Chapter 73
Chapter 73
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 73
Chapter Title: Heavenly Flash
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The Sword Demon couldn't match Dan Hyeong-u either. No, the Sword Demon was actually even more troubled.
It was because of the intense memory from that time still dominating his body and mind.
Jegal Rin watched the Sword Demon and Sword King bickering, then let out a sigh.
"Haa..."
The thought of having to go through this again tomorrow made her teeth grit. At least today had passed without incident. Now it was time for a hot bath.
The group each retired to their own rooms.
That night, Jegal Rin wandered alone through the rear garden court under the starlight. She had no time to relax during the day with their nonstop pace, so she wanted at least a bit of leisure at night.
Truth be told, the best thing would be to sleep, but sleep wouldn't come right now.
"What a strange person."
She could now fully grasp that Dan Hyeong-u's skills were exceptional. Otherwise, how could he remain unscathed after running all day at such a breakneck speed?
He was certainly far superior to her, at the very least. She wasn't sure if he could truly suppress the Sword King and Sword Demon with a single stroke, as the rumors claimed.
In truth, Jegal Rin had nearly asked the Sword King directly. Whether he'd really lost to Dan Hyeong-u in just one move.
But she couldn't do that. It might bruise the Sword King's pride. Either the Sword King or Sword Demon was terrifying enough on their own.
"Haa, I just can't figure it out."
Jegal Rin muttered to herself, then startled. She had spotted a man standing in the rear garden.
"D-Dan young hero."
It was Dan Hyeong-u. He stood motionless, staring intently at the stars in the night sky.
Watching him like that stirred an odd feeling in Jegal Rin. It wasn't excitement or anything like that. It was some indescribable sensation.
"What are you doing out here?"
At her question, Dan Hyeong-u lowered his head slightly and glanced at her once. His cool gaze pierced into her pupils.
"Stars."
He said only that, then looked back up at the sky.
Jegal Rin gave a slight smile at his response. He seemed strange at first glance, but simple to the core in another light.
"You must like the stars."
Dan Hyeong-u answered while gazing at the sky.
"No. First time."
"Pardon?"
Jegal Rin stared at him with a baffled expression. First time? What did he mean by first time?
"You're not saying you've never seen stars before, are you?"
She asked with a light chuckle, just a casual joke to soften the mood.
But the mood didn't soften.
"This is the first time I've looked up at a sky filled with stars."
Jegal Rin froze at his reply. The atmosphere grew stiff again. She hadn't actually thought he meant he'd never seen stars before.
From Dan Hyeong-u's perspective, though, it wasn't all that surprising.
In that gray world, there was scarcely any distinction between night and day. Night and day existed, of course, but they weren't all that different. Nights simply made the demonic beasts far stronger.
And naturally, there were no stars in that world's sky.
After emerging into this world, Dan Hyeong-u had spent his first days fixated on the brilliant blue sky. It was novel—something absent from hell—but above all, he loved the endless expanse stretching overhead.
And now, he had discovered the night sky. He hadn't paid it any mind until this point. But he was captivated by the stars.
"Beautiful."
At Dan Hyeong-u's murmur, Jegal Rin's cheeks flushed faintly. She knew it wasn't directed at her. Still, she couldn't help the subtle shift in her emotions.
Jegal Rin didn't return to her room. She stood beside Dan Hyeong-u. Her mind screamed with questions she burned to ask, but she couldn't bring herself to voice them.
Dan Hyeong-u remained there for a long while, gazing at the stars.
How much time passed? He finally lowered his head. And looked at Jegal Rin.
"What?"
Jegal Rin understood the implication in his question. Her mind was sharper than most, her comprehension swift.
"I'm curious. About those two elders... really."
She couldn't finish. Dan Hyeong-u cut her off. With the answer she wanted.
"I'm stronger."
Jegal Rin shut her mouth at his words. Hearing it straight from the man himself hit differently than rumors.
"Really with one strike..."
"Not yet."
Jegal Rin's eyes widened at his response. She calculated inwardly if it could truly be real. And she felt a pang of pity and disgust at herself for even doubting it.
"What fun talk are you two having?"
Jegal Rin whipped around in alarm. The Sword King stood there, chuckling heartily, having appeared out of nowhere.
"That what you were dying to know?"
His question made her flinch with guilt. No matter what, this touched on the Sword King's pride. She was utterly in the wrong.
"I-I..."
"Enough. No need for excuses. It's just the plain truth."
Jegal Rin's eyes widened at the Sword King's words. It meant Dan Hyeong-u's claim was indeed fact.
The Sword King turned to Dan Hyeong-u and asked.
"So, you only need one strike for now, eh?"
Dan Hyeong-u nodded.
The Sword King burst into loud laughter.
"Hahaha! Alright, good. Looks like you've got the potential. Haha!"
Jegal Rin could barely collect her thoughts at his words.
"Child, you'd best head in and get some rest now, or tomorrow will be rough. Once we reach the Yangtze, we'll take a boat and travel easy."
The Sword King's tone was gentle and kind. Jegal Rin nearly teared up.
Yet she found it utterly baffling and wondrous how her emotions could swing so wildly. It was a first in her life.
Starlight poured down into the garden court.
Dan Hyeong-u stood there, bathed in that light, until the dawn's glow chased away the stars.
Chapter 9
Heavenly Flash
The next day, Dan Hyeong-u drastically slowed their pace. It was as if his body language screamed that the previous breakneck speed had only been to shake off Ha Won-hu and the Victory Dragon Unit.
The thought crossed Jegal Rin's mind briefly, but she shook it off. That wasn't Dan Hyeong-u's style.
If he'd wanted to lose them, he'd have crushed them outright rather than fleeing.
Whatever the case, the reduced speed made things much easier for Jegal Rin. It even gave her some leisure. She could now leisurely take in the surrounding scenery she'd had no chance to notice while rushing along.
"What wind's blowing today?"
With the Sword King's grumbling, Dan Hyeong-u halted. The group looked at him quizzically.
"Water."
Jegal Rin made a bewildered face at his words. She leaped ahead, pushing her lightness skill to the max for about fifteen minutes. Water appeared. The Yangtze River.
"Heavens... how fast did we travel?"
Jegal Rin gasped inwardly. Memories of the past few days' ordeal made her shudder. All that suffering had brought them to the Yangtze already.
From here, they could take a boat and head comfortably to Changsha. It would probably take longer than expected.
If Dan Hyeong-u insisted on running the rest of the way, it'd be a disaster, so Jegal Rin hurried to secure a boat.
Normally, when traveling with clan members, others handled such tasks. Even without clan folk, she never had to do it herself. But now, she had no choice.
Jegal Rin didn't complain. She simply secured a boat as quickly as possible.
The boat she found was quite decent. She even hired a few skilled sailors.
Thanks to the journey ending far sooner than planned, they had plenty of money left. Saving was fine, but Jegal Rin wasn't one for frugality.
Once everyone boarded, the boat set off. Heading south along the Yangtze would bring them to Dongting Lake, and past that, straight to Changsha.
Their boat wasn't large or ornate, but it was swift and solid. With the experienced crew, they might even arrive ahead of schedule.
Assuming no incidents.
In the boat's cabin, Dan Hyeong-u stood silently, staring at the table. On it lay the Heavenly Flash.
He'd paid it no mind before. He'd simply carried it because it felt like something he should have.
But after boarding the boat, interest suddenly sparked. To be precise, not in the Heavenly Flash itself, but in the qi it contained.
The qi within the Heavenly Flash resembled Heavenly Thunder.
The Heavenly Flash was undoubtedly forged by the Heavenly Qi Master. Yet the Three Talents Sword Art he created couldn't produce the Heavenly Thunder Dan Hyeong-u wielded now.
Still, it held qi akin to Heavenly Thunder, suggesting the Heavenly Qi Master had foreseen that the Three Talents Sword Art could ultimately evolve into it.
The qi flowing from the Heavenly Flash split into two: the hilt ceaselessly generated chilling yin qi, while the blade exuded warming yang qi.
Swinging the sword would clash these forces, ultimately producing thunder qi. Of course, it required considerable training and finesse.
Dan Hyeong-u lifted the Heavenly Flash. And swung it down.
Pzzzt!
As it fell, it instantly gathered thunder qi. Lightning twisted and danced along the blade.
Dan Hyeong-u nodded as he watched. Impressive. Far inferior to true Heavenly Thunder, but this was pure thunder qi born solely from the Heavenly Flash.
Just the right technique in the swing produced it—a remarkable weapon.
He swung it a few more times.
Pzt! Pzt! Pzzzt!
Lightning flickered wildly with each swing.
Pbababak!
Swinging harder released a burst of lightning. Dan Hyeong-u experimented with various ways to wield it.
The lightning it produced wasn't overwhelmingly powerful but persistent. It could even be drawn out long like a whip.
He swung it for about two hours. Then set it back on the table. He'd learned all there was to know. Interest waned.
The remaining curiosity was why the Heavenly Qi Master made it and how.
And whether the Three Talents Sword Art could truly wield the Heavenly Thunder as he did now.
Pondering such sword arts delighted Dan Hyeong-u greatly. Before, he'd racked his brain desperately just to survive. Now, he did it purely for enjoyment.
This sameness-yet-difference thrilled him to no end.
While Dan Hyeong-u stood lost in thought, Jegal Rin watched him from outside the cabin.
She'd seen him draw thunder qi with swings of the Heavenly Flash. Turning it into a whip was nothing short of miraculous.
"Whoever wields that would be invincible under heaven."
She murmured. Why not? Who could defeat someone commanding lightning at will?
A scoff came from behind her.
"Hmph. Think a weapon makes you the world's greatest?"
Jegal Rin spun around in surprise to see the Sword Demon. Her face flushed with embarrassment.
The Sword Demon continued, eyeing her.
"You think you'd beat me with that?"
Jegal Rin shook her head weakly. No matter the lightning, the fundamental gap against the Sword Demon or Sword King was insurmountable. She knew that already.
She knew a weapon alone couldn't make one the world's greatest. She'd just blurted it out, awed by the extraordinary blade.
"And even with it, I couldn't beat him."
The Sword Demon's words snapped Jegal Rin's bowed head back up.
Her eyes filled with shock.
"Why so surprised? Didn't you know? The rumors are all over."
His words confirmed the rumors as truth.
Jegal Rin turned to gaze at Dan Hyeong-u again. He looked entirely new to her.
This shock dwarfed even last night's talk with the Sword King. Proof of how much she feared the Sword Demon.
"I-I didn't know. Never even imagined..."
"The rumors undersell it. I crumbled just from his presence alone."
A hint of self-mockery laced the Sword Demon's tone. Jegal Rin had no strength left to be surprised.
The Sword Demon's eyes flashed intensely for a moment.
"But it won't end like this."
A subtle aura rose faintly from the Sword Demon's body.