"Wind?"

Feeling a sudden wind, Namgung Cheon turned his gaze in the direction the wind was flowing.

There, Baek Yoonjun stood loftily.

The wind was blowing towards that place.

As if he had become the center of the wind, the currents of the river were blowing around Baek Yoonjun.

And Baek Yoonjun drew his sword.

No, that was not a sword.

The blade, which was originally black, had turned into a blue current and was melting into the wind.

It wasn't just the sword.

Baek Yoonjun also melted into the wind.

It was not a simple wind.

Nature itself.

It wasn't particularly noticeable, nor was there an overwhelming aura, but nature itself was felt.

That nature was soon dyed in a blue light.

The blue wind changed its direction and swept around the Jiangshi.

A blue wind raged.

A gentle breeze like a spring wind, where it was hard to find any intense aura.

But the place where that wind had swept past.

Slice.

It was cut naturally, as if it was meant to be that way from the beginning.

Dozens of Jiangshi were naturally cut and scattered on the spot.

It was such a natural flow that if their forms hadn't remained, one would have thought they had melted into the wind.

The same was true for the Jiangshi that Namgung Cheon was struggling to deal with.

At the sight of the Jiangshi crumbling as if it was meant to be, Namgung Cheon felt a different emotion than before.

It was neither an overwhelming martial prowess nor a shabby one.

No, it was a natural phenomenon that he could not evaluate.

"Blue Wind."

Namgung Cheon muttered to himself without realizing it.

Hearing that, Baek Yoonjun leisurely sheathed his sword and nodded his head.

"Blue Wind, that's not bad. Then I'll just call this martial art the Blue Wind Sword Technique."

Hearing those words, Namgung Cheon was dumbfounded.

"No, you mean that noble martial art didn't even have a name?"

"It does now. Blue Wind Sword Technique. Not bad, is it?"

"Hah."

Namgung Cheon let out a hollow laugh at the sight of the unpretentious Baek Yoonjun, who seemed to have no thoughts after showing such martial prowess.

'As expected, this person is his successor.'

And he was convinced that his thoughts from the tavern were correct.

Of course, it was only Namgung Cheon's thought.

As for Baek Yoonjun, the person in question.

'To be so moved by a mere third-rate martial art. Well, that person's martial arts are worse than Sowol's now, so what.'

Baek Yoonjun recalled that he had mostly met third-rate or lower martial artists in his life.

'Come to think of it, I think I've only seen third-rate or lower martial artists in my life, right? Is there something to this?'

His mind became a little complicated at the sudden thought, but he couldn't think of any particular reason.

'I'm lucky.'

So he decided to just dismiss it as luck and accept it.

Of course, it was only Baek Yoonjun's personal thought.

* * *

An open space a little away from a roadside north of Sichuan province.

"Uwaaaaah!!"

Baek Sowol was running around.

It was a sight that was a bit too much to be called the image of a bright child playing in the forest.

"You brat. What are you going to do if you just run away in a sparring match?"

"What am I supposed to do when I can't even reach you!!"

A moment ago.

Baek Sowol had unleashed all the techniques she could with all her might towards Zhuge Hyun.

But at the same time as she felt something strange, Baek Sowol's attack could not reach Zhuge Hyun.

"Where is it fair to use a formation in a sparring match?"

"Is there a law that says you can't?"

There wasn't.

In the first place, the history of the group called the martial world was not long, and the concept that existed before that was that sparring was to clash one's abilities with an opponent to the extent that the opponent was not harmed.

But Baek Sowol felt it was somehow unfair.

"It's cheap! It's not like I can do anything even if we clash head-on anyway!"

"So what do you want me to do?"

"First, please remove the formation!"

Baek Sowol expressed her opinion with a voice full of unfairness, and a short while later.

"Tsk, this is all part of studying."

Zhuge Hyun, who had been impossible to find until now, appeared in front of Baek Sowol.

"There you are!"

Before Zhuge Hyun could do anything else, Baek Sowol quickly gathered her internal energy and unleashed a technique with all her might at Zhuge Hyun.

With Baek Sowol at the center, the surroundings exploded as if a thunderbolt had struck, and Baek Sowol's figure reached Zhuge Hyun.

"How brutal."

Seeing that, Zhuge Hyun threw a piece of paper behind Baek Sowol.

"Die!!"

And just before Baek Sowol's shout, which sounded a bit too unfair, and her sword reached Zhuge Hyun.

Whoosh.

Zhuge Hyun's figure disappeared and appeared where the paper he had just thrown was.

"Huh?"

Baek Sowol looked around with a dazed expression and found Zhuge Hyun who had appeared behind her.

"Wh-what was that?! I didn't see any particular movement?!"

"This is called Shrinking Earth. It's close to a sorcery, no, a Taoist art."

"How do you do that?!"

"Look. What I just threw is a Shrinking Earth Talisman, a talisman that incorporates a lot of the study of the Tao learned in Kunlun."

"Kunlun? You were in the Kunlun Mountains?"

"I was, once."

Baek Sowol became dizzy at Zhuge Hyun's words.

'Shrinking Earth? A talisman? And Kunlun?'

It was a story that would only appear in the stories of the marketplace.

All the skills, including the formation, were skills that Baek Sowol could not understand at all.

And Kunlun.

Kunlun was a place where there were rumors that immortals used to reside, and that many who wished to become immortals were training.

Baek Sowol understood Zhuge Hyun's strange arts a little after hearing that he had resided in Kunlun.

And at the same time, a question arose.

Then what about her master, whom even Zhuge Hyun called master?

"By any chance, was Master also in Kunlun?"

"No, he is a person who does not need to train in such a place."

"Then how...?"

"I will answer that with my next move."

Zhuge Hyun picked up a nearby branch.

"I've shown you various things, now I'll show you the martial arts of the Celestial Records."

Wind began to blow around Zhuge Hyun.

"The Celestial Records deal with heaven, earth, and man."

A lofty appearance, as if he were the center of everything.

"Between heaven and earth, there is man."

Zhuge Hyun muttered quietly.

"Usually, this kind of thing is written in third-rate martial arts books in the marketplace. The Celestial Records are also like that. But."

Zhuge Hyun raised the branch towards Baek Sowol.

"The man of the Celestial Records, unlike the man of the third-rate martial arts books in the marketplace, means the one and only human at the center of heaven and earth."

A great pressure, as if it would crush heaven and earth, began to flow from Zhuge Hyun's branch.

"In heaven and on earth, I alone am the honored one."

Zhuge Hyun slowly brought the branch down.

"But the heavens cannot tolerate a martial art that deviates from such common sense."

The movement of that branch was slow, but it seemed that no one in the world could block that branch.

"That's why the study of the Celestial Records does not end with just learning the martial arts."

Baek Sowol had already fainted from the pressure of the branch, so there was no one to hear those words, but Zhuge Hyun continued to speak.

"Therefore, it is necessary to deceive the heavens, and the way to do that is to become nature itself.

It is a realm that no one, including myself, has succeeded in reaching. Except for one person."

A streak of blood flowed from the corner of Zhuge Hyun's mouth.

He didn't show it, but he had suffered internal injuries because he had pushed himself a little to let Baek Sowol know who she had learned from and what she had learned.

"The Celestial Records are not something that humans can learn.

The martial arts of one who has deceived the heavens and become an immortal on earth, no, since it is not the martial arts of a human, it should be called immortal arts, or immortal techniques."

There was no one here who could hear Zhuge Hyun's words.

Zhuge Hyun looked at the fainted Baek Sowol and smiled slyly, wiping the blood flowing from the corner of his mouth.

"I've progressed a little. I too will one day be able to reach Master's realm."

Zhuge Hyun sat down, treated his internal injuries for a moment, took care of the fainted Baek Sowol, and found a suitable place.

Normally, he should have left long ago, but it seemed that his departure would be delayed due to the excessive use of internal energy.

"There's no need to rush."

For Zhuge Hyun, it was more important to pass on the teachings he had learned and the greatness of his master than Baek Sowol's journey down the mountain.

'I don't know his great will. But accepting this little one as a disciple must also be included in his great will.'

Zhuge Hyun quietly tried to figure out Baek Yoonjun's intentions somehow and looked down at the young junior sister he had laid down nearby.

'His great will is completely difficult to grasp, but I must bet everything I have on the path his sword takes and be of help.'

Of course, the great will and everything else were all Zhuge Hyun's personal thoughts.

At that time, Baek Yoonjun.

"Brother Baek! Let's go together!"

He couldn't shake off the persistently following Namgung Cheon.

'Ah, damn it, this is so annoying. But I can't just disappear with my lightness skill while that person is watching.'

He had left the side of the suspicious group from before long ago.

Baek Yoonjun wanted to go home and hole himself up due to the fatigue of being involved in such a matter, but he couldn't go back because of the presence of the persistently following Namgung Cheon.

'Should I just cut him down? Then there would be no one watching, so it wouldn't be against etiquette to use my lightness skill to the extreme, right?'

Baek Yoonjun was more concerned about people's gazes than cutting a person.

'Haa, but he doesn't seem to be an evil person, so I can't cut him.'

But Baek Yoonjun was not so far gone as to cut just anyone.

He was ruthless to evil people, but basically, he was a very timid homebody introvert.

"Pant, pant. It doesn't seem like you're using your lightness skill, but how are your steps so fast?"

That's why he couldn't shake off Namgung Cheon, who was following him without any ill will.

For Baek Yoonjun, a person who approached him friendly without any ill will was more difficult than an absolute master or a ruffian with a fierce impression.

A situation where he couldn't even say anything.

'Still, if I don't like it, can't I at least say a word?'

In that situation, Baek Yoonjun mustered up great courage.

"We don't really have any business with each other, do we?"

"I'm sorry. Brother Baek, no, Great Hero Baek!"

Baek Yoonjun was so intimidated by the sudden word 'great hero' and Namgung Cheon's strong aura that he couldn't say anything.

But Namgung Cheon saw that and.

'He's staring at me coldly without saying anything. Could it be that he's testing me?'

He misunderstood Baek Yoonjun's outward appearance.

'Could it be? Is he seeing through my identity as well? If so, it would be better to be honest first.'

He was completely mistaken.

Because Baek Yoonjun's outward appearance was the complete opposite of his homebody introvert inner self, a cold and unfathomably deep appearance.

"Great Hero Baek. I, Cheon so-and-so, am actually a blood relative of the Namgung family, as you would know if you heard the name Namgung Cheon."

Namgung Cheon glanced at the silent Baek Yoonjun.

'He's not surprised at all. As expected, he knew.'

Of course, it was a misunderstanding.

'What?! Namgung? The same family as those people from the sect earlier?! But why did he hide his identity earlier?!'

Baek Yoonjun was so surprised by the unexpected identity that he couldn't even react.

But on the outside, he just looked like he was thinking about something coldly.

At that sight, Namgung Cheon.

'Could it be that he even knows about the family's affairs? I don't know how he knew, but looking at Great Hero Baek's eyes that feel dizzying, it's understandable even if he knows everything in the world.'

He misunderstood on his own.

"Phew, as Great Hero Baek may know, there is a reason why I hid my name.

I didn't know about the family's disgrace that just happened, but I couldn't pretend not to know about the family's disgrace that happened before, so I left home."

Baek Yoonjun said nothing.

But Namgung Cheon, who saw that, thought that Baek Yoonjun knew everything as expected.

But Baek Yoonjun.

'Why is he suddenly bringing up family matters? This is going to get more and more annoying. Can I go home?'

He knew nothing and just wanted to go home and hole himself up before it got more annoying.

'Ha, should I just suggest we go our separate ways? That should be fine, right?'

Baek Yoonjun pondered.

'Right. I can say that much. I can do it!'

And so, he made a big decision in his own way and was about to speak.

"Great Hero Baek, I have a request."

But the opponent was faster.

Baek Yoonjun had no such courage to interrupt someone else's words and express his own opinion, so he could only shut his mouth, pretending to be nonchalant.

'Should I just throw away all etiquette and leave? It's not like I'll see him again anyway?'

Baek Yoonjun pondered even more deeply and was about to make a choice he would never normally make.

"At the very least, I want to properly confirm the whereabouts of that child, Sowol, whether she is alive or dead. But I am lacking, so it will be difficult for me alone. Please help me, great hero!"

But from the opponent's mouth came words that he could never ignore, so Baek Yoonjun could not carry out his big decision.

(End of Chapter)