“Incredible.”

From far away, Namgung Pyo’s expression as he watched the training ground was truly strange.

A face laced with awe, competitive craving, jealousy, envy—everything tangled into one confusion that created an atmosphere beyond description.

“It’s an extraordinary spar. And not a simple spar—one that throws life and death aside.”

KWAANG!

With a thunderous blast, a terrifying heat wind swept even this far.

It was the Vermilion Bird’s fire. It was the madness of collision. It was killing intent that should never come from a father-and-son spar.

“I heard the Yeon Clan’s first son is One Dragon, Three Phoenixes—a powerhouse beyond that. Seeing it in person... it almost feels like the rumors were understated...”

Mid-sentence, Namgung Pyo shut his mouth.

Namgung In’s face, watching the training ground, was blank. He wasn’t the man who wore an easy smile in any situation.

“...”

For some reason, Namgung Pyo felt like he could understand his father.

The way I look at Yeon Hojeong... is Father looking at the Yeon Clan Lord the same way?

He was right.

Namgung In was shocked as he watched Yeon Wi’s orthodox yet overwhelming Way of the Sword.

How...?

He could clearly see Yeon Wi’s face as it moved at a terrifying speed.

A face packed with joy and tension, competitive hunger and pride.

When did he become that strong?

The Namgung Clan was the supreme martial house that had cowed the rivers and lakes with the renown of being First Among Swords.

As the greatest sword clan under heaven, the Namgung Clan Lord’s martial arts naturally had to be extraordinary enough to represent the clan. In truth, Namgung In’s skill was more than sufficient for a clan lord of the Six Great Clans.

Yeon Wi was beyond that.

How can he be that flexible...?

A frightening sword.

Its basic framework was Strong Sword, yet depending on the moment it displayed countless sword formulas. And the degree of that flexibility was like flowing water—so seamless that even watching, you couldn’t easily tell when the changes happened.

A master of Hundred Swords, Ten Thousand Arts.

It felt as if he had gathered and completed every sword study under heaven. The praise that he was one of the greatest swordsmen of this age—one who had received heaven’s mark—was not excessive.

Of course, Namgung In also knew that the Yeon Clan’s sword arts were orthodox among orthodox. And that if one refined them to the utmost, one could display astonishing sword formulas like that.

Meaning: Namgung In wasn’t so shaken simply because Yeon Wi’s martial arts were strong.

SHAAAAAK!

A Sword Wave from a straight, single-line cut made the air boil.

It felt as if invisible flame had beaded along the edge of the blade. That flame loaded Yeon Wi’s sword with dreadful majesty and a mountain’s weight.

He seized the air.

Yeon Wi’s sword—his very presence—was seizing not just the training ground, but the entire plaza beyond it.

And that overwhelming presence made Namgung In think of one man.

Father?!

Namgung Seung—the Sword Emperor. 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

A king who lacked nothing to bear the title of strongest among the martial artists of this era who live with a sword in hand. Even in Yeon Wi, Namgung In could see the shadow of that invincible swordsman—said to contend for the title of Under-Heaven’s First Sword alongside Tak Muja, the Sword Immortal.

Trickle.

Without realizing it, blood ran from the lip he had bitten.

This bastard...

He had talent with the sword, but not like his father.

So Namgung In had abandoned the thought of becoming the greatest through the sword. Instead, he turned his eyes to stratagems and schemes. If he couldn’t be the greatest with the sword, then he would raise his clan’s standing to the greatest—because that was what he’d decided.

But why?

The dream of becoming the strongest sword hero—a dream he’d thrown away long ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) ago—was writhing back to life as he watched Yeon Wi’s terrifying sword power. And because he knew his own talent could never catch that arrogant swordsman, it made him even angrier.

And his heart pounded.

He wanted that sword to be his, no matter the price. Being a clan lord among the Six Great Clans only made that desire burn hotter.

The heat in Namgung In’s eyes gradually cooled into ice.

You will never become First Among Swords.

The Namgung father and son weren’t the only ones shocked by the Yeon father and son’s dreadful clash.

“Gang.”

“Yes, Elder.”

Pae Yul’s eyes deepened.

“When the Evil-Smiting Corps swept through those dark bastards—did Yeon Hojeong... no, did Commander Yeon participate in the fighting?”

Even while staring at the training ground as if bewitched, Cheok Gang answered respectfully.

“Sometimes he did, and sometimes he didn’t.”

“So it depended on the situation?”

“Yes. If it wasn’t truly dangerous, he didn’t step in. He knew—like a ghost. The moment we were about to be in danger.”

“...That makes sense.”

Pae Yul’s gaze sank.

Inside, he clicked his tongue at Yeon Hojeong’s martial arts—wielding a massive heavy weapon of over eighty geun like a switch, pressing a ruinous offensive without pause.

Was he weaker then? Or had my senses dulled?

Back when he’d seen Yeon Hojeong at the Blue Dragon Great Gate—

Pae Yul had noticed an opening inside Yeon Hojeong’s savage yet clear aura.

It was an opening a fighter of that level should never show. So Pae Yul had assumed Yeon Hojeong must be badly injured.

He was wrong.

Now that he watched like this, he understood. Even if his body wasn’t normal, Yeon Hojeong wasn’t the kind of martial artist who would show an opening.

No real combat. Was his sense deadened because he was watching the people below him?

A quiet longing rose in Pae Yul’s eyes.

It was pure competitive hunger.

He’s heated up, Yeon Hojeong.

KWAANG!

With a thunderous blast, Yeon Hojeong was knocked back—then he twisted his body and swung Mad Dragon (Axe).

BWOOOOONG!!

Mad Dragon (Axe) spun at high speed and flew toward Yeon Wi. In that brief instant, it had been packed with such brutal qi that the rotating axe looked like a gigantic wheel of fire.

Yeon Wi’s response was simple—and efficient.

KWAANG!

Maybe it felt like batting away a boulder that had rolled down from a mountain peak.

Yeon Wi swung his sword from low to high, striking Mad Dragon (Axe) up—and his body jerked. The shock left in the blade was too strong.

PAAAK!

He didn’t even know when Yeon Hojeong had leapt into the air.

Yeon Hojeong rose under a red arc of light, seized the rebounding Mad Dragon (Axe), and whipped it straight at Yeon Wi.

BANG! KWAZHIIIIIK!

The ground beneath Yeon Wi’s feet shattered like madness.

“That one’s completely insane.”

Watching Yeon Hojeong’s attack, Pae Yul felt dumbfounded.

“He actually thought to throw the axe from there? Hah!”

That was how it was.

Yeon Hojeong’s martial arts were utterly outrageous—yet astonishingly practical. Even while containing the principle of one-strike killing, his movements assumed the follow-up, prepared to press the enemy again without giving them air.

A fight between men who glimpse the ultimate in their own fields...

Yeon Wi—an incarnation of the sword.

Yeon Hojeong—an incarnation of real combat.

A monstrous father and son. In martial arts that didn’t resemble each other at all, they were gradually coming to resemble each other’s realms.

I can’t see a weakness anymore.

Yeon Hojeong’s openings were gone.

The looseness in the air cinched tight in an instant. In Yeon Hojeong’s eyes now, there was only his father, Yeon Wi.

So countless people watched the Yeon father and son’s spar.

Inside a savage exchange that stirred shock in some, jealousy in others, and awe in still others—

At last, this spar was also racing toward its end.

CLAAAAANG!

With a collision that rang like it would split eardrums, the two withdrew.

“Hoo.”

“Hah... hah...!”

Unlike Yeon Wi, who controlled his breath with ease, Yeon Hojeong’s breathing was violently ragged.

He had immersed himself to the extreme with the intent to kill. But Yeon Wi had received all of Yeon Hojeong’s martial arts with a wall-like defense.

Yeon Wi smiled.

His face was flushed red with excitement.

“Magnificent.”

“Hoo... hoo.”

“I’ve never felt exhilaration like this. I never imagined your brutally practical martial arts would swell my chest like this.”

After catching his breath for a while, Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“But Father—you didn’t go all-out.”

“Of course not. You’re still a long way from bearing my full strength, you little punk.”

“Hahaha!”

It was true.

The gap between them was still clear.

If Yeon Wi truly wielded his martial arts with the intent to kill, Yeon Hojeong at his current level wouldn’t last even thirty exchanges.

Of course, that, too, was something you only truly knew once you crossed blades for real.

“Shouldn’t we wrap this up soon?”

“I agree.”

“The one who ends this spar... has to be you.”

“...What?”

Confusion settled over Yeon Hojeong’s face.

End it? What did that mean?

Slide.

Yeon Wi lowered his stance.

A posture from Iron Sword Grand Expansion Thirty-Six Forms—the opening posture of Lightning Flash, One Breath.

“Are you afraid?”

It was a question out of nowhere.

Yeon Wi’s eyes deepened.

“As time passed, I felt your martial arts growing sharper. Your reactions got faster, too—and every moment, you expanded your thinking, responding to each of my attacks.”

“...”

“You didn’t grow in this fight. That reaction speed that violates common sense, that creative real-combat ability—those are talents you possessed from the beginning.”

“...What?”

“Then how did that astonishing sense collapse like that?”

“That’s...?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t even realize.”

FLASH!

A Stern Aura stood in Yeon Wi’s eyes.

“What are you afraid of? What were you so worried about?”

“...?!”

“Your changed self—was that change such a burden to you?”

In that instant, Yeon Hojeong felt like he’d been struck on the back of the head.

Seeing his son’s expression, Yeon Wi’s lips curled.

“In this world, there is no person, no object, no thought, no truth that does not change. Only—your own axis must not be shaken.”

WHUK!

Yeon Wi appeared one body-length in front of Yeon Hojeong.

Slide.

Yeon Hojeong, stunned, looked down at his abdomen.

His right abdomen—where the liver sat—was touched by the tip of Yeon Wi’s sword.

“No matter how you change, the main house will always welcome you. So shake off the remnants that have nested in your heart, and fly once more.”

Yeon Wi smiled.

“And don’t go walking around with a weakness this obvious on display.”

THUD—!

Yeon Hojeong’s body swayed hard.

“Cough!”

The blood he spit out looked unusually dull.

Astonishingly, a considerable amount of Turbid Qi was mixed into it—turbid qi Yeon Hojeong himself hadn’t known was there. Turbid qi born from a Heart Wound.

His mind snapped bright.

“Well?”

Yeon Hojeong looked up at Yeon Wi.

“I know you still have a card you haven’t played. Am I right?”

“...Yes.”

“Then how about using that card to end this brilliant spar?”

Yeon Hojeong smiled.

“Gladly.”

FWOOM!

Yeon Wi’s sword lifted to high guard, pointing at the sky.

They were so close even their breath could touch. If he brought the sword down as it was, Yeon Hojeong’s body would split in two.

That was when—

ZZZIIIIING! ZZZIIIIIIING!

Intangible Lightning Radiance blazed along Yeon Wi’s longsword.

It wasn’t Yeon Clan martial arts. It was a new martial learning Yeon Wi had gained through enlightenment.

Back then—the One Sword he had wanted to show his son.

That absolute single sword was about to unfold in this moment.

“...”

A brief silence fell.

The silence of the Yeon father and son pressed a frightening weight onto everyone watching.

Cheok Gang swallowed hard. Pae Yul clenched his fist without realizing.

Bloodshot veins rose in Namgung In’s eyes, and hard tension fell over Namgung Pyo’s face as he clamped his mouth shut.

How much time passed like that?

KWA-RRURUNG!

With thunder, Yeon Wi’s sword plunged down like a bolt of lightning.

And in that very instant—

FLASH!

A blue-green radiance burst from Yeon Hojeong’s eyes.

KWA-AAANG!

A colossal blast swallowed the entire training ground in a thick cloud of dust.

And inside it—

WOOOOOOONG.

Something enormous—blue-green scales flashing—began to writhe like an illusion.