Chapter Title: Heavenly Realm
I showed Nangong Jo the facility in the Nangong Family where I had used the calabash gourd to imprison the women.
Then I released the women from the neck pouch and had them vividly recount what they had endured.
Nangong Jo, caught off guard by the sudden situation, stared at the sex slave facility before clutching his head.
“I... I can’t believe it. To think our Nangong Family has fallen this far...”
As Nangong Jo groaned in anguish, one of the women, now dressed, spoke in a venomous tone.
“Are you an elder of the Nangong Family?”
“Yes, but...”
“I was from the Dongyun Escort Agency. But the Nangong Family’s Sky Squadron branded our agency as an evil faction, slaughtered my husband and children, and dragged me here three years ago. Do you know what I’ve been through since then?”
Tears streamed down the escort agency woman’s face.
“Even if I die a thousand deaths, I will curse the Nangong Family. I will tear Nangong Myeong, who defiled me in front of my husband, into a thousand pieces.”
Murmurs rose.
“That’s right!”
“We should rip those bastards apart!”
The gathered women began raising their voices one by one.
Most of them were women from martial clans or sects that had been destroyed by the Nangong Family and then abducted.
What they had suffered for years was too horrific and vile to even speak of.
From their accounts, it seemed Nangong Myeong had actively participated in his son’s deeds, while the Nangong Eight Swords had been fully involved.
The Shadowless Sword Emperor Nangong Jo listened for a long time before speaking in a trembling voice.
His face showed a deeper mental shock than when Ye Dongbin had overwhelmed him earlier.
“I... I’m sorry...”
Thud.
Suddenly, he knelt before the women.
His shoulders trembled as he deeply apologized to them.
“I am the one who deserves death. Back then... when the Nangong Family began to change... I should have fought to change it instead of giving up!”
“......?”
The women looked confused, not understanding his words.
Nangong Jo turned to me with a grim expression.
“You are Baek Woong, yes... Keep them safe.”
“What do you intend to do?”
“Though it’s late, as you said, I will purge the Nangong Family. I am a sinner too, but give me the chance to resolve it with my own hands.”
“Understood.”
I returned the women to the neck pouch and this time pulled out Nangong Hwan.
Nangong Jo scowled upon seeing Nangong Hwan.
“You worthless scum...”
Nangong Hwan regained consciousness from his fainted state and looked around.
Spotting Nangong Jo while naked and glancing about, he jolted in shock and covered his privates.
“Gasp! Great-Great-Granduncle Elder?! What brings you here...”
“......”
Nangong Jo’s face was grim.
Apparently, as a successor-level figure in the Nangong Family, Nangong Hwan had formally met the family ancestor, the Shadowless Sword Emperor Nangong Jo.
Even if Nangong Jo didn’t think highly of them, it was undeniable that he was the clan’s strongest master.
Nangong Jo spoke in a somber voice.
“Why do you call me Great-Great-Granduncle?”
“What? I heard you were my great-grandfather’s brother...”
“No. You are not blood of the Nangong Family.”
Crunch!
“Arrghhh!!”
The Shadowless Sword Emperor instantly tore off Nangong Hwan’s arm.
Nangong Hwan rolled on the ground in agony from the severed arm, but soon the Shadowless Sword Emperor raised his foot to crush his skull.
Seeing this, I rushed in and blocked it.
Thud.
Barely stopping the Shadowless Sword Emperor’s technique, he glanced at me.
“Step aside. I will execute him myself.”
“I understand your rage, but this one has committed too many sins. The victims must repay him.”
“...Then I leave it to you.”
The Shadowless Sword Emperor sighed.
“I wanted to give him a clean death out of blood ties...”
“No.”
“Hoo.”
Shaking his head, the Shadowless Sword Emperor silently headed outside.
I put Nangong Hwan back in the neck pouch and followed the Shadowless Sword Emperor.
As the Shadowless Sword Emperor emerged on the grounds and walked to the center of the Nangong Family compound, people everywhere looked at him in bewilderment.
It was no wonder—a man with a beaten face dressed in common blacksmith clothes wandering the Nangong Family grounds looked suspicious.
Rustle.
Three or four Nangong Family warriors soon blocked the Shadowless Sword Emperor’s path.
One drew his sword and said.
“Who are you? State your identity.”
The Shadowless Sword Emperor looked at him with cold eyes and said.
“Bring Nangong Myeong and the Nangong Eight Swords here.”
“You mad bastard! Kill him!”
Sching!
The Nangong Family warriors charged simultaneously, but they were soon sliced in half by the Shadowless Sword Qi.
They couldn’t even last a single exchange against the invisible, unfelt sword qi.
Blood sprayed in an instant, and the surrounding people screamed.
“Eeek!”
More experts rushed in continuously, charging at the advancing Shadowless Sword Emperor.
But he didn’t even draw his sword, merely swinging his hand a few times.
Each time, human bodies tore apart as if blocked by an invisible barrier.
Today’s Shadowless Sword Emperor had resolved to show no mercy.
Soon, with casualties exceeding fifty, the Nangong Family experts finally realized he was on a whole other level.
The Sky Squadron and Earth Squadron had all gathered to surround him, but none dared to charge.
The Sky Squadron Leader stepped forward, cupping his fists.
“I am the Sky Squadron Leader! Who are you to slaughter in our main house?”
“I told you. Bring Nangong Myeong and the Nangong Eight Swords here.”
“Nangong Myeong...? You mean the Family Head?”
“Yes. Bring that rotten bastard before me.”
Normally, one would fight without question against someone insulting the Family Head and committing murder.
But the Sky Squadron Leader clearly recognized the power gap and sensed something off in the Shadowless Sword Emperor’s tone.
After thinking for a while, the Sky Squadron Leader said.
“If I bring them, do you promise no more slaughter?”
“Of course.”
“Please wait a moment.”
After about the time it takes to eat a meal, the Nangong Family Head, Sword King Nangong Myeong, along with the Nangong Eight Swords, appeared before the Shadowless Sword Emperor.
“You bastard! I won’t forgive...”
Nangong Myeong started to shout but confirmed the Shadowless Sword Emperor’s face and bowed in a troubled expression.
“...No, I cannot. What brings you here, Great-Great-Uncle Elder...”
Murmurs!
The surrounding Nangong Family members panicked.
No one could fathom how exalted someone was whom even Family Head Nangong Myeong called Great-Great-Uncle.
The Nangong Eight Swords, knowing his identity, paled and prostrated themselves.
The Shadowless Sword Emperor glared at Nangong Myeong with icy eyes and said.
“Did my brother teach you that?”
“What do you mean...”
“I saw the dog kennel. There were women being abused.”
“......”
Nangong Myeong and the Nangong Eight Swords all turned pale.
Nangong Myeong in particular staggered from the shock but soon regained his composure and replied.
“I apologize for showing you such an unsightly scene.”
“Unsightly...?”
“They are the Nangong Family’s spoils of war. We were using them in secret—it’s embarrassing.”
The Shadowless Sword Emperor’s jaw dropped.
“Spoils? Using them?”
“Yes.”
“Are... are you serious?”
Stammering, the Shadowless Sword Emperor asked again, and Nangong Myeong replied softly.
“Winner takes all has been the main house’s creed since our great-great-grandfather’s time. I am doing my utmost to make the Nangong Family the world’s greatest clan. We crush forces hindering our expansion, and those are the spoils obtained in the process.”
“Heh... heh... heh...”
The Shadowless Sword Emperor pressed his temple and said.
“Myeong-ah. Listen.”
He continued with a sigh of lament.
“Truth be told, I’ve had little interest in anything but martial arts since I was young. You know that, right?”
“Yes, I know.”
“So I felt guilty about my brother working to grow the clan. I only trained in martial arts. But at least, I felt the family’s policies were excessive and left. The clan was bound to prosper anyway.”
A spark flashed in the Shadowless Sword Emperor’s eyes.
“But I was wrong. To think my family members would become beasts abandoning humanity...”
Nangong Myeong groaned and said.
“Beasts? They are losers. Is it so wrong to dominate losers in the winner’s name?”
“Kuhuhu... No point talking more—it’s like reciting sutras to a cow.”
Whoosh.
The Shadowless Sword Emperor unleashed his Shadowless Sword Qi.
Nangong Myeong sensed it first and assumed a combat stance, followed by the Nangong Eight Swords raising their sword auras.
In an instant, the other warriors entered combat readiness, forming a hundreds-to-one standoff.
I swallowed hard beside the Shadowless Sword Emperor.
‘I didn’t realize during Jin So-cheong, but the Nangong Family’s forces are formidable.’
Even for the Shadowless Sword Emperor, could he win against them?
As I watched quietly, Nangong Myeong shouted.
“The elder has gone mad! To protect the clan, send him to eternal rest!”
“Waaaaah!!!”
Realizing the Shadowless Sword Emperor was firmly intent on killing them, Nangong Myeong drew his sword without hesitation.
It was a pragmatic choice, but his resolve to kill his clan’s elder was hard to comprehend.
“You traitorous dogs!”
Enraged, the Shadowless Sword Emperor swung his hand.
Boom boom boom!!
A blood mist erupted.
Everyone within six paces turned to chunks of flesh scattering in the air, with hundreds of Shadowless Sword Qi flickering through the crimson haze.
“Uwaaak!!”
Schwaaa!
The warriors gasped at the sight of the sword qi raging like an invisible storm, but it was too late.
The Shadowless Sword Emperor showed no mercy, annihilating all who charged him, turning those in his attack range to mincemeat.
Not even three exchanges had passed since he began, and half the experts in the area had gone to the afterlife.
“Kill!”
Nangong Myeong gritted his teeth and unleashed an ultimate technique from the Emperor King Swordsmanship, charging head-on.
The soaring qi with a dragon’s roar targeted the Shadowless Sword Emperor, who couldn’t disregard it—the Shadowless Sword Qi momentarily faltered.
But as Nangong Myeong’s ultimate pierced for his neck, it scattered like sand.
An afterimage!
The real Shadowless Sword Emperor was already beside the Nangong Eight Swords elders in the rear.
As they hurriedly responded, in that split second of mental clarity, the Shadowless Sword Emperor muttered coldly.
Vassals who fail to properly serve their lord must die.
“Kraaak!”
“Aaakt!”
The next moment, five of the Nangong Eight Swords’ heads flew through the air.
The remaining three were shredded by dozens of qi strands, leaving blood mist as they perished.
Seeing this, chills ran down my spine.
Even peak experts—the Nangong Eight Swords—eight of them casually swept aside!
Considering peak experts were elder-level in great sects, it was unbelievable.
‘Was the Shadowless Sword Emperor this strong?’
It was impossible to reconcile with his earlier pathetic beating by Ye Dongbin in thirty exchanges.
The current Shadowless Sword Emperor looked like an Asura dominating the battlefield.
No one could block or evade even a single of his techniques.
His signature Shadowless Sword Qi held terrifying power.
Indeed, the former world’s greatest swordsman!
Now only Nangong Myeong faced the Shadowless Sword Emperor, who seemed to have lost his mind.
As a super peak expert, he knew the vast gap between them well—no chance of victory even one in a hundred if prolonged.
Nangong Myeong spoke in a trembling voice.
“Is... is this necessary?”
“Shut up.”
“We are your blood kin! Your roots! What meaning is there in denying us!”
The Shadowless Sword Emperor sneered.
“Well said. Rotten roots must be cut out.”
“......!!”
“Today, I’ll cut you all out and replace them. Don’t worry—I will establish a new Nangong martial lineage with the manuals I possess.”
Nangong Myeong realized he was cornered.
Gritting his teeth, he said.
“...What of Hwan?”
“That scum deserves a thousand cuts and ten thousand deaths. Why raise your son as such a mongrel? Pathetic.”
“Ugh...”
The Shadowless Sword Emperor sighed.
“But this is my sin too. Once all is done, I will take my own life, so you won’t be lonely on the road to the afterlife.”
“I won’t go down easily!!”
Rumble!
Nangong Myeong amplified his true essence, boosting his inner power, and charged desperately.
As one of the central plains’ top experts on par with Lee Gwang and others, he wielded peerless martial arts.
Thus, even as the Shadowless Sword Emperor’s qi raged, Nangong Myeong matched him evenly for about 150 exchanges with ultimate Emperor King Swordsmanship techniques.
But at the 150th exchange, as if ending a game, the Shadowless Sword Emperor pointed two fingers at Nangong Myeong.
Ultimate Technique
Shadowless Soul-Seizing Strike
The next moment, Nangong Myeong’s left arm vanished without a sound.
He froze in confusion—even a super peak expert like him couldn’t detect the precursor of that stealthy hidden strike.
From the spectator’s view, it looked like sword qi emerged from empty space.
Thud thud thud.
That was it.
The Shadowless Sword Emperor unleashed the Shadowless Soul-Seizing Strike repeatedly, severing Nangong Myeong’s limbs before finishing with his head.
The 150 exchanges were merely allowing his final struggle.
As Nangong Myeong died gruesomely, screams echoed from all directions.
“Uwaaak.”
“The Family Head is dead.”
Chaos filled the area, and the Shadowless Sword Emperor bellowed.
“Halt!!”
Rumble.
The heavens and earth shook like an earthquake.
People’s minds froze under the Shadowless Sword Emperor’s aura, and he transmitted his will using Six Harmonies Projection.
[The evil Family Head and his vassals have all been purged by me, Shadowless Sword Emperor Nangong Jo. The main house is a righteous uphold faction upholding justice in the martial world—from today, I shall restore it to true spirit!!]
The surviving experts, gauging the situation, began kneeling before the Shadowless Sword Emperor one by one.
After all, as the Nangong Family elder with overwhelming power, he was flawless for the next Family Head role.
Once the situation was settled, the Shadowless Sword Emperor turned to me and said.
“This settles our bet. Satisfied now?”
“......”
“You have something to say.”
I stared at the Shadowless Sword Emperor and opened my mouth.
“Shadowless Sword Emperor Elder.”
“With matters here resolved, we could move on.
Meet Mangyang, rummage through the Demon Night ruins, meet Jin So-cheong—whatever.
But I was so bewildered that no next steps came to mind.
After a moment, I spoke in a trembling voice.
“Why do you use the Shadowless Gate’s martial arts?”
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