Chapter 128 : Chapter 128
Chapter 128. Sword Heaven Descends
Countless swords, bordering on the infinite, poured down toward a single point.
“…That can no longer even be called swordsmanship.”
Dam Jeok-san muttered in a hollow voice.
The moment the Sword Emperor’s will—named Sword Heaven Descends—was summoned into reality, the entire sky was filled with swords.
The will of a single human had altered the world itself.
Part of him wanted to savor this miraculous sight.
‘But I cannot afford that.’
There was only one reason.
The single point those swords were aimed at was Dam Jeok-san’s own body.
“Damn it.”
A low curse slipped from his lips.
Still, this was not the worst-case scenario. Had Sword Heaven Descends been fully manifested, Dam Jeok-san would already have been dead—skewered into a honeycomb by infinite blades.
‘Before I even realized it.’
That was the power possessed by the Sword Emperor, third-ranked among the Eight Sovereigns of Murim.
‘He is going easy on me, that old man.’
In truth, that was only natural.
The Sword Emperor, leader of the Orthodox Heavenly Alliance—known simply as the Heavenly Alliance.
He was a good man.
‘Especially fond of juniors.’
Saplings that did not yet know what they would become. Young people brimming with possibility. The Sword Emperor believed such youths were the future of the Central Plains.
In fact, the one time Dam Jeok-san had met him before losing his Dantian, the Sword Emperor had welcomed him as though he were a promising junior of the Heavenly Alliance.
—Sword Dragon, was it? I look forward to your growth.
—Hm? What does it matter whether you belong to the Martial Sovereign Castle or the Four Evil Orders? Is there any time more fitting than now to say that all under heaven walk the same path? As long as it is not the Outer Path… the more strong ones there are, the better.
Of course, the Alliance Leader’s words were correct in principle.
Though centuries had dulled people’s senses, this was an era in which demonic beings threatened the very survival of humanity as a species.
Whether one belonged to the Four Evil Orders, the Martial Sovereign Castle, or the Heavenly Alliance—it was simply a time when one more strong warrior had to be nurtured, no matter what.
‘Of course, knowing that in one’s head and truly practicing it are two very different things.’
Was that not evident just by looking at Dam Jeok-san himself and the Martial Sovereign Castle?
Brothers schemed against one another and slaughtered each other, coveting the seat of Castle Lord.
And this was hardly unique to the Martial Sovereign Castle.
Even Lesser Heavenly Demon Bukgung Wan had stained his hands with the blood of countless rival candidates in order to sit upon that seat.
‘And the Four Evil Orders need not even be mentioned.’
Until recently, the fiercest succession struggle had been within the Four Evil Orders.
After the former leading candidate, the Broken Sword Corps Commander, was reduced to a wandering ghost by the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable, countless demonic cultivators had plunged the Four Evil Orders into civil war in pursuit of succession.
‘I heard that one man has almost settled that chaos as of late, but…’
In the end, only time would tell.
Had not the Martial Sovereign Castle itself seemed all but certain to name First Young Master Jeok Yeon-jun as heir just half a year ago?
In any case.
One thing was certain: the Sword Emperor was a great hero of a character rarely seen in this age.
One need only look at how he was personally instructing a rude junior who had dared provoke him.
‘…Teaching is all well and good, but the fact that I have nowhere left to retreat does not change.’
Dam Jeok-san watched Sword Heaven Descends slowly tightening around him.
In the end, he had to block it.
Or pierce through it.
‘By common sense, both are impossible.’
Against someone like the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable, perhaps.
But for Dam Jeok-san to find a flaw to exploit in a technique unleashed in earnest by the Sword Emperor of all people? That was unthinkable.
‘Yes, impossible. If he intended to kill me.’
But the Sword Emperor did not intend to kill Dam Jeok-san.
At least, not yet.
Then there would be a flaw. A weakness Dam Jeok-san could exploit.
He let both swords hang loosely while tensing every muscle in his body, ready to spring forward at any moment.
‘The best moment for a flaw to appear is when the swords fall upon me.’
Right now, every sword forming Sword Heaven Descends was moving in perfect harmony, guided by none other than the Sword Emperor’s will.
There was no opening to be found.
But once they came close enough to him, that would change.
‘From that moment on, my will can interfere with those swords.’
The influence would be minimal, but it would not be impossible.
With bloodshot eyes, Dam Jeok-san waited—for the rain of swords descending to kill him.
[You have quite the nerve.]
Watching him, the Sword Emperor laughed heartily and sent a transmission.
[And… you trust this child quite a bit as well, do you not?]
His immense will then reached Heaven-Dominating Saber.
[Of course. Is he not the hope of the Castle?]
Standing straight-backed, Heaven-Dominating Saber returned the question to the Sword Emperor.
[Hahahaha! Just a year ago, I thought the heir of your Castle would be that Jeok child of the main line…]
First Young Master Jeok Yeon-jun.
Even when it had seemed all but settled that he would inherit the Martial Sovereign Castle, the Sword Emperor had not believed it.
Though not an insider, he prided himself on understanding Man Su-geuk better than most.
‘We may not have spoken at length… but our bodies have clashed many times.’
The Martial Sovereign was not the sort to name as heir someone who failed to meet his standards.
Even if that person were the sole survivor of a crucible of death.
‘Man Su-geuk would sooner take a new disciple.’
Those guesses no longer mattered.
The second disciple, Dam Jeok-san, had returned in such brilliant fashion.
‘So the answer was correct.’
The Sword Emperor looked at the returning Sword Dragon, Dam Jeok-san, and thought.
That alone deserved praise. Even if one searched all of the Heavenly Alliance—no, all of orthodox Murim—there was not a single junior who could accomplish what Dam Jeok-san had.
But he had to go further.
If he wished to become the successor of Man Su-geuk.
If he wished to replace the number one among the Eight Sovereigns of Murim—
Perhaps even the strongest under heaven, the Martial Sovereign.
Fortunately, Dam Jeok-san did not disappoint the Sword Emperor’s expectations.
At the instant countless swords were about to brutally carve his body apart—
Dam Jeok-san brought Scarlet Cloud Sword and Heavenly Thunder together, brushing them lightly against each other.
Jjeeeeeeong!!
A terrifying wave of will erupted from the two swords.
‘That is not a simple will-wave.’
He was producing sound with his swords.
It was insufficient to reach the realm of true musical arts, but enough to crudely imitate a sound-based technique.
And into that crude sound technique, will was infused.
It was a far more efficient choice than scattering sword qi.
Sound spread without blind spots.
The sound technique imbued with will halted the ten thousand swords—if only for a single instant.
Dam Jeok-san knew.
This was not a miracle born of desperate resolve.
‘I passed the Sword Emperor’s first test.’
That test was stopping the ten thousand swords.
But the trial was not over yet.
As if to prove it, countless blades began trembling once more.
Damn it.
Swallowing a curse, Dam Jeok-san stared at the swords.
Enduring any longer would be nearly impossible.
Already, bile rose in his throat and his eyes were flooded with blood.
‘That much is fine.’
At worst, he would endure with internal injuries.
But will was not power drawn from the lower or middle Dantian.
Will could only be drawn from the upper Dantian, where the Baihui point resided—that mysterious organ.
And Dam Jeok-san, still only an Ultra-Peak expert, could not yet fully control his upper Dantian at will.
‘I rely entirely on instinct to use will.’
The instincts left behind by the Devourer Seo Woo-ju.
The instincts left behind by the countless absolute experts he had devoured.
And atop that, the instincts of Dam Jeok-san himself—a peerless genius who, despite being only Ultra-Peak, had already begun to perceive the upper Dantian and draw upon its power.
All of it combined allowed him to halt the Sword Emperor’s blades, if only briefly.
But that brief moment was clearly coming to an end.
Instead of waiting passively for the end—
Taat!
Dam Jeok-san kicked off the ground and surged forward.
“Open!!”
He roared like a madman, shouting at the prison of ten thousand swords—Sword Heaven Descends.
That shout too carried inner power, and within that inner power dwelled will.
Yet despite Dam Jeok-san’s will, the prison of Sword Heaven Descends did not budge.
Naturally so.
Sword Heaven Descends was will summoned into reality. Its solidity and might were incomparable to Dam Jeok-san’s will.
But he did not give up.
This time, instead of shouting, he swung his sword.
‘I saw it just now.’
At the moment he shouted, Sword Heaven Descends had wavered—just slightly.
Dam Jeok-san’s keen sight did not miss that point.
And toward it—
He unleashed the secret technique of the Heaven-Crushing Star-Extinguishing Form: Origin-Annihilating Flash.
He judged that no other technique could cut it.
‘What matters is speed.’
The will the Sword Emperor poured into Sword Heaven Descends was extremely loose and weak.
‘Of course, by the Sword Emperor’s standards.’
But loose and weak did not mean the Sword Emperor was lacking in reserves. Each time Dam Jeok-san’s will collided with and canceled out his, the Sword Emperor simply poured more will back in.
‘At this rate, it will be no different from a contest of inner power…’
Except it was will rather than inner power.
In such a battle, Dam Jeok-san could never defeat the Sword Emperor.
If the Sword Emperor’s will was an endless sea, Dam Jeok-san’s was no more than a single gourd of water.
‘And I have already poured out half of even that.’
That was why speed mattered.
He had to cut before the will recovered.
Origin-Annihilating Flash flared through the void.
Kkadeudeudeuk! Seogeok!
A tiny crack began to form as he struck at the opening—but it was immediately restored.
No—
It tried to be.
Kkadeudeudeuk! Seogeok!
Another Origin-Annihilating Flash erupted. So fast that no preparatory motion could be seen—a blade worthy of being called a lightning flash.
And it did not end there.
Kkadeudeudeuk! Seogeok!
Kkadeudeudeuk! Seogeok!
Kkadeudeudeuk! Seogeok!
Kkadeudeudeuk! Seogeok!
Origin-Annihilating Flash continued endlessly.
The very technique Dam Jeok-san had reforged for the first time after reclaiming his Dantian—a single strike imbued with the hope and despair of a monkey demon.
That sword strike, now wielded by Dam Jeok-san standing at the very edge of Ultra-Peak, had become a transcendent blade advancing toward the ultimate.
Jjeeeeeeong!!
At last, a portion of the sword prison created by Sword Heaven Descends was severed.
Without the slightest hesitation, Dam Jeok-san threw himself toward that opening.
Before the will could refill it.
Before Sword Heaven Descends could tighten its grip once more.
“Long time no see.”
Standing there was a strangely youthful man with snow-white hair cascading down his back, yet not a single wrinkle on his face—
The Sword Emperor.
***
Myeong Cheon left the branch headquarters, bringing along Black Panther Spear and Gyeong-un—both of whom she had personally trained.
She was going to welcome Dam Jeok-san, who had returned after receiving instruction from the Martial Sovereign.
And to show him, as soon as possible, the achievements of Black Panther Spear and Gyeong-un, who had grown stronger by repeatedly surviving brushes with death.