The World's Greatest is Dead

Getting a handle on things was better than I had expected.

Just as I had been talking about the sword and trying to picture the sword.

It was something I felt every time I trained in martial arts, but the difference between doing something while knowing it and doing it blindly was enormous.

Body-and-sword unity was the perfect example.

When I had no idea how to do it, it felt like trying to spread wings I did not have. I could not see the path, and I could not walk it.

Once I knew.

I could do it, little by little.

This was no different.

Knowing the path and not knowing it.

If there was such a thing as a fortuitous encounter in my life, maybe this was it.

[Not bad.]

The Heavenly Demon spoke.

VMMMM—!

He seemed to be saying it while looking at the degree of completion currently held by my sword.

[For someone who grasped the feel of it immediately, it is not bad.]

“Glad to hear it.”

I lifted the corners of my mouth. VMMMM—! I checked the shape of the Sword Aura.

Radiant Moon Flash Aura. The energy contained within it did not waver.

A simple, clean profile.

I looked at the Sword Aura floating there.

CRACK—!

Before long, the power loosened, and the shape of the Sword Aura began trembling violently again.

The duration is short.

I had only grasped the feel of it.

Whether I could actually use this or not was another difficult matter.

That was even more true because I had only just started training in it.

[Are you impatient?]

The Heavenly Demon asked. I shook my head at his words.

“No. I’m not that impatient.”

Clack.

I pushed the Divine Sword back in. It would be a lie to say I was not impatient at all, but I was not simply rushing, either.

Probably because I knew this was not something that could be done in a day or two.

“Whew.”

I wiped away my sweat. I had not moved violently, yet I was drenched in sweat.

Was it the difference in focus?

This was more exhausting than most training.

Clank—! Thud—!

The iron chains bound to my hands and feet fell away. I had gotten used to this much weight now. At this point, I felt empty without them.

[Your brute-force training method is exactly like that man’s.]

The Heavenly Demon clicked his tongue.

“Why? Does it look bad to you?”

Ever since I had started learning martial arts, I had never taken them off. I had begun with sandbags and kept increasing the weights in every possible way while training.

[I called it brute-force. I did not say it was bad. However, if you ask whether it is efficient, I cannot say.]

“......Because it isn’t something you would do?”

[Correct. It does not suit me.]

“Then how does it look to you, for me?”

I was asking whether this training suited me. The Heavenly Demon was silent for a moment before answering.

[You are not at a level where right and wrong can be judged. In the end, your sword is Yoo Cheongil’s. For now, fit yourself to it.]

“.......”

That was a strange answer.

He could not even tell yet whether it suited me or not.

I was still in the transcendent peak realm, you know.

To them, I’m still far from enough, huh?

They were beings beyond heaven who treated even the transcendent peak as nothing much. What meaning would there be in complaining?

......This is annoying.

My spirit felt like it might wilt, but my pride was going to snap first. Damn bastards.

I knew there was no point expecting anything from the Heavenly Demon.

“Whew.”

I simply finished washing up and moved. I was done here.

“......Let’s go do what needs doing.”

There was no more training to do. I had only done this because I did not want to lose the feel of it.

Sword Emperor......

He had told me to come tomorrow, so I could go then. For now, I decided to go see Thousand-Mile Divine Eye.

*****

“You’ve come.”

“Good morning.”

I was able to see him as soon as I came looking. I had been given permission to come and go from Thousand-Mile Divine Eye’s residence as I pleased.

“So, have you decided your answer?”

“Yes.”

Whether I would attend the Assembly Hall or go straight to Xinjiang.

I had decided the schedule last night.

“I’ll go straight to Xinjiang.”

“......Hmm.”

He looked surprised. Had he thought I would stay at the Assembly Hall?

“Your reason?”

“Because it’s more efficient. If I have to go anyway, there’s no need for me to stay at the Assembly Hall.”

If I had to go to Xinjiang, there was no reason to pass through the Assembly Hall.

And.

Either way.

The Assembly Hall was somewhere the Young Cult Leader would be coming and going. I simply thought it would be better to head for Xinjiang in that opening.

......I’m a little uneasy about whether it’s really all right to go, though.

If I had to go anyway, I thought I needed to find the perfect moment.

“So you’re saying you’ll go to Xinjiang.”

“What would be the most suitable schedule?”

“We will have to speak with the Demonic Cult side, but...... well. If the timing is adjusted, going within half a month would likely be best.”

“......Half a month.”

That was not much time. If the timing was calculated around the opening of the Assembly Hall and the trip to Xinjiang, that was about how long it would be.

“Understood.”

I lowered my head in courtesy.

There was nothing more to say. I had delivered my answer, so I was about to leave as I was.

“Wait.”

Thousand-Mile Divine Eye called me to a stop. I turned back in puzzlement, and he was looking at me with strange eyes.

“There is certainly a way for you not to go.”

“......Pardon?”

“I mean there is no need for you to be the one to go.”

“.......”

Hearing that, I smacked my lips.

If we searched, there would be a way. There certainly would.

“You already know that me going is the best option, don’t you?”

“.......”

Thousand-Mile Divine Eye did not answer that part. He must have known too.

That was why he had told me to go.

After talking about it at length, saying now that there was a way for me not to go.

It looked a little ridiculous.

“It’s fine.”

But I could faintly feel the emotion contained in his words, so I simply smiled.

“I’m fine, strategist.”

“......I see.”

After those words, Thousand-Mile Divine Eye said nothing else.

“Then I’ll be going.”

“I will leave the selection of the people accompanying you to you.”

“Yes. I’ll draw it up within three days.”

I closed the door and stepped out.

Tap.

The selection of people, huh.

Recruiting members of the younger generation to go to Xinjiang.

He had said three to four people.

Who should I take?

It was something to think about, but there were already people coming to mind.

*****

Immediately after Bang Seongyeon left, Thousand-Mile Divine Eye looked back down at the letter, but he could not focus.

“Hmm.”

His tangled thoughts scattered his concentration.

It almost never happened.

“This is not good.”

It was not good. There were mountains of work to do, and yet he had gotten caught on something here.

This too was probably because he had done something useless.

There is certainly a way for you not to go.

It had been an unnecessary statement.

Bang Seongyeon knew, and he knew as well. What meaning was there in such pointless behavior?

Is it because I’ve grown old?

Even in the old days, when something similar had happened, he had not done this. No, perhaps it had been even worse then.

You say you’re going? Is that supposed to make sense?

Even when Yoo Cheongil had declared that he would drop alone into the middle of the battlefield.

Even though Thousand-Mile Divine Eye knew the reason was to save someone, he had refused.

Alliance Leader. Come to your senses. We cannot win the war without you.

So you’re saying we should abandon them now?

I am saying that is more efficient.

Ridiculous. Zhuge fool. Try being honest with what’s in your heart.

He had never been angry at the word fool. He was not a fool.

If anything, the man in front of him had been more foolish. Even so, at the time, Thousand-Mile Divine Eye had grown angry, as if something had scraped at him.

What am I supposed to be honest about?

If they were Divine Spear or some of the others, would you say the same thing?

Of course. If there is a difference in efficiency when it comes to saving someone, my choice would follow that.

Really?

Yoo Cheongil gave a short laugh at Thousand-Mile Divine Eye’s answer. It was closer to a sneer.

You bastard.......

Whatever you say, it changes nothing. You do not know yourself. I will save them. And.

Thud.

Yoo Cheongil gripped Full Moon and spoke.

I will win the war as well. Nothing changes.

Alliance Leader......!

Yoo Cheongil ignored Thousand-Mile Divine Eye’s words and left the operation area as he was.

And then, as if keeping his word, Yoo Cheongil saved those people.

In addition, the war ended in victory.

No.

Could that truly be called victory?

How could a battlefield stitched together with lies be called victory?

It was arrogance, and proof of an impossible feat.

That was also the reason he was alive and sitting in this seat.

It was also the reason the Demonic Cult’s revival stirred pity and displeasure tangled together more than fear.

“Whew.”

Only now did Yoo Cheongil’s words scrape at his heart.

You do not know yourself.

Yoo Cheongil had said he did not know himself.

Now, at this point, he felt as if he finally understood what those words had meant.

“You were right.”

He remembered himself speaking of efficiency, only to change his own words.

He swept his hair back.

“Yoo Cheongil.”

What choice would you have made here?

Thousand-Mile Divine Eye could not think of any answer to that question.

Because the Sword Saint, once called the pillar and entirety of the Alliance, was no longer here.

*****

After speaking with Thousand-Mile Divine Eye, I moved.

There was a training ground just outside my residence.

In the end, it was training again.

This time, I took up a wooden sword instead of the Divine Sword. A real sword seemed better, but there was something I needed to try with a wooden sword as well.

Here I go.

There was a pile of wooden swords stacked up.

First, I picked up one sword and infused it with energy.

CRACKLE—!!

I used Moonbolt and followed it with Radiant Moon Flash Aura.

I used Sword Aura and wrapped it around the wooden sword.

The reason was the same as before. I wanted to refine the shape of the Sword Aura a little more.

I did not reduce the strength with which I emitted energy.

Because I had learned from Sword Emperor that reducing the amount would be meaningless.

Just as I was slowly adjusting the level of the Sword Aura.

CRACK—!

“Damn.”

One wooden sword broke. As expected.

“If my control fails even a little, the pressure shoots into the sword.”

I could immediately tell whether I had failed or succeeded.

The Divine Sword proved itself to be a top-grade weapon; its durability was too high. That was why I had chosen wooden swords.

Naturally. It was an ink-black iron sword. Would something like that break so easily? It was iron with properties that allowed it to receive Sword Aura well, no less.

It would make no sense if that broke. At that point, I would have to lodge a complaint with the Tang Family.

I would ask whether this was fake ink-black iron.

Smiling at the worthless thought, I repeated the training.

“......Next.”

Crack. Crack. Crack.

I broke three wooden swords in a row. As expected, it was not easy. I had anticipated that, but the difficulty was quite high.

“Hmm.”

This was hard. Even after grasping the feel, finding the direction for control was difficult.

Still.

This seemed right.

Even if I had to break countless wooden swords.

I kept doing it several more times. By the time the broken remains of wooden swords gradually began increasing on the ground.

“.......”

I slowly loosened the strength in the hand gripping the sword.

I had been training diligently, but a guest had arrived.

“What is it?”

I turned around.

What had appeared at my residence was something wrapped in a mask and cloak.

[Moon Hero Bang Seongyeon.]

Dense demonic qi swept over my body.

A Demonic Cultist.

And one of the Eight Demons.

One of the eight Demonic Cultists directly under the Young Cult Leader seemed to have come looking for me.

[The Young Cult Leader is looking for you.]

“What?”

I narrowed my eyes at the Demonic Cultist’s words.

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