Chapter 118

• The Saber Saint Exhibition Finals

Hot passion and cheers
filled the area around the duel stage.
On the duel stage, the ultimate sabers clashed.
They were undefeated sabers that had brought countless martial artists
to their knees and had climbed up.

Amidst the flurry of saber light, the gazes of all the academy students were focused on the outcome of the Saber Saint Exhibition.

Kwagwang!

"Ooooooh!!"

A cry of admiration erupted from the mouths of everyone who was watching the Saber Saint Exhibition finals. The clash just before had been that splendid.

The Storm Saber, Ha Yun-myeong, of the Divine Saber Sect and the Clear Stream Saber, Yu Yeop-seong, of the Qingcheng Sect were the main characters of this Saber Saint Exhibition finals. What was unexpected for everyone was the fact that someone from the Qingcheng Sect, which valued the sword, had come out with a saber and had reached the finals. The saber technique that Yu Yeop-seong had used until now was nothing more than a conversion of the Qingcheng Sect's Sun-Shooting Sword Method into a saber technique, but the saber technique he had shown in this final was by no means a simple modification of the Qingcheng Sect's Sun-Shooting Sword Method.

Ha Yun-myeong, the direct disciple of the Divine Saber Sect, the number one saber sect of the righteous path, could feel that fact more keenly than anyone else. He himself had also initially thought it was nothing special and had rushed in, and now he had suffered such a defeat. The shock of the clash was greater than expected, and he could not move a single finger. It seemed that his internal organs were also greatly damaged. Judging from the feeling at the time of the clash, it would be the same for the opponent.

"Oh! That just now was!"

It was an exclamation of admiration that Cheong-heun had let out, watching the clash of the ultimate forms that had occurred in the Saber Saint Exhibition finals.

"That's right. Did you know?!"

"Of course I know. Isn't it the Clear Stream Mark, the only secret saber technique of the Qingcheng Sect, which is called the Undefeated Saber!"

"That's right! As expected, your insight is amazing. To recognize it at a glance. It's known to the public that it has almost been lost. The Clear Stream Mark! I thought it was a saber technique that would lead our Nine Orthodoxies Association to victory in the Saber Saint Exhibition, but was it an unreasonable expectation..."

The Clear Stream Mark!

The one and only secret saber technique of the Qingcheng Sect!

It was considered to be the very saber technique that would allow them to seize victory from the Heroes Association, where the saber was much more developed than the sword. Therefore, Baek Mu-yeong's expectations for Yu Yeop-seong, the successor of this Clear Stream Mark, were very high.

"You've managed to bring out what Qingcheng had hidden away so tightly. Isn't it a secret ultimate technique that is difficult to even demonstrate carelessly? They must have been reluctant to show it to others carelessly."

Cheong-heun said a word in a tone of wonder. Whenever he saw it, Baek Mu-yeong's means were incomparably brilliant. In fact, a duel competition was, in a way, a double-edged sword. This was even more so for a splendid competition like this. Whether it was direct participation or just watching from the side, a duel competition broadened the insight of many people and improved their skills. It could be called a treasure trove of learning.

But if there were advantages, there were also disadvantages! The fact that one had to risk the leakage of an ultimate technique was just that. It was a common sense of the Jianghu that the power of a technique that had been shown once was reduced by about 30%. Besides, there were numerous masters around with their eyes lit up. It was not just the spectator seats that had to be conscious of.

If one were to dig deeper, they might even have to worry about the eyes of the elders and the old masters from other sects who were sitting in the judges' seats. Therefore, masters tried to save their ultimate techniques as much as possible in such competitions, without exposing them carelessly. Because they were worried that the secret would leak out. A moment's mistake might bring a disadvantage to the entire sect later. Sometimes, there were also people who deliberately revealed a fake weakness. Of course, that was not a real weakness. It was a perfect trap.

Since the Jianghu was such a rugged place, there was no shortage of caution even if one was careful. Especially a sealed secret technique was a technique that required that much secrecy. The repercussions would not appear right away, but there were many cases where it would come back and inflict a blow without one's knowledge someday.

It was the same for a life-saving ultimate form. How could a technique that had been revealed to everyone become a life-saving ultimate form that saved one's life in a final, desperate crisis! A technique that was already known was not qualified. But as the level of the opponent in a duel became higher and higher, it was bound to become a distant thing to hide one's true ultimate technique.

Therefore, in such duel competitions or hero competitions, the movements of the information organizations belonging to each sect became more active than ever.

Baek Mu-yeong had decided to take all these risks and take a risk. In order to snatch the victory from the Heroes Association, where the Divine Saber Sect, which could be said to be the lineage of the Saber Saint, and the Hebei Paeng family were firmly standing, he had no choice but to use a hidden card.

In fact, it was rare to find a place that had as little connection with the saber as the nine great sects. Because most of the nine sects, except for the Shaolin Temple, had held the sword for training and enlightenment, and had kept the saber, which was for practical use, far away. They had not even put it in their eyes. So in the Three Sages Festival that had been held every time, although they had always won in other competitions, they had had to hand over the victory in the Saber Saint Exhibition to the Heroes Association. Therefore, the Saber Saint Exhibition was the last remaining pride and the final bastion of the Heroes Association.

Baek Mu-yeong wanted to conquer that somehow. It was thought that if they won even the Saber Saint Exhibition, they would be able to completely suppress the Heroes Association. This time, he had put his heart and soul into bringing out the Clear Stream Mark.

It was a very difficult task to find a saber technique to counter the Divine Saber Sect's Flowing Unsurpassed Saber Method and the Hebei Paeng family's Five Tiger Severing Saber. Then, after many twists and turns, he had finally found it and had obtained permission through a complicated, multi-layered process, and that was the secret saber, the Clear Stream Mark. As much effort had gone into it, the expectations were also high.

Although he had expected to win... Unfortunately, he had to be satisfied with a draw. As expected, the wall of the Saber Saint Exhibition was high. In fact, even if it was a draw, if one were to look at it, it was no different from a victory for the Nine Orthodoxies Association. Because to have achieved a draw in the Saber Saint Exhibition was to have broken the final pride of the Heroes Association.

"It's a satisfactory result. If we are more greedy, it would be excessive greed..."

It was already over. It was a wise action not to have any more lingering feelings.

"Hahaha! I can't help but admire your wisdom every time! To think that you had hidden such a hidden card."

Cheong-heun was honestly impressed. The friend who was sitting next to him had not a single needle-sized gap in his handling of matters.

A draw in the Saber Saint Exhibition!

For the Wise Dragon, Baek Mu-yeong, it was a satisfactory result. It was Baek Mu-yeong, who was very interested in what kind of face his rival, Danmok Gi, was making now.

"H..., how can this be! For us to lose the victory in the Saber Saint Exhibition!"

The Heavenly Wonder Dragon, Danmok U, could not believe the current situation at all. His complexion had become noticeably pale. It was a passage that clearly showed how much of a mental blow he had received now. The agitation of the Flash Dragon, Cheon Ya-jin, who was with him, was also clearly evident.

He had never dreamed that the victory of the Saber Saint Exhibition would disappear like a bubble just because he had not participated. Blue veins bulged on the back of his hand, which he had clenched as if to crush it. He was holding back his grief inwardly.

Although it had been a Three Sages Festival where they had always been defeated for nearly 10 years, that was a story of the overall evaluation, and they had never handed over the victory in the Saber Saint Exhibition. This time too, they had been confident of victory in the Saber Saint Exhibition. But contrary to expectations, they had to be satisfied with a draw. For the Heroes Association, it was no different from having lost.

To think that the prestigious family of the sword, the Qingcheng Sect, would come out with a saber! The beginning of the matter had overturned everyone's expectations. The Clear Stream Mark, which was said to be the only saber technique and secret martial art of the Qingcheng Sect, was indeed frightening in its power. He had never imagined that it would be able to block the Drifting Wind Unsurpassed, the ultimate form of the Divine Saber Sect's ultimate technique, the Flowing Saber Method.

If there was one thing that was a consolation, it was the fact that although they had not won, they had not handed over the victory to the other side either. But if one were to be strict, for the Heroes Association, which had always won without handing over the victory to the Nine Orthodoxies Association in the Saber Saint Exhibition, it was no different from a defeat. Therefore, Danmok U's disappointment was as great as if the sky had collapsed.

Now, the only one to believe in was Moyong Hwi.

Both the Sword Empress Exhibition and the Saber Saint Exhibition had ended in a draw. This was a very rare thing in the history of the Cheonmu Academy. Now, everything depended on the outcome of the Sword Saint Exhibition. Until this time, no one was paying attention to the Three Sages Grand Battle, which had been confirmed to be won by Wi Ji-cheon, of course.