Chapter 38 - The Second-Rate Warrior Facing a Legend (3)

- I picked up a sword for the first time at the age of fifteen, and at the age of thirty, I awakened to the Dao (道).

- Establishing the Dao as the foundation of all creation, I named that study the Taiyi True Scripture (太乙眞經).

- To have my learning verified, I stepped into Jianghu and received verification nine times.

- By the time the nine sparring matches ended, there was an endless line of people who wished to learn the Dao, but there was no one I could pass it on to.

- Deep in a mountain in Anhui Province, I met a child who had lost his parents, and I was able to pass on what I had learned.

- The renowned masters of Jianghu came and asked me to step forward for the sake of the chaotic world.

- I heard that the one I originally wanted to receive my tenth verification from was imposing his will upon Jianghu.

- Learning is something one cultivates and achieves on their own, so because I could not agree with his will, I stepped forward alongside them.

- The depth of learning of the tenth person I faced was also formidable. However, the moment I finally broke his teachings and blocked his advance, I was trapped inside a maze of Boundless (無量) with the sound of the sky collapsing.

- According to the tenth person I faced, the renowned masters of Jianghu had betrayed us.

- I originally had no intention of harming others with my teachings, but I figured my learning must have seemed too threatening to them.

- The boundless maze was an unknown entity that could not be broken even if the tenth person and I combined our strengths. We were left in a position to wait for death in this place.

- As we spent an infinite amount of time together in the boundless maze, there were parts where our wills aligned. I realized that this was exactly 'all streams flowing to the sea'.

- In a place where our shared wills aligned, we created a single martial art.

- In my dream last night, I thought of my disciple who was left alone. It pained my heart to no end that I did not leave any teachings for that child.

- If anyone sees this writing, I will consider you a fated person. Cultivate my teachings and achieve what you desire, but if the Taiyi Sect still remains in your world, please pass on what is mine to them. That is my final wish.

Reading the memoirs written by the Taiyi Sword Emperor across half the cavern floor, I could not stop my flowing tears.

While another person might have resented someone or burned with a desire for revenge, his writings were incredibly calm, and that fact broke my heart even more throughout.

The story of his disciple, repeated time and time again, along with the pity and concern that the child might be suffering hardships because he hadn't given any teachings, took up the largest portion.

Looking at the martial arts the Great Martial Ancestor had written down, it was exactly as I expected: aside from the Taiyi mental cultivation method and the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique, they were not the martial arts of the Taiyi Sect.

The sole remaining disciple had carried on the sect amidst all kinds of humiliation and persecution for five hundred years in order to wait for his vanished master.

I felt ashamed of myself, who had relentlessly resented the Taiyi Sect in my past life.

Why forcefully drag along such a powerless sect? Wouldn't it be better to just die rather than live so subserviently?

It was a thought from my immature days, but I had never hated myself more than I did at that moment.

"It was five hundred years. A staggering five hundred years."

The Great Martial Ancestor had worried and agonized until the moment of his death over a disciple he would never meet again in his lifetime, and that disciple had waited for his master for five hundred years.

"I will receive them respectfully."

The floor was filled with journal-style memoirs, and the martial arts accumulated over that time were written in detail on the walls.

They were martial arts that had been waiting to be passed down for five hundred years.

[Taiyi mental cultivation method]

[Lesser Heaven Sword Technique]

[Great Heaven Sword Technique]

[Twin Heaven Sword Art]

[Taiyi True Scripture]

[Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art]

[Ten Thousand Transformations Invincible Fist]

[Taiyi Eighty Thousand Divine Steps]

The Taiyi mental cultivation method and Lesser Heaven Sword Technique were teachings for beginners.

From here, the Great Heaven Sword Technique included martial scriptures that had not originally existed in the Taiyi Sect, and once a disciple completed their initiation, they would then enter the path of a seeker awakening to the source of the Dao (道).

The beginning of that was the [Taiyi True Scripture].

These martial scriptures, pursuing a deeper enlightenment than any mental cultivation method, were seeking a more profound state than any martial logic I had ever seen.

- If you awaken to the Taiyi True Scripture, you will be able to comprehend the harmony of heaven and earth.

It held such high-level teachings that the confident words written by the Taiyi Sword Emperor did not seem like a lie.

The other martial arts also lacked nothing.

The [Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art] was the swordsmanship manual that created the legend of Ten Thousand Swords, and the [Ten Thousand Transformations Invincible Fist] was equally formidable.

In particular, having tasted the martial arts of the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Noble Clans once before, I could confidently say that the [Taiyi Eighty Thousand Divine Steps] would never fall short of the footwork of the Nine Sects and One Gang.

"It is a shame there is no movement technique."

But that disappointment only lasted a moment, as I thought about what I, having inherited the true legacy of the Taiyi Sword Emperor, could actually do.

I dared not even imagine it.

Considering that the Supreme Clarity Divine Sword dominated Murim with a single sword, and the Black Lion Kwak Gung broke that Murim once again with his two fists, I couldn't even imagine how the future would change from now on.

After examining the writings for a long while, the black-haired middle-aged man on the opposite side finally caught my eye.

Unlike the Taiyi Sword Emperor, he maintained his black hair and skin perfectly.

His bizarre state was so fascinating that I approached him.

Just like the Taiyi Sword Emperor, he had introduced himself in eight characters.

Pitch-Black Heaven and Earth.

Hell Demon Emperor.

The person referred to as Amcheon was the Third Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult who had vanished five hundred years ago.

* * *

"Are these the ones?"

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword (蒼帝神劍), Namgung Taeha.

The current Patriarch of the Namgung Clan and an expert whose name was listed among the World's Ten Great Swordsmen.

It was a voice that did not carry any internal energy, but Yang Gunbaek and some beggar kneeling before him trembled all over, feeling as if a thunderbolt had struck them.

"I am Yang Gunbaek of Haomun's Yueyang Branch."

"I am the Yueyang Branch Leader of the Beggars' Sect."

The beggar who revealed himself to be the Beggars' Sect's branch leader tried his best not to lose his imposing manner despite his fear.

Whether he did or not, the Azure Emperor Divine Sword continued speaking without paying any mind.

"I heard you were the ones who sold the treasure maps?"

Haomun and the Beggars' Sect.

Since both had strong characteristics of information organizations, they were supposed to keep themselves hidden, but they couldn't afford to be stubborn in the face of what had just happened.

Five thousand.

A staggering five thousand people had gone inside to find the Amitabha Holy Water and were unable to come out.

Below the valley of the Demonic Spirit Plateau, dozens of sects had pitched tents and gathered together.

Despite the countless people coming and going, there was no loud chatter among them. Instead, a heavy tension that wouldn't be strange if it exploded at any moment weighed them down.

Their families and friends were inside there.

And because no one knew whether they were dead or alive, they were suppressing their anger.

"In the first place, we only sold maps to guide the way; going inside was their own choice."

The Yueyang Branch Leader of the Beggars' Sect spoke, feigning boldness.

Seeing his trembling hands, Yang Gunbaek couldn't help but feel a sense of pity.

"So, you are saying you have done no wrong?"

"No matter how great the Namgung Clan is, you cannot treat a disciple of the Beggars' Sect like this."

"What was that?"

"We simply did our job as an information organization."

"However, you did not properly inform them of what dangers lay inside."

"No one knew that..."

"If that is the case, then you failed to perform your job properly."

"What do you... *Keuhuk. *"

In an instant, the Beggars' Sect disciple seemed to gasp for air before vomiting a bucketful of blood.

"*Gasp, gasp. *"

Before anyone knew it, a clear fist mark was left on the Dantian of the Beggars' Sect disciple.

In a flash so swift no one noticed, he had shattered the Beggars' Sect disciple's Dantian with a single strike.

Gulp.

Yang Gunbaek swallowed hard. The Yueyang Branch Leader of the Beggars' Sect was a first-rate warrior at the very least. For such a person's Dantian to be crushed without him even having the chance to react meant that the Azure Emperor Divine Sword's skills, as evaluated by the people of Jianghu, were severely underestimated.

"Go and bring the Vice Branch Leader of the Beggars' Sect's Yueyang Branch."

"Yes."

Once a warrior of the Namgung Clan dragged the Beggars' Sect disciple away, only Yang Gunbaek remained in the area.

"I will ask you. Did you sell the maps?"

"P-Please spare my life."

"Did you indicate that an array was laid out in that place?"

"Yes. I clearly indicated it."

"And the true nature of that array?"

"That... even with our investigation, we could not figure it out."

"So you are saying you sold the maps irresponsibly."

It was enough to make Yang Gunbaek jump out of his skin in frustration. Who in the world would even think of going inside an array while selling maps? In the first place, if he could enter the array, he would have just taken the spiritual elixir or treasure for himself instead of making and selling treasure maps.

"I-I apologize. Our sect lacks both the capital and the personnel to research arrays..."

"Are you absolutely certain the Amitabha Holy Water is inside?"

"..."

In truth, even that wasn't completely certain. If it was there, great; if not, there was nothing to be done about it.

However, he had no choice but to trust the person who had given the testimony to create the treasure maps.

"C-Certainly, the person who returned from inside stated that the Amitabha Holy Water was there."

"The youngest daughter of the Namgung Clan's direct line has gone inside there."

"..."

"And it has already been over a month since we lost contact with her. Yet you say you do not even know whether such a thing as the Amitabha Holy Water is inside. Is there any reason for me to keep you alive?"

Gulp.

Yang Gunbaek thought that when the Azure Emperor Divine Sword said 'you,' he wasn't just referring to the Yueyang Branch.

If it meant satisfying his anger, wasn't this a man who could easily wipe out all of Haomun?

Yang Gunbaek racked his brain desperately. Then, with a frantic heart, he spoke.

"Th-There is someone who saw Yong So-ah!!"

"... What does that have to do with anything?"

"Yong So-ah definitely went inside to secure the Amitabha Holy Water. However, three weeks later, he was spotted eating at an inn in Yueyang by our disciple."

He called him a disciple, but he was actually a waiter.

A man looking absolutely wretched had come in, eaten dumplings, vegetables, and bamboo leaf wine like he was starving, and left after tossing down a single gold coin. Feeling it was strange, the waiter had reported it to Haomun.

"Are you sure it was Yong So-ah?"

Because the Taijitu symbol, the emblem of the Wudang Sect, was also engraved on his scabbard, they merely assumed it was Yong So-ah.

Since the Whirlwind Sword, a treasured artifact of Wudang, could only be wielded by Yong So-ah.

It wasn't completely certain, but he couldn't dare say it was just a guess. Yang Gunbaek was not confident he could withstand Namgung Taeha's fury. In that case, as an information broker, he had to make a gamble of sorts.

"Yes, I suspect that he emerged from the array as a representative to seek help from the Murim Alliance."

After thinking for a moment, the Azure Emperor Divine Sword issued a threat.

"From today on, you will stay here and bring me every piece of information related to what is inside there."

"U-Understood."

When the Azure Emperor Divine Sword gave the order to leave, Yang Gunbaek stepped away, his mind dizzy with thoughts of how he should request aid from the main sect.

Namgung Jinmyeong approached with a dark expression.

"It is all my fault, Father."

"You fool. Just how unreliable must you have been for that young child to even think of entering such a death trap!"

"I apologize."

Namgung Taeha's face, which had been shouting out rebukes, quickly calmed down.

How could his sorrow of losing a granddaughter ever compare to the sorrow of a father losing his child?

"If that brat Yong So-ah went to the Murim Alliance, the Alliance won't be ignorant of this matter either. Visit the Yueyang Branch and find out exactly what happened."

"Yes. I will stand guard here. So, Father, how about you return to the clan?"

At the sudden words, Namgung Taeha frowned.

"What are you saying all of a sudden?"

"They say the Cangqiong Merchant Group's movements are suspicious. It seems they intend to mobilize the Council of Elders."

"Good heavens! I'll beat them to death!"

As the Azure Emperor Divine Sword raised his qi, the warriors and servants working in the area uniformly collapsed to the ground, as if their knees had gone numb.

"That bastard Sangwon is completely out of line."

What was the reason Namgung Seonhwa had set out to find the Amitabha Holy Water in the first place?

As the power of the direct line weakened under the pressure from the branch line, and it seemed it would be difficult to receive the clan's help in the Murim Academy exam, she had stepped forward to solve it herself, leading to this disaster.

He himself had been preparing the Destruction Form for the Cangqiong Daeyeon Sword Technique, the main swordsmanship of the branch line, as a way to suppress them, but he lacked quite a bit of time.

Moreover, if he messed up, there was room for it to be interpreted as denying the clan's legitimacy, so he couldn't even dare to receive help from others.

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword looked at his grandson, Namgung San.

"What happened to that child you mentioned?"

One day, Namgung San had gone out to retrieve the Admission Token that Zhuge Somyeong had given to another child, but despite returning empty-handed, he had looked quite pleased.

When a child with such immense pride came back with a joyful face despite failing to achieve what he wanted, he couldn't hold back his curiosity and asked him about it, only to hear that the child had used a swordsmanship similar to the one he had been researching.

"I sent someone to find out, but they said he went out for some business and has not yet returned."

"How could you send someone for such a matter? You should have gone yourself."

"I apologize. I couldn't bear to leave because of Seonhwa."

"*Keu-heum... *"

Amidst the urgent situation, with Seonhwa even going missing, no one in the direct line was able to keep a clear head.

As if mocking this situation, the branch line was making their move at the direct family's most critical moment.

The Azure Emperor Divine Sword looked at Namgung Jinmyeong and spoke.

"I will go alone. You stay here with them."

"Father, you cannot go alone."

"Do you not trust your father?"

Not in the slightest.

Rather, he was worried that if he didn't take the warriors with him and the branch line made a final provocation, the Azure Emperor Divine Sword would draw his sword.

"You stay here, monitor the situation, and if Seonhwa ultimately does not come out... leave none of those responsible alive in this world."

"... Father."

"If those we considered family use the family's misfortune as a hostage to stir up trouble, they are no longer family. I will eliminate those who are not family."

At Namgung Taeha's words, Namgung Jinmyeong thought that a bloodstorm might soon sweep through the Namgung Clan.

* * *

- I am the Third Heavenly Demon of the Great (大) Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. There is no other way to describe myself.

- From the very beginning of my memories, I was a cultist of the Divine Cult, and I eventually ascended to the seat of the Heavenly Demon.

- And under the Demon God's teachings, I stepped into Jianghu to unify the world.

- I got trapped in a bizarre array along with a damn frustrating bastard. At first, I mocked the guy who had been betrayed after standing in front of those hypocrites, but when I realized that I was also trapped in the end, I despaired.

Reading the journal, I rubbed my eyes for a moment. I hadn't misread it; it definitely said 'damn'.

He had climbed all the way to the position of Heavenly Demon in the Demonic Cult, yet he still couldn't stop swearing even in the final journal of his life, and at the same time, unlike the Taiyi Sword Emperor, there were many broken sections in the middle, as if he repeatedly stopped and started writing.

- I had never seen this cursed array before in my life, and even I, who had received the Demon God's blessing, could not pierce through it.

- After trying to copy whatever mental imagery training that bastard was doing, I gained a realization. Come to think of it, I felt like I had also been done in by the traitors of the Divine Cult.

- Thanks to that damn Daoist bastard, I found out something I didn't need to know.

- Seeing that bastard longing for his disciple, I thought it served him right. Seriously, why did he crawl all the way out here instead of raising the disciple he was supposed to raise?

- I raised a whopping nine disciples. But I was betrayed by all nine of them. Even thinking about it again pisses me off.

- Having nothing to do and with the Daoist bastard being the only person I could meet, we talked about this and that.

- The bastard also knew about the laws of the world created by the Demon God. I tried to proselytize him. It didn't go well.

- After creating a martial art together with him, I started thinking I wanted to leave behind something of my own as well.

- The Heavenly Demon Scripture ultimately originated from the roots of the Divine Cult, so it wasn't truly mine.

- I created a martial art to punish the disciples who betrayed me. Even to my eyes, having already reached the state of a Heavenly Demon, it is an extremely satisfying piece of work.

- I gave this work the name Reverse Demon Scripture. I truly hope whoever discovers this will block the paths of my damn disciples.

- Whoever you are, if you are reading this, consider yourself blessed by the Demon God and devote yourself to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

[Reverse Demon Scripture]

[World-Pacing Lone Movement]

The Reverse Demon Scripture was a martial study to suppress demonic arts.

A martial art that suppressed demonic arts by targeting the reverse scales among the characteristics of demonic arts based on the Heavenly Demon Scripture.

It was a study that was hard to believe had been created by the Third Heavenly Demon of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.

What caught my eye even more than that was the World-Pacing Lone Movement, which appeared to have been created hand-in-hand by the Taiyi Sword Emperor and the Hell Demon Emperor.

A movement technique with the arrogant name implying that once it ran, no one in the world could follow it.

The martial logic hidden within it meant that the movement technique itself was a martial art possessing tyrannical destructive power.

When stepping forward, nothing could block it, and when stepping back, nothing could catch it.

After putting all the martial arts into my head like that, I approached the Hell Demon Emperor.

It was because I felt a sense of wonder at how he maintained his physical form even after a staggering five hundred years had passed.

Tap.

The moment I touched him.

His body slowly turned into dust and vanished, leaving a red bracelet resting in its place.

The characters embossed on the inside of the red bracelet engraved with a phoenix revealed what its true identity was.

[Heavenly Demon Supreme Bracelet]

While I was suspecting whether this bracelet had a similar appearance to the Jade Dragon Bracelet I was wearing on my left arm.

CRUMBLE.

With a crumbling sound from behind, the Taiyi Sword Emperor's figure vanished.

I offered nine deep bows of respect to the Taiyi Sword Emperor and a nod to the Hell Demon Emperor, then drew the Black Dragon Sword and stood in the center of the cavern.

"Great Heaven Sword Technique."

The Great Heaven Sword Technique was a swordsmanship of shifting swords and phantom swords.

I could finally realize the reason why the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique, despite having the trajectory of a fast sword, wasn't actually that fast in the first place.

Originally, the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique and the Great Heaven Sword Technique were nothing more than a bridgehead to learn the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art.

WOOSH.

WOOSH.

Phantom swords and shifting swords fluttered in all directions.

With the Lesser Heaven Sword Technique combined within them, it became impossible to tell which was a real sword and which was a phantom sword.

I, who had initially thought of leaving after only learning the Great Heaven Sword Technique, ended up pouring several days into the Taiyi True Scripture and the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art.

I had completely forgotten the very thought of needing to go outside.

And just when I had barely mastered the basics of the Taiyi True Scripture and the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art.

SWISH-SH-SH.

SLASH-SLASH-SLASH.

Three swords occupied all directions and reduced an invisible opponent to dust.

As I expanded the sword's influence further, the swords spreading in all directions erased the martial scriptures on the floor and walls one by one.

Among the three swords, there were no phantom swords.

Every sword was real and moving independently.

To that, I added phantom swords.

The three swords multiplied into six.

The dizzyingly moving swords once again swept across the walls and floor, erasing the Hell Demon Emperor's journal and martial scriptures.

Since the real sword multiplied by three, they were not real swords.

To this peculiar swordsmanship, the Taiyi Sword Emperor attached the title of 'Ten Thousand Swords.'

Swords that were illusions yet not illusions, real yet not real.

I looked around and examined the spectacle I had created.

Not a single one of the densely packed characters on the walls and floor remained; they had all vanished at the tip of the blade.

Just understanding the beginnings of the Taiyi True Scripture and the Ten Thousand Seas Heaven and Earth Sword Art possessed this level of power.

If an opponent were to face this sword, they would not be able to distinguish which was real and which was an illusion.

"It truly is a martial art worthy of being called Ten Thousand Swords Under Heaven."

* * *

"..."

Namgung Seonhwa turned her head and looked at Seong Moran.

Sunken, hollow cheeks, deeply hollowed eye sockets, and weakly blinking eyelids.

She squeezed out her last bit of strength to speak.

"I'm sorry... Unnie..."

Seong Moran's slowly moving pupils and her dry lips, which parted several times, finally spoke.

"No... It's okay..."

They were currently squeezing out their final strength to talk while dying.

By the time a month had passed since they were trapped inside the cavern, no more people came in.

And with no more people entering, their food supply completely ran out.

They managed to secure drinking water from the water seeping out through the cavern's crevices, but the moss growing in the cavern fell woefully short of serving as meals for a group of nearly four thousand.

Fights broke out over food, and when even that food ran out, they stopped fighting one by one.

Those with weak internal energy were dying one after another, and even the remaining survivors predicted that their lives did not have much time left.

"I'm truly... sorry..."

Namgung Seonhwa's guilt toward Seong Moran, who was trapped here because of her, was greater than the fear of her own death.

Someone who had approached her first when she had no sisters, and willingly stepped forward to help her in her difficulties.

She had dragged such a person into this death trap.

"Let's not... give up..."

Seong Moran hadn't lost hope until the very end.

Did she truly believe in Yong So-ah, who had gone out first, and the Murim Alliance?

Or did she think someone else would break through that array and come in?

Strangely, however, Seong Moran's gaze was directed toward the opposite side of the exit.

She didn't say it, but she was waiting for that man who had been dragged into the Soul-Extinguishing Array after his clash with Yong So-ah.

The person Seong Moran was affectionate towards.

What was she expecting from him, who hadn't seemed particularly special aside from having an exceptionally brilliant mind?

Suddenly thinking of him as well, Namgung Seonhwa looked toward the Soul-Extinguishing Array where he had been sucked in.

WAVER.

Was it because she had starved for too long?

She had begun seeing illusions a short while ago.

Sometimes they appeared as meat, and sometimes as the entrance to the Namgung Clan.

But right now, the illusion appeared as a figure splitting through the Soul-Extinguishing Array.

'How cruel.'

To the point where she thought the illusion might be plunging her into despair by showing exactly what she wished for most right now.

A man emerged from within that illusion.

A man who looked just as haggard as they did, but with sharp glints flashing in his eyes, and a slow but imposing stride.

He was the man Seong Moran missed the most.

Namgung Seonhwa turned her head with the thought of teasing Seong Moran.

But Seong Moran's eyes were already wide open.

'Is Unnie seeing it too?'

When she turned her head back toward the illusion, the illusion approached this side.

And then, it spoke to them.

"Are you alright?"

Jin Sowoon had returned.