novelraw Chapter 252 : A Person’s Heart Does Not Die (3)
Chapter 252 : A Person’s Heart Does Not Die (3)
Chapter 252: A Person’s Heart Does Not Die (3)
Immediately after Namgung Myeong’s arrogant declaration echoed out.
The grounds of the Mount Hua Sect were swallowed by a moment of deathly silence.
Shock surfaced on the faces of the Mount Hua disciples.
Until just a year ago, although there had been internal strife between the Alliance Leader Faction and the Elders’ Faction, the Namgung Clan had stood as one under the banner of the orthodox path. And now, that very clan was openly declaring its intent to annihilate their sect.
“Such insolence…!”
Crunch!
At that moment, Myeong Iljin-in tightened his grip around the sword.
Uncontainable fury surged across his face.
He could not suppress his rage at the humiliation of Mount Hua’s name, which had been preserved for centuries.
“You dare speak of exterminating the Mount Hua Sect? I shall crush that arrogance of yours right here!”
Myeong Iljin-in’s sword moved.
Suaaah!
Chwaaaah!
His blade was fluid, yet at the same time as sharp as glass.
Each stroke he drew through the air, as though using the sword as a brush, contained the totality of his will.
Hwaaaah!
Chwaaah!
Plum blossoms bloomed vividly at the tip of the sword.
The Mount Hua Sect’s supreme technique, the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Art, was unfolding.
As if proving that his position as Sect Leader had not been gained lightly, Myeong Iljin-in poured out relentless sword strikes.
Plum Blossom Sword Shadows burst into full bloom across the air and surged toward Namgung Myeong.
Chwararar!
His sword was as beautiful as blooming plum blossoms, yet within each ray of sword radiance resided Mount Hua’s Vital Essence refined over decades.
As much as he had devoted himself to prolonged training and swordsmanship, Myeong Iljin-in’s sword mastery was truly outstanding.
Dozens of exchanges clashed in an instant, shaking the very space around them.
The watching Mount Hua disciples let out cries of admiration.
However, Do Yecheon alone wore a deeply dark expression.
‘No… at this rate, Master will be in danger…!’
An entirely different scene was unfolding before his eyes.
Namgung Myeong calmly deflected every movement of the Plum Blossom Sword Art or met them head-on, standing firm.
Like a rock that grew sturdier the more one tried to carve it away, Namgung Myeong’s sword never faltered even once.
Myeong Iljin-in’s sword strikes never even reached Namgung Myeong’s body, scattering uselessly through the air, and every movement appeared unbearably slow to Namgung Myeong’s eyes.
That was right. From the very beginning of the fight, Namgung Myeong had not once revealed his true strength, as though mocking his opponent.
Before long, Myeong Iljin-in’s sword grew slower and increasingly rough.
“Huff… huff.”
“What is it? Already exhausted, Myeong Iljin-in?”
“…!”
The limit was clear.
Although Myeong Iljin-in had reached the pinnacle of the Transformation Realm, he could never defeat Namgung Myeong, who had reached full maturity in the Manifestation Realm.
With a chilling smile, Namgung Myeong lightly rotated the sword in his hand.
“I have indulged this pitiful struggle long enough. Now, it is my turn.”
Wiiing!
Kwa-rurur!
Madly erupting lightning energy burst from his blade, twisting the surrounding air.
The ultimate sword art that had allowed the Namgung Clan to retain its position at the forefront of the Seven Great Clans for countless years.
Namgung’s absolute sword mastery—the Imperial Sword Form—was being unleashed.
A sovereign who reigned above all existence was none other than a god of thunder.
His sword roared like thunder and descended like lightning.
Kwa-rururur!
Crack!
“Kuhk!!”
As Myeong Iljin-in’s plum blossom sword collided with Namgung Myeong’s blade, a cry of agony escaped his lips.
It felt as though his meridians were being torn apart.
Namgung Myeong’s Imperial Sword Form pierced through Myeong Iljin-in’s defense with overwhelming force.
Uttering a single word, Namgung Myeong swung his blade a second time.
“Kneel.”
Kwa-rurur!
Claaang!
With a tremendous explosion, the plum blossom sword shattered in half and clattered across the ground.
Myeong Iljin-in was flung far backward and dropped to one knee upon the earth.
At the sight of his miserable state, lamentations poured from the Mount Hua disciples.
“Cough—kugh!”
“Master!”
His insides completely shaken, Myeong Iljin-in even spat blood.
His body had reached the point where it could no longer endure.
Barely supporting himself, he gasped for breath.
Watching him, Namgung Myeong formed a cruel sneer.
“With your head, it would make a fine token declaring that the Mount Hua Sect has been conquered.”
Despite the chilling words, Myeong Iljin-in glared back at Namgung Myeong with his collapsing body.
Though defeated, his eyes held a will that refused to yield.
“…Even if I die… Mount Hua’s will… will never be broken by the likes of you!”
Myeong Iljin-in’s voice was hoarse, but the resolve within it was as solid as stone.
Yet Namgung Myeong laughed at his desperate resistance.
“Very well. I shall make sure the few remaining descendants of Mount Hua learn just how foolish their Sect Leader was.”
In his cold gaze shone the arrogance of a victor, along with the predatory nature of one who sought to trample everything beneath him.
As Namgung Myeong extended his hand, space twisted, and an invisible sword energy aimed for Myeong Iljin-in’s throat.
It was then—just as he was about to deliver the final blow.
Paaat!
‘…What?!’
A streak of blue light cut across the surroundings.
Cha-chaeng!
Charging in, Do Yecheon blocked Namgung Myeong’s incoming sword energy.
“You are….”
In the depths of despair, Do Yecheon stepped forward with grim determination.
Within his eyes burned a fierce resolve to protect his master at all costs.
Chwaaaah!
Kwa-rurur!
“Yes, Yecheon.”
“Master, I will face him.”
Do Yecheon no longer concealed his presence.
From his body, powerful inner energy erupted like a raging storm.
Namgung Myeong twisted the corner of his lips.
“So, you were hiding something after all.”
In that instant, Do Yecheon’s pupils glowed with a chilling, blood-red light.
The aura of the Heaven-Slaying Star that had lain dormant within him began to writhe.
“N-no! You mustn’t! Don’t!!”
Realizing the choice his disciple was making, Myeong Iljin-in cried out in anguish.
There was only one reason for his desperate scream.
If the Heaven-Slaying Star, which had been hidden for so long, were revealed, then even if his disciple managed to escape this place, he would be declared a public enemy of the martial world.
Yet Do Yecheon did not stop.
‘Even if I am devoured by the Heaven-Slaying Star… I will protect Master no matter what!’
Even if he were declared a public enemy of the martial world.
Even if he could no longer continue his journey with Sewoon and died here instead.
He could not abandon his master.
Upon his sword lay neither the principles of the Murim Alliance nor the honor of the Mount Hua Sect.
Chwaaaah!
Kwa-rururur!
There was only a single, absolute devotion directed toward his master.
“Oh?”
A glint of intrigue surfaced in Namgung Myeong’s eyes as he sensed the power of the stars.
How he might exploit the forbidden power known as the Heaven-Slaying Star was already taking shape in his mind.
Hwa-ruk!
Paaat!
In that brief moment, Do Yecheon charged forward like a flash of lightning.
His sword was entirely different from Myeong Iljin-in’s.
Rather than elegance, it embodied an extreme, brutally practical edge meant solely for real combat.
The blue plum blossoms gleamed beautifully, yet they radiated a deadly momentum.
‘A pathetic trick.’
Namgung Myeong did not take the change seriously.
What difference could a mere change in color make?
Thinking that he would soon reduce Do Yecheon to the same state as his master, Namgung Myeong leapt forward and brought his sword down in a vertical arc.
Kwa-rururur!
Pa-jijik!
Lightning crackled along his blade, which shone with a pitch-black radiance like an abyss.
As the sword came flying down as though to split his head in two, Do Yecheon did not retreat and instead met it head-on.
Swaeaeek!
With a piercing sound, Do Yecheon’s sword soared upward as if cleaving the heavens.
All of it crossed in a truly fleeting instant.
Kwa-ga-ga-ga!
Kwa-rururur!
A tremendous explosion roared out. When the dust cloud raised by the blast finally settled—
The Mount Hua disciples and the warriors of the White Path Union watching nearby could not hide their bewilderment.
“!!”
“H-he blocked it?!”
Astonishingly, Do Yecheon had stopped Namgung Myeong’s attack.
Hwa-rurur!
From Do Yecheon’s entire body spread an immense surge of energy, unmistakably proving that he had stepped into the threshold of the Manifestation Realm.
By combining the power of the Heaven-Slaying Star with the Plum Blossom Sword Art, Do Yecheon had unleashed destructive force capable of confronting Namgung Myeong’s Imperial Sword Form head-on.
‘What—?’
For the first time, Namgung Myeong was genuinely shocked.
His brow twisted deeply.
Alongside his confusion, an indescribable fury surged upward.
‘This brat has already crossed the wall of the Manifestation Realm—?’
The fallen Mount Hua Sect’s great disciple, who had been reduced to a laughingstock not long ago, had reached the same realm as himself.
Crunch.
Namgung Myeong ground his teeth.
‘I cannot accept this.’
As anger at this incomprehensible situation boiled over, the face of one man flashed through his mind.
‘Tang Sewoon…!’
There was no doubt that that damnable wretch was involved.
It was obvious without even seeing it.
He had received several reports that this brat had been hovering around Tang Sewoon along with his own son.
Kwa-rururur!
Kwaaang!
The moment a blue plum blossom pierced through the wall of lightning energy he had erected, Namgung Myeong’s expression turned ice-cold.
‘Insolent.’
“Grr!”
Completely consumed by the power of the Heaven-Slaying Star, Do Yecheon let out a beast-like roar and continued to unleash the Plum Blossom Sword Art in a frenzy.
Yet, just like his master, he still failed to inflict any fatal injury upon Namgung Myeong.
It could not be helped.
Namgung Myeong stood clearly at the stage of full maturity within the Manifestation Realm.
Had this been a proper duel between orthodox martial artists, he would have cleanly and honorably severed Do Yecheon’s head without sullying the match.
‘You insect.’
Namgung Myeong instead chose to employ a despicable scheme.
If Do Yecheon’s power had been amplified this much by the Heaven-Slaying Star, then all he had to do was disrupt the balance of that power.
‘Devour him, Thousand Demons.’
Suaaah!
Chwaaaah!
His sword once again emitted a pitch-black radiance.
The blade he held was no ordinary sword.
It was a cursed sword and a demonic sword, steeped in malevolent energy.
A divine artifact that did not fall short even when compared to the armament of the Divine Craftsman Tang Sewoon.
A demonic weapon he had prepared for the day he would kill Yoo Jinhak.
Kwa-rureung!
Pa-seuseuk!
The moment his sword collided with Do Yecheon’s blade, formless evil energy burrowed into Do Yecheon’s inner self.
That was right. Namgung Myeong had not relied on his own inherent power, but on the ability of an object.
Rather than merely scattering energy outward, the evil energy that infiltrated inside directly stimulated the unstable essence of the Heaven-Slaying Star.
The formless energy struck like an assassin’s ambush.
It was a method befitting an utterly vile unorthodox practitioner.
“Kuhk…!”
Do Yecheon groaned in pain.
The inner self he had long suppressed to prevent the Heaven-Slaying Star from running wild began to shake once more under Namgung Myeong’s insidious tactic.
The blue plum blossom sword energy was dyed red with evil energy.
Do Yecheon’s sword strikes fell into disarray, and his body staggered.
Amid pain and confusion, his defense naturally weakened.
Paat!
Ta-dat!
Namgung Myeong did not miss the opening and pressed in fiercely.
Swaeek!
Pu-puk!
“Kgh!”
“No!!”
Namgung Myeong’s sword tore apart Do Yecheon’s protective energy and pierced straight through his chest.
Thud.
Blood flowed from Do Yecheon’s fallen body, soaking into the ground.
Seeing his disciple gasping for breath, Myeong Iljin-in screamed.
Watching that scene, Namgung Myeong instead roared with delight.
“Hahahaha! Now the Mount Hua Sect shall be mine…!”
His voice was filled with nothing but ambition and madness.
The martial artists of Mount Hua fell into despair.
It felt as though everything had come to an end.
Pa-seuseuk!
At that moment, a single ray of dawn light descended upon the Mount Hua Sect.