Chapter 103 : Heavenly Sword Master (1)
Chapter 103: Heavenly Sword Master (1)
Namgung Jun's sword draw slew five demonic cultists in an instant.
It was the First Form of the Thirteen Sword-Thunders of the Lightning Flash, First Flash.
The sword path that cut down five opponents in a single stroke was astonishing enough, but the lightning radiance and thunderclap that instantly filled the valley also halted the demonic cultists' further advance.
Pouring in excessive internal energy to increase its power had proven worthwhile.
Looking down at the demonic cultists, Namgung Jun subtly extended his perception to the rear.
His concern lay with Suyeon Village.
‘I hope they noticed something was wrong because of that flash and thunder.’
He had tried to create an opening in his own way, but it was not easy.
Meanwhile, the demonic cultists continued approaching while maintaining their vigilance.
“Young in age, and blue lightning Qi.
So it was you.
The runaway with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians.”
The middle-aged demonic cultist looked Namgung Jun up and down before curling his lips into a smile.
‘So the Sword Neighing Demon's dying words weren't a lie.’
Namgung Jun realized that information about him had certainly reached the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult, yet he paid it no mind.
It was something he would have to face sooner or later.
In the current situation, it was merely a trivial matter.
“The Fifth Young Master will be delighted to see you.
Capture him alive.”
The middle-aged demonic cultist directed those words to the subordinates around him.
The demonic cultists advanced naturally while releasing Demonic Qi.
From the look of it, they were not merely wandering forward aimlessly.
Each of them was taking up an assigned position.
‘A sword formation.’
Namgung Jun could clearly feel the Demonic Qi of the demonic cultists gradually weaving together into a single flow.
It was the profound mystery of a sword formation.
As the Demonic Qi of over thirty men merged together, it exuded an exceptionally sinister presence.
Thump!
Tilting his body forward as though stomping into the ground, Namgung Jun shot forward like an arrow with his sword angled ahead.
He did not wait for the demonic cultists.
Even a novice would never foolishly stand still and watch an enemy complete a sword formation.
Slash!
Namgung Jun reached the enemy's front line in an instant and slashed upward.
As the blade lodged in a demonic cultist's chest tore through his shoulder and burst upward—
The remaining demonic cultists simultaneously aimed their weapons at Namgung Jun.
In an instant, the two demonic cultists occupying his left and right sides struck swiftly, aiming beneath his arm and at his flank.
“Open the Formation!”
Weapons thrust toward him with overwhelming killing intent.
There were nine directions in total.
Even the merciless sword strikes that made use of their comrade whose chest had already been split open were mixed among them.
Splash!
The instant Namgung Jun's leather shoes disturbed the flowing stream with ripples, the once tranquil surface of the water turned deep blue.
A streak of blue lightning raced fiercely across the water without pause.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The stream, which had remained crystal clear even as it was dyed blue.
Fragments of shattered steel rained down upon it, followed by blood that poured over it like spilled dye, staining it a dark crimson.
It was when the stream turned murky beneath petals of steel.
“Hoo.”
The Uicheon Sword, having continued an unbroken series of sword paths to shatter every weapon, slanted diagonally.
His grip upon the hilt was far freer than usual.
There was no helping it.
The sword dance he had performed in Suyeon Village still lingered vividly within his mind.
‘They're fairly well-trained.
A single organized martial force.’
Even setting aside the effectiveness of the sword formation in combining their individual strengths, the demonic cultists before him possessed considerable skill.
Even so, Namgung Jun did not hesitate to plunge deeper into their formation.
The moment he entered among them, the demonic cultists immediately shifted positions, blocking every avenue of retreat.
They intended to wear him down within the very center of the formation.
‘It's extremely tight.’
Yet Namgung Jun, now trapped within the sword formation, remained unconcerned.
Unlike usual, he made no attempt to perceive the profound principles of the formation or disrupt its deployment.
He simply swung his sword comfortably, following wherever his heart led.
Slash!
The sleeves embroidered with clouds fluttered freely, while his leather shoes, soaked by the stream, glided smoothly as though moving across ice.
Meanwhile, it was Namgung Jun's sword that danced most vigorously.
He was not using any particular sword art.
Rather, every time he swung his blade as though striking at random, the very nature of the sword strike transformed.
Each marvelous slash caused blood to burst forth from somewhere.
‘It isn't bound.’
Namgung Jun was not destroying the demonic cultists' sword formation.
He was merely going through the process of assimilating the enlightenment he had gained in Suyeon Village.
“Urgh!”
“Third Squad, fall back! Second Squad, respond!”
“The Second Squad Leader has been killed! Command is...!”
The demonic cultists shouting urgent orders collapsed one after another.
Without exception, their heads flew from the blue sword strikes.
The unpredictable sword style pressed down upon them like an unbearable weight.
Even so, the demonic cultists showed no concern for their own lives.
They maintained the sword formation to the very end, relentlessly pressuring Namgung Jun.
Yet even with the combined strength granted by the formation, suppressing him proved far too difficult.
Clang! Clang!
Boom!
The frantic sounds of clashing steel and heavy impacts belonged entirely to the demonic cultists.
Amid their frantic movements, Namgung Jun alone moved with serene composure.
‘At the peak of the Peak Realm.
Within the Cult's expectations.
But... something is different.’
Standing over twenty steps away while observing Namgung Jun battling the sword formation, the middle-aged demonic cultist's eyes twitched.
When fully deployed, the demonic cultists before him possessed enough strength to contend with an ordinary Supreme Master.
That was only natural.
They were subordinates personally cultivated by the Fifth Young Master of the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult.
Yet Namgung Jun showed not the slightest sign of being cornered.
‘It's as though he's performing a sword dance at a banquet...’
Watching Namgung Jun's ever-changing swordsmanship, the middle-aged demonic cultist slowly lowered his own sword.
‘I'll wait for the proper opening.’
If he confronted him head-on, he would probably lose by a move or so.
However, if he waited until Namgung Jun's strength diminished while fighting within the sword formation, an opportunity would surely arise.
The middle-aged demonic cultist intended to strike by surprise at that moment.
He expected that several of his own men would die in the process, but he did not care.
If they could subdue Namgung Jun, that alone was enough.
“Hm.”
An involuntary groan escaped the middle-aged demonic cultist as he observed the battle.
There was no helping it.
The sword formation was collapsing far too quickly.
At this rate, there would not even be enough men left to maintain the formation.
‘Before it's too late!’
The middle-aged demonic cultist slowly, very discreetly, raised his internal energy.
His Demonic Qi spread throughout his entire body to its utmost limit.
Just as he traced a straight path toward Namgung Jun—
Kraaaack!
The demonic cultists maintaining the sword formation were swallowed by blue lightning.
It happened in an instant.
A massive streak of light burst from within the formation, trailing a long tail of brilliance as it shot forward.
The bolt of lightning rushing toward him transformed into the shape of a man.
The Thirteen Sword-Thunders of the Lightning Flash.
Thirteenth Form.
Single Thunderbolt.
Bang!
The middle-aged demonic cultist failed to react properly.
It was simply too fast.
All he managed was the slightest twitch of the fingers gripping his weapon.
His eyelids slowly lifted.
Before the blue that had filled his vision could even fade, everything turned red.
Though he could barely see what lay before him, he instinctively understood.
The thing obscuring his vision was the fountain of blood erupting from the gash across his chest.
“Ghk...”
The middle-aged demonic cultist placed a hand over the sword wound crossing his chest before collapsing forward.
“If you were going to launch a surprise attack, you should've hidden your killing intent.”
Having shattered the sword formation and slain the middle-aged demonic cultist with a supreme technique unleashed at full power—
Although every enemy before him had been dealt with, Namgung Jun's heated body showed no sign of cooling.
He was circulating both the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Art and the Azure King Pure World Qi to their utmost limit.
Driving the two streams of internal energy relentlessly, he urged his body to recover as quickly as possible.
The battle was not over.
Though they were not yet within his sight, he could feel countless presences converging upon the valley around him.
“Pests.”
Within Namgung Jun's perception, the number of presences continued increasing without end.
Like insects hatching from freshly broken eggs, they multiplied endlessly.
There was no point in even counting them.
Namgung Jun stood firmly with his sword planted in the ground, regulating his breathing.
After taking roughly seven breaths, the bushes before him rustled.
Demonic cultists emerged without hesitation.
Perhaps because there were so many of them, their overall martial prowess was not particularly high.
No Bright Mirror Guards were among them.
They all appeared to be Ordinary Cultists.
‘At a glance, there are well over a hundred.’
Yet Namgung Jun did not focus on the dense ranks of Ordinary Cultists standing before him.
Beyond that thick wall of cultists, three figures leisurely approached.
Two old men followed behind a noble-looking young master, one on each side.
The three who had arrived late wore attire completely different from the Ordinary Cultists.
Judging by the aura they emitted, they clearly held positions of considerable rank within the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult.
“Left Protector.
What happened?
All those men you painstakingly trained are dead.”
“My apologies.
I never imagined they would prove so incompetent.”
“They were expendable pieces anyway, but to lose them so meaninglessly...”
The Fifth Young Master lightly shook his head, and the Left Protector lowered his own.
The Right Protector, who had been silently standing there, fixed his gaze upon Namgung Jun before speaking.
“That aura of the Heavenly Thunder True Yang Art... and judging by his appearance, it is undoubtedly the Azure Star Sword.”
“The boy with the Nine Yin Severed Meridians whom our Cult sought has become quite the swordsman.”
The Fifth Young Master looked at Namgung Jun, then beyond him across the valley, before smiling.
“We came to interfere with the Heavenly Sword Master's secluded cultivation, yet we've gained an unexpected reward.”
At the Fifth Young Master's muttering, Namgung Jun pulled his sword from the ground and asked,
“You came to interfere with the Heavenly Sword Master's secluded cultivation?
With only this much strength?”
His gaze settled upon the two Protectors accompanying the Fifth Young Master.
They were undoubtedly Supreme Masters who had achieved the Three Flowers Gathering at the Summit.
Even so, he doubted they possessed enough martial prowess to contend with an absolute master.
The same held true even if more than a hundred Ordinary Cultists supported them.
As though seeing through Namgung Jun's thoughts, the Fifth Young Master's eyes curved unpleasantly.
“Strength?
They won't fight.
They'll burn Suyeon Village, the Heavenly Sword Master's hometown, and achieve martyrdom together.”
“What?”
“There are one hundred and thirty Ordinary Cultists here.
If their martyrdom can interrupt an absolute master's secluded cultivation or inflict a severe mental blow, isn't that an enormous gain?”
The Fifth Young Master smiled as he looked at the Ordinary Cultists before him.
“They volunteered to stand here.
They wish to burn themselves away and sacrifice their lives for a noble achievement.”
“Your nonsense hasn't changed from the past until now.
You exploit your twisted doctrine to treat human lives as nothing more than firewood.”
Namgung Jun had no intention of speaking with the Fifth Young Master any further.
There was no need.
The very conversation made him feel as though his ears had been defiled.
Just as Namgung Jun drew the Uicheon Sword and prepared to step forward—
Whoosh!
The scene before his eyes, once filled with members of the Sun and Moon Demonic Cult, changed completely.
The back of a single man now filled the center of his vision.
In the man's right hand was a familiar curved saber.
It was the ornate curved saber the dancer from Suyeon Village had used during his sword dance.
“You are...”
“I was late.
Demonic cultists climbed up from the other directions as well.”
The man's sleeve trembled gently, stirring a soft breeze.
Carried by that breeze, Namgung Jun naturally found himself stepping backward.
[Come.]
The profound intent released as the dancer slightly raised his left hand was engraved upon the countless phenomena of the world.
Though the dancer never opened his mouth, every martial artist nearby heard his voice clearly.
His intent penetrated directly into their minds, resonating within them.
The moment Namgung Jun slowly raised his eyelids after hearing the dancer's intent—
Boom!
A tremendous explosion erupted from the peak behind Suyeon Village, and something shot skyward.
A pale beam of light soared high into the heavens before descending straight downward.
Though it fell at astonishing speed, the dancer effortlessly caught it.
The longsword now resting in the dancer's left hand was a weapon Namgung Jun knew all too well.
It had been a very long time since he had seen it.
Yet it remained so familiar and dear.
“The Uicheon Sword!”
“That's quite a satisfying reaction.
Excellent!”
Chuckling mischievously, the dancer lowered both the sword and the saber in his hands.
His robes billowed like a cloak as he strode forward, speaking as though he were singing.
“Witness the Heavenly Sword Master's solo performance.”