Chapter 223: I Knew the Answer

The moment Kim Muhyuk entered the Azure Sky Sword Gate, everyone he encountered greeted him warmly.

After so many visits, there were now plenty of familiar faces.

“Muhyuk! I watched the hearing!”

“You were incredible. How many disciples would go that far for their master?”

“So, are you joining the Demon Extermination Unit too?”

The orthodox martial world was trembling at the return of the Sword Demon and the revival of the Demon Extermination Unit, but the atmosphere within the Azure Sky Sword Gate remained unchanged.

That was the result of the Azure Sky Sword Elder, Bu Yeonha, and the gate’s martial artists working to atone for their past mistakes.

As Kim exchanged greetings with the martial artists whose gazes now held a proud confidence, he thought,

This is how a great sect of the orthodox martial world should be.

Winds of great change were sweeping through the Korean martial world.

For now, only the Azure Sky Sword Gate and a small handful of other martial artists had changed. But Kim believed that, given time, the other sects would also fill with heroic swordsmen who could stand proudly before the Demon Extermination Unit.

A short while later, Kim entered the sect leader’s office, where Na Ilcheon, the Azure Sky Sword Elder, was waiting for him.

“Hoho. You came running quickly enough. Were you so desperate to see your beloved sword that you could not sit still?”

The Azure Sky Sword Elder leisurely sipped his tea, deep wrinkles forming around his eyes as he smiled teasingly.

“Greetings, Sect Leader. By the way, where is my sword...?”

Kim smiled warmly and offered a clasped-hands salute. At the same time, his eyes darted around the room in search of Phantom Dream.

The Azure Sky Sword Elder clicked his tongue at the sight.

“Impatient as ever. Surely you were not planning to grab your sword and run off the moment you had it?”

“Ha ha. Of course not.”

Kim flinched before laughing.

In truth, that was precisely what he had intended to do: finish his business as quickly as possible, then go swing Phantom Dream around.

“Martial arts fanatics. Every last one of you...”

As though he could see straight through Kim’s thoughts, the Azure Sky Sword Elder sighed with an aggrieved expression and began to lament.

“I endured being called a traitor and a turncoat to help you, yet the moment I am no longer useful, you discard me like an old shoe. Now that all you need is the sword you left with me, you think you can simply take it and leave...”

“Come to think of it, I barely ate breakfast. Would you care to have a meal together?”

His conscience thoroughly pricked, Kim obediently sat across from Na Ilcheon.

After all, the Azure Sky Sword Elder truly had helped him in countless ways.

Only then did a satisfied smile spread across Na Ilcheon’s face.

“Hoho. I knew you would say that, so I had a special meal prepared. We can call Yeonha over later and enjoy it together.”

“That sounds wonderful. Ha ha ha...”

Hummm—!

At that moment, the Namcheon Sword at the Azure Sky Sword Elder’s waist began to vibrate. A bluish spirit body soon emerged and assumed human form.

“Long time no see. But...”

The Namcheon Sword’s spirit had greeted Kim with a delighted expression, only to tilt his head suddenly.

“When did you get this much stronger? At this point, you are practically a supernatural phenomenon...”

“Hoho. When has Muhyuk’s rapid progress ever been anything new? He is the treasure of the Korean martial world!”

The Namcheon Sword stared pityingly at the Azure Sky Sword Elder, who was smiling proudly at his prospective grandson-in-law.

As a sacred weapon far more sensitive to qi than any human, it could perceive the change in Kim even while he concealed his presence.

“Stupid master. That is not what I mean. That boy has already surpassed Namcheon at the same age.”

“...What?”

At the words of his beloved sword, the Azure Sky Sword Elder fixed Kim with an intense stare and examined him closely.

His eyes slowly widened.

“Muhyuk, you... You cannot possibly...”

His mouth fell open in disbelief, and his pupils shook as though an earthquake had struck.

“No matter how quickly you progress, how can anyone advance at such a speed...?”

Muttering as though he had encountered something incomprehensible, the Azure Sky Sword Elder picked up the back scratcher beside him and whipped it at Kim like a bolt of lightning.

Whoosh!

Kim tracked the path as it narrowly grazed his neck, then leaned his head back exactly as far as necessary to evade it.

“Even if it was only a back scratcher, that would have left quite a bruise.”

At the easy complaint, the Azure Sky Sword Elder shot to his feet.

“Ha ha ha ha! You outrageous brat! It is true!”

The Azure Sky Sword Elder erected a qi barrier to prevent anyone outside the office from hearing them.

Having witnessed one of the most shocking sights of his life, he began babbling so excitedly that he nearly sprayed spittle.

“You truly have become a supreme master! And you conceal it so naturally! I suppose someone taught by the Sword Demon would naturally be skilled at hiding his power, but... You are only twenty years old! I can see it with my own eyes, yet I still cannot believe it! It makes no sense whatsoever!”

It was almost impossible to imagine the normally composed Na Ilcheon becoming so excited and incoherent.

But his reaction was only natural.

Were this revealed to the public, the entire martial world would be turned upside down.

Twenty years old—the age traditionally associated with coming of age.

Excluding ancient records too dubious to trust, this might have been the fastest advancement ever documented since the World Martial Alliance began accurately assessing martial artists’ realms.

“Do you know Richard Han was twenty-one when he was first recognized as a supreme master? He became a peerless master at twenty-five, and from that year onward, he has never once lost at the World’s Strongest Sparring Tournament.”

Kim knew that perfectly well.

Yet he attached little importance to the fact that he had broken that record.

“Advancing quickly now does not guarantee that I will continue advancing quickly later.”

He was a regressor living his second life.

With such an advantage, it was only natural that his growth would be fast.

Moreover, the higher one climbed in martial arts, the more enormous the disparities became even among martial artists nominally within the same realm.

If I fought the Azure Sky Sword Elder in a serious fight to the death right now, I doubt I could last even twenty exchanges.

Now that Kim had entered the supreme-master realm himself, he could see it all the more clearly.

He understood just how exalted a level the elderly swordsman before him had reached, and how much blood and sweat it would take to surpass him.

The same applied to Martial Alliance Leader Yeo Pilgeuk and to Choi Geon before he became a peerless master.

Comparing someone like Yang Seonu to them had been a grave mistake—and sheer arrogance.

“Oh? You are measuring your chances against me now. Do I seem manageable?”

“...I will concede today. I cannot see a single opening.”

“What did you say? Ha ha ha ha!”

After roaring with laughter for some time, the Azure Sky Sword Elder’s expression turned serious.

“Do you intend to keep this from the world?”

“I do not plan to spread the news deliberately. Though I cannot help it if people learn naturally...”

The youngest pinnacle expert in the history of the Korean martial world.

It had not been long since his constitution rating had been corrected from Grade 4 to Grade 2.

And according to the Transcendent Extremity Gate sect leader, my constitution is now Grade 1.

Kim had tried to avoid drawing attention to himself so that he would not catch the Heavenly Demon Cult’s eye, but he knew there was no longer any point.

The World Martial Alliance was undoubtedly watching him, and the Heavenly Demon Cult likely was as well.

Even so, he had no desire to create more trouble and danger for himself than necessary.

“A wise decision. I believe that would be best as well.”

The Azure Sky Sword Elder nodded, then continued with a peculiar smile.

“I was worried that you might not be capable of withstanding Phantom Dream’s power... but it seems my concerns were needless.”

Expectation immediately filled Kim’s eyes.

“Has it changed that much?”

“Hoho. You will understand when you see it. Follow me.”

The Azure Sky Sword Elder led Kim to the place where the sect stored its dangerous objects.

Spell formations covered the space in every direction, and talismans had been plastered across the walls.

Phantom Dream seemed to have been stored in the deepest part of the chamber. Na Ilcheon walked all the way to the back and brought out a heavy-looking sword case.

Click.

When he opened the case, which had been sealed with spellcraft, Phantom Dream lay neatly inside.

It gave off no trace of energy, as though sleeping soundly, and Kim tilted his head.

“It does not look very different from the outside...”

“Draw it.”

Shing.

Kim drew the blade halfway from its sheath. A clear, resonant note rang out as its transformed appearance was revealed.

He gazed at Phantom Dream’s blade in admiration.

“The blade...”

“Hoho. Its shape is unchanged, yet it feels unfamiliar, does it not?”

The blade, once entirely red, had turned as black as pitch. A single crimson line ran down its center.

Before, it had exuded a sinister, seductive aura that seemed to bewitch anyone who looked upon it.

Now, Phantom Dream possessed a profound and oppressive weight.

“...It has become a true demonic sword.”

By absorbing the Great Anomaly’s power and making it its own, Phantom Dream had grown into an even more powerful sacred weapon.

“Even a sacred weapon finds it difficult to change its innate nature. I did not expect that nature to manifest quite this distinctly, however...”

The Giant Tree Ghost’s intense demonic qi had merged with Phantom Dream’s original disposition, transforming it into a complete demonic sword.

The problem came next.

“Heh heh heh heh...”

Along with wicked laughter, Phantom Dream’s power began seeping out of the blade.

Dark crimson energy spread across the floor like mist.

The Namcheon Sword watched alongside the two men, arms folded, and muttered in displeasure.

“Ugh. I managed to temper it until it became considerably stronger, but there was a slight side effect.”

“A side effect?”

The Namcheon Sword struggled to speak for a moment, then muttered with a dejected expression,

“...I tried to teach it proper manners as well, but it has become nearly as powerful as I am and twice as insolent.”

It added that Kim would no longer be able to blame his sword even if he lost a fight, then smoothly vanished back into its blade.

The Azure Sky Sword Elder tapped the Namcheon Sword at his waist and laughed.

“Hoho. At first, the Namcheon Sword could easily suppress your sword’s power and instruct it. Toward the end, however, they became evenly matched, and there was nothing more it could do.”

“Then that means...”

The Namcheon Sword was counted among the finest sacred weapons in the entire Korean martial world.

In other words, Phantom Dream had grown into a sacred weapon comparable to the Namcheon Sword.

Ssshhhh.

At that moment, Phantom Dream’s spirit body took shape before Kim in a needlessly extravagant entrance.

“Heh heh heh. My former master, is it? It has been a long time. Heh heh heh heh...!”

It was a red-haired young man in a long black robe.

More precisely, it was a translucent spirit body with a youthful face somewhere between a boy and a young man. The horns protruding from either temple remained unchanged.

“Heh heh heh. My apologies, but I can no longer call you my master. You are nothing more than a pathetic human weaker than I am.”

“...”

Phantom Dream covered half its face with one hand, shoulders shaking as it snickered.

The face visible between its fingers wore an unbearably arrogant smile.

Has my sacred weapon entered its edgy adolescent phase?

Phantom Dream had always possessed traces of that disposition, but its ego seemed to have swollen tremendously after growing so powerful in such a short time.

Fortunately, Kim knew exactly how to resolve the situation.

“Heh heh heh. It means your pitiful strength is no longer enough to handle me. Still, for old times’ sake... Calling you my slave might be excessive, so perhaps I could accept you as a subordinate?”

Feeling Phantom Dream’s power slither into his body, Kim smirked.

“You seem to have forgotten who I am.”

Kim drew Phantom Dream completely from its sheath.

The spells engraved upon the sheath interfered with the flow of energy between them.

“Ha ha ha ha! Have you truly decided to become my subordinate? A wise choice. I will make a special effort to be gentle with—urk?”

Kim tightened his grip around the hilt.

Imagining that he was crushing Phantom Dream’s throat, he gradually applied more strength and forced his qi into the sword.

“What are you—urk? Kghhk!”

Phantom Dream’s arrogant expression slowly twisted.

Clutching its throat, it collapsed and began rolling across the floor.

“Gueeegh! Stop! Please stop, Master! I was wrong!”