Chapter 94 - The Master of the Great Heavenly Adamant Sword

Apart from a handful of figures whose strength was impossible to deny, such as the lord of the Heavenly Demon Castle, the Twenty Great Masters under Heaven consisted almost entirely of people from the Orthodox Faction. Even the Three Stars, Five Phoenixes, and Nine Dragons were all Orthodox Faction youngsters.

'Before long, all those standards will probably be overturned.'

Eulji Tae was certain of it. Murim had stagnated during its years without any major clashes with the Heavenly Demon Castle, the Hall of Gathered Evil, or the other powers. Many experts of the Demonic Path and the Unorthodox Faction remained unknown in the Central Plains.

Yet the past year of war had already brought several Demonic Path experts to the Orthodox Faction's attention. In a few more years, many of the names among the Twenty Great Masters under Heaven would probably be replaced.

The same went for the Three Stars, Five Phoenixes, and Nine Dragons, of course.

At any rate, whether Eulji Tae liked it or not, Woo Shimgi was currently one of them. His skills therefore had to be outstanding among the Orthodox Faction's younger generation.

And someone had sent one of them flying like that?

'Is his opponent another of the Three Stars, Five Phoenixes, and Nine Dragons?'

That was Eulji Tae's guess. He did not put much faith in the chatter of gossipmongers, but their claims were worth trusting here, at least, on the Murim Alliance's doorstep. Surely it was absurd to think that some young expert of the Unorthodox Faction or Demonic Path had appeared out of nowhere and sent one of the Nine Dragons flying.

He sharpened his vision slightly and waited for the opponent to emerge. Someone in blue martial robes slowly walked out through the broken wall.

The man ambled along, as unhurried as a seasoned, middle-aged master.

A man, which ruled out the Five Phoenixes...

One of the Three Stars or Nine Dragons, then? Eulji Tae had expected him to be one of the ten remaining after excluding the late Saber Star, Do Heo-ok, and Woo Shimgi, who stood down there now. But he was not one of them either.

Though Eulji Tae had not met all the Three Stars, Five Phoenixes, and Nine Dragons, he knew their appearances in detail.

The man looked over eight chi tall. His long, overgrown hair had been carelessly pulled back and tied tight. His martial robes, once presumably deep blue, had faded so badly that they were now sky blue. An untrimmed beard covered the entire lower half of his face.

Yet he did not seem particularly old. His eyes, sparkling with vitality, belonged to a young man.

None of the Three Stars or Nine Dragons looked like that. They were all heirs to families or sects that would never let them wander beyond their own territory in such a shabby state.

In contrast to the young man's scruffy appearance, the longsword in his left hand possessed an antique elegance. Old though it was, it was a genuine blade that exuded dignity. Neither scabbard nor hilt bore any designs or inlaid jewels, but a subtle blue sheen gave it a mysterious air. Brush off its pale coating of dust, and it would undoubtedly prove a famed sword of truly distinctive color.

"Is that...?"

Eulji Tae recognized the sword. He had not seen it in decades, but it was too striking a weapon to mistake.

"The Great Heavenly Adamant Sword!?"

At the very moment that unexpected cry of astonishment escaped Eulji Tae, Woo Shimgi spat a vicious curse and charged the man in blue.

His fist shot fiercely toward the man's face.

It was the Cloud-Chasing Fist, one of Kunlun's prized fist forms.

A simple straight punch, yet it neatly encapsulated the graceful movement distinctive to the Kunlun Sect.

TING! THUD!

SHING! SWISH!

The man in blue flicked the thumb of his left hand to lift the sword's hilt. That was all he did to block Woo Shimgi's attack.

As his thumb struck the hilt, the rear end of the longsword leaped out like a shark or killer whale breaching the water to swallow its prey, striking Woo Shimgi's fist. The blow knocked his fist completely off its original course. It passed over the blue-robed man's head, while Woo Shimgi's body pitched forward toward him.

Seizing that opening, the man in blue placed the end of his hilt against Woo Shimgi's throat. Had he drawn the blade across that throat instead of using the hilt, this single move would have taken Woo Shimgi's life.

It looked simple, but it was by no means easy.

"... Impressive."

Eulji Tae set down the slice of five-spice braised pork he had picked up. First the appearance of the Great Heavenly Adamant Sword, then its master's astonishing move had compelled him to do so. His interest had now shifted entirely from the food to the fight.

Dong Gwangcheon's head was turned that way as well. He was clearly watching the fight, though his hair concealed so much of his face that it was difficult to tell exactly where he was looking.

"Y-you bastard! Do you think a wretch like you can do this to me, the Kunlun White Dragon, and get away unscathed?"

Outmatched in skill, Woo Shimgi instead glared at the man in blue and threatened him.

SHING!

Was he intimidated by the Kunlun Sect's power or Woo Shimgi's reputation? The man in blue lowered his half-drawn sword back into its scabbard, then walked past Woo Shimgi. Woo Shimgi flinched, fearing a sudden attack. That was how formidable the man's single move had been.

But the man had never intended to attack Woo Shimgi in the first place. He simply kept walking. Judging by his direction, he was headed for the wharf.

Just then—

"Stop right there!"

A group poured out of the inn and halted the blue-robed man's departure.

Their red robes and swords adorned with plum-blossom tassels clearly marked them as Mount Hua Sect disciples. Another group rushed out after them: Kunlun Sect disciples in white, with cloud-shaped tassels hanging from their shoulders. Apparently, the young man in blue had gotten into a dispute with both sects. Or perhaps he had quarreled with one, and the other had come to its aid.

Eulji Tae was curious.

Not about why they had started fighting or how any of this had happened. What interested him was the skill of the man in blue, who was clearly the master of the Great Heavenly Adamant Sword.

'Have you emerged into the world as a true sword? Or have you merely come out for a brief jaunt through Murim and a breath of fresh air? Show me.'

If it was the latter, he would be better off quietly returning to his mountain right now.

The man in blue stopped.

Slowly, he turned his head and body. His eyes flashed from beneath his shaggy hair, sweeping over the Mount Hua and Kunlun disciples before straying to the inn's second floor.

His eyes met Eulji Tae's, then locked squarely with those of Dong Gwangcheon, seated opposite him.

But it lasted only a fleeting instant.

"A wild beast."

Eulji Tae's assessment was as brief as their exchange of glances. To him, the man in blue was a raw, untamed beast.

Dong Gwangcheon's assessment, however, was entirely different.

That fleeting glance from the man in blue had felt as though it might burst his brain. It was intense. Yet strangely, there was no greed in those raw eyes. They were simply pure and clear.

He had once seen eyes like that while hunting in the other world. That fellow had looked that way because he deluded himself into believing he was justice itself, but this man was different. Those eyes saw nothing but the sword, with utter purity, and trusted in strength alone. He was not someone who could be judged in terms of right and wrong. In some respects, he was a being like Dong Gwangcheon himself.

A sword. A human being who was a sword itself.

Dong Gwangcheon had never encountered such a person in his life. All humans were animals, omnivores that subsisted mainly on plants. Occasionally there were carnivores, and those were the ones he hunted.

Yet this man was no such predator. Even so, he was extraordinarily intense. He stirred Dong Gwangcheon's urge to compete until the back of his head grew hot.

He was not an animal that survived by attacking others, robbing them, or killing them. He was an herbivore. An herbivore, but an incredibly powerful one... A herbivorous wild beast, perhaps? He was so unusual a type of human that no suitable word came to mind.

If he had to make a comparison...

'An elephant...?'

The elephant was, in truth, the king of animals. The strongest creature on land, something no other creature could withstand if it were not an herbivore.

Was this what the king of herbivores looked like?

Dong Gwangcheon's heart fluttered, ever so slightly. To feel this way about someone who was not a hunting target... No, even his prey very rarely stirred him to this extent.

Then was that man... something to hunt?

Dong Gwangcheon had become interested in the man in blue for a different reason than Eulji Tae. His eyes focused on the man more intently than before. Hidden behind his hair, however, they went unnoticed.

"Unless you apologize to Lady Hwa and me immediately, we will teach you a harsh lesson in accordance with the code of Murim."

Perhaps emboldened by his growing band of supporters, Woo Shimgi stepped forward again and took the initiative in threatening the man in blue.

"Didn't... do it. I... didn't... do anything..."

The blue-robed man's words were jumbled and terribly halting, as though he had forgotten speech for years and was only now uttering his first words.

"You didn't do anything? Weren't you constantly leering at Lady Hwa with those filthy eyes?"

As he spoke, Woo Shimgi glanced back inside Clear Waters Pavilion. His tone and posture were boastful, as if to say, Aren't I doing well? Presumably, the woman called Lady Hwa was inside, and he clearly had designs on her.

"Didn't... do it. I..."

The man in blue repeated himself. His speech was still halting, but his tone had grown somewhat firmer.

"I gave you a clear opportunity to apologize."

"What happened earlier was only because I wasn't using my sword. Yet you dare act so insolently, trusting in that paltry bit of martial skill? I, the Hundred-Shattering Sword, will gouge out those lecherous eyes of yours."

As he spoke, Woo Shimgi drew the sword at his waist halfway from its scabbard.

He had earned the epithet Hundred-Shattering Sword by defeating a hundred experts active around Mount Kunlun in sparring matches. Once he drew his sword, he would probably live up to that reputation and assail the young man in blue with sharp sword strikes.

At that moment, with violence poised to erupt—

"Don't... draw it. You'll regret..."