Chapter 462 - Back in My Day
CRAAAACK—!!
A massive vessel shattered. Water poured out from within, submerging Ouyang Tian.
Afterward, the seemingly endless space gradually began to fill with the water flowing from within.
"..."
The water had risen to the very tips of his toes.
As if standing upon a tranquil lake, Sincheol stood calmly atop the water.
Not a single tremor; perfectly still.
The shattered debris sank to the bottom, and somewhere below, Ouyang Tian must have sunk as well.
Feeling this, Sincheol slowly raised his head.
There was no sign of the sky. All that could be seen was pitch-black darkness.
This place was the inner space of Ouyang Tian.
That terrible darkness represented Ouyang Tian's state of mind.
And the water that had risen represented the brat's regrets and lingering attachments.
"Incompetent fool."
Feeling this, Sincheol muttered softly.
He had tried desperately to move forward, yet in the end, could not overcome a single thing.
It was the inner world of a child who had merely endured, keeping everything locked inside.
At that miserable and wretched sight, Sincheol could only let out a hollow laugh.
He looked down just as he was.
The water was full to the brim.
He searched for Ouyang Tian, who would be submerged somewhere within.
Sincheol's gaze swept around, but he could not see anything.
That meant the child's longing and regret ran that deep.
Seeing that, Sincheol shook his head.
He respected the child's choice. Yet he, too, did not know what lay at the end of that path.
'I do not know.'
Would that child truly be able to open his eyes?
Even if he did open them, would he still be wholly himself?
And even if Ouyang Tian were to awaken as Ouyang Tian.
Would he be able to properly handle these countless remnants of longing and energy?
This was something even Sincheol could not be certain of.
Becoming an entirely different being was something that shouldn't have been possible by Sincheol's common sense to begin with.
As he quietly watched the water.
RUMBLE—!
He could feel the space tremble for a moment.
Soon after.
BOOM—!
SHWAAAAH—!!
Something colossal crashed into the water, sending monstrous waves surging in every direction.
When the surging water fell back down, it was like rain pouring from the sky.
"..."
Sincheol looked at something writhing atop the water.
It was truly enormous.
Large enough to fill this vast space entirely. That pitch-black thing boasted a size greater than any living creature Sincheol had ever seen.
Such a monstrous being.
HUFF... HUFF....
Lay collapsed on the water, gasping for breath as if exhausted.
"You have suffered."
Looking at the curled-up mass, Sincheol offered words of comfort.
Sincheol could only perceive its size; he could not properly make out what shape it had.
The gap in the existence's level was simply too great.
It was akin to the perceptual gap that occurred when martial artists' realms differed drastically.
At first, Sincheol had feared it precisely because of that difference.
But now, at a point when that gap had narrowed somewhat.
After all, both that thing and he himself were currently suffering for the sake of a good-for-nothing who was nothing special, which created a pointless sense of kinship.
"...Forcing that massive body into that scrawny kid's frame and fighting with it—you must have truly suffered."
GURR... GURRR....
It writhed and gasped.
It almost seemed to be answering him.
Watching its breathing, Sincheol nodded slightly.
"Now, do rest."
The rest seemed to be his task to carry out.
"Damn it all."
Spitting out a thick curse, Sincheol burst into laughter.
Even after dying, he wondered what kind of dog's work this was.
His recovery was most likely out the window now.
With such idle thoughts in mind.
Sincheol gradually began to emit plum blossoms.
******************
"Now this looks like it'll be worth a beating."
At the playful tone that rang out, Tianzun furrowed his brow.
What did that bastard just say?
"...What did you just say?"
"Asking again when you already heard everything—just like him, too. Tsk, tsk. Your ears are already going bad."
"You bastard!"
Despite Tianzun's roar, the figure merely clicked his tongue and laughed.
"Do not shout. I suppose being young means you've got a good set of lungs."
"How dare you act so familiar without knowing who I am?"
"How could I not know? That handsome face paired with that sort of attitude exists in only one place in all of Zhongyuan."
Grind.
A rough sound burst from Tianzun's hand gripping his sword.
"A life like a moth to a flame. I was showing mercy by letting you live. You simply don't know your place."
That strange fellow seemed to have regained his senses, but it appeared he was half-mad after all.
Otherwise, there would be no way he would act this way toward Tianzun.
RUMBLE—!
As Tianzun took a step, lightning qi once again began to form around him.
The lightning qi arrayed in the air gradually began to take shape.
Once their transformation was complete, all the lightning qi carried a sharp air.
Such lightning qi filled the air—too many to count.
"..."
Splendid. That expression fit the sight perfectly.
The figure watching it—
No, Sincheol—
"Tsk."
had to click his tongue briefly, as if it displeased him greatly.
"If Ming saw this, he'd crawl out of his grave and spit blood."
Sincheol himself harbored quite a bit of ill will toward the Nangong family.
Because of matters involving the Murong family, matters of the Murong family, and thanks to the Murong family's affairs.
However.
Even such a Sincheol acknowledged the sword of the Nangong family.
To be precise, it wasn't the sword of the Nangong family he acknowledged, but the sword of the Thunder Heaven Sword, Nangong Ming.
Sincheol surveyed the lightning qi.
Though each and every one of the countless bolts of lightning qi carried considerable energy and enlightenment.
"Fools."
To call that the power of the Nangong family was truly nothing short of humiliating.
"Not only have you lost your will, but you've even destroyed the framework."
A hollow laugh escaped him.
The will that Nangong Ming had staked his life to protect had not remained in the slightest.
Sincheol sent his gaze toward Tianzun.
"Child."
"...What?"
Tianzun furrowed his brow as if he had misheard.
Child? There was no address more demeaning for him.
"What do you think the Nangong sword is?"
"...Ha."
At Sincheol's question, rage arose on Tianzun's face.
What he thinks the Nangong sword is? How dare he ask that of him?
To him, the number one swordsman of the Nangong family?
Forcing the corners of his mouth into line, Tianzun answered Sincheol.
"If your intention was to shake my composure, I must say you've succeeded."
CRACKLE—!
The lightning qi floating in the air emitted harsh noises. They were so fierce that they looked as though they would rush at Sincheol at any moment.
Additionally, a heavy pressure descended upon the entire forest.
Sovereign Sword Form.
The Nangong family's ultimate technique began to burst forth from Tianzun's body.
"..."
A situation daunting enough to make one's heart lurch just by looking.
Yet in such a situation, Sincheol's eyes were perfectly calm.
And there was a reason for that.
'Crude.'
In Sincheol's eyes.
For a martial art of a later generation, it was far too crude and unsightly.
Sincheol felt frustration and trembling, but he wasn't even satisfied with that.
For even that was fake.
The true Sovereign Sword Form was not something this crude.
It wasn't something that merely stopped at the level of spreading intimidation and binding one's feet.
'Was this what you strived so hard to leave behind?'
Recalling the sworn brother who had spilt blood just to leave behind a single sword, his heart burned.
It was true that the lightning qi was splendid and beautiful.
But thinking of the Nangong family's essence, it shouldn't have been this way.
'The Nangong sword is not about splendor.'
The martial arts Nangong Ming displayed weren't splendid in the slightest either.
Rather, it would be more correct to say they were rigid and monotonous.
"A martial art that cannot leave behind its will has no future."
Bringing forth an old saying he had once heard from his sect leader, Sincheol took a step.
His gaze remained fixed on Tianzun.
"The Nangong martial arts were never based upon lightning qi from the start."
At Sincheol's words, Tianzun's fury gradually deepened.
"Now, are you saying you dare to teach me the Nangong sword?"
Had he truly gone mad? Tianzun no longer wished to associate with him.
"Because you've painted the exterior with hollow splendor, the weight and solidity you should have possessed have vanished."
Though lightning qi was now called the exclusive domain of the Nangong family.
Sincheol's memories of the era of war were different.
Lightning qi was merely a byproduct.
The Thunder Heaven Sword certainly used lightning qi to dominate the heavens.
The lightning he struck down boasted power enough to erase Mount Tai.
Yet Nangong Ming himself did not think much of his lightning qi.
The will that fellow pursued was.
'That which does not crumble.'
Something that absolutely would not crumble or be defeated.
Wielding a sword faster than anyone while maintaining an unbreakable sword path.
And using that.
'To protect those precious to him.'
That was what he said was the Nangong sword and the ideology they should pursue.
Sincheol didn't like his unpleasant personality and smug face.
But even Sincheol had wished to emulate that one thing.
As if to prove the fellow's words were no lie, he had wielded a sword faster than anyone, pouring it entirely into his blade.
However.
"Your sword lacks that."
A hollow shell.
The sword of the one called the Sword King that Sincheol had seen was like that.
And the sword used by that one called Tianzun now was like that too.
"No matter how I look at it, you don't fit the bill to be revered as a Venerable."
"...You bastaaaard!"
Sincheol's words finally snapped Tianzun's reason.
Along with a roar he couldn't hold back, lightning qi poured in from all directions.
From afar, the sight looked almost like falling rain.
That was how countless the bolts of lightning qi were.
They poured.
The lightning qi containing Tianzun's enlightenment and energy poured rapidly toward Sincheol.
A direct hit would have left not even bones remaining, but—
"Did I not tell you?"
Rustle.
Along with a calm voice, a single leaf gently rose from the tips of Sincheol's feet.
It was a blue leaf.
Though it was technically a spark, its form and atmosphere were far closer to a flower petal.
"A martial art that has forgotten its will—no matter what it is—is utterly futile."
The single leaf that floated up.
Rustle.
Slowly divided into two.
Rustle... rustle....
Dividing again into four.
Just before the lightning qi poured down on Sincheol, the leaf continued to divide in that manner.
Before long, it ultimately covered the heavens.
"...Huh?"
At that unbelievable sight, Tianzun couldn't close his mouth.
SWIIIISH—!
Flower petals clung to the lightning qi falling madly toward the ground.
The lightning qi that had become one with the leaf began to burst in the air with a POP—! sound one by one.
CRACK—!
Sounds rang out continuously from the air. They were all the sounds of lightning qi colliding with leaves and bursting.
The traces left after they burst were reminiscent of fireworks in the night sky.
Yes, they burst apart.
The enlightenment Tianzun had built up until now—the lightning qi containing it—was bursting apart at those shallow flower petals.
"...This is impossible."
Tianzun could not believe the situation before him.
When fighting in that demonic form, it had been understandable.
Even when it charged with nothing but desire, regenerating when injured—he had thought it possible because it was a demon.
This was literally.
'My enlightenment is being devoured.'
The enlightenment Tianzun had achieved until now had been defeated.
He recalled his lightning qi that had been swept away without a care.
That was truly something possible only if the opposing martial artist possessed deeper enlightenment than him.
"...That can't be."
To be stepped upon so effortlessly was something even the Sword Venerable couldn't do.
Unless one were the Heavenly Demon, it should be impossible.
The opponent just now couldn't possibly be considered on par with the Heavenly Demon.
Therefore, this was an absolutely unbelievable situation.
Moreover, it was a situation that shouldn't exist.
He was being pushed back?
He, Tianzun?
GRIND—!
Tianzun gritted his teeth.
That couldn't be.
He who was the pride and heaven of the Nangong family... could not lose to that unknown being.
Though his family was annihilated and he remained alone, that fact didn't change.
It had to be so.
It absolutely had to be so.
Toward Tianzun, who was crumbling like that.
"When the eye is blinded by inner demons, even a once-clear reason is bound to grow dark."
Sincheol continued speaking.
"Even if that weren't the case..."
Having directly touched the lightning qi, he knew even more.
Even if Tianzun hadn't fallen to inner demons.
"Child. You would ultimately never have reached the place you sought."
"...You bastard... truly!"
"If you wish to curse an ancestor you couldn't properly protect, then do so. Because I, too, would like to curse him a bit."
RUMBLE—!
As Sincheol's sarcasm continued, the air tore open and light began to gather in handfuls.
Sincheol immediately recognized what it was.
'Heart Sword.'
The pinnacle of swordsmanship.
It was the ultimate technique of the sword that only a swordsman who had reached the unity of self and sword could unfold.
A sword formed of the mind.
There was a legend that if one wished and intended to cut, the sword of the mind would activate and split anything apart, but—
Heart Sword was not like that.
Of course, if one wished for it, such a thing was entirely possible.
The Heart Sword clearly possessed a form.
That thing beginning to gather in the air was precisely the Heart Sword.
The martial art of the Heart Mirror that mimics the swordsman's heart to create it.
Seeing that, Sincheol nodded.
Though he had polished an empty shell of a martial art, Tianzun had ultimately reached that level, and so Sincheol acknowledged his effort.
"Not bad."
The supreme enlightenment a martial artist attains is always right.
Even if the one unleashing it was sinking into rage, frustration, and an inferiority complex.
The years he had experienced did not disappear for that reason.
Therefore.
He had to teach him all the more.
"This body has devoured so much that there won't be any problem in unleashing it."
Back when he had borrowed this body before, he had been irritated, wondering how such a shoddy body could exist.
Now, it wasn't bad.
The body was trained, and his internal energy reserves transcended imagination compared to then.
A sense of emptiness was unavoidable since the vessel was broken.
But this much was enough.
It was enough to show that pathetic child a different world.
Sincheol reached out his hand. And spat out words.
"Was this also fate?"
Squirm.
Something squirmed in his left arm.
Feeling that nostalgic movement, Sincheol smiled faintly.
Sincheol was a swordsman.
In the end, he needed a sword to display martial arts, but he had none now.
Because the master of this body was originally far from being a swordsman.
That should have been the case.
Slip—
The bandage wrapped around his left arm unwound on its own and soon moved to Sincheol's hand.
The dark red bandage had changed to a light blue color, but—
Sincheol didn't care about such changes. A change in color didn't mean the essence had disappeared.
He simply looked at the bandage and held back a smile.
With such feelings, Sincheol spoke the bandage's name.
"It's been a while. Guizheng."
SHRRRR—!
As if responding to Sincheol's call, the bandage changed its form.
In an instant, it layered upon itself and transformed into the shape of a sword.
This bandage's name was Guizheng.
This was originally a treasure of Mount Hua and Sincheol's beloved weapon.
'And that damned bastard treated it like a mere bandage... tsk.'
How much rage had he spewed inside.
It had been a problem that he couldn't properly explain what this was before leaving, but now, it was rather fortunate.
RUMBLE—!
In the air, the light gradually began to descend toward the ground.
Sincheol watched it and gripped Guizheng tightly.
At that moment.
TEAR—!
"...!"
The air above Sincheol split open, and countless lights revealed themselves.
Watching that, Tianzun couldn't hide his shock.
It wasn't just one.
Heart Swords numbering at least three.
At their number and majesty, Tianzun could only lose his words.
"Child."
Then. Sincheol's voice reached Tianzun's ears.
"Back in my day."
For some reason, that voice was filled with a great deal of amusement.
Though it was a black figure whose expression was hard to see, Tianzun could tell clearly.
That he was smiling.
Feeling such emotion from Tianzun, Sincheol spat out words.
"Only those who could effortlessly draw out two or three of these were fit to be called swordsmen."
The era of war.
The era in which Sincheol lived was truly such.