Have you ever seen a sword cry on its own?
The Heavenly Mandate Society Leader’s eyes flew open at the sight. Jo Ibaek, too, had never before seen a sword weep by itself.
In truth, the most astonished of them all was Geom Mugeuk.
He had shed tears for the first time since receiving the Black Demon Sword. It was said that famous swords such as the Heavenly Demon Sword and the Black Demon Sword would only cry on their own when they had achieved perfect communion with their masters.
‘Yes. I’ll make sure they can’t laugh at me.’
When Geom Mugeuk grasped the sword’s hilt, the Black Demon Sword finally ceased its weeping.
The Heavenly Mandate Society Leader looked at Jo Ibaek. At that moment, the two men were thinking the same thing.
Jo Ibaek said to the Four Gentlemen,
“Do not underestimate your opponent. Fight with caution.”
The Four Gentlemen, too, had never seen a sword cry on its own, and they were inwardly tense.
Geom Mugeuk pressed them.
“Those men are one thing, but aren’t you martial artists of the righteous sects? Is it acceptable for you to try to kill someone who came here under the command of the Martial Alliance Leader?”
Yet not one of the Four Gentlemen felt the slightest pang of conscience. There was not even a moment’s hesitation or reluctance. It meant that, until now, they had carried out every order of the True Dragon Manor Lord without distinguishing right from wrong.
Geom Mugeuk said to them,
“That is a sobriquet unbefitting of you.”
The instant he finished speaking, the Black Demon Sword was drawn with the speed of a bolt of lightning.
Flash!
A streak of sword light burst forth, and the bamboo was severed cleanly in two.
It was the fifth technique of the Flying Heaven Sword Art, the Azure Heaven Technique, one of its swift-sword forms. The attack was even faster than before, and Bamboo of the Plum, Orchid, Chrysanthemum, and Bamboo could never have blocked it. In that flash, his body had already been severed—how could he possibly defend against it?
Seeing Bamboo collapse beside him, blood spraying from his body, Plum launched himself forward.
Screeech! Thud!
Plum saw it. His lower body remained where it was, while only his severed upper body flew forward. The technique that had cut him in two was the first form of the Flying Heaven Sword Art, the Equal Heaven Technique.
Orchid and Chrysanthemum charged in simultaneously from both sides. Having witnessed Bamboo and Plum die in an instant, their movements were no longer as nimble as usual.
The Black Demon Sword changed twelve times in midair.
It was the second form of the Flying Heaven Sword Art, the Transforming Heaven Technique.
The lofty orchid was uprooted at the sixth change, while the snow-white chrysanthemum’s petals were torn away and vanished at the ninth.
This was the might of the Flying Heaven Sword Art after reaching the twelfth level of mastery.
Geom Mugeuk could clearly feel it. The Flying Heaven Sword Art, having reached the twelfth level, was becoming increasingly mature. His Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity Body, the Wind God’s Four Steps having reached the ninth stage—all the improvements in his martial arts were affecting the Flying Heaven Sword Art as well.
Hoooooong!
The Black Demon Sword, having cut down the Four Gentlemen, cried once more.
When facing a large number of opponents, the most important thing was to seize the initiative. One had to instill fear in the hearts of those who charged in, relying only on their numbers—the fear that even with so many of them, they might still die.
Now, only silence hung over the place. No one was laughing anymore.
Geom Mugeuk gave his opponents no chance to compose themselves.
Before the order to kill him could be given, Geom Mugeuk moved first.
In a flash, he was cutting down the masked man on his left.
After stabbing through his heart, he spun and swung his sword. The two masked men behind him had their throats split open simultaneously, spraying fountains of blood.
He leaped over the masked man charging in from the side, smashed his face with a knee, and then stabbed the masked men behind him in rapid succession.
When the sound of flesh being torn rang out with a wet thunk, Geom Mugeuk had already cut down the masked man who had been staggering on the opposite side. Given his original skill, he should never have been defeated so easily, but in that flash, his throat was cut and darkness descended before his eyes.
The masked men who leaped from the roof to launch a surprise attack were instead stabbed by the sword in midair. They fell in a shower like autumn leaves.
Geom Mugeuk was simply too fast.
More than ten men became corpses in an instant, and the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader shouted belatedly,
“Attack him together! Attack him together!”
By the time he finished speaking, four more men had died.
Geom Mugeuk was a tiger that had leaped into a flock of sheep. Of course, these were no ordinary sheep. They charged like madmen and swung their swords. Even as they were cut down, some swords sank into Geom Mugeuk’s body.
But because he never allowed an attack to strike him squarely, the blows that merely grazed him could not pierce the supreme-grade Heavenly Silkworm Silk or the Ghost Fox Robe.
“He is faster than the Alliance Leader was in his prime.”
At Jo Ibaek’s words, the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader said nothing. Before the words had even ended, three more men collapsed.
“He is human, too. He will grow tired.”
That was all they could rely on. So long as he was human, his internal energy would eventually reach its limit.
More than ten men charged in, yet Geom Mugeuk rushed toward them instead. He ran, but it did not look like running. He slid forward with a scraping sound, like someone gliding across ice.
The masked men fell to either side in his wake.
Hidden weapons rained down from every direction.
Clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang-clang!
Geom Mugeuk’s sword scattered sword light, embroidering the air. Every incoming hidden weapon was deflected. Several of them lodged in Geom Mugeuk’s body, but his movements did not slow in the slightest.
Geom Mugeuk shot upward. The masked men who had been throwing hidden weapons from the roof fell one after another as corpses.
They died whether they charged him or turned their backs to flee. They died whether they attacked alone or joined forces. Even when they succeeded in stabbing him, Geom Mugeuk did not fall. When he had no choice but to allow an attack, Geom Mugeuk offered only the areas protected by the supreme-grade Heavenly Silkworm Silk and the Ghost Fox Robe.
Crack.
A masked man, reduced to a corpse, flew into the table where the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader and Jo Ibaek had been sitting and smashed it apart.
“One cannot fight like that through martial prowess alone. That man… has killed countless people.”
The Heavenly Mandate Society Leader could tell from watching Geom Mugeuk fight. His opponent truly had extensive experience in combat. One could not fight that way without crossing a river of blood. He was someone who knew the fastest and most efficient way to kill an opponent.
“How can someone so young have such experience?”
“That is why we threw ourselves into this martial world, is it not? Because it is so much fun.”
The Heavenly Mandate Society Leader was not afraid. Whether it was because he had something to believe in or because he had resolved himself to die, no one could say.
When more than half of the masked men had been killed, the survivors lost their will to fight. From then on, their role was no longer to kill Geom Mugeuk, but merely to wear him down.
And so the last masked man fell.
“Huff, huff, huff!”
Only Geom Mugeuk’s ragged breathing echoed through the place.
Of the three experts—the Demon-Slaying Saber, Paeseung, and the Great Poison Elder—the first to launch himself forward was Paeseung Yorai.
He rushed in, swinging his iron staff. He gave Geom Mugeuk no time to rest.
Kaaang! Kaang! Kkang!
The iron staff and sword collided in rapid succession. Yorai drove him back with tremendous force.
Geom Mugeuk retreated, losing out in strength.
Believing he had seized the advantage, Yorai poured his internal energy into the iron staff. Confident in his own internal energy, he was deliberately turning the fight into a contest of internal power. He was sure of his own strength, while his opponent was exhausted.
Yorai pressed forward with his internal energy. He thought victory was certain, but he was overlooking one fact: the reason Geom Mugeuk was this tired was because he had fought while conserving his internal energy as much as possible.
No matter how abundant Yorai’s internal energy was, it could not compare with Geom Mugeuk’s.
As Geom Mugeuk’s power surged toward him like a flood, Yorai’s arms trembled violently around the iron staff.
It was then that the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader, watching the situation, gave an order.
“Great Poison Elder!”
The instant his words fell, something flew from the Great Poison Elder’s hand. Since Geom Mugeuk and Yorai were locked in a contest of internal energy, neither could evade it.
Boom!
Black poisonous smoke rose and swallowed the two men.
“That’s it!”
The Heavenly Mandate Society Leader sprang to his feet.
Jo Ibaek rose with him and asked,
“What kind of poison is it?”
“The most powerful poison among the Great Poison Elder’s poisons—the Extreme Yin Death-Ending Poison! That fellow is finished!”
“Ah!”
Only then did Jo Ibaek relax at the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader’s certainty. He had been tormented by the thought that he might have made the wrong choice.
Someone staggered out of the black smoke. In that brief span, the poisoned man was bleeding from every opening in his body. He muttered something unintelligible, then collapsed face-first.
And when the poisonous smoke dissipated, everyone was aghast.
Geom Mugeuk was still standing there, completely unharmed.
The Heavenly Mandate Society Leader and Jo Ibaek shouted simultaneously,
“Immune to all poisons?”
“The Ten Thousand Poisons Immunity Body!”
They were enemies, but they could not help feeling awe. This was the moment they witnessed with their own eyes the legendary body that was immune to all poisons.
The fact that he had endured the poison was not the issue.
Shrrrraaaaack!
The things now floating before Geom Mugeuk’s chest.
Within the poisonous smoke, sword qi in the shape of swords had already appeared—sword qi he himself had created. Their number had increased again, and now no fewer than twenty swords floated in the air.
The seventh form of the Flying Heaven Sword Art, the Wandering Heaven Technique.
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!
Twenty sword qi flew like rays of light and pierced the Great Poison Elder. He swung both palms, trying desperately to block them, but he could not stop the twenty sword qi flying toward his entire body.
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
A torrential rain of sword qi pierced through him.
As the Great Poison Elder collapsed, the Demon-Slaying Saber was already bringing his weapon down upon Geom Mugeuk’s face.
While launching the Wandering Heaven Technique, Geom Mugeuk’s sword had become embedded in the wall behind the Great Poison Elder. The Demon-Slaying Saber thought that if he missed this chance, he would die.
Geom Mugeuk narrowly evaded the attack, and at the exact moment the two men’s faces passed within inches of each other—
Whoosh.
Geom Mugeuk exhaled the smoke he had been holding in his mouth.
“Aaaaaaaaaagh!”
He had held the earlier poisonous smoke in his mouth and spat it at the Demon-Slaying Saber. One mouthful had been enough.
The Demon-Slaying Saber clutched his face and rolled across the floor, screaming horribly. He, too, died while blood flowed from the seven apertures of his face.
Now, only Geom Mugeuk, the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader, and Jo Ibaek remained.
Looking at the corpses scattered in every direction, Jo Ibaek felt as though everything were a dream. But he realized that unless he awoke from this nightmare quickly, he too would die within it.
Jo Ibaek shouted,
“Do not forget! I am on the Alliance Leader’s side! I was the one who told you that the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader was coming here—”
Flare!
Boom!
Half of Jo Ibaek’s face was blown away, and the remaining portion had turned to ash as though burned. A powerful scorching-yang force had been unleashed.
Retracting the hand with which he had released the palm strike, the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader lifted the wine cup before him and slowly drank.
“I’m the sort of person who can’t rest easy unless I finish what I’ve started.”
It meant that he had intended to kill him all along.
When Geom Mugeuk extended his hand, the Black Demon Sword embedded in the wall flew back into his grasp.
“You may think yourself impressive, but in my eyes, you are insignificant. If you want to live quietly, then live quietly. If you want to become a hero, then step forward proudly. But what are you, exactly? You scheme in hiding, sow discord from behind the scenes, and manipulate people without their knowledge. You recruit father and son separately, keeping each unaware of the other. Do you think that is impressive? No. It is nothing but cowardly and despicable.”
The Heavenly Mandate Society Leader smiled bitterly.
“What can I do? That is simply who I am. Scheming behind the scenes is so much fun, and it makes me happy.”
He should have continued to do just that. But as his organization and power grew, he had naturally become careless. Something like today? It would have been unimaginable when he had only two or ten people protecting him. He had hidden, and hidden again. But now that a hundred people guarded him, he had grown arrogant, acting as though he were invincible.
“I suppose I’ll have to return to the beginning and start over.”
The Heavenly Mandate Society Leader’s body began to heat up fiercely. At the very least, his martial arts were not insignificant.
The air around them grew hot in an instant.
Geom Mugeuk immediately understood. The Heavenly Mandate Society Leader wielded a martial art of the Ultimate Yang—even among the most extreme yang arts.
‘Dangerous.’
The Black Demon Sword, having read his thoughts, let out another long cry.
His head grew dizzy and his breath caught in his throat. Because this was pure martial power rather than an illusion, there was no different way to respond. He raised his protective aura and endured. Never in his life had he experienced such heat. It felt as though he had been thrown into molten lava.
Just as the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader was about to unleash a palm strike of Ultimate Yang imbued with flames—
The surroundings changed, and the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader was startled.
Wheeeeeeeeng.
In the blink of an eye, the surroundings had transformed, and he was standing on a snowy mountain as a blizzard raged around him.
The cold snowstorm striking his face was real. Even the Heavenly Mandate Society Leader, who had endured every kind of hardship, was shocked by the situation.
“This is…”
Far ahead, Geom Mugeuk was scooping up the snow piled on the ground and rubbing it across his face.
The Heavenly Mandate Society Leader reached down and touched the snow as well. It was real snow.
Wheeeeeeing.
Under the fierce blizzard and bitter cold, the supreme-yang qi of the Lord of the Tianming Society, which had burned like a flame, died down. As the heat subsided, so too did the killing intent and fighting spirit.
The two men returned to their original positions.
In the middle of the estate, strewn with corpses, the Lord of the Tianming Society asked,
“What martial art is that?”
“Space-Time Transposition Art.”
The very moment he heard the answer, the Lord of the Tianming Society was no longer there.
The final technique he had employed was an art of concealment. It was his last and most secret move, allowing him to vanish before his opponent’s eyes and escape the place.
His belief that he could survive in any situation had left him no better off than prey caught in a spider’s web.
Squelch!
The Lord of the Tianming Society opened his eyes and looked down at his chest.
Geom Mugeuk’s sword, which had uncovered his concealment, had pierced straight through his heart.
The Lord of the Tianming Society summoned the last of his qi and examined Geom Mugeuk.
Qi had been released all around Geom Mugeuk’s body, spreading out like a spider’s web. It was the same qi projection he had learned from the Heavenly Demon during his hunt, but now it had spread out as densely as a spider’s web, just as his father had once done. There had been no opening through which the Lord of the Tianming Society’s concealment could escape.
As though he had no regrets, the Lord of the Tianming Society said,
“…If even that martial art, the Space-Time Transposition Art, cannot be countered by poison, and even concealment cannot get through. Then I suppose I have to die.”
In truth, in today’s battle, Geom Mugeuk had used everything he had learned thus far.
Before drawing his last breath, the Lord of the Tianming Society left him one final remark.
“I… have met someone like you before.”
Geom Mugeuk was startled.
“Where? Where?”
But those were the Lord of the Tianming Society’s final words. He had already breathed his last.
‘It was Hwa Mugi! This Lord of the Tianming Society had met Hwa Mugi before.’
Of course, it could have been someone else, but Geom Mugeuk believed that the person the Lord of the Tianming Society had spoken of was Hwa Mugi.
Hwa Mugi was alive somewhere. He was growing as powerful as Geom Mugeuk himself, walking toward their fate.
Geom Mugeuk was no longer afraid of him. He, too, was doing his best to live.
Yes, Hwa Mugi was Hwa Mugi. For now, it was time to savor the joy of victory.
At last, he had safely completed the successor’s trial his father had given him. More importantly, he had brought it to an end on his own, without the help of the Demon Venerables.
Geom Mugeuk left the estate. Once he was gone, the Martial Alliance Leader would take care of what remained. He had already said his farewells to Jin Paecheon and Jin Haryeong, so he could leave just like this.
Outside the estate, Seo Daeryong was waiting in the driver’s seat atop a carriage.
“This is a carriage driven by the winner of the Lesser Dragon Tournament. You’d better consider yourself honored.”
Contrary to his words, Seo Daeryong’s eyes were trembling. His face was filled with the ardent emotion of someone grateful that Geom Mugeuk had returned safely.
“I bought you a new set of martial robes inside. Change into them.”
“Thank you.”
Geom Mugeuk climbed into the carriage.
“Let’s go. Home.”
“Who do you want to see the most?”
Leaning against the carriage, Geom Mugeuk closed his eyes.
“The person I want to see most is…”
The only thing that heard his answer, so faint it was almost inaudible, was the wind brushing past his hair.
“Who was that?”
When Seo Daeryong turned around, Geom Mugeuk, having poured every ounce of his mental strength into the battle, had fallen asleep. The new martial robes Seo Daeryong had prepared lay draped across his knees, still untouched.
‘You’ve truly worked hard, Hall Lord.’
And so the carriage began to race toward the Heavenly Demon Divine Church.