NOVEL NEXT Chapter 695
Dark Heaven Village
About half a meal’s time later, as the Sword Demon battled against the Master of the Twelve Joules, he realized something on the one-hundredth exchange.
‘Not good.’
He had already thought several times that he had a chance to inflict a fatal wound. The exchanges were dazzling, intricate, and complex, truly reminiscent of a clash between experts in the Absolute Realm. Their interaction was nearly akin to art.
Yet, he detected that despite the appearance of being equal, it was far from that; he understood the vast gap that lay between him and the Master of the Twelve Joules.
Due to this, Hong Gildong, already a subordinate of the Master of the Twelve Joules, had leapt up from below the cliff but was merely standing there with crossed arms, watching the fight. In stark contrast, the Sword Demon was becoming increasingly drained, having consumed a significant amount of stamina and energy.
Ka-kang!!
As the Cosmic Fragment collided with the Sword Demon’s longsword, the blade suddenly chipped.
‘So it’s lacking compared to artifacts…’
The Sword Demon let out a silent sigh. The sword he wielded was quite famous, known as Hojo, which though not among the world’s greatest notable swords, was a legendary blade. No matter how masterfully he handled the intangible sword with intent, possessing a famous sword would elevate his power. However, even though it was a famous sword paired with a legendary blade, it seemed to pale before the formidable potential contained within the Cosmic Fragment. The Sword Demon maintained his grip to prevent his sword from breaking, then retreated.
Paat!
The Master of the Twelve Joules did not pursue the retreating Sword Demon; instead, in a bored tone, he spoke.
“Just like with Musashi. In the end, you also lack the power to break the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique.”
The Sword Demon twitched his eyebrows.
“I acknowledge the invincible defense, but I don’t think it’s that absolute.”
“Oh really? That’s different from Musashi.”
At the continuous words of the Master, the Sword Demon felt a momentary disturbance.
“I didn’t fight Musashi for this long.”
“…….”
What does that even mean?
The Sword Demon had maximized every sword technique to engage with the Master while trying to draw out his skills. The counterattacks that came back with almost impossible precision forced him to focus on both counterattack and defense using Bowing Sky Slash. As a result, they had exchanged over a hundred strikes, yet he still did not know the extent of the Heavenly Unrestrained Technique or the principles behind its counterattacks. However, the Sword Demon did not think that in his current state he was stronger than Musashi. He would find out when they clashed, yet for now, it appeared that Musashi might still be a bit stronger, and in actual combat, that would rely heavily on luck. But how could Musashi finish his duel with the Master in no time without exchanging even a hundred blows?
Something feels off.
What differentiates him from Musashi? It was clear that it wasn’t just a matter of ineptitude but a significant difference in the martial arts they practiced.
‘Ah…’
In that moment – a hypothesis flickered through the Sword Demon’s mind. As a master of the Shadowless Soul-Removing Sword Technique who had honed his sword skills for decades, it was a gut feeling. Moreover, memories of what his father, Seo Mun-hwi, had said came to him.
[I have heard that there exists an ultimate realm that returns to the essence of the myriad techniques.]
The essence of the myriad techniques.
The difference between him and Miyamoto Musashi.
In an instant, the Sword Demon’s brain and experience recognized that such a hypothesis could stand. If it were Baek Woong, he might have never grasped that difference, but Seo Mun-dae-ryong was capable of it.
‘Could it be…?’
The Sword Demon felt a chill run down his spine. If that were the case, then what he had endured until now under the Master of the Twelve Joules had been pure luck. Thanks to the task given by Zhuge Sa, he had inadvertently chosen the most viable strategy against the Master; however, actually defeating him had been impossible from the start!
The being before him was the absolute ruler of the Martial Arts World!
In the martial world, aside from the Master of the White Lotus Sect, no one could defeat the Master of the Twelve Joules.
This was almost a matter of compatibility.
The Sword Demon quietly muttered.
“The slightest difference can lead to a vast chasm…”
“You’ve realized.”
Boo-woong, boo-woong.
With emotionless eyes, the Master of the Twelve Joules fiercely swung the Cosmic Fragment as he spoke.
“But I can’t let you go. It may not seem flashy on the surface, but it could become troublesome if it gets out.”
“……”
“Did you feel such a gap in power, yet remain unfazed?”
“Well then, shall we end this?”
Tadat!
Charging forward with the Cosmic Fragment, the Master of the Twelve Joules moved with seemingly reckless abandon, yet in that instant, the Sword Demon felt as though time had stopped and caught glimpses of the countless paths of conflict as they clashed. An abundance of basic techniques, transformation techniques, and mind control techniques swirled around them.
However—
Even with well over a million paths laid out before him, not a single one allowed him to even graze the Master of the Twelve Joules. Faced with such a void of possibility, the Sword Demon felt dizzy but clenched his teeth to face the Master of the Twelve Joules’s attack.
KWAANG!!
With a thunderous sound, the Master’s kick shattered the air and lifted the Sword Demon’s form upward, followed by an explosive kick with the Cosmic Fragment cascading down like a web.
Asura’s Thousand Demon Situations.
After a brief moment, the Master’s form vanished like an arrow of light near the Sword Demon, tracing hundreds of rays that crossed around him. Each one was an Absolute Slash, and every beam seemed to wield terrifying physical force as if alive.
“Ugh!!”
With a choking sound, blood spewed from the Sword Demon’s lips. Though the attacks were too swift and precise, there was simply no way to block or evade them. In an instant, he suffered a barrage of critical strikes. Realizing that if he crashed to the ground, he’d be dead, the Sword Demon bit his lip.
Blood Moon!-
Kugung!
A protective energy technique spread like sword leaves, and the Sword Demon swiftly popped up like a spring, readying his stance. However, with several internal organs ruptured and bones broken, he was in no condition to fight. Even having turned into a bloodied figure, he still gazed straight at the Master of the Twelve Joules, holding his sword erect, prompting the Master to comment.
“How strange.”
When the Sword Demon fell silent, the Master inquired in a suspicious tone.
“If you hadn’t just stood there and had dodged my strike, you could have held on, right? Did you purposely seem to confront me?”
“…Heh heh… cough.”
The Sword Demon laughed as he spat out blood.
“Speak correctly. It’s not that I couldn’t block or evade… it’s that it wouldn’t matter even if I did.”
“Well, I suppose that’s true.”
Woo-woong!
In that moment, a large green spirit energy blazed from the Master of the Twelve Joules. This energy quickly enveloped his body, and soon he began to whip his arms around.
“Recovery complete.”
“……!!”
“Not surprised?”
The Sword Demon displayed no change in emotion, but how could he not be startled? It was because just moments ago, the Master had expended considerable mind control techniques, thus having burned his stamina and energy, yet he had restored everything with just one technique. Not to mention, he wasn’t even tapping into the powers of the Sacred Altar Tree known as the World Tree! Yet, with just one invocation of the Wood Essence, the Master’s power was astonishing.
And only now did the Sword Demon grasp Zhuge Sa’s strategy.
‘…So that’s it. Teaming up with someone like this to fight the Eight Parts of the Divine… I’d only be used. I still haven’t fully recognized his backing… he was right.’
One who could preserve their power even after wrecking the World Tree!
If such a being managed to uncover the secrets of Baek Woong’s past life and sought to seal him, the risk would be far too great. The Sword Demon reaffirmed his desperate resolve as he raised his sword.
“Well then… I’ll be going!”
“Oh ho. What great spirit.”
The Master of the Twelve Joules spoke in admiration. Even Hong Gildong, who was watching from the side, was impressed by the Sword Demon’s resolve. Though the gap in levels and the victory had become apparent, the Sword Demon was seeing his mission through to the end! Any martial artist would have to acknowledge the Sword Demon as remarkable at this moment.
However—
Paat!
The Sword Demon began to flee, pouring every ounce of potential into advancing the divine technique alone as intensely as he could.
“……”
“……”
The Master of the Twelve Joules and Hong Gildong froze for a moment, staring in disbelief at the Sword Demon’s retreating back.
They had not expected him to flee after such statements!
But the Master quickly regained his composure and addressed Hong Gildong.
“Chase him!”
“W-what?”
“His mission wasn’t to stop me—it was to relay information to his companions!”
“But…!”
In an instant, the Master of the Twelve Joules understood the Sword Demon’s true intentions, yet the situation was not favorable. Hong Gildong was in a state of panic, glancing back at the Master.
“Their reinforcements… have arrived.”
“Kuh.”
“If we move carelessly, we’ll be done for.”
Whiiiing!
On the snowstorm-laden cliff, crafted by the Master of the Twelve Joules, stood three figures behind them—these were the Eight Parts of the Divine. The Yacha, Gang Leader of the Thief Gang, and Gin Nara stood, grinning as they confirmed their target: the Master of the Twelve Joules.
Gin Nara spoke with a sly smile.
“Ah, it’s an honor to meet the master of the Twelve Joules like this.”
The Master of the Twelve Joules remained silent, making no reply.
The gaze of Gin Nara began to gleam with malice.
“Seeing you in person, you’re not as fearsome as I expected. Did I overreact?”
“Why did you attack our Master of the Twelve Joules?”
As the Master of the Twelve Joules questioned Gin Nara, he casually rubbed his prominent belly.
“Our King desires to cleanse the earth completely.”
“……”
“Well then, farewell, human.”
Pa-aat!
In a blinding flash, the three members of the Eight Parts of the Divine simultaneously revealed their true forms. In that instant, the Master of the Twelve Joules pulled out the Moon Sovereign Ruins and Wood Essence simultaneously, muttering.
“I wasn’t quite ready to fight yet.”
The moment the Master of the Twelve Joules clashed with the Eight Parts of the Divine, Zhuge Sa collapsed to the ground, coughing.
“……”
The plan was almost complete.
As he had envisioned, he had cornered the Master of the Twelve Joules. During his time with him, Zhuge Sa had set up eavesdropping spells simultaneously with his sword techniques and had employed the aid of Feng Baek, one of the Three Masters, using a contract with the Demon King to enact a powerful eavesdropping spell. He even placed stealthy minions here and there to gather visual information. One misstep, and it could be discovered, yet Zhuge Sa had never revealed any flaw during his time with the Master of the Twelve Joules.
And the Sword Demon had successfully fled, guiding the plan towards success. In a dark corner, he softly caressed his right eye, murmuring.
“Phew, phew… I roughly understand things. The identities of the Three Masters as well…”
He chuckled. He had achieved unexpectedly great results. Just conveying the information he had obtained to Baek Woong would surely shorten his journey by decades. Although it couldn’t yet be said that he had grasped the weaknesses of the Master, it was indeed a significant gain.
Of course—that was presuming Baek Woong survived. Zhuge Sa decided not to dwell deeply on that fact. The Sword Demon and Cheon Woo-jin had been entangled in Baek Woong’s past life without understanding its significance. However, deeply immersed in the Demon Path, he knew that the situation he found himself in was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Be it life or death, the ones needing to charge in were not Baek Woong, but rather his companions.
‘The others do not understand that Baek Woong is the King.’
No, they may have instinctively understood. However, the vast cosmic horror or the mythic despair behind that reality was so daunting that they chose not to comprehend it. Perhaps, that would be easier for ordinary humans.
Step, step.
“…I see you’ve arrived.”
Zhuge Sa addressed the shadowy figure standing at the end of the deep cave. The figure, holding a torch, remained motionless, staring at Zhuge Sa. As their eyes met, the figure spoke slowly.
“It seems we think similarly.”
“Are you reluctant to admit that I read your moves?”
“I can’t tell what the difference is. Anyway, since we stand here, it’s the same.”
“True enough.”
Zhuge Sa grinned and replied to his opponent.
“Honestly, the most troublesome point in my plan is right now. I wished I hadn’t seen your face traveling this far.”
“Likewise.”
“I would prefer if you’d kindly step aside.”
The figure with the torch opened their mouth.
“Evil, you intend to gather the power amassed at the roots of the World Tree and obtain the seed that will allow you to once again live another thousand years.”
“Well, that’s the gist of it.”
“That won’t be allowed. I must take it for myself.”
As the opponent strongly opposed, Zhuge Sa smiled slyly.
“Then I’ll have no choice but to slay my useless older brother…”
Indeed.
The last figure standing in Zhuge Sa’s way was none other than Zhuge Yulong, a member of the Four Great Experts of the Imperial Palace, the current clan leader of the Zhuge Clan, and the priest of the Demon Subduing Hall.