Chapter 189: Great Void Dragon Slaying Sword Art
Chapter 188
‘As expected of a Kunlun Sect disciple.’
The eyes of the young Kunlun disciple with a sword pointed at his neck were identical to the eyes of the Kunlun Sect Taoists I had seen earlier when I asked about the Tao of Kunlun.
It was a face that found it hard to believe that words discussing the Tao came from the mouth of the Heavenly Demon, the arch-demon called the peak of demonic practitioners.
“Once more?”
“……Hmph!”
The boy, who knocked away the sword that was touching his neck and retreated, pointed his sword neatly once again.
‘He isn’t slow-witted.’
It seemed he had realized that I had no intention of harming him.
Since I was even teaching him the sword while making various interferences, he showed the determination to completely drain me.
Though I chose him because of his bold temperament, he matched my expectations better than I thought.
‘Shall we try?’
In any case, it was not a sword path I needed to cling to.
“What is the sword?”
“If you’re going to talk like a boring old geezer, forget it!”
Although he charged wildly, the posture with which he swung the sword felt somewhat different from a moment ago.
Instead of solely leaning toward an offensive filled with killing intent, he left a shred of leeway.
‘He accepts what needs to be accepted well, doesn’t he?’
Although he disliked me, he accepted the parts of my words that were deemed correct.
“In the Taoist gate, the sword is another you. You must carefully choose what to put into it.”
*Chaeng! Geugeuk!*
Deflecting the path of the Great Purity Sword that extended rigidly, I thrust the sword toward the boy’s neck just like before.
Then, this time, he deflected and blocked it.
It was a tremendous talent.
“What is Kunlun?”
“Kunlun is Kunlun, what else…”
“The ‘Kun’ of Kunlun combines ‘Kun’, meaning the eldest, and ‘San’ (San) to form ‘Kun’. It means the eldest of mountains. The first mountain, and the first Tao. Kunlun honors that first name.”
“So what!”
*Chaang!*
Once again, the boy’s sword grew wild.
The sword strikes laden with emotion were disorganized, but they were as strong as the emotions contained within.
“What does it matter about a name that nobody recognizes anyway!”
The boy wailed like a beast as he swung his sword.
Adept Cheon-won’s words, saying that Kunlun is a lonely place, came to mind.
‘So that’s what the Kunlun Sect thinks…’
In fact, since the Kunlun Sect is situated deep in Qinghai, they have no sense of belonging despite being called one of the Nine Sects.
‘But those words are wrong.’
Nobody recognizes Kunlun?
That might be the case on earth.
However, heaven is different.
‘They who are marginalized on earth are respected more than anyone in heaven. Others bow their heads and dare not approach them.’
Did the many immortals, who were numerous enough to instigate and pressure the masters, suddenly pop up out of nowhere without roots?
That was not the case.
All of it was the fruits of the past reaching the present.
“If there is someone ahead, someone else is bound to follow behind. Those who chase the name of Kunlun will always exist as long as the history of the Taoist gate does not disappear. In the past, in the present, and in the future. As a disciple of Kunlun, if you wish to succeed the name of Kunlun, you must keep this in mind. What rests upon your shoulders is by no means light.”
“……Are you really the Heavenly Demon?”
The boy looked at me with suspicious eyes.
It was understandable, since the Heavenly Demon was speaking words that only an elder of their sect or a grand senior of the Taoist gate would say.
‘What can I do? These are all stories that your incredibly ancient seniors pounded into my head.’
For reference, the stories I unfolded were teachings delivered by the Kunlun immortals through the masters.
Frankly speaking, I do not like such nebulous stories either.
But the old-fashioned way has its own style.
Along with that, a piece of martial arts thoroughly imbued with an old-timer spirit was passed down.
While it was not a martial art one could immediately copy just by hearing it, perhaps because it was a heaven-brand martial art, it really stuck in my mind.
In addition, strangely, that martial art shared certain aspects with Master Heavenly Demon’s martial arts to some extent.
[The martial path I pursued was the Chaotic Limitless. Therefore, the Great Void, which was originally the martial path pursued by Kunlun, also served as a path for me for a time.]
Hearing Master Heavenly Demon’s admission made it understandable.
‘Including the fact that the Azure Bird followed him… Unlike what is known, Master Heavenly Demon seems to have had deep ties with Kunlun.’
Although he learned alone without a teacher, it seemed there was something that served as a signpost even for the immature Master Heavenly Demon.
Great Void.
The state before all things took form, around the time everything was submerged in chaos.
An idea sharing the same context with chaos.
Along with that concept, there was a sword technique passed down in Kunlun.
A sword technique said to have been used in the distant past to slay the evil dragon perturbing the earth through the Great Void.
Great Void Dragon-Slaying Sword Art.
The undamaged, complete Teachings of the Sword Immortal.
A martial art that leads to the Sword Immortal.
The ultimate power that emerged riding the flow of the Heavenly Demon Kalpaless Hand permeated the boy’s sword that was in contact.
*Buseuseu!*
“Heh?!”
The blade of the boy’s sword crumbled like dust.
Startled, the boy retreated, only for his feet to get tangled and fall flat on his rump.
I saw fear of the unknown dwell in the boy’s eyes, which had been full of fighting spirit.
It was not incomprehensible.
While he might have seen something cut a sword made of solid iron, it was probably his first time seeing a martial art that crumbled it like dust.
“If you wish to contain only killing intent in the sword of Kunlun, the Teachings of the Sword Immortal will grow that much further away.”
I released the acupoints of the boy I had subdued.
“Mu-yeol!”
The boy who had been subdued ran over to check on the sitting boy, then suddenly slung him over his back and ran.
*Peeeeep!*
Just then, the cry of the Azure Bird was heard from overhead.
‘Is this enough?’
Since the seed was sown, it would sprout now.
Meanwhile, I should go do what I need to do.
***
The young Kunlun disciple Yeong-jin slung his dazed classmate Mu-yeol over his back and ran until he was out of breath.
Although he had a young body, as a talent who had learned the martial arts of Kunlun, he was able to run until the figure of the Heavenly Demon was no longer visible.
“It’s fine. Put me down.”
“Pant… Pant… Huh? A-Are you okay? *Inhale!*”
At Yeong-jin’s worried question, Mu-yeol hopped down from the back he was being carried on.
“*Inhale*… No injuries?”
“I’m perfectly fine.”
Although Yeong-jin still had a worried face, Mu-yeol’s gaze could not move away from his own hand.
Looking at the hilt, which seemed to say it was once a sword, Mu-yeol furrowed his brow.
“Which makes it even funnier, but…”
“True.”
Yeong-jin agreed with Mu-yeol’s words and nodded.
The two stared at the blade-less hilt as if possessed by a ghost.
Logically, it made no sense.
It was power enough to turn a blade made of iron into powder.
Yet, the hilt of the sword remained perfectly intact.
Moreover, the hand holding the sword also suffered no damage at all.
It was a realm that could not be understood at all.
“I guess the Heavenly Demon is indeed the Heavenly Demon.”
“I don’t know…”
Compared to Yeong-jin who was scared, Mu-yeol could not emerge from his thoughts.
“For the Heavenly Demon to discuss the Tao…”
There was no longer anyone who discussed the Tao in the Kunlun Sect.
There was only martial arts.
Yet, the Heavenly Demon, the arch-demon among arch-demons, discussed the Tao and the Taoist gate.
Content that could not be ignored was also contained within the words filled with profound truth.
“Teachings of the Sword Immortal… Great Void Dragon-Slaying Sword Art…”
It was a martial art said to not have its lineage completely inherited among Kunlun’s martial arts.
The Heavenly Demon discussed the martial art that was said to have been lost in the battles against the Demonic Cult.
A divine art and absolute technique discussed as something that would have prevented the Demonic Cult from daring to provoke them if its lineage had been completely inherited.
Thinking about it calmly, it was an exaggerated statement.
Because it was passed down that the conflicts with the Demonic Cult were still ongoing even when that martial art was completely inherited in the past.
Yet, nostalgia for the complete Great Void Dragon-Slaying Sword Art, called the Teachings of the Sword Immortal, existed to the point where such words were openly spoken.
One could see this immediately just by looking at the alias the Kunlun Sect Leader claimed for himself.
Great Void Sword Master.
An alias containing the wish to completely restore the Great Void Dragon-Slaying Sword Art in his era and personally become the Sword Master, the grandmaster of the sword.
“Let’s go to Master.”
“What?”
At Mu-yeol’s words, Yeong-jin was startled.
“Huh? W-Why? Why?”
“You heard it too. The Heavenly Demon discussing the Teachings of the Sword Immortal.”
“Ugh… That’s true, but… we’ll get scolded big time.”
“Shut up. Is getting scolded a big deal?”
Mu-yeol scowled as he looked at the hesitating Yeong-jin.
“I’ll spread the rumor that you swooned over that Demonic Cult girl, you know?”
“You’re right! Is getting scolded a big deal? Let’s go!”
Mu-yeol clicked his tongue at the sight of Yeong-jin immediately changing his stance.
The two boys, running while even unfolding lightness skills clumsily, entered the Kunlun Sect straight away.
Unlike usual, the sect was buzzing.
“It seems the adults are also busy talking about that Heavenly Demon, though?”
“Yeah.”
The conversations shared by groups gathering here and there were all about the Heavenly Demon.
Some conversations had warmth in them, while others were full of hostility.
It was indeed a peculiar thing that opinions about the Heavenly Demon were divided this much in the Kunlun Sect of all places.
Mu-yeol and Yeong-jin moved to find their master.
“Those frustrating bastards. I want to smash them all with the corner of a Tao Te Ching, damn it!”
The Taoist boasting a coarse vocabulary, Taoist Master Ji-ryun, was Mu-yeol and Yeong-jin’s master.
The two children read that their master’s mood was extremely unpleasant.
However, Mu-yeol approached his master with a determined face.
“Master.”
“Oh! Yes, my kids. Where did you go that I couldn’t find you even when looking…”
“We went to see the Heavenly Demon.”
At Mu-yeol’s words that suddenly cut in, the warm face of Taoist Master Ji-ryun stiffened completely.
“Yeong-jin, go to my quarters and bring a Tao Te Ching. A large one made of bamboo slips.”
“W-Why, Master?”
“Why else! To bash your heads in!! You reckless crazy bastards! What! Do you want to go to the Repentance Cave?!”
Taoist Master Ji-ryun rampaged in a fury.
However, unlike Taoist Master Ji-ryun, the Kunlun Sect disciples showed interest in Mu-yeol’s story.
“So, what is it you want to say?”
“This.”
Mu-yeol showed the hilt of the sword, from which the blade had disappeared, to the adults.
And he unfolded the conversation shared with the Heavenly Demon in detail.
The Kunlun disciples, who were focusing on the story as if shocked, had their complexions change at the word ‘Teachings of the Sword Immortal’ that came out at the end.
“Heh! Teachings of the Sword Immortal! How could an arch-demon know the Great Void Dragon-Slaying Sword Art…”
“Nonsense! That is impossible!”
“While it is an absurd thing… it does not seem like a completely impossible statement. Just listening to Mu-yeol’s words, it is clear that even if he is not a disciple of the Taoist gate, he is not ignorant of the Taoist gate’s teachings. In fact, didn’t even the first generation Heavenly Demon have ties with Kunlun? And the Azure Bird following him like that, just like it did with the first generation Heavenly Demon.”
“Isn’t that an excessive speculation?”
In the chaotic situation, opinions were clearly divided.
It was Taoist Master Ji-ryun who quickly cleared up the confusion.
“He would not have mentioned the Teachings of the Sword Immortal in Kunlun without any thought. I must see the Sect Leader.”
Taoist Master Ji-ryun, who accepted the story without prejudice perhaps because it was spoken by his disciple, made a quick assessment and reached a decision.
However, the subsequent words held back Taoist Master Ji-ryun.
“……This is not good.”
“What do you mean?”
“Martial Uncle Cheon-gyeong just moved. He said that even if they were correct words, since they were spoken by the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult, weren’t we mocked? He asked if we should just stand by after being thoroughly humiliated…”
While some were sharing opinions, someone had moved directly.
“You should have stopped him!”
“Ah, who knew that even the Teachings of the Sword Immortal would be mentioned!”
The one protesting was full of dismay.
“Move quickly! Quickly!”
Taoist Master Ji-ryun, clutching the hilt of the sword, which could be called a trace of the Great Void Dragon-Slaying Sword Art, ran toward the Sect Leader’s location.