novelraw Chapter 253 : A Person’s Heart Does Not Die (4)
Chapter 253 : A Person’s Heart Does Not Die (4)
Chapter 253: A Person’s Heart Does Not Die (4)
‘……What?’
All the warriors of the White Path Union were unable to hide their shock as auspicious rays of light suddenly covered the entire surroundings.
However, when the radiant glow that had filled the space subsided, an even more astonishing sight unfolded.
“Child, you have suffered enough. Rest now.”
“…….”
Do Yecheon—who had clearly been awaiting death beneath Namgung Myeong’s blade—had been rescued by someone.
The white-haired old swordsman gently set Do Yecheon down beside his master.
At that sight, the faces of the White Path Union’s warriors turned deathly pale.
“Th-that…!!”
“……Why are you here.”
It was only natural.
The identity of the old swordsman who had abruptly intruded upon the battlefield—
‘Yoo Jinhak……!!’
—was none other than the Sword Emperor Yoo Jinhak.
Namgung Myeong’s thoughts spun chaotically. His plan had been perfect, yet Yoo Jinhak’s appearance was a massive reef that overturned everything.
The scheme to shake the Wudang Sect by using the Demonic Alliance had been nearly flawless. He had even laid his plots so that even the Sword Emperor would be forced to devote all his strength to stabilizing the Wudang Sect.
And yet—how could he have arrived here in such a short time?
‘Moonlit Night, you worthless vermin! I told you to report immediately if anything abnormal occurred……!!’
Amid the overwhelming chaos, Yoo Jinhak remained calm and unmoving.
His presence was like Mount Tai itself—unyielding and overwhelming.
“You look flustered, Namgung Myeong.”
“……!”
Yoo Jinhak’s voice was soft, yet it carried a depth that seemed to resonate throughout the entire space.
There was no power in his voice, no killing intent.
Only a transcendent insight, as though he could see through everything.
“No matter how much you rack your brain, an answer will not come. So I will tell you.”
Yoo Jinhak’s gaze fixed upon Namgung Myeong.
Namgung Myeong felt as though he were being stripped bare.
“As you can see, Moonlit Night, Jin Yeonghwa has failed.”
“!!”
“In other words, I shattered all of your schemes and arrived here.”
At Yoo Jinhak’s calm declaration that the attack on the Wudang Sect had failed, Namgung Myeong’s face turned pale in an instant.
The mere mention of Jin Yeonghwa’s name meant that everything had gone awry.
‘But how, exactly?’
Namgung Cheok and the other warriors of the White Path Union stirred in confusion.
The shock of realizing that their plan had been exposed was enormous for them as well.
The fact that the White Path Union had joined hands with the Demonic Alliance would send tremendous ripples throughout the martial world.
‘No—there is no need to admit it.’
Yet Namgung Myeong’s eyes alone gleamed coldly.
His despair was fleeting.
He quickly regained his composure and even sought to turn this situation into an opportunity for his own ambition.
A blood-tinged smile spread across his lips.
“I do not know what nonsense you are spouting, but since you so conveniently reveal your hostility, this works out rather well.”
It was as though he were declaring that the Sword Emperor’s presence was not an obstacle, but his final trial.
Shing!
Kwa-ga-ga-ga!!
From the sword in Namgung Myeong’s hand—Thousand Demons—a berserk aura erupted as if exploding.
That destructive energy was as dark as the night sky, and heavenly lightning qi poured forth in a frenzy.
Kwa-rururung!
Kwa-ga-ga!
The amplified energy did not remain confined to the sword alone.
Like ink seeping in, the demonic sword Thousand Demons’ power overlaid Namgung Myeong’s entire body.
He exuded a tremendous pressure, as though a demon from hell itself had descended.
“It feels as though I can finally sever this long, cursed tie with you.”
His voice was filled with long-harbored inferiority and rage toward Yoo Jinhak.
He drove all of his energy into a boil.
Yes—everything had been prepared for this day.
He had trampled upon the convictions he had upheld for a lifetime.
He had even abandoned his own flesh-and-blood child with his own hands.
Knowing that martial arts alone could never defeat Yoo Jinhak, he had devoured every taboo forbidden within the martial world.
He had forcibly rejuvenated his body with countless spiritual medicines, carried out forbidden sorceries that demanded innumerable sacrifices, and even brought along powerful divine weapons.
Pajijijik!
Pajit!
‘Kugh……!’
Though his body screamed in agony, his ambition did not falter.
“I will show you. I, too, have ascended to the same ultimate peak as you!!”
In his madness-tainted eyes burned only a desperate will to surpass Yoo Jinhak.
Kwa-rurung!
Drawing all of Thousand Demons’ power inward, Namgung Myeong finally displayed the spectacle of ascending to the extreme of the Manifestation Realm.
The energy emanating from his body appeared to possess inner power equal to that of Yoo Jinhak before him.
Taat!
At that moment, stamping his foot into the ground, Namgung Myeong charged at Yoo Jinhak.
Space itself was crushed as a massive shockwave shook the surroundings.
At a speed no one else could even follow with their eyes, Namgung Myeong’s sword roared like thunder and struck down like lightning.
Imperial Sword Form
Ultimate Technique
Azure Heaven Without End
Within the pitch-black sword radiance, destructive lightning qi raged like a storm.
Namgung Myeong’s technique was as though a living Thunder God had descended, threatening to blanket the entirety of Mount Wudang in lightning.
His sword strikes surged fiercely toward Yoo Jinhak.
‘So this is… the Imperial Sword Form that has reached the extreme of the Manifestation Realm!’
Namgung Myeong himself trembled at the power erupting from his own hands—a realm his past self could never have imagined.
The certainty that he could now fight the Sword Emperor Yoo Jinhak on equal footing filled his entire being.
“Hahaha!! I will split your throat!!”
Drunk on the ecstasy of victory, he unleashed even fiercer attacks.
Kwaaang! Jjeojeojeok!
Namgung Myeong’s Imperial Sword Form cleaved through the void.
Sword radiance pouring down like lightning sought to engulf Yoo Jinhak completely.
Just as lightning-fast sword light surged toward Yoo Jinhak from all directions—
“An untrue and crooked Dao…”
Yoo Jinhak did not swing his sword.
Whiik!
“……!!”
His physical body moved with supple grace, like a willow swaying in the wind, and every one of Namgung Myeong’s attacks merely brushed past him.
Suaaah!
Namgung Myeong once again split his sword into dozens of trajectories, scattering lightning qi in all directions.
“Thus, nothing is ever achieved.”
Suaaah!
This time, Yoo Jinhak’s sword gently traced a circle, embodying the principles of Taiji.
Compared to Namgung Myeong’s, it was a sword movement that appeared shabby and far too simple.
Pashshsh!
Suaaah!
“!!”
Namgung Myeong’s ferocious offensive crashed into that massive circular sword barrier and shattered into pieces in midair.
Kwaaang!
Lightning qi exploded and shook the surrounding space, yet Yoo Jinhak’s white robes remained serene, not stained by even a speck of dust.
In that instant, a bead of sweat rolled down Namgung Myeong’s once-confident forehead.
‘……What?’
Why—why was this happening?
An inexplicable sense of unease spread through his heart like poison.
Not even once had he managed to step on Yoo Jinhak’s shadow.
‘No, it’s just luck—!’
He forcefully tried to dismiss it.
Gritting his teeth, he further amplified the lightning qi pouring out of Thousand Demons.
He condensed all his power into a single point, imbuing it with the true intent of the Imperial Sword Form.
Kwaaang!
An earth-splitting strike surged toward Yoo Jinhak.
“Softness can indeed subdue hardness.”
Yet Yoo Jinhak remained calm.
Once more, his sword used the void as its canvas, drawing a Taiji circle like a brushstroke.
Pashshsh!
Pashsh!
“?!”
At the very moment the lightning qi touched the tip of Yoo Jinhak’s sword, it instantly faded away and scattered into the air.
He was absorbing every attack and reversing its force back upon itself.
“Keuk!”
Namgung Myeong’s sword halted helplessly, as if it had struck an invisible wall.
The all-or-nothing strike he had wagered everything on was rendered powerless by what was not even a proper technique—just a small movement.
Chuk.
Just as Namgung Myeong had once done to Myeong Iljin-in, Yoo Jinhak now stood without suffering even the slightest injury, separated by an overwhelming gap.
Each time Namgung Myeong’s lightning sword tried to reach his body, Yoo Jinhak’s blade flowed like water, absorbing every strike or diverting its direction.
‘This can’t be! I—I’m at the same extreme of the Manifestation Realm as him!’
Namgung Myeong screamed inwardly, but nothing changed.
The Imperial Sword Form, fierce as lightning, felt no more than a faint breeze before Yoo Jinhak’s sword.
His blade had no edge, yet it seemed to embrace and purify every attack.
His gentle momentum returned Namgung Myeong’s violent assault to complete nothingness.
After scattering all of Namgung Myeong’s attacks into the void, Yoo Jinhak slowly raised his sword.
The aura blooming from its tip went beyond mere destructive power, as though it pierced the very essence of all life.
Faced with that presence, Namgung Myeong let out a sigh.
‘This is…… not merely gentle power.’
For the first time, despair flickered in Namgung Myeong’s eyes at that overwhelming realization.
Only now did he understand.
The opponent’s realm was not the same extreme of the Manifestation Realm as his own.
Namgung Myeong’s face twisted grotesquely.
Watching him, Yoo Jinhak released a quiet sigh.
“Now it goes beyond regret…… I am angry, Namgung Myeong.”
Yoo Jinhak’s voice was filled with sorrow.
In his gaze toward Namgung Myeong’s fall lay pity, mixed with deep disappointment.
Someone born into a prestigious orthodox clan—someone who could have become a great pillar supporting the martial world—had instead been consumed by personal ambition and darkness, walking such a miserable path.
Even so, Yoo Jinhak could not forgive him.
“However, you have crossed a line that must never be crossed.”
Along with regret, his words carried the will of judgment.
Yoo Jinhak’s sword moved once more.
It was no longer a mere sword strike.
It was the very law of heaven and earth.
At that moment, the destructive sword mastery of Yoo Jinhak—who had stepped into the threshold of the Life and Death Realm—finally revealed its true form.
‘Heart Sword……!!’
“Uaaaargh!!”
Namgung Myeong desperately swung Thousand Demons, unleashing the Imperial Sword Form.
Pashshsh!
But the instant his sword touched Yoo Jinhak’s, it collapsed as futilely as a sandcastle.
Kiiieeeek!!
Thousand Demons spat out thunderous roars in resistance, yet before Yoo Jinhak’s sword, it shattered like a mere toy.
Rather than inflicting physical blows, Yoo Jinhak’s sword directly shook Namgung Myeong’s will and soul.
Though it had no blade, it split lightning, twisted space, and tore apart everything that was Namgung Myeong like an illusion.
Kwaaaaang!
Kwarrrrr!
With a tremendous explosion, the lightning qi enveloping Namgung Myeong’s entire body scattered into fragments.
It felt as though his body were being torn apart by the Sword Emperor’s blade.
Bloodstained Thousand Demons slipped from his hand and clattered onto the ground.
Kwarrr.
“Cough—kugh!”
Namgung Myeong’s body slammed miserably into the hall wall, shattering it to pieces.
Like a broken doll, his body rolled helplessly across the floor.
His face was covered in blood and dirt, his eyes wandering vacantly without focus.
He watched everything he had built collapse in an instant.
‘This can’t be…… this can’t be.’
In that scene of utter despair, Namgung Myeong struggled to force himself back up.