Chapter 465: The Night Before (1)
Before long, I shook my head.
‘No.’
The appearance was certainly Yoo Jeon.
But I couldn’t sense the usual wave of a soul from the figure before me.
“You are not Senior Brother.”
The time for judging people by appearances alone had long passed.
The one appearing as Yoo Jeon nodded calmly.
“That’s right.”
“Are you the… guardian of the Heavenly Record Immortal Sword?”
“Guardian?”
At those words, the opponent tilted his head slightly.
“I am the sword’s intent. Not something like a guardian.”
“Sword’s intent….”
‘Familiar, yet unfamiliar… For some reason, I sense multiple sword intents with that feeling.’
I could not detect a human soul from that being.
That meant—it was a fabricated imitation mimicking only the outer appearance.
Though I couldn’t feel a soul, I could sense the various wills that created it.
So complexly intertwined that it was hard to identify them clearly, but at least five different intents were involved in crafting the sword’s will standing before me.
‘A sword possessing self-awareness isn’t particularly strange.’
But I was curious why it had not responded to my call until now.
I wanted to ask the reason right away, but the Heavenly Demon Founder spoke first.
“The reason I summoned you is simple.”
“Please speak.”
For some reason, the one who had leapt out from the Heavenly Record Immortal Sword knelt politely on one knee before the Heavenly Demon Founder.
“Assist the disciple in his training. If it’s here, you should be able to show him.”
You can show me?
“……”
The sword’s intent in the form of Yoo Jeon gazed at the Heavenly Demon Founder with a somewhat wistful look.
But before long, it slowly lowered its head.
“I shall obey your command. After all, you are no longer the God of Destruction of the past.”
Swoosh!
Whether it was truly the sword’s intent or not, as the being extended its hand, the sword held in the Founder’s hand vanished through space and appeared in its grasp.
“Training, huh….”
Indeed, this place, where the boundary between reality and time was distorted, was quite suitable for refining one’s skills before the final battle.
The only doubt was whether this entity before me would truly be of help in my training.
I asked the being standing before me.
“Let me ask again. As I am now, I shouldn't be lacking in qualification. Why have you remained silent until now, refusing my call?”
Was it only responsive when facing minions of Heavenly Evil like the Four Atrocities?
But then, the response was unexpected.
“Because you lacked the qualification.”
“…What?”
“To be precise, it is more accurate to say you lost the qualification.”
Lost qualification?
I quietly mulled over the meaning of those words.
There was one thing that caught in my mind, making it hard to argue back immediately.
“Don’t tell me… because I didn’t fully master the Mystic Heaven Divine Art?”
“You understood correctly.”
The being offered the sword to me and spoke.
“This sword and I were prepared for the successor who mastered the Mystic Heaven Divine Art. But in the end, you chose the Heavenly Demonic Divine Art instead.”
“Aren’t the essences of both arts the same?”
The corner of its eye twitched slightly.
“For someone of your level to say that… it’s an incomprehensible folly. Even if they originated from the same root, must they flow toward the same destination?”
…For someone bearing the gentle face of Senior Brother, he sure had a sharp tongue.
Still, his words were not wrong.
“Then, what must I do to fully qualify to wield you?”
“Is it necessary?”
The intent replied with a confused expression.
It pointed at the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword in my hand.
“You have that. Its rank is even higher than mine, so receiving recognition from that sword would be better in every way.”
“I’m sorry to say.”
I gave a slight smile and shook my head.
Even if those words were true—
“I’m greedy. I have no intention of giving you up.”
“……”
“You were my first beloved sword. And more than anything….”
There was one reason above all why I couldn’t give up on that sword.
“It’s the sword passed down to me by my one and only Senior Sister. There’s no way I could give it up so easily.”
“Senior Sister… huh.”
An unreadable emotion briefly flickered across his face.
“Very well.”
His eyes locked onto mine.
“Regardless of prior conditions, if you can manifest the subtlety of Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment, I shall acknowledge you as my master.”
The subtlety of Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment.
I could use Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment to a certain degree. At this point, its power probably wouldn’t fall far behind the Senior Brother’s technique I saw at Yoo Family's Sacred Mountain.
But the Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment he spoke of surely referred to something far beyond that level.
“Since the Master has given an order, you may not focus solely on training the Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment. Should you fail, I will never acknowledge you again. Will you still take the challenge?”
My answer was obvious.
“Of course.”
“Good.”
The figure nodded lightly and took position.
There was no scabbard, but the stance resembled the moment before a sword draw.
‘That’s the Opening the Heavens!’
The first form of the Heavenly Record Immortal Sword, the starting stance. A posture I, too, had assumed countless times.
He had taken that exact stance.
“I am but a partial inheritor of their intent. Merely a fragment, thus inherently unstable….”
“……!”
“But here, things are a little different.”
Astounding.
From the opponent who had assumed the stance, I couldn’t detect the slightest opening.
No, if it were just a lack of openings, that would be fine. If none existed, I could just twist and force one open.
What shocked me was that, the moment he assumed the stance, I could no longer read any of his energy.
‘He cloaked his entire body with sword intent, concealing his presence.’
This wasn’t just a simple cloak.
Without any waste, he had spread it to its thinnest and most efficient form, concealing everything.
Normally, one would detect the nature of a technique’s power or trajectory through the quality of sword intent, aura, or inner strength.
But now, with not even a flaw in posture to observe, he was giving me absolutely no information.
“This is the sword that severed the Master.”
True Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment
His sword swung in a graceful arc.
It wasn’t particularly fast, but I couldn’t afford to lower my guard.
The essence of Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment was crossing space itself.
I pulled the sword toward my chest and unfolded a defensive form.
Bright Net Unified Wall
An impenetrable defense inspired by the Seal of the Heavenly Demon from Cheon Taejong.
Bright Net Unified Wall did not only block physical force, but rejected everything that defied my will.
Even if space itself was cleaved, it didn’t matter.
Even if space was split, the Bright Net Unified Wall would seal that gap.
“Indeed, I expected you to have prepared something. However….”
He stated coldly.
“I told you, didn’t I? This is the sword that severed the Master. Do you think your level can perfectly defend against it?”
Pssht!
In an instant.
I instinctively yanked my sword-holding right arm back.
A burning pain radiated through the nerves in my arm.
‘Just like before.’
Just like when the Heavenly Demon Founder split my lower dantian with the Heavenly Demon Divine Sword, the Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment pierced all of my defenses and left a wound on my forearm.
‘How?’
If I hadn’t moved instinctively, my right arm would have been severed.
At that moment, the Heavenly Demon Founder stepped forward.
“That previous strike. Did you understand it, Disciple?”
“To be honest, I did not.”
I lowered my head, feeling somewhat empty.
With the Bright Net Unified Wall, I believed I could block even divine arts.
It was a perfected technique I devised in preparation for battles against minions of the Four Atrocities, Gunggi, and even Cheon Yura who had become Daecheong-gun.
“Certainly, strength was not the issue.”
Of that much I was sure.
There was no one in the heavens or earth who could overwhelm me with strength.
Not even the Heavenly Demon Founder standing before me.
The Heavenly Demon Founder readily agreed.
“Yes, that is true. It was not due to lack of strength that the injury was shallow; the ‘piercing’ itself was not a matter of power.”
“……”
“Solving that mystery is the key to obtaining the predecessor’s Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment.”
The Heavenly Demon Founder gently patted my shoulder.
“Disciple. That strike just now. The realization contained in that strike—without a doubt, it reached the Supreme Demon Realm. A realization that surpasses even your current level. Naturally, you could not respond to it.”
A realization beyond my own level.
I had no argument to offer against those words.
“If Disciple Cheon Yura unleashes a strike that surpasses even this level… will you be able to withstand it?”
Cheon Yura unleashing a strike of this level?
“If you bring out everything you’ve prepared, perhaps you could manage to subdue her. However, you are in the position of having to overpower her. Even if you utilize every arrangement and preparation, you would need to be at least two stages above her to do so.”
“……!”
“If not, the only outcome left would be for one of you to die.”
Originally, I would have been confident in subduing Cheon Yura.
But now that she had begun awakening as Heavenly Evil through her fusion with Daecheong-gun, the only one who could truly discern how far her potential had bloomed was the Heavenly Demon Founder who had faced her himself.
“This is a rehearsal.”
He slowly walked toward the will of the Heavenly Record Immortal Sword.
“From this point on, Disciple, you will experience the strikes of all your Senior Brothers who have ascended to the Supreme Demon Realm—except Seoyeon.”
“……!”
“Experience and master the complete answers they have each reached. Once you’ve refined your own level to the utmost… at the end…”
For a moment, a sense of solemn resolve emanated from the Founder.
“You will face the God of Destruction, one who has lost everything and is consumed by his mission.”
The God of Destruction.
There was no way I didn’t know who that referred to.
“But I promise you this—overcoming that god will require everything you possess, including these swords. If you cannot overcome that trial…”
My gaze met that of the Heavenly Demon Founder.
In that instant, I felt a chill creep down my spine for the first time.
“Then just die here. That would be a far happier ending for you.”
***
Eastern Mount Tai.
Once the most perilous of the Five Peaks, this place had long since become an uninhabitable demonic realm ever since Cheon Yura made it her domain.
Not merely because demonic beasts ran rampant.
The environment surrounding Mount Tai now rivaled even Heaven of Sacred Spirits.
No—it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it had become even more corrupted.
Colossal carnivorous plants with self-awareness were just the start.
Even those plants were torn apart and devoured by massive demonic beasts under Heavenly Evil’s direct command, all lurking throughout the region for the sake of their lord’s resurrection.
And standing at the peak of those demonic beasts—
Gunggi, one of the Four Atrocities who had fully regained his past strength, looked up at the sky and chuckled low.
“The time has truly come.”
A total solar eclipse was occurring, casting a black sun across the world.
Formed not by the moon, but by some form of sorcery, the black sun would never set until Heavenly Evil was completely resurrected.
“How dull.”
Part of him wanted to go crush the newly resurrected Linbong Ghost Dragons for amusement, but Heavenly Evil, on the cusp of full resurrection, was in an extremely sensitive state.
And then—
“Shall we make it a little less dull for you?”
“……!”
A ragged man and woman suddenly appeared, having bypassed his senses.
“You two are….”
Gunggi bared his teeth in a grin of joy.
So Cheon and Baek Sang-ah—previously declared missing after being struck down by Heavenly Evil—were now standing before him, ragged in appearance but very much alive.