Chapter 252

There was no way he had seen it wrong.

The movement Park Chan-woo had displayed.

It was undoubtedly a sword art in which every line connected and completed a single whole.

Each motion looked insignificant on its own, but once the full sequence was completed, it became an overwhelming swordsmanship that delivered death to the opponent.

An extremely pure, polished, perfect Sword Path.

A realm like an ideal to those who wield the sword, attainable only after spending decades, even centuries, wielding nothing but the sword until one reached the pinnacle.

‘…Until he cut off Gang Si-chan’s head, I didn’t even think it was swordsmanship.’

Chiwoo swallowed dryly.

Because every action Park Chan-woo took had been like a carefully composed painting.

More than that, it was a strange work whose subject remained unknown until the artist placed the final stroke.

But the moment that final stroke was laid down, the artist’s intent revealed itself all at once, making it impossible not to shudder.

It was the same here.

At a glance, Park Chan-woo’s movements did not look like swordsmanship at all.

A kick, a punch, a wildly swinging blade—could that really be called swordsmanship?

And yet the moment he cut off Gang Si-chan’s head, all of it became swordsmanship.

It sounded absurd, but if one traced Park Chan-woo’s every movement from beginning to end, only one conclusion remained.

‘He became the sword itself.’

Park Chan-woo.

He was the sword.

Every movement he made was, in itself, the act of wielding a sword.

Such a realm did exist.

A realm far beyond even Divine Sword Unity.

‘The realm of Swordless…!’

[Swordless] referred to the transcendent stage of wielding the sword even without a sword.

But it was a realm that belonged to imagination.

Because it was fundamentally absurd.

Even those said to have reached such a realm were, at most, monsters like the Heavenly Demon or Taebaek.

The reason was simple.

If compared to magic, it was like casting the ultimate spell without an incantation.

Weren’t beings capable of such a thing practically nonexistent outside of Sephiro?

And yet, was Park Chan-woo claiming he had reached the realm of [Swordless]?

‘Impossible…’

Chiwoo shook his head inwardly.

As the successor of the Heavenly Demon, the potential he possessed was beyond measure.

But Park Chan-woo was not yet complete.

How could someone who still did not even know how to properly relax his shoulders have reached the realm of [Swordless]?

And if he truly had reached it, Gang Si-chan would have died before he could even breathe.

In other words—

‘…He knows the path to [Swordless], even though he hasn’t reached it.’

Shiver!

Chiwoo’s entire body trembled.

Because that was even more astonishing.

It was something truly impossible to believe.

It meant knowing how to run without legs.

Knowing how to fly without wings.

Who could understand such a thing?

Even Chiwoo, whose name shook the world, could not easily comprehend it.

If it was possible, then there was only one explanation.

‘His vessel is different.’

A Heavenly Martial Body?

Something even beyond that.

It meant the vessel Park Chan-woo possessed operated on a completely different trajectory from everyone else.

In fact, during his clash with Gang Si-chan, he had perfectly mastered ‘how to relax his strength.’

Something that would take an ordinary Arahan more than ten years to grasp, he had understood in mere days.

‘Ah.’

Chiwoo’s eyes reddened.

Now all doubt was gone.

If someone told him Park Chan-woo was the reincarnation of the Heavenly Demon, he would believe it.

‘I waited all that time to meet him.’

It felt as though he was finally being rewarded.

By now, weren’t the other Heavenly Kings smiling as well?

Chiwoo became certain.

That his existence was meant to serve this man and make him the master of the Hall of all Gods.

For that, he would die without regret.

Even if it meant perishing alongside Taebaek once again…

If it meant Park Chan-woo could become the master of the mountain, he would challenge it a hundred times over without the slightest hesitation.

And—

…there was someone else just as astonished as Chiwoo.

‘…A Sword Master has appeared.’

It was Chun Ji-ho.

He, who had quietly come out from the Hidden Realm to watch, let out a small sigh of admiration.

He too had seen that every one of Park Chan-woo’s actions formed a single swordsmanship.

A living swordsmanship that only a swordsman from a distant realm could wield.

This was clearly someone who had gone beyond mere talent in martial arts, thoroughly grasped the principles of martial arts themselves, and reached a realm of his own.

‘He said he came from Avici Hell.’

Chun Ji-ho’s gaze shifted between Park Chan-woo and Chiwoo.

The energy he felt from Chiwoo was certainly extraordinary.

‘First Heavenly King Chiwoo. If he really emerged into the world, he should look like an ancient monster, yet he looks far too young.’

A full five thousand years had passed since the Twelve Heavenly Kings had been imprisoned in Avici Hell.

Yet Chiwoo’s face was young.

Far too young.

There was no trace of age or accumulated years on him at all.

His energy and aura were certainly remarkable, but he was too different from the First Heavenly King Chiwoo Chun Ji-ho had heard of.

‘They said that when hidden, he was endlessly calm, and when revealed, endlessly tyrannical. He’s too different from what I see now.’

The First Heavenly King Chiwoo was said to embody pure ferocity.

But now, Chiwoo stood there with damp eyes as he looked at Park Chan-woo.

There was not a trace of ferocity about him.

…Then was Park Chan-woo connected to the Twelve Heavenly Kings as well?

As Arisa had said, if he inherited all the martial arts of the Twelve Heavenly Kings, could he use such absurd swordsmanship?

It was said that each of the Twelve Heavenly Kings’ martial arts was absolute, but that alone did not explain everything.

‘One thing is certain.’

Chun Ji-ho turned his gaze back to the battlefield.

‘It’s not over yet.’

Thud.

Plop.

Gang Si-chan’s headless body moved.

Then, picking up his fallen head, it placed it back onto his neck.

Sssss.

The tendons and blood vessels in his neck forcibly reconnected.

“…It’s been a while. Someone pushed me this far.”

Gang Si-chan had risen again.

To be precise, it was not exactly resurrection.

Because he was a Half-Corpse.

Half dead, half alive.

The ultimate living corpse, embodying all the techniques of the Undead Sect.

That was Gang Si-chan.

Gang Si-chan smiled faintly.

“Now it begins. I have to die once before I can show my real strength.”

Crackle!

Gang Si-chan’s entire body soon began to swell.

Once he received damage severe enough to push him to the brink of death, he became a Berserker.

A death Berserker maddened by blood.

This form was the true Gang Si-chan.

Boom!

The moment he took a step, the ground caved in.

Physical ability enhanced to a terrifying degree.

Now that his body had been strengthened enough to tear black iron apart with his bare hands, defeat seemed impossible.

‘A living corpse. Interesting.’

Park Chan-woo was slightly surprised as well.

No wonder the sensation had felt off when he struck him.

He had wondered why the bastard had not turned to dust even after being decapitated.

To think he had turned a living body into a living corpse…

…Troublesome.

[[Gradual Acceleration] has ended.]

Because he had stopped moving, [Gradual Acceleration] had reset.

Meanwhile, Gang Si-chan had become much stronger.

Park Chan-woo’s mind moved quickly.

Normally, abilities that strengthened a person after death, like Berserker, came with a built-in time limit.

But in Gang Si-chan’s case, there seemed to be no such weakness.

He was already half-dead to begin with.

That meant the idea of dragging things out until he collapsed had to be abandoned.

Retreating would have been the wise choice.

After all, by cutting off his head once, hadn’t he effectively won?

If he fought head-on now, he had no chance of victory.

‘…Perfect.’

And yet, he thought the opposite.

It would be a waste to let it end here.

The Sword Emperor’s swordsmanship he had just imitated.

He had only moved by tracing its afterimage, yet his throat still burned with thirst.

‘There was something within reach, but I still couldn’t seize it.’

He had not fully caught up to it either.

He had merely mimicked it through [Gradual Acceleration], and was still far from the true essence of the Sword Emperor.

He needed to understand the Sword Emperor’s swordsmanship itself.

If he could just swing the sword a little more, he felt like he might finally understand what it was.

‘The heart is the weak point.’

When he cut off Gang Si-chan’s head, he had confirmed that all Mana converged in the heart.

That meant the neck would not be enough.

He had to strike the heart.

Park Chan-woo took his stance once more.

‘I can see it.’

Then countless Sword Paths and Battle Paths began to appear before his eyes once again.

At that moment, Gang Si-chan smiled.

“Try to last. I want to enjoy this a little longer.”

===

Gang Si-chan stepped forward.

In an instant, he was right in front of Park Chan-woo.

Kwaaang!

Even though Park Chan-woo raised his sword to block, his body was still launched away.

Monstrous brute force.

He barely managed to straighten himself and land, but—

‘Hmm…!’

There was impact.

The force had pierced through his guard and hit him directly.

But there was no time to dwell on it.

Gang Si-chan’s attacks poured down in a mad torrent.

There was no room to follow the Sword Emperor’s path.

If this kept up, he would be defeated before he could properly wield his sword even once.

Watching this, Chun Ji-ho let out a sigh.

‘As expected, Gang Si-chan in that state is too much?’

That was what made Gang Si-chan so terrifying.

After dying once, he became vastly stronger.

And his stamina became nearly inexhaustible, to the point that he would never tire.

He could maintain that state until the battle ended.

The only drawback was that his technique became rougher, but it hardly mattered.

Before such overwhelming power, technique was crushed to death.

‘The greatest masterpiece produced by the Undead Sect.’

Gang Si-chan belonged to the new generation.

No matter how absolute the Twelve Heavenly Kings had once been, that was a story from five thousand years ago.

In the time since, martial arts had continued to evolve.

And the martial arts of the Nine Families in particular had advanced beyond imagination.

Among them, Gang Si-chan was the ultimate masterpiece into which the Undead Sect had poured all its heart and soul.

Even if someone inherited every martial art of the Twelve Heavenly Kings, facing him would still be difficult.

‘…Ah.’

It was painful to watch.

Blows were piling up helplessly.

Once you began getting pushed back by Gang Si-chan, who could never be defeated if all you did was defend, there was no way to turn the tide.

Chun Ji-ho glanced at Chiwoo.

‘Hmm?’

But Chiwoo’s reaction was strange.

He should have been worried, or preparing to rush in at any moment.

Instead—

‘He’s smiling?’

Chiwoo was smiling.

Why?

Hadn’t he called Park Chan-woo his successor and followed him?

Chun Ji-ho had even heard reports that he served him with absolute devotion.

And yet even while his successor stood in mortal danger, Chiwoo was smiling.

Not long after—

…Chun Ji-ho understood why.

‘[Primordial Energy]!’

A faint light wrapped around Park Chan-woo’s entire body.

The energy inherent to life itself.

[Primordial Energy] had ignited.

But it was not Park Chan-woo’s [Primordial Energy].

It was the insight of the Twelve Heavenly Kings that Chiwoo had engraved into him with his own [Primordial Energy].

The second enlightenment had arrived.

[Ding!]

[[Divine Art of Absolute Learning] has reached 2 stars.]

[Class Level has reached 50.]

[Quest: [Class Advancement] has been cleared.]

[[Magic Swordsman] Class is evolving!]