As if to prove that his anger had reached the top of his head, even his long beard was trembling. However…
‘…What?’
Yoon-seok, who had already finished preparing to fight, became suspicious. No wonder he took the trouble of chasing him while hiding his presence. The reason was that he was going to ask for Yoon-seok to take responsibility for breaking the League’s law by killing the Bloody Sky Delusion Sword.
Therefore, Yoon-seok made the final judgment that an armed conflict was inevitable and provoked the Sword Sovereign. And the provocation worked better than expected. So.
‘…Why isn’t he rushing in?’
“Hehe…”
It would have been clearer if he had just rushed in. However, he was standing still as if rooted to the ground, spitting out soulless laughter. And that made Yoon-seok anxious.
Yoon-seok wet his dry lips.
‘Did he just provoke me for no reason?’
The advantage that was provided was extremely insignificant. It was just psychological agitation and, if he was lucky, a small mistake might be made. Hence, Yoon-seok didn’t provoke most of his opponents. There was no need.
It was a little ironic, but the provocations were nothing short of respect for Yoon-seok. Well, that wouldn’t be comforting for the Sword Sovereign.
“Hehehehe…”
‘I wish he could stop laughing and say something…’
The Sword Sovereign finally opened his mouth.
“I still seem to lack training. I can’t believe I was distracted by just a few words.”
If he had continued to provoke, Yoon-seok would have responded that way, however…
Yoon-seok read his expression silently. Did he misunderstand something here?
“Hehehe…”
He had no intention of fighting at all. That was why the Sword Sovereign laughed like a deflated balloon.
“…I’m sorry. I think I was mistaken.”
“Mistaken?”
Talking back didn’t fit his personality. Yoon-seok responded openly.
“I thought you had come to punish me and make me take responsibility.”
“No way? If I had touched the young Co-Sect Leader, an opponent who is more annoying than the Black Alliance will go crazy and visit.”
“…I guess so.”
It wasn’t incomprehensible. If he only pursued order, the Bloody Sky Delusion Sword should be executed. However, he struggled to prevent the conflict with the Black Alliance, or more precisely, the chaos afflicting Moorim. Turning the Demon Cult into an enemy wouldn’t make sense.
However, there was one catch.
“…Then why did you come all the way here?”
“At first, I wondered where the young Co-Sect Leader was going with the girls of the Namgoong family. Why did you come here?”
Yoon-seok tilted his head.
“Don’t you know?”
“It’s not like I have the talent to read the universe while sitting down, so how would I know?”
Yoon-seok had no response.
“I thought you would’ve been listening to me when I was talking to the Heavenly Buddha.”
“Didn’t you spread out a screen to prevent the sound from leaking out?”
“You can’t stop everything just by blocking it, can you?”
‘Anyway, that’s good.’
The Sword Sovereign didn’t seem to have any intent to torment him even though he killed a prisoner. Perhaps, at this point, he might be able to ask the old man what he was curious about earlier. Of course, there was something to point out before then.
“…Anyway, is that all? From how you said, ‘at first,’ it seems there is another reason.”
“It’s to ask for responsibility.”
“Didn’t you say you didn’t want to do that?”
“You seem to have misunderstood something. I meant that it was you who killed the Bloody Sky Delusion Sword, so you must also be the one to receive the wrath of the Black Alliance.”
“Ah…”
To put it simply, Yoon-seok had to clean up the shit he bought. Don’t do any damage to the League.
“What should I do?”
“When I go back to League, I will announce that the Co-Sect Leader of the Demon Sect has invaded the League and killed him. Then, the Alliance Leader will try to find the young Co-Sect Leader to check whether it is true, but then please just admit to it.”
“All right. I’ll do that.”
“…You answered easier than I thought?”
“Yes. Isn’t it my responsibility?”
Of course, Yoon-seok would return to the Tower soon, and the Demon Sect would take care of the rest.
‘Even if it’s just in name, am I still the Co-Sect Leader?’
Yoon-seok nodded confidently.
“Ha! So, is that why your eyes were blazing while you asked if I was going to punish you?”
“…”
Yoon-seok grew silent, and he laughed.
“Hehe. Is it because the world you live in is different? I think the Co-Sect Leader is someone I know but don’t know.”
For some reason, his tone changed to be favorable again. It was something that Yoon-seok welcomed, though he didn’t fully understand why.
“The situation seems to have been roughly settled. Can I ask you just one thing?”
“Anything.”
Perhaps he felt quite better as the Sword Sovereign agreed before he even asked the question. Yes, this was friendship.
Yoon-seok, feeling warm, spoke more comfortably.
“Didn’t you say it before? You told me to be wary of the Heavenly Buddha.”
“Oh, I guess you were wondering about that.”
“Yes, what did you mean?”
The Sword Sovereign thought for a moment.
“It’s hard to put it straight, but I felt an unknown reluctance from him.”
That was what the Heavenly Buddha said about the Sword Sovereign.
“Maybe it was the vibes he gave off. The Heavenly Buddha has always been a bit eccentric, but he was a man who freely roamed the world as if liberated. But when I met him this time, I felt like he had become a completely different person. He looked impatient.”
“I see. Is that why you warned me?”
The old man nodded.
“No one knows what kind of accident will happen if the Heavenly Buddha and the young Co-Sect Leader meet.”
In other words, it meant to be careful not to cause a scene.
‘What, it’s nothing special?’
It was a somewhat shaky conclusion, but Yoon-seok thought it was a good thing.
“Is this the end of your questions?”
“No. One more thing.”
“…”
“Didn’t you tell me to think about what separates the real from the fake? I wish you could be a little more specific.”
“It seemed to be a hot topic at the time.”
“It’s not a hot topic, but I’m curious.”
Made by One Heart and Soul. He felt it again as he envisioned the second technique, but there was nothing absolute in the world. Therefore, both fake and real would have different definitions of their essence.
Yoon-seok was curious about the Sword Sovereign’s opinion.
“Perhaps even you must have felt that the challenger’s skill was different.”
If Yoon-seok had to consider it, it was the opposite since he was from Earth, and he was more familiar with the Magic he obtained from the Tower.
“Yes. The use and the nature of the energy are similar, but the two are different. I can’t even explain why.”
“I can’t explain it in words either, so don’t feel daunted.”
The Sword Sovereign comforted Yoon-seok.
“With the appearance of the Tower, an extraordinary era has begun. All the values I believed in were re-established according to new rules, and monsters fell from the sky.”
The warriors whom the Tower called lost the martial arts they had honed for decades and had to start all over again. However, even the process was different. Instead of feeling nature, exploring their inner self, and finding the truth, all they needed was points.
“I thought that everything that came out of the Tower was false. Like the bubbles that come out of soapy water, I thought it would eventually disappear.”
But the reality was different.
“A lot of people have died. The monsters that fell from the sky were so weak but plentiful.”
Yoon-seok felt he knew what he was talking about. When the invaders first appeared, Earthlings must have felt the same way. There were quite a few on par with wolves or tigers. Well, that was threatening enough for most humans, but… when armed with weapons, humans would become the hunters.
‘Well, that’s assuming bullets go through.’
Guns didn’t work against invaders, nor did chemical weapons. Only challengers could hurt them.
“That’s what I thought about it. If everything from the Tower is fake, then what about the sword that I have devoted my life to?”
The Sword Sovereign thought so.
“If all I have is real, why can’t I overcome the falsehood? No, isn’t it because it’s the other way around that I can’t overcome it?”
He couldn’t cut down the invaders with the blade he devoted his life to. All the hard work he put in through his life was completely denied.
“Perhaps the reason I have been obsessed with order was to prove that this is not the case.”
“…So you’re just saying it’s not the case?”
“I’m ashamed, but I only recently realized what distinguishes between true and false.”
“What is it?”
Yoon-seok’s eyes twinkled. This was the realization that the Master, who was considered just below Cheon-ma and the Celestial Buddha, only reached such attainment in his later years.
However…
“I still can’t explain it in words.”
The answer that came back was disappointing, but only for a moment.
“So I will show you.”
The Sword Sovereign drew his sword and raised it. Then he turned his head toward the main gate of the Namgoong manor, not Yoon-seok.
—Baaaang!
An invader, the size of a wolf, was sprinting toward them. A hundred meters, fifty, thirty…
The Sword Good took a step as if asking Yoon-seok not to attack, and his sword moved.
Whoosh-!
There was no waste in his sword that stretched out gracefully. In other words, there was nothing flashy about it. Right, what he did was a plain slash. However, the results were by no means ordinary.
Slash-! Crack-crack.
The invader split apart before it could even scream.
—Killing an invader isn’t necessarily something only a challenger can do.
Yoon-seok felt his skin prickle.
‘This is…’
It went beyond common sense. It broke the new rules after the Tower’s emergence by cutting down what could not be cut.
‘Made by One Heart and Soul…?’
The second technique, which Yoon-seok tried so hard to complete, was contained in his sword.
“I don’t know what you saw and felt, Co-Sect Leader…”
Yoon-seok finally found out the distinction.
“Will you deliver it for me when you meet Young Lady Zheng? I paid off all my debts with this.”
Yoon-seok nodded and smiled. That slash wasn’t something that could be imitated just by seeing it once… but it had been proven.
‘As expected.’
The rules of the original world and the new rules created by the Tower weren’t parallel lines. So now he just had to find it.
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