Sword Saint
I hadn't let my guard down. On the contrary, I swung my sword with everything I had.
'What the hell is this?'
Yet all that grew were the wounds across my body.
I couldn't even get close.
Do-gon, who had never once tasted defeat since reaching his current level, began to doubt his own blade for the first time.
'Against a brat like this… does this even make sense?'
His inner energy was drying up fast. Even as he squeezed out every last drop and unleashed a furious assault, his opponent calmly deflected every strike.
Do-gon's expression gradually twisted with fear.
"Are you done?"
I asked him.
His movements were slowing. No matter what tricks or techniques he tried, he could never catch me.
'I've experienced that sword style to the point of exhaustion.'
I already knew every variation of Sal-je Do-gon's Heaven-Sundering Emperor Saber Art down to the smallest detail. More than that, I was perfectly controlling even his unconscious movements.
'This is insane.'
After consuming the Thousand-Year Dragon Saliva Essence, my senses had sharpened to a monstrous degree. I could even read the faint tremors in the muscles of his forearms and legs, allowing me to predict his attacks with ease. It was hard to believe I was doing this while moving my own body.
Pa-bat!
Yu-ran and Muyoung, who had been watching for an opening, also launched themselves forward to cut off Do-gon's escape route.
A three-on-one bloodbath. Yet the fight was completely one-sided.
'This is Sal-je Do-gon… the Blood Slaughter Saber Emperor…!'
Do-gon couldn't easily accept the reality before him. Gripping his saber, he slowly drew up his energy.
'I'll kill him. I will definitely kill him.'
His desperate will to slaughter his opponent projected as killing intent throughout his entire body. Demonic energy surged from his dantian and began to frost over the tip of his blade.
"Saber Force."
Yu-ran and Muyoung widened the distance, their expressions hardening. Saber Force was different from saber qi. Even a graze could split skin, and its extremely condensed energy carried immense destructive power—enough to crumple even ten-thousand-year cold iron like paper. It was an ultimate technique that required profound understanding of the harmony between saber principle and energy.
"Hmm."
I slowly raised my sword. Until now, I had focused solely on defending against his attacks.
'Only once.'
That was the limit with this sword. The moment I unleashed a sword technique, it would shatter. I had planned to drain Do-gon's stamina and strike when he was exhausted, but the situation wouldn't allow it.
'No choice, then.'
I gripped the sword and drew up my energy. A single strand of fierce energy flowed through my major meridians—the Dragon Heaven True Qi pushed to its twelfth star, the peak stage.
"Kuk kuk, you think that's enough to stand against me?"
Do-gon stepped forward without hesitation. With a single flash of light and wind, his figure shot straight toward me. His saber technique spread out in an instant, claiming the surrounding space. It was an obvious move.
'The subtlety of the Heavy Sword.'
He must have judged my sword to be fast. How was it that everything was unfolding exactly as it had in my previous life?
"This is the end."
"……!"
Crack!
I twisted the tip of my sword. The tremendous force of Dragon Heaven True Qi grazed past Do-gon's Saber Force and instantly suppressed his entire attack range. Do-gon looked startled, but I hadn't even begun yet.
"Watch closely."
Rumble!
The flowing Dragon Heaven True Qi began to change. Its foundation was the same as the Ju family's martial arts, so the root was identical. Yet unlike Dragon Heaven True Qi, this was far more dangerous and could only be used after reaching a certain level and meeting specific conditions.
"I-insane…"
Yu-ran's eyes trembled at the immense pressure that made her skin tingle. Muyoung stared at me as if he were dreaming. Of course they would. This technique was—
"Jade Heaven Descending Dragon Qi."
It was the Ju family's strongest energy, a secret art passed down only to the family head.
Shring!
The sword in my hand vibrated. The ascending dragon coiled around the heavens and let out a fierce roar.
Kuwaaaang!
"White Dragon Sword Scripture."
The Ju family's ultimate sword art, the White Dragon Sword Scripture, was unleashed. Small flower petals bloomed from my fingertips, scattering again and again until they reached the sky. In response to that call, the massive form of a white dragon bound Do-gon's entire body and opened its enormous maw.
And then—
'White Dragon Sword Scripture, First Form.'
White Dragon Emerges from the Sea!
The colossal dragon surged upward and crashed straight into Do-gon's body.
Kwaaaang!
Space itself began to collapse. The massive stone tablet, the underground chamber, and even the grand pavilion that served as Kunlun's main hall—all of it crumbled.
Crunch!
With a sickening sound of tearing flesh, Do-gon's figure collapsed. The destructive technique had severed the blood vessels throughout his body and twisted his qi and blood points.
"Haa."
I exhaled lightly. My dantian was completely empty. As expected of its overwhelming destructive power, the sword had shattered into pieces and my inner energy was exhausted. Moreover, the technique itself…
'Demonic energy.'
It had been a demonic dragon, not a white one.
Thud.
I lost consciousness on the spot.
* * *
"Brother, your medicine."
He was a good younger brother. He brought the medicine without fail, right on time. My brother was a master of medicinal arts. He handled, refined, and experimented with medicines to maximize their potency. But no medicine worked on me. Ever since I began practicing the demonic art containing the Heaven-Sundering energy, I had been gradually sinking into demonic nature.
"Damn it."
Even when the other Demon Emperors mocked my brother, I felt nothing. I was only enraged that such a weakling shared the title of Demon Emperor with me. Instead, I pushed him harder, and he diligently followed my orders.
"B-brother… I-I kept the t-time as promised."
Even as I watched my blood-covered brother personally deliver the medicine, I coldly snatched it away without caring whether he lived or died.
Then, at some point, my brother changed. The one who had been researching medicine shifted his interest to poison. After all, the difference between medicine and poison was said to be as thin as a sheet of paper. My brother possessed extraordinary insight and understanding when it came to poisons. Even the medicine he gave me changed. Not only did it suppress my demonic nature, it also replenished the demonic energy I lacked. I simply accepted it as natural. A useless wretch like him ought to show loyalty to his elder brother in some way, after all.
"Haha."
A hollow laugh escaped me. The moment I saw that massive dragon charging at me with its ferocious fangs bared, the fog filling my mind seemed to clear. After losing our parents and entering the Demonic Cult, my brother had joined as well—just to cure his mad elder brother. He had devoted himself solely to the art of poison, hoping to heal me. No matter how much others cursed and looked down on him, he had only ever looked at me. A pitiful younger brother who, having nowhere else to turn, had no choice but to rely on this worthless elder brother.
"Ah."
I realized it far too late.
"Huuu… huu…"
A grotesque sound that was neither crying nor laughing leaked out. Even as the brilliant sword light engulfed me and my entire body was carved apart, a single thread of strength welled up from within.
"Little brother."
The man, Do-gon, howled. His eyes then flooded with crimson bloodlight. Frenzy—the state known as qi deviation. Demonic energy ran rampant and swallowed his entire body. For an ordinary person, this would have been a fatal blow that severed every blood vessel and brought a painful death. But he was different. In an instant, he repelled the energy of the White Dragon Sword Scripture and turned the surroundings into ruins.
"It wasn't because of the medicine. Hehe, it wasn't the medicine."
His mind was clearer than ever. He would capture and kill that brat—the murderer who had slain his brother. That way, he could at least offer some small comfort to his brother's vengeful spirit.
Kwaaaang!
Do-gon's saber swept wildly in every direction. Swallowing and spitting out, the violent energy became a raging wind that scoured everything around him. When the dust settled, in the ruins of what had once been the heart of the Kunlun Sect, Do-gon stood tall, having survived. Blood tears streamed from his eyes.
"Revenge…"
Beyond his hollow gaze, the killing intent that flickered was directed solely at Ju Woo-jin.
"I'll… have my revenge."
Repeating only those words, Do-gon began walking toward somewhere.
* * *
Rattle! Rattle!
The carriage raced along the road at tremendous speed. It was the same coachman who had brought our group to Kunlun before. Fortunately, the demonic cultivators' attention had been focused on us, allowing him to escape the mountain safely. Yu-ran and Muyoung had carried my unconscious body and fled down the mountain without rest. Then they had been lucky enough to meet this coachman and board the carriage.
'It's a shame, but it can't be helped.'
I sank into thought inside the carriage. The strike I had unleashed against Do-gon—I knew all too well that it wouldn't kill him. At the very last moment, Do-gon had thrown away his life and entered a frenzied state.
'Is that fortunate, at least?'
In a way, the situation wasn't entirely bad. Since Do-gon was no longer in his right mind, he wouldn't report this incident separately. If that was the case, there was no need for excessive worry. Capturing a madman in qi deviation would be easier than dealing with him when he was sane.
Once I had roughly regained my senses, I sat up groggily.
"Are you all right?"
Muyoung approached me immediately at the sound of movement.
"Sorry. The sword broke."
I felt guilty toward Muyoung, who now carried only an empty scabbard. Muyoung shook his head and finally let out a sigh of relief.
"As long as you are safe, Young Master, that is enough."
"More importantly… don't you think an explanation is in order?"
Yu-ran stood with her arms crossed, glaring at me. From her perspective, the situation must have been completely incomprehensible.
"How does the Young Master know the Ju family's secret techniques… and even the family head's exclusive arts? Jade Heaven Descending Dragon Qi and the White Dragon Sword Scripture, no less."
"Well, I just… happened to…"
"You're trying to brush it off again?"
Yu-ran cut me off sharply.
"Stop dodging with vague answers every time. This time, I need a proper answer. One I can understand."
Her expression was resolute. Letting out a small sigh, I nodded and opened my mouth.
"I secretly read a martial arts manual once. When I was young."
I tried to phrase it as carefully as possible. In truth, it had been in my previous life, after the Ju family was destroyed, when I had gathered the family's secret texts while fleeing. I couldn't tell her that.
"You read a martial arts manual? How? The family head isn't a fool. He wouldn't have left the family's secret arts—arts passed down only to the head—out in the open."
She was right. So I had to deflect her suspicion carefully.
"I told you. It was when I was young. I really don't remember how I managed to see it."
"……I'm supposed to believe that?"
"Then how else would I have learned this technique?"
"That… is true. Hmm."
Yu-ran fell into thought. Even she would find this hard to believe. But any other explanation would have been even more implausible.
"Anyway, both of you—keep everything you saw and heard this time a secret from Father."
"That makes it even more suspicious, you know?"
Yu-ran asked bluntly.
"You saw who the opponent was."
"The Demonic Cult. Then shouldn't we report it even more?"
"I told you before—this absolutely cannot happen. If they go into hiding, there's really no answer. Didn't I say that already?"
"Young Master, this isn't something ordinary. You can't handle this alone."
"I never said I'd do it alone."
I smiled and pointed at Yu-ran.
"There's you, me, and Muyoung. The three of us are here, aren't we?"
"Haa… Now's not the time for jokes…"
"It's not a joke."
The shock from Do-gon must have been considerable. Even the straightforward Yu-ran wasn't easily convinced.
"Someday, I'll tell Father. But not now. Trust me and wait just a little longer. Please."
"……"
At my words, Yu-ran let out a sigh and closed her eyes tightly. Her mind seemed complicated. After a long while, she quietly exhaled and nodded.
"All right. I'll trust you. But remember this: you don't know what consequences your choice might bring later. It could even lead to a situation where… we all die."
"……"
"I don't want to die."
Yu-ran said with a faint smile. I chuckled as well and replied.
"Of course. I won't lose any of you. Never again."
Never again. I would never lose my people a second time.