Chapter 1055: The Divine Tree and the Master.

From the sky to the ground.

A single beam of light drew a line.

A single line drawn across the crimson sky. Following the line thus created, the man’s body was sliced apart.

My vision twists.

One side goes up. The other side goes down.

The moment my upper body split in half and twisted.

Clang-!

My body suddenly returned to normal, and my vision snapped back.

“Gack…!”

A gasp escaped. The man clutched his heart and his eyes fluttered shut.

“Hooook… Hook…”

The sensation from just before. Recalling it, the man steadied his breathing.

It was clear. He must have just brushed against the threshold of death.

“What…?”

What kind of sensation was this? To nearly experience death.

“I have ascended in rank…!”

My body, whose rank had greatly risen to a supreme position. Yet, what was that just now?

Grrr-!

Grinding his teeth, the man looked straight ahead.

Then, he saw the very person who had sliced him in half with a single sword strike. Lush white hair reached his waist. An unkempt beard grew wildly.

He held crimson eyes and looked down at him with a somewhat tired face.

It was someone he knew.

Though they hadn’t interacted much, he was someone unforgettable.

“…It’s been a while.”

Just as the man was about to mention the name he’d heard for the old man.

“Shincheol.”

Before him, the old man. Shincheol spoke first.

“My name is Shincheol.”

“…”

“Call me that.”

“Shincheol…”

The man uttered the name, lifting the corners of his mouth. Yes, what did it matter what he called him?

“I’ve felt it since long ago, you truly are a peculiar fellow.”

Names are meaningless. What matters is what kind of being that guy is.

“Clearly, your rank is endlessly low, yet you carry yourself so stiffly, head held high. And your power, too.”

If there was something he had long felt.

Shincheol, whom the Leader called an outsider, was inexplicably strong.

It was the same even when he came as a General temporarily under the Master’s authority.

Generals, originally, were top-tier powerhouses even in the worlds they came from.

Such individuals came to Manye (Myriad Realms) and were placed under the Master.

Even among them, Shincheol stood out.

The day Yu-sa, who had a strong fighting spirit, desperately charged at Shincheol, claiming someone of low rank had become a General.

After that day, Yu-sa never challenged Shincheol again.

Only the two of them knew what happened, but it could be vaguely inferred from Yu-sa’s changed attitude.

Even if that wasn’t the case.

“Even the great Leader hesitated to fight.”

Even that brutish Leader fellow hesitated to fight him. It was peculiar. He knew the Master hadn’t granted any authority when bringing in the Generals.

Was that the condition? Probably so.

Furthermore.

“Even in that situation.”

When that guy fled with the Divine Tree. No one could stop him. Even when the Generals attacked together before the Master specifically ordered them not to capture him, they ultimately couldn’t win.

Truly overwhelming strength.

In the end, the Master himself stepped forward and put a leash on him.

Countless shackles were placed, but the most important among them were:

‘Do not interfere in the affairs of Manye.’

‘Do not initiate combat.’

among others.

If it wasn’t a matter he was involved in, he shouldn’t initiate things first. This applied to combat as well.

It was because such constraints, along with countless pressures, were imposed that the old man could exist in Manye until now.

“Well now.”

The man let out a hollow laugh.

Just one strike.

With a single slash, he had nearly reached death.

“This isn’t even funny.”

Even now, having ascended in rank according to the will of the heavens, could this happen?

Whoosh.

The wind blew, and a floral scent brushed past his nose.

It fluttered gently.

As a leaf suddenly flew and grazed the man’s face.

“What is it?”

“……!”

A voice sounded right before his face.

The trident gripped in his hand moved. The light-filled spear flew directly towards Shincheol, but.

“Are you deaf or something?”

Shink.

Along with the sound of being cut, the spear was cleanly sliced.

The problem was.

“You’re not answering my question.”

“Kugh!”

The fact that the man’s body, along with the spear, was sliced again.

His body swayed. What was about to be sliced off was held back and restored to its original state.

“Hmm.”

Seeing that, Shincheol narrowed his eyes. At that moment.

Chwarareureureuk–!!!!!

“Keoheok–!!”

Flower petals scattered. The sword Shincheol wielded was just like that. It slashed the man’s body as if shredding the bursting petals. Countless sword strikes poured onto his body.

There was no obstruction whatsoever. Pain invaded countless times, but it eventually regenerated.

“This bastard–!!”

The man gritted his teeth. If he tried to move his body, the sword had already cut through the joints.

His body was sealed due to regeneration.

He was managing to block the dangerous parts somehow, but it was bewildering.

Unable to endure it, the man finally bit his lip and spoke.

“Stop…!”

The command flowed and shot towards Shincheol. Shincheol’s body was immediately bound, but.

“Hup!”

Kwang-!

“What…?”

With a battle cry, the shackles binding his body burst forth. Seeing that, the man’s eyes widened.

What did he just do? Did he break free from the command?

How?

He wore a surprised expression, but there was no time to maintain it.

A crimson line blooming from the sword’s tip descended.

Paak-!!

“Kk!”

The man let out a groan. His arm was cleanly severed and flew through the air. It was a close call. If he hadn’t dodged just now, it would have been different from before.

He rolled his eyes. Dodging was good, but a problem arose.

“What is this…!”

The severed arm couldn’t regenerate. Could it be that this, too, was a power that damaged his divine status? No, that wasn’t it. There was no abnormality in his rank.

Then what was this? Just as he was about to question it, the man realized the cause.

“The energy…”

From the cross-section where the arm was cut, energy was fluctuating. It was continuously inflicting damage, preventing regeneration.

“This is unbelievable.”

The energy itself seemed to possess will, constantly hindering regeneration. This wasn’t simply the power inherent in the energy itself.

It was the result of extremely condensed and controlled energy.

“A guy with such a trivial rank…”

How could he use it to this extent? Moreover, he was a mortal who hadn’t lived even a thousand years.

Crunch.

Grinding his teeth as if to break them, he moved the trident.

Shink-!

He cut the severed surface once more. Only then, the energy bound to the cross-section was severed, allowing regeneration.

Feeling his body regenerate, he created distance.

He thought creating distance was the priority. As he thought this, he moved far away.

Even then, Shincheol simply kept his sword lowered, merely watching the man.

“Just what…”

What in the world is this?

What was that gap just now?

It was the point where he had gained divine status and become the Master’s vessel. Yet, what had he just suffered from that guy, whose rank wasn’t even General-class?

Moreover.

“Why didn’t the command work?”

Things that should have worked didn’t. He clearly knew the rank was low, yet even the command didn’t work.

No, it wasn’t that it didn’t work. The command clearly worked, but.

“He broke it.”

He broke it with a battle cry. What kind of crazy talk was this?

“This guy…”

Just what is that guy?

“What is your identity?”

“Hmm?”

To the man’s question, Shincheol tilted his head.

Identity?

“Well.”

If asked about his identity, there wasn’t much he could specifically answer.

Shincheol.

The Sect Leader of Mount Hua Sect.

The hero who saved the Central Plains.

The greatest swordsman of all time.

Various titles came to mind, but. Those would eventually be forgotten in his mind.

He recalled his foundation.

“It’s something I recently learned.”

How many years has it been since coming to Manye?

A body that neither grows nor decays.

Energy neither increases nor decreases. The body neither breaks nor improves.

Though there was an issue with his soul, excluding that, Shincheol received everything he possessed before dying.

It was that kind of contract.

Therefore, he never particularly sought growth.

Honestly, having died old, what ambition for growth could he have? He briefly had such thoughts, but.

“Even this old, worn-out mind had ambitions.”

Shincheol was able to learn things he didn’t know after coming to Manye.

“What?”

“Even recalling many things, the foundation is ingrained in the body, so this is unavoidable. Thinking that way made things improve a bit.”

“What are you talking about right now…”

“Did you ask what my identity is?”

Shincheol changed his posture. Turning his body, which was sideways, to face the man directly, he raised the lowered sword, aligning the blade neatly.

The largest plum blossom tree of Mount Hua Sect.

Shincheol, thus, spoke about his identity.

“A Martial Artist (武人).”

“Huh?”

A martial artist? What did that mean?

Just as the man pondered in confusion.

“Constantly yearn and never stop growing. No matter what wall blocks your path, you shall eventually overcome it.”

That is what a martial artist is.

Dead ends did not exist. A place thought to be one was merely a wall.

A wall blocking the path was meant to be climbed over or broken through.

The essence of a martial artist is growth and enlightenment.

For Shincheol, that was what a martial artist was. Even in the life of Manye where he could gain nothing, he pursued something.

A body that did not grow.

But, was his spirit the same?

He pursued.

He yearned.

Starting from what Martial Arts (武) are.

What is a sword, what is Mount Hua.

What value and meaning do the things he achieved hold?

Thinking about these things abundantly, going in circles, one thing was reached.

There is no end to martial arts (武學).

That means, as a martial artist, there are no limits either.

Vaguely, he erased the excuse that he couldn’t progress because he had ultimately met death.

His steps were merely stopped by the weight of excuses.

So, he let it go.

Sring.

Shincheol’s sword shot up into the sky.

Seeing that, the man’s eyes flickered. He had to block that.

Thinking so, his body instinctively lunged forward.

White energy wrapped around him, and light filled his blue eyes.

“It doesn’t matter what you are.”

He knew the guy was extraordinary just by looking, but that was the extent of Shincheol’s thoughts.

“Since I’ll be cutting you anyway.”

Unfortunately, he couldn’t take many steps forward.

Just one step.

Shincheol realized he had taken just one step forward.

That was enough.

Since he didn’t stop in the end, that was sufficient.

There was nothing his sword couldn’t cut.

He lived his past days embodying that intention, and it was fully imbued into his blade.

Plum Blossom Sword Technique (梅華劍法). The Way of Flowers, One Sword (華道一劒).

Shincheol’s modification.

Late Plum Blossom Sword (梅華晩劍).

Shink.

The slow sword cut the man;

And the world split apart.