Chapter 149
Chapter 149
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 149
Chapter Title: The Demonic Sword of the North Sea
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Crack!
This time, it was the opposite wrist. The moment it was seized, it shattered into pieces, rendering it utterly useless as a wrist any longer. Yet the pain transmitted vividly.
“Keueueuk!”
Dan Hyeong-u swung his arm, hurling Chae Ok-ryong away.
Thud!
Chae Ok-ryong couldn't even scream properly amid the suffocating agony. The pain radiating from both wrists and the impact against the ground clouded his mind. But even losing consciousness was beyond his control.
Dan Hyeong-u's foot rested lightly atop Chae Ok-ryong's leg.
“Euaaaak!”
Chae Ok-ryong let out a scream more wretched than any before.
Dan Hyeong-u stood there, his face still expressionless, foot planted on the man's leg.
Jo Seol-yeon glanced at Umun Hye. Umun Hye met her gaze with a wry smile. As Jo Seol-yeon shook her head, Umun Hye nodded once and approached Dan Hyeong-u.
She placed a gentle hand on his shoulder and whispered,
“That's enough now, Young Master. Please stop.”
As her words fell, a faint expression flickered across Dan Hyeong-u's face, as if by magic.
Flash!
A bolt of lightning streaked down, ending Chae Ok-ryong's brief life.
“Let's head back.”
With that, Dan Hyeong-u took the three women by the hands, two in each of his, and vanished.
All that remained on the shores of Dongjeong Lake was the corpses of the bandits who had claimed to belong to King Yama Fortress, drawing the eyes of onlookers. Whispers began to spread among the nearby crowd about Dan Hyeong-u and the three celestial maidens who had appeared and disappeared like phantoms.
After returning from Dongjeong Lake, Dan Hyeong-u rarely left his room, lost in endless contemplation.
Lately, living among these people had brought a series of events. Each time, he felt something within him shifting ever so slightly.
Standing motionless before his bed, Dan Hyeong-u suddenly wondered if he might be able to lie down on it.
He lay upon the bed without hesitation, tension fully released—unlike his usual state. His body sank into the soft bedding.
Surprisingly, no discomfort arose. It was simply... comfortable.
“So this is what it feels like to lie down.”
He was glad to finally understand the sensation. But the joy was fleeting. A creeping unease began to slither up his back, soon sharpening into the bite of a knife intent on lacerating his entire body.
Dan Hyeong-u bolted upright.
“Still not quite yet, it seems.”
He muttered to himself, intuiting the truth. The day he could lie down and sleep peacefully would bring another change within him—one that would surely affect his swordsmanship.
Dan Hyeong-u wasn't the only one altered by the trip to Dongjeong Lake. Umun Hye had changed, Jegal Rin had changed, and even Jo Seol-yeon had shifted, if only slightly.
In Jo Seol-yeon's case, it was hardly noticeable. She had simply followed Dan Hyeong-u to the lake, witnessed him slay a few men, and returned. She had seen such displays from him many times before. Yet this instance felt subtly different. What mattered was that Dan Hyeong-u had raged on Umun Hye's behalf.
Whether he realized it himself or not, didn't that mean Umun Hye had carved a deep place in his heart? The thought made Jo Seol-yeon's own thoughts and actions feel a touch restrained. Still, she remained largely unchanged—no one but herself would even notice.
Umun Hye and Jegal Rin, however, had transformed dramatically. Umun Hye clung to Dan Hyeong-u even more fiercely. After the incident at Dongjeong Lake, her feelings for him blazed hotter than ever, plain for all to see—including herself and those around her.
Moreover, her allure had intensified. As her love deepened, so did the seductive charm she wielded to entice him—a natural progression. But for Umun Hye, it was especially pronounced, beyond even her control. This posed a slight issue.
Even her veil could no longer conceal it. How could one hide the sensuality emanating from her very bearing?
Umun Hye paid it no mind. Only her shadow guards suffered, the White Lion Squad and Azure Lion Squad fully mobilized to protect her with utmost vigilance.
Jegal Rin's change differed from Umun Hye's or Jo Seol-yeon's. While those two had evolved through their affections for Dan Hyeong-u, Jegal Rin's catalyst was the Blood Shadow Sword.
Whether sparked by the events at Dongjeong Lake, the vast lake opening her mind, or some subtle aid from Dan Hyeong-u, she had drawn closer to the secret etched in the sword's pattern.
She gripped the edge of that mystery and delved into relentless research, leaving even the Sword Demon unable to train with the Blood Shadow Sword.
Of course, the Sword Demon willingly yielded, believing her unraveling of the pattern's secret would ultimately benefit him as well.
Among the three, Jegal Rin had undergone the greatest transformation.
Another ten days passed.
“This is exhausting.”
Despite her words, Jegal Rin's face beamed with refreshment as she flung herself onto the bed. For ten days, she had barely eaten or slept, utterly consumed by the Blood Shadow Sword. The result? She had unearthed one profound secret: the purpose behind the Heavenly Qi Master's creation of the blade.
Jegal Rin rolled about on the bed with her haggard face before sitting up. For now, she wanted to wash and rest easy. Then, share her discovery with the Sword Demon.
As the Blood Shadow Sword's master, he needed to know. It bore immense relevance to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, now the rallying point for the demonic folk.
“You've returned. Seeing you bring the Blood Shadow Sword means you've either given up or overcome it—one or the other. Your face tells me congratulations are in order? Heh heh.”
Jegal Rin smiled brightly and offered the Blood Shadow Sword with reverence. As the Sword Demon took it, he felt dense demonic qi envelop his body. Each glance, each touch reaffirmed the blade's immense power, leaving him awestruck.
“Holding the sword after so long stirs the urge to dance with it once more. Mind waiting a moment, even with words to share?”
Jegal Rin nodded, smile unwavering. A brief wait was no issue. Truth be told, she wanted to witness the Blood Shadow Sword's power firsthand—it would surely fuel her ongoing research.
The Sword Demon rose and headed to the training grounds, Jegal Rin following.
Upon arrival, he swung the sword without preamble, launching into a sword dance. No preparatory movements, no hesitation. The Blood Shadow Sword responded as if it had anticipated the display, pouring forth demonic qi in harmony.
Soon, the training grounds were shrouded in demonic qi. And the Sword Demon began to levitate.
Jegal Rin watched, utterly entranced by the Sword Demon's astonishing sword dance. She had witnessed nothing so magnificent since Dan Hyeong-u's inhuman display long ago.
The sword dance concluded. The Blood Shadow Sword gleamed with eerie crimson after its long-awaited exercise.
“Truly astonishing. I only now realize the extent of your prowess, Elder.”
“Heh heh, idle talk. I live alongside one whose toenail clippings outshine me.”
Jegal Rin sensed the sentiment in the Sword Demon's words—akin to the emotions she felt when overshadowed by the Heavenly Qi Master's lingering legacy.
“The world is brimming with too many geniuses.”
The Sword Demon laughed at her remark.
“Heh heh heh! Quite right. Geniuses abound in excess. Yet not one can rival that single individual.”
Jegal Rin knew he meant Dan Hyeong-u. Before his absolute power, all else—martial arts, formations, even legendary weapons like the True Heavenly Thunder—proved meaningless.
“Indeed.”
The Sword Demon sheathed the Blood Shadow Sword at his waist and approached her.
“Now, speak what you came to say. You've uncovered the Blood Shadow Sword's secret?”
“Less a secret, more its very purpose—why it was forged.”
Interest lit the Sword Demon's face.
“And? Why?”
“The Blood Shadow Sword was made to free demonic practitioners from the Golden Demon Art.”
Shock washed over the Sword Demon's features.
“Wh-what do you mean? The Blood Shadow Sword...”
“The Golden Demon Art's creator was none other than the Heavenly Qi Master. He designed it with the Blood Shadow Sword in mind. A truly unfathomable man.”
“So that's why... the rumors clung to it. Even those were planted by the Heavenly Qi Master...”
“Exactly. He likely meant to bequeath it to the hundred descendants he left behind.”
Dan Hyeong-u was one of those hundred.
“If true, it's astounding. But what did the Heavenly Qi Master gain from this? Uniting the demonic folk—what for? To sow chaos across the land?”
“No. He sought to protect the world from something—something neither the Martial Alliance nor the demonic folk could defeat alone.”
“What could that be? I've never heard of such a force.”
“Something exists, undoubtedly. Why else would a man like the Heavenly Qi Master raise a hundred heirs and leave them treasures like the Blood Shadow Sword or Heavenly Island?”
The Sword Demon nodded gravely. She was right. The Heavenly Qi Master was extraordinary enough without such machinations.
Had Jegal Rin been deeper in the Martial Alliance's core or heard from Jegal Jung-cheon about the Blood Demon or the Heavenly Qi Master's final martial art at Mount Hyeong, her inferences might have been more precise. Alas, she fell short, managing only vague conjecture.
“In any case, the Blood Shadow Sword holds more secrets. Further study is needed.”
“Indeed. I must train harder myself. For your sake, too.”
Jegal Rin smiled warmly at his words.
“Thank you.”
The Sword Demon returned her smile. Emotions he never would have felt in the Heavenly Demon Citadel. Actions he never would have taken. But this was no Heavenly Demon Citadel. This was the Henan Escort Bureau. And he was merely one of its escorts.
A newfound peace settled over him.
“Even this feels truly fine. Truly fine...”
Part 10
The Demonic Sword of the North Sea
Jegal Rin sat quietly, pondering the Heavenly Qi Master's intentions. No matter how she viewed it, he had clearly been preparing for something. His very will was a gift to his hundred descendants, like Dan Hyeong-u.
“What exactly was he preparing for?”
Had she stayed with Jegal Jung-cheon in the Martial Alliance, she might have grasped a greater clue. But this was her limit for now.
“Something feels off.”
Jegal Rin found recent murim events disconcerting. The martial artists who attacked the Henan Escort Bureau over the Blood Shadow Sword. Chae Ok-ryong's attempt to abduct them at Dongjeong Lake.
“King Yama Fortress...”
King Yama Fortress was a water stronghold said to be untouchable even by the Golden Lotus Alliance. Yet it had crumbled overnight—something she only learned upon arriving at the bureau, thanks to Dan Hyeong-u.
Now, that very King Yama Fortress had reemerged with far greater force. At Dongjeong Lake, no less. What did it signify?
Jegal Rin's mind grew ever more tangled.
“Unless something colossal lurks in the shadows...”
No matter how she pondered, some vast entity seemed poised behind it all. For now, though, this was her limit.
“I need more detailed, far-reaching information.”
Jegal Rin began preparing a letter. To Jegal Jung-cheon of the Martial Alliance. Their intelligence network was essential now. Once finished, she gave a wry smile.
“If he brings up marriage again this time, it'll be trouble...”