Chapter 757: Even the Light Entered Through the Broken Crack
Geom Mugeuk, who had been crossing swords with the Sword King, slowly lowered his blade.
Ssshh—
The Sword King’s sword, which had been flying toward him, halted just before Geom Mugeuk’s throat.
If he hadn’t trusted the Sword King, he wouldn’t have stopped defending himself so carelessly.
Geom Mugeuk’s gaze turned toward the Sound King. The Blood Heaven Blade Demon and One-Slash Sword Supreme, who had been attacking him, vanished in an instant.
Without looking back at the Sword King, Geom Mugeuk spoke.
“Brother, I’m getting angrier by the moment.”
A calm reply came.
“I know.”
“That’s enough then.”
Geom Mugeuk slowly began walking toward the Sound King. The Sword King quietly followed behind him. Though they appeared to walk side by side, it was clear that the Sword King followed to guard him.
Geom Mugeuk no longer cared about the Sword King. He saw him as part of the scenery now.
A boulder blocking his path, a fallen log across the way, a bandit who didn’t understand reason, or even a girl crying with a face full of sorrow.
And to Geom Mugeuk, he was still a beautiful part of the scenery.
Geom Mugeuk reached the Sound King. The Sound-Sealing Formation, torn apart earlier by the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and One-Slash Sword Supreme, had already reformed.
Thump. Thump.
Geom Mugeuk tapped the formation with his hand. He could feel the invisible barrier.
“Where are the two of them now?”
The Sound King met Geom Mugeuk’s eyes and answered.
“In hell.”
Geom Mugeuk could have burst out in anger, but he did not.
“They’re both used to going in and out of hell as if it were their own home.”
“This hell will be different.”
The Sound King began to play the same tune he had used to send the two away. It was that melody which, at its peak, had made them disappear.
“This song is called the Melody of Despair. It’s one of my favorites.”
His fingers, which had been plucking at invisible strings, paused for a moment.
“They won’t escape so easily.”
The sound art he had performed wasn’t an ordinary one.
He had used sound to trap others within illusion—this was the Phantom Sound Technique.
It was the same sound technique that made the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and One-Slash Sword Supreme vanish, and as he said, it wasn’t a technique easy to break.
“There’s always a way to break any dark sorcery.”
The Sound King smiled leisurely from within the barrier.
“Do you take my performance for mere sorcery?”
“I know it’s not.”
But as much as the Sound King trusted in his sound arts, Geom Mugeuk trusted in the two Demon Supremes.
“Still, those trapped are hardly mere martial artists, aren’t they?”
That was what Geom Mugeuk wanted to know.
“Were the two trapped in the same place?”
“Yes.”
When the Sound King nodded, a faint relief crossed Geom Mugeuk’s face.
“Then they’ll come out safely.”
“And what makes you so sure?”
Why, you ask?
It’s because you have no idea how the elder would change after falling into hell together with the Sword Supreme.
“Have you ever risked your own life to protect someone?”
The Sound King couldn’t answer right away.
“You haven’t, have you? That’s why your music’s so lousy.”
At that, the Sound King’s expression hardened. No matter how much he tried to maintain his composure, the Young Cult Leader always found a way to turn his insides upside down.
“If you don’t want to see the Demon Supremes torn to pieces, then have Danso Jin reveal the grave’s location.”
Geom Mugeuk turned to look at Danso Jin. The man stood tense, his eyes fixed on them. If the Young Cult Leader gets threatened with the Demon Supremes’ lives, then he would undoubtedly follow through on their words.
“Don’t you think speaking so openly will make him defensive?”
“That depends on you, Young Cult Leader. If you wish to save the Demon Supremes, then do as I say.”
“You’re overestimating me.”
When Geom Mugeuk looked again, Danso Jin clearly stated his will.
“I understand the urgency of the situation, but I cannot speak.”
Geom Mugeuk turned back to the Sound King.
“You heard him.”
At Geom Mugeuk’s playful tone, the Sound King’s face stiffened.
“You said they were like parents to you, yet you’re such a heartless man, Young Cult Leader.”
Geom Mugeuk stared at him.
“Fine, call me heartless if you want. But why are you being so unreasonable?”
“What do you mean?”
“You know it too. Even if the Leader of the Unorthodox Alliance himself were here, he wouldn’t be able to extract that information. So why are you being stubborn about something you already know is impossible?”
“If it were you, Young Cult Leader…”
Geom Mugeuk cut him off.
“Yeah, I was fooled by that kind of flattery at first too. Thought to myself, ‘These people really overestimate me.’ Sure, I’m good enough to deserve that, but they must be desperate. And yes, I suppose they have every reason to be desperate.”
His gaze sharpened.
“But that can’t be right. You’re showing a hole in your plan at such a crucial moment? Fine, I can believe that of you — a man who spends all day plucking strings from a pipa can’t be expected to plan everything perfectly. But the one who sent you… they aren’t the type to leave such a flaw, are they?”
Geom Mugeuk stared straight into his lifeless eyes.
“What are they scheming? What order did they give you?”
It was, by all means, a disrespectful thing to say to the Sound King. Geom Mugeuk kept provoking him relentlessly, while the Sound King fought to maintain his calm.
“Stop wasting time. Even now, your Demon Supremes are dying.”
And just as those words left his mouth—
Fwaaaash!
The air before the Sound King tore apart, and something shot out.
It was a sword, blood dripping from its edge.
Had he been a moment slower, it would have pierced straight through the Sound King’s face.
Zzziiiiiiiiik—
The sword began to slice through the air. Like an invisible curtain being torn open, cracks appeared in the empty space.
But the sword soon vanished again. From within the rift came waves of heat, the stench of blood, and the sound of something bursting apart.
Fwook!
The sword shot out once more.
Zzzziiiiiik—
This time, the blade slashed downward, tearing the space even wider.
Gulp—
Blood trickled from the corner of the Sound King’s lips.
He quickly began plucking his pipa again.
At once, the rift began to close, but the screams of the beasts beyond only grew louder.
And then—
Fwaaaaaaash!
Something massive pierced through the opening this time.
It was the Heaven-Extinguishing Saber of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
Cough!
The Sound King spewed blood, unable to continue his performance, and stumbled backward.
Zzzziiiiiiik!
The invisible barrier ripped completely apart, revealing the scene inside.
It truly was a hellish place — the ground was dyed entirely in crimson, corpses were scattered everywhere, and rivers of blood flowed endlessly.
“Graaaargh!”
Beasts that looked like wild predators charged forward madly.
The One-Slash Sword Supreme’s sword energy swept through the area.
Swaaaaash!
Booooom!
The Heaven-Extinguishing Saber unleashed its aura. The waves of energy tore through the charging monsters, shredding them to pieces.
Boom! Kwang! Boom! Boom!
Explosions rang out as the beasts’ bodies were blasted apart and rolled across the bloody ground.
The screams and blasts subsided.
And then came silence.
Zzzziiik—
The space split open even further.
The One-Slash Sword Supreme stepped out first.
Then she turned back inside.
“It’s time to leave.”
She dragged the Blood Heaven Blade Demon out with force.
“Let go! Those damn things—!”
Covered head to toe in blood, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon swung his Heaven-Extinguishing Saber even as he emerged, cutting down the remaining beasts into shredded chunks. Beyond them, terrified creatures fled into the distance.
Once the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was fully out, the rift disappeared completely.
Ssssss—
Geom Mugeuk smirked at him.
“Did you fight them all alone?”
Unlike the One-Slash Sword Supreme, whose martial robes remained spotless, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon was drenched in blood.
“Damn it! Where’s the water? Something to wipe this off?”
He wiped the blood from his face with his sleeve, grimacing.
“For someone whose title even has ‘blood’ in it, you sure seem to hate it.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon glared at Geom Mugeuk.
“You told me to cut off that bastard’s arm, didn’t you? Forget the damn arms — I’ll chop off all four limbs!”
As he looked ready to charge again, Geom Mugeuk stopped him.
“Let’s wipe the blood first. There’s a cloth in the pouch.”
After sending the Blood Heaven Blade Demon back, Geom Mugeuk stepped forward again.
A new Sound-Sealing Formation blocked his path.
“Will you mock my music again?”
Geom Mugeuk could have easily said, That wasn’t hell — it was a stroll for those two, but he simply shook his head instead.
“I told you already. It’s because they’re afraid of you.”
The Sound King silently wiped the blood from the corner of his lips and began to play again.
“The power of music is extraordinary.”
As a single melody flowed through the air—
Tae Soo suddenly burst into crazed laughter.
“Haahahahahaha!”
Right after, Ji Han, standing beside him, began laughing as well. Though their faces and eyes revealed that they had no control over their emotions, neither of them could stop laughing.
Geom Mugeuk didn’t get angry at the Sound King’s trick. Instead, he played along.
“It’s been a while since I’ve seen my two wings laugh. Go on, pour more internal energy into that tune!”
But the Sound King didn’t. Whether he could make the two Demon Supremes laugh or not, to do so would consume a tremendous amount of internal energy.
“I could make them laugh until the moment they die.”
“That’d be better than dying crying.”
The Sound King’s melody shifted. The laughter of Tae Soo and Ji Han stopped at once.
Then, without warning, they began to cry. It wasn’t just weeping sounds — tears streamed endlessly down their faces.
For the first time since he became an adult, Ji Han cried. He was astonished to realize how much water could well up in his own eyes.
The Sound King changed the tune again.
This time, Tae Soo and Ji Han turned red with anger and started swinging their fists at one another. It wasn’t that some invisible force was controlling them — the rage they felt was truly their own.
He was manipulating human emotions with his pipa. Geom Mugeuk had seen many masters of sound arts, but never one who could control human feelings so directly.
“You don’t understand how fragile human emotions are, do you? Every person is broken somewhere. You’re no exception, Young Cult Leader.”
Geom Mugeuk calmly replied.
“And isn’t that fine? Through those cracks, light comes in. That light shines into the dark holes inside the heart. ‘Ah, so this is where my hole was,’ you realize. And then you find out — there’s not just one.”
The Sword King, Blood Heaven Blade Demon, and One-Slash Sword Supreme understood what his words meant. They could see their own cracks because they had met Geom Mugeuk.
But the Sound King did not grasp his meaning. He still thought Geom Mugeuk was mocking him.
“Young Cult Leader, look into your own void!”
He began to play in earnest. The sound that followed was distinctly different from before.
Ttararara—
The trembling, delicate melody spread through the air, weaving illusions into everyone’s hearts.
And as if by magic, the entire scene suddenly shifted.
Tae Soo saw his father. It was the very moment he had spoken those hurtful words to him.
―Father, are those principles of yours for the sake of good deeds, or just to justify your own thievery?
His father turned away in silence. Back then, Tae Soo had only thought he had said something he shouldn’t have. But now, on his father’s face, he saw a wound so deep it pierced through his heart.
‘Father, I’m sorry.’
Ji Han saw the image of Cheon Dae-woong, the Fire Dragon Division Leader of the Evil King Sect.
―You traitorous bastard! You betrayed the organization just to save your own neck!
No matter how cruelly Cheon Dae-woong had treated him, Ji Han had never been someone who would betray others. Unknowingly, those words had left a deep scar within him.
The Unorthodox Alliance martial artist Pung Do and the Patriarch of the Baekchong Family, Danso Jin, also saw their own illusions for a fleeting instant.
Even the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and the One-Slash Sword Supreme froze momentarily.
Geom Mugeuk, too, saw something.
He had never imagined he would see him appear before him at this moment.
It was Hwa Moogi of that day.
He was looking down at Geom Mugeuk, who lay pierced through along with Lee Ahn, his gaze filled with mockery, as if saying,
―The woman died, but you lived.
Of course, that moment had never truly happened. It was just a scene conjured by his own illusion.
It should have been a moment of fury, but instead, Geom Mugeuk smiled.
He had come such a long way to see him again.
―It’s been a while, Hwa Moogi.
The next instant, Geom Mugeuk’s eyes snapped open, breaking free from the illusion.
To him, Hwa Moogi was no longer a wound — no longer an object of hatred or fear.
It was no longer ‘I’ll kill you no matter what’, but simply that Hwa Moogi had become a part of his life.
Like the need not to fall ill, not to meet with an accident, it was to him not to lose to Hwa Moogi.
Perhaps that was why — the illusion passed in an instant.
He felt no great emotion toward it.
When Geom Mugeuk opened his eyes, the Sound King was plucking his pipa and shouting—
“Death Resonance!”
Chwaaaaaaaaak!
The powerful energy created by the sound waves surged toward everyone.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon was the next to regain his senses.
Kwang! Boom!
He struck down the sound attacks flying toward himself and the One-Slash Sword Supreme in rapid succession.
The One-Slash Sword Supreme opened her eyes a heartbeat later.
Seeing the darkness in her expression, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon wondered to himself,
‘What did you see?’
He didn’t ask. And he never would.
From a step’s distance, one could see both the pain and the strength of another more clearly.
Not out of coldness, but out of respect — keeping just that much space.
Puh-puh-puh-puhng!
Behind them, the one blocking the other waves of attacks was Geom Mugeuk.
Shock deepened on the Sound King’s face.
“To break free from the Melody of the Wounded Soul so quickly!”
He looked at Geom Mugeuk with an expression of disbelief.
Then that shock turned into excitement. For the first time, he cast away the respectful tone he had always used with Geom Mugeuk.
“Young Cult Leader, you are truly remarkable. I admit it—you are worthy of hearing my music!”
Light seemed to shine within his dim, lifeless eyes.
“This is a piece I composed recently! You’ll be the first to hear it.”
As his hands brushed the pipa, a clear, profound sound resonated through the air.
The deeper his internal energy flowed, the deeper the music became.
The notes that flowed from the pipa swirled around him, glowing in radiant gold and silver light, as if musical notation itself were being drawn around his body. The sight was like watching a starry sky bloom in the darkness.
From all directions came the sound of instruments, as if dozens were playing in unison. The melody made every listener’s heart tremble.
Geom Mugeuk instinctively sensed it—he intended to settle the battle with this piece. Geom Mugeuk raised his internal energy to its peak.
A cold sneer spread across the Sound King’s face.
“You said you’d protect them all? Then go ahead—try it! What are you? Do you think yourself a god?”
The moment those words left his lips, brilliant light erupted from everything floating in the air.
And in that same instant—
Ssshhhhhiiiiiik—
A streak of light cut straight through the radiant glow.
A light that severed light itself.
Slash—
When the blinding brightness vanished, everyone saw it.
The Sword King stood facing the Sound King, his back turned toward the others.
From the tip of his outstretched sword, a single drop of blood fell.
The next moment—
Thud. Roll.
The Sound King’s head fell to the ground and rolled aside.
Formless Divine Sword – Seventh Sword: Formless One Life.
With that single sword, light was cut, the Sound-Sealing Formation was cut, his music was cut—
and his neck was cut.
Chwaaaaaaah!
Blood spurted from the Sound King’s severed neck like a fountain. The rain of blood poured down upon the Sword King, dyeing his body crimson.