Chapter 19
Chapter 19
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 19
Chapter Title: Conducting the Sect War (4)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Siiiiik!
Following the Heavenly Demon Gunryong's burst of laughter, the people from Ghost Sword Manor wore equally meaningful smirks.
"You there. Why are you laughing?"
Everyone from Ghost Sword Manor knew, but only those from Fine Sword Sect were clueless.
Jeon Il-gwang asked in bewilderment at their bizarre reactions.
"No. Keep talking."
The Heavenly Demon nodded with his characteristic mischievous grin.
"That young punk is using informal speech..."
Unaware of the Heavenly Demon's true identity, Jeon Il-gwang bristled with anger but held back, fretting that Ghost Sword Manor might reject their absurd proposal.
"Ahem, anyway, we're making this formal proposal, and everyone here will bear witness, so we won't make any other demands or quibble afterward."
Jeon Il-gwang bowed politely toward Yang Dae-un, the very man who had severed his arm.
It was humiliating, but he had his own plausible plan.
'Just you wait. If Gung Seung-u steps up, everything will be resolved.'
Though they faced this harsh ordeal now, he firmly believed the situation would reverse if Ghost Sword Manor accepted their all-or-nothing duel between top experts.
It had to be that way—Gung Seung-u boasted an undefeated record across Yoneung's lands, a master even the Moyong Clan, said to be Yoneung's strongest, yielded to.
In truth, for a mid-tier sect like Fine Sword Sect to produce a peak-level expert was like a dragon emerging from a slum.
That's why he was confident of total victory.
"Really?"
Jeon Il-gwang had expected Yang Dae-un to refuse and chase them from Dome Green Mountain, but surprisingly...
He seemed intrigued.
From his view, Yang Dae-un even looked faintly amused.
"Yes? Ah! Yes! Of course! Not just leaving—it's subordination of the losing sect to the winner!"
Fearing a change of heart, Jeon Il-gwang desperately pressed, and it worked.
"Very well."
"...Yes?!"
Once again, Yang Dae-un accepted with hearty approval.
Seeing this, Jeon Il-gwang felt a twinge of confusion and fear.
It mirrored the sect war proposal earlier, making him worry history would repeat with defeat.
As his doubts deepened—should he test the waters like crossing a rickety bridge?—
[Sect Leader. If I step up, I can tear that insolent brat to shreds.]
a transmission arrived from Gung Seung-u.
Gung Seung-u growled at the young Heavenly Demon, Ghost Sword Manor's top expert, with absolute confidence in his skills.
'Gung Seung-u, of all people, won't lose to some unheard-of kid that young.'
With a peak expert stronger than himself guaranteeing victory, it was a gamble worth taking for Jeon Il-gwang.
The one不安 element was the prior ambush squad's total annihilation by a young Ghost Sword Manor expert, but their leader had gone mad, leaving no clear details.
"Don't want to? Can't be helped then."
Since rejuvenating alongside the Heavenly Demon, Yang Dae-un had grown far more sly and teasing.
He could now push and pull with the best of them.
"No! I mean yes! We'll do it!"
Jeon Il-gwang was reeled in the moment Yang Dae-un tugged.
"Good. The losing side subordinates to the winner. No backing out this time."
"Naturally!"
Jeon Il-gwang boldly declared, glancing back.
[You're confident, right?]
He sent a transmission to Gung Seung-u.
[In all Yoneung Province, only a few from the Moyong Clan can beat me.]
Gung Seung-u was fuming as the Heavenly Demon, who looked like his baby brother, kept grinning at him.
[If I lose, I'll break my sword.]
For a swordsman, breaking one's sword meant retiring from the martial world.
That was his level of confidence.
"Good. I trust you."
"Yes!"
Thus, Gung Seung-u boldly stepped forward as if he'd been waiting.
Honestly, watching Fine Sword Sect lose the sect war had nearly burst his seams—he'd even considered flipping the table and slaughtering Yang Yeon-hwa, Yang Dae-un, everyone.
Without the witnesses and spectators today, he might have.
"Heh heh heh, this is fun."
Someone poured oil on Gung Seung-u's fiery mood amid it all.
Naturally, it was the Heavenly Demon.
He knew everything that would unfold next, so it was too hilarious to speak.
He'd only meant to let Yang Dae-un, Yang Yeon-hwa, and Ghost Sword Manor prove their ability to stand alone in Yoneung to the spectators and enthusiasts.
But now?
'They're begging to be killed?'
Staking lives and the sect's very existence—no wonder he couldn't hold back the laughter.
"Alright, let's begin the top expert duel!"
Jeon Il-gwang bellowed.
Though his left arm was severed and he needed a physician, he'd only had emergency treatment and stood firm.
Skipping Fine Sword Sect's fateful duel over its survival would be foolish.
"Things are getting interesting."
"Yeah. But... Ghost Sword Manor's top expert is that young?"
"Hm, probably standing in for the missing Yang Hui-gun. How strong can he be?"
"Right. Ghost Sword Manor is nothing without Yang Dae-un and Yang Yeon-hwa."
Even the enthusiasts who'd watched Ghost Sword Manor's victories with interest now voiced pessimistic concerns.
They believed the manor had made a grave mistake.
"Prepare for the duel!"
Despite the pain, Jeon Il-gwang hurried the final match, lest Ghost Sword Manor change their minds.
Sweep!
Gung Seung-u, Fine Sword Absolute Art—the finest martial artist among Fine Sword Sect—emerged, unable to hide his fury.
He warned the still-grinning Heavenly Demon.
"We'll see who's laughing after the duel."
"Pft!"
The Heavenly Demon laughed anyway, driving Gung Seung-u mad.
At last!
"Duel begins!"
The sect war's final, all-or-nothing showdown between Gung Seung-u and Jeon Il-gwang finally commenced.
"Looks like you've learned some Loyal Ghost Sword techniques! But my talent doesn't pale next to Loyal Ghost Sword Yang U-ryang!"
Declared Gung Seung-u, one of Yoneung City's top prodigies.
In truth, Yoneung City was peripheral like North Sea Star City, far from the central martial world, and Gung Seung-u fell short of true central prodigies.
Yet boasting like this was provocation—and proof he was a frog in a well.
Aimed to irk the grinning Heavenly Demon, but it was a colossal blunder.
He'd dared insult Loyal Ghost Sword Yang U-ryang before the Heavenly Demon.
"Come on, compare all you want..."
As the duel started and Gung Seung-u moved to dominate with flashy Fine Sword Sect arts before the crowd—
-Ghost Lord Shadow Chase!
The truly enraged Heavenly Demon swung the Heavenly Lord Demon Dragon Sword—wrapped in bandages and cloth to hide its form—at invisible light speed.
This technique was from the long-lost Ghost Weep Shadow Pursuit Sword Technique, recently passed to the Yang family.
Kwajik!
The furious Heavenly Demon proved it with action.
Unleashing Ghost Lord Shadow Chase—Yang U-ryang's technique, his right-hand man's art—he cleaved Gung Seung-u from crown to perineum.
Perfectly in half, like splitting firewood lengthwise.
More astonishing: Gung Seung-u showed no reaction or death cry—he died bisected without even realizing it.
Kuung!
Gung Seung-u's mangled corpse toppled forward in a gruesome scene.
So horrific that the audience, Fine Sword Sect, even Ghost Sword Manor froze solid.
The Heavenly Demon, who'd lashed out in genuine fury for Yang U-ryang.
"You idiot. Loyal Ghost Sword's blade was faster than mine. Just by a bit."
He'd snapped at the novice barely entering peak realm for undervaluing Yang U-ryang and put him down instantly.
As the Heavenly Demon said, Yang U-ryang's sword was the fastest, pursuing ultimate speed without ever being light.
The pinnacle of swift swords itself.
"Tsk tsk, daring to speak of the First Manor Lord."
Yang Yeon-hwa, witnessing the Heavenly Demon's rage, clicked her tongue.
In truth, it was Gung Seung-u's blunder.
Without mentioning Yang U-ryang, he'd have lost an arm or leg but lived—now he'd twisted his own fate.
But who to blame?
Gung Seung-u was long a guest in the netherworld.
"Uh, uh, uhhh?"
Jeon Il-gwang, Fine Sword Sect Lord, had watched the shocking duel up close.
Coincidentally drenched in Gung Seung-u's blood—perhaps why?—shock stole his speech, pupils shaking like swarming bees.
He wanted to call it a nightmare.
But no matter how he pinched or slapped, it was stark reality.
Astoundingly, Fine Sword Sect's do-or-die gamble—its fate, wealth, lives on the line—ended in utter futility.
Undeniably, Ghost Sword Manor's total victory. The Heavenly Demon's total victory.
The audience remained frozen until the Heavenly Demon passed the corpse and returned.
Ooooh! Ooooooh!
They erupted in belated cries of awe, going mad for Ghost Sword Manor's rising star, the enigmatic young expert.
They believed this was a once-in-a-millennium talent to resound beyond Yoneung to the central plains.
"Who the hell is that guy?!"
"Did the Yang family have such a brilliant junior?"
"Yang Hui-gun? No, he's older."
Unable to guess his identity, they fell into massive confusion.
Fine Sword Absolute Art Gung Seung-u wasn't some weakling who'd died screaming in a blink.
A prodigy reaching peak realm young, top-tier in Yoneung City.
Yet dispatching him like a babe surpassed awe into shock and terror.
But most confused wasn't the audience or dead Gung Seung-u—it was Fine Sword Sect Lord Jeon Il-gwang.
"Y-You... who the hell..."
To Jeon Il-gwang, on the verge of losing speech from shock, the Heavenly Demon grinned again.
"Who? The master who's about to own you from now on."
The losers—Fine Sword Sect—had pledged life-and-death subordination, becoming slaves.
Defeat meant honoring that heavy promise spat from their own mouths.
"Call me Gunryong Master from now on."