Mount Hua's disciples, led by Baek Cheon, showcase their formidable skills against the Ten Thousand People Clan. Geum Yang-Baek of the Southern Island Sect is impressed by their prowess, recognizing their battle-hardened strength. As the battle intensifies, the Southern Island disciples struggle, but their elders, along with Geum Yang-Baek, bolster the front line. Meanwhile, a critical issue arises as their ships become stranded offshore due to the receding tide. Monk Hae Yeon steps in with incredible strength to push the ships back into the water, allowing the evacuation to continue.
“Finished!”
“Still, relying only on brute strength!”
The Mount Hua disciples, who had been watching the unfolding events, erupted in cheers, their fists clenched. Had that ship not moved, they would have been annihilated without a chance. But, as anticipated, Hae Yeon was indeed capable of handling anything!
“Sasuk!”
“Not yet! Hold on a little longer!”
Baek Cheon’s voice boomed, a loud shout.
Though the ship had managed to drift away, the moment for retreat had not yet arrived. These were no ordinary fighters; they were members of the menacing Ten Thousand People Clan, their swords wickedly sharp. Being on a ship did not grant immunity from attack. In fact, it might even make them an easier target, should the ship sustain a few breaches.
Their primary objective was to create sufficient distance so the enemy could no longer strike the ship.
“Ugh! Sasuk!”
However, achieving this was far from simple.
Enemies continued to surge forward relentlessly, and human concentration has its limits. Moreover, the internal qi expended to break the enemy’s momentum was beginning to wane.
*Clang!*
Baek Cheon bit his lip hard, parrying a flying blade.
The hostile forces, astute as specters, sensed the shifting momentum. Perhaps noticing the Heavenly Friends Alliance members faltering, the charging warriors of the Ten Thousand People Clan intensified their onslaught.
“Hahahahahaha!”
“It’s Mount Hua’s throat! Tear them apart!”
A lack of camaraderie in battle is never a good thing, or so Baek Cheon had always believed.
Yet, at this very moment, Baek Cheon bitterly realized that every aspect of the world possesses two sides.
These individuals remained unperturbed even as their comrades, who had shared their struggles, were cut down before their very eyes. Not only did they not falter, they seemed utterly indifferent.
This mercilessness struck Baek Cheon down. ‘This is the true power of the Ten Thousand People Clan…’
They had to maintain their defense. But at this rate, the elders of the Southern Island Sect would fall first. While older martial cultivators gain strength from their internal qi, prolonged combat demands endurance. The longer the fight drags on, their stamina would erode even before their internal qi depleted.
‘What should I do?’
Baek Cheon bore the responsibility here. The decision rested solely on his shoulders.
The lives of dozens, even hundreds, depended on his judgment. But this dire situation...
It was at that precise moment.
A mocking voice reached Baek Cheon’s ears.
“You boasted you would seize and strike.”
“Ch-Chung Myung...”
“All talk and no action!”
Chung Myung sprang forward with incredible speed.
Baek Cheon clearly saw Chung Myung’s retreating back as he charged forth. The instant he moved, the warriors of the Ten Thousand People Clan wildly brandished their weapons, focusing their assault.
Swiftly, ten or so streaks of light erupted from Chung Myung’s fingertips. No, these were not mere streaks of light but sword strikes—moving so rapidly they appeared as faint trails to the naked eye.
*Shik shik! Shik! Shik shik!*
The warriors of the Ten Thousand People Clan, mid-swing, clutched their bodies, emitting terrible screams.
Necks and wrists, thighs and flanks. Even in that fleeting exchange, Chung Myung’s sword ruthlessly targeted only the enemy’s fatal pressure points.
“You bastard!”
*Paaaaaaang!*
With a sound that tore through the air, a flying sword instantly severed the neck of a Ten Thousand People Clan warrior. The detached head spun like a top, spraying blood in all directions.
“Th-That…”
Chung Myung, his face now splattered with blood, wore a chilling smile. He then surged towards a staggering warrior of the Ten Thousand People Clan, moving like an unstoppable force.
*Paaaaaaang!*
The moment his sword sliced again, a hastily raised blade cleaved a human body in two.
“M-Monstrous…”
The Ten Thousand People Clan had amassed their power through countless battles, earned widespread renown, and even claimed the apex position within the Four Sects Alliance. Each of their sword masters was a veteran of a hundred combats, warriors who held no attachment to their own lives.
But in the eyes of those who knew no fear, a palpable terror now began to bloom.
The deaths of comrades might not instill fear in them. However, even members of the Evil Sect cannot help but fear their own demise. In fact, precisely because they belong to the Evil Sect, they should cling to life even more tenaciously.
*Paaaat!*
A lightning-fast sword pierced a chest. The moment muscle and sinew clung to the penetrating blade, it twisted, rending the body from within.
“Gaaaah…”
The victim, whose insides were being shattered, convulsed, unable to even utter a full scream.
*Paaaaat!*
The blade, disengaging from his body, was swung again, instantly striking his neck.
*Thud!!*
The warrior of the Ten Thousand People Clan, who had instinctively batted away his comrade’s head as if it were a cannonball, turned deathly pale.
Was it simply because he had struck his comrade’s head? No. Such a human reaction was unlikely.
The instant his blade connected, he realized Chung Myung had already closed the distance, appearing directly in front of him.
*Fr-r-r. *
Chung Myung’s Dark Fragrant Plum Blossom Sword began to tremble violently as if meeting a gale. The sword split into dozens, then hundreds, filling the world with red Plum Blossom leaves.
It wasn’t as solitary as Yu Yiseol’s Plum Blossom, nor as robust as Baek Cheon’s. It wasn’t as swift as Jo Gul’s, nor as soft as Yoon Jong’s.
The Plum Blossoms Chung Myung bloomed were simply sharp.
“Aaaaaaah!”
“Aaaaaaah!”
Those caught in the storm of petals screamed in such desperate agony they would never want to hear it again in a dream. It was a surprisingly weak sight for the famed Ten Thousand People Clan.
But anyone watching this scene would be forced to understand.
How could someone riddled with dozens of holes across their body suppress a scream? It was a scene that would arouse pity in anyone.
Yet Chung Myung’s face, the one who wrought this horror, showed not a trace of sympathy.
He simply brushed past those who were falling.
A moment later, the necks of those riddled with holes snapped simultaneously and red fountains of blood spurted up.
He kills anyone he engages without fail.
That was one of Chung Myung’s iron rules honed through countless battlefield crises.
Before that merciless hand, the raging momentum of the Ten Thousand People Clan collapsed at once.
In such a vast battlefield, one person rampaging might not be a big deal. No, it shouldn’t be.
But the situation changes depending on who that one person is. Even those pressing the defense line against Mount Hua’s disciples couldn’t help flinching and turning toward the screams behind them.
Naturally, in the instant the enemy’s assault weakened, Baek Cheon’s eyes flashed sharply.
“Young lord!”
“Understood!”
Jo Gul and Baek Cheon sprang forward and swung their swords at the Ten Thousand People Clan warriors clustered in front of Namgung Do-Wei.
Not missing the gap those two created, Namgung Do-Wei raised his sword. A dazzling white radiance gathered around his high-raised blade.
A unique sword art in the world that emanated terrifying power backed by massive internal qi.
It was the moment the Namgung Family’s Emperor Sword Form displayed its majesty.
“Haaaaaaaah!”
Namgung Do-Wei drew out all his internal qi; a sword aura the size of a house swelled at his blade’s tip then instantly condensed.
At the same time, Namgung Do-Wei’s sword descended like a lightning bolt driven into the earth.
Kwaaaaaa!
The sword force Namgung Do-Wei unleashed carved out a pure white straight road before him. The Emperor Form’s absolute path, the Emperor’s Road, manifested from Namgung Do-Wei’s sword rather than Namgung Hwang’s!
A spotless white road stretched straight without bend, and in an instant that path was stained red with the enemies’ blood.
It was, literally, the road a king should walk.
“Ugh!”
Namgung Do-Wei staggered, suddenly pale. As his knee buckled, Tang Pae quickly grabbed his shoulder.
“Do-Wei!”
“I’m fine! More importantly!”
Namgung Do-Wei, about to urge them to continue the attack, hesitated and fell silent.
Because he saw the dazzling red petals blooming in profusion.
‘Ah...’
Five plum trees extending in different forms.
They were different yet the same. Each tree had to be different, but the forest they formed was ultimately one.
Southern Island’s land.
On this distant land of Southern Island, Mount Hua’s plum blossoms bloomed. The plum blossoms borne from the last of their inner energy were beautiful and intoxicating like flowers that had endured a long winter and finally bloomed.
Slash Slash!
Scattered Plum Blossom petals whirled in the wind and cascaded down onto the enemies.
No matter how mighty the Ten Thousand People Clan were, trembling the Central Plains, they could not block a rain of Plum Blossoms pouring down like a deluge.
Shik shik!
If they drew up internal qi to block it, they would not suffer wounds that would cost them their lives. The single petal was by no means fatal.
But that wasn’t necessarily hopeful.
Shik! Shik! Shik! Shik!
Because they did not die, they had to feel every shred of the torture of their bodies being torn apart.
“Kraaaaaaah!”
Horrific screams erupted one after another everywhere.
And before those screams could even cease, what crashed in was a majestic wave-like sword qi emitted by the Southern Island’s elders. Unlike Mount Hua’s Plum Blossom sword qi, that strike delivered certain death to the Ten Thousand People Clan warriors.
Baek Cheon, his complexion noticeably pale, turned his head.
He saw the ship had already moved a fair distance from the shore. Perhaps because the warriors were rowing with all their might, it was receding faster than expected.
Chung Myung was still fighting up ahead.
For a moment conflict flickered in Baek Cheon’s eyes. But what quelled that conflict was ultimately trust.
Baek Cheon shouted in a firm voice.
“Retreat! Retreat! Get to the ship!”
“Yes!”
With their last reserves of strength, everyone pushed further away from the approaching enemies. Then, they immediately pivoted and sprinted towards the shore.
Only one individual, Seol So-Baek, remained fixated, his feet rooted to the spot.
“Damn it, what are you waiting for!”
Jo Gul, without missing a beat, hoisted Seol So-Baek onto his shoulder and hastened towards the ship.
They had created some distance, but their pursuers belonged to the Ten Thousand People Clan. With just a moment's respite, they would undoubtedly close the gap. The only recourse was to plunge into the sea before that happened.
“No! Taoist Chung Myung is over there!”
“I’m aware!”
Jo Gul retorted with palpable irritation.
“Who do you think you should be worrying about! Do you truly believe that man is like any of us?”
“……”
“If you’re going to fret…!”
Jo Gul’s gaze swept over the scene. He observed warriors from the Ten Thousand People Clan exhibiting a distinct hesitation, seemingly unwilling to confront Chung Myung directly.
“Worry about those cursed Ten Thousand People Clan fools! The unfortunate souls who’ve crossed paths with that madman!”
“……Yes?”
Seol So-Baek turned his head to where Chung Myung stood, his expression one of utter bewilderment. A peculiar, knowing smile played on Chung Myung’s lips.
‘T-Taoist…?’
And in that very instant, Seol So-Baek became a witness.
He saw Chung Myung execute a fluid motion, flipping his sword to adopt a reverse grip, before launching himself into the thick of the enemy ranks.
A chilling, azure current coursed down Seol So-Baek’s spine.
