Chapter 28
He cuts and cuts again.
People, the earth, and the sky.
The Heavenly Demon Divine Sword, a divine weapon born to cut, split, and pierce everything between heaven and earth.
Every time the arc of the sword strike was drawn, the world was split apart.
But…
He hits.
He hits and hits again and breaks.
He breaks and kicks, shatters and throws, and in the end, he strikes down.
Did someone say that the strongest martial art is swordsmanship?
If they saw the God of War now, no one would be able to say such a thing.
A monotonous series of attacks, as if measured with a ruler, with a predictable pattern.
Extremely ordinary attacks where one could not find any flashy variations even if they looked for them.
But that ordinariness dared to transcend the laws of all things.
“Heaven-Shattering Consecutive Cannon, 12-star power!”
A roar…
And a single punch was thrown.
The dark sword gang of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword cut through that fist strike head-on.
—Kwareureung!
It was far.
In the sight of the crowd, the two old men were clearly far away.
But even through that hazy sight, they could feel how fierce the duel between the two was.
Swish, swish, swish, swish, swish!
Every time the sword strike of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword, which tore through the air and space itself, continued, a dark radiance flashed like lightning.
But Moyong Cheon did not fall behind at all.
Although he was enduring the best divine weapon in the world with his flesh and blood, to him, a divine weapon was nothing more than a well-honed blade.
And…
An unbelievable thing happened.
—Cha-chaeng…
The Heavenly Demon Divine Sword could not withstand Moyong Cheon’s fist and broke.
“Hahahaha! To think that our cult’s divine object, which has been refined with black iron for decades, would break from a mere human’s fist. You are truly amazing! Old man war fiend!”
“Hoho. Don’t be so modest.”
“You cunning old man. You make me spit out everything in the end.”
“Why don’t you show me the real thing instead?”
“So be it.”
The two’s mysterious conversation continued.
In that moment.
Hwiiiiing…
The wind blew.
A pleasant breeze that rustled the hair.
That breeze slowly gathered in Wi-ji Un’s grasp.
Hwiiiiing…!
The wind gathered at an even faster speed.
Hwiiiiing…!
Instead of the broken Heavenly Demon Divine Sword, in Wi-ji Un’s hand, nature, a mixture of light, wind, earth, and scent, began to be contained.
Nature, which existed perfectly on its own.
‘It’s the Sword of Nature!’
The Sword of Nature.
A divine realm that he had heard of but never seen.
Moyong Cheon had no choice but to admit that Wi-ji Un was a true Martial God.
Gooooo…!
There was no demonic ki in Wi-ji Un’s Sword of Nature.
Rather, Moyong Cheon even felt a sense of holiness in its solemn and high-purity purity.
‘Is that your life?’
Moyong Cheon asked.
Although he was silent, he clearly asked.
‘That’s right, my friend. This is my life.’
Wi-ji Un also answered with silence.
‘I pay my respects to your life. Now I will show you my life.’
Moyong Cheon had a hunch.
This was the last.
This clash would decide the outcome of this fight.
Sssss…!
A haze shimmered from Moyong Cheon’s body.
‘Beautiful!’
It was a thought that flashed in the Heavenly Demon’s mind.
A flash of lightning drew a horizontal line.
He couldn’t open his eyes.
Because the whole world was covered in a white radiance.
He couldn’t hear or see.
The radiance passed over the Samryun Peak estate and over Mount Daeak.
And so, it continued to cover all things with light.
The crowd exploded their internal energy to see that brilliant light.
But the white light was like the blazing sun.
How could a human being look at the sun?
Only one person.
Only So-ah, even in that radiance, opened his eyes fully and witnessed the clash between the God of War and the Heavenly Demon.
***
“Father!”
“Grandpa!”
They ran.
Without anyone going first, the crowd began to run towards the two old men.
When the white light that covered the heavens and the earth cleared…
What came into people’s eyes were the two fallen old men.
“Hoho. I won, Un.”
“What are you talking about? Kekeke, my sword may be broken, but I’m still fine! Shall we go again?”
“Let’s stop. Neither you nor I have the strength for that now.”
“Hahahaha!”
“Hohoho!”
Moyong Cheon and Wi-ji Un lay down simultaneously in the center of the devastated battlefield.
Although a streak of blood was at the corners of their mouths and their hair was disheveled, they were exhausted, but the corners of their mouths were raised.
“Grandpa.”
Wi-ji Chan held his grandfather.
“Grandpa!”
Not to be outdone, So-ah also hugged Moyong Cheon.
In that moment, a strange emotion arose in the hearts of Moyong Cheon and Wi-ji Un.
‘Hoho, to think you’ve grown up so much to hug me, So-ah.’
‘Chan. Did you see? This old man was by no means defeated by the God of War!’
Now, in this moment.
Both the God of War and the Heavenly Demon had become the greatest under heaven.
***
“Hoho! I’m fine. So-ah! Are you not going to listen to this old man’s request?”
The group that had returned to the estate.
Moyong Cheon and Wi-ji Un, before they could even recover their bodies, looked for alcohol.
At this, not only the people of the Moyong family but also So-ah and Wi-ji Chan tried to stop them at all costs, but in the end, they could not break the two old men’s stubbornness.
A little later…
Moyong Cheon opened the bottle of his most cherished infused liquor.
Although it was just liquor infused with medicinal herbs and ginseng roots, when the faint aroma of the liquor hit his nose, it was no less than the finest wine.
“Have a drink.”
“Alright!”
And so, the two of them exchanged drinks and chatted for a while, tilting their cups.
In the midst of this.
Moyong Cheon’s gaze turned to the empty air.
He spoke softly and leisurely, like someone talking to himself.
“Baek-ah…”
“Yes, Father.”
“You did not have a great talent for martial arts. Also, you lacked the obsession for victory, so I did not pass down the Ten-Second Invincible Arts to you.”
“Father…”
“But I believe you will become the best family head. You are good-natured and fair. In leading a family, such a character is more important than martial arts.”
“I will take it to heart.”
As Moyong Baek performed a respectful bow, Moyong Cheon spoke again, this time to his daughter-in-law, Yeon So-so.
“My dear. I was a truly shameful father-in-law to you. I neglected the family and lived my whole life studying only martial arts, so you must have been disappointed. I want to apologize.”
“Father-in-law. Please don’t say that. If it weren’t for you, how could our family have stood tall as one of the Five Great Families?”
“Thank you for saying so. And Hwa-ah.”
“Yes, Grandpa.”
“You are smart and wise, so I have no worries, but the Jianghu is a rougher place than you think. You must always be humble. Do you understand?”
“Yes. Grandpa. But why are you suddenly saying such things? As if you are going somewhere…”
As Moyong Hwa said, Moyong Cheon was continuing to speak to his family as if he were setting out on a long journey.
But Moyong Cheon just smiled and did not answer.
Then, with eyes filled with a melancholy that was completely different from before, he stared at one person.
The place where Moyong Cheon’s gaze was directed was So-ah.
“So-ah.”
“Yes, Grandpa.”
“I remember the time I first brought you here.”
“Grandpa…”
“At that time, you and Im-yi were so skinny and sickly. But seeing you now, I am truly proud.”
Moyong Cheon’s voice was quite solemn.
But unlike his heavy voice, his expression was that of a happy person.
Seeing his smile, which was in full bloom like that of an enlightened person, So-ah’s mood was also strangely uplifted.
“Grandpa. I was also so happy to have met you. I am happy now, and I will be in the future.”
“Come here.”
Moyong Cheon opened his arms wide.
It meant for him to be hugged.
“Ugh…! Grandpa, what is this? It’s so cringey! Senior Brother So-ah is eighteen, you know. He’s not a child, haha!”
Moyong Hwa burst out laughing at the sight.
It was a ridiculous sight to anyone.
Of course, So-ah also felt strange.
Although his grandfather was a gentle and benevolent person, he had never expressed his emotions in such a cheesy way.
But.
For some reason, So-ah felt like he had to listen to his grandfather’s words.
He had a premonition that if he didn’t hug him now, he wouldn’t be able to.
Hugs!
Nine years ago.
He remembered the time he first met his grandfather.
At that time, he had snuggled into his grandfather’s arms, but now So-ah, who had grown bigger, hugged his grandfather instead.
“Kuhaha! I’m envious, war fiend. How nice would it be if my grandson also did such a cute thing?”
It was getting worse and worse.
This time, Wi-ji Un glared at Wi-ji Chan.
‘Oh my… why is Grandpa like that too…’
Wi-ji Chan had a headache.
But Wi-ji Un was really envious of Moyong Cheon.
In the end, Wi-ji Chan had no choice but to hug his grandfather.
“Hahaha! You cute rascal. This is the first time I’ve hugged you since you were a baby who couldn’t even control your bladder.”
“Grandfather… please…”
Wi-ji Chan’s face turned red.
In that moment, didn’t Wi-ji Un suddenly hug So-ah, who was next to him?
Perhaps because he was so huge, Wi-ji Un’s embrace was spacious even when he hugged both Wi-ji Chan and So-ah at the same time.
“You rascals! When you get old, don’t be like me or the old war fiend, obsessed with empty names like the greatest under heaven and fighting. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Grandpa.”
“Yes… Grandpa Wi-ji…”
“Yes, that’s right. That’s right. Hoho.”
Wi-ji Un let out a hearty laugh and took out a piece of parchment from his bosom.
“So-ah. This is a map of the Ghost Valley Mountain Manor. The Ghost Valley Mountain Manor is a legendary dragon’s den and tiger’s lair in the Jianghu, and it is known that it can never be reached by human power, but that is an exaggerated fact. In the future, when your martial arts realm can command the world, follow this map and find the Ghost Valley Mountain Manor. There will be treasures galore there. It is my last gift to you.”
“G-Grandpa Wi-ji!”
So-ah was startled.
It wasn’t just So-ah.
Moyong Cheon and Moyong Baek, who had heard of the <Treasure Map of the Ghost Valley Mountain Manor>, also looked at Wi-ji Un with astonished expressions.
“Un… you… how can you give such a gift to So-ah? If it’s such a treasure, you should give it to Chan, you person.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Our cult has already accumulated a wealth that plays with a thousand gold pieces, so why would we need something like a treasure? And I’m giving it because I want to, so you shut up!”
Moyong Cheon shook his head as if he had no choice.
But he felt better than ever.
How could he not be happy when he was giving a gift to So-ah?
“Hoho… hohoho! Wi-ji Un. You old demon geezer! You are a real eccentric. You were an eccentric since you were young, and you’re an eccentric until the very end. Hohoho!”
“Hahaha! Actually, the real eccentric is not the Heavenly Demon but the God of War. It’s one thing for a member of the Orthodox Faction to have a demon geezer as a friend, but you’ve been practicing that shabby fighting technique your whole life and in the end, you’ve reached the same level as me, haven’t you? You’re probably the first and last martial artist to have transcended the realm.”
“Is that so? Hahaha.”
“That’s how it is. Kekeke.”
“Thanks to you, I had a good time.”
“Me too.”
“Shall we see each other in the celestial realm?”
“You crazy old man. Do you think you can enter the celestial realm after fighting your whole life? You’d be lucky if the Great Supreme Elder Lord doesn’t get angry and throw you into the fires of hell. Kuhaha.”
“A wise answer to a foolish question! Hohoho!”
In that moment.
Thud!
The bodies of the two fell onto the main floor like rotten old trees.
(End of Chapter)