Chapter 122

The Sword King, Among the Four Great Evils

The Sword Demon and the Heavenly Demon kept shifting positions as if locked in a dance. The two were dancing with the flying demon swords.

Then this is a dance of death.

As the Heavenly Demon and the Sword Demon clung to each other, intent on killing one another, they suddenly realized anew that they were each other’s one and only friend.

Was it the mystery of life, or simply the hopelessness of demonic arts?

The word “friend,” uttered so often before as if it were a lie, only regained its true meaning in the very moment they sought to kill each other.

Sword Demon, Heavenly Demon…

I felt like we were truly friends after all.

They were always wary of each other, suspicious, and tried to kill one another. In that sense, the Sword Demon and the Heavenly Demon were perhaps the men in the world whose natures were most alike.

The only difference was that the Sword Demon was a bit more extreme, while the Heavenly Demon was a bit more insidious.

The demon swords that had flown several times now circled the sky again, moving and then charging. This was because the Heavenly Demon kept switching positions to avoid exposing his back, a sign their martial prowess and strength were evenly matched. Thus, neither could gain the upper hand, and their battle remained fiercely even.

Once again, the demon sword swept past the two.

Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

The long, clear sword’s cry was mixed with an impure sound.

It was an ominous sound.

A white thread-like line flew fiercely, tracing an enormous semicircle, then simultaneously wrapped around both men’s torsos, binding them together in one swift motion.

That thin thread had thickened like a whip in an instant.

The expressions of the Heavenly Demon and the Sword Demon simultaneously paled.

They sensed the level of energy surging toward them was far from ordinary.

The crisis came too suddenly, causing cold sweat to pour down their entire bodies.

‘Ah…’

‘Is it the Sword Demon?’

The Celestial Demon and the Sword Demon were not masters who would easily fall to such an attack…

They were pouring every ounce of strength into killing each other, so when they sensed the danger, grabbing their whips with one hand was the best they could manage. In such a moment, exchanging a glance to synchronize their intent and resolve would have been the most appropriate action, but since Sword Demon had no eyes, it was impossible.

“You bastards…”

Dan Woo-sung appeared, glaring with a murderous gaze.

The beasts who had been trying to kill each other were now caught by Dan Woo-sung.

The two clenched their teeth, enduring the pain until they finally released their hands simultaneously. They tore Brain’s whip apart with both hands and resisted.

Had it been an ordinary whip, breaking free would likely have been easier.

They could have severed it with their internal energy.

But this was the Thunder Qi Whip forged by the Fist King. Even touching it brought pain. Instantly, the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Cheonma and Geomma each seized the Thunder Qi with their martial arts, causing chaotic clashes and clashes of energy to erupt.

As energy waves erupted from both their bodies…

Danwooseong, enveloped in a white current of energy, pulled back the whip.

‘I must kill him here.’

Because they are the most dangerous villains who could harm the martial world.

The Disciple, the Green Forest King, Murong Chui, and himself had all suffered. Countless lives unknown to Dan Wuxing must have been sacrificed for the desires of those two.

Amidst this, the Sword Demon shifted his target to Dan Woosung using the demonic gate of the Heart Demon Sword, then sent the spinning demonic blade hurtling toward him from midair.

Now, the only thing he could trust was the demon sword.

Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss

At that moment, the Heavenly Demon witnessed a white object erupting from the ground in midair. Then, the white cat, now enormous in the sky, snatched the flying demon sword in its mouth and landed lightly on the ground.

Baekmyo had snatched the sword without a second thought as it flew through the air with a clamor. When the demon sword tried to move on its own, Baekmyo growled and clamped down on it.

Baekmyo’s head shook back and forth as he clung to the demon sword.

It was a common play for cats, but for the demon sword, it was a desperate situation.

Danwooseong alternated his gaze between the Sword Demon, the Heavenly Demon, and Baekmyo before surveying the surroundings. The reason he deliberately used a whip made of lightning for a ranged attack in this situation was because the Mad Demon or the Young Palace Master could join the fray nearby.

The Sword Demon spoke.

“Didn’t you call him the Fist King? Damn it!”

Cheonma replied in a strained voice.

“Kwonma.”

It was a conversation between the sighted and the blind, so naturally, no agreement could be reached.

As Danwooseong saw the two still speaking amidst the chaos, he drew upon the power of the Ten Thousand Battles, Ten Thousand Victories technique once more.

Crackle-crackle-crackle!

Until now, almost no one had managed to suppress a scream when the Hundred Battles Ten-Fold Energy surged through their body. Yet, neither the Sword Demon nor the Heavenly Demon uttered a single groan as they glared at Dan Woo-seong.

.

.

.

The young princess who had followed Baekmyo watched this chaos from a distance, then chuckled and clapped her hands.

Ah, you’re doing well. I shan’t interfere. Kwonma, don’t worry. Do as you please. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!

Following this, behind the Young Palace Master, the forces of the Ten Thousand Horses Palace, including the Flying Horse Corps, lined up in formation. They were also the ones tasked with guarding the Young Palace Master. As his subordinates finally arrived, the Young Palace Master waved his hand and said.

“No need to interfere. How could one meddle when demons fight demons? Let them compete to determine the victor. That, too, is the way of demons.”

“Understood.”

Dan Woo-sung shot a sidelong glance at the young palace lord.

Amidst the chaos, Baekmyo, clutching the demon sword and staggering about, stood as if to guard Danwooseong’s back, gazing at the forces of the Ten Thousand Horse Palace.

For Danwooseong, it was truly a reassuring situation.

Had he not forged even the slightest connection with the white cat, he might well have found himself in a difficult position right here.

The white cat seemed unfazed, gnawing on the demon sword before flinging it onto the ground. It pressed down on it with its front paws, then suddenly began pounding the sword as if beating it.

Amidst this, the Young Princess spoke to the Heavenly Demon and the Sword Demon.

“You insolent fools. Your pathetic state is truly laughable. Ha ha ha ha… You were strutting around so proudly, yet you can’t even handle a single martial artist? Your title is wasted. Truly wasted.”

The Young Princess glanced at her subordinates and pointed her finger at the Heavenly Demon and Sword Demon.

“How can such scum bear the great titles of Heavenly Demon and Sword Demon? Does that even make sense?”

Her subordinates retorted.

“Celestial Demon? Sword Demon? Utterly preposterous. Truly arrogant fools.”

“The Celestial Demon is the pinnacle of all demons. That title was never meant for someone like Wei Zhichuan.”

As the subordinates began to clamor, the young princess nodded. Gesturing as if to encourage them further, the subordinates openly criticized the Sword Demon and the Heavenly Demon, whom they had always feared so greatly.

“The Sword Demon is a symbol of invincibility. I don’t understand why he’s acting like that. It seems the Grand Masters overestimated those two.”

The young princess waved her hand as if to further encourage her subordinates’ criticism.

“Right! The Grand Masters aren’t always right.”

She was urging them to speak up. Then, members of the Ten Thousand Demon Palace all chimed in, disparaging, criticizing, and belittling the Heavenly Demon and the Sword Demon.

“Doesn’t his very appearance show he’s far from being a Heavenly Demon?”

“Seeing you follow in my father’s footsteps somehow gives me the creeps.”

The young princess chuckled.

“Right. That happened too. Well pointed out.”

The Heavenly Demon and Sword Demon were furious, but they were locked in a life-or-death battle of internal energy, leaving them unable to even retort. The words stung like daggers, especially coming from the young princess’s subordinates, whom they normally wouldn’t have given the time of day.

A man spoke up.

After taking in an orphan, feeding him, sheltering him, and teaching him martial arts, this is the arrogance I received in return. I implore the Young Master to rule the others with strict discipline as well. Those who learned martial arts from the Grand Masters delude themselves into thinking they stand above the Ten Thousand Horses Palace. Yet, are not the Grand Masters themselves members of the Ten Thousand Horses Palace? How can we stand idly by and watch such individuals run rampant?”

The Young Palace Master responded as if she understood.

“Very well, you’re right. I’ll speak to Father. Especially the Heavenly Demon and the Sword Demon—they’ve been constantly plotting to take my life. Imprisoning them won’t suffice. Kwonma, kill them both at once.”

Danwooseong spoke toward the Palace of Ten Thousand Demons while pouring out his energy.

“You idiotic bastards… Shut your mouths.”

The young palace master snapped her fingers as she spoke.

“Chair, let’s have a look.”

As someone brought a small folding chair, the Young Palace Master sat down, chewing dried meat while watching the front. She then waved the dried meat at Baekmyo.

“Baekmyo, aren’t you hungry?”

As Baekmyo pretended not to notice, the young princess tossed the jerky she’d been chewing at him.

“You ungrateful wretch.”

The young princess twirled her finger at her subordinates as she spoke.

“Let’s see who survives.”

The gesture signaled to encircle. With a roar, the archers of the Ten Thousand Horse Palace moved in a wide circle, trapping Danwooseong, Cheonma, Geomma, and Baekmyo within their formation.

The combined forces of the Dragon Demon Corps, Bow Demon Corps, and Secret Demon Corps numbered one hundred.

The Dragon Demon Corps at the forefront raised their shields, the Secret Demon Corps drew their swords, and the Bow Demon Corps aimed their bows.

Regardless of the outcome, it was an encirclement designed to charge at the survivors once the Young Palace Master gave the order.

Even as the encirclement was complete, Danwooseong, Geomma, and Cheonma remained motionless, locked in a contest of internal energy…

The Young Palace Master leapt up from the folding chair.

“Hahaha, that’s quite a sight. Give the signal.”

The Young Palace Master flashed three fingers. The signal counting to three shrank to two, then changed from one finger to a fist. At that moment, the Young Palace Master innocently drew a vertical line with her hand and shouted.

“Kill them! Kill them all! Wipe them out completely!”

Arrows were fired simultaneously from the formation.

Ping- ping- ping- ping- ping- ping- ping- ping- ping- ping!

He couldn’t die in a duel.

After Danwooseong withdrew his lightning whip and leapt into the air, absurdly enough, the Sword Demon and Heavenly Demon, freed from Danwooseong’s bonds, also soared into the sky together.

All three were masters, so they soared to a dizzying height.

The Archery Corps drew their arrows once more, aiming their bows toward the sky…

The moment the three prepared their respective techniques at the apex, they unleashed them simultaneously toward the Young Princess, as if by mutual agreement.

Danwooseong unleashed his Thunder Fist, while the Sword Demon deployed his Hand Blade, unleashing blade-shaped force fields. Cheonma unleashed the Sun-Moon Light Heavenly Blade.

The massive fist and blade intertwined, followed by the vast circular force of the Sun-Moon Light Heaven Palm, where yin and yang energies violently collided.

The young palace master’s face turned pale.

The young princess opened her mouth wide, spread her arms, and resisted, emitting light from her heart. Yet the moment she was engulfed by the Thunder Fist, her entire body began to tremble violently. Torn apart by the blade’s force, she was then struck by the Sun-Moon Light Heavenly Strike. Instantly, she vanished like dust right where she stood, her fragments carried away by the wind, fluttering away in vain.

As the young master vanished from where he stood…

The Manmagu Palace subordinates let out a bloodcurdling scream.

“Young Lady!”

Then, a giant figure flying through the air crashed down in the center of the battlefield and unleashed a torrent of energy toward the Dragon Horse Corps.

Kwaaaaaaaaaaang!

It was the Mad Dragon.

Without a word, Danwooseong descended to the ground and began slaughtering from the Palace of Ten Thousand Demons alongside Cheonma, Geomma, and Gwangma.

There was no time for strategy or friendly words, but the situation was unfolding this way.

In any case, these four were so savage that calling them the Four Demons of the Jianghu felt entirely fitting.

It was absurd that Danwooseong was suddenly involved in this as a martial arts master, yet even he was now participating in reducing the numbers of the Ten Thousand Horse Palace. Screams bordering on desperation erupted from all around.

“Avenge the Young Palace Master!”

The Palace Demon Lord and the Dragon Demon Lord shouted in turn, as if declaring war.

“The Ten Thousand Horses Palace will remember you as the Four Great Evildoers!”

“The Palace Lord herself will question you about your crimes!”

“To harm the rightful heir of the Ten Thousand Horses!”

Amidst this clamor, Manma Palace’s forces suffered casualties of three or four men at a time. Some fled to act as messengers, retreating to relay the news back to Manma Palace. The rest, like Manma Palace’s devotees, charged at the four masters, fearless of death.