Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: The Birth of the Heaven-Shattering Demon Sword
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Gundosa let out a triumphant cheer, reveling in his joy to the fullest.
"To think I'd be the one to forge the Indestructible Lightless Iron! The long-cherished dream of the Namdo Iron Sect, passed down for centuries, has finally been fulfilled!"
Tears of ecstasy streamed down the withered face of the overwhelmed Gundosa.
But he soon wiped his eyes with his forearm and spoke.
"Please wait just a moment."
He headed somewhere and retrieved a gold box covered in silk from a drawer.
Placing it on the desk, he opened it in front of Hyeok Mulin.
Inside was a sword hilt of deep navy blue with a subtle sheen.
'I've waited my entire life for this very moment.'
Gundosa had indeed given up on forging the Indestructible Lightless Iron.
But deep in his heart, he had kept dreaming.
Dreaming of what form it would take if he could forge it, what shape he would give it.
Yet the Indestructible Lightless Iron was impossible to forge.
In the end, without realizing it, he had prepared within his own capabilities—just the hilt, the grip portion.
In case, just in case, even if not by his own hands, a sword was forged from it someday, hoping it might be used.
But in the end, he had done it.
The blade, the hilt—everything.
"This was crafted from Millennia Wood sourced from the Akhan Desert, boasting not only unmatched strength but also exceptional resistance to elemental energies."
A tree of legend said to exist somewhere in the trackless Akhan Desert.
The Millennia Wood, grown for ten thousand years in the sands, rivaled millennium cold iron in durability and toughness.
It never burned in fire, never eroded in wind or rain, earning it the name heaven-sent timber. Whether in open markets or black ones, acquiring it was like plucking stars from the sky.
"And that's not all. I've layered the grip with the finest Heavenly Silkworm Silk—so thin it's invisible to the naked eye. The moment you grasp it, you'll feel a world of difference from any other sword."
Gundosa carefully lifted the hilt, into which he had poured the Namdo Iron Sect's treasures without restraint.
And fitted it to the blade before him.
Thus, a single sword was born.
"……."
Gundosa gazed silently at the sword.
It was ecstatic.
Yet he was not the one to wield it first.
Placing it on his palms, he approached Hyeok Mulin.
He offered it forward and bowed his head respectfully.
The pitch-black matte blade emitted an elegant luster nonetheless, its noble form extending gracefully.
Hyeok Mulin, who had been watching Gundosa, slowly took the sword.
"……!"
Shock flickered across Hyeok Mulin's face as he gripped it.
Even Hyeok Mulin, who had weathered all the storms of the world and remained unmoved by most things, couldn't hold back his admiration.
Was this truly a sword?
In his life, Hyeok Mulin had never seen its like.
It was clearly a sword in his hand, yet it felt like a grand living being pulsing in his grasp.
Close your eyes and sense with your qi, and you'd swear it was alive.
And it was so light.
After enduring extreme heat and cold, its weight was unbelievably featherlike for something of ultimate hardness.
Like holding a twig—or a downy feather.
Moreover, though freshly forged, it molded to his hand as if used for decades.
Its comfort was beyond comparison to any sword he'd wielded before.
"A masterpiece."
"Amazing" didn't begin to cover it.
It was more than what the world called a famed sword.
"Hoo, in the rest of my days, I doubt I'll craft anything finer."
Gundosa marveled, a mix of regret and relief in his voice.
Gazing at the sword, he suddenly recalled something and asked Hyeok Mulin.
"Cult Leader, have you thought of a name for it?"
"A name……."
He hadn't prepared one, but it came to him the moment he saw it.
This pure black sword, mirroring his own inner energy, would carry the demonic path of iron blood, its power enough to shatter the heavens.
"Heaven-Shattering Demon Sword."
"Heaven-Shattering Demon Sword—a fine ring to it."
Gundosa nodded in satisfaction at the name.
"Beyond expectations. So, is it fully complete now?"
When Hyeok Mulin asked, he shook his head.
"One final finishing touch remains."
"Finishing touch?"
The sword looked complete already.
Hyeok Mulin stared at it a moment before nodding in realization.
"No scabbard yet."
"Exactly."
A sword without a scabbard was like noodle soup without broth.
As crucial as the sword's quality was the sheath that housed it.
No matter how noble and elegant the blade, a cheap scabbard would cheapen it instantly.
Gundosa already had the perfect person in mind for the scabbard.
"Sim Hyo."
Gundosa turned to Sim Hyo with a gentle voice.
"Will you craft the scabbard?"
"M-Me, Master?!"
"Yes."
Sim Hyo jumped in surprise, eyes wide, but Gundosa merely nodded calmly, affirming it.
He immediately sought Hyeok Mulin's permission.
"He's young, but over the past decade or so, most of the scabbards for our sect's prized weapons have come from his hands. In scabbard crafting, his quality and speed are unmatched in the Namdo Iron Sect—I dare say even superior to mine."
At his master's praise and request, Sim Hyo looked at Hyeok Mulin with a mix of fluster and tension.
Hyeok Mulin smiled faintly, then spoke.
"Heh. Alright, let's trust you once."
Sim Hyo's face lit up.
He bowed so low his forehead nearly touched the ground and shouted.
"With all my life's experience, I'll craft the finest scabbard! Just give me a day—no, mere hours!"
Finishing, Sim Hyo hurried to a corner of the workshop and began crafting.
Hyeok Mulin turned to Gundosa and praised his efforts.
"Sect Leader, you've worked hard."
"Without you, Cult Leader, it would have been impossible."
"In the end, forging the Indestructible Lightless Iron was your skill. In the future, all will remember you as the master who crafted this sword."
"Kekeke, that would be ideal. That's the dream of every smith, after all."
Gundosa smiled deeply, then spoke to Hyeok Mulin with a hint of regret.
"Forgive my impertinence, but I must retire first. My body won't obey me anymore—it's been that way for a bit."
True to his words, Gundosa looked at his limit.
He hadn't slept a wink for seven days and nights, hammering away.
Sunken eyes, cracked lines under them, blue lips, slumped shoulders—he seemed ready to collapse at a touch.
He needed the infirmary, not his bedchamber.
"Go rest."
After seeing Gundosa off, Hyeok Mulin remained in the workshop.
He had his own tasks left.
Sitting cross-legged away from Sim Hyo, he meditated on his entire body.
'The Ice White Soul Separation Palm has reached substantial completion.'
In the final process of emitting extreme cold qi, Hyeok Mulin had achieved substantial mastery of the Ice White Soul Separation Palm.
Its power had surged, and he gained finer control and refinement.
'Now I can freeze just blood vessels or heart meridians.'
That tiny opening when disrupting inner energy flow in battle could decide everything.
Hyeok Mulin had gained another hidden card.
Great completion was still a few steps away, but even so, few in the cult could withstand this chill.
And even without the cold, purely in palm technique power, he was now among the top in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
'And finally…….'
The Pure Soul Divine Demon Art had broken through.
After slow growth over months, this event propelled it to the fourth stage.
For seven days and nights, he had pushed the Pure Soul Divine Demon Art to extremes.
Expending every drop of qi, his meridians and vessels tore and burst from the strain.
But it turned to his gain.
Ascending to the fourth stage reformed his internals tougher, like iron cables—solid, strong, resilient.
'Now, inside and out, my body is the perfect vessel for the Pure Soul Divine Demon Art.'
At the first stage, his external body became a container for it; now at fourth, internals turned to steel, achieving perfect harmony.
This eliminated blockages in qi flow and doubled emission speed.
Qi transformation, snap judgments, improvisation—all overwhelmingly superior now.
'Not just that.'
Like the Ice White Soul Separation Palm, this forging demanded sustained focus and minute control.
Ascending to fourth stage vastly expanded his qi sense, covering vast areas.
At full power, he could encompass the entire Namdo Iron Sect.
Narrow it, and he'd sense an ant under the workshop floorboards.
Any living being would evade his detection no longer.
And it didn't end there.
'Harmony Realm!'
He had finally shattered the wall.
His extreme demonic arts had long matched Harmony Realm warriors, but reaching it himself was another matter.
Scarce two years past thirty, already in Harmony Realm.
No history in the martial world could match this growth.
'Came for a new sword, but gained so much more.'
Smirking, Hyeok Mulin opened his eyes and looked at Sim Hyo.
"Oh?"
He hadn't meditated long.
Yet Sim Hyo had finished the scabbard, hands clasped, waiting politely.
Hyeok Mulin rose and approached.
Sword and scabbard lay side by side.
The ink-black scabbard, subtly clouded like spreading mist, bore elegant wavy patterns at even intervals.
Its three-dimensional depth exuded an aura beyond ordinary sheaths.
Its noble poise matched the sword's quality perfectly.
Charrrk.
Hyeok Mulin joined sword and scabbard.
They slid together seamlessly, as if crafted by one hand at the same instant, becoming one.
The sword's aura merged into the scabbard, subdued.
Knowing how remarkable it was to conceal a sword's energy thus, Hyeok Mulin was impressed.
No lie that he'd made most of the sect's scabbards.
At this age, such skill—he must have heard the name in his past life.
'Come to think of it, after seven days together, I still don't know his name.'
Gazing at the sword, Hyeok Mulin turned to him abruptly.
"What's your name?"
Startled, he answered promptly.
"I am Sim Hyo, Fifth Smith of the main house."
Sim Hyo?
Not familiar, but like he'd heard it somewhere…….
Ah.
'Soul-Saving Master Smith Sim Hyo—that's you.'
His current talent would later earn him the moniker for saving famed weapons' souls, shaking the world.
But,
'After his master Gundosa dies, he'll wander for decades.'
A few years from now, Gundosa would pass from old age.
His disciples would vie for sect leader, leaving First Smith Wi Gang and Fifth Smith Sim Hyo.
Sim Hyo's smithing superior, but Wi Gang seized power bases and became leader.
Beaten in politics, Sim Hyo was exiled, running a rural smithy alone, taking ages to gain fame.
'The sect suffered too.'
Wi Gang underperformed, orders dwindled, decline set in.
Later leader change restored some, but troubles persisted.
'The way to save the current Namdo Iron Sect is for Sim Hyo to become next leader.'
Hyeok Mulin gazed at him steadily and spoke.
"Sim Hyo, was it?"
"Yes."
Hyeok Mulin meant to hint at future troubles, offer aid.
But then he saw the light in Sim Hyo's eyes.
Unlike their first meeting, the pure, blazing smith's gaze held raw ambition.
To one day claim the sect leader's seat and present not a scabbard, but a true weapon.
'No need for me to say more.'
His passion for leadership burned far hotter than days ago.
Assisting this forging and crafting the scabbard for an Indestructible Lightless Iron sword would elevate his standing immeasurably this life.
'Yes, rise with your own talent.'
Smiling faintly, Hyeok Mulin spoke deliberately.
"Next time, I'll await a weapon from your hands."
Hand on the Heaven-Shattering Demon Sword, Hyeok Mulin was certain.
Unlike his past life, having made his scabbard, Sim Hyo would surely become Namdo Iron Sect leader—and they would meet again.