Chapter 37: Who Dares

“Just where did the information leak? I cannot understand.”

As he said so, frustration was etched on the face of the First Elder, no, the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult’s Second-Rank Spy, One Thousand Kills.

He was not stupid.

Since the information I presented was specific, it would have been difficult for him to think I was just putting on a bold front.

It would be right to say it was a victory of my strategy, not his foolishness.

“Hah…….”

The First Elder's empty sigh decorated the space.

I could guess his sense of loss, as a grand plan he had dedicated decades to was now falling apart.

But a moment later.

What dwelled in the First Elder’s eyes was not the resignation of giving up, but determination and killing intent.

Befitting a capable spy who had brought down a prestigious clan, his actions were swift.

Crack.

The First Elder's foot stomped on the Third Elder's neck.

“Keok.”

Leaving behind a death rattle, the Third Elder crossed the Sanzu River.

It was truly a fleeting end.

As if cleaning something dirty, the First Elder dusted off his foot.

“Let’s do this.”

His languid tone of voice was different from usual.

“The Young Master and the Third Elder, after a minor dispute, ended up taking each other down.”

The First Elder’s eyes as he said so were as still as an abyss.

It was likely the true face of a Demonic Cult follower, hidden his entire life.

“Isn’t that a pretty good plan?”

I nodded my head.

“It’s not a bad plan.”

If I were him, I would have made a similar plan, so it seemed to be the best plan.

But there was a premise.

“If you can kill me, that is.”

Of course, I had no intention of going down easily.

“Come.”

As I took my starting stance.

Kuooh.

The First Elder’s killing intent exploded.

“Hmm.”

Although I was putting on a composed expression, I could feel sweat forming in my palms.

It was because receiving the full force of the First Elder's killing intent, who had set foot in the State of Harmony long ago, sent a slight chill down my spine.

I could feel on my skin that the Third Elder, who had entrusted his body to the comfort of the Council of Elders, and the First Elder, who had been active his whole life with gritted teeth, were fundamentally different.

A person of this caliber would have reached the State of Harmony and been able to bring down the Dancheon Clan.

Sreung.

“First Elder, your spirit is fierce.”

I spoke feigning composure, but my body was not so.

My action of drawing the Dancheon Sword from the beginning, unlike when I faced the Third Elder, proved this.

“Young Master, what is your realm?”

It was a question he had asked once before his identity was revealed.

However, as the situation changed, the question felt different.

Was it because my Spirit had blossomed? I felt as if the First Elder had seen through my Returning to the Original State and sensed something.

“Find out for yourself.”

But there was no reason to answer him obediently.

Spat!

Clang!

As soon as my words ended, I barely blocked the First Elder’s sword, which had been shot out with great speed.

The important fact was that both his sword and mine were coated with a strong energy resembling a constellation of stars.

It was something that boasted a distinctly different presence from Sword Qi, the very symbol of the State of Harmony, Sword Flux.

“Heo.”

What was etched in his eyes, which had been glittering with killing intent, seemed to be admiration.

“The State of Harmony in one’s early twenties.”

I know it was an achievement that was not lacking in being called a talent for the ages.

“You… must be killed.”

One Thousand Kills said, as if sighing.

“Even if I have to risk my life.”

Thanks to him, I could well understand how a being like me was perceived in the eyes of a Demonic Cult follower.

* * *

In the Jianghu Murim, there is the concept of the entry-level of the Peak Realm.

The concept that contrasts with this is the mature Peak Realm.

There is a reason for the concept of entry-level and mature, which did not exist from the Third-Rate to the First-Rate Realm.

It is because from the Peak Realm onwards, the disparity can be quite large even within the same realm.

Even at the Dragon and Phoenix Assembly, all were martial artists of the Peak Realm, but their capabilities varied greatly, did they not?

It was known that a master of the mature Peak Realm could typically handle up to three masters of the entry-level Peak Realm, so it was a difference that could not be taken lightly.

Nevertheless, they were in the same Peak Realm.

It was proof of how arduous it was to reach the Transcendent Peak by attaining the Sword Thread.

If even the Peak Realm had such a disparity within the same realm, what about the State of Harmony?

The State of Harmony is usually divided a little more finely.

Entry, skilled, and mature.

The entry level of the State of Harmony means one has blossomed the Spirit and reached the Three Flowers Realm.

It is the realm I stepped into upon reaching the Fourth Stage: Amplification.

Just by achieving the Three Flowers Realm, one displays a martial might of a different class from a martial artist of the Transcendent Peak, so the title of State of Harmony would not be wasted.

The next is usually called the skilled stage of the State of Harmony.

It would be called the Heart as Action of the Three Flowers Realm.

It is known that their divine might, having fully mastered the Three Flowers Realm, can easily subdue martial artists at the entry level of the State of Harmony.

Finally, the mature State of Harmony is the stage where one begins to materialize their intent.

In reality, it can be seen as having one foot in the entry level of the Transcendent Realm, which is called the supreme realm.

Just as the Peak Realm is divided into entry and mature, there is a reason for dividing the State of Harmony into entry, skilled, and mature.

It is because there is a rather large gap between them to be grouped into the same State of Harmony.

The part I had not expected would be the fact that the First Elder Cheon Il-san, unlike public opinion, was a martial artist who had long since entered the skilled stage of the State of Harmony.

Clang!

Cheon Il-san's sharp sword strikes, covered in Sword Flux, continuously aimed for my openings.

If it weren't for the hellish training with Uncle Yeo Baek, I feel like a couple of holes would have been made in my body by now.

“Go a little easy on me.”

I hid my dismay and joked around.

Meanwhile, my brain was moving furiously.

It was not without a chance of victory.

Although I was at the entry level of the State of Harmony, it was because I was not like other martial artists.

The foundation laid in the First Stage was becoming a solid rock upon reaching the Three Flowers Realm.

Although I couldn't completely block the Sword Flux, I had achieved the Golden Body, so I wouldn't easily receive a fatal wound.

Impenetrable instantly relieved fatigue, so I could react to the First Elder's attacks without delay.

And because the internal energy filling my Qi Center through Amplification flowed through the Ren and Du meridians at the speed of thought, my internal energy also wouldn't dry up easily, allowing for a continuous exchange of blows.

But even so, I couldn't erase my worries, because a way to win against that old, cunning Jianghu veteran without any damage did not easily come to mind.

If I were to suffer any physical damage, wouldn't it cause a great hindrance to my grand plan in the future?

“So, don't you have any intention of talking it out?”

I was trying to buy a little more time, but…….

“Just die now.”

Not letting his guard down at all even in an advantageous situation, I would say the First Elder was a thorough person.

Gooooo.

Energy gathered on the First Elder’s sword.

He must also know that there was nothing to be gained by dragging this out.

“Tsk.”

Not good.

In a battle of endurance, I could match him to some extent, but because of the difference in realms, the instantaneous power I could exert was somewhat lacking.

But, what choice did I have?

If you can't avoid it, you must block it.

If you can neither avoid nor block it, you die.

Isn't that what a life-and-death battle is all about?

For a moment, a tension like a tightly pulled string, on the verge of snapping, dominated the space.

Tat!

The First Elder rushed at me with his sword, which held immense power.

I gathered as much strength as I could to defend.

In any case, this was within the Dancheon Clan.

Time would be on my side, so I intended to focus on holding out for now.

It was at that moment.

Flinch.

The First Elder, who had been rushing towards me, instantly twisted his body and turned around.

It was because someone had launched a surprise attack on the First Elder's back.

Clang!

As the First Elder barely blocked the attack, that person swiftly passed by the First Elder and landed beside me.

“My goodness. Elder Brother, why did you come out instead of staying hidden?”

“Shut up. Who was hiding?”

The one who revealed himself was Dancheon Hak.

* * *

“Young Master Hak.”

The First Elder called out to Dancheon Hak.

“Yes.”

“What is this behavior towards your master?”

Contained within Cheon Il-san’s seemingly calm voice was a stern anger.

“I apologize, Master.”

As soon as his words ended, Dancheon Hak knelt before the First Elder and bowed.

As if a disciple who had been ordered to leave the mountain was expressing his gratitude to his master, his actions were filled with reverence.

After getting up, Dancheon Hak declared a farewell to his past connection.

“Now that the bond between master and disciple has ended, come at me, old man of the Demonic Cult.”

Despite the serious appearance, for some reason, I felt like laughing.

“Tsk.”

The First Elder clicked his tongue.

He had realized from that firmness that persuasion was impossible.

“Is it ruined?”

Now that even Dancheon Hak had appeared.

His plan was already broken beyond repair.

“I suppose taking the heads of the two successors would make the accounts even.”

To exchange the effort of a lifetime for our two heads, I think he was evaluating us quite generously.

However…….

“Who said we would give them?”

That was my answer.

“Stop your babbling, old man.”

That was Dancheon Hak’s answer.

In fact, Dancheon Hak’s behavior was so natural that it seemed as if he had held a grudge against the First Elder from the beginning.

“Insolent!”

The First Elder rushed towards us.

“Be careful.”

“You take care of yourself.”

We met his charge.

Shiiing!

I blocked the First Elder’s sword.

Spat!

Dancheon Hak pierced the First Elder’s opening.

Hwik!

The First Elder lightly dodged it.

Swaek!

I aimed for the opening of the dodging First Elder once more.

Chaeng!

The blade of the First Elder, who had even parried my sword, turned towards Dancheon Hak again.

Clang!

As I blocked that sword.

Shiiing!

Dancheon Hak’s sword strike clashed with the First Elder’s sword again.

Such an exchange of offense and defense continued for a good quarter of an hour.

It might be funny, but Dancheon Hak and I worked well together.

Like comrades who had synchronized for a long time, I read his sword path, and he read my actions.

Dancheon Hak also possessed the martial talent to reach the Transcendent Peak Realm at a young age on his own, so his improvisation was by no means inferior to mine.

However…….

“Heok. Heok.”

No matter how outstanding one's martial talent was, a martial artist of the Transcendent Peak could not play among masters of the State of Harmony.

In fact, even though I was blocking most of the First Elder's sword strikes, Dancheon Hak was quickly getting tired.

Since every exchange of seconds was a threshold of death for him, it was inevitable that his stamina would deplete so quickly.

Grind.

Was it because of dissatisfaction with himself? Dancheon Hak roughly gritted his teeth.

I glanced over and saw that Dancheon Hak’s hand gripping the sword hilt was trembling.

It was because even though I had blocked all the strong attacks, it was impossible for Dancheon Hak's sword not to have clashed with the First Elder's Sword Flux at all.

“Elder Brother, that's enough…….”

“Shut up.”

Dancheon Hak cut me off.

“This happened in the clan. How can I back out?”

Saying so, Dancheon Hak readjusted his starting stance.

As if his will had even taken control of his body, his trembling hand had become still and calm.

I would call it a superhuman will, and I thought it was a quality not lacking in a successor of a prestigious clan.

“Tsk.”

The First Elder, clicking his tongue at our appearance, had a black energy surging around his body.

“I didn't want to leave any traces of demonic arts.”

It was incomparable to what I had seen from the leader of the Heuksu Mun before; I would indeed say he was a Second-Rank spy.

“Now, you will really die.”

Was it the effect of the demonic arts? Cheon Il-san’s pupils as he said so were stained crimson as if he had gone mad.

At that moment.

Hwiiiing.

A sudden wind blew in the previously still Council of Elders.

The wind brought a new person, and my tension was released in an instant.

Teobeok.

As he took a step, even the wind stopped, and the surroundings were enveloped in silence.

“Who dares.”

His voice alone would be qualified to break this silence.

For a master of the mature State of Harmony, who could calm even the wind with his intent, had appeared here.

“To aim for the lives of my sons in the Dancheon Clan.”

The absolute master of the Dancheon Clan, Dancheon Gang, had revealed himself here.