Chapter 405: With Pure Cultivation Alone

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The expression of Sang-jan, who had fallen to the status of loser in just a few exchanges, became even more contorted.

‘I… so easily… KEK…’

It was an even more wretched feeling because Cheol Ryu-heun’s right foot was pressing down on his head.

Before that, even the martial fame and prestige symbolized by his personal sobriquet of Nine Springs Demon Dragon had been trampled.

For him, it was a difficult, hard-to-believe matter.

However, there was no room for excuse in this defeat.

He was pushed.

He lost.

Setting aside other factors, even in pure internal power competition….

As a result, it was Sang-jan himself who had displayed arrogance.

Such an experience was the first since his sparring with the Heaven Emperor Society Lord in the past.

In that state, he recalled what he had received at the last moment.

That is, the mystical sword energy that Cheol Ryu-heun had employed.

It was different from ordinary sword energy.

It was close to pure white smoke, reminiscent of mist.

Truly, power that was endlessly soft and light, like a feather that could be clearly seen by the eye but not touched by hand.

But once absorbed into the body, it exploded with fierce cultivation as if dozens of large cannonballs were exploding.

Sang-jan could guess what that was.

It was natural.

Because it was such a characteristically distinctive power.

‘Immortal Wandering Sword Energy…’

The supreme sword discipline of the Extreme Immortal Path, representing the brilliant and great martial achievements of Martial Immortal Dongbang Ya, who was taught by Celestial Sword Sovereign Beom Gyu-eul.

He believed it was undoubtedly Immortal Wandering Sword Energy.

The ultimate immortal technique essence of the legendary absolute one who once possessed the Divine Martial Sword and was venerated as the immortal of the Jianghu had been recreated through Cheol Ryu-heun.

Yet.

Doubt raised its head.

The five people standing in the highest tier of martial history each spiritually communicated with the Divine Martial Sword in their respective eras.

Also.

They had created original and unparalleled techniques using the Divine Martial Sword’s divine energy.

There was no precise record, but Immortal Wandering Sword Energy was one of them.

It should be impossible to execute without the Divine Martial Sword’s divine energy, yet Cheol Ryu-heun had successfully deployed it.

That’s why it was inexplicable.

The Divine Martial Sword’s divine energy was energy of divine authority that could not be artificially created.

In any case, one thing he had clearly come to realize.

That Cheol Ryu-heun was a variable that completely ignored initial expectations.

Meanwhile.

Hebei Peng Family Lord Northern Heavens Saber Venerable Peng Cheon-jin, seated with his back against the rock, had an aghast expression as his body trembled slightly.

A tingling tremor flowed through his whole body like waves.

Sang-jan’s martial prowess was extraordinary.

It was at a level burdensome even for ultra-first-rate warriors of the Orthodox and Unorthodox to face.

He himself, being one of them, had already experienced that martial power, hadn’t he?

Though he was tired, he had keenly felt the gap in martial arts.

Using only basic sword forms, he had overwhelmed and taken the upper hand against him, who occupied the highest tier of the Northern Orthodox Jianghu.

At that time, he had certainly realized.

That even in sound condition, this old demonic cultivator was one he couldn’t defeat in a fight.

Yet that power had crumbled before Cheol Ryu-heun.

Truly in vain.

It was a shocking sight.

A great sense of wonder swept through Peng Cheon-jin’s chest.

He had heard stories about Cheol Ryu-heun’s martial prowess, but to think it was such outstanding martial skill….

It was a cultivation level of the realm beyond human that didn’t match his empty-seeming intangible aura.

What.

That was not simply a level transcending the mortal world.

A divine realm.

Heaven beyond heaven.

Just as he said, it was a power that could be called heaven beyond heaven.

That’s right.

There was no other way to express Cheol Ryu-heun’s fearsome martial prowess beside that.

Upon directly witnessing his true power, such a thought also arose.

That a true hegemon-class martial god of this era had appeared.

If the foremost among divine weapons and strange artifacts was the Divine Martial Sword, the greatest of the Ten Great Heavenly Weapons, then the foremost of this Jianghu was Cheol Ryu-heun.

Indeed.

Perhaps there would be no room for objection or debate about that.

Peng Cheon-jin firmly concluded inwardly, clenching his fists tightly and even forgetting the pain.

‘The sole protagonist who will pacify the coming age of chaos is none other than Sect Master Cheol!’

The age of chaos had already begun.

Because of the dirty scheme of the enemy lurking in the Shiwan Mountains.

Then they must definitely be crushed.

They could do it.

As long as the unprecedented rising warrior, Cheol Ryu-heun, called the Hunan’s Foremost Martial God of this era, existed.

At that moment, an extremely emotionless voice was heard.

“Are you just going to die like a fish out of water?”

It was Cheol Ryu-heun’s curt words directed at Sang-jan who lay face-down on the ground.

The arrogance of a victor that trampled on and crushed pride and self-esteem.

Upon hearing that, Sang-jan’s bloodshot eyes welled with anger.

“KEU… HU… I acknowledge… your strength.”

“Whether you acknowledge me or not, I have no interest whatsoever. The only thing I’m interested in is the leader of the Heaven Emperor Society. Well, sort of like an eyesore. Someone who must be killed somehow so that everyone can sleep with their legs stretched out.”

“KEU… Shut up. How dare you… insult that person…?”

“Yeah. I’m allowed to.”

Simultaneously with Cheol Ryu-heun’s disinterested reply.

PPAK… !

Sang-jan, having been kicked in the face, flew backward hard.

UDANGANG…

A body crashing into the ground while scattering dust.

“Keok!”

Sang-jan, whose nose was also displaced, let out a groan and spewed blood.

Nauseating fresh blood was vomited onto the ground instead of going down his throat.

Cheol Ryu-heun, standing in place, spoke with indifferent eye-light.

“Now, go ahead and take it out. Being stingy makes it worthless.”

Then Peng Cheon-jin, positioned behind, tilted his head in puzzlement.

Take it out?

What did that mean?

Did the blood-soaked opponent possess some kind of final secret technique?

Sure enough, Sang-jan’s voice was heard crossing the distance.

“You… sensed the hidden power within my body.”

Then Cheol Ryu-heun expressionlessly answered.

“Let’s see if the power worth staking your life on is valuable. Think of it as your last chance and attack.”

Sang-jan, having deepened his eye-light, twisted the corner of his mouth.

“A last chance, you say, KEK…”

Immediately after, his body twitched and then soon generated a thick heat haze.

Peng Cheon-jin was startled upon seeing that.

‘No way…!’

He couldn’t help it.

Because he sensed the opponent’s power rising steeply.

He didn’t know where such power was welling up from again.

Sang-jan’s three dantians had clearly been destroyed earlier.

Peng Cheon-jin could easily tell without even checking.

Just looking at the series of symptoms, it was evident.

Yet.

A massive cultivation that welled up from within his body, whose dantians were destroyed, writhed and danced.

It was truly a bizarre marvelous application.

To think such a thing was possible, it was truly surprising and frightening.

The light of pain in his face had disappeared unnoticed.

He no longer seemed to feel pain.

In an instant.

Cheol Ryu-heun, watching him like that, thought.

‘I figured as much. He must have ingested some kind of medicine surpassing ordinary gu poison.’

It was a different type from one that caused explosions.

He had already seen something similar to it.

Through the fellow he had fought when he went to the Murong Family.

Eastern Heaven Division’s Great General.

At that time, his internal cultivation had instantly heightened.

Today, he found out that a special medicine had been distributed to the leadership of each organization under the Heaven Emperor Society.

Of course, the point that it wagered one’s life was the same.

With the pain gone, fear had disappeared from Sang-jan’s eyes.

It was the eye-light of one prepared for a life-or-death duel.

Like that, due to the secret technique akin to mutual destruction, his internal power level rapidly increased.

The space shook wildly again.

DEUDEUDEUDEU… KUKUKUKUKU…

The medicine’s efficacy was clearly acting as a sort of virtual dantian.

But that wasn’t the only amazing efficacy of the medicine.

SEUSEUSEU, SEUSEUSEUSU…

Even the wounds on his body were being healed.

Even deep internal injuries, no less.

A truly mystical and bizarre efficacy that increased internal power level and healed injuries.

In that state, Cheol Ryu-heun clicked his tongue with a leisurely posture.

“Tsk, they made that stuff with stolen research materials. Obviously there’ll be a time restriction.”

“It’s incomplete power… but it’s enough to die together with you.”

“Anyway, I wanted to confirm what it was. Now, let’s end this.”

“That arrogance… will eventually bring misfortune upon you.”

“Unless your leader appears, that won’t happen.”

Then a sneer arose on Sang-jan’s lips.

“Arrogant one, if you are heaven, then that person is a god who treads upon that heaven and surveys all things.”

“Amusingly, that god seems to have abandoned you.”

“To dare babble…”

“Old geezer in the back room, you don’t know at all, do you? The ultimate reason why the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan and Heretic Cult joined hands.”

“…?”

“Spreading rumors about the Divine Martial Sword to weaken the Jianghu’s forces is merely a superficial action.”

“What…!”

“Anyway, this way or that, you were fated to be discarded. If you’d known that, you wouldn’t be doing this. Enough.”

Cheol Ryu-heun raised the Gan Jiang before his chest with those words.

“Come at me.”

“Bastard! Do you think my mind will be shaken by such flimsy words!”

Sang-jan burst out an angry roar and advanced at high speed.

All sides shook from the cultivation that had increased several-fold.

KUKUKUKUKU… KWAKWAKWAKWAKWA… !

It felt as if everything was shattering just from that movement.

Cheol Ryu-heun swung his sword from where he stood.

Thus, crossing blades.

KKAAAAAAANG… KWAAAAAAANG!

Amplified internal power, no, a special gu poison’s power, had replaced cultivation and burst forth.

As if a large amount of gu poison with explosive properties was being released all at once, its power was loaded onto the sword.

Sure enough, even a giant green flame fire storm arose and covered the front.

HWAAK, HWAAAAAK…!

Even so, Cheol Ryu-heun was fine.

Rather, it was Sang-jan, who had thrust the sword, whose upper body staggered backward.

At that moment.

JJEOK…!

The blade cracked.

It was precisely Sang-jan’s sword.

At that moment, a Sound Transmission knocked against his ears.

It was a Sound Transmission Cheol Ryu-heun had sent.

In a flash, a vast sword power approached Sang-jan.

KWAAAAAAAAANG!

As soon as the roaring sound burst out, Sang-jan retreated intensely.

And.

“Wek!”

In an instant, his internal injuries worsened.

Sang-jan, having vomited blood, trembled his hands.

DEOEOLDOEOL.

The fear he had briefly forgotten surged back again.

At that time, Cheol Ryu-heun approached.

Along with that, the Gan Jiang flickered in a chain.

KWAAAAAAANG… KWAAAAAAANG… KWAAAAAAANG… !

All were extreme cultivation.

Sang-jan’s appearance, swept by the sword force, was wretched.

Both arms, both legs fell off, and at the end, a large hole was punched through his lower abdomen.

Cheol Ryu-heun had not particularly employed finishing moves.

They were all basic sword forms.

He had only poured out extreme-level power again.

He overwhelmed Sang-jan with only pure cultivation.

While pouring it out without even catching his breath in succession.

A flash upon flash, such was the extremely fast offensive unleashed.

An ability that no one in the world could imitate.

“Kkeo… Kkeo… kkeok… blast… it…”

Sang-jan, collapsed on the ground, caused his form to tremble.

Cheol Ryu-heun, standing before him, spoke while casting dry eye-light.

“That fellow really kept his identity or whereabouts information tightly hidden. Even when I peered into his subordinates’ heads, it wasn’t there.”

That fellow meant the Heaven Emperor Society Lord.

Following that, he spoke while looking down at Sang-jan.

“You’re no different, I know.”

“Right… you know… it well… We also… don’t know. He is a person… whose everything is wrapped in secrecy… Even if we knew… we wouldn’t tell you… KULEOK, KULEOK!”

He who was speaking in a voice as if phlegm was boiling soon coughed up thick, bitter blood.

The shadow of death descended and his complexion grew ever darker.

However, Cheol Ryu-heun was merely emotionless.

“I figured as much. That’s why I intended to kill you from the start, since you’re useless.”

Along with his blunt voice, the Gan Jiang dropped downward.

SEOGEOK… !

A cleanly severed head.

Thus, the great demon of the previous era, Nine Springs Demon Dragon Sang-jan, departed for hell.