Chapter 767
Paaah!
Hundreds of luminous points scattered in all directions—this was unmistakably the energy of the Heavenly Pole Sword.
'Since its nature hasn't changed, it seems this wasn't Nature Shattering.'
Baek In-cheong's eyes narrowed as he observed the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
'Well, if he had unleashed Limitless Power in this single move, he wouldn't be the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.'
"Your martial prowess is extraordinary."
Even though the Heavenly Pole Sword's power had been nullified, Baek In-cheong instead let out a hearty exclamation of admiration.
The fact that a figure like the Demonic Heavenly Emperor could react instantly to such an attack—
That alone proved his injuries ran far deeper than expected.
It showed that he couldn't wield his transcendent, formless power and had no choice but to continue the fight with tangible, basic techniques.
'He's conserving his Limitless Power. He can definitely only unleash it once, at most.'
This was the conclusion Baek In-cheong had reached after endlessly observing the Demonic Heavenly Emperor, running through thousands—no, tens of thousands—of calculations.
And just as he had predicted—
After merely blocking a single sword stroke, the overwhelming momentum radiating from the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had diminished significantly.
"Let's see you take one more."
Swallowing back a triumphant smile, Baek In-cheong closed the distance in an instant.
Then, from the Azure Heaven Sword, hundreds of sword energies shot skyward before twisting into a whirlwind that coiled around the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's body.
This was the power of the Wind-Cloud Sword embedded within the Azure Heaven Sword.
Kwawooo!
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor's robes fluttered violently, as if they might tear apart within the raging whirlwind.
This murderous wind not only carried enough force to rend flesh to shreds—
It also possessed the ability to scatter the very power contained within an enemy's body in an instant.
Fwoosh!
Then, something miraculous happened.
As though he had turned into a feather, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's body swayed and drifted along with the currents of the whirlwind—
Until the sword energy of the Wind-Cloud Sword began passing harmlessly through him.
'He altered it using the subtleties of martial principles.'
Baek In-cheong's eyes flashed.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor had employed martial principles like the Reversal Force of Half Ascent and Half Descent—
Softening the nature of the razor-sharp whirlwind created by the Heavenly Cloud Sword and allowing it to pass through his body.
'His expression is the only thing that remains composed.'
Paaht!
As if he had been waiting for the Demonic Heavenly Emperor to use such a technique, Baek In-cheong closed the distance once more and unleashed another torrent of sword techniques.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor had suffered grievous injuries—
Unable to properly wield his infamous Limitless Power.
Seizing this opportunity, Baek In-cheong sought to sever his lifeline in one fell swoop through tangible, fundamental martial techniques.
Shwaaak!
The Azure Heaven Sword spun at blinding speed, its motion resembling a rolling wheel as it cleaved toward the crown of the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's head.
Injured as he was, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor seemed unable to directly counter such an attack and instead twisted his body to evade sideways.
'I can win.'
A smile of exhilaration spread across Baek In-cheong's face.
No matter how severe his injuries—
For the Demonic Heavenly Emperor himself to dodge an attack by twisting his body?
If he could maintain this advantage...
He could be the one to defeat the Great Demon, a being said to have no equal in the world.
"Haaahp!"
With a fierce shout, Baek In-cheong alternated between the powers of the Heavenly Pole Sword, the Wind-Cloud Sword, the Heavenly Cloud Sword, and the Heavenly Flower Sword—
Relentlessly pressuring the Demonic Heavenly Emperor with all four swords.
This strategy was immensely powerful but drained his internal power and stamina at an extreme rate.
Which was precisely why he couldn't afford to drag this out.
Kwaoo! Paah!
As if intent on tearing the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's body to pieces, Baek In-cheong swung his sword with every ounce of his strength.
Under the relentless barrage of attacks, leaving no room to even catch a breath, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor finally staggered—
And took a single step back.
Fwoosh!
Then, an unexpected attack rained down.
From the Azure Heaven Sword, which had been slicing through the air, countless luminous points transformed into a cloud-like current and poured down upon the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
This was the pinnacle of his Azure Heaven Sword's techniques—Azure Heaven Beyond the Clouds.
Just as the saying went—"Beyond the dark clouds lies a clear, azure sky."
Amid countless feints, the sharp killing strokes of luminous points pierced toward the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's vital points.
'Go on, block it.'
Baek In-cheong's lips curled into a knowing smile.
This terrifying sword stroke was, in truth, a feint—
For what Baek In-cheong had truly unleashed was the third form of the Three Forms of the Life-Severing Heavenly Sword—
Ultimate Stillness—a mystical sword stroke that exploited the enemy's defensive movements to pinpoint their weakness and sever their lifeline in a single strike.
This technique was something Baek In-cheong had painstakingly mastered through grueling training, dreaming of one day becoming the next Alliance Leader.
It was an otherworldly Secret Art that unleashed two distinct, razor-sharp Killing Sword Forms in a single motion.
Abruptly—
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor halted his movements.
It seemed he had discerned that Baek In-cheong's Sword Stroke was designed to expose vulnerabilities by syncing with his opponent's motions.
'Even if he's seen through the feint, it won't matter.'
Baek In-cheong curled his lips.
If the Demonic Heavenly Emperor chose not to move, that was fine too.
The Sword Form of Clouds Parting to Azure Skies, executed as part of the feint, possessed enough might to topple even Mount Tai in a single strike.
It would shred the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's now-mortal body to ribbons.
Whoooosh—!
In an instant, the Sword Stroke of Clouds Parting to Azure Skies coiled around the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's body.
Watching this, Baek In-cheong felt a strange unease.
No matter how formidable his Body Protection True Qi might be—
Against the Heaven-Sword-ranked Azure Sky Blade,
No one could withstand a Sword Form condensed from four centuries of Internal Power with nothing but bare flesh.
This was a life-or-death situation—one where survival hung in the balance. Shouldn't he at least struggle, make some desperate move?
And yet, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor stood motionless, merely observing the Sword Stroke as if detached.
'Something's wrong.'
Baek In-cheong, too, was a Master who had manifested Limitless Equal Enlightenment.
Sensing the anomaly, he silently invoked a Secret Art he had been refining in secret—
A profound Daoist secret art that allowed its user to perceive time several times slower than ordinary martial artists.
He had mastered Heavenly Inquiry Enlightenment.
Hwiiing—
As he activated it, his mental processing accelerated, and time itself seemed to crawl to a near-halt.
In this half-frozen state, his mind—midway through unleashing his Sword Stroke—was flooded with chaos.
Should he continue pressing the Killing Move?
Or should he switch techniques and swiftly shield himself?
—A figure like the Demonic Heavenly Emperor wouldn't gamble with his life so carelessly.
Even injured, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor was still the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
Before a Great Demon who could pierce through every human scheme and calculation, even the slightest misstep was unacceptable.
KWAOOO—!
Baek In-cheong immediately withdrew his Sword Technique mid-execution and shielded himself instead.
Cha-cha-cha-chak!
Hundreds of blade-like projections transformed into layers of Sword Qi, enveloping his body in a protective cocoon.
But that was his fatal mistake.
Sssik.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor curled his lips into a faint smile.
Victory, defeat. Life and death.
None of it held meaning to him.
Because he was a Great Demon—one who saw not only the lives of others,
But even his own as nothing more than playthings in his game.
'Ah—!'
Internally, Baek In-cheong let out a cry of alarm.
In the end, his lingering doubts had forced him to abandon offense for defense.
The hesitation and fear in his heart had created a fatal opening, a flaw in his martial execution.
Tap.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor flicked his fingers.
A sharp Finger Wind slipped through the gaps in Baek In-cheong's Sword Qi and lightly grazed his chest.
Pak.
Though it was merely a shallow scratch—barely enough to tear his robes—Baek In-cheong felt as though his heart had been pierced.
All because of a single moment of doubt. All because of one Finger Wind.
His unshakable confidence shattered in an instant, and now, every movement he made—
Felt as though it were being puppeteered by the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's grasp.
If this continued, no martial technique he deployed would matter.
At worst, the rift in his Spirit and Mind would lead to a decline in his Internal Power.
'I cannot lose. Not like this.'
Baek In-cheong was no mere martial artist—he was the Martial Alliance's representative Battle Commander and a candidate for the next Alliance Leader.
If he challenged the injured Demonic Heavenly Emperor only to be effortlessly repelled and forced to retreat—
It wouldn't just demoralize the Martial Alliance. It would crush the morale of the entire Righteous Faction.
'There's no other choice.'
He bit his lip until blood welled.
Commanders who led countless troops always prepared for the worst of the worst.
And when he had challenged the Demonic Heavenly Emperor earlier, he had sealed off the main road for a reason—
To ensure that, no matter what, he could drag the Demonic Heavenly Emperor down with him.
"Haaahp—!"
Baek In-cheong suddenly drove the Azure Sky Blade into the ground.
OOOONG—!
The earth trembled, the very fabric of the landscape distorting as a deafening roar shook heaven and earth.
At the same time, a pale white current of energy began flowing from somewhere, gradually being absorbed into his body.
This was the Divine Guard Unit's pride—
The Combined Force Formation, a technique long believed lost to the martial world.
What Baek In-cheong had prepared as his trump card was none other than—
The Power-Gathering Divine Might Formation, a formation that concentrated all of a person's abilities—including their Internal Power—into a single individual, allowing them to unleash a devastating attack.
Kukukuku.
Baek In-cheong's body gradually expanded into that of a giant, towering toward the heavens.
The martial artists he had brought to activate the Power-Gathering Divine Might Formation numbered a staggering eight thousand—
Meaning he had gathered the combined strength of every single warrior in the Divine Guard Unit to strike down the Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
"If you can block this, then victory is yours."
Countless points of light endlessly gathered upon the colossal Azure Heaven Fan Sword in Baek In-cheong's grip.
The power of eight thousand martial artists, condensed into a single strike—
Even the Demonic Heavenly Emperor could not possibly survive such an attack unscathed.
"Farewell!"
FWOOSH!
At last, a force capable of splitting heaven and earth descended from the sky.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor, as if finally unleashing his Limitless Power, radiated a brilliant light as he swung both hands—
But the Azure Heaven Fan Sword, infused with the combined might of eight thousand warriors, was faster.
GRRRRUMBLE—
Before anyone could react, a massive crater hundreds of feet wide had formed where the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had stood—
And the surrounding air evaporated as if it had never existed.
"Hah... Hah..."
Baek In-cheong gasped for breath, his heart pounding as if it might burst.
Because within that blackened crater, not a single trace of the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's life force remained.
'It's done!'
That meant this single strike had erased the Demonic Heavenly Emperor so thoroughly that not even proof of his existence remained.
"Commander!"
At that moment, the subordinates who had been lying in wait, sealing off the pass, came pouring out.
"You've done it!"
They, too, sensed victory and rushed toward Baek In-cheong, cheering.
Even though Baek In-cheong had been wounded, they had annihilated the Sky of the Demonic Path in an instant—
Now, all that remained was for Baek In-cheong to unanimously ascend to the position of Martial Alliance Leader.
'Once I master the Secret Arts of the previous Alliance Leaders, I'll surpass even the Righteous Heavenly Emperor's Martial Prowess... Then, all that's left is to claim the throne as the greatest under heaven.'
"Kuhahaha!"
Baek In-cheong couldn't contain his joy and burst into laughter.
There could be no greater happiness in this world.
As a martial artist, he had achieved all glory—there would be no regrets.
"Truly... no regrets—"
Mid-sentence, Baek In-cheong's expression twisted strangely.
The faces of his cheering subordinates had frozen stiff.
Time itself seemed to have stopped—and the skin of the rushing warriors gradually took on the gray pallor of corpses.
"Why do you all look like—"
The moment Baek In-cheong turned his body—
THUD. THUD.
His subordinates collapsed like logs, their bodies instantly turning into lifeless corpses.
Drip... drip...
The fallen warriors' chests had been ripped open, their hearts torn out, and around them, bodily fluids and crimson by-products were scattered everywhere.
Thump... thump...
The sight of hearts, now ownerless, twitching on the ground—
It was nothing short of hell itself.
"How...?"
"Were there no regrets?"
A voice, ringing like a tolling bell, suddenly erupted.
When Baek In-cheong turned his head—
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor stood there, gazing at him calmly.
In both hands, he held dripping, pulsating hearts, their crimson blood still flowing freely.
"A martial artist should never rely solely on meticulous plans. No one can predict what might happen in battle."
"Don't tell me—"
Hearing the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's words, Baek In-cheong was struck by a bizarre realization.
—This Commander...
—...accepts.
He had never declared his challenge.
In fact, what he had been about to say back then wasn't—
"I challenge you"—but rather, an excuse to justify his challenge.
Yet the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had responded as if he had been waiting, speaking as though he were accepting a challenge.
And from then on—
Everything had unfolded exactly as Baek In-cheong had planned.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor struggling against his Azure Heaven Fan Sword Technique, unable to kill him easily.
Being cornered, then gathering the power of eight thousand warriors to strike him down.
Every single step—
Had proceeded without a single deviation from his expectations.
"You... had already used your Limitless Power back then?"
Only now did Baek In-cheong understand.
"From the very beginning, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had only used his Limitless Power once."
Through his Mindscape, he had imprisoned Baek In-cheong within an illusion.
And in that time, he had plucked out the hearts of all eight thousand martial artists of the Divine Guard Unit.
"This isn't Nature Shattering..."
"Someone once said to me—"
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor murmured softly, recalling the Old Man in Blue who had visited him not long ago.
"—'How long do you think that outdated Nature Shattering will keep working?'"
"Kehkehkeh. Hahahaha!"
Tears of blood streamed from Baek In-cheong's eyes.
He had been a fool.
Exploiting an enemy's weakness was not, in itself, an unworthy act for a martial artist.
But if he had intended to face the Number One of the Demonic Path...
He should not have rushed in simply because his opponent was injured. He should have spent a long time analyzing him, preparing thoroughly.
Yet he had trusted in the Azure Heaven Sword and the power of the Gathering Stars Formation, leading the Divine Guard Unit's martial artists in reckless haste.
Because he couldn't afford to miss this golden opportunity.
Because he had to strike first, before anyone else could touch the injured Demonic Heavenly Emperor.
In the end, that impatience—that desire for glory—
Had led him to commit the unforgivable blunder of annihilating an entire division of the Martial Alliance.
"You... are a demon."
Baek In-cheong raised the Azure Heaven Sword, murmuring hoarsely.
Then, in a voice barely above a whisper, he said:
"The day will come when you too shall reap what you have sown."
Thud.
In one swift motion, he plunged the Azure Heaven Sword into his own heart.
Boom.
Thus, Baek In-cheong—who had long stood as the indomitable commander of the Martial Alliance's Divine Guard Unit—met his end by his own hand.
"Hmph."
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor looked down at Baek In-cheong's corpse with an expression of ruined amusement.
"'Reap what I have sown,' you say."
He gazed at the distant sky, his voice icy.
"I shall begin transcending the shackles of Heaven's Natural Order."
KWA-RUMBLE!
WHOOSH—
Suddenly, the sky darkened, and a torrential downpour began.
The blood of the countless corpses strewn across the ground mingled, forming crimson streams.
FLASH!
As if the world itself were hurtling toward apocalypse, thunder and lightning struck in rapid succession.
"I shall become Heaven's Will—the very Law of the Martial World!"
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor's roar became a thunderclap of terror, reverberating across the land.
An unbelievable rumor spread through the Martial World.
—The Demonic Heavenly Emperor had single-handedly crushed the Divine Guard Unit.
After his battle with the Sword Sovereign, despite suffering grievous injuries and wandering the Martial World alone—
He had suddenly, with no support, slaughtered all eight thousand troops of the Divine Guard Unit.
But soon, the rumor was corrected.
—It was not the Demonic Heavenly Emperor who had attacked the Divine Guard Unit, but rather Baek In-cheong who had ambushed him... only to be annihilated in turn.
When the truth came to light, the martial world was stunned...
And the Martial Alliance was humiliated beyond measure.
The title of "Seven Great Leaders" was no mere honorary rank.
Each was a pillar of the Martial Alliance—a candidate for the next Alliance Chief.
Yet one of them had tried to ambush the Demonic Heavenly Emperor while he was injured... and in doing so, brought about the collapse of an entire division?
—Then, had his injuries been a lie? Had he lured them into attacking?
The martial artists were left questioning.
If the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had annihilated the Divine Guard Unit and its commander without cause—
It would have been grounds for an immediate Great Orthodox-Unorthodox War.
But since Baek In-cheong had acted alone, leading his division in an ambush...
The Martial Alliance could not possibly demand retribution.
Instead, they had only earned an indelible disgrace.
—He must have faked his injuries.
The Martial Alliance gnashed their teeth.
They believed the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had deliberately spread false rumors of his injuries to provoke them—
Then orchestrated a scheme to cripple the Martial Alliance's forces.
But soon, they realized they had overlooked one critical fact:
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor's injuries had been confirmed by the Buddha Venerable.
A man who had never spoken falsely in his life—a pillar of the Righteous Path—had no reason to spread such rumors intentionally.
Meaning, the Demonic Heavenly Emperor had indeed been injured...
And yet, he had annihilated Baek In-cheong and eight thousand troops in an instant.
—Demonic Heavenly Emperor... Is he now walking the path to becoming the undisputed supreme of the world?
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor, Sado Mu-myeong.
Since his emergence in the Martial World, he had been utterly invincible.
The only one with whom he never reached a decisive outcome was Shin Do-mu-bi, known as the Heavenly Emperor of the Orthodox Path.
But as time passed, the two Grandmasters' paths diverged drastically.
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor had produced an exceptional successor, and the Martial Soul Lord displayed matchless majesty every time he appeared in the Martial World.
In contrast, the Heavenly Emperor of the Orthodox Path had failed to produce any notable achievements and still had not chosen the next Alliance leader.
And now, with this incident—
The Demonic Heavenly Emperor had once again shaken the Martial World, reaffirming his status as the Sky of the Demonic Path and proving his might.
Unless the Heavenly Emperor of the Orthodox Path stepped forward now...
There was no one left who could break the Demonic Heavenly Emperor's momentum.