Emperor’s Sword [EN]: Chapter 1

“Heh heh, is everything finally ready? This unprecedented event in martial history is unfolding right in our hands. How many years did we spend perfecting this? It would have been a waste to let it gather dust, unseen. My efforts have finally borne fruit, heh heh.”

“However, we cannot be complacent yet. We’ve never actually tried this before, have we? Just because it’s theoretically perfect doesn’t guarantee it will work in reality.”

“Are you trying to jinx it again? Just hurry up and do the surgery. Once he transforms into the Heavenly Demon, you won’t be able to operate anyway.”

“Haa… I’m not sure if this is the right thing to do.”

“Are you still hesitating? Hurry up and operate before the anesthesia wears off.”

“Hmm… I understand. All we can do is leave it to fate.”

“That talk about fate again?”

The Physician approached Yunwen, who was covered with a white cloth. He pulled it back, revealing a serene face, cleansed with disinfectant. He would never see this face again.

He had two tasks. First, to alter the face of Emperor Yunwen, and second, to make his constitution capable of withstanding the Grand Art of Hwan-no [a powerful technique]. Neither was easy. He first gathered various elixirs: Sky-Clear Stone Milk, Amitabha Holy Water, Ten-Thousand-Year Fleeceflower Root, Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Fungus, and so on. The place was filled with rare, ancient elixirs that were hard to find in the mortal realm. So far, their work had been gathering these items, perfecting the Grand Art, and secretly building their power under the orders of the Great Ancestor. They had accomplished all of this admirably.

‘First, I must peel off the epidermis of the face and shave down the facial bones. Then, I’ll insert ivory into the nose and reattach the epidermis. The most difficult part is peeling it off without any damage.’

He took out a small jade bottle filled with a blue liquid. It was a mixture of the venom of the Human-Faced Spider, Scarlet Crane Poison, and dozens of elixirs, with the toxicity removed and only the effects maximized. Injecting this under the epidermis would cause it to detach in less than half an hour.

He first marked the outline of the face, from under the chin, past the ears, to the forehead, as wide as possible. Then, he injected the blue liquid from the unnamed bottle at four points along the outline. Next, he took out a case of needles. There were 240 small gold needles and 120 slightly larger silver needles. He began inserting them into the acupoints all over the body at different depths. He intended to stimulate the original vital energy with acupuncture while the epidermis was separating. About half an hour passed. White, black, and sometimes red streams of energy were emerging from the needles.

“Ho, impressive. Your medical skills are truly unparalleled. Indeed, it was because of you that the Soul-Summoning Spirit-Binding Grand Art could be completed.”

As time passed, the energy streams gradually stopped, and the needles slowly pushed themselves out. And at that moment, Yunwen’s face began to swell. Many unsightly bubbles were forming on his face. He was now wearing gloves made of goat intestines to minimize the risk of infection. In his hand, he held a well-sharpened small sword. This was the Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Yellow Cold Iron that swordsmen dreamed of possessing. It was a rock containing Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron that had gradually turned golden over time. A sword or blade made from this material would have significant advantages. It could even cut through Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron easily. It was extremely rare, and refining or sharpening it was 100 times more difficult than Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron. The Physician cut along the pre-marked outline with the small sword. It cut so cleanly that almost no trace was left, and it was so thin that it was almost transparent. He carefully placed the epidermis into a disinfectant solution he had prepared.

“Alright, the first stage is complete. Now, all that’s left is to refine the bone structure. Go get the drawing I made.”

“Damn it, are you going to use me as your assistant?”

“Just bring it quickly, there’s no time.”

“Alright, alright…”

Muttering words of unclear meaning, he brought a large sketchbook. He opened it to a page with a drawing of a handsome man with a refreshing appearance. A broad forehead, sharply drawn eyebrows, a prominent nose, well-defined lips, and a strong jawline exuded masculine beauty. Next to it was a detailed illustration of the surgical process for the bone structure after the epidermis was removed. He began the procedure based on this.

“This is called the Neutralizing Bone-Dissolving Powder. When applied, it will make the bones soft. It will take less than a quarter of an hour for it to reach the bones through the inner skin.”

In his hand was a light pink liquid. All of the strange medicines were unheard of. They were all developed after decades of painstaking effort. The Physician carefully applied the light pink Neutralizing Bone-Dissolving Powder evenly over Yunwen’s entire face, especially focusing on the jaw and cheekbones.

“Alright, I’ll begin the bone remodeling in a quarter of an hour.”

“Wow, you’re really amazing. I’ve watched you for decades, but your medical skills are still extraordinary. If you had used that to make money, you could have probably bought an entire province, right?”

“No time for nonsense. Hwan-no, you start boiling the decoction. It’s all written here, just follow it.”

“What? … Ugh, I, as the elder brother, must endure.”

*Chwak*

He snatched the note with a sound and carefully read it.

“Ho, is this the Rapid Great Restoration Pill?”

“…”

“If the monks of Shaolin Temple knew, they would be shocked. What would their faces look like if they knew there was a monster who could create in an instant what they could barely make one or two of in hundreds of years? Heh heh.”

“From now on, I need to concentrate, so please be quiet, Hwan-no.”

“That’s him again, with his sensitive personality! Alright, it’s not just any matter, it’s directly related to His Majesty’s safety, so I’ll do as you say.”

He approached the decoction and began to add various herbs according to the note and started a fire. Watching him, the Physician looked at Yunwen.

“Now it begins. Haa, I must be careful. There must be no mistakes. One mistake could be fatal and irreversible…”

He prepared several tools, from palm-sized blades to ones as small as a finger joint. He also prepared various other tools, such as awl-like ones, ones with wide tips, and ones that looked like tweezers. Then, with his gloved hand, he carefully touched Yunwen’s chin. The jawline moved with his touch, as if it were made of rubber. He first made several holes with a thin, needle-like blade and injected something through them. After another quarter of an hour, he began to make incisions with a flat blade. His movements, avoiding nerves and blood vessels, were truly divine.

He finished the bone remodeling by fitting ivory pieces into the nose.

“Now, the difficult part is over. At first, I thought of sewing the epidermis with thread, but no matter how precise it was, it would leave scars. So, I came up with the idea of natural suturing using elixirs. Heh heh, this is the most perfect suturing method.”

He immediately mixed the juice of Ten-Thousand-Year Fleeceflower Root and Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng into the Amitabha Holy Water. Then, he applied this mixture evenly to the inside of the epidermis, which was in the disinfectant solution, and to Yunwen’s inner skin.

“Heh heh, Amitabha Holy Water is the ultimate yin elixir, and Ten-Thousand-Year Fleeceflower Root and Ten-Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng are each ultimate yang elixirs. When these two different properties mix, they not only become a new elixir with a completely new function, but they also generate tremendous heat. That is the power that will bind the inner and outer skin together.”

He carefully placed the epidermis onto the inner skin. However, because the original bone structure had changed, it looked somewhat unnatural. After some time, he mixed Sky-Clear Stone Milk and Ten-Thousand-Year Stone Fungus.

“Applying this to the surface of the face will not only cause new flesh to grow at the seams, making it seamless, but it will also be absorbed through the pores, adhering the skin. It will conform to the bone structure.”

Then, he would open the blood vessels with needles, and the entire procedure would be complete. He completed all of these steps swiftly and accurately without a single tremor. He possessed superhuman energy and concentration, and he had the ability to execute the plans in his head without any errors. He then inserted the needles. Hwan-no put the already made pill into the decoction he had boiled and dissolved it. Then, he poured it into Yunwen’s mouth. With this, the entire procedure was complete. Now, he just needed to soak his body in the medicinal water for a day. Once all of this was done, it would be like completing the Marrow Cleansing process [a process to purify the body], and he would be ready for the great transformation of rebirth. The two of them immediately placed him into the Stone Well Pond filled with black medicinal water. The Stone Well Pond was filled with water that had accumulated the essence of earth and qi [life force] for thousands of years. The Physician had added 3,500 kinds of herbs to it and had been boiling the stone itself. He had been boiling it whenever he had time, so it was already sufficiently dissolved, but they began to heat it again. They did so purely with the power of their internal energy. The two of them took turns heating it for 12 hours a day.

“Alright, Hwan-no, it’s your turn. Summon the Heavenly Demon or the devil, do whatever you want.”

“You’re still complaining… Good work, Physician. Our deceased lord would be pleased.”

The two of them looked much more haggard than the day before, and they seemed to have aged ten years.

Look at Yunwen’s face lying on the bed. Could that really be a human face? It was so perfect that it felt sinister. A milky white aura was emanating from his body. Hwan-no had lit 360 candles around his bed and was holding a strangely shaped bell in his hand. It was a bell with four demonic statues engraved on it. He was wearing a black robe and colorful prayer beads. He sat in front of the bed and chanted continuously. The sound was so lewd and evil that it felt like this place was hell.

Hwan-no was a defector from the Heretical Cult. Once a successor of the Heretical Cult, he had violated the cult’s laws and fled in the night. At that time, he had stolen the research project that the Heretical Cult had been working on for hundreds of years. That was the Soul-Summoning Spirit-Binding Grand Art. The characteristic of this Grand Art was that it bound the summoned spirit to the host through the host. This would cause the summoned spirit to take over everything about the host, changing their memories, personality, habits, and abilities. For this Grand Art, the demonic pill that the Heretical Cult had spent hundreds of years creating was necessary, and only two of them had been completed. Both of them were now in Hwan-no’s possession. Therefore, the Heretical Cult members were desperate to capture him and had even entered the Central Plains. It was then that he was saved by Zhu Yuanzhang [the first emperor of the Ming Dynasty]. Due to that connection, he became a secret guard along with the Physician, who was already under Zhu Yuanzhang. Since then, the two of them had completed the Soul-Summoning Spirit-Binding Grand Art, which was still incomplete at the time. The Physician’s unparalleled medical skills were the catalyst that completed the incomplete Grand Art.

He continued to mutter incomprehensible incantations, and a black mist began to spread around him. Although it was a deep cave, winds were blowing, and sometimes thunder rumbled. Despite the commotion, the candles did not flicker. It was at that moment.

“Hehehehehehahahahahaha, who is calling me?”

“Are you the Heavenly Demon?”

“Me? I am the Evil Spirit Demon Emperor.”

“Tch, we summoned the wrong one. Get lost.”

“What did you say?”

“Hama hamarai hasdo remista.”

“Ughhhhhh!”

It was quiet. He was gone. But did he say Evil Spirit Demon Emperor?

“A powerful figure came and went. He was strong, wasn’t he?”

It was the Physician’s words. The Evil Spirit Demon Emperor was a great demon emperor from 500 years ago. He was a demon who had killed 740 people in a single day. Yet, the Physician was indifferent to his appearance! What was he so dissatisfied with? But look at Hwan-no, who was still cautious. When had he ever been so serious?

“Hohhohohoho, did you call me?”

“Is it a goblin this time? Hwan-no, can’t you do it right?”

“Hama hamarai…”

“Keck!”

He was failing repeatedly. The Heavenly Demon they were calling was not coming, and strange things were coming and going. But they were all great demons who had made a name for themselves in martial history… More than two hours had passed since the Grand Art had begun. Hwan-no’s face was drenched in sweat. He seemed to be feeling the limits of his physical strength. He had consumed a considerable amount of internal energy.

“Hmm… Hehehehe… Hmm…”

This time, a strange sound was heard. It was not evil, but it was not a loud laugh either.

“What is it this time?”

It was at that moment that a clear voice, different from all the others, was heard!

“What the hell are you guys doing? Who dares to wake me from my sleep! Why do you keep calling my name and bothering me?”

“A-Are you the Heavenly Demon?”

“Heavenly Demon? … Heh heh, I was once called that.”

“I can give you a new life.”

“A new life? Hahahahaha, that’s funny. So?”

“You will see a host in front of you who is ready to accept you. All you have to do is enter it.”

“Heh heh, I don’t want to.”

“Why don’t you want to?”

“Why don’t I want to? Do you not know? I don’t want to become human again. Do you want me to experience that boredom and loneliness again? Hell is much more fun. If you call me again with such things, I will kill you all.”

“Wait… Wait a minute.”

“Why? Do you still have something to say?”

Damn it, I never thought of this possibility. What should I do?

“Take a good look at this host. It is the most perfect host in the world.”

“The most perfect? There is no such thing. They are all relatively a little better. And I’m not interested in such things. I’m leaving.”

“Idiot.”

“Huh? … What did you say?”

“If you are indeed the Heavenly Demon, then I said you are an idiot.”

“Do you really want to die?”

“Heh heh, you may have been the strongest in your time, but not now. Do you know that?”

“Know what?”

His voice was clearly vibrating differently than before. Heh heh, the fool has fallen for my provocation.

“In this era, a great Taoist named Zhang Sanfeng [a legendary Taoist priest] has appeared. He is even praised as being superior to Bodhidharma [the founder of Zen Buddhism].”

“I don’t know who Bodhidharma is.”

“Ugh… And people say that no matter how strong the Heavenly Demon is, he wouldn’t last a single move against Zhang Sanfeng.”

“What? What did you say? A single move? What kind of bastards are spreading such rumors?”

Finally, you’re starting to fall for it. Heh heh, you’re the standard type of simple-minded and ignorant fool. Wait!

Then, His Majesty will become like that!! This is a bit serious…

“In my opinion, the progress of martial arts in this era is incomparable to your time. There are countless strong people in this era. How much was your internal energy in the past?”

“Me? Hmm, when I was active, it was 12 Jiazi [a unit of time equal to 60 years], and… before I died, it was 36 Jiazi.”

What? What did he say? Is that guy lying? That’s nonsense… Hwan-no’s heart was still pounding at that sound.

“Hah, that’s funny. That’s only about first-rate level in this era. There are at least 1,000 people stronger than you.”

“What? … I don’t believe it… It’s impossible… There is a limit to human ability, hmm…”

“Haha, are you already scared? Well, I would be scared too… I thought you were the strongest in martial history, but you were only that strong. I’m disappointed.”

“Y-You shut up! I am the Heavenly Demon, the supreme being of all ages, and the greatest master of all time. No one can surpass me.”

“Is that so? Then live in your delusion. Then, will you please leave?”

Please come over, please come over, you simple-minded, ignorant fool.

“Just one question. How old is that guy?”

“Hmm, he’s twenty years old.”

“Then, he’ll live at least another 100 years. Alright, I’ll go in. If he’s really that strong, I’ll train and prove that I’m the best in this era too.”

“Oh, it’s okay, you don’t have to.”

You have to pretend to refuse at least once.

“Hmm… Then, I can’t help it. I can’t beg as the Heavenly Demon…”

Eh? What! What did he say? Hey, you don’t even know what a feigned refusal is? How are you going to date like that…?

Oh no, that guy is really going to leave.

“However… Alright, I like your will. With that kind of will, you might be able to become the best master here too, heh heh. Of course, you’ll have to work hard.”

Please, please.

“Thank you. I’ll buy you a meal sometime.”

Yes! It worked! And he doesn’t seem that evil… He’s just a bit simple-minded and ignorant… But we’ll fix that later.

“Alright, then let’s begin. Go lie down in the host.”

“Understood.”

*Whirrrrr*

A black smoke swirled and covered Yunwen. He got up and put the demonic pill into Yunwen’s mouth. Then, he used his vital energy to guide it into his internal organs. He waited for it to dissolve. He gave a signal to the Physician. The Physician, with an expression that still hadn’t relaxed, approached and took out his case of needles. Now, the Physician’s brilliant acupuncture would be the grand finale.

This was the place where the greatest master in martial history would reappear, and where the ill-fated Emperor Jianwen, Yunwen, would transform into a Jianghu [martial world] wanderer.

Title: [Serial] Emperor’s Sword 3. Success or Failure? Related Materials: None [58537]

Sender: Im Samyeol (logos333) 2000-12-18 15:59 Views: 2066

-Emperor’s Sword-