Chapter 579

WHOOOOOSH—!!!

A black storm blocked out my view.

While Peng Dojun and Heavenly Sword’s spar continued, I was having a conversation with the Heavenly Demon.

Blade God Peng Seolhyuk.

The former head of the Peng Family, a man called one of the beings beyond heaven, had shown a skeptical reaction toward the war that had broken out in his time.

The fact that he had spoken as though he was nearly certain of his own death was one piece of evidence.

-This war will end in defeat.

-Even if we win, it will only be a performance masquerading as victory.

-Can that truly be called victory?

-I do not understand.

-That is why I will not return.

Though he had gone to war, he had possessed neither striking passion nor unwavering faith or resolve.

-Can that truly be called victory?

All of his skeptical words ended in the same place.

He had wanted to leave nothing behind.

That was why he gave up the position of Family Head and left after declaring that he would not return from the war.

The only things Peng Seolhyuk left after handing the family over to his son were a few martial arts and weapons.

Even those did not seem particularly meaningful.

The Peng Family’s martial arts had long been considered complete. Their growth had been stalled.

Black Cloud, their signature martial art, and everything else had already taken shape.

People believed that even without a master like Peng Seolhyuk, nothing would change for the Peng Family beyond the loss of one absolute master.

They even said that the birth of Peng Dojun, who possessed the Heavenly Martial Body, had shattered the wall that had held them back for so long.

Dreams that had aspired to become the greatest under heaven, only to fail.

Everyone assumed that was the source of Blade God Peng Seolhyuk’s emptiness.

[What nonsense.]

The Heavenly Demon said that was not it.

[What exactly do you think the Blade God gave up? That man abandoned nothing. He surrendered nothing.]

Then what was it?

[You are simply mistaken when you say that the Blade God left nothing behind. He did not.]

I could not see the Heavenly Demon’s expression. I could only hear his voice, yet I could feel several emotions beneath it.

[The Blade God was a man who swung his blade desperately until the very end. I held him in high regard. He was someone who could crush through what others believed impossible and keep moving forward.]

The Heavenly Demon must have met Peng Seolhyuk before.

For a moment, I even wondered whether the Heavenly Demon had killed him.

It was almost certain that Blade God had died during the war, but no one knew who had killed him.

Perhaps the Eight Demons had attacked him together.

Or perhaps the Heavenly Demon himself had faced Blade God.

I did not ask.

I was not curious.

Still—

For the Heavenly Demon to speak of him like that... was he really such an exceptional martial artist?

The Heavenly Demon was stingy with praise.

He was arrogant enough to call himself Sky, and he rarely evaluated or complimented anyone favorably.

Yet he spoke of Blade God like that.

I could not begin to imagine just how extraordinary Peng Seolhyuk must have been.

Was he truly that remarkable?

When I asked out of curiosity, the Heavenly Demon laughed.

[He was the culmination of every advantage the Peng Family had accumulated throughout its history.]

“...”

What a distant statement.

The culmination of every historical advantage.

And yet—

He still failed to become the greatest man under heaven.

That was what it meant.

In that case, was he not ultimately just another mediocre martial artist?

Just as that thought crossed my mind—

[That is a different matter.]

The Heavenly Demon rejected it.

[Peng Seolhyuk was more than qualified to stand at the summit. He simply did not desire it.]

...What do you mean?

It was strange.

He had the qualifications, yet he did not climb?

What did that mean?

[Had he wished it, he could have faced either me or Yoo Cheongil without disgrace. He merely wanted something else.]

I still do not understand.

[Boy. Do you believe that all a martial artist pursues is strength?]

Well... isn’t that the foundation of it?

I did not know what else a martial artist might seek, but I thought the foundation was personal growth.

Was that not what martial arts were?

The moment I voiced that belief—

[That may be true for those who stand alone, but Blade God’s values lay with his family.]

His family?

[He was closer to a Family Head than a martial artist. Naturally, he pursued something different.]

But a Family Head is still a martial artist. What makes it different?

[It is different. A martial artist pursues his own growth, while a Family Head pursues the growth of his family. Do you think a family becomes overwhelmingly stronger simply because a single martial artist becomes powerful?]

“...”

A great family did not move as one person.

I agreed with that.

No matter how strong someone became, it was that individual who became stronger—not the entire group.

Coming from the former master of the Demonic Cult, it was even more convincing.

I had seen it myself, too.

In that sense—

Are you saying Blade God was someone who wanted the Peng Family to grow?

A man who could have become the greatest under heaven, yet pursued something else.

Then what had he pursued?

[Correct. Blade God wanted the Peng Family to grow. Rather than becoming the greatest man under heaven himself, he wanted the Peng Family to become the greatest family under heaven.]

And what did he do for that?

[He had to break through the most fundamental problem. The reason the Peng Family could not rise to become the greatest family under heaven.]

That would be...

What was it?

The Peng Family was one of the Five Great Families and among the most prestigious houses in the martial world. The reason it could not rise higher was surely—

Because it had never produced the greatest man under heaven?

That seemed like the obvious answer.

But apparently, that was not what the Heavenly Demon meant.

[The fundamental reason the Peng Family could not become the greatest family under heaven lay in its martial arts.]

Its martial arts?

[Yes. The Peng Family’s martial arts are not divine arts.]

...!

Divine arts.

The source that allowed martial artists to pursue higher realms and wield greater strength.

The inner art one learned determined one’s martial arts and changed one’s breathing.

That was why people desperately sought entry into famous sects and great families like the Nine Great Sects and the Five Great Families.

Because they practiced divine arts.

Only by learning divine arts did one have even a chance of reaching the level of an absolute master.

The Peng Family’s martial arts are not divine arts?

My eyes widened at the Heavenly Demon’s words.

If they were not divine arts, then what was?

It made no sense.

[The Peng Family’s martial arts are exceptional. At a glance, they may seem worthy of being called divine arts. But that description is misleading.]

The Heavenly Demon’s voice was firm and sharp.

[Boy. What do you believe divine arts are?]

Arts that raise one’s realm more quickly and allow one to wield stronger martial arts.

[Correct, yet incorrect. A divine art is an art that gives anyone who learns it the chance to become a master.]

Isn’t that basically what I said?

I did not understand the difference.

As I frowned, the Heavenly Demon spoke the crucial point.

[When I say anyone, I mean anyone. The Peng Family’s martial arts are not like that.]

...What does that mean?

[The Peng Family’s martial arts can only be used by members of the Peng Family bloodline.]

What?

[The Peng Family’s defining traits are muscles tough to a stubborn degree and sturdy meridians. Those are characteristics passed down through their bloodline since ancient times. Their martial arts are power built upon those traits.]

Ah.

After hearing that, I understood what he meant.

In other words—

Because not everyone can use them, they are not divine arts.

[Correct.]

If a divine art was something anyone could learn and use to gain the chance of becoming a master, then the Peng Family’s martial arts were not divine arts because they were unavailable to everyone.

But if that was the standard—

Then the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts would not be divine arts either, would they?

Few martial arts were more demanding than the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts.

They required far too much.

[No. The Heavenly Demon Divine Arts are divine arts.]

But based on what you just said—

[Anyone can learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts. There are simply separate conditions to reach their end.]

“...”

That was a different answer again.

So you can use them even without the Heaven-Slaying Star or spiritual energy?

How useful they were, and how well one could use them, was a different matter.

Ah.

Could that be why Heavenly Sword could use the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts?

Even through imitation, perhaps it was possible because the art itself could be learned.

I remembered that the Heavenly Demon had called Heavenly Sword’s Heavenly Demon Divine Arts half-baked and gotten angry, but he had never called them fake.

[Without those physical characteristics, Peng Family martial arts cannot even be learned. That is why I judge them not to be divine arts.]

But does that make the martial arts a problem? Even if they are not divine arts, isn’t it enough for the Peng Family bloodline alone to learn them?

[The Peng Family’s martial arts use those physical traits to produce explosive growth and power. But do you know what that means when put another way?]

No, I don’t.

[It means they concealed the incompleteness inherent in their martial arts with their own traits and forced their way forward. Their martial arts are therefore incomplete. And before long, they will inevitably reach a wall.]

“...!”

The overwhelming physical ability of the Peng Family had covered the greatest flaw in their martial arts.

But that meant their limits would come quickly.

That is a problem, but...

Based on the explanation, it was absolutely a problem.

But one question remained.

Then why did the Peng Family keep ignoring that flaw?

If it would eventually reach a limit, why had the Peng Family continued to preserve it as it was?

The Heavenly Demon laughed.

[By the time they realized it, it was too late. Or perhaps they were simply turning away from it.]

Turning away?

[To recognize it, one must climb very high. At the very least, one must reach the level of the current Peng Family Head. And even after realizing it, pride would not permit them to accept the truth. Martial artists never admit that they are wrong.]

It was something they could only learn after rising and rising through the realms.

By the time the Peng Family’s martial artists noticed, it had become too late.

And because they could not admit they were wrong, this problem had been born.

So that was what he meant by turning away.

It was too late to throw everything aside and fix it.

So they could not.

[Blade God was the one who tried to tear it out without hesitation.]

That was when Peng Seolhyuk stepped forward.

[He accepted the flaws in his own martial arts and tried to correct them. That was what Blade God did.]

You said it was too late to fix.

[He tried anyway. Peng Seolhyuk’s talent was abundant. He simply did not have the time to finish it. So he left something else behind.]

Something else?

[A completed martial art.]

Ah.

[That was likely the greatest thing Blade God left behind. The problem was that he died before he could complete it and pass it on.]

“...”

[Thus, I believed the Peng Family never received Blade God’s legacy and lost its way, but—]

The Heavenly Demon looked toward the night spreading before us.

[No. Blade God’s shadow is there.]

CRAAASH—!!!

A black vortex.

Dense, ink-black force surged and pressed down over the sparring platform.

The shock and pressure were so immense that it felt as though I would be pulled in even while standing still.

It spun and spun, as though it intended to seize everything.

CRAAAAASH—!!!!

The darkness that swallowed Heavenly Sword slowly ran wild.

I stared at the aftermath of Peng Dojun’s attack.

What kind of martial art is that?

I could not understand it.

Even though I was watching, that bizarre power would not properly register in my eyes.

After it spun for a long while—

WHOOOOOSH—!!!!!

The storm shot toward the sky.

Black energy erupted upward like a dragon ascending.

BOOM!

It smeared the blue sky with black ink before vanishing.

What remained was—

“Cough!”

Heavenly Sword, staggering as he coughed up blood.

And—

“...Hoo.”

Peng Dojun, breathing out deeply.

He wiped away his sweat and drove his blade into the floor.

Then Peng Dojun laughed.

“Ah. Not bad.”

His face looked refreshed.

Seeing that, the Heavenly Demon spoke.

[He struggled so pitifully. Yet in the end, he created an opportunity.]

He seemed to mean Blade God.

Which meant—

An opportunity.

An opportunity to make the Peng Family the greatest family under heaven.

In the Heavenly Demon’s eyes, Peng Dojun possessed that kind of value.