Chapter 62: Black Heaven Demon Sword
After confirming the stream had completely ended, Mu-yeong slowly advanced.
The closer he got, the more an indescribable emotion welled up inside him.
"Just how long has it been since I've seen this?"
The Black Heavenly Demon Sword.
Even as the First Young Lord, Mu-yeong had only touched it once before his Closed Door Training—it was that rare a sacred artifact.
Something so precious it went beyond important—so why was it here?
Only one answer came to mind.
They had taken its appearance and name and turned it into a special in-game item.
Well-known sacred medicines like Bluegrass Jade Dew and Myriad-Year Snow Ginseng had appeared in other games before, so it wasn't entirely impossible.
In that case, how faithfully have they recreated it.
Mu-yeong carefully picked up the Black Heavenly Demon Sword.
Zzt!
An electric sensation shot up his spine in an instant.
His hair and every hair on his body stood on end in agreement.
This feeling right now—it was no different from when he had held it as a child.
Mu-yeong let out a sound of admiration and swung it this way and that.
"It's truly perfect. If it weren't a game, I would believe it was the real thing."
The weight, the balance, the appearance.
Everything he could compare was identical.
Even if you placed the real one right beside it and ordered them to replicate it, it would be impossible—just how had they managed to recreate this?
Swoosh.
Mu-yeong carefully ran his fingers along the blade.
The distinctive sensation and coldness of Myriad-Year Cold Iron came through exactly as he remembered.
A confidence that he could cut through anything rose fully within him.
So then, just what kind of stats did this thing carry?
He read the description.
[Black Heavenly Demon Sword]
Durability: ∞
—Cannot be destroyed.
—When using the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, destructive power increases by 20%.
"It can't be destroyed?"
That meant he could unleash the Heavenly Demon Divine Art at full power as recklessly as he pleased.
And what was this absurd effect about increased destructive power?
Being able to produce results 20% stronger than what he was capable of now.
Mu-yeong's eyes widened as he deployed his techniques against the right wall of the cave.
KABOOM!
Annihilation Strike—five times.
RUMBLE!
Heavenly Demon Flash—five times.
KRAANG!
Heavenly Frenzy Gale—five times.
The results were astounding.
Even after unleashing everything at full power, not a single word appeared anywhere saying the durability had decreased.
But what was more remarkable than anything else was the visibly increased power of the techniques.
"Ha ha......."
A force even stronger than anything he had unleashed until now.
As expected of a sacred artifact—the game developers must have deliberately built in these settings.
Of course, it was only possible inside the game; once he stepped back into reality, it would vanish like a fleeting dream.
But what place was this?
A golden opportunity to directly experience the path forward.
Shing.
Mu-yeong wiped the blade of the Black Heavenly Demon Sword and looked ahead.
So then, what does this mean?
A painting of a single figure executing a sequence of continuous movements.
It had been in the same space as the Black Heavenly Demon Sword, so it was unlikely to be ordinary decoration.
Mu-yeong took the same stance as the figure in the first painting.
The more he followed the movements, the wider his eyes grew—like lanterns blazing open.
"This...... this connects to the Heavenly Frenzy Gale, doesn't it?"
True to its name as a martial art, the Heavenly Demon Three Swords consisted of exactly three strikes.
First Form—Annihilation Strike.
A devastating attack that kills an enemy in a single blow.
Second Form—Heavenly Demon Flash.
A swift-sword technique that slashes through an enemy multiple times at the speed of light.
Third Form—Heavenly Frenzy Gale.
A wide-area technique that creates a vortex, laying waste to everything within a fixed radius.
But suddenly a Fourth Form?
Something that should not exist and could not exist.
That said, the murals had not been painted carelessly as some sort of joke.
They had been arranged so as to connect smoothly with the Heavenly Frenzy Gale.
What's more, they had been distilled to only the essentials, making it remarkably easy to understand.
This was a level only achievable by someone who had made the Heavenly Demon Divine Art entirely their own.
And there was only one person in the world capable of this.
The Heavenly Demon, Wi Ji-cheon.
"Why would the Sect Leader......?"
He didn't know the exact circumstances, but this was an extraordinary opportunity.
A destined encounter—like a golden rope descending from the heavens.
Mu-yeong gave a silent bow in the direction of wherever Wi Ji-cheon might be, then took his stance once more.
"I will make every last bit of this my own."
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The moment Mu-yeong ended his stream, Yu Ye-rin's viewer count exploded.
She had already had 3,000 viewers watching, but in the blink of an eye the leading digit changed and it was already surpassing 5,000.
The surge grew even greater, right on the verge of breaking 7,000.
"Wh—hello there, refugees? Nanha-nanha~"
Yu Ye-rin waved energetically at the flood of newcomers pouring in.
Their interest was in one thing and one thing only.
—Where did Mu-yeong go??
—Why did the stream suddenly end?
—Did something happen?
—What was inside?
—Why didn't you go in together?
—Show us the rewarddddddd
—What even was that sword??? It was so freaking cool
"Everyone calm down. To be honest, I was trying to follow Mu-yeong in, but it was like hitting an invisible wall—I couldn't enter. And this message appeared. That those without qualifications cannot enter."
It wasn't that Yu Ye-rin hadn't wanted to see it herself.
The first Secret Room to open on the server—of course she had wanted to share in that glory.
The system just got in the way.
"For now, I don't know anything either. Not until Mu-yeong tells me himself. So there's nothing to do but wait."
—Aw come on
—What a shame
—Do I have to wait until tomorrow?
—I'm dying of curiosity, how do you stand it lol
—Fr though, making people suffer like this
Those who hadn't gotten the answer they wanted left the stream in droves.
Another wave came in and asked the same questions, but the situation settled down quickly.
Yu Ye-rin, left alone in the vast interior of the temple, glanced at the door.
I wonder when he'll come out......
Based on the sounds coming from inside, it seemed like something was happening—but it didn't feel like something that would end easily.
That said, she couldn't simply wait for hours on end without a plan.
Yu Ye-rin put on her professional smile.
"Everyone, it's a shame, but I'll be heading off for today as well. I was planning to end the stream after beating the boss anyway."
—Oh
—Tch
—That's disappointing
—You still got everything done though
—See you tomorrow
—Bye
—Yuba
"I'll make sure to leave a notice before my next stream. Alright, take care everyone~ See you next time."
A short while later.
Yu Ye-rin let out a long sigh, her lips pressed into a pout.
"Phew....... I thought I'd grown quite a bit, but once again I wasn't much help."
Even after pouring her heart into her attacks, the boss hadn't budged in the slightest.
Of course, it hadn't been a complete waste.
When she had fully deployed the Twenty-Four-Form Plum Blossom Sword Art, chunks of stone the size of her fist had broken off.
But considering a frame that stood over 5 meters tall, it wasn't exactly impressive.
"Compared to that, Mu-yeong was incredible."
A blood-red blade storm that looked as though it could bring the world to ruin.
That was only because it was the Stone Golem with Damage Reduction active.
Had a person been caught inside that, there was no doubt they would have been torn into scraps of meat in less than a second.
Just imagining it was unsettling—yet the even more remarkable fact was the red energy clinging to Mu-yeong's sword.
Not shimmering like a heat haze the way Sword Energy did, but refined, pressed flush against the blade.
As far as Yu Ye-rin knew, there was only one type of thing in the world like that.
Sword Force.
All she could do was let out a hollow laugh.
The truth was, she hadn't been completely unable to anticipate it.
Those insane martial arts, the sheer volume of internal energy, his movements.
Put it all together, and she had caught a faint sense that his level was that of the Transcendence Realm.
"Even after the Great Unification, if he's this strong—just how much stronger was he in the martial world before it?"
She couldn't even imagine.
Probably a hundred of her wouldn't have been able to so much as graze the hem of his robe.
The gap was so staggeringly vast that Yu Ye-rin found herself absent-mindedly rubbing the bridge of her nose.
"I'm going to have to work far, far harder than I do now. At the very least—until the day I become a Plum Blossom Swordmaster."
Her expression shifted, and she walked toward the center of the temple.
Shing.
Once drawn, Yu Ye-rin's sword did not stop for hours on end.
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RUMBLE!
How much time had passed since he'd last swung his sword?
Mu-yeong emerged from within, his face slightly worn.
There was no one at the entrance.
It would be stranger if anyone were still waiting.
He clicked his tongue—and in that moment, from far in the distance came a BOOM! and the sound of something shattering.
Beside a crumbling pillar stood Yu Ye-rin.
He quickly ran over, and she greeted him with a bright smile.
"Oh, are you all done now?"
"......Don't tell me you've been waiting this whole time?"
"Yes. After you went in, I ended my stream too and kept on training my swordsmanship."
How admirable.
Mu-yeong quietly looked at her, drenched in sweat.
Yu Ye-rin scratched her cheek awkwardly, then fixed her gaze on Mu-yeong's waist.
She spotted the Black Heavenly Demon Sword and let out a gasp.
"Woah....... What sword is that? It's incredibly cool?"
"It's called the Black Heavenly Demon Sword. I obtained it as a reward."
"What!? The, the Black Heavenly Demon Sword? That's the Demonic Heaven Sect's sacred artifact!"
So she already knew.
Well—it would be stranger not to.
"I don't understand why it came out of here either, but regardless, that's how it happened."
"That's amazing! For something so good to come from here......."
"According to the description, it apparently has infinite Durability. Thanks to that, it seems I won't ever need to change weapons again."
"Of course not! Do you know what kind of item this is!"
Yu Ye-rin placed her hands on her knees and leaned forward at the waist.
From a distance where one more inch would have her face-planting, she let out a stream of envious sounds.
"It's really so cool....... I'd only heard of the Black Heavenly Demon Sword by rumor, but actually seeing it in person is a first for me. The blade is incredibly beautiful and sharp, and the dragon carving on the hilt looks like it could take flight at any moment......."
Every time the Black Heavenly Demon Sword received a compliment, Mu-yeong couldn't stop the corners of his mouth from rising.
He desperately bit down on his lips, maintaining a blank expression.
He ultimately couldn't hold it and broke into a laugh, then took the sword in hand.
He showed it off from every angle as though boasting, and said:
"Does it suit me?"
"It's not just that it suits you—it's as though this sword was made for you."
"I'm truly grateful."
Good fortune had already been striking one after another—and now, hearing such perfect words of praise, he felt as though he were soaring through the sky.
Mu-yeong laughed widely, showing his white teeth.
"By the way, is the Twenty-Four-Form Plum Blossom Sword Art coming along well?"
"The Sixteenth Form is a bit ambiguous. Still, if I do just a little more I think I'll move past it quickly."
"I'll take a look for you. Oh, and do you happen to have time sometime?"
"I always have plenty of time."
"Then let's do another round of Bone Marrow Cleansing in the near future. You haven't fully expelled all the impurities yet."
"That means......!"
At Mu-yeong's words, Yu Ye-rin's face turned a little red.
Then she gave a vigorous nod.
"I'll make a nice reservation!"
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The Martial Alliance Leader's Office, blanketed layer upon layer in a Concealment Barrier.
Dan Jung-seon and Yu-baek were conversing with expressions of bottomless gravity.
"You're saying there's bad news and worse news?"
"That is correct. Which would you like to hear first?"
"Let's start with the bad."
Yu-baek moistened his lips and began to speak.
"It concerns the Northern Sea Ice Palace. They had been residing quietly in the south, but they have sent a request for assistance."
"The Northern Sea Ice Palace? What on earth has happened?"
"It seems the daughter of the Northern Sea Ice Palace Lord is on her way to Seoul. She is said to be coming alone without any plan—and they have submitted a request for personal protection."
"......What?"
What nonsensical talk was this?
Dan Jung-seon stopped stroking his beard and stared hard at Yu-baek.
"The daughter of that muscle-brained oaf is coming here?"
"That is correct."
"The IQ-50 fool who knows nothing but smashing things—the daughter of the Ice Duke, is coming here?"
"Precisely."
At Yu-baek's answer, Dan Jung-seon let out a low, pained groan.
"What is her name?"
"Bing Ye-hwa."
"......She must be stopped. On the off chance that anything were to happen to Bing Ye-hwa? That very day, a bomb would drop right in the heart of Seoul."
"We have already submitted a cooperation request to the airport. She will be spotted the moment she arrives, so please do not worry too much."
"Right, right. That's how it has to be."
Dan Jung-seon, who had been nodding vigorously, hardened his expression again.
"Then what is the worse news?"
"I looked into the martial arts Mu-yeong used, as the Alliance Leader instructed...... but the results are a bit too far-fetched, so I'm not very confident in their credibility."
"Tell me regardless."
In truth, right after Mu-yeong's stream had ended, Dan Jung-seon had given Yu-baek a secret task.
To find out the identity of that technique—the one like a red hurricane.
He had issued the order on the belief that something so conspicuous would surely be recorded in the old texts.
"I think it would be better for you to see it directly."
Yu-baek produced an old, worn tome.
Upon reading the title, Dan Jung-seon's face crumpled.
"The Records of the 12th Orthodox-Demonic Great War? Is this not a battle from 200 years ago?"
"I was taken aback myself. But...... if you read from the fourth line on page 20, I believe you will understand."
Dan Jung-seon rapidly opened the book.
And the moment he read the passage Yu-baek had indicated, his eyes tore open wide.
[There was an incident in which Jang Mu-ryeong, Sect Leader of the Demonic Sect, stormed Kunlun alone.
All the masters, including the Sect Head, moved to block his path—but before a blade storm denser than blood, they were no better than fallen leaves.
The time it took for one Transcendence Realm master, seven Supreme Pinnacle masters, and fifty Peak masters to be annihilated was—
Less than a quarter of an hour.]
—Testimony of a gatekeeper who had been in hiding.