Chapter 49
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 49
Chapter Title: Conclusion (4)
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The frozen sky shattered.
A sky of searing flames, melting the ice, blossomed.
It was a scene unbelievable to have been created by a single blade.
“This should be enough.”
The Yama Demonic Lord.
He acknowledged his defeat.
And so, he intended to handle the finish cleanly.
“To think he tried to dirty your hands. Tsk.”
Of course, there was another reason for that.
Crack, crunch!
The sound of ice breaking.
The woman known as the Plain Water Demonic Lord walked over.
Her eyes still betrayed no hint of emotion.
“You’re here.”
“…”
There was no reply, but the Yama Demonic Lord’s gaze upon her was endlessly warm.
“Let us go. Our business here is finished.”
“…”
“It is their turn now.”
The Yama Demonic Lord walked away leisurely.
A somewhat troubled expression flickered across his face like a passing breeze.
As if that had never happened, the Demonic Lord, having sheathed his blade, had returned to being a simple grandfather.
“Let’s go to the Tang Clan.”
“…”
The Plain Water Demonic Lord followed him.
And so, the two Demonic Lords left Zhejiang.
* * *
Neung Ryeoun, Cha Myeonghak, and Woryeong were with the Heavenly Watch Corps.
The sight of them eliminating the ominous members of the Demonic Cult who had infiltrated the Mount Tianmu area, all without a single mistake, was a fresh shock.
‘Strong.’
‘So strong.’
Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak focused on their strength.
But Woryeong saw something different.
“I can feel their anger.”
“…”
“Anger?”
“Yes.”
Was it because Woryeong sought to comprehend even their swordsmanship?
She could feel it clearly.
Their refined anger.
“It’s like an anger that lost its way has finally found its path.”
Originally, their anger was directed at the Cheon Family.
Specifically, at Cheon Wigang.
But that was not the right path.
The one who showed them this was none other than Cheon Muryang.
“They are people who have overcome even their anger to once again take up their swords.”
That was their essence.
Their anguish before taking up their swords once more had been profound.
Through the swords of a few, Woryeong could feel it.
They wanted to unleash their accumulated fury.
‘I pray you do not lose that will.’
However, that was that.
And this was this.
Woryeong spoke casually to Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak, who were still lost in admiration.
“We’ll have to train even harder.”
“Hmm…!”
“If we want to protect our positions, that is.”
Woryeong made a firm resolution.
That one day, she would be able to break even those swords.
Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak were no exception.
Squeeze!
The three of them clenched their fists tightly.
They had only just shed their status as trainees.
But they knew that couldn't be an excuse.
One could not be judged solely by the time spent honing their martial arts.
Wasn’t the living proof of that the very man they had acknowledged as their lord, Cheon Muryang?
Craaaash!
Wasn’t he standing shoulder to shoulder with the two absolutes of the Cheon Family, Cheon Wigang and Cheon Seonhak?
It didn’t necessarily mean he had reached the same realm as them.
But Cheon Muryang stood beside them as an equal.
Craaaaaash!
A roar that seemed to split heaven and earth.
The three could only stand there blankly, hoping that they, too, could one day stand behind Cheon Muryang.
“I’m just going to go train.”
Woryeong was the first to speak.
She knew she had been the last to pick up a sword.
So, she learned from anyone she could, even those weaker than herself, if they had something to teach.
Having wielded the sword with such a mindset until now, she paid no mind to the gazes of others.
She wanted to swing her sword, so she swung it. Was there any more to it?
“I, too, will join you.”
“Alright.”
Neung Ryeoun and Cha Myeonghak stood beside Woryeong.
The Wandering King, who was watching from nearby, let out a smirk.
“It seems they’ve received some good motivation.”
The Wandering King had met countless people.
Among them were disciples of the great orthodox sects, as well as those from smaller clans.
There was no absolute difference in their physical frames or martial comprehension.
‘That’s right. Things like physique or comprehension are meaningless.’
Being born with them might help.
But it wasn't the kind of help that would give you a second life.
In fact, the physiques and comprehension of disciples from the great sects were often surprisingly average.
Nevertheless, in the end, it was usually the average disciples from the great sects who came out on top.
“It seems a good tradition is being formed.”
What was the difference, then?
The Wandering King had recently come to realize what it was.
It was the difference in tradition.
Martial arts were bound to evolve with the times.
That evolution included countless failures.
Failures as failures, successes as successes.
They were all stacked up, layer by layer, under the name of tradition.
‘Whether you have that tradition or not is what creates the gap between the great sects and the smaller clans.’
Their very perspective was different.
The countless methodologies accumulated over a long and storied tradition created a diverse array of paths.
By following those paths and watching their pioneering masters and seniors who walked ahead, they could overcome their own walls.
That had nothing to do with talents like physique or comprehension.
‘The Cheon Family is about to take another leap forward.’
It couldn't be exactly the same as the traditions of the Nine Great Sects, but…
This was the moment something of the same caliber was being planted.
Watching the three engrossed individuals, the Wandering King swung his blade this way and that.
‘Of course, that’s only if they aren't annihilated by the Demonic Cult.’
The Cheon Family was deeply entangled with the Demonic Cult.
For now, it felt like things had ended easily.
But if even one thing had gone slightly awry, it would have spiraled into the worst possible conclusion.
‘I don’t know whether to call this lucky or not.’
The Cheon Family had escaped the Demonic Cult’s scheme.
In other words, it meant the Demonic Cult had failed.
It also meant that from now on, the Cheon Family would officially be on the Demonic Cult’s watch list.
For the Cheon Family to ascend, they would have to overcome this crisis as well.
‘This really is interesting.’
The Wandering King wanted to see the Cheon Family’s rise.
To be precise, he wanted to witness the flight of Cheon Muryang.
“Hurry up and finish it.”
For that to happen, all that remained was to swat away the leech that had been feeding on the Cheon Family until now.
Whether it was a rise or a fall.
The Wandering King wanted to watch from the Cheon Family’s side.
“I will watch to see just how high you can fly.”
Craaaaaash!
Did they hear the Wandering King’s murmur?
Three swords converged on a single point.
That point was the heart of the twisted being who had lived as Cheon Jungho.
Stab!
But even with his heart pierced, he was completely unfazed.
Not a single drop of blood flowed.
“How regrettable. All that was left was for me to become the head of the Cheon Family.”
“Family head? You’re about to die.”
“Is that so?”
The heart was the source of life.
Death was when the beat of that source stopped.
Therefore, death meant nothing to him.
Thump.
A heart beat.
But it wasn’t his heart.
The beat of what should have been a single heart was felt.
“…”
“Over the past twenty years, how many lives do you think I’ve absorbed?”
Through death.
He gains infinite life force.
How paradoxical was that?
But the reality of demonic arts was one filled with all sorts of paradoxes.
“I will pour out everything I have built in my entire life to kill you all!”
Countless lives could be felt.
As noble as those lives were, his demonic energy began to increase explosively.
Ruuuuuumble!
The air around Mount Tianmu was crushed.
It was almost comparable to the pressure exerted by the Yama Demonic Lord.
At least, based on the aura he exuded.
“Kuhahaha! What are the Seven Great Demonic Lords? When I return to the main cult, the title of Demonic Lord will be a symbol meant only for me!”
Intoxicated by the surging power, he stared at Cheon Muryang with arrogant eyes, as if he were an absolute being.
Rumble-rumble-rumble!
A bone-chilling pressure enveloped Cheon Muryang.
Like a frog before a snake, the original Cheon Muryang should have been frozen in place.
But Cheon Muryang was completely fine.
“You disgusting creature. The stench of rot is overwhelming.”
“…!”
“What? Does all that power flowing through you make you feel like you’ve reached the Transcendent Realm?”
“You, you bastard…!”
“If you’re so easily intoxicated by such false power, then that was your limit to begin with.”
Like the Third Elder, some of the victims of the human trafficking conducted through the Black Merchant Guild must have been used as sacrifices for these beings.
Cheon Muryang could see the resentful spirits wandering, unable to pass on to the netherworld.
There wasn't just one.
There were countless resentful spirits, too many to count.
They were still endlessly cursing the man who had forsaken his humanity.
“No, perhaps it’s a blessing in disguise.”
“What did you say?”
“You won’t be lonely, even in death.”
Cheon Muryang offered his sincere condolences.
No one would have known their fate.
They must have resented the world in their loneliness before ending their sorrowful lives.
They were the lives and deaths of other nameless ones.
“How could this possibly be enough to console your souls, but…”
Fwoosh!
The Heavenly Light emitted a glow.
He wanted to release their resentful spirits as much as he could.
It was a light quite different from before.
One could feel compassion within it.
“Ah…!”
Could the mercy of a Buddha be like this?
Could the mercy of the Primordial Lord of Heaven be like this?
He consoled the souls of the resentful spirits who had lost their innocent lives to that man.
Flash!
One by one, the resentful spirits vanished like melting snow.
Each time one disappeared, the madly increasing demonic energy of the man could be seen faltering.
This was only the beginning.
“No!”
He screamed in desperation.
But the Heavenly Light had already begun consoling the resentful spirits he had lived with.
“Sorry, but yes.”
A giant hole was torn in the dam.
And so, as if it had never existed in the first place, his inflated demonic energy instantly became pathetic.
“Ah, ah…!”
His complexion, now as pathetic as his power, was not good.
Although he wore the face of Cheon Wigang, it was now easy to distinguish who was who.
The rapidly draining power had stolen even the youth from his appearance.
“Let’s end this tiresome, ill-fated connection here.”
He was the one who had been eating away at the Cheon Family.
What greater ill-fated connection could there be?
He was the very source of the reason Cheon Muryang of the past had no choice but to live as a scoundrel.
The reason he had to meet such an end.
“Die. And suffer even in death.”
“N-no!”
It was clearly visible.
It was a simple sword strike that he could have dodged in any direction.
But, unable to move due to his completely depleted demonic energy, he met his end.
The Heavenly Light split him from the crown of his head to his anus.
“Is it really over now?”
“Yes. It’s over.”
Cheon Wigang.
And Cheon Seonhak approached.
In their eyes was a pride that could not be described with words.
“You have raised the family up.”
“Don’t mention it. This is just the beginning.”
“…”
“The Demonic Cult’s schemes are not over yet.”
“That’s true.”
Compared to the chaos that was soon to come, this was nothing.
This was just the start.
“And the rise of the newly transformed Cheon Family also starts from now.”
“What are you plotting?”
“I think I’ll have to head out into the martial world soon.”
“What?”
“You know, that thing. The assembly where dragons and phoenixes and whatnots gather.”
“Are you talking about the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly?”
“Yes. That.”
No matter how much a person changed.
His scoundrel-like smile, at least, remained the same.
“I’m thinking of heading over there.”