Chapter 473
Chapter 473
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 473
Chapter Title: The Blade Emperor's Descendant
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Jingle, jingle.
The masked old man took a small bell from his robes and shook it lightly.
Jingle.
As the sound of the bell echoed all around, the sky seemed to darken, and the wails of ghosts could be heard from somewhere.
It seemed this old man was controlling all the soul-lost ones on the Heavenly Mountain.
“You are the primary enemy of our realm anyway. It wouldn't be a bad thing for this old man to take care of you now.”
“Calling this Lord a primary enemy... you must be from the Infinite Realm.”
As Bu Eun-seol made his guess, the old man smiled faintly.
“What good will knowing do you? Die.”
Jingle, jingle.
Then, along with the sound of the bell, a black tide began to cover the area around the lake once more.
It was a great army of soul-lost ones, incomparable to before.
Shhhhh.
They were not attacking Bu Eun-seol, but surrounding the lake to form a massive wall of flesh.
A strange energy then flowed out, and the air around the lake grew heavy.
It seemed he was trying to trap Bu Eun-seol and prevent his escape with a unique formation.
Woooong.
Not only that, but a dark luster was now flowing from the old man's body.
“One of the Eight Sovereigns.”
Anyone from the Three Realms should know of Bu Eun-seol's prowess.
Yet, far from retreating, he had trapped the area with a formation of soul-lost ones.
It meant he was confident of victory.
The only ones who could show such confidence before Bu Eun-seol were the descendants of the Eight Sovereigns.
“The brat is getting ahead of himself.”
Shuuuuuk.
Suddenly, a tremendous wave of true energy erupted from the old man's body, and black energy began to extend from his hand in streams.
Woooong.
It soon took the shape of a large, black saber.
He had not even performed a technique, yet an unstoppable, earth-shattering aura flowed from the black blade.
“The Black Blood Demonic Blade. A descendant of the Blade Emperor.”
A martial art that uses materialized true energy to create a blade.
Among the Eight Sovereigns, it could only be the Blade Emperor's exclusive secret art: the Black Blood Demonic Blade.
“Since you recognize the Black Blood Demonic Blade, you must be prepared to die.”
The Blade Emperor was known for having the most tyrannical martial prowess among the Eight Sovereigns, and his ultimate arts all transcended the levels of martial arts.
Furthermore, the fact that he regretted never having fought the master of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade gives a hint as to the level his saber arts had reached.
“As you can see, this formation is meant to block your escape. No matter how you attack from the inside, you cannot break it.”
The old man said with a sinister smile.
“Don't even dream of running. The moment you turn your body, your head will fall.”
“Is that so?”
Bu Eun-seol crossed his arms and smiled faintly.
CRASH!
Suddenly, a loud explosion roared, and the wall of flesh formed by the soul-lost ones surrounding the lake began to collapse.
Simultaneously, two shadows appeared, indiscriminately felling the soul-lost ones.
It was So Ok-rim and So-yo.
“Whoa! There are so many!”
Seeing the horde of soul-lost ones, So Ok-rim seemed excited rather than daunted, unleashing a tremendous fist technique.
“These lumps of meat are quite something!”
Every time So Ok-rim threw a punch, the barrier made of soul-lost ones crumbled.
Before starting this task, Bu Eun-seol had made two predictions.
First, no matter how many traces he left, there was no guarantee the black-robed man would arrive first.
Second, if someone from the Three Realms found him first, they would cut off his escape route before attacking.
Therefore, Bu Eun-seol had instructed So Ok-rim and So-yo to wander the Heavenly Mountain, leaving two sets of tracks.
He told them to watch the flow of the soul-lost ones, and if they gathered in one place...
...they were to follow them without fail.
Because where the soul-lost ones gathered, Bu Eun-seol would surely be, and his escape route would be blocked.
“Without an attack from the outside, this formation could never be broken!”
It was impossible to create such a formation by controlling the soul-lost ones in just a day or two.
It seemed the old man, the descendant of the Blade Emperor, had devised this formation in advance to trap the black-robed man who had learned the techniques of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade, should he arrive here.
But even this formation had a flaw.
Since the formation was entirely directed inward, it was excellent for sealing an enemy inside.
But it was extremely vulnerable to attacks from the outside.
That was why, with So Ok-rim's punches, the formation of soul-lost ones was collapsing helplessly.
“Huhu. So you called your comrades in advance.”
But the old man, on the contrary, looked relaxed.
He seemed completely unconcerned whether the wall of flesh collapsed or the one controlling them died.
Wheeeeee.
Suddenly, the strange sound of a flute echoed from somewhere.
Then, more soul-lost ones appeared in the distance.
“Aha, there's another one controlling them over there!”
So Ok-rim said after completely demolishing the wall of flesh around the lake.
“Let's get that one first!”
With his incredible senses, So Ok-rim had detected the person controlling the soul-lost ones from over a hundred yards away.
[So-yo, go help him.]
As Bu Eun-seol used the Thousand-Mile Sound Transmission, So-yo followed So Ok-rim without a word.
“Even without the soul-lost ones, you would not have escaped my grasp.”
The old man looked at Bu Eun-seol and casually beckoned with his hand.
“Shall we see the skills of the Demon Hall's successor, the one said to make the martial world weep?”
Shing.
As Bu Eun-seol drew his Ice Soul Sword without a word, the old man smiled faintly.
“A fine sword.”
The old man raised the saber he had created in his hand above his head with a relaxed expression.
Kiiiiiii!
At that, a bizarre sound spread in all directions.
It was not the cry of a blade, but sounded like countless ghosts sobbing all at once.
The sound was so eerie and bizarre that the sky seemed to darken, and an illusion of ghosts soaring into the heavens appeared all around.
Shwoop!
As the old man aimed the great saber at Bu Eun-seol's neck, a black mist spread out.
It looked as though the black souls trapped in the saber were being released, scattering in all directions.
Bu Eun-seol raised an eyebrow.
To cause such a bizarre phenomenon with just an opening stance?
“I never did get to cross blades with that man.”
The old man narrowed his eyes and looked at Bu Eun-seol.
“The techniques of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade, which were said to have shaken the world.”
The reason the old man could pursue the black-robed man who learned the Seven Styles of Blood Tears alone on the Heavenly Mountain...
It was not because he trusted in the soul-lost ones.
It was because he was confident he could cut him down in an instant, even if the master of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade himself appeared.
The Blade Emperor.
For he was the descendant of the Blade Emperor, known to possess the most tyrannical martial arts among the Eight Sovereigns.
“Since this old man has performed his opening stance...”
The old man, holding the great saber in his right hand, extended his left hand with a relaxed expression.
He was waiting for Bu Eun-seol to strike first.
“Hmph.”
Bu Eun-seol did not hesitate to unleash a sword form.
Flash!
A single sharp ray of light shot out from the Ice Soul Sword, then split into two strands and aimed for the space between the old man's eyes.
Swish!
Simultaneously, one of the strands of light became a massive cross-shaped sword energy that rained down on the old man's head.
In a single sword strike, he had layered the Meteor Transcending the Moon and the Waning Moon, Morning Star techniques.
“This isn't his technique.”
Chwaaaak!
The old man lightly swung his saber through the air, and in that instant, the sword energies of the Peerless Celestial Flow vanished.
Ssssss!
The black saber energy, having annihilated the sword energy, lunged for Bu Eun-seol's body like a living creature.
Swish-swish-swish!
Bu Eun-seol did not evade, instead moving his Ice Soul Sword in a flurry to cut down the dark saber energy.
“......!”
Bu Eun-seol's expression changed, and he instantly executed the Extreme Speed Shadowless Step to retreat.
The sharp saber energy the old man unleashed was surprisingly like an intangible mist that could not be parried.
Moreover, it had the ability to instantly extinguish all external force.
Kiiiiiii!
The eardrum-shattering wails of ghosts spread in all directions as the dark saber energy once again lunged for Bu Eun-seol.
Bu Eun-seol continuously used his sword techniques to counter the saber energy, but it was useless.
Chiiik.
The dark saber energy he unleashed could not be blocked by any martial art, and it extinguished any force.
The saber arts of the Blade Emperor, said to be the most tyrannical and powerful among the Eight Sovereigns...
...could instantly block any martial art and pursued its enemy like a living creature, unleashing a formidable saber energy.
Zing.
As the saber energy relentlessly pursued him, Bu Eun-seol stopped evading and swung his sword.
‘I'll try again!’
Shwaaaaa!
A white flash erupted from the Ice Soul Sword, and sword energy like a white dragon spread out in all directions to confront the black saber energies.
He used the Reversing the Heavens principle of the First Style, All Phenomena, to give form to the Blade Emperor's saber energy.
Then he deployed the Fourth Style of the Peerless Celestial Flow, Playing with Mist and Clouds, which allowed him to move the sword energy freely.
Ch-ch-ch-chak!
As the sword and saber energies repeatedly clashed, the sound of tearing silk filled the air, and flashing shockwaves spread in all directions.
Whoosh!
But in the midst of it, another stream of black saber energy shot toward Bu Eun-seol's face.
The Peerless Celestial Flow was simply no match for the Blade Emperor's saber energy.
As time passed, the black saber energy began to overwhelm Bu Eun-seol's white sword energy, asserting its dominance.
“If you keep holding back the Seven Styles of Blood Tears, your head will fly.”
The old man chuckled, then swung his great saber wildly.
“I'll make you cough up everything you've got at once.”
Ch-chik!
At that, the saber energy flowing from the great saber grew even denser.
Kuuuuuu!
Not only that, but the number of black saber energies increased, looking like hundreds of giant snakes writhing in the air.
‘I have no choice.’
Retreating from the pouring saber energies, Bu Eun-seol spun his Ice Soul Sword in the air and held it level with his face.
The old man was a descendant of the Blade Emperor; he must have used the saber his entire life.
To cut through saber energy that could extinguish any force, he needed a technique that was not only powerful...
...but also subtle enough to instantly dry up the ceaselessly surging flow of that energy.
Wooooong!
Simultaneously, hundreds of sword energies materialized around Bu Eun-seol's body.
He was about to unleash the newly mastered Fourth Style of the Seven Styles of Blood Tears, Desire to Die Without a Place, to cut off the old man's head in one blow.
“Good. Very good.”
Seeing the sword energy rising from Bu Eun-seol's body, the old man laughed heartily, seeming pleased.
Shhhk! Chik-chik-chik!
The old man spread his saber energy, extinguishing the sword energies Bu Eun-seol had created.
However, all of the old man's movements were, in effect, being controlled by Bu Eun-seol through his sword energy.
This was because the Desire to Die Without a Place that Bu Eun-seol was using was modeled after the black-robed man's saber principles.
It was a technique that scattered immense saber energy within a certain space, while simultaneously allowing him to freely control the movements of all enemies within that space.
Ch-chik!
But the old man, unaware of this, continued to spread his saber energy, extinguishing the sword energies Bu Eun-seol had unleashed.
And when they finally closed the distance to where they could face each other and cross weapons...
...Bu Eun-seol was finally able to create an opening in the old man's defense.
‘First, the left hand.’
Unfortunately, Bu Eun-seol had not managed to create an opening to cut off the old man's neck in one blow.
Instead, he had found an opportunity to cut off the left hand that the man had kept hanging limply at his side.
The old man's saber technique was nearly perfect, but his left arm seemed to be in the way, as he kept it motionless.
If he could just cut off that left arm?
Bu Eun-seol would be able to seize victory in an instant.
Swish!
Just as the Ice Soul Sword finally broke through the waves of saber energy, about to cut off the old man's left arm,
Chik!
a sharp saber energy simultaneously lunged for Bu Eun-seol's neck.
It turned out he had intentionally left his arm hanging to reveal an opening.
His plan was to sacrifice his left arm to cut off Bu Eun-seol's head.
‘Does he not need his left arm?’
Bu Eun-seol was inwardly shocked.
A master as incredible as a descendant of the Blade Emperor was preparing a decisive blow at the cost of one of his arms?
This was something even he could not have predicted, so he had no way to defend against it.
Clang!
But just then, a saber energy flew in from somewhere, grazing the Ice Soul Sword and lunging for the old man's neck.
“Hmph.”
Fwoosh!
The old man had no choice but to retreat again.
Then, a ghost-like shadow had appeared next to Bu Eun-seol.
It was a middle-aged man in black, very tall with a solid build and blazing eyes.
Although he wore a veil, obscuring his face, he appeared to be in his fifties.
“Get lost!”
Whump!
As the black-robed man swung his great saber, the old man's body was pushed back dozens of feet.
It was not a matter of power; his saber technique was so profound that the old man had no choice but to leap back.
To think the old man, who hadn't even flinched against Bu Eun-seol's full-powered Peerless Celestial Flow, would retreat in such a hurry.
“You're lucky. You've gained reinforcements.”
The old man chuckled, looking back and forth between Bu Eun-seol and the middle-aged man, then let out a low laugh.
“I might take a cut to my left arm, my inner thigh, and my spine.”
The old man grinned.
“But this old man will survive, and you two will die.”
This descendant of the Blade Emperor, it now seemed, was a complete madman.
He thought nothing of his own body being shattered, only smiling broadly at the thought of ending the lives of two people.
“You're dreaming.”
The black-robed man plunged his great saber into the ground.
The moment he did, with a `chwaak!` sound, faint lines began to spread chaotically across the great lake.
Simultaneously, shards of ice and tens of thousands of saber rings rose into the air.
It turned out the middle-aged man had not carved his saber techniques into the lake out of excitement.
He had used the lake's ice to prepare a trap that would allow for an escape.
Papapapa!
The shattered pieces of ice instantly began to envelop the old man.
“Hmph.”
The old man swung his great saber wildly to annihilate the saber rings, but the more he did, the more the ice shards clung to his body.
Thud-thud-thud.
In a moment, the old man's figure vanished, and a massive tower of ice stood in his place.
The black-robed man also knew he couldn't defeat the Blade Emperor's descendant and had only created a trap sufficient to buy time for an escape.
“Follow me.”
The black-robed man muttered lowly to Bu Eun-seol and was already cutting through the air.
Tch-tch-tch!
Bu Eun-seol immediately followed him, executing his movement technique.
Crack. Crackle.
Just then, cracks appeared in the giant ice tower,
BOOM!
With a loud explosion, shards of ice flew in all directions, revealing the old man's figure.
“I thought there were strange marks on the lake. So you prepared a trick like this.”
The old man licked his lips, then narrowed his eyes with a bloodthirsty smile.
“But you won't be able to run forever.”
***
Bu Eun-seol was using the Extreme Speed Shadowless Step with all his might.
But he couldn't catch up to the black-robed man shooting forward.
It wasn't a difference in internal energy or movement technique.
This was because the man seemed to know the terrain of the Heavenly Mountain extremely well, moving in an unpredictable trajectory.
Because Bu Eun-seol was reacting to the black-robed man's movements, he was always one step behind.
‘Fine.’
As the distance between them grew, Bu Eun-seol drew upon his full internal energy.
Tch-tch-tch-tch!
And he began to shoot straight toward the middle-aged man, ignoring whatever obstacles lay in his path.
Shwaaaaa!
Bu Eun-seol's body became a sharp sword, splitting trees and rocks as he shot forward.
RUMBLE!
As his speed increased, a sonic boom erupted, and Bu Eun-seol's body became a single white stream of air.
And just as he was finally about to catch up to the black-robed man,
Thud.
the man stopped on a sheer cliff.
“......”
After gazing at the distant sky for a while, the black-robed man muttered.
“You are not a spy from the Three Realms.”
“You were watching?”
“I was.”
The black-robed man had already seen Bu Eun-seol find the traces of his saber technique by the lake and fall into a state of self-immersion.
However, he had simply watched, thinking him to be another spy from the Three Realms.
But seeing him fight for his life against the descendant of the Blade Emperor, he immediately dismissed his suspicions and saved him.
‘He is the one.’
Although they had not yet even spoken.
Bu Eun-seol could instinctively tell that this was the black-robed man who had taught the saber forms of the Seven Styles of Blood Tears to Jeong Cheon.
“I came here to find the whereabouts of the master of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade.”
“You have inherited his saber arts. That should be enough. Why do you seek him?”
The black-robed man seemed to have already discerned that Bu Eun-seol had learned the Seven Styles of Blood Tears.
“Because he might be my grandfather.”
“What do you mean?”
Bu Eun-seol spoke with utmost honesty.
“My grandfather was cruelly killed by a sword master who had reached the pinnacle of his art.”
Bu Eun-seol recounted everything—his circumstances, his meeting with Jeong Cheon, and Jeong Cheon's tragic death.
He told him everything.
After listening to it all in silence, the black-robed man sighed.
“Don't tell me you thought I was the shadow of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade.”
“I did.”
In the past, Hwa Jung-cheon, the Lord of the Flying Shadow Pavilion, had shown him a portrait album depicting the master of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade who roamed the martial world.
In it was drawn a middle-aged man with a very noble and strong spirit.
The master of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade must have had a very solid build in his youth.
And he had thought that perhaps the black-robed man before him had maintained that same appearance.
“Hmm.”
The black-robed man sighed.
Bu Eun-seol's eyes were still, but they held a hint of desperation.
He could sense that the young man was not lying.
“While being chased by that crazy old man, I've been through all sorts of things. Among them were people who had lost their limbs and sought revenge on the Three Realms, and others who asked for help avenging their parents.”
“......”
“If I were to tell you everything I've been through, no one would believe it.”
Bu Eun-seol could somewhat understand the black-robed man's words.
He was a man who had constantly survived the pursuit of a descendant of the Blade Emperor, a figure from the Three Realms that ruled the world.
The things he had experienced must have been rife with conspiracies and schemes, beyond what words could describe.
“But this time, I will believe you.”
“Why is that?”
“If you were a spy for the Three Realms...”
The black-robed man sighed and said.
“...you wouldn't throw away such a supreme status just to find the whereabouts of the master of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade.”
Bu Eun-seol was the legitimate heir of the Nangya Pavilion and the successor who would manage the Demon Hall.
He wouldn't confess everything to a stranger just to find the master of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade.
“You knew who I was?”
“How many young men in the world could stand alone against that mad old man?”
“Ah.”
“Also, to evade the pursuit of the Three Realms, one must be well-versed in the news of the martial world. I may seem cooped up on the Heavenly Mountain, but in reality, I've frequently traveled through the martial world.”
The black-robed man glanced at Bu Eun-seol's face and sighed.
“Of course, that's not the only reason...”
The power and variations of the Seven Styles of Blood Tears differ vastly depending on how one interprets the saber principles and what mindset one has when executing them.
When Bu Eun-seol discovered the traces of Desire to Die Without a Place carved into the lake, he immediately mimicked the free-spirited saber principles the black-robed man had inscribed.
Since he, too, had learned the Seven Styles of Blood Tears.
Seeing the Seven Styles of Blood Tears that Bu Eun-seol executed, he was able to grasp what kind of person he was in an instant.
“To answer your question first, I am not the shadow of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade you think I am.”
“Then...”
“I, too, merely had my life saved by a benefactor I met by chance and was taught a few forms of the Seven Styles of Blood Tears.”
The black-robed man seemed to be overcome with indescribable emotion as he sighed deeply and said.
“In return, I agreed to handle one matter for him... and because I completed that task, I ended up being chased by that old man for the rest of my life.”
In short, his life was saved by a benefactor, and as a condition for being taught the saber forms, he completed a task.
And because of that, he was now being pursued for life by a figure from the Three Realms.
“What was the task you completed?”
“I cannot tell you. I promised never to speak of it.”
“Then was that benefactor the master of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade, Bu Jan-yang, himself?”
The black-robed man shook his head at Bu Eun-seol's question.
“No.”
Bu Eun-seol's mind fell into confusion.
That means.
The master of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade, Bu Jan-yang, had broken his terrifying, otherworldly saber art into pieces and passed it down to various figures in the martial world.
“Who in the world are you, sir?”
Taking a deep breath at Bu Eun-seol's question, the black-robed man began to speak.
“My name is Gwan Hae-geum. In the past, I also gained the empty title of the Great Hero of the Southern Heavens.”
“The Great Hero... of the Southern Heavens.”
Bu Eun-seol blinked.
The Great Hero of the Southern Heavens, Gwan Hae-geum.
He was a renowned hero of the Orthodox Faction who had roamed the martial world, helping those in need and doing many good deeds.
Gwan Hae-geum, a representative hero of the Sunlit Martial World, had learned the techniques of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade?
“Well, what's the point of digging up the past.”
As if he had a long story to tell, Gwan Hae-geum gazed at the distant sky.
“If you ask why a figure of the Orthodox Faction received the ultimate saber art of the Demonic Path...”
Turning his head to look at Bu Eun-seol, his eyes were filled with pain.
“I would answer that righteousness and wickedness reside in the heart.”
Gwan Hae-geum.
He seemed to have a complex and tragic story that could not be expressed in a few words.
Bu Eun-seol did not dare ask about his story. No, he could not ask.
Everyone has a past they wish to forget. No one has the right to pry into it.
As Bu Eun-seol remained silent, Gwan Hae-geum snorted.
“How can you distinguish between one who has righteousness and one who is wicked?”
“......”
“There are cases where a man known as a cruel great demon turns out to be a good person, and a renowned hero known for a lifetime of good deeds is, in reality, a villain.”
And looking up at the distant sky, he said in a solemn voice.
“The martial world has always been a place shrouded in grudges and favors. Right and wrong cannot exist... and are not good and evil things that change depending on the observer's perspective?”
Bu Eun-seol nodded.
It was a statement that aligned with the teachings of his grandfather, Bu Jan-yang—that concepts like good and evil are defined by human convenience.
“You speak the truth.”
As Bu Eun-seol agreed, Gwan Hae-geum smirked.
“It was something the benefactor who saved me used to say like a habit.”
Thump, thump.
In that moment, Bu Eun-seol's heart pounded.
‘Then was my grandfather not the master of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade, Bu Jan-yang, but his shadow?’
Just then, Gwan Hae-geum spoke.
“The benefactor who saved me was likely someone with a deep connection to the master of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade.”
And he told Bu Eun-seol a shocking fact.
“He said that for the sake of the master of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade... he passed on the saber techniques to trustworthy and righteous people like me to have them complete certain tasks.”
And he added one important final remark.
“The benefactor who taught me... was likely the one who played the role of the shadow of the Seven-Branched Demonic Blade that you spoke of.”