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The sword swings. Inside the blade I cast aside, I reflect upon myself.

Gu Hwa-rin. Mixed blood. A child with the blood of the colored people.

Picked up by the Plum Blossom Divine, she practices the Sword of Plum Blossom…

A person who has lost their way.

—Kaaahng!

Flowers bloom. But I always had my doubts.

What if there was no seed within me? No matter how hard I try…

What if I can’t replicate the sword my master showed me?

“Huh…!”

So what about now? Where do I stand?

First, check that. Confirm the road, confirm the position.

Only then…

Will I finally have the right to search for a way.

“…Hoo.”

I catch my breath. Gu Hwa-rin looks down.

I check my body. Then I check the sword.

I inspected from the basics. The sword I always wielded. The practice I repeated without forgetting.

I trained. Wanting to make the plum blossom bloom.

But then, why did I want to make it bloom?

“Gu Hwa-rin. What a pretty name.”

I felt the rough hand that used to ruffle my hair. I recalled the one who reached out to me when I had nowhere to go.

In the house I followed him into mindlessly, I saw the sword he wielded.

It was beautiful.

I thought that.

And at the same time… I wanted to bloom like that.

A plum blossom. A beautiful flower.

“The essence of a warrior lies in combat.”

Life pressured me. The pouring gazes always made me look down.

I did not want to face people. The self-esteem, bent beyond crawling, devoured me.

Wherever I went, I received unfamiliar stares…

It felt as if there was nowhere in the world for me.

The sword I swung shrank, and every time that happened, the master scolded me.

“You mustn’t swing like that.”

“Lift your head.”

It was quite a long time. An extremely long period.

Days picked up by one person, days spent wielding a sword. Yet even after more than ten years, I still couldn’t properly bloom the plum blossom.

I built my foundation and refined my body.

I cultivated a flowerbed and infused my body with fragrance.

Yet something was missing in my sword. Even if I produced a plausible plum blossom, deep down, I knew it was not a true plum blossom.

In the end, what I drew was someone else’s.

There was no flower that I bloomed myself.

…Yet, I learned the sword.

Why?

—Because I wanted to.

“…Jeok-un.”

I called his name. I gaze at him, who looks straight at me.

I do not avert my eyes. I just look. A gaze that looks at me without prejudice.

First, just looking straight…

That’s where it all begins.

“I request a duel.”

“As you wish.”

He moves. He presents his sword, adding to my own.

On the sword I received, I lay out what I’ve learned. But I cannot pierce through that solid defense.

Every feint is seen through. In direct confrontation, I am overpowered.

The sword I swung wobbles as if it might break. The one falling is my own wrist.

He is strong.

My opponent is strong.

One day, an opponent suddenly appeared. That voice, offering to help me.

At first, I doubted it. I thought there was no one in the world who would help someone like me without a reason.

But he was real. He came up to Huashan without fail every day, wielding the same sword.

He was steel and rock. A mountain and a tree…

He was like an embodiment of all the heavy things in the world.

I realized what he meant by having no talent. The effort he spoke of was merely reducing everything I had done to a mere “scratching the surface.”

He was a warrior.

A type of warrior I had never even imagined.

A sword of the weak, a sword of one without talent.

Yet it was also a sword of perseverance, heavy with enduring patience.

“……”

The ground.

The ground was right before me.

Gu Hwa-rin swung her sword. On the dirt scattered by him, I turned around countless times.

Before I knew it, I was swinging the sword without rest. After a brief pause, it felt only natural to grasp the sword again.

The intensity of the match gradually increased. I moved from a practice sword to a real sword, and with that, the pressure weighing down on me grew heavier.

What I thought was a rock was Mount Tai.

What I thought was Mount Tai was an endless ocean.

Nutrients were sprinkled. As if to say it would be a loss if I didn’t swallow, the sword whispered.

Gu Hwa-rin did not refuse it. She accepted by grasping the sword, and from whom…

“…Ahaha.”

I recalled the feelings I had forgotten.

The feelings before I hit a wall. The enjoyment of advancing each day towards my fascination was simply delightful…

Even if I advanced merely an inch, I could smile.

The joy of the sword, overshadowed by impatience.

“Lady Gu.”

He asked. Above the flowerbed.

Smiling.

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

“…Yes.”

The sensation of the sword I held at my fingertips felt strange. As if I were truly gripping a real sword for the first time in a long time.

How much time had passed? I had no idea.

But I didn’t particularly want to know.

I forgot. I merely forgot. I became engrossed, forgetting how much sweat I had shed.

Seeds?

Roots?

I don’t know. I don’t understand why I was worried about such things.

Talent, impatience…

In the end, worries that were unnecessary.

Even without roots, even without seeds, it was enough to bloom. No matter how long it took, it was fine as long as it was achieved.

And what sustains that is precisely the…

Joy of the sword.

“…Yes.”

Gu Hwa-rin smiled.

Above the flowerbed. Drawing the flower imbued with fragrance.

For the first time in a long while, properly.

“I’m happy, Jeok-un.”

She smiled at him, looking straight.

…

Concentration.

For a warrior, there is a time of immersion.

I experienced it once too. Even without talent, I immersed myself in the situation to the limit, and before I knew it, I had forgotten all time.

And when in that state, everything turns upside down.

The sword becomes one with the body. Even life loses all meaning.

Only the sword remains to seek.

Because it is joyful. Simply, the time spent trying to achieve something is unbearably delightful.

That has seeped into Gu Hwa-rin now.

The seed begins to sprout.

Within her world.

—Chaeng!

The sword shakes. The atmosphere shifts within the real sword.

Gu Hwa-rin’s movements become smooth. The somewhat creaky appearance now flows as if lubricated.

The opponent moves. Even she does not recognize what hangs at the end of that.

A flower. A plum blossom.

But now, its color is different from what I have seen until now.

“……!”

It sparkles in gold. Blending half and half, it envelops the earth.

In the accelerating world, she, fully immersed, begins to break the rules. She starts infusing her energy into the sword, aimed to take flight.

The scent of golden plum blossom begins to settle everywhere.

I meet the clash of swords within it.

—Kwaaaa!

The tips of the swords quiver. The martial arts that are impossible to receive without energy continue.

The rapidly growing energy surpasses the stage of sword energy. Even the faint form of mighty energy goes beyond, fully revealing her ability.

The receiving body shakes as if it might shatter at any moment. Finally, I must bring forth the energy stored in my lower abdomen.

Excluding as much aggressive spirit as possible, I aim to respond to her sword…

With cold energy.

—Paaaaarang!!

The breath I released seeped out in steam. This attempt was one I had never made before.

To handle cold energy devoid of aggressive spirit. It was an approach I never could have imagined in the past.

However, after achieving the unity of the four elements, it became possible. Not only could I mix them up, but I could also detach them to use separately.

The tip of the sword speeds up. The freezing white blood sword deflected the opponent’s blade. I deflected all the attacks while syncing with her.

Strong energy countered strong energy. Matching with the same force, I confirmed her emerging mastery up close.

The clashing swords. The dissipating cold energy and the scent of the blooming plum blossom within it.

The form gradually became distinct. The Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique continues, and a center starts to settle—one that was not found in her original sword.

The sprouting seed begins to grow rapidly, consuming all the nutrients that had been accumulated thus far.

As if trying to surpass the stage, Gu Hwa-rin trembles all over. Along with that, the power built up in the tip of the sword becomes stronger.

The overflowing energy felt as if it would burst. The movements of the plum sword, solely chasing my blade.

The blade swinging in a frenzy is deflected. I steady my trembling sword handle and clash again.

—Kaaahhhhh!

Carefully ensuring the flowerbed doesn’t get ruined.

Carefully ensuring Sua isn’t caught in the crossfire.

Carefully ensuring she doesn’t end up in my mouth…

I led the way.

As the senior who advanced first.

“Lady Gu.”

I whispered within the trembling tip of the sword.

To her who did not even know her talent yet.

“Isn’t it time?”

A month went by, two months passed.

In the day-to-day repeat, Huashan’s Martial Arts drew closer, yet…

In that precarious moment, she ended up wanting to bloom herself.

The 23 intertwining sword paths merged into one. After blocking all retreat paths, it revealed its gigantic trunk toward me.

In an instant, a giant tree consuming the world. Falling petals endlessly.

Gu Hwa-rin’s eyes turned completely golden.

At the same time…

The Plum Blossom Divine, who had been lying down, opened his eyes.

“…That’s…!”

It’s coming.

The true sword of Huashan.

The Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique

Plum Blossom Fragrance for Miles

The end of the beautiful plum blossom, which I too could no longer hold back my sincerity.

An unavoidable strike enveloped me in an instant. Countless golden plum blossoms brushed past me, and among them, a single sword aimed straight at the center of my chest.

Neither slow nor fast…

But the sword of Huashan, which has already surrounded me, rendering escape impossible.

With all my might, I struck it away. Unlike everything I had held until today, I poured out all my sincerity.

Suppressing my aggressive spirit and magical aura, I mixed as much of the yin and yang as possible.

Unity of Dual Origins

Fire Wheel Ice White Sword

The sword, shaking as if it would burst, repelled the wave of flowers that came crashing down. The skin of the beast I had donned screamed.

Unable to swallow it, the gigantic plum blossom rose above me. In an instant, the world was covered with its fragrance.

A realm representing the Huaxing.

The first path leading to the Heart Sword.

Yi-hyeong Ki (意形罡 氣).

“…Ah.”

A beautiful yet pure energy poured down like snow, whispering beauty as it covered the ruined flowerbed.

Within the broken immersion, Gu Hwa-rin staggered down. Along with that, as if shedding its shell, her entire body split apart.

The sprouted seed became a plum blossom, and as a result, the Huashan swordsmanship learned to reveal itself to the world.

Her cracked skin shattered and fell to the floor. Finally awakened, I lowered my sword towards the flower.

The flowerbed had become slightly ruined, but it was still okay.

Because the most beautiful flower was right before me.

“How do you feel, Lady Gu?”

“…Good. Very.”

Gu Hwa-rin sighed. She looked up at me from beneath her cracked skin.

“…I have a question.”

“Ask away.”

“…How did you teach something even the master couldn’t teach?”

“If I were to pin it down, it’s just one thing.”

I spun the Ear Sword and sheathed it.

“I was slow to learn compared to others, so I repeated the same things several times. Before long, I ended up knowing it naturally. What geniuses surpass with intuition, the talentless weak must climb up how.”

“…You really shouldn’t become a martial artist.”

Gu Hwa-rin chuckled softly.

“Otherwise, the world will be overrun by masters.”

“The teacher has far fewer capabilities than you’d expect. The results depend solely on who the receiver is. What I’ve been able to gain this much was only possible because you were that desperate and talented. And above all…”

I turned away.

“It’s only possible because Lady Gu was already prepared. Effort will never betray a warrior.”

“……”

I looked upon the man staggering toward me in a place filled with the scent of plum blossoms.

“Stand up, Lady Gu.”

“Yes?”

“I was correct in my predictions…”

I took a step back for her.

The one who will hold her hand now, is not me.

“You ought not to welcome the master who has awakened after so long while sitting, right?”

“……!”

She turned her head.

A man staggering across the ruined flowerbed. But the craziness that had once shown on his face was now gone.

Seeing one’s own sword from another’s blade, realizing how precious it is, he called out to her.

“…Hwa-rin.”

He smiled. With a haggard face.

“See? Didn’t I tell you?”

“……”

“In the end, you’ve bloomed. Not a flower meant to be shown to others… but the plum blossom you wished to bloom yourself.”

The Plum Blossom Divine.

The one who regained his senses whispered.

“Indeed, my sight was not wrong. My disciple.”

Tears fell from Gu Hwa-rin’s eyes. No matter how much she wiped them away, they continued to flow, soaking the ground.

“…So much…”

Her voice was half-buried in her sniffles.

…Still.

“You… took too long… to wake… Master…”

Her voice was refreshingly clear.

 

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