Chapter 480
Chapter 480
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 124
>Chapter Title: Heavenly Demon Descent (2)
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"Ja Geum-jeong."
At Mok Kyung-un's call, the precept-breaking monk and Demon Subduing Fist Master Ja Geum-jeong approached with a puzzled expression.
He had no idea why Mok Kyung-un was suddenly summoning him.
As he wondered about it, Mok Kyung-un handed over Cheong-ryeong, whom he had been holding.
"Hold onto her."
"Cough, cough. To think this filthy monk, who's only ever beaten up stray spirits, is now being told to look after a soul..."
"I trust you. So protect her."
Ja Geum-jeong hesitated for a moment at Mok Kyung-un's short but weighty command, then extended both arms respectfully and replied.
"I obey your command."
Normally, even when hearing Mok Kyung-un's orders, he would respond without any proper courtesy, always calling him "master" in a flippant way.
Yet now, for the first time, he performed a proper salute, causing Seop-chun's eyes to widen in shock.
"Is the sun rising in the west? Did he just properly accept the order?"
At Seop-chun's snide remark, the precept-breaking monk Ja Geum-jeong smacked his lips and said.
"You... don't you feel it at all?"
"What are you talking about?"
"...Never mind."
"No. If you're going to ask something, at least give a proper answer, right?"
Ignoring the frustrated Seop-chun, Ja Geum-jeong gazed at Mok Kyung-un.
The last time he had seen him was in the bamboo grove of the ruined old fortress.
Even then, unlike their first meeting where he seemed wild and emotionless, he had been gradually developing the qualities of a true leader.
But now, Mok Kyung-un was different.
An indescribable majesty as an absolute being enveloped him.
Because of this, though Ja Geum-jeong had deep down refused to acknowledge him as anything more than a dirty bastard until now, he could no longer deny him as his true lord.
'Is this the vessel of one who leads all under heaven?'
Witnessing this change up close even stirred strange emotions within him.
Then, Mok Kyung-un approached Pal Dok-sa-jang Gu Yang-so, who lay collapsed with his abdomen pierced.
He placed his hand on Gu Yang-so's stomach and formed a hand seal.
-Tak! Tak! Tak!
Gu Yang-so's body twitched, the pallor returning to color in his face as his breathing steadied.
"Ah!"
Mok Kyung-un's loyal subordinates, who had thought his severe injuries were fatal, couldn't hide their astonishment.
Ignoring them, Mok Kyung-un now approached the soul Ha Yun, who was on the verge of dissipation with his limbs severed.
"You've paid your debt."
At those words, the soul Ha Yun managed a strained smile and replied.
-Your insight was flawless, my lord.
"........."
-This body failed you, unable to protect my lord even as a soul and repay that regret. Might you ease that regret for me?
"If that's enough."
-It will be. I've heard you must settle things with that one through mutual destruction.
-......I see.
So he too was entangled with Mok Gan through fateful enmity.
What an ironic twist.
Mok Kyung-un lightly patted the soul Ha Yun's shoulder and turned away.
He then addressed his subordinates.
"You've done well. Leave the rest to me and hold this place until the end."
'!?'
A command that felt more like a request.
Hearing it, Seop-chun, Ja Geum-jeong, and Mara-hyeon all had a glint in their eyes.
Something boiled deep in their chests.
In response, the three simultaneously dropped to one knee, clasped their hands together, and offered a fist salute toward Mok Kyung-un.
"Loyalty!"
Gazing at them with a faint smile, Mok Kyung-un soon erased it and began slowly floating upward.
The three watched the sight in bewilderment.
With the Tianji Society, Justice Alliance, Evil Alliance, and other major factions already entangled and slaughtering each other, what could he possibly do in this situation?
Even if Mok Kyung-un had grown stronger, achieving anything alone would be difficult.
Of course, his mere appearance would boost allied morale, but it wouldn't be enough to halt the war.
That was when it happened.
-Charrarararar!
A powerful trembling sound echoed.
Mara-hyeon saw the masterless swords quivering.
It wasn't just one blade.
All the swords scattered on the ground, even the weapons, resonated with something and began to shake, then,
-Dung dung!
The swords started rising into the air.
Dozens of blades on the peak lifted simultaneously, leaving Seop-chun's mouth agape at the spectacle.
"Th-this... You're going to unleash Flying Sword Control with all these swords?"
At his exclamation, Ja Geum-jeong, holding Cheong-ryeong, snorted derisively.
"Are your eyes knotholes?"
"What?"
"What does that look like to you?"
"Th-that... what the... this is..."
Seop-chun was at a loss for words at the scene unfolding before him.
And it wasn't happening just on their peak.
Across the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains where the war raged, on peaks and slopes everywhere, masterless swords and blades from warriors began slowly rising.
It was a sight to behold.
"Swords... no, weapons are floating."
"Wh-what the hell is going on?"
Bewildered voices erupted from various points on the peak.
Warriors from the three major factions, locked in fierce combat, could only gape dumbfounded at the rising weapons.
Even the leaders and executives of the factions were no exception.
Their attention was momentarily stolen by the weapons floating from all directions.
-Dung dung!
Unable to comprehend, it seemed like some bizarre phenomenon.
Open Faction Leader Hong Won-seok clicked his tongue and spoke.
"Hah. Weapons floating on their own—what kind of freakish event is this?"
Heavenly Origin Celestial Venerable. Even I have never seen such a sight."
Qingcheng Sect Leader Jin Seok-ja stared at his own sword, which trembled violently.
It felt as if the sword longed to escape his grasp.
-Parararar!
"Qingcheng Sect Leader. The swords are resonating with something. It's as if..."
Huashan Sect Leader Gu Cheol-ja swallowed dryly while eyeing his quivering Purple霞 Sword.
Instinctively, he sensed it.
The swords were drawn to the supreme prowess that commanded myriad blades.
It shook even the hearts of sword masters. Meanwhile,
Two peerless experts were crossing blades in an epic clash while leaping between peaks.
"Kahahahaha! They said you'd grown rusty from lack of combat, but that doesn't seem to be the case at all."
-Chae chae chae chae chae chang!
They were two of the Seven Heavens, the pinnacle of the current martial world: Evil Alliance Leader Broad Tyrant Blade Emperor Hang Sim and Spirit Sword Manor Lord Extreme Spirit Swordsman Go Cheon-mu.
Thanks to Mok Kyung-un, Go Cheon-mu had honed his Sword Dao to its extreme through more real battles and was now locked in a fierce exchange with Hang Sim without yielding an inch.
-Chae chae chae chae chae chang!
-Kwa kwa kwa kwa kwang!
Each clash of their swords from these grandmaster-level experts shattered the surroundings with shockwaves, and even the mere pressure of their sword qi claimed lives.
A single mistake in such a duel between grandmasters meant death.
Thus, both experts focused every nerve on their opponent.
'Strong. Incredibly strong.'
"Kahahahat. Yes. This is the kind of fight I've longed for."
The higher one's inaction, the harder it was to find a worthy foe.
Though enemies, encountering an opponent to truly measure against filled them with immersion in the duel.
Yet, their unstoppable clash halted in an instant.
-Hum!
The two peerless experts, clashing sword and blade with full power, abruptly stopped their techniques, created distance, and turned their gazes elsewhere.
They looked to the same place.
Above the peaks of the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, someone was floating, employing Aerial Void Step.
Go Cheon-mu recognized the figure immediately.
"My lord?"
It was none other than Mok Kyung-un.
The Shadow Sect Leader Hwan Ya-seon had sent messengers with no reply, but he had returned just in time, if a bit late.
But more than that, what was this?
Go Cheon-mu felt chills run through his body.
'A sword?'
Mok Kyung-un's very presence felt like a sword itself, an unimaginable supreme prowess enveloping all directions, resonating with and drawing in the blades.
-Parararar!
If even his sword, fused perfectly with his sword heart at the pinnacle of Sword Dao, writhed in his hand, did it mean another transcendence of realms?
"Hah?"
He wasn't the only one shocked.
Broad Tyrant Blade Emperor Hang Sim shuddered at the supreme prowess blanketing everything.
-Jururuk!
Even during his bout with Go Cheon-mu, not a drop of sweat had formed, but now cold sweat trickled from his brow.
What was that?
Did such a monster exist in the world?
The sight of countless swords rising under that supreme prowess was awe-inspiring; to resonate with and command so many blades was miraculous.
-Pak!
Broad Tyrant Blade Emperor Hang Sim gripped his trembling right hand with his left.
He dug his nails in to calm his excitement.
Finding a worthy rival was rare.
Encountering an absolute being beyond that was even rarer.
"Kahahahahaha!"
As if to shake off the awe surging from deep within, Hang Sim burst into booming laughter.
He then kicked off the air, employing Void Treading Step, and shot toward the floating Mok Kyung-un.
"Hang Sim!"
Go Cheon-mu shouted, but he was no longer Hang Sim's focus.
With such a delectable prey before him, one he might never encounter again in life, how could he hesitate?
Hang Sim gathered all his prowess toward Mok Kyung-un, preparing to unleash his ultimate technique.
But then,
-Swish!
Mok Kyung-un glanced indifferently at the incoming foe and lightly swept his hand.
-Chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa!
'!?'
Hang Sim's pupils shook as he performed Void Treading Step.
Over a hundred of the countless floating swords simultaneously flew toward him.
'Controlling this many swords at once?'
Was such a thing even possible?
His shock was brief.
"Hap!"
To counter, Hang Sim unleashed a tyrannical blade technique.
His blade, emitting blade qi spanning five spans, surged ferociously to meet the incoming swords.
-Chae chae chae chae chae chang!
'Damn it.'
The energy carried by the swords exceeded his expectations.
Despite gritting his teeth and pressing his blade technique, he couldn't withstand the relentless, wave-like assault of the Flying Sword barrage and was swept away.
-Chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa chwa!
"Kuh!"
'!!!!!!'
The warriors of the three factions watching were so stunned they were speechless.
'No way...'
'Broad Tyrant Blade Emperor Hang Sim?'
The Evil Alliance's strongest, one of the Seven Heavens, couldn't even approach before being overwhelmed by the wave of swords in an instant.
What in the world was that monster's true nature?
Inevitably, all eyes in the fierce battle turned to the being at the center of the thousands of swords blanketing the sky.
-Gooo oooo ooo!
Sweeping them with indifferent eyes, Mok Kyung-un finally spoke.
"I am the Heavenly Demon. The radiant flame that leads myriad demons and guides all into darkness."
End of Chapter 124: Heavenly Demon Descent (2)