Chapter 103: The Real One (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 103: The Real One (1)
“If I can safely extract Lee Jeong-gyeom from the influence of the Brilliant Star, what will you give me in return?”
‘!?’
At my question, Baek Hyang-muk frowned and stared at me. It seemed my words hadn't quite registered with him yet. After a long, silent gaze, he finally spoke.
“...Can you truly rid that child of the Brilliant Star?”
I nodded in response. If he was indeed possessed by the Baek (Spirit Fragment) of the Calamity Slaughter Sword, I could use the power of Heavenly Authority, which controls Yeom (Mental Focus), to return him to normal. I would simply need to absorb the spirit fragment that had latched onto him.
“The others told me the same thing,” Baek Hyang-muk said.
“I pride myself on my method being far safer than theirs.”
At the very least, it would be better than using Illusion Demon Poison. That poison wouldn't free him from the Brilliant Star; it would merely turn him into a puppet.
Baek Hyang-muk looked at me, seemingly lost in thought. Eventually, he opened his mouth.
“Given the many miraculous things you, the Successor of the Sword Immortal, have shown me thus far, I believe your words are not empty boasts.”
“Then what is your answer?”
“If you can truly rid that child of the Brilliant Star, I will grant you whatever you desire, provided it does not stray from the path of righteousness.”
“That’s a bit vague, don’t you think?”
After all, 'righteousness' is ultimately defined by the person in power. At my remark, Baek Hyang-muk’s eyebrows shot up. Judging by his expression...
—Is this man really the Successor of the Sword Immortal? That’s definitely what he’s thinking, the Lesser Conversation Sword chuckled.
It seemed about right. Even if I was the Successor of the Sword Immortal, I hadn't officially entered the Taoist priesthood. I had every right to live as I pleased.
After a moment of deliberation, Baek Hyang-muk spoke again.
“Fine. As long as it isn't something like the indiscriminate slaughter of the Orthodox Faction, I will do as you wish.”
He was taking a jab at the fact that I had killed Mo Yong-su, the Master of the Azure Dragon Hall, and the other young experts. It seemed that incident still weighed heavily on his mind.
I poked right back at him.
“I only did that to counter their threats. However, the number of people your disciple has slaughtered must be beyond counting by now.”
Baek Hyang-muk fell silent. It was almost funny how a man with so many weaknesses of his own tried to win an argument against me. In the end, he had no choice but to promise to grant whatever I desired.
“A wise choice.”
“...As a master, I can endure anything if it means my disciple can be cured.”
I’m not exactly a doctor, so the concept of 'curing' is... Wait.
In that instant, something flashed through my mind. It was the Divine Healer of Ten Thousand Ailments. I had solved most of the other mysteries, but I still couldn't figure out why the Divine Healer possessed the sect token of the Killing Fiend Jue Xin.
Had the Killing Fiend ever been injured or in a situation where he needed a healer? Neither the original owner of the Calamity Slaughter Sword nor Lee Jeong-gyeom seemed to have any connection to him.
“What is the matter?” Baek Hyang-muk asked, noticing my silent scowl.
I stared at him blankly as I recalled his earlier words.
[The personality consumed by the Brilliant Star was still alive, gathering strength and biding its time.]
A question bloomed in my mind. Let’s assume, as he said, that everything was the work of the personality possessed by the Brilliant Star. Baek Hyang-muk claimed that Lee Jeong-gyeom couldn't remember the times when his personality shifted.
If it were only for brief moments, that might be plausible. But during those gaps, he had committed countless slaughters and even the atrocity of murdering his other master. Could he really have felt not even a shred of suspicion regarding those blank spaces in his memory?
I turned to Baek Hyang-muk.
“Has Lee Jeong-gyeom ever expressed any doubts or asked questions about himself?”
“What do you mean by that?”
Baek Hyang-muk looked puzzled at first, but his face soon stiffened. He seemed to have grasped the intent behind my question.
“The Divine Healer of Ten Thousand Ailments I met previously possessed the sect token of the Killing Fiend Jue Xin. I didn't think much of it at the time, but don't you find it strange?”
Baek Hyang-muk’s eyes trembled. Ignoring his reaction, I pressed on.
“What if Lee Jeong-gyeom sought out the Divine Healer himself? What if he asked for a way to neutralize the Dual Divine Art or took some other measure?”
Baek Hyang-muk’s voice shook as he spoke. “Are you saying... that the boy has been under the constant control of the personality possessed by the Brilliant Star?”
*
At the same time.
A masked man was sprinting through the forest with someone slung over his shoulder. Moving at an incredible speed, he eventually came to a halt in a secluded area.
The masked man scanned the surroundings with his Qi Sense. Once certain they were alone, he lowered the person from his shoulder. It was none other than Lee Jeong-gyeom, the Master of the Azure Dragon Hall and disciple of the First Sword of Wuhan, Baek Hyang-muk.
The masked man pulled something from his robes. They were long needles coated in a viscous liquid.
‘Shall we begin?’
Propping Lee Jeong-gyeom upright, the masked man raised a needle, intending to pierce a pressure point on his head.
It was at that exact moment.
Grab!
Someone seized the masked man’s wrist. It was Lee Jeong-gyeom himself. The masked man’s eyes narrowed.
“You... How did you break the seal on your pressure points?”
Creeeak!
Instead of answering, Lee Jeong-gyeom silently began to twist the man's wrist.
“Insolent!”
The masked man threw a palm strike toward Lee's back. Lee Jeong-gyeom, who had been trying to break the wrist, pushed off the ground with his palm and leaped nearly a chang into the air. Mid-air, he spun his body and launched a kick at the masked man’s head.
Thud!
However, the masked man easily blocked the kick and launched a counterattack. He unleashed a dazzling array of palm techniques, creating dozens of afterimages. Lee Jeong-gyeom used his footwork to retreat and create distance.
‘Look at this fellow. He possesses this much martial prowess even without a sword?’
Through his Qi Sense, the masked man could tell that Lee Jeong-gyeom’s power had reached the Supreme Peak Realm, but it wasn't something he couldn't suppress. Yet, the boy had blocked and evaded every single one of his moves.
‘Then how about this?’
The masked man’s figure blurred as he closed the distance instantly. His palm strike lunged toward Lee Jeong-gyeom’s face with the speed of a lightning bolt. He was certain it was a blow that couldn't be dodged.
Yet, just before the strike landed, Lee Jeong-gyeom tilted his head back slightly, narrowly avoiding it.
‘This brat?’
It was as if he had known exactly where the attack would land. The moment the masked man saw that cold, piercing gaze fixed on him, he felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine.
Driven by an unknown sense of unease, the masked man used his footwork to back away.
‘Could he possibly...’
Just as the doubt began to take root, Lee Jeong-gyeom’s figure lunged toward him.
*
I nodded at Baek Hyang-muk, who had reached the same conclusion. The shock seemed to hit him hard; he even stumbled slightly. I spoke as if to offer some small comfort.
“It’s not a certainty.”
“What do you mean?”
“We can't be sure that the sect token the Divine Healer had was actually obtained from Lee Jeong-gyeom.”
The only one who knew the truth was the Divine Healer himself. Depending on when he acquired the token, it would determine whether it belonged to the first or second generation of Jue Xin. However, there wasn't really a need to confirm this.
“And even if he has been possessed by that personality this whole time, it doesn't change anything. Once the Brilliant Star is removed, he’ll return to his original self.”
Baek Hyang-muk, who had been frozen in shock, finally spoke. “Is that truly possible?”
“If the Brilliant Star is removed.”
As long as I absorbed the Baek (Spirit Fragment), he would return to normal. My only concern was that his mind might be fractured after being invaded by the fragment for so long. That was something we’d only know once we saw the situation unfold.
Baek Hyang-muk looked at me, his voice filled with resolve. “I will trust you.”
I’ll be very disappointed if you don't live up to that trust.
Suddenly, Baek Hyang-muk grimaced. “Ah!”
“What is it?”
“We must hurry. Those who think I am dead might change their plans and target Jeong-gyeom sooner than expected.”
“I see.”
His words made sense. I reached into my Bottomless Pouch once more. What I pulled out was the Namcheon Iron Sword. Baek Hyang-muk’s eyes widened, looking as amazed as ever.
Since I was heading back to the Martial Alliance, I had to return in my capacity as the Lesser Sword Immortal.
‘Namcheon.’
—Understood.
The Namcheon Iron Sword floated up, presenting its flat side so I could perform the Sword Flight Art. I stepped onto the blade and turned to Baek Hyang-muk.
“I’ll go ahead since we’re in a hurry.”
“I understand.”
As soon as he answered, I took off on the Namcheon Iron Sword. It was much faster than traveling by Lightness Skill. A peerless master like Baek Hyang-muk would be able to catch up soon enough, even if he couldn't fly.
Whoosh!
I streaked through the night sky at an incredible speed. In less than fifteen minutes, the fortress of the Martial Alliance and the surrounding villages appeared as tiny dots in the distance. It was the natural result of flying in a straight line, ignoring the mountain ranges.
I thought I would arrive in no time, but I was forced to stop abruptly.
‘Namcheon. Stop.’
—Why?
The Namcheon Iron Sword halted at my command. I looked down. A chillingly sharp aura was openly projecting murderous intent toward me. Looking down, I saw a small human figure.
‘He noticed me.’
The small figure below had deliberately revealed his presence, as if to let me know he was watching, even though I was flying at a considerable altitude. Under normal circumstances, I might have ignored it, but this aura was strong enough that it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say he had broken through the Wall of superhumans.
I couldn't just pass by when someone that powerful was projecting such hostility.
‘I’m going down.’
—Understood.
Riding the Namcheon Iron Sword, I descended toward the figure. Once I was close enough, I jumped off. The figure was sitting on a rock with his arms crossed. As the moonlight emerged from behind the clouds, his face was revealed.
“Lee Jeong-gyeom.”
It was indeed him. Though I didn't show it outwardly, I was inwardly stunned. A powerful aura radiated from him—so intense I wondered how he had managed to hide it until now. It was a stark contrast to his usual lethargic and indifferent demeanor. He was sharp and incredibly keen.
I spoke to him.
“You’ve done a fine job of hiding yourself.”
Lee Jeong-gyeom snorted. He looked like a completely different person from the one I knew. Putting everything else aside, it was clear that at this moment, the personality possessed by the Baek of the Calamity Slaughter Sword was in control.
Lee Jeong-gyeom said to me, “I’m truly grateful that you stepped outside the fortress to avoid prying eyes.”
“You sound like you’ve been waiting for me.”
“I have. You wouldn't understand the feeling of having to leave you be all this time.”
“Leave me be?”
At my words, he smirked and said something cryptic.
“The time is ripe, and your usefulness has run its course. Now, I shall kill you.”
Flash!
The moment he finished speaking, his figure blurred, and he appeared before me in an instant. He thrust his fingers in a sword-hand gesture toward the space between my eyebrows with terrifying speed. It felt as though the very air was being torn apart, poised to pierce through everything.
However...
Grab!
His fingers stopped inches from my face. I had caught his wrist.
BOOM!
I had caught him, but the internal energy loaded into that strike was so immense that a violent pressure wave erupted around us, snapping and bending the nearby trees.
Crack! Thud! Thud!
‘Is it really possible to hide such massive internal power?’
It was unbelievable. In terms of raw internal power alone, he surpassed even Baek Hyang-muk, who had crossed the Wall. How on earth had he hidden his energy? Even with a high sensitivity to Qi, this was an incomprehensible phenomenon.
Then, it happened.
‘Wait?’
The internal energy I was holding back in his hand began to disperse. As his power weakened, he wrenched his wrist free and tried to strike at my brow again. I parried it with my left hand and retreated five paces.
‘Was that the ability of the Calamity Slaughter Sword?’
He wasn't holding a sword right now. How could he disperse my internal energy without the weapon?
As I wondered, he sneered.
“If this is all you’ve got, I’m deeply disappointed.”
“You’re certainly full of yourself.”
“Use your full strength. Otherwise, even a moment’s lapse will mean your death.”
Vrooooom!
An incredible killing intent erupted from him. It was the first time I had seen killing intent so tangible it felt like it was pressing against my skin. In an instant, he lunged at me again, unleashing a sword technique. Because of the sharp killing intent infused into his fingers, it felt as if he were wielding a masterwork blade even without a physical sword.
Slash! Slash! Slash!
A peerless sword technique pressured me, tearing through the air. Just as Baek Hyang-muk had described, it was a perfect technique with no openings. In response, I activated the Wind Shadow Step.
Slide!
My figure dispersed like mist, and before he knew it, I had taken his back. Realizing I had appeared behind him, he instantly spun his body, shifting his technique.
But my finger strike was faster.
Whoosh!
Since a strike to the brow would be fatal, I aimed for his chest.
“Hmph!”
Lee Jeong-gyeom quickly grabbed my wrist with his left hand, just as I had done to him. Immediately, the internal energy in my fingers began to disperse.
A corner of his mouth curled up. “I thought you would have realized by now that touching me is poison.”
“Then try dispersing this, too.”
“What?”
Before he could finish his question, I pulled back the hand he was holding, clenched it into a fist, and—stepping forward with a True Awakening stomp—thrust it into him.
He tried to disperse the internal energy in the punch. But then, his expression twisted violently.
“This is...!”
With his hand still gripping my wrist, my fist slammed into his chest.
BOOM! CRASH! CRASH!
In that instant, his body was sent flying like a cannonball, shattering every tree in his path. He flew so far that nearly dozens of thick, ancient trees were snapped and toppled.
The Lesser Conversation Sword asked me in shock.
—How did you do that?
How? I just stopped holding back and hit him with everything I had.