1342——————==

Soul of the Evil God

[Take this!]

Boom!

With Lee Cheong-un’s shout, lightning surged. Then, in the next moment, dazzling lines of white light erupted in the air, and the Sword Demon Seo Mun-dae-ryong exploded, leaving only blood vessels behind.

Pow!

It looked like power, but it wasn’t.

It was just Lee Cheong-un using the ordinary martial arts technique of the Thunder God Lineage to perform a subtle strike; there was nothing special about the technique.

Even so, the opponent couldn’t resist and was helpless against the lightning speed.

‘How many times has it been? I’ve read about over ten lethal flows, but since the others are not directly in the mind’s focus, I can’t grasp it.’

Since it was from Hong Gil-dong’s perspective, I couldn’t sense it directly with the Intent Heavenly Pillar. Because of that, even I, in the same absolute realm, couldn’t grasp the speed and trajectory of the Thunder Spirit technique by merely observing.

‘Indeed, it is the Thunder Spirit…’

Watching the Thunder Spirit fight made me marvel again.

From a viewer’s perspective, the speed was so thrilling it was hard to believe it was martial arts! The Thunder Spirit represented a speed that traditional martial arts couldn’t compete with. No matter how much a person strengthened the speed of a weapon with the help of their intent, they could only reach subsonic levels, and the speed of lightning far surpassed that.

However, even with only blood vessels remaining, the fight wasn’t over. Now, the Master of the White Lotus Sect sent a mandala as pressure, timed perfectly with when Lee Cheong-un’s Thunder Spirit technique ended. It seemed to fly through empty space, but soon, in the slip between sounds, I could see a faint figure moving.

[Fast…!!]

Muttering in admiration, the Master of the White Lotus Sect clenched his hand. The mandala began to spin fiercely, morphing from a flat plane into a huge sphere, swelling in volume. It was obviously a technique to block the enemy’s escape.

Whoosh –

A sound like a ghost wailing resounded, and a black line shot up into the sky. Generated by the Intent Heavenly Pillar, the great black sword’s blade surged forward, as if it would split the mountain in two. The black sword directly shattered the sphere of the mandala, and at its center lay the new sword of the Sword Demon Seo Mun-dae-ryong.

The situation was clear.

The Sword Demon didn’t suffer from the Thunder Spirit but, while sustaining some injuries, successfully brushed it off. The Master of the White Lotus Sect tried to follow up, but the Sword Demon summoned the black sword of intent anew and cut the mandala in half!

Whoooo

Chick, chick, chick

The black sword that hovered in the air initially was just one, but slowly, another blade began to form in a clockwise manner, eventually becoming a total of eight black swords. The shape was reminiscent of a peacock spreading its feathers, and it was undoubtedly an absolutely unique technique I had never seen in my life.

‘What on earth is that?’

Having trained under the Sword Demon in the Shadowless Sect for so long, I knew better than anyone what martial arts he had mastered. And yet, I had seen nothing like that black sword in all the techniques from the Sword Demon I had witnessed thus far.

Is it even possible to realize a technique like this in the Shadowless Sect with the Shadowless Soul-Removing Sword Technique?

While I brooded over this, the Master of the White Lotus Sect spoke softly.

[Lee Cheong-un. Is that the Eight Great Evil Swords you mentioned?]

“That’s right. It’s a name I made up.”

Trying to reduce the consumption of the Thunder Spirit, Lee Cheong-un reverted back to human form and began to touch the scar over his missing eye as he continued speaking.

“Each time he deploys one of the evil swords, it doubles in strength. I faced five swords before ending up like this, so I can’t let it drag on.”

[……]

The Sect Master gazed at Lee Cheong-un for a moment before speaking.

[You’ve injured your right arm.]

Drip…

As he mentioned, Lee Cheong-un’s right arm bore a shallow cut that hadn’t been there just before. It wasn’t lethal, but blood was seeping from the cut, and it meant one thing.

The Sword Demon hadn’t activated the Eight Great Evil Swords, but he had retaliated during the deployment of the Thunder Spirit!

Lee Cheong-un offered a wry smile.

“He’s faced my skills once. He must have sensed the flow of the Thunder and guessed it.”

[Even that alone makes him an extraordinary monster. I can understand why other Dharma Guardians fell.]

“…Sect Master. He’s an existence that can’t be beaten by a human. Are you still going to continue?]

[That’s a foolish question. That man is surely a pawn of the Evil God.]

The Sect Master’s eyes sparked with enlightenment.

[As the Supreme Being of the White Lotus Sect, if I back down here, I’ll achieve nothing in the future!]

Boom!!

The Master of the White Lotus Sect clasped his hands together. His tremendous intent and internal power spread out, resonating with the unbounded internal energy, causing his entire body to surge with chaos, creating currents of darkness.

“……!!”

When the power pouring from the Sect Master reached dozens of times stronger than before, Lee Cheong-un flinched, and to him, the Sect Master said.

[Lee Cheong-un. I had intended to dominate this match with you while using the infinite power residing in the Primordial Spirit, but the capabilities of that man exceed expectations. If the Eight Great Evil Swords keep deploying, I cannot guarantee my full strength will overcome the Eight Swords.]

“So?”

[Next, I will go for a high-stakes gamble. I must shatter him before he reveals the evil swords. But I’ll need time to awaken my strength.]

Boom!

With that, Lee Cheong-un nodded as if he understood and began to wield his spear.

“You mean to buy time. I’ll do it.”

I realized the strategies of the two strongest members of the White Lotus Sect had changed.

‘They plan to exhaust the Sword Demon with their infinite stamina and energy, but they must feel they can’t hold out until then.’

At the same time, this means the Sword Demon would become stronger than the Master of the White Lotus Sect once he poured out his full power. I was stunned by this realization.

‘What the hell… I can’t even grasp the situation? I can’t see it directly, so I don’t know!!’

I recognized the problem with the Blood Mirror’s viewing capability. It vividly showed the combat situations and dialogues from back then, but it merely used clairvoyance for observation, failing to properly express the flow of intent and power. There was so much I could sense at the scene using the Intent Heavenly Pillar and six senses that I couldn’t accurately know how strong the opponent was and what technique they were using!

It was no different than a blind man groping an elephant!

Maybe that’s why Lee Cheong-un and the Master of the White Lotus Sect, aware of the Sword Demon’s power, could only make conjectures through conversation, making it difficult to precisely understand it. I had no choice but to focus more on intent while trying to infer as much as I could from the visual information.

Thunder Spirit

Thunder Armor

With a sizzling sound, a kind of wrist shield resembling an electric arm guard appeared over Lee Cheong-un’s right arm. Since it was formed from intent, it wasn’t very visible to the naked eye, but it seemed to be a shape that appeared when applying the Thunder Spirit to defense. I had never seen him use the Thunder Armor form, nor had I heard any explanations regarding it, so I was puzzled.

‘Huh? Why hasn’t he ever used this… Ah!!’

I quickly realized the reason.

The Thunder Spirit was originally a martial art for striking the enemy with lightning, so Lee Cheong-un wasn’t aiming for prolonged exchanges! Moreover, given its nature, it had to prioritize attacks, rendering it unnecessary to defend with the property of lightning.

[It comes!]

The first of the Eight Great Evil Swords flew as slowly as a falling black bird’s wing towards the two. I felt like I’d seen that black blade’s trajectory before.

As the first sword approached closely, Lee Cheong-un used the Thunder Spirit and dove forward, clashing against the black blade. Lee Cheong-un wasn’t someone who didn’t know the art of gentleness, but I couldn’t understand why he would choose to fight head-on like this; surely there must be a reason.

Bang!!

With a massive explosion, the Thunder Spirit collided with the black, and in that brief moment, Lee Cheong-un accurately placed the wrist of his Thunder Armor against the tip of the black blade, and right after that, he expelled his Thunder Spirit energy and shot the Thunder Spear at the Sword Demon’s solar plexus.

Whoosh – !!

The shadow of the Thunder Spear piercing the Sword Demon soared into the sky!

Lee Cheong-un shouted with resentment and murderous intent.

[Attack is the best defense! I’m going to make it so you can’t even move with the lightning from now on!!]

A perfect counterattack timed to perfection! Lee Cheong-un’s mastery of martial arts was at its peak, making such a counter impossible not to marvel at. Even I, watching, could only be in awe of the brilliant technique. Lee Cheong-un hadn’t missed the very slight openings that would surely arise even if a master like the Sword Demon unleashed a technique of intent.

But then the unfolding situation left me dumbfounded.

“Uo… Ohhhhh!!”

Whether it was a battle cry or a scream, the Sword Demon let out a loud sound as he seized the Thunder Spear lodged in his solar plexus with one hand and started to pull it out! Could a being of absolute realm do something so reckless? Lee Cheong-un spoke coldly as if he had expected this, aiming his finger at the spear.

[You’ll regret this!]

Zzzzt!!

As Lee Cheong-un’s intent reached him, the Thunder Spear stuck in the Sword Demon’s solar plexus erupted with ferocious lightning and flames, as if struck by heavenly lightning. Any normal human would have perished immediately, with enough force to vaporize blood and bones!

Zzzzt!!

Lee Cheong-un unleashed dozens of waves of lightning upon the Sword Demon, attacking him endlessly, showing no hesitation in pouring out his strength. With lightning potent enough to scorch mountains continuously raining down, how could he not have confidence in victory!?

[Die!!]

Tremble

Yet, even as the Sword Demon Seo Mun-dae-ryong was directly struck by lightning, he held onto the spear with his coal-black hand, and through trembling lips, uttered.

“Um… um… Evil Sword… Rebound…”

[What?]

Shikak!!

That became Lee Cheong-un’s dying words.

Out of nowhere, a black blade, the Second Sword, flew in from outside perception and cleanly severed Lee Cheong-un’s upper body. The lightning-speed Lee Cheong-un couldn’t escape was undoubtedly due to the unique properties of that black blade and its technique of intent.

Tydaht

It returned to the Sword Demon’s hand as if pulled back. There was no handle left, as only the blade remained, and Lee Cheong-un’s blood relentlessly dripped from the Sword Demon’s hand as he held onto it. The Sword Demon began to breathe heavily.

“Grah… ah… kuhu… heh heh…. uha hahahaha.”

The almost sob-like cries he emitted spoke volumes of his lost sanity. Soon after, he coughed up blood, and he appeared severely weakened.

And in that moment, I felt an overwhelming sense of déjà vu from witnessing the previous interaction.

‘What is this? I’ve seen nothing similar to the techniques of the Shadowless Sect…. But it feels so familiar.’

As if he had reached the pinnacle in the field of the Evil Sword.

It was the very essence of martial arts.

[You’ve waited long enough, Demon.]

After a moment, the voice of the Master of the White Lotus Sect rang in the air.

[For the price of taking my long-time rival, I’ll make you pay!]

Kugugugugu!!

Transforming by artificially combining the Primordial Void and Chaos to gain power rivaling that of the Apostles of God! Indeed, even in an outer universe, the Master of the White Lotus Sect’s trump card didn’t drastically change.

Chaos Heavenly Destruction Palm

The Master of the White Lotus Sect extended his hand as if not allowing further reprisal, and his palm instantly shattered all of the Sword Demon Seo Mun-dae-ryong’s black blades.

“Khah…!!”

The Sword Demon spewed forth a torrent of blood while flying backward, yet still aimed to counterattack, as he used the technique of the Evil Sword to create hundreds of black swords to unleash. However, the Chaos Heavenly Destruction Palm playfully dismantled the Sword Demon’s offensive like fishing in troubled waters.

Whooom

One wave of the Chaos Heavenly Destruction Palm revolved. At the same time, the Sect Master’s body took a lotus posture, and while one hand was unleashing the Chaos Heavenly Destruction Palm, the other hand could be seen sealing a mark at his Dantian, gathering infinite power.

Ka-ching!!

At that moment, just like when he cut down Lee Cheong-un earlier, a third blade flew in stealthily from behind to behead the Master of the White Lotus Sect, but he didn’t even look and blocked it. No, to be precise, the attack power of the third sword couldn’t even come close to the defense of the Primordial Spirit he wielded. The Master of the White Lotus Sect glanced behind for a moment and said.

[It has the properties to transcend time and space, doesn’t it? But if so, you’ve gained two absolute realms along with the Evil Sword, implying you had enough room to waste your talent? They are entirely different martial arts.]

“……”

[You’re one to disregard the principles of absolute realms….]

The Sword Demon had already crashed deeply into the ground, merely gasping for air. Even enduring the pressure of the Chaos Heavenly Destruction Palm left him looking utterly spent.

It was unmistakable.

If the Sword Demon hadn’t revealed all his power, he could not win against the Sect Master who awakened the power of chaos. With the time Lee Cheong-un had bought, the Sword Demon was essentially defeated.

[There are many questions, but I no longer have the leisure to duel you. Repent for your sins and vanish.]

Whoosh!

Heart of Heaven’s Abundance

Revolving three circles of the mandala! Witnessing that technique, which also revealed itself 500 years in the future, I realized it was a power enhanced by the characteristics of the Primordial Spirit. The Master of the White Lotus Sect, having honed his ability to govern chaos during long years of martial cultivation, would gain such craftsmanship at a mature stage.

Considering that the power of the Great Transformation was stronger than the greatest breath of created celestial creatures, the moment the Sword Demon Seo Mun-dae-ryong faced that three-circle mandala, he would surely vanish without a trace.

Then it happened.

The Sword Demon suddenly reached for his eye, and he let out a terrible scream.

“Guh, guh, guaaaaaah!!”

Thump!!

In the Sword Demon’s hand were the threads from the stitching of his eye! The moment he tore out all the threads, his eyes opened wide, and he let loose an unearthly wail.

“Uwaaaaaaaaaa!!”

In a bright flash

In an instant –

From behind the Sword Demon, an aura of darkness surged, and eight black blades transformed into a single blade like a fan folding up. Then, at the Sword Demon’s will, black sword energy infiltrated between the mandalas with the speed of light. The Master of the White Lotus Sect tried to counter it with the mandala once more, but a look of horror suddenly appeared on his face.

[No…?!]

They overlapped.

The strength of the crossed black blades flying before couldn’t penetrate the Master of the White Lotus Sect’s mandala, but in the next moment, an unknown additional sword joined the fray, amplifying the power with dual sword techniques.

At that moment, a bizarre phenomenon emerged. The Sword Demon’s main body remained lying down, yet in front of the Master of the White Lotus Sect, ‘another Sword Demon’ was vividly executing the Intermediate Stage, performing sword strikes right in front of him – too real to merely be a clone or an illusion.

And then it was decided.

Chwaak….

Silently, blood gushed forth. A large mark in the shape of a cross was engraved on the Master of the White Lotus Sect’s chaotically transformed body, and his dark skin started gradually returning to its original state. His third eye lost its power and shut, and I could see the energy rapidly draining from his entire body.

The Sword Demon had managed to stand up, using his sword as a staff. However, he appeared far more broken than the Master of the White Lotus Sect, looking like he would die before him.

The Master of the White Lotus Sect silently stared at his cross-shaped mark, then spoke.

“What is the name of this technique?”

Perhaps due to the lingering effects of chaos transformation? He spoke not in the usual speech of full six harmonious assembly, but rather in pure essence.

The Sword Demon inhaled deeply, resembling a gasping goldfish. He looked like he had no stamina left, but somehow mustered an inhuman persistence to respond.

“…Spirit Absorbing Sword Spirit, Ultimate Technique… Cross Blade!”

“Indeed… You gathered not two absolute realms but three, didn’t you?”

“……”

“An absolute technique from the heavens.”

The Sect Master gazed at the technique that had slain him in awe for some time. Then, he said:

“The true Greatest Sword under Heaven… If defeated by you, who did not use the power of the Gods, there would be neither resentment nor regret… How could you… use such wicked power…?”

“……”

“How lamentable…”

The movements of the Master of the White Lotus Sect ceased.

Boom!!!

And the next instant, his entire body shattered into hundreds of pieces. The power contained within the Cross Blade was too immense, exploding the Master of the White Lotus Sect’s body, and it was merely a matter of time until chaos released itself.

While I blankly watched the end of the Master of the White Lotus Sect, the Sword Demon suddenly convulsed like an eruption.

“Guh… ah… aaahhhh!!”

Creak

His body was undergoing a grotesque transformation. It expanded and contracted uncontrollably, as though the cells of a demon twisted within him, sprouting tentacles from his skin.

Clank

“Gah! Ack! Uwaaaaaah!!”

Ultimately, he released his sword—the very pride of any swordsman—losing his grip, and began to thrash in agony on the ground. I watched this scene in horror, swallowing my saliva.

‘How could this happen?’

I knew the Sword Demon’s capacity for endurance and perseverance. He was a sword master capable of enduring skinning alive without a whimper. A swordsman of that caliber screaming and losing control meant nothing less than unimaginable torturous pain suffocating him.

Bam

That vicious and brutal scene continued for a while before abruptly ceasing.

More accurately, the Blood Mirror that had been showcasing the events suddenly froze, as Hong Gil-dong abruptly stopped.

Hong Gil-dong momentarily laid the Blood Mirror on the table and sighed.

“After this, the Sword Demon began to scream and started killing indiscriminately. Eventually, he suddenly came up to our Celestial Realm.”

“……”

“I don’t know what happened to the White Lotus Sect after that, but having lost both the Sect Master and the Dharma Guardians, they must have found it hard to maintain their lineage thereafter.”

“That makes sense.”

It was certain this incident played a significant role in the White Lotus Sect declining into the nuisance of begging humanity for survival, just as Faust had said. After losing the Sect Master and the Dharma Guardians, the White Lotus Sect never recovered its peak strength for the next five hundred years.

I grew curious and asked Hong Gil-dong.

“So what happened to the Sword Demon in the Celestial Realm? Did he die at the hands of the Celestial Realm’s Protective Teams?”

“…Hmm. This is quite difficult to describe…”

Hong Gil-dong looked troubled, finally continuing with a forced answer.

“Ultimately, you could say he vanished unexpectedly.”

“Vanish?”

“To be precise… while he was massacring a number of Earth Immortals and Divine Generals at the entrance to the Celestial Realm, he suddenly evaporated.”

“……?”

“It was just an ordinary scene of massacre without any peculiarities, so I didn’t think it necessary to use the Blood Mirror to show it.”

“Evaporated? What do you mean?”

Seeing the perplexed look on my face, Hong Gil-dong let out a deep sigh.

“In our Celestial Realm, we believe that someone deliberately took the Sword Demon away.”

“…So you mean he was meant to die at the hands of the combined forces of the Great Immortals, but someone saved him from that fate?”

“Exactly.”

“And that someone is…?”

“I don’t know that either.”

“……”

If it’s unknown, then it seems best to let it die quietly.

“Huh? Why that look?”

Swish

I drew out Hwayo and Su-yo. As resonance began, Hong Gil-dong, aghast at my intent, waved his hands in a hurry.

“W-wait a moment! I don’t know, but others might know!”

“Others?”

“Yes. That’s actually why I came to find you.”

He hesitantly handed me a gem.

“A transporter that can lead you directly to Kunlun Mountain. If you meet the Great Immortals from our Kunlun Mountain, you may learn the truth of what happened to the Sword Demon.”

“……”

“Also, those great ones have something they desperately want to tell you.”

In the end, was this a favor extended to me with the Blood Mirror merely to say this?

‘Hmm… what to do.’

There’s no harm in accepting this proposal.

But I had a troubling gut feeling.

‘I have a feeling that accepting or refusing this will drastically alter my fate in this outer universe.’

I contemplated the significance of the information regarding the Sword Demon and how tangled things might become within the Celestial Realm.

Just as Zhuge Hyun said, it could be that finding out what happened to the Sword Demon could turn out to be more crucial than obtaining the fruit of the World Tree.

And one more thing—

‘Spirit Absorbing Sword Spirit.’

Could such a coincidence really exist?

The fact that the name of the absolute realm attained by the fallen Sword Demon in the outer universe was the same as what the Sword Demon from the Great Bear Empire obtained 500 years later—could it really just be a coincidence?

“……”

After much deliberation, I finally spoke.

“I will go.”

This was not mere coincidence but indeed fate.