C1704
Yoon Jong's eyes trembled.
“Sasuk…?”
He was on the verge of doubting Baek Cheon’s sanity.
The enemy was powerful.
Although martial arts aren't solely defined by strength and internal energy, the power of the Sun Palace Leader was at a level they had rarely experienced.
And Baek Cheon wanted to face him in this state, without even being at his peak strength?
“Oh…”
Jo Gul instinctively reached out towards Baek Cheon's back. It seemed like his body could melt at any moment.
However, despite everyone's concern, Baek Cheon remained unfazed. He was like an old pine tree rooted on a lonely cliff.
Even though Jo Gul wanted to move forward with him, his body momentarily retreated from the approaching heat.
That's why it was even more surprising.
How could he advance?
All the swordsmen of Mount Hua, who had never feared any battlefield, were now paralyzed. So, how could Baek Cheon move forward like this?
Jo Gul’s eyes, following Baek Cheon, reflected complex emotions.
Proud to the extreme, but also incredibly dangerous. Jo Gul watched him, stupefied.
It’s hot.
It feels like his skin is boiling. Every time he inhales, it feels as if his lungs are burning.
He wanted to retreat immediately.
He knew that if he retreated now, no one would blame him. In fact, they would praise him for making a sensible decision.
But Baek Cheon did not retreat.
Even if he melted away without leaving a trace of his hair, he had no intention of retreating.
Anyone can say brave words. Anyone can boast. The truly difficult part is living up to those words.
He pressed his feet down. Not to advance, but to not retreat. He put strength into the hand holding the sword. Not to cut down the enemy, but to not break.
This was a different kind of struggle than any Baek Cheon had faced before.
Everything was trembling. His hand holding the sword, his legs keeping him standing. Even his strong body and long hair.
But only his eyes did not tremble, staring directly at the Sun Palace Leader ahead.
The Sun Palace Leader could not hide his bewilderment.
“...Do you intend to stop me now?”
This was something Sun Palace Leader Jin Pyeong had never experienced.
Sure, there had always been arrogant brats who dared to challenge him. There were always some who didn't know their place.
But no one had ever faced him this way. Even if they talked about resisting in his absence, in his presence, they always cowered.
Those called warriors, heroes, and even those some saw as hope, all were the same.
But here he was, this insignificant man from the Central Plains, boldly blocking his way. He was different from Jang Ilso. These eyes were something the Sun Palace Leader had never seen before.
“Are you about to faint?”
It was obvious at a glance.
This man was not in his best state. He wasn't simply weak.
At another time, he must have been much stronger. But now, the only thing left was the residue of his former glory.
“Even so, are you not going to retreat?”
The Sun Palace Leader let out an ironic laugh.
But still, he couldn’t ignore what he saw. Those who retreated in fear at his power stopped when they saw this man advancing.
It was ridiculous.
No one would think this man could stop the Sun Palace Leader. No one would expect a broken man to defeat him.
Yet, everyone stopped retreating. Although nothing had changed, it seemed as if something had.
That irritated the Sun Palace Leader Jin Pyeong. His golden eyes shone intensely.
“Insolent!”
Boom!
Scorching heat emanated from his hands, tearing through the air towards Baek Cheon.
The Sun Palace Leader was certain. This force would turn him to charcoal, or at least destroy his pathetic attempt at bravery and make him collapse to the ground.
But what happened next was very different from his expectations.
A faint sound of something trembling was heard and grew, and a red sword energy bloomed at the tip of the swordsman’s blade.
‘…A flower?’
It was a sword energy resembling the delicate petals of a flower. It was even incomplete. It was a withered and broken flower.
With that sword energy, did he intend to stop this?
Even if it were complete, that fragile sword energy couldn’t withstand his great power. What could he do with those withered flower petals…?
------------------
Of course, it wasn't that his internal energy had no effect.
Baek Cheon's sword had turned red as if it had been taken from a brazier, and the hand holding it was burnt, the skin sticking to the hilt. His left shoulder was charred and hanging in tatters, and his sword-wielding arm was also burned in several places, clearly in bad shape.
The end of his hair had also burned, and from his left jaw to his cheekbone, he had blisters from burns.
So, the Sun Palace Leader's energy had certainly punished the insolent before him. But that only made his anger grow even more.
Was he not going to withdraw? Even in this state?
Unlike the beginning, his body was covered in wounds, but Baek Cheon's eyes had not changed at all. Even spitting blood from his mouth, his eyes faced the Sun Palace Leader with the same clarity.
"This bastard..."
An immense fury ignited within the Sun Palace Leader.
“Do you dare to scorn me too?!”
Boom!
A colossal force erupted. This time, his intent was to turn Baek Cheon into charcoal. A surge of burning internal energy advanced fiercely.
At the moment Baek Cheon gripped his sword with his half-melted hand.
“Crazy bastard!”
“Damn it!”
Two people flew towards him. Including the person holding his back, there were four. Maybe even more.
“Ahhhh!”
The swords of Jo Gul, Yoon Jong, and Yoo Iseol emitted streams of red energy.
“Oooooh!”
Finally, the energy unleashed by Hye Yeon, who was supporting Baek Cheon’s shoulder, mingled with the scattered flower petals, colliding head-on with the fierce wave of burning energy from the Sun Palace Leader.
Boom!
An overwhelming heat expanded in all directions.
Their bodies turned red-hot in an instant, but the four people surrounding Baek Cheon did not retreat a single step.
“Ugh…”
A groan of pain came from Yoon Jong’s mouth.
“He’s doing this alone…?”
He felt as if all the liquids in his body were boiling. As soon as sweat came out, it evaporated into white steam, unable to withstand the heat.
“Ahhhh!”
But he clenched his teeth. Instead, he shouted even louder as he intensified his sword attack.
Boom!
The Sun Palace Leader’s energy dispersed. Yoon Jong, who had blocked the deadly blow, involuntarily knelt.
“Damn it!”
Yoon Jong stuck his sword into the ground to deal with the momentary loss of strength and, grinding his teeth, looked at Baek Cheon.
“Is he trying to die here?”
“…”
“What is he planning to do in this battered state…?!”
“They’re here.”
“What?”
“…You are here.”
Yoon Jong’s eyes trembled, speechless.
But the surprise soon transformed into even greater rage.
It wasn’t anger towards the reckless Baek Cheon.
It was anger at himself for not taking the initiative before Baek Cheon, despite having thought he could surpass him.
“If something goes really wrong…”
“I’ve only learned.”
Baek Cheon raised his sword with his torn hand. The tip of the sword pointed once again at the Sun Palace Leader. Even though his comrades came to protect him, he didn’t seem to have the slightest intention of retreating from the front.
“If I retreat here, I’ll really just be all talk.”
Yoon Jong’s trembling eyes cooled. The killing intent in his eyes was directed at the Sun Palace Leader before them.
Tac.
Whether they understood his feelings or were already on the same page, Jo Gul and Yoo Iseol stood beside him and pointed their swords together.
Yoon Jong looked at the Sun Palace Leader and spoke.
“Jo Gul.”
“Yes, Sahyung.”
“Let’s kill this guy and open the way.”
Jo Gul didn’t respond. There was no need to respond. His heart pounded fiercely, eager to launch the attack immediately.
Seeing these swordsmen of the Mount Hua Sect, the Sun Palace Leader’s face contorted with rage.
“Those damn…”
A moment ago, these guys were looking for a way to escape. Now, they bared their teeth at him like wild beasts who had found their prey. No, they seemed as if they were seeing a mortal enemy with whom they couldn’t coexist under the same sky.
“Residue…”
The man standing before them was, undoubtedly, just a burnt residue. But then…
“Is there a spark inside him?”
A spark to ignite something else?
“Insolent!”
The Sun Palace Leader’s voice was filled with immense anger. The accumulated fury finally overflowed uncontrollably. Even these despicable worms…
Fwoosh!
But his rage couldn’t fully unleash. Before his voice rumbled through the sky and earth, the burning swords had already charged towards him.
“Open the way!”
Like an arrow shot from a fully drawn bow, the swordsmen of the Mount Hua Sect charged like dozens of arrows.
Filled with guilt and shame, anger and determination.
Though they exchanged no words, it wasn’t necessary. They only needed to run. Towards the flame their leader had ignited.
Kaaang!
The Sun Palace Leader’s hand deflected Jo Gul’s approaching sword.
“You…!”
Rumble!
At that moment, hundreds of flower petals drawn by Yoon Jong...and Yoo Iseol enveloped the Sun Palace Leader.
“Damn you!”
Bang!
In the instant the Sun Palace Leader, with his vision obstructed, attempted to move, the flower petals in front of him trembled. And through them, someone flew directly at the Sun Palace Leader.
'You…?'
Baek Cheon’s face, with half his cheek burned, rapidly approached.
At that moment, seeing that his eyes hadn't changed at all, the Sun Palace Leader's fury finally exploded like a volcano.
“Aaaargh!”