Chapter 1953 - Return of The Mount Hua Sect

Chapter 1953. It’s Damn Fucking Good to See You Again. (3)

Throb.

At the sudden pulse of pain, Heavenly Executioner lowered his gaze to his own hand. His palm had reddened. It looked insignificant, but in truth, it carried tremendous meaning.

The gaze that had been lowered slowly lifted forward.

Looking at his opponent, Heavenly Executioner murmured softly,

“So... your name was Cheong Myeong, wasn’t it?”

Cheong Myeong rested his sword across his shoulder and smirked.

“It’s not like I think my name’s anything all that grand, you know.”

“Hmm?”

“But even so, it’s not a name the likes of a Bishop should be saying so casually. Just hearing it come out of your mouth is enough to turn my stomach, so I’d appreciate it if you’d refrain.”

Heavenly Executioner gave a slight shrug.

“How arrogant. Yes... just like ‘him’.”

Soon, blood vessels slowly spread across his eyes. A throbbing pain returned. Not from the hand that had blocked Cheong Myeong’s attack, but from wounds a full hundred years old.

The agony he had felt then. The despair. And... deep resentment. All of it returned as vividly as though it had happened only yesterday.

“Tell me, unbeliever. Give me one reason I shouldn’t tear you limb from limb.”

The crimson in Heavenly Executioner’s eyes deepened.

“You wield the sword of that accursed sect, bear the name of that accursed man, and imitate the aura of that accursed man. Tell me, is there even a single reason why I shouldn’t chew you up until not a scrap of flesh remains? If you can, I’ll at least grant you a peaceful death.”

At those words, the corner of Cheong Myeong’s mouth curled strangely. It was a sinister smile, reminiscent of someone else.

“I’m not particularly looking for mercy, but if you want a reason, there’s only one.”

“...Hmm?”

“Because you lack the ability to do so.”

“.....”

“Stop running your mouth and come at me, you idiot. The neck that should’ve been severed a hundred years ago, I’ll cut it off now...”

KWAAAAAAANG!

It was a strike filled with absolute certainty.

There wasn’t a trace of doubt in the fist that shot forward. This blow would crush Cheong Myeong’s head. It was an attack born of nothing but that conviction.

KAAAAANG!

And so, when that conviction collapsed, it left only emptiness.

“.....”

For the first time, bewilderment crossed Heavenly Executioner’s face.

Cheong Myeong’s head had not been crushed. No, it hadn’t even been scratched. The sword he had extended almost absentmindedly had reduced that conviction-filled strike to nothing, as though it had never existed in the first place.

“You bastard...”

“Don’t be in such a hurry.”

At that moment, an appalling killing intent spread in every direction. So overwhelming that even Heavenly Executioner, one of the Heavenly Demon’s Bishops, shuddered in spite of himself.

“Because I want to chew your flesh apart just as much.”

Cheong Myeong cast a brief glance toward Jwa Gohak.

“Go.”

“...Dojang.”

There were far too many things he wanted to say. Far too many things he needed to say. But Jwa Gohak knew exactly what he had to do. Leaving all those countless words unsaid, he spoke.

“My birthday is soon.”

“...Huh?”

“Even in the midst of all this chaos, I’ve kept a bottle of good wine. It’ll be far more enjoyable if we drink it together... So let’s meet again then.”

Understanding the meaning behind those words, Cheong Myeong let out a faint chuckle.

“Anyway, you scholar bastards. Even ‘don’t die’ somehow comes out sounding sophisticated when you say it.”

Jwa Gohak briefly cupped his fist in salute toward Cheong Myeong, then turned and sprinted away.

Watching him leave with an unhurried gaze, Cheong Myeong casually swept his sword through the air like a flash of lightning.

Paak!

The head of a cultist who had reflexively tried to pursue Jwa Gohak shot into the air.

Having indifferently claimed a single life, Cheong Myeong turned his gaze back to Heavenly Executioner. It had not been a particularly long time. Yet throughout it all, Heavenly Executioner had remained silent, simply waiting for Cheong Myeong.

“So, there was such a thing as patience. Even for you bishop bastards.”

“We had no choice. For a hundred years, patience was the only thing we could do. Wear clothes that don’t fit long enough, and eventually they become comfortable.”

Cheong Myeong’s eyes narrowed slightly.

Even in the past, Heavenly Executioner had never been merely a dull brute with nothing but strength. Had that been the case, his infamy would never have spread so far throughout the world.

But the Heavenly Executioner before him now was different even from the one back then.

“It doesn’t really matter.”

Cheong Myeong leveled the tip of his sword at Heavenly Executioner.

“You’re dying here anyway.”

“Heh.”

Heavenly Executioner let out a quiet chuckle.

“I’ll admit it. You’re strong. Strong enough to remind me of him. And your arrogance surpasses even his.”

“.....From your perspective, I can see why you’d say that. But from where I’m standing, it’s a bit awkward to hear.”

Being compared to his past self. What an uncomfortable feeling.

“But, you wretched unbeliever.”

Wooooooong.

Black demonic qi slowly churned as it coiled around Heavenly Executioner’s body.

“Even if the one standing before me now were him instead of you, he would not dare be so arrogant.”

“Hm. Really? Seems like I can, though...”

KWAAAAAAANG!

At that instant, Cheong Myeong’s body was hurled backward like a streak of light.

“Cough!”

Blood burst through the gaps of Cheong Myeong’s tightly clenched teeth. He had definitely blocked it, yet pain surged through his entire body as though every bone had been crushed.

‘His internal qi...’

Heavenly Executioner had been powerful even in the past. Setting aside the Heavenly Demon, who stood beyond all measure, he had been more than worthy of contending for the title of the strongest beneath the heavens.

That man had then been given another hundred years. Just what realm had Heavenly Executioner reached now? A hundred years ago he had already stood at the Ultimate Demonic Realm. What words could possibly describe the realm he had reached now?

[Ultimate Demonic Realm. Geukma. 극마(極魔).]

KWAAAAAAANG!

Before the thought could finish, another wave of demonic qi crashed down upon Cheong Myeong.

Unable to fully regain his bearings, Cheong Myeong slammed into the ground once before rebounding back up. Twisting his body, he landed on his feet and flashed a grin through bloodstained teeth.

“This is ridiculous.”

The ground beneath Cheong Myeong darkened to pitch black. Without a moment’s hesitation, he kicked off the earth and leaped away.

KWAAAAAAAAAAANG!

A colossal mass of demonic qi swallowed the place where Cheong Myeong had stood only moments before, soaring skyward like a gigantic black dragon.

“Haha.”

Cheong Myeong let out a sarcastic laugh, as if finding it absurd.

At this point, it could hardly even be called martial arts. It had surpassed even the most fundamental requirement of martial arts: projecting one’s qi beyond the physical body.

KWAANG! KWAANG! KWAAANG!

With thunderous explosions, three enormous streams of pitch-black palm force shot through the air toward Cheong Myeong. Each was the size of a house, and surely possessed far more power than its appearance suggested.

KWAAAAAAAAANG!

The palm force struck the earth, literally pulverizing the ground.

There were no techniques. No, it would be more accurate to say there was no need for them.

If a technique is “the method by which one draws the greatest efficiency from limited power,” then Heavenly Executioner had no need for techniques. His power was not limited.

He had not transcended techniques by elevating his realm. Rather, he had become so overwhelmingly powerful that techniques themselves had become meaningless.

“What... is that...?”

Even the beggars who had risked their lives to rush here in support of the refugees collapsed where they stood upon witnessing the might of those black palm strikes. They had already resolved to cast away their lives as though they were nothing. Yet the scene before them rendered even that noble resolve insignificant.

And amidst that overwhelming spectacle, a human being of flesh and blood was moving.

KWAAAAAAAAANG.

He evaded the palm force. But it was meaningless. The demonic qi that slammed into the ground erupted into a massive explosion, whipping everything around it into a savage vortex. Even if one dodged the palm force itself, the surging demonic qi that followed would inevitably tear them to shreds.

Paat!

But at that moment, Cheong Myeong’s sword moved.

Pararararararak!

In the blink of an eye, thousands, tens of thousands of plum blossoms bloomed across the empty air. An endless forest of plum blossoms, as though it could never exist in any reality, stood against the storm of demonic qi.

Plum Blossom Sword Art: Plum Blossoms Bloom Like a Mountain.

[Maehwa Seong Yeosan. 매화성여산(梅花盛如山), literally “Plum Blossoms Bloom Like a Mountain,” A technique of the Plum Blossom Sword Art, creating an overwhelming wall of countless plum blossoms as immovable as a mountain.]

The storm brutally tore the blossoms apart. Yet the blossoms bloomed again and again. Like a towering mountain, they held back the storm of demonic qi to the very end.

KWAAAAAANG!

At that instant, another palm force came flying in and smashed into the mountain of blossoms. Unable to withstand the horrifying power of the successive explosion, the mountain of blossoms began collapsing all at once.

But a fleeting instant. That single moment was enough.

Paaaaaat!

Leaving a long afterimage behind him, Cheong Myeong shot toward Heavenly Executioner. The crimson sword qi spreading from the tip of his blade streaked across the air like a stroke of vermilion cinnabar painted across a scroll.

[Vermilion cinnabar. Jusa. 주사(朱砂)]

“Haaaat!”

At last, the sword descended toward Heavenly Executioner’s head.

KWAAANG!

Heavenly Executioner’s hand, wrapped in black demonic qi, collided head-on with Cheong Myeong’s Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword.

Kagagagagak!

The arm gripping the sword trembled violently. The hand clutching the blade twisted as though it would snap. And hatred, fiercer than even the force of that collision, erupted toward one another.

Paaaat!

Cheong Myeong’s sword drew back like a flash of light, slipping free from Heavenly Executioner’s grasp. As he pulled back the sword, his body lunged forward instead. From a distance where they were nearly touching, Cheong Myeong unleashed a chain of strikes. It was an explosively violent assault.

KAAAAANG!

Heavenly Executioner did not even attempt to block the dozens of sword shadows thrust toward him. The tips of the blade failed to pierce the demonic qi wrapped around his body. Though he allowed Cheong Myeong’s full-powered thrusts to strike him dozens of times, all they left upon his body were shallow scratches.

Cheong Myeong’s eyes widened.

At that very moment, Heavenly Executioner’s right hand, shrouded in demonic qi, came crashing down toward the crown of Cheong Myeong’s head.

KWAAAAAAANG!

An explosion loud enough to tear apart eardrums erupted. Cheong Myeong’s knees buckled as though they would hit the ground. Even though he had blocked it with his sword, he could not withstand the force carried behind the blow.

“You gnat-like bastard!”

With a furious roar, Heavenly Executioner struck down once more. This time, the attack carried the absolute intent of crushing Cheong Myeong together with his sword.

But in that instant, Cheong Myeong twisted the sword he had raised. At the same time, he hurled himself directly toward Heavenly Executioner’s face and drove his sword with all his strength toward his throat.

KAAAAANG!

That strike, too, failed to pierce Heavenly Executioner’s body. But the instant he closed in, Cheong Myeong unleashed a terrifying flurry of thrusts at the exact same point.

Not strikes dispersed in every direction, but a concentrated barrage focused upon a single point.

After allowing dozens of thrusts to land in a single instant, Heavenly Executioner’s demonic qi was finally pierced. The keen tip of the Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword gouged into the demonic man’s flesh.

“UAAAAAAH!”

Heavenly Executioner’s right hand came crashing down convulsively upon Cheong Myeong’s shoulder. Cheong Myeong immediately twisted his sword to intercept the fist. Then he was blasted away like a fired cannonball and smashed into the ground.

KWAAAAAAANG!

It had collided with nothing more than a human body. Yet an absurdly massive explosion erupted. A thick cloud of dust completely swallowed Cheong Myeong’s figure.

Watching the settling dust in silence, Heavenly Executioner slowly raised a hand and touched his neck.

Red blood.

Blood streamed steadily from a wound carved nearly a finger-joint deep into his neck. Just one moment. Yes, had he allowed that attack to continue for just one moment longer, it would likely have become a fatal wound.

“...Just what are you?”

What was this style of combat, so vicious it could only be called horrifying?

Then, through the clearing dust, Cheong Myeong slowly walked forward with his sword hanging loosely at his side. Perhaps he had been wounded somewhere on the head. Blood running down from his forehead stained his face.

He stuck out his tongue and licked the blood from his lips. Then, baring teeth dyed crimson, he smiled.

“I don’t know if this is the right thing to say right now... but it’s been a long time. Since I’ve felt this fucking incredible.”

The sword quivered like the fangs of a beast.

“Let's keep going, before the fun wears off.”

Throb.

A searing pain surged from Heavenly Executioner’s century-old scar.

Next Chapter

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