Chapter 406: Those Who Seek to End It

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At last, the fight was over.

The verdant forest also breathed again only then.

Thus, the war clouds and stillness that had pervaded the forest lifted.

Looking at the severed head, Cheol Ryu-heun muttered to himself.

“Foolish. This is why people say you must stand in the right line.”

However, the dead made no reply.

He soon lightly swung the Gan Jiang toward the ground.

SEUREUREUK, HUDUUDUK.

Just by lightly sweeping, all the red blood that had stuck to the blue blade fell off.

Befitting a legendary famous sword that had not rusted in the slightest over the long ages.

He was newly curious.

About the counterpart of this Gan Jiang.

In the era before the Jianghu was born, the great swordsmith Gan Jiang of ancient times crafted the masterpiece of his lifetime in his later years: the male-female paired swords.

And to them he attached his own and his wife’s names.

Gan Jiang, Moe Ye.

The male-female paired swords thus created became famous as the world’s greatest treasure swords.

The Gan Jiang was currently being usefully employed by himself thanks to Ascending Heaven Sword Dragon having obtained it.

Then where was the Mo Ye Sword stored?

Unknown.

Though he had lived for a thousand years, he had no information about it.

However, he knew the person who had last handled it.

The memory of his previous life.

That is, he found out through his life before becoming the Divine Martial Sword.

Huan Hou.

That name clearly engraved in his mind was the first unification monarch of this land.

Also.

He was both an old friend and an enemy.

At the time, Huan Hou possessed both the Gan Jiang and Mo Ye Sword.

And he gave one of them to him.

While appointing him as ‘Grand Marshal of All Armies,’ the highest position commanding all armies and the pinnacle of royal military power.

Bai Chu.

That was the past name of himself, the Divine Martial Sword.

The greatest, strongest renowned general who contributed to the unification of the land by taking no fewer than over seventy fortresses in battles against the Six Kingdoms….

Anyway, since that era, the Gan Jiang and Mo Ye Sword had disappeared.

Yet.

A strange connection, perhaps.

That Gan Jiang had crossed the ages and come back into his hands.

As if finding its old master.

Perhaps it meant that if he had an unfulfilled dream, he should grasp the sword in hand again and display it to his heart’s content.

‘If…’

Cheol Ryu-heun suddenly thought.

If he could get his hands on even the Mo Ye Sword, he could create a new Divine Martial Sword.

It wasn’t easy.

But there was sufficient possibility of success.

That’s right.

Through a method only he knew.

But where would he find that Mo Ye Sword now?

His brief reverie ended there.

CHEOLKEOK.

Cheol Ryu-heun stored away his sword and stared at one figure.

A person lying collapsed over there on the ground.

The target of his gaze was precisely the Eastern Heaven Division cadre, the Sixth Great General.

The moment Cheol Ryu-heun nodded his head.

HWIIIK…

The Sixth Great General’s form, floating up, was rapidly drawn in.

It was void object manipulation deployed in an instant.

The Sixth Great General was still in an unconscious state.

In a posture standing upright while wrapped in formless aura.

In an instant.

PEOK!

A dull sound burst out as the Sixth Great General’s head turned.

By Cheol Ryu-heun’s punch.

A technique loaded with a certain amount of true energy, so stimulus was applied to his body.

Sure enough.

“Kkeu…”

The eyelids of him who let out a groan soon slowly lifted.

Immediately after.

His hazy focus soon changed to clarity.

‘Eok…!’

The complexion of the startled Sixth Great General turned deathly pale.

Because he saw Cheol Ryu-heun standing right in front of him.

A rapidly intensifying sense of crisis.

THUMP THUMP.

It felt like his heart would burst.

The thing called fear bound his chest tightly.

Furthermore, it was a feeling as though countless thorns were stingingly piercing through flesh and extending throughout his entire body.

‘I must escape quickly…!’

Having shouted inwardly, the Sixth Great General hurriedly tried to turn his form.

Right at that moment.

DEOLKEOK!

Like being bound by something, he couldn’t move.

Not even a single finger.

‘Aputssa!’

Only then did he realize what was happening.

That by Cheol Ryu-heun’s powerful void grasp, his entire body was completely restrained.

A truly phenomenal internal power level.

“As you can see, all the gang that was here are dead and gone.”

At Cheol Ryu-heun’s indifferent voice, the Sixth Great General felt great despair.

It was a fact easily knowable even without looking around.

Because the only presences detected around were Cheol Ryu-heun and Peng Cheon-jin.

‘KEUUK, in that case…!’

The Sixth Great General resolved to die here.

He intended to detonate the gu poison in his body.

By doing so, he planned to use the heightened internal power level to peel off the opponent’s formless aura.

At that time, a disinterested voice burrowed into both ears again.

“You mustn’t die.”

TATATATAT, TATATATAT… !

It was the sound of Cheol Ryu-heun tapping several pressure points.

By ascending cultivation-based technique pressure point sealing, the Sixth Great General had his entire body’s meridians and pressure points temporarily paralyzed.

To trigger gu poison, one needed to circulate energy, but that was no longer possible.

“You must deliver my will as a messenger. I’ll write you a letter here.”

Cheol Ryu-heun’s words made the Sixth Great General tilted his head.

‘What? A letter…?’

What was that about?

There was no paper nor brush.

Cheol Ryu-heun, as if reading that thought, stated.

“Well, the four treasures of the study aren’t needed. Because your body will serve as the letter instead.”

In a flash, the Sixth Great General’s heart dropped.

CHWAHAK, CHWAHAAK… !

The blood robe and upper clothing covered in dirt were torn to shreds by formless energy.

Immediately after.

SEUK.

Cheol Ryu-heun’s index finger pressed against his front torso.

Following that, sharp energy dug into his skin.

Thus, blood-colored letters were carved along his upper body.

Peng Cheon-jin, positioned in the back, clicked his tongue.

‘He’s merciless. To carve writing by ripping the skin…’

Cheol Ryu-heun’s emotionless attitude, showing no mercy whatsoever toward the enemy, was simply astonishing.

It was cruel behavior that an Orthodox person should naturally refrain from.

But it somehow felt like it strangely suited him.

Cheol Ryu-heun, having finished the writing, opened his mouth.

“You’ll probably come to your senses in about a shichen.”

No sooner had his words ended.

PEOPEONG!

When a large formless aura exploded, the Sixth Great General was rapidly pushed backward.

UUJIK, UUJIJIK, UUJIK…!

He flew off, smashing dead trees in a row, and soon crashed onto the ground somewhere beyond the forest.

KKUKKUNG…

Even before that sound was heard, Cheol Ryu-heun had turned around and was moving his steps.

Peng Cheon-jin, having risen with difficulty, bowed his head.

“Thank you so much, Sect Master Cheol. Thanks to you, I escaped danger.”

Then Cheol Ryu-heun responded with his usual indifferent face.

“Not at all. How do you feel?”

“Ah, yes. Just standing like this is difficult. My internal injuries have worsened… Still, it’s better than a little while ago.”

Then Cheol Ryu-heun handed over a small pill.

“Please take it. It’s a special pill that temporarily suppresses internal injuries.”

Peng Cheon-jin ingested the pill without hesitation.

Then an amazing change occurred in his body.

The moment he swallowed, some soft energy melted into his body.

And that power relieved the pain residing in his body.

It was mystical.

To think the medicinal effect would appear this quickly.

“This is…?”

“It’s a medicine manufactured using the knowledge of the past Martial Immortal. I brought it in preparation for times like this.”

“Ah! Indeed…”

“Although the effect is fast, it’s temporary. So you must also do Circulating Energy Healing later.”

“Have you set up a temporary base in these mountains?”

“It’s inside the Ten Directions Ghost Road Lost Soul Formation.”

“Ah…! But isn’t it dangerous?”

“It’s fine. I’ve made arrangements.”

“Indeed… Your skill is remarkable. By the way, I feel newly heavy of heart. Thinking of the people who must be caught in the trap…”

“It’s difficult to save all of them. But we can do it one by one. Starting first with protecting my own people. There’s no need to be altruistic in a crisis situation.”

At Cheol Ryu-heun’s words, Peng Cheon-jin nodded his head.

“I understand what you mean. You mean it’s natural order for each force to look after its members first.”

“Yes. If those gather one by one to form a mass, can’t we then advance onto the path of true unity? For that, my nearby people must be safe first. Only then can the strength to help others be born.”

“Yes, those are most appropriate words.”

“That is why my work for today is done. I must go back and tend to our people, and replenish the power I’ve spent to prepare for tomorrow.”

The power Cheol Ryu-heun mentioned spending was divine power.

Internal energy techniques were overflowing, but divine power was different.

Circulating energy to regulate breathing was useless.

Because it was a power of completely different properties from internal power, it took time to replenish.

Therefore, he had to be sparing.

For the anticipated great battle.

Of course, tomorrow he planned to unleash that power without restraint.

Peng Cheon-jin, who knew nothing, assumed it was about circulating energy.

Cheol Ryu-heun also omitted further explanation.

Naturally so.

There was neither need nor reason to explain the divine power from his Divine Martial Sword days.

Such a thought did occur to him, though.

Will there ever come a day when I reveal that my truth is the reincarnation of the Divine Martial Sword?

‘Hut, who knows. Such a thing might happen…’

Having chuckled inwardly, Cheol Ryu-heun spoke again.

“Now, shall we go. From now on, things will move rapidly. The work to do tomorrow is all-out war.”

“…!”

“Because of what happened earlier, the enemy will launch a full-force battle.”

“I’m nervous. Hmm…”

“That nervousness belongs to the enemy. Because what the enemy will experience tomorrow is the formidable potential of our side. Especially the guest retainers of our Sect…”

Cheol Ryu-heun’s gaze lingered in the air like that.

“…If they underestimate that power, the enemy will all end up in trouble.”

Before they knew it, red sunset was flowing across the sky.

As if foretelling tomorrow’s bloody battle.

* * *

“The sunset is already deepening.”

The quiet voice of a young swordsman looking at the sky.

Along with that, someone’s voice settled quietly.

“Yes, the time for the Darkness-Craving Blood Clan to be fully active is approaching.”

“Will it be alright? Even if we execute the plan as scheduled.”

“Worrying is… not like the Young Sword King. Hut.”

“Well, you’re an irreplaceable friend.”

“Don’t worry too much. They say even if caught by a tiger, you’ll live if you keep your wits about you. I hope there won’t be any wavering because of me. If not I, with my Heart-Stealing Spirit-Commanding Body, who would do it?”

“Right, understood. Tomorrow, let’s settle everything. According to that person’s plan.”

“Indeed.”

The two people exchanging gazes quietly were none other than Zhejiang Son Family Lord Son Ja-ryong and his close friend Zhuge Bi.