Chapter 43: Traces of the Flame Sword (2)

What did he just say?

“It seems you learned it unknowingly.”

I was so dumbfounded I couldn’t open my mouth.

I had learned it because my master recommended it and it had decent power, but I never imagined such a grandiose description would be attached to the Ten Heavenly Record Demonic Sword.

“The Heavenly Record Sword. Isn’t that the true identity of the sword art you’ve been practicing?”

“……!”

“Judging by your eyes, I hit the mark.”

The name had been shortened, but the meaning remained the same.

“But… why is that sword art meant to kill the Heavenly Demon? No, before that… why do you even know about it, Pavilion Master?”

This part needed to be made clear.

The Heavenly Demon was the god of the Heavenly Demon Cult.

If the sword art I had learned was meant to kill such a being, then learning it in itself was a major issue.

“Hmm, before I explain that, I suppose I should begin with the history of our cult.”

The Pavilion Master cleared his throat lightly and began to speak.

“In truth, the Six Great Demonic Clans, known as the Six Great Demons, were nearly seven clans. Did you know that?”

“You must be referring to the Heaven-Defying Clan.”

Not many knew of it now.

Even those who did tended to keep it quiet, but among those in the know, it was a kind of open secret.

“Indeed. The Heaven-Defying Clan —it refers to the clan founded by Nameless, the first Heavenly Demon’s top disciple and a candidate to be the next Cult Leader.”

Although the Cheon Clan had been passing down the Cult Leader’s position for generations now, the early days of the Heavenly Demon Cult were quite different, before the laws were fully established.

Now, not even the name remained, completely erased from history—Nameless, the top disciple of the first Heavenly Demon.

“The Heavenly Record Sword was practiced by Nameless and his bloodline.”

“His bloodline…”

My expression subtly shifted.

Sure, nowadays the cult was centered around bloodlines, but was that also the case back then?

“Yes, you’re catching on. Now, you might say, ‘What’s the big deal?’ But back then, Nameless had unilaterally passed on the swordsmanship of the Heavenly Demon to his blood relatives.”

Back then, the concept of the Six Clans probably didn’t even exist, and it would have naturally been a traditional master-disciple relationship, like in other sects.

But that’s just speculation—no accurate records from a thousand years ago remained.

It was only known that some issue had arisen, causing Nameless to rebel against the Heavenly Demon.

As a result, Nameless and his entire clan were wiped out, and their existence erased from the records.

And there was only speculation that Nameless had something to do with the eventual birth of the Six Great Demonic Clans.

“The Heavenly Record Sword was originally created as a counter-sword technique, based on the Heaven-Slaying Demonic Sword Art of the Heavenly Demon.”

I blinked.

“A counter-sword technique?”

If that was true, then the Ten Heavenly Record Demonic Sword was created specifically to counter the Heaven-Slaying Demonic Sword Art.

“Well, to be precise, it’s only assumed to be a counter technique. I’ve never seen it directly. That’s just how it’s known, and that’s how I’ve come to understand it.”

The Pavilion Master continued.

“Since then, for hundreds of years, the Heavenly Record Sword hasn’t surfaced.”

“Which means it did appear hundreds of years ago, then.”

The first Heavenly Demon appeared during the late Western Jin Dynasty—that was more than a thousand years ago.

If what he said was true, then the Heavenly Record Sword, created a millennium ago, had surfaced at least once more since then.

“That’s right. When the Second Heavenly Demon rose to power, someone claiming to be a descendant of Nameless appeared and challenged the Heavenly Demon.”

“And the result?”

“Of course, the Second Heavenly Demon won.”

Naturally, if Nameless’s descendant had won, the authority of the Heavenly Demon would’ve been destroyed.

“However, I’ve heard that the Heavenly Demon was so severely wounded in that battle that it took years of recuperation to recover.”

Hooh?

Seems like Master wasn’t lying about that part after all.

He did say the Ten Heavenly Record Demonic Sword wasn’t inferior even to the Heaven-Slaying Demonic Sword Art.

Still, I never thought its value had been proven by going head-to-head against none other than the Heavenly Demon himself.

‘Damn it, one more reason to track down that bastard of a Master.’

Just what was his identity?

Why had he passed down a sword art with such a hidden history to me of all people?

There were too many questions I needed to ask.

“After the Heavenly Demon defeated Nameless’s descendant, the secret manual of the Heavenly Record Sword came into his possession. The fact that it’s a counter-sword was revealed when the Heavenly Demon confided it to his most trusted subordinates.”

That manual might very well be the one I had ordered the chief to retrieve from the Martial Arts Repository.

The condition of that manual had been unusually worn out when I first saw it.

I clicked my tongue slightly.

“Then… does that mean I’ve learned a forbidden technique?”

“It is, but it isn’t.”

What kind of nonsense was that?

Seeing my scrunched-up expression, the Pavilion Master chuckled lightly.

“Though the Heavenly Record Sword is technically a traitor’s sword art, its roots lie in the Heaven-Slaying Demonic Sword Art, which was created by the Heavenly Demon himself. Since the technique was originally invented by the Heavenly Demon, it wasn’t forbidden for his disciples or their descendants to learn it.”

So, while it was forbidden to regular cult members, it wasn’t prohibited for me, a direct descendant of one of the Six Clans?

“That’s why the then-patriarch of the Blood Dragon Demonic Clan paid a great price to obtain the manual from the Second Heavenly Demon. But after that, the Heavenly Record Sword was never seen in the world again.”

And over the course of centuries, that manual must have somehow passed through certain incidents and ended up in the Jin Clan, huh?

A piece of hidden history, unknown even to me, a direct descendant of one of the Six Clans.

“Thank you for the old history lecture.”

Satisfying my curiosity was all well and good, but—

“So then, why did you bring me here?”

“You’re quite impatient.”

The Pavilion Master of the Thousand-Day Pass raised a thumb and pointed deeper into the cave.

“Follow me. I’ll explain on the way.”

In that moment, I was conflicted.

So it wasn’t a forbidden technique, and the possibility of a massacre to erase all traces had been ruled out.

‘But still, it feels too suspicious to just follow him blindly.’

Even if he was the Pavilion Master, the fact that he knew such an old secret and spilled it all so freely—it was definitely suspicious.

Especially if this was a step right before a clean-up operation.

“You’re quite the cautious one.”

I swallowed hard.

“Of course. If you decided to do something to me, I wouldn’t even be able to resist.”

“A Master Level martial artist being this scared—what a sight.”

So he noticed?

I must’ve been completely seen through during the fight against Dokjeol.

“Like a child showing off tricks before a top-tier expert.”

A super expert ranked within the top twenty of the cult.

If he decided to kill or subdue me, it’d be easy work.

“Hmph. Then, shall I show you something to cure that suspicious mind of yours?”

The Pavilion Master of the Thousand-Day Pass shrugged and dropped a shocking truth.

“My real name is Cheon Jin-sang.”

“…What?”

“Even your father doesn’t know this. Apart from the Cult Leader, not more than five people in the Cheon Clan are aware of it.”

That one line silenced all doubts in an instant.

***

“Why would a member of the Cheon Clan go so far as to change even his surname?”

“Every person, every family has their own circumstances. You’ll come to understand.”

I nodded slowly, as if I understood what he meant.

“So the mask wasn’t just for show, huh.”

“……”

The Pavilion Master’s mouth twitched slightly for a moment—but that had to be my imagination, right?

Still, I was seriously shocked.

Who would’ve thought he was someone from the Cheon Clan?

Whether he was from the main bloodline or a branch didn’t matter. A Master Level martial artist was regarded as the pinnacle of power in any family.

That held true for both the Cheon Clan and the Six Great Demonic Clans.

‘He wasn’t a dragon rising from a ditch—he was born in the sea from the start.’

In any case, it made sense now why he knew of such hidden secrets, being a member of the Cheon Clan.

As I followed the Pavilion Master further in, light began to seep through the darkness.

“Night pearls.”

“We can’t exactly manage a place like this with torches.”

“True enough.”

A place that couldn’t be accessed by just anyone naturally had to rely on night pearls.

“This way.”

At some point, the path split.

No—technically, the main passage continued straight, but a small side path branched off to the side.

“If you keep going straight, you’ll reach the main flow of the Thousand-Day Pass. I wouldn’t recommend heading that way unless you’ve developed a hobby for suicide.”

“Where are you taking me?”

“Didn’t I mention it before? Even the main flow isn’t the real training facility from the time of the first Heavenly Demon.”

“You did.”

And he’d also said that the real training ground no longer existed.

“But this place is indeed the very spot where the Heavenly Demon trained the Six Great Demons. Well—technically, it would’ve been the Seven Great Demons at that time…”

“……!”

“And in the deepest part of this cave lie the traces left behind by those seven.”

In that moment, I instinctively understood.

Those traces—must be the “reward” the Pavilion Master meant to hand over to me.

“Of course, most of it is nothing special. It’s been a thousand years. If there were any peerless secret manuals or treasures, they’d have long been taken.”

Wow, he really had a knack for killing the mood.

“But there’s one place—just one. Within this cave lies another Martial Arts Repository, separately sealed.”

“A Martial Arts Repository, you say?”

“One that even I can’t force my way into. Well, technically I can, but it’s obvious I’d be buried alive if I tried—so I’ve never attempted it.”

Putting aside the Pavilion Master’s pride as a Master Level expert—

“You mean you need to have learned the Heavenly Record Sword to enter that repository.”

“Sharp as ever.”

“But… do you even know what’s inside? And are you telling me that for a thousand years, no one’s tried to break into it?”

No one could stand against human effort forever.

Worried about being buried? Then just dig out the whole mountain.

Eliminate the mountain, dig deep enough until the word ‘burial’ doesn’t even apply.

The moment I said that, the Pavilion Master blinked at me in disbelief.

“Did you forget what’s sitting right on top of this place?”

“…Ah.”

Right. There was that massive Asura statue with three heads and six arms.

Even if it served no functional purpose, its sheer presence made it a religious relic.

To dig underground here, you’d have to get rid of that Asura statue first.

“You don’t look it, but you’ve got the brain of a Jin.”

“……”

I lowered my head in shame.

As if I didn’t know that was just a polite way of calling me a meathead.

“Well, there are other reasons too—but you’ll understand when you see it.”

Following the Pavilion Master, I ventured deep, very deep into the inner cave.

It felt like we’d walked several li by now.

Along the way, we passed through several massive chambers.

According to the Pavilion Master, each one had once been a personal training space for one of the Demonic Lords.

Historians would’ve lost their minds at the sight of such a place—but that wasn’t important right now.

Eventually, we arrived.

“This is the deepest part of this cave.”

A massive iron door greeted me.

From the surface of the door, etched with countless marks, a bone-chilling cold radiated—an unnatural chill that didn’t come from being underground, but from the very metal itself.

I couldn’t possibly be mistaken.

“M-Millennium Cold Iron?”

“Indeed.”

“A solid slab of it, even?”

Now I understood why the Pavilion Master had talked about being buried alive.

That was something not even a Master Level expert could break through.

Well, maybe if you hit it endlessly, it’d eventually give—but you’d be buried in rubble long before that.

“Take a good look at the door.”

Following his words, I approached the door carefully.

The Millennium Cold Iron door, etched with countless scars.

Unless you brought Qi Projection… no, even with that, if you wanted to leave marks without damaging the surrounding area, just how high would your level have to be?

“This is…”

After closely observing the door for a while, I was certain.

Without a doubt.

These weren’t just random scars left by wielding raw Qi Projection.

As I traced each line, something familiar rose up through my fingertips.

It was unmistakable.

These were the traces of the Ten Heavenly Record Demonic Sword.

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