Chapter 109: Not a Sword Immortal? Then He Must Die!
Baek Ze suddenly raised his right arm and flexed, his bulging veins standing out like they might burst.
“Just a little more, and I’ll fully unleash the power of my bloodline. When that happens, I’ll be way stronger than I am now!”
Mu Yun Qi glanced at Baek Ze’s face, looking puzzled.
“But big guy, I get that you’ve got a demon beast bloodline and all, but what the hell kind of beast is it? Don’t tell me it’s a cat or a dog……”
Thwack!
Mu Yun Qi went tumbling far into the grassy field.
But he sprang right back up and yelled at Baek Ze.
“Come at me!”
As if he’d been waiting for it, Baek Ze charged straight at him.
In an instant, the two tangled up in a chaotic brawl.
Yeop Hyeon shook his head with a helpless smile.
“Fine, we’ll do it your way! We go together. If we hit a wall, we die together!”
Yeop Hyeon rummaged at his waist and pulled out a gourd, tipping it to his mouth.
Mu Yun Qi and Baek Ze froze at the sight, like statues encased in ice.
In moments, Yeop Hyeon’s face and neck flushed bright red. At the same time, the Spirit Water Sword at his waist began to twitch.
“!!”
“Run for it!!”
Mu Yun Qi bolted without a backward glance, vanishing like the wind.
Baek Ze hesitated for a split second before whipping around and sprinting after him.
Drunk Yeop Hyeon was invincible under the heavens!
“Somebody save me—!”
In the spot they’d vacated, the bright moonlight still shone down on Yeop Hyeon. He slowly rose to his feet, staggering this way and that as he started walking. Trailing behind him, the Spirit Water Sword wobbled along like it was drunk too.
The next day.
O Ru-ju—the former Gu Ru-ju—visited Canglan Academy. The academy now boasted sixteen grand halls fully constructed, dwarfing the old one in scale. Truth be told, the previous Canglan Academy had fallen far short of deserving the name. Only now, with this size, could it proudly claim the title of a martial academy.
Canglan Hall.
The newly built hall was several times larger than before. It wasn’t flashy, but it carried its own distinctive aura.
Inside, Yeop Hyeon was just welcoming O Ru-ju.
“Lord O Ru-ju, please, have a seat!”
“Haha, no need for that! I’m just here to deliver something today!”
O Ru-ju pulled a golden plaque from his robes and handed it to Yeop Hyeon.
Yeop Hyeon took it and looked up at O Ru-ju, who laughed heartily.
“Hahaha! Take a guess how much is inside!”
Yeop Hyeon shook his head.
O Ru-ju chuckled lightly.
“360 million gold taels!”
Ten, hundred, thousand, ten thousand, hundred thousand, million…… ten million!?
Yeop Hyeon’s face twisted in shock at the word “ten million.”
360 million gold taels!
“Hahaha! You think that’s a lot?”
Yeop Hyeon nodded solemnly.
“It’s hardly a drop in the bucket!”
“Why’s that?”
“Do you know how much it costs to break through each realm after the Penetrating Nether Realm? Astronomical sums! Walking the martial path is basically burning money…… ahem, point is, it takes an insane amount. For a single Penetrating Nether Realm expert to advance, you need at least 200 million gold taels minimum. And that’s the bare bones. Add in spirit energy resources, weapons, techniques, and more……”
“The Penetrating Nether Realm takes that much, but to reach the Myriad Laws Realm? You’d have to sell a whole damn country!”
O Ru-ju shook his head, teeth practically grinding.
“If not for my master’s help, I never would’ve reached my current realm. Most people quit the martial path not for lack of talent or effort, but because they run out of money……”
The words hit Yeop Hyeon deep.
“Thank you for the lesson!”
O Ru-ju nodded and continued.
“Cultivation is like setting money on fire. And right now, you’ve got plenty of places it’ll go. Especially sword cultivators—they burn through resources faster than any other warrior. Won’t be long before Young Master Yeop is broke again!”
Yeop Hyeon grinned lightly.
“I’ll swing by Chwi Seon Ru soon to borrow some cash!”
“Hahaha! If it’s for you, I’ll do my utmost!”
“Hahaha!”
Suddenly, O Ru-ju’s laughter cut off.
“That said, you’ll need to stay cautious for a while, as you know.”
“What do you mean?”
O Ru-ju lowered his voice.
“Word from headquarters: unusual movements from the Dark Faction and Cangmu Academy.”
“Even the Sword Immortal’s power can’t hold them back?”
“Of course it can! But if Jungto Sinju gets involved, that changes everything!”
O Ru-ju cleared his throat and went on.
“Anyway, Cheongju’s Chwi Seon Ru lord told me directly—they might make a big move soon. Tell your master to be on guard!”
A Sword Immortal was one of the world’s rare powerhouses.
But invincible? Far from it.
Yeop Hyeon nodded gravely.
“Appreciate the warning. If you hear anything else, please let me know!”
“Naturally! And tell your master to prepare for the worst. Those sneaky bastards won’t come at you head-on. Especially the Dark Faction assassins—they’ll scheme something vile for sure!”
Yeop Hyeon nodded.
“Got it.”
“Good. Oh, and if your master gives the word, we can send Myriad Laws Realm experts or higher from Jungto Sinju anytime. Pass that along.”
O Ru-ju’s current aim wasn’t just Yeop Hyeon, but the Sword Immortal backing him too.
No fool in Chwi Seon Ru’s upper echelons would pass up recruiting a Sword Immortal.
For that, they were prepared to bleed a little!
Yeop Hyeon pondered briefly, then cupped his fists.
“Thank you for the consideration. This isn’t my call to make, so I’ll ask my master first!”
“Do that!”
Sword Immortals hated borrowing others’ hands by nature. O Ru-ju knew better than to send anyone without the master’s permission.
Soon after, O Ru-ju departed, and Yeop Hyeon left Canglan Hall for the bamboo grove.
Sitting cross-legged, he entered the Gyeok Ok Tower at once.
Looking up at the ceiling, Yeop Hyeon called out.
“Heavenly Maiden, someone’s gunning for you. What’s the plan?”
Now that they knew a Sword Immortal was here, any warriors they sent would surely outclass those from Ji Yuan Zhang’s time.
Canglan Academy’s Four Heroes couldn’t hold them off.
He waited a long time, but the Heavenly Maiden didn’t respond.
Yeop Hyeon gave a wry smile.
“These guys coming next will be top-tier powerhouses for sure. You okay with that?”
Then, a sheet of paper slipped from the crack under the second-floor door.
Yeop Hyeon unleashed his sword intent and examined the paper.
It was covered edge-to-edge in claw marks!
Yeop Hyeon blinked in confusion.
“What the hell does this mean?!”
Smack!
Yeop Hyeon’s body flew up and slammed into the wall.
He barely dragged himself up when another sheet flew at him.
Again, packed with countless claw marks.
Yeop Hyeon tilted his head.
“No, I can’t make heads or tails of……”
Smack!
Yeop Hyeon soared through the air once more.
Shaking off the daze, a third sheet arrived before him.
More claw marks etched all over it!
Finally snapping, Yeop Hyeon yelled.
“What the fuck! Who can read this shit? Can’t you write letters!? How am I supposed to figure it out with just claw marks, damn it……”
Crack!
Yeop Hyeon flew limply, muttering.
“Please……”
Cheongju, Daeun Capital.
Two old men stood before Hoyeon Hall of Cangmu Academy. One in black robes, the other white, yet their features were eerily similar.
They gazed at the green sword embedded atop the hall.
Behind them stood Dean Mok Cheonghyeon.
After a long stare at the sword, the white-robed elder spoke.
“The aura in this sword is fiercely intense, but there’s no sword intent to be found. It may have already dispersed…… If the original intent has vanished, its owner is likely a Sword Emperor, not a Sword Immortal!”
Not a Sword Immortal?
Mok Cheonghyeon turned to the white-robed elder.
The black-robed elder nodded.
“I know all the Sword Immortals of Jungto Sinju, but I’ve never heard of this one. He’s definitely not a Sword Immortal!”
The white-robed elder replied.
“If he’s not a Sword Immortal, then just kill him.”
“Exactly……”
Hearing he wasn’t a Sword Immortal lifted the mood for Mok Cheonghyeon and the others.
Their anxiety had stemmed from fear the sword’s owner might be one.
A Sword Immortal!
Terrifying, naturally.
But if not? No reason to fear anymore!
Cangmu Academy’s atmosphere surged in an instant.
The white-robed elder turned to Mok Cheonghyeon.
“The Dark Faction’s man hasn’t arrived yet?”
As Mok Cheonghyeon opened his mouth, both elders looked skyward. Moments later, an old man appeared in the distant sky, standing atop a bamboo stalk as he flew toward them.
The elder wore robes shimmering purple and violet, embroidered with eerie, unidentified ghost shadows that sent chills through any who beheld them.
He landed before Hoyeon Hall in a flash, smiling at the black- and white-robed elders.
“Well, if it isn’t Cangmu Academy’s two revered elders.”
The white-robed elder cupped his fists.
“And you are?”
The elder shook his head with a laugh.
“Haha, as you know, anyone who learns our Dark Faction’s names ends up dead.”
He was a Dark Faction assassin.
Dark Faction assassins had one iron rule: never reveal your name until the target dies.
The white-robed elder eyed the bamboo-wielding old man.
“Heading out now?”
“Haha, hold on. Someone else is coming.”
“Who?”
Gazing skyward, the bamboo elder answered the white-robed one’s question.
“A sword cultivator!”
The white-robed elder narrowed his eyes.
No ordinary sword cultivator, clearly.
“Haha, our Dark Faction just wants her corpse. We’ll hand the origin gold core to Cangmu Academy. Any other treasures, we split fair and square. Deal?”
They want the corpse……
The white-robed elder didn’t answer rashly.
A Sword Emperor-level sword cultivator’s corpse held boundless value in itself.
For another sword cultivator, studying it was a rare opportunity.
Finally, the white-robed elder nodded.
“Deal!”
“Hahaha! No objections then—let’s move to Cheongju the moment the sword cultivator arrives. But their protectors……”
The white-robed elder dismissed it casually.
“We’ve already handled them. Cangmu Academy has its pride!”
A sinister smile crept across the bamboo elder’s lips.
“Perfect then……”