Chapter 323

Chapter 323

Martial stage spectator seats.

“He’s changed.”

“…”

“He’s become very strong in a short period.”

“That’s… true.”

To think he had that much talent.

At Taeak’s calm words, Ilryun, who answered quietly, looked at the scene unfolding on the martial stage with eyes that couldn’t hide his surprise. The literally scorched earth appearance of the martial stage.

“Uicheon, victory!”

They say when a scholar is away for three days and then meets you face-to-face, you must rub your eyes to meet them—isn’t this exactly that?

The moderator declaring victory. And beyond that, Ilryun let out a hollow laugh looking at Myeolakdaeju, whose entire body had become rags and was kneeling on one knee. Because it was an absurd result.

‘I knew he would win.’

Uicheon, Baek Riyun is strong.

Whether it’s because of his revived yokai body, or whether his own skills have progressed, I don’t know. However, in the battle at the Great Seal, when competing against Heukya in the Great Desert, Baek Riyun already showed martial power that didn’t fall behind Geomhu, one of the Ten Heavens.

From there, he attempted transcendence and died, then was resurrected. Normally, he would have lost all his martial arts due to failing transcendence, but such restrictions also don’t exist now.

So as Myeolakdaeju, who is still only at the level of standing on the threshold of the Divine Transformation境, I expected he would have difficulty dealing with him. However.

‘Isn’t this too overwhelming?’

One second.

That’s the number of techniques used from when Baek Riyun gave his all until he brought Myeolakdaeju to his knees. Excluding the probing battle before, it would be fair to say he literally ended his opponent in one second’s enemy.

‘He grew more from the Great Desert to yesterday, and grew more from yesterday to today.’

In an instant, he doesn’t just skip one level but several levels of stairs. Could that be possible with human talent?

“Hehe. Isn’t that a good thing?”

“…?”

Ilryun, who had been looking at Baek Riyun with strange eyes at his astonishing growth, sent a puzzled look to the Sword Saint at his small laugh. Then the Sword Saint stroked his beard.

“At this age, such thoughts come to me. In the end, isn’t being Number One Under Heaven an illusion?”

“…It seems you have no desire as a martial artist.”

“Of course I have desire. But in the end, once you die, isn’t it a meaningless story?”

“That’s…”

“Whether it’s me or you Ilryun, at most twenty or thirty years from now we won’t have the strength to swing a sword. You Taeak… will hold out a bit longer.”

Even though Transcenders are said to be those who have transcended human limits, they haven’t transcended human lifespan itself.

Because they have the power of internal energy, they might be able to hold out somehow until a hundred years old. But what about at a hundred and ten, a hundred and twenty years old?

Will they still be able to swing a sword then? Will they be able to demonstrate martial arts befitting the name of martial artist with their own bodies?

“We are the back waves of the Yangtze River.”

“…”

“We’ve come too far now to have competitiveness toward young people. Originally, having fighting spirit toward all people is what makes a martial artist, but at this age, it’s not easy to have fighting spirit.”

“Don’t you want to see the ultimate principle of martial arts?”

“How could a martial artist not? Of course I want to see it. But just because someone reached the end of martial studies doesn’t mean I can’t reach it, does it?”

He lived his twenties and thirties with passion, lived his forties and fifties with greed, and upon reaching his seventies lived as a martial artist out of a sense of duty. But now, what is a martial artist to the Sword Saint?

“At this point, martial arts to me is life.”

“…”

“If I’m alive, I simply walk the path of martial studies. If I don’t walk the path of martial studies, that would mean I’m not alive.”

If you ask those who are alive whether they want to die or live, almost all say they want to live. However, there aren’t as many who pursue survival itself as you’d think. Because to them, life is a given.

“That’s what martial studies means to me. I don’t feel jealous just because someone lives longer.”

“…Sword Saint. Are you perhaps Daoist? You’re talking like a Daoist priest.”

“Hehe. Unfortunately, I’ve never had a religion. Though my sword has mixed many things.”

The Sword Saint, who let out a hearty laugh, looked at Baek Riyun with benevolent eyes.

“In any case, the growth of later students is something to welcome. How could I not be pleased when they grow so splendidly? Especially in times like these.”

“…I see. Then if you meet him as an opponent, do you intend to give him teachings?”

“Hm? That’s not it.”

“…?”

“Just because you get older doesn’t mean your competitive spirit drops.”

Unfortunately, looking at the tournament bracket, there’s no chance of meeting. Assuming both keep winning and moving up, Baek Riyun and the Sword Saint will meet in the four strongest, and Sangwi will arrive at this Uichang around when the eight strongest is taking place.

But if they were to meet…

“I’d have to teach him painfully just how sharp an old man’s sword is. Hehe.”

“…”

The Sword Saint, casually ignoring Ilryun’s coldly cooled gaze, stroked his chin while watching Baek Riyun descending below the martial stage. The Sword Saint’s eyes coolly analyzing his opponent.

‘A talent opening a new horizon for martial studies?’

Martial studies originated from the will to have what one doesn’t have.

Originally, martial studies were created because humans couldn’t oppose yokai with human bodies. Then what could you call martial studies that steal from yokai and make them human?

‘Perhaps.’

If those martial studies spread out, and they become the foundation of a new martial world.

‘Beyond simply creating a safe Central Plains, truly an age of humanity might come.’

He won’t be able to see that era himself, but even so, what does it matter?

“Adorning the end of the old era and preparing the start of the new era—that has its own elegance.”

“…?”

“It’s nothing.”

At Taeak’s figure looking at him with a puzzled expression, the Sword Saint smiled and interlaced his fingers while looking at the martial stage. Beyond his vision.

Both the present and future of the martial world were all here.

***

Astronomy is a mirror that reflects the earth.

Although they say that after the Great Seal was broken, celestial energy twisted and can no longer be clearly discerned, even so, it doesn’t mean everything has become completely indiscernible. And for good reason—just because you break a mirror doesn’t mean the image reflected in those fragments also disappears, does it?

Originally, among those who could read astronomy, those who could minutely know the flow of heaven can find small flows even within broken fragments. It means that while they can’t figure out how the world will flow, local matters are sufficiently possible.

—Uichang, is it?

And in that sense, the tricks of humans that Heukya saw were utterly laughable struggles.

—A useless deed.

No matter how desperately humans gathered to try to strike down Heukya himself, he already knew it was impossible.

—The speed at which yokai power increases has slowed considerably.

Their response is faster than expected.

Heukya, who swept his extended tail with his hand, quietly gauged the general situation while looking up at the sky from atop Sangwi slowly moving forward. As many as the number of stars embedded in the night sky, flows of celestial energy twinkling like fragments here and there.

—Humans are incomprehensible beings.

Originally, beings called beasts, including yokai, are simple.

If they want to eat, they eat; if they want to sleep, they sleep. They never go against their own desires, and even with their own offspring, it’s rare for them to prioritize another’s survival over their own.

Not going against desire and instinct is what makes a beast. However, strangely, the more humans evolve, the more they evolve in ways that suppress and control their instincts.

That’s why humans are quite difficult to easily guess.

Isn’t that the case even now?

‘Even if they didn’t scatter and flee completely, I thought there would be few who would block me.’

Sangwi’s departure could have been more sudden, could have been more secretive. If he used his increased power, even if it was impossible to not be detected at all, he could have reduced their time even a little.

The reason he didn’t do so was because he believed that the more time he gave, the more human forces would split. Because anxiety creates cracks in groups, and once cracks are made, they’re rarely fixed.

He thought that when the crisis of death approached, martial artists would scatter on their own. However,

What about the current situation?

‘Rather, they united.’

They say the enemy of my enemy is my ally, but originally, do emotions ever work that rationally?

He thought they wouldn’t unite easily because of existing cracks, but in front of a common enemy, humanity united far too solidly. A situation he couldn’t even imagine—the White Path, Black Path, and Demonic Path simultaneously pointing their blades in the same direction without even noise.

It’s clearly a situation that deviates from expectations, without doubt. Certainly many things have changed from the picture he was drawing.

However,

‘It doesn’t matter.’

It doesn’t matter, he said.

Heukya truly thought so. And for good reason—hasn’t he known since tens of thousands of years ago that human actions are unpredictable?

‘In any case, the time when the situation could be changed by most variables has passed.’

They say heroes are born in troubled times, but one hero cannot end troubled times. Unless something suddenly happens to flip the world upside down, there’s no way his plan will go wrong.

—Humans and yokai. Struggle as much as you can while you can struggle.

Whether you become the victor or not is fine.

Either way, the scars he left will become tremendous footprints remaining in history. And looking at that history, the world will remember and pass down the existence called Heukya.

At the end of that, what he’ll extort is eternity. What that man who left tremendous scars in his memory pursued.

—I’ll leave scars on you. Heukya.

—You won’t be able to forget me even after thousands of years pass. I too will not forget you even as a spirit.

The man’s prophecy was right. Because he remained in memory not just thousands but tens of thousands of years later.

‘Even now facing the world’s end, I still cannot understand you.’

Heukya still couldn’t understand the man. However, at this point, one thing is certain.

Even if he can’t clearly define what emotion he holds for that man, in the end, he seeks to understand that man.

‘This must be the scar you left behind.’

Not much remains. Now, if he smashes and breaks through the martial artists gathered at Uichang, there will be no existence left in this world that can stop him.

In other words, this is a murder-suicide together with the world. That kind of suicide—annihilating the future to obtain eternity.

‘After devouring the world like that, I’ll follow after you.’

Heukya, who quietly firmed his resolve, closed his eyes again as if seeking sleep. And.

Because of that, Heukya, who took his eyes off astronomy, didn’t see it.

In one corner of the broken astronomy.

──!!!

Multiple stars beginning to move in violent orbits, deviating from astronomy’s movement.