CLS-Chapter 596

Chapter 596:

“The teachings of Ten Thousand Swords…”

The Historian couldn’t help but nod his head.

In the end, Hundred Sword Castle and Wei Yan-ho were like senior and junior disciples who originated from the same root. They all had their roots in the Ten Thousand Sword White Family of the past. Moreover, they were alike in pursuing the teachings of Sword Emperor Baek Mu-han a little more than the Ten Thousand Sword White Family itself.

“Actually, if we trace the lineage, wouldn’t Radiant Martial Sovereign be about the senior grand-master of Hundred Sword Castle?”

“That’s true, actually.”

Divine Beggar chuckled.

“From your current position, that would be natural, but at the time it was a bit awkward to bring up such things. Think about it—hundreds of people all bowing their heads to that Wei Yan-ho fellow.”

“…Hmm, that’s certainly delicate.”

“If we pointed it out, there would have been people who’d care about such things, but actually, such incidents didn’t occur at the time.”

“Why not?”

“Well, those who didn’t know couldn’t speak because they were ignorant, and those who knew just kept their mouths shut because they didn’t want to see Wei Yan-ho being treated with respect.”

“…”

The Historian looked at Divine Beggar with a dumbfounded expression.

“Then, what about Radiant Martial Sovereign?”

“That fellow has no concept of lineage.”

“Pardon?”

Divine Beggar shrugged his shoulders.

“He doesn’t particularly care about such things. He probably never thought about it until the very end, you know? Even if he had known, well… from his position, it might have been unpleasant too. After all, having white-haired grandfathers calling you ‘Grand Master, Grand Master’ and showing respect isn’t necessarily good for a young man.”

“Thinking about it in reverse, it does seem terrible.”

“That might have been why. Though I don’t think that fellow thought that far ahead. Anyway…”

Divine Beggar scratched his head vigorously.

“Right, where was I in the story? Ah yes, in the end they came from the same root. The same root of Ten Thousand Swords and the Sword Emperor. So from Wei Yan-ho’s perspective, it made him even more furious.”

“Hmm, something seems strange though?”

“What?”

“Actually, the Sword Emperor was someone famous for his strength, not someone particularly known for his sense of justice or chivalry.”

“That’s right.”

To be precise, he was someone in whom such qualities could hardly be found at all.

The Historian could only see Baek Mu-han through historical records, and Divine Beggar could only guess at his disposition based on Wei Yan-ho’s mentions of Baek Mu-han.

“According to Wei Yan-ho, that Sword Emperor fellow wasn’t an ordinary person either, so, well.”

“That’s true.”

The Historian nodded repeatedly.

“But I don’t think Martial Sovereign would have reason to be angry just because the Sword Emperor’s teachings went astray?”

“Ah, that’s…”

Divine Beggar scratched his head vigorously.

“Actually, Wei Yan-ho—that fellow wasn’t angry because Hundred Sword Castle was hostile toward the martial world.”

“What?”

“That’s actually not even something to be angry about. The Sword Emperor himself wasn’t on particularly good terms with martial world people.”

Rather than bad relations, it seemed more like a one-sided bullying situation…

“The reason Wei Yan-ho got heated wasn’t that. Well, anyway, what does the reason matter? What’s important is that Wei Yan-ho got angry.”

“That’s true too.”

“That fellow has a somewhat split personality… Normally he’s really a carefree fool, but when his eyes get serious, he becomes frighteningly terrifying beyond any answer.”

“He does seem to have that side to him.”

“When such a fellow gets heated and charges in, is there any solution?”

Divine Beggar shrugged his shoulders.

“From Hundred Sword Castle’s perspective, it must have been bewildering too. Actually, it wasn’t even a situation where you could say they had seized the advantage. The battle was over. The grain had all been cut, and now all they had to do was pick up the fallen stalks…”

The Historian gulped.

“That’s where it began—Wei Yan-ho’s counterattack.”

***

It was understandable to be flustered, really.

Because the Righteous Martial Alliance had no strength left for a counterattack. They had lost their Alliance Leader.

Huh?

No, that’s not it.

That’s not what I meant.

Losing the Alliance Leader was certainly a huge blow. But the bigger blow wasn’t losing the Alliance Leader, but losing Gwon Geuk, an absolute master.

If there had been just one more person like Gwon Geuk on that battlefield, the results might have been different.

What?

Namgung?

No, that’s not right.

You might think that way since you see the world through historical records. But reality was a little different from what’s known. Though there were rumors that the Emperor Sword could contend for the title of Greatest Sword Under Heaven, that person’s skills couldn’t compare to the Sword Saint or Sword Immortal.

However, since that gentleman was also the head of the Namgung Family, his skills were rated somewhat highly.

Anyway, if even the Sword Immortal had been there, the situation would have been different.

Huh?

Why didn’t he come?

How would I know?

Don’t look at me like that. I don’t know all the circumstances of that time either.

The Sword Immortal must have had his own business to attend to.

Huh?

Was there an event more important than that war?

That’s why I’m saying I don’t know. I don’t know everything, and how would I know when what happened?

Anyway, he must have had something to do.

That’s not what’s important, anyway, so…

What was I saying before?

You keep interrupting in the middle, so I can’t continue, you rascal!

Right, so… on the battlefield, one master is worth ten thousand men.

Huh? Does that make sense?

Hehehehehe.

You, you’ve never seen a battlefield where martial world people clash, have you? Then of course it’s hard to believe. You’d think of ordinary battlefields.

But you see.

As I mentioned before when talking about Alliance Leader Gwon Geuk, a true master doesn’t just dominate the battlefield.

They completely overturn it.

***

Whooooooong!

It explodes.

A sphere of light bursting from the sword tip flies forward at literally light-like speed.

You can neither dodge it nor deflect it.

Something white forms, and in the blink of an eye, it’s reached right in front of you.

How on earth are you supposed to deal with this?

Kwaaaaang!

The exploded mass of light swept the surroundings with a storm of energy. It neither pushed away nor bounced off.

It grabbed and pulled, twisted and tore.

“Keureureurek.“

Where the mass of light disappeared, those who had been foaming at the mouth staggered and collapsed.

Thud, thud.

It was a scene that simply couldn’t feel real.

Swish.

Wei Yan-ho’s sword cut through the air and sliced through the void. White masses of light bloomed like clouds from the sword tip cutting through the void, then shot forward.

Boom!

With continuously exploding sounds, everything caught up in it—people, trees, even the earth—was overturned and upended.

The terrain itself was changing.

“Wh-what the hell…”

What the hell is that monster?

His jaw trembled.

The hand holding his sword shook here and there, not knowing where to go.

Gi-cheol couldn’t believe this situation.

They were Hundred Sword Castle.

They were Hundred Sword Castle, he says.

The name Hundred Sword Castle wasn’t something just anyone could shoulder. Only those who knew Ten Thousand Swords and walked the path of Ten Thousand Swords could become disciples of Hundred Sword Castle.

Countless people wanted to enter Hundred Sword Castle.

Even after passing those difficult tests, only after enduring training that carved flesh and ground bones could one finally be recognized as a Hundred Sword Castle disciple.

That wasn’t all of it.

Even among those Hundred Sword Castle disciples, only those whose aptitude was recognized could enter into Ten Thousand Swords.

Gi-cheol was such a person.

He had passed Hundred Sword Castle’s entrance examination and endured the terrible training that made the entrance exam seem like mere practice. Even after being recognized as a disciple of Hundred Sword Castle, he never stopped disciplining and advancing himself, earning Hundred Sword Castle’s recognition.

Only then could he enter Ten Thousand Swords.

The greatest sword under heaven—no, the greatest sword of all time.

How delighted he had been to learn Ten Thousand Swords. How his mouth had itched when he first learned that Hundred Sword Castle was actually the Ten Thousand Sword White Family.

Gi-cheol had constantly advanced himself.

Learning Ten Thousand Swords doesn’t make you strong. Only by making those Ten Thousand Swords your own can you finally become strong.

Even the world’s most unprecedented genius couldn’t completely master Ten Thousand Swords. But they could understand Ten Thousand Swords as much as possible and find and master the sword techniques among those countless Ten Thousand Swords that suited them.

What a painful time it had been.

Having endured that time, Gi-cheol could have confidence in himself.

And he could believe the Castle Lord’s words.

“Having mastered Ten Thousand Swords, no one under heaven can stop you.”

That those words were true had already been proven on the battlefield a few days ago.

But…

But what the hell kind of situation is this?

‘Is that a sword?’

A sword is a blade made of iron.

A sword is made for swinging to cut and thrust. When your level rises, you can emit sword energy with a sword to thrust and cut, and you can draw out sword strength, but fundamentally, a sword is a weapon you swing directly to cut.

Then what the hell is that?

Woooooong!

A flickering mass of light falls into the world.

Kwaaaaang!

It’s like setting off explosives. No, if it blew things away like explosives, it wouldn’t feel so unsettling. The sword light that young bastard shot was grabbing everything and sweeping it away.

Can you call that a sword?

Right now, Wei Yan-ho’s sword was destroying his common sense about what swords were. It was like shooting lightning with a sword. And with that unprecedented martial art, Hundred Sword Castle’s swordsmen were helplessly crumbling.

‘How can such a thing…’

Hundred Sword Castle’s vanguard.

Ten Thousand Swords’ vanguard.

How much meaning do those words carry? Yet those vanguards of Hundred Sword Castle were blocked by one person. No, they were all crumbling.

“Th-this…!”

Gi-cheol gripped his sword.

“Uaaaaaaah!“

Then with a desperate shout, he rushed at Wei Yan-ho.

‘This can’t be!’

This is too unfair.

He had endured hellish training. He had done his utmost. If he lost to aged veteran masters, he could accept it. Because the time they and Gi-cheol had spent was different.

But Wei Yan-ho looked like he had lived barely half of his life.

To be so helplessly defeated by such a person?

Then what was all the time Gi-cheol had spent?

“Wei Yan-hooooo!”

As he rushed forward with a shout, Gi-cheol saw it.

Wei Yan-ho’s eyes as he turned his head toward him.

No excitement, no anger, no contempt…

He couldn’t feel any emotion at all. Seeing Wei Yan-ho’s eyes, coldly cooled without compare, Gi-cheol finally understood why he couldn’t win against this person.

Slash.

Hearing the eerie sound flowing from his throat, Gi-cheol slowly fell sideways.

As he fell, Wei Yan-ho’s emotionless voice reached his ears.

“A swordsman dies the moment he gets excited. Didn’t Hundred Sword Castle teach you even that?”

It was something he had heard a thousand more times since entering Hundred Sword Castle. If he couldn’t even keep that one saying, how could he defeat anyone? Gi-cheol smiled as he fell sideways.

Self-mockery.

Only self-mockery remained.

Thud.

Gi-cheol’s body, fallen on the ground, grew coldly stiff.

Whether Wei Yan-ho’s final teaching had reached him was something no one could know.

Swish!

Wei Yan-ho, having swung his sword to fling off the blood, turned his gaze to one side.

“If you’ve seen enough, come out. I’ll take that head too.”

At his chilly voice, even the forest held its breath.