079
079
"I told him to rampage, not to beat everyone to a pulp like dogs."
Lee Si-a, who had sneaked into the Qingcheng Sect wearing their martial robes amid the chaos, was thoroughly exasperated by the Sex Demon swinging the twin swords together with the Phoenix Chick Sword.
"It's a little strange that a descendant of Emperor Shaolie would be so outstanding in martial arts..."
Benevolent and virtuous? Skilled in survival? Wide earlobes?
The image of a warrior effortlessly thrashing the Qingcheng Sect didn't match Emperor Shaolie.
'Was Emperor Shaolie ever this strong in martial arts?'
In the days after arriving in Chengdu, Lee Si-a had researched Emperor Shaolie while the Sky-Soaring Lust Demon diligently harvested yin outside.
She'd bought information from the Hao Sect, hunted down and read the wildly overpriced popular romances, and even acquired a classical novel from the marketplace that claimed to reveal the Heavenly Dragon Emperor Twin High Sword directly.
Yoo Hyeon-deok was not a martial powerhouse.
Even so, could it truly be safe to unleash such martial prowess that even the Qingcheng Sect Leader tensed up, no matter how powerful the legacy?
'No matter how much you treat this as if an ancient figure had reappeared in the modern age, people would only believe it if he were at least Gwan Un-jang or Yeo Bong-seon.'
If the God of War's martial arts had reappeared, or a secret manual used by the strongest warrior of a past age were revealed to the world, the entire realm would boil over, not just Sichuan.
It was already a relief that it was only the Twin Old Eagle Swords. If something like the Heavenly Dragon Crescent Blade or the Sky Piercing Halberd actually emerged, not only the Orthodox Faction but the Unorthodox Faction and even the Imperial Palace would have jumped into a free-for-all.
Since it was the martial art of Emperor Shaolie, about whom people thought, 'Wasn't he someone benevolent but not particularly high in martial arts?', the commotion stayed relatively minor.
"Uwahaha! Falling Phoenix Strike!"
But that half-hearted view was over now. Swinging an ordinary iron sword in one hand and the Phoenix Chick Sword, which he called Gam-son-mi, in the other, he went wild gleefully, sweeping away the Qingcheng martial artists.
'Should I have told him to hold back a little?'
Even though the Qingcheng Sect wasn't the most powerful sect in Sichuan, they were an official member of the Nine Sects and One Gang, a White Path sect that, alongside the Emei Sect, stood as one of the two pillars of the region.
No matter how peerless a master of the Unorthodox Faction might be, this was too much.
At this rate, it looked as if one of the Ten Great Masters of the World had come to seal the Qingcheng Sect!
"...Tsk."
[Little Princess. Don't worry.]
Lee Si-a flinched at the sudden telepathic message.
The Sex Demon who had sent the message was swinging the twin swords at a Qingcheng elder, beating him sword and all. He was relaxed enough to send telepathic messages while taking on several elders at once.
[You're worried about something, aren't you? That Emperor Shaolie wasn't that Gang Ha, and I'm fighting too Gang Hage.]
A nod. Lee Si-a only nodded, afraid that sending a telepathic reply might distract him. She did so with the feeling that he would read her thoughts even without looking this way.
[Don't worry. It might be a different story if it were Emperor Shaolie himself, but I have a justification because I claim to be his descendant.]
'Descendant?'
[Do you know who the Later Ruler Yu Seon took as his wife?]
'That would be Jang Bi's daughter—'
"Ah."
Lee Si-a covered her mouth with her hand. The swordplay of the man who called himself Geom-je was ferocious and violent beyond measure.
[I told you before. The Later Ruler was never a fool. His own strength could not handle Emperor Shaolie's martial arts. So he 'chose' his wife.]
She didn't know if what he said was the truth. But her lips went dry at this unofficial history that fit the situation so well.
[Just as prestigious orthodox sects in the Murim arrange marriages, the Later Ruler blended the blood of one of the strongest warriors of his era into his own descendants.]
'And after a long time, the talent of that warrior blossomed in a descendant's body, bringing out the true nature of the Heavenly Dragon Emperor Twin High Sword?'
[That's right. And that body is me.]
"Uwahaha! Come at me! Yu Geomdam is here!"
Lee Si-a's lips were parched. Whether it was Geomdam or whatever, she felt pride seeing her man display such overwhelming martial might.
"Stop."
Sect Leader Byeok Bak-ja arrived at the training ground, radiating a menacing aura. Lee Si-a shivered as she sensed the weighty internal energy from Byeok Bak-ja.
'Peak Realm... no, Harmony Realm!'
This was different from what she'd heard. He must have sensed what Lee Si-a felt too, because he lowered his sword and watched Byeok Bak-ja closely.
[I'm not confident.]
"......."
Swish. Lee Si-a clenched her fist at the telepathic message. If things went wrong, she even considered using the Heavenly Demon Divine Art to draw attention, then breaking away with the Sex Demon.
That the Little Princess of the Demonic Cult had attacked the Qingcheng Sect didn't matter in the slightest. Lee Si-a—
[In losing.]
"......."
Lee Si-a nodded and unclenched her fist.
* * *
The commotion at the Qingcheng Sect spread to every corner of Sichuan and naturally reached the ears of the Sichuan Tang Clan as well.
"Aigoo, has that bastard Lee Jeong gone crazy!!"
Dang Sa-rim was shocked by Poison Demon Dang I-jeong's sudden attack.
"Attacking that place of all places?! Damn it, I'm glad we scratched him off the family register! That lunatic!"
"Elder Brother! Urgent report. They say he's fighting a running battle against the Twelve Elders."
"Of course he is—Sichuan Tang Clan blood runs through him! Naturally! Hmph!"
"......."
Dang O-dok was dumbfounded at how quickly Dang Sa-rim flipped his attitude.
"Elder Brother, there's also word that the sect leader will step in soon. Shouldn't we go immediately?"
"Cough. We should. ...But Clan Head, what if we go for nothing and then end up chasing that brat? Does that mean we have to fight him?"
"We were already attacked by him. If we take his side, we could be misunderstood for no reason."
"Even so, he probably won't reveal his identity to others, but we never know what might happen if it gets dangerous..."
Now what. One wrong move and even the government troops might step in to capture the man who attacked the Qingcheng Sect, this so-called Geom-je. No matter how much a martial nickname it was, using the word "emperor" was never good.
"...But, what if—really, seriously, what if that bastard really inherited Emperor Shaolie's martial arts? Then wouldn't it be a different story?"
"What nonsense are you saying, Elder Brother?"
"Think about it. Suppose Wudang's Uicheon Sword suddenly popped out of nowhere. If the Taiji Flower who mastered the Taiji Wisdom Sword came to claim it, who wouldn't acknowledge that claim?"
"......Well, that's a point?"
Ownership of swords in the Murim was generally determined by the legitimacy of the sect. If it was Emperor Shaolie's twin swords, then surely the one who learned Emperor Shaolie's martial arts should rightfully own them.
"Strictly speaking, didn't those Qingcheng bastards just take the swords from the tomb as they pleased?"
"Don't forget that the map came from our Tang Clan."
"Aish, skip the small stuff! What matters is how Gang Ha that bastard Lee Jeong is! If he's so Gang Ha that he smashes the entire Qingcheng Sect..."
Gulp. Dok-gwi and Crow Chaos Finger Disease had already seen Geom-je's strength with their own eyes. If the man who had subdued Dok-gwi with just two ordinary iron swords now got his hands on both the Crouching Dragon and Young Phoenix twin swords?
"Ah, no matter what, that's too much. ...Would he really win a duel against the Qingcheng Sect Leader?"
"R-right? That bastard Byeok Bak-ja is stronger than me, isn't he?"
Dok-gwi gulped down his saliva and licked his lips.
"......If Lee Jeong wins, should we carve his name back into the family register?"
"Elder Brother!"
Crow Chaos Finger Disease nearly burst a blood vessel from sheer frustration.
* * *
In the future, the Twin Old Eagle Sword Uproar ended in a head-on collision between three sects. The Sichuan Tang Clan, Emei, and Qingcheng developed irreconcilable emotional rifts, and the Twin Old Eagle Swords, the root cause of the turmoil, were reported lost.
Pretend lost, that is—the Murim Alliance took them. Having secretly recovered the Twin Old Eagle Swords, the Murim Alliance conducted extensive research from every angle to study Emperor Shaolie's lost martial arts.
The resulting discovery of the Heavenly Dragon Emperor Twin High Sword drove countless dual-wielders insane.
- Master it to the peak, and even the Profound Realm can be taken!
Those who uncovered the Heavenly Dragon Emperor Twin High Sword were none other than the Jegal Clan.
As a family with deep ties to Emperor Shaolie, the Jegal Clan was the most active in researching the Twin Old Eagle Swords and succeeded in revealing its secret—but because of that, an immense tragedy befell them.
- Hand over the secret of the Dragon Emperor Sword!
The Unorthodox Faction rabble, bewitched by the Dragon Emperor Sword's demonic allure, attacked the family of Jegal Gil, who was also the Strategist of the Murim Alliance, and took them hostage.
At the time, Jegal Gil was frantically busy stopping the Demonic Cult's schemes elsewhere, and in the end, the Unorthodox rabble slaughtered Jegal Gil's family to the last, save for one.
That boy later inherited the Dragon Emperor Sword, endured bitter hardships to avenge his family, and became the Sword Emperor (Geom-je).
His name: Jegal Geondam.
The descendant of the Jegal Clan who had wished for a sky as clear as water left the clan for the sake of revenge, abandoned the surname Jegal, and became Geondam. Driven solely by vengeance, he slaughtered the Unorthodox mob while wielding the twin swords, and in the end, he became the Sword Emperor.
And then he was killed by Blood Jiangshi. Had he been a woman, Blood Jiangshi would have drained him to the very marrow, but regrettably, Jegal Geondam was a man.
Even so, his blood naturally belonged to Blood Jiangshi. That blood remained in my memory and manifested as the power of the Sword Emperor.
In that sense, to honor him, I now call myself Geomdam. However, using his actual name prickled my conscience, so I decided to call myself Geomdam (劍淡) until the world acknowledges me as the Sword Emperor.
"The master of the Dragon Emperor Sword, Yu Geomdam, is here!!"
At the same time, I put on the Human Skin Mask to hide my face, disguising myself as if I were the true descendant of Emperor Shaolie.
"Geom...dam!"
Byeok Bak-ja pointed his sword at me, his face stiff with tension. Just like the Clear Wind Sword Technique, the forms of the Azure Cloud Crimson Sword—the sword art representing the Qingcheng Sect—unfolded before my eyes in their most perfect form.
"Qingcheng Sect Leader, Azure Cloud Crimson Sword, Byeok Bak-ja. Your name?"
"!!!"
All the Qingcheng elders had cleared out of the training ground. Not only the elders, but the disciples also scrambled up onto the training ground walls and swallowed hard.
"I am Geomdam."
"Your martial art?"
"Heavenly Dragon Emperor Twin High Sword!"
Even if I faked everything else, the name of the martial art could not be changed. It was my respect for the Sword Emperor who risked his life to protect his family against me, and in order to draw out the true power as the one wielding the Dragon Emperor Sword, I could shout it as many times as I pleased.
"...I thought it was only a novel."
"To hide a tree, place it in a forest. There was simply no other way to convey the truth to later generations."
To prevent the twin swords from falling into Jo Wi and Sama Jin's hands, the Later Ruler hid the Twin Old Eagle Swords somewhere other than the First Ruler's tomb. And he left foreshadowing of the Dragon Emperor Sword's location within the novel's content, desperately hoping his descendant would find it.
"But Sect Leader. I am an extremely busy man. I must visit not only this place but also the Emei Sect. So...shall we settle this in a single exchange?"
"Put everything into one bout? ...Good. I shall do so."
Flutter!
His indigo martial robes billowed widely. Byeok Bak-ja's internal energy began to seethe, and a clear, bright force started to flow from him.
"Receive Byeok Bak-ja's single sword!!"
"Whenever you're ready."
Byeok Bak-ja launched himself first. Defying the unwritten rule of the Murim that the first move is conceded to the weaker party, Byeok Bak-ja took the offensive first.
Fwooooosh----
Azure clouds churned enough to fill my entire field of vision. Between the clouds closing in like thick fog, a burning red sunset glow flashed toward me.
Staring straight at the sun naturally hurts the eyes. Toward the blade that pierced through the clouds with sunset light, I aimed the Phoenix Chick Sword sideways.
"Clouds and a sunset glow, is it."
He didn't seem to be hiding his power. In front of others he pretended to be at the Peak Realm and didn't give strength to his shoulders, but in truth, as the strongest warrior in the Sichuan region, he unfolded his Fate-Determining Technique against me.
'It's an attack I'm seeing for the first time.'
I had not drunk Byeok Bak-ja's blood. Before I could face him as Blood Jiangshi, he was already a being who had stepped down from his sect leader position and ascended.
In other words, after Byeok Bak-ja, no one in Qingcheng ever surpassed the Peak Realm.
"It's a pity. That from now on, no one will ever reach this level like you have. Qingcheng's future is dark."
"......!!"
"So I'll show you."
Clang!
I raised the swords in a cross. One held horizontally, the other in a reverse grip, I roused my internal energy. The sword that had pierced in like a ray of light through the red sunset bounced off the crossed swords.
"Kugh?!"
The attack failed. The killing stroke, hidden in the clouds and striking with the sunset at my back, did not reach me. Byeok Bak-ja's sword tip stopped just before my forehead.
"You are Gang Ha, Byeok Bak-ja."
Swish. A strand of my bangs was lightly severed. At the same time, the sword tip grazed the skin. Had it not been the Human Skin Mask, Byeok Bak-ja could have drawn my blood.
"You surpassed my expectations. I meant to prevent it from touching at all, but the very tip grazed me."
"......Just what are you."
"However!"
Woooooong----!!
Golden internal qi erupted from beneath me. Byeok Bak-ja, who had been flung into the air, hurriedly pulled back his sword and placed one hand on the flat of the blade.
"The Geom-je is even more Gang Ha!"
A crouching dragon ascending to the sky. A young phoenix beating its wings toward the earth. And between them, the sword-gripping Geom-je's internal energy. The moment the three become one, the power of the Dragon Emperor Sword is finally complete.
"Heavenly Dragon Ascension Slash!!"
The ultimate strike imbued with the single-minded will of Emperor Shaolie. I slashed the two swords vertically downward in parallel.
"Three Divisions of the World!"
Shick!
Byeok Bak-ja's sword split into three pieces. At the same time, red blood splattered from Byeok Bak-ja's shoulders. The two dragons that rose from left and right each clawed at Byeok Bak-ja's shoulders and then soared into the sky.
"Sect Leader!!"
"Do not act rashly!!"
The elders leaped down from the walls, but Byeok Bak-ja moved unsteadily. Discarding his broken sword, he saluted me with his hands clasped.
"......I acknowledge defeat."
A single bout was enough to gauge each other's skill. I put the bamboo hat I had removed back on my head and tossed aside the iron sword that was on the verge of breaking.
"Defeat must naturally be acknowledged, and I must receive an apology. The crime of stealing my sword without permission! After the Tang Clan, Qingcheng should be next to pay."
I leveled the Phoenix Chick Sword in all directions. Then I rested the sword on one spot.
"I will take back the sword. Instead, I will take Qingcheng's flower."
Thud!
I kicked off the ground, dashed, and roughly hoisted a woman wearing Qingcheng martial robes over my shoulder. It happened so instantaneously that no one even thought to chase me.
"Kyaaaaah!!!"
The woman warrior's scream echoed through Mount Qingcheng. I shouted as I squeezed her buttocks.
"Uwahaha! I'm taking this woman with me!! If you want to find her, come to where the Twin Old Eagle Swords were!!"
I had kidnapped a female martial artist of the Qingcheng Sect.
"S-stop touching me! Stop groping my butt with your hand!!"
"This is payment for the eye candy of watching a Harmony Realm master and a Profound Realm master clash in a single bout!"
"You made me disguise myself so you could do this!!!"
Squeeze squeeze.