Payback for the Ambush (1)
Hk!
At Hyeon Yucheon's provocation, Jo Hwan-yong shuddered violently once.
His heart reacted to the words, but his head warned him to preserve his life.
"Deputy Leader! You must endure!"
"You have to live to bear this humiliation!"
His subordinates desperately tried to restrain Jo Hwan-yong, but Hyeon Yucheon's taunts were no ordinary jabs.
"All that talk of grudges and revenge with your mouth... I guess fear is just too much to overcome?"
The moment he heard those words, Jo Hwan-yong experienced a pitch-black vision, as if darkness had swallowed everything before him.
His face flushed hot, and his head felt like it was spewing steam.
And then.
"Is that scar on your face, worn like a medal, just for show?"
As Hyeon Yucheon's final nail hammered in, Jo Hwan-yong—known as the Clear Sky Fierce Sword—lost all reason.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
His rage was so intense that he bellowed like a beast and gripped his sword.
The title of Deputy Leader of the Quick Sword Hall meant he was second only to the leader in strength within the hall.
True to its reputation in the quick sword realm alongside the Demon Sword Sect, Jo Hwan-yong's swordsmanship was no joke.
[A burst of sword energy erupting fiercely]
Jo Hwan-yong had mastered the Clear Sky Quick Advance Sword Method, infamous even within the Quick Sword Hall for its slow and arduous progress.
Typically, unorthodox sect arts were powerful and ferocious from the start.
But the Clear Sky Quick Advance Sword Method was the opposite—closer to orthodox sect styles.
In fact, it was a technique slightly refined by the founding leader of the Quick Sword Hall, based on a martial art looted from an orthodox swordsman during their days as assassins.
When Jo Hwan-yong first began training in it, every warrior in the Quick Sword Hall had clicked their tongues and called him mad.
Ten years later, he became the second strongest in the Quick Sword Hall.
Paaaat!
As expected, his sword force—fueled by pent-up fury and full power—was tremendously potent.
Even Hyeon Yucheon pursed his lips slightly at the sight of it vibrating wildly, slicing through space as if crushing it, venting years of resentment.
'He's no mere talker when it comes to revenge.'
Jo Hwan-yong's sword was a quick sword, but closer to a power sword.
This meant it wasn't just about speed; it pursued a swift blade with the strength to pierce through entirely.
Not all quick swords were the same.
For example, Jin Gwangma Geom Ga Jin-uk's was a quick sword weighted like a heavy blade, while Seomgwang Bi-gun Eum Ji-myeong sought swift, light melodies.
[Graceful footwork evading the assault]
However, Hyeon Yucheon's quick sword was utterly flawless—perfect, without a single flaw.
Challenging the pinnacle of quick swords with your own quick sword?
It was a fight with a predetermined outcome.
Sss!
Hyeon Yucheon effortlessly dodged with elegant steps.
Jo Hwan-yong's quick sword was fast and skilled, but that was the extent of it.
"H-Heuk!"
When his attack was dismantled in a single exchange, Jo Hwan-yong recoiled in terror.
Rage or whatever else was only possible with his head still attached; the moment Hyeon Yucheon evaded like a possessed spirit, chills ran through him.
'This sensation is just like...'
At the same time, something strange happened.
Throb! Throb!
The scar on his face began to ache with phantom pain.
He even felt as if it was bleeding again, like when he took that one strike from the Demon Sword Ghost Lord.
"Ugh... uuuuh."
Perhaps it wasn't physical pain, but the torment of his own heart.
He groaned like a child for a while.
But only briefly.
"Haaap!"
True to his pursuit of quick and power swords, he resolved to break before bending.
"You were a fine swordsman."
Hyeon Yucheon acknowledged that spirit to some degree as he prepared the finishing blow.
Normally, he might have spared the man's life out of mercy, but not this time.
'I must clearly show what happens when you leave the Quick Sword Hall and dare touch the Demon Sword Sect.'
That was the way of the unorthodox—and the path to survival and fame in the Central Plains martial world.
[A light, swift thrust]
Swaeeng!
Like Jo Hwan-yong's, it was a fast and terrifying quick sword—but different.
Unlike the rigid, brittle ferocity of the Clear Sky Fierce Sword, Hyeon Yucheon's was soft and relaxed.
Above all.
Kwajik!
It was invisible to Jo Hwan-yong's eyes.
Thus, Hyeon Yucheon's Formless Energy Sword once again embroidered a cross on the warrior's face.
Drip!
Coincidentally—or perhaps intentionally—the mark aligned perfectly with the scar from his master's blade, forming a perfect X.
Only Hyeon Yucheon knew the truth.
"This is the end, Jo Hwan-yong. Give it everything."
In the final moment, Hyeon Yucheon showed mercy.
Quick sword battles ended swiftly and decisively.
Meaning, when he unleashed One Flash One Kill, he could have taken Jo Hwan-yong's head anytime he wished.
'But if I did, you'd wander the Central Plains as a restless ghost, unable to fully burn away or achieve Buddhahood—fettered to the martial world.'
That was why Hyeon Yucheon showed mercy.
Since death was inevitable, go all out—unleash everything.
Whether it led to revenge or your demise, clash without regret.
"Uhaaaaaap!"
Jo Hwan-yong could have retreated then.
But he didn't.
As a wielder of quick and power swords, he chose to advance.
Choosing the path of shattering.
[The final ultimate technique unfolded]
At last, he unleashed the pinnacle of the Clear Sky Quick Advance Sword Method.
It carried his spirit and indomitable will.
But that was it.
Srake!
Before his sword could fully extend in a straight line, a cold sensation pierced his chest center.
No need to look down to confirm.
Hyeon Yucheon's Formless Energy Sword had pierced his heart.
"Kuh! Keok keok!"
Having lost his heart, Jo Hwan-yong staggered.
In that brief instant, he recalled his past: the days he'd been mocked for training the Clear Sky Quick Advance Sword Method, achieving mastery and venturing into the martial world.
Then encountering the colossal wall of Demon Sword Ghost Lord Cheon Baeksang, despair turning to vengeance.
And now, meeting his end at the sword of his master's sole successor, Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon.
"De... Demon Sword Sect Leader... th-thank..."
For a man who'd launched a cowardly ambush, it was a warrior's death.
Only possible because Hyeon Yucheon had shown magnanimity—and Jo Hwan-yong knew it, expressing gratitude in his final breath.
Without even finishing the words.
Kudangtang!
The body, soul departed, collapsed forward pitifully, unable to bear its weight.
"Deputy Leader!"
"Deputy Leader Jo Hwan-yong!"
Many Quick Sword Hall warriors despaired at his gruesome end, but Hyeon Yucheon remained unshaken.
'A martial world of kill or be killed—someday, I'll destroy it all.'
He ground his teeth, thinking that.
"Warriors of the Demon Sword Sect! Slaughter the remaining Quick Sword Hall remnants!"
To destroy the martial world, one's hands must be stained with blood.
Hyeon Yucheon resolved to stain his willingly.
"Good, very good."
As Jo Hwan-yong futilely crumbled, Bi Ryu-dam—the Quick Sword Hall leader and architect of this plot—grinned repeatedly.
The final report from his deputy read thus:
The Demon Sword Sect's resistance is fiercer than expected, but we should finish before sunrise.
Honestly, Bi Ryu-dam had thought half a day would suffice, so holding out nearly a full day was astonishing.
'Well, that's why it's the only unorthodox sect to produce a generational supreme under the heavens.'
With that thought, he made his decision.
"The reserves, with us—mobilize! Finish before tomorrow's sunrise. That's our goal."
He could have waited, but that wasn't his style.
Above all, he wanted to contribute to the Demon Sword Sect's downfall with his own hands—and witness it with his own eyes.
'Heh heh heh, Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon. It's not the strong who win—it's the victors who are strong.'
Bi Ryu-dam smirked slyly, believing he'd crossed eighty percent of the mountain to destroy the Demon Sword Sect.
Right then.
Kwagagagang!
A deafening roar unlike any he'd heard in his life assaulted his ears.
So intense and tremendous that the heavens and earth shook, evoking the might of one who could uproot mountains and cover the world with qi.
"What?! What is this?!"
Shocked by the commotion at the Quick Sword Hall's main base, Bi Ryu-dam urgently spurred his subordinates.
No need to ask.
Kwajijik!
The source was the hall's entrance and main gate.
Astonishingly, a single warrior leading elite troops was bombarding it relentlessly.
'Who? Who is it?'
At first, Bi Ryu-dam puzzledly looked around, still clueless.
The question soon turned to exclamation.
"No way... the legendary Flash Demon Sword Unit?!"
Bi Ryu-dam and the leadership cried out in despair.
Their guess was correct.
Srake!
Led by Captain Dohyeonbo—the Flying Spirit Sword Guest—the Flash Demon Sword Unit pierced the skies with their prowess.
They were the Demon Sword Unit's vanguard, Hyeon Yucheon's first and foremost weapon.
And not just them.
"Black Wolf Three Swords!"
"Super peak warriors who follow only the Demon Sword Ghost Lord!"
With the Black Wolf Three Swords—Cheonu, Cheonjung, Cheonjwa—joining to sweep alongside the Flash Demon Sword Unit, there was no way to stop them.
In other words, Hall Leader Bi Ryu-dam had to step up personally.
'How did this happen?'
Bi Ryu-dam couldn't believe the reality.
Hadn't he been overjoyed, dreaming of a bright future upon the last report from Deputy Leader Jo Hwan-yong?
Thud. Thud.
Amid the confused Bi Ryu-dam and Quick Sword Hall leadership strode a figure calmly forward.
A man of striking handsomeness, chiseled like jade, with refined aura and extraordinary martial bearing.
The moment Bi Ryu-dam saw him, chills ran through, and he spoke.
"Who... are you?"
His voice trembled, but he ignored it.
"Demon Sword Sect Leader Hyeon Yucheon."
At the expected answer, Bi Ryu-dam felt a chill down his spine.
"Jo... Deputy Leader and our vanguard?"
Hyeon Yucheon replied with a meaningful smile.
"What use is seeking the already dead?"