Chapter 468: The Night Before (4)

Kwa-gwa-gwa-gwang!

Hundreds of Heaven-Slaying Demon Swords swept through the area like a black storm.

An overwhelming onslaught that allowed no resistance, no screams—at least, it seemed that way.

Yet right after the Heaven-Slaying Demon Swords ravaged the area, Saber King emerged surprisingly unscathed, revealing his undamaged state.

“Are you alright, Noona?!”

“…I’m fine.”

Dao Zun responded to Saber King’s urgent shout.

She too had emerged with minimal injury, despite the sweeping storm’s aftermath.

Saber King quickly checked on the others.

Confirming that Baek Sang-ah and So Cheon, who had been at the front, were also unharmed, Saber King finally sensed something strange.

There were casualties, certainly—but far fewer than expected.

“Noona, could this be…?”

“Yes.”

Dao Zun clicked her tongue as she surveyed the ruined surroundings.

“It definitely looks like the Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword… but there’s no Ultimate Technique within it.”

There were indeed many unfortunate ones who died after being swept up in it, but at least the masters of Hwagyeong-level and above had emerged completely unscathed.

“The signature control of the Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword is nowhere to be seen. It’s a mere mimic in appearance only.”

“In other words, that person isn’t the Cult Leader…?”

“That, we can’t be sure of. But one thing is certain…”

A resolute light settled in Dao Zun’s eyes.

“Even if what stands before us is truly the Cult Leader… if we don’t kill them now, we’ll be the ones to die.”

“…”

“Everyone, focus. Especially you, Sang-ah.”

Even after experiencing Cheon Yura’s opening strike, Baek Sang-ah’s face showed little hostility.

She instinctively felt it.

‘That person is definitely Lady Cheon.’

Baek Sang-ah had faced Cheon Yura’s Heavenly Demonic Divine Art and Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword countless times.

More than anything, if it wasn’t truly Cheon Yura herself, there would have been no way she could have mentioned the mask.

‘If it’s really Lady Cheon… I must save her…’

“Get a grip!”

Flinch!

Dao Zun’s scolding shout from behind snapped Baek Sang-ah back to her senses.

“Regardless of who the enemy is, think only of the weight you bear on your shoulders!”

“Master is right, Lady.”

So Cheon, shedding his usual levity, placed a steady hand on Baek Sang-ah’s shoulder with serious eyes.

“You’ve got people relying on you now, Lady.”

Even if the person before them wasn’t Cheon Yura but Jin Yeomyung, the same truth applied.

Since the opponent had struck first, they were the enemy.

“…You’re right. I must’ve lost my mind for a moment.”

Baek Sang-ah finally came to her senses.

As the Murim Alliance Leader, the lives bound to her title were by no means few.

This wasn’t the time to linger on the ties of the past.

Chzzzzzt!

Her once wavering aura visibly steadied.

No, it didn’t merely stabilize—it began to sharpen with lethal edge.

“The strategy?”

“We can’t win by force.”

Baek Sang-ah calmly assessed the situation.

Even after scattering hundreds of Heaven-Slaying Demon Swords, their opponent’s presence hadn’t faltered.

Clearly, their tier was at least above Transcendent Demon Realm.

“So even a prolonged battle wouldn’t give us the edge.”

“Then what?”

“There’s only one option.”

Her once sharpened aura now began to vanish entirely.

Not just her—So Cheon beside her followed suit.

“…We have to exploit an opening and end it in a single strike.”

“Do you really think that’s possible? Against a monster like that?”

The usually quiet Plum Blossom White Sword, Jo Gongmyeong, raised his doubts.

Their opponent’s martial arts were from Beyond the Heavens.

They were more overwhelming than any enemy they had ever faced.

To expect an opening from such a high-level opponent was dangerously optimistic.

However—

“If it were the original Lady Cheon, then no, it wouldn’t be possible.”

Baek Sang-ah’s gaze briefly passed over Dao Zun and Saber King.

“But as some of you may have noticed… there’s significant awkwardness in Lady Cheon’s sword right now.”

“That’s right.”

Saber King nodded at her assessment.

“Whatever the reason may be, it feels like she’s wearing clothes that don’t suit her.”

“Yes. That’s exactly the gap we need to exploit.”

“It’s decided then.”

Dao Zun raised her Ten Thousand Phase Tai Chi to its fullest.

“I’ll take the vanguard with Saber King’s bastard and force an opening.”

“You strike at that gap.”

“……”

Though he called it the vanguard, it was essentially the role of a meat shield.

Right now, even for two people, Cheon Yura’s firepower was beyond manageable levels.

Plum Blossom White Sword rested his blade on his shoulder.

“Then, our role would be to hold down that black monstrosity.”

“…Elder Plum Blossom White Sword.”

Baek Sang-ah’s expression instantly darkened.

If four of them were to launch an assault on Cheon Yura, then naturally, the rest would have to pin down Gunggi even for a single second.

And considering the level of the remaining forces, that suggestion was virtually no different from a death sentence.

“Don’t make that face, Alliance Leader.”

Plum Blossom White Sword scoffed as he turned his gaze to the beast-shaped Gunggi.

“A martial artist always lives with death before their eyes. In a way, this is just as well.”

His eyes contained resolve, regret, and a mix of complex emotions.

“To die not over petty power struggles, but fighting for the world—that’s a luxury in itself.”

“……”

Originally, Plum Blossom White Sword wasn’t a man so detached from life and death.

He was someone who could shrewdly maneuver for the interests of Mount Hua Sect and had his share of personal ambitions.

What changed Plum Blossom White Sword’s heart must have been the world itself, stained red and overturning all earthly power struggles like nothing.

The masters of the Alliance who followed her took their stance behind Plum Blossom White Sword to face Gunggi.

“Go, Alliance Leader.”

“Please return victorious.”

“……”

She sensed it instinctively.

They were going off to die.

Once this battle ended, how many of them would survive to meet again?

But in the end, the only words she could utter were:

“To all of you—I wish for good fortune in battle.”

As planned from the beginning, Saber King and Dao Zun stood in the lead, while So Cheon and Baek Sang-ah took the rear.

After dispatching Plum Blossom White Sword and the others, Baek Sang-ah exhaled deeply with her eyes shut.

“You know, Lady?”

She provoked Cheon Yura, who stood there silently, gazing her way.

“Your eyes are completely messed up right now.”

“So what?”

“I don’t know what side you’re on anymore, Lady, but I must say—you’re utterly disappointing.”

“…Disappointing?”

To Cheon Yura, who tilted her head slightly, Baek Sang-ah forced a mocking grin.

“Can’t even overcome that much and just stumble around like a fool? Poor Young Master Jin, trying to save someone like you.”

The provocation worked perfectly.

In an instant, Cheon Yura’s face contorted in malice.

As if in response to her fury, black Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi surged from her entire body like a domain.

“I said I’d spare you if you stepped aside—but you insist on punishment, don’t you?”

As if warning them, she slashed her sword diagonally.

A massive hemispherical Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi flew toward Baek Sang-ah.

“Hmph!”

With a snort, Baek Sang-ah swung her twin blades.

There was no need to draw the King-Slaying Blade.

Her foundational sword technique, Heavenly Wolf Meteor Sword Formation, drew graceful arcs, deflecting Cheon Yura’s Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi.

“…!”

“You think I’d fall to such a brutish attack with nothing but brute force crammed into it?!”

The same was true for the Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi earlier.

Those who had reached the Transcendent Demon Realm wielded intricate Sword Intent like master artisans shaping crystal.

But from Cheon Yura right now, there wasn’t even a trace of that.

It was like watching a third-rate martial artist who had ballooned their inner power using elixirs alone.

Why Cheon Yura was acting like this wasn’t important right now.

‘…We can kill her.’

At the moment her strike turned to waste—

Dao Zun and Saber King moved.

Tai Chi True Wisdom

North Sea Blade

The techniques of two supreme masters bore down on Cheon Yura without hesitation.

‘There’s no way this ends it. The next response will be…’

‘She’ll likely block with overwhelming defense rather than evade. If so…’

The two instantly prepared their follow-up techniques.

A battle between masters is, at its core, a battle of foresight.

Victory or defeat is determined by how well one can read the ‘next’ move.

As the two expected, Cheon Yura did not evade the technique. Instead, she attempted to parry it by swinging her sword.

However—

Kwajik!

“…Huh?”

“…Eh?!”

Cheon Yura’s sword broke in half, and in that instant, the techniques of both fighters slashed through her body!

Papatatat!

“W-What!?”

Given that the strike came from absolute masters beyond the Hwagyeong realm, the power was overwhelming.

Ordinary humans wouldn’t even leave a corpse behind.

But their opponent wasn’t an ordinary human, was she?

“What… is this…?”

“L-Lady Cheon?”

Even So Cheon and Baek Sang-ah, who had been preparing a follow-up attack, faltered at the sight of Cheon Yura falling so easily.

The four masters clearly remembered the final moment.

Just before the sword qi and blade qi struck, Cheon Yura had definitely employed a defensive technique from the Heaven-Slaying Demon Sword.

However, that defense failed to block the joint assault from Dao Zun and Saber King, and it had struck her body directly.

Limbs blown away, her entire body soaked in black blood—a gruesome scene.

It happened so quickly that no one could speak right away.

“Did I… misjudge my strength?”

A quiet voice slipped from the lips of Cheon Yura, who had been lying like a corpse.

Chzzzzzt!

The blood and flesh scattered around her began to converge toward a single point.

“Noona!”

“I know!”

Though younger, So Cheon and Baek Sang-ah were slower than the veteran Saber King and Dao Zun.

Dao Zun, refining her Sword Intent, launched a strike aimed at Cheon Yura’s regenerating heart.

However—

Black flames spiraled out from around her.

Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi

Reverse Soul Flame

Unlike before, a perfectly formed Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi neutralized Dao Zun’s strike entirely.

“…!”

A flawless technique that even neutralized refined Sword Intent.

Not even the real Cheon Yura whom Dao Zun once knew could have blocked that so cleanly.

Ssshhh.

She stood again, unharmed, with both feet planted on the ground.

Through her tattered clothes, her pale white skin bore not a single wound.

Cheon Yura glanced at her broken sword and smirked.

“So this is how it’s done. I remember it clearly now.”

“…You remember?”

“Thanks to you, it’s starting to feel familiar. If I keep going, I think I can completely make it my own…”

A sinister smile, unfitting for her face, twisted her lips.

“Let’s continue.”

“……”

Seeing Cheon Yura’s ominous state, a deep shadow crossed Dao Zun’s expression.

Perhaps…

Perhaps they should have gone all out and finished her with that first strike.

That earlier strike, which unleashed refined Sword Intent instantly, had been practically her full power.

And yet, it had been effortlessly neutralized.

What’s more, she was now skillfully blending Sword Intent with her techniques.

‘Is the monster waking up?’

If that monster was truly beginning to awaken through their battle…

Then there was only one thing to do.

“Saber King.”

“Yes, Noona.”

“Forget restraint. Release even your core qi. Give it everything.”

In Dao Zun’s eyes, there appeared a determination much like what Plum Blossom White Sword had shown earlier.

“With this next strike, we’ll lose our lives.”

“…Is it that dire?”

“Even that might not be enough.”

It was no longer a matter of if we don’t kill her, we’ll die.

If we don’t kill her, the world dies.

‘Still, at least it’s not too late yet.’

If it were the death qi that So Cheon and Baek Sang-ah wielded, then perhaps it could still counter even such a regenerative power.

What they had to do was risk their lives to open a path for that one critical blow.

And at that moment—

“Ah, so this is how it’s used?”

“……!!”

Before anyone noticed—

The broken half of Cheon Yura’s sword was now filled with Heaven-Slaying Strong Qi.

And that wasn’t all.

Around the restored blade, a double helix of black-red and pure black light flowed.

The moment Dao Zun saw it, her instincts screamed.

If her memory served her right, that technique was undoubtedly—

“Dodgeeeeeee!”

“N-Noona?!”

Without waiting for Saber King’s response, Dao Zun charged forward, unleashing Ten Thousand Phase Tai Chi.

But—

True Underworld Net Sword

Pat!

The Underworld Net Sword, completed as Cheon Yura reached the Transcendent Demon Realm, shattered the manifested Ten Thousand Phase Tai Chi and pierced straight through Dao Zun’s heart.

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