Chapter 440
Translator: Ace
Chapter: 440
Chapter Title: Faster Than Expected
"Hm. It's too quiet."
Walking along the forest path, Righteous Heaven Alliance Leader So Hwi-woong tilted his head.
Dam Mu-hyeon, following right behind him, nodded and spoke up.
"All the jiangshi have vanished."
Which meant that after the moment they had annihilated the Dark Blood Jiangshi Gold Captain.
Aside from a few elite jiangshi since then, they hadn't encountered any others.
"Doesn't that match what the strategist said?"
So Hwi-woong asked with a smirk.
"What exactly do you mean?"
Dam Mu-hyeon asked back, not quite grasping his intent.
"That Blood Cult remnants are hiding here, and that those Blood Cult bastards can control the jiangshi to some extent."
When they had decided to surround the Mountain-Crossing Great Wall and preserve the forest intact.
Heavenly Eye Pavilion Lord Gong Son Dan-gyeong had opposed it for that very reason.
Claiming the Blood Cult remnants who hadn't been purged yet would flee there.
Of course, once the alliance leader's stance shifted toward preservation, they had no choice but to follow his will.
The idea that the Blood Cult could control the jiangshi was something Gong Son Dan-gyeong had considered throughout the war.
Whenever facing the Blood Cult, he had always factored that into his strategies.
Dam Mu-hyeon had no choice but to agree with So Hwi-woong.
There was no other way to explain the current situation.
"The jiangshi have vanished clean as if swept away. It's absurd compared to the first day."
So Hwi-woong's smile deepened.
"On top of that, we don't even know how they're watching us. The only things that tripped my senses were herb gatherers and jiangshi. Tsk."
So Hwi-woong clicked his tongue.
Dam Mu-hyeon's eyes flashed.
"Those herb gatherers..."
So Hwi-woong, who had been walking ahead, raised a hand to cut him off.
He knew what Dam Mu-hyeon wanted to say.
However.
"Not all of them are Blood Cult remnants. There are surely real herb gatherers risking their lives here just to survive."
That's why he had let them be.
Unless they practiced blood arts, picking out Blood Cult affiliates from a crowd of non-martial artists wasn't easy.
It might just lead to harassing innocents.
"What do you think they're planning?"
Dam Mu-hyeon asked, scanning their surroundings.
"Who knows. But it feels like the calm before the storm. This silence."
So Hwi-woong grimaced, as if displeased.
"No more jiangshi if we keep going, it seems. Let's head to the Demon-Sealing Corps."
"The Demon-Sealing Corps?"
At Dam Mu-hyeon's question, So Hwi-woong nodded.
"We came to deal with that abomination called the Heaven-Exterminating Jiangshi. Can't just turn back now. Better handle it before we go. They'll crawl out again once I'm gone anyway."
"If you leave the alliance vacant for too long..."
Dam Mu-hyeon said worriedly.
"Gong Son the strategist will manage. I was the fool."
"Pardon?"
Dam Mu-hyeon was startled by So Hwi-woong's words as he turned.
"Should've come here sooner. Too late now."
So Hwi-woong spoke while looking around.
Complex emotions swirled in his eyes.
Il No sought out Chu Geum-neung.
"What is it?"
Chu Geum-neung's vacant eyes, staring blankly in his own space, turned toward Il No.
"Among the Guardian Deities, who is the strongest?"
After a brief bow, Il No cut straight to the point.
"I don't know."
The answer was simple.
Il No was about to frown slightly but realized something and rephrased.
"Before you became a Guardian Deity, who was the strongest among them?"
"..."
Chu Geum-neung fell silent at the changed question.
"The first Guardian Deity."
Followed by a curt reply.
"Thank you."
Il No bowed his head and left Chu Geum-neung's room.
It was as he had expected.
Chu Geum-neung's ignorance applied to the Guardian Deities after him.
But Il No had records from that time.
What Il No didn't know precisely were the first through fourth Guardian Deities.
Since Chu Geum-neung was the sixth, records started from the fifth.
Il No headed to where the Heaven-Exterminating Jiangshi were stored.
Work was already underway to awaken one.
In this space accessible only to Il No.
The first Guardian Deity that Chu Geum-neung had mentioned.
It was the Heaven-Exterminating Jiangshi Il No was now awakening.
Il No's gaze toward the remaining Heaven-Exterminating Jiangshi.
Seven left.
His face was full of worry.
He was following the second plan: awakening the strongest among the Guardian Deities.
'If that monster Ha Mu-baek shows up...'
He was certain about So Hwi-woong, but not Ha Mu-baek.
He did have the newly crafted invincible golden jiangshi.
Still, Ha Mu-baek was the monster that instilled unease.
Because of what had happened to him in the last war.
Il No's gaze shifted to the remaining seven Heaven-Exterminating Jiangshi.
His eyes were conflicted.
How many times had he swung the sword?
He couldn't tell.
'Ridiculous.'
Suddenly, the thought crossed Ha Mu-baek's mind.
He was the one who taught his disciples the Three Talents Sword Method, stressing that fundamentals were key.
Of course, he himself had never neglected it.
His sword practice always began with the Three Talents Sword Method.
However.
He had never trained solely on it like this before.
After reaching a new realm.
Revisiting the Three Talents Sword Method revealed new insights.
Things he had overlooked before.
Now they stood out clearly.
It was clear progress from retraining it.
But the path was still long.
He still had no grasp on the Infinite's Single Stroke.
Even so, Ha Mu-baek kept swinging.
After thousands, tens of thousands of swings.
The sword's motion changed.
Just as he had newly seen what he'd missed in the Three Talents Sword Method.
He figured the same for other sword arts.
Thus began Ha Mu-baek's practice of a new sword art.
The Supreme Extreme Five Forms.
The foundational entry art of the Infinite Sword Sect.
A comprehensive technique that formed the basis of all Infinite Sword Sect martial arts—serving as bare-hand combat or swordsmanship.
Ha Mu-baek moved his sword according to its five forms.
His eyes twitched faintly.
As expected.
New things he hadn't seen before came into view.
'The path of martial arts has no end.'
He knew it well.
But Ha Mu-baek felt it anew.
As he trained the Supreme Extreme Five Forms.
The energy at his sword tip underwent the slightest change.
So subtle that Ha Mu-baek himself, wielding it, didn't notice.
Those who did were Gwang Hwi and Mu-geuk.
"Hm?"
In the space created by Mu-geuk Ye-ui, Gwang Hwi—basking leisurely in the light—turned toward Ha Mu-baek.
Because of the energy that had just faintly brushed her senses.
"How?"
Her eyes trembled as she stared at Ha Mu-baek's sword tip.
"Faster than expected. Indeed."
Mu-geuk nodded and murmured.
"How much time has passed?"
Gwang Hwi asked.
This was the boundary between reality and mind created by Mu-geuk Ye-ui.
Only Mu-geuk knew the true flow of time.
"Ten years by this place's reckoning."
Mu-geuk replied calmly.
Gwang Hwi looked at Ha Mu-baek with faint admiration.
"Swinging that sword nonstop for ten years without eating or drinking?"
"Isn't it less than an instant?"
Mu-geuk replied flatly to her amazement.
"That's by our standards. He's human. Ten years is an eternity for a human, isn't it?"
She was right.
Ten years.
The time some say it takes for rivers and mountains to change.
Ha Mu-baek had swung only his sword during that span.
Forgetting the flow of time entirely.
Possible only at the boundary of reality and mind.
In true reality, he would need to eat, drink, sleep, and relieve himself.
Without such interruptions, ten years of pure sword swinging.
In real-world time, it exceeded twenty years.
For that long stretch, Ha Mu-baek had trained solely the Three Talents Sword Method and Supreme Extreme Five Forms.
"Yet it's still an incredibly short time to achieve such progress."
Gwang Hwi had to nod at Mu-geuk's words.
And for good reason.
An infinitesimal portion of the energy now cloaking Ha Mu-baek's sword was transforming into supreme power.
The Abyss itself.
Ha Mu-baek seemed unaware.
"In his reality, barely a moment has passed. He's still far off."
Mu-geuk said calmly before vanishing from the spot.
Gwang Hwi kept watching Ha Mu-baek.
"Heavenly Vessel of Perfect Infinite Harmony, was it?"
The innate constitution of Ha Mu-baek's body, as told by Mu-geuk.
A body possessing all heavenly talents.
More precisely.
"A vessel that could contain the Primordial and the Myriad Desolations..."
Gwang Hwi hadn't known humans possessed such bodies.
Having existed solely by the Abyss's will.
'To think it's because of that.'
Gwang Hwi had claimed no interest in exerting her will.
But that wasn't true.
After dwelling in Ha Mu-baek's body.
She had once tried to manifest the Abyss's will.
Not for any other reason.
She hoped he would grow stronger to shield against other Primordial fragments or the Myriad Desolations.
So this light-filled world could endure.
Thus, she tried to exert the will.
But she couldn't.
As if blocked by some barrier.
Perplexed by the inexplicable situation, she had held her breath.
Then, entering this space of Mu-geuk Ye-ui, she revealed her will.
And learned the reason from Mu-geuk.
Ha Mu-baek's extraordinary innate body.
One in eons might be born with it.
The Heavenly Vessel of Perfect Infinite Harmony.
A body that could contain the Primordial and Myriad Desolations.
Yet resist their wills.
Thus, Mu-geuk placed hopes on Ha Mu-baek.
That he too might grasp the supreme power only the Abyss could wield.
Gwang Hwi had insisted no pure human could reach it.
Yet after a mere ten years, Ha Mu-baek was on the verge of claiming even a fragment of that supreme power.
The final morning of the Summer Combat Festival dawned.
The four who had advanced to the top four gathered around the sparring stage.
Namgung Ji-hu, Baek Ri-pyeong, Ju Woo-myeong, Yeon Ha-min.
One from the Hidden Dragon Corps and three from the Fierce Dragon Corps.
A change that had emerged since last year.
After Ha Mu-baek arrived at the Dragon Training Pavilion.
Ironically, Ha Mu-baek—the one who wrought this change—was absent.
The first match: Namgung Ji-hu versus Baek Ri-pyeong.
At the judge's call, the two ascended the stage.
Facing each other.
"Begin!"
The judge signaled the start, and the two lunged forward.
Clang!
A resounding clash echoed as their swords wove chaotically toward one another.
The audience was entranced by the illusory dance.
Different from yesterday's bout between Yeon Ha-min and Ha Seol-ran.
The two smiled as they moved their swords.
The clash of Emperor Sword Form and Celestial Galaxy Sword Art showed no clear superior.
Their realms appeared evenly matched.
But midway, a shift occurred.
After sword qi cloaked Namgung Ji-hu's blade.
Baek Ri-pyeong gritted his teeth.
Sword qi.
He had glimpsed the threshold but hadn't crossed it.
The final step, so close yet blocked by something.
Boom! Boom!
Massive explosions rang out as Baek Ri-pyeong retreated repeatedly.
After Namgung Ji-hu unleashed sword qi.
His Emperor Sword Form seemed to deepen another level.
Baek Ri-pyeong didn't yield.
He unleashed the pinnacle of Celestial Galaxy Sword Art he had shown Beom Il-so.
Resisting Namgung Ji-hu's sword.
Illusion, speed, power.
The three elements in perfect harmony at their peak.
As the starry swarm enveloped him, Namgung Ji-hu altered his sword motion.
Not Emperor Sword Form, but Vast Sky Unbound Sword Art.
Witnessing Namgung Ji-hu's sword path, as if becoming the heaven embracing stars.
Baek Ri-pyeong shuddered in shock.
'Maybe I've been the obsessed one...'
He had advised Beom Il-so against fixating on speed.
But perhaps Baek Ri-pyeong was the one truly obsessed.
Only now, seeing Namgung Ji-hu unbound by Emperor Sword Form or Vast Sky Unbound—freely wielding the optimal art for the moment—did he realize.
Obsession with illusion.
Attachment.
Pursuing harmony of speed and power might stem from fixation on variations of Celestial Galaxy's thousand stars.
A thousand stars, two thousand, four thousand.
The instant he recognized his obsession with overwhelming space through such changes.
Baek Ri-pyeong overcame the wall blocking his path.