The Regressed Sword Demon Changes the Future

"Huck, huck…!"

Hwa Mokyeon, whose tension had been released, collapsed onto the ground.

"I-it's over…"

Hwa Mokyeon looked down at Namgung Jeongmin, who was lying on the floor, gasping for breath.

It was a narrow victory.

If Jang Yuran hadn't bought time, not caring about her own body.

If Hwa Mokyeon hadn't gained enlightenment at the crossroads of life and death.

If, at the last moment, Jang Yuran hadn't thrown her spear and created an opening for Namgung Jeongmin.

If even one of these things had been missing, the ones lying there bleeding would have been Hwa Mokyeon and Jang Yuran.

Swish.

At that moment, Jang Yuran, who had forced herself up from her seat, not caring about her broken ankle, hobbled towards Namgung Jeongmin.

"Y-Yuran, are you okay…"

Before Hwa Mokyeon could say anything, Jang Yuran picked up the spear that had tripped Namgung Jeongmin's legs again and thrust it into the body of Namgung Jeongmin, who had already breathed his last.

Stab!

"Y-Yuran!?"

Ignoring Hwa Mokyeon's words, Jang Yuran, who had stabbed Namgung Jeongmin's body a few more times, soon swung her spear and sent Namgung Jeongmin's head flying.

As Hwa Mokyeon was at a loss for words at Jang Yuran's sudden action…

"…Hoo~ what are you so relieved about? You must have heard it from Jang Baekseo, right? That these guys use strange and bizarre techniques like the Raging Blood Art and the Berserk Pill?"

Jang Yuran said, forcibly squeezing out her voice, which sounded like the wind was leaking.

"Huh? Ah, th-that's right…"

"Even if he looks dead, you shouldn't be careless until you've definitely finished him off by cutting off his head."

"Ah, that's certainly true."

At the sight of Jang Yuran, who was pointing out a point he hadn't even thought of, Hwa Mokyeon thought that she was a really smart woman with a good head on her shoulders.

"Haha, I thought you were getting revenge for being beaten up."

"…"

"…Ah, um, well, that could be it."

Leaving behind the subtle silence, Hwa Mokyeon forced himself to stand up.

"Keuk!"

Although Hwa Mokyeon had won the fight in the end, he had not surpassed Namgung Jeongmin's martial arts level even at the moment he had gained enlightenment and had reached the transcendent realm at the end.

It was just that an opening had been created by a stroke of luck due to heaven's will and Jang Yuran's struggle, and Hwa Mokyeon had desperately seized that opportunity.

Thanks to that, Hwa Mokyeon's body was currently a mess.

From the internal injuries he had sustained while facing the sword force with his sword qi, to the burns he had sustained from the lightning qi of the Cheonroe Three Palms. Thanks to the fact that the energy of the elixir that had remained in his body had been absorbed as he had reached the transcendent realm, he was not lacking in internal energy, but overall, he was not in a state where he could fight properly.

Nevertheless, Hwa Mokyeon stood up from his seat.

"I have to go help my brother…"

Jang Yuran stopped Hwa Mokyeon.

"Stop it. What are you going to do in that state? Recover a bit with energy circulation and then do whatever you're going to do."

Jang Yuran, who had stopped Hwa Mokyeon with a sharp word, soon added a word shyly.

"Jang Baekseo, that guy will be fine even if you leave him alone. That's because…"

Jang Yuran, who was trailing off as if she were embarrassed to speak, soon let out a sigh and continued.

"Can you even imagine that guy losing?"

At those words, Hwa Mokyeon let out a hollow laugh.

"Well, I can't even imagine my brother losing."

Even now that he had reached the transcendent realm, Hwa Mokyeon could not be sure that he was stronger than Jang Baekseo.

Moreover, he could not even imagine the sight of Jang Baekseo being defeated by someone.

"Let's trust that guy and wait."

Hwa Mokyeon, who had nodded his head, soon looked around.

"We should move for now."

The area had become a mess due to the fight between Hwa Mokyeon, Jang Yuran, and Namgung Jeongmin. Even if they had defeated the leader, the encirclement of the Hundred River Association was not completely broken, so they had to move quickly to avoid the ensuing pursuit.

"Let's move to the spare hideout we talked about in advance. It seems Madam Ma's delivery is over, too."

"Yes, let's hurry."

***

Meanwhile, the fight between Jang Baekseo and Gang Junpyo, who had taken the Berserk Pill, was showing a completely unexpected aspect.

Swish!

"Kraaaaaaaaaaah!"

Shuuuuuuuuk!

"Keuk!?"

Gang Junpyo, who had even abandoned his pride as a transcendent master, had taken the Berserk Pill as a last resort.

With the efficacy of the Berserk Pill, his energy, which had shown its limit, had instantly filled up. And Gang Junpyo, who had obtained an internal energy greater than his original energy, was confident of his victory.

But…

The continuous attack of the blue and red sword forces of stillness and movement!

Despite the terrifying continuous attack of the Heaven and Earth Twin Forces, Jang Baekseo was not even a single bit injured.

Unlike his appearance of struggling with the Heaven and Earth Twin Forces at first, he had rapidly adapted to the continuous attack of the Heaven and Earth Twin Forces, and now he was exquisitely breaking through its gaps and carving cuts on Gang Junpyo's body.

Gang Junpyo, who had been cut on his shoulder and waist without a sound, exploded his internal energy and threw Jang Baekseo off.

"Hoo-uk, hoo-uk!"

Sreung, sreung.

Jang Baekseo, who was spinning his sword in his hand, looked at the gasping Gang Junpyo with a blank face, as if it were boring.

"Why…! Why, even after taking the Berserk Pill…!"

He could not understand.

Even though his internal energy had exploded after taking the Berserk Pill, Jang Baekseo's Jowon sword manual was unraveling his protective sword force more easily than before.

Now, the protective sword force was only playing the minimum role of preventing a fatal wound.

At the sight of such a Gang Junpyo, Jang Baekseo snorted.

"Are you a fool?"

"!?"

"Well, of course. After using a potential-unlocking pill like the Berserk Pill, there's no way the weave of your qi would be the same as before, right?"

It was a simple story.

Gang Junpyo, who had used the potential-unlocking pill, the Berserk Pill, had certainly obtained a vast amount of internal energy greater than what he originally had. Although the side effects would be considerable, it was a clear fact that he had obtained a vast amount of internal energy now.

But what he had overlooked was the fact that the strength of martial arts was by no means determined by the amount of internal energy.

Thanks to the Berserk Pill, Gang Junpyo had obtained a vast amount of internal energy, but in return, he had lost two things.

The first was the delicacy of his internal energy.

Handling internal energy was a very delicate task. Moreover, no matter how skilled a person was, in a real battle, they could not exert ten-tenths of their original skill.

In addition, Gang Junpyo's body condition and qi sense, which had explosively increased his internal energy using the Berserk Pill, could not be the same as usual. And because of that different body condition, a subtle dissonance had arisen in his energy operation.

And that difference had made the weave of Gang Junpyo's protective sword force clumsy. And for Jang Baekseo, who had become accustomed to Gang Junpyo's sword force, that clumsy protective sword force was nothing more than an easy prey.

And the second thing he had lost was the delicacy of his movements.

The reason was, of course, the same as the first.

Gang Junpyo, who had suddenly obtained an excessive amount of internal energy greater than what he originally had, had tried to kill Jang Baekseo with the fastest and strongest attacks. In other words, he had tried to crush his technique with force.

But this was a decisive mistake.

The moment a person who had trained in martial arts abandoned his technique and chose to crush with force, his technique had lost its sharpness and delicacy, and it had become no different from that of a simply fast and strong beast.

And it was no problem for Jang Baekseo to exploit such a clumsy movement.

For the reasons above, the fight between the two had become even more one-sided than before Gang Junpyo had taken the Berserk Pill.

Gang Junpyo, who was trying to succeed in a single blow with his overflowing internal energy as a weapon, and Jang Baekseo, who was dodging him like a ghost and was steadily accumulating damage with the Jowon sword manual!

"Do you know what a person who learns martial arts should be most wary of?"

"Kraaaaaaaaaaah!"

Swish, swish, swish!

"It's focusing only on the 'gong' (功 - achievement/power) and not the 'wu' (武 - martial/technique)."

"You, you, you!!!"

Swish!

The blade of Jang Baekseo, who had dodged all the terrifying continuous attacks that emanated from the Heaven and Earth Twin Forces with a ghost-like movement, cut Gang Junpyo's thigh and arm in order.

"It's called 'wugong' (武功 - martial arts) because you build up the 'wu' (武). Do you understand? This…"

"Shut up, ahhhhhhhhh!!!"

Although Gang Junpyo had poured out his sword force and water force like crazy, screaming, the result was in vain.

Jang Baekseo, who had dodged all of Gang Junpyo's attacks, was standing lightly on the sword he had swung and was looking down at him, saying.

"It's not just about accumulating time vacuously. What's important is building up the 'wu'. Do you understand, brat?"

"Damn you, ahhhhhhhhhh!!"

Although Gang Junpyo had tried to throw him off by swinging his sword with a roar, Jang Baekseo was faster. At a faster speed than he had swung his sword, Jang Baekseo had cut Gang Junpyo's left eye and had jumped over his head, landing behind him.

"Kraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!"

'I can't win!'

Gang Junpyo, who had lost one eye, clutched his left eye, which was feeling an insane amount of pain, and looked at Jang Baekseo, who was still looking at him without any expression.

'Is that really a human being?'

The great disciple of the Mysterious Profound Sect, Jang Baekseo.

According to the information he had investigated in advance for the mission, he was clearly an insignificant person.

An insignificant small sect that existed in Gangjeong County, Sichuan, and the insignificant great disciple of that small sect.

But then, what on earth was the identity of the existence in front of his eyes now?

As the leader of the main force of the Righteous Heaven Alliance, Gang Junpyo had met countless masters.

But.

But there had never been such a person.

In the first place, it was absurd to face a sword force with sword qi.

But that most basic common sense of the martial world did not apply to Jang Baekseo at all.

Looking at such a Jang Baekseo, one word came to Gang Junpyo's mind.

'Supernatural power and chaotic spirits…!'

A strange something, a ghost, or something that could not be explained by normal reason!

A supernatural existence that was beyond reason. The Jang Baekseo that Gang Junpyo saw was the supernatural power and chaotic spirits themselves, and considering Jang Baekseo's history, it was a very fitting word.

'Supernatural power and chaotic spirits… haha, yes, what can a human do against supernatural power and chaotic spirits? You have to face supernatural power and chaotic spirits with the same supernatural power and chaotic spirits.'

Gang Junpyo, who had hardened his resolve, prepared for the strongest single blow he could muster.

"Ho ho? Is it a last-ditch effort?"

At that, Jang Baekseo broke his expressionless face from before and smiled.

Ignoring such a Jang Baekseo, Gang Junpyo, who had finished his preparations, threw the finishing blow he could muster now.

"Heaven and Earth Spiral Wave!"

Kuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!

The blue sword force of stillness and the red sword force of movement. The two sword forces became one huge whirlwind and rushed towards Jang Baekseo, crushing everything around them.

(End of Chapter)