The World's Greatest is Dead

There was still some time left before the Assembly Hall opened.

The younger-generation members gathering now were the ones arriving a little earlier.

Black Greatblade and the others were the same.

That was why Thousand-Mile Divine Eye had said it to me.

Would I finish the Assembly Hall first and go?

Or would I head straight to Xinjiang?

—Tell me once you have chosen.

I thought over his words urging me to choose. What should I do? Honestly, it was not something I needed to think about.

I had already reached a conclusion, but I found myself thinking a little more anyway.

Which one.

Which one was more efficient? Was there any benefit to be gained from me staying at the Assembly Hall?

I did not think there was.

I roughly tilted my head. No matter how I looked at it, there was none.

There was no real reason to remain here.

Clack.

Thinking that, I drew my sword. The Divine Sword came out.

The tip of the blade, which had been shifting lightly in the wind, stopped for an instant.

Time flowed quietly.

A falling leaf stopped in midair.

What had been drifting down slowly came to a halt.

No, it felt as though it had halted. Crackle.

I drew up Moonbolt and refined Radiant Moon Flash Aura.

The Sword Aura turned steady, and I maintained its flow. I focused on smoothing out the roughness of Radiant Moon Flash Aura little by little.

My recent training had been in that direction.

It was not as though Yoo Cheongil had told me to do it. It had already been months since that man gave me any guidance.

This was purely by my own will.

This.

The feeling that this seemed right.

Rough, sharp, and violent power possessed explosive destructive force.

But it doesn’t suit me.

It did not suit me. After I touched body-and-sword unity and my body moved before thought more often than expected, I realized it the moment I reached that point.

Yoo Cheongil’s martial arts were divine arts beyond compare, but they did not seem to fit me.

So I had to change the way I trained.

That was what I had been practicing all this time.

Refine it, then refine it again.

It did not matter how many times it took. I kept refining the power.

My inner qi was not small in amount. Forget my peers; even compared to martial artists in the same realm—

I have a lot.

I acknowledged that I had a large amount of energy, and even objectively, that was true.

However.

The Azure Moon Sect’s martial arts—no, Yoo Cheongil’s martial arts, to be exact—use far too much power.

The Azure Moon Heart Art and Azure Moon Sword Dance consumed an excessive amount of inner qi. They produced terrifying destructive power in return, but—

Do they fit my body? I’m not so sure.

The not-quite-fight with Mi Yeonhwa yesterday had reminded me of it once again.

It was a question of whether martial arts that did not suit me could truly produce proper power.

Sssss—

I entered a state of complete absorption and adjusted the Sword Aura at the same time. The rate at which energy drained away slowed.

A fixed amount.

I kept it from straying beyond the number I had set.

Maintaining that, I moved my body.

Shhhhk.

My speed slowed. That did not matter. Moving quickly would gain me nothing.

Right now, I was increasing proficiency.

Shhhhh. Shhhhk!

I put all my concentration into every single movement. I connected the sword path and tried to execute the martial art as it was, but—

Tuk.

“......Tch.”

The energy cut off.

It did not go the way I wanted. This had happened several times already. Once I reduced the amount of energy, connecting the sword path became difficult.

Is this not it?

I frowned. I had thought this would be somewhat right, but no matter how many times I tried, I could not quite grasp the feeling.

What was the problem? Reducing the energy actually made the martial art fail to execute.

Was there a minimum amount required to use it?

Swish.

I spun the Divine Sword a few times and loosened my body again. It was a habit I had whenever something gave me a headache.

[Hmmm. Boring.]

The woman embedded in the dagger muttered.

[Are you just going to keep practicing swordsmanship? Try meeting some women too.]

I let out a hollow laugh at that. Where would I even find the time? Ridiculous.

“Shut up. You’re distracting me.”

[Hing.]

Should I try again? I still had inner qi left. Since this was practice in conserving energy, it was draining slowly.

Before, using Moonbolt would make it run out quickly. Now, that was not the case.

Part of that was because my inner qi had increased, and part of it was because I had become more skilled at controlling this aspect.

So I believed the sword path would be the same.

Again.

I steadied my mind and was about to move the sword once more.

[What is your intention in reducing the energy?]

The Heavenly Demon asked me.

My intention?

[I mean your intention in going out of your way to reduce your energy while connecting the sword path.]

Because the amount of energy disappearing is excessive, and it doesn’t seem to suit me.

My inner qi was also too weak to sustain it in a drawn-out real fight.

And destructive force felt like it did not fit my body.

[Hmmm.......]

The Heavenly Demon gave a lukewarm response to my answer. What was with that reaction?

What? Is something strange?

[Well. It seems half right and half wrong...... but it does not seem to be something I should tell you.]

What?

[First, continue refining yourself. If that is your sword, then I have nothing to say to you.]

What a frustrating answer. If he was going to be like that, why had he even started speaking?

Ridiculous.

Still.

It meant I was half right, did it not? I did not know whether the Heavenly Demon’s words were the correct answer.

But at the very least—

I can do what I can do.

It did not stop me from swinging my sword. In the past, if Yoo Cheongil had said I was wrong, I would not have done it.

Now, however, it was different from that. Strangely, I kept feeling as though I wanted to continue.

If I do this.

Where would it lead? I found myself looking forward a little to the end of the sword. I was insane. This was not the kind of thought I was supposed to be having.

“Hmm.”

What would I have to do to get a sense of direction?

As I kept thinking that—

[However.]

The Heavenly Demon broke the silence and spoke again.

[There is someone who is a specialist in this field.]

“Yes?”

[I have no advice to give you. Yoo Cheongil would likely be no different. But when it comes to that side, I do know one person who could tell you.]

“Advice?”

For me? Was there really someone who could give me something like that?

While I was wondering—

[You know him too. If you seek an ordered sword, there is likely no being superior to him.]

Who in the world was he talking about? I could not immediately think of anyone.

[Sword Emperor.]

“Huh?”

[Go find him.]

I heard a familiar epithet.

*****

The last time I met Sword Emperor was before I left for Liaoning.

He had said he would not come with me. He said he had his own business and needed to leave.

After saying that, several months had passed, and Sword Emperor had returned to Henan.

Finding him was not difficult. He had a residence at the main Alliance headquarters to begin with.

HIIIIIIN!

I met Sword Emperor at the stable, where the sounds of horses could be heard.

“Hello.”

“......”

Sword Emperor stared at me when he saw me come. The listless-looking old man still had the same air as before, but—

......Sharp.

Perhaps because of where I had reached now, I could faintly feel something.

A savage force. Something like—

It feels like I’m facing a sword.

A well-honed sword. That was the energy I felt from Sword Emperor.

Tension rose in me. It felt like I would swallow dryly without meaning to. Then—

Shhhk.

......!

I flinched at the sudden sharpness and stepped back. I nearly drew the Divine Sword without realizing it.

My hand had already gripped the sword. Just before I could be startled by my own action—

“Hmm.”

Sword Emperor tilted his head and said,

“You gained enlightenment.”

“......”

Was that a test? Cold sweat ran down my sideburns. I could feel beads forming on my forehead too.

A being beyond heaven.

I felt as though I had glimpsed that level.

“It has only been a few months. While I did not see you, you climbed to a curious place.”

“......I worked hard.”

“Did you touch body-and-sword unity?”

“......To some degree?”

I gave an ambiguous answer. It was not as though I had reached it perfectly.

At that answer, Sword Emperor nodded.

“Well done.”

“......”

It felt like the first time I had heard praise from him. Amazing. To think that old man knew how to praise me.

“What did you come for?”

Then he went straight to the main point. Even the praise had only been tossed out in passing. Right, there was no point expecting much from Sword Emperor.

“I have something to ask.”

“What is it?”

“I have been training with the sword recently. I’m practicing a more refined energy, but...... I can’t seem to find the answer.”

“A refined sword?”

His reaction said he needed more explanation, so I drew my sword. I pulled out the Divine Sword and immediately emitted Sword Aura.

Fwaaaak. After drawing out Radiant Moon Flash Aura, I executed Moonbolt.

I made energy flow through my entire body, then corrected the rough parts of Radiant Moon Flash Aura.

I reduced it more and more.

As though I meant to make it neat and refined.

The Sword Aura I barely managed to reduce.

Sword Emperor’s eyes narrowed when he saw it.

“If I try to continue the sword path from here...... it collapses almost immediately.”

“......Hmm.”

Sword Emperor stared at it. Then he suddenly entered the stable and came back holding a stick.

“You called it a refined sword?”

“Yes.”

“The direction and sequence you pursue are both wrong.”

“Yes?”

Just as I wondered what he meant, Sword Emperor took a step.

The distance between him and me closed in an instant. Immediately after, the stick flew at me.

I moved my sword with startled eyes, but—

Kwa-gak!

“......Ghk!”

The sword that collided with it was flung away. The Sword Aura was crushed instantly.

At that moment, Sword Emperor’s stick remained perfectly fine. The form of hard aura remained intact.

A smooth texture without the slightest tremor. That was the direction of Sword Aura I was pursuing.

Using only the energy efficient for the texture while maintaining the power completely.

That sword was Sword Emperor’s.

“Do you think this sword is efficient?”

“......Wouldn’t it be?”

“That mindset itself is wrong.”

“Yes?”

It was not efficient? What did that mean? As I looked at him in confusion—

“The very idea that you are using inner qi efficiently is the wrong perspective. This sword is not efficiency. It has simply been refined.”

“......What do you mean?”

“Your concern lies in how to change a sword focused only on destructive force, but efficiency does not exist.”

Sssss!

Sword Emperor’s Sword Aura changed strangely. What had been smooth moments ago began thrashing wildly. It was like a blazing flame.

“Using less inner qi is a futile thing. What matters is whether you can properly compress and condense a large amount even when you pour it out, so it does not leak away.”

“......Compression and condensation.”

“Even if you train and compress a small amount, you cannot raise its strength. Look at the essence.”

“......”

I remembered the Heavenly Demon telling me I was half wrong.

Was the problem the very act of pursuing a small amount?

Then refining destructive force was fine, but—

He’s telling me to increase the amount and focus on compressing it?

My dazed eyes flashed.

At those words, I immediately poured out Radiant Moon Flash Aura.

Chiiiik! The same amount as usual. No, I put in even more than usual.

Refine this.

I put strength into my hand and refined the energy.

It was difficult. The veins stood out. Trying to refine this much energy almost made me laugh in disbelief.

I endured it and somehow kept refining it.

Slowly, the energy shrank, and the form of hard aura took shape.

“Ah.”

I looked at it and exclaimed. The Sword Aura seemed far brighter and harder.

It was a simpler principle than I had expected.

“......Sword Emperor. Thank you.”

“......”

When I expressed my honest gratitude, Sword Emperor’s expression turned somewhat strange.

Why? As I wondered why he was making that face—

“......I did not expect you to do it in one try.”

“......Pardon?”

“Well done......”

He whispered quietly and turned his back.

He somehow looked awkward.

Kwa-gak!

“Ugh!”

The hard aura I had finally gathered dispersed almost immediately once my concentration wavered.

“Huh.”

It seemed I would need practice. That thought passed through my mind, but—

“......I did gain something.”

I had found a direction for raising my realm.

Feeling that, my eyes shone.

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