Sword God Reborn

Chapter 222 : You'll really die if you keep that up

Everyone had a bewildered expression.

They had blinked, and when they opened their eyes, they saw a man sitting on the floor, having wet himself.

Whispering voices could be heard from here and there.

He had already made a scene by emphasizing that he was from the Danggye Clan, so unintentionally, everyone's attention was focused on him.

Old man Gu sighed and helped Danggye Jeyeom up.

"Ugh, uhhh."

Hollow laughs erupted from here and there at the sight of him trembling, not even daring to look at Cheon Mubaeck, as if he had lost his mind.

When he was forced to stand up, a foul smell spread.

People covered their noses and sneered. They didn't sneer openly because of the Danggye Clan's notoriety, but the atmosphere filling the hall was not difficult to read.

'The story of what happened today will probably spread far and wide in Shandong.'

There were more than one or two pairs of eyes and ears that had seen and heard.

With a single disturbance, Danggye Jeyeom's future had become bleak.

'The position of heir is one thing, but he has suffered severe mental trauma.'

He had seen cases like this a few times.

Cases where one meets an overwhelmingly powerful opponent and has their sword broken.

It was not uncommon in the martial world.

Could Danggye Jeyeom ever hold a sword again? By overcoming the fear that had become a heart demon?

'For the price of a life, it is truly expensive.'

Old man Gu sighed and quickly left the hall.

Neung-heo, watching this, spoke bluntly as if he was not satisfied.

"Is that the end of his lesson?"

"Then what more should I do?"

"You should have at least cut off one of his arms."

"Aigoo, Neung-heo. I don't like seeing blood."

"..."

Neung-heo openly glanced at his own empty left arm, giving a hint, but Cheon Mubaeck paid him no mind.

Cheon Mubaeck turned his head and looked at Yuk Seok.

"It is a good sword."

"Uh... huh?"

Yuk Seok, who had been staring blankly, only came to his senses after hearing Cheon Mubaeck's words.

"It is an excellent sword. I have shown that I can handle it sufficiently, so the Iron God is not just an expensive lump of metal. It is not ruined as you thought, Sir."

"Ah..."

Yuk Seok looked down at his hands.

Among the countless divine weapons that had passed through his hands in his lifetime, it was a work he dared to call his life's masterpiece.

But he felt fear at the will, like a living creature, born from the sword. He was frustrated by the terrible killing intent harbored by the will.

A monstrous sword that would devour its master.

That he had created a sword no one could use.

He had thought that if the sword fell into the hands of demons, it might become a demonic sword that would go down in history.

And it actually seemed to be becoming so.

'The Iron God had bared its hideous fangs.'

The moment the inky light covered Danggye Jeyeom, he had clearly seen the ferocious fangs of a beast, shining white in contrast to the darkness.

As if it would bite his neck and cut off his breath at any moment.

He thought Danggye Jeyeom's neck would be torn apart just like that.

At the crucial moment, the Iron God Ancient Sword hid its fangs. As if it had never happened, it held its breath, acting cute like a cat.

That scene suddenly overlapped with the Azure Sky Sword God.

The conversation he had with the Azure Sky Sword God here, in this very ironworks, flashed through his mind.

'I will make you a sword. In return, please protect me from the Demonic Cult bastards.'

When Yuk Seok said that, the Azure Sky Sword God suddenly burst into laughter.

'Do I look like I need a new sword?'

'May I be honest, elder?'

'Speak.'

'Your Iron God Ancient Sword feels not like a sword, but a tool.'

'A tool?'

'A means and a tool solely for killing. A tool for slaughter that contains no value, no meaning, no will. It feels like a tool designed to kill more efficiently, to cut down more enemies. No, it actually is.'

The martial artists who had come with the Azure Sky Sword God were all astonished.

The God of Fighting, Gwak Yong, who was famous and followed the Azure Sky Sword God like a father, became furious, his face turning beet red.

For a martial artist, insulting a sword was the same as insulting its master.

But the Azure Sky Sword God smiled bitterly and nodded his head.

'Truly like a craftsman. You are not wrong. That's right. The angle of the sword body is made so that the flowing blood can drain, and the blade holds only the sharpness for cutting. A tool for killing. A tool solely for slaughter. That's right. The Iron God Ancient Sword is such a sword.'

'I will make you a better sword.'

'That's enough. I will protect your ironworks even if you don't give me a sword. Just take care of the weapons for this Gwak Yong fellow and the Orthodox Path kids.'

'...That's not it. I believe it is a sword not suitable for the Azure Sky Sword God to use. How can a life-saving sword, meant to save the martial world, harbor such strong killing intent?'

At those words, the Azure Sky Sword God threw his head back and laughed loudly. It was a great laugh. He laughed until tears came, then suddenly the laughter stopped and his expression became serious.

The moment he met the black pupils, his breath caught. It was a pressure as if Mount Tai was crushing him, a pressure he could not dare to handle.

'A life-saving sword, you say? A sword that saves people? You're saying such a thing exists in this world?'

'...!'

'Do not attach grand meanings to a sword. A sword is a sword. It is a weapon born solely to kill, and a tool to cut and cut again flesh and blood. As you said, the Iron God Ancient Sword contains no meaning, and it is the purest sword that harbors only the single purpose of killing.'

"A sword for killing..."

How could he express it like that?

He denied all the meanings contained in the swords that craftsmen made by burning their souls, and put forth only one purpose.

Therefore, he could not understand, and he also felt a sense of rebellion. He even dared to think that perhaps the great Azure Sky Sword God was just a lawless person.

But the result was not so.

The Azure Sky Sword God killed and killed the demons, forcibly creating peace in the martial world.

In the end, he was right.

The Iron God Ancient Sword was such a sword. A sword stained with the blood of thousands of demons.

It is a sword that bathes in blood and breathes by cutting flesh.

The will contained in the Iron God became strong that way.

The will of the Iron God, reborn with black meteorite iron, became even stronger and harbored a tremendous killing intent.

It was not for nothing that he had described it as a monster that would devour its master.

The killing intent he had felt a moment ago.

Yuk Seok had not seen the path of the sword, but he knew one thing.

What was transmitted through his whole body was the killing intent that the Iron God had harbored.

Perhaps the moment the sword was drawn, the Iron God Ancient Sword would not be satisfied without cutting flesh, and would bare its hideous fangs.

'It did not. That brat went back alive.'

He should have died. Once drawn, the Iron God Ancient Sword, which harbored such killing intent, would never be satisfied and return to its scabbard.

But it did.

'How on earth...'

He controlled it perfectly. As if it had never happened, the killing intent disappeared without a trace. Cheon Mubaeck had controlled the sword.

There was no such thing as a monster that devoured its master.

'How could a mere monster devour a god?'

Yuk Seok let out a hollow laugh.

He had to admit that although he had an eye for swords, he lacked an eye for martial artists.

"I see. You are the one who made my sword a masterpiece of a lifetime."

Cheon Mubaeck grinned.

To be honest, he was satisfied.

No matter how much he had used the rare metal called black meteorite iron, he had never dreamed that it would be transformed like this.

'Good.'

The heavy sensation and coolness felt in his hand.

The greed of the sword, wanting to cut down the opponent at any moment, was felt throughout his body.

It was not easy. If someone other than Cheon Mubaeck had held it, they would not have been able to control the sword easily.

In the end, the sword would have been satisfied only after cutting Danggye Jeyeom's neck.

But from the beginning, the Iron God Ancient Sword was a sword that recognized only Cheon Mubaeck as its master.

Because the will contained in the sword had been with him like an inseparable friend for countless reincarnations.

'Because it is a sword that follows only my will.'

Yuk Seok's worries were unnecessary from the start.

However.

'The killing intent is stronger than I thought.'

Perhaps he would have to manage this sword well so that it would not fall into the hands of others after his death.

Because a rare demonic sword might be born.

Danggye Jeyeom did not die.

But the will contained in the sword did not completely abandon its greed in the end.

'That guy, he's not really alive even if he's alive.'

Physical death is not the only death.

Mental death is the same.

It would not be easy to escape the fear of death he felt today. If he could not escape it, he would never be able to hold a sword again. For a martial artist, not being able to hold a sword was synonymous with death.

'This time, I'll be able to cut down the Heavenly Demon.'

Cheon Mubaeck smiled with satisfaction.

* * *

Yuk Seok went to rest with an exhausted expression.

He seemed to have exhausted all his energy making the Iron God, and after witnessing the satisfactory result with his own two eyes, all his strength seemed to have drained away.

Cheon Mubaeck turned his head at the gaze he felt from behind.

It was Yu Seoryeong.

"Uh... thank you for your help."

As their eyes met, Yu Seoryeong hurriedly took a fist and palm salute.

Cheon Mubaeck shrugged his shoulders.

"Didn't you say you would look at my sword?"

"Ah... yes."

"What do you think? You seem to have caught a glimpse of it."

"..."

Yu Seoryeong's face hardened.

She had not seen it.

She had only seen the afterimage.

Yu Seoryeong spoke honestly.

"To be honest, I did not see it. But I knew without seeing it. It was a thrill I had never felt before. It is a sword that cannot be evaluated with my eye."

"No. Your eye is excellent."

"Pardon?"

"This one you chose, it is indeed made by the current owner."

"Ah...!"

Yu Seoryeong's eyes widened. It was the sword she had judged to be the best, the one she had wanted to obtain even while confronting Danggye Jeyeom.

But Yu Seoryeong's expression soon darkened a little.

Wasn't Cheon Mubaeck also trying to take this sword?

'Of course, if it's him and not a scoundrel like Danggye Jeyeom, he is more than qualified...'

Somehow, it was a pity.

She had come down from her sect for a separate task, but upon hearing the news that she could get a sword at the Yukga Ironworks, she had postponed what she had to do and had come all this way despite the long journey.

Perhaps sensing such disappointment, Cheon Mubaeck chuckled.

"I was mistaken about something. There is a rule in the ironworks. That one person can only purchase one weapon."

"What? You mean..."

"I have already obtained one sword, so unfortunately, I am not qualified to buy this sword."

"...!"

Yu Seoryeong made a surprised expression. Understanding Cheon Mubaeck's meaning, Yu Seoryeong bit her lip tightly.

"...Thank you."

"There is nothing to thank me for. The rules are as they are."

"Even so, with the fame of the Heavenly Dragon Sword Hero, you could surely take the sword. Any martial artist would be greedy for a good weapon, yet you are yielding it."

In the end, wasn't he purely helping Yu Seoryeong?

In a situation where she would have undoubtedly lost the sword to Danggye Jeyeom, he had helped only Yu Seoryeong.

While doing so, he built up a justification by talking about the rules and gave up the sword, so Yu Seoryeong felt great gratitude.

"I will definitely repay this favor."

"There is no need to call it a favor, and there is nothing to repay. However, I have one thing I am curious about, would you answer my question?"

"A question? To me?"

For just one question?

Yu Seoryeong nodded her head.

He had yielded such a good sword, how could she not answer a single question?

"Of course."

"Well, then, just a moment."

Cheon Mubaeck looked around and waved his hand.

"...!"

Surprise spread across Yu Seoryeong's face. The surroundings were still crowded with people, and right next to Cheon Mubaeck, Neung-heo was muttering something.

But.

'I can't hear it.'

She could not hear anything.

A deathly silence seemed to have encroached between Cheon Mubaeck and Yu Seoryeong.

'He blocked the sound with just his qi wave?'

Witnessing a realm she had never even thought of, Yu Seoryeong's face was colored with astonishment.

Perhaps others would not be able to hear the conversation between the two.

Cheon Mubaeck asked.

"Where is your sect?"

"...My sect?"

Yu Seoryeong tried to maintain a calm expression, but Cheon Mubaeck did not miss the momentary wavering of her eyes.

"I... don't have a sect. I just learned the sword from my master, though I am lacking."

"Ah. Not a sect."

Cheon Mubaeck tilted his head and crossed his arms.

"Well. I should say it's not a sect, but a religious order."

"...!"

Looking at Yu Seoryeong's hardened face, Cheon Mubaeck smiled slightly.

"The Sword Sect of the Seven Demonic Sects. I have many things I am curious about."

It was then.

Before those words were even finished, a sword was drawn from Yu Seoryeong's waist like a thunderbolt.

But Cheon Mubaeck stood still. He did not react, nor did he counterattack.

The tip of the sword was aimed at his throat.

A distance where his throat would be pierced if it stabbed just one inch. But Cheon Mubaeck's expression was calm.

On the other hand, impatience appeared on Yu Seoryeong's contorted face.

"How... on earth?"

Yu Seoryeong's pupils vibrated violently.

Cheon Mubaeck's lips curled up as he glanced down at the tip of the sword aimed at his throat.

A smile flashed by.

"Hey. Put the sword away."

"......!"

A suffocating silence pressed down on her shoulders.

A low voice that was heard clearly as if it were being spoken right next to her ear.

Yu Seoryeong stared at Cheon Mubaeck with trembling eyes.

A coldness that did not reveal a single emotion.

As she met that cold gaze, Yu Seoryeong's heart pounded like crazy.

It supplied blood quickly and pushed the body's senses to the limit.

'Danger!'

Her whole body warned of danger and reacted.

But her heart, which had been beating like crazy, stopped for a moment as if it were a lie.

"You, you'll really die if you keep that up."

A pure white smile flashed.

(End of Chapter)