The head of the Great Sect chuckled incredulously at Muhui’s proposal.

“A duel? Haven’t I already suggested that to Seonhwa Gate?”

The leader of the Great Sect harbored ambitions of establishing a fourth major sect to rival the likes of the Mount Hua Sect, Zhongnan Sect, and the Gu Yu Sword Sect. While others might scoff at such dreams, they weren’t entirely baseless.

With consistent support, it wasn’t an impossible feat.

‘Compared to the Mount Hua Sect, which has been declining and recently took a nosedive, we’re on solid ground.’

If he were alone, he wouldn’t have dared to confront the Mount Hua Sect so boldly. But with the strings he held, courage came naturally to him.

Despite his grand ambitions, the leader of the Great Sect was mindful of public opinion and reputation, as he pursued a righteous path. If they were an unorthodox sect, they would have simply crushed Seonhwa Gate with force, but as a righteous sect, he had persistently requested a duel.

Seonhwa Gate had repeatedly declined with various excuses, leading to the current stalemate.

“The recent clash happened because Seonhwa Gate kept avoiding the duel.”

Im Muguk nodded with a furrowed brow.

The Great Sect always set the condition that the losing sect in the duel would have to leave Winam entirely. However, Im Muguk had been avoiding the duel, lacking confidence in victory.

“And now Seonhwa Gate wants a duel? It’s quite amusing, isn’t it?”

The leader’s words elicited low chuckles from the Great Sect’s officials seated around him.

The leader fixed his gaze on Muhui.

“Or are the esteemed masters of the Mount Hua Sect planning to personally intervene in a duel between minor sects?”

Muhui’s eyes flashed coldly for a moment. Though it seemed like a jab at the Mount Hua and Seonhwa Gates, it was clear he was wary of the Mount Hua masters actually getting involved.

“Rest assured, the masters will not be involved in this duel. If any Mount Hua disciples participate, it will only be the senior brothers currently at Seonhwa Gate.”

The leader of the Great Sect quickly processed this information. He had already gathered intelligence on the second-generation disciples at Seonhwa Gate.

‘Even if they’re from the main Mount Hua Sect, they’re just second-generation disciples new to the martial world. A bit stronger than average, perhaps.’

Having calculated the odds, the leader nodded.

“True to the fair spirit of Mount Hua. Then, may I propose the format for the duel?”

Im Muguk looked at Muhui, who nodded in agreement. Im Muguk gestured for the leader to continue.

“Go ahead, leader of the Great Sect.”

“Each sect will select three representatives for three rounds of duels. However, there are conditions for these representatives.”

“We will, of course, participate in the duel, so tell us about the other two.”

The leader of the Great Sect smirked.

“The first representative will be the heir of each sect. We train the men of Winam as our disciples, and the heirs will show which sect trains their disciples better.”

At the mention of heirs, Im Muguk pressed his lips together tightly.

“The second will be the strongest of each sect. We will send a guest expert, and since Seonhwa Gate is affiliated with Mount Hua, you may send a main disciple if necessary. But please adhere to what Master Muhui just stated.”

The proposed format minimized Mount Hua’s involvement. Even if they lost the duel of the strongest, winning the heir and leader duels would suffice.

‘They must be quite confident.’

At that moment, Im Muguk received an urgent telepathic message.

[The leader of the Great Sect wouldn’t propose this without reason. Seonhwa Gate is at a disadvantage.]

If they lost the first two duels, there would be no need for a third.

[Are you not confident in defeating the leader of the Great Sect?]

Im Muguk hesitated.

[Originally, we were evenly matched, but I heard he consumed a rare elixir a few months ago. I might be at a disadvantage now. And the heir of the Great Sect…]

Muhui nodded, as if he had already heard.

[I understand. But I am confident. I will ensure victory. The decision is yours, of course.]

The leader of the Great Sect waited patiently, aware of their telepathic exchange. He knew they wouldn’t come up with a solution.

‘But for a newcomer to the martial world to use telepathy… He must be more skilled than I thought. Still, it’s a stretch.’

Telepathy required precise internal energy control, a skill only those at a mature level could master.

The leader of the Great Sect had already chosen the guest expert for the duel, so he watched Im Muguk and Muhui with ease.

Meanwhile, Im Muguk’s mind was racing with countless thoughts.

‘What should I do?’

Then, Muhui’s brief telepathic message pierced through Im Muguk’s turmoil like a bolt of lightning.

[Mount Hua stands behind Seonhwa Gate.]

“Hmm…”

Im Muguk sipped his now-cold plum tea. Though it had cooled, the fragrance lingered.

Savoring the aroma, Im Muguk met the leader’s gaze.

“Very well. Seonhwa Gate will accept the duel.”

“A wise decision. Finally, this tedious tug-of-war will end.”

The leader paused, then continued.

“Given the importance of this duel, we should prepare and find impartial observers, don’t you think?”

“Agreed.”

“Then how about holding the duel on the fifth day of next month?”

The fifth day of the next month was about twenty days away. Having saved time at the previous sect, this wouldn’t disrupt their schedule.

With Muhui’s nod, Im Muguk accepted the leader’s proposal.

“Let’s do that.”

The duel between the two sects was set. The losing side would have to leave Winam, a duel with the fate of a sect at stake.

* * *

“Yawn.”

Yawning, Im Sanha shook his head to clear his mind. He had woken up an hour earlier than usual and was heading to the training ground.

The duel with the Great Sect had been decided, and he was the first to participate.

‘Can I really do this?’

Though the Mount Hua masters would personally train him until the duel, how much could he improve in just twenty days?

Im Sanha knew well that martial arts weren’t something that could be mastered with a few days of intense training.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

As he entered the training ground, the sharp clash of metal jolted him awake.

“Gah!”

Four Mount Hua masters were engaged in a fierce sparring match.

Their movements were so fast and intricate that to Im Sanha, they appeared as a blur of shadows merging and separating.

In reality, Muhui was fending off the combined attacks of the other three disciples.

Muhui closely observed the coordinated movements of his fellow disciples. Fighting alone was entirely different from fighting as a team.

To seamlessly execute a joint attack, one had to constantly be aware of not only their own breathing, movements, and position but also those of their partners.

This required naturally dispersing one’s senses, not just to synchronize with the team but also to maintain full capability when facing multiple opponents alone.

‘Now their movements and positions don’t overlap. From here, it’s about how well they can coordinate.’

As Muhui thrust his sword into the opening left by Mu Hwa, Mu Jin swiftly intervened to deflect it.

While Mu Jin protected Mu Hwa, Mu Cheol swung his heavy sword from the left, aiming to strike Muhui’s head.

Thud!

Muhui rotated his ankle, using the Falling Flower Palm to deflect the heavy sword and naturally create distance with the rebound.

“This is it. When executing a joint attack, the basic principle is to simultaneously attack and defend using numerical superiority.”

With Muhui’s advice, Mu Hwa and Mu Jin closed the distance using the Fragrant Step.

“Mu Jin, senior brother!”

“I know!”

As Mu Hwa executed the Falling Plum Sword, he flicked his wrist, unleashing dozens of sword shadows.

The sword shadows spread like blooming flowers, overlapping to form a wall that restricted Muhui’s movements.

Meanwhile, Mu Jin launched the Raging Wind Sword from the front.

A swift and exhilarating sword technique riding the wind.

Mu Jin’s Raging Wind Sword unleashed three strikes toward Muhui’s chest, with two more curving to the sides.

Seeing this, Muhui smirked.

Though they primarily used the Falling Plum Sword and Raging Wind Sword, hints of the Ten Thousand Fragrance Sword’s subtleties were beginning to show in their techniques.

In response, Muhui twisted his wrist with a flourish.

Swish!

When the two disciples lost sight of Muhui’s sword, they found themselves facing the exact techniques they had just executed.

“Gah!”

“Ugh!”

Muhui had deftly mirrored their techniques, countering them with the same moves.

His terrifying speed in simultaneously countering attacks from both sides was impressive, but even more astonishing was the precision of his techniques.

Despite using identical techniques, the ones executed by Mu Hwa and Mu Jin crumbled instantly against Muhui’s.

‘Ah, so that’s how the Falling Cloud and Plum should have been executed.’

‘There was a gap above the shoulder.’

The two disciples experienced firsthand the flaws in their techniques as they faced Muhui’s counterattacks.

As Mujin and Muhwa were simultaneously pushed back, Muhui soared into the sky using the technique of Eogichongsu.

With his body rigid, Muhui leaped upward, and as he lifted his gaze, he saw something massive blocking the sky above.

While Mujin and Muhwa pressed in on Muhui, Mucheol was flying through the air, aiming for the top of Muhui’s head.

“Haap!”

Mucheol’s deep voice rang out with a powerful shout.

His heavy sword, infused with inner strength, sliced through the air, and with the technique of Cheongeunchu, he increased its weight even further.

The more he did so, the heavier Mucheol’s sword became.

In this scenario, Mucheol, descending from above, had the advantage over the ascending Muhui.

“A heavy sword is surprisingly delicate; it requires precise use of strength and weight.”

Muhui narrowed his eyes and spun his entire body in sync with his sword swing.

Like a spinning top, the acceleration of Muhui’s sword increased, and the rotation added the weight of his entire body to the blade. The intensified strike deflected Mucheol’s heavy sword.

Thunk!

Mucheol was sent flying, unable to perform a proper landing, and crashed into the training ground floor.

Meanwhile, only Muhui landed gracefully, his robe fluttering as he touched down. He was the only one standing firmly in the training ground.

“Wow…”

The overwhelming prowess of Muhui, who had swept away his fellow disciples in an instant, left Im Sanha completely captivated.

In the meantime, Muhwa and Mujin charged again, and Mucheol, having quickly gotten back on his feet, joined them belatedly.

But their combined attack had already crumbled.

Their disrupted teamwork was no different from attacking one by one.

“Ah!”

“Ugh.”

Muhui swung his sword without hesitation, knocking down the disciples who rushed at him, one by one.

Thud!

Im Sanha covered his slightly open mouth with his hand, unable to hide his astonishment.

Muhui’s relentless strikes were impressive, but so was the determination of the other dojang members, who gritted their teeth and tried to maintain their teamwork.

“That’s enough for today.”

Only after Muhui spoke did the disciples stop their assault.

Muhui lightly dusted off his sleeves, smoothing out the wrinkles, and looked at the disciples as they stood up.

“You all worked well together. Not bad. Now, continue your individual training.”

“Thank you, senior brother.”

The disciples bowed to Muhui and nodded to Im Sanha before walking to the corners of the training ground.

“Sanha, come here.”

“Yes, Master Muhui.”

Until the day before the match, Muhui planned to personally train Im Sanha.

He had promised to ensure victory, and he intended to keep that promise.

As Muhui’s smile stretched across his face, Im Sanha felt a chill run down his arms.

‘Uh… what’s this?’

Im Sanha felt an inexplicable sense of unease creeping up his back.

“I’ll make sure you get a proper workout.”

Muhui’s words, laced with a playful smile, sent shivers down Im Sanha’s arms.

It was the beginning of special training for the upcoming match against Daejeongmun.