Chapter 150
Chapter 150
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 150
Chapter Title: Heaven-Slicing Sword
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GHO Korea Branch.
The branch chief's seat was occupied not by Branch Chief Daisy, but by someone else.
"Another official document has come down."
Branch Chief Daisy cautiously spoke to the burly man seated in the chief's chair.
The large man, who had been lounging with his feet up on the windowsill, turned around.
It was the War God.
"Sending two official documents to Branch Chief Daisy means they've already caught wind of something."
Unlike the War God, who looked unconcerned, Branch Chief Daisy appeared anxious.
The exact same official document had arrived twice.
It was a silent warning from GHO: handle it quickly or send a response.
"What should we do? Does the War God know? Where the Demon-Slaying Sword is?"
"You could say I know, or you could say I don't."
A vague answer.
It only made Branch Chief Daisy's heart race.
"We can't send back an answer like that..."
She had risen meteorically to the branch chief position through outstanding performance.
Originally, she would have been far too lacking for the role.
Yet in the barren land that was Korea, she had established the GHO Korea Branch to near-perfection.
As a result, her abilities were recognized, allowing her to transition proudly from interim chief to full branch chief.
To her, this official document from GHO headquarters—practically a reprimand—was unwelcome news.
She wanted to handle it before anything else.
But while Daisy was urgent, the War God remained relaxed.
"Then don't send a response."
"Pardon? This is an official document from headquarters. We can't just ignore it."
"Doesn't matter. If you ignore it, the timid ones up top will send someone."
Once that happened, Daisy's performance evaluation would naturally hit rock bottom.
Daisy's expression darkened.
The War God clearly knew something about the Demon-Slaying Sword's whereabouts.
Yet for some reason, he was reluctant to reveal it.
'What could make the War God's lips so heavy?'
This was a side of the War God at odds with his usual bold, unyielding, masculine demeanor.
From that, Daisy found her answer.
'Not a what... but a who? Could it be a person?'
Daisy's eyes widened.
"No way... Yong-un..."
"Shh."
The War God's gesture silenced Daisy's words.
Any other branch chief would never have guessed it.
No other chief knew as much about Hunter Yong-un and Korea as Daisy did.
"No wonder GHO holds Branch Chief Daisy in such high regard."
The War God shook his head.
Deducing Hunter Yong-un from just a slight deviation in his usual behavior.
Her exceptional business acumen was undeniable.
'But sometimes, that can be poison.'
The furrowed brow of Branch Chief Daisy caught the War God's eye.
The face of someone on the verge of action.
"Is the Demon-Slaying Sword in Hunter Yong-un's hands?"
Despite the hints to stop, the words slipped from Daisy's mouth.
Her outstanding skills had propelled her to the branch chief position.
She had climbed high by sheer ability, without pandering.
But that very skill in business matters sometimes erased the discernment to look the other way when needed.
"I'm the Korea branch chief, but I'm also a GHO headquarters employee. I can't do this. We must summon Hunter Yong-un."
"Is that truly necessary?"
The War God's advisory words failed to reach Daisy.
"Yes. Sending it twice was a warning. I can't ignore something headquarters deems important."
"No helping it, then."
The War God rose from his seat.
There was nothing more to say.
The official document had come to Branch Chief Daisy, not him.
Even with his deep ties to GHO headquarters, the War God couldn't interfere further in another's directive.
"You'll have to bear the consequences yourself."
All he could do was advise.
The War God left the chief's office and headed out.
His final words left Daisy with much to say.
She ignored any advice conflicting with her duties and beliefs.
Click.
The War God's retreating figure and last words left deep questions in Daisy's mind as she prepared to proceed.
"What was your intent? What are you hiding? Is there something between the Demon-Slaying Sword and Hunter Yong-un?"
But questions remained just that.
Her resolve wasn't so fragile as to falter over a mere doubt.
"Whatever it is, I must handle headquarters' document. GHO always works for the world's safety."
Ding.
Daisy's finger reached for the phone on the chief's desk.
"Summon Hunter Yong-un."
The tip of his finger touched the beginning of the Absolute Strike.
Whoosh.
Yong-un, his eyes tinged purple, swung the Demon-Slaying Sword in a wide arc.
One slash, two slashes, three slashes.
"Hoo..."
After three swings, Yong-un exhaled deeply.
He lifted his head to gaze at the cleaved space.
"What is the end of martial arts, anyway?"
The space was rent open.
The rift was wide enough to fit a hand through.
Not that he wanted to stick his hand in.
The pitch-black darkness within felt ominous.
Crackle.
Purple lightning scattered, and the cleaved space returned to normal.
The empty air looked pristine, as if nothing had happened.
The Absolute Strike had undoubtedly existed.
'But that's not all...'
He looked down at the Demon-Slaying Sword, its ultimate intent dispersed and reverted to normal.
And he reflected on his past self alongside it.
It started when he received the Heavenly Thunder Master's manual in Ma Hyeon-dong.
Back then, Yong-un didn't know who the Heavenly Thunder Master was.
But he knew it was no ordinary item.
And so he secretly trained in the manual within.
The result.
The Killing Ghost Sword Demon—his current self—was born.
He swept his hand through the now-normal space.
Of course, there was nothing to grasp.
But cleaving space itself.
'Heavenly Thunder Master, what did you seek to achieve?'
To Yong-un, who had mastered the manual to the end, slicing space wasn't particularly surprising.
The Heavenly Thunder Master's manual was full of wonders.
「Master the First Form, Five Elements Power, and wield five energies: Mystic Qi, Fire Qi, Cold Qi, Death Qi, and Demonic Qi.」
From the start, the nameless manual differed utterly from any martial art spread across the martial world.
It felt like a technique from another dimension.
Even now, having mastered its five—and only—forms, it left an indelible mark on Yong-un.
「Master the Second Form, Fluid Energy Differentiation, to grasp the mysteries of swordsmanship and refine them.」
The strike and kill of Fluid Energy Differentiation.
Mastering those two allowed one to see the flow of qi around them, follow or defy it, and completely reinterpret the fundamentals of swordsmanship.
The Demon Dragon Strike that created the Demon Dragon Squad.
Demon Dragon Manifestation.
The kill that birthed Demon Slaughter Annihilation, and Void Fusion Killing Art.
Fluid Energy Differentiation alone had produced all that.
「Master the Third Form, Space Subduing, to control all space the sword touches.」
Subduing space—Space Subduing truly dominated every space the sword reached.
If Fluid Energy Differentiation revealed qi flows and enabled swordplay through them,
Space Subduing consolidated those insights.
Without even looking, it let one perceive everything around the sword's path.
And strike or suppress it.
This already surpassed the Nangong family's Soaring Heaven Swordsmanship.
But the manual's uniqueness truly began here.
「Master the Fourth Form, Eye-Reaching Strike, to control even spaces the sword doesn't touch.」
Eye's reach, penetrating strike, striking differentiation.
It meant striking everywhere the eye could see.
Surpassing Space Subduing's limit of the sword's reach, it allowed cleaving any visible foe, no matter the distance.
An absurd sword art.
That was Eye-Reaching Strike.
This was when it began.
The Sword Demon's great feats in the Upright-Demon War earned him a Demon Commander position.
Of course, he couldn't use Eye-Reaching Strike openly.
Greedy eyes would have claimed him before vengeance.
「Master the Fifth Form, Subduing All Worlds, and become an immortal! 」
Subduing worlds, all things, the universe.
Subduing all under heaven.
If the emperor saw it, he'd brand it treason and behead the warrior on the spot.
Yet the Heavenly Thunder Master wrote it boldly.
And achieved it.
'It was then.'
He vowed vengeance.
Grasping ultimate intent and the manual's final technique.
Subduing All Worlds.
The pinnacle of swordsmanship that cleaved all unseen things.
For the first time,
The joy of awakening Subduing All Worlds outshone the anticipation of vengeance.
Slicing the Blade Demon—cloaked in blade aura—with a single stroke through his blade aura.
That was Subduing All Worlds.
Sword qi or blade qi—it mattered not.
Subduing All Worlds' ultimate intent reduced all it touched to nothingness.
The Blade Demon's sturdy beloved blade,
The blade aura enveloping it,
The Blade Demon's flesh.
It cleaved all without distinction.
"So that's it."
He looked up at the sky.
He understood what the Heavenly Thunder Master sought.
The massive spatial scar that had torn the night sky last night.
That was it.
The final sword art the Heavenly Thunder Master pursued through the manual.
From Five Elements Power to Fluid Energy Differentiation, Space Subduing, Eye-Reaching Strike, and finally Subduing All Worlds.
Yes. The Heavenly Thunder Master...
"Wanted to slice the heavens."
To cleave the sky.
The Absolute Strike he had grasped yesterday was the Heavenly Thunder Master's life's masterpiece.
Sweep away the sky's clouds with Five Elements Power's ultimate intent and Fluid Energy Differentiation.
Unleash purple thunderous ultimate intent to subdue space.
Eye-Reaching Strike on the revealed sky.
Subduing All Worlds to suppress it.
And then.
Rumble.
"Slice."
The dispersed ultimate intent surged through Yong-un's body and into the Demon-Slaying Sword.
His legs sank deeper into the ground.
Cracks spread from him, just like last night when he perfectly executed the Absolute Strike.
And finally.
Crunch.
Muscles screamed as they unleashed all pent-up power.
Bang!
Like a spring uncoiling, Yong-un's hand gripping the Demon-Slaying Sword swept from lower left to upper right, toward the heavens.
Cleaving all.
Rumble rumble rumble!
Boom.
Absolute Strike.
The sword art that slices the heavens.
The Extremity Heaven-Slicing Sword was unleashed as Yong-un's for the first time.
Whoosh.
Clouds parted in the sky.
Sunlight poured through.
A black scar floated against the blue sky, as if the heavens were sliced, scattering purple lightning.
Shing.
The Demon-Slaying Sword, its task done, was sucked back into its sheath.
No more the crimson-black blade symbolic of Crimson Demon Qi.
Instead, a new blade dyed purple resided within.
"I got it. Did you see, Heavenly Thunder Master?"
Yong-un reached up, covering the sky with his hand.
He clenched his fist.
The sky scar vanished cleanly, as if it had never been.
Yong-un opened his hand, staring at his empty palm.
"I performed what you sought."
The nameless manual's Absolute Strike.
He had obtained the Extremity Heaven-Slicing Sword.
And simultaneously, Yong-un realized.
"You didn't know either, Heavenly Thunder Master. That this is just the beginning."
A wall formed in Yong-un's inner world.
A wall he thought wouldn't appear again.
To some, a blocked path was despair; to others, a longing to surpass.
Yong-un's new wall fell into the latter.
No—a new goal not just to climb, but to shatter and step into a new realm.
Grip.
Strength entered Yong-un's fist.
'The sky is just the start. What's next?'
He wanted to cleave all.
The possibility of slicing illusions granted Yong-un countless goals.
His gaze turned downward.
The earth people tread upon.
Then to a distant mountain.
A gate midway up the visually invisible peak came into view.
A smile spread across Yong-un's lips.
"This'll be fun."
Not the madness from the Demon-Slaying Sword.
This was the madness of the former Killing Ghost Sword Demon— of Yong-un himself.
The madness to grow stronger, to ascend higher.
Yong-un smiled, viewing that power source—his madness—through a third party's eyes.
Click.
He aimed the Demon-Slaying Sword at the house of Demon Slaughter Annihilation.
"How long do you plan to hide?"
From the sword's tip, the War God emerged.
Stretching, enveloped in yellow fighting spirit.
Crack. Crack.
Odd sounds came from his hands and neck.
And on the War God's face gleamed a madness different from Yong-un's.
"Looks like you're done. I won't hold back today."
Yong-un liked the War God's madness.
Fwoosh.
"I'm in a good mood today, so I won't let you pass easily."
Crimson Demon Qi rose around Yong-un like engulfing flames.
The Extremity Heaven-Slicing Sword had consumed all his ultimate intent, fatigue setting in.
Yet Yong-un stared straight at the mad War God, flashing a mad smile of his own.
Bang!
The War God kicked off the ground.
Whoosh.
Thud!
Yong-un tossed the Demon-Slaying Sword aside.
And clasped his hands together, just like their first meeting.
Thud!
And then...
Like that first encounter, they pressed their foreheads together, both wearing mad grins.
"Kuhahaha! That's the spirit!"
The world's top S-Rank, number one War God, versus number four Yong-un.
For the first time, their bare-handed clash unfolded in earnest.