[No title provided]
Hyeon Yucheon reined in his drastic stamina drain and the wildly fluctuating inner power surging like a rollercoaster.
At the same time, he gazed at Jang Unhwi, who was slowly dying.
Jang Unhwi stared back at Hyeon Yucheon with eyes fading with life, despair piling upon despair.
"Unbelievable…."
Thud!
Jang Unhwi collapsed without finishing his words, dead on the spot.
For the leader of the grand Huashan Sect and one of Heaven's Five Venerables, it was a pathetically ignoble end.
"…!!"
The crowd of nearly a thousand spectators doubted their own eyes at this unprecedented event.
A young warrior in his mid-twenties had defeated not some elite disciple or elder of Huashan, but the sect leader himself!
Had such a thing ever happened in martial history?
When shock overwhelmed them, no words came out.
Thousands froze in place.
The first to speak were the unorthodox martial artists, who hadn't even been able to catch their breath.
"Did you see that? That's the true power of our unorthodox sovereign, the Demon Sword Young Master!"
"Plum Wind Cloud looked down on us unorthodox folk like insects, and now he's died by an unorthodox hand."
"Huashan swordsmanship is a step below Demon Sword Sect's!"
Mostly orthodox martial artists suppressed in Huashan territory, they now unleashed their pent-up emotions.
They screamed wildly, cheered raucously, and no one dared stop them.
They were overwhelmed by Hyeon Yucheon's aura and stunned by Jang Unhwi's sudden death.
Master. I've taken another step closer.
Regardless of the reactions, Hyeon Yucheon coldly regarded Jang Unhwi's cooling corpse and thought once more of his master, the Demon Sword Ghost Elder Cheon Baeksang.
Now, only three of Heaven's Five Venerables remained.
Handsomely felling Plum Wind Cloud today was impressive, but his revenge was far from half-complete.
Hyeon Yucheon felt the road ahead was still long.
"Sect Leader Jang!"
"No! Aaaah!"
"This can't be!"
Snapping to at the unorthodox voices were Huashan Sect warriors.
Unable to accept the scene, they'd stood petrified like statues before belatedly breaking into sobs.
And that was just the start.
Whoosh!
Several Huashan warriors rudely leaped onto the duel platform—meant for two alone—embracing Jang Unhwi's cooling body.
"Kuhuhu… sob!"
"I can't believe it."
"This… this isn't right."
Huashan reactions varied wildly.
Some wailed openly, others denied reality, still more refused to believe.
Yet undeniable was the fact: Huashan Sect's leader had fallen to Demon Sword Sect's sword.
"How rude. The duel just ended, and they barge in without permission."
Hyeon Yucheon was cold toward Huashan.
Naturally so.
From his view, he'd merely avenged himself on an enemy—no need to consider their feelings.
"What did you say?"
"You… vile fiend!"
Clutching their dead leader's body, they bellowed at Hyeon Yucheon.
"Don't talk nonsense. To me, Plum Wind Cloud Jang Unhwi was nothing more than a coward who ambushed my master. Why should I show respect to his corpse?"
Hyeon Yucheon's words were strikingly logical.
He explained perfectly why they shouldn't impose their grief on him.
"We can't forgive this!"
"An unorthodox scum killed our sect leader?"
Huashan's three top experts, who'd devoutly followed Jang Unhwi, exploded in youthful fury.
Known in the jianghu as the Plum Blossom Three Swords, each had reached the peak realm.
But Hyeon Yucheon's entering divinity prowess meant ten peak experts couldn't fell him.
"Stop! Enough!"
Blue Crane Scholar Jo Hanpyeong, Huashan's acting leader, waved them off desperately.
Even he had been stunned by Jang Unhwi's death but quickly composed himself, pondering Huashan's path forward.
In short, if the Plum Blossom Three Swords attacked Hyeon Yucheon in rage now, it'd be pointless suicide.
"Out of the way!"
Ignoring Jo Hanpyeong's pleas, the Plum Blossom Three Swords had lost reason.
Besides, Jo Hanpyeong had barely reached first-rate; overpowering them was impossible.
Plum Blossom Three Chen Formation!
The three united to unleash the absolute technique requiring three masters of the Plum Blossom Twenty-Four Sword Formation.
Simple-looking joint strike, but it demanded equal inner power and full mastery of the sword art from all three.
Swoooosh!
The trio merged into one sword.
It danced like plum petals in spring breeze, leaving dazzling afterimages that instantly pressured Hyeon Yucheon's entire body.
Ooh!
The crowd gasped, seeing imminent crisis.
Formless Linked Bullets!
Hyeon Yucheon unmoving, calmly swung both hands.
Invisible bundles of formless sword energy repelled not just their sword formation, but shoved back the Plum Blossom Three Swords themselves.
No matter how mighty Huashan swordsmanship, to Hyeon Yucheon it was mere flashy spectacle.
"Like dancers. Only true warriors can swing swords before me—like King of Ronin Immortal Fighter Jeong Chilgyu."
His words could sound arrogantly mad.
Huashan swords as gaudy entertainment, lacking practicality—easy to take as dismissal.
"You mad bastard!"
"Ever seen such a donkey?"
"Kill him!"
Already berserk, seeing nothing but red, Hyeon Yucheon's jab—despite their recent taste of level gap—drove them to disregard life.
Opening formation!
The three peak Plum Blossom Three Swords wielders poured everything in.
To them, Huashan swordsmanship—Plum Blossom Twenty-Four Swords, Soft Red Plum Blossom Twenty-Four Swords—was pride incarnate.
Having it wholly denied and mocked? Unbearable.
Flash!
Among Huashan's elite disciples, the mightiest Plum Blossom Three Swords fused once more into Plum Blossom Three Chen Formation.
Stronger than before, exceeding their inner power limits—vomiting blood, eyes bulging white, early signs of qi deviation.
They didn't care.
Formless Hot Fire Sword!
Admirable sacrifice, yet Hyeon Yucheon remained indifferent.
If anything, perfect.
Now I have justification to cut them down properly.
Jang Unhwi's death was secondary; he'd fought fairly in invited duel.
Huashan issued the challenge—defeat wasn't excuse to mob the participant.
Roar!
Hyeon Yucheon forgave no wrongs, unleashing killing intent immediately.
His flame-wreathed sword force ignited the eldest, Cheok Myeong of Plum Blossom Three Swords, head to toe.
"Gaaahhh!"
They say burning alive is the world's cruelest death.
Cheok Myeong writhed, begging his juniors to save him.
"Daring to charge me means accepting death, right?"
No mercy in Hyeon Yucheon's hands.
One Flash One Kill!
Slash!
One junior rushing to aid his burning senior had his throat pierced outright.
Splat!
He died without scream or proper reaction, eyes wide open.
Terrifying skill.
"Agh! Aaaah!"
Senior ablaze, brother dead unknowing—the last of the Plum Blossom Three Swords utterly broke.
Moments ago raging fury; now fleeing.
Snort!
Hyeon Yucheon sneered, as if waiting.
He'd fought desperately against vengeance target Jang Unhwi—such flimsy rage was laughable.
"Is this the Huashan spirit?"
With one mocking remark, he struck before any interference—the final punctuation.
Slash!
The Demon Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon felled the weary Plum Blossom Three Swords in under half a breath, after Plum Wind Cloud Jang Unhwi.
Shiver!
The crowd shifted from awe to fear.
When Plum Wind Cloud fell, it felt like immortals from another realm—pure spectacle.
But now?
Relatable experts collapsing one by one to invisible formless sword energy chilled them.
Common thought:
The Demon Sword Young Master's blade is truly a demon sword!
Nearly a thousand now understood why Demon Sword Sect was named so.
Ssssh!
Only after Cheok Myeong burned to drifting ash did Hyeon Yucheon lower his empty hands.
Huashan warriors flinched at each motion, mentally scarred.
"You bastard!"
"Wanna go to the end with Huashan?"
Sect leader gone, next-gen talents Plum Blossom Three Swords slain—stubborn elders leaped in fury.
Huashan had suffered a lineage-ending blow.
"Huashan started the bluster."
"True. Our sect leader merely accepted the duel, defended against their preemptive assault."
"We number three too—should we charge like those dead Plum Blossom Three Swords?"
As elders drew swords, stirring unrest, the Black Wolf Three Swords stepped up.
Coincidentally, also three.
"Hah, Black Wolf Three Swords!"
"Demon Sword Ghost Elder's guards."
"They're still…."
Elderly elders recognized them instantly.
How not? Ironclad guardians with fierce glares beside Cheon Baeksang.
"I merely answered Plum Wind Cloud's duel summons. Yet… dissatisfied with results, you mob and riot. Is this truly a famed orthodox sect under the Nine Great Sects?"
Hyeon Yucheon's voice wasn't loud, but resonant.
"One question: Does Huashan seek war with Demon Sword Sect?"
Hyeon Yucheon was confident either way.
Demon Sword Sect undervalued, but nearly all unorthodox gathered.
Plus merchant guild self-sufficiency.
No single sect could defeat them now.
Demon Sword Sect and Hyeon Yucheon need only guard against Murim Alliance and Nine Great Sects alliance.