Chapter 51
Translator: penny
Chapter: 51
Chapter Title: The Martial Emperor's Proposal
Cheon Seonwu, true to his title of Martial Emperor, discerned the subtleties of the Curtain Heaven Sword Art even in my casual swing.
On the other hand, Cheon Woojin seemed utterly baffled. He furrowed his brow and muttered to himself.
"Just... swung it?"
With that, he gritted his teeth and charged at me again.
Heavenly Apex Sword Art
One Flash
His sword gleamed with a flash, aiming straight for my throat in an instant.
But I'd already anticipated it from his stance, so I nonchalantly brought up my scabbard to block.
Kaang-!
Once again, it was Cheon Woojin who staggered back.
"Urk... What kind of strength is this..."
After just two clashes, his hand must have torn open. Bright red blood dripped from the hilt of his sword.
He looked like he might drop it any second now...
'That would be no fun.'
I didn't want the match to end like that.
I needed to vent some frustration too, after all.
This time, I charged at him first.
No frills—just a clean overhead chop from above.
Cheon Seonwu blocked it once more with the Heavenly Apex Sword Art,
Kuung!
But his body crumpled, and he fell flat on his butt.
Even as he looked up at me, still gripping his sword, his eyes were filled with bewilderment.
'Perfect position for a Shadowless Kick right now.'
I was in prime position to kick him right in the solar plexus, but wary of any potential counter, I held back and swung my scabbard again.
Heavenly Curtain
A canopy of heaven unfurled.
Unlike when I'd shown it to my second sister before, this was a flawless curtain without a single gap.
'No Heaviness—just pure Illusion.'
I had no intention of killing him, so I stripped away all the weight.
Thanks to that, Cheon Woojin's sword managed to block a few scabbards... but countless others still whipped toward him.
Pububububuk!
Innumerable scabbards battered his body.
This technique, deployed purely for pummeling, drew a pained groan from him.
"Gaaah!"
'Nice sound.'
Truth be told, I'd never liked Cheon Woojin.
Back in my Lecherous Demon days, he'd been the one to assemble a proper pursuit force.
'Which got me killed.'
Turning the entire martial world against me was my own karma, sure.
But uniting the righteous sects, unorthodox factions, and even the Demonic Cult—groups as incompatible as water and oil—that had been his doing.
It was only natural for the righteous, unorthodox, and demonic to bicker among themselves.
Even while chasing me, they'd clash upon running into each other—it was inevitable.
That gave me the openings I needed to evade pursuit for so long.
Then one day, I raped the World's Greatest Beauty, Cheon Suyeon.
Cheon Woojin, seeking vengeance for his daughter, went around persuading the Murim Alliance, the Four Black Alliance, the Demonic Cult, and more.
Thus, he created the first organization in martial history to unite the righteous, unorthodox, and demonic.
'Of course, having an absolute like the Martial Emperor as backing helped.'
Either way, he'd succeeded in forming that ridiculous group called the "Lecherous Demon Extermination Squad."
People with clashing ideologies and beliefs united solely to kill me, Mok Jimyeong.
The result, as you know, was my death.
'Even without him, I'd have met a similar end eventually...'
So, not quite "sworn enemy of the ages," but definitely "guy I don't like"?
Perfect timing to give him a beating, then.
I infused my scabbard swings with the essence of Illusion once more.
The moment I was about to thrash him from every angle again,
"Is that one of your family arts too?"
Cheon Seonwu's voice came from the side.
It didn't sound like he was trying to stop his son from getting beaten.
He wasn't the type anyway.
But his next words made my body freeze solid.
"Hm, it feels similar to our family's sword art..."
'Oh, shit...!!'
The Heavenly Curtain I'd just unleashed was a technique I'd created after mastering the Curtain Heaven Sword Art, by adding the essence of Illusion.
It had evolved even further after I learned the Heavenly Apex Sword Art...
'Stripping away the Heaviness left only the Illusion...!'
Without the Curtain Heaven framework, only fragments of the Heavenly Apex remained.
And that monster of an old man had spotted that tiny fragment.
I hurriedly opened my mouth to defend myself.
"It's not a family art. The Mok Family's art is a sword style that emphasizes Heaviness. I just mixed in some Illusion of my own."
"Mixing Illusion into Heaviness... Then why couldn't I sense any of the Heaviness?"
"Mixing in the essence of Heaviness risks crippling someone. So I left it out."
Cheon Seonwu's face showed genuine surprise at my honest answer.
"Impressive. Not only have you transcended forms at your age—you're already creating new arts!"
Phew, good.
It was such a tiny fragment that even he bought it.
While we conversed, Cheon Woojin barely managed to stand and resume his stance.
I was about to resume the beating...
"Would you ever consider becoming my disciple?"
The most absurd proposal rang out.
Cheon Seonwu was a man blessed by the heavens with martial talent.
Without any master, he began swinging a sword alone and, at just 25, awakened it, creating the Heavenly Apex Sword Art.
He reached the Flower Realm five years later, at 30.
And finally, he ascended to the Manifest Realm—the pinnacle of human achievement.
'No further to go.'
But that was the end.
Whether heaven had decreed that as humanity's limit, no matter how much time passed, his realm wouldn't advance.
Growing bored, he set out traveling with his son, hoping new experiences might reveal a new path.
On the first anniversary of their journey,
Cheon Seonwu spotted a most intriguing figure at an inn he visited with his son.
"Hey, waiter! Among the cities near... uh, the branch..."
The boisterous young man calling the waiter glanced his way and abruptly changed his words.
Then he hastily fled the inn.
A man who looked barely in his twenties, yet already in the Flower Realm—it was more than enough to pique Cheon Seonwu's curiosity.
'What the heck is this guy?'
Tailing him discreetly, he saw the youth veer off in the opposite direction from what the waiter had indicated, employing lightness skill.
Leaving faint traces for his son to follow, Cheon Seonwu pursued far until the youth sat on a tree stump and began reading a book.
'What an odd fellow.'
The internal energy he sensed was pure.
Purer than any warrior Cheon Seonwu had ever encountered in his life.
Like it embodied the essence of nature itself.
Yet his age and realm were both extraordinary.
Cheon Seonwu grew curious about where such a prodigy had been raised.
"No sect. I grew up in the Mok Family Clan of the Shanxi region."
His answer only deepened the mystery.
'I thought maybe a hidden weapon of the Nine Great Sects... but just some ordinary clan?'
Could this boy possess talent surpassing his own?
Or was the clan special?
That's when he noticed the book the youth was reading.
The boy had even demonstrated Void Grasping to show off, but no reaction.
He'd suspected as much back at the inn—the youth had seen through his realm.
'Definitely an odd one.'
Upon snatching and reading the book, Cheon Seonwu's brow furrowed.
It was a perverse tome detailing a woman's private life.
He considered giving him a light scolding and testing his skills,
But,
"Is it such a grave sin for a man to try impressing a woman?"
The youth's brazen attitude made him nod unwittingly.
Thinking back, hadn't he himself once set aside his beloved sword to win his wife's heart?
This seemed even more admirable than his own youth.
"May I go now?"
He couldn't let him leave just yet.
He still hadn't seen the most intriguing martial art.
Awkward to test it himself, he recalled the boy was around his son's age.
'Realms differ, but my Heavenly Apex Sword Art should suffice.'
Cheon Seonwu had infinite pride in the Heavenly Apex Sword Art he'd created.
And rightly so—he'd reached the Manifest Realm with it.
Yet that painstaking creation began unraveling in a single breath.
This wasn't a difference in realm.
Nor in the arts themselves.
"What sword art? I just swung it."
The boy was simply superior.
"Hm, already transcending forms? Your comprehension of martial arts is remarkable, not just your realm."
But it wasn't enough.
He'd been capable of that much in his own youth.
Then, moments later, countless scabbards formed a canopy.
Utterly different from the previous art.
"Is that one of your family arts too?"
"It's not a family art. The Mok Family's art is a sword style that emphasizes Heaviness. I just mixed in some Illusion of my own."
"Mixing Illusion into Heaviness... Then why couldn't I sense any of the Heaviness?"
"Mixing in the essence of Heaviness risks crippling someone. So I left it out."
The talent to transcend forms and create new arts already.
This was entirely separate from the Flower Realm.
Realm could rise and fall with elixirs and such external aids, but this was innate genius only.
'I only awakened at 25...!'
He was 20, wasn't he?
If true... the boy was a true genius.
"Would you ever consider becoming my disciple?"
Cheon Seonwu began to covet him.