Bachelor Swordsmanship Remastered [EN]: Chapter 517

517. The Decisive Battle

Un-hyun headed towards Daejeon, the location of the Il-dae Sangin [Greatest Merchant].

Gae-ong and Sa-ilcheon followed silently behind.

The Daejeon they were heading to wasn’t particularly large compared to the Imperial Palace, but it was much larger than ordinary residences.

The antique appearance of the Daejeon, surrounded by tall trees on all sides, was exceptionally beautiful.

Step.

Un-hyun suddenly stopped.

The large doors of the Daejeon were quietly opening before their eyes.

Gae-ong frowned.

Then, a person appeared.

Thud.

A large dragon pattern embroidered on yellow silk, and splendid clothes that subtly gleamed with gold, were reminiscent of the ancient Emperor’s Hwangnyongpo [yellow dragon robe, traditionally worn only by the Emperor].

However, even that dragon robe couldn’t match the intense pressure emanating from him.

The Hwangnyongpo, which no one but one person in the land could wear, suited him perfectly.

Just standing there, exuding a massive presence, the large figure was none other than the lord of the Samtae Sang [Three Great Merchants] and the Amcheon Mu Emperor [Hidden Sky Martial Emperor], the Il-dae Sangin.

Swish.

The Il-dae Sangin put his hands behind his back.

That alone made Gae-ong flinch.

A presence that was qualitatively different from the aura or fighting spirit of masters, like facing a mountain, overwhelmed Gae-ong.

“I’ve been waiting,” the Il-dae Sangin said calmly.

His voice echoed powerfully in everyone’s ears.

Looking at Un-hyun, the Il-dae Sangin smiled faintly.

“Has your sword become capable of cleaving the sky now?”

With each word he spoke, Gae-ong’s face hardened.

However, Un-hyun’s expression did not change at all.

“There is no need to cleave the sky,” Un-hyun said in a calm voice.

“A little courage is enough to save people. Why don’t you save your own people, even though you possess such great power?”

It was the same with the Amcheon Mu Emperor, Dokyo, and Cheontae Sang [Heavenly Great Merchant].

The Il-dae Sangin did not move, even though he was fully capable of doing so.

“Does the sky save people?” the Il-dae Sangin said, looking straight at Un-hyun.

“Even if the world burns like grass, the sky saves no one. It simply goes its own way, as always.”

The Il-dae Sangin’s eyes were shining intensely.

Even Gae-ong had no choice but to grit his teeth at that gaze, but Un-hyun, who faced it directly, did not waver in the slightest.

“You,” Un-hyun said, sighing softly.

“Still consider yourself above the heavens.”

“That is not so,” the Il-dae Sangin said.

Woong.

The Il-dae Sangin’s voice flowed out amidst a low resonance.

“I am not a man above the heavens, but one who governs the heavens.”

Gae-ong gritted his teeth.

A man above the heavens meant someone who had transcended the realm of humans.

But to govern the heavens was tantamount to claiming divinity.

“You asked why I do not save my people? The answer is simple,” the Il-dae Sangin said with a smile.

Woooong.

“It is because I am a being who governs even life and death. Why would I dwell on death when I can simply bring them back to life?”

The Il-dae Sangin’s voice ensnared everyone like a blade.

He looked down at Un-hyun with a smile.

Woowoowoong.

The sounds coming from all directions grew louder and louder.

Now, it was not just a resonance but felt like an ear-piercing shriek.

Gae-ong gritted his teeth.

It was then.

Sreung.

With a clear sound, Un-hyun’s sword, Myeong, revealed itself.

At the same time, the wailing sound disappeared as if it were a lie.

Swish.

Un-hyun raised his sword.

“No, you are wrong,” Un-hyun said, holding Myeong upright.

“You have not governed death but merely deceived yourself. If not, then why…”

Un-hyun sighed softly.

“Can you grieve so much over the death of Mun-Wang?”

Twitch.

In that instant, the Il-dae Sangin’s eyebrows twitched.

As the smile disappeared from his face, the surrounding atmosphere turned cold.

A heavy silence fell, and the Il-dae Sangin slowly opened his mouth.

“You are the one who is wrong,” the Il-dae Sangin said, looking down at Un-hyun.

“I do not grieve over that child’s death. The Soul Soothing Decree I issued is not for that child but rather to soothe this world.”

Gae-ong’s eyebrows twitched.

To soothe the world meant nothing less than to destroy it.

In normal times, Gae-ong would have scoffed, but it was different coming from the Il-dae Sangin.

A cold chill ran down Gae-ong’s spine.

“Now that the time has come,” the Il-dae Sangin’s eyes shone.

“After killing you and soothing the world, I will tear open the sky myself and open a new world. A world above the heavens where only the strong exist.”

The Il-dae Sangin spoke as if declaring it.

It seemed that no one could defy his command, which shook people’s spirits.

“That cannot be,” Un-hyun said quietly.

“Because I have decided to protect my people.”

Those words did not only mean Un-hyun’s acquaintances.

The Il-dae Sangin knew that as well.

The Il-dae Sangin, who had been looking down at Un-hyun, slowly opened his mouth.

“…You are still foolish.”

His voice was so cold that it seemed to freeze everything.

“But I suppose it cannot be helped. That is your destiny chosen by the heavens.”

“The heavens,” Un-hyun said with a quiet smile.

“Choose no one. They do not determine fate either. They are merely telling everyone to live, to keep living.”

His voice was trembling slightly.

Un-hyun himself could not help but think of Dok-go-rang and Shinseung Bulyeong at the word ‘fate’.

“Is that what the heavens are to you?” the Il-dae Sangin said with a faint sneer.

“Then try to stop me.”

Hoooook.

A terrifying energy swirled around in all directions.

It was an energy that was hard to believe came from one person, like a storm.

“From destroying this world.”

The Il-dae Sangin’s voice echoed from all directions.

At that moment, when it felt as if the world was about to end, Un-hyun quietly raised his sword.

Tszzzzzz.

Frost spread beneath Un-hyun’s feet.

And his sword, Myeong, began to emit a white light.

Sabeok.

Taking a step, Un-hyun swung his sword down.

Suh-guhk.

The empty air split with a sound.

And a heavy impact shook the surroundings.

Koong.

A sound like a large bell ringing spread out.

And the Il-dae Sangin’s aura, which had been raging like a storm, disappeared without a trace.

Un-hyun’s sword had cut through the Il-dae Sangin’s aura.

Sarak.

Un-hyun raised his sword.

The blade of Myeong, imbued with white sword energy, revealed its beautiful form.

Woong.

“Let us stop playing now,” Un-hyun said in a calm voice.

“Didn’t you say that the time you were waiting for had already come?”

“Heh heh.”

The Il-dae Sangin chuckled.

Then, he slowly reached for his sword.

Sreung.

His sword, Cheon-ha (天下) [All Under Heaven], revealed itself.

The antique and heavy blade of Cheon-ha exuded a domineering aura befitting its owner.

Woowoowoong.

“This is the first time,” the Il-dae Sangin said with the heavy sword’s cry.

“Since I obtained it, that Cheon-ha has rejoiced so much.”

Woowoowoowoong.

The sound of Cheon-ha’s blade crying grew even louder.

As if in response, Un-hyun’s sword, Myeong, also emitted a sword cry.

Amidst the sword cries of the two swords, the two men quietly stared at each other.

Swish.

The first to move was the Il-dae Sangin.

He lightly swung his sword.

However, the result was not light at all.

Kwagwagwag.

The destructive aura emitted by the Il-dae Sangin’s sword rushed towards Un-hyun.

Following its trajectory, the ground was torn apart, and stones and dirt scattered.

However, Un-hyun instead raised his sword, Myeong, high.

Tszzzzzz.

White frost spread beneath Un-hyun’s feet.

And the blade of Myeong began to emit a white radiance.

An overwhelming presence like a majestic mountain.

It was the third form of the Baekho Siljeon Sword [White Tiger True Sword], Heavy Sword.

Hook.

Un-hyun’s towering sword fell downwards.

The destructive aura that had been rushing towards Un-hyun could not withstand the sword even for a moment.

Kwajak.

The aura that the Il-dae Sangin had unleashed shattered like paper.

However, Un-hyun’s sword did not stop.

As if the sky was collapsing, the white radiance emanating from Un-hyun’s sword fell towards the Il-dae Sangin.

Kwang.

With an explosion, the roof of the Daejeon shook.

The ground trembled, and a heavy impact rushed in all directions, but Un-hyun’s eyes did not waver in the slightest.

Hooddeuk.

Fragments fell from the roof.

However, the Il-dae Sangin was unharmed.

Woowoong.

Cheon-ha cried above the Il-dae Sangin’s head.

He had raised his sword to block the impact caused by Un-hyun’s Heavy Sword.

“Excellent,” the Il-dae Sangin said with a smile.

“You have improved even more than before. But this is still not enough.”

Seureuk.

His sword, Cheon-ha, slowly began to move.

The Il-dae Sangin raised his sword towards the sky.

There was no sword energy or sword cry.

But what the shining blade was beginning to draw was clearly a large circle.

‘That is!’

Gae-ong’s eyes widened.

It was clearly Un-hyun’s first form of the Baekho Siljeon Sword, Yae Sword [Encircling Sword].

The sword that Un-hyun had first used to break through Gae-ong’s Cheonhyangjeop [Thousand Fragrance Overlap] was now being unfolded by the Il-dae Sangin.

Sarak.

Un-hyun was not idle either.

The tip of Myeong’s sword was already drawing a circle in the air.

‘Ah.’

It was a very unfamiliar sight even for Gae-ong.

The moment he realized Un-hyun’s movements, the two circles were already complete.

It was as if time had been cut off in the middle.

But there was no time to think about that.

The moment the circles drawn by the two swords were completed.

Hwaak.

A blue light poured down.

Un-hyun and the Il-dae Sangin, as well as Myeong and Cheon-ha, could not be seen.

The only thing filling the world was a soft blue light like moonlight, and a silence as if everything had disappeared filled the surroundings.

But that sight did not last long.

Koooong.

A heavy impact sound faded away like an echo.

And Gae-ong saw it.

Part of the antique Daejeon collapsing before his eyes.

Kureureureung.

Even a large building could not withstand the impact caused by the two men’s sword strikes.

Part of the building centered around where the Il-dae Sangin was standing collapsed powerlessly.

But that sight did not capture Gae-ong’s attention.

Tatdat.

The Il-dae Sangin rushed towards Un-hyun.

Without a single tear in his clothes, the Il-dae Sangin held his sword and shot towards Un-hyun.

Un-hyun was the same.

Despite the impact that had even destroyed the building, not a single hair on Un-hyun’s head was harmed.

It seemed as if only the two of them were immune to the aftermath of the impact.

Hook.

Un-hyun’s figure crossed the air in an instant.

Even Gae-ong missed seeing it.

But what happened after that could be clearly seen by anyone.

Kwagwang.

With an explosion, another impact erupted.

The clash between Un-hyun and the Il-dae Sangin had begun in earnest.