It is damn nice to see you. (4)
Pain surged through his chest and neck. Both the wounds carved into him in the past and those carved into him just now cried out in pain.
As Heavenly Executioner pressed down on the wound oozing thick blood to staunch the bleeding, the first emotion that came to him was ‘unfamiliarity.’
Yes. Strangely enough, it felt unfamiliar.
This pain, and this situation.
Wasn’t it laughable? That someone who had devoted himself to the demonic path would find pain unfamiliar. Of course, it was understandable if one thought about it for even a moment. Heavenly Executioner had not been wounded by anyone in the past hundred years.
And yet, he still couldn’t tell.
Whether the source of this unfamiliarity lay in the long absence of pain itself, or whether it was because he had never expected to be wounded by someone during this journey through the Central Plains.
‘Perhaps it’s both.’
Heavenly Executioner stared intently at the person before him.
It was difficult to deny.
Even knowing that comparing such a young brat to ‘him’ was unthinkable. Even if one could discuss whether he had reached the same realm, a ‘human being’ like him could never exist again.
And yet, it could not be denied. The person standing before him now was terribly similar to that ‘Maehwa Geomjon.’ The pain echoing from his old scar proved it.
“…I cannot understand it.”
No matter how he thought about it, it was impossible.
Paradoxically, Maehwa Geomjon was, in a sense, a being Heavenly Executioner himself had created.
Heavenly Executioner had created Maehwa Geomjon, and Maehwa Geomjon had completed Heavenly Executioner. The Heavenly Executioner of today and Maehwa Geomjon of that time were like bastard children born of that bitter, unending struggle.
And yet, someone who had never experienced those days reminded him of the person he had been then. How was he supposed to accept this situation?
“What a farce.”
Heavenly Executioner thrust out his right hand towards Chung Myung. Palm force sufficient to pulverize a human and bring down a mountain surged forth. But the swordsman before him easily deflected that palm force with a single sweep of his sword.
Kkwaaang!
The demonic energy raging across the barren land seemed to reflect Heavenly Executioner’s state of mind.
“I see.”
Heavenly Executioner nodded faintly.
There was no need to force himself to accept something he could not understand. He only needed to acknowledge it: that this young swordsman was terribly similar to Maehwa Geomjon of the past.
And what that meant, as well.
Heavenly Executioner asked out of pure curiosity.
“Why?”
“Huh?”
“A swordsman of your caliber is a rarity. Even throughout history, I doubt there have been many.”
“What are you suddenly talking about?”
“Then you should know. That a life such as yours should not be thrown away in a place like this.”
“…”
Heavenly Executioner narrowed his eyes.
“Answer me, unbeliever. Does your presence here mean that the Central Plains’ incompetence is no different from that of the past? Or does it mean that your arrogance is so excessive that you would reject the Central Plains’ attempts to dissuade you?”
This was a question of great significance to Heavenly Executioner. But the answer that came from Chung Myung was completely different from what he had expected.
“This idiot really doesn’t get it.”
“…”
“That’s something you should be asking yourself. Not me.”
Heavenly Executioner could not immediately understand the answer he received. But after a brief moment, his face hardened.
“You wretch…….”
“Well, I won’t bother asking. You obviously acted entirely on your own.”
“…”
“Thanks to that, I got this opportunity. An opportunity to take your head without any of the others getting in my way.”
The demonic energy that had briefly subsided began to seep slowly from Heavenly Executioner’s body.
“I asked a pointless question. It’s not as though anything would change anyway.”
“Yeah, I agree. Every now and then, we really do see eye to eye like this. But…”
Kkagak.
The tip of Chung Myung’s sword scraped across the ground.
“This is a little different.”
Kaaaaaang!
Chung Myung’s sword suddenly appeared before Heavenly Executioner as if cleaving through space, and collided with his fist in midair.
“I’m more the type who’d rather cross blades than stand around yapping with you.”
“Know your….”
At that moment, Heavenly Executioner’s eyes turned completely blood-red. At the same time, an enormous torrent of demonic energy erupted from his body
“Know your place! You wretched unbeliever!”
Kwaaaaaaang!
Chung Myung was sent flying like a leaf caught in a typhoon. At the same time, he clutched his solar plexus with his left hand.
‘Damn it!’
He had merely been caught in the aftermath. And yet, his insides had been shaken, and his internal energy and blood were boiling.
He had expected Heavenly Executioner to have grown stronger. It was only natural. Even after the moment Chung Myung’s life had ended, that bastard had continued to live. Of course he would have grown stronger.
But this had surpassed that level.
Boooom!
Palm force came crashing down like a raging torrent. Chung Myung stared at the black demonic energy, darker than anything in the world, so deep that merely looking at it seemed enough to suck him in.
Every hair on his body stood on end. He did not even dare think of raising his sword, twisting his body to barely evade the attack.
If it hit him, he would die. Even Chung Myung could not face that head-on and survive. No, perhaps even a mere graze would be enough to take his life.
And that bastard could unleash palm strikes laden with that much demonic energy without pause. In terms of the sheer power each possessed, it was little different from a human and a sparrow fighting each other to the death.
Faced with an overwhelming gap that made even the word despair seem inadequate, Chung Myung suddenly grinned.
“Come on. Still… I should at least be a swallow!”
Paaaaaah!
Like a man hurling his life into raging waters, he shot forward with all his might, then, just before the palm force could engulf him, stepped upon the empty air and soared upward.
Saaaaaak!
As he shot upward, he split the palm force with the tip of his sword. Then, as though striking the surface of the water with his sword to launch himself back into the air, he lashed his sword against the palm force and used the recoil to shoot towards Heavenly Executioner once more.
It was a movement closer to an acrobatic feat than a martial art.
Even after witnessing such an unbelievable sight, Heavenly Executioner was not the least bit flustered.
Kwaang! Kwaang! Kwaang!
Three short bursts of palm force shot towards Chung Myung.
Just as Chung Myung began twisting his body, as though he had anticipated this move, the incoming palm forces exploded as they drew near him. The resulting shockwaves swept outward in every direction with terrifying force.
Chung Myung was hurled backward even more violently than the speed at which he had been flying forward. Blood gushed from his mouth like a fountain.
“Sure enough….”
His upper teeth dug into his blood-soaked lower lip.
Strong.
No. Could this truly be described simply as ‘strong’?
There was no martial art in the world that could explain this power. Even to Chung Myung, who had perhaps encountered and understood more martial arts than anyone else under heaven, that power felt overwhelming. Its very nature was fundamentally different.
But this fact alone could not break Chung Myung’s will.
No matter how lofty. No matter how mighty.
‘Even so…’
By then, the space directly in front of Chung Myung had been completely covered by pitch-black demonic energy. It was an attack that truly accomplished something that should ordinarily have been possible only in words: leaving him not even the slightest opening to evade.
Chung Myung raised his sword even more firmly towards it.
The blade filled with crimson sword energy. The sword energy that whirled like flames instantly caused thousands of plum blossom petals to bloom one after another.
The plum blossoms blooming in midair flowed together into a single mass, then fell towards the sea of black palm force like a meteor cleaving through the night sky.
Plum Blossom Sword Formation: Plum Blossom Meteor Fall [매화유성락(梅花流星落)].
The wielder divides his internal energy to bloom thousands of petals, then gathers those petals together once more and forges them into a single mass of sword energy. The ultimate extreme of inefficiency, devoid of either reason or logic.
And yet, sometimes a sword is born from that very ‘wastefulness.’
The sword energy, condensed again and again, was honed until it became incomparably sharp, like a single blade of sword force. It slashed vertically through the sea of black demonic energy.
Chwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaak!
The turbulent sea of demonic energy split apart to the left and right as if by a miracle. The dark clouds that had covered the world dispersed, and dazzling light poured down.
It did not matter how strong he was.
This sort of thing, something as pathetic as this, was not despair. It could not even be called despair.
To those who knew what true despair was, no matter how powerful such martial arts might be, in the end they were still merely the martial arts of a human.
Chung Myung threw the Dark Fragrance Plum Blossom Sword with all his strength. At the same time, he made his body infinitely light and placed it upon that sword. He was not advancing while holding the sword. He was being carried by the sword as it advanced.
An extremely practical form of Sword Flight.* Chung Myung’s body tore through the air like an arrow, hurtling forward at the very same speed as the flying sword.
Martial arts of such profound mastery that they seemed fit only for myth overturned heaven and earth, while realms spoken of only in legend unfolded as though they were nothing extraordinary. It was, quite literally, a clash that shook heaven and earth, but unfortunately, there was no one here now capable of recognizing just how extraordinary it truly was.
As he watched Chung Myung fly towards him like a ray of light, Heavenly Executioner twisted the corner of his mouth.
“Playing little tricks, are you?”
Kwaaaaaa!
Frenzied demonic energy spiraled around Heavenly Executioner’s fist. No matter what method his opponent used, all he had to do was crush it head-on.
But at that moment.
Chung Myung’s body, which had been charging forward as though there were no turning back, came to an abrupt halt in midair. Even Heavenly Executioner himself flinched at this completely unexpected movement.
Pararararak!
At the same time, Chung Myung’s sword moved magnificently through the air.
One. A plum blossom blooms. Again, one. A plum blossom blooms.
They continued to bloom, one after another, until they covered the entire world in plum blossom petals.
Plum Blossom Sword Forman: Plum Blossoms Shaking All Under Heaven [매화진천하(梅花振天下)].
It was clearly a Plum Blossom Sword Technique, yet it seemed to be a move that should no longer be called that. It had already surpassed the limits of the Plum Blossom Sword Technique. The countless plum blossoms fluttering through the air surged towards Heavenly Executioner all at once.
If a hundred times were not enough, then a thousand. If a thousand were not enough, then ten thousand.
The very essence of the realm he had reached by bridging past and present was contained wholly within this sword.
‘Even you!’
Chung Myung glared at Heavenly Executioner as though he intended to pierce straight through him. Even the Heavenly Executioner could not possibly emerge unscathed beneath this sword……
‘What?’
It was at that moment.
Heavenly Executioner’s hand moved slowly. No, it must have been fast, but to Chung Myung, it appeared strangely sluggish.
Kwaaaaaa!
The demonic energy that had been spiraling around Heavenly Executioner’s fist all this time slowly gathered in one place and condensed.
“Did I not tell you?”
At last, the moment Heavenly Executioner’s fist opened.
Krrrk.
The condensed demonic energy spread outward as though exploding. It split into hundreds, then thousands of streaks, shooting forth like bolts of lightning. Each one pierced the plum blossom petals that had been closing in around Heavenly Executioner.
The countless plum blossom sword energies that had covered the world were torn apart and crushed by Heavenly Executioner’s demonic energy, leaving not even a single one behind.
‘What?’
And through this opening, a single streak of black lightning hurtled towards Chung Myung with terrifying speed and power.
Faced with an absolute speed too great for him to react to immediately, the only thing Chung Myung could do was open his eyes wide.
Krrrunch!
Heavenly Executioner’s demonic energy tore into Chung Myung’s chest.
Unable to withstand the full force of the impact, Chung Myung was knocked upward into the air before plummeting headfirst like a kite whose string had been cut.
Heavenly Executioner cast an emotionless glance at the fallen Chung Myung.
“That is your arrogance.”
Heavenly Executioner’s impassive voice spread across the earth drowned in silence. Just like the blood flowing from Chung Myung, slowly spreading across the ground.
Special Spinoff Chapter 58 >>>
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*어검비행(御劍飛行) – classic wuxia/xianxia martial-arts term, directly translated as “controlling a sword to fly/travel.”
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Ykw. I’m getting kind of confused with this fight. Where are the mentions of Chung Myung’s pure taoist energy (immortal energy)? Why is it not so effective against Cheonsal? This is giving me flashbacks to the past war where demonic energy of the cultists helping Ilso has never been “noticed” by Chung Myung aka never been addressed by Biga.
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