has developed even further than before... This is enough to make one afraid."

"My older sister possesses innate talent, but not to the degree that Leader Gun needs to be on guard."

"...Hm?"

Unhwi smiled softly.

"As for , I walk neither the orthodox path nor the unorthodox path, and neither the path of domination nor the demonic path. But my older sister is clearly soone who walks the orthodox path, so naturally there is no reason to guard against her. Is that not so?"

"That is right. It should indeed be so. Then she is not soone to be guarded against, but rather a blessing for the orthodox martial world."

Gun Mugyeol smiled.

The sparring continued.

Seok Cheonhan cut down his opponents with his saber.

Chu Mugeuk overwheld his enemies with his spear.

Gongsun Mingyue toyed with her opponents through movent art.

And Seol Yeonhwa won overwhelming victories in every match.

The sun tilted westward.

Night fell.

The first examination ended.

Thirty-eight remained.

Among them, first place was, of course, Seol Yeonhwa.

Gun Mugyeol opened his mouth.

"After a break of about ten minutes, the second examination will proceed."

Everyone looked at Gun Mugyeol.

"All of you are to move to the waiting chambers."

The rising stars withdrew.

The martial grounds began to empty.

Gun Mugyeol also rose from his seat.

Unhwi rose as well.

The eyes of the two t.

"Would you care for a drink?"

"How could I refuse?"

Gun Mugyeol led the way, and Unhwi followed behind him.

Namgung Wonyang went with them as well.

The three walked on.

Toward the League Leader’s Hall.

***

The League Leader’s Hall.

Before the enormous hall.

But sothing was strange.

There were no guards.

All the escorts who should have been protecting the League Leader’s Hall had vanished.

They were deliberately withdrawn.

Unhwi looked around.

Perfect silence.

Gun Mugyeol opened the door.

"Co in."

They went inside.

A spacious room.

In the center sat a low table, and bottles of liquor and cups had been prepared.

"Sit."

With no watching eyes around, Gun Mugyeol’s manner of speaking had grown all the more comfortable, and Unhwi let out a hollow laugh.

"Are you not tired?"

"Hm?"

"Wearing a mask. Must you really go that far?"

Gun Mugyeol smiled strangely.

"Are we starting already?"

"You may think of it that way, but if possible, I would prefer that you not beco conscious of it."

"..."

"If you beco conscious of it, you may mistake what is far away for sothing close at hand."

"Heh heh, I will keep that in mind."

Gun Mugyeol sat first and continued.

"You see, wearing a mask is not sothing that hides . Rather, should it not be seen as sothing that reveals ?"

"Is that so."

"The idea of effortless naturalness can be interpreted in many ways, and the mask placed over my face may itself be a device that both reveals and conceals my existence more fully, allowing to live according to the principles of nature."

Gun Mugyeol smiled as he poured the liquor.

"Is that not so?"

Unhwi did not answer.