Chapter 266

“You’ve broken free of your shell.”

A clear voice rang out.

While Cheongpung thought of the sunlight and blue sky over Lotus Peak, the Blood Lord felt a shock that made his heart sink.

He had failed to sense a presence barely two hundred feet away. He, of all people.

His eyes narrowed as he watched a man walking up the mountain path.

That bastard…

He had a slender build and an approachable face. He looked like a young man in his mid-twenties at most.

The sword thrust carelessly into his waist without even a scabbard was completely covered in reddish rust.

A dry voice slipped between the Blood Lord’s lips.

“The Always-Victorious Sword?”

The young man, Jongni Chu, smiled faintly.

“I was always worried.”

“What?”

“What kind of storm an innocent child who knows no fear would face after entering the martial world.”

“What the hell are you talking about…”

The Blood Lord was about to continue when he suddenly realized it.

From the very beginning, every word Jongni Chu had spoken and every action he had taken had been directed at only one person.

“But now, it’s all right. You overcame it so well.”

His gaze and voice were warm.

At last, a faint smile appeared around Cheongpung’s lips as he struggled to catch his breath.

Watching that, the Blood Lord let out a hollow laugh.

“Well, look at these two…”

Wasn’t this the same as treating him as though he did not exist?

Him—the man who inspired fear and awe in countless people, even within Dark Heaven.

His grip tightened on its own at the young fledglings’ blatant disregard.

Crack.

“Ghk!”

With the sound of bones twisting out of place, a gush of blood burst from between Cheongpung’s lips.

As Cheongpung let out a pained groan and lost consciousness, Jongni Chu’s quiet voice rang beside the Blood Lord’s ear.

“That’s enough.”

The Blood Lord felt much better when he saw Jongni Chu’s face, the smile gone from it.

He grinned and opened his mouth.

“So now you can finally see me.”

“I saw you from the beginning. I just lost sight of you while chasing your disappearing back.”

The Blood Lord frowned as he listened.

“Was it you? That fearless bastard who interfered with me?”

“I was one step too late. It’s unfortunate.”

As Jongni Chu answered calmly, the Blood Lord slowly looked him up and down.

The Always-Victorious Sword, Jongni Chu. This is that man?

Jongni Chu had intervened just as the Blood Lord was about to finish off Dharma King Hong Dao. The rapidly approaching presence had forced him to turn away before he could see it through.

From what I sensed then, his aura was at least beyond the Ten Kings.

Even the Blood Lord would be in trouble if he were held back inside the Murim Alliance. After withdrawing and leaving the dying Hong Dao behind, that bastard had continued chasing him for quite some time.

I almost got caught.

Fortunately, the martial arts the Blood Lord had learned lay far beyond common sense.

And to think that the mysterious master had been Jongni Chu. The Blood Lord shot him a suspicious look.

“You’ve already chased me this far. You’re quick on your feet.”

“Not as quick as you. You were using a movement technique I’ve never seen or heard of.”

The Blood Lord’s eyes narrowed.

His opponent was impossibly young. He also seemed to have a close relationship with Cheongpung, and his martial arts were so outstanding they were difficult to believe.

“You. What relation do you have to the Martial God?”

Jongni Chu habitually stroked his smooth chin.

“The Martial God… I did receive a few teachings from him.”

“Are you his Disciple?”

“Even a suckling infant has something to teach us. Everyone we encounter in life is both our teacher and our student.”

“Stop with the vague Zen riddles. Answer me before I break this brat’s neck.”

But instead of an answer, Jongni Chu gave him a calm look.

His eyes were so deep that one felt they could be drawn into them forever. Yet at the same time, they were as still as a lake on a windless day.

What is this feeling?

It was strange. He had only met Jongni Chu’s eyes, yet his hand would not tighten properly.

No—instead, it felt as though his strength was slowly draining away. As though something invisible had seized his wrist and refused to let go.

This is almost…

At the thought that followed, the Blood Lord clenched his teeth.

No.

That was impossible. How dare he think of that person while looking at some worthless orthodox-faction stray?

It can’t be. I only need to cut down a bastard like him in one stroke.

He forcibly steadied his mind. But an unknown unease was rising inside him.

Could he truly defeat this man? Could he escape this place?

The Blood Lord slowly licked his parched lips.

“You… Who exactly are you?”

Dark Heaven’s information network stretched wide and ran deep throughout the land. Yet it had failed to uncover the identity of one person: Jongni Chu.

A mysterious figure whose face and origins could not even be guessed.

Jongni Chu tilted his head.

“Is that important?”

“What?”

“If a few words could make you stop, I would have answered. But you won’t stop.”

His calm voice continued.

“There are still people hovering between life and death. If you don’t want to stop on your own, I’ll have to stop you myself.”

Slither.

When he finished speaking, Jongni Chu drew the sword carelessly thrust into his waist. As its horribly rusted blade emerged, a sneer spread across the Blood Lord’s lips.

“You’ll stop me? With that thing that doesn’t even look like a sword?”

“Well, it still seems more useful than one might think.”

“Have you ever cut anyone with that sword?”

“I’ve cut countless people. It’s not a memory I’m particularly proud of.”

“You shouldn’t compare me to some random nobody. Who was the last person you cut? A bandit no better than a slash-and-burn farmer? Or perhaps…”

At that moment, a low voice slipped from Jongni Chu’s lips.

“The Heaven-Poison Demon Lord.”

The Blood Lord’s body abruptly went rigid.

The Heaven-Poison Demon Lord.

No martial artist could possibly be unfamiliar with that title.

During the Great Faction War, he had been an archfiend among archfiends, sweeping across the land while worshiping the Heavenly Demon, leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, as a god.

The second-in-command of the Demonic Cult that had once devoured half the world.

That was the Heaven-Poison Demon Lord.

But he, too, had been unable to escape the fate of an ordinary martial artist.

One day, after his evil reputation had grown darker with every passing day, he encountered a certain person. The Heaven-Poison Demon Lord met his death that day, and the one who killed him gained a new name.

“The Sword Saint…!”

The Blood Lord’s body trembled as though lightning had pierced through it.

Sword Saint Mae Jonghak.

That name had briefly crossed his mind when he tried to guess Jongni Chu’s identity. But he had soon shaken his head.

It was impossible.

It was something that could never be allowed to happen.

A voice he had barely managed to squeeze out escaped his lips.

“You… How could you…?”

Jongni Chu—or rather, Sword Saint Mae Jonghak—ran his fingers along the blade and answered.

“When the Great Faction War ended, I suddenly found myself wondering what I should do next. I didn’t have to think for long. I simply loved martial arts.”

Scrape. Scrape.

Each time the violet force coating his hand brushed against the blade, the reddish rust fell away, revealing the sword’s transparent original form.

“I devoted myself to martial arts without stopping. The child who came to me late in life, like a grandson, became my Disciple, and sometimes he became my teacher as well. The moment I thought I had reached Great Completion, I saw another wall before me.”

Sword Saint Mae Jonghak.

The great martial artist, who had already reached an exalted realm decades ago, had stepped into a new domain once again.

For a man who had already prepared himself in every way, a higher enlightenment had arrived.

“Even I didn’t expect to be Returned to Youth. Anyway, when my body grew younger without warning, I became curious about the outside world. I also found myself thinking about that aggravating grandson of mine who ran away a year ago.”

And so, Sword Saint Mae Jonghak entered the world and traveled throughout the land under the name Jongni Chu.

He was already a figure from the distant past. No one suspected that Mae Jonghak had returned to the body of a twenty-year-old.

Not even Dark Heaven, whose web extended throughout the land.

“It was an enjoyable time. Until you people appeared.”

Shhk!

The last of the rust covering the blade peeled away.

At last, the cherished sword regained its true form and cast a cold gleam.

Hundreds, perhaps thousands. A sword that had drunk the blood of countless demon heads pointed toward the Blood Lord.

“This sword is still useful, just as I said, isn’t it?”

The next moment, a violet flash erupted.

Slash!

“…Huh?”

The Blood Lord blinked.

In the slowed flow of time, Cheongpung’s body came into view as it slowly fell.

And so did the familiar wrist of someone gripping the neck of the already unconscious Cheongpung.

That’s…

My hand.

The thought that should have followed was buried beneath the surging blood and pain. A scream burst from his mouth, which had fallen open without his realizing it.

“Gaaaaah!”

But it was not over yet.

As the Blood Lord staggered backward with a scream, a cold voice followed him.

“You’ve piled up sins that can never be washed away. Shouldn’t you pay the price?”

Whoosh!

The Blood Lord felt as though every hair on his body had risen.

It was like a hallucination. The entire landscape vanished, and the only thing that seized his every sense was a single sword aimed at his chest.

Slither.

A sword drifted through the empty air. The violet qi of the Zaha Divine Technique transformed into thirty-six plum blossoms and scattered in every direction.

Faced with the beautiful sight, the Blood Lord muttered like a groan.

“The Thirty-Six Plum Blossom Swords.”

But it was different.

There was no doubt that it was different.

If the Thirty-Six Plum Blossom Swords Cheongpung had used earlier were a supreme technique, then what Mae Jonghak was displaying now was a divine technique beyond martial arts.

That very divine technique was boring into the vital points throughout the Blood Lord’s body.

I can’t stop this.

At that moment, the horrified Blood Lord hurriedly tried to leap away.

Grab!

Someone’s hand seized his ankle.

Jin Taekyung, whom he had believed had already exhausted himself and lost consciousness, was grinning with blood-stained teeth.

“Where do you think you’re going, you fucking bastard?”

“You—!”

Papapapat!

The Blood Lord could not finish speaking.

Violet flashes filled his eyes. Blood sprayed and flesh was cut apart. The immense agony turned his mind blank for an instant.

“Ghk!”

The difference was on another level. There was no way to block the Sword Energy hurtling across more than a hundred feet.

Slash! Slash!

Then, as his consciousness began to fade, a spark flashed in the Blood Lord’s eyes.

No. If I use that—if I use that, I can survive.

His mission was already complete. The Green Jade Buddha Staff in his hand—the only one left—was proof of that.

It was unfortunate that he had failed to kill the Fire King, but…

As long as he remained alive—as long as he survived—he could always settle things another day.

He glared at Jin Taekyung with a resentful gaze. Even as he vomited clots of blood, Taekyung was smiling.

“Wait. I’ll kill you with my own hands.”

“What?”

“Stay alive until then. No matter what.”

The Blood Lord’s lips curled upward.

Mae Jonghak, who sensed what he intended, stiffened and sent Sword Energy flying with a rigid expression.

“Stop!”

Shriek! Slash!

The Blood Lord’s last remaining arm was cleanly severed from the shoulder.

“Lord of Heaven!”

Whoosh!

With a shout, he gathered up the last of his strength and shot forward like lightning. His hard teeth clamped down on his severed arm—or rather, on the Green Jade Buddha Staff it held.

And then—

Fwoom!

A black radiance, ominous even to look at, swallowed his entire body.

The Blood Lord vanished along with it.

As though it had never existed in the first place.