CLS-Chapter 501

Chapter 501:

“Did you say Natural Sword?”

“It was just the tail end of it. But that was certainly a realm that could be called Natural Sword.”

“Natural Sword? Isn’t that a realm that only exists in legends?”

“Well now.”

At the historian’s question, Divine Beggar burst into laughter instead.

“What strange questions I’m getting. Tell me, were there only one or two legendary things that appeared in those days?”

“……”

“It was a different era from now. Back then, it was really… how should I put it? Even if you woke up and found a dragon barking in the yard asking for food, you could accept it calmly. Close your eyes and open them, and the Demonic Cult would pop up, the Myriad Sword Hundred Families would appear, and guys like Wei Yan-ho would throw tantrums asking for food… Anyway, what’s so surprising about that?”

The historian spoke with a sour expression.

“I also studied martial history and thought I had considerable knowledge of martial arts. But Natural Sword? It’s so out of left field…”

“Don’t think based on the present.”

Divine Beggar’s voice was firm.

“They say martial arts develop as time passes. That’s true. But just because martial arts will be more developed in the future doesn’t mean today’s martial artists are stronger than those of the past.”

“Why is that?”

“Because even if martial arts develop, whether one can climb to the very top depends on the person.”

“Ah…”

Divine Beggar smiled playfully.

“Now I get called a master wherever I go, don’t I? I live hearing the title ‘Fastest Under Heaven.’ Thanks to that, I’ll never lack for begging rice, but it’s actually rather shameful. If I returned to those days now, forget being the Fastest Under Heaven—I’d be treated like a useless old beggar. Back then, there were plenty swarming around who were faster than me.”

“…Is the difference really that great?”

“It’s not that now is strange, but that those times were strange. Those days were truly absurd times.”

“Hmm.”

The historian made a sound of incomprehension, finding it hard to understand.

“And your standards are a bit off too.”

“Excuse me?”

“Heavenly Flow Sword could be called the second-in-command of the Myriad Sword Hundred Families. Of course, if you asked whether he was the second strongest in the Myriad Sword Hundred Families, I’d say no, but his position and authority within it were worthy of being called second-in-command. What’s so strange about such a person using something like Natural Sword? It’s the Myriad Sword Hundred Families we’re talking about.”

“You’re right.”

The historian had no choice but to acknowledge it.

Since he was thinking of them as people appearing in reality, there was a sense of incongruity, but looking back, the very name ‘Myriad Sword Hundred Families’ was mythology itself. What’s strange about people appearing in mythology using Natural Sword?

“The strange one isn’t Heavenly Flow Sword, but that bastard Wei Yan-ho.”

“Certainly.”

“A young brat was facing the Natural Sword that the second-in-command of the Myriad Sword Hundred Families had achieved by dedicating his entire life to it. Even thinking about it now, it’s absurd.”

“You must have been quite shocked at the time.”

“Actually, not really. When you think about it with your head, it’s an absurd thing, but when you see it with your eyes, you just somehow… come to accept it. People have that aspect, don’t they?”

“That’s true.”

The historian let out a deep sigh.

He was newly reminded of what kind of era he was hearing about. The most chaotic period in the history of the martial world. He had momentarily forgotten that he was listening to stories from that era.

“So what happened? How did Heavenly Flow Sword escape?”

“You’re asking how Heavenly Flow Sword escaped when I haven’t even told you the result of the match yet. Aren’t you getting ahead of yourself?”

“Isn’t it obvious? Heavenly Flow Sword appears again in history, and there’s no way Radiant Martial Sovereign could have lost there, so anyone could guess the outcome. However, what I can’t understand is… how Heavenly Flow Sword survived from there.”

“Why can’t you understand that?”

“Radiant Martial Sovereign seems slightly absent-minded as a person, but when necessary, he has an excessively cold side. Looking back, among those who truly opposed Radiant Martial Sovereign, the ones who were real enemies lost their lives the moment they were defeated.”

“That’s right.”

“If I reverse-engineer based on Radiant Martial Sovereign’s personality and actions, I don’t think he would have considered them friends just because they were the Myriad Sword Hundred Families. Rather, he would have dealt with them more coldly.”

“Accurate. You’re quite smart.”

“Then how did he survive? Was Heavenly Flow Sword that strong?”

“Heavenly Flow Sword was strong. But Wei Yan-ho was stronger.”

“Then did the Sichuan Tang Family fail to hold back the warriors of Hundred Sword Fortress?”

“Even if the Tang Family had lost momentum, they weren’t that incompetent. They could have bought enough time for Wei Yan-ho to finish off Heavenly Flow Sword.”

“Then the answer must be one of two things.”

The historian spoke decisively.

“Either Radiant Martial Sovereign was moved by emotion and spared Heavenly Flow Sword, or someone came to help Heavenly Flow Sword.”

Divine Beggar brought the liquor bottle to his lips without answering.

“Radiant Martial Sovereign isn’t someone who would be swayed by emotion. Even if his master was practically the founder of the Myriad Sword Hundred Families, three hundred years had already passed. If he would show mercy based on that name alone, he should show mercy to everyone in the world. Then there must have been assistance from someone else.”

“That’s right.”

“Who was it?”

Divine Beggar sipped his liquor again.

“Divine Beggar, you’ve built up enough suspense. Please tell me…”

“Don’t rush me.”

The historian closed his mouth.

Divine Beggar’s voice carried an irresistible force. No, rather than force, it was emotion. Just the dregs of emotion buried in his voice were enough to make the listener’s heart ache.

“I’m not building suspense. I’m doing this because it’s hard for me to endure just mentioning this matter. From now on. It’s been too long a story. All the stories existed to tell what comes from now on. Yes, from now on.”

Bitterness, sorrow, bewilderment, and anger.

They were strange emotions.

‘What on earth happened…’

It’s already been a long time. But what on earth happened back then that the fragments of emotion about that long-ago event can be felt so intensely?

After sipping liquor for a long while, Divine Beggar opened his mouth.

“I told you.”

“What did you say?”

“I said the reason this era’s history wasn’t properly passed down to later generations was because they couldn’t convey the eccentric called Wei Yan-ho as he truly was.”

“Yes, you did say that.”

“That’s also true. But that’s not everything. The real big reason is actually something else.”

Divine Beggar, that is, Jang-il, spoke with a face full of regret.

“Those qualified to tell the truth all either died or left the martial world. Those unqualified to tell the truth closed their eyes and buried the truth in the ground. That’s why it couldn’t be passed down. Those who knew didn’t speak, and those who didn’t know had nothing to say.”

“……”

“But history still had to be passed down. So those who didn’t know began to tell the world. That there was someone called Radiant Martial Sovereign in that era who saved the world. Hehehehehe.”

Divine Beggar’s laughter was tinged with emptiness.

“Yes, I should tell the story. Before I die. Someone should know the truth. The truth that those who knew buried, the truth that the sinful ones have hidden.”

“What on earth…”

“Listen.”

Divine Beggar straightened his back.

The Supreme Elder of the Beggar’s Sect.

The one who had reached that supreme position slowly opened his mouth.

“If you can handle this truth.”

***

‘What’s happening?’

Wei Jeong-han couldn’t understand the situation at all.

He was called Righteous Hero Sword and recognized throughout the land. He was confident that he had built martial prowess worthy of the name Sword Master.

But even Wei Jeong-han couldn’t follow this battle.

Though he was clearly watching with his own two eyes, he couldn’t grasp what was happening at all.

He too was a Sword Master.

Even if it was a duel between Sword Masters he couldn’t dare face himself, he shouldn’t be unable to see and understand what was happening with his eyes. At least, that had been the case until now.

But now, even with his eyes open, he felt like he had become blind.

The same Sword Master.

Though they were Sword Masters who held and swung swords, the two people before his eyes had leaped far beyond his understanding. He couldn’t tell what was happening at all.

It would have been easier to understand when battles that couldn’t be seen with the eyes were taking place.

‘Is it over?’

The two people were letting their swords droop and facing each other.

The tension that had been pulled taut and the killing intent that had been glaring at each other as if to kill were no longer felt.

A small emptiness, and…

“Now I understand. So that was Ten Thousand Swords after all?”

Heavenly Flow Sword spoke in a small voice.

Wei Yan-ho also nodded.

“Yes, it’s Ten Thousand Swords. What you all should have pursued originally.”

“I understand what you mean. Yes, it was Ten Thousand Swords. Is it the Ten Thousand Swords your master taught?”

“No.”

Wei Yan-ho shook his head.

“My master wanted me to walk my own path. There are countless swords in the world, and countless methods. As long as you reach the goal, it doesn’t matter which path you take. That was my master’s way.”

“……”

Wei Yan-ho looked at Heavenly Flow Sword with sunken eyes.

“Ten Thousand Swords is a concept, not a method. As long as you can contain it, the shape of the vessel doesn’t matter. My master hoped I wouldn’t even be obsessed with the result called Ten Thousand Swords. He hoped I would surpass even Ten Thousand Swords.”

“Hah…”

Heavenly Flow Sword let out an exclamation.

‘Surpassing Ten Thousand Swords…’

It was something he had never once thought about. From the moment he picked up a sword, everything about him had been devoted to achieving Ten Thousand Swords. He had never once thought about surpassing Ten Thousand Swords.

For him, the sword was Ten Thousand Swords, and Ten Thousand Swords was the end of the sword.

“I see what made me so uneasy.”

A quiet smile bloomed at the corner of Heavenly Flow Sword’s mouth.

“The vessel is different, the vessel is.”

It was a statement tinged with some regret.

“But didn’t you say it yourself, that there are many paths? Our path could also become another path, couldn’t it?”

“Saying there are many paths to the goal doesn’t mean all paths in the world lead to the goal. If someone who should climb a mountain goes down the mountain, you can’t insist that’s also a path. Ten Thousand Swords contains everything. That means in other words…”

Wei Yan-ho’s voice became a bit bitter.

“It means you must walk alone without borrowing anyone’s strength. The moment you can’t overcome and borrow another’s strength, even borrowing the hand of someone corrupt, you can never cross the wall again. That’s not the path to Ten Thousand Swords.”

“I see.”

Heavenly Flow Sword nodded.

Those words might be right. And they might be wrong.

There are countless logics in the world. Proving that logic was correct is people’s work.

If there was something regrettable…

“Whether your path is right or if big brother’s path is right… it would have been nice if I could have watched.”

It was that he could no longer watch who was right.

Swoooooosh.

A sound like tearing leather rang out.

At the same time, Heavenly Flow Sword’s chest split lengthwise and a fountain of blood shot up to the sky.

“…Truly regrettable, truly.”

Heavenly Flow Sword’s body slowly crumbled to the ground.