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**

It’s quiet.

There are no sounds. Just a faint breeze brushing against my face.

How long has it been since I tossed myself into such tranquility? I quietly savored the silence.

…Looking back…

I really have walked without rest.

The sword I wielded to survive has now set its sights on a target.

Somehow, I’ve caught up, entering the ranks of masters.

But the unsatisfied heart still demands more.

Greed. It’s just greed.

That’s one way to put it.

“…….”

But if a warrior has no greed for martial arts, can he really be called a warrior?

I wanted to overlook more places. I wanted to swing my sword more.

I don’t want to swing the same sword as yesterday. I wished to make even the smallest progress by tomorrow.

That has been the source of my strength, the fruit of my efforts.

…And yet…

I had never dreamed of how exactly to build that up.

“…….”

An ideal version of myself…

What on earth does that mean?

There are people I wish to surpass. The Heavenly Demon. Captivated by the scene I saw that day, I wanted to view the world through her eyes.

The gaze of a predator. The life of a genius born to be a hunter.

Not everything about it was appealing. However…

I wanted to surpass her sword standing in that spot.

Proving that someone born with nothing could achieve something.

I wanted to swing a sword that looked down on her, just like hers.

“……”

But even if I stood at the same level as her, it wouldn’t be the same sword.

A sword that has been in the heavens since birth cannot be the same as one that has crawled up from the depths.

Then what is my sword…

What kind of form does the sword that touches the end take?

I open my eyes. I look down at my hands.

I gaze upon the blood that stains them.

It isn’t visible. But it’s there. That’s how blood is.

It hides beneath the skin, often raising doubts about its existence until it is drawn out into the world.

Efforts that remain unseen. That is my essence.

“…….”

I grasp my sword.

I move slowly.

The Nine Heavens Blood Demon Sword. It has led me to this place. That simple martial art, which anyone can learn, gave weight to my life.

Everywhere I passed, footprints were left behind. Those bloodstained footprints remain so strongly, they cannot be erased.

The places I stepped on.

The life that brushed past.

I contained it within the sword I swung. I slowly reflected on it.

Even though I knew it would take time…

I still looked back.

On the life I lived.

On the choices I believed to be right.

“This is an investment. I feel that Third Brother will rise higher than I will.”

I remembered the words of a deceased friend. Seongja Myung. A person who perished in darkness.

He closed his eyes. Until the moment of his death.

Confident that I would rise above.

“…….”

The events in the Black Heaven Sect.

When I picked up the Ice White Sword.

Uncovering the Sma Clan’s misdeeds…

And ultimately defeating the Demon Valley Lord.

It was then I realized the identity of my sword.

I was born as a clawless beast yearning for the top.

Through death, I planted weapons one by one to replace the empty spots.

I wanted to rise. Like a salmon swimming upstream…

I wanted to keep moving upward.

I never skipped a day. I kept swinging the sword.

Because I wanted to grasp what fascinated me.

I genuinely wanted to surpass the Heavenly Demon, pouring out everything I had and giving it my all.

“…Ah.”

I…

I wanted to fly.

Higher than the clouds in the sky. At the edge of life.

Higher than the clouds stained red at that end.

Jeok-un.

The red clouds of Bi Cheon.

Once again recalling my crouched desires. I channel them through my entire being and unleash them through the end of my sword.

If I slip even a little, the cliff will drop away. Yet, through that, my blood-soaked footsteps kept moving forward.

The howl of beasts. Claws. Struggles.

Roar.

“…Ha…!”

I laugh. Everything becomes clear only after I revisit it all.

“…To become the Heavenly Demon…”

Bloodstorm. The voice of the Blood Sect’s sub-leader, Guqcheong, who had shown the essence of blood…

What did I respond to that?

What did I truly dream of?

Grasping an unattainable dream is human nature. Most human dreams are empty and called dreams because they cannot be possessed.

But I…

I desire it. Truly.

To grasp that with my hands. To seize it with a mere sword of wealth.

What method will I use to grasp it? In what form will I unleash it?

I begin to sketch it out. Continuously.

Weaving one to move to the next step…

Just as I have done.

“…….”

Time has passed. I occasionally mixed blades with the Plum Blossom Divine.

Time has passed. The sword I swung became imbued with a crimson aura.

Time has passed. I still wander yearnfully…but finally…

I caught the point.

What exactly the manifestation inside me is.

“…Cheongeop.”

The reason the martial art and Yi-hyeong Ki seemed disconnected.

I put that in my mouth.

At first, it was like that. It only brought pain and misery.

But not now. Through numerous battles, we leaned on each other at the edge of life…

Now, I’ve asked that which has become incomparably close to me.

“Do you trust me?”

“…….”

Cheongeop answered with a cry. Within that, I caught a glimpse of its goodwill toward me.

Though we were born as two different beings, we now lean on each other.

It was you who planted claws onto a clawless beast.

I, who was not born with a body, lent a body to a destiny that couldn’t have one.

“Help me.”

Cheongeop’s manifestation covers my own.

Finally, unified as one, our intentions flow down through the Ki.

At last, I realized.

I was ready to learn the seventh form of the Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique.

The White Malevolent Blood.

“…Let’s move forward.”

I whisper to myself and rise.

I don’t know how much time has passed. Yet…

I certainly felt it.

The very edge of Huaxing.

A giant wall finally began to reveal itself before my eyes.

The Opening of Heaven is at hand.

There’s no time to hesitate.

. . .

“I request a duel.”

“…Hmm.”

Two months.

The Plum Blossom Divine gazed silently at Jeok-un, who stood before him with unkempt appearance.

The prayer changed. The calmness became even more tranquil.

Anyone who saw…would think he was no different from a commoner.

But that’s not it. I could recognize it if it were myself.

The wildness that was displayed on the outside has all retreated inward. As a result, the ferocity that emanated lessened, but…

The claws possessed have become even sharper.

“Fine.”

I draw my sword. At the same time, I felt it.

The potential of the opponent standing before me.

“…Hooh…?!”

It has only been one day.

It has barely been a day since we last met.

Yet within that time, he had finally stood upon a step. From the foundation to the design…

A master who has perfectly integrated has stood before me.

How much effort has been put in? I can’t dare to imagine. Those days he sent…

Could almost be described as the arduous journey of a seeker.

Insane. Absolutely insane.

Have I ever seen a spirit so obsessed with his sword before?

What kind of disposition does he possess? How on earth has he accumulated such time?

His life must have been certainly filled with pain, doubt, deprivation, and horror.

Yet he…has managed to overcome it all…

And found his own sword?

This is a monster. A being born from efforts that cannot be spoken of in terms of talent or fate…!

My sword trembles in my hand. It’s not from fear.

I want to mix my sword with it. That completed sword…

I want to see whatever lies beyond it.

“…Normally…”

He chuckled.

“I would have willingly let you strike first as always, but…today is different. I won’t hold back mercy in my hands. The reason for this, you well know.”

“Yes.”

“Sealing will be solely with Heart Sword. Excluding that, I will push you with all my strength. It would be wise not to halt halfway. It wouldn’t be good for either of us.”

“I understand.”

“…Before we begin, let me ask you one thing.”

The Plum Blossom Divine spoke, gazing at the thick blood aura that began to flow.

“What did you see atop the rock?”

“…That is…”

The swirling Qi becomes a sword aura that envelops the blade.

Each strand converges, forming a powerful energy.

That energy, for a moment, writhes and takes shape, finally assuming a complete form.

The hide of a beast with four eyes.

So far, it’s the same as before. But then, the warrior before my eyes transcends another level.

Effort is tranquil. It repeats days that seem meaningless to others.

But when it accumulates and forms shape, the fruits of that labor settle clearly on the tip of the blade.

From the imperfect Yi-hyeong Ki.

To the perfect form of Heart Manifestation.

The Plum Blossom Divine’s eyes widened. Unable to bear the change unfolding before him, he raised his energy.

A subdued form. A tranquil beast.

The moment he saw that completed exterior, only empty laughter escaped him.

“Hahaha! You are truly…unbelievable…! Come! Beast of martial arts! Steel that dreams to become the moon!”

He saw talent. Countless talents.

He witnessed the insane talent of someone who could merely imitate by swinging a sword.

Yet this is not that kind of story. The sword before him is not that kind of tale.

It’s a story that’s hilarious and ridiculous, impossible to comprehend without tears.

The tale of a human who, while traversing a thorny path, ultimately seized what he desired.

A seeker of martial arts.

A being who knew he couldn’t attain miracles…

Yet spilled blood to create his own design.

“I have…never seen someone as crazy as you in my life…! Did you say you’d bite the Heavenly Demon?! You can surely do it! This Plum Blossom Divine guarantees you! You are…the kind of human who will win in the end!!”

Have you ever thought of a beast that bites into the heavens?

The Plum Blossom Divine could answer that.

Though it may be difficult at the moment…

One day, such an impossible feat will stand before him.

 

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