Chapter 233
“I’ll join you shortly.”
As I gripped my sword tightly and stepped toward the Sword Ghost, the remaining three naturally turned their stances toward the Heavenly Demon.
In truth, this was an incredibly rare sight. Though the Heavenly Demon was clearly stronger than the Black Lotus Leader, who was currently considered the greatest force among the demonic factions, warriors don’t ally with others simply because an opponent is strong. Especially those who have reached the Flowering Stage, let alone any lesser realm.
But at this very moment, Seo Mun-Hwarin, Namgung Dowi, and the Black Lotus Leader began coordinating their attacks without hesitation.
The biggest reason was certainly that the Heavenly Demon was too powerful. But beneath that was a mutual understanding.
The Black Lotus Leader, for the sake of his pride. Namgung Dowi, for the sake of justice. And Seo Mun-Hwarin, to protect me and our group from the Heavenly Demon.
They discarded their competitive spirit as martial artists, let go of any remaining discomfort toward one another, even their pride. The alignment of these factors allowed for such unspoken cooperation.
Even if the Heavenly Demon was a monster, in this situation he should’ve felt at least a little tension... yet he only looked at me with those same bored eyes.
No, he glanced briefly at the other three, then spoke as if tossing out a remark.
“This one did not come here to fight. If I had, Black Lotus Leader, you would not still be alive.” “After all this provocation, you’re claiming you didn’t come to fight?!”
The Black Lotus Leader, dressed in luxurious silk in anticipation of being today’s banquet host, now had his garments torn.
A clear handprint was visible on his chest.
A mark showing that the Heavenly Demon had not only read and unraveled his martial arts in an instant, but had shown mercy.
To him, that was as good as humiliation, and he tore at the ruined clothes in anger.
His growling like a furious beast was truly threatening, but the Heavenly Demon remained unreadable.
Until the corner of his mouth twitched upward.
“I’ll say it again. I didn’t come here to fight. I only wanted to confirm something. But... I’ve changed my mind.”
“Hah! Too late for that! Now that it’s come to this, I’ll make sure—!”
Even after being soundly defeated once, the Black Lotus Leader was still full of fighting spirit. Qi surged down his twin spears like streams.
The Heavenly Demon cut him off and spoke.
“Sword Demon. Surpass the Sword Ghost and reach me. If you’re too slow, or if you can’t even do that...
…I promise you. I will kill everyone here.”
Not just the three warriors at the Flowering Stage, but even the dozen or so Sub-Perfection level experts—all would be slaughtered.
Even the word “arrogant” doesn’t suffice to describe such a declaration. Likely no one here truly believed his threat—
Except for me.
I watched the three leap toward the Heavenly Demon, then turned my head.
There stood the Sword Ghost, silently watching this way since the beginning.
The rare sight of multiple Flowering Stage warriors coordinating, the Heavenly Demon receiving their attacks with ease—
None of it mattered to him. He simply stared this way with his gloomy expression, as though he had no emotions.
Well, that was always the kind of man the Sword Ghost was. I didn’t know how he had reached the Flowering Stage, but at his core, nothing had changed since before my regression.
If his swordsmanship was the same as back then, he might be easier to handle.
I erased all carelessness, drew the sword path to overwhelm him at once, and as I stepped to initiate it—
The Sword Ghost, who had been silent until now, spoke.
“You’ve reached Divine Sword Unity.”
“I have.”
“Then how...?”
“Because yours and mine are different.”
A conversation with many omitted words, yet enough was said. Though the paths we took were different, we had reached similar heights.
I dashed forward at full power, as if to fulfill my promise to rejoin the others quickly.
Kwaaang!
My erupting internal energy burst out through my Yongcheon Acupoint. Accompanied by thunder, Lightning Step launched me forward. And it wasn’t just once.
Kwaaang! Kwaarang! Kwaaang!
With each step, I slammed into the ground, releasing bursts of inner energy from beneath my feet.
Though my body, already at top speed, wouldn’t get faster by doing so, what mattered was that I could freely control my momentum with each step.
By weaving in the subtlety of Ghost Shadow Steps, I distorted his sense of distance. Maybe it was because I was so focused, but I could even see the Sword Ghost’s pupils shifting.
Seems his sense of distance was slightly off. If he watched me a few more times, he might figure it out, but for this first attempt—it would definitely be effective.
Boom!
As soon as I reached the perfect one-chi distance for my blade, I struck. Channeling all my power into the sword, I delivered a diagonal upward slash.
My sword, glowing with moonlight-like energy even in daylight, surged upward in an arc.
And finally, the Sword Ghost moved.
Or rather—his sword moved first, and his body followed.
A minimal movement to block the sword rushing toward his nape.
Ka-ga-gak!
White and ashen sword qi collided, scraping against each other with a grating noise as shards scattered like sparks.
The Sword Ghost staggered backward under the force—so it seemed—but he used it instead to spin his body. All while keeping his sword locked against mine.
It was like shifting energy from one hand to the other during Palm Deflection. He absorbed the shock through his entire body and redirected it.
Normally, that would have broken his stance, and his sword would have lost strength. But not for him.
To the Sword Ghost, his sword path was fixed, and his body was just a tool to execute it.
For him, losing balance didn’t disrupt the sword path—that would be nonsensical.
I expected this. So I pushed forward with the one-chi of imbalance I had created.
“Hrrk!”
Using Threaded Edge, I dug in deeper without letting our blades disengage.
Our swords tangled messily, locked tightly together.
At one moment it seemed like a contest of strength, then suddenly it turned into a contest of technique—then back again to brute force.
Dozens of sword paths emerged and vanished, unable to be completed due to interference from each other.
And with every exchange, the Sword Ghost began losing ground.
Without time to recover, without even a proper swing, I pressed on.
Only then did his eyes widen, realizing my intent.
Kaduduk!
His unstable ashen qi, continuously clashing with mine, began to be devoured.
Qi is internal energy refined by willpower. It might shatter, but it shouldn’t melt away like this.
Anyone with such weak will would never reach the Flowering Stage in the first place.
But the Sword Ghost was different.
If my Divine Sword Unity meant wielding the sword as part of my body,
his meant becoming the sword itself.
That was why he didn’t speak unnecessarily, showed no emotion, and barely reacted to anything.
Because swords had no such features.
He had hammered himself into shape, shaved away his humanity in a mold, becoming a perfected weapon.
All he pursued was the ideal sword path within his mind, elevating it to greater heights.
Whatever happened around him, even if his body twisted and broke—it didn’t matter.
The Sword Ghost simply swung the sword that he must swing. A swordsmith severed from the world.
If I could force the wrong start, perhaps he’d destroy himself.
But it wasn’t going to be that easy.
If willpower is the mind, then someone like him, with barely any heart, should never have reached the Flowering Stage—but here he was.
And now, the Sword Ghost began to prove his level.
“So, it was a predetermined sword path from the beginning.”
Just as my blade reached his guard, threatening his throat—
The Sword Ghost nodded, and ashen qi swelled massively along his sword. Then it quivered once.
Chaaeng!
“Huh?”
His qi shattered his own sword, exploding the fragments in my direction.
Each shard was like a concealed weapon imbued with qi. I quickly raised my defensive qi and leapt back.
I swung my sword in a panic, deflecting the flying debris.
I managed to block most of it, but a few cut through, scraping away part of my defensive qi.
One even pierced deep—but was blocked by the Heartguard Plate I’d received from the North Sea Ice Palace.
Barely, I had survived the explosion at close range.
Now, all that remained was to take the Sword Ghost’s head before he could recover.
Or so I thought—until the Sword Ghost lunged at me, clutching his Empty Blade Grip.
“What the hell?!”
From his extended fingers, translucent qi flickered—like he held an invisible sword. Startled, I swung my blade.
Kaang!
And when my sword met the empty air and flickering qi—there was weight. It truly felt like I was clashing with a real sword.
“Invisible Sword...”
“No. It’s not that.”
Just like I had once dismissed the term “Invisible Sword” when facing Namgung Dowi, the Sword Ghost casually nodded.
“The sword’s right here. Clear as day.”
“...You're insane.”
He pointed his chin at himself.
He claimed that he was the sword, and thus could swing it even with empty hands.
It was absurd—but seeing it in action made it hard to deny.
I steadied my breath and repositioned. My attempt to force a mistake had failed.
That meant I had no choice but to settle it the ordinary way—with steel against steel.
I charged again, unleashing every technique I knew.
My black sword cloaked in pale sword qi clashed endlessly with the flickering ashen energy.
Kaang! Kaang! Ka-gak!
It was clearly qi versus qi, and blade against nothing—but it still sounded like swords colliding.
Improvised techniques drawn from every principle I had learned surged forward.
The Sword Ghost met them all head-on with textbook swordsmanship.
His body twisted and bent in unnatural ways, but he wore a calm expression, as if nothing was amiss.
A brutal fight. A scramble to drag the other down and drive in a blade.
In a way, perhaps this was the purest form of swordsmanship.
Or so one might think.
Amid the exchange of endless strikes, I subtly pulled in my arm.
As if I’d misjudged the range out of urgency. As if I was trying again to force a misstep.
“Hm.”
The Sword Ghost thrust forward unfazed, maintaining his original distance.
I stared at the translucent qi blade on his hand, focusing my mind.
For a moment, my breath caught. The world around me slowed.
My perception sharpened to the extreme, and I began to sense the natural energy of the world—nature’s essence—as if I could grasp it.
Sharpened will became my blade, slicing the natural energy, while my real sword drove into the gap.
Ssskuk—
A space-tearing slash brushed past the Sword Ghost’s neck.
I had meant to sever it completely—but he sensed something at the last second and twisted his body at a bizarre angle.
“Tch.”
A click of the tongue escaped me. The Sword Ghost, uncharacteristically showing emotion, spoke in anger.
“You let go of the sword?”
“No. I’ve only gained the ability to wield a sword unbound by it.”
He looked at me with a confused, unreadable face.
I felt the same.