Chapter 123: Chapter 123

“Gentleman’s Sword? What kind of joke is this?”

Murong Hyeok-mun snorted and laughed.

Gentleman’s Sword? He had heard such a story before. Was it a hero from a puppet show? After suddenly having that thought, as if recalling a memory, he stared intently at Namgung Cheon.

“You… could it be…”

“…”

What Man Hu-ryang had said came to mind. He remembered sending people afterward and concluding that the person was from the Demonic Cult, but now that they were facing each other, he got a clear feeling, even if only a little.

It was undoubtedly Namgung Cheon.

It was him.

Murong Hyeok-mun cast his gaze in another direction as well.

Next to the person presumed to be Namgung Cheon stood another masked figure. Wearing a pitch-black mask, he suited the atmosphere quite well.

As if reminding him of that guy.

He frowned.

Then who was the other guy?

He was looking around without even wearing a mask. As if someone like Murong Hyeok-mun in front of him was not even worth his attention, he looked around before finally stopping his gaze in front of Man Hu-ryang’s guards.

What was it?

An unknown ominousness loomed.

At that moment, the figure in the black mask spoke.

“Can you do it, old man?”

“…Do not worry about me. I would prefer if no one stepped in.”

Sa Do-hak nodded slightly.

Fortunately, it did not seem to be too late. He chuckled as he took in the surrounding sights. The bastards of the world-famous Nine Sects and One Gang were lying down, unable to defeat even a single one of those insects.

Although there were quite a few dead, there were also survivors.

The way they groaned and moaned was almost laughable.

‘So this is the current state of the Righteous Martial World?’

A grand organization.

This place, which represented the Righteous Martial World, had split. That alone was highly welcome from the perspective of the Demonic Cult. He felt sorry for Namgung Cheon, but it seemed the Righteous Martial Alliance no longer existed.

‘Seeing how the bastards of the Eight Great Families are nowhere to be seen even in this state, they must have caught on and slipped away. They are probably plotting something else among themselves in the shadows.’

If so, it would now be unavoidable for the Righteous Martial World to be torn to pieces.

Sa Do-hak chuckled, hiding his inner thoughts.

No matter what the outcome today, the Demonic Cult would suffer no loss. Sa Do-hak suppressed the urge to immediately send a carrier pigeon to Dongfang Gu to tell him to prepare to cross over to the Central Plains with extreme patience.

Around the time he was thinking that.

Namgung Cheon’s voice was heard.

“To think the Leader of the Righteous Martial Alliance would fall this low… I cannot tolerate this in the name of the Gentleman’s Sword.”

“Hahaha! This is hilarious. To see you, who always blocked my path and tried to stay ahead, in that state.”

“…”

Murong Hyeok-mun raised his hand with a smile. Instantly, Man Hu-ryang’s guards moved in a flash, rushing toward Namgung Cheon.

Their momentum erupted like an explosion.

“C-Careful! They are…!”

Go Dam-jin shouted to warn of the danger.

He had personally felt their skills.

Unorthodox swordplay, movements, and even a bizarre technique that suddenly increased their strength. Knowing they were by no means ordinary humans, he had to warn him.

However,

Thud, thud, thud, thud!

It was indeed a sudden event.

The heads of Man Hu-ryang’s rushing guards burst like watermelons. Not knowing what had happened, everyone present stared blankly at the falling corpses.

“Do not interfere in a sacred fight.”

Soon, a voice was heard.

It was Dan Woo-hyun, who was sitting on the steps, leisurely watching Namgung Cheon and Murong Hyeok-mun. In his hand, he held a few stone fragments, which were surely the cause of the blow that killed those men.

“W-Who on earth are they…!”

Go Dam-jin was not the only one surprised by the situation. The famous masters of the Nine Sects and One Gang, who had fainted, regained consciousness one by one and witnessed the strike from a moment ago.

To kill opponents they couldn’t defeat no matter what they did, by merely throwing such tiny stone fragments?

Furthermore, who was the one-armed masked man blocking Murong Hyeok-mun right now?

Where did such skilled masters come from?

Questions piled on top of questions.

“You bastard… how dare you…!”

On the other hand, Murong Hyeok-mun, who had lost his subordinates, gnashed his teeth. He did not know what shallow trick had been used, but the fact that the person had killed in a single blow those who had suppressed the masters of the Nine Sects and One Gang indicated they were highly skilled.

His killing intent toward him soared.

However, it was none other than Namgung Cheon who parried Murong Hyeok-mun’s killing intent.

He slowly extended his sword and spoke.

“Do not forget that your opponent is me.”

“Are you crazy? Do you think you can defeat me with only one arm?”

“Of course.”

Murong Hyeok-mun gnashed his teeth.

Although invisible because of the mask, it was clear what kind of expression was hidden on the face beneath it. It was the same expression he had seen since childhood.

A leisure that seemed to declare he could never surpass him.

Grind!

Murong Hyeok-mun gnashed his teeth and raised his momentum.

Sword Qi flared up, and his strength boiled over.

At that moment, Namgung Cheon took a low stance.

Simultaneously with taking the stance, Murong Hyeok-mun disappeared from view. This meant it was a speed that could not be followed with the eyes. Even Go Dam-jin could see nothing.

It was a speed on a completely different level compared to when he saw his sword earlier.

Clang!

However!

It was blocked!

It was a sword extended at a speed no different from a decisive strike. Yet, Namgung Cheon blocked the sword by lightly turning his back and swinging.

As if he had read it beforehand.

Murong Hyeok-mun frowned. However, he could easily anticipate this much. If his opponent was truly Namgung Cheon, it was natural that he could read his sword.

In an instant, he twisted the sword path and took a footwork step.

Murong Hyeok-mun’s blade cleverly curved like a snake, aiming for the flank. The power contained within was also quite different from before.

Clang!

Yet, it was blocked again.

“T-This is impossible…! To deflect such a sword path…!”

“Who on earth is he!”

The people gathered near Go Dam-jin were lost in shock. He had blocked a sword they thought could never be blocked. Just by looking at that, they could feel that the skill of the one-armed swordsman was on a completely different level.

However,

Slide!

He was pushed back.

Murong Hyeok-mun’s internal qi had already increased to a level incomparable to Namgung Cheon’s. If they collided head-on, it was a level where Namgung Cheon could never win.

Namgung Cheon stumbled heavily as he retreated, barely maintaining his balance.

He seemed to have taken such a heavy impact that it felt as if he would be unable to block or avoid the subsequent incoming sword.

Yet,

Clatter!

He blocked the incoming blades in succession.

Even while being pushed back, he stood his ground, blocking the sword that possessed internal qi stronger than his own.

The one most surprised by this was none other than Murong Hyeok-mun.

‘Damn! This is impossible!’

He was feeling it.

The moment the swords collided, he turned the blade and lightly deflected it. At the same time as he felt the impact flowing in after changing the trajectory, he moved back step by step, dispersing the force.

It was the same principle as tilting one’s head back to disperse the force before a fist connected.

Though he was no match in internal qi, his experience and execution were different. This was precisely the strength of the man once called the strongest in the Righteous Martial World.

Murong Hyeok-mun gnashed his teeth even harder.

“This cannot be! It cannot be! Just how long do you intend to stand in my way!”

He muttered while gnashing his teeth.

Although the sound was buried by the clashing of swords and could not be clearly heard by others, looking at his bloodshot eyes, Murong Hyeok-mun seemed to be driven by sheer malice.

Namgung Cheon calmly deflected the sword.

And he looked at him with pity.

“Do not even show me those eyes! Do not pity me! I am not weak enough to receive pity from you!”

“Your heart is already rotten… There is no turning back.”

“Always! It is always like that! Only you are outstanding, and only you are right! My heart is rotten? Then you, whom I see in my eyes, are also rotten!”

Murong Hyeok-mun could not accept it.

He was a guy who had lost an arm and been poisoned by Qi-Dispersing Poison. There was no way such a guy could return to a perfect state in a mere year. Yet, unable to defeat him and being dragged around, how was he supposed to accept the current situation?

He was furious.

The anger rising to the top of his head would not subside at all.

The shadow of defeat also darkened the face of Murong Gwan-cheon, who was watching this scene from behind. Seeing his father, whom he had looked up to so much, struggling, how could his heart feel at ease?

“I can never lose!”

Murong Hyeok-mun raised his momentum even further.

He drew upon the Innate Qi that he had stolen by violating countless women. Instantly, his momentum shifted, and the power gathered in his sword grew stronger.

“T-This is?!”

Namgung Cheon also could not hide his panic.

A momentum quite different from a moment ago.

He was certainly drawing upon Innate Qi, but how could Yin Qi flow so thickly from a man’s body?

He even had the illusion that his entire body was freezing.

He quickly retreated and swung his sword.

Slash!

“Ugh!”

However, he was cut. Namgung Cheon realized that from the moment he blocked, the sword swung in even faster. It was not merely emitting Yin Qi; it seemed his physical abilities had also risen, just like the Deity Descent Art.

Moreover, look at that gaze.

The bloodshot eyes seemed to hold nothing but the desire to kill the opponent.

Clang!

Soon, as their swords collided again, it was cut, unable to withstand Murong Hyeok-mun’s power. But there was no time to be surprised.

Murong Hyeok-mun’s bloodshot eyes were still staring at Namgung Cheon, and his sword swung as if to cleave Namgung Cheon’s head.

“Damn!?”

Just as he thought he was dead,

“That is enough.”

The sudden voice shattered his thoughts.

There was no pain that surely should have been felt starting from his head. When he looked with a bewildered expression, Dan Woo-hyun was standing there, though it was unclear since when.

What was even more surprising

was that he was holding the sword, which even Namgung Cheon himself could not block, with mere fingers.

“Y-You…”

“Ugh…! What are you! Who are you!”

The voices of the startled Namgung Cheon and Murong Hyeok-mun, who realized the swung sword would not budge, flew out at the same time. Signs of panic were clear in the eyes of both men.

“It was quite an interesting spectacle. But this is the end.”

Saying so, Dan Woo-hyun lightly twisted the sword held in his fingers. The sword, twisted from the tip as if carrying a whirlwind, bent like taffy, and then,

Crash!

blew Murong Hyeok-mun away.

“Cough!”

The blown-away Murong Hyeok-mun slammed into the wall and coughed up blood.

After coughing and wheezing for a long time, he stared at the sword in his hand. The blade was bent like taffy and seemed no longer usable.

He sprang up, discarded the sword, and reached out.

The sword held in Murong Gwan-cheon’s hand was drawn out and gripped in his hand.

“What did you do?”

“I twisted the blade. Didn’t you see?”

“…Who the hell are you?”

Murong Hyeok-mun narrowed his eyes.

He was no ordinary guy.

He had felt it earlier too, but experiencing that power in reality made it feel completely different. If he let his guard down like this, he might be defeated.

Defeated?

Don’t make him laugh!

He had not grown strong just to be defeated by someone like this. He would kill them all. Whether they were the Nine Sects and One Gang or Namgung Cheon, he would kill everyone who stood in his way and blocked him.

Murong Hyeok-mun’s anger soared.

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