The ominous energy radiating from Muhui was met head-on by the formidable presence of the Wolf King. His own aura was no less fierce and wild.

Crack!

The clash of their energies echoed like the tearing of a drum, sending shockwaves across the entire expanse of Mount Okhwa. Trees bowed and trembled in the aftermath.

The Wolf King casually scraped dried blood from his blade with a fingernail, his voice dripping with disdain. “You think you can hang me? Do you really believe that?”

His aura, honed from a lifetime of prowling battlefields like a wolf, sought to engulf Muhui.

“The Alliance has made a grave error in judgment, sending a mere whelp who doesn’t know his place. You think cutting down the cowardly Sword King and surviving a few tricks in the wilderness makes you something? If you want to stop me, you should have sent the Thunder Sage from the Alliance.”

The Wolf King seemed intent on belittling Muhui, assuming him to be just another young master. But Muhui was far from ordinary.

Listening quietly, Muhui’s lips curled into a mocking smile. “The Sage is about to retire. It’s not fitting to call him for such trivial matters.”

The Wolf King’s face twitched at Muhui’s dismissive words, calling their encounter a trivial matter.

“Ah, so the old man was in the same class as the Sage. Perhaps it’s time for this junior to send you into retirement myself.”

Without a word, the Wolf King unleashed a torrent of energy. Crescent-shaped waves of force surged forward, leaving deep scars in the earth, while petals of sword energy rained down.

The blade of the Divine Sword trembled, releasing a cascade of plum blossoms. As sword and energy collided, Muhui and the Wolf King closed the distance, their weapons reaching for each other.

Clang!

Sparks flew as their weapons clashed, fragments of energy and steel scattering. The Wolf King swung his blade with murderous intent, aiming to tear Muhui apart.

Whoosh!

The blade expanded into a massive crescent as it was swung horizontally. Muhui bent backward, almost touching the ground, evading the attack with a technique that mirrored the Wolf King’s own.

As the sword shot up from below, aiming for the Wolf King’s chin, he countered with a downward strike of his elbow, shattering the attack. Simultaneously, he lifted his foot, aiming a powerful stomp at Muhui’s chest.

Boom!

Muhui twisted his body mid-air, narrowly avoiding the stomp, and used the momentum to launch a series of kicks and sword strikes.

The Wolf King parried the kicks with his blade and deflected the follow-up sword strikes, retreating slightly. Muhui landed gracefully on the ground.

“For someone from the orthodox sects, your style is surprisingly unorthodox. Have you not been fully indoctrinated by the old guard yet?”

“Show me the strength of your experience, old man. It’s not very impressive so far.”

“Hah!”

The Wolf King scoffed, and Muhui responded with a swift step.

With a sudden burst of speed, Muhui’s movements became a blur, his sword tracing a path of plum blossoms in the air. The Wolf King stepped back, leaving a deep mark where he had stood, signaling the start of Muhui’s relentless assault.

Muhui’s sword danced, drawing intricate patterns in the air, each strike filled with lethal intent. The Wolf King, however, was unfazed, his blade cutting through the illusions and distractions with ruthless efficiency.

Even as blood occasionally splattered from minor wounds, the Wolf King remained focused. He had survived countless battles by ignoring anything that wasn’t a mortal threat.

‘I’ve seen flashy swordplay like this a hundred times!’

The Wolf King read the flow of the attacks, discerning Muhui’s intentions from the subtle shifts in his stance and the direction of his gaze. His experience, though rough, was precise.

He deflected a flurry of strikes aimed at his torso and head, then lunged forward, tearing through the blossoms to strike at Muhui’s neck. But Muhui’s left hand moved swiftly.

With a deft twist of his wrist, Muhui redirected the Wolf King’s blade, while his right foot planted firmly, his sword bending like a whip to strike at the Wolf King’s chest.

Plum Blossom Penetration.

A thin, swift line of violet energy extended from the tip of Muhui’s sword, aiming to pierce deep into the Wolf King’s flesh.

The Wolf King’s blade was ensnared, and as Muhui’s sword closed in, he thrust his left hand forward without hesitation.

The energy-laden hand met the attack, but the Plum Blossom Penetration tore through, piercing his palm. Anticipating this, the Wolf King pushed forward, forcing Muhui to grip his sword tighter.

Blood flowed down the blade as the Wolf King’s hand reached the center, and he seized the sword, aiming a kick at Muhui’s core.

Thud!

Muhui blocked with his knee, but the Wolf King used the momentum to pivot, using Muhui’s knee as a springboard.

As the Wolf King’s forehead descended, Muhui chuckled.

‘A headbutt…’

A move more suited to street brawlers than a master of martial arts. It revealed the Wolf King’s past, where survival trumped honor.

But Muhui saw no need to meet the headbutt. He released the Wolf King’s blade, twisting his body with a step, and regripped his sword with a new technique.

As the Wolf King committed to the headbutt, Muhui struck with a palm technique, driving energy into the Wolf King’s exposed chest.

Five-Petal Ascension.

A single plum blossom bloomed from Muhui’s palm, scattering five petals that struck the Wolf King’s chest.

Thud, thud, thud, thud, thud!

The Wolf King had raised his defenses, but the relentless strikes pushed him back. He pursed his lips, spitting a needle-like projectile, which Muhui easily dodged.

“Haah.”

The Wolf King sighed, glancing at his nearly shredded left hand.

“Old man, are you running out of tricks?”

At Muhui’s taunt, the Wolf King clenched his bleeding hand into a fist and charged again.

As the Wolf King surged forward, his energy wild and unrestrained, Muhui calmly raised his sword.

‘This is challenging.’

Throughout the fight, Muhui had tried to channel his will through his sword. He had yet to master the art of projecting his intent without a weapon. The insights from the Sword Sage had given him a glimpse, but he was still at a standstill.

Focusing solely on his sword and intent, Muhui’s energy flowed like the tranquil waters of Lake Poyang, which he had seen when crossing from Hubei to Jiangxi.

The Wolf King, mistaking Muhui’s calm demeanor for arrogance, roared in anger.

“How dare you face me with such a serene expression!”

“Dare? What do you think you are, old man?”

As the Wolf King unleashed a flurry of slashes, Muhui stood firm, his sword poised in a steady guard.

“The emperors are now nothing more than stepping stones to reach the Triumvirate.”

The Sword Saint, the Celestial Spear, the Conqueror.

In his past life, they were like the heavens—unreachable. But not anymore.

‘With my current strength!’

As he thought of the supreme masters of the Triumvirate, Shim Myung-geom’s sword let out a cry unlike any he had heard before. The sound resonated through the trees of Okhwa Mountain, causing them to sway violently.

Ziiing!

The sword’s cry carried an indescribable emotion, as if the sword itself were alive. It was like the cry of a newborn baby.

Both Mu-hwi and the Wolf King were taken aback, but the duel had already begun and could not be stopped.

The Wolf King unleashed his lifetime of martial prowess without pause, while Mu-hwi, caught off guard by the sudden cry of his sword, had no time to react. Yet, without a hint of panic, he instinctively extended his sword.

Thud!

Mu-hwi stepped forward with precision, parrying the Wolf King’s attacks and seizing the moment to thrust his sword with uncanny accuracy.

Though not as grand as the initial strike, Mu-hwi felt the pulsating rhythm of his sword’s continuous cries and realized something profound.

He had, however faintly, imbued his will into the sword.

‘This feeling…’

Mu-hwi wondered if it was just his imagination, but he felt warmth emanating from the sword. Entranced by the sensation, he continued the swordplay he had just executed.

The Six Harmonies Sword.

With its simple thrusts and slashes, Mu-hwi dismantled the Wolf King’s formidable techniques one after another.

Clang!

The Wolf King’s curved blade split in two and embedded itself in the ground, while the Wolf King, his chest slashed, coughed up blood.

“What is this…?”

The Wolf King recognized the Six Harmonies Sword at the last moment, but he couldn’t comprehend how his own techniques had been undone by such a simple style.

Mu-hwi grabbed the struggling Wolf King by the neck as he tried to rise again.

“Gah!”

Mu-hwi looked into the Wolf King’s bloodshot eyes, which glared at him with murderous intent, and smiled serenely.

He hung the Wolf King upside down from a tree, just as the Wolf King had done to the Wind King. It was a promise he intended to keep.

“You scoundrel! Release me at once!”

“Wolf King, I’m retiring you. Do you really need a grand send-off?”

Mu-hwi didn’t wait for an answer. He channeled his inner energy into his palm and struck the Wolf King’s core directly.

Boom!

A tremendous shockwave erupted from the Wolf King’s body, spreading across Okhwa Mountain. Even in defeat, a supreme master was different from ordinary warriors.

The Wolf King trembled as if struck by lightning, unable to even scream from the pain of his shattered core.

After several ragged breaths, he finally managed to speak.

“Kill me…”

“I can’t do that. There are too many beggars from the Beggar Sect waiting for you down the mountain.”

With his core destroyed, the Wolf King looked as if he had aged ten years in an instant. He squinted through his wrinkled eyes to see Mu-hwi.

Watching Mu-hwi’s wide grin, the Wolf King let out a deflated sigh.

“For a mere disciple of Mount Hua, you’re quite ruthless…”

Mu-hwi’s smile widened at the Wolf King’s words.

“That’s right. I’m not just some naive disciple of a righteous sect.”

The Wolf King would never understand Mu-hwi’s true nature. Mu-hwi grabbed the Wolf King’s white hair, bringing his face close.

“Wolf King, abandon any thoughts of dying peacefully.”