Chapter 43
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 43
Chapter Title: Slaying the Third Elder
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The wind created by the Heavenly Light Sword swept past those blocking Cheon Muryang's path.
Snap!
Was it because the wind was artificial?
It couldn't sustain itself, scattering somewhere in the empty air.
Twitch.
A path opened before him.
Though many ominous figures remained, none of them could stop Cheon Muryang.
Neither living nor dead, their final struggle was merely to twitch their bodies periodically.
“……”
“They don’t even possess a shred of humanity.”
Cheon Seonhak gritted his teeth.
Though he had seen his fair share of battles, he was not accustomed to the vile and horrifying methods of the Demonic Cult.
Even now, he was at a loss for words, watching those who felt no pain and moved only as they were programmed to.
“Uncle, this is the Demonic Cult.”
“……”
The world feared the Demonic Cult.
Merely mentioning its name was considered taboo.
However, they only feared it.
They didn’t actually know why the Demonic Cult was so terrifying.
“It is also the reality… the truth that the Central Plains Martial World is ignoring.”
“You are right.”
Perhaps the Orthodox Martial World knew of the Demonic Cult's threat but didn't want to acknowledge it.
By deliberately turning a blind eye, the Central Plains Martial World had forgotten the danger the Demonic Cult posed.
The entire Central Plains Martial World was like this.
‘They must have thought it didn't matter.’
They likely believed that since the Demonic Cult was just hiding in the shadows, the martial world of their time would remain peaceful.
‘But they were wrong. The one they truly needed to be wary of was the Demonic Cult.’
The sudden fall of the Cheon Family.
The Demonic Cult had been involved in that entire series of events.
‘And for decades, at that.’
If their schemes against the Cheon Family were this intricate, how insidious must their grand design for the entire Central Plains Martial World be?
‘It means their threat has already reached a critical point.’
They needed to know.
That the Demonic Cult was the true enemy.
But the Orthodox Martial World had forgotten.
‘How long do they think this false peace will last?’
The Orthodox Martial World was enjoying a golden age of peace.
In reality, however, it was nothing more than a castle built on sand, with a glittering facade.
‘The Central Plains Martial World did nothing until the Cheon Family fell. The Demonic Cult’s true grand design might just be beginning with our family’s collapse.’
Nameless was dead.
Therefore, there was no way to know the future after the fall of the Cheon Family.
‘However, they wouldn't have acted without certainty.’
He didn't think the Central Plains Martial World, which had willfully ignored the Demonic Cult's threat, could stand against a meticulously prepared enemy.
‘Does that mean the fall of the Central Plains Martial World is also… a predetermined future?’
If that was the predetermined future, it had to be changed.
Cheon Muryang didn't think highly of the current state of the Orthodox Martial World, but like it or not, its era had to continue.
‘Because it's a matter of choosing the lesser evil.’
There was no best option.
Thus, the only choice was to avoid the worst.
In other words, the lesser evil.
In that sense, the Demonic Cult was the worst, so the Orthodox Martial World, the lesser evil, was the more correct choice.
At least the world wouldn't be set ablaze.
“We must stop the Demonic Cult.”
The Wandering King smirked.
“Feeling a surge of chivalry?”
“Not really. It’s just…”
It wasn’t because of a burning sense of chivalry, as the Wandering King had said.
“I simply believe it’s the best path for the Cheon Family.”
“For some reason, I get the feeling that sticking by your side will lead to no end of interesting events.”
The Wandering King had spent his entire life wandering.
Thus, he knew instinctively.
Being near Cheon Muryang would embroil him in all sorts of fascinating affairs.
‘Some people are just like that. As if they stand at the center of the world.’
And such people…
‘Nine times out of ten, they are swept up by the storms of life and die before they can achieve their goals…’
The Wandering King smiled faintly.
For some reason, he didn’t see Cheon Muryang as the type to meet such a dull end.
‘One in ten becomes a dragon and changes the world.’
Like an emperor, for instance.
Or a peerless warrior who contends not just for the title of the greatest in the world, but the greatest of all time.
‘I can smell it.’
The scent of something interesting.
Seeing his smile, Cheon Muryang casually made a proposition.
“If you want to stay with the Cheon Family, you’ll have to earn your keep.”
“Gods, you’re so demanding.”
“How about being our exclusive instructor?”
“What?”
“If you don’t want to, forget it.”
“Who said I didn’t want to!”
“Then it’s settled.”
Cheon Muryang smiled slightly and walked forward.
Of course, there was no way the Wandering King could have seen that smile.
“Why is that bastard so damn rude only to me?”
“Try being polite first.”
“Wh-what?”
With words that were either a provocation or advice, Cheon Seonhak patted the Wandering King's shoulder a few times before following after Cheon Muryang.
“Damn it, one is as bad as the other!”
Grumbling, the Wandering King followed the two.
How long had they been climbing?
A lone hut, abandoned in a clearing, came into view.
“……”
However, one could guess what was inside without even looking.
Drip.
Drip, drip.
The pool of blood near the hut was proof enough.
Blood that had yet to mature.
It seemed to carry the scent of youth.
Grind.
The amount of blood was far too much for a single person.
“Come out now.”
Whoosh!
Uncontrollable fury was imbued in the Heavenly Light Sword.
The sword, which had always produced a clear and elegant sound, now let out a ghastly wail.
Screeeech!
With a grating sound.
A somewhat distorted, azure sword energy slash struck the hut.
Crack!
The hut collapsed.
Through the small cloud of dust, the figure of a man became visible.
In the hands of the man, presumed to be the Third Elder, dangled a very small and pitiful child.
“You’ve finally arrived, Great Young Lord.”
Traces of blood remained around the Third Elder’s mouth.
The child’s limp body was emaciated.
“Those filthy hands…”
Once again, the Heavenly Light Sword emitted a ghastly wail.
“Get them off.”
Swoosh!
As if he had no intention of dodging.
The Third Elder wore a grotesque smile and simply watched the incoming slash, intending to use the child as a shield.
“It seems an innocent child will die by the Great Young Lord’s sword, won’t they?”
The taunt was an added bonus.
However, Cheon Muryang’s expression remained unchanged.
“I told you before, not a single one of my predictions has been wrong. You’re too predictable.”
The slash, which had been flying in a straight line, curved at a certain point.
“……!”
As if he had anticipated it.
The slash bypassed the child, curving to the side and severing the Third Elder’s wrist.
Slice!
With a gruesome sound, the Third Elder’s hand fell through the air.
Fwoosh!
In that instant, Cheon Muryang, the Wandering King, and Cheon Seonhak all charged forward simultaneously.
Their purpose was the same.
To force the Third Elder back.
“……!”
However, the other two’s attacks were also incredibly emotional.
“You abomination!”
There was the Wandering King, erupting like a blazing fire.
And there was Cheon Seonhak, swinging his sword with icy calm.
Thus, the Third Elder had no choice but to instinctively retreat.
In that gap, the child who had been held by the Third Elder fell to the ground.
Thud!
Snatching the fallen child, Cheon Muryang checked for signs of life.
Twitch!
Fortunately, the child was alive.
Cheon Muryang infused his internal energy into the child.
However, weakened as the child was, their life force was hanging by a thread.
“My, my, aren’t you a bit too brazen after cutting off my wrist?”
“……”
The Third Elder’s venomous voice.
Even that felt repulsive.
He picked up his tattered wrist and pressed it against the severed stump. Astonishingly, the wrist reattached itself.
“Hehehehehehehe! Even if you cut it off, I can just stick it back on.”
“……”
Demonic arts were arts of defiance against heaven.
So, it was only natural that demonic arts seeking to defy even death existed.
The price was the death of others, making it a truly paradoxical art.
Cheon Seonhak’s voice, frozen like ice, echoed softly.
“Third Elder, I once thought of you as a respectable warrior, even if our paths diverged…”
Though the Third Elder was now corrupt, he hadn't always been this way.
In Cheon Seonhak’s memory, the Third Elder had been a man of the sword, one who was always engrossed in its path.
“Why did you become like this?”
Perhaps Cheon Seonhak’s sorrow felt like pity to the Third Elder.
He spewed out the resentment he had held inside for so long.
“Shut up!”
“……”
“You of the direct Cheon bloodline know nothing. Did you think I was unaware of the sword arts passed down only to you!”
“Was it for something so trivial?”
“The sword was everything to me! So tell me, how could I, who mastered every sword art of the Cheon Family, fall behind you, who picked up the sword so much later?”
An inferiority complex.
Its source was, in the end, the sword.
Thus, he likely couldn't accept that Cheon Wigang and Cheon Seonhak, who had started their training later than him, had reached the pinnacle.
‘For a man who lived only for the sword, I suppose it’s understandable.’
Cheon Muryang, too, had once had a time when he thought that way.
That there were certain swords permitted only to those with the Cheon name.
But that wasn't the reality.
The Third Elder also had the authority to enter the Heavenly Dragon Archives.
And the sword arts within were not exclusive to the direct Cheon lineage.
‘The sword arts passed down within the Inspection Corps alone were not exclusive to the direct line.’
It meant that the Cheon Family was not a clan solely for those bearing the Cheon name.
The Third Elder must have known this was no different.
It was just that…
‘He just doesn't want to admit it.’
The fact that even with the same sword, he couldn't reach the pinnacle.
But how could that be the Cheon Family’s fault?
It didn’t justify the Third Elder’s choice to learn demonic arts.
Thus, Cheon Muryang looked at the Third Elder with eyes full of pity.
“You are gravely mistaken.”
“What did you say?”
“Just because you couldn't achieve it, how could you think others would be the same?”
Even if they learned the same sword.
The results would surely be different.
Just because the starting point is the same, how can the destination be the same?
“That was your limit.”
Because he wanted to reach the pinnacle more than anyone, the Third Elder failed to see what he had and only coveted what he did not.
“Shut up! That sword of yours, how will you explain that sword? The sword you wield is not among any of the Cheon Family’s arts that I know!”
The Third Elder shrieked.
Smirk.
For some reason, Cheon Muryang found himself laughing.
‘So this is the miserable end for one consumed by their own stubbornness.’
It is said one can learn even from a villain.
At this moment, Cheon Muryang had learned something from the Third Elder.
Now, it was time to pay the price for that lesson.
“Ah, my sword? Watch closely. This is the very sword of the Cheon Family that you so disdainfully underestimated.”
Fwhooom!
The Third Elder was twisted.
His desire for the sword was merely a means to reach the sublime state of the pinnacle.
Thus, he had never been able to see the true sword of the Cheon Family.
“……!”
The Heavenly Light Sword soared toward the sky.
His posture was the basic stance Cheon Muryang had practiced every day in the training yard.
It was also the very first stance the Third Elder had taken upon entering the Cheon Family, and the one he had held for the longest time.
“Even death is a luxury for you.”
The Heavenly Light Sword struck down.
Nowhere on Mount Putuo was there a place to escape the light falling from the sky.
“Ah…”
As he watched the radiance descending upon him, the Third Elder realized.
His sword had been wrong.
“What in the world have I been watching and learning all this time…”
The moment the Heavenly Light Sword cut him down.
The Third Elder was able to reach the pinnacle he had so desperately craved.
Stab!
Even if it was only for the briefest of moments.