Chapter 56

The Head Elder was the first to notice Lee Cheonbaek’s arrival.

The leader himself has entered the fray.

The fierce wave of qi blasting across the gorge, and the killing intent rolling with it, made that obvious even without seeing him.

Sure enough—

“You bastards!”

Lee Cheonbaek appeared with a thunderous roar. His half-gray hair whipped around like a mane, and his eyes burned red.

The Mount Heng Sword Sect’s core forces arrived on his heels—First Rate martial artists and three Peak masters!

“Wipe out those Jin Family of Taiyuan bastards!”

“The Sect Leader is here! The Sect Leader has come!”

“Waaaah!”

The cheers rekindled their fading will to fight. Lee Cheonbaek surged down the path that had opened before him.

“Kill those treacherous Jin Family of Taiyuan bastards!”

Jin Wikyung was not about to stand by and watch.

“The time has come.”

The Head Elder answered.

“I agree.”

In truth, he had not welcomed Lee Cheonbaek’s arrival. A certain amount of attrition would have made the cleanup easier.

But neither the Jin Family of Taiyuan nor the Mount Heng Sword Sect had suffered significant losses yet.

It doesn’t matter. They’ll be making their move anyway.

The two great powers claimed to rule Shanxi, but compared to them, they were insignificant.

Even at the height of its power, the Jin Family of Taiyuan had been treated as nothing more than a martial family from the frontier. How could it possibly stand against them?

A mere martial family…

The Head Elder swallowed a bitter smile and drew his sword.

Shing.

For many years, he had carried two swords—one in his heart and one at his waist.

There was no need for further words.

“I’ll handle Lee Cheonbaek.”

“Please do.”

Who was Blood Wolf Sword Lee Cheonbaek? The man who had founded the Mount Heng Sword Sect with nothing but a single sword, and who now meant to become the ruler of an entire city. Enemy or not, there was no denying he was a Peak martial artist of the highest caliber.

I want to fight him.

But Jin Wikyung forced down the heat in his blood.

This battle would decide the fate of his family. He had to set aside his fighting spirit.

“Wipeng.”

“Yes.”

Wipeng had already drawn his sharp, narrow sword and taken his place at Jin Wikyung’s side.

“You and I will handle the rest.”

“As you command.”

There was not a trace of hesitation in his answer. Jin Wikyung smiled faintly and drew his own sword—the treasured blade passed down through generations of the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

It was the only thing left behind by the father who had vanished one day without a trace.

I’m going to travel around the Central Plains for a while.

Use this in the meantime.

Remembering the letter stuffed carelessly into the scabbard made Jin Wikyung’s blood boil all over again.

Travel around the Central Plains, my ass. You spent your whole life having fun.

He had no idea where that so-called Family Head was or what he was doing, and his second brother, thousands of li¹ away, had probably only just received the letter.

I have to protect them.

Martial artists, maids, servants, children.

Jin Wikyung was the Family Head of the Jin Family of Taiyuan now. No one else.

Whether they lived or died was a burden he alone had to bear.

We will win.

Jin Wikyung’s eyes flared wide. He raised his sword and unleashed an azure dragon’s roar.

“Don’t let a single one of them live!”

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

The Jin Family’s masters kicked off the ground and soared into the air. At the signal, a single fire arrow rose high behind them.

That was when dozens of figures stood up along the cliffs.

“Fire!”

Beneath a sudden rain of arrows, the clash between the masters who would decide the course of the battle began.

Blood Wolf Sword Lee Cheonbaek was a born martial artist.

Blessed with an innate talent for martial arts and the instincts of a beast, he had cut down his enemies and fulfilled his ambitions one after another.

He had founded the Mount Heng Sword Sect, then strengthened it by absorbing the surrounding factions one by one. His aim was to lay the foundation for a great family that would one day be recognized even in the Central Plains.

“Sect Leader! The Young Master…”

Then, one day, his second son came home a corpse.

He had not died in a fair duel. Deadly poison had killed him, blood pouring from all seven orifices.²

Lee Cheonbaek swore an oath.

He would kill and burn everything connected to the Jin Family of Taiyuan.

And now Jin Wikyung stood before him.

Flames blazed in Lee Cheonbaek’s eyes.

“You bastard—!”

He charged like a beast. His sword, imbued with one jiazi³ of internal energy, shone milky white.

With this much power, it could cut through any armor or divine weapon.

That bastard dies here!

Certain of his victory, Lee Cheonbaek was about to swing when—

“Oho. Sword Energy?”

A quiet voice came from behind him.

Lee Cheonbaek’s heart sank.

How?

He had given up his back far too easily. His response was lightning-fast. Gripping his sword in reverse, he stabbed behind him.

Whoosh.

The blade pierced empty air, but the attack bought him time. Only then did he get a look at his opponent.

A beard hung down to the man’s chest, and a relaxed smile played at the corners of his mouth.

He was a white-haired old man.

Lee Cheonbaek recognized him at once.

“Blade of Flowers?”

The Head Elder nodded.

“I haven’t heard that name in a long time. And you must be Lee Cheonbaek.”

“That’s right.”

Even as he answered, a chill ran down Lee Cheonbaek’s spine.

He did not dare look for Jin Wikyung or check how the battle was unfolding. If he took his eyes off the old man, he felt as though his head would come off at once.

Coincidence? No.

It was true that the sight of Jin Wikyung had driven him into a frenzy. It was also true that impatience had gotten the better of him.

But Lee Cheonbaek was a Peak master.

A Peak master who had reached the level of injuring others with Sword Energy.

There could only be one answer.

A master!

Whether by a full form or half a form, the old man before him stood above Lee Cheonbaek.

Lee Cheonbaek tightened his grip on his beloved sword.

“I’ve heard much of your reputation.”

“Reputation? I’m nothing more than an old man put out to pasture.”

“Then why didn’t you stay there?”

“You’re still young, so there’s a lot you don’t understand. The older you get, the more important it is to move around once in a while.”

Lee Cheonbaek ground his teeth at the Head Elder’s sly manner.

Damn old man.

He had been watching the Jin Family of Taiyuan for a long time.

He knew there was a faction centered around the Head Elder that opposed the Family Head. He had even privately hoped the family would split from within.

Instead, the exact opposite had happened.

So when an outside enemy invades, they unite as one?

Lee Cheonbaek stared at the Head Elder with heavy eyes, then opened his mouth.

“How strong are you?”

“As strong as you believe me to be.”

“Word games.”

“I was thirty when they called me Blade of Flowers.”

The Head Elder had already been a Peak martial artist at thirty.

Now he was seventy. How much had his martial arts changed since then?

After a moment’s thought, Lee Cheonbaek gave a wry laugh.

I’ve grown old too.

Blood Wolf Sword.

In his youth, Lee Cheonbaek had been unstoppable. Without an exceptional martial art or a respectable master, he had carved his way through everything on his own.

Even against an opponent a level above him, he never backed down. He charged like a wolf and tore out their throats.

I lived half my life that way…

At some point, people had started calling him Sect Leader instead of Blood Wolf Sword.

Blood relatives, subordinates, wealth.

The things he had to protect had piled up like a mountain.

He spent less time training and more time handling affairs. When the moment came to act, he stopped to think instead.

Just as he was doing now.

“Why are you laughing?”

Lee Cheonbaek answered the Head Elder’s question.

“I’m laughing because I find myself pathetic.”

“You’re afraid of me.”

Lee Cheonbaek nodded in silence.

“Were you afraid of death?”

“For a very brief moment.”

“And now?”

“I’m going to kill you.”

“Someone of your level can’t manage that.”

“You have to measure them to know which is longer, don’t you?”

“That’s what the short ones always say. They never realize that even after you measure, the result doesn’t change.”

“You have a sharp tongue.”

“My tongue isn’t the only thing that’s sharp.”

The Head Elder lowered his sword.

It looked like an ordinary blue-steel sword, but the moment it entered his hand, it began to give off a vicious killing edge.

“Come at me first.”

Lee Cheonbaek did not refuse.

His blade drew in one jiazi³ of internal energy, raising a shimmering haze of light.

The level of injuring others with Sword Energy—a realm countless martial artists dreamed of reaching.

Tssss.

The instant the Sword Energy rose three chi⁴—about ten centimeters—Lee Cheonbaek shot forward.

A unique martial art, perfected through countless real battles, unfolded from his fingertips.

Whoosh! Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

Boom!

Sword Energy slashed in every direction. Screams erupted amid the mounds of dirt blasted into the air.

“Graaagh!”

They were the cries of martial artists caught in the gap.

Every voice belonged to a young man.

A red warning light went on in Lee Cheonbaek’s mind.

Behind!

He spun and swung in the same motion.

He saw a white beard fluttering in the wind.

And the sword in the old man’s hand.

Boom!

Kh.

The thunderous impact sent Lee Cheonbaek reeling backward. He was not even given time to feel the pain in his wrist.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Every time the two swords met, thunder and lightning rolled.

Sword Energy streamed from their blades, smashing the ground and tearing through the air.

Whoosh!

“What in the world is that…?”

The martial artists on both sides forgot their own battles. They could only stare, dumbstruck, at the incredible life-and-death duel.

At that moment, every one of them was thinking the same thing.

Are those two really human beings like us?

The ceaseless thunder. A display of Sword Energy so dazzling that merely watching it left them spellbound.

The movements of the two men at its center were faster and stronger than anyone they had ever seen.

Someone murmured as if groaning.

“So this is a Peak master…”

To their eyes, either man could have won.

But the superiority in strength was obvious.

After some three hundred exchanges, the Head Elder’s swordplay changed.

Whoosh—slice!

“Ghk.”

Lee Cheonbaek bit down on his lip.

Blood streamed from the forearm the Head Elder’s sword had raked.

The strength drained from his sword hand.

Of all things.

He immediately shifted the sword to his other hand, but he was right-handed by nature.

Even fighting at full strength might not have been enough. Now that his sword arm was injured, the outcome was all but decided.

Boom!

Crack.

A single blow snapped his wrist.

His Sword Energy, weakened by the severe drain on his internal energy, could no longer stand against the Head Elder.

But Lee Cheonbaek did not give up.

Not yet. It isn’t over yet.

He had taken worse injuries than this, plenty of times.

Drawing on the strength in his arm, waist, and legs, Lee Cheonbaek swung his sword.

No—he tried to.

Slash!

This time, it was the knee.

The severed tendons gave way, and Lee Cheonbaek’s knee buckled against his will.

His sword carved uselessly through empty air.

Shhk. Shhk-shhk-shhk.

His side. His shoulder. His chest.

Lightning stabbed and sliced through his entire body. The fierce Sword Energy did more than cut flesh and bone—it churned his insides.

“Bleeegh!”

Lee Cheonbaek vomited blood mixed with pieces of his organs and looked up at the Head Elder through clouded eyes.

The old man’s face was impassive.

There was no thrill at having defeated his opponent, nor any joy at the war’s end.

To him, this was nothing more than the natural outcome.

“Cough… So Shanxi’s Number One was standing right in front of me.”

“If you’re not Number One Under Heaven, you’re nothing more than a martial brute from the frontier. Neither you nor I are made for such heights.”

“Tell me what you want. I’ll give you my neck. I’ll make my men surrender, and I’ll seal the sect for ten years—or a hundred. So…”

“No. What I want is annihilation. Complete annihilation, without a single blade of grass left standing.”

“Why…!”

“Don’t ask me that. If you had won, it would have been our family facing annihilation.”

Lee Cheonbaek glared at the Head Elder with bloodshot eyes.

He wanted to snap that wrinkled neck then and there.

But grievously wounded as he was, all he could do was force out his voice.

“Jin Family of Taiyuan. You started this, didn’t you? You killed that boy—my son!”

“Ah, Lee Seogeun. Yes. That child was where it all began.”

A sardonic smile touched the Head Elder’s lips.

Even the master of the Mount Heng Sword Sect, one of the two powers that divided Shanxi between them, had failed to notice their intervention.

Even now, with death staring him in the face.

When you meet Yama,⁵ ask him who killed Lee Seogeun.

The Sound Transmission burrowed into Lee Cheonbaek’s ear, and his eyes flared wide.

“What does that mean…?”

It was a thoroughly impulsive act.

Perhaps pity for Lee Cheonbaek, who was about to die knowing nothing.

Or perhaps it was nothing more than an old man’s whim.

Consider it fare for the road to the afterlife. Think it over on your long journey.

The Head Elder raised his sword.

The light of the setting sun beyond the winter ridge splintered across the blade.

With this…

With the death of the giant called Lee Cheonbaek, the Mount Heng Sword Sect would collapse.

Those who resisted would die. Those who surrendered would be taken prisoner.

One war would end…

And a new war would begin the moment everyone was drunk on victory.

It’s over.

At last, the Head Elder’s sword moved.

Screeeech—!

A sharp sound tore through the air.

Sensing his end, Lee Cheonbaek closed his eyes.

The blade, wrapped in blue Sword Energy, traced a beautiful arc.

Slice.

But both the sound that had come first and the direction of the sword were not what Lee Cheonbaek had expected.

A spear had come flying at the Head Elder’s back out of nowhere, and he split it apart with Sword Energy.

The old man roared in fury.

“Who the hell are you?”

The answer came an instant later.

“It’s me, you fucking bastard!”

The Head Elder saw the face of a young man standing tall on a low hill, and groaned.

“Jin Taekyung?”