The Title of Sword Emperor

Sword Emperor So Daecheol twisted his mouth.

“Do you think I can’t do what you can do?”

“You probably can.”

Lee Dojin sincerely thought so. That the Sword Emperor could also do what he had just done.

“But what’s in front of you is not them, it’s me.”

The important thing was that the opponent the Sword Emperor had to face was not them, but himself.

Lee Dojin gripped his wooden sword again.

So Daecheol made a chin gesture.

The remaining 11 martial artists all rushed at Lee Dojin.

Pouring clusters of light.

Lee Dojin’s feet moved. Sword lights brushing past his nape, passing over his body.

Lee Dojin’s body stretched out long like taffy. Afterimages were thickly drawn. Deformed spatial shift.

They were martial artists wearing battle suits that amplified protective strong energy. Therefore, it was difficult to cut their bodies. Lee Dojin imbued Nature’s Energy into his body and sword.

Crush the bones.

Kwa-deu-deu-deuk!

“Kuhek!”

The wooden sword directly hit the battle suit. The battle suit crumpled in the exact shape of the wooden sword blade.

He wrapped Nature’s Energy around his left hand like a whirlpool. The not yet fully mastered Thunderbolt Divine Fist struck the martial artist’s abdomen.

Kwang!

Lee Dojin’s wooden sword struck down again towards the martial artist who had lost his balance.

The Heaven Defying sword energy shot up from the ground. Dirt and pebbles flew in all directions.

Blood spread across Changgung.

No upset occurred.

Behind Lee Dojin, 11 more martial artists lay sprawled.

Lee Dojin now walked towards Sword Emperor So Daecheol, who had just drawn his sword.

“I already knew you had entered the transcendent realm from seeing you fight that monster.”

One who has entered the transcendent realm.

A term referring to superhumans who have far surpassed the SS-rank level, regardless of martial arts, magic, or superpowers.

The Sword Emperor approached Lee Dojin with a fishy smile.

“And you standing in front of me now is also due to that.”

So Daecheol stood still with his sword lowered. From the tips of his feet, a blue light began to smolder and rise.

“However, I entered that realm over 10 years ago.”

Jjeo-jeok───

The ground cracked. The blue concentric circles spreading from So Daecheol’s entire body soon covered the entire Changryong Hall.

“The density of the realm I handle is different.”

Realm.

There are two meanings to <Transcendent Realm>.

Literally, it means transcending limits that can be converted into grade figures and such.

And it means gaining the ability to build a ‘realm’ where one can clearly stand in the position of a ‘strong person’.

So Daecheol was deploying precisely that realm. So Daecheol slowly opened his mouth.

“It’s called the Emperor Sword Form.”

Emperor Sword Form (帝王劍形).

A tyrannical aura befitting that name spread through the Changryong Hall.

Kwa-deu-deu-deuk!

The pressure expanding from So Daecheol’s body gradually pressed down on Lee Dojin’s entire body.

The Emperor Sword Form was a martial art containing the years of the Namgung family. And to that martial art was added the years of So Daecheol, who had achieved 7 stars in the Heavenly Thunder Emperor Divine Technique (天雷帝王神功).

Lee Dojin felt his breath being choked off. So Daecheol’s inner power built up to 7 stars far exceeded Lee Dojin’s expectations.

It was telling that the mass of aura So Daecheol was emitting was more ferocious than the binding power that sixty-four people had just exerted.

So Daecheol’s arm moved. A heavy sword energy pierced Lee Dojin’s shoulder.

“…!”

Lee Dojin’s eyes widened. Even though he had clearly seen and dodged it, his armor coat was completely distorted. He felt a large amount of blood falling from his shoulder.

‘My movements are being restricted.’

By the terrifying tyrannical power of the Emperor Sword Form. It felt like a giant nail was pressing down on his crown.

Lee Dojin rushed towards So Daecheol. The longer the fight dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for him with his inner power far lacking compared to So Daecheol.

Ka-ga-ga-ga-gak─!

Lee Dojin’s wooden sword and So Daecheol’s sword met. Golden streams burst out successively from the opposing points of the blades.

Dozens of exchanges followed in succession. The chilling sword dance of the two swordsmen took place within the realm, the Emperor Sword Form.

Sseo-geok!

A sword wound was engraved on Lee Dojin’s right thigh. A sword mark was also engraved on So Daecheol’s waist, but it was too shallow compared to Lee Dojin’s bleeding sword wound.

Dozens of sword marks were being engraved on the floor of the Changryong Hall.

Lee Dojin, gritting his teeth and swinging his wooden sword widely, threw his body backward.

Turning away from So Daecheol, who was watching him with a confident face, he examined the condition of his own body.

A total of eight sword wounds, deep and shallow. His body felt too heavy.

‘At this rate─.’

He might lose.

‘A way out.’

Just like he had reversed the Combined Formation earlier, he had to find a way out to survive.

Ddu-duk!

Lee Dojin barely managed to straighten his pressed-down body. Although much inner power had drained away, more than half of his inner power was still flowing in his dantian.

-There will be martial artists trying to build their own space.

The voice of Sword Emperor Dan Cheonwoo settled in his mind.

-Among those who have entered the realm of transformation, many will try to do so. Someday you’ll face such strong ones too.

-What should you do then, you ask? It’s those with inferior sword techniques who start by laying out their field first. There’s no need to be scared.

-One sword is enough to overturn that field.

-When you face such a person, if the path you’ve walked until then has been fierce enough, you’ll be able to.

His first teacher, who had settled in Lee Dojin’s mind after a long time, continued with uncharacteristically vague words.

Lee Dojin slowly extended his wooden sword forward. And he imbued it with energy (氣).

The colorless sword energy wrapped around the wooden sword. And it dyed it pure white.

The Heaven Defying air current revolving through his entire body rapidly accelerated.

Heat rose like a mirage from his entire body. But he couldn’t stop here.

He had to heat it up more. Like a single sword being forged.

As Lee Dojin stood still, just letting sword energy flow into his sword, So Daecheol raised the corners of his mouth in a grin, showing his white teeth.

“It seems you still can’t deploy a realm at all.”

Come to think of it, was he just a green newcomer who hadn’t properly experienced the martial arts of the transcendent realm?

“Blame yourself for mistaking your well for the whole world.”

Jeobuk

So Daecheol, certain of victory, slowly began to walk towards Lee Dojin.

While maintaining the realm, Emperor Sword Form (帝王劍形).

Pit!

The moment he raised his sword to slash Lee Dojin’s upper body diagonally, something brushed past none other than So Daecheol’s shoulder.

So Daecheol stared at his own shoulder with wide eyes. Blood was gushing from his right shoulder.

Lee Dojin took a step.

His right arm holding the wooden sword swung lightly.

The Sword Emperor barely managed to perceive that one strike with his naked eye.

Sseo-geok!

The sound of something being cut rang through the space. So Daecheol looked down at his abdomen. A deep sword wound was pressing down on his battle suit.

“Kuhek!”

A handful of blood spurted out.

Only then did he realize.

It wasn’t that Lee Dojin had been standing still in a sword stance, but that he himself hadn’t noticed Lee Dojin’s slash.

-One sword is enough to stand firmly in the world. The principle of Heaven Defying was created like that.

Dan Cheonwoo’s voice continued in his mind.

-A sword created to face the world.

-How could it succumb to the artificial worlds created by those who merely know some martial arts?

At that time, he thought it sounded like pointless, illusory words.

Jeobuk

Now he understood what all those words meant.

The Heaven Defying sword energy flowing in the wooden sword and Lee Dojin’s body literally rendered the army of the Emperor Sword Form meaningless.

Perfectly.

“…This doesn’t make sense.”

How could someone who had been struggling before the Emperor Sword Form until just now show movements as if he had overcome everything in such a short time?

So Daecheol’s face was crumpled like an evil spirit.

“Until now, not a single person has moved properly in front of this Emperor Sword Form.”

Even if they were among the Ten Venerables who had reached the same transcendent realm, they were restricted before this tyrant’s army.

“Do you have a master? Is it one of the Four Superhumans? Or is it a previous generation superhuman? Speak! There’s no way you don’t have a master!”

So Daecheol was certain that Lee Dojin had a master. When he had requested an information guild to investigate all of Lee Dojin’s activities, there was no trace of him meeting a martial artist who could be called a master until he entered the academy.

After entering the academy, he had contact with the Sword Empress, but the sword this guy was using was rather closer to his own sword and far from the Plum Blossom Sword Technique of Hwasan.

That’s why he was inferring that Lee Dojin’s master must be among the Four Superhumans, excluding the Sword Empress.

Of course, Jung Yong-ha, the Sword Demon of the previous generation’s Four Superhumans, was also Lee Dojin’s master.

But he wasn’t a master to mention in the current battle.

Lee Dojin slowly opened his mouth.

“Sword Emperor Dan Cheonwoo.”

And he took one more step forward.

White light burst on So Daecheol’s upper body, and blood spurted diagonally.

So Daecheol took two steps back.

“That’s my master’s name.”

So Daecheol’s eyes widened like lanterns.

“Sword Emperor…? Did you just say Sword Emperor?”

A voice devoted to evil burst out.

“I am the Sword Emperor! So Daecheol of Changheon! No one else in this country has been acknowledged with the same title as me!”

Lee Dojin struck the ground with an expressionless face.

Ku─────ung

The Heaven Defying sword energy raised a circular wave.

The army of the Emperor Sword Form that had been bursting out like flames behind So Daecheol all reversed heaven (逆天).

The energy wave of the Emperor Sword Form that had shot up pierced through the ceiling of the hall.

Ku-gu-gu-gu-gu-gung!

The Changryong Hall began to collapse.

So Daecheol rushed out of the Changryong Hall as if escaping.

Lee Dojin slowly followed behind.

White light was flowing on the wooden sword.

“Are you… thinking of killing me?”

So Daecheol’s powerless question was thrown. Lee Dojin countered with a question in return.

“Do you think I have the power of life and death to be able to kill you?”

Emperor (帝王).

So Daecheol had completely forgotten the martial art he had just performed.

Ka-deu-deuk

So Daecheol gritted his teeth. His pride was completely crumpled. He had uttered the words of a loser that an emperor should never say.

So Daecheol rapidly utilized his inner power. The realm named Emperor Sword Form had completely collapsed. His self-esteem had hit rock bottom, but he was still a martial artist of the transcendent realm who had clearly established his own school.

“No…”

It was a single word of resentment.

“The one who dies, is you.”

The aura of an emperor began to flow again from So Daecheol’s staggering body. He rebuilt the broken martial art.

But one piece didn’t fit. So Daecheol’s eyes gleamed.

That one piece could only be fitted by killing that guy. If he proved it with his sword, all this humiliation would be recovered.

Cheok.

So Daecheol spread his legs wide. He planted both feet heavily on the ground. It was the sword stance unique to the Namgung family.

He compresses the emperor’s sword form into a single strike. The air violently trembled at the compression of blue sword energy. It was enough to distort the nature around So Daecheol.

Lee Dojin also felt a tingling sensation.

Ten Thousand Swords of Blue Sky (蒼穹萬劒).

Kwang!

So Daecheol’s body, which had stomped the ground as if to crush it, stretched out towards Lee Dojin. It was a majestic sight like a huge navy blue meteor crossing the ground.

So Daecheol, who had reached right in front of Lee Dojin, swung his sword heavily.

In one strong sword strike, over a thousand, no, ten thousand streams of sword energy were infused.

The white light permeating the wooden sword spat out a flash.

Hundred and Eight Sword Thunders (百八劍雷)

The third technique of the Heaven Defying Sword stood before the Ten Thousand Swords.

For thrusting, the first technique Soul Pursuit (追魂).

For slashing, the group of the second technique Moon Slash (削月) contained in 108 slashes nullified the ten thousand sword strikes.

So Daecheol’s body, which had lost balance and collapsed from the overwhelming sword wave, swept the floor of Changgung. Sword marks that had just appeared were writhing all over his body.

“As expected.”

Lee Dojin slowly walked towards the toothless beast wriggling like an insect.

Lee Dojin looked down at So Daecheol.

“The title of Sword Emperor doesn’t suit you.”

Changgung (蒼穹) collapsed.