Chapter 93
Chapter 93
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 93
Chapter Title: The Tyrant Blade Emperor
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A remote mountain village, cut off from the rest of the world.
Under the blazing midday sun, the streets teemed with people, and right in the center sat a young boy.
Though all he did was run around the streets and swing sticks, the boy was happy.
But that happiness didn't last.
In an instant, the world turned dark, and an overwhelming heat engulfed the village.
—Kuaaaagh!
—Please, someone help me!
A ferocious blaze that seemed ready to consume the entire mountain swept through the village as bandits raided.
The boy's eyes widened in shock as he raced back home.
—No—!
But the house had already burned to the ground.
The boy wailed and tried to rush inside, but the villagers held him back with all their strength.
That day, the light in the boy's eyes died.
Afterward, the surviving villagers scattered to the winds.
And the boy headed straight for a nearby bandit stronghold.
—I'll do anything. Just give me orders.
To survive, the boy threw himself under the bandits' wing, handling every dirty job imaginable until he earned their trust.
And so, more than a decade passed, and he became a young man.
That's when he killed the boss and claimed the top spot for himself.
But his ambitions didn't stop there.
He gathered money, men, and information.
Then, a decade later, when he had become a full-grown man...
He captured the ones who had burned his village as a child.
He flayed the skin from their bodies while they still lived, and in less than a moment, they were all dead.
Yes.
Thus, his revenge was complete.
Yet, he had expected a thrill of ecstasy upon success—instead, only hollow emptiness remained.
He had lived his whole life for this. Now what?
He tried to step down.
But in that moment, he met the eyes of his subordinates looking up to him.
His infamy had already spread like wildfire across the world. What good would stopping now do?
He didn't stop.
Instead, he pressed on with ruthless ferocity.
Raiding other territories, enslaving the survivors, and slaughtering without mercy.
Their band grew larger and larger, and before long, his eyes had changed.
The dead gaze of before was gone, replaced by the gleaming eyes of a murderous demon.
On one such day of unbroken triumph, disaster struck without warning.
Rivals coveting the same territory led to all-out war.
But in the end, he was defeated.
—Yes. I lost.
His men were slaughtered in the chaos, and as he wandered aimlessly, drained of strength, he was finally captured by the Murim Alliance.
His dantian was shattered, and stripped of all his internal energy, he was exiled to a remote island.
But that didn't last. His dantian was somehow restored, and he began recovering his internal energy.
Regaining nearly all of his former power, he became an untouchable force on the island—the strongest warrior there, without a doubt.
After that, he gathered followers to dominate the island.
—But...
Standing alone in the cave, he tilted his head.
Something felt forgotten.
Something he absolutely shouldn't forget.
He racked his brain, but nothing came to mind, so he gave up.
As he slowly exited the cave toward the waterfall...
Flash!
A blinding light flashed before his eyes, and he desperately threw himself to the ground, rolling away.
A move he would never make under normal circumstances, but it barely saved his life.
Wincing at the surging pain, he opened his eyes again, and the world came back into focus.
Hyeok Mulin stood before him, sword lowered, looking down with an appraising gaze.
Slumped on the ground, Go Jeoksa dazedly surveyed his surroundings and finally realized.
'I just relived my life flashing before my eyes?'
Me, to this punk?
His pupils trembled violently at the unbelievable situation.
His gaze soon shifted to his left arm.
It was gone.
The severed limb lay far away, replaced only by a gushing fountain of blood.
"……!"
In a lifetime of battles against countless warriors, he'd been cut and struck at vital points before, but never had a part of his body been cleanly severed.
His shock was brief. Without panic, he sealed the pressure points near his shoulder to staunch the bleeding.
Only then could Go Jeoksa take in the rapidly darkening surroundings.
The stalactites on the cave ceiling flickered wildly before losing their glow entirely.
The light they emitted had been completely devoured by Hyeok Mulin's sword.
Now, only faint light from outside illuminated Hyeok Mulin like a halo. That's when he spoke.
"Get up. I have no interest in tormenting the weak."
"What...!"
At those words, Go Jeoksa felt a surge of rage boiling in his head.
He knew the opponent wielded skill beyond his years, but to look down on him like a mongrel and spit out such condescending words...
He wanted to lunge and tear him limb from limb right then, but he quickly calmed himself and coldly assessed the situation.
'So he's a swordsman after all.'
The palm strike had been so masterful that, despite the sword at his waist, he'd subconsciously assumed he was a palm expert.
But that strike—and the subtle, profound aura from the sword itself—made it clear: the enemy's main weapon was the blade.
'In that case, I've got a shot.'
Truth be told, he preferred facing swordsmen over bare-handed fighters.
There were far more swordsmen than fist masters in the jianghu, and he'd slain hundreds, if not thousands, giving him experience with every trick in the book.
Thud.
He picked up his saber from the ground and rose.
Though his left arm was gone to the ambush, his right arm remained.
No more surprises now. One arm was plenty to teach this brat a lesson.
Go Jeoksa aimed his saber straight at his target.
Crimson flames ignited in his eyes as he fixed his gaze ahead.
Boom—!
The earth shook as his body surged forward like a coiled spring.
His saber whipped out from his side in a brilliant arc.
From his grip sprang the Red Dragon Triple Ring Saber, flames erupting as the blade split into three shadows, each targeting the enemy's head, chest, and waist.
It was an illusion of three red dragons swarming a single prey.
But the fierce saber arts vanished more easily than expected.
Front Section, First Form
Soul-Severing Sword
As Hyeok Mulin's sword swept through, the saber shadows crumpled in an instant.
Black haze rose like incense, and Go Jeoksa cried out in horror.
"A demon?!"
The ice technique he'd glimpsed was profound enough to be called divine.
Naturally, he'd assumed it belonged to a North Sea Ice Palace expert.
Who'd have thought—a total stranger, and a demonic cultivator at that.
The sword qi was a deep hue he'd never seen, but instinct told him it reeked of demonic origin.
Forcing down his shock, Go Jeoksa steadied himself.
Fine. Nothing had fundamentally changed.
One attack failed? Launch the next.
Kaboom!
He slammed his saber into the ground, then hurled dust and debris at Hyeok Mulin, blinding him.
In the darkness, a crescent saber edge gleamed.
Hyeok Mulin crossed sword and sheath to block the savage rush.
Screeech—
His feet skidded slightly from the sudden assault, but only that much.
Blocking without harm, Hyeok Mulin scanned for his foe.
Thwack!
But Go Jeoksa appeared not from front, back, or side—from above.
Leaping ferociously from the ceiling, he unleashed saber qi midair at Hyeok Mulin.
Bang—!
Saber and sword clashed head-on.
Hyeok Mulin withdrew first, kicked off the ground, and soared higher.
A head taller than Go Jeoksa in vantage.
From this superior height, they clashed again, but Go Jeoksa refused to yield, rising another step.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Thus, the two vied fiercely, ascending in an aerial duel.
Five exchanges, ten, twenty, fifty.
Countless sword and saber shadows intertwined between the countless forms they unleashed.
But as time passed, the outcome grew clear.
Go Jeoksa hid feints amid his attacks for variation.
Hyeok Mulin went further, weaving unpredictable timed strikes alongside, turning it into a battle of wits.
Gradually, wounds accumulated on Go Jeoksa's body.
"Damn it."
Gritting his teeth at the mounting scars, he aborted his assault first and retreated.
Landing on the ground, he glared at the descending Hyeok Mulin.
"Cunning tricks."
"Cunning how, exactly...?"
As Hyeok Mulin responded incredulously, Go Jeoksa exploited the opening with a ferocious charge.
No respite—he poured on a barrage of strikes.
Soaring Heaven Saber, Flaying Dragon Saber, Ghost Soul Saber, Moon-Severing Chiyou Saber, Blood Lotus Chain Saber, Gold-Shattering Saber Nineteen Forms.
Slicing, rending, splitting, carving, piercing, gouging, crushing, dismembering, butchering—he swung with all his might.
Yet Hyeok Mulin angled his blade, deflecting every assault effortlessly.
Dozens of forms aimed at him fizzled into nothing.
Unlike before with fists or palms, the sword left no gap to exploit.
The longer the fight dragged, the more Go Jeoksa's energy waned, defeat looming.
Then Hyeok Mulin drove the wedge home.
Middle Section, Fourth Form
Flying Soul Sword
Raising his sword to the heavens, Hyeok Mulin slammed it down.
Sword scars etched across the cavern ceiling rained down like a downpour on Go Jeoksa.
"Kuaaaagh!"
A storm of sword qi from above.
He assumed a desperate defense, but couldn't block them all.
Arms, legs, collarbone, waist, ears, insteps—wounds multiplied across his body.
"You... how do you wield such swordsmanship...!"
Not just skill—the martial arts themselves overwhelmed.
Even Hyeok Mulin's casual swings demanded desperate dodges.
Never once yielding superiority since drawing his sword, Hyeok Mulin poised for the final downward strike.
Boom!
As Go Jeoksa stomped, Hyeok Mulin retreated.
Dust settled, revealing Go Jeoksa—hair turned stark white.
But the surging energy around him burned fiercer than ever.
Confirming it, Hyeok Mulin smirked faintly.
"Thrashing to the bitter end."
In this moment, Go Jeoksa had burned every drop of his innate essence.
Even victory wouldn't let him last a minute.
Yet blood trickled from his mouth as he grinned defiantly.
"If I'm dying anyway, I might as well take a comrade to the grave. Less regret that way."
Resolved to mutual destruction, he unleashed his ultimate saber art.
The reason he was called the Tyrant Blade Emperor.
His signature ultimate technique, the Tyrant Force Great Saber Form, erupted from his hand.
Tyrant Force Great Saber Form
A colossal saber qi filled the cavern ceiling, crashing toward Hyeok Mulin.
A strike worthy of his life's pinnacle.
As it engulfed Hyeok Mulin, he twisted his sword.
Kaboom!
Their bodies crossed amid thunderous roar.
The cave ceiling was sealed, yet lightning surely flashed through.
Middle Section, Sixth Form
Thunder Soul Sword
Hyeok Mulin's sword thundered through the air.
They passed each other, and soon the result emerged.
"......Even this fails?"
Crack!
A fracture spiderwebbed across the blade of his lifelong companion, the Earth Dragon Chain Extremity Saber.
The cracks widened until it shattered completely.
Along with it, a massive sword scar carved into his chest.
Flesh parted, bones exposed, crimson blood dripping.
Overwhelming weakness buckled his knees.
Cough!
Hacking up blood, dark gore spilled from his mouth.
His organs irreparably damaged, blood refluxed.
Step.
Hyeok Mulin approached.
Go Jeoksa looked up wordlessly, and Hyeok Mulin spoke calmly.
"One question before you go."
"......?"
What could he possibly want from a dying man?
As Go Jeoksa frowned, Hyeok Mulin asked.
"Did the island doctor fix your dantian?"
Go Jeoksa paused, then curled his lips in a sinister grin.
"Kuh, heh heh heh!"
His face lit with smug superiority as he crowed.
"Want to know? Then grovel on your knees, prostrate yourself. Then, before I die, I'll tell you what you're looking for..."
"No need."
Slash—
Hyeok Mulin drew a horizontal line, bisecting head from body.
The head hit the ground, followed by the torso slumping lifelessly.
Hyeok Mulin saw no reason to hear him out.
"I already had a hunch."
The Tyrant Blade Emperor.
A formidable foe in his own right.
Hard to gain the upper hand before he drew his sword.
But Hyeok Mulin's trump card proved stronger, and he won.
The world of combat was merciless. No mercy for the loser.
That was all.