"Words are unnecessary."
Namgung Ryeo's gaze went cold and flat.
"Let's settle it here and now—whether the Cheonroe Sect's footwork is the greatest under heaven, or whether our Namgung swordsmanship holds that title!"
WHOOSH—!
Her figure cut straight through the morning mist, launching toward Pung Hyeon like an arrow.
A blade of blue-crimson light split the dawn.
The sword tip aimed for his shoulder.
Not a killing blow—just enough to shatter that insufferable arrogance of his.
And in that instant.
Pung Hyeon's survival-wired brain kicked into overdrive.
*Are you kidding me?! How am I supposed to block that?! Run!*
The essence of the Cheonroe Sect.
The core teaching of the Grass-Skimming Step blazed through his mind like lightning.
【The moment your toes brush the grass, your body grows lighter than a feather, and the earth itself thrusts you forward.】
FLASH—!
Pung Hyeon's body shot upward as if it had simply evaporated from the spot.
Namgung Ryeo's sword punched through empty air where he'd been standing.
CRACK!
The stone floor split apart.
Namgung Ryeo's head snapped up.
"Into the air?"
The reality was simple enough.
Pung Hyeon had jumped because he didn't want to die.
But to every eye watching, it looked like something else entirely.
It looked like a supreme master who had read the sword tip in advance, stepped over it with contempt, and leaped away laughing.
THUD!
Pung Hyeon's feet landed on the massive signboard hanging above the Namgung Manor gate.
And in that moment.
The energy of the thousand-year snow ginseng that had been building inside him erupted in a surge through his body.
RUMBLE—!
Blue lightning scattered from his feet and coiled around the signboard in a ghostly spiral.
A thunderous crack split the dawn sky.
Every white-robed warrior drew a sharp breath in unison.
"Lightning!"
"Can he actually control thunder energy?"
"Is that the secret art of the Cheonroe Sect……"
Pung Hyeon had no time to register any of it.
*Huh? Wait. Why did my body just get even lighter? Don't tell me the two extra roots of snow ginseng are finally kicking in now?*
But it was already too late.
Every single person was staring at him.
Pung Hyeon scrambled to compose his expression.
Then he opened his mouth and said whatever came out.
"Your clan's swordsmanship is truly fearsome."
Namgung Ryeo's eyes wavered.
"But it is still filled with killing intent."
Inside, Pung Hyeon was screaming.
*What am I even saying?! Fine, whatever, I'm already in it—just keep talking!*
"You seem unworthy of being the true master of the Thunderclap Sword."
Namgung Ryeo's pupils shook hard.
The Thunderclap Sword.
A name that ranked among the highest secrets of the Namgung clan.
And he had just dropped it like it was common knowledge.
As if he already knew everything.
"If the opportunity presents itself."
Pung Hyeon smiled slowly.
"Let's share a proper cup of tea sometime."
The words had barely left his mouth.
FLASH!
His figure vanished into the mist.
Into the interior of Namgung Manor.
Toward whatever direction seemed most likely to hold a treasure room.
He bolted because he was terrified that pretty bandit with the sword would come charging after him again.
He just didn't want to die.
But the people he left behind didn't see it that way.
Silence.
Not even the sound of breathing.
After a long moment.
Namgung Ryeo murmured quietly.
"He…… dodged my sword?"
No.
That wasn't what her eyes had seen.
He had read her sword perfectly.
Used the tip of her blade as a stepping stone to launch himself skyward.
And at the end, he had named the Thunderclap Sword before walking away.
*Was he after the Thunderclap Sword from the very beginning?*
Namgung Ryeo's hand trembled, just slightly.
In all her years.
She had never met a peer who surpassed her with a blade.
But the young man who had just appeared—
He had stepped over her sword as if she weren't worth fighting, looked down at her from above, left her a single piece of advice, and disappeared.
That, more than anything, shook her pride to its core.
*Or perhaps……*
She turned over his words in her mind.
【It is still filled with killing intent.】
Something in her chest went strangely warm.
There had been moments when she had doubted her own sword herself.
There were plenty of people around her who envied her.
Even more who feared her.
But somewhere along the way.
The only person who had ever truly scolded her and tried to teach her had been her late master.
And now a young expert around her own age had done the same.
*What kind of life has he lived……?*
It was a feeling she had never experienced before.
Not fear.
Not wariness.
But one thing was certain.
She wanted to meet the young man who had just vanished again.
Meanwhile.
Behind her, a cluster of beggars had gathered around Mageon, papers already in hand.
"Disciples of the Beggars' Sect, write this down!"
Mageon's eyes blazed with fervor.
"Pung Hyeon of the Cheonroe Sect!"
"Neutralized the sword of Namgung Ryeo, the Namgung clan's foremost blade, in a single step!"
"Passed judgment on her worthiness to wield the Thunderclap Sword, then strode calmly into the manor!"
The surrounding Beggars' Sect disciples began scribbling with dazed expressions.
"So Great Hero Pung had a deeper purpose all along."
"He wasn't after the Thunderclap Sword—he was testing its master!"
"As expected of the heir to a hidden sect!"
The snowball of misunderstanding had long since outgrown an avalanche. It was a full-blown catastrophe now.
And the news spread across the entirety of Anhui Province in less than half an hour.
At that same moment.
Deep within the gardens of Namgung Manor.
Pung Hyeon was crouched behind a wall, gasping for breath.
"Hah…… hah……"
Cold sweat poured off him like rain.
"Phew… I almost actually died. If that medicine had kicked in even a second later, today would've been my funeral."
With trembling hands, he pulled the notebook from inside his robe.
Under the Namgung Manor entry.
There was a small note in Cheonbija's handwriting.
【Treasure room is roughly to the north.】
Pung Hyeon's eye twitched.
"Roughly?"
【You'll find it if you look around.】
【For reference, I got lost and wandered around three times.】
Pung Hyeon was silent for a long moment.
Then he quietly looked up at the sky.
"Old geezer."
His fist trembled.
"Please live a long, long life. I will absolutely find you and repay you properly."
Naturally.
That repayment didn't sound like it would be the pleasant kind.
Just then.
As Pung Hyeon moved to close the notebook, his eye caught a faint scrawl at the bottom of the debt ledger page—a section that had been folded over and hidden until now.
【P.S. — When you hit a dead end heading north, go right. Then left. After that, use your gut.】
【For reference, I got bitten by a wolf-looking spirit beast on the third turn.】
【Still fun though.】
Pung Hyeon quietly closed the notebook.
Then, with an expression of absolute seriousness, he muttered to himself.
"One day. I will catch you."
"I will absolutely catch you."
"And I will give you the most boring retirement in the history of the world."
But not today.
First, he had to survive.
Fortunately, Namgung Ryeo was still reeling from her apparent encounter with an invincible master, which had bought him some time—but it was only a matter of time before she snapped out of it and came after him.
He had to find the Thunderclap Sword before that happened.
Pung Hyeon glanced around carefully and eased himself to his feet.
At that moment.
Far beyond the northern wall, a faint blue light flickered in the distance.