Chapter 175: Sword God (1)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 175: Sword God (1)
The seed of the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons.
The faces of everyone present stiffened at the mention of such an ominous title.
Seo-jun didn't care. Or rather, he had no reason to. Having entered a state of oneness with nature, he stared coldly at Chun-bong.
[Get out of that body.]
"No, is he not already more than a mere seed? I'd say he's practically a blooming flower bud by now."
[If you do not leave, I will cut you down.]
"How fascinating. How can he even maintain a physical form in such a state?"
This bizarre conversation, where both parties only spoke their own minds, did not last long.
Energy surged from Seo-jun’s body, and his sword moved on its own. It was the Sword Control Art.
Furthermore, from the hundreds of eyeballs embedded in the three flowers blooming behind his head, hundreds of streaks of the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art poured forth.
"My Lord…! Wait…!"
Jang-geuk threw himself forward in a panic. Even if some unknown entity was dwelling inside her, that body still belonged to Seo-jun’s younger sister.
If she were hit by an attack of that magnitude, not even a trace of her would remain.
But he was too late. At his speed, he couldn't even hope to intercept Seo-jun in his current state.
Just as Jang-geuk’s eyes widened in despair—
"Goodness."
Chun-bong smirked.
Thud—
The hundreds of streaks of the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art and the flying sword came to a dead stop. It wasn't Chun-bong’s doing. Seo-jun had stopped them himself.
Chun-bong wore a pleased smile as she gazed at the attacks frozen right before her eyes.
It was an incredible display of divine technique.
The Sword Control Art was one thing, but halting hundreds of fired bolts of energy in mid-air was not something an ordinary martial artist could achieve.
Chun-bong brushed aside the blade that was hovering a hair's breadth from her pupil.
"There isn't even a trace of killing intent. You can hardly call this a threat."
The hundreds of streaks of the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art, still frozen in the air, condensed into glowing dots and began to orbit the area.
Just who was this man? The entity dwelling within Chun-bong carefully observed Seo-jun.
The sensation of hundreds of eyes staring back wasn't exactly pleasant, but the opponent before him was far too interesting to simply brush aside.
"So, who are you?"
[…….]
There was no answer. Hundreds of unblinking gazes remained fixated on Chun-bong.
Feeling the killing intent directed solely at the entity within, rather than at Chun-bong herself, the being let out a hearty laugh.
"Right, I suppose I should introduce myself first. I am Geum Hwi-je. In the Murim, I was known as the Sword God."
"The Sword God…!"
Everyone who heard that name was struck with absolute shock.
Geum Hwi-je, the Sword God, was the legendary figure who had truly elevated the Geum family to the rank of a Divine Clan. He was a literal god-like being who had already achieved Ascension.
However, Seo-jun’s expression didn't change in the slightest. He merely looked at Chun-bong with sunken, hollow eyes and spoke.
[Whether you are a god or whatever else, I will say it one last time. Get out of that body. Otherwise, I will cut you down.]
It wasn't an empty threat. The hundreds of dots of the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art orbiting them began to blur.
They weren't disappearing. The energy that had been materialized through sheer mental intent was returning to pure Qi, ascending to an even higher conceptual hierarchy.
Woooong—
The Qi, having reached an unfathomable height, took the form of countless swords.
This time, even the Sword God couldn't hide his surprise.
"Ho…! You are peering into the realm of clarity at your current level? You truly are a talent for the ages!"
Reaching for a height so absurdly beyond one's current realm rarely ended well.
The majority of Seo-jun’s physical form turned into Qi, rendering his body translucent. His very existence began to blur as it merged with the world itself.
And yet, he could reach it.
Moving in tandem with Seo-jun’s will, hundreds of Qi Swords rained down upon the Sword God.
"This is troublesome."
The Sword God gave a bitter smile. The attack was precisely targeted at the entity within, bypassing the physical body entirely.
His interest was piqued more than ever, but he couldn't just stand still and take it.
Sring—
The Sword God drew the sword at his waist. It was a slow, deliberate motion. Yet, no one could actually track the movement that followed.
Sssshhhhk—
Something was cut. The raining Qi Swords vanished all at once.
Only Namgung Hyeok, who had reached the highest level of swordsmanship among the group, managed to catch a fleeting glimpse of it.
"Gah…!"
Just witnessing the strike defied all common sense. He swung a sword and cut something. That simple logic created an indescribable sense of dissonance, violently twisting Namgung Hyeok’s internal pathways.
Ultimately, Namgung Hyeok vomited blood and fainted on the spot.
The Sword God chuckled.
"You have good eyes."
Seo-jun lunged. The very moment his movement registered, he was already right in front of the Sword God’s nose. The Sword God clicked his tongue at the terrifying energy gathering in Seo-jun's six hands.
"First, you need to snap out of it."
The Sword God’s blade moved. Chun-bong’s body was only at the Peak Realm at best. However, for the Sword God, that was more than enough.
Swish—
Seo-jun could not dodge the lightly swung sword. The blade cut cleanly across his chest.
However, no wound appeared on his physical body.
The Sword God’s strike had forcibly separated Seo-jun’s Essence-Qi-Spirit, realigning them to bring the chaotic energies back into balance.
Swaek—!
"…Oh!"
What the Sword God hadn't expected, however, was Seo-jun’s monstrous talent for Qi.
Even though his Qi Sensing was limited while dwelling in Chun-bong’s mortal body, the Sword God was a man who had reached the realm of gods with a single blade.
Yet even he failed to detect the strike that suddenly grazed his flank.
"Mmm…!"
The ethereal connection between the Sword God’s true body in the Celestial Realm and Chun-bong’s physical form wavered.
The Sword God struggled to stabilize the connection and shouted.
"Haha, you brat. If you’ve come to your senses, you should be showing some respect instead of doing this."
Seo-jun was already charging again. His eyes, now filled with returned reason, glared fiercely at the Sword God.
"Sword God or whatever, you piece of shit."
His memories of the past few moments were blurry, but he remembered enough. He also knew that another entity was currently occupying Chun-bong’s body.
Seo-jun suppressed his dizziness and tightly clenched his fist.
—But in the end, he couldn't throw the punch. Because the Sword God had forcibly balanced his Essence-Qi-Spirit, it was no longer possible to strike only the possessing entity like he had before.
Grit!
In that case, he would just have to surpass his limits once more.
If a god tried to take Chun-bong away, he would tear that god apart and take her back.
As Seo-jun’s eyes flashed with murderous intent, the Sword God hastily waved his hand.
"Stop. If you push yourself any further, my granddaughter’s body will be damaged. You wouldn't want that, would you?"
"…Granddaughter?"
Seo-jun’s hazy consciousness processed the words. Chun-bong is his granddaughter. Come to think of it, if he's the Sword God…
"Chun-bong’s grandfather?"
"Chun-bong?"
The Sword God blinked. Seo-jun scratched his head.
"Hmm."
The killing intent that had suffocated the space vanished in an instant. Seo-jun first twisted the balance of Essence-Qi-Spirit that the Sword God had forcibly imposed on him.
Boom—! The suppressed Qi exploded outward, shattering the forced equilibrium.
"Hey, I just went through all the trouble of balancing that for you."
The Sword God lamented, but Seo-jun ignored him to do what he had to do first.
The Qi materialized and gathered near his Middle Dantian, protecting his Essence and Spirit while establishing an entirely new balance of Essence-Qi-Spirit.
"Oho."
The Sword God was impressed. Using an inner core to balance the Essence-Qi-Spirit… it was a method closer to that of a monster than a human.
Soon, Seo-jun let out a long breath.
"Whew…."
With that breath, the demonic energy that had completely dominated his body vanished, as if it had been washed clean.
Primordial Unity Qi, which was closer in nature to the pure energy of the Righteous Faction, filled Seo-jun’s Dantian.
"No, how…?"
This time, even the Sword God was genuinely astonished. To completely transform the fundamental nature of one's internal energy on a whim?
"No, no. Wait a moment. How exactly did you do that?"
Of course, the Sword God could do it if he wanted to. Though it wasn't his specialty, since he had ascended and become a true god, altering the nature of his internal energy wasn't impossible.
But this kid hadn't even reached the Transcendent Realm, let alone Ascension. Or rather, he hadn't even reached the Extreme Demon stage yet, had he?
Whether he was a seed or a flower bud of the Lord of Ten Thousand Demons, such a feat should be utterly impossible.
The Sword God’s eyes wavered with confusion. Seo-jun replied with feigned nonchalance.
"Yes? What about it?"
"No. Um…."
The Sword God roughly understood the situation just from Seo-jun’s reaction.
"This is absurd."
It seemed the boy himself didn't know the exact logic behind it. He just did it because it worked. There was no point in pursuing the topic further.
The Sword God sighed and returned to the main point.
"So, I will ask once more. Who are you?"
"I’m Chun-bong’s older brother."
"…Who on earth is this ‘Chun-bong’ you keep talking about?"
"Ah, right."
Seo-jun clapped his fist into his palm in realization.
"Hee. Geum Hee. Geum Chun-bong. My sister."
"I see. Now I see you’re not exactly sound of mind."
The Sword God accepted it for now. But Seo-jun wasn't finished.
"Can I ask one thing too?"
"Anything."
"Why are you in our Chun-bong’s body?"
It was asked casually, but the Sword God caught a glimpse of the terrifying murderous intent hidden within the question.
It wasn't directed at him just yet, but if push came to shove, all of that killing intent would be poured entirely onto him.
"Haha…! You’re an interesting fellow!"
The Sword God laughed loudly and patted Seo-jun’s shoulder.
"I know what you’re worried about, but there’s no need for such concern. In the first place, the only reason I could descend to the Mortal Realm was because Hee, who carries my blood, subconsciously wished for it. I cannot stay for long, and when the time comes, Hee will naturally wake up."
"Aha…."
So, in other words, the grandfather had come running at Chun-bong’s subconscious plea for help.
The reason this was even possible was likely due to the Divine Blood that the Corpse-Blood Filling Heaven had been searching for so relentlessly.
Anyway, if what he said was true, there was no need to be on guard. In fact, it was only right to be grateful.
"To think you’d come all the way from the Celestial Realm just to look after our Chun-bong…. Thank you."
"Haha, I haven't really done anything since I got here, so there’s no need for that."
By the time the Sword God had possessed the body of his granddaughter (or more accurately, his very distant descendant), the situation was already over. He had no real reason to accept any gratitude.
"By the way, what is that fellow Geum Baek-yu doing that Hee is out here all by herself?"
The Sword God clicked his tongue in disapproval.
"Geum Baek-yu? Who’s that?"
"Who else? Hee’s father."
"Oh…."
Seo-jun’s eyes darted around awkwardly. Pae Jin-gwang, who had been watching the situation unfold and had finally lowered his guard, answered instead.
"Senior, the Geum family has been wiped out."
"What?"
The Sword God furrowed his brows.
"Hmph, just how long has it been since I ascended?"
The Sword God fell silent for a moment, seemingly lost in thought, then spoke without much of a reaction.
"Well, never mind that. There isn't much time left. Normally I could have stayed a bit longer, but…."
The Sword God stared intently at Seo-jun. Seo-jun just gave an embarrassed smile.
"Oops…."
"Good grief."
Was this foolishly grinning brat really the same terrifying monster from earlier? The Sword God clicked his tongue.
"If there is anything you wish to ask, ask. I will answer as much as the heavens allow."
Seo-jun made a peculiar expression.
"Don't you care? About the Geum family."
"I never held much affection for them anyway. My only lingering attachment is Hee. Since not a single one of them managed to properly master the Yellow Cloud Divine Sword all this time, it’s no wonder they were wiped out."
"Aha…."
Since he put it that way, there was nothing more to say. Since things had turned out like this, he might as well get some necessary information out of him.
But first, one thing.
"What do you mean by ‘as much as the heavens allow’?"
"I cannot answer that."
Was even a god bound by some kind of restriction? Since he couldn't get a clear answer, it was hard to draw a conclusion.
"Then, what do you think I need to reach the Transcendent Realm?"
Seo-jun was most curious about that. Why hadn't he reached the Transcendent Realm yet?
I don't feel like I'm lacking anything in particular right now.
Even an unknown realm—if he wished to reach it, he could step into it again right this moment.
So why was it that he couldn't reach the Transcendent Realm?