113
Chapter 113
“A disciple of the Hwasan Sword Saint. The Hwasan Sword Devil, Mu Hwi. Clearly, this is our first meeting.”
Hundred-Faced Old Demon examined Mu Hwi with an intrigued gaze, as if looking at something fascinating.
“How did you recognize me?”
“Do you think there’s anyone else in the martial arts world who would pull such a vile trick?”
There was no one else in the world who could perfectly mimic Dokgo Heon’s appearance—enough to steal Mu Hwi’s attention—and even replicate the energy flow of the Dokgo Mind Technique. The only one capable of such a feat was Hundred-Faced Old Demon, who had mastered the Byeonhonsaryugong.
“A vile trick, you say? Tell me, is there any other pastime in this world as thrilling and elegant as this? If so, enlighten me.”
Hundred-Faced Old Demon covered his entire face with both palms and continued speaking.
“Reading, indulging in wine and dance, gourmet food, women, slaughter, wealth, martial arts—none of them are as entertaining as humans.”
The voice behind the palms gradually changed, becoming more familiar—it was now the voice of Hyeon Jo.
“Tearing humans apart, toying with them, breaking them—and witnessing the myriad reactions that follow. There’s no greater joy than this.”
When he lowered his hands, Hundred-Faced Old Demon’s face had transformed into Hyeon Jo’s.
No matter how exceptional one’s face-changing and bone-shifting techniques were, mimicking another’s face usually required supplementary tools depending on the level of detail. Yet Hundred-Faced Old Demon could alter his face freely using only those two martial arts.
Watching this, Dokgo Yul’s face turned from red to deathly pale, while Mu Hwi barely suppressed the killing intent surging within him.
To kill, one must first control their killing intent.
It was a strange and paradoxical principle of martial arts.
Mu Hwi exhaled a heated breath and glared at Hundred-Faced Old Demon, who wore Hyeon Jo’s face with a benevolent expression.
“I had many theories about why you created the secret caves, but it seems I wasted my time. You probably built them just for amusement, out of sheer malice.”
“You know me well. Did the Sword Saint tell you about me in his lifetime?”
Hundred-Faced Old Demon, wearing Hyeon Jo’s face, burst into laughter at Mu Hwi’s words. Though the face and smile were the same, the feeling was entirely different from the Hyeon Jo in Mu Hwi’s memories.
“Disciples. What did you feel when you heard about the appearance of your master's secret caves? I’m truly curious. Tell me. Did you miss them? Were you sad? Or were you pleased to find new traces of your masters?”
“You’re a mad old monster.”
Dokgo Yul, disgusted by the echoing laughter, raised his Greatsword with a grimace.
Mu Hwi was no different. With a cold expression, he silently gripped the energy of the Plum Blossom Sword.
Seeing the unshaken, dignified demeanor of the Sword Saint and Sword Devil’s disciples, Hundred-Faced Old Demon’s laughter dried up slightly.
“Meeting you was amusing, but your reactions are disappointing. I wanted to see your expectations and vain hopes shatter, to watch you despair and rage.”
After a moment of contemplation, Hundred-Faced Old Demon slapped his knee and nodded. Switching back to Dokgo Heon’s face and voice, he gripped the Black Iron Greatsword and spoke.
“Let’s do this. I’ll slaughter everyone over there in the guise of the Sword Devil. The Paewangseong has deep grudges against the Sword Devil, and the Hwasan Sect reveres him with a memorial tablet. I wonder how they’ll react when rumors spread that they were massacred by the Sword Devil, whom they thought was dead.”
Watching Hundred-Faced Old Demon, wearing Dokgo Heon’s face, burst into mad laughter, Dokgo Yul finally snapped and roared like a tiger.
“Don’t you dare tarnish my master’s name!”
His rationality shattered, Dokgo Yul lunged forward, but Mu Hwi grabbed his shoulder.
With a firm grip and an infusion of internal energy, Dokgo Yul glared at Mu Hwi with murderous eyes. But Mu Hwi only smirked in response.
“Sorry, but I’ll take care of this.”
At that smile, strength drained from Dokgo Yul’s grip on his sword.
Because Mu Hwi’s smile resembled their master’s far more than Hundred-Faced Old Demon’s imitation.
After staring at Mu Hwi’s smile for a long moment, Dokgo Yul nodded and quietly stepped back.
Seeing this, Hundred-Faced Old Demon laughed.
“Come to think of it, the disciples I raised—the Assassin Demons—were killed by your hand. You’ve ruined all the toys I painstakingly crafted.”
“Was it your doing? The twisted thoughts and grudges of the Assassin Demons?”
“Kehaha!”
Hundred-Faced Old Demon lunged at Mu Hwi, laughter spilling from his lips. His movements resembled the Dokgo Divine Technique.
Whoosh!
The Black Iron Greatsword in Hundred-Faced Old Demon’s hands stirred a heavy wind. The sword turned gray, following the subtleties of the Dokgo Sword Technique.
Not only was Hundred-Faced Old Demon mimicking the Dokgo Mind Technique through the Byeonhonsaryugong, but he was also convincingly replicating the Sword Devil’s martial arts.
The sight disgusted Mu Hwi.
Seeing Hundred-Faced Old Demon imitate his past self was utterly revolting.
Suppressing his rising anger, Mu Hwi adjusted his grip on the Plum Blossom Sword. The blade shimmered purple, as if painted.
Instead of responding with the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Technique, Mu Hwi countered with the Iron Plum Sword Technique.
Clang!
The collision of the two swords sent a deafening roar through the cliffs.
As the Dokgo Sword Technique and Iron Plum Sword Technique clashed, shockwaves erupted in all directions, splitting the ground beneath their feet and sending stone fragments flying.
Feeling the sword energy flowing through the Black Iron Greatsword, Hundred-Faced Old Demon glanced at Mu Hwi in slight surprise.
The Plum Blossom Sword wasn’t suited for Greatsword techniques. Yet it matched the weight and power of the Black Iron Greatsword—proof of Mu Hwi’s deep understanding of Greatswords.
“Surprising! For a disciple of the Sword Saint, your mastery of Greatswords is remarkable. I’d believe you were the Sword Devil’s disciple.”
“You vermin. You’re quite good at imitation.”
“I’ve always been fascinated by the Sword Saint and the Sword Devil.”
Simultaneously, Hundred-Faced Old Demon and Mu Hwi stomped the ground, overturning the earth. The rising dust split apart under the fierce sword winds from both sides.
Krrrrack!
Each clash of their blades produced ear-splitting roars.
The shockwaves pouring forth like tidal waves would have made weaker martial artists vomit blood from mere exposure.
Mu Hwi’s shoulder shuddered as he blocked the Black Iron Greatsword aimed at his waist.
Though overshadowed by his atrocities and elusive nature, Hundred-Faced Old Demon’s martial prowess alone was on par with the emperors.
His ability to flawlessly replicate other martial arts, despite mastering the bizarre Byeonhonsaryugong, was proof enough.
Had he abandoned the Black Iron Greatsword and used his true martial art, the White Ape Palm Technique, Mu Hwi, already injured, would have been at a severe disadvantage.
‘The sword marks in the secret cave, his surprisingly adept use of the Dokgo Sword Technique…’
Mu Hwi twisted his shoulder to evade a diagonal slash. At the same time, he struck the flat of the Black Iron Greatsword, deflecting it sideways, and in that opening, he swung a Greatsword wind in a slanting arc.
All the while, Mu Hwi never missed a single movement of the Black Iron Greatsword.
‘He’s mimicking the Dokgo Sword Technique, but it’s not perfect. Yet he insists on using it—just for amusement?’
It seemed Hundred-Faced Old Demon had put considerable effort into imitating the Sword Devil and took pride in it.
Blocking an upward slash aimed at his chin, Mu Hwi focused on the Black Iron Greatsword in Hundred-Faced Old Demon’s hand.
The crack formed when he blocked the masked man’s devilish energy in his past life. Mu Hwi’s Plum Blossom Sword shot straight toward that fissure.
As Mu Hwi’s entire body rotated, the Plum Blossom Sword drew a sharp arc in the air and swung down with a clean motion.
Kwaaaang!
A thunderous explosion echoed as Hundred-Faced Old Demon was forced back for the first time. Mu Hwi pursued, stepping with the Dark Scent Flutter.
While relentlessly slashing to disrupt the Dokgo Sword Technique’s rhythm, he layered the Purple Sunset Divine Energy, further increasing the Plum Blossom Sword’s weight.
‘Hmph.’
A metallic taste filled Mu Hwi’s mouth, but he ignored it and swung the sword.
Though his internal energy occasionally faltered due to his injuries, Mu Hwi maintained his offensive with precise control.
During their exchange, Mu Hwi occasionally left openings, but Hundred-Faced Old Demon found it difficult to exploit them.
Instead of retreating or defending, Mu Hwi pushed forward, unleashing fierce strikes to force Hundred-Faced Old Demon back.
A sword stance focused solely on offense.
Even defense was achieved through attack.
This was the essence of the Dokgo Sword Technique—pursuing efficiency in swiftly and decisively cutting down enemies.
No matter how well Hundred-Faced Old Demon mimicked the form, he couldn’t replicate the philosophy behind it.
‘How dare you imitate the Dokgo Sword Technique?’
Mu Hwi infused the Iron Plum Sword Technique with the movements of the Dokgo Sword Technique. Purple light scattered violently through the air.
The fierce purple trails left vivid marks in the sky.
Kwa-ga-gang!
The Plum Blossom Sword relentlessly hammered the Black Iron Greatsword.
Mu Hwi targeted only the crack in the sword.
The freely shifting techniques of the Iron Plum Sword Technique struck the Black Iron Greatsword with overwhelming force.
Each strike carried the power to split boulders, falling like a cascade of petals.
Mu Hwi’s robe fluttered wildly as he unleashed the Iron Plum Sword Technique like a storm. Stepping forward, he swung the sword upward in a devastating arc from below.
“Hup!”
Hundred-Faced Old Demon hastily retracted the Black Iron Greatsword, using it as a shield to block.
Forced back a step by the Iron Plum Sword Technique’s assault, Mu Hwi advanced two steps and thrust the Plum Blossom Sword forward.
Kaaang!
Hundred-Faced Old Demon tried to block the thrust aimed at his heart by tilting the Black Iron Greatsword to use its broad side.
Mu Hwi poured more strength into the Plum Blossom Sword, driving it into the crack. As the blade wedged into the fissure, Mu Hwi gritted his teeth and tightened his grip.
The veins on his hand bulged as he twisted the sword. The rotation traveled through the vibrating blade to its tip.
The bent tip of the Plum Blossom Sword struggled to rotate within the crack.
Screech!
A sharp metallic screech echoed from the fissure. Realizing Mu Hwi’s intent, Hundred-Faced Old Demon struck the Black Iron Greatsword’s blade with his left palm.
Thud!
With a massive recoil, Mu Hwi and Hundred-Faced Old Demon were flung back more than five steps each.
“Hwasan Sword Devil—”
“Shut up!”
As Hundred-Faced Old Demon tried to speak, Mu Hwi immediately stepped forward, shooting toward him like a spear.
Unlike Hundred-Faced Old Demon, who was in peak condition, Mu Hwi was not at his best after his battle with the Sword King. A prolonged fight was unfavorable, so he had to end it quickly.
The Plum Blossom Sword, which had been pointing skyward, slowly descended. Hovering at an ambiguous height between mid and low stance, the Purple Sunset Sword Energy compressed further.
Layered multiple times, the energy was so dense it seemed the Plum Blossom Sword might shatter under its own weight, already surpassing that of the Black Iron Greatsword.
Whoosh!
A mere flick of the sword made the surrounding air tremble faintly.
Without even touching the ground, the sword’s mere presence left scars on the earth.
The nameless nine techniques Mu Hwi had created in his past life as the Sword Devil. Though they had helped him devise the Twenty-Four Hands Plum Blossom Sword Technique, he didn’t stop there.
Believing he could create a sword technique surpassing the Dokgo Sword Technique, he had continued his research.
To one day pass on a new sword technique to Dokgo Yul, in order to fulfill, for the first and last time, the proper duty of a master.
Mu Hwi now unleashed one of those techniques, blended into the Iron Plum Sword Technique. His ankle twisted, his waist turned, and the Plum Blossom Sword naturally rose to a high stance.
Kwaaang!
As Mu Hwi’s stomp split the earth like a spiderweb, the Plum Blossom Sword plunged down like lightning.
The overwhelming sword energy seemed to carve through the very air. The torn atmosphere burst repeatedly as the sword surged forward.
In an instant, the Plum Blossom Sword vanished, only to reappear directly above the Black Iron Greatsword, releasing all its condensed energy in a single explosion.
Thud!
A deafening roar, like a temple bell shattering, engulfed the entire Bongwon Mountain.
Struck directly on the crack, the Black Iron Greatsword finally gave way, splitting in two.
‘I’m sorry.’
Having personally destroyed the sword that had accompanied him in his past life, Mu Hwi felt a pang of regret.
Hundred-Faced Old Demon, retreating as he lost grip of the Black Iron Greatsword, stared at his palm.
Unable to withstand Mu Hwi’s strike, his hand was torn and bleeding profusely.
“Kehahaha!”
Despite his injury, Hundred-Faced Old Demon laughed heartily, reaching for the broken hilt of the Black Iron Greatsword.
Thunk!
Just an inch away from the hilt, his hand could move no further.
Mu Hwi, gripping the Plum Blossom Sword in reverse, had impaled the Hundred-Faced Old Demon’s palm and driven the sword into the ground.
Gritting his teeth, Mu Hwi glared into Hundred-Faced Old Demon’s eyes, still filled with the mischief of a wicked child.
“That’s not a sword you’re worthy of wielding.”
< That’s not a sword you’re worthy of wielding. > End.
< In this world, is there any death that stands out? >