Chapter 321: Demonic Faction Lord Competition (1)
"In the end, if you only look at the result, Senior Brother's plan ended in failure."
"……."
Even the fact that Yoo Jeon's sword still remained in this place made that obvious.
Ma Seoyeon slowly approached the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword.
"Senior Brother's sword, the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword, holds a special ability."
The moment she reached out toward the sword.
Thunk!
Suddenly, a massive force of repulsion erupted, flinging Ma Seoyeon's hand away.
She opened and closed her tingling hand and continued.
"That ability is the storage of the owner's inner qi."
"……!"
I shuddered for a moment, feeling the dormant power within the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword.
'Even compared to when Mirror of Karma was activated, this isn't lacking in the slightest.'
It was truly a groundbreaking force.
The level of power that the Heavenly Illusion Clan had poured out to activate a single Mirror of Karma—Yoo Jeon had borne that alone.
"Eldest Senior Brother had been steadily storing power in the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword all along."
Her eyes became distant.
"But in the end, all that accumulated power was left unused."
"……."
"Back then, to be honest, I don't really know what exactly happened."
It was certain.
The Yoo Jeon I knew.
And the Ma Seoyeon I knew.
If she had even the slightest grasp of the cause and effect, she would have drawn her blade against the other senior brothers to help Yoo Jeon, no matter what.
"I sometimes wondered… whether Eldest Senior Brother had hidden the truth to protect me. Of course, at the time, my resentment toward Eldest Senior Brother, who had betrayed us, was far greater."
Rather than wondering… wasn't that the truth?
That thought suddenly crossed my mind.
"In the end, the shaman Han Yeong died by Master’s hand, and Senior Brother pointed his sword at that very Master. What followed was a great clash between Master and Eldest Senior Brother."
"Senior Brother and Master fought…?"
"Yes. But no clear result came of it. At some point, Eldest Senior Brother withdrew his sword and fled."
He fled?
'He definitely didn’t run because he lacked strength.'
"Later, I found out that in his final moments, Eldest Senior Brother stopped by here briefly and left that sword behind."
What had he realized? What had he prepared for? What had he planned?
"Back then, I couldn't understand why Eldest Senior Brother had left this sword here. I knew he had left something inside it, but I had no idea what it was."
Not long after that, the Heavenly Demon Founder disappeared without a trace.
After Master disappeared, the bonds between the senior brothers collapsed, and Ma Seoyeon, left all alone, named the clan she founded Blood Dragon Demonic Clan.
"I was such a foolish woman. I should have let go of those emotional wounds… but I left behind lingering regrets, scattering my obsessions here…."
"……."
I couldn’t bring myself to say anything to Ma Seoyeon’s bitter muttering.
Ma Seoyeon let out a self-deprecating chuckle.
"The next part… see it for yourself through the sword. I think you might be able to grasp that sword."
"……Alright."
I slowly approached the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword floating in the air.
Carefully preparing myself for the recoil, I reached out toward the sword.
Clack!
The Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword did not reject my touch.
Rather, as if it had been waiting, the energy surrounding the sword began to resonate with my sword intent.
'What an incredible sense of unity.'
I hadn't done anything, yet it felt as if the Unity of Sword and Body had already been achieved.
Holding the sword, I turned toward Ma Seoyeon.
"Sister."
"……?"
"There’s something I’d like to show you."
I fixed my gaze on the blade of emerald green and slowly took my stance.
Ordinarily, this would have been impossible.
But for some reason.
Right now, I felt like I could do it.
I slowly began to perform the sword dance.
The swordsmanship I had practiced tens of thousands of times.
"The Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword?"
Ma Seoyeon immediately recognized the form of my sword dance and furrowed her brows.
From her perspective, the techniques of the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword might not seem like anything special.
After all, it was likely she herself had once created the formation that sealed the entrance here.
However.
Even so, I continued performing the forms of the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword.
Gradually, little by little.
The movements of the sword dance began to shift ever so slightly—just enough for a master like Ma Seoyeon to notice.
"……!!!"
Her eyes widened in shock, as if she had realized something.
The ten techniques I had performed earlier at the Iron Gate before entering this place.
I repeated them again.
And again, I combined them.
I speculated.
I pursued.
And then, I manifested.
My sword dance began to grow faster and more aggressive as time passed.
But strangely enough.
With each repetition, the movements of the sword dance began to compress ever so slightly.
After ten repetitions, twenty, thirty…
Little by little, the ten techniques of the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword started to lose their original forms, converging into a single movement.
"Ah… Ahh…!"
Ma Seoyeon gasped in disbelief, covering her mouth.
She could tell.
This wasn’t simply skipping over movements.
The sword intent flowing through the dance was being compressed into a single movement as time passed.
'This isn't a comprehension I attained on my own.'
And yet, somehow, in this very moment, I felt like I could bring it to life.
After what felt like an eternity, my sword dance finally condensed into a single, final movement.
The tenth form of the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword—Heaven-Piercing Annihilation.
But the name of the completed form wasn’t Heaven-Piercing Annihilation.
The Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword slowly left my hand and cut through space.
Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment
The technique I had once seen at Yoo Family's Sacred Mountain— Eldest Senior Brother Yoo Jeon's technique.
That very technique had now manifested from my hands, crossing time and space.
The Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword pierced into the wall on the opposite side without much resistance.
There was no great surge of energy like when I unleashed Resonance Qi or Bright Night Sword.
Compared to the effort I had put in, the result felt almost disappointingly plain....
"……."
Ma Seoyeon's arm, which had been covering her mouth, weakly dropped to her side.
Clatter!
"Huff, huff!"
Overwhelmed by the crushing fatigue that assaulted my entire body, I collapsed to my knees.
'I definitely can't do that a second time.'
Honestly, even using Resonance Qi or Bright Night Sword wouldn’t have drained me this badly.
After all, I had just reproduced a comprehension that wasn’t mine to begin with—Eldest Senior Brother Yoo Jeon's Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment. The difficulty and burden were several times greater than usual.
More than anything, if it hadn’t been for the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword, I wouldn’t have been able to pull it off at all.
"That… technique…."
I looked up blankly at Ma Seoyeon and spoke.
"I don’t know when Senior Brother created that technique."
"……."
"But at the very least, I’m sure of one thing—it wasn’t something he came up with all on his own."
Walking the Path of the Heart
Transcending Resentment
"Perhaps… it was something he wanted to say to you and the other senior brothers."
"……."
"So please, don’t blame yourself so much."
She stood still, like a doll, for a long moment.
Then, all at once, she slowly approached me and wrapped her arms around me.
In a small voice, she whispered,
"Thank you."
Her trembling arms tightened around me.
"Truly… thank you. You damned little brat…."
I quietly closed my eyes and smiled.
It finally felt like the Ma Seoyeon I once knew had returned.
How much time had passed?
When I opened my eyes again, there was no one around.
Ma Seoyeon, who had been sobbing in front of me as if it had all been a fleeting dream, had vanished without a trace.
And that wasn’t all.
"The energy of the formation… is completely gone."
The thick demonic energy that had once filled the entire space had been completely purified.
The dense black mist had entirely disappeared, leaving behind nothing but pure, serene darkness.
"The formation is gone? But all that dense demonic qi… where did it go…?"
Then, I realized something and stared at the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword lying on the ground.
No way…
'Did the sword absorb all that energy?'
If not, I couldn’t explain what had happened.
And there was more.
'This is….'
Right where Ma Seoyeon had disappeared, there lay a jade token glowing faintly red.
Blood Dragon Ascension Token
I paused when I read the inscription engraved on the jade token.
"……Huh?"
If I wasn’t mistaken….
"A Clan Leader’s Command Seal?"
The token that symbolized the authority of the Clan Leader.
Or, in this case, perhaps it should be called the Founder’s Command Seal?
"…Hoooh?"
I curled the corner of my lips into a smile and picked up the token.
'You really are something, Sister. Handing such a gift to your little brother.'
I could feel the auspicious energy emanating from the token, making it clear that this was no ordinary item.
"This is quite the useful prize I’ve acquired."
Of course, just having this token didn’t mean I could control the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan.
But if the clan dared to have any foolish ideas in the future, this could serve as a trump card to keep them in check.
I gathered the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword and the jade token and left the chamber with a lighter heart.
'Still… I thought I’d gain Senior Brother’s comprehension fully, but is there some other condition?'
I had expected that grabbing the sword would trigger an apparition of Senior Brother, but nothing like that had happened.
'In any case, that’s something I can investigate later….'
Having safely retrieved the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword, I now had to shift my focus to the looming Demonic Faction Lord Competition.
As soon as I exited the cave.
I widened my eyes in surprise at the sudden appearance of an unexpected figure.
"You…."
"……."
"Ma Chulsoo!?"
No doubt about it.
Though he looked a bit more gaunt and his expression and gaze had changed significantly compared to before.
There was no way I could have forgotten the face of Ma Chulsoo.
With a calm expression, Ma Chulsoo opened his mouth.
"…It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Jin Yeomyung."
Why had this bastard suddenly appeared?
I stared at Ma Chulsoo in disbelief and asked,
"What’s a young master of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan doing here alone?"
Ma Chulsoo gave a bitter smile and shook his head.
"Well, I’m not quite sure myself."
"……?"
"Are you kidding me right now?"
Ma Chulsoo, who caught my sharp glare, quietly continued.
"While I was training in the clan, I suddenly felt an inexplicable longing. And… when I came to my senses, I somehow ended up here."
'What is he, a sleepwalker or something…?'
However.
It didn’t seem like Ma Chulsoo was lying.
'Could this be… the pull of Heaven-Slaying Star?'
I couldn’t explain it clearly, but if I had to give it a name, that was the only thing that came to mind.
"Well, I guess this works out perfectly."
Sring!
At that moment, Ma Chulsoo suddenly drew his sword and pointed it at me.
"I challenge you to a duel."
"……."
For a moment, I felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
The place might have been different, but I clearly remembered hearing the exact same words from Ma Chulsoo early in my past life.
I let out a dry chuckle and asked him,
"Do you want that place to get destroyed again?"
Flinch!
Ma Chulsoo’s expression twisted.
"…One miserable experience like that is more than enough."
"Seems like learning to wield Heaven-Slaying Star has made you reckless."
I didn’t know his reason for suddenly challenging me.
But still.
Wouldn’t it make things easier if I crushed him again, just like every time we met?
I raised the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword and locked eyes with Ma Chulsoo.
"Fine. Let’s see what you’ve got."
It had been quite a long time since I first crossed swords with this guy.
Let’s see just how much he had grown since then.