In all the rivers and lakes beneath heaven, where was the foremost place in the sword?
The people of the world would answer without hesitation.
That place was Namgung.
The place no one could withstand in the sword was the Namgung Clan, and it had once been an absolute power that reigned as the king of an entire region.
Absolute martial arts built up by defeating countless challengers and fighting countless wars.
They had to be kings, and they had to be those who transcended mankind.
Thus, this name was given.
‘The form of the sword wielded by a sovereign.’
“KIEEEAAARGH!”
The hall master had now completely cast off his ordinary appearance, revealing red skin and black eyes.
Namgung Yeon dodged the ferocious bastard’s strike and advanced with tyrannical force.
THUD—!
He gathered what little internal energy he had and distributed it efficiently.
Movements he had unfolded countless times flowed naturally.
A vertical slash cut down as though painting a picture.
A sword that crushed all things beneath it.
A massive lump of internal energy smashed the demonic cultivator down and split him in two.
“......Huh?”
The hall master collapsed, spraying black blood.
The one eroded by demonic energy had been cut in half.
The escort warrior who saw it right beside him gaped.
What in the world had just happened?
“Whew......”
At the commotion, the members of the martial hall began rushing out from within.
Namgung Yeon took something out of the ‘Infinite Storehouse’ and drank it down.
[Void Blue Milk]
It was not Void Blue Stone Milk, but it was still an elixir that could be used sufficiently as an enhancer and restorative.
Its effect allowed one to fight for three days and nights without tiring, so it would provide enough strength to deal with them.
Things like this were piled up in mountains inside the storehouse.
As this was the last time, Namgung Yeon had resolved to use everything without stint.
“What is all this commotion?”
“There’s no need to pretend to be proper. You’ve already been found out.”
“......”
Kikikikikiki-.
Kekekekekeke-.
Those who heard Namgung Yeon’s words began revealing their true colors one by one.
An uncanny energy poured out, and their bodies transformed, twisting into grotesque forms.
It was the appearance one took on after long exposure to demonic energy.
Unlike Namgung Yeon, who remained calm, the escort warrior was on the verge of fainting.
‘What the hell is happening here?!’
To think bastards like these had hidden right in the middle of the Namgung Clan’s territory!
As he stood frozen from shock, Namgung Yeon tossed him a bottle of Void Blue Milk and said, “How much can you handle alone?”
“This is!?”
“Answer.”
At Namgung Yeon’s cold question, the escort warrior shouted, his discipline snapping taut.
It felt mystical.
If it was an elixir of this level, he would be able to sweep away those bastards in one go.
But part of him also felt it was a waste.
If he spent enough time circulating his energy and absorbing it, was this not an elixir that could even help him raise his realm?
And yet he was supposed to just drink it now and fight?
It was far too wasteful.
But what could he do?
‘Damn it......’
If he was told to do it, he had to do it.
“I can handle them alone.”
“Good.”
The escort warrior drew his sword.
He was a first-rate warrior.
One who had infused true energy into his sword and body, obtaining power and speed beyond a human’s.
He did not know exactly what was going on, but he knew one thing for certain.
They were the enemy.
“I will annihilate them.”
“Show no mercy.”
“As commanded!”
THUD—!
With the first-rate warrior at the front, Namgung Yeon swung his sword.
KIEEEAAARGH!
The noise the demonic cultivators let out grated on his ears.
‘Their cries are always irritating.’
Cries he had heard countless times.
To never again hear that sickening noise, Namgung Yeon moved.
***
“Huff, huff......”
“Are you all right?”
“Yes, Young Master. But what exactly are they?”
The battle did not last long.
A first-rate warrior raised by the Namgung Clan lived up to his name.
With even the power of an elixir borrowed, he cut down those eroded by demonic energy in an instant.
Each time he swung his sword, the air was destroyed and the enemies were crushed, so it could indeed be called the sword of Namgung.
‘He was trained properly.’
Thinking so, Namgung Yeon looked around the martial hall.
There was no energy he could feel inside.
At the same time, feeling demonic energy slowly rising, he answered the question.
“Those eroded by demonic energy. Our enemy.”
“Demonic energy......”
This was the eastern part of the world.
Demonic cultivators lived in the west or south, so he had thought they would not have entered this far......
They had human shapes, but they did not feel human.
If they went mad and rampaged through a village, a great disaster would occur.
‘They’re very different from what I saw in documents.’
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult had been destroyed.
According to the records, they were domineering, reckless, and humans who wielded powerful martial force.
Yes, there had at least been descriptions that made them seem human.
But these were monsters themselves.
What on earth had caused such things to be born?
“Should we not report this to the clan head?”
“It is not time yet.”
“But......”
“Do you think they will not appear inside Namgung, in the Young Clan Head Competition?”
“......”
The escort warrior had no choice but to close his mouth at Namgung Yeon’s words.
This was the southern edge of Hefei.
In other words, it was right beneath the nose of the Namgung Clan’s main estate.
And no one had noticed them even after they had come this far.
If so, what about the Young Clan Head Competition, where countless people would gather?
A chill ran through him.
Since when had they......
“That is why I came here. We must gather information covertly and swiftly, then wait for the right moment.”
“......”
With deep, dark eyes, Namgung Yeon spoke to the escort warrior.
“Do not act rashly. First, build your skills here. You have grasped something, so should you not wait for your chance to rise?”
“U-Understood.”
“If you do well, there will be a reward. If not, take the secret and return. No, the secret is heavy, so perhaps I may have to cut off your head here.”
He did not need dead weight on this journey.
Eyes cold enough to send a chill down one’s spine swept over the escort warrior’s entire body.
Just that gaze alone made him feel as though something had squeezed his whole body tight.
What on earth was that gaze?
Why did the Young Master, who had shut himself away all this time, possess the eyes of a sovereign?
The escort warrior’s mind grew complicated.
He was a warrior raised by one of the many elders.
He also had a duty to report information to them.
‘How much should I tell them? At this rate, I won’t be able to say anything......’
In the midst of his confusion, Namgung Yeon took something out and spoke again.
Then he tossed the item he had taken from the storehouse.
“I am a man who rewards people properly. This is the price of keeping your mouth shut.”
“......”
The escort warrior confirmed the object that flew toward him with trembling hands.
An elixir.
Though the energy he could feel from it was not tremendous, he could instinctively sense it.
If he was loyal to Young Master Namgung Yeon from now on, far more scraps would fall his way than this.
Right now, this was a test.
How loyal could he be?
How well could he keep information secret?
How deep was his loyalty to Young Master Namgung Yeon?
‘This is......’
He had no choice but to follow him, did he not?
Young Master Namgung Yeon already knew one fact that others did not.
This would become an enormous weapon, and in the future, it would become the opportunity for Young Master Namgung Yeon to soar.
A first-rate warrior was no fool.
THUD—!
Thus, he knelt.
“I, Park Manho! I will protect the secret of Young Master Namgung Yeon of the great Namgung Clan! Please place your trust in me!”
“Good.”
[Park Manho].
Though he was an outsider, he had caught the Namgung Clan’s eye and proudly taken the position of escort warrior.
His talent had, in effect, been proven through everything that had happened so far.
Talented people had to be raised as well.
One hand could not block ten hands.
In order to face those who sought to destroy the murim, the overall level of the martial artists had to be raised.
Thinking so, Namgung Yeon said,
“I will be counting on you from now on.”
“I shall throw my body in the way and protect you from threats.”
There was no need for that, but Namgung Yeon nodded at the loyalty arising from money.
Without bothering to respond further, Namgung Yeon moved on to the next task.
Nam Hoho and the items would arrive soon.
Before that, there was something to do.
[Infinite Storehouse]
[Demonic Spirit Sword]
He took out one of the relics kept within his inner image.
From now on, he planned to train using this sword.
Jingle-.
A sword with an impressive bell sound appeared.
Constellations were embroidered upon the blade, and a mysterious energy circled around its edge.
Manho stared at the sight in wonder.
‘What sort of sorcery is he using?’
How had he learned such a mysterious spell?
The more he knew, the more he felt that this Young Master was strange.
At the same time, he instinctively understood that only by protecting this secret would his life remain safe.
‘I hope my choice wasn’t wrong.’
Manho’s intuition was generally good.
So it would be this time as well.
He decided to place firm faith in Namgung Yeon.
***
The Demonic Spirit Sword.
The sword’s ability was very simple.
It absorbed demonic energy.
Then it either released that energy back toward the opponent, or let the sword itself absorb it and grow.
The more one hunted those who possessed demonic energy or bastards with wicked energy, the stronger the sword became.
That was the Demonic Spirit Sword.
However, Namgung Yeon’s body was still far too weak to draw out its full power.
There was also the restriction that woman had placed on it.
‘Still, this much is enough.’
SQUELCH—!
With a jingling sound, the Demonic Spirit Sword drove itself into the corpses of the demonic cultivators.
Then the sword greedily sucked in the wicked energy.
Realizing that it could absorb no more demonic energy, Namgung Yeon grumbled.
“Is this the limit for now? Tsk, the beginning is always frustrating.”
He had to absorb demonic energy and make it his own within what he could endure.
The ultimate goal was to become first-rate or above within three months.
From now on, he would have to train diligently.
To do that, he even needed the power of his hateful enemy.
After absorbing the demonic cultivators’ power, Namgung Yeon began circulating his energy.
Across countless regressions and the innumerable hours within them, he had wandered in search of the optimal internal energy cultivation method.
Just what peerless divine art did he need to learn in order to stop the destruction?
‘But all of it was futile.’
He had realized that what cultivation method he learned did not matter very much.
In the end, what mattered was how deeply he went.
And how far he would cling on and grow stronger.
Only a strong person could reach the extreme of martial arts.
There was only one cultivation method that was most familiar to Namgung Yeon, and which he could delve into most deeply.
The martial art created by his ancestors with the will to surpass nature.
The Namgung Clan was the vessel of a sovereign who would hold nature to overflowing.
Thus, they had given it this name.
[Azure Sky Great Evolution Divine Art]
A discipline vast enough to fill the boundless sky and overflow beyond it.
That alone was the peerless divine art that could stop destruction, and the only path.
It was a truth he had realized after dozens of failures, and he had also come to understand just how profound the martial learning contained within the Namgung Clan’s martial arts was.
‘To learn the Azure Sky Great Evolution Divine Art, I need to prepare first.’
Before operating the Namgung Clan’s divine art, there was something that had to precede it.
Having inherited his mother’s bloodline, Namgung Yeon also carried the blood of a poison man.
He intended to apply the martial learning of his maternal family, the Sichuan Tang Clan, first.
‘Demonic energy is like poison to righteous martial artists. But if it’s the Tang Clan’s martial arts, which handle poison, the story changes.’
The Sichuan Tang Clan was a righteous faction clan, but it was not treated like a righteous faction clan.
Because they handled poison and hidden weapons, even among the same righteous faction they were treated as fence-sitters.
‘I discovered that the Tang Clan’s martial arts have good compatibility against the demonic forces.’
He had realized this in his twenty-second round.
Thus, before operating the Azure Sky Great Evolution Divine Art, Namgung Yeon decided to first operate the secret cultivation method of the Sichuan Tang Clan.
‘Convert demonic energy into pure internal energy.’
The reason the Sichuan Tang Clan could make its name known throughout the Central Plains despite being on the frontier.
It was precisely because of their tenacious vitality and their trait of handling poison.
Why were people who used poisons capable of melting even powerful masters into a handful of bloody water still alive and well?
[Ten Thousand Streams Return to the Origin Divine Art]
No matter how powerful a poison might be, it too was a product of nature.
In the end, nothing escaped the principles of nature.
All things born of nature would return to origin as a martial artist’s power.
Jingle, jingle-.
The Demonic Spirit Sword rang uncannily.
Dense demonic energy began being sucked into Namgung Yeon’s body.