Unstoppable Momentum (1)
The ten participants with all their limbs intact couldn't even muster a response to Hyeon Yucheon's command.
It was only natural—they were the ones who had retreated in fear of facing him.
There was no way they'd now rush toward the black flags out of greed.
"If that's all, I'm leaving."
Hyeon Yucheon turned with dignified poise, having claimed all ten black flags, and headed toward Bong Il-wol, who was overseeing the judgments.
Some might complain that by monopolizing all ten flags, Hyeon Yucheon had robbed the others of their chances.
Anyone posing such a question was utterly clueless about the true nature of this event.
The Black Heaven Assembly that Hyeon Yucheon was competing in was a battleground for the younger generation of the unorthodox martial world.
Its purpose wasn't to divvy up opportunities equally—it demanded that every competitor eliminate as many rivals as possible, even if just one.
Thud. Thud.
Hyeon Yucheon strolled leisurely in search of Bong Il-wol.
No one dared block his path as he carried off every black flag.
Now, not just the preliminary contestants but everyone else knew the truth.
"The true successor of the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man, Cheon No-ya!"
"Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon!"
"The Demon Sword Young Master is the reincarnation of the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man!"
The crowd flipped in an instant, as if they'd never scorned the Demon Sword Sect or Hyeon Yucheon.
They cheered fervently, chanting his name and the sect's in unison.
In truth, every unorthodox martial artist harbored some lingering fantasy or reverence for the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man.
"Impossible!"
This held true even for a warrior from Daamgok, one of the Five Great Unorthodox Sects and a longtime rival to the Demon Sword Sect.
Am Yeon-gwon Bong Il-wol, a man in his forties, had once seen Cheon No-ya in his youth.
"He was like a towering mountain peak back then, too."
Bong Il-wol gazed at Hyeon Yucheon approaching with the flags.
He was a colossal mountain, a peak, carrying the lingering aura of the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man.
"Here. All ten flags."
Bong Il-wol reverently collected them and bellowed,
"The sole qualifier for the Black Heaven Assembly finals: Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon of the Demon Sword Sect!"
With that, the tumultuous preliminaries of the Black Heaven Assembly concluded under Hyeon Yucheon's total dominance.
Roooaaar!
The crowd erupted once more, and without question, Hyeon Yucheon was the star of the assembly's first day.
His name and the Demon Sword Sect dominated the tongues of the unorthodox martial world, proclaiming their enduring strength.
"But the finals won't be easy."
Bong Il-wol, who had unwittingly developed a supportive fondness for Hyeon Yucheon, watched his retreating figure as he departed gracefully after the preliminaries. His thoughts were spot on.
The finals would teem not with first-rate warriors, but with peak-level experts and beyond.
-The Demon Sword Sect's revival signal has been fired!
-Current Demon Sword Sect Leader, Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon, has inherited all of the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man's legacy!
The rumor spread like wildfire through every unorthodox sect from the assembly's first day.
It was a gale-force wind; no one in the unorthodox world remained ignorant of Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon's name.
Yet fame always breeds envy and jealousy.
"Hyeon Yucheon!"
One man clenched his fist upon hearing the news.
He was none other than Ok Jang-cheon, the Hidden Dragon Quick Sword and promising talent of the Quick Sword Hall.
"He's truly inherited the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man's legacy."
Honestly, he'd harbored doubts before.
But now that it was confirmed, he could no longer stand idly by.
"Jang-cheon, there are three people to watch out for in the finals."
A Quick Sword Hall elder approached the fuming youth and shared prior intel.
"First is Seon Ye-jin, the great young talent of the host sect Daamgok, the Dark Heaven Fist Phoenix. Second is Gu Jin-ak, the genius junior of the Blood Dragon Room, the Blood Dragon Ghost Sword. And third is none other than that Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon."
Originally, there were only two to beware.
But given Hyeon Yucheon's current momentum, he more than warranted inclusion.
"Moreover, that Hyeon Yucheon bastard pulled a crazy stunt, slashing the number of finalists. The odds of straight one-on-one matches are high now."
His words rang true.
Without Hyeon Yucheon, ten would have advanced from the preliminaries, allowing for more varied trials.
But as it stood, there were only eight, including him.
In other words, simple one-on-one duels to crown the strongest was the most straightforward path.
"Jang-cheon, are you confident?"
The Quick Sword Hall elder asked.
The hall felt immense pressure entering this Black Heaven Assembly.
As a rising sect replacing the storied, traditional Demon Sword Sect, they had to prove themselves.
"To be honest..."
Ok Jang-cheon swallowed hard under the elder's gaze.
"Excluding the child monster hailed as the unorthodox world's strongest junior, Blood Dragon Ghost Sword Gu Jin-ak, I'm confident."
The Hidden Dragon Quick Sword spoke frankly.
He had faith against Dark Heaven Fist Phoenix Seon Ye-jin, who had reached the pinnacle of fist arts despite her woman's body, and even against Hyeon Yucheon, the Demon Sword Sect's young master.
But...
"I couldn't beat Gu Jin-ak even in my dreams."
Gu Jin-ak was different.
He was revered as the future top unorthodox talent.
Rumors even swirled that he'd already touched super peak realm in his early twenties.
There was another tale about Gu Jin-ak.
-The unorthodox world's strongest junior, Gu Jin-ak, trained under Brilliant Light Demon Sword Ga Jin-uk, the great disciple of the Demon Sword Ghost Old Man!
It tied back to Ga Jin-uk, the famed former great disciple of the Demon Sword Sect.
Word was he'd inherited numerous arts through that training.
"Mm, good. We've been hoping for runner-up ourselves."
The Quick Sword Hall elder smiled in satisfaction at Ok Jang-cheon's words.
They hadn't dared dream of victory in their debut.
A strong showing with the Hidden Dragon Quick Sword taking second would paint a perfect picture.
"Anyway... none of the finalists are pushovers. No complacency."
"Yes, Elder!"
Ok Jang-cheon bowed with a formal fist salute, inwardly fixating on one person.
"Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon. I won't forgive you, no matter what."
He vividly remembered the humiliation of his hero sword being severed.
He vowed to settle it in tomorrow's finals.
"All finalists, gather here."
Hyeon Yucheon followed the Daamgok warrior's instruction and arrived at the space where he met all the finalists.
From the famed unorthodox strongest junior, Blood Dragon Ghost Sword Gu Jin-ak, to the notorious Dark Heaven Fist Phoenix Seon Ye-jin—beautiful as a flower but venomous as its thorns.
"We meet again."
And one more.
Ok Jang-cheon greeted Hyeon Yucheon upon their reunion, but the latter's attention was fixed solely on one man.
"So that's Blood Dragon Ghost Sword Gu Jin-ak?"
Messy hair, a taciturn face.
A man with a firm jawline that left a strong impression.
Unlike his widespread fame, he remained silent.
Gazing at him, Hyeon Yucheon recalled his senior brother, Brilliant Light Demon Sword Ga Jin-uk.
By rumor, Gu Jin-ak had learned arts directly from his great senior brother.
"Does that mean Gu Jin-ak practices the Demon Sword Sect's martial arts?"
Lost in that thought, he naturally ignored Ok Jang-cheon.
"Grr! Wh-what? Ignoring me?"
Snubbed, Ok Jang-cheon flew into a rage, already sowing discord.
Meanwhile, the sole woman, Seon Ye-jin, scanned the faces with evident interest.
Her eyes lingered especially on Hyeon Yucheon's strikingly handsome features.
It was then.
"Is everyone here? We have only eight finalists. Thus... we'll proceed with one-on-one duels."
Am Yeon-gwon Bong Il-wol from Daamgok appeared once more, as expected.
"Here's the bracket."
He revealed the matchups promptly. As they say, elbows bend inward—Seon Ye-jin's draw was favorable.
She was placed opposite the top-seeded Gu Jin-ak.
"Yes!"
Meanwhile, Quick Sword Hall's hopeful, Ok Jang-cheon, inwardly cheered.
His first match was against his long-awaited foe: Hyeon Yucheon.
Sneer.
Satisfied, Ok Jang-cheon grinned and taunted Hyeon Yucheon with a mocking gesture, but received not even a glance.
"First match: Quick Sword Hall's Hidden Dragon Quick Sword Ok Jang-cheon versus Demon Sword Sect's Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon. If ready, ascend to the sparring ground."
Only after Bong Il-wol's announcement did Hyeon Yucheon withdraw his gaze from Gu Jin-ak and reluctantly step onto the sparring ground.
"Just watch. It won't end like last time."
Unlike the stoic Hyeon Yucheon, Ok Jang-cheon buzzed with excitement.
Facing his most desired opponent in the opening bout had him thrilled.
"Remember this?"
He even drew the severed hero sword from his robes.
This was his first such humiliation.
His first defeat in a speed sword clash, too.
"Sigh. What a pain."
Hyeon Yucheon plugged his ears before sighing in exasperation.
"What'd you say?"
At the curt response, Ok Jang-cheon nearly exploded.
"Quick Sword Whatever from Quick Sword Hall. Do you remember every small fry you've fought? Stop being annoying."
Hyeon Yucheon shook his head pityingly.
Indeed.
While Ok Jang-cheon saw him as a lifelong nemesis and object of grudge, to Hyeon Yucheon, he was merely a nagging junior from Quick Sword Hall.
It was crystal clear in Hyeon Yucheon's eyes.
The skills of a mid-peak scrub, laughably inferior to his own.
Tremble!
Stung by the insult, Ok Jang-cheon seethed with rage, eyes rolling back once more.
The stands now swarmed with Quick Sword Hall members and crowds like clouds.
With the short finals underway, every spectator had flocked for the opener.
"I'll kill him. Definitely kill him!"
Ok Jang-cheon verged on madness, blind to all else.
"Duel begins!"
At Bong Il-wol's signal, he unleashed his full power from the first move, drawing his ultimate technique.
Quick Sword Hall arts stemmed from assassin styles—stealthy, swift, embodying the principle: one strike to kill, or die trying.
Ok Jang-cheon poured all his inner power, speed, and spirit into a single strike.
Fwaaah!
His sword became a tiny thunderbolt in the blink of an eye, hurtling invisibly toward Hyeon Yucheon's brow.
To any onlooker, it spelled Hyeon Yucheon's doom.
Swish!
When Ok Jang-cheon's insanely fast sword seemed to pierce Hyeon Yucheon's skull—or appeared to—something astonishing happened.
Crash!
The seemingly unscathed Ok Jang-cheon suddenly collapsed unconscious on the spot.
How in the world did this happen?