Emperor’s Sword [EN]: Chapter 79

– The Emperor’s Sword – [80]

[Martial Arts Sparring]

The Heavenly Demon stood to one side, closely observing the unusual changes occurring in Pa Cheon’s body. As the transformations shifted from moment to moment, the Heavenly Demon’s expression mirrored the quickening pace. Pa Cheon’s body remained suspended in the air, and the seven-colored energy emanating from his pores gradually intensified, eventually engulfing his entire form. Three days was a fleeting moment compared to a person’s entire life, but the Heavenly Demon knew the significance of these three days in Pa Cheon’s life, making his anticipation and impatience extraordinary.

While everyone experiences changes with the advancement of their martial arts, the transformations Pa Cheon was undergoing defied common sense. Floating in the air in a state of emptiness for three days, and emitting seven-colored energy through his pores, were all phenomena that would be considered bizarre by ordinary martial artists, who would not understand that this was the transition from the realm of transcendence to the realm of true mastery.

‘To enter the realm of true mastery is to reach the pinnacle of martial arts achievable by humans. The realm of natural sword is a state I myself only touched upon. It is as difficult and arduous as grasping a single ray of light from a myriad of thoughts. Sometimes, there are things that cannot be achieved by human will alone, and it is the same with martial arts. Whether the heavens determine the vessel a person is meant to be, or whether they grant the ability to create that vessel, it is clear that divine assistance is necessary. How many have entered the realm of true mastery in the history of the martial world? Your understanding of the sword has already surpassed mine. Therefore, you must not feel burdened by the expectations of all.’

It was at that very moment that a new transformation began to manifest in Pa Cheon’s body.

“Oh!”

The Heavenly Demon involuntarily exclaimed, his eyes widening in surprise.

The seven-colored energy that had been flickering in and out of Pa Cheon’s pores completely seeped into his body. In an instant, the light intensified, and the clothes that had been covering Pa Cheon’s body turned to ash and crumbled away. Then, as if he were sweating, a sticky, golden liquid began to seep from his pores. In an instant, Pa Cheon’s body shone as if painted in gold, even his hair glowing brightly.

“That, that is surely? The legendary Vajra Body [A body as hard as diamond, often associated with enlightenment and invincibility] (Golden Body)?… How can the Vajra Body appear now? Then, is Pa Cheon that person? It can’t be. Didn’t they say that person was not supposed to appear yet? How can this be?”

Was it because of his shock? He was so stunned that he didn’t even realize that his mouth was agape and saliva was dripping down his chin.

About an hour passed as quickly as a moment. Pa Cheon’s body was shining with a brilliant golden light, and in that state, he slowly descended to the ground. The Heavenly Demon cautiously approached Pa Cheon. Once Pa Cheon’s feet touched the ground, there seemed to be no further changes.

The Heavenly Demon looked down at him. Pa Cheon’s trembling eyelids seemed to herald a new moment, as if reconnecting the wall of reality that had been severed from his consciousness. Pa Cheon’s eyes opened with difficulty, and the golden glow that had enveloped his entire body now only shimmered faintly, as if it had retreated beneath his skin. However, his hair remained a deep golden color. Pa Cheon, meeting the Heavenly Demon’s gaze, smiled faintly.

“How long was I like this?”

The Heavenly Demon, who had been staring blankly at Pa Cheon, finally regained his senses and managed to answer.

“Three days and three hours have passed.”

“Three days? Really? It feels like I just woke up from a nap… Has that much time really passed?”

Pa Cheon, shaking off his body and raising his upper body, looked at the Heavenly Demon, puzzled by the changes in his body.

“What on earth happened to me?”

His clothes were gone, and his skin was glowing with a faint golden hue. It was only natural that Pa Cheon was surprised. The Heavenly Demon, equally clueless about Pa Cheon’s reaction, mumbled, pursing his lips.

“If you don’t know, how would I know?”

Pa Cheon tilted his head, then suddenly stood up. He went to the closet and took out a set of black robes as if nothing had happened. As he dressed, Pa Cheon spoke again.

“Three days have passed? That’s absurd. And what’s with this look?”

He looked at his reflection in a mirror installed on one side of the closet, his expression bewildered. There was no point in criticizing the Heavenly Demon for having a blue face and red hair. Look at himself. Golden hair, golden skin, even his eyes were shining gold. How could this be considered the appearance of a human?

The Heavenly Demon cautiously broached the subject.

“Did you perhaps go somewhere during that time? Did you meet someone?”

“What are you talking about? I haven’t left this room, so who would I have met?”

His calm demeanor showed no sign of deception. The Heavenly Demon felt increasingly disoriented, as if walking in a fog.

“I was just meditating for a while, and then I think I dozed off… and I had a dream.”

“A dream? Tell me about it in detail.”

Pa Cheon turned around at the Heavenly Demon’s excessive reaction.

“Hey, what’s wrong with you? Do you know something? I smell something fishy.”

“What do I know? I’m just curious because you said you had a dream… that’s all.”

The Heavenly Demon turned his head away, avoiding Pa Cheon’s questioning gaze. Pa Cheon, now fully dressed, picked up the Heavenly Demon Sword that was lying on one side.

“Heavenly Demon!”

“What?”

“Shall we have a spar?”

“What?”

The Heavenly Demon, not expecting Pa Cheon to say such a thing, made a somewhat exaggerated gesture.

“You don’t want to?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to… Fine, let’s do it. But where should we do it?”

“Where else… we can do it in the Venerable Demon Hall.”

With those words, Pa Cheon turned and walked out, as if he had said all he needed to say. Watching him, the Heavenly Demon’s expression turned strange.

‘You brat, no matter how strong you’ve become, do you think you can beat me? I’m already recovering my former strength.’

The Heavenly Demon, straightening his shoulders and striding confidently, followed Pa Cheon.

★ All entrances to the Venerable Demon Hall were sealed. Following the orders of the Great Demon Lord, who had ascended as the new ruler of the Demonic Alliance, the Thousand-Man Squad had closed off the outside of the Venerable Demon Hall.

Pa Cheon and the Heavenly Demon stood facing each other in the main hall of the Venerable Demon Hall. Pa Cheon flicked the Heavenly Demon Sword in his hand towards the Heavenly Demon. The Heavenly Demon, who had caught the sword in a daze, looked at Pa Cheon, not understanding what it meant.

Pa Cheon opened his mouth towards him.

“I no longer need a sword. So, I’m just returning it to its original owner.”

At those words, the Heavenly Demon looked down at the sword with a serious expression, then threw the sword back to Pa Cheon.

“I don’t need a sword either. And this sword is now yours. My connection with it ended 1700 years ago. Returning it to me is an insult to both the sword and me. Therefore, I cannot accept it.”

“Is that so? Then I guess there’s no helping it.”

Pa Cheon placed the sword in a corner. The two stood facing each other, five paces apart. They knew each other so well, yet in some ways, they were strangers. Pa Cheon knew the martial arts of the Heavenly Demon, and the strongest of Pa Cheon’s martial arts was the Heavenly Demon’s. However, both had already surpassed the level of relying on forms and unique techniques, and they could only guess at each other’s level of mastery and skill. The confrontation between the Heavenly Demon, recognized as the strongest in martial arts history, and Pa Cheon, who was no less than the strongest of this era, was sure to be a match that would be remembered for ages. The Heavenly Demon was already regaining his former strength, and Pa Cheon had entered the realm of true mastery.

“Heavenly Demon! You’ll have to do your best. I’ve already entered a new realm, and it seems I’ve even overcome that. I’m not sure, but even you won’t be able to face me easily.”

‘What is this guy?’

The Heavenly Demon felt a subtle prick to his pride. He lived with the pride of being the Eternal First Venerable and the Greatest of All Time, but he still believed that Pa Cheon was not his match, at least not yet. Pa Cheon’s words were more than enough to challenge his pride.

“You know I’ve reached the beginning of the realm of natural sword, right? I’ve already grasped the essence of the natural sword. That’s different from you, who has only just seen the end of the formless sword. Don’t try to provoke me and end up embarrassing yourself.”

As expected, the Heavenly Demon was not one to back down when it came to his pride in martial arts, even if his opponent was Pa Cheon.

“Hmph, begin. The natural sword, the cosmic sword, those are all your concepts, unknown to the world. Isn’t that so? Before reaching the ultimate essence of the sword, there are countless paths to get there. If you think your sword is the best, you’ll surely lose to me today.”

No more words were needed between the two. They immediately began to assess each other’s energy. Neither was foolish enough to attack recklessly. This was not a fight to the death, but a spar to test each other’s skills, so they were both focused on finding a way to make the other concede defeat. The space surrounding Pa Cheon had long been divided into tens of thousands of lines by the Heavenly Demon. The moment Pa Cheon showed any movement, the Heavenly Demon’s formless sword would unleash its power. It was the same for Pa Cheon.

“Hehehehe.”

Pa Cheon let out a low laugh and walked forward. The moment Pa Cheon took his first step, his body rippled, and from the Heavenly Demon’s hand, ten blinding sword energies exploded.

It was the formless sword. Moreover, it was a formless sword that had reached its peak! It blocked all directions Pa Cheon could move, and the sword’s rampage occurred at a speed that divided the moment into ten thousand parts. There seemed to be no way to escape.

Pa Cheon’s body instantly split apart to the left and right, and dozens of clones appeared. As the Heavenly Demon’s sword pierced through Pa Cheon, the clones in the attack range disappeared one by one.

“Huh?”

Pa Cheon’s strange attack began, burying the Heavenly Demon’s exclamation of surprise. Pa Cheon, now with only one clone on each side, spread his arms wide, with the Heavenly Demon in the middle.

“Rumble.”

Golden dragons, adorning their entire bodies in gold, burst forth from both of their hands, a dozen at a time! Their movements were not linear, but varied. Some opened their mouths and lunged straight at the Heavenly Demon, while others flew low to the ground, and still others seemed uninterested in attacking, circling behind. It was as if they were all living, real dragons. The sight of twenty dragons filling the Venerable Demon Hall was truly magnificent.

“Impressive, Pa Cheon.”

The Heavenly Demon stepped on the Heavenly Demon’s Supreme Steps [A unique movement technique], stretching his body into the twelve zodiac signs, then lined up in a row and said,

“Let the wind rise and swallow the space.”

Kwaaaaaa!

Gooooooo!

Strange sounds echoed through the Venerable Demon Hall, and winds surged from all directions, weaving through the dragons.

Kwang! Kwang! Kwakwakwang!

It was truly a tremendous clash. The impact was so great that the entire Venerable Demon Hall seemed to shake as if it would collapse. The wind was not just wind, but wind containing sword energy. The dragons were not just illusions, but another form of the formless sword. As the two collided, it was only natural that the Venerable Demon Hall would shake to this extent. It seemed that neither of them was using their full power in this attack. They were both smiling. They were enjoying the admiration for each other and the spar itself.

“Haha, Heavenly Demon, surely this isn’t all you’ve got?”

“Of course not. Pa Cheon, if you don’t bring out your hidden weapon soon, you’ll lose without even having a chance to use it.”

Kwang!

They were constantly colliding, but the two forces were locked in a stalemate, neither giving way.

‘That Pa Cheon! If I don’t break him this time, I might never be able to beat him. If I break him decisively this time, I can make excuses and refuse later… Hehehe, I am the eternal victor, and I will still be the Eternal First Venerable and the Greatest of All Time.’

The Heavenly Demon, inwardly calculating and finishing his plans, finally began to reveal his hidden move.

“Pa Cheon, be careful. This is a hidden technique I’ve never used before. It’s called the Sword of Destruction.”

The Heavenly Demon’s body soared to the ceiling of the main hall in an instant, then stopped in mid-air, sitting in a lotus position. In that state, he deeply pulled his only hand towards his chest, then suddenly spread his palm wide downwards.

“Wooooooong.”

The dragons and the wind had already disappeared from the hall. Only the Heavenly Demon, floating in the air in a lotus position, and Pa Cheon, watching him from below, remained. The Heavenly Demon’s hand was spread open, but only a strange sound echoed in the hall, with no other changes.

“Hey, you idiot! You’ll die if you’re not careful. Decide quickly whether to defend or concede defeat.”

Contrary to the Heavenly Demon’s urgent voice, there was no change in the hall. Pa Cheon looked around, startled, and took a step back.

“Wha, what is this?”

Something was wriggling and approaching. It was space itself. Space was moving on its own, approaching Pa Cheon. Pa Cheon pulled his body back and struck out with his sword. The formless sword that Pa Cheon unleashed was instantly trapped and annihilated in the space without a trace. It was as if the space was folding in on itself, gradually closing the distance. Its speed was not particularly fast, but its attack range was so vast that it seemed impossible to avoid. Unless the Heavenly Demon released his power, that strange monster would continue to advance, swallowing space.

“Good. Then I’ll show you my hidden move.”

Pa Cheon no longer retreated, but raised one hand stiffly towards the ceiling. He slowly drew his hand down.

What on earth was he doing? In a situation where even unleashing all twelve formless swords would not be enough, he was simply drawing his hand down? The Heavenly Demon tilted his head in confusion, then was startled and released his lotus position.

“Wha, what is this?”

What had he seen that had startled him so much? Pa Cheon had clearly only slowly lowered his hand from above. And only once! But that was not it. Pa Cheon’s hand was still being lowered, wasn’t it? Yet, his hand was still pointing at the ceiling, not moving an inch. His figure seemed to grow larger, his hand grew even larger, and the speed at which it was being lowered became faster and faster, until it was impossible to tell whether it was fast, slow, or even still.

That was not the problem. What difference would it make if he drew his hand down? But reality was not so simple. It was as if a huge blade, or sword, or something that was not clearly defined, as big as a house, no, as big as the Venerable Demon Hall, or even bigger, and growing larger with each glance, was slowly bisecting the space. And wasn’t it simply cutting through the Sword of Destruction that the Heavenly Demon had unleashed? At first, Pa Cheon’s sword seemed to be trapped in that space. Then, an even larger sword struck that space again, and when that was trapped, an even larger sword… In the end, the space was split in two, and the Heavenly Demon was pushed back by the impact.

There was no sound. All of this seemed like an illusion to the Heavenly Demon. He could not believe that it had happened in such a short moment. No, he didn’t want to believe it.

‘Did I lose? The Sword of Destruction, though incomplete, contains the essence of the natural sword? How could it be so easily destroyed? What was that just now?’

The Heavenly Demon could not believe the reality before him. He saw Pa Cheon approaching.

“Heavenly Demon! In the end, it was a draw.”

What was he talking about?

“Stop it. The outcome is clear. I don’t need your pity.”

“Did you say pity? How could I have such a thing? I’m just stating the facts. You are still incomplete compared to your former self, and that’s why you couldn’t fully unleash the Sword of Destruction. But that’s not the case for me. So, I can’t say I won just because I had a slight advantage. And your body is also missing an arm. So, this match is a draw. But don’t get too happy. I’ll definitely defeat you someday. I promise.”

Then he smiled faintly. Pa Cheon’s unique, dazzling smile was enough to make anyone dizzy. At that sight, the Heavenly Demon also chuckled.

“Fine. I didn’t want to end my match with you so anticlimactically either. Next time, I’ll flatten your nose. You’ll probably have nightmares every night.”

Contrary to his words, his inner thoughts were different.

‘Am I an idiot? Have another spar with you? Oh my, what a disgrace! That monster! How did he get so strong? Fine, keep growing endlessly. Hehehe, I’ll just gloss over this spar and make excuses later and avoid it.’

It was a very Heavenly Demon-like thought. But in fact, Pa Cheon’s words were also reasonable. Moreover, the Heavenly Demon only showed his true strength when he was driven by murderous intent. From that point of view, his defeat now could not be considered his full strength. At least, he still had dozens of secret techniques that he had not revealed.

★ Pa Cheon returned to his room and sat facing the Heavenly Demon. His subordinates had already visited him once to see him. They were all surprised by his changed appearance and asked what had happened, but Pa Cheon didn’t know either, so he had no answer. In the end, he had chased them all away, clutching his head.

“Pa Cheon! Tell me about the dream you had earlier.”

“Dream? I don’t know. I don’t remember it well. Only…”

“Only?”

“It’s certain that I met someone, and I think I had a conversation with that person. Mostly, that person was talking to me, and I was just listening. Then, he said something and touched my head, and it became as hot as if it were being burned. And then, he tossed a set of clothes at me.”

“And?”

The Heavenly Demon swallowed hard.

“And I put on those clothes that were shining gold. That’s all.”

“Do you remember any of the words?”

“Remember? Hmm… Ah, there is one thing.”

“What is it?”

“When the time comes, you will obtain everything. That’s all.”

The Heavenly Demon repeated those words to himself.

“And nothing else?”

“He said it was a gift when he gave me the clothes, and that’s it. Really. I feel like I heard a lot of things, but I don’t remember any of them.”

“Is that so? Then there’s nothing we can do.”

“But why are you so interested in my dream?”

“Interested? When have you ever talked about dreams? You suddenly said you had a dream, so I was curious… that’s why.”

Pa Cheon looked at the Heavenly Demon, who was mumbling, with a meaningful gaze, and the Heavenly Demon avoided his gaze and stood up.

“Pa Cheon, we have to go to the Martial Alliance. There’s no reason to stay here any longer, right? From now on, we have to fight like crazy, don’t we?”

Pa Cheon, with only the suspicion that the Heavenly Demon was hiding something, stood up.

“We have to go. The great journey of whether we conquer the Central Plains or be conquered is about to begin. We can’t leave the best forces and the best opportunity behind. Let’s go.”