The sky was covered in haze. Red plum blossoms bloomed through the extremely fine sand, which looked more like dust than sand.
In an instant, countless plum blossoms bloomed like red clouds.
The red clouds swallowed the sand, flying thickly, and the countless needles aimed at Chung Myung from the front.
"Kuak!"
Tang Gunak's eyes lit up with joy.
'A monster-like bastard!'
Soul Destroying Sand was extremely fine. Therefore, when it was poisoned, the only way to avoid it was to leave the area.
Soul Destroying Sand spread in the air would pierce the lungs if one inhaled even a little bit, and even if it touched the skin, it would push the poison into the body.
Regardless of whether someone hit by the Soul Destroying Sand could withstand its poison, there was almost no way to stop it. No, there was none.
But Chung Myung was now pushing away all the sand with his sword qi, not just strength. That meant the sword qi, like the blooming plum blossoms, was released perfectly without a single gap.
Aside from its apparent beauty, it was a sword qi that could not be described without saying it was terrifying.
Kakakaka!
The fine needles caught in that splendid sword qi were not being bounced back but were literally being crushed. This meant the speed and power of the sword qi had far exceeded the level that the fine needles in the sand could withstand.
It was a sword he had seen numerous times in the past.
But Tang Gunak could understand the difference perfectly. They had the same appearance, yet the strength, speed, and precision of the sword were incomparable to the past.
Kaka!
The moment the last needle broke, Chung Myung rushed to him as if breaking through a plum tree forest. A twisted smile formed on his lips.
Kwaaaak!
Creep.
The moment he saw Chung Myung rushing in, Tang Gunak felt the blood in his entire body go cold as if he had entered an ice cave.
Even though he had experienced it before, he could not get used to the killing intent of Chung Myung. His entire body tensed up, and his heart began to beat rapidly.
Paat!
The blade, with incredible force, swirled and flew toward Chung Myung. It was an attack meant to kill him, who was charging straight ahead.
But Tang Gunak knew.
This sword-swinging devil never moved according to the intentions of his opponent. If he struck, he would move in the direction that Tang Gunak would hate the most.
Chung Myung's Dark Fragrant Plum Blossom Sword twisted in the air, rising like an ascending dragon, and struck down the sword he had thrown in one breath.
Kwaaaang!
The qi of the two fighters clashed and exploded violently.
'Right!'
Tang Gunak stretched out his qi and retrieved the daggers that had fallen to the ground. At the same time, as if there was nothing to see, he immediately threw three more daggers.
The poisoned daggers created three vortexes. The Soul Destroying Sand generously applied to the blade and handle, scattered in all directions.
Paat!
The moment Chung Myung's form appeared in the storm of qi, the three daggers had already arrived right in front of him.
At that moment, Tang Gunak saw.
Chung Myung's sword trembled, and the flowers bloomed.
'….'
His eyes grew wide.
His attack and defense split time into a split second. At that extreme speed, Chung Myung's sword seemed to move as if it was at a different time.
The sword moved excessively slowly, but in reality, it wasn't slow at all. The time surrounding him was simply slower than the sword.
Kwak!
The plum blossoms were pierced by the daggers of the Tang family as if to prove how absurd it was to block sword qi with flower petals.
But before the sword's majesty could fully shine after tearing down the flowers, a newly bloomed plum blossom flew towards the dagger.
The petals flew in shimmering splendor and clung to the dagger. The plum blossoms, which came one by one, gently wrapped around the dagger and pushed it aside.
"What?"
Tang Gunak's eyes widened.
Woaaah!
His dagger, imbued with internal qi, still surged ahead without losing any of its strength. Still, its direction was already significantly different from Tang Gunak's intentions.
The three layers of daggers curved greatly as if they had intended to do so from the start, brushing past Chung Myung's body.
This time, the Soul Destroying Sand, which was following the dagger, struck Chung Myung, who was rushing forward like a ray of light.
At that moment.
Wheik.
Chung Myung's sword drew a circle in the air.
The trajectory was clearly smooth, even though it was a drawn sword. Then it swung horizontally like a black lightning bolt.
Woah!
Tang Gunak saw it clearly with both his eyes.
The Soul Breaking Sand, which was pushing in with the dagger, got pushed aside.
No matter how much internal qi it held, dust is always dust. The tip of the sword pushed away the air, and the sand began to get sucked into the empty space like an illusion.
Bam!
Tang Gunak quickly kicked the ground and flew back.
'I thought he would return as a dragon.'
… but wasn't this a monster?
If Chung Myung had used that sword to block the attacks by making plum blossoms as big as mountains, Tang Gunak would not have been surprised. Even if he had unleashed an enormous amount of power and turned the sword into dust, he would have naturally thought so.
But this was different from the 'growth' Tang Gunak expected.
Nothing worked.
There was no way to know how much strength Chung Myung was putting into each strike. However, to Tang Gunak now, it felt as if his desperate attacks were being rendered ineffective by the sword Chung Myung swung playfully.
Tang Gunak's hands were pushed into his sleeves like lightning.
Thinking should be quick, and acting should be fast.
Wheik!
Poisonous daggers and needles sprayed from Tang Gunak's fingertips. The poison from the needles vaporized instantly upon contact with the air, enveloping the front line in black toxic smoke.
'Not enough!'
After releasing the Life Chasing Needles hidden in his sleeve, Tang Gunak finally reached for his dagger.
He didn't think these poisons and needles could stop Chung Myung from rushing at him. It's something he, the lord of the Tang family, cannot admit, but these poisons and needles are too weak to stop this, and even the dagger he unleashed with all his might couldn't halt him.
They were only buying him time.
But if they could buy him that time, even if it wasn't enough to blink an eye, it was still enough!
At that moment, Tang Gunak saw a single line.
Between the waves of poison and needles, which surged like the front of a tidal wave, a vivid red line emerged like the dawn cutting through the darkness.
Just as darkness cannot fully exist where there is light, the waves of assassination qi he had created gradually lost their presence in front of the red line.
Soon, a clear path opened between the waves of assassination qi, as if the sea was splitting left and right.
Even Tang Gunak, renowned in the world, was momentarily lost in thought, captivated by the scene unfolding before his eyes.
He forgot even the fact that he was now fighting with all his might.
A sword fight that was reaching its pinnacle.
The red line caught all eyes and flashed, and at its end, the Dark Fragrant Plum Blossom appeared.
All his methods, which had been trying to grasp even just Chung Myung's ankle for a moment, lost their meaning in a single sword slash.
The word 'strange' was not enough to describe all of this.
Even Tang Gunak, who was only dueling him, felt this much pressure. So, what kind of feeling did those who stood in front of Chung Myung on the battlefield, where their lives were at stake, experience?
'Unstoppable…'
No matter what he did, it didn't seem like he could stop it.
'Then.'
At that moment, determination filled Tang Gunak's eyes.
Paat!
Without time to think, Tang Gunak unleashed four daggers, gripping the handles with enough force to crush his fingertips.
Kwaaaaa!
The daggers began swirling through the air and qi. Behind the two daggers that flew in like lightning, two more swirling daggers followed.
"Taat!"
A loud roar burst from Tang Gunak's mouth, and four more daggers emerged from his fingertips.
Five Thunderous Rings.
The Five Thunderous Rings, which were supposed to unfold as five daggers, unfolded into four. Since some daggers couldn't be retrieved, it was an inevitable choice, but there was still one more dagger left in Tang Gunak's hand.
And.
Wooong!
The last remaining dagger.
The dagger placed on Tang Gunak's palm jumped up and down like a living fish. He infused it with internal qi beyond the limit, and the dagger began to move on its own as if life had been breathed into it instead of internal qi.
Wooong!
'More!'
Tang Gunak's face turned pale as he drew out immense internal qi.
But this wasn't enough. It wasn't enough to stop Chung Myung. It wasn't enough to stop the sword; it was lacking.
"More!"
The thought burst out of his mouth.
Woong!
The fluttering blade gradually stopped moving. The dagger, floating three inches above his palm, trembled and shook.
'More!'
Kang! Kang!
At that moment, the two daggers that were flying at the start bounced back weakly, making the force rushing in pale in comparison.
The two flying daggers that followed were also not enough to push back the powerfully swung sword of Chung Myung.
The four daggers that followed would probably also bounce off in vain.
Woong!
But it didn't matter.
All those attacks existed only for this one move.
Woong!
Drip.
Red blood dripped down from Tang Gunak's lips and flowed down his chin.
The attack wasn't complete, but it was all the more dangerous because of it.
Tang Gunak's fingertips trembled slightly for a moment as he confirmed that even the trembling of the dagger was gradually stopping.
It was because of a single doubt in his mind.
'Can he handle it?'
Will Chung Myung be able to handle this attack?
Maybe he was doing something he shouldn't be doing?
'I…'
Tang Gunak took his gaze off the dagger and looked ahead.
At that moment, what came into his eyes were the eyes of Chung Myung rushing at him fiercely.
"…."
Tang Gunak's blood-soaked lips drew into a faint curve.
'Of course…'
His eyes were filled with firm determination as if the hesitation had cleared up like fog.
'I believe!'
The movement of the dagger floating above Tang Gunak's hand had halted fully.
"Take this."
He slowly reached out his hand ahead, a careful hand as if caressing a small infant.
Then, the dagger hovering above the hand slowly rose into the air.