The Great Heavenly Sword Emperor - Chapter 45

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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#045. Distorted Truth, the Mark That Tightens (1)

Han Mu-jin and Jang Cheol-un.
With the leaders of both sects yielding, the brutal struggle in Danae Valley came to an end.
Cheon Mu-gyeol retrieved the blades that had been held to their throats and turned his body toward Bukgung Dan-ya.
As Cheon Mu-gyeol passed, the warriors of the Hyeonmu Sect and the Baegun Sword Sect parted to let him through.
Setting aside matters of Murim reputation, it was a reverence born for a warrior who had demonstrated overwhelming martial prowess in solitary combat.
Moreover, what Cheon Mu-gyeol had shown was the pure form of a martial artist, not that of a villain, so much of the antagonism the two sects’ warriors harbored had already begun to fade.
“Are you all right?”
“Yes. I’m simply tired, but I’m fine. And you—are you unharmed?”
Cheon Mu-gyeol nodded at Bukgung Dan-ya’s question.
“Phew… We’ve cleared one hurdle. To be honest, if you’d arrived even slightly later, things could have turned dangerous.”
Bukgung Dan-ya exhaled a breath of relief as he spoke.
“You endured well. The martial arts of the Bukgung Clan are as steadfast, honest, and resilient as their nature.”
“Yes. I’m beginning to understand. But I also feel regret—had I delved deeper into my family’s arts from the beginning, things would surely be very different now.”
At Bukgung Dan-ya’s words, Cheon Mu-gyeol gazed at him without particular reaction.
“Let us go now. I think it best we rest once we’ve left this place. I have no desire to linger here any longer.”
Bukgung Dan-ya spoke as he pushed himself to his feet with effort.
And soon after, the two of them departed Danae Valley.

* * *

By the time the fighting had ended, the sun was already sinking toward the western horizon.
Had it taken much longer, the night would have fallen completely by now, swallowing everything in darkness.
Having left Danae Valley before it grew too late, the two men traveled without haste, their pace deliberately measured.
There was the matter of Bukgung Dan-ya’s depleted stamina, and they needed to find a place to rest.
They would have preferred to find a village nearby, but unfortunately there was none within reasonable distance.
So the two of them proceeded far from Danae Valley before settling in a quiet, cool place to take their rest.
“I’ll begin to circulate my Ungi.”
“Very well.”
At Cheon Mu-gyeol’s assent, Bukgung Dan-ya immediately crossed his legs and entered a state of Ungi cultivation.
With nothing left to do, Cheon Mu-gyeol sat near Bukgung Dan-ya and gazed quietly at the Cheon Shingeom.
‘That wasn’t like usual. In the past, it would have spoken first of how to employ the Cheonlam Haejin-gyeol. But to speak of killing first…’
Cheon Mu-gyeol recalled the whispers of the Cheon Shingeom that had continued throughout his confrontation with the sword formations of the Baegun Sword Sect and the Hyeonmu Sect.
At the time, he had been too focused on combat to pay it much mind, but now, thinking back, something felt odd.
[There is nothing odd about it. I simply showed you the most efficient method available to you.]
Despite the Cheon Shingeom’s response, Cheon Mu-gyeol could not shake the sense that something was amiss.
The words made sense, yet the whispers of the Cheon Shingeom at that moment had carried a quality distinctly different from its usual voice.
[Bukgung Dan-ya was exhausted. This narrowed your range of movement. On top of that, your opponent pressed you with two sword formations while vastly outnumbering you in personnel. Ultimately, it was a battle you would have won regardless, but there was nothing to gain by prolonging it.]
The Cheon Shingeom laid out what sounded like an excuse.
‘If you were going to change your stance like that, you wouldn’t have made a Promise of Non-killing from the start.’
[It is important to keep one’s word. But flexibility in response to circumstance is necessary. Look at the larger picture. This battle is not the end. It extends to the struggle with the Dongbang Clan.]
“Hah…”
Cheon Mu-gyeol exhaled a long breath.
The Cheon Shingeom’s words were not wrong.
Flexibility in response to circumstance.
It would be an element he would need again and again in the time to come.
After experiencing today’s battle, conversing with the Cheon Shingeom, Cheon Mu-gyeol found himself wondering whether he could maintain the Promise of Non-killing indefinitely.
‘But for as long as I am able.’
That said, he had no intention of abandoning his principles immediately.
Unless truly unavoidable circumstances forced his hand, he meant to hold to that principle as long as it remained within his capacity.
Having finished his conversation with the Cheon Shingeom, Cheon Mu-gyeol also closed his eyes as if to rest.

* * *

At the very moment Cheon Mu-gyeol and Bukgung Dan-ya were resting far from Danae Valley.
Beyond the collapsed cliff lay the Songpung Sect, and the Baegun Sword Sect and Hyeonmu Sect were likewise engaged in cleanup efforts.
Though no one had died, many were wounded, and darkness had already fallen without the work being completed.
Han Mu-jin, Jang Cheol-un, and Ju Han had all stepped in to oversee the recovery themselves.
They needed to depart soon enough to treat the injured and allow their exhausted bodies to rest.
It was in the midst of this cleanup work that it happened.
“Hmm?”
Han Mu-jin and Jang Cheol-un both sensed something amiss and lifted their heads.
Their gaze fixed on the collapsed cliff.
More precisely, they focused intently on what lay beyond it—the Songpung Sect.
“Killing intent?”
“Blood in the air too. What in the Murim is happening over there?”
Jang Cheol-un and Han Mu-jin spoke with hardened expressions.
The blocked passage prevented them from crossing to the other side and investigating, leaving them frustrated by their ignorance of the situation.
“Everyone, halt the work! All those capable of fighting—draw your blades and prepare for anything!”
Han Mu-jin’s voice cut through the air.
The scent of blood seeping through the gaps in the massive boulder fragments grew steadily thicker.
Yet no screams came. No sounds of combat reached their ears.
That made it all the more mysterious, all the more maddening.
As they ceased their work and stood tensely on guard, time continued its passage.
And soon, deeper darkness began to settle over Danae Valley.
“Would it not be better to hasten our departure from this place?”
“But the Songpung Sect lies beyond. For us to slip away alone…”
“We cannot determine what transpires beyond that barrier, nor are we in any position to render aid, are we not?”
As Jang Cheol-un spoke, Han Mu-jin fell into thought.
A solitary figure in black robes suddenly appeared atop the boulder blocking the passage.
“Who goes there!”
Han Mu-jin’s voice rang out, sharp with wariness.
And then.
More figures emerged alongside the first, their numbers multiplying rapidly.
Han Mu-jin and Jang Cheol-un’s faces went rigid.
“Damn it. We should have left sooner.”
Jang Cheol-un’s voice was heavy with regret.
Their identities remained unknown, but what had transpired was becoming clear.
The Songpung Sect on the other side was likely destroyed to the last man.
“Who are you, and what is your aim against us!”
Han Mu-jin shouted.
But he already understood.
No answer would come.
All he could do now was forestall the massacre to come and find a way out of this place.
And moments later.
Shhhhhhhk!
The black-robed figures blotted out the sky.
The sky, which had still shown a trace of blue, became pitch-black as midnight.
Soon Danae Valley became a place devoid of all vitality—a place of death alone.

* * *

After finishing his Ungi cultivation, Bukgung Dan-ya and Cheon Mu-gyeol pressed onward at greater speed.
By the dead of night, they reached a town and managed to slip into an inn.
Too late for supper, the two suppressed their hunger and sought rest in their respective rooms.
Morning came to meet them thus.
The two awaited their meal in the inn’s ground-floor dining room.
“We’ve managed to evade thus far, but what concerns me is what lies ahead. The assault will surely intensify.”
At Bukgung Dan-ya’s words, Cheon Mu-gyeol nodded.
Given that even Danae Valley’s strategic geography and the alliance of three Sects had failed to achieve their goal, it seemed likely that more Sects would unite against them.
No matter how formidable Cheon Mu-gyeol might be, breaking through hundreds without taking a life would be nearly impossible.
“We can consider that matter when the time comes.”
Cheon Mu-gyeol did not dwell on it deeply.
For now, they could only respond passively to circumstances as they unfolded.
Without knowing how their enemies would move, worrying would yield no answers.
Just then, a man stepped through the entrance of the restaurant.
Bukgung Dan-ya, seated facing the doorway, glanced at him briefly before turning his attention away.
But the man walked toward the two of them.
He sat down at the table behind Cheon Mu-gyeol.
As an odd prickling sensation ran down Bukgung Dan-ya’s spine, the man opened his mouth.
“Jandung Association.”
The man revealed his identity in a low voice, and Cheon Mu-gyeol and Bukgung Dan-ya exchanged glances.
“Please listen quietly. This is urgent information given the circumstances.”
At those words—the situation is grave—Bukgung Dan-ya swallowed hard.
“A massacre has occurred in Danae Valley. After you two departed, a group appeared and slaughtered three Sects.”
“What?”
Bukgung Dan-ya’s startled cry drew a measured gaze from Cheon Mu-gyeol.
Bukgung Dan-ya pressed his lips together, suppressing his agitation, but his face had flushed crimson.
“The problem is this: rumors are spreading rapidly that it was the two of you who killed them.”
Bukgung Dan-ya’s eyes widened.
‘We’ve been properly framed.’
He didn’t need to ask who had done this—he already knew.
“Surely they wouldn’t go so far…….”
Bukgung Dan-ya murmured under his breath.
No matter how desperately they wanted to back him into a corner, he’d never imagined they’d stoop to murdering innocent people.
“In any case, the rumors are spreading through the common folk as well. And the Wanted Poster with them. This may be the last chance for you to rest easy.”
That wasn’t the real concern.
If rumors that Cheon Mu-gyeol had slaughtered three Sects spread through the Murim, the fury of the other Sects would reach a fever pitch.
And more Sects would unite and rush to attack than he’d feared.
They would focus not on Cheon Mu-gyeol’s Martial Prowess in annihilating three Sects, but on the savagery of eradicating fellow disciples.
“We will relay news as the situation develops. I wish you good fortune.”
With those final words, the man rose quietly from his seat and slipped out of the restaurant.
The shock of such devastating news left Bukgung Dan-ya speechless for a long time.
When their meal arrived moments later, neither of them touched their chopsticks.
“Cheon Mu-gyeol.”
Bukgung Dan-ya called to him softly.
Then he hesitated.
Cheon Mu-gyeol rarely let emotion show on his face. Even now, his expression was no different from usual.
But his eyes had changed.
Seeing the rage burning in Cheon Mu-gyeol’s gaze, Bukgung Dan-ya felt a chill run through his entire body, and he trembled without meaning to.
“The Dongbang Clan. They’ve crossed a line—and far too thoroughly at that.”
Cheon Mu-gyeol spoke tersely.
What mattered now was not how many Sects would come rushing to kill him.
What mattered was how to punish the Dongbang Clan, transformed beyond recognition, having crossed every boundary.
That was all that truly mattered.
“Cheon Mu-gyeol…….”
Bukgung Dan-ya called out to him once more, softly.
But the rage that burned in Cheon Mu-gyeol’s eyes showed no sign of fading.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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