Chapter 223: Sword Sect (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 223: Sword Sect (2)
"Hey, hey. Did you do something to upset your Noona? She looks a bit down."
At Chun-bong’s words, it was Namgung Su-ah, not Seo-jun, who flinched.
"N-no! What do you mean, did I do something wrong? I’ve only ever been a burden to Seo-jun..."
Her reaction was unusually intense. Chun-bong narrowed her eyes.
"What? Did you actually do something to her? Don't tell me you..."
Whatever Chun-bong just imagined caused her soft cheeks to flush bright red. How shameless! Horrified, she clamped a hand over her mouth.
"You perverted bastard...! You two aren't even married yet...!"
"I-it's not like that!"
Namgung Su-ah waved her hands in a panic.
"Hmm... Is that so?"
Naturally, the misunderstanding was cleared up quickly. In truth, Chun-bong hadn't actually misunderstood anything in the first place; she just enjoyed teasing Namgung Su-ah because her reactions were so priceless.
In times like these, a change of pace was essential for one's mental health. Otherwise, a person could easily sink into an endless pit of gloom, which would only lead to real trouble.
'At least she hasn't completely broken down.'
What a relief. Chun-bong stroked her flat chest to soothe her racing heart.
If Namgung Su-ah were to break down, it wouldn't just be hard on her—Seo-jun might actually go on a rampage. Chun-bong wasn't confident she could control Lee Seo-jun in that state.
It might be possible if she resorted to her secret technique, but regardless, nothing good would come of it. To Chun-bong, Namgung Su-ah had already become something akin to a real older sister.
'Hmm.'
Thinking about it that way, this bastard Lee Seo-jun had essentially claimed two sisters at once.
"...You crazy lust demon."
"What?"
Seo-jun felt incredibly wronged.
However, even if they weren't biological sisters, it was true that he had taken two women at the same time. Since he had nothing to say in his own defense, Seo-jun skillfully shifted his train of thought. His gaze turned toward the longsword in Namgung Su-ah’s hand.
'It’s certainly no ordinary sword.'
That was only natural. If a blade wielded by a man who was practically a god wasn't a Divine Sword, then what was?
He had told Namgung Su-ah to try using the sword left by his father-in-law, but seeing her hold both weapons simultaneously made him think that dual-wielding might be a good path for her as well.
The greatsword she was already proficient with, and the Divine Sword left behind by her father.
While dual-wielding didn't necessarily make one twice as strong...
"Noona, about that sword."
"...Yes, you’re right."
Catching his drift immediately, Namgung Su-ah nodded.
"For some reason, it feels familiar. It's as if I’ve been using this sword for a long time."
Perhaps some of Namgung Jin-cheon’s memories or mental imagery remained within the blade. Even though she had exclusively used a greatsword since she was very young, she felt as if she could master this new sword right away.
Seo-jun thought to himself, 'This works out well.'
It was a welcome development that his Noona had something to immerse herself in. Modifying her martial arts to suit two blades wouldn't be difficult, either.
However, there was a catch.
Even if he could handle the rest, Seo-jun couldn't just whip up the Form of a dual-sword style out of thin air.
'I can ask the Chief of the Heavenly Martial Pavilion for that.'
As the head of the pavilion that managed the Namgung Clan’s martial arts, Namgung Baek might know of a technique for handling two swords.
* * *
Sure enough, Namgung Baek nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
"There are several dual-sword techniques in our archives. I shall provide them all to you."
Namgung Su-ah received a hefty stack of martial arts manuals.
Her workload had just drastically increased, but her expression was noticeably brighter than before.
Breathing a sigh of relief, Seo-jun finally left the Namgung Clan.
Soon, he arrived at the battlefield.
Without warning, Seo-jun burst into the command tent where he sensed the most powerful presence.
"Ah, you are..."
A burly man offered a respectful fist and palm salute.
"I heard you were coming from Strategist Jegal. I am Peng So-ho of the Peng Clan."
Seo-jun gave a curt nod. His heart had felt somewhat calm while he was at the Namgung Clan, but being surrounded by other martial artists filled him with an inexplicable, simmering rage.
Taking a deep breath to center himself, he asked, "What is the status of the war?"
"It is highly favorable to us."
The mere presence of the Evil-Annihilating Heavenly Lord, Lee Seo-jun, was already exerting a massive influence over the battlefield. The enemy forces had suffered heavy losses and were hastily pulling back their front lines in retreat.
"However, Strategist Jegal warned that this might be another of Sa-ma-hyeon’s schemes. He suggests it would be better to gradually pressure them from the periphery and slowly wither them to death..."
"No, that’s too slow."
Seo-jun’s eyes scanned the tactical map on the table. He noted the location of the Sword Sect and the surrounding front lines. After forming a rough estimate in his mind, he turned his back on Peng So-ho.
"I’ll leave the cleanup to you."
"Wait...!"
Before Peng So-ho could even attempt to stop him, Seo-jun’s figure vanished into thin air.
Having crossed the distance by literally tearing through space, Seo-jun now looked down at the vast, arid expanse spreading beneath his feet. It was likely the Gobi Desert.
The forces of the Murim Alliance and the Black Lotus Union were positioned a considerable distance apart across the dunes.
Seo-jun lightly expanded his domain.
"Ideal World."
Normally, no matter how great a martial artist in the Transcendent Realm was, expanding a domain consumed a significant amount of strength. In particular, the burden of the Qi required to connect one’s bloated divinity to the surrounding physical space was incredibly heavy.
'Normally, that is...'
But that rule didn't apply to Seo-jun, who possessed a once-in-a-millennium talent for Qi.
Fwaaaaah—!!
The vast domain expanded, seamlessly overlaying the desert. However, its form was different from usual.
Localized Deployment: Emperor Sword Form.
As he became more accustomed to his current realm, his mastery over his domain grew exponentially. As a result, it became possible for him to expand the domain by manifesting only a specific portion of his mental imagery—
Flash!
A pure, brilliant blue sky dyed the desert. Seo-jun slowly clenched his outstretched hand.
Crunch!
Simultaneously, the literal weight of the heavens crashed down, crushing the desert.
Boom!
The gathered troops of the Black Lotus Union were instantly compressed to death.
There wasn't even a hint of resistance. To begin with, they didn't possess any significant power to fight back. Everything that had once been alive was flattened, their blood seeping deep into the desert sands.
Seo-jun retracted his domain. A massive swath of the desert was now stained a gruesome red. Soaked with pulverized human remains, the sands heated up under the blazing sun, emitting a nauseating, metallic stench.
Still unsatisfied, Seo-jun moved further forward.
'I’m nearing the Sword Sect’s territory.'
Because the enemy had pulled back their lines, the front itself had shifted much closer to the Sword Sect. He had barely taken a few steps through space, yet he had already penetrated deep into the heart of the Black Lotus Union’s territory.
'Even better.'
It could be dangerous to dive in alone, but few could match Seo-jun’s speed, even among those in the Transcendent Realm. If something went wrong, he could simply retreat.
Wooooom!
Natural energy gathered endlessly between Seo-jun’s palms, compressing into a terrifying mass.
'Shall I at least say hello?'
The natural energy transformed into Yin and Yang, forming a Reverse Taiji. It vibrated quietly as it fully embraced the mental imagery of Sun-Shooting.
Heaven Piercing.
Craaaaack—!!
The unleashed energy surged forward like a comet, tearing toward the distant Sword Sect.
But in an instant, Seo-jun’s eyebrows twitched.
'That is...'
He had expected the strike to be blocked, but it was stopped far more easily than he had ever anticipated.
Pang!
The Heaven Piercing strike shattered midway through the air, its energy scattering in all directions. Amidst the fading debris of his attack, something flashed.
'A sword?'
As Seo-jun narrowed his eyes, a figure materialized in an instant. A man with hollowed-out, weary eyes looked back at him.
"Withdraw. I shall not seize you."
The man's weary voice echoed lowly across the sands. Seo-jun examined him without answering.
Chiriring—
A strange metallic sound rang out. Thin blades, the very same ones that seemed to have blocked the Heaven Piercing strike, floated effortlessly in the air.
Soon, those thin blades flew back and attached themselves to the massive sword strapped to the man’s back. They fit together so perfectly it was as if they had always been a single entity, leaving absolutely no trace of where the individual blades had joined.
'A uniquely shaped greatsword.'
A specific memory came to mind. He had definitely heard about this weapon from his father-in-law.
"Are you the former Sect Leader of the Sword Sect?"
The man nodded silently.
Instantly, Seo-jun’s eyes burned with a murderous red light. "Then die."
Pipipiping!
Countless points of light materialized in the air and fired toward the man like a meteor shower. It was the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art.
"...I do not understand the reason for this hostility."
Chiriring—
The thin blades rapidly detached themselves from the greatsword on the man’s back.
Astral Qi infused the fluttering blades, causing them to instantly straighten out before firing forward to meet the attack.
Kwaaaaang—!!
The countless bombardments of the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art were completely cleared away. He seemed to be blocking them with ease, but soon, the man’s brow furrowed.
"...My."
The power behind the strike was far stronger than he had expected. The man gathered the blades that were slowly being pushed back and spread them out all at once.
Thousand Swords Blooming Flower.
With a sharp metallic screech, the blades gathered and bloomed outward like a massive iron flower.
Kagagagak!
The rotating metallic flower swirled protectively around the man, grinding away the remnants of the Heaven-Defying Sun-Moon Art.
Unfazed, Seo-jun reached out his hand.
"Ideal World."
The domain expanded once more. The man’s eyes trembled slightly at the sight of an entire world being drawn over reality in an instant.
"This is..."
Seo-jun brought his hand down.
The heavens fell.
The man’s eyes widened in shock as he recognized the Emperor Sword Form, the absolute supreme sword technique.
"Namgung!"
The Heavenly Sword Lord, Geom-hyeon, realized the whole story at once. He had wondered why this young master was attacking with such life-or-death intensity, and it turned out to be a matter of a bitter blood feud.
"How tiresome..."
The grudges of the Jianghu were so intricately tangled that they could never truly be unraveled. He had chosen a life of seclusion precisely because all of this was so bothersome, yet he had failed to escape it in the end.
Chiriring—
Geom-hyeon’s eyes took on a profound, mysterious light. Simultaneously, a thousand blades scattered in all directions.
"My Sword and I are One."
Woom—
With a strange, resonant sword cry, the blades fired directly into the sky.
His domain was slightly different from those of other Transcendent Realm masters. Instead of projecting it over the surrounding space, his domain was directly infused into every single sword he controlled.
The falling heavens. Against them, a thousand blades bloomed like defiant flowers.
Swaaaaak!
Starting narrow and spreading wide, the sweeping trajectory drawn by the blades perfectly mimicked a blossoming flower.
Crack—
The sky split open, and the crushing pressure of the Emperor Sword Form completely dissipated.
Seo-jun furrowed his brow. Without missing a beat, he swept his finger downward.
Heaven-Sun Imperial Extreme Fire Divine Art.
Kugugu—!
Beyond the split sky, the blazing sun that had been hanging high in the heavens suddenly plummeted toward the earth.
"What in the..." Geom-hyeon’s brow furrowed deeply.
An Imperial martial art? Was this boy not a member of the Namgung Clan?
Tsk. He clicked his tongue and quickly shook off his stray thoughts. This was not an opponent he could afford to face while distracted.
Chiriring!
A thousand blades instantly surrounded Geom-hyeon’s body. Simultaneously, he gripped the hilt of his main weapon. It was a longsword, no longer a greatsword.
This was the true form of the Thousand Flower Sword. As the thousand outer blades detached, its slender, original shape was finally revealed.
"Hup...!"
Geom-hyeon ignored the falling sun and flew straight toward Seo-jun.
Swaak!
He was a peerless swordsman, escorted by a storm of a thousand blades.
Seo-jun narrowed his eyes and brought his hands—which had been pointing to the heavens and the earth—crashing together.
Primordial Unity Sun-Moon Art.
Right in front of Geom-hyeon’s eyes, all things in creation violently converged into a single, devastating point. Geom-hyeon hastily moved to block the singularity with his thousand blades.
Kwaaaaang—!!
Having barely managed to block the strike, Geom-hyeon’s figure was sent violently flying backward. He hastily corrected his posture mid-air and looked up at the sky. The massive, falling sun was now right in front of him. The entire world was boiling red from the sheer heat.
"Ha..."
Geom-hyeon let out a long sigh and pulled back the longsword in his hand.
He had to cut the sun with a single strike. But since he didn't possess a single shred of doubt in his own blade—
Sharpness.
He imbued his sword with only that one, singular essence: absolute sharpness.
A technique that has reached its absolute peak eventually embraces ten thousand paths.
The Return of All Paths to the Source. The absolute peak of sharpness cut straight through time and space, reaching the Ultimate Speed, and it contained Ten Thousand Variations as it moved flawlessly through the distorted space.
Slice—
The sun was cut. It was only a single swing, but the massive, blazing star was instantly divided into thousands of pieces before vanishing into nothingness.
However, a bitter smile formed on Geom-hyeon’s lips. This was no time to celebrate cutting down a sun.
"This is quite disconcerting..."
Fwaaaa!
Countless plum blossoms suddenly decorated the surrounding space. A massive tsunami rose from an illusory sea, taking the form of a roaring water dragon that bared its fangs, while the very earth below transformed into a giant fist that launched itself toward him.
"Am I dreaming...?"
The apocalyptic onslaught continued without pause. Every single martial art forming the barrage of attacks was completely different from the last.
Setting aside how this young man had even obtained those legendary techniques, it was a sheer volume of martial arts that one person could not possibly learn in a single lifetime.
As he reeled in absolute shock, Geom-hyeon’s racing thoughts arrived at only one terrifying possibility.
"Are you, perhaps, the avatar of a great being?"