The World’s Greatest is Dead - Chapter 532

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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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The Heavenly Supreme Has Died – Episode 532
The Sword Emperor.
Or perhaps the Supreme Swordmaster of All Under Heaven.
The greatest martial artist of all ages and the Heavenly Supreme was the Sword Saint Yoo Cheon-gil.
The pinnacle of the demonic path came to be known as the Celestial Demon.
If one were to name the Heavenly Supreme, these two were undeniably the candidates. Since the Celestial Demon ultimately fell to the Sword Saint, Yoo Cheon-gil could be considered the strongest in martial arts.
However, people said that while Yoo Cheon-gil was the Heavenly Supreme, the Supreme Swordmaster was different.
This was something Yoo Cheon-gil himself acknowledged.
He was called the pinnacle of martial arts, but he was not the one who wielded the sword best.
Even the Celestial Demon said the same.
The Supreme Swordmaster was indeed the Sword Emperor.
A madman obsessed with the blade, an existence that lived for the sword.
Among those from prestigious families, he walked as a ronin with his blade, and eventually participated in war, displaying an overwhelming presence—one of the Celestial Demons.
The Supreme Swordmaster, the Sword Emperor.
He was the one who reached the pinnacle as a swordsman.
‘…He’s fast.’
Today I truly witnessed his reputation firsthand.
‘When did he cut?’
The Reaper’s scythe swung at a maddening speed, but the Sword Emperor’s blade was something I couldn’t even begin to discern.
[Tsk tsk tsk. It hasn’t rusted.]
The Celestial Demon spoke with interest.
[Still fast. To say it’s rusted would be a lie—it’s exquisitely refined. What was contained within has become far more concentrated.]
The Sword Emperor cut at the Reaper while speaking. He said his aging body prevented him from performing properly. Yet the Celestial Demon offered a different assessment.
Rather, the Sword Emperor’s blade had become even more honed. Hearing this, I asked with confusion.
‘If it’s refined, shouldn’t it have cut through?’
Contrary to the words, it hadn’t cut. So wasn’t it a failed strike?
[On the surface, yes. But what’s contained within is different. At that age, he’s employing other methods for refinement. Remarkable.]
The Celestial Demon, who dismissed other martial artists much like Yoo Cheon-gil, acknowledged the Sword Emperor’s blade.
Even though only the wrist was cut, there was something more? The Celestial Demon seemed to see what I could not.
What one sees differs. I knew that already.
‘But I need to see it to judge it.’
I can only make a judgment if I can perceive it.
I watched the Sword Emperor, ignoring my aching body.
The Sword Emperor was also watching me.
Even the disciples who still had their wits about them widened their eyes at the Sword Emperor’s appearance. To them, he must have been just a stable hand. Suddenly appearing with a sword made it impossible not to find it strange.
Moreover.
‘Is that even a sword?’
The blade was half-shattered. Not even half. It was so damaged that it was now shorter than a kitchen knife.
Could he really use that as a sword?
As I was puzzling over this.
“You’ve learned the techniques I taught you, yet you fail to apply them. Surely that’s not what you trained the sword for?”
The Sword Emperor clicked his tongue sharply as he spoke to me. Even now, I was being scolded.
“…I did try my best, but…it wasn’t easy.”
“Don’t make excuses. You’ve expended far too much qi pressure, which inevitably strains your body. I clearly told you this—don’t overexert yourself when your body is in such a condition.”
“…It’s just that circumstances demanded it.”
“If you were simply intent on dying, I wouldn’t stop you. But surely someone of your exceptional intellect recognizes how foolish your approach was. That’s what displeases me.”
“…”
Every word of rebuttal was shut down. The Sword Emperor always had a gift for speaking—his words were like bitter medicine.
He had a talent for scratching at the depths of one’s heart.
[Words spoken without malice can be the sharpest. They suit his reputation perfectly.]
‘Have you experienced this yourself?’
[To the point where I regret not killing him.]
Even the Celestial Demon spoke that way—it was almost amusing. His own manner of speech was equally peculiar, if not more so. Criticizing the Sword Emperor only made it worse.
‘And without even a shred of malice, no less.’
That was the Sword Emperor’s nature. An utterly rational being.
Whether that was an advantage or disadvantage was difficult to say.
“We’ll discuss this later. There’s something we must attend to now.”
I had a scolding reserved for me. Should I run? The thought genuinely crossed my mind.
“…Ha.”
The Reaper laughed. There was nowhere to escape. An absolute master. A being of Celestial Demon caliber—no, Celestial Demon-class—was about to engage in a life-or-death duel.
How could I not witness this?
I steadied my breathing and watched the situation with focused attention.
“…I see. Now I understand.”
The Reaper spoke as if he had discerned something.
“Sword Emperor. So you are that Sword Emperor? Am I right?”
Shhhhh. The Sword Emperor answered not with words but by moving the blade he held. A sword with a shattered edge—something barely deserving of the name—danced through the void.
Whoooooosh—!
‘What is this?’
The broken blade was filled in by sword force. The moment I witnessed it, my entire body went rigid. What was that?
‘This is insane.’
An unfathomable compression. The pinnacle of sword force with its density raised to the maximum.
What I sought to achieve existed there.
So that was it.
‘That’s why the Celestial Demon said my power should be learned from the Sword Emperor.’
One who had reached the end of what he pursued. Even if not the absolute end, one who had come closest—or furthest—toward it.
I could tell just from witnessing his sword force.
“Sword Emperor. I never expected to meet you like this. It’s been quite some time since you vanished without a trace. Is there a reason you’ve shown your face again?”
“You talk quite a lot.”
The Sword Emperor spoke flatly. That was when it happened.
Whoosh.
A brief wind swept through.
Crash-crack-crack-!!!
“…!”
The Reaper crossed his two scythes to defend, yet still was driven backward. A sword strike. The descending blade sent the Reaper staggering.
“I do not favor such individuals.”
I couldn’t see when he swung again. Faster than sound, and the destructive force contained within made my body tremble.
“Filth of Pacheongung.”
He closed the distance. Now my eyes struggled to follow.
“I shall extract answers.”
The Reaper moved. The chain attached to his scythe rose into the air, immediately beginning to circle the surroundings. The atmosphere was entirely different from before. I realized he had merely been toying with us.
Crash-crack-crack-!!
The chain and scythe turned toward the Sword Emperor. Though there was only one opponent, the attacks felt as though multiple assailants were striking.
“Do you know of the green mask?”
Before the chain could unleash its barrage, the Sword Emperor spoke.
Crash-crack-crack-crack-!!!!
A distant sword strike swept across all directions. At tremendous speed, he shattered the chain. He was even severing it.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-!!!!
It felt as though an earthquake was occurring. The Sword Emperor’s blade remained still, yet sword strikes were being created.
What was that? It was an incomprehensible sight.
“Ugh!”
The Reaper gritted his teeth and was flung backward.
Whoosh-! The fierce energy contained in the scythe erupted violently. The Sword Emperor deflected it effortlessly.
“No answer, then. Must I ask again?”
Clang-!
The blades began to clash. Crackle-crackle-! Crash-crack! Sparks flew at tremendous speed. The movements of both were too swift.
It was as though clones were fighting. Only by straining my eyes could I discern a few of their movements.
Even that made my chest tremble.
‘Is this.’
A battle between martial artists who touched the heavens? This vast branch was reduced to ruin in an instant, and its destruction was complete in a heartbeat.
“Ahhhhh!”
“Argh!”
The martial artists around us screamed. A natural disaster. The sword energy and momentum they unleashed killed people.
Boom-!!
“Ugh!”
Paeng Dojin, who had risen at some point, deflected the sword energy. As he was driven backward, I stepped forward to stop him.
“Cough…. Gasp…. Thank you.”
“Stay focused.”
“I must. I absolutely must.”
Blood dripped as Paeng Dojin stared ahead. His resolve not to miss a single moment was evident.
Who held the advantage between the two? There was no question. The Sword Emperor was overwhelming. The Reaper was being pushed back, again and again.
The Four Heavenly Kings of Pacheongung. They’re called the absolute rulers, yet they still can’t reach the Celestial Demon.
While the Gungju matched Shin Chang in skill, the Four Heavenly Kings below her don’t seem to be on that level.
‘The tier is different, that’s for sure.’
The Sword Emperor wields a being I could never defeat. It was a fight that made the words “aged and withered body” seem meaningless.
As they continued fighting like that.
“Cough!”
The Reaper coughed up blood and stopped his movements. He staggered and fell to his knees. Blood erupted from his chest.
The Sword Emperor stopped upon seeing it.
“Hack.”
“Are you willing to answer now? I’ll ask again.”
He spoke with an indifferent gaze.
“Do you know about the green mask.”
“…Green…. Haha….”
The Reaper laughed. His chest was slashed open.
“I see what you’re searching for. Why are you curious about that?”
“Your answer tells me you know. From now on, I’ll cut off your fingers one by one. Answer before they’re all gone.”
Whether it was the trembling hands that were the problem, the Reaper struggled against the Sword Emperor.
The Sword Emperor pressured him as if he wanted to know something, and then.
Whirrrrrrrrr—!!!
Tremendous energy erupted from the Reaper’s body. He was preparing another strike. The air itself, and even my dantian, trembled.
‘…Wow.’
It tingles. Can the pressure of energy reach this level? What I had been releasing felt like child’s play.
Nantaomayeon.
The Reaper crossed his sickles as if to use a secret technique, and the chains rose again. The Sword Emperor, unwilling to wait for this, moved the sword spine instead of the blade.
A slash. Just as he was about to unleash it at the Reaper.
[Move.]
“…!”
The Celestial Demon warned me. At that moment, the Reaper’s gaze turned toward me. He suddenly looked at me? Could it be.
‘Was he targeting me?’
Thinking that, I moved my body. But Paeng Dojin and Yoo Yeon were nearby. I couldn’t dodge like this.
‘Damn it.’
Crackle! I attempted Wol Cheon again. I raised all my energy. The Reaper’s speed was fast. He didn’t give me time to dodge. No, I could dodge, but.
‘These two can’t escape.’
So I couldn’t just leave them. I tried to block the Reaper’s attack with the intensely rising energy.
콰가가가가가가가가각—!!!!!
An enormous impact was unleashed. Damn. I can’t block this properly. Gritting my teeth, I was about to enter Divine Sword Unity.
“Tsk.”
A short clicking sound came from ahead.
The Sword Emperor had appeared in front of me.
Scrape—!
I swung my blade to deflect the impact. The sky itself split in the distance.
I had cut the heavens.
Such was the Sword Emperor’s strike. Witnessing it, I stood dazed without thinking.
“A clever one, aren’t you.”
The Sword Emperor spoke as he retrieved his blade.
“I didn’t expect you to use it that way. A mistake on my part.”
“I… what?”
“Compose yourself. It seems we have cleanup to attend to.”
“What do you mean…”
“The Reaper has already fled.”
“…!”
At those words, I looked ahead.
The Reaper was gone.
‘Ah.’
Had I been used as bait for their escape? The moment I realized it, I spoke to the Sword Emperor.
“…Why…!”
If I had blocked it myself, I could have managed some injury and still stopped them.
Because the Sword Emperor blocked in my stead, I had let them slip away. Had he not chosen to save me, perhaps I could have prevented this.
Why make such a choice? Grateful as I was for the rescue, doubt consumed me, and I questioned him.
“That’s precisely why.”
The Sword Emperor muttered as if displeased.
“This is why I refuse to take disciples. People become foolish.”
“I… what?”
“Handle the aftermath. I shall pursue that man.”
With those words, the Sword Emperor vanished.
And his words—calling me his disciple—lingered in my mind.
[Haha. Remarkably popular, aren’t you.]
The Celestial Demon spoke playfully, but even that failed to reach me.
It was a strange situation indeed.

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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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