Heading to the Demon Sword Sect (3)
It took only one sword strike to halt Gyeon Jong-o, who had been rampaging like a madman.
Kwajik!
Gyeon Jong-o, oblivious to everything, unleashed a barrage of chain attacks. But a sudden chill made him jolt back in alarm—too late.
Not only had his sword strike been shattered.
Jjeureuk!
Thick blood was already streaming from his shoulder.
Woooaaah!
At last, the Formless Flash Quick Sword had descended once more upon the Demon Sword Sect.
The sect members who witnessed that historic moment with their own eyes shrieked like fanatics.
It was understandable. Most were young warriors who had grown up hearing tales of the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man Cheon Baeksang drilled into their ears since childhood.
And it wasn't just them.
Beureureu!
Someone else was secretly thrilled by the return of the Formless Flash Quick Sword.
The Flash Light Flying Gentleman Eum Ji-myeong rose to his feet unbidden, his entire body trembling.
'Master! This is your swordsmanship!'
It was the sword art he had watched his entire life at his master's side, gazing with eyes of reverence.
How could he not recognize it?
But what was truly inspiring went beyond that.
"The stance, the energy, even that distinctive confidence..."
Eum Ji-myeong trailed off, but it was obvious what he meant.
All of it perfectly mirrored the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man Cheon Baeksang.
In a way, it was only natural.
Hyeon Yucheon had inherited every memory and experience of Cheon Baeksang. To sense anything different would be the false impression.
"Urgh!"
But there was one person in that place who denied it outright.
Coincidentally, it was Gyeon Jong-o, the Little Light Demon who had faced Hyeon Yucheon directly.
His head understood, but his heart refused to accept it.
'No, this can't be.'
Gyeon Jong-o had never once lost to a peer since birth.
This was, by strict measure, his first true defeat.
Facing the brutal pain of defeat, he began denying reality.
"It's not over yet!"
Eudeuk!
He clenched his teeth and charged at Hyeon Yucheon again.
He still had more to show, and he couldn't lose to a single strike.
And one more thing.
'It's too soon to confirm with just one move!'
With that thought, Gyeon Jong-o unleashed not the Demon Sword Sixteen Forms, but the higher pinnacle art, the Demon Light Sword Conclusion.
The Demon Light Sword Conclusion consisted of only five forms, each boasting insane speed—a supreme technique of the Demon Sword Sect.
Pabababang!
Gyeon Jong-o's sword thrashed like a wildly enraged horse, true to his nickname.
Classified, it was close to a ferocious Violent Storm Sword, a raging tempest-like blade.
In contrast, Hyeon Yucheon was like an unshakable sea, a sword that embraced all.
—Heavenly Dominion Step!
His true prowess began now.
Hyeon Yucheon displayed the exquisite movements of the Heavenly Dominion Step, rivaling the Formless Myriad Things Heart Method and Formless Flash Quick Sword, turning Gyeon Jong-o into a fool.
As a result, Gyeon Jong-o looked like a pathetic madman swinging at empty air.
And finally!
—One Flash One Kill!
Hyeon Yucheon perfectly recreated Cheon Baeksang's movements.
The invisible absolute swift sword of the Demon Sword!
The form that pierced the brow in the blink of an eye—the One Flash One Kill was unleashed.
Its perfection conjured Cheon Baeksang's afterimage behind Hyeon Yucheon.
Paat!
With a sound even peak masters would struggle to perceive, Gyeon Jong-o's legs gave out.
Since it was a friendly spar, he naturally didn't aim for the brow.
Hyeon Yucheon's target was Gyeon Jong-o's abdomen.
What happens when it approaches silently and strikes the gut with mad speed?
Peulseok!
Gyeon Jong-o collapsed on the spot, vomiting blood and bile.
"Keoeoeok!"
Could there be a more exhilarating victory?
A perfect triumph, Hyeon Yucheon had proven to the world he was Cheon Baeksang's successor!
"Now, do you believe I'm the final disciple of Master Cheon Baeksang, the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man?"
Hyeon Yucheon smirked down at the arrogant, impudent Gyeon Jong-o.
He wasn't really angry.
Just...
'If I train him under me, he might prove quite useful?'
That was the only reason he smiled—planning to make Gyeon Jong-o his right-hand man.
Waaah, waaaah!
With Hyeon Yucheon's complete victory, the shabby interior—dwarfed by the grand hall—filled instantly with feverish excitement.
"The exclusive art of the previous sect leader, the Formless Flash Quick Sword!"
"To see this insane sword art again!"
"He truly is Great Hero Cheon Baeksang's disciple!"
"Then he's the junior brother to our current sect leader?"
Every Demon Sword Sect member was leaping with joy.
Since Cheon Baeksang's disappearance, every day had felt like a funeral for them.
With few reasons to smile, they now laughed and cheered at Hyeon Yucheon's arrival.
"The second disciple of Master, the Flash Light Flying Gentleman Eum Ji-myeong, hereby declares! This young hero Hyeon Yucheon is undoubtedly Master's true successor and my junior brother!"
And that was not all.
Eum Ji-myeong, who had watched silently, proclaimed it with solemn inner energy in his voice.
The Plum Death Gentleman Jeong Inheon watched with a pleased smile.
Their reactions differed, but their minds shared the same image.
'Sect Leader, are you watching now?'
No doubt, he was gazing down from the heavens with a satisfied face.
And Eum Ji-myeong's declaration continued.
"Furthermore, I, the Flash Light Flying Gentleman Eum Ji-myeong, who temporarily held the sect leader position in Master's absence... from this moment, hereby transfer the sect leader role to my junior brother Hyeon Yucheon."
The real shock came now.
Stunningly, the moment Hyeon Yucheon's identity was confirmed, Eum Ji-myeong handed over the sect leadership.
"Y-yes?"
"Is that true?"
Even Jeong Inheon—and Gyeon Jong-o, still foaming at the mouth—asked in astonishment.
"It was never mine to begin with."
Eum Ji-myeong replied with a transcendent expression.
He meant it.
'I never coveted the Demon Sword Sect leader position.'
Eum Ji-myeong only wanted to elevate the Demon Sword Sect—his home and everything to him—alongside his revered master to the world's greatest faction.
He knew he had talent for managing subordinates and building relations, but not for becoming the world's best.
Thus, he had never dared dream of the seat.
"Eum Great Hero—no, Senior Brother Eum. Still..."
Even Hyeon Yucheon tried to wave it off in surprise, but then—
"Junior Brother Hyeon, you've inherited all of Master's arts and possess the qualities to become the world's best."
Eum Ji-myeong smiled genuinely for the first time since his master's death.
"You become the world's best as Demon Sword Sect Leader. I'll be the proud senior brother of the world's best."
Those words moved Hyeon Yucheon and every sect member, uniting the Demon Sword Sect as one.
After the storm-like moment passed, Hyeon Yucheon's formal inauguration was postponed.
First things first.
"Junior Brother Hyeon. It's just us now. Tell us your true identity and what happened to Master."
In the sect leader's chamber, Eum Ji-myeong and Jeong Inheon stared intently at Hyeon Yucheon.
They were most curious about the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man Cheon Baeksang's fate.
They presumed him nine out of ten times dead, but what if?
'Where to even start?'
Hyeon Yucheon hesitated slightly. He hadn't fully confided even in Jeong Se-in of Haeha Guest House, his closest confidante.
But soon, he confessed everything.
First, his identity as Man Yuhyeon, heir and Mangeum Gongja of Mangeum Clan, and how he met his master on the brink of death.
Then, how his master, wounded by the cowardly joint assault of Cheon Ha Ojon, perished—and before dying, used a secret art to pass on all his inner power, experiences, knowledge, and martial arts.
Jjeureureuk!
Hearing it, Jeong Inheon and Eum Ji-myeong wept uncontrollably, without precedence.
They had anticipated it.
But facing reality, the grief was overwhelming.
"Cheon Ha Ojon!"
"Murim Alliance and Seok Family Manor! You donkey-fucking bastards!"
Even these two, always calm and steadfast, twisted into demonic faces, howling.
The unbelievable reality fueled their rage.
Yet they had hope.
"Don't worry too much. I'll avenge Master."
That hope was, naturally, Hyeon Yucheon.
He was no longer the Mangeum Gongja.
He had returned to the Demon Sword Sect bearing his master's will and legacy.
Not yet a full brocade return in glory, but a comfort to the sect members tormented by cruel truths.
He had been reborn from Mangeum Gongja to Mugeom Sword Young Master.
"I promise. They'll meet the most miserable deaths in the world... Believe in me."
At Hyeon Yucheon's words, Eum Ji-myeong and Jeong Inheon found their hope.
* * *
Hyeon Yucheon's joining, inheriting all of the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man's legacy!
To the withering Demon Sword Sect members, it was a grand festival.
Amid the excitement and joy, one showed suspicious movement.
'Finally... I found someone connected to the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man's arts!'
He was Gwang Urim, a lowly Demon Sword Sect warrior who showed no promise within the sect and was deemed weak in martial arts.
But Gwang Urim's true identity was a spy dispatched by the Murim Alliance.
Astonishingly, even now, long after, the Murim Alliance hadn't abandoned its obsession with the Demon Sword Sect's supreme arts.
They had planted a spy in preparation for Cheon Baeksang's return or his heir's arrival—that was Gwang Urim.
Seeeik!
Gwang Urim grinned widely.
Reporting Hyeon Yucheon's existence to the Murim Alliance would earn him great merit and a higher position.
Above all, escaping the Demon Sword Sect to return to the Murim Alliance filled him with joy.
"Hey, Urim. It's a happy day—have a drink."
Sect members doing menial tasks with him suggested, but Gwang Urim schooled his expression and shook his head.
"Sorry. I have work left."
Gwang Urim's poor socializing wasn't new, and the speaker had only tossed it out lightly for the festive day.
"Tsk tsk, so bad with people."
Used to his aloofness, they left him alone—a boon for Gwang Urim.
Now solitary, he hurried away.
He planned to send a messenger pigeon first, then escape before dawn.
As Gwang Urim hastily wrote the letter and headed to the pigeon room—
"Look, Senior Brother. I told you there'd be a Murim Alliance lackey hiding here."
Hyeon Yucheon appeared with a smirk.