episode_0020

Just in case the one in front of me was a guy who was a bit stronger than I thought, I tightened my grip on the sword so that I wouldn’t lose my sword due to lack of strength.

Wedge-!

By taking light strides, it preemptively secures the forward position, and as soon as it gains propulsion by exploding its aerodynamic power, the new model quickly approaches with a sound of cutting through the wind.

“What speed… … !”

For a moment, a look of shock appeared on Aekku’s face, but he quickly responded by raising his sword, which had black energy wrapped around its blade and face.

It starts with an exploration battle.

The sword that was swung without any special preparation and the sword that had been prepared for the impact by raising its sword energy collided.

Boom-!

Metal collided with metal, and there was a loud noise like an explosive detonation, and my hand, which had received the full force of the sword energy, felt quite tingly.

No matter what, I can’t help it since he put it in there openly while I was waiting with the sword wrapped around me.

“It’s too early to be surprised by this.”

“Let’s see if you can keep on talking even after that tongue is cut off!”

“… … Is this also considered a provocation? This is a bit unfair.”

Since they were even wearing black robes and making a show of force, it would be right to assume that they had the strength to boldly open the Sapha sect in the middle of Sacheon, right in front of their eyes.

I said something to him, wondering how weak he must think of me if he was surprised by just a little bit of speed, but then he got angry right away, which made me feel a little wronged.

I glanced around with a resentful expression on my face, and while I was already in the midst of my first clash with Aekku, the area around me was filled with blood.

“Kaaaah!”

“Hey, save me!”

“The best of the best… … !”

Of the roughly twenty men in Aekku’s garb, five or six were already lying in a pool of blood, squirming or motionless, while twice that number were terrified and their expressions clearly showed they were trying to escape.

If it was natural, then it was a natural result.

I guess my sister’s realm is Hwagyeong, no, because it’s a demonic cult, it’s on the verge of crossing the wall of extreme demonic power.

He can sweep away the rags of the Sapha, who are at best third-rate or second-rate, just by standing still in one place.

As the expression goes, from the moment they faced a peerless master who could use any kind of grass, bamboo, stone, or stone as a sword even without a sword, the fate of the Hwasumun clan leader and his followers was as good as decided.

The expression on the face of the boy who followed my gaze became grotesquely distorted as if he had seen something he shouldn’t have seen, and then he began to swear as if he had realized the rapidly changing situation.

“Oh my god.”

“You can’t take your eyes off of it.”

And I had no intention of missing that opportunity.

Actually, I sold my eyes first, but in any case, I’m in the middle of a life-or-death battle right now. Selling my eyes right in front of the opponent is like sticking my neck out and begging to be killed.

Once again, he took the lead in taking advantage of the path of attack and expanded his qi as much as possible.

I don’t know if he avoided the area because he thought it was a fight between martial artists, or if there was no one around to begin with.

Martial Spirit Teaching Sword

A road outside of heaven.

If there are no eyes watching, there is nothing to be afraid of.

I have decided to learn the Heavenly Demonic Art, but I have not even begun to learn it yet. So, of course, I have no choice but to use the one I am most familiar with.

The sword that stabbed in with its fangs flashing like a living snake rides the sword of the aekku that was hastily raised in a panic, and in turn, neutralizes the sword force as if tying up a tree branch.

The terrified Aekku shouted at the tip of the poisonous sword aimed at the vital organ.

“You bastard!”

Either way. There is no reason to respond, so I focus all my attention on the current situation.

When I was showing off my strength against bandits who were so weak that I could barely call them third-rate, the gap in skill was obvious, so I took it easy. However, even though the one in front of me was a lower-level swordsman than me, he was clearly a first-class swordsman who could handle the sword.

He is an opponent who has reached the threshold of being called a master no matter where he goes in the martial arts world.

I don’t know if it’s true or not, but it’s like the saying I heard in my past life that lions use their full power even when hunting rabbits. As soon as Aekku barely managed to cover up the sword that had stabbed him, I swung my left hand, which had not been holding the sword, at Aekku’s face.

Boom!

The distance was shortened to stab with the sword, and Jang-jeo struck while taking advantage of the gap in Aekku’s posture that had collapsed to block my attack.

“Ouch!”

“Your opponent is me. Not your sister. Don’t look away and focus straight on me.”

I don’t know if I can stop it by concentrating though.

After a brief addition, a sudden scream and a staggering slap.

As the knee was hit squarely, the one-eyed man with a broken face stumbled back a couple of steps, blood spurting from his mouth.

It wasn’t a punch that had any significant power, but it was a blow that was enough to hit the target.

Unless there was some kind of hidden life-saving device, it would be enough to take the momentum and kill him. The next meal followed with confidence.

The Sword of the Unmarried

Silence and extinction of thoughts.

“Oh, no!”

A single word uttered towards the sharp sword light before his eyes, even though his face was shattered, one or two teeth were broken, and his nose was bleeding profusely.

And that was Aekku’s will.

The first movement, which was repeated thousands or tens of thousands of times, followed a neatly defined sword path from top left to bottom right.

Because it cut cleanly in a diagonal line and cut through the heart of the aekku along the way.

As I turned my head and frowned at the unpleasant sensation touching my hand, the screams and groans that had been ringing around me while I was concentrating on my fight with the axe had died down.

“… …Things like burrs.”

The voice of my sister, who was nervously kicking the corpse that had fallen on the ground, was quite murderous. It was a voice that was as cold as I had ever heard it before.

The surrounding scenery is literally a bloodbath.

There were about twenty corpses rolling around, and none of them had any healthy parts.

Even putting aside the corpses I’ve knocked down, there are corpses that have had their heads or limbs blown off by long-range attacks, as well as corpses that have been crushed by the mind or bent at strange angles.

Blood that could easily fill four or five cubits was scattered around, and the smell of blood was second to none, and the traces of a brutal massacre were clearly visible.

Even in the midst of all this, the fact that not a single drop of blood was spilled on his sister was proof of his exquisite state.

It’s a little scary to think that he killed twenty people with just a few snaps of his hand.

“Jin-ah, are you hurt anywhere?”

“No way. It’s not like I’d get hurt to this extent.”

As soon as he saw me, his cold voice melted away.

It was understandable to be taken aback by the sudden change, but I nodded my head, thinking that this wasn’t something that had happened in a day or two.

If the men of this world saw this tragedy, they would probably scream and want to punch the person, or their faces would turn pale.

Ironically, I was not a man of this world, and I had lived a life too rough to change my expression at such a sight.

“But don’t these need to be dealt with? Like using something like Hwagolsan.”

Instead of reacting, he pointed to the scattered corpses and asked.

Then my sister shook her head.

“I didn’t bring that, and if there are twenty of them, it’ll be a hassle to deal with them. Above all, even if you use the volcanic acid to melt all the corpses, you can’t dispose of the blood.”

“That’s true. Even though it’s a place with few people, it’s probably better to deal with it in the city. I don’t know, but wouldn’t there be chaos? Suddenly, there are twenty corpses rolling around.”

“I know they’re Sapa’s scum, so I probably won’t care too much. Those rascals just rushed at me to kill me and wasted my energy. Let’s go back now.”

My sister, who had been looking down at the nameless, nameless boy who had collapsed for a moment, reached out her hand again.

Compared to how he had been just a moment ago, causing a commotion and killing the disciples of the Hwasumun without even using his sword, the gap was quite large.

But even so, it was kind of cute how he reached out his hand hesitantly, asking to hold hands again.

It’s not something you should say to someone who just killed nearly twenty people, but I would say that the way he acted just now contrasts with the way he treated me.

“… … I’m sorry. But even though I went on a cruise for the first time in a while, the ending is not very refreshing.”

“Hey, why is this something that my sister should apologize for? It was their mistake to jump in without even understanding the topic properly.”

“… … Still.”

On the way back, holding hands again, he looked around cautiously.

After reassuring me that it was okay, he just ended up laughing.

* * *

“The one on this side is the supporting actor who is the owner of the Hwasumun Gate. The direct cause of death seems to be the sword wound. It is certain because it was cut through to the bone and left behind a half-severed heart.”

“I was already thinking of taking action, but I didn’t know I would die like this.”

As soon as a group of people wearing green robes and helmets arrived at the scene of the tragedy, they examined the bodies for signs of injury.

Those who wear such a distinctive outfit in Sacheon are called Sacheon Dangga, and the one leading this group is Dangryeong, who conquered the Yongbongjihoe and became even more famous in the martial arts world with the nickname of Poisonous Dragon.

A tragedy that occurred within the territory of the Tang Dynasty.

Instead of the government office’s chief of staff being dispatched, the Tang clan was investigating, which was a sight that allowed us to guess the Tang clan’s power in Sacheon, but the Tang clan leader, who was examining the body of Jo Yeon, who met his end at Yeon Jin’s hand, had a strange expression on his face.

“A little rat broke the sect right in front of my family’s nose, so I was about to take action, but did I pick the wrong person?”

“I guess so. Isn’t that the guy who acts very cautiously, as if he’s avoiding the eyes of his parents? Thanks to that, his parents noticed him quite late. It’s like a worm has found its master.”

The tone of the Tang official answering Tang Ling’s question was close to a reproach.

It would be very difficult for the martial arts sects to overlap in their territories. In this day and age, it is common sense not to open a new sect within the territories of other sects.

In that sense, Sacheon was a place where the Sapas could not spread their energy because they were oppressed by the Tang, Qing, and Ami. Since there were very few Sapas that had established themselves naturally, it was an understandable idea to open the Sapas in Sacheon.

As they say, the darkness is under the lamp, but even the Tangmun had no idea that the Hwasumun sect, a branch of the Sapa sect, was being opened right in front of the Tangmun and Tanggata, and that they were carefully committing evil deeds without being noticed.

Dang-ryeong, who was rolling the corpse of the supporting actor with only one eye left wide open through the sole of his shoe, soon turned his gaze to another corpse.

“Bursted, crushed, broken. I guess the expression “killed” wouldn’t be an exaggeration.”

“This must have been done by a great expert.”

“That’s right. There’s only so much you can tell from the scars, but I’m sure it was done by a master who was at least three or four steps ahead of me.”

The Tangling responded to the Tangmun warrior’s muttering, and made a slightly tired expression.

She is also one of the greatest followers of the Baekdo Jeongpa who has conquered the Yongbong Branch, and her skills have already surpassed the peak.

But if there was a master who was much ahead of him, what kind of deceased person would have acted so cruelly?

I asked for cooperation from Cheongseong and Ami, but all I got back was a reply that it wasn’t their business.

As he had absolutely no idea who had done this, the king frowned and was contemplating whether to return home without any results.

“It looks like a great master has used his hands. Even if we compare frequency and speed, there won’t be much difference.”

A sword flew in from afar.

And the one who was riding on that sword was a Taoist priest who flew in using the sword flying technique, as if he were the legendary sword immortal Yeo Dongbin.

As a woman wearing a Cheongseongpa uniform, who looked to be at most two years old, landed lightly, Dangryung spoke with a puzzled expression.

“… … Why did the King of the East Heaven Sword come here?”

The prince was naturally respectful.

Although he looks young, he is a master of swordsmanship who wears the Cheongseongpa uniform and can even use the sword flying technique. He is the only one in the world.

Dongcheon Sword King (洞天劍王) mural artist.

When the king, who had a bewildered expression on his face at the appearance of the elder of the Cheongseong faction, who was also considered the best swordsman of Cheongseong at the time, tried to bow down with extreme respect, the mural artist waved his hand with a warm smile.

“Are you the granddaughter of the Poison Star? You don’t need to be so formal. Anyway, you’ve been fooled.”

“What do you mean by idea… … ?”

“It wasn’t that he was shocked and broken. He was crushed without being able to resist due to his will. With a master like this, you have to be prepared to fight a thousand times to have a chance of winning. Even if you win, you’ll probably have to go through four or five near-death experiences along the way.”

“That’s… ….”

The prince couldn’t hide his embarrassment.

If you are talking about Dongcheon Sword King Mural, you are the best swordsman in Cheongseong and the best swordsman in Cheongseong who is on the verge of reaching the realm of Hwagyeong. And along with Dokseong, the head of the Tang family at the time, and Jang Moon-in of the Ami faction, he is considered one of the best swordsmen in Sacheon.

Even a master like that would have to risk his life and go through four or five near-death experiences to even have a chance of winning against an opponent like that.

As a party leader who is only a junior officer, I still can’t imagine it. It’s like saying that you can overcome a near-death experience, but if you can’t overcome it, you’ll die.

“The long-time friend asked me to go out and get some fresh air, so I went. Bindu is really opening up today. If this is the sign of a master fighting at this level, I think I might feel something just by looking at him.”

Tsk tsk, the muralist clicked his tongue, saying that the painting ended too blandly and that there were no traces left.

If there were a few more traces of the battle, it would have been possible to gather some insight and realize something. The muralist, who was muttering regretfully and looking around, suddenly rested his gaze on the supporting character’s corpse.

For a long time, he stared at the supporting actor’s body with an expression that seemed to indicate that he remembered something.

“It’s the Sword of the Unsouled. He cut off the breath with the first step of the annihilation of thoughts.”

“Yes?”

The muralist, who had been looking at the scars on the supporting actor’s chest for a long time, spoke with a blunt face and voice, unlike just a moment ago when he had been smiling warmly.

When the prince, not understanding the meaning, asked again, the muralist lowered his posture and pointed to the long scar running across the supporting actor’s chest.

“It is not a scar from a sword. It is not a simple matter of brute force to break a human’s ribs without using a sword. And it is an infinitely straight line. Judging by the sword marks, it is definitely a martial arts sword.”

“I don’t know what kind of martial arts it is because my junior’s experience is still shallow.”

“This is the martial arts of the Demonic Cult.”

The muralist added blandly.

“There are so many strange and absurd things about the magicians that I don’t even know their frequency. Even if I can tell just by looking at their traces, it’s only a few, including a few minor magicians. However, I know the martial arts sword well because it’s the basic sword of the magic cult. I’ve fought against them several times.”

The expression on the muralist’s face became quite serious.

“A master like this is accompanying someone who has mastered the martial arts of the Demonic Cult. The martial arts sword is relatively well-known among the demonic cults, so it is hard to tell if someone is using a scheme or if it was actually written by a demonic cult figure.”

“If what the Dongcheon Sword King said is true, then it is a big problem. If a master comparable to the Dongcheon Sword King is accompanying a person who has mastered the magic arts… … In the worst case scenario, wouldn’t it be possible that a giant demon from the Demonic Cult has come to the Central Plains?”

The prince’s expression also became serious.

She was simply dispatched to investigate. Even though she is a small-scale household, if it involves the Demonic Cult, it is right to keep your hands off of it and leave it to the elders of the family.

The sudden appearance of the muralist’s remarks was like a bolt from the blue.

The muralist, still with a serious expression, gave a command to the Dangryung.

“Whether someone is causing trouble or whether Madou has really appeared in the Central Plains. It is not certain yet, but it is not a matter to be taken lightly. Bindo should inform Jangmunin, so I will return to Cheongseongsan. Dokseong’s granddaughter, you must also tell Danggaju and Dokseong what Bindo said.”

The commander nodded vigorously.

“I will definitely tell you.”