Chapter 591:
“So it was that secret manual after all?”
“By that time, it had become certain.”
Guwangqushen let out a deep sigh.
“Wei Yan-ho has this strangely quick sense of perception. No, he’s someone who openly lives by his wits alone. Whether he was originally like that, or whether constantly reading the Sword Emperor’s moods twelve hours a day made it a habit, I don’t know, but either way, he’s quick to catch on.”
“Yes.”
Guwangqushen’s expression was peculiar.
“Nothing was definitively revealed, but Wei Yan-ho seemed to have caught on.”
“That…”
“Looking back, it was an obvious thing.”
At the time, he hadn’t thought of it that way. Sometimes what seems so obvious in hindsight can be ambiguous in the moment.
“How can one emit demonic qi? Why does emitting streams of demonic qi cause madness? When you think about it, it’s so obvious. Because they learned demonic arts.”
“…”
Sagan nodded his head.
When you simplify the thinking, it’s too obvious. There’s only one way to emit demonic qi.
Learning demonic arts.
But it wasn’t because they didn’t know this that so many people couldn’t find the answer.
“All those people couldn’t simultaneously learn demonic arts.”
“That’s right. That was precisely the problem. There could be people who knowingly learn demonic arts. Humans are beings who cannot overcome desire. But it’s impossible for all those people to simultaneously learn demonic arts. They couldn’t escape everyone’s eyes. If such a thing had happened, it would have been discovered within a few days. But!”
Jang-il paused slightly before speaking.
“What if they didn’t know that the martial arts they were learning were demonic arts?”
“…That would be possible.”
“Right, it’s possible. If they themselves don’t know, who would catch them?”
“But is that possible?”
“It’s impossible. Conventionally speaking.”
Guwangqushen shook his head vigorously.
“That’s why no one suspected it. No one could imagine it. They never dreamed they might be learning demonic arts.”
“If what you’re saying is true… that means there exists a martial art that appears to be orthodox to anyone in the martial world, but becomes demonic when learned. Isn’t that denying the very fundamentals of martial arts?”
Sagan didn’t know much about martial arts in depth. He was a historian, not a martial artist.
But even with his shallow knowledge of martial arts, this didn’t make sense. There are things in the world that only experts can spot the flaws in, but there are also things that even beginners can immediately recognize as nonsense.
This was clearly the latter.
“That means it could blur the distinctions between orthodox, demonic, and unorthodox arts, and furthermore, the martial arts that each sect learns, doesn’t it?”
“That’s right.”
“How on earth?”
“Think about it. That’s not even all of it.”
Guwangqushen’s voice gradually rose.
“Even if you create such a martial art, it’s useless if people don’t learn it, isn’t it?”
“…That would be so.”
“So this martial art must be something anyone would want to learn. A martial art that must be learned even if it means setting aside one’s own sect’s martial arts, a martial art one cannot resist learning.”
Sagan squeezed his eyes shut.
What Guwangqushen was saying clearly pointed to one specific secret manual.
“The Sword Emperor’s Manual.”
“That’s right.”
The Sword Emperor’s Manual.
The secret manual containing the legacy of the Sword King.
Who wouldn’t learn it if they got their hands on that manual? Who would give up the chance to learn the martial arts of the Sword Emperor, called the greatest of all time?
It would be impossible to give up.
Anyone would try to learn it. The moment they got their hands on it, they would analyze the manual and strive to master it perfectly.
From this fact, Sagan could realize two things.
“Then…”
Organizing his thoughts, Sagan spoke in a serious tone.
“Someone created the Sword Emperor’s Manual. Martial arts that appear to be the Sword Emperor’s but are actually demonic arts.”
“That’s right.”
Sagan’s face hardened like stone.
Words are easy.
You can create flying horses or tigers that burrow underground with words alone. But actually making such things was a separate matter entirely.
“How is that possible?”
“It’s impossible, at least for us.”
“…”
“But there was someone for whom it was possible. If there’s someone more versed in demonic arts than anyone else while possessing martial arts equivalent to the greatest of all time? If there’s someone who created demonic arts himself and became the root of all demons in the world?”
“…Heavenly Demon.”
“That’s right.”
The atmosphere in the hut became incredibly heavy.
‘Is such a thing possible?’
Until now, Sagan had heard the name Heavenly Demon several times. But he could never understand why Guwangqushen showed such a disgusted reaction every time that name came up.
No matter how fearsome he was, wasn’t he someone who no longer existed in this world?
No one feels fear when discussing tyrants from history or monsters from mythology. Because they know such beings don’t exist in reality. The same should be true of Heavenly Demon.
But now he seemed to understand why Guwangqushen still couldn’t escape from the name Heavenly Demon.
‘He’s not human.’
Could someone capable of such things be placed within the realm of humanity?
If martial arts means something created by people, used by people, and devised by people, then this had already transcended the level of martial arts.
Saying ‘it feels orthodox but is actually demonic’ was no different from saying cold fire or water flowing upward. If someone could create such things, what would be strange about calling them a god?
It meant ignoring common sense, truth, and even the laws of nature.
“I simply cannot…”
“Don’t try to understand.”
Guwangqushen shook his head.
“Understanding is impossible. I still can’t understand it. Can an ant understand a human? Even if an ant agonized for its entire life, the only thing it could understand would be that humans are enormous. It’s the same principle. No matter how much we think and try to know, there’s nothing we can understand. This isn’t something to be understood. It’s something to be accepted.”
Sagan bit his lips tightly.
‘Heavenly Demon.’
Now he could understand how fearsome an existence Heavenly Demon was. If someone could cause such things, their abilities need no explanation.
It was obvious they could shake the heavens and make the earth tremble.
“…Why would such a being?”
“There were circumstances.”
“But with that ability!”
Guwangqushen shook his head.
“Don’t be hasty. It’s a story that will come out soon anyway. Haven’t we almost reached the end now?”
A quiet sigh escaped.
‘A hero who saved the world…’
While it was widely known that Radiant Martial Sovereign saved the world, the fact that the situation at that time was this urgent and tragic wasn’t widely known.
Going through it point by point, he couldn’t understand how this situation was overcome.
“Anyway, Wei Yan-ho—later called the Radiant Martial Sovereign—sold that Sword Emperor’s Manual…”
“Right. Wei Yan-ho sold it off.”
“He didn’t know?”
“Of course he didn’t know.”
Guwangqushen frowned.
“People often make mistakes because he became strong so quickly after entering the martial world, but when that guy first came out into the martial world, there were plenty of people stronger than him. If even those people couldn’t figure it out, how could he?”
“…”
“But as that guy’s level increased, he seemed to sense something strange. Then he must have realized that the fundamental cause of this whole situation lay with him.”
“No, that’s…”
Sagan frowned.
You could say that. Wei Yan-ho had indeed sold the Sword Emperor’s Manual for money. Thanks to that, the Sword Emperor’s Manual spread widely.
“But wasn’t that going to happen eventually anyway? Because that was their intention.”
“That’s right.”
Guwangqushen agreed on that point.
“But it wouldn’t have spread so widely. It would have been limited to a couple of sects or so. Certainly, the situation worsened because of Wei Yan-ho.”
“…I see.”
“Of course, that doesn’t mean Wei Yan-ho made a big mistake. Thanks to him, one thing was prevented.”
“The bloodbath?”
“That’s not all. The bloodbath occurring at Mount Na was already practically predetermined. But remember, when the bloodbath happened at Mount Na, no one confirmed the true nature of the Sword Emperor’s Manual. They just discovered the Sword Emperor’s tomb.”
“That’s right.”
“What do you think would have happened if someone possessed it and it was confirmed to truly be the Sword Emperor’s legacy?”
Sagan swallowed dryly.
Great chaos.
The entire martial world might have engaged in a deadly struggle for it. Even when one of the Ten Thousand Swords of the Ten Thousand Swords Hundred Families appears in the world, the world is shaken. But if not just any sword, but the Sword Emperor’s martial arts fell into the world?
The martial world is a place where bloodshed that annihilates entire regions frequently occurs over just one drop of Azure Stone Oil. If it were the Sword Emperor’s Manual, which has value beyond a river of flowing Azure Stone Oil, the aftermath would be horrific just to imagine.
“That’s exactly what they were aiming for. Originally, they must have also targeted the chaos of the martial world through the Sword Emperor’s Manual. But Wei Yan-ho gulped it down and shared it with everyone.”
Guwangqushen chuckled.
“A treasure is only a treasure when I alone possess it. What kind of treasure would it be if even the neighborhood kids carry it around?”
“That’s right.”
“The problems caused by that guy selling the manual are serious. But I don’t think the situation would have been better if Wei Yan-ho hadn’t been involved with that manual. It might not have been intentional, but it was the best solution.”
Sagan nodded.
“…Everyone thinks that way, but only that guy doesn’t think so. Yeah. I should have known then that he was more fragile than I thought.”
Sagan couldn’t say anything.
From Guwangqushen, who was looking at a distant place with lonely eyes, he felt an indescribable sense of regret.
How much had this man seen and felt?
The wrinkles etched on his face now looked a little different.
“So Radiant Martial Sovereign went to stop Hundred Sword Castle?”
“More precisely, he went to save Shaolin and Wudang.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
“It’s a little different. Well, it’s an unrelated story though.”
“Then the next story would be about that.”
“That’s right…”
“The great activities that you also performed…”
“Great activities my ass!”
Guwangqushen’s voice became agitated.
“Great activities, my ass! I was just struggling to stay alive—what kind of ‘great deeds’ is that? I had no thoughts. I just had to fight somehow. That’s what that guy is like.”
“What do you mean?”
“…He complicates things that could be solved easily. I should have thought about it then! Didn’t I always say that accidents happen wherever that guy goes? I knew this happened regardless of Wei Yan-ho’s will, yet I fell for it. I thought Wei Yan-ho had changed somehow.”
“…”
“So I learned one truly harsh lesson.”
“What’s that?”
After sighing and lamenting several times, Guwangqushen spoke with a strange expression.
“People don’t change.”
“…”
“Never.”
From those words alone, you could guess what kind of events had occurred.
Unfortunately.
