CCTnovel Chapter 463
Chapter 463
A conclusion had been reached.He had to go alone.
Seok Junseo opened his mouth.
“Muhang.”
“Yes, Brother Seok.”
“I will go ahead first.”
Jin Muhang’s eyes widened.
“...Ahead?”
“Yes.”
“Why all of a sudden...?”
“Something urgent has come up.”
Seok Junseo pulled on the reins.
His horse stopped.
Jin Muhang was flustered.
“Brother Seok! What is this about?”
“Do not worry. I must go alone.”
“...No, at least explain—”
“Wait at Yellow Sand Pass. By the time I return, everything will be over.”
He drove his horse forward.
Toward the northeast.
“Brother Seok!”
Jin Muhang’s shout rang out behind him.
Seok Junseo did not look back.
Beneath the moonlight.
The horse ran.
Fast.
Then faster.
How long had he ridden?
A forest appeared.
An old forest. The trees grew thick and dense. Moonlight seeped through the branches. Silver shadows flickered over the ground.
Seok Junseo dismounted.
Then he walked in.
Into the forest.
The sound of branches breaking underfoot echoed.
Crunch. Crunch.
The presence grew clearer.
Closer.
At last, the forest opened.
A clearing.
A wide clearing.
Moonlight poured down over it. Unobstructed. Bright as daylight.
At the center stood a man with the moon at his back.
Black robes. His hems fluttered in the wind.
His face could not be seen. He was backlit, with the moon shining behind him.
But Seok Junseo knew who it was.
“You came.”
The man’s voice was exceedingly pleasant to hear.
The voice of a young man.
At that calm voice, Seok Junseo stopped where he stood.
Twenty paces away.
“Seol Unhwi.”
“Yes. That is correct.”
Unhwi turned.
His expression was cold. In a quiet voice, he continued,
“This is our first meeting, Senior Seok.”
“...Senior?”
“Am I wrong?”
“...No. You are not. Yes, were you the one who called me here?”
“There is no one here but me. You ask something far too obvious.”
“...”
“That is not what you should be asking.”
He was right.
That was not the question Seok Junseo needed to ask.
“Why did you annihilate the Tyrant Blade Sect?”
The answer was simple.
“Because they touched one of my people.”
“Then even if I kill you here, you will have no grievance.”
“That is correct. I will have no grievance. If you can kill me, that is.”
“...”
“The martial world is a world moved by grudges and ties, is it not? If a man resents another and comes to kill him, and the other calls that unfair, then he is no longer a martial artist.”
Unhwi drew the True Fire Heavenly Spirit Sword from his storage pouch.
“I intend to live and die as a martial artist, Senior.”
Unhwi took one step closer.
Moonlight lit his face.
It was a young face, but his eyes were not young.
They were deep.
As if they had endured a long age.
“But you came alone.”
“...”
“Where did you leave Senior Jin of the Jin family?”
Seok Junseo touched the blade at his waist.
The intent behind that question lay elsewhere.
“There was no need to bring him, and he has no reason to come here.”
“That is fortunate. You are a man who knows how to read the board.”
A brief silence passed.
Wind blew.
The leaves shook. A faint rustling sound rose.
Seok Junseo spoke first.
“I will be honest. I am greatly surprised right now.”
“Are you?”
“I never thought you would come to me first.”
“There is a knot that must be untied. I am not the sort to avoid it.”
“Yes, that is why I am surprised. Most people flee. Especially when a Harmony realm master is coming after them.”
“Do I look like most people to you?”
Seok Junseo gave a faint laugh.
“If the man who annihilated the Tyrant Blade Sect had been an ordinary man, that would have been utterly disgusting. But seeing you now...”
Seok Junseo’s eyes flashed.
“You were capable of annihilating it. With this much nerve... yes, I acknowledge it. You are a being qualified to destroy the Tyrant Blade Sect.”
Seok Junseo took one step forward.
“I will ask one thing.”
“I will listen.”
“Why did you come alone? You could have waited at Yellow Sand Pass.”
Unhwi’s answer was simple.
“The answer you are thinking of is correct.”
“...”
“Facing two Harmony realm martial artists is highly disadvantageous for me, so what else could I do? I had to draw one of you away, Senior.”
“Yes. As you said, I came here alone. There is no one in this place except you and me.”
Seok Junseo had first swept the surroundings with his senses, so he was certain.
“Do you not realize that this is instead an opportunity for me—”
His words trailed off.
Because he had realized it.
Seok Junseo burst into a broad laugh.
“You mad bastard. You truly intend to fight me? Alone?”
“Yes.”
“You judged that you could kill me? Hah... I acknowledge that you are a genius who reached Unity of Heaven and Man, but your confidence is excessive.”
To be honest, Seok Junseo had assumed Unhwi would extend a hand here.
Since he knew the boy’s mind was extraordinary, he thought Unhwi would judge that fighting Seok Junseo now would be a loss among losses and attempt some form of negotiation, delay the fight, or create the appearance of defeat.
He had expected the conversation to proceed in that direction.
There was a basis for that expectation.
What Seok Junseo wanted was revenge, but at its root, it was rebuilding.
What the Tyrant Blade Sect needed for its reconstruction was ultimately the name Seol Unhwi.
His submission.
Or his defeat.
Something of that sort had to exist.
Seok Junseo could kill Unhwi here and attach a justification afterward, but from Unhwi’s perspective, joining hands with Seok Junseo was the most ideal path. Unhwi was the Blood Heaven Arbiter of the Blood Heaven Sect.
Making an enemy of the Blood Heaven Sect as well was burdensome. No matter how great the Murim Alliance was, if the Blood Heaven Sect rose in full, it would be trampled.
But that was not what was happening.
“You are arrogant.”
“Am I?”
“There are two full stages between Unity of Heaven and Man and me. You will face a late-stage Harmony realm martial artist alone? And survive?”
“I am curious what your intent is in assuming I cannot.”
Seok Junseo drew his blade.
Shhhk.
A heavy sound rang out.
The blade caught the moonlight and shone. A cold, sharp gleam.
His heart was already decided.
Seok Junseo’s eyes burned.
“While I was training, Gun Mugeol came to me. And he told me.”
“...”
“That the Tyrant Blade Sect had fallen.”
“...”
“After I came out, I saw it myself. It was true. My family was gone, and my disciples were dead. The elders were dead too, and so were my son Cheonung and my grandson Cheonhan.”
His voice sank lower.
Unhwi remained silent.
Seok Junseo raised his blade and aimed it at Unhwi.
“You killed them.”
“Yes. I killed them.”
To Unhwi, who did not deny it, Seok Junseo asked,
“What was your reason?”
“My reason?”
“Why did you kill Cheonung?”
Unhwi looked at Seok Junseo for a moment.
Then he slowly opened his mouth.
“He did something worthy of death.”
“...What?”
“He touched my family. And he did not apologize.”
Unhwi’s eyes turned cold.
“If a man does something worthy of death, then he dies. Is that not the world of martial artists?”
The corner of Unhwi’s mouth slowly curved upward.
“Your son, Seok Cheonung, was not a martial artist. He was a beast. One wearing a human face.”
“...Shut your mouth!”
Seok Junseo shouted.
“Do not insult my son!”
“That is not an insult. It is fact. More than that, your grandson was even worse than your son. He fully deserved to die. I found it difficult to understand how he had survived until then.”
Unhwi was calm.
Silence settled over the clearing.
Seok Junseo’s hand trembled. From rage, or confusion.
At last, Seok Junseo opened his mouth.
“...It does not matter.”
“Yes?”
“I said it does not matter.”
Seok Junseo raised his blade.
“Whatever Cheonung did, he was my son. My blood.”
“...”
“Does a parent ask after his child’s crimes? When a child does wrong, it is the parent’s place to teach him. Not to kill him.”
“I gave him a chance to be taught.”
“What?”
“If he had done wrong, then he should have apologized. I told him that if he apologized, I would let everything pass. I said I would overlook everything after killing only Seok Cheonhan, but he did not stop.”
“...”
“Was that not enough?”
The words were cold.
Seok Junseo clenched his teeth.
“But tell me, is there any meaning in discussing this?”
“...What do you mean?”
“I am saying that no matter what I say, nothing will change.”
“...”
“You came to take revenge, Senior. I came to face it. Is that not all?”
“...”
“Our paths are simply different.”
Unhwi aimed his sword.
The blade caught the moonlight and shone. It was a different light from Seok Junseo’s blade. Cool and sharp.
Unhwi said,
“There is a saying that a sword that thinks only of revenge is heavy.”
“...And?”
“A heavy sword is slow. And a slow sword dies.”
Seok Junseo’s eyes narrowed.
“...Is that advice?”
“No.”
Unhwi lifted his sword.
“It is fact.”
Seok Junseo gave a faint laugh.
“...Are you asking to debate the sword?”
Unhwi shook his head.
“I am informing you. Your grandson and your son could not understand words, but seeing you now, I understand there was sufficient reason for that.”
“...”
“It seems to run in the family. Unfortunately.”
Wind blew.
The hems of both men’s robes fluttered.
Moonlight poured down.
The clearing was dyed silver.
Two shadows faced each other.
Seok Junseo lowered his stance.
He held his blade at an angle.
“You talk too much.”
Unhwi took his stance without another word.
He raised his sword straight before him.
The wind stopped.
The leaves stilled.
It was as if the world itself had stopped.
And then—
They moved at the same time.
Kwaaaang!
A thunderous roar burst out.
Blade and sword collided.
The shock wave spread in all directions. Trees shook. Leaves flew like a storm.
Seok Junseo instantly changed direction, his blade crashing down from the sky. Unhwi raised the True Fire Heavenly Spirit Sword.
Kwaaaang!
The tendons in Unhwi’s arm stood out.
Heavy.
A weight like a mountain crashing down.
The ground sank, and cracks spread beneath his feet.
It was heavier than expected.
Late-stage Harmony realm.
Impressive.
But this was not beyond him.
Unhwi’s sword moved at once.
He let the blade slide aside. To the flank.
Seok Junseo’s body tilted.
Unhwi drove into that gap.
His sword thrust forward.
Seok Junseo twisted his body.
He evaded it.
Barely.
His robe tore.
“...Hah...!”
He retreated.
Unhwi did not follow.
He remained where he stood.
“That was the first exchange.”
At Unhwi’s calm words, Seok Junseo clenched his teeth.
Fast.
Just as the rumors said.
But—
At this level...
Seok Junseo’s gaze changed.
He could handle him.
He raised his blade.
Tyrant Heaven Energy erupted.
Blood-red energy surged from his entire body. The air trembled. Trees shook. The ground vibrated.
Unhwi felt it.
The change.
This was different from before. This was his true power.
Seok Junseo moved.
His blade slashed horizontally.
It was not a simple crosscut.
Blood-red blade energy erupted from the edge.
Not one.
Three.
No, not three.
Five.
Five suns and moons.
The shape of five overlapping moons.
A higher form of the Three-Blood Heaven Slash that Seok Cheonung had used.
Tyrant King Blood Blade
Third Chapter: Five-Blood Heaven Slash
Five streams of blade energy flew toward him.
At the same time.
And each on a different trajectory, each at a different speed.