Chapter 6
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: Demon Blade
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The Squad Leader felt like he was losing his mind.
How could she rip out a divine object that had been sealed to suppress its energy? It was tantamount to handing herself over to the Murim Alliance's pursuit team, whom they had barely shaken off.
And above all...
"Y-You idiot!! Don't you value your life?!"
Did she not know what happened when an unqualified person wielded a Demon Blade or Ghost Sword?
The wielder would be eroded by the sword's power, their blood and qi torn apart throughout their body, their soul stained by its demonic nature, turning them into the weapon's puppet.
"Hm? It's just a sword, no matter how you look at it—what's the big deal?"
No sooner had the words left her mouth than a bewitching light erupted from the blade, swallowing So-hyang whole.
"Damn it all—why drag out a divine object you can't even use...!"
Blood qi dwelled in her pupils, emitting a crimson glow.
Death qi accumulated through countless slaughters dyed her sclera black.
Its name was elegantly engraved on the blade in flowing script.
Blood Curse.
It compelled its wielder to eternal slaughter, craving blood—a curse of blood, true to its name.
Shed blood.
Kill.
Offer blood.
The blade's demands were simple.
And intense.
A horrific demonic nature that even experts in the realm could not shake off, let alone ordinary criminals.
Kiiieeeeeee—!
Ghostly wails. Death throes. A sword cry like a horrific scream echoed through the air.
So-hyang felt the energy crawling from her hand gripping the Blood Curse, up her arm, through her throat, and into her head.
"Indeed, is this why you spoke of life and death?"
"...Huh?"
Of course, So-hyang's mind and soul remained unshaken even under the Blood Curse's erosion.
Her willpower bordered on madness from the start, controlling her autonomic nervous system through sheer will.
She was a madwoman who subdued instinct with reason and dominated the unconscious with consciousness.
It was hard for her to be swayed by impulses whispered by a mere lump of metal.
"Well, I'll be. No lightsaber here. The weapon's trying to wield the person—quite the spectacle today."
Kiiieee...?
A possibility suddenly flashed through her mind, and So-hyang put it into action immediately.
She bent her middle finger, pressed her thumb atop it, gathered strength... and flicked.
"Thwack!"
That's right. So-hyang had flicked the blade like snapping someone's forehead.
Kaaaaang—!
The clear ring from the sword reverberated loud enough to echo across the entire mountain.
This was partly because So-hyang had infused it with enough force to shatter boulders.
But more so because she struck it with will, using the same method that had previously awakened its spirit.
Open Upper Dantian channeling will.
A primal form of divine power.
The finger snap, laden with will to suppress the blood qi and the old man's intent—
"Kugh?!"
—became a resonance that suppressed all evil and demons, engulfing the area.
-----
Kaaaaang—!
Something had been off from the start.
Hiding her presence from his subordinate, who specialized in detection and scouting arts.
Displaying overwhelming prowess with a body that emitted no internal energy.
Not only keeping her mind intact against the divine object's erosion, but suppressing the Demon Blade's demonic nature and ringing the sword cry of Evil-Breaking Pure Sound that shook his dantian.
"Ha, haha, hahaha!"
Once he realized it, he began to see.
No detectable internal energy meant Return to Innocence.
Her flawless beauty, which made one suspect soul possession, was Bone Transformation.
Her appearance, young to the point of childishness, was the result of Rejuvenation...
"You're a righteous sect's old monster...!"
An old man's speech patterns. Ghostly swordsmanship.
No doubt about it.
"...Um, I think you've got the wrong idea."
"Don't bullshit me! If you're gonna pretend to be young, at least fake the speech patterns before I buy it!"
"No, it's just the way I talk..."
"You foul old hag! You think a youthful facade hides your decrepitude?!"
"...Isn't that a bit much?"
In truth, given her mental age well over a hundred, calling her an old monster wasn't entirely wrong...
"It just feels weird..."
"Your skin may be taut, but your bones are rotten—you'd topple in a light breeze!"
"My bones are sturdy."
Once the dam broke, the Squad Leader unleashed a torrent of abuse, as if he had a rag in his mouth.
"Fix that wrinkled mind of yours first—changing your looks won't help if you don't!"
"Hmm, is it that obvious...?"
But in that moment, his heartbeat quickened, his body subtly tensed, and his mouth went dry.
"You're the living fossil here!"
Though he sensed the overwhelming gap in power, the Squad Leader hadn't given up on victory.
His bloodshot eyes sought the final opening even as he kept talking.
But So-hyang saw through it.
"Don't."
"Ha! Truth hurts, does it? Reality won't—"
"What use is an ambush that's already read?"
"...!"
He had tried to unsettle her heart for an opening and strike the final blow, but even that last struggle...
"...was in the old monster's palm all along...!"
Crunch.
"Last chance. Show me your best strike."
The Squad Leader's voice, caught in frenzy and shouting, calmed, his eyes sinking deep.
"Fine. You see me as your plaything."
Conversely, his body heated up.
Blood surged backward, muscles convulsed unconsciously.
His heartbeat pounded in his ears, vision reddening as bloody tears burst forth.
Not content with shattering his innate true qi, he deliberately entered qi deviation.
Rampaging internal energy. Tearing blood and qi.
"Indeed, prepared to die."
No reply.
He lowered his stance, relaxing his entire body.
A thrust aimed at the heart.
No point in deception against those ghostly pale eyes—he didn't even hide his stance, revealing his intent clearly.
Would she dodge like a coward? Or meet it head-on?
"Ahaha, how romantic."
So-hyang loved romance.
Otherwise, how could she cling to the sword in an old man's world of bullets and bombs?
A strike with full power, even gambling her life!
Her lips curved faintly; like the Squad Leader, she lowered her stance and relaxed.
"I'll meet you in kind, with full sincerity."
Identical stances, as if gazing into a mirror.
A moment of silence, and—
As if by prior agreement, they launched like arrows from drawn bows.
A sword imbued with blazing crimson sword qi.
A blade emitting bewitching light.
Sword qi could cleave ordinary weapons like tofu.
But divine weapons were inherently indestructible—
Victory hinged purely on the swordsman's skill.
The two blade tips met without a fraction's deviation, deciding superiority... and
"...Cough."
The blade split the sword tip precisely in two, pierced through, sliced diagonally up the arm, and impaled the heart.
-----
A mother lifts heavy debris to save her family in a fire.
A climber throws off a house-sized boulder crushing him.
Superhuman strength manifested in extreme situations.
Even modern medicine can't explain the principle—latent power unleashed by human will.
So-hyang drew it forth.
She also released the Blood Curse she had suppressed with her finger snap.
If merely killing him was the goal, it was overkill; as an answer to his valiant spirit, it was fitting.
But with her muscles exerting to their limit and blood qi surging through her limbs, the power exceeded So-hyang's expectations.
"Oops, a bit much."
The Squad Leader's chest wasn't merely stabbed—it gaped like a shell crater.
"Ku, k..."
His heart and lungs were obliterated whole; he perished without a final word.
"Still, it was fun after so long."
So-hyang smiled brightly and closed his eyes.
Three uninvited guests.
She killed them because they sought her life, and aside from a hole in the cabin wall, there was no damage.
The only real loss was the stockpile of food they'd devoured...
"Well, call it feeding the chicks..."
The biggest issue was that they were fugitives who stole this "divine object" blade.
It seemed valuable enough to draw pursuers.
"Alliance... was it?"
Based on the black-clad men's words, the Alliance's trackers would surely find traces and reach her cabin.
"Tch, what a hassle."
So-hyang pondered.
Move elsewhere and continue hiding?
Or, with some martial prowess now, descend the mountain as is?
"Debut in the jianghu, was it?"
Having swung her sword properly after ages, her blood was up, and peaceful daily life never suited So-hyang's nature anyway.
She was leaning toward descending outright when...
She heard people rapidly approaching her.
Sounds that had already begun reaching her ears mid-fight with the Squad Leader.
"Probably the Murim Alliance pursuit team..."
By the body's memories, the government and martial world didn't interfere—officials stayed out of jianghu affairs, and vice versa.
It sounded absurd by So-hyang's common sense, but so did living a second life or swords glowing.
Dialogue was worth attempting.
With faint anticipation, So-hyang awaited them.
And soon after, that faint anticipation crashed.
"You fucking bastard! Finally found you!"
A beggar bursting through the brush spewed curses on sight.
Coarse facial lines, sturdy build—a middle-aged man whose natural physique wasn't bad.
But his matted, grimy hair reeking of sewage, oily face, and rags stinking of filth ruined it all.
A textbook Beggar Clan beggar.
But for So-hyang, pegging such a beggar as a Murim Alliance tracker wasn't easy.
The beggar, chasing thieves, was equally flustered to find a girl who looked barely fifteen standing there.
"Huh? Who the—"
But upon seeing the Blood Curse in So-hyang's hand, his face paled, and he spat another curse.
"—Fucking hell."
As So-hyang opened her mouth to reply, two figures popped out behind the beggar.
"Wind Path Beggar! Senior! How many times have I told you not to charge ahead the moment you spot a lead—stay in formation!"
A girl in her late teens, clad in pitch-black robes with bizarrely wide sleeves.
Sharp, cat-like eyes and a furrowed brow made her look prickly, but she was a beauty where even that added charm.
"Haha, Tang girl. Don't be so harsh. Chasing thieves means speeding up sometimes, right?"
The tall youth following softly took her hand and soothed her.
"Eh, but Gaga..."
A handsome man with neatly tied topknot and hero's turban, overall refined and gentle.
The girl called Tang girl melted her sharp expression instantly, gazing at him with honey-dripping eyes.
It was easy to guess their relationship.
"More importantly, doesn't something seem off here?"
Seeing the beggar sweating coldly while aiming his staff at the girl, the youth's blue eyes flashed coldly.
"How the hell did the Blood Chase Squad fuck up managing a demon weapon...?"
"Wind Path Beggar senior. What's the situation?"
The youth closed the distance in one bound, standing beside Wind Path Beggar to ask his cause of dismay.
"Whoa, you startled me!"
Swift movement without waste, thus no presence leaked.
Yet perfectly balanced, ready to strike at any moment.
To So-hyang's eyes, the youth outclassed even the Squad Leader.
"See that blade in her hand? The Blood Chase Squad stole a demon weapon. And she's already possessed."
"Any way to revert it...?"
"You kidding? Look at her eyes. No bulging veins—just cleanly dyed. Fully consumed, no rejection. She's as good as a corpse."
Coincidentally, having met his final attack seriously, So-hyang had released the Blood Curse's suppressed energy; her sclera was black again, pupils glowing crimson.
She could maintain her mind without resisting the energy, so no rejection occurred.
Visually, she looked the part of a demon fully.
"...Damn."
The briefed youth drew his sword with a resigned expression, aiming at So-hyang.
By now, So-hyang realized the misunderstanding but found the unfolding situation amusing enough not to clarify.
Truth be told, these people were like a drought-ending rain to her boring routine, after the black-clad attackers; she held no ill will.
Honestly, she was enjoying it a bit.
Even feeling a touch regretful.
Like an itch half-scratched, leaving her body heated instead.
"Draw your sword qi! She's holding a divine weapon—slight mistake and she'll cleave you sword and all!"
Of course, they'd try to kill her seriously, but wasn't that what made it fun?
Her lips curved softly in anticipation—
Her ethereal beauty and ominous gaze wove a bewitching smile that entranced onlookers.
"...Tch, Namgung, you won't fall for that, right?"
"Oh my, what a face..."
"Haha, I have you, Tang girl. No worries there."
"...?"
Though unintended by So-hyang, to them it confirmed the girl before them was utterly consumed by the Demon Blade.
"Sorry. If we'd arrived sooner, young lady, you wouldn't have met this horrific fate."
The youth steadied his breath; radiance poured from his sword.
Azure sword qi like an autumn sky.
Not forced by shattering true qi like the Squad Leader's, but a true peak realm master.
"At least I'll send you painlessly. Blame me."
An unwavering straight line flew at So-hyang.