Chapter 49 – In Search of a Fateful Encounter (6)

[People praised me as the Martial Emperor, but in truth, I was merely an ordinary human. The Absorption Arts and the Golden Wheel Heavenly Strength made me a perfect warrior, but that was all. I did not wish for others in later generations to learn the martial arts I had mastered. It was because I did not want a warrior greater than myself to be born.]

No matter if they were his disciples, passing on his most precious possessions was an incredibly difficult thing to do, and so Mun Gil-je ultimately decided to seal away the manuals.

[However, it was only as I faced death that I realized how wrong that thinking was. It was a madness born from a heart demon. Gripped by that madness, I was completely unable to think clearly. You might be disappointed that a master like me was ensnared by a heart demon. But it was unavoidable. I fought and lost against the true lord of demonic power, a being that could be called absolute evil itself. And that overwhelming defeat caused me to be possessed by a heart demon.]

Reaching the Profound Realm allows one to live for over a hundred years with ease, but it does not mean immortality. Masters of the Profound Realm also aged and eventually died with the passage of time.

The Heavenly Demon, however, was an exception to this natural law. Even when Mun Gil-je was alive, the Heavenly Demon was still roaming the martial world. As the leader of the Western Heaven Demonic Cult.

The people did not know, but Mun Gil-je had fought the Heavenly Demon and was ultimately defeated. For Mun Gil-je, who had believed in his own martial arts, it was a tremendous shock.

In his final years, he quietly went mad. Of course, almost no one knew of this fact.

[A deep sense of defeat turned into madness, and I became completely consumed by flawed thoughts. Upon realizing there was someone stronger than me, I became obsessed with the absurd idea that I must not create a master superior to myself.]

That was why he sealed his martial arts within his own tomb.

[I came to realize just how ignorant and foolish a man I was. To think I sealed away the very martial arts that could stand against the Heavenly Demon with my own hands. But my mind was already ensnared by the madness of the heart demon, and in the end, I had no choice but to be trapped in darkness. Ultimately, all I could do was hide within this madness.]

Mun Gil-je did not want anyone to learn his two martial arts, which was why he had attacked Yu-jin when he appeared here.

[He is a monster. An absolute demon that no one can defeat. However, the Absorption Arts and the Golden Wheel Heavenly Strength can stand against the Heavenly Demon. It is no exaggeration to say they are the only means!]

To handle the Heavenly Demon’s internal energy, which could be called infinite, the one facing him also needed to possess infinite internal energy.

Of course, there was a limit to the amount of internal energy a human body could hold, but the Absorption Arts could instantly replenish any consumed energy by drawing in the power of nature at any time.

Furthermore, the Golden Wheel Heavenly Strength was light, the natural opposite of the Heavenly Demon, and could block all of his martial arts except for the Asura Heaven-Annihilating Sword.

[In truth, I did not wish to pass such a burden onto a junior. The absolute demon known as the Heavenly Demon is fear itself. But you, junior, desired the Absorption Arts and the Golden Wheel Heavenly Strength, and you defeated me to obtain them. You must take responsibility. Kill the Heavenly Demon! Save the world! That is my command to you!]

Yu-jin smiled as he heard those words.

[Born a man, I rose to become the greatest under heaven, but I did not want that title alone. As a man of the martial world, how could I not strive to be the greatest of all time? But such titles are meaningless before the lord of demonic power. He is a dangerous figure who can plunge the world into darkness at any moment. Junior, you must eliminate him.]

Mun Gil-je’s message was etched into Yu-jin’s mind. And at that moment, a golden light and an formless energy rose from Mun Gil-je’s body and coiled around Yu-jin.

It entered every corner of Yu-jin’s body, expanding his heart meridians and settling within him. Feeling the sensation, Yu-jin was satisfied.

In truth, learning martial arts from a manual was an arduous task. If a painstakingly created manual fell into the hands of another, there was nothing more troubling for its creator. That was why most manuals were written in cryptic language.

And the core principles were usually passed down orally from master to disciple. As a result, it was utterly impossible to learn by oneself with just the manual.

‘But right now, Mun Gil-je is teaching me the methods of application. How to use them effectively.’

Not only the application methods, but also the internal energy formulas were firmly imprinted in Yu-jin’s memory. Time flowed on, and everything from Mun Gil-je settled perfectly within Yu-jin’s body.

Yu-jin checked his dantian and could feel an immense amount of internal energy, incomparable to what he had before.

And Yu-jin felt a deep killing intent toward the Heavenly Demon. Having learned Mun Gil-je’s two martial arts, he had become the Heavenly Demon’s true adversary.

“I will kill the Heavenly Demon with my own hands.”

Yu-jin spoke while bowing deeply to Mun Gil-je, whose form was slowly turning to ash and disappearing. At Yu-jin’s words, as if his last regrets had been resolved, Mun Gil-je vanished completely.

“Well now, I’ve completely obtained what I wanted. Do I just need one more thing to complete it?”

Kwoooo!

Darkness and light erupted from Yu-jin’s entire body.

The Absorption Arts and the Golden Wheel Heavenly Strength had fully settled in Yu-jin’s body, but that did not mean they had merged with his existing martial arts.

The arts from the Nine Heavens Divine Demonic Arts he had previously learned were of the same attribute, so they could merge without much trouble.

However, the Absorption Arts and the Golden Wheel Heavenly Strength were of a different energy from his existing arts, and they had already begun to clash with them. To unify all of these, one more martial art was needed.

“Well, I knew that from the beginning. Still, it is a bit dangerous.”

For now, the energy of the Nine Heavens Divine Demonic Arts was suppressing them, but if Yu-jin made a single mistake and the three energies collided, his body could be shattered.

“I need to find the final martial art quickly.”

Yu-jin took one last look at the shattered stone chamber before leaving. As he began to walk slowly, he saw the three women waiting for him and smiled brightly.

Na Ye-jin, Eun Seol-rin, and Ran couldn’t hide their bewilderment when Yu-jin didn’t emerge after several hours, but when he finally appeared, they felt a sense of relief.

Flinch!

But that was only for a moment. Na Ye-jin and Eun Seol-rin stared at Yu-jin with bewildered faces. They simply couldn’t think of this Yu-jin as the same person.

All their senses, even their intuition as women, told them it was Yu-jin, but their senses as martial artists warned them that he was a far more powerful being than before.

“You’ve completed it, Master.”

Even so, the fact that Yu-jin was their master had not changed. Eun Seol-rin suppressed her fear and approached him. Yu-jin pulled the women into his arms, holding them close.

“I’ve more or less completed it. I’ve achieved everything I wanted here. It must have been hard waiting. Thank you, all of you.”

At Yu-jin’s words, the women all smiled brightly, feeling his embrace. Yu-jin felt a stir of lust, but now was not the right time.

“Now then, we should all gather our spoils, shouldn’t we? Seol-rin, you go find valuable things like jewels. We can’t carry much, so just pick what you think is most important.”

“I understand, Master.”

Eun Seol-rin replied to Yu-jin and entered the room piled with gold and treasures.

“Ran, you look for the elixirs. We’ve searched for them before, so you know which ones are valuable, right?”

When Yu-jin had been investing his time in searching for elixirs, Ran had helped him. Perhaps because of that experience, Ran knew a great deal about them.

Ran nodded lightly and entered the room with the elixirs. Then, he took the hand of Na Ye-jin, who was left alone, and headed for the room of divine weapons.

“Why are we coming here, Yu-jin?”

She already knew that the weapons here were inferior to modern ones.

The weapon-crafting techniques developed over time far surpassed those of the era when Mun Gil-je lived.

Even the finest swords here were only slightly better than a common iron sword made by an ordinary blacksmith outside, so they could truly be called worthless.

“The other weapons are worthless, just as you said, Ye-jin. But one is different. I’m talking about the Ice-White Water Dragon Sword, the symbol of the Martial Emperor’s Castle and one of the Twelve Treasures.”

The legendary weapons said to have been crafted by the gods, the Twelve Treasures.

Yu-jin was saying that one of those Twelve Treasures was in this tomb.

To honor the death of the Martial Emperor, the people of the Martial Emperor’s Castle had placed the Ice-White Water Dragon Sword in this tomb.

Countless weapons were laid out, but Yu-jin and Ye-jin’s eyes were drawn to a single sword thrust into the highest point. A beautiful sword with water dragons engraved on both sides of its blade.

“What fools. The Martial Emperor Mun Gil-je never learned the sword; he only used it for decoration. And yet, for it to be locked away in a tomb simply to honor his death… If the Ice-White Water Dragon Sword had a soul, it would surely feel wronged. So, Ye-jin, you should become that sword’s master.”

Na Ye-jin was startled by Yu-jin’s words. Her own sword was also made by a skilled artisan, but compared to one of the Twelve Treasures said to be crafted by the gods, it was nothing more than an ordinary blade. She couldn’t help but be surprised that he would offer such a sword to her without hesitation.

“Yu-jin, don’t you use a sword as well? Are you sure you can give a sword like this to me?”

“I already have a good sword. I haven’t learned dual-wielding, so I have no need for two such treasures. So, Ye-jin, I want you to use it.”

With those words, Yu-jin executed the Heavenly Ascent, the highest level of the Void-Walking Step, slowly treading on air as he approached the Ice-White Water Dragon Sword and grasped its hilt.

Kwoooo!

At that moment, a formation set up around the Ice-White Water Dragon Sword erupted with white light, engulfing Yu-jin.

The formation had been placed to prevent intruders from taking the sword and possessed the peculiar ability to destroy a person’s mind.

However, Yu-jin just chuckled and activated the Verdant Phosphorus Poison Flame, and the dark green flames swallowed the white light whole.

“What a nuisance.”

Having easily destroyed the formation, Yu-jin drew the Ice-White Water Dragon Sword and, using Sword Control, presented it to Na Ye-jin.

At first, Na Ye-jin hesitated to take it, but seeing Yu-jin’s gaze, she finally gripped the sword.

-Kwoooo!

In that instant, a sound that could only be described as a dragon’s roar echoed out. The Ice-White Water Dragon Sword had acknowledged her as its master.