Chapter 68

Nengcheonak unconsciously took a step back, steadied his breathing, and calmed his mind.

Watching this, the Sword Demon’s brows narrowed.

‘Old men are something else.’

He immediately accepted the challenge of the Sword Without Fear, revealing a cold determination to face the life-or-death duel.

Nungcheonak and the man called the youngest clashed once more.

Being called the youngest here meant nothing; he couldn’t possibly be the youngest in their group. He was nothing less than a decisive weapon prepared for the Demon Realm.

The Sword Demon watched the sword techniques of the Heaven-Defying Evil with keen attention.

While the youngest gained experience, the Sword Demon himself also observed the Sword King’s martial arts. Whenever the time came to directly confront the Sword God, the Sword Demon too was in a position where he must pursue endless development.

Sparks erupted from the two blades.

The youngest was gradually being pushed back. The Sword King, Neng Tian’E, realized his opponent was the Sword Immortal and immediately adopted a strategy to drain his internal energy. His intent was to wear him down until he collapsed.

The Sword Demon watching over him spoke in an unpleasant tone.

“Youngest, are you going to keep acting like that? You’ve already seen he’s superior to you in combat. What did I teach you to do in such situations? Have you forgotten everything already?”

The Sword Demon was scolding his subordinate, but the one who actually felt displeased was Nengcheonak.

In that instant, Nengcheonak kicked the youngest disciple hard in the stomach, sending him flying backward. He then demanded,

“You call yourself the youngest? What’s your name? We’re fighting for our lives here, and you don’t even know your own name?”

The man called the youngest replied.

“I have no name.”

Nengcheonak asked.

“How can a person have no name?”

“I’m not here.”

The Sword Demon interrupted the conversation.

“Shut up, both of you. I said to fight, not to talk.”

Startled by this, the youngest brother lunged forward, thrusting his sword like a spear. It was a crude technique unheard of in any martial arts sect.

As Nengcheonak tried to parry the clumsily thrusting blade, the youngest withdrew his own sword and suddenly grabbed the Sword King’s blade with his bare hands.

Clang!

Nengcheonak unleashed his inner force.

Thud! With a sound, the youngest’s head snapped backward…

The Heaven-Piercing Blade instantly split into three points, stabbing the youngest’s face and neck in quick succession before sliding back to create distance.

Thud! Thud! Clang!

Nengcheonak stared at the youngest with a look of surprise.

No matter how he thought about it, he had considered the eyes a weak point, yet he couldn’t confirm the result. He had definitely felt the sword pierce.

When the man called the youngest removed his hands from his face, blood tears streamed from both eyes. Seeing this, Nengcheonak said:

“So you were human after all. It’s only natural for a human to have a name.”

The Sword Demon raised one hand as if to halt the fight and spoke.

“Youngest.”

“Yes.”

“Are you blind now?”

The youngest, whose eyelid had been pierced, blinked repeatedly before looking at Nengcheonak and replied.

“No. I can see.”

The Sword Demon grabbed his forehead, then waved his hand downward several times as if signaling Nungcheonak to rest for a moment.

“Senior, you’ve been through a lot. Sit down. And you lot… You useless bastards.”

As the swordsman spat out his curses, the twelve swordsmen knelt where they stood. One man spoke.

“Please instruct us.”

With Nungcheonak glaring with eyes wide open, the Sword Demon began his lecture on the duel.

“I’ve told you time and again—how can you fight so stupidly? What did I say was the most important thing?”

A man retorted.

“Hiding the sword’s unshakable spirit.”

The Sword Demon pointed at the youngest disciple, whose eyes were weeping blood, and said.

How could you just hand over your neck like that, barely into the fight? The outcome was already decided then. Senior Sword King realized you wouldn’t be cut down and forced the battle into an internal energy duel. Had you kept fighting, the youngest would have exhausted his energy reserves and couldn’t have gotten up even if Senior Sword King had peed on his face. You’d already missed your chance to win one-on-one. If your opponent is stronger than you, the only chance in an offensive battle is the moment you expose your invulnerability to blades. Conceal it, conceal it again. Understand?”

The swordsmen responded in unison.

“We will remember.”

“Better to give up your arm, your waist, your leg. If you get a shallow cut, at least fake it with your expression as if you really got hit. Use every trick in the book. I can’t teach you all that stuff one by one.”

Nengcheonak sighed.

“What the hell… are you people?”

The Sword Demon looked at Nengcheonak and retorted.

“What do you think?”

Nengcheonak said.

“You’re not human.”

The Sword Demon retorted to Nengcheonak’s accusation.

“You’ve seen well. Judging by how you’re babbling, you seem to have rested sufficiently. Next.”

As the youngest was about to step forward again, the Sword Demon frowned.

“Not you.”

As the next challenger stepped forward, Nungcheonak said with a bitter expression,

“I want to finish this fight. Why is the opponent changing?”

The Sword Demon retorted.

“Why should I honor the words of creatures who aren’t human? In professional terms, it’s called a ‘rotation battle’.”

Nengcheonak leapt to his feet and drew his sword once more.

“You bastards!”

The Sword Demon pointed at Nengcheonak and said.

“Senior, if you’re going to curse, do it with a little more gusto. Even in this situation, you’re exercising restraint like a gentleman. Hahahahaha…”

At that moment, someone called out from outside the iron gate.

“Master Yeonju, a friend is looking for you.”

A friend to the Sword Demon… Could there be a more incongruous phrase?

The Sword Demon stared at Nengchuan Yue with a sour expression before addressing one of his subordinates.

“Yijian.”

“Yes.”

“Entertain him. Don’t kill him. If you see anything wrong, point it out clearly.”

The man called One Sword bowed his head slightly and replied.

“Understood.”

The Sword Demon rose and offered a fist salute to Nengcheonak.

“Senior, we shall meet again. May you live long.”

Nengcheonak retorted.

“Why bother with insincere courtesy?”

The sword master shook his head as if he couldn’t stand to hear it, then walked toward the iron gate.

“I show courtesy because it’s something you lot enjoy. And honestly, it’s kind of fun doing it.”

The Sword Demon looked at Nengchuan’e again and mockingly assumed a fighting stance. As Nengchuan’e’s expression twisted, the Sword Demon barely suppressed a burst of laughter.

“Heh… Ah, my apologies. Your expression was amusing.”

.

.

.

The Sword Demon approached a man and said.

“Drinking again in broad daylight?”

Inside the scenic pavilion, a man clad in a purple robe sat alone, plucking a zither.

The man beckoned with a bright smile and said.

“Our Lord of the Heavenly Sword Alliance, please come in.”

The Sword Demon grinned and assumed a bowing posture.

“The Heavenly Sword Alliance Leader, a lowly martial artist, pays his respects to the Demon Path Grandmaster, Heavenly Demon.”

“You madman, I hate hearing that. That phrase… It’s neither amusing nor moving. Could you just stop?”

The Sword Demon chuckled as he climbed onto the pavilion, then sat facing the man and said.

“No snacks again.”

The Heavenly Demon said.

“Your handsome face is the snack.”

This time, it was the joke the Sword Demon hated most. He scowled arrogantly and waved his hand.

“Fine. Let’s drop it.”

The nickname of the man who was making it himself was, absurdly enough, Heavenly Demon. But the only man who called him by that nickname was Sword Demon. The two had been childhood friends since growing up together at the Ten Thousand Demons Palace; they were each other’s only friend and ally in the world.

The man calling himself Cheonma poured himself another drink.

Sword Demon, who never touched alcohol, asked as if concerned.

“You seem to be getting more and more addicted to alcohol.”

Cheonma nodded.

“Seems that way. I drink to get drunk, so it’s fine. I drink, I get drunk. It’s the only pleasure I’m allowed.”

The Sword Demon replied.

“Alright. Drink up.”

Cheonma held out his empty glass and said.

“Have a drink.”

Gyeomma shook his head. Cheonma poured more liquor and downed it in one gulp.

The Sword Demon said.

“You once said something like this before.”

“What was it?”

“That liquor never betrays you. Drink it, and you’ll get drunk without fail. It’s an honest bastard.”

Cheonma nodded.

“That’s right. Precisely. Few live life as honestly as liquor. It’s fair to everyone.”

Geomma asked.

“So… you didn’t come here just to waste that honest liquor. Already scouting your next target?”

Cheonma nodded.

The underworld is already preparing. Even the lower-ranking members are tense. I’ll postpone confronting the top dog. Since they’re preparing, we should ease the tension.

“Understood.”

“We’ll have to take down the master.”

Meanwhile, Cheonma drank again. He was a notorious drunkard. Geomma asked.

“Is there a way? He’s holed up in his clan. The entire Emperor’s Association could set a trap. We’re slowly getting more to think about. We shouldn’t have let the Sword Emperor slip away.”

Cheonma smiled.

“Don’t worry about the Sword Emperor. Failure is commonplace.”

“So how do you plan to catch the apprentice?”

Cheonma poured wine and laughed.

“We left traces of Murong Chui in Mubyeol. The Emperor’s Council found them easily enough. Not only the Namgung Clan, but the Emperor’s Council’s forces and some of their masters will comb through Mubyeol thoroughly. Naturally, the Namgung Clan’s usual forces will be reduced. Even if things go wrong, we’ll have plenty of escape routes.”

The Sword Demon listened silently.

The Heavenly Demon continued.

“I’ve arranged for those destined to die in Mubyeol. Fifty men, no less. Seems adequate, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm, it seems a bit low.”

“Even if we die, we’ll scatter and flee toward Shaanxi before meeting our end. Had our revered Lord of the Palace of Ten Thousand Demons aided us, we would have spilled the blood of a hundred or two in glorious sacrifice. Yet day by day, you grow colder.”

The Sword Demon replied in a monotonous tone.

“When do you plan to kill that revered Lord of the Ten Thousand Demons?”

“Why the rush? Wait. There’s an order to things. It’s not like we’ve only waited a day or two. Besides, the Young Palace Master will cause trouble first anyway. And that’s precisely how it must be for those who follow the Palace of Ten Thousand Demons to have a righteous cause.”

“Are you sure? What could that coward possibly do to us?”

“Ah, he’s not that much of a coward. He’s just a kid with a rich inner sensitivity. The crazier the father, the richer the child’s inner world tends to be. Anyway… let’s assume there are absolutely no troops going to the Namgung clan. The fewer the better—just you and me, just the two of us.”

The Sword Demon nodded.

As Cheonma poured and drank the liquor, Geomma quietly asked.

“Who will absorb the disciple?”

After drinking, the Heavenly Demon replied.

“Ah, you fool. Of course, it’s you.”

The Sword Demon replied while studying his friend’s expression.

“Why do you keep giving in? It makes me uneasy…”

Cheonma chuckled softly.

“What makes you uneasy? Are you perhaps worried you might become a demon god…”

Cheonma twirled his finger around his temple as he continued speaking.

“Do you think I’ve lost my mind? Are you scared I won’t recognize you as a friend and will try to kill you? If I get in your way then, kill me anytime. No. Just cut off my limbs and let me live. I intend to see the world fall to the Demon Path with my own eyes before I die. Friends can do that much for each other, can’t they? No matter how much you rage, you should be able to do that much.”

The Sword Demon clicked his tongue.

“Why would I kill you?”

“That’s what they say. Even if we become masters of the demonic arts, we’re each other’s only friends. Do you think you could live happily without me? You couldn’t. I couldn’t either. How else could I live, giving you everything? Become invincible. Mastering the demonic arts is secondary. Right now, my only wish is for you to become invincible.”

“I was taught to be wary of sweet words. It was something our revered Palace Lord always said.”

Cheonma spoke after finishing the last of his wine.

“Even if it becomes the Sword Demon’s Realm instead of the Demon’s Realm, I shall be satisfied. Should you become the world’s greatest and command me as your soldier, or if you deem even that unnecessary, then feel free to discard me like a used tool. I shall close my eyes without regret…”

The Sword Demon asked with an expressionless face.

“Are you drunk?”

The Heavenly Demon replied calmly.

“Not yet.”