Chapter 49
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Great Elder Sword Demon (2)
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“You want that grandson of yours to come to his senses, don't you?”
“...”
The Sword Demon's only grandson.
The Sword Demon's greatest weakness.
A treasure left behind by his son and daughter-in-law, whom he could never see again.
“I can do it for you.”
“...Do what?”
“Your grandson is a headache, isn't he? I'm saying I can solve that problem for you.”
“And how would you do that, Young Master?”
The Sword Demon, who had been about to leave, sat back down in front of Jinmyeong.
But he no longer looked like the benevolent grandfather from a moment ago.
He was glaring at Jinmyeong, his gaze as sharp as a well-honed blade.
“I came to my senses, didn't I?”
“Do you think you and that boy are the same?”
“We're different. But it's not like your grandson lacks talent, is it?”
In fact, his overflowing talent was the problem.
He was the grandson of the Sword Demon, the Great Elder who held absolute power in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, and he was talented on top of that.
It was taken for granted that he would be the next Great Elder, so he had been selfish since childhood.
“But since he never trained properly and only drowned himself in alcohol, he eventually fell behind.”
The Sword Demon's grandson wasn't the only one with talent.
The Heavenly Demon's disciples, as well as the successors of the other Elders, could all be said to possess heaven-sent talent.
The moment he neglected his training, they caught up to him.
“Once he fell behind, he should have tried harder, but his pride was wounded, so he couldn't even do that and instead fell deeper into drink, right?”
He doesn't train properly, just drinks and takes out his frustrations on others.
Because he was a treasure left by his late son, the Sword Demon couldn't bring himself to raise his grandson strictly.
“And you, Great Elder, can't bring yourself to be stern with him.”
Just looking at the boy's face would soften his heart, and he would end up giving his grandson whatever he wanted.
“That's why I'm offering to do it for you. Make your grandson come to his senses.”
“...I don't need it.”
Jinmyeong could tell that, contrary to his words, the Sword Demon was very interested in this conversation.
‘That was good information.’
The story about the Sword Demon's grandson was something he had heard from Yang Jeon a while ago.
Thanks to that information, he could steer the conversation in his favor.
“You know how I used to be, don't you, Great Elder?”
“Hmm.”
How could he not know?
The stories about the Cult Leader's youngest disciple.
Whenever he got angry looking at his grandson, he would think of Jinmyeong and hold his temper.
After all, he thought his grandson was at least better than Jinmyeong had been.
“If things continue like this, your grandson will probably lose his life. You won't live forever, Great Elder.”
The reason he could act so arrogantly now was because of the Sword Demon, the Great Elder.
But if that shield named Sword Demon were to disappear, those who held grudges against him would kill him.
“...If he is weak, he should die.”
“Just be honest with me. If you keep this up, we can't continue this conversation.”
Unlike before, this time it was Jinmyeong who stood up.
“Or do you no longer wish to continue this conversation, Great Elder?”
“...Do you think my grandson can change, just like you did, Young Master?”
“There's no reason he can't.”
The Sword Demon's grandson wasn't without talent, nor did he have a physical problem like Jinmyeong.
The only problem was his rotten attitude, and Jinmyeong believed he could definitely fix that.
‘A good beating will straighten him out.’
The Sword Demon was too soft on his grandson to do it, but Jinmyeong wasn't.
“Can you do it, Young Master? Everyone else has given up.”
The "everyone else" the Sword Demon referred to were the Heavenly Demon's other disciples.
They, too, had approached his grandson in an attempt to win over the Sword Demon.
It was a choice they made because they couldn't meet with the Great Elder like Jinmyeong could.
“It's possible if you give me permission, Great Elder.”
The difference, however, was that they couldn't lay a hand on the Great Elder's grandson.
Since they couldn't meet the Great Elder, they couldn't get his permission.
But Jinmyeong was asking the Great Elder for permission directly.
“Then, may I see your skills for myself?”
After a moment of thought, the Sword Demon asked Jinmyeong.
“I need to confirm whether you truly have the potential to become the Young Cult Leader. If you fail, it would put me in a difficult position, would it not?”
“Even if I fail, it's not like you're going to resign from your position as Great Elder.”
Other Elders might lose some favor, but that didn't apply to the Sword Demon.
The gap in martial prowess between the Sword Demon and the other Elders was that significant.
“Just say you're curious if I have the skills to be entrusted with your grandson.”
“...Let's just say that's it.”
Seemingly no longer intending to hide his true intentions, the Sword Demon nodded in agreement.
“Will you do it?”
“Surely you're not going to say something ridiculous like I have to defeat you, right?”
“Of course not. I simply wish to see your capabilities for myself.”
Jinmyeong nodded, and the two immediately headed to the Vice Cult Leader.
“This should be interesting.”
Intrigued, the Mad Demon led the two to a private training ground.
“Well then, let us begin.”
The Sword Demon gave Jinmyeong a benevolent smile.
Jinmyeong felt that smile was incredibly fake.
The Sword Demon looked like he was full of thoughts of tormenting Jinmyeong.
Unlike his benevolent smile, his eyes were filled with something akin to anticipation.
“Hoo.”
Facing the Sword Demon, Jinmyeong drew his sword.
“Hoh, are those the controlled swords that earned you the title New Demonic Sword Controller?”
The Sword Demon looked intrigued as he gazed at the five swords floating around Jinmyeong.
“It's still too lacking to be called perfect Sword Control Arts, though.”
“Still, is it not impressive? Five swords.”
Despite the claim that it wasn't perfect, the Sword Demon didn't look down on Jinmyeong.
On the contrary, his expression was quite serious.
“Try attacking me.”
He wasn't disrespecting Jinmyeong.
He simply wanted to experience his martial arts.
Knowing this, Jinmyeong didn't hesitate and sent his swords flying toward the Sword Demon.
*Fwoosh!*
Five controlled swords, burning with white flames, shot toward the Sword Demon, cutting through the air.
The Sword Demon stomped his foot as he watched the swords fly toward him.
*Swoosh!*
Seeing the Sword Demon move sideways as if gliding, Jinmyeong changed the direction of his swords.
“Good!”
The Sword Demon exclaimed in admiration as he watched the swords change direction and come at him, then swung his own sword.
*Clang-clang-clang!*
He had only swung once.
But all five of Jinmyeong's swords were instantly knocked back.
‘Incredible speed.’
He hadn't seen many types of swift sword techniques, but he thought this was probably the fastest he had ever witnessed.
He could barely even see the man's hand move.
“Hm.”
A smile bloomed on the Sword Demon's lips after he blocked Jinmyeong's swords.
“Impressive.”
The Sword Demon was genuinely impressed.
Jinmyeong's sword control was monotonous.
It was just swords flying around and shooting forward quickly, so it wasn't hard to dodge if one watched the blades carefully.
However, the power of the attack surpassed the limits of what a human could produce.
That's why, despite the simplicity of the attack, anyone less than a supreme master wouldn't even be able to react before their throat was pierced.
“But as you said, Young Master, it is still lacking to be called Sword Ki Control.”
Since he couldn't perform sword techniques with his controlled swords, it couldn't yet be called true Sword Ki Control.
*Fwoosh!*
The movement of the sword attacking the Sword Demon changed.
“Sword Ki Control?”
It was no longer a simple projectile attack.
One of Jinmyeong's controlled swords was now performing a sword technique.
The Violet Mist Sword Arts.
A martial art said to be learnable only by the Sect Leader of Mount Hua.
Of course, since Jinmyeong hadn't learned the Violet Mist Divine Arts, there was no purple aura, but a fierce and sharp sword style resembling the terrain of Mount Hua was unfolding.
“Haha. I'm surprised.”
The Sword Demon continuously clashed his sword with Jinmyeong's controlled blade.
“The proficiency of your Violet Mist Sword Arts is higher than I expected.”
“I suppose it's because I've seen it quite a lot.”
Hadn't he personally experienced the Violet Mist Sword Arts by constantly clashing with the Violet Mist Divine Sword in the Central Plains?
“Excellent!”
The Sword Demon shouted loudly as he faced Jinmyeong's Violet Mist Sword Arts.
Now seemingly excited, the smile never left the Sword Demon's lips as he swung his sword.
*Shweek!*
Although he could only perform what could be called Sword Ki Control Arts with a single blade, that didn't mean he couldn't handle the other swords.
Jinmyeong moved the remaining swords to aim for the Sword Demon's back.
“Hah!”
At that moment, the Sword Demon spun.
*Clang-clang-clang!*
The sound of swords being struck away pierced Jinmyeong's ears.
‘What just happened?’
Once again, he had failed to see the Sword Demon's movements.
The four swords that had been aiming for the Sword Demon's back were now knocked far away, and the Sword Demon was closing in on Jinmyeong at high speed.
“Ugh!”
As the Sword Demon thrusted, a pure white flash shot toward Jinmyeong.
Jinmyeong could see a whitish blur.
And he knew its target was his neck.
‘Can I do it?’
He knew the target, but its speed was so great he didn't know if he could block it.
“Stop!”
The sword, which looked as if it would pierce Jinmyeong's neck at any moment, came to an abrupt halt with that shout.
“If you'd stopped a moment later, my neck would have been pierced.”
“Haha. Surely not. I was trying to stop it just right.”
“Somehow, I feel like you wouldn't have stopped if the Vice Cult Leader hadn't shouted.”
At Jinmyeong's words, the Sword Demon simply chuckled and sheathed his sword.
‘I think he was serious.’
He had said it as a joke, but seeing the lack of a reply, he thought he might have really died if not for the Mad Demon.
“How was it?”
“It wasn't easy to react. You're too fast.”
“Haha.”
The Sword Demon nodded with a benevolent smile.
“It was even harder than facing the Violet Mist Divine Sword.”
“That is because you are not yet accustomed to swift sword techniques, Young Master.”
Besides, the Sword Demon was one of the Ten Kings.
No matter how highly Maejinpung, the Violet Mist Divine Sword, was rated as a master comparable to the Ten Kings, he couldn't truly be on the same level as the Sword Demon.
‘Would it be possible if my physical abilities improve?’
His ability to handle internal energy could already be said to have reached a divine level.
But his body was still the same.
It had only improved slightly, just enough to be able to use lightness techniques.
“So you can perform Sword Ki Control now?”
As the situation settled, the Mad Demon approached and asked.
Hadn't he been unable to perform Sword Ki Control until now?
“Only with one sword, for now.”
He could finally perform something worthy of being called Sword Ki Control Arts.
‘Eventually, I'll need to be able to perform different sword techniques with each of these swords.’
The controlled swords performing different techniques, embroidering the sky.
That was the ultimate goal of the Heaven-Embroidering Sword Control Arts.
Jinmyeong felt as if he had just stepped onto the starting line.
“How was he?”
“He is certainly outstanding. I can see why you chose the youngest Young Master, Vice Cult Leader.”
The Sword Demon seemed satisfied with Jinmyeong's martial prowess, a smile never leaving his lips.
“I never thought I would have to get even a little serious.”
When facing the sword performing the Violet Mist Sword Arts, he had swung his sword in earnest upon seeing the blades aiming for his back.
With that slight bit of seriousness, he had blocked all the attacks and even nearly pierced Jinmyeong's neck.
“If that boy truly changes, I will lend you my strength, Young Master.”
“Good. To borrow your strength, Great Elder, I'll have to start his re-education quickly.”
After all, the longer his grandson's transformation took, the longer it would be before the Sword Demon lent him his power.
“Indeed. I will have a word with my grandson.”
“When will you send him?”
“Today. As soon as I return, I will send the boy to your estate.”
He seemed excited by the prospect of fixing his grandson's attitude.
“That boy must change, just as you say.”
On the other hand, it seemed he didn't completely trust Jinmyeong's words either.
He was entrusting his grandson to Jinmyeong with the thought that he had nothing to lose.
If he came to his senses, great. If not, nothing would change.
“Let's give it a try. I will make your grandson worthy of becoming the next Great Elder.”
“I will look forward to it.”
Having finished his conversation with Jinmyeong, the Sword Demon paid his respects to the Mad Demon and left.
“You seem quite confident.”
“It's not like that.”
“What you want most isn't the Great Elder's support, is it?”
“...”
It was true that he wanted the Great Elder's support.
But as the Mad Demon said, it wasn't his top priority.
Rather, Jinmyeong's top priority was Gu Jahong, the grandson of the Sword Demon.
Even if he won over the Sword Demon, how long would that last?
‘If I can raise that kid to be the next Great Elder...’
A next Great Elder who is loyal to Jinmyeong, at that.
“Then, I will take my leave as well. Thank you very much for today.”
Having achieved his goal with the Mad Demon's help, Jinmyeong bowed deeply to him and headed for his residence.