Absorb the Elders' Hall (3)
“……!!”
The brazen declaration left not only Danlibyeok but dozens of Elders' Hall masters gasping in unison.
“W-what did you say?”
“What did you just say?”
“Have you ever seen such an arrogant bastard?”
“Even as the Demon Sword Sect Leader, you can't treat us like this!”
Aside from Danlibyeok, these were seasoned experts who had tried to treat the young ones decently. Now they erupted, revealing their old ferocity.
Each was a master who had dominated an era, rivaling the Blood Moon Fist Demon himself, and still first-rate warriors at the peak realm or beyond.
“Hmmm.”
Meanwhile, Hyeon Yucheon's group felt a strange mix of emotions.
They were shocked, yet a certain thrill coursed through them.
In truth, they harbored deep resentment toward the Elders' Hall.
—Why won't the Elders' Hall masters help us?
Young Demon Sword Sect warrior Gyeon Jong-o, of the younger generation, had once asked that question.
When the sect teetered on collapse, needing every hand on deck, seeing these elders declare retirement and abandon ship had filled them with unimaginable despair.
“You brat! Hyeon Yucheon, was it? Can you take responsibility for those words?”
Danlibyeok's aura was terrifying, his blood-red fist energy poised to strike at any moment.
“I'm not 'that brat'—I'm the Leader of the Demon Sword Sect. Address me as Sect Leader.”
Hyeon Yucheon clarified their relationship first.
Like it or not, the elders were still part of the Demon Sword Sect.
“The Demon Sword Sect isn't some street market you can join on a whim or leave when things get tough. That means... you, Senior Danlibyeok, and everyone here, remain members of the Demon Sword Sect.”
His words pierced the elders' guilt like an arrow.
“Ahem, be that as it may, what exactly did we do wrong? Swallow the sweet and spit the bitter? Don't make me laugh!”
Danlibyeok exploded in frustration.
Crunch!
Blood-red energy gathered around his wrinkled, age-spotted fists.
“Isn't it the truth? When my master passed and even Eldest Senior Brother was unexpectedly absent, who should have been the sect's pillar? Didn't you elders all vanish?”
“What?”
“Do you have any idea what the young disciples left behind felt?”
“You insolent pup! Do you even understand the despair we felt?”
Danlibyeok refused to yield an inch to Hyeon Yucheon's pressure.
“We loved and cherished the Demon Sword Sect no less than you. We burned our youth for it. You whelps can't even imagine how it felt to turn our backs on the sect we adored.”
“Watch your words.”
Hyeon Yucheon snorted derisively.
“What you and the Elders' Hall loved wasn't the Demon Sword Sect... it was Demon Sword Ghost Slave Cheon Baeksang, my master, wasn't it?”
Tremble!
His remark struck Danlibyeok's core.
It even tore open old wounds in the elders' hearts.
“You impudent fool. We didn't leave because times were tough. We couldn't bear watching the sect we poured our passion into crumble. What do you know, you ignorant brat?”
At last, Danlibyeok's rage detonated, unleashing a massive wave of fist energy.
The supreme fist art of the unorthodox paths, Blood Moon Unmatched Fighting Advance Fist, erupted in tyrannical fury laced with lethal sharpness.
Danlibyeok was a prideful man, his confidence rooted in climbing near the top of the world with those two fists alone.
Whoosh!
His grief-laden blood-red fist energy launched two storm-like blasts, sharp as blades.
The power was so immense it shook the serene Baekcheon Valley, sucking in the thick fog like a vortex.
'Is this really the power of a retired old man?'
Black Wolf Three Swords and Ga Jinuk could only gape in awe at Danlibyeok's divine prowess.
Even now, he ranked among the Demon Sword Sect's top five.
Boom!
But Hyeon Yucheon was untouchable.
With graceful, fluid movements, he deflected the fists effortlessly.
It wasn't just a gap in realms.
“I told you—I possess all of Master Cheon Baeksang's experiences and memories!”
Hyeon Yucheon shouted.
This meant he knew the martial arts of Danlibyeok, Cheon Baeksang's right-hand man, inside out.
“Hmph! Even if you inherited everything from old man Cheon, you're not him!”
Danlibyeok's ears should have twitched, but he stood firm.
He had a point.
No matter what you inherit, without personal excellence, it's just pearls on a pig's neck.
But Danlibyeok overlooked one thing.
Hyeon Yucheon wasn't Cheon Baeksang—he surpassed him.
Hyeon Yucheon finally unleashed the Demon Sword Ghost Slave's signature technique.
Hummm!
Invisible sword energy hummed from his hands, leaving the elders stunned.
“Oho! It's real!”
“That's old man Cheon's art...”
“No doubt—it's the true lineage!”
Seeing Hyeon Yucheon's technique felt like beholding Cheon Baeksang reborn, pulling them back to the glory days.
But nostalgia was fleeting!
“You can't wield that art lightly!”
Danlibyeok's rage boiled over at the sight of the Formless Flash Quick Sword forms.
To him, the Demon Sword Ghost Slave was grace, respect, faith incarnate.
Crossing his massive fists in a way unfit for an elder, Danlibyeok charged Hyeon Yucheon.
Fist masters weren't limited to punches— their entire body was a weapon.
Kaboom!
Despite his age, Danlibyeok's charge was as ferocious as ever.
“Tch!”
Hyeon Yucheon betrayed a flicker of surprise.
Yet he never buckled or retreated.
'Behind me stand Gyeon Jong-o and the Demon Sword Sect's young generation.'
He bore the responsibility to vent their pent-up fury.
Beyond that, he wanted to prove to Danlibyeok:
I, Mugeom Sword Young Master Hyeon Yucheon, have perfectly inherited the man you revered.
Hyeon Yucheon's formless sword energy struck Danlibyeok's body at invisible speeds.
Clang, clatter!
The blows landed true, yet rang out like striking indestructible diamond.
It was the Blood Moon Fist Demon's signature protective energy.
Danlibyeok's style never changed with age: endure hits, then crush skulls with his fists.
“Haaap!”
Toothless, withered tiger? Still a tiger—and Danlibyeok was the greatest of great tigers.
Kaboom!
He clashed earnestly with Hyeon Yucheon for a prolonged exchange.
Fists and sword traded blows.
Sword and fist energies collided.
Like exorcising the sect's shared grief, they fought breathlessly at point-blank range.
Hyeon Yucheon had even adjusted the distance out of consideration.
'What matters is earning his recognition—not just defeating him.'
Victory was expected, of course.
Aging meant declining stamina, vitality, inner power—not even the world-shaking Blood Moon Fist Demon escaped it.
“Huff, heuk!”
His diminished endurance now tripped him up.
Hyeon Yucheon could have dragged it into a war of attrition with weapons' reach.
But he didn't.
“Prepare for the final strike.”
Hyeon Yucheon announced, resetting his stance.
“Hm?”
Danlibyeok eyed him suspiciously—what trick was this?
Whoosh!
But as Hyeon Yucheon unleashed his full power with grave seriousness, Danlibyeok's gaze shifted.
He was one closest to the Demon Sword Ghost Slave.
One look at the form, and he knew.
“Huff! No way...!”
Watching the growing motion, Danlibyeok paled in shock.
The other elders felt it too—hearts pounding like boys, pupils dilating despite their age.
Grind!
Shock was brief for Danlibyeok.
He prepared his own final blow.
'Good—let's end it.'
He'd barely held half a breath anyway.
'Think you can surpass old man Cheon?'
Still deeming Hyeon Yucheon arrogant, he vowed to humble him.
Stronger than expected, genuine—grudgingly admitted.
But compared to the legendary Cheon Baeksang? A mere fledgling.
That notion didn't last.
Hyeon Yucheon unleashed the Formless Mystery he'd held back, meant to awe the stubborn elders—the pinnacle even Cheon Baeksang never reached in life.
Shwick!
Endless formless sword strikes bloomed infinitely, engulfing the Blood Moon Fist Demon.
“……!”
Danlibyeok couldn't hide his astonishment at the invisible onslaught.
Invisible, yet sharper and colder than any blade, targeting his throat.
But the true shock?
'Unbelievable!'
Hyeon Yucheon had achieved the Formless Mystery Cheon Baeksang never could.
Denial was fleeting.
“Hmph! Don't mock me! Forms can be mimicked!”
His contrarian nature blinded him momentarily.
Denying reality, he countered with his supreme technique—but truth was cruel.
Slice!
His cherished white robe's hem tore first.
Just the beginning.
Shwick, slash!
The eternal variations overwhelmed utterly.
Not even Danlibyeok could repel them.
Push all he wanted, it felt like Sun Wukong trapped in Buddha's palm.
'It's like every sharp weapon in the world flies at me.'
No time for reverie.
Crunch!
Before he could react, the remaining strikes poured down.
In mere heartbeats, the impossible happened.
As Hyeon Yucheon's sword energy faded...
Thud!
Danlibyeok collapsed to one knee, unable to endure.
Holding longer risked his fragile life—those terrifying strikes would sever his neck.
“Truly... you possess talent beyond old man Cheon himself!”
He had no choice but to acknowledge it.