Chapter 91: Azure Star Sword Emperor

The old man, Yi Gun-myeong, lowered his head slightly and looked down at his body.

His crimson robe, now soaked red from his enemy’s blood, had long since become tattered. His beloved weapon, the Crimson Fang, was broken and lay scattered on the ground.

‘So this is where the name of the Crimson Robe Blade Sovereign ends.’

Yi Gun-myeong, the Crimson Robe Blade Sovereign.

Since the disappearance of the Tyrant Iron Extremity Jin, everyone had called him the greatest of the Demonic Path.

Now, he was one of the Six Sovereigns—an absolute master of the Martial World—and a rival to the Sword Sovereign of Wudang for the title of the greatest under heaven.

‘The greatest under heaven… what a joke.’

Laughable. To speak of being the best in the world with such strength.

Yi Gun-myeong once more struggled to lift his head and looked at the man before him.

Jin Ha-un, the Azure Star Sword Emperor.

In the Sichuan region, he was already revered as a martial god. Strictly speaking, as a secular disciple from Qingcheng, he wasn’t a Taoist priest, but most believed he was one of Qingcheng’s Taoists.

“They say the people of Sichuan call you the Divine Sword… it is no empty praise.”

Yi Gun-myeong paused for a moment to spit out the blood surging up his throat, then continued speaking.

“…I heard the Azure Star’s Sword Emperor rejected the name Divine Sword… such modesty is excessive.”

Over twenty years ago, there was a man who challenged one of the Ten Demonic Paths alone.

The Asura Annihilation Sword, Invincible Divine Sword, Jang Woo-hyun.

Jin Ha-un, the Azure Star Sword Emperor, was known to be his sworn brother. When he earned the title of the Divine Sword of Qingcheng, he insisted he could not bear the same title as his sworn brother and flatly rejected the epithet.

‘There is no one to compare to.’

To Yi Gun-myeong, it was excessive modesty. No matter how strong Invincible Divine Sword Jang Woo-hyun might be, he could not compare to the man standing before him now.

Even he, the one hailed as the greatest of the Demonic Path, and the Sword Sovereign of Wudang, deemed the greatest of the Orthodox Path, would not stand a chance against Jin Ha-un.

The greatest under heaven of this generation—that was none other than the Sword Emperor of Qingcheng.

“You are the greatest under heaven.”

It was both a certainty and a proclamation. Coming from the mouth of the greatest of the Demonic Path, none would doubt that judgment. Jin Ha-un had just been declared the greatest under heaven by an absolute sovereign of the Central Plains Martial World.

“No matter how great the Invincible Divine Sword may be, he cannot compare to you now. You have stepped out from under his shadow. You may now rightfully bear the name Divine Sword.”

Yi Gun-myeong calmly declared. Any onlooker would have been shocked that the proud Crimson Robe Blade Sovereign had acknowledged Jin Ha-un.

But the man himself, Jin Ha-un, showed no reaction.

Unlike Yi Gun-myeong, he appeared nearly unscathed.

Though his clothes were slashed here and there and he had a few small cuts, there were no serious wounds. He did not seem to be struggling in the least.

Jin Ha-un smiled slightly. Yi Gun-myeong had never seen Jang Woo-hyun. That was why he could say such things.

There was no comparison to be made. Among all the martial artists he had ever seen, Jang Woo-hyun stood at the pinnacle.

Even the revered master he respected deeply fell short when compared to Jang Woo-hyun. And he wasn’t just strong—his abnormal growth rate was truly terrifying.

“What’s so funny?”

“It’s because you, Lord Yi, never saw my brother.”

“What?”

“Do you know how long we clashed?”

“……”

After a hundred exchanges, it became a blur. Who counts while they fight?

“Ten seconds.”

“What… what are you saying?”

“If it had been my brother, it would have ended in ten seconds.”

At Jin Ha-un’s words, Yi Gun-myeong’s expression hardened.

Nonsense. Even Jin Ha-un, who had just been acknowledged as the Greatest Under Heaven, had fought for hundreds of exchanges to defeat him—how could that statement make any sense?

“Heh, just because you won doesn’t mean you can mock me…”

Yi Gun-myeong trailed off and studied Jin Ha-un’s expression. That wasn’t a joke or mockery. His face was filled with sincerity.

That could only mean one thing.

“Was it really to that extent?”

Though the question lacked a subject, Jin Ha-un understood its meaning and nodded.

If it was Jang Woo-hyun, it was certainly possible.

No, if he had continued his cultivation and not vanished from the Central Heavens Martial Realm, ten seconds would have been generous—true to his title, he might have killed in a single strike.

“Heh… hehehe. Hahahahaha.”

A hollow laugh slipped from Yi Gun-myeong’s lips.

It was incomprehensible. He had trained his entire life and earned his name through merit. Not once had he thought himself weak.

He had considered Jin Ha-un, standing before him, as a once-in-a-generation genius and felt fortunate to meet his end at his hands.

But it turned out, there had been another genius.

A name now forgotten.

A name that appeared like the wind and vanished just as quickly—yet stood above even the man he had just faced.

“I can’t believe it.”

“If I hadn’t seen it myself, I wouldn’t believe it either.”

“Where did he go?”

“I don’t know either. Maybe he ascended and became an immortal. If it’s him, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“Heh… an immortal, you say…”

Yi Gun-myeong let out a dry laugh at the absurdity.

“As a fellow cultivator, it’s a shame I couldn’t meet him. Still, I’m glad I spent my final moments with you.”

With that, Yi Gun-myeong closed his eyes. He never opened them again.

Jin Ha-un looked around. Scattered corpses lay everywhere—most of them from Pungdo Sect. Starting with Supreme Sect Leader Yi Gun-myeong, both the Sect Leader and Pungdo Sect’s elite were all slain.

With the annihilation of its key members, Pungdo Sect was now expelled from the ranks of the Ten Demonic Paths. Just like how, twenty years ago, the brilliant martial artist Jang Woo-hyun had crushed Asura Sword Sect, today Jin Ha-un had brought about the fall of Pungdo Sect.

“Huuuu.”

Letting out a deep breath, Jin Ha-un sheathed his sword once more. That’s when he noticed something strange.

“Huh?”

His hand became momentarily transparent.

And Jin Ha-un realized—something was changing.

He couldn’t explain it in words. It couldn’t be described.

But he could feel it. And he understood. He understood what was about to happen to him.

Remembering what needed to be done first, Jin Ha-un moved quickly and left the scene.

All that remained in the place he had stood were the cold, lifeless corpses.

“What kind of state is this for the Beggars’ Sect’s top expert?”

Jin Ha-un spoke as he entered a room filled with the scent of medicine. A warm smile was on his face.

“No matter how strong you are, you’re no match for a member of the Six Sovereigns. Argh…”

Hwang An, wrapped in bandages, struggled to sit up. He had moved to help the disciples of Qingcheng who were being pursued by Pungdo Sect over a petty quarrel and ended up severely injured after battling Yi Gun-myeong.

That incident had led to the Azure Star Sword Emperor’s return to the martial world, and as a result, Pungdo Sect lost its core forces and suffered near annihilation.

“What’s this? You came empty-handed to visit your wounded brother?”

“I didn’t come empty-handed.”

Jin Ha-un held up two gourd-tied bottles of liquor.

“Liquor? Hah. So you’ve come to assassinate your brother. Bringing alcohol to a man who’s been sliced up.”

“So you’re not going to drink it?”

“I didn’t say that. Hmph, let me at least smell it.”

Jin Ha-un brought over a table and chairs and sat down in front of his sworn brother.

Looking at the cup of liquor in front of him, Hwang An spoke.

“What’s going on?”

Though they belonged to different sects, they had spent so much time together that they could read each other’s thoughts just by looking. Hwang An knew that Jin Ha-un hadn’t come merely to visit an injured friend.

Silence lingered for a moment.

“…How did you know?”

Jin Ha-un asked with a smile. Though older now and with a name that echoed across the world, to Hwang An, he still looked like the bright, smiling boy from their youth.

“We’ve been around each other too long. Don’t tell me… you’re planning to leave too? To where Brother Jang went?”

Twenty years ago, they had searched everywhere for Jang Woo-hyun when he suddenly vanished. But whether he had sunk into the earth or flown into the sky, no trace could be found. It wasn’t a one- or two-year search. For nearly ten years after his disappearance, they continued looking.

But they never found Jang Woo-hyun.

Even so, they didn’t give up. They kept investigating cases of supreme masters who had vanished without a trace.

Eventually, Hwang An, who had risen to the rank of Supreme Expert of the Beggars’ Sect and held power rivaling that of the Sect Leader, used every means available to gather information.

And at last, he found a small clue.

‘Brother Jang had ascended to the next realm and vanished.’

Hwang An had a feeling that Jin Ha-un, who visited today, was heading down a similar path.

“I still don’t really know what’s happening.”

“Yeah? How much time do you have left?”

“I don’t know that either. But I don’t think it’ll take long.”

“You don’t know anything.”

Muttering complaints, Hwang An casually asked as if it were nothing.

“I…”

“Yes?”

“There’s no way I could, right?”

“Well… I’m not sure. But if you put in the effort, maybe you could too?”

“Forget it. Effort, my ass.”

The fact that he had come this far with his talents alone was already a miracle.

The current top expert of the Beggars’ Sect, Hwang An had reached the peak of the Supreme Peak, now standing before the wall that none could cross.

“I got here with luck. If I tried to follow you and Brother Jang, it wouldn’t just tear my legs apart—it’d split my whole body in two.”

“Come on, don’t exaggerate like that. You got here because of your skill and hard work too.”

“Do you really believe that?”

When he asked seriously, Jin Ha-un shut his mouth tight.

“You brat! Even if it’s a lie, you’re supposed to say yes! What kind of answer is shutting up like that!”

“Well, I’m a cultivator representing the Orthodox Sects beyond Qingcheng, so I don’t feel right lying…”

“Sigh, never mind. I shouldn’t even talk. Fine. You punk! I got this far thanks to you and Brother Jang! You happy now?”

“It wasn’t because of me. You got here because of Brother Woo-hyun. Just look at Master Yang.”

Those associated with Jang Woo-hyun had achieved rapid growth. Jin Ha-un, though always called a genius, had grown even more thanks to his help. The same went for Hwang An.

Whether it was some unknown force at work or simply fate, those who were with Jang Woo-hyun and received his help had become overwhelmingly strong—or so the two believed.

The most prominent example of this was Yang Hyo-myung.

Yang Hyo-myung, the Slayer of the Wicked. It was said he received help from the Invincible Divine Sword, Jang Woo-hyun, and continued walking the path of justice.

A martial artist who had lived as a second-rate all his life reached the Supreme Peak after being taught by Jang Woo-hyun. Of course, his own efforts played a part, but the Supreme Peak wasn’t something attainable by effort alone.

Both Hwang An and Jin Ha-un had met him once. After hearing Jang Woo-hyun’s secret from him, they were convinced their assumptions were right.

– Brother Jang had only been learning martial arts for about two years.

The shock from that was indescribable.

To reach the Absolute Realm in just two years.

It was an unprecedented record in the history of the Martial Realm.

Not even the first Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Cult or the founder of Shaolin had accomplished that.

It wasn’t simply genius. He seemed to be the incarnation of Martial Arts itself.

‘It’s impossible to follow such a monster.’

As Hwang An recalled the past, he looked at his younger brother in front of him.

The Azure Star Sword Emperor.

One had to be at least a genius of this level to even think of chasing that monster.

“Yeah, I guess I was lucky to have good friends. Enough talk—pour the drinks. Let’s drink all night. Ow, ow…”

Wincing in pain, Hwang An still reached out for the liquor.

“Can you really drink in that condition?”

“My brother’s leaving—how could I not have a drink?”

Dragging his wounded body up, Hwang An brought out another bottle he’d hidden in a corner of the room.

“By the way, aren’t you getting fuzzy like Brother Jang?”

“Not at all. I feel the same as usual. Maybe it’s because Brother Woo-hyun grew too fast. He was always unique.”

“You’re fast too, you punk. Enough. What do I even say to you guys? Forget it. As long as nothing weird is happening, that’s all that matters. Now, pour the drinks.”

“Yes, yes.”

“If you meet Brother Jang, make sure to give him my regards.”

“Yes.”

“And also…”

The two brothers talked and drank through the night until the sun was high in the sky the next day.

After meeting Hwang An, Jin Ha-un returned to Mount Qingcheng. Upon his return, he secluded himself in the eastern part of the mountain and focused on refining his Martial Arts.

Then one day, about two months later—

A beam of light shot up from one of Mount Qingcheng’s peaks, and from that day onward, no one ever saw the Azure Star Sword Emperor, Jin Ha-un, again.

At that time, Jang Woo-hyun had not yet reached the Central Heavens. He was being dragged away by the Red Snake, caught within the Rift in Space-Time.

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