Published at 25th of February 2026 7:48 am

Chapter 399

This chapter is updated by JustRead.pl

The format of the Blue Moon Festival's Martial Tournament was simple. The warriors of the Small Moon Division would draw numbers, and those with the same numbers would face off in a match. That was it.

It was a simple and straightforward method, but it meant that the luck of the draw was extremely important.

That's why some people groaned, while others smiled in satisfaction.

'Well, whatever.'

It was always the same at any martial tournament, so I didn't really care.

However—

"To think Senior brother Seo Seon is facing the Moon Hero... Who do you think will win?"

"No matter how outstanding the Moon Hero is, senior brother Seo Seon is the best among the 2nd-generation disciples. There's even talk of him taking over as the next Small Moon Division Leader. Isn't it obvious who'll win?"

The first match. From that very battle, which signaled the start of the Blue Moon Festival, people began to watch with all sorts of anticipation.

Seo Seon, the Azure Dancing Sword.

A man in his mid-thirties, a renowned expert from the Blue Moon Sect, and known as a promising expert in the Central Plains.

He's been said to have awakened the Moon Eye about ten years ago and, right after, joined the Small Moon Division, resolving major missions as a seasoned expert.

I know him well myself.

'He's the one who made his name defeating that demon, Wind-Wave Sabre.'

I'd heard of him even before joining the Blue Moon Sect. That's how famous he was.

Which means—

'He must be that strong.'

Some people fail to live up to their reputation, but most proved worthy of their names.

'And he's even an awakened Moon Eye user.'

There's no way he's weak.

But that kind of man—

"You'd better be prepared."

"......"

Was glaring at me with not-so-friendly eyes.

'This is a bother.'

No matter how I looked at it, this was not a good situation.

Mm.

'Well, whatever.'

There wasn't much I could do. I'd already gotten on his bad side, so what could I do about it?

'I'm used to it.'

I shrugged. I've never been loved by everyone, and honestly, I've been hated more often in life.

Adding one more to the list isn't going to change anything.

'Like I said, it's just annoying.'

It's just bothersome. And it's even more annoying when someone who's troublesome to deal with ends up disliking you.

Squeeze.

I stepped onto the dueling platform. I tapped my toes lightly. The sensation still felt unfamiliar.

Especially the atmosphere.

So many eyes were on me. That sensation was pretty uncomfortable.

Clank.

I wrapped my hand around the hilt of the sword.

It wasn't my Divine Sword. For the match, we had to use the swords provided by the Blue Moon Sect.

The weight and the size were both different.

The unfamiliar sensation was a little uncomfortable.

Shiiing.

I slowly drew the steel sword.

The moment I unsheathed my sword—

Shiiing.

There was a sound of another sword being drawn in front of me.

"Not nervous at all, are you?"

That was Seo Seon's voice. I looked up at his words.

"Nervous?"

"Yeah, you must be used to being the center of attention."

"...... Hmm."

It's uncomfortable. But if you're asking whether I'm used to it, well, you're correct.

"Yes. Well."

"... Ha."

Was I too honest? Seo Seon let out a hollow laugh.

"Too much attention will only blind you, you know."

"......."

His words had a slight edge to them. Scratching my cheek, I asked,

"Seems like you really don't like me."

"Was it that obvious?"

Was he joking? Should I laugh? Come on, how could it not be obvious?

"I was going to say this earlier, but I didn't really put myself forward..."

"That's not the reason at all."

He cut me off.

That's not the reason?

"It's the way you act, relying on the name of the Sword Saint, and yet behaving neither as a member of the Small Moon Division nor as a disciple of the Blue Moon Sect. That's what I can't stomach."

"... Huh?"

What's that supposed to mean?

"When have I ever acted high and mighty?"

"You hardly participate in any training, you act individually most of the time—that too. Do you even have any sense of being part of the Small Moon Division?"

"... No, that's not true."

That accusation was a bit unfair.

"I was told it was fine to train alone, and it's because I have a sense of belonging to the Small Moon Division that I went out on missions, isn't it?"

Did they really think I went on long-term missions because I wanted to?

Sure, I always came back with something, but—

'So, basically.'

He's saying I've been walking around, stuck-up and arrogant, just because I'm the Sword Saint's successor?

"That's ridiculous, seriously."

I had to stifle a sigh.

"They're the ones who pretended not to notice when I was left out."

Who was it who subtly kept their distance, anyway?

'I've only ever talked to two people in the Small Moon Division.'

Chun Hye-In and Do Hyung.

Other than them, I had almost zero contact. The rest of the Small Moon Division didn't care to associate with me.

"Getting annoyed over something so trivial."

"What?"

"Forget it. I don't have time to bother with this kind of thing right now."

If this was back in the day, back in my previous life at about this point—

I might have tried harder to fit in, tried to make friends, maybe started conversations.

'But after everything I've been through, I know better now—it's just not worth it.'

Nothing really changes, no matter what.

Now's not the time to care about such things. Besides—

"It doesn't matter anyway."

"What was that?"

"Given the Blue Moon Sect's nature, all disciples are ultimately competitors anyway."

"... What do you mean?"

"What do you think I mean?"

Did he really not understand? Or was he just pretending not to?

"Don't you want to become the Sect Leader?"

"...!"

Mentioning the Sect Leader directly, Seo Seon's eyes widened.

"That's weird. I thought everyone was aiming for that..."

We follow the moon as our ideal.

Even so, you have to consider the essence beneath the Blue Moon Sect's words.

Blue Moon Sect Leader.

To become the strongest martial artist in the Blue Moon Sect.

And—

"To challenge the Sect Leader to a life-and-death duel. Don't you want to take the Sect Leader's head?"

"You lunatic...!!"

Seo Seon's face twisted the moment I brought up killing the Sect Leader.

"Are you out of your mind?"

"No, I'm not. In fact, I think I'm the only sane one here."

Clank.

I raised my sword, pointing it straight at Seo Seon's face.

"To become Sect Leader, you have to take the Sect Leader's head. Under the pretense that the Small Moon Division protects the Blue Moon Sect—"

Kiiiing.

My sword trembled. It was starting to vibrate from my inner power.

"You have to set that as your goal, don't you?"

"......"

"Isn't that true for you, too, senior brother?"

That's what the Virtuous Moon Sword had said. Sooner or later, a martial artist destined to kill him would become the Sect Leader.

He awaited that, but also believed it would never happen.

I thought this was the nature of the warriors in the Small Moon Division as well as the Blue Moon Sect.

"... Ha ha."

Seo Seon just gave me a look of disbelief.

"... I thought you were eccentric, but I didn't expect you to say that so brazenly."

What, that's not it?

Seo Seon was looking at me like I was downright repulsive.

'... Am I the weird one?'

Did I get warped by constantly being around madmen? Without even noticing?

'Maybe.'

After all, I've never had taking someone's life as my goal. Not really, even now.

I'd only thought, isn't that what the Blue Moon Sect is about?

"How arrogant..."

Viiiiing—!!!

Seo Seon's sword began to vibrate softly.

"Looks like I need to correct your misguided thinking today—as your senior."

An intense fighting spirit wrapped around Seo Seon's blade.

It wasn't just vibration—you could feel the depth of his resolve.

"......"

The referee, seeing we were ready, quietly raised his hand. There was a strange anticipation in his eyes.

"... The match will now begin."

He raised his hand slightly.

'Alright, then.'

I poured strength into my Moon Eye. Tension spread down my back.

'... I wonder how strong he really is.'

Just how strong is the Number One of the Small Moon Division?

I steadied my breath. I focused.

Would I win? The thought struck me belatedly.

'Who knows?'

You never know until you try.

It probably wouldn't be easy. I acknowledged that and watched Seo Seon with vigilance.

Just then—

"Begin—!"

At the referee's signal, I made the first move.

I needed to get a grasp of his condition.

I closed the distance in an instant. Seo Seon caught sight of me and swung his sword.

Shiiiiik—!!!

A blue light drew a line. With my Moon Eye, I saw the sword paths. But—

'Three?'

There were only three. I narrowed my eyes. Fewer than I'd expected.

Could it be—

'Like Yu Chun-gil or Virtuous Moon Sword?'

Extremely condensed sword paths. I recalled how hard it had been to block even once.

Maybe Seo Seon's swords were condensed like that, too.

'That's possible.'

In which case—

Clang—!!

I shifted my footwork and let the sword path glance off. I could have blocked or countered, but I chose caution.

'A feint is possible.'

With three concentrated sword paths, odds were at least one of them was a feint.

But—

Tang—!

"... Hmm?"

"... Kuh!?"

Maybe it was the rebound from using my ki to redirect it. The moment our swords touched, Seo Seon's sword bounced away.

"What...!"

Seo Seon's eyes flashed in surprise. I was stunned, too.

'What the hell?'

Why did it bounce away so easily? It felt far lighter than I'd expected.

'... Is this also a feint?'

Was he trying to lull me into lowering my guard? If so, it was feeble.

'I still can't be sure.'

It could be a ploy to lower my guard.

Thinking that, I looked at his sword path again.

'... Why is the line like that?'

It was all over the place. It steadied quickly, but the momentary shake was significant.

'What is this?'

Seo Seon hastily regained his stance. A rough aura radiated outward.

"You little...!"

Whoosh—!!!

Blue sword aura gathered around his blade. I understood as I saw the sword path.

It was Moon Wave.

Only, not the version of Moon Wave I used, inherited from Yu Chun-gil, but the basic Moon Wave passed down in the Blue Moon Sect.

A dull and thick crescent moon flew right at me.

Watching it, I thought—

'... It's slow?'

Why was it so slow? Without thinking, my hand moved.

Kiiiiiiing—!!!!

I imbued my blade with Radiant Moon Annihilation. Using the moonlight that seeped in, I too launched a Moon Wave.

My cast was slower.

But my sword was faster.

The flying crescent moons collided—

KABOOM—!!!

Fragments of sword aura blasted out in a shockwave. The problem was—

Crackle.

"Kuh!"

My sword aura remained, but Seo Seon's was shattered.

Like an egg breaking against a rock, Seo Seon's sword aura exploded in all directions.

The shards soared toward the sky, and as I watched them dissipate—

"Urgh..."

Thud.

Seo Seon collapsed in front of me. He dropped to his knees, gasping hard.

"Haah...huff...this... what is...?"

"...."

A look of shock, a face caught off guard by reality. Watching Seo Seon at a loss, I said—

"... What the?"

My words came out, confused.

It couldn't be helped.

"Why are you so weak?"

Why is this guy so weak? Huh.

Oh.

'No way...'

A thought sprang into my head—a thought I'd never had before. Could it be...?

This guy isn't weak.

'... Have I gotten stronger?'

It seemed that I'd gotten stronger.

Much, much stronger than I'd imagined.

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