Chapter 38: Don't Be Deceived
Ho.
To ho.
I want to go ho.
"Let go ho."
Wuuung—Mukheun, receiving the Eight Trigram Unity Technique, humd in my stead.
"Right? Mukheun, you're also irritated, aren't you? No? You like all fights? But I want to go ho."
Showing irritation while having a conversation with Mukheun.
"What? Are you really the Ink Sword Hero I know?"
Cloud-Severing Sword Jong Dohak stared blankly.
"You have the wrong person. Since I'm not the Ink Sword Hero, I'll be going."
I tried to leave him and enter the alley.
"Stop! What are you even saying!"
"Mm... Won't work?"
"Of course not!"
Jong Dohak seed extrely flustered.
"What? What happened in the five years that passed? You've completely changed as a person."
"I'm not different. What's different? Because I didn't greet you? Because I didn't ask how you were? I'm just not in the mood."
"Just now you pretended not to know ? And you're not in the mood?"
Using 'mood' as a reason.
When he knew , such things didn't happen.
"Ah, right. I am Jin Yeomyeong. Since I am, hurry up."
I swung Mukheun around.
Jong Dohak ca to his senses.
He seed to recall his assassination mission again.
He also drew his sword.
His beloved sword Swallowtail.
A long, thin sword with elasticity.
Cloud-Severing Sword used to twist sword paths by utilizing Swallowtail's elasticity.
"Your sword was called Mukheun. The black traces left behind where the swallow's tail passed..."
"Ha!"
"Damn!"
Too many words.
I had no intention of listening.
A White Path martial world senior returning after a long ti.
Yet he had rely beco an assassin.
Cloud-Severing Sword blocked one strike then imdiately counterattacked.
Swaeaeaek.
Swallowtail flew.
A nimble blade like its na cut the wind.
Hoong.
I struck down with Mukheun.
Struck down strongly as if leaving traces in space.
The two swords t for an instant and separated.
Mukheun went its way,
The swallowtail was pushed back.
"Mm."
Jong Dohak closed his mouth.
'Ink Sword Hero, indeed you've achieved sothing.'
He had no intention of underestimating a junior he'd beaten once. Jin Yeomyeong didn't stop training and real combat. His growth was expected.
'However, the sa goes for .'
"See my achievent too!"
Swallowtail Trembling Shadow.
Like a swallow's tail fluttering in wind, the blade trembled.
Thanks to elasticity, the trembling trajectory widened further.
To the opponent's eyes, the blade's actual position would be confusing.
Which of these was real?
He entered with a long horizontal slash.
However.
None were real.
Only shadows remained, and Swallowtail rode another wind.
Before the afterimage disappeared, he twisted only his wrist and cut vertically.
Ppaak.
An explosive sound unthinkable as the sound of swords clashing rang out.
Swallowtail fiercely struck Mukheun's straightforward sword path.
Imdiately after, it nimbly flew up again.
It was a formation where one swallow freely toyed with the thick black tree branch called Mukheun.
'Right, this is it. This is that formation from five years ago.'
The spar where he achieved victory.
That spar where he repeatedly toyed with the crouched Mukheun.
"How is it! Can you follow?"
Five years ago it was unfolding again.
However.
"I watched well."
The Ink Sword Hero answered briefly.
He didn't like that tone.
It was an answer as if he'd seen everything he needed to see.
"You've grown more arrogant too."
Chiik.
Swallowtail trying to land on Mukheun slipped.
"?"
Chiiik.
Slipped again.
In that gap—wuuung—Mukheun humd and struck in.
'The sword technique changed?'
When they sparred before, he had used sword techniques that were precise, strict, and dense, suffocating the opponent's breath.
Striking down space, not giving the opponent room to move.
Even just monts ago, it had been that kind of technique.
'Now isn't it like madly raging wind?'
Black wind was fiercely driving in.
Jong Dohak didn't know.
That as Jin Yeomyeong learned the Xun Trigram Technique, the Xun Trigram formula's sword technique gained power.
What Jong Dohak could know was:
'If ti flows like this, I'll be swallowed!'
The black wind was showing signs of gradually becoming a storm.
It moved that roughly and quickly.
The swallow riding the wind was gradually losing freedom.
"No, this won't do. Let's end around here."
"Try it if you can."
Another brief answer.
To cut off both Jin Yeomyeong's sword technique and tone simultaneously,
Swallowtail Severing Clouds.
The ultimate technique that brought him the alias Cloud-Severing Sword.
One sword strike that even cut clouds flew.
Swaeaeaek.
A splendid sword beyond compare.
Leaning his body sideways until his back nearly touched the ground,
He sent Swallowtail beyond the black wind.
Kwaaaang.
Again, an unthinkable sound for swords clashing occurred.
Mukheun had returned to the previous technique and struck back Swallowtail.
"Keuk."
'Who is this person?'
Not rumors or personality—the martial arts had changed.
Wind-resembling sword technique?
That wasn't it.
Going back and forth between two different-natured techniques was the true freedom.
Too different from five years ago.
"Are you the Ink Sword Hero?"
"I am."
No matter what wicked aliases Black Path attached,
ultimately the foundation was a man wielding a black sword.
"But who are you, senior?"
"?"
From beyond the sword energy.
"The scent of demonic arts—what happened?"
Though having arrogant corners, a White Path martial artist.
Like how Kwak Daebang was blunt but White Path, Cloud-Severing Sword had also been White Path.
I asked once more.
"Demonic arts? What happened to you, senior?"
Demonic Cult mber.
I looked at Demonic Cult mber Cloud-Severing Sword Jong Dohak.
"You can sense even that?"
"Since my martial arts are based on Eight Trigrams, demonic arts go against natural energy so I can't help being sensitive."
"I didn't know that."
Jong Dohak cracked his neck—crack crack.
"If I'd known, I would have done this from the start."
He had already activated demonic arts.
In his yellowed eyes, vertically split pupils were visible.
I regulated my breathing.
The beast ridian demonic arts I'd encountered after regression were low-grade demonic arts with half-human, half-beast appearance.
Cloud-Severing Sword wasn't such an appearance.
"To have that much control. You properly learned demonic arts."
"Now. Now it will be difficult. Ssss."
While speaking, he slightly stuck out his tongue. A snake's habit. The tongue tip was also split.
"Senior. You've changed quite a lot from five years ago."
"Is that so? Ssss. I'm just making efforts to beco stronger then and now."
"Those efforts being demonic arts?"
He nodded.
"Look. This heightened martial prowess. Ssss. What if I'd tried to reach here only with sect martial arts? Would have been much slower."
"Instead you wouldn't have lost yourself. Would have been much more stable."
"What do you an? Losing oneself."
The snake before my eyes spoke.
"I don't know about crudely scattered low-grade demonic arts books. But to learn such arts, you must have paid a price."
"..."
"Harming White Path martial artists or commoners to prove loyalty is basic. I don't know what other things you did besides."
"..."
"Can that be called senior's appearance? No, it's not. You can't be called Cloud-Severing Sword Jong Dohak. You're just a Demonic Cult snake wearing that shell."
I raised Mukheun.
Wuuung—Mukheun humd at the thought of cutting a Demonic Cult mber's neck.
"Demonic Cult extermination."
"Heuheuheuhe. Right, insolent bastard, try it once!"
The snake put forward Swallowtail stolen from Jong Dohak.
Like beast ridian demonic arts, it thrust in with explosive inner power.
Therefore,
I also released a flash strike.
So sword tip and sword tip touched.
Inner power and inner power collided.
Cast off human restraints with beast's fangs and claws.
The basics of beast ridian demonic arts.
The released beast reveals wicked desires it had endured.
Beast ridian demonic arts' explosive power is based on this.
Confronting that,
Eight Trigram Unity.
I began Eight Trigrams' circulation.
Against natural energy's reversal, I clashed with natural energy's circulation.
'This is an advantageous fight for .'
Regardless of martial arts level, sensory aspects like inner power operation remained as mories.
From Qian to Kun, from Kun to Kan, from Kan to Li, from Li to Qian.
Imitating before regression, I continued circulation extrely quickly.
"!"
And demonic arts cannot overco this circulation.
Beast ridian demonic arts rapidly scattered.
"Wh-what is this?"
While sword tips touched.
"My inner power..."
Disappeared into nature.
Toward the powerless snake, Mukheun's sword tip aid.
Kuuk.
It penetrated the snake's body.
"That was never yours to begin with."
.
.
The fight ended.
Everything was different.
Different from what he'd experienced, different from what he'd heard.
That wasn't Jin Yeomyeong.
"How did five years flow for you?"
Jong Dohak murmured.
Both demonic arts and life were scattering.
As the desire that had dominated him scattered together, light briefly returned to his eyes.
"For it wasn't five years."
"?"
"That probably won't matter. Either way, I continued learning sect martial arts."
Jin Yeomyeong also saw Jong Dohak's eyes.
He treated him as Cloud-Severing Sword, not as a snake.
"Senior, what happened?"
"Heu, heu, heuhe, what happened? Sa as other people."
Jong Dohak knew it himself.
He was a man with arrogant corners. While making a na in Luoyang, it was still okay.
"After you... lost to in the spar... I went out to the world..."
"...You knew? Perhaps because of that?"
"No... because of my desire..."
Jong Dohak wasn't one to be frustrated by one defeat.
Rather, a strong junior's existence beca appropriate stimulation.
Gaining enlightennt while traveling the world and fighting again would be enough.
He'd win in the future.
He had faith that he was such a person.
However.
"The world was wide. Wide enough that soone like was pushed aside repeatedly."
Defeat after defeat.
Again, again, again he was defeated.
Before he knew it, Jong Dohak's arrogance began crushing himself.
Though he wanted to receive others' respect through martial arts,
would he ultimately remain soone who must look up?
"I hate it... hate looking up..."
Recalling that ti, words naturally flowed out.
And one day, he experienced an overwhelming defeat unlike before.
"The Demonic Cult was truly strong... strong enough to covet that power."
His martial arts had also hit a wall.
The Demonic Cult said don't struggle with walls. Walk a completely different path instead.
Though he was troubled, ultimately he couldn't overco temptation.
The mont he touched it was the end.
Released desire paired with his arrogance and began rampaging.
Not long ago, he also assassinated a trading captain.
Then he killed all attendants and servants too.
Why did he do that? There was no need to kill them too.
"I shouldn't have touched it from the start."
Kheul-reok—blood ca up.
His eyes beca blurred.
"Demonic Cult bastards... they haven't disappeared... you know? Jin Yeomyeong? Many were deceived like . Uu, all because of deeeesire..."
Now even his words were becoming scattered.
"I know."
"You know?"
"I ca to know sohow. I promise. I won't let those bastards run wild."
"...Really?"
Why?
Reassurance ca at Jin Yeomyeong's answer.
Though dying anyway, there was nothing more to be reassured about.
The rest is among the living...
Hwaak.
Jong Dohak suddenly reached out and grabbed Jin Yeomyeong.
"Jin Yeomyeong. Recently, soone who learned demonic arts like entered Luoyang."
"?"
"We practiced combined attacks several tis. That person..."
Ping-geureureur.
The little remaining consciousness was disappearing.
However.
Jong Dohak squeezed out final strength.
"Water arts. Skilled in water arts."
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