Chapter 46
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 46
Chapter Title: Heading to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult (2)
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“After that beating, you’re back for more?”
“Don’t you think this time will be different?”
Despite Jinmyeong’s words, the portly old Daoist didn't lose his smile.
But unlike the smile on his lips, his eyebrows were twitching incessantly.
“This time, you will learn why we are called the Double Elders.”
The two men who approached, the Kongtong Double Elders, showed strong confidence.
“Doesn’t it hurt your pride to team up on a young junior?”
“Hmph. We’ve decided to no longer think of you as a young junior.”
Hadn’t Gokyang gotten a hole punched through his stomach because he’d thought that way and let his guard down?
“Honestly, you think you can win without teaming up, don’t you?”
“Of course.”
Although they were known as the Kongtong Double Elders, bound as one, admitting they couldn't defeat the young Jinmyeong alone was a blow to their pride.
They would likely avoid fighting Jinmyeong one-on-one, yet they would never admit he was stronger than them.
“But there’s no need for that. Not when we can kill you easily.”
“Seriously, how can men who are supposed to be renowned masters of the Righteous Faction have so little pride?”
“Hmm. You have a point.”
At Jinmyeong’s words, Gokyang grinned and stroked his thick chin.
“Don’t touch this one! We’ll kill him!”
He then shouted to the surrounding disciples of Kongtong and Mount Hua.
At his voice, the disciples who had been encircling Jinmyeong cautiously backed away.
“Go and deal with the others!”
At Gokjeon’s subsequent command, they had no choice but to give up on Jinmyeong and head elsewhere.
“There, satisfied? We sent the others away.”
“…Much obliged.”
When he’d called them cheap for ganging up on him, they had dismissed the other disciples.
“If I hadn’t called you cheap, you would have had the other disciples attack with you.”
“Ho ho. Would we have really done that?”
“You people really don’t seem like you’re from the Righteous Faction.”
“We hear that a lot.”
Gokyang continued to answer Jinmyeong’s remarks with a sly grin.
Perhaps because this was their second encounter, the Kongtong Double Elders were no longer swayed by Jinmyeong’s words.
“So, die.”
The Kongtong Double Elders immediately charged at Jinmyeong.
*Clang!*
However, the controlled swords surrounding Jinmyeong began to block the two men.
“You troublesome brat!”
“This again?”
The Kongtong Double Elders growled as they saw the controlled swords.
The memory of being thoroughly defeated by those very swords resurfaced.
The two men fiercely struck the swords away as they advanced toward Jinmyeong.
But even when knocked far away, Jinmyeong’s swords would return to block their path again.
‘As I thought, his martial arts are no ordinary demonic arts.’
Gokyang frowned as he deflected an incoming sword.
The martial arts of the Kongtong Sect were certainly brutal for a Daoist sect.
But they weren’t called the Demon-Subduing Arts for nothing.
Demonic arts were supposed to be diminished in power against them, yet the force of Jinmyeong’s swords hadn't lessened at all.
‘He seems even stronger than before…’
He was more difficult to deal with than in their last encounter.
‘Faster and stronger.’
The speed at which the swords moved had increased.
Not only that, but the power imbued in them was also greater.
His hands trembled just from continuously blocking the attacks.
‘Why doesn’t this feel difficult?’
Jinmyeong found it surprisingly easy to handle the Kongtong Double Elders attacking him from both sides.
There were two main reasons for this.
The first was that Jinmyeong himself had grown stronger.
His Heaven-Embroidering Sword Control Arts were now powerful enough to make the Mad Demon drop his saber when at full strength, even if he had been caught off guard.
Jinmyeong had become strong enough to consistently wield about eighty percent of that power.
‘Is it because I’m handling multiple swords?’
And the second reason.
It was the fact that Jinmyeong could control multiple swords at once.
Normally, one would be flustered by the chaotic attacks of the Kongtong Double Elders.
But since he was dealing with them separately using multiple swords, it didn't feel difficult.
‘Blocking is easier than I thought, too.’
Jinmyeong extended his index finger toward Gokjeon, who was rapidly approaching after striking a sword away.
“Kugh!”
To dodge the bullet of energy flying toward his forehead, Gokjeon hastily bent his back.
“Ugh.”
Watching the Heavenly Demon Finger graze past his eyes, he could guess its power.
‘Did his internal energy increase in such a short time?’
He wondered if Jinmyeong had some fortuitous encounter that suddenly increased his internal energy.
In reality, his internal energy hadn't increased dramatically; he had just become better at wielding it through combat experience.
“First, one of them.”
As Gokjeon straightened up from his backward bend, he saw a controlled sword flying toward his neck.
‘This won’t do.’
Gokjeon judged that the sword was too fast for him to handle.
“Gokjeon!”
Gokyang saw it too, but he had no time to help.
Knowing he was done for, Gokjeon still moved his body to block the attack as best he could.
*Swoosh! Clang!*
Jinmyeong’s sword, which seemed poised to pierce Gokjeon’s neck at any moment, was suddenly blocked by another sword that flew in.
“Ugh.”
Gokjeon let out a groan as he saw the sword that had suddenly appeared and saved his life.
Normally, he would have shouted, "Why did you interfere? Who are you?"
But since the interference, which ignored the Double Elders' words, had saved his life, he couldn't bring himself to be angry.
“Tsk, tsk. Why did you send the others away? If you weren’t confident, you should have followed your usual nature and had the Kongtong disciples attack together.”
The one who had blocked Jinmyeong’s sword revealed himself, mocking the Kongtong Double Elders.
Seeing him, the Double Elders couldn't bring themselves to ask why he had interfered.
“Sect Leader Mae…”
Even though the Purple Mist Sword, Mae Jinpung, who was of a lower generation, was mocking them, they couldn't get angry.
Though his seniority was lower, Mae Jinpung was the Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect and a greater master than them.
Besides, hadn't he saved Gokjeon's life by blocking Jinmyeong's attack?
“But you truly are impressive.”
The sword that had blocked Jinmyeong’s controlled sword now flew back toward its owner's hand at great speed.
“Your Sword Control seems to be something special.”
Though not perfect, Mae Jinpung could also use Sword Control.
In fact, unlike Jinmyeong, he could even perform swordsmanship with it, so one could say his was more complete.
However, his sword had failed to completely knock away Jinmyeong’s, only managing to slightly alter its trajectory.
In contrast, the Purple Mist Sword, cloaked in a violet aura, had been sent flying far away.
“We meet again.”
“Didn’t you say that just a moment ago?”
“Ho ho. Did I? In any case, this time will be different from before.”
The Purple Mist Sword pointed his blade, wreathed in a violet aura, at Jinmyeong.
“Because this time, I don’t plan on finishing it in a single move.”
Previously, the restriction he had set himself—a single move—had prevented him from killing Jinmyeong.
But without that restriction, he was confident he could kill him.
“Seniors, please step back.”
The Kongtong Double Elders frowned as their own words were thrown back at them.
“We will be the ones to kill him.”
“I’m sorry, but you’ll have to yield.”
The smile had vanished from the Purple Mist Sword’s face as he looked at the two.
“Because I don’t know when you seniors will manage to kill him.”
“…”
Mae Jinpung was openly disrespecting them.
“Are you offended?”
“…Before I kill that brat, I feel like killing you, Sect Leader Mae.”
“Ho ho. You, seniors?”
The atmosphere among the three instantly grew cold.
The Purple Mist Sword was looking down on the Kongtong Double Elders, and they were furious with him for it.
‘It seems that even though they’re bound together as the Righteous Alliance and the Nine Great Sects, they don’t get along.’
Jinmyeong thought he should escape while the Kongtong Double Elders and the Purple Mist Sword were busy checking each other.
*Whoosh!*
But before Jinmyeong could even move his feet, the Purple Mist Sword swung his blade at him, and a crescent-shaped violet aura shot toward him.
*Boom!*
Even though he quickly blocked it with a controlled sword, Jinmyeong felt a massive impact.
“I don’t recall giving you permission to leave.”
“Do I need your permission?”
“In this situation, you do. Because I am the one who decides whether to let you go or kill you.”
While speaking, the Purple Mist Sword’s gaze remained fixed on the Kongtong Double Elders.
“Please step aside.”
“…Very well.”
It was a humiliating affair.
But the Kongtong Double Elders had no choice but to nod and step back.
“However, if Sect Leader Mae is in danger, we will intervene. Or if the boy tries to escape.”
“Ho ho. Understood. Though I doubt such a thing will happen.”
The Kongtong Double Elders left themselves an opening to jump in at any time.
And the Purple Mist Sword thought it was unlikely they would need to, anyway.
Because he would kill Jinmyeong before they had the chance.
“Now then, try and block this one as well.”
The Purple Mist Sword’s voice, filled with killing intent, pierced Jinmyeong’s ears.
*Clang!*
Jinmyeong blocked the attack from the Purple Mist Sword, which shot forth at an incredible speed.
‘Is he a little more serious than before?’
There’s a saying that one should always hide thirty percent of their strength.
It was a precaution for the unexpected, and most martial artists didn’t use their full power unless their life was on the line.
‘That’s why you couldn’t kill me when you had the chance.’
Jinmyeong considered himself a great beneficiary of that principle.
He had been able to defeat the Kongtong Double Elders and escape from the Purple Mist Sword’s attack because they had been holding back.
‘That’s why they all feel so wronged when the protagonist kills them.’
It wasn’t just that they underestimated the protagonist; they were so used to hiding thirty percent of their strength that they failed to use their full power when they needed to, and died as a result.
“You’re blocking better than I expected.”
“Blocking isn’t difficult.”
Perhaps because he had experienced it once before?
Jinmyeong was not only blocking the Purple Mist Sword’s attacks but even managing to dodge them.
“Hmm.”
The Purple Mist Sword’s face hardened as he saw Jinmyeong evade his attack.
The sword of Mount Hua, based on the Six Harmonies, was meant to seal off all possible directions of an opponent’s movement.
Yet Jinmyeong, who not long ago couldn't even dodge and was desperate just to block, was now doing so.
‘I can’t dodge after seeing the attack.’
Jinmyeong, for his part, was moving on a razor’s edge.
If he tried to dodge after seeing the Purple Mist Sword’s attack, his movements would be too slow. He had no choice but to anticipate and move beforehand.
He predicted the attacks by watching the movement of the Purple Mist Sword’s feet and hands, and the direction of his gaze, and dodged accordingly.
“Tsk! How long do we have to wait?”
Gokyang of the Kongtong Double Elders spat out as he watched the Purple Mist Sword fail to kill Jinmyeong.
His face was filled with irritation and impatience.
“Are we just going to stand here and watch?”
“Of course not.”
Gokyang grinned at Gokjeon’s question.
He immediately drew his sword and charged toward Jinmyeong’s back.
At that, Gokjeon nodded and threw himself forward as well.
“Kugh!”
Feeling the killing intent from behind him, Jinmyeong moved his controlled swords.
*Boom!*
Even though he blocked the attack with his swords, he still felt the impact.
“Keuk!”
He coughed up a mouthful of blood.
Gokyang had tied up all of Jinmyeong’s controlled swords, and Gokjeon had landed a punch on his back.
A major factor was that he couldn't use his full power due to the Purple Mist Sword attacking from the front.
“Hmm.”
The Purple Mist Sword frowned as the two suddenly intervened.
He felt ashamed that three of them were ganging up on a single Jinmyeong.
“Sect Leader Mae, how long are you going to take?”
But the Kongtong Double Elders seemed to feel no shame at all.
On the contrary, he urged him to kill Jinmyeong quickly.
“If you’re willing to yield, we’ll gladly take this boy’s head.”
Seeing the Purple Mist Sword not moving despite his urging, Gokyang grinned and swung his sword at Jinmyeong.