Genius Martial Arts Trainer

Chapter 221:

Plum Blossom Sword Saint

All the evil began more than twenty years ago.

He was Yunsun, known as the best sword in Hwasan even from his days as the first disciple and the senior brother to Yunja-bae.

However, it was an absurdity that Yunja-bae was chosen as the head of the sect instead of Yunsun.

But Yunsun didn’t mind.

He thought that making a name as the best sword of Hwasan was meaningful, and he considered delving into martial arts and managing the sect to be different matters.

No, at least he lived convincing himself so.

Until that incident.

“Hahaha. Were you so resentful about losing to Namgung Sword Emperor that you would kill your junior brother?”

Shortly after the former head of the sect died and Yunja-bae became the master of Hwasan, Namgung Muguk, who had passed on the family head position to Namgung Chang-hwi, began his journey in the martial world.

And when Namgung Muguk came to Hwasan and challenged for a duel, the Plum Blossom Swordsman (Mae-hyang-chui-geom) was defeated.

People gave Yunsun the nickname ‘Sword King’ for his duel that day, but the defeat created a small crack in Yunsun’s heart.

‘Wouldn’t I have won if I had mastered the Jaha Divine Technique?’

A tiny suspicion.

Why did a junior brother who was not as skilled become the head of the sect and get taught the Jaha Divine Technique?

And that tiny crack gradually grew bigger.

When Unheo of Wudang achieved equal skill with Namgung Muguk and earned the nickname ‘Two Swords of the World.’

When the head of Peng Clan, who became the retired grand patriarch, was treated as Yunsun’s equal and earned the nickname ‘Sword Emperor.’

When Tang-gak of Sichuan Tang Clan, who only used hidden weapons and poison, managed to draw a tie.

When a swordsman from the shadowy forces, inferior to bugs, tied with Namgung Muguk and earned the nickname ‘Three Swords of the World.’

The crack in his heart kept growing.

Then one day, he heard something that fueled his inner turmoil.

‘Both Tang Clan and Namgung Clan are like that. They wield more power than the family heads as the retired grand patriarchs.’

Although it was meant to flatter Yunsun, who didn’t get along with them, it resonated differently with him.

‘Right. One doesn’t have to be the head of the sect to gain power.’

If he were to push his junior brother aside and become the head, it would undoubtedly create a significant rift within the Hwasan Sect.

But what if his junior brother faced an unfortunate accident and Yunja-bae became the head?

And if that head was his disciple?

From that moment, Yunsun embarked on a long ten-year preparation.

He subtly pressured his junior brother while guiding his disciple to become the first disciple.

‘Though the sect leader became the head by the will of our predecessors, shouldn’t skill be prioritized for the next generation?’

Whenever he said that, his junior brother, who wasn’t fit to be the head, would gently smile.

Through great effort, his disciple, Huamyeonggyun, eventually became the first disciple.

And on the day Huamyeonggyun received the full transmission of the Jaha Divine Technique from the sect leader, Yunsun executed the plan he had prepared for ten years.

He stabbed his junior brother, who welcomed him with a smile and talked about the future of Hwasan.

‘For the future of Hwasan, you are not fit to be the head.’

Whether the junior brother, with a sword in his heart and blood pouring from his mouth, understood those words was something even Yunsun didn’t know.

Meanwhile, a few of Yunja-bae and Huaja-bae’s disciples, who had pledged allegiance to him, dealt with those who showed absolute support for the sect leader.

And the last words he said to the sect leader became a self-hypnosis he repeated to himself.

He didn’t want to admit that he did it out of greed for the Jaha Divine Technique.

He wanted to claim that the strong should lead the martial arts sects.

He wanted to lead Hwasan to greatness. He had to make Hwasan the best in the world.

Only by claiming such reasons could he turn a blind eye to his heinous crime.

So he worked to make Hwasan the best.

He didn’t refuse any dirty work that Daegum Sangdan requested and demanded vast sums of money from them.

But why?

“Ah. Perhaps, it’s not that you don’t use the Jaha Divine Technique but that you can’t?”

Despite all his efforts to obtain the Jaha Divine Technique, it became a poison.

The Jaha Divine Technique, worthy of its name, no, even that name was too modest for its overwhelming power.

However, there was one minor issue that contradicted its tremendous power.

An issue known only to the heads of Hwasan.

“Indeed, for a greedy person who would kill his junior brother, the Jaha Divine Technique must have been too difficult. Hahaha!”

None of the wounds were deep enough to split muscles or reveal bones.

This was thanks to the significant improvement of his Jade Vajra Technique.

Mu-jin’s body had reached a level where even sword and saber energy wouldn’t easily penetrate.

Of course,

it would if they were to scratch persistently like sawing.

“......Amazing. To come out unscathed against ‘that’ Plum Blossom Swordsman.”

“I knew his weakness.”

“I’ve been curious about that. Now that the matter is settled, won’t you tell me? What was his weakness?”

“The Jaha Divine Technique.”

“Jaha Divine Technique?”

Seeing Hye-geol’s puzzled face, Mu-jin explained the secret history of Hwasan he knew.

“How...... How do you know such a secret?”

“I found out while raiding Shinchun’s branch in Guangxi Province. Daegum Sangdan is connected to Shinchun, and Shinchun was preparing to take over Hwasan using that secret.”

Of course, he fabricated the source of the information.

If it were Dao Yuetian, he would claim to have learned it through divine power, but that wouldn’t work on Hye-geol.

But knowing that the longer this conversation went on, the riskier it would be, Mu-jin changed the subject.

“Mu-gyeong, did you place it properly?”

“I did as you said, but what’s in that letter? You said it’s poison. Did you smear poison on the letter?”

Mu-gyeong’s straightforward thinking made Mu-jin laugh.

“I did. A poison that a lifelong slave would inevitably drink.”

* * *

While Mu-jin and his companions were erasing their traces and returning to Zhongnan Mountain, the Hwasan Sect was in a chaotic situation that matched their peaceful atmosphere.

Not only had Hwasan been attacked and lost five elders, but the best swordsman, Yunsun, had suffered severe internal injuries.

In the midst of this, the number of remaining disciples in Hwasan didn’t even reach a hundred, and more than half of them were injured.

Eventually, the remaining disciples focused on cleaning up the sect rather than chasing the attackers.

They removed the corpses, washed away the blood and entrails, and sent the injured to the medicine hall for treatment.

Among those being treated, the top priority was, of course, Yunsun, the de facto power of Hwasan.

Yunsun was receiving solo intensive treatment from the head of the medicine hall, and the head, Huamyeonggyun, was waiting outside with a composed expression.

After waiting through occasional groans and mutterings from Yunsun, the head of the medicine hall finally emerged.

“......How is my senior brother?”

“He has survived the crisis, but due to the severe internal injuries, the treatment will take quite some time.”

The news of his master surviving should have been good, but Huamyeonggyun’s expression remained complex.

After all, the head of the medicine hall was more aligned with Yunsun than with him. He couldn’t reveal his true feelings.

“You’ve worked hard. We must ensure that my senior brother survives.”

“Of course.”

After greeting the head of the medicine hall with a forced expression, Huamyeonggyun returned to his quarters.

A place that was his, yet not his.

‘It would have been better if he had passed away.......’

Harboring thoughts he could never reveal to anyone, Huamyeonggyun entered.

And as usual, he was about to lay out his bedding when.

“Hmm?”

He discovered a letter stuck between the folded bedding.

To leave a letter in the residence of the sect leader amidst this chaos.

However, it was just a letter, not a poisoned needle or weapon.

Still, wary of the possibility of poison on the letter, he raised his qi and opened it.

“!!!”

Seeing the words on the letter, Huamyeonggyun’s eyes widened.

The letter contained just four characters.

(Once in a Lifetime Opportunity)

To him, who had lived his life as a slave, those words had a different meaning.

Now was the chance, perhaps the only one in his life, to regain his freedom.