Chapter 192: I'm Not Here for Small Talk
All eyes in the arena turned to Mak Cheonghyeon.
Was he really going to revert to the Myriad Laws Realm?
Below the crumbled cliff, Mak Cheonghyeon stared at Yeop Hyeon, blood continuously trickling from the corner of his mouth. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, Yeop Hyeon suddenly raised his sword and charged ferociously.
In the blink of an eye, Yeop Hyeon appeared before him and thrust his blade straight toward the other's brow.
It all happened in an instant.
Mak Cheonghyeon's pupils contracted as both his hands shot out toward the sword.
Thwack!
The Spirit Water Sword clamped between Mak Cheonghyeon's palms! At that moment, the ground beneath his feet began to crumble. Simultaneously, another sword streaked toward his side like lightning.
Mak Cheonghyeon flinched in alarm, releasing the Spirit Water Sword and thrusting out his twin palms toward the incoming blade. A tremendous surge of energy erupted from his palms.
Boom!
The instant his powerful energy blocked Yeop Hyeon's sword, Yeop Hyeon stepped forward and stabbed with the Spirit Water Sword.
Mak Cheonghyeon's eyes narrowed. There was no retreat now—his back was against the cliff.
'Can't dodge it!'
Mak Cheonghyeon bent his knees and sprang up, punching toward the Spirit Water Sword. When the distance between fist and blade was mere inches, his fist spun violently.
Whoosh!
The explosive sound of tearing air echoed through the arena as Yeop Hyeon's sword closed in.
Bang!
Mak Cheonghyeon's fist barely blocked the sword, but his knees had buckled more than halfway. To make matters worse, cracks spiderwebbed across the cliff behind him, causing it to collapse rapidly.
The arena fell deathly silent in an instant. Countless elders and students from Changmok Academy watched the scene, scarcely daring to breathe.
At that moment, Yeop Hyeon tensed his grip on his sword and pressed downward.
The Spirit Water Sword shattered the fist aura enveloping Mak Cheonghyeon's punch and descended.
Slash!
The instant Mak Cheonghyeon's right arm was severed, he gritted his teeth and drove his left fist into Yeop Hyeon's abdomen.
Thud!
Yeop Hyeon's body flipped somersaulting through the air before slamming into the ground, which cracked open with a sharp snap.
But Yeop Hyeon quickly rose, wiped the blood from his mouth, and crooked his finger.
Whoosh!
A sword shot forth like an arrow! Mak Cheonghyeon swung a punch at the incoming blade.
Boom!
As the sword rebounded, six sword gleams simultaneously bore down on him.
Mak Cheonghyeon's pupils trembled violently. In desperation, he raised his index finger to his brow. A tremendous energy swelled within him in an instant.
His aura surged to nearly the Myriad Laws Realm—but it wasn't a true reversion.
Under countless gazes, Mak Cheonghyeon stepped forward and pointed at the space ahead. The air before him rippled strangely. The six arriving swords halted against this barrier, unable to advance an inch. But Mak Cheonghyeon's body trembled uncontrollably.
Yeop Hyeon crooked his finger again, and the six swords dissolved into light, returning to the sword sheath on his back.
A brief silence fell.
Ring!
The moment sword cries rang out, seven sword gleams shot skyward from Yeop Hyeon's back.
Yeop Hyeon stepped forward, raised his right hand, and pointed at distant Mak Cheonghyeon. The seven swords plummeted like thunderbolts toward his head.
Mak Cheonghyeon's eyes were no longer sane.
With the situation this dire, he had no choice but to stake his life.
Just before the swords struck, Mak Cheonghyeon kicked off the ground and soared upward, thrusting out a palm toward the seven blades. The entire sky twisted bizarrely.
A palm nearing the Myriad Laws Realm.
Mak Cheonghyeon had drawn out the utmost limits of the Divine Fusion Realm.
Boom!
The seven swords halted midair, their sharp sword auras vanishing instantly.
Right then, Yeop Hyeon gripped the Spirit Water Sword and shot into the sky.
Bang!
With a massive crash, Mak Cheonghyeon's body was flung brutally to the ground. As Yeop Hyeon moved to deliver the finishing blow, countless shadows appeared to block his path before Mak Cheonghyeon.
Elders and instructors from Changmok Academy, along with its students, had instantly surrounded Yeop Hyeon.
Jeers erupted in the arena.
Yeop Hyeon and Mak Cheonghyeon had been locked in a one-on-one duel, and Mak Cheonghyeon was even a realm higher. For Changmok Academy's warriors to now attack Yeop Hyeon drew the boos.
"Cowardly!"
"Back off right now!"
Those who had always brimmed with pride as Changmok Academy members flushed red with shame for the first time amid the jeers.
Yeop Hyeon sighed deeply and shook his head.
"What is this nonsense?"
He then turned his gaze to Mak Cheonghyeon, collapsed on the ground.
"Dean Mak, if you can't beat me, just admit defeat honestly. I swear on my name I won't kill you."
Cough!
Mak Cheonghyeon spat black blood, glaring at Yeop Hyeon. His eyes mixed hatred with some unknowable complex emotion.
Right then, he realized Yeop Hyeon's true terror.
Yeop Hyeon was merely at the Penetrating Nether Realm.
If Yeop Hyeon reached the Divine Fusion Realm, he could truly contend with Myriad Laws Realm experts.
'Monster!'
Yeop Hyeon chuckled.
"Dean Mak, will you fight alone, or swarm me? Let's make it clear!"
"Fight alone!"
"Wasn't it supposed to be one-on-one?"
Cries demanding a fair duel filled the arena.
Yeop Hyeon raised a hand toward the crowd, and the voices gradually died down.
He smiled at the arena.
"At this point, allow me a proper introduction. I am Yeop Hyeon, dean of Canglan Academy in Jiang Kingdom. Some call me Jiang Kingdom's foremost handsome man."
Laughter burst from the crowd at his words.
Yeop Hyeon raised his sword toward the Changmok Academy students.
"Does anyone from Changmok Academy dare face me?"
"Yeop Hyeon!"
A Changmok Academy student glared at him and stepped forward.
"You..."
Stab!
He couldn't finish his sentence, clutching his throat. Yeop Hyeon's sword had pierced it in that instant.
The arena's atmosphere turned icy cold, as if doused with freezing water.
Yeop Hyeon crooked his finger, and the sword withdrew from the throat, returning to his side. He pulled a white cloth from somewhere and began wiping the blood from his blade.
"I'm here to kill, not chat."
Gazing at his reflection on the blade, Yeop Hyeon raised it again toward the Changmok Academy members.
"Next!"
The Changmok Academy students glared murderously, but none stepped up.
Yeop Hyeon snorted and turned to Mak Cheonghyeon.
"Dean Mak, Yeop Hyeon's head—the one your Changmok Academy so desperately wanted—is right here. Why stand there like idiots?"
"Yeop Hyeon!"
One student couldn't contain his rage and charged forward.
"How dare you insult our Changmok Academy..."
Yeop Hyeon hurled his sword.
Slash!
The student's head, dozens of feet away, sprayed blood and flew into the sky.
Yeop Hyeon extended his hand, and the Spirit Water Sword flashed back like lightning. He pointed the tip at the enraged Changmok Academy students.
"Insult? Well said! That's exactly why I'm standing here today—to humiliate you all! So quit the nonsense and come at me! To save time, all warriors below Myriad Laws Realm, attack at once! I'll handle you all myself!"
The silent arena erupted in clamor.
There were over a thousand Changmok Academy students gathered here.
'One against a thousand!?'
'Even for Yeop Hyeon, isn't this insane!?'
Meanwhile, the Changmok Academy students' faces darkened. How could they endure such humiliation?
Soon, several students rushed at Yeop Hyeon.
As he smiled at them, his back sheath opened, unleashing seven swords. In a flash, seven students collapsed with hearts pierced, dead without a sound.
"Stop!"
Mak Cheonghyeon's roar echoed. The students about to charge halted abruptly.
But his command only held for Changmok Academy students. Yeop Hyeon plunged into their midst with sword in hand. In moments, over a dozen more crumpled to the ground.
"Insolent bastard!"
Mak Cheonghyeon bellowed in fury and charged. The moment he faced Yeop Hyeon, he sensed something off.
Yeop Hyeon was grinning, as if he'd been waiting for this.
Mak Cheonghyeon desperately tried to release his seal and revert to Myriad Laws Realm.
But it was too late.
His surroundings were already blocked by twelve golden figures.
The twelve golden men charged at Mak Cheonghyeon simultaneously. Amid them, a single sword gleam flashed.
One Sword Determines Life and Death!
Changmok Academy's Myriad Laws Realm experts leaped into the arena with alarmed expressions. But it was over. Yeop Hyeon's sword had already pierced Mak Cheonghyeon's brow.
Silence followed.
'He's dead...?'
'The dean is dead...?'
The minds of every Changmok Academy warrior went blank as a white sheet.
Mak Cheonghyeon, sword embedded in his forehead, smiled at Yeop Hyeon.
"You've waited for this moment... for so very long... If you think this is the end, you're mistaken... Yeop Hyeon... I, Mak Cheonghyeon, may die here... but the headquarters holds dozens, hundreds more like me... You..."
Stab.
As Yeop Hyeon's sword plunged deeper into his skull, no more words came.
Yeop Hyeon shook his head.
"Dozens, hundreds of Mak Cheonghyeons? How frightening."
His sword flashed.
Slash!
Mak Cheonghyeon's head soared high into the sky.
Yeop Hyeon lightly raised the Spirit Water Sword, snagging the lead ring from Mak Cheonghyeon's finger. Without looking, he pocketed it and turned to the frozen Changmok Academy warriors.
"This isn't satisfying enough. I want to kill more—what do you say?"
"......"