“This one has the talent to become the Sword Empress. I’ve acknowledged it, so it shall be.”

“Sword Empress? Ha! Coming to Zhongnan Sect has been full of surprises.”

Gui Lingpyeonwang burst into laughter, glancing between Hongseon and Seonju before speaking again.

“It’s amusing enough that the fate of the weakened Zhongnan Sect, battered by the Shaanxi Blood Sect, is now in the hands of the Sword Saint of the Huashan Sect. And now you claim that girl has the potential to become the Sword Empress?”

When Gui Lingpyeonwang turned his gaze on her, Seonju met his eyes without flinching. He snorted dismissively.

“Hmph…”

Hongseon twitched his beard, unable to refute the fact that the Zhongnan Sect had indeed suffered greatly at the hands of the Shaanxi Blood Sect.

With a hum, Gui Lingpyeonwang infused his whip with a massive amount of internal energy, causing its surface to bristle with sharp, protruding spikes.

“The swords of the Zhongnan brats were quite sharp. Even with the help of the Sword Formation, to contend with a transcendent master to this extent is worthy of an old sect. Now, let’s see your sword.”

Gui Lingpyeonwang twisted his wrist in an unusual manner, swinging his whip in a circular motion centered on the end held by Muhwi.

In the center of that circle was Muhwi’s upper body. As Gui Lingpyeonwang pulled the whip tight, the circle closed in, attempting to ensnare Muhwi.

“I’ll handle this. Everyone, step back.”

Muhwi addressed Hongseon and the other Zhongnan Sect members without taking his eyes off Gui Lingpyeonwang. Then, he tossed the end of the whip he held outward and leaped through the opening.

“Sorry to trouble you.”

“Be careful, brother.”

Seonju and the Zhongnan Sect members took the injured and retreated from the pavilion. At the same time, Muhwi advanced, his steps carrying the scent of plum blossoms across the floor.

Seeing Muhwi close the distance, Gui Lingpyeonwang smirked. His right arm swung, and the whip, which had been trailing behind, snapped forward to strike Muhwi’s back.

Clang!

Without even looking back, Muhwi spun and deflected the whip, then unleashed a flurry of sword strikes, sending waves of sword energy and wind forward.

Despite Muhwi’s exhilarating swordplay, which cut through the air seven times in an instant, Gui Lingpyeonwang remained unfazed.

Gui Lingpyeonwang wrapped the whip around his wrist a couple of times, then swung it down with all his might, combining its weight with the strength of his arm.

Boom!

The whip, arcing high, split the pavilion’s roof in half and shattered the floor along with the barrage of sword energy and wind.

Already weakened by the earlier battle, the pavilion couldn’t withstand Gui Lingpyeonwang’s attack and began to collapse.

Rumble!

As the ground gave way and yellow tiles and wooden debris rained down from above, the two masters continued their fierce exchange, oblivious to the chaos around them.

The sharp sound of clashing weapons filled the air as Muhwi and Gui Lingpyeonwang’s whip tangled and separated repeatedly.

Even as the floor tilted beneath him, Muhwi maintained his balance, his sword blooming like plum blossoms. Gui Lingpyeonwang, seeing this, wrapped his whip around a pillar and yanked it free, hurling it at Muhwi.

A sly grin spread across Gui Lingpyeonwang’s face.

Whoosh!

Muhwi focused on the techniques hidden behind the flying pillar, which Gui Lingpyeonwang used to obscure his attacks.

The pillar was so thick that it would take two grown men with outstretched arms to encircle it.

Muhwi sliced through it in one swift motion, then tilted his wrist to draw a circle with his sword.

Plum blossoms bloomed around Muhwi, and the whip’s relentless strikes rained down upon them.

Crack!

The sound of the whip tearing through the air was deafening, but the plum blossoms of the Plum Blossom Endurance remained unshaken.

“Impressive.”

Gui Lingpyeonwang’s eyebrows rose as Muhwi’s robe fluttered gently. Muhwi was closing the distance between them.

“Do you think closing the gap will change anything?”

Gui Lingpyeonwang adjusted the length of his whip by wrapping it around his shoulder, attempting to draw a circle with it.

But the Heart Sword, moving a beat faster, intercepted the whip’s trajectory, preventing it from forming a complete circle.

Gui Lingpyeonwang’s eyebrows rose again, but he focused on blocking the rising sword strike with his left hand.

Clang!

The clash between palm and blade sent a shockwave up Gui Lingpyeonwang’s arm, surprising him with its intensity. He stepped back to create distance.

As he shook his arm to free the whip wrapped around his shoulder, he aimed for Muhwi’s legs. But the Heart Sword, gleaming with light, struck first.

Muhwi had anticipated the process of unwrapping the whip to extend its length. Gui Lingpyeonwang had no choice but to retreat, scattering his energy to defend.

Yet Muhwi refused to give him space, sticking to him tenaciously. Realizing Muhwi was gradually gaining the upper hand, Gui Lingpyeonwang’s expression darkened.

“How dare you!”

Creating an opening with a gust of wind, Gui Lingpyeonwang finally freed his whip and lashed out at Muhwi’s entire body in a fury.

But the Plum Blossom Fall technique, scattering hundreds of petals in a vertical sweep, blocked his path.

As Muhwi stepped forward again, Gui Lingpyeonwang tried to adjust the length of his whip by wrapping it around his wrist.

Bang!

Muhwi, having closed the distance in an instant, shot toward Gui Lingpyeonwang. Sensing danger, Gui Lingpyeonwang wrapped the whip around his arm and struck at the Heart Sword with his forearm.

Though he managed to deflect Muhwi’s strike with quick thinking, Gui Lingpyeonwang was taken aback.

‘This guy. Was this his plan all along?’

Initially confused, Gui Lingpyeonwang now understood Muhwi’s strategy.

The whip, a long weapon, had the advantage of range but was difficult to control. Its length could become a liability, making it hard to deliver full power with each strike.

To manage this, practitioners used a combination of large and small circular motions to control the weapon’s speed and power, adjusting its length, angle, and direction by wrapping it around their arms, shoulders, or neck.

These techniques formed the basis of the whip’s unique, unpredictable style, allowing for flexible control of distance in combat.

Muhwi seemed to have a deep understanding of these principles, exploiting them with precision.

‘Even with exceptional martial arts and insight, such mastery of weaponry requires extensive experience. How is this possible?’

Moreover, Muhwi was facing the man known as the Whip King in the martial world. It wasn’t a level of understanding that could be easily achieved or applied.

Even if Muhwi’s comprehension of weaponry was at the highest level, Gui Lingpyeonwang’s whip techniques, honed over years of practice, were not easily overcome.

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Gui Lingpyeonwang realized something as he tore through the five plum blossoms blooming before him.

His attacks were being blocked and countered not merely due to a gap in martial skill.

But Gui Lingpyeonwang couldn’t easily accept the truth his instincts were telling him.

‘I’m being pushed back by this young upstart?’

The reputation of the Huashan Sword Saint was not to be underestimated. But Gui Lingpyeonwang’s own reputation, built over a lifetime, was formidable as well.

He hadn’t expected an easy fight, but he hadn’t imagined being on the defensive like this.

Noticing the flicker of doubt in Gui Lingpyeonwang’s eyes, Muhwi deflected the whip aimed at his waist and angled the Heart Sword.

“Gui Lingpyeonwang. You’re exactly as I expected.”

“What did you say?”

Behind Muhwi, the purple haze of the Purple Cloud Divine Art surged. The Heart Sword in his hand was also enveloped in the deep purple aura.

As if he hadn’t been fighting at full strength until now, Muhwi’s energy grew stronger and deeper with each breath.

“Just at the level of a king, that’s all.”

After exchanging over a hundred moves with Gui Lingpyeonwang, Muhwi was certain.

Though there were no precise classifications within the transcendent realm, he had surpassed the level of a king.

He hadn’t yet reached the level of the Three Thrones, but he was on the path, moving beyond the king’s level toward them.

Yet Muhwi felt no joy.

He simply reflected on his achievements, confirming he was on the right path.

His encounters with various supreme masters had accelerated his growth. Muhwi was confident that defeating Gui Lingpyeonwang today would be another step forward.

While Muhwi’s eyes remained calm and steady, Gui Lingpyeonwang’s eyes burned with a fierce killing intent.

“How dare you judge me, you whelp!”

The air crackled with tension as the aura of the Ghost King, Gui Ling, surged explosively. It was as if he had unleashed both his inner energy and the natural forces around him in one powerful burst.

In response, the whip in Gui Ling’s hand bristled with spikes, its rough leather seeming to grow even more menacing.

Yet, the Sword of Destiny, Sim Myeong, effortlessly deflected the increasingly ferocious strikes of the whip, darting straight for Gui Ling’s throat.

Gui Ling barely managed to evade by bending backward, and Mu Hui couldn’t help but smirk at the sight.

“What can you do, Gui Ling? It’s clear I’m standing on a higher plane than you.”

“You scoundrel!”

Gui Ling spun his entire body, lashing out with his whip. The whip, now swollen with inner energy, seemed less like a serpent and more like a mythical dragon lunging with its jaws wide open.

But Mu Hui was ready. He stepped forward with force, slashing the Sword of Destiny in a crisscross pattern.

At the end of the whip’s erratic movements, Gui Ling unleashed his ultimate technique.

The River of Chaos.

A chaotic flurry of attacks, reminiscent of a dragon thrashing wildly in a river, designed to confuse and overwhelm. Dozens of intricate maneuvers merged into a single, overwhelming assault, changing direction, angle, speed, and distance in the blink of an eye.

It was a trap, one that could easily ensnare Mu Hui in Gui Ling’s orchestrated dance of attack and defense. But Mu Hui remained calm, releasing nine streams of sword energy.

The nine streams branched out in all directions, each undergoing its own transformation. They became the trunk of a plum tree, with branches reaching upward and roots spreading downward, creating a forest of countless variations.

The Plum Blossom Nine Transformations.

With a deafening crash, the already crumbling pavilion collapsed completely under the force of their clash. The cliff beneath it cracked, sending rocks tumbling down.

The petals of sword energy scattered like dust, while the whip’s rotations were repeatedly blocked and dissipated by the relentless streams of sword energy.

As the two techniques clashed and vanished, Gui Ling was left gasping for breath, having poured all his energy into his ultimate move. But Mu Hui was not.

Mu Hui still had a breath and strength to spare. He burst through the cloud of dust and debris from the fallen pavilion, startling Gui Ling, who belatedly swung his whip.

Mu Hui’s eyes were fixed on the complex, swirling end of the whip.

“Thanks to you, I’ve perfected another technique. I owe you my gratitude.”

Gui Ling’s eyes widened at Mu Hui’s quiet words.

This new technique was designed to counter all manner of flexible weapons—chains, three-section staffs, nets, meteor hammers, and rope darts.

Gui Ling’s unorthodox style was a culmination of all flexible weapon techniques, and Mu Hui, drawing on his experiences from his days as the Sword Demon, had crafted a counter-technique from his encounters with Gui Ling’s methods.

The Breaking Chains Technique.

A technique to save the future Sword Queen.

It was a method to dismantle both the grand and subtle movements of flexible weapons, slicing through their fluidity with precision and focus.

With a sharp slicing sound, the whip that had been targeting Mu Hui’s vital points fell to the ground in nine pieces.

Gui Ling’s eyes filled with shock as he watched the pieces of his whip hit the earth.

The final strike of the Breaking Chains Technique descended upon Gui Ling’s neck. Feeling the sharpness of the Sword of Destiny against his skin, Gui Ling’s face turned ashen.

At that moment, a chill ran down Mu Hui’s spine.

Suddenly, the space behind him rippled, and a masked figure appeared, wielding twin blades aimed at Mu Hui’s back.