Swept away.
Kuaaaaaaaah—!!
The gale that shot from his fist became a typhoon and swept across the ground.
It was far too wild and savage to be called wind created from inner energy.
More horrifying still was the fact that a single punch from a human had accomplished this.
Drrrrrrrk—!!
The ground twisted as it was torn apart.
In terms of range alone, its destructive force was immense.
The storm rampaged for quite some time before gradually dying down as it reached the mountain behind them.
Hwaaaaaa….
Dust settled along with the wind.
The silence continued until that very moment.
It ended when the view obscured by dust cleared.
Thud—!
The old man’s body collapsed onto the ground.
“E-Elder!!”
“Nooo!”
The Taoists of Wudang cried out in despair at the sight.
The Wudang elder, the Violet Star Sword Wu Bai, had fallen dead on the ground.
His body was a mangled mess, as though he had been hacked apart.
Judging by the blood scattered around him and the state of the old man’s body, there was no hope to be found.
Wu Bai was dead.
He had been brutally killed by the masked man, without putting up the slightest resistance.
With a single strike.
A master ranked among the Central Plains’ Top One Hundred had closed his eyes without even managing one proper act of defiance.
And the masked figure who had killed Wu Bai merely stood there, quietly looking down at his fallen body.
Several seconds passed.
After briefly examining Wu Bai, the figure casually spoke.
“How absurd.”
His voice was thin and dry. And then—
“Is this truly Wudang’s sword? If so, I am thoroughly disappointed.”
His voice was filled with undisguisable disappointment.
“The sword of a prestigious sect that has taken root in the Central Plains for so long… To think it would be this crude.”
The Taoists of Wudang glared, their veins bulging, as they watched Wu Bai’s miserable corpse.
But they could not move.
Their bodies still felt as though they were being crushed beneath an immense weight.
However.
There was one person.
One person here who could move through this pressure.
Looking at her, the figure spoke.
“Ah, yes. You were here.”
The woman who had been trying to move stopped at his words. Soi, the Plum Blossom Sword Empress, was forced to halt her actions.
His glowing blue eyes turned toward the Sword Empress. At that, she had to wipe away a cold sweat.
‘I can’t see him.’
She could not tell what lay behind that mask.
She could see nothing—not his cultivation realm, nor anything else about him.
The Sword Empress’s realm was by no means low.
Even if she had fought Wu Bai, who had just died, in a battle to the death, she was confident she could defeat him with ease.
But—
‘I couldn’t do that.’
She could not have reduced Wu Bai to that state with a single exchange.
‘What in the world…?’
What was the identity of this man who had suddenly appeared?
‘He called himself the Heavenly Demon?’
He had certainly called himself that.
But it was a sobriquet the Sword Empress had never heard before.
It was truly bizarre.
How could there be no known record whatsoever of a martial artist this powerful?
“Sword Empress.”
“…!”
Just as the Sword Empress was raising her tension to its utmost limit, the Heavenly Demon’s call sharpened her vigilance.
Perhaps he noticed this, because amusement seeped into his voice.
“You are different from this Wudang vermin. It seems you know your place.”
Tap, tap.
He prodded Wu Bai’s corpse with the tip of his foot, prompting the Wudang Taoists to shriek in outrage.
“You bastard!! How dare you touch our elder…!”
“I’ll kill you!”
Their cries were filled with fury.
The Heavenly Demon turned his head toward them and raised his index finger to his lips.
“Shh.”
It was a light warning.
But the aura emanating from him was anything but light.
Kuaaahhhh—!!
A heavy force enveloped the surroundings and crushed them where they stood.
“Gaaah…!”
“Gurgle…!”
The knees that had barely begun to straighten bent again.
The Wudang Taoists let out harsh groans.
“I do not like noise. Least of all, the cries of insects.”
A prickling sensation ran over her. The Sword Empress clenched her fist at the force she felt.
It was an aura she had never experienced before.
Too vicious to be called fighting spirit, and far too heavy to be called killing intent.
Aside from the trembling presence of the people around them, everything fell silent once more.
The Heavenly Demon turned his gaze back to the Sword Empress.
Then he asked,
“Will you come?”
The slight tilt of his head made it a clear provocation.
“…”
The Sword Empress frowned and spoke.
“If you intend to say something like that, you should at least release the people you have restrained.”
“Haha!”
The Heavenly Demon burst into laughter at her words.
She was right.
The force radiating from his feet had spread in all directions.
The aura carried an icy quality as it aimed at the martial artists’ throats.
This was also why the Sword Empress had been unable to intervene when Wu Bai was attacked.
The Heavenly Demon was issuing a warning.
If you move, the others will die.
That was the kind of warning it was.
The Sword Empress felt a cold sweat trickle down her back.
In other words—
‘He released this kind of aura, and still reduced Elder Wu to that state?’
Even while emitting such a terrifying aura, he had toyed with Wu Bai like that.
As the thought occurred to her, the Sword Empress became certain.
‘He has reached Transcendence.’
He had reached the Transcendence realm, a realm attained by only a very small number of the Central Plains’ Top One Hundred.
That was the Sword Empress’s judgment.
Otherwise, he could not have created an aura so tangible that it had taken physical form.
Such a thing was possible only for one who had touched the realm of the mind.
Tension spread throughout her entire body.
‘Who in the world is he…? No.’
Where had these people come from?
The Sword Empress’s gaze shifted behind the Heavenly Demon.
She was looking at the giant who continued kneeling behind him.
Everyone’s attention was focused on the Heavenly Demon, but the Sword Empress could tell that the giant was no easy opponent either.
At minimum, he was in the Transformation realm.
Judging by his physique, he was an expert in external arts.
The Heavenly Demon was the same, yet this man was also someone she had never seen before.
The situation was utterly desperate.
For some unknown reason, the martial artists around them were unable to rise.
And despite the disturbance that had erupted here, no reinforcements had arrived.
‘Is this black aura the problem?’
The black aura had spread in every direction. It did not appear to be a barrier, but perhaps it was the cause.
If not—
The Sword Empress’s gaze rose slightly.
In this black world, there was something that alone gave off light.
Could that be the problem?
The Sword Empress bit her lip.
It shone brilliantly at first glance, but she could feel a vicious force emanating from it in all directions.
It was a power she had never seen before.
There was something faintly familiar about it, yet it was filled with an ineffable strangeness.
A crisis.
She tried to calm herself by rubbing the hilt of her sword, but no solution came to mind.
Was she afraid of death? No.
Even if they were stronger than the Sword Empress, she had never feared such things.
The problem was—
‘There are children.’
The Sword Empress had something she needed to protect.
Not far from here.
That was why.
That was why she could neither recklessly swing her sword nor retreat.
Then—
“Your gaze is trembling.”
“…!”
The Heavenly Demon spoke as he looked at the Sword Empress.
“Those are not the eyes of someone afraid, yet something seems to be making you hesitate. What could it be?”
He chuckled.
“Could it be the young children imprisoned in the cells?”
The Sword Empress’s eyes widened. The Heavenly Demon had realized it.
Heat rose into her head at the discovery.
“Hmm…”
The Heavenly Demon studied her and adjusted the mask he was wearing.
What should she do? Should she fight even now?
What about the martial artists around her? The children belowground?
Grind.
As the situation continued to worsen, the Sword Empress clenched her teeth hard.
“It’s no fun.”
The Heavenly Demon spoke in a voice drained of strength.
“I had hoped to taste the famed sword of Mount Hua, but the look in your eyes has dampened my interest.”
“What… do you mean by that?”
“I mean that a sword filled with idle thoughts holds no interest for me. As you are now, you do not even seem worth killing.”
His cold words were more than enough to tear into the Sword Empress’s pride.
But she did not bother to refute him.
The children’s lives mattered more than this paltry pride.
“I came here with high expectations, but this journey was meaningless.”
With those words, the Heavenly Demon turned around.
Was he really planning to leave like this?
Just as the Sword Empress thought so—
Whoooooosh—!!!
A sound came from the air.
Kuuuuung—!!!
Something enormous slammed down onto the ground with a boom!
It was the monster that had been floating in the air moments earlier.
Seen up close, its size was even more imposing.
It was large enough to swallow an entire dwelling.
Its body was comparable in size to that of the Red-Rank monsters the Sword Empress had encountered several times before.
The Heavenly Demon began walking toward the monster.
The Sword Empress knew what this meant.
If she left him alone, the Heavenly Demon would disappear.
Was she really supposed to let him go so easily?
The criminal who had attacked a prestigious orthodox sect and killed one of its elders?
As complicated hesitation rose to her throat—
“Ah.”
The Heavenly Demon stopped walking.
“If you wish to stop me, I will respect your choice. However…”
He turned his head slightly to look behind him.
His softly glowing blue eyes turned toward the Sword Empress.
“There will not be a second chance.”
If she chose to stop him—
This time, he would kill them all.
That was what the Heavenly Demon’s words meant.
Several seconds passed.
“…”
Even after hearing him, the Sword Empress ultimately could not respond.
Seeing this, the Heavenly Demon turned his head forward again and approached the monster with the giant.
Then, as he stretched out his hand toward the monster—
Whooooooosh—!!!
The black sky began to twist.
It looked as though the heavens themselves were collapsing.
Crack—!
The sphere floating in the air also began to change.
Cracks slowly began to appear across it.
Snap…!
The sphere gradually started to break apart.
The Sword Empress’s eyes widened at the sight.
As cracks spread through the sphere, energy began pouring out.
It was a sign.
A sign that appeared just before the energy exploded.
The Sword Empress immediately drew upon the sword qi within her body.
Hwaaaah—! The scent of plum blossoms spread in every direction.
From within that moment—
“It was a somewhat disappointing meeting, but I did find some enjoyment in it.”
The Heavenly Demon’s voice rang out.
“When we meet again, I hope you will show me something worthy of my expectations.”
With those words—
Fwoooooosh—!!
The sky collapsed toward the ground, and space began to shatter.
At the same time—
Crack-crack-crack-crack—!!!
The sphere burst apart, and light exploded outward. The air pressure erupted along with it.
It was an immense explosion.
The sheer strength of the energy that had been compressed together was apparent.
If she left it as it was, everything nearby would be swept away.
Knowing this, the Sword Empress spread her sword qi and seized control of the explosion.
Saaaaah—!!
A purplish-red force formed a circular barrier, and thanks to it, the explosion could not escape. It whirled violently inside.
However—
“Ugh—!”
As she tried to bear the full force of the explosion, recoil slammed into the Sword Empress’s body.
She endured it.
Fortunately, the impact was far shallower than she had expected.
“Haa… haa…”
After barely suppressing the explosion, the Sword Empress exhaled tiredly.
When she steadied her breathing and turned her gaze—
Nothing remained where the monster had been.
******************
Crack, crack—!
As the Transformation Art unraveled, his body gradually shrank.
The martial uniform he was wearing instantly became loose, but he had no time to care about that.
“Cough!”
Thud, thud—!!
He leaned against the wall and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Black blood trickled down from his lips.
“Ghk…”
He clutched his chest.
The pain was so intense that he felt he might collapse on the spot.
If he let down his guard now, he felt he might lose consciousness completely, so he had to endure somehow.
“Fuck…”
The curse came out on its own.
It could not be helped. He had nearly died just now.
He wiped his mouth with his hand.
Even then, the pain remained.
‘That was close.’
The energy within his heart was already empty.
If it had gone on any longer, he would have had to touch his innate qi.
Suppressing the pain, he used the faint inner energy remaining to examine his body.
He immediately understood.
‘Damn it…’
His insides were already a complete mess.
Perhaps because of the strain of forcibly enduring it, not only were his meridians damaged, but his internal organs were filled with severe internal injuries.
“Should I have held back a little?”
This must be an internal injury caused by using the second form of Tu-a Pacheonmu.
‘I overdid it way too much beforehand.’
I had already needed to expend a considerable amount of energy just to use Hwarunseong and Heukcheon.
Then came Yong-eon and the Mind’s Eye.
As if that weren’t enough, I materialized demonic energy to keep the Sword Empress in check, maintained it, and even used Tu-a Pacheonmu on top of that.
Naturally, there was no way my body could have come through unscathed.
Moreover—
‘If the Sword Empress had truly decided to capture me, it would have ended right there.’
I had been putting on a show of strength.
But if the Sword Empress had really thrown caution to the wind and tried to seize me, it might truly have been the end.
The reason I had acted despite knowing how dangerous it was—
was because I was certain the Sword Empress would never make such a choice.
‘Because Yeongpung and Guryeonghwa are in the prison.’
Knowing that full well, I judged that the Sword Empress would not act rashly.
And I had been right.
“Ugh… nghhh….”
One of my knees buckled.
Thud.
Someone caught me as I was about to collapse and supported me.
I turned my head to check and saw the woman who had released my bindings in the prison just before.
Nahi.
“Master, are you all right?”
“…No. I feel like I’m about to die.”
I said it with a chuckle.
If even one thing had gone wrong, I might really have died.
It was fortunate that things had worked out, but the result was far from clean.
‘At this rate, I’ll have to lie low for a month or two.’
And that was only because this body was absurdly exceptional.
Under normal circumstances, these internal injuries would have required a year of recuperation.
“Ptooey….”
I spat out the last of the blood.
“Still, things went according to plan somehow.”
The internal injuries were a problem, but the result itself wasn’t bad.
If the Sword Empress had known I had ended up in this state, the outcome would probably have been different.
But I could breathe a sigh of relief as I thought of the ‘mask’ tucked inside my robes.
‘It’s fortunate I have this.’
The white mask I had received from the Dark King.
It was a strange object that blurred one’s presence and made it impossible to properly discern one’s condition.
I had heard that it was one of the few strange objects remaining in his family.
Which meant—
‘…It must be property of the Yeon family.’
Since the Dark King was a descendant of the Yeon family, this mask must also have been one of Yeon Il-cheon’s strange objects.
The thought left me feeling somewhat uneasy, but there was nothing I could do.
I wasn’t in a position to be picky about such things.
I forced myself upright.
Moving my body magnified the pain, and more blood rose into my throat, but I had to endure it.
The matter was not over yet.
I had to tend to my condition quickly and return to the prison before the Sword Empress appeared.
After that, I needed to sort out the situation and assess the several pieces of information I had gained from today’s events.
Moreover, there was something even more important.
‘There isn’t much time left until he arrives.’
The headmaster of Wudang, who was currently flying toward Wudang, and the current leader of the Murim Alliance—
one of the Central Plains’ Ten Great Masters, and one of the Seven Irons and Three Fists.
I had to prepare to face the Wudang Sword Immortal.
As the victim of this incident.