Heading to the Demon Sword Sect (2)
"Please wait here. The sect leader will be with you shortly."
The guards at the entrance had escorted Hyeon Yucheon all the way to the main hall of the Demon Sword Sect.
"Understood."
Hyeon Yucheon nodded and took the opportunity to survey his surroundings while waiting for Eum Ji-myeong.
The main hall was packed with Demon Sword Sect warriors who had flocked there upon hearing the rumor that the Black Iron Wood Sword had appeared.
Even a sect that had fallen on hard times repeatedly still harbored its share of talents. A rotten fish is still a salted mackerel, after all.
Some of them look quite promising.
As Hyeon Yucheon thought, there were many young warriors around his age brimming with talent.
The current Demon Sword Sect had lost most of its mid-tier and veteran masters, leaving behind young initiates who had joined on the sect's past fame. Among them, a few rivaled the strongest of the righteous sects' younger generation—the Five Dragons and Three Peaks.
"Hm?"
As Hyeon Yucheon scanned the crowd, his eyes met those of one particularly standout figure among the youths.
It was a short, pitch-black-skinned man with a bold, striking gaze—a young warrior of exceptional spirit.
Zing!
He was Gyeon Jong-o, the Little Light Demon. He openly glared at Hyeon Yucheon, subtly radiating killing intent.
His skill had earned him acclaim within the sect as a promising star and the strongest of the rough-and-tumble types, but he had one glaring flaw: his personality.
As his nickname suggested, he was born with a rebellious streak—a wild pony no one could tame.
That kid's the one who brought the Black Iron Wood Sword?
To Gyeon Jong-o, that meant a connection to Cheon Baeksang, the Demon Sword Ghost Elder he revered to his very bones.
That's why he couldn't welcome Hyeon Yucheon warmly. A pretty boy from some rich family, wielding the symbol of his idol? It made his blood boil.
Look at this guy?
Hyeon Yucheon, meanwhile, was equally surprised—but intrigued.
He'd first been impressed by the man's natural physique and skill, but now, with that murderous glare, he found it amusing.
"Hey now, Gyeon Jong-o. Easy there."
It was Jeong Inheon, the Plum Death Gentleman, a longtime elder of the Demon Sword Sect who had sensed the Little Light Demon's volatile nature.
Along with the current sect leader Eum Ji-myeong, only Jeong Inheon could rein in the young man's temperament.
A young expert strutting about like this would have been unthinkable in the sect's glory days—a stark sign of how far it had fallen.
"Yes, Elder."
But despite his words, Gyeon Jong-o's eyes twitched restlessly.
Right then—
"The sect leader approaches!"
A resounding chorus echoed through the main hall as the man finally appeared.
Though only in his mid-forties, Eum Ji-myeong, the Flash Light Flying Gentleman, had gone prematurely gray after a string of ordeals.
He had aged dramatically in a short time.
Worse, after losing his master, heart demons had plagued him, leaving his health in ruins.
Oh no…!
Hyeon Yucheon inwardly clicked his tongue at the sight.
From his master's memories, he only knew the man's youthful, vigorous form—the shock hit twice as hard.
"So, the one who brought the Black Iron Wood Sword?"
Eum Ji-myeong asked his subordinates, with Hyeon Yucheon right in front of him.
He hadn't even imagined such a young man could be the protagonist—just some new recruit or visitor.
But what was this?
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Hyeon Yucheon."
The youth he'd overlooked suddenly cupped his fists in greeting, beaming innocently.
"Uh… and?"
Eum Ji-myeong tilted his head, still not grasping the situation.
"Sect Leader, this young hero is the one who brought the Black Iron Wood Sword."
Jeong Inheon interjected from the side.
"…!!"
Eum Ji-myeong's eyes widened as he looked at Hyeon Yucheon again.
He hadn't noticed amid the rush before, but now, scrutinizing closely—
Something extraordinary.
Above all, he sensed it.
It reminds me of… Master's presence!
He couldn't quite explain it—a familiar yet awe-inspiring sensation, one he'd only felt from the absolute master, the Demon Sword Ghost Elder.
"C-could you show it to me?"
Eum Ji-myeong felt his heart pounding fiercely.
Since his master's disappearance, with his seniors abandoning the sect, he'd felt half-dead. Now that heart raged wildly.
"Of course."
At the request, Hyeon Yucheon promptly drew it from his robes—as if he'd been waiting.
Swish!
"Ooh… oooh!"
Eum Ji-myeong burst into tears at the sight of the sacred relic.
He wasn't one to break easily, but the ordeals had weakened his spirit.
And not just that—heart demons had deepened his malaise, leaving him unable even to eat or sleep properly, let alone cultivate.
Seeing the Black Iron Wood Sword after so long felt like decades of pent-up indigestion dissolving.
Trickle…
Tears streamed silently down his face.
Instinct told him:
This young hero didn't harm Master. Master chose him!
There was a fact not widely known.
Among Cheon Baeksang's three disciples, the most loyal and reverent was Eum Ji-myeong.
Thus, he knew the Demon Sword Ghost Elder better than anyone.
Hyeon Yucheon's eyes mirrored Cheon Baeksang's profound gaze perfectly.
Hyeon Yucheon, too, had sized him up.
Second disciple, Flash Light Flying Gentleman Eum Ji-myeong—isn't the betrayer.
He was certain.
Even Cheon Baeksang himself had suspected the eldest and youngest, but not the second.
Eum Ji-myeong's reaction was pure, heartfelt truth.
"If I may ask… what is your connection to Master?"
Eum Ji-myeong composed himself and inquired.
"I inherited everything from him."
Hyeon Yucheon answered without hesitation.
Roooar!
Cheers erupted from all around.
Inheriting everything from the former world's greatest—the legendary Demon Sword Ghost Elder—meant one thing.
Mastery of the sect leader-exclusive arts known only to him: the Formless Myriad Things Heart Method and Formless Flash Quick Sword!
Most marveled at Hyeon Yucheon's bold claim, but given the circumstances, some remained wary.
"I can't believe it so easily."
The prime example stepped forward.
None other than Little Light Demon Gyeon Jong-o.
He'd already been itching for a fight; now, hearing the man claim to inherit his idol's legacy? Rage exploded.
"What did you say?!"
Eum Ji-myeong tried to intervene, knowing the hothead well.
Undeterred, Gyeon Jong-o strode up, facing Hyeon Yucheon directly.
"Just because this kid has the Black Iron Wood Sword doesn't prove he inherited the previous sect leader, Hero Cheon Baeksang's legacy. It's obviously a blatant lie."
True to his rebellious nature, Gyeon Jong-o refused to buy it.
And persuasively so.
Maybe he'd just stumbled on the sword and was impersonating the sect leader?
"Young hero Hyeon, if I may make a presumptuous request… could you demonstrate the previous sect leader's arts?"
Even the cautious Plum Death Gentleman Jeong Inheon made the plea.
"Of course."
Hyeon Yucheon had found Gyeon Jong-o's glare cute at first, but now it bordered on insolence.
Hierarchy needed establishing anyway.
"I'll show you myself."
He'd have preferred sparring Eum Ji-myeong to prove his seniority, but the man wasn't in fighting shape.
The choice was clear.
"Your name?"
Hyeon Yucheon asked, meeting Gyeon Jong-o's eyes.
"Little Light Demon Gyeon Jong-o."
An arrogant reply.
He didn't acknowledge Hyeon Yucheon as Cheon Baeksang's disciple.
Plus, being called "sir" by such a green kid made his blood surge backward.
"May I request a demonstration match?"
"Bring it."
Their exchange ended there.
Both young and hot-blooded, neither could hold back.
"Let's start right away."
Hyeon Yucheon's own fighting spirit surged, and with the training ground nearby, they headed straight there.
"Who do you think will win?"
"If he truly inherited the previous sect leader's arts, that young hero Hyeon Yucheon, right?"
"Nah, the Little Light Demon's got the name for a reason."
"Yeah, Gyeon Jong-o's the strongest of our young generation."
As crowds moved to the training ground, predictions flew.
Eum Ji-myeong and Jeong Inheon watched silently.
"Is this really okay?"
Jeong Inheon voiced concern, knowing Gyeon Jong-o's explosive nature.
Eum Ji-myeong smiled faintly.
"Have you forgotten already, Elder Jeong? If this young hero Hyeon Yucheon is truly my junior brother… the one whose safety we should worry about isn't him—it's Gyeon Jong-o."
With that, the pair stepped onto the training ground.
"Elder Jeong, please officiate and judge the match."
Jeong Inheon nodded at Eum Ji-myeong's request and mounted the platform.
The air already crackled with their youthful vigor and killing intent.
Delaying would only overheat things.
"Match begin!"
Jeong Inheon called it without delay.
True to his "mad pony" moniker, Little Light Demon Gyeon Jong-o charged wildly at the start.
"Haaap!"
He struck first.
With a mighty shout, he unleashed the Demon Sword Sixteen Swords—the foundational sword art every Demon Sword Sect disciple learned.
A mere basic form, yet mastered, it could pass for super first-rate in the jianghu.
—Demon Sword First Path!
Gyeon Jong-o poured full power from the outset.
Clang!
Hyeon Yucheon lightly parried the first strike with his sword, grinning amusedly.
That grin ignited him.
Gyeon Jong-o instinctively sensed something hidden in this kid.
You, daring to claim you've mastered the Demon Sword Ghost Elder's arts?
Sneering inwardly, he unleashed a barrage.
In one breath, he chained all sixteen forms of the Demon Sword Sixteen Swords.
Though basic, perfected, it traced sixteen sword paths in seamless linkage—just as Gyeon Jong-o did now.
Oooh!
"As expected of Gyeon Jong-o."
"No one our age has mastered the Demon Sword Sixteen Swords like that."
At just past thirty, his achievement was remarkable.
As the crowd admired and his sword rained down like a storm—
The legendary art of the Demon Sword Sect—and the jianghu—the signature of the Demon Sword Ghost Elder, Formless Flash Quick Sword, descended upon the hall.