CLS-Chapter 502

Chapter 502:

Wei Jeong-han watched with a contorted face as Heavenly Flow Sword collapsed.

He felt no joy.

Instead, an unbearable sense of discord was overwhelming Wei Jeong-han.

It wasn’t that something was wrong. It was hard to believe that someone who had fallen after sustaining such injuries was plotting something else. Wei Yan-ho had defeated Heavenly Flow Sword through skill alone. Nothing more, nothing less.

Yet he couldn’t shake this feeling of discord.

Because this was the scene of a legend’s fall.

Heavenly Flow Sword.

Those who knew him didn’t hesitate to consider him a candidate for the title of Greatest Sword Under Heaven. And Heavenly Flow Sword’s existence held a somewhat special meaning for Wei Jeong-han.

He was a wanderer and a knight-errant of righteousness.

Though he was affiliated with Hundred Sword Castle, he didn’t represent Hundred Sword Castle nor did he remain there.

He was simply someone who used the sky as his blanket, wandering the world, and never refusing to seek out any place where there was an excellent sword.

Someone who wasn’t bound by anything and lived only for the sword.

Yes, that was the romance of a martial artist.

Wei Jeong-han had admired such a Heavenly Flow Sword. Rather than becoming the Greatest Sword Under Heaven, he had wanted to become someone like Heavenly Flow Sword.

That’s why the scene of Heavenly Flow Sword being broken evoked a strange displeasure. Even though it was his own son who had broken that Heavenly Flow Sword, this peculiar feeling wouldn’t subside.

“The Yangtze River’s rear waves push forward the front waves, they say.”

Tang Cheon-gun’s quiet sigh represented Wei Jeong-han’s mood.

Someday, everyone gets pushed back by the waves behind them.

The flowing years cannot be caught. Even the strong who commanded the world, even the strong who left their names in martial history, could never dominate the martial world forever. It was a fate that martial artists had to accept.

Even so…

‘How strange.’

Though this was clearly a scene he should be celebrating, he couldn’t purely rejoice. This was probably an emotion that arose because Wei Jeong-han was still more of a swordsman pursuing his own path than a child’s father.

A strange displeasure and discord swept through the surroundings.

Everyone wore faces similar to Wei Jeong-han’s.

Though they had earnestly hoped for Wei Yan-ho to win, they couldn’t fully immerse themselves in the spectacle of Wei Yan-ho breaking down the legends of the martial world one by one—such was their position.

Thud.

Heavenly Flow Sword dropped to his knees on the ground. Supporting his body barely with his swaying sword, Heavenly Flow Sword raised his head to look at Wei Yan-ho.

Heavenly Flow Sword collapsed, awaiting the final strike, and Wei Yan-ho calmly watching that scene.

It looked like a scene from a painting.

“Everyone, snap out of it!”

At that moment, Zhuge Yeom shouted.

“What are you all doing! Keep watch!”

‘Ah!’

Wei Jeong-han straightened his body with a start.

That’s right. Right now, the outer walls of the Tang Family were surrounded by martial artists from Hundred Sword Castle. With their elder’s life in danger, there was no way they would just keep watching until the end.

Before he could even organize his thoughts, shouts could be heard.

“Save the Elder!”

There wasn’t even a response.

The martial artists who had been controlling the outer walls began leaping down one after another. The sight of martial artists in pure white uniforms jumping down en masse was spectacular in itself.

They looked like falling cherry blossoms.

‘As if they could be beautiful.’

Wei Jeong-han gritted his teeth. Each of those petals hid a sharp blade.

The swordsmen of Hundred Sword Castle were famous for receiving superhuman training. They weren’t called the greatest generation in the martial world for nothing. The martial artists of the Tang Family alone couldn’t possibly stop them.

Zhuge Yeom barked out orders.

“We just need to hold them off for a moment! Soldiers who have lost their general find it difficult to continue fighting. If we just hold them off for a moment, they’ll soon retreat. Everyone here must help!”

“I know.”

Cheok Su-gwang had already drawn his sword. Without another word, he charged forward. Wei Jeong-han and Tang Cheon-gun followed behind him.

“…Just finish it quickly.”

Heavenly Flow Sword was maintaining thread-like breathing. An ordinary person would have died several times over by now. Since his heart hadn’t been cut, his breathing continued, but the blood he had already shed was forming a pond on the ground.

“I don’t want to see the children get hurt.”

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

“If I have one request, when you take my life, just let those children go. They know nothing. Those children don’t know what they’re doing. They just move as they’re told. They don’t even know they’re connected to the Demonic Cult. So…”

“Not knowing is also a sin.”

Wei Yan-ho firmly cut off Heavenly Flow Sword’s words.

“If someone is interested, they can’t help but know what they’re doing. Not thinking about what consequences their actions will bring and just following orders is also a sin.”

“…But their sin isn’t severe enough to warrant death, is it?”

“Perhaps not.”

Wei Yan-ho glanced sideways at the Hundred Sword Castle swordsmen charging toward the Tang Family.

“But if I let them go like this, they’ll become someone else’s hands and feet. If we’re going to be enemies anyway, I have no intention of showing mercy.”

Heavenly Flow Sword raised his hand to wipe his face.

Since it was a blood-soaked hand, his face also became stained red.

‘How resolute.’

This was the ruthless heart that a swordsman should rightfully possess. The sword is cold and sharp. Therefore, the swordsman who wields the sword must also be cold and sharp. Those who are swayed by emotions can never achieve great causes.

He knew this, but…

Heavenly Flow Sword struggled to look directly at Wei Yan-ho through his blurred vision.

As the world became blurry, the essence became visible instead.

When he pushed aside the youthful face and playful manner of speech, he could see the essence of the swordsman called Wei Yan-ho.

‘How frightening.’

If that child had even acquired ruthless heart, who could face that child in the future?

‘I should have killed him here…’

He hadn’t even succeeded in taking him away while risking his life. The world was vast. Opportunities to kill Wei Yan-ho wouldn’t come very often. Then there would be only one of two outcomes.

Either be swept away by the chaotic world and eventually die, or quell that chaos and stand firmly in the world.

“Listen.”

Heavenly Flow Sword quietly opened his mouth.

“I’ll hear your last words.”

“Go.”

“…”

“See what lies beyond ten thousand swords, what exists in that place no one has reached… see it with your own eyes.”

Wei Yan-ho’s face hardened.

“That won’t be good for your side.”

“Cough.”

Heavenly Flow Sword coughed. With little strength remaining, even his cough seemed powerless. Each time he coughed, fresh blood gushed out.

“Perhaps not. But I want to see it. I suppose I’m an unavoidable sword-wielder too.”

Wei Yan-ho let his sword hang loose and approached Heavenly Flow Sword.

‘How subtle.’

He was definitely different. Whether in terms of personality or ability, they weren’t even worthy of comparison. Yet strangely, Heavenly Flow Sword’s appearance seemed to overlap with his master’s.

‘Is this blood relation?’

Three hundred years had passed. No matter how much they shared the same blood, that blood would have become much diluted. If you calculated the degrees of relation between Baek Mu-han and Heavenly Flow Sword, even the word “distant” wouldn’t be sufficient.

Yet he could see Baek Mu-han in Heavenly Flow Sword’s appearance.

Whether it was because they truly resembled each other, or because Wei Yan-ho was desperately searching for Baek Mu-han’s image in someone, he didn’t know.

Wei Yan-ho slowly raised his sword.

Even so, he had no intention of hesitating.

If you’re going to be swayed by emotions, you shouldn’t have picked up a sword in the first place. Though it wasn’t a sword he had learned by choice, if he couldn’t escape the fate of being a swordsman, he had to maintain the mindset of a swordsman.

“Farewell. When you go, Master will be there. You’ll probably get scolded there, but… he’s still someone with a warm heart, so apologize properly.”

Heavenly Flow Sword quietly closed his eyes.

Then Wei Yan-ho swung his sword in one motion to cut off Heavenly Flow Sword’s neck.

No, he tried to cut it off.

At that moment, a terrifying killing intent overwhelmed Wei Yan-ho.

Spine-chilling killing intent.

Even if a venomous snake licked his neck, it wouldn’t be this eerie. Wei Yan-ho’s sword stopped.

And at that moment, a pitch-black form appeared from somewhere, snatched up the collapsed Heavenly Flow Sword, and soared into the air.

Simultaneously, a strange emotion appeared on Wei Yan-ho’s face.

What should this emotion be called?

Rage?

Or shock?

A whirlwind of emotions that couldn’t be defined by any single word was sweeping over Wei Yan-ho.

Wei Yan-ho raised his head.

What he looked at was the roof of the pavilion.

At the edge of the eaves, a man was already standing.

A figure clad entirely in black robes and wearing a black mask. The completely black-painted sword at his waist indicated that he was a martial artist.

Wei Yan-ho’s eyes trembled.

At the black-clad man’s feet, one person lay collapsed.

Heavenly Flow Sword.

Heavenly Flow Sword, who had been waiting for Wei Yan-ho’s final strike, was lying collapsed beside the black-clad man.

“This…”

Wei Yan-ho ground his teeth.

The battle had stopped without anyone noticing.

Both the martial artists of Hundred Sword Castle and the martial artists of the Tang Family had stopped their hands and were looking up at the eaves.

The black-clad man’s presence.

From the moment he appeared, the man’s presence that dominated this place had forcibly stopped their hands.

Cheok Su-gwang looked at the black-clad man with trembling eyes.

‘When?’

This was impossible.

No matter how chaotic the battle had been, everyone here had been concentrating on Wei Yan-ho and Heavenly Flow Sword. Yet no one knew how the black-clad man had taken Heavenly Flow Sword.

They didn’t even know where or how he had appeared.

Whiiiiing.

A cold wind blew. The black-clad man’s black robes fluttered in the wind.

“Who are you!”

Tang Cheon-gun’s shocked voice burst out.

The black-clad man tilted his head as if he had no interest in such a Tang Cheon-gun. His gaze stopped where Wei Yan-ho was.

“Did you defeat Heavenly Flow Sword?”

The black-clad man’s gaze turned to Heavenly Flow Sword collapsed at his feet.

“It’s natural for spoils to go to the victor. But this old man still has his uses. So today, I’ll be taking him.”

Wei Yan-ho glared at the black-clad man with cold eyes.

“What are you doing?”

Black demonic energy.

Every time the black-clad man opened his mouth, black demonic energy rippled. Considering there had been some kind of deal between the Demonic Cult and Hundred Sword Castle, it wasn’t particularly surprising that a Demonic Cult member had come to save Heavenly Flow Sword.

Right.

That kind of thing wasn’t surprising at all.

What surprised Wei Yan-ho was something else.

“As you can see.”

Wei Yan-ho’s face twisted grotesquely.

If anyone who knew Wei Yan-ho well had seen him now, they would all have been shocked. Wei Yan-ho, who never lost even a trace of composure in any situation, was baring his emotions completely and snarling.

As if he couldn’t contain his boiling rage.

‘Why is that fellow?’

Even Wei Jeong-han couldn’t understand such a Wei Yan-ho.

Just who was that person…

Then, Wei Jeong-han saw it.

The sword worn at the man’s waist.

Black. A simple black sword.

But somehow, a familiar sword.

About half again as long as a typical longsword, so that once swung, it seemed like it would cut through everything around it.

A memory surfaced.

When that sword was drawn, the world trembled in fear.

It came back to him.

A man who didn’t pursue martial learning, but seemed to dominate and crush martial learning.

Incomparably strong, and incomparably lonely.

Wei Jeong-han’s eyes trembled as if they had encountered an earthquake.

‘Su, surely not?’

Then, Wei Yan-ho cried out like a groan.

“What are you doing wearing something like that?”

“…”

“Answer me!”

Finally, Wei Yan-ho’s scream that burst forth rang throughout the Tang Family compound.

“Hyeooooooooong!”

A scream.

It was a scream mixed with despair and rage.