Chapter 436. The inn once engulfed in flames is gone.

Perhaps people truly do make the right decisions only after they have known hunger.

Vice Leader Song Gyeong bid farewell to the leader of the Life and Death Society, then returned to his original place and sat down cross-legged.

I watched the forces of the Life and Death Society together with the exhausted, hungry baldies.

“Of all things, even their name is a gathering of life and death. Ridiculous. So what should I do now? Kill them all? Or settle today’s business after going one-on-one with the Life and Death Society Leader and his old generals? What does the clever State Preceptor Yeon think?”

State Preceptor Yeon answered.

“One-on-one would be better.”

“Really? But there’s no chance the Life and Death Society Leader will do that. If he were that sort of man, the moment he arrived, he would have come up with a way to spare you all first. But what came flying were arrows. And he was supposedly the one who trusted the vice leader most. Is this the answer to that loyalty?”

The flesh beneath Song Gyeong’s eyes was trembling.

I picked up Mahu’s sword and the Life-and-Death Guest’s sword, which I had gathered to one side, then dropped their scabbards to the ground.

“I’ll be back. On a day like this, I should use twin swords. Because my martial arts are far too outstanding, I need to restrain myself.”

King Eunpyeong asked.

“Why is that?”

“You’ll know when you see it.”

In truth, I am a man lonely because I have no worthy opponent. Of course, even if I did have one, the lonely man would still be me.

To protect the baldies who had not yet turned over a new leaf, I walked toward the forces of the Life and Death Society with twin swords in hand.

This is what one calls a life as an arrow shield.

The bows that had been aimed at Song Gyeong multiplied, then loosed arrows into the air. Sometimes, when one peers into clear seawater, one can see small fish moving in formation; the arrows pouring toward me looked just like that.

A black swarm of tiny fish.

I crossed my twin swords and blocked them with a white wave infused with Ice Art.

With a papapak— sound, the area around me instantly became a battlefield. Perhaps deciding that arrows would not be enough to stop my stroll, the forces of the Life and Death Society stirred at someone’s command and set off.

For the most part, they were a valiant force.

In truth, I had continued to grow stronger even after the Mount Hua Sword Debate. But just how much stronger I had become, and what the results of my meditation were—such things could only be confirmed by facing enemies in the end.

I, too, was curious what a sword at the realm of no longer using sword arts would be like.

As I swung the twin swords, I muttered whatever came to mind.

“I no longer need sword arts. Whatever way I swing is sword art.”

The unique momentum of the Black Path had risen to the fullest, so I moved quickly. I half-severed an arm and cut a knee. I took out one eye, shot into the air, then knocked away all manner of weapons. I ran over horses and walked while striking people down.

The moment my disgust for the people of the jianghu surged up, I hummed a tune and calmed my killing intent.

When I moved swiftly for a moment as though raising my limits, blood spurted up in every direction. I suddenly turned my head and saw that only then was the Mad Monk watching the fight as well.

Watching a fight is more entertaining than watching the sea, after all.

To me, however, it was not an interesting fight.

Is this how my jianghu comes to an end?

Was it because the jianghu had become one without opponents? The entire time I swung my swords, I felt my heart sinking coldly, like the cult leader’s.

But I am not the same unrivaled under heaven as the cult leader.

Half my thoughts focused on a hum I had improvised. Mixing chatter and nonsense that could have been a song, or a poem, or the muttering of a waiter sweeping the front yard with a broom in hand, I swung the twin swords.

At times, the swords moved as I willed.

At times, the swords moved before I could even form the will. As I cut them down, this thought occurred to me: I now move more efficiently than sword arts. Breath, the placement of my feet, and the trajectory of the sword all melted into a single sword strike.

Having confirmed it, I no longer needed sword arts. Palm arts were meaningless as well. My hand itself was palm art. When hidden weapons difficult to evade came rushing in, I raised my sword and blocked them.

The hidden weapons changed direction and scattered.

Fighting like this, I realized I no longer needed ultimate techniques either.

Now even a slap to the cheek was an instant-kill ultimate technique.

I felt there was no need to announce that I was the greatest under heaven, nor any need to hide it.

Because those who see the truth are few in any case.

Villains and assassins, the Black Path and the Demonic Path, deep internal energy and extraordinary divine arts—all had now become meaningless before the waiter’s blade. Even if I swung roughly, they fell like leaves in the autumn wind; if I properly unleashed it, every strike killed; if I set my mind to it, it was annihilation.

“……I have forgotten forms, and I have forgotten sword arts and ultimate techniques. If I hold a sword, I cut; if I hold a stone, I throw; even if I slap a cheek, they die. Fighting is, by and large, empty.”

When a black casting net flew in through the air, I split it in the shape of a cross.

I stretched the twin swords to either side, then shot upward and spun while releasing Waning Moon Ice Art all around me.

Come to think of it……

Now, whether ten thousand enemies came at me or I were trapped by twenty thousand, I could live like myself.

How far a road had I traveled merely to live like myself?

I tried charging while wrapping sword wind around my twin swords. When I added the Cloud-Stepping Art to my movement, I became a gale as I was.

As a path opened, horses and men flew in every direction.

Now that the path had opened, even those who had caught their breath could not think to attack me. I looked around at the dazed ones and said,

“The waiter of Zaha Inn, who vanished engulfed in flames, has now become the master of the Martial God Inn.”

The Zaha Inn that had lingered in my heart was engulfed in flames and vanished.

In its place, I built an inn that produced a Martial God.

I leaped over the guards trying to protect the Life and Death Society Leader, lightly extinguished some ultimate technique that would have given me trouble back when I was the Black Rabbit Gang Leader, and arrived before the Life and Death Society Leader.

“Society Leader, how do you feel?”

The Life and Death Society Leader, mounted on the largest black horse, was staring at me with his eyes wide open.

“…….”

To his left and right, the Left and Right Protectors in black robes waited for orders with only their eyes exposed, but the Life and Death Society Leader never opened his mouth.

I glared at the Life and Death Society Leader, then turned around, utterly defenseless.

“You wait there for a moment.”

The forces that had furtively followed after me gathered around, catching their breath with all manner of expressions.

I pointed to the right with my sword.

“Right side first. When I count to three, sword qi will fly at your upper bodies. If you want to live, kneel or flatten yourselves to the ground. One, two, three.”

When I casually swung a sword strike without even raising sword qi, the entire right side of the troops urgently dropped to their knees.

The Black Sea surged like a wave.

This sight was better than the scenery of a boring sea. I nodded, then looked to the left.

“Good. Same for you. One, two, three.”

Naturally, this time I sent sword qi flying in a half-moon shape without even thinking about what martial art it was.

Swaaaaaaak!

While most of them hurriedly dropped to their knees, some fellow set a massive saber vertically and blocked the sword qi.

As a result.

Puak!

The saber and his upper body were neatly cut straight through, and he collapsed while spraying a tremendous amount of blood around him.

“Unbelievable.”

At any rate, the Life and Death Society’s forces were all on their knees, their left and right wings fully united.

I turned my attention back to the leader of the Life and Death Society.

“Leader, as you’ve seen, resistance and flight are both meaningless. The same goes for your left and right guardians. The reason State Preceptor Yeon became bald is because I am this overwhelming.”

The leader of the Life and Death Society asked,

“Who in the world are you?”

“The Greatest Under Heaven, come from the west. Most people don’t believe me even when I tell them. That’s me. A man against whom revenge doesn’t work, who has no debts of gratitude or grudges, and no family. I have long since surpassed the level of the martial world. Do I need to show you more?”

The leader of the Life and Death Society replied,

“There is no need. What should I do?”

Seeing as he still had not dismounted, it seemed he had yet to shed his pretensions.

“What do you think? Get down and kneel.”

In that instant, the left and right guardians reached for the longswords at their waists. The moment I saw it, I wrapped my twin swords in white lightning qi.

Crackle-crackle-crackle-crack!

The leader of the Life and Death Society said,

“Stay still. There is only death.”

The leader of the Life and Death Society dismounted and walked over with a look as though he had suffered every kind of mental shock, then stood before me.

Was it because he was a man of great pride?

Even after seeing this, he seemed to be wavering between kneeling and dying in battle.

I looked at the Life and Death Society leader’s left and right guardians. They, too, looked like men who would immediately make it a three-on-one fight if their leader attacked. Had living in the black path given them a mentality so twisted they did not even fear death?

If they were like that, it was better to kill them.

When I swung my twin swords, lightning qi shot out to the left and right of the Life and Death Society leader and split the bodies of the left and right guardians.

In that instant, the startled Life and Death Society leader flinched and glared at me.

I held the now-ordinary longsword, from which the lightning had vanished, beneath the Life and Death Society leader’s chin and asked,

“Leader, your life is now over. Look at State Preceptor Yeon and Mahu. I doubt baldness was their preference either. Isn’t it the same for you?”

“…….”

I closely examined the Life and Death Society leader’s face and eyes. Traces of a life lived with extreme cruelty and coldness were visible everywhere.

“I’ll leave your life in the hands of your subordinates kneeling behind me. If your men plead for your life, I’ll shave you clean and take you to some shabby temple. If, however, your men shout with one voice for me to kill you, I’ll send you to join your left and right guardians.”

Only then did the Life and Death Society leader hurriedly look around at his own slaves kneeling on the ground.

I said to the Life and Death Society leader,

“This much is a fitting end for one who lived by commanding subordinates. Life and Death Society, decide the life or death of your chief. I’ll take silence as a call to kill him. One… two.”

“Wait!”

“Three… huh?”

What in the world was the nature of this astonishingly quiet silence?

I was the one who had entrusted the leader’s life or death to his subordinates, yet I was even more surprised as I turned around. Though they all had mouths, not a single subordinate asked me to spare their leader.

“This is absurd. Is this your will?”

Behind my back, the Life and Death Society leader drew his killing sword. To me, the motion was so slow it felt as though time had stopped.

I turned while swinging a single stroke.

Swish!

The Life and Death Society leader’s body was split by sword qi before he could even fully draw his sword. From the expressions and silence of his subordinates, I understood that the Life and Death Society leader had been Zhejiang’s tyrant.

“A tyrant ought to die.”

I saw the gleaming heads watching from a little distance away. Looking at them like this, it was nothing less than a Sea of Light. The moment I met one man’s eyes, I called his name.

“Vice Leader Song Gyeong.”

This bastard was alive?

Song Gyeong, who could catch a flying arrow even after starving for three days, answered respectfully.

“Speak.”

“Come here.”

While Song Gyeong staggered over, I decided to frighten him first.

“It’s the same for you. If your subordinates do not wish to save your life, I’ll send you to join your leader.”

Song Gyeong, who had been approaching with weary steps, stopped with an utterly pale face.

I said to Song Gyeong in a cold tone,

“That’s why you should have been kinder in ordinary times. Song Gyeong, do you think you can run away?”

Where in the world did he think he could run, with me watching him like this?

A tired and hungry man, reflecting the pouring sunlight off his bald head, walked over in a pitiful state. Of all things, he limped down the path while his subordinates watched from either side.

As soon as Song Gyeong arrived in front of me, perhaps having run out of strength, he sank to the ground.

“I’m here.”

I pointed at the Life and Death Society leader with my sword.

“Whether that will be you in a moment or not, even I do not know. This time, ask your subordinates yourself. Whether you may live longer, or whether you must die here following your leader. Those who staked their lives on a single word from you will decide.”

I looked at the Life and Death Society.

“Vice Leader Song Gyeong will speak. Listen.”

Song Gyeong moved his lips, then said,

“I am Vice Leader Song Gyeong. Whatever you choose, I will accept it. Before that, please tell me the Sect Leader’s true identity.”

Song Gyeong looked up at me.

I lowered my head slightly and whispered softly.

“My true identity is…”

“…….”

“I really am the Greatest Under Heaven. You stupid bastard, you don’t believe me even when I tell you. How much must you have looked down on inn waiters all your life?”

As if he was trying to stall for time, Song Gyeong said urgently,

“That’s not it. You clearly said you used to work as an inn waiter and often got beaten…”

I glared at Song Gyeong and replied,

“That is me. I grew stronger because I got beaten. How do you expect to grow strong without getting beaten?”

I looked at the Life and Death Society’s forces and asked,

“Have you decided? If he was a tyrant, send him to heaven. If he was a decent superior, then you save him.”

Humans have a sly side, so someone from within the ranks asked this of me.

“I want to decide while looking at the vice leader’s face.”

“Which bastard was that?”

I said to Song Gyeong,

“Turn around and kneel before your subordinates first. Your subordinates say they will decide after seeing your mug. Honestly, it’s hard to please subordinates.”

Song Gyeong turned around and knelt.

The gazes of his subordinates lodged in Song Gyeong’s face like hidden weapons. In a strange atmosphere that seemed to heave and ripple, silence continued for a while. After a moment, someone opened his mouth.

“Vice Leader, we know you have worked hard all this time to cut off the Leader’s absurd orders midway.”

Was that a call for him to die, or for him to live longer? Curious, I asked,

“Is that all?”

Once someone opened his mouth, the words gradually increased.

“He is as coldhearted as the Leader, but at least he tried to keep the rules.”

“At the very least, he wasn’t a man who curried favor. He rose by skill.”

“He did not act viciously without cause.”

Many other things were said after that, but not one subordinate told Songgyeong he ought to die.

At this point, it was not even I who had spared him.

I grabbed the bald head of Songgyeong, who was kneeling, with my right hand.

“Songgyeong.”

“Speak.”

I turned Songgyeong’s bald head with my hand and met his eyes.

“Your subordinates saved you. I didn’t.”

“But just now, you clearly……”

“What use do I have for keeping you alive? You useless man of the Black Path. Give me one reason you should live.”

I had work for this bastard to do, and I was curious whether he knew the answer.

While I waited for Songgyeong to speak, I injected cold energy into the hand gripping his bald head.

Songgyeong opened his mouth at once.

“If you spare me, I will completely dismantle the Life-and-Death Society.”

“What do you mean, completely dismantle it? What about its assets?”

“What must be returned will be returned. I will divide some among the subordinates who wish to take up ordinary work. As for what remains, I will build a temple or something……. Whatever happens, I will not embezzle it and will use it all for righteous purposes. Or else I will do as you instruct, Sect Master.”

Because of the Ice Art, Songgyeong frowned.

As I was touching his smooth, gleaming bald head, I was led by human instinct and smacked him once on the skull.

Songgyeong looked at me, and since I had nothing in particular to say, I muttered whatever came to mind.

“Are you hungry?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s eat first, then discuss dismantling it.”

Songgyeong, whose face had been badly twisted, collapsed to the floor and writhed in anguish while clutching his head.

Was he happy to be alive?

Was he sad that he had become bald?

Was he happy he would soon get to eat?

Was he resentful over being humiliated in front of his subordinates?

Was he in agony because he could not understand my identity?

I could not know Songgyeong’s heart exactly either. But with not even any hair left to tear out, Songgyeong kept his face buried in the floor for a long while, sobbing.

In any case, it was unpleasant to listen to, so I kicked him in the ass.

“Stop bawling and let’s go.”