Chapter 356: The Celestial Sword (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 356: The Celestial Sword (1)
From the darkness behind the Heavenly Dragon Academy, a place as black as the barrier shrouding the sky, a figure emerged. It was the Dark King, a black-haired man wearing a half-mask. His entire left arm was missing, the severed limb held calmly in his remaining hand. No blood dripped from the wound; he had long since staunched the flow with his Qi.
“…”
Stepping out into the open, the Dark King’s gaze swept calmly over the area before settling on a particular spot. Beneath the shade of a tree, a woman was waiting for him. She was elegant, with long black hair cascading down her back, appearing to be in her thirties. It was Soi, the Sword Queen of Mount Hua.
Seeing her, the Dark King spoke first, his voice even. “I kept you waiting. My apologies.”
“…It’s no trouble at all…” she replied, but her eyes widened as she took in his condition, zeroing in on his missing arm. “Are you alright?”
A faint smile touched the Dark King’s lips at her concern. “You’re as kind as ever, worrying about me.”
The Sword Queen frowned. Their paths had crossed when the ambush first began. Just as the mysterious black barrier descended, she had rushed to protect the students, only to be blocked by a figure with white hair and pale pupils.
-It has been a while, the man had said.
-…! She had recognized him instantly. It was the Dark King.
-How come you are…!
As shock made her hesitate, his fingertips were already at her throat. Little was known of the Dark King’s martial prowess, but the Sword Queen understood. Unlike other assassins, he needed no dagger. His very body was a weapon, likely having reached a level comparable to her master and father-figure, the Celestial Plum Blossom. A mere flick of his fingers could have ended her life then and there. Her momentary distraction, sensing for the students’ safety, had left her completely vulnerable. Or perhaps, given it was the Dark King, even that distraction had been part of his calculation.
In that moment, only one option remained.
-…Please let me go.
There might have been another way, but she had no time to think. She chose to beg.
-If you came to kill me, I would gladly give my life… but right now…
-Sword Queen, I have no intention of killing you.
-Then…!
-That’s why it would be even more problematic if you moved.
She didn’t understand why he was stopping her. She offered her life for the students’ safety, but he refused. If he wouldn’t kill her, that meant…
She acted. It might not have been the most logical choice, but time was a luxury she didn’t have. As she prepared to draw her sword and unleash her Qi,
-You’re making this harder than it has to be.
The Dark King twisted his fingers against her neck.
Swish.
She desperately channeled her Qi to defend herself, but her power was neutralized as if it were nothing. That was the last thing she remembered before losing consciousness. When she awoke, it was mostly over. Many were dead, and the Heavenly Dragon Academy lay in ruins.
“Why did you do this?” she asked him now.
“What are you talking about?”
“…Children died. Dozens of them.”
The Dark King’s expression remained impassive. He seemed almost unable to comprehend her point. “And?”
Her face darkened. “Do you think that is my fault?”
“If you hadn’t gotten in my way…!”
Tap.
The Dark King vanished the moment she spoke, reappearing soundlessly behind her. “You seem mistaken. Do you think you could have saved them if I hadn’t stopped you?”
“…I might not have saved all of them, but I could have saved some.”
He nodded. “That’s a fair answer. However,” his fingertips brushed against her back, “do you think I have any reason to do as you wish?”
His voice was ice. “…Elder.”
“I understand your sense of justice and chivalry, but isn’t it selfish to demand that of me?” He continued, his tone firm. “It is not. Everyone dies at some point.”
“I understand that you’re angry and frustrated, but you should be thanking me.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
The Dark King sighed softly. “I don’t want to sound arrogant, so I won’t say.”
“Elder.”
“Let’s discuss something else, shall we?” he cut her off, clearly unwilling to elaborate.
But the Sword Queen wasn’t finished. “I’m not done ye- “
“You seem to be mistaken.”
As she spoke, a terrifying killing intent erupted from the Dark King, so potent and dark it seemed to radiate from the very ground at his feet. Even the Sword Queen flinched under its overwhelming weight.
“Whether it’s that child from earlier, or you.”
Behind his mask, his black pupils began to bleed to a stark white. “Do you know why I’m keeping you both alive, even though you irritate me?”
His tone and expression hadn’t changed, yet the Sword Queen found it hard to breathe under the relentless pressure. She was not an arrogant person, and she knew her own strength was considerable, enough to earn the title of Sword Queen. But the gap between her and the Dark King was a chasm she hadn’t imagined.
It was an ambush earlier.
Rumors said the Dark King could kill even one of the Three Venerables in the dead of night if he wished. She had never believed them, but seeing him now, her opinion shifted.
“It’s only because you two are connected to a friend of mine. Such a small reason keeps you both alive.”
Friend.
She knew exactly who he meant. Her master and parental figure, the current Lord of Mount Hua, the Celestial Plum Blossom. He had been there when she first met the Dark King, long ago, when she was very young. About ten people had visited Mount Hua. The Celestial Plum Blossom wasn’t the Lord yet then; he was known as the Fierce Sword of Mount Hua. His visitors, who claimed to be friends, were individuals who would become incredibly powerful figures. Among them was even someone who would later become one of the Three Venerables.
“Hgh…”
When she could no longer endure it and groaned, the killing intent vanished instantly.
“Celestial Plum Blossom. I understand your character since you’re his disciple,” the Dark King said as he walked past her. “But I am not like him, so don’t impose your values on me. There won’t be a next time.”
The Dark King wasn’t from the Orthodox Faction. Nor was he strictly Unorthodox, but as the King of Assassins, he could hardly be considered righteous. He knew this, and he did not consider himself part of the Orthodox Faction. For him, his actions were necessary, and he felt no hesitation. The value of life held no particular meaning to the Dark King.
“If you believe lives were lost because of me, so be it. I’ll let you hold onto that belief.”
After passing her, the Dark King lifted his severed arm and pressed it against his shoulder. The Sword Queen stared, shocked.
“…!”
A mysterious, viscous liquid manifested at the junction, sealing the flesh together. Once the connection was complete, he flexed the fingers of the reattached limb. Then, he raised the arm into the air. The Sword Queen watched, wondering what he intended.
Crack.
As soon as he clenched his fist,
Craaaaack-!
“…!”
The immense black barrier covering the sky began to fracture, spider-webbing with brilliant cracks. It was now clear that this barrier, which had isolated the academy from the outside world, had been the Dark King’s work all along. The Sword Queen stared in disbelief, unable to fathom the power required for such a feat.
Noticing her gaze, the Dark King spoke. “What’s with those eyes?”
“Your arm… how…” Even the Immortal Healer, a peerless master of medicine, could not have reattached a limb so seamlessly. It hardly seemed like a medical technique at all.
The Dark King tilted his head, observing her reaction. “You should know that humans aren’t the only ones who inhabit this world.”
“…Then you are…?”
“Hm, I’m not sure. I still consider myself human.”
The Sword Queen swallowed nervously, her eyes locked on him. She now had a much clearer, and more terrifying, understanding of his capabilities. In a way, it felt like a deliberate warning. At least, that’s how she interpreted it.
“I know you’re searching for something.”
“…!” She flinched.
“I’d prefer if you stopped, but I know you won’t even if I ask. I can’t kill you, so I’ll let it go.”
“Elder… Is there something you know?” She had been searching for her friend’s whereabouts and for answers about the Heavenly Dragon Academy incident. Did he know something?
She looked at him with wide, hopeful eyes, but the Dark King simply turned away. “Even if I know what you wish to know, I have no intention of telling you.”
“…Elder…”
“It’s because I could already see that crazy bastard going insane if you were to fall into danger.”
As he spoke, three faces surfaced in his mind. One was a giant, probably laughing heartily somewhere in the mountains of Shanxi. Another was already dead. The last was a young man deeply connected to the other two.
A little brat, huh… Though I suppose I shouldn’t call him that.
The young man, with his black hair and the characteristically fierce eyes of his family, had already soared far beyond the title of Young Prodigy. The youngest person to reach the Peak Realm, was it? The Dark King hadn’t believed the rumor, but after meeting him, it had made him laugh.
Fusion Realm.
He had already reached the Fusion Realm. A level perhaps only a thousand people across the entire Central Plains had achieved. For someone barely twenty to reach a stage most attained only in old age… it meant he was destined to leave an indelible mark on history. Even the usually emotionless Dark King had been shocked, a testament to the feat.
However, the Dark King had another, more pressing concern.
It wasn’t by accident.
He had sensed it clearly. From that young blood relative of the Gu Clan, he sensed an aura disconcertingly similar to his own.
“Achoo…!”
I wiped my nose after the sudden sneeze. Was someone talking about me? Why were my ears and nose so itchy?
“…Well, it’s not uncommon for people to badmouth me,” I dismissed the thought. People had spoken poorly of me countless times before; why would I care now?
Shaking it off, I turned my attention to the person crouched on the ground before me. “What are you doing here?”
“…”
No response. She just kept her head down, her body trembling slightly as if utterly exhausted.
I sighed lightly and tried again. “Sis.”
“…”
The girl’s shoulders flinched at the sound of my voice. So, she was listening.
“Are you going to keep crying?”
“…Who… who is crying…!” The girl, Gu Yeonseo, lifted her head angrily, her eyes red and puffy.
“At least wipe your swollen eyes and say that.”
“…Hghh…” She quickly rubbed her eyes with her sleeve.
“Sigh, how childish.”
“…You… you’re the strange one,” Gu Yeonseo retorted, her voice shaky. “How could you be normal… after seeing all that?”
People had died right in front of us. Students beheaded, bleeding out, losing their lives. One moment you could hear their breathing, the next there was only silence.
“…I almost died.” Gu Yeonseo had nearly been killed. Captured by an ambusher, a sword at her throat, her life—and possibly her dignity—had hung by a thread. Ironically, it was Gu Jeolyub who had saved her, launching a counter-ambush to pull her from the brink. Afterwards, they had hidden, surviving until the end.
“But you…”
“What about me?” What had I been doing? Probably hunting down the other bastards and killing them.
I could understand Gu Yeonseo’s reaction. This was her first time setting foot in the Central Plains, though she’d spent most of it within the academy walls. The only time she’d left the clan was for Nine Dragons Day, and even then, she hadn’t ventured far from Shanxi. She couldn’t have expected to face a real, bloody battle like this.
Even then…
“It’s fine since you survived.”
“…You…!”
That was all I could offer. I understood her fear, the reason for her tears. But I wasn’t going to tell her she was luckier than the dead. Nothing good would come of that.
“Huibi would’ve said the same thing.”
“…!”
I invoked Gu Huibi’s name. I was sure that crazy girl would have said the exact same thing. Even drenched in blood, no matter what she’d endured, she would have stood right back up and said, It’s fine as long as you live.
Gu Yeonseo wasn’t the only one who had faced such a situation.
“…Why are you bringing up sis?” Gu Yeonseo’s expression turned fierce at the mention of Gu Huibi. She was from the Gu Clan, alright. With that look on her face, she was genuinely frightening.
“You dare to…!”
“You said you wanted to be like her. Then get up. Stop sitting here crying so embarrassingly.” The survivors were busy cleaning up or tending to the wounded. They might have been fine because they hadn’t endured what Gu Huibi had, but she had no one to confide in who would truly understand.
“Sis, did you even thank the guy who saved you?”
“…”
“You didn’t, did you? How embarrassing. Just change your surname too. Don’t go around saying you’re from the Gu Clan. It’s embarrassing.”
“You little…” Gu Yeonseo started to growl.
“How dare you when you don’t even…!”
“Of course, I don’t know. How would I know?” I knew nothing. We were related, but we weren’t close. The fact that I knew nothing about her probably meant no one else in the clan cared much for Gu Yeonseo either. I’d only heard in passing that she was sitting here like this.
Seriously, how annoying.
“Keep crying if you want. The clan will send people soon enough. Then, you can go back holding their hands. But,” I turned to leave, throwing a final remark over my shoulder, “don’t go around calling yourself a martial artist. Be sure to tell the Lord that, too.”
“…”
I didn’t wait for a response. I simply walked away, sharpening my senses as I went. I heard Gu Yeonseo sob softly, but then I sensed her moving, heading toward the group of students who were cleaning up the mess. I felt a bit relieved at that.
The black aura had fully vanished from the sky. People from the Alliance would arrive soon. Then, the clans would hear what had happened to their students, and all hell would break loose.
The Heavenly Dragon Academy…
I wondered if this year’s academy could continue. It seemed unlikely. I had hoped for an early graduation, but that no longer mattered. I had achieved what I wanted, but definitely not in the way I’d hoped.
…Of course this isn’t good.
An incident that hadn’t happened in my past life had occurred. And it was for the worse. A headache was beginning to pound behind my eyes.
I continued on my way. The only thing left was to find Bi Eejin and speak with him. It was best to get it over with early.
As I walked, I sensed Moyong Hi-ah running toward me from a distance, even though I’d told her to wait.
“What the, why did you run here?”
“Master Gu…” She was breathing heavily, having sprinted at full speed.
“What? Did something happen again…?” My voice trembled slightly, dreading what she might say after our earlier conversation.
But Moyong Hi-ah’s next words were entirely unexpected.
“…Young Lady Wi has woken up.”
“…!”
Wi Seol-Ah was awake.
I didn’t wait for another word. I ran, leaving everything else behind. Seeing her was more important than any conversation with Bi Eejin.