Chapter 170
The trouble began when they were about halfway along the path from the Flying Dragon’s Thirty-Three Generals’ base to the Flying Dragon headquarters.
Suddenly, the Sword Saint leading the group raised his hand, signaling everyone to halt.
With sharp eyes fixed ahead, he spoke.
“The stench is overwhelming. Looks like filthy vermin are hiding nearby.”
As the group tensed, scanning their surroundings warily, three figures suddenly materialized from the space ahead like ghosts.
“Don’t you smell it? Corpses, dwarfs. This is all your doing!”
“Heh heh heh! You really think it’s the smell? Seems your dull mind, Cheokga, can’t even tell when the enemy’s words are true or false.”
“…”
The three were an imposing giant with a body like forged steel, a scruffy, shriveled middle-aged man, and a pale, expressionless, lanky black-clad fiend who looked like a walking corpse.
Their appearances were so distinctive they would stand out anywhere.
Baekho Daeju Dongbang Mugeuk immediately recognized who they were.
He muttered their names as if in a groan.
“Cheok, Cheolshingwangma Cheokgang, Heukhyulhwanma Dudang, and Baekmyeonsima Guujeol?”
They turned to Dongbang Mugeuk and responded in turn.
“How dare a brat like you speak my name so casually?!”
“Oh ho, you look quite sharp. Might be cute to keep you around as a pet.”
“…”
These three were no ordinary men.
All belonged to the Blood Sect Demons and each held a seat among the Thirty-Six Stars of the World—formidable masters of the highest caliber.
For three such figures to appear together at once was unprecedented.
Baekho Daeju Dongbang Mugeuk couldn’t confidently say he could face even one of them head-on.
Yet he felt no fear.
Instead, he quickly regained his composure and scoffed.
“You vermin of the Blood Sect must be desperate for death. Do you know where you’ve crawled out from?!”
His confidence stemmed naturally from the Sword Saint.
After all, the Heavenly Sword Saint Hae Unbaek—one of the absolute rulers of the martial world—stood with them, alongside two other masters of the Thirty-Six Stars.
No matter how formidable these three were, there was no way they would walk away alive from this encounter.
As expected, the Sword Saint stepped forward and said,
“I had my doubts, but it seems Cheok Ji-gang really was dealing with the Blood Sect. Well, this is good. They’ve been hiding so well I wondered if we’d ever wipe them out. Thanks to this, we meet here now. This time, I’ll sweep you away and hold Ji-gang accountable. We will raise the righteous banner once more! I will never let you live!”
With fury blazing in his eyes, the Sword Saint drew his beloved blade.
Ssshhh!
The betrayal of a fallen friend, the disappointment in the Martial Alliance, and his rage coalesced into a deadly aura that pressed down on the three Blood Sect masters.
Behind him, the twin dragon generals Woo Chaman and Yu Seongbipyo, also among the Thirty-Six Stars, grinned coldly and began radiating their own formidable presence.
This was an overwhelming combination rarely seen anywhere in the martial world.
Under the crushing pressure from these three, the Blood Sect masters were completely overwhelmed.
Breathing became difficult.
At that moment, Cheolshingwangma Cheokgang gritted his teeth and forced himself forward, refusing to yield.
“Hmph! If you think you can, then try!”
But he was the only one burning with desperate will.
Heukhyulhwanma Dudang, standing beside him, took a cautious step back, eyes flickering with fear.
Baekmyeonsima Guujeol, though expressionless as always, also seemed to hesitate.
Then, in that tense instant, the twin dragon generals exchanged a secret glance—so subtle no one noticed.
And in the next moment, something no one could have imagined happened.
Woo Chaman, one of the Thirty-Six Stars and a master of powerful palm techniques, suddenly unleashed a full-force double palm strike aimed at the Sword Saint’s back.
“Ha!”
Kraaaash!
It happened in the blink of an eye.
Everyone was stunned—the Baekho warriors behind, the Blood Sect masters watching from the front.
Why would they attack the Sword Saint now, just as the fight with the Blood Sect was about to begin?
It was utterly bewildering.
Yet those startled by the surprise attack were not as shocked as Woo Chaman and Yu Seongbipyo themselves.
Woo Chaman’s double palm strike was effortlessly blocked by the Sword Saint’s newly formed blue protective aura.
Twang!
The attack bounced lightly off the defense.
It was as if the Sword Saint had anticipated the ambush and naturally parried the blow.
But he didn’t stop there.
Swish!
In the same fluid motion of deflecting Woo Chaman’s strike, the Sword Saint spun and slashed his blade toward Woo Chaman.
The move was so seamless that observers only saw the result, not the process—a breathtaking display of swordsmanship.
Woo Chaman muttered in shock,
“Th-this can’t be…”
The next instant, his body split in two, blood spurting out.
Pffft!
For one of the Thirty-Six Stars, it was an absurdly sudden death.
He had thought he was the one launching the ambush, only to be ambushed himself.
Yu Seongbipyo immediately dodged to the side.
He only managed to escape because he hadn’t attacked yet.
Suspicious by nature, he had watched Woo Chaman’s failed strike until the last moment, then leapt back.
“Impossible! You knew?!”
Yu Seongbipyo shouted as he retreated.
The Sword Saint chuckled softly.
“My daughter warned me to be careful. I hoped it wasn’t true.”
Hae Cheong-yeon had told him to summon the masters but warned that some among them would surely be Ji-gang’s pawns.
It was bitter to realize both of these masters were part of Ji-gang’s scheme.
Then, without warning, the Sword Saint suddenly hurled his sword at Yu Seongbipyo with all his might.
Shing!
The speed of the thrown blade was astonishing.
Even without adding centrifugal force, it rivaled the speed of the iron ring thrown by Am Hyeolhyang.
But Yu Seongbipyo gritted his teeth and sneered as he dodged.
“Hmph!”
Swish!
The master of secret techniques and hidden weapons among the Thirty-Six Stars left an afterimage as he shifted sideways, evading the sword’s path.
Immediately after dodging, he tried to unleash a hidden weapon attack toward the Sword Saint.
‘A swordsman throwing away his sword? He must really underestimate me!’
But just as he prepared to strike, his eyes widened in shock.
“What?!”
Shing!
The sword he had dodged smoothly changed direction midair, following him.
It was something he never could have imagined.
“Ugh!”
Yu Seongbipyo realized he couldn’t dodge this time.
The sword was too fast, and the distance too close.
He shouted and spread his arms wide.
“Hah!”
Whoosh!
A yellow protective barrier burst forth from his body.
It was a defensive aura.
‘If I can block it with this and escape immediately…!’
Pfuuk!
“Gah!”
Yu Seongbipyo couldn’t believe it.
The Sword Saint’s blade pierced through his protective aura and stabbed straight through his chest.
“Th-this can’t be… What is this…?”
With his chest impaled, there was no way he could maintain the protective aura.
As it vanished, the sword passed through his body and, as if alive, flew back through the air to the Sword Saint’s hand.
Like a fish swimming through the sky.
At the same moment, Yu Seongbipyo’s corpse crashed to the ground and the Sword Saint gripped his sword once more.
Thud!
Boom!
Those watching muttered in stunned disbelief.
“Could that be…?”
“The Energy Sword?”
“Is that really the Energy Sword?”
Not only the Baekho warriors guarding the Sword Saint, but even the Blood Sect masters who had been watching helplessly were dumbfounded.
This was no mere illusion.
It was the legendary Energy Sword itself—something they had dismissed as a myth from martial novels—right before their eyes.
Despite being their enemy, the Blood Sect masters couldn’t help but feel awe at the Sword Saint’s incredible skill.
“Impressive!”
“In this world…”
“…”
But they shouldn’t have been.
They should have combined their efforts to overwhelm the Sword Saint.
Because at this very moment, the Sword Saint—wielding the Energy Sword and having just slain two masters of their own rank—was now turning his sharp gaze toward them.
He muttered coldly,
“You’ve shown your true colors before the vermin of the Blood Sect.”
He swallowed hard.
Though they outnumbered Woo Chaman and Yu Seongbipyo by one, he couldn’t be sure that made much difference.
The Heavenly Sword Saint Hae Unbaek.
To the onlookers, the overwhelming presence of that Absolute Being—ranked even above the Blood Demon, their supreme lord—was simply too much. The three warriors of the Thirty-Six Stars of the World found themselves utterly crushed beneath his aura.
At that moment, Cheokgang, the Iron Spirit Demon Horse, bit his lip until it bled and shouted through gritted teeth, “Don’t act so high and mighty! I’m not afraid of you!”
But no one was fooled. Everyone knew that his shouting was nothing more than a desperate attempt to suppress his fear.
Even Cheokgang, who claimed to fear nothing in the world, had to scream to overcome the terror inspired by the Sword Saint’s overwhelming presence.
Steeling himself, Cheokgang tried to push forward.
For a warrior whose very purpose was to fight the strong, it was a deep humiliation to be frozen in place, crushed by the opponent’s sheer force of will.
But just as Cheokgang was about to advance, the Sword Saint’s spectral form suddenly appeared before him.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, a terrifying, otherworldly attack unfolded.
“!”
Cheokgang’s eyes widened in shock as the Sword Saint’s blade moved toward him.
Shhhhk!
In that instant, it felt as if the world itself had split apart.
“Grrrgh!”
Cheokgang was thrown backward, barely able to keep his footing.
The only reason he wasn’t cleaved in two was his instinctive release of protective energy.
Still, despite pouring all his strength into his defense, the Sword Saint’s blade shattered most of it.
Even Cheokgang’s sturdy arms, which had blocked the strike, were sliced through about a third, blood spurting from the wounds.
“Ughhh!”
And it wasn’t over.
No sooner had Cheokgang thrown himself backward with all his might than the Sword Saint’s spectral form reappeared right in front of him.
With an indifferent gaze, the Sword Saint thrust his blade toward Cheokgang.
“!”
Fear filled Cheokgang’s eyes—a fear he had never known before.
The Iron Spirit Demon Horse, who had always boasted of fearing nothing, was now overwhelmed by an all-consuming terror.
But luck had not yet abandoned him.
“Kyaaah!”
Gu Woojeol, the White-Faced Demon Horse, desperately charged to strike at the Sword Saint’s back.
If even one of them fell here, all hope would be lost.
They had to stop him at all costs.
But as Gu Woojeol swung his twin blades from behind, he suddenly caught sight of the Sword Saint’s foot flying straight toward him.
“!”
Bang!
Gu Woojeol hastily raised his arm to block, but the sheer force of the kick sent him flying backward like a bullet.
Even a simple back kick from the Sword Saint was a deadly blow.
When the Sword Saint paused for just a moment, it was surprisingly the cowardly retreat of Dudang, the Black Blood Demon Horse, that saved Cheokgang’s life.
Known more for his soul-subjugation techniques than martial prowess, Dudang immediately leapt away the moment the Sword Saint attacked Cheokgang.
But he wasn’t running away.
He had launched himself toward the White Tiger Division, the military force of the Martial Alliance.
“You bastard!”
“Die, Demon Horse!”
As Dudang flew toward them, the White Tiger warriors, elite fighters of the Martial Alliance, swiftly raised their swords to strike.
But the moment their eyes met Dudang’s strange gaze, they found themselves unable to attack.
Shu-hak!
“Gah?! Jaejeong! Wh-what are you doing?!”
Chae Chang!
“Ugh?! Sangnak! Snap out of it!”
Without warning, several White Tiger warriors began attacking their own comrades.
Dudang smiled coldly as he surveyed them.
Though he hadn’t unleashed the pinnacle of the Blood Sect’s soul-subjugation—the Blood Control Technique—the temporary effect was enough.
And since the technique only affected those with weaker martial arts and mental strength, it was perfectly suited for this situation.
The more enemies Dudang faced, and the weaker they were, the more effective he became.
‘If I can get a few dozen of them to turn on the Sword Saint…!’
Just as Dudang entertained the thought, the smile vanished from his face.
The White Tiger warriors under his control suddenly collapsed one after another.
Thud! Thud!
“Jaejeong!”
“They’re down! They’ve been pierced by the Blood Seal!”
“It’s the Sword Saint!”
Dudang was horrified.
He realized that the reason they had fallen was because the Sword Saint had used the Wind of Blood to seal their vital points.
“W-what?!”
He turned his head in panic—and found the Sword Saint already flying straight at him.
“Ahhh!”
Dudang screamed and threw himself backward.
But there was no way he could block the Sword Saint’s blade—the same one that even Cheokgang, a master of close combat, had failed to stop.
Shhhhk!
Fwoosh!
“Ahhh!”
The Sword Saint’s strike severed Dudang’s left arm.
Only because he had thrown himself backward with all his might was it limited to a single arm.
And the Sword Saint didn’t stop there.
As he moved again, the Sword Saint’s spectral form appeared right before Dudang’s eyes.
“No!”
Dudang’s vision filled with the Sword Saint’s figure as he desperately glanced at his comrades, silently pleading for help.
But no one could come to his aid.
Cheokgang’s massive spectral form had been flung far away—likely knocked there by the Sword Saint’s earlier kick.
Gu Woojeol, who had also been sent flying by the Sword Saint’s foot, was similarly out of reach.
Now, Dudang was left to face the Sword Saint alone.
But there was no way he could win.
He stared helplessly at the Sword Saint’s blade piercing toward his chest, powerless.
All he could do was wait for death with despair in his eyes.
Then—
“Enough!”
Suddenly, an enemy warrior appeared out of nowhere in midair, descending like a blazing red meteor.
His movement rivaled even the Sword Saint’s terrifying speed.
“Hmm?”
The Sword Saint’s blade, unable to finish Dudang off, collided with the newcomer’s sword.
A massive explosion erupted.
Kraaaang!
As the smoke cleared, the two warriors landed apart and locked eyes.
After a moment, the Sword Saint spoke first, his gaze serious.
“Seonmu-gwang of the Blood Demon?”
The Blood Demon smiled faintly and nodded in greeting.
“Pleasure to meet you, Sword Saint. I am the Blood Demon.”
At that moment, the Blood Demon—the Absolute Being among the fifteen, one of the Heavenly Four Demons, and master of the Blood Sect—revealed himself before the Sword Saint.