Chapter 12

Mujin, the Extinction Sword

Mujin, the Extinction Sword.

The final opponent of Namgung Cheon’s martial challenge journey.

Yet his whereabouts were unknown.

If a master of the Transcendent Realm truly wished to hide, finding even his shadow through ordinary means was nearly impossible.

Namgung Cheon fell into thought for a moment.

Should I use the clan’s intelligence network?

He soon shook his head.

He did not want the clan’s help.

His proof had to be completed entirely through his own strength.

That left only one option.

To deduce the answer using information known only to himself—the former Heavenly Demon.

Namgung Cheon searched through the memories of his previous life.

The Demonic Cult had operated its own intelligence organization to monitor the martial world.

Top-tier experts like the Wolf King were always potential variables, making their movements a priority target for surveillance.

And within the final memories of the Heavenly Demon, information regarding the last residence of the Wolf King and his disciple Mujin surfaced.

It was definitely near the Bisu River in Hefei.

If he followed the river, he would find him.

I will find him.

Having reached his conclusion, Namgung Cheon left the inn at dawn the next day.

“That’s the Sword Ghost.”

“The Sword Ghost is moving!”

People gradually began following him.

Though none dared approach too closely, they trailed him from a distance.

A strange procession where the footsteps of a single man caused an entire city to hold its breath.

Ignoring the people behind him, Namgung Cheon silently headed toward the Bisu River.

Upon arriving, he began traveling upstream along the main waterway.

Throughout the morning, he thoroughly searched several miles of riverbank.

There were turbulent rapids and broad shores where fishermen had cast their lines, yet there was no trace of Mujin.

The sun climbed overhead, scorching heat pouring down as sweat ran down his back, but his pace never slowed.

Even by afternoon, he did not stop.

He searched every hidden tributary branching away from the main river, places where not a single soul could be found.

How long had he walked?

At last, when the noise of the city had completely faded and the western sky glowed crimson as the setting sun shattered across the river’s surface—

His footsteps stopped before a secluded field of reeds.

Golden reeds swayed like waves whenever the wind blew.

Instinctively, he knew.

This is the place.

Following a narrow path through the reeds, Namgung Cheon walked toward the riverside.

At the end stood an old pavilion.

Time had weathered it badly, with paint peeling from countless places.

And sitting upon its railing was a man, showing only his back.

Dressed in plain hemp clothing, he held a long fishing rod extended into the water while silently watching the golden river flow.

The air around him was so still it felt as if time itself had stopped.

The rustling reeds.

The flowing river.

Within his domain, all sound seemed to lose meaning and sink into silence.

This man was none other than Mujin, the Extinction Sword.

Namgung Cheon stopped before the pavilion.

Despite his arrival, Mujin did not move.

A suffocating silence lingered.

Finally, it was Mujin who broke it first.

Still gazing at the river without turning around, he spoke.

“You’ve come all the way here. I assume this isn’t a trivial matter. Who are you?”

Namgung Cheon went straight to the point.

“I am Namgung Cheon of the Namgung Clan. I have come to challenge you to a duel.”

The moment the name Namgung Cheon was spoken, Mujin’s shoulders twitched ever so slightly.

Slowly, he turned his head and looked at him.

For the first time, a spark of interest appeared in his indifferent eyes.

“So you’re the Sword Ghost who has been stirring up all of Hefei lately.”

Mujin’s gaze drifted toward the distant crowd watching from afar before returning to the calm river.

“Quite a noisy group of guests you’ve brought to this quiet riverside.”

His voice was calm, yet the meaning was clear.

Could Namgung Cheon bear responsibility for the disturbance he had brought?

Understanding the implication, Namgung Cheon smirked.

“Tranquility exists to be broken.”

The moment his answer ended—

Crack!

The wooden floor beneath his feet split apart.

At the same time, Mujin’s fishing rod bent like a drawn bow.

The fishing line stretched taut, trembling as though wrestling against some invisible giant.

An unseen clash of qi.

The two men had already crossed swords.

After a moment, Mujin quietly reeled in his line.

The tension vanished.

There was nothing on the hook.

Seeing that, Namgung Cheon remarked,

“It seems you weren’t trying to catch fish.”

Turning toward him, Mujin smiled faintly.

“I was waiting for a stone large enough to create ripples in this river.”

With those words, Mujin casually removed and tossed aside his bamboo hat.

Against the backdrop of the burning sunset—

Two shadows stretched long across the earth.

The Sword Ghost Namgung Cheon’s martial challenge journey.

Its final chapter had begun.

*

In the middle of the reed field, the two men stood facing each other beneath the crimson sunset.

Shing!

As though by prior agreement, they drew their swords simultaneously.

Namgung Cheon unsheathed Changcheon.

Blue sword qi erupted from the blade, wrapping around it like flames and heating the surrounding air.

The very moisture by the riverside seemed to evaporate from its presence.

Opposite him stood Mujin.

A hollow gray sword qi rose from his blade like a mirage, as though erasing all color and light from the world.

Namgung Cheon’s eyes gleamed.

So this is the Extinction Sword Art.

A sword born not from brilliance or overwhelming power, but from the loneliness and years of a wandering swordsman.

Rather than shattering through force, it weathered all things away, fading them into nothingness over time.

The opposing sword auras collided, causing the surrounding atmosphere to distort.

The spectators watching from afar stared in shock.

“W-What is this?”

“They only drew their swords, yet the pressure is already this overwhelming…!”

Murmurs spread along the riverbank.

Yet even those voices seemed crushed beneath the tension between the two masters.

A suffocating silence followed.

The world became still.

Then—

BOOM!

Namgung Cheon moved first.

The instant he kicked off the ground, the earth beneath him cracked apart.

He shot forward in a straight line toward Mujin.

Mujin did not retreat.

Instead, he stepped forward and met the attack head-on with his gray-qi-covered blade.

The two swords collided.

KWAAAAAANG!

A deafening explosion erupted.

A massive shockwave spread outward from the two warriors.

Sand along the riverside was gouged away, while nearby reeds were uprooted and hurled into the sky.

The recoil forced both men backward.

One exchange.

“Impressive.”

Mujin calmly offered his assessment.

Though his voice remained composed, the hand gripping his sword trembled slightly with excitement.

A smile appeared on Namgung Cheon’s lips.

“You as well.”

At the same instant, both launched forward again.

BOOM! CRACK!

The sound of sword against sword shook the riverside endlessly.

The ground itself trembled with each clash.

Namgung Cheon’s sword was tyrannical.

Every strike carried the weight of absolute destruction, seeking to crush everything before it.

Blue sword qi swept toward Mujin from every direction.

Mujin’s sword, however, was strange.

Even while receiving Namgung Cheon’s overwhelming force head-on, he absorbed and dissolved it.

“Is… is that truly the power of humans?”

Someone on the riverbank muttered.

They witnessed enormous boulders split silently into pieces by Namgung Cheon’s sword qi.

They saw entire sections of reeds severed by Mujin’s sword wind.

The fiercer the battle became, the wider the area affected by their attacks.

BOOM! SPLASH!

Everywhere they passed, the river exploded upward in towering columns of water.

Dozens of exchanges passed.

A subtle change appeared in Namgung Cheon’s expression.

At this rate, this won’t end.

The sensation of his attacks being nullified.

It felt different from the Flowing Sword of Wudang, which specialized in redirection.

The Extinction Sword did not redirect force.

It accepted it head-on and erased it.

Tap.

Namgung Cheon abruptly widened the distance between them.

Gripping his sword anew, he drew a deep breath.

His gaze became incomparably more serious.

“Enough probing.”

The blue sword qi around Changcheon deepened.

BOOM!

Namgung Cheon’s figure shot forward.

Like a force capable of splitting the heavens apart.

Boundless Sky Sword Art

First Form

Heavy Mountain Splitting the Heavens

A blue blade streaked forward in a straight trajectory toward Mujin.

For the first time, Mujin’s expression turned grave.

He planted both feet firmly into the earth and extended his sword.

A stance meant to receive an immense force head-on.

The blue power capable of cleaving mountains collided directly against the gray abyss that swallowed all things.

KWAAAAAAAH!

A primordial sound of destruction shook the world.

Both men were pushed several zhang backward by the impact.

Namgung Cheon twisted in midair and landed lightly.

Mujin slid backward, carving two deep trenches into the ground.

Namgung Cheon frowned.

The immense internal energy contained within his strike had gradually faded the moment it touched Mujin’s blade.

It had penetrated far deeper than before, yet ultimately failed to break through the gray aura.

He isn’t blocking it. He’s erasing my power.

Then—

All I need to do is deny him the time to erase it.

Namgung Cheon’s swordsmanship changed instantly.

His blade flashed through the air.

Hundreds of blue sword qi projectiles erupted forth.

SHHHHHK!

Boundless Sky Sword Art

Second Form

Shattering Rain Severing the Current

Hundreds of sword qi streaked toward Mujin.

Every single one possessed power comparable to his earlier attacks.

Mujin watched calmly and moved.

His sword traced the most efficient paths with the smallest possible motions.

Blue sword qi was deflected.

Redirected.

Neutralized.

But—

KWAKWAKWANG!

There were simply too many.

CLANG! RIP!

Several sword qi attacks pierced his defenses.

His sleeves tore.

Shallow cuts appeared on his arm.

For the first time, a troubled look crossed his face.

A smile finally appeared on Namgung Cheon’s lips.

This was the moment he had been waiting for.

The instant his opponent became fully occupied with defense.

Shattering Rain Severing the Current had never been intended as a finishing move.

It was merely a setup.

A foundation created for a single opportunity.

Tap.

With a light step, Namgung Cheon’s figure vanished.

Passing through the storm of sword qi filling the sky, he appeared behind Mujin.

Then—

SHIIIIING!

The tip of his sword thrust toward Mujin’s neck with flawless precision.

Mujin’s eyes shook.

…When did he get there?!

A fatal moment.

Neither dodge nor defense was possible.

Every instinct in his body screamed at him.

He had to choose.

Take the attack and suffer a mortal wound.

Or gamble everything on a counterattack.

For the first time, killing intent flashed in his eyes.

The air itself seemed to distort.

SWISH!

Without even turning around, Mujin reversed his grip and thrust his sword behind him—

Directly toward Namgung Cheon’s heart.