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Chapter 462: Back in My Day

Crack—!!

A massive vessel shattered, and the water spilled out, engulfing Gu Yangcheong.

Soon, this vast space, which seemed endless, began to fill with water flowing from over there.

“…”

Water rose to his toes.

Like standing calmly on a tranquil lake, Shin Cheol was steadily standing on the water’s surface.

Not a single ripple disturbed the water.

The broken debris sank to the floor. Somewhere in this place, Gu Yangcheong must also be submerged.

Sensing this, Shin Cheol calmly raised his head.

The sky was nowhere to be seen; all that met his gaze was pitch-black darkness.

This was the inner space of Gu Yangcheong.

That terrible darkness represented the depths of Gu Yangcheong’s heart.

The rising water illustrated the creature’s regrets and attachments.

“Foolish child.”

Feeling this, Shin Cheol murmured softly.

Determined to move forward yet ending up unable to overcome anything.

It was the inner self of that kid, who just endured everything piled within.

Only a hollow laugh escaped as Shin Cheol looked down at the pitiful and chaotic sight.

He gazed at the water that had reached its brim.

Searching for the submerged Gu Yangcheong.

Shin Cheol scanned the area but saw nothing.

The depth of the kid’s attachments and regrets was evidenced by how nothing seemed visible.

Shaking his head, Shin Cheol reflected on this.

Though he respected the kid’s choices, he knew not what awaited at the end of them.

‘I can’t know.’

Whether that child would ever wake up.

Even if they did open their eyes, would it truly be that child?

And if by chance Gu Yangcheong awoke genuinely as Gu Yangcheong, would they be able to handle all these remnants of regrets and energies?

This was something even Shin Cheol couldn’t be sure of.

After all, the very idea of becoming a different existence was something that simply defied his common sense.

As he quietly stared at the water.

Whoosh—!

The space trembled in an instant.

Then.

Boom—!

Splash—!!

Something massive fell into the water, creating an enormous wave.

As the water splashed back down, it resembled rain.

“…”

Shin Cheol gazed at something writhing on the water below.

It was truly enormous.

Big enough to fill this vast space. It was blacker than anything he had ever seen before and boasted a size greater than any living being he had encountered.

This grotesque creature.

Huff… huff…

It lay on the water, panting as if exhausted.

“Good job.”

Looking at the curled-up mass, Shin Cheol expressed words of comfort.

To his eyes, he could only gauge its size, struggling to comprehend its true appearance.

The disparity in existence was simply too vast.

It was akin to the perceptual differences arising when martial artists are at radically different levels.

Initially, this difference had instilled fear in Shin Cheol, but now, the fear had somewhat faded.

After all, that creature too was merely going through hellish struggles for that foolish child who knew neither what it was to be nor what it truly should be.

“… You must’ve had it tough, fitting that huge body into this little creature’s form and fighting.”

Grr… grrr…

It writhed and exhaled as if answering back.

Watching its breathing, Shin Cheol nodded slightly.

“Now you can rest.”

It felt like the burden of everything remaining on him.

“Damn it.”

Spitting out a thick curse, Shin Cheol burst into a chuckle.

What a hellish struggle, even in death.

The chance of overcoming those odds was no longer in play.

Holding that meaningless thought, Shin Cheol began to emanate energy.

“I bet that tastes terrible.”

The playful tone of voice made the Heavenly Lord frown.

What did that brat just say?

“… What did you just say?”

“Already hearing but asking back? How pathetic. Tsk, tsk, your ears are getting dull.”

“You brat!”

Despite the Heavenly Lord’s fury, In Young just chuckled.

“Don’t shout. You seem to have a good set of lungs for someone so young.”

“How dare you!”

Did this brat think they could play games with the one who knew his own worth?

“Can it really be that you don’t understand? That terrible attitude of yours is found in just one place within the Central Plains.”

Creak.

A rough sound erupted from the Heavenly Lord’s hand gripping his sword.

“Your life is like a moth to a flame. I’ve spared you, yet you don’t understand your place.”

It seemed that the strange creature had regained some sense, but it was clear they were only half mad.

There was simply no way they could act like this towards him otherwise.

Rumble—!

The Heavenly Lord took a step forward, and the Thunder Qi started to settle around him once again.

The swirling Thunder Qi began to form shapes in mid-air.

Once the transformation of the shape was complete, the Thunder Qi manifested sharp edges.

The air was filled with numerous strands of Thunder Qi, surpassing the number one could easily count.

“…”

It looked splendid. That was the only fitting description.

As In Young watched.

No, Shin Cheol did.

“Tsk.”

He couldn’t help but click his tongue, visibly displeased.

“If Myung saw this, he’d crawl out from his grave just to spit blood.”

Shin Cheol harbored quite a few ill feelings toward Nangong.

Due to matters regarding the Moyong Family, or perhaps the numerous related issues surrounding it.

Yet, remarkably, even Shin Cheol acknowledged the Nangong sword.

To be precise, he acknowledged not just the Nangong sword as a whole, but the sword of the “Heavenly Sword, Nangong Ming.”

Shin Cheol appraised the Thunder Qi.

Every single strand contained significant energy and understanding.

“Fools.”

Yet it was a disgrace to even refer to them as the strength of the Nangong family.

“Not only have they lost sight of their purpose, they’ve even shattered the form it should have taken.”

A hollow laugh escaped him.

All those things Nangong Ming had desperately sought to protect… nothing remained.

Shin Cheol turned his gaze towards the Heavenly Lord.

“Ah, hey.”

“… What?”

The Heavenly Lord frowned as if he had misheard.

A ‘fool’? That was a term too belittling for the one calling him, was it not?

“What do you think the Nangong sword really is?”

“… Ha.”

Upon hearing Shin Cheol’s question, anger darkened the Heavenly Lord’s expression.

What did he think the Nangong sword was? How dare he question him, the greatest of the Nangong?

Trying to maintain his composure, the Heavenly Lord controlled his smiling mouth as he responded to Shin Cheol.

“If you wish to mess with my rationality, I’d love to say you’ve succeeded.”

Crackle—!

The Thunder Qi hovering in the air erupted with a rough sound, about to rush at Shin Cheol.

Meanwhile, a heavy pressure hung in the surroundings.

Imperial Sword Form.

The essence of the Nangong clan began to surge forth from the Heavenly Lord.

“…”

To watch was certainly enough to instill fear.

In such a situation, however, Shin Cheol’s eyes remained calm.

How could it not be so?

‘How crude.’

In Shin Cheol’s view.

It was far too crude and lacking for a martial art of the next generation.

He felt restlessness and slight tremors, yet even that left him unsatisfied.

Since even that was a counterfeit.

The genuine Imperial Sword Form was not the jumble that this was.

It shouldn’t merely stop at creating pressure to bind him.

‘Is this what you endeavored so hard to leave behind?’

The thought of his bloodied companion who left behind only his sword made his stomach churn.

While the Thunder Qi was indeed splendid and beautiful, it was not supposed to signify the very nature of the Nangong.

‘The Nangong sword is not just about being flashy.’

The martial tales of Nangong Ming had not been bright or fancy either.

On the contrary, they were rather rigid and monotonous.

“It seems wielding martial arts without imparting its meaning creates no future.”

Recalling an ancient saying he once heard from the Sect Leader, Shin Cheol moved forward.

His gaze still fixed on the Heavenly Lord.

“The martial arts of Nangong does not fundamentally rely on Thunder Qi.”

With those words, the Heavenly Lord’s fury intensified.

“Now, do you dare to teach me about the Nangong sword?”

Is this creature utterly mad? The Heavenly Lord no longer wished to engage with him.

“Your superficial flashiness has erased the solid and profound nature you ought to possess.”

Though the Thunder Qi had become somewhat synonymous with the Nangong clan,

In Shin Cheol’s memory from times of conflict, it was merely a byproduct.

The “Heavenly Sword of Thunder” undoubtedly wielded Thunder Qi to dominate the skies, and the thunderbolts it unleashed carried the strength to erase mountains.

Yet, Nangong Ming didn’t regard his Thunder Qi as something essential.

What he pursued was—

‘The immovable.’

Never moving back, never falling.

Utilizing speed unlike any other, maintaining an unbroken sword path.

Using that to—

‘Protect his cherished ones.’

That was the Nangong sword and the philosophy he believed needed to be pursued.

His foul nature and arrogant visage did not appeal to him, but even so, that was a sentiment Shin Cheol somewhat wished to emulate.

His phrase rang as genuine; he once wielded the fastest sword that echoed through the world.

However.

“Your sword lacks that essence.”

A mere hollow shell.

Shin Cheol observed the sword the so-called Sword King wielded.

It was the same for the sword currently wielded by the Heavenly Lord.

“For one such as you to be revered, you’re simply not worthy.”

“… You brat!”

Shin Cheol’s words finally shattered the Heavenly Lord’s reason.

With an explosion of withheld rage, Thunder Qi erupted from all directions.

When viewed from a distance, it seemed like rain pouring down.

This indicated countless Thunder Qi rivulets.

They gushed.

The Thunder Qi filled with the Heavenly Lord’s understanding and energy poured rapidly towards Shin Cheol.

Hitting head-on, one might truly be crushed to pieces.

“I told you.”

Rustle.

With a serene voice, a single leaf rose from Shin Cheol’s toes.

It was a green leaf.

Although one could describe it as a spark, its form and atmosphere resembled that of a petal.

“A martial art that forgets its meaning is worthless, whatever it may be.”

One leaf fluttered up.

Swish.

Slowly separating into two.

Rustle… rustle…

Splitting again into four.

Before the Thunder Qi could cascade down towards Shin Cheol, the leaves multiplied.

In no time, they were blocking the sky.

“… What?”

In disbelief, the Heavenly Lord was left speechless by that nonsensical sight.

Swoosh—!

The pouring Thunder Qi collided with the petals falling towards the ground.

As if one with the petals, the Thunder Qi began to burst in succession.

Bang—!

A series of sounds erupted in mid-air, each pop resonating with the petals’ explosion.

The remnants that remained resembled fireworks lighting up the night sky.

Indeed, they burst forth.

The understanding the Heavenly Lord had amassed until now was contained within that shallow petal, exploding continuously.

“… This is absurd.”

The Heavenly Lord found it hard to believe such a scenario was unfolding.

Fighting as if within the form of a demon beast made sense.

He could understand being reckless driven solely by desire for survival.

But this was nothing like that.

‘It means to be devoured by enlightenment.’

The understanding the Heavenly Lord had amassed until now was defeated.

Memories of the time when the Heavenly Lord’s Thunder Qi was swept away so easily flooded back to him.

It indicated that, indeed, the martial artist was wielding a deeper understanding than he.

“… Impossible.”

Even a Sword Sovereign could not casually trample on someone like that.

Though perhaps a Heavenly Demon could.

It was simply inconceivable that someone of a higher standing was facing a being like him.

So it was a situation he could not believe.

This was something that could not happen.

To be outmatched?

This Heavenly Lord?

Chomp—!

The Heavenly Lord ground his teeth together.

No way.

For the pride of Nangong and for the heaven himself—this was a fact that could not change.

Even if he were alone and grieving in solitude, that reality must remain.

That’s how it ought to be.

That’s how it had to be.

To the crumbling Heavenly Lord, Shin Cheol announced.

“Blinded by the evil spirit, even once clear rationality must now turn dark.”

Continuing his remarks, Shin Cheol added.

“Even if that weren’t the case…”

As he faced the Thunder Qi up close, it became clearer.

Even had the Heavenly Lord not been under the influence of the evil spirit.

“Ah, hey. Surely, you would never reach the place you wished to go.”

“… You brat!”

“What will you hate—the ancestors who failed to protect you? You can do that; I’d like to rant a bit about it too.”

Whooo—!

As Shin Cheol’s jibe echoed, the air opened up, and a glimmer of light began to coalesce.

At just a glance, Shin Cheol recognized the form.

‘Heart Sword (심검).’

The pinnacle of Sword Mastery.

A martial art that only one who has reached the Divine Sword Unity could execute.

A sword forged from one’s heart.

While it was said that if you swing it with intent, the sword could cut through anything, the Heart Sword was not merely that.

In fact, it possessed a tangible form.

What began to gather in the air was the very Heart Sword.

The martial art fashioned after the heart’s mirror.

Nodding at this sight, Shin Cheol acknowledged.

The Heavenly Lord had sharpened his hollow martial art, finally reaching this level of mastery, earning Shin Cheol’s respect for the effort.

“Not bad.”

The heights attainable by a martial artist are always commendable.

No matter how much anger, frustration, and inferiority complex they might feel while unveiling that mastery, the time they spent cannot be dismissed.

Thus, even more must be conveyed.

“In my time, the body I’ve consumed a lot from means there will be no problem revealing it now.”

When he was previously borrowing someone else’s body, he had often felt annoyed by its inadequacy.

Yet now, it wasn’t bad at all.

The body had undergone training, and as for his inner strength, it surpassed any imagination from back then.

While the hollow sensation from the broken vessel remained, it was sufficient.

This meant showing the other dim-witted child a different world.

Extending his hand, Shin Cheol spoke.

“Was this also fate?”

A twitch.

Something began to wriggle from his left arm.

With longing sensations, Shin Cheol couldn’t help but smile.

Shin Cheol was a Sword Master.

Ultimately, to manifest martial arts, one needed a sword, but he had none at the moment.

That was because the original owner of this body was quite distant from a Sword Master.

At least, that was how it should have been.

But now—

Swoosh—

The bandage coiled around his left arm unraveled by itself, gliding toward Shin Cheol’s hand.

The scarlet bandage went missing, replaced by a light blue hue.

Yet, Shin Cheol paid no mind to that transformation. Just because the color changed didn’t mean its essence was lost.

He could only chuckle while looking at the bandage.

With that thought, he named the bandage.

“Long time no see, Gui Jeong (귀정).”

Clatters—!

In response to Shin Cheol’s call, the bandage began to reshape itself.

In an instant, it stacked upon itself, transforming into the figure of a sword.

This bandage was the Gui Jeong.

Originally, it was Hwasan’s Treasure, a cherished tool Shin Cheol once wielded.

‘To think that idiot treated it like a mere bandage… tsk.’

He couldn’t help but feel exasperated inside.

The core issue was that he hadn’t adequately explained what it was before leaving. But now, that didn’t quite matter.

Whoooo—!

As light gradually descended from the air.

Shin Cheol grasped tightly onto Gui Jeong.

At that moment.

Flame—!

“…!”

A multitude of glimmering lights emerged above Shin Cheol.

They were not singular.

There must be at least three of those Heart Swords.

Struck dumb in awe by their number and grandeur, the Heavenly Lord found himself speechless.

“Ah, hey.”

Then, in that moment, Shin Cheol’s voice echoed into the Heavenly Lord’s ears.

“Back in my day.”

In his tone lingered an unmistakable hint of laughter.

Though the expression of the dark silhouette was hard to discern, the Heavenly Lord undoubtedly recognized it.

He was smiling.

As the Heavenly Lord felt the weight of those emotions, Shin Cheol continued.

“Such things, being able to forge two or even three swords easily, are what defined a True Sword Master.”

Back in the age of conflict, that was the reality of the time Shin Cheol lived in.

 

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