Heading to the Demon Sword Sect (1)
The Heavenly Dominion Step!
Having signaled the start of his revenge, Hyeon Yucheon slipped out of Shaolin's Buloe Hall and hurried back to Hubei Province.
His revenge had been flawless.
He had erased every trace meticulously and avoided anything that might leave a trail behind.
As a result, Hyeon Yucheon returned to the Haeha Guest House without arousing suspicion from anyone.
"You're back!"
The moment Hyeon Yucheon appeared at the Haeha Guest House after so long, Jeong Se-in rushed over like a shot.
She was just like a puppy bounding energetically toward its master, drawing an involuntary smile from him.
She was as beautiful and vibrant as ever after all this time.
And this side of her was shown to only one person: Hyeon Yucheon.
"Sister!"
Though thrilled by the reunion, Hyeon Yucheon couldn't smile freely with so much work ahead.
He set aside his joy for the moment and asked her,
"I have a question—mind if I ask?"
Jeong Se-in didn't flinch at his sudden query. If anything, she seemed delighted.
"Of course. Rumors of the martial world always gather at inns like this. Ask away."
Hyeon Yucheon brightened and fired off his question right away.
"Do you have any information on the Demon Sword Sect? Anything related to them would be great."
He hadn't gone to the Beggars' Sect or Haomen to avoid leaving a trail.
The Beggars' Sect was led by one of the Heaven's Five Venerables, so extra caution was needed, and Haomen, being a Sapa information network, risked leaks. That's why he asked the most trustworthy person: Jeong Se-in.
Now I must head to the Demon Sword Sect.
As he had declared to the dying Jonghun, Hyeon Yucheon planned to seek out the Demon Sword Sect and become their master.
Before that, he needed to grasp any circumstances or information unknown to him or Cheon Baeksang.
"The Demon Sword Sect? That famed Sapa sect that produced the previous world's greatest martial artist?"
"Yes."
"It fell into ruin after its lord, the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man, suddenly vanished."
"V-vanished?"
The unexpected news caught Hyeon Yucheon off guard.
Vanished? Cheon Baeksang, the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man, had clearly died caught in the Heaven's Five Venerables' joint assault, coveting his secret arts.
"Yes, there's still endless talk about his disappearance. Some say his three disciples betrayed him, others that he succumbed to qi deviation. Some even believe he ascended to immortality."
"……."
Jeong Se-in's last remark was a joke, but knowing the truth, Hyeon Yucheon couldn't laugh.
"I see."
He simply nodded calmly, managing his expression.
But the bitterness was hard to hide.
The Heaven's Five Venerables committed an outrage against heaven by coveting my master's arts.
Thinking of his master soured his mood, but Hyeon Yucheon suppressed his anger.
"No official statement from the Demon Sword Sect side on the details. Instead, the eldest and youngest disciples fled like cowards... The fallen sect is barely hanging on thanks to the second disciple, the Flash Light Flying Gentleman Eum Ji-myeong."
The more he heard, the more intriguing it became.
Of the three disciples, the eldest and youngest had left, leaving the second as the next lord.
Master was training alone in his secret chamber when the Heaven's Five Venerables ambushed him.
That meant a traitor had revealed the location—and indeed, before dying, Cheon Baeksang had been certain one of his three disciples was the spy.
So, is the spy the second disciple, the Flash Light Flying Gentleman Eum Ji-myeong?
Hyeon Yucheon closed his eyes, sifting through his master's implanted memories.
This was to recall information on Eum Ji-myeong.
Flash Light Flying Gentleman Eum Ji-myeong: least talented and skilled in martial arts among the three, but excels at encouraging subordinates and leading as a boss.
Not yet certain Eum Ji-myeong was the spy, he merely pondered silently.
Nothing was set in stone; Hyeon Yucheon kept all possibilities open.
"Has the Demon Sword Sect fallen that far?"
Hyeon Yucheon asked.
The Demon Sword Sect was everything to his master—his pride and joy.
Yet today's Demon Sword Sect had lost all its former glory.
Still, maintaining its signboard and lineage was thanks to this Eum Ji-myeong.
"Yes, back in the day, the Demon Sword Sect was one of the strongest in the Central Plains beyond even Hubei... but now it's being pushed back by the Hubei Beggars' Sect, the Pang Family, even the Jinju Eon Clan."
And that was putting it kindly, Jeong Se-in noted keenly. The Demon Sword Sect wasn't even the top among Hubei's Sapa factions.
No wonder. Surviving the Heaven's Five Venerables' focused onslaught is impressive enough.
Hyeon Yucheon nodded firmly and spoke.
"Got it."
He then told her he'd be away for a while and not to worry no matter how long.
With all information gathered, what remained was for Hyeon Yucheon to head to the Demon Sword Sect himself.
Finding the Demon Sword Sect was no challenge.
Having inherited Cheon Baeksang's memories and experience fully, it was child's play.
South of Hubei, for sure.
He traced his memories to locate the sect's grounds.
And sure enough?
The Demon Sword Sect's buildings were far more intact than expected.
There's a saying that even if a rich man falls, three generations can live off it.
Despite repeated declines, the current Demon Sword Sect grounds were vast and expansive.
The buildings were splendid, and the feng shui was impeccable.
Backed by mountains and facing water, with left azure dragon and right white tiger formations—it was breathtaking.
But... it's all show, no substance. Empty and hollow.
Hyeon Yucheon saw through the Demon Sword Sect's reality at a glance.
The fine grounds and buildings were neglected, mold and moss creeping everywhere before his eyes.
"Yaaawn!"
The guards at the entrance weren't even warning the openly staring Hyeon Yucheon—they were yawning from boredom.
In other words, discipline and order were in shambles.
And that guy's only second-rate.
A sect's entrance is its face.
The gatekeeper's skill measures the sect's power.
Second-rate meant the current Demon Sword Sect's true state.
"This won't do."
Hyeon Yucheon had pondered how to enter but realized no need.
Thud, thud.
He just walked up to the boredom-stricken guard.
"Who're you?"
The Demon Sword Sect warriors, caught off guard by the stranger closing in, didn't even assume a stance—instead glaring sullenly.
"I've come to see your current sect leader, the Flash Light Flying Gentleman Eum Ji-myeong."
Hyeon Yucheon hesitated on how to address Eum Ji-myeong but continued.
By rights, "senior brother," but he wasn't revealing that yet.
"The lord?"
But what was this?
At "meeting the lord," the Demon Sword Sect warrior burst into laughter, clutching his belly in disbelief.
"Hahaha! Hilarious."
"Even in our decline, some kid wants to see the lord?"
They mocked Hyeon Yucheon mercilessly.
"Kid, scram if you don't wanna get hurt."
"No matter how bad we are, we can make you vanish without a trace."
Now baring fangs, the warriors growled.
Sneer!
Hyeon Yucheon didn't rage—he smiled.
Proof they still had pride.
For warriors of his future Demon Sword Sect, that was a good sign.
"Smiling?"
"This punk's lost it."
At Hyeon Yucheon's smile, the warriors finally snapped, drawing weapons for a slash—
Swish!
Hyeon Yucheon calmly drew something from his bosom.
It was none other than the sacred token symbolizing the Demon Sword Sect lord from Cheon Baeksang.
"Hm?"
At first thinking it a hidden weapon, the warriors dismissed it.
But upon recognizing it, they doubted their eyes.
"Gasp! Wh-what?!"
"Th-that's……."
Some even clutched their necks.
Lowly warriors or not, how could they not know?
The absolute authority symbolizing the Demon Sword Sect lord!
Even in decline, this Black Iron Wood Sword once held fame across the Central Plains beyond the sect.
"The Black Iron Wood Sword!"
"The lord's sacred token!"
Spotting it, they knelt on one knee, offering respectful clasped hands.
"Hail!"
"Hail!"
Since ancient times, the Black Iron Wood Sword had represented the lord, demanding the same respect.
And they knew it well for a reason.
If ever... someone bears the Black Iron Wood Sword or has learned Master's ultimate art, bring them to me at once.
That was what the current lord, Flash Light Flying Gentleman Eum Ji-myeong, said daily.
"Now, may I see Great Hero Eum?"
Hyeon Yucheon smiled brightly at the warriors who had mocked him moments ago.
He had reversed the mood in an instant.
"Wh-what? The Black Iron Wood Sword?"
Eum Ji-myeong, leading the current Demon Sword Sect, doubted his ears at the report.
"Is it real?"
"Yes, sir."
Only after repeated confirmations from his subordinates did he hurry out.
Master never parted from the Black Iron Wood Sword.
And rightly so—it symbolized the Demon Sword Sect lordship and tied deeply to Demon Sword Ghost Old Man Cheon Baeksang.
Whoever brought it was either...
Master himself, or someone connected to him.
One or the other.
If mere chance, they'd not know its significance or ties to the Demon Sword Sect.
Either way, Eum Ji-myeong was determined to meet the bearer.
"Please, please let it be Master……."
Gripping his beloved sword, he clasped hands and prayed to the heavens.
Ambitious and greedy as he was, his eldest senior brother had defected to the Sapa powerhouse Blood Dragon Room after Master's disappearance.
Taking half the sect's forces, including the Flash Demon Sword Unit that followed him.
And not just that?
His polite, diligent junior brother, late to join but diligent, had vanished with the sect's assets and funds.
Eum Ji-myeong had held the sect together amid that hellish chaos.
For one reason alone.
"I truly miss Master."