Chapter 702

"How was your fight with the Yul Lord?"

The Sword Demon stared at the riverbank without turning his head toward Musashi.

"He was practically invincible."

"You've grasped the essence of the Heavenly Seamless Robe."

"You knew about it, of course."

"How could I not? I accepted that ridiculous position as Special Officer of the Twelve Yuls precisely because I wanted to break it."

The Sword Demon glanced sidelong at Musashi and said,

"I've been wondering about this for a while—when did you become so fluent in the Central Plains tongue? I heard you only lived in the Eastern Seas for a few decades."

The Sword Demon's question wasn't unfounded. Musashi had originally struggled with the Central Plains language, speaking it haltingly. Yet in this reincarnation of Baek Woong, he had suddenly become eerily proficient at some point. The Sword Demon needed to uncover why this change had occurred.

"I asked the Yul Lord to help me learn the language quickly. And he assisted me in acquiring it rapidly."

"Did he assign you a Central Plains language tutor?"

"No. It was thanks to this."

Whoosh.

Musashi tossed a small pair of objects to the Sword Demon. Catching them, the Sword Demon

"No. It was thanks to this."

Whoosh.

Musashi tossed a small pair of objects to the Sword Demon. Catching them, the Sword Demon saw they were metallic devices shaped like earpieces. He stared at the strange items, and Musashi explained.

"The Yul Lord gave them to me. He called them lingual decoders."

"Lingual decoders...? How do these help you learn?"

"Put one in your ear."

The Sword Demon inserted the lingual decoder into his ear. Sure enough, it fit snugly, designed perfectly for the ear. Musashi began speaking rapidly in the Eastern Seas tongue, and soon the Sword Demon felt astonishment.

"%^*^*&^*@&[email protected]&%^...#*%724#&%^... Yeah... now... can you hear me? Does the story about drinking sake at the Kisara Family sound clear?"

The Sword Demon realized he could naturally understand and speak the Eastern Seas tongue. His own words emerged in that language.

"I hear you fine."

"See? We can converse directly in the Eastern Seas tongue."

"..."

The Sword Demon removed the lingual decoder and eyed it suspiciously. Indeed, the moment he used it, the Eastern Seas tongue sounded like his native language. There was a slight delay, but compared to the difficulty and time normally required to learn a language, it was instantaneous.

"If you wear it for a long time, eventually you can understand others even without it."

"Incredible. How did the Yul Lord create such a wondrous device?"

"I don't know. He boasted that it doesn't need charging, but I have no idea what that means."

The Sword Demon felt suspicion. Was this another demonic artifact?

But a more pressing question arose, so he turned to Musashi.

"This device is impressive, of course, but I'm more curious about your motives. You only care about martial arts—why did you decide to learn the Central Plains tongue?"

"... Hm."

Musashi looked up at the sky and said,

"Because all of you were on the verge of the Absolute Realm."

"What do you mean?"

"At the time I was guiding you, I sensed that most of your group had reached the pinnacle of the Transcendent Realm and would soon ascend to the Absolute Realm. It was only a matter of time. So I thought, if I lead you, it might be interesting."

"... I see."

The Sword Demon understood Musashi's intentions.

'This man wanted rivals in the Absolute Realm.'

Exactly. After clashing with him directly, you'll understand why I made that choice. Why I taught you my insights into swift swordsmanship.

"I understand completely."

The Sword Demon continued gravely.

"... You can't win against it with normal methods."

It wasn't a matter of strength versus weakness.

It was about compatibility.

The problem was that the Heavenly Seamless Robe operated on such an outrageous principle that without finding a way to counter it, one couldn't even lay a hand on him.

Miyamoto Musashi said,

"If I can defeat the Twelve Yul Lord with my sword, I can claim to be the world's strongest. He's the supreme warrior of the East, perhaps the world."

"Perhaps."

The Sword Demon replied that way but doubted it deep down.

'The strongest human isn't set in stone. If the White Lotus Cult Leader were still around, he'd be a fine match for the Twelve Yul Lord.'

At first glance, the White Lotus Cult Leader's martial enlightenment seemed far inferior, but that wasn't entirely true. The Sword Demon suspected the Yul Lord had subtly avoided clashing with him. It was like rock-paper-scissors.

Musashi lightly swung his sword.

Slash!

In the next instant, the river split in half and froze. Musashi used his telekinetic grasp to pull a

Musashi lightly swung his sword.

Slash!

In the next instant, the river split in half and froze. Musashi used his telekinetic grasp to pull a few carp from the severed waters and tossed them to the Sword Demon.

"Eat something."

"Thanks."

Musashi had just performed the feat of slicing a river—with a visible horizon—in half horizontally with his blade, but the Sword Demon wasn't particularly shocked. Those in the Absolute Realm could shake the world with their will and martial arts alone. Perhaps the Sword Demon himself could do the same if he put his mind to it.

Crackle...

The Sword Demon and Musashi grilled and ate the carp together, focusing silently on recovery. They circulated their energy by the riverbank, entering a meditative trance, and rose at dawn the next morning.

In the dawn's quiet.

Miyamoto Musashi said,

"No emissary from the Twelve Yuls has come for me yet. He's surely dead."

"..."

"I'm no longer the Special Officer of the Twelve Yuls."

"So?"

Miyamoto Musashi's eyes gleamed fiercely.

"After defeating you, I'll head to the Central Plains. I'll slay the masters of the Nine Great Sects and Eight Great Families, and the Eight Demonic Sects, proclaiming to the world that my Two Heavens As One Style dominates Central Plains martial arts."

Chilling words. If Musashi rampaged through the Central Plains, causing a bloodbath, no one could stop him now. No openly known Absolute Realm expert existed in the current Central Plains martial world, and numbers alone wouldn't suffice. The martial world could perish from one man without surprise. Thousands of righteous experts could perish in a single Peerless Slash.

Yet—the Sword Demon felt nothing upon hearing it. Instead, disappointment colored his next words.

"Pathetic."

"... What?"

As Musashi frowned, the Sword Demon said calmly,

"Pathetic. Is that all you can think of after reaching that realm?"

"All? You call destroying the Central Plains you belonged to a trivial matter?"

"Yes. It's trivial."

Rather than rage, Musashi tilted his head.

"Then what do you consider a grand ambition?"

"Eliminating the god destroying this world."

"..."

"Don't underestimate me. Wasn't that your true goal?"

Musashi smirked.

"You're right. Crushing the Central Plains martial world is just warm-up. But I lack the power to slay a god right now, so I'm starting with smaller goals."

"... By slaughtering and accumulating grudges, hoping a new Absolute Realm expert arises from the Central Plains, fueled by that resentment?"

Musashi nodded at the Sword Demon's words.

"You're sharp. That's why I plan to kill Central Plains folk. As I smash the heads of those steeped in peace, strong ones will emerge somewhere, and among them, one worthy of facing me. And then..."

"Your life-or-death battles with that rival will strengthen your own Absolute Realm."

"Precisely."

As they spoke, the Sword Demon felt his mind growing hazy. From his long experience in the demonic path, he knew the theory Musashi espoused. In the muddy waters of the unorthodox sects, prolonged life-and-death struggles often birthed exceptional demonic talents, like pearls from filth.

But he never imagined an Absolute Realm master like Miyamoto Musashi would spout such low-level, improbable nonsense! He couldn't believe the idea of stirring a blood wind in the Central Plains martial world was just a basebred clubhouse plan based on such a backward logic.

sects, prolonged life-and-death struggles often birthed exceptional demonic talents, like pearls from filth.

But he never imagined an Absolute Realm master like Miyamoto Musashi would spout such low-level, improbable nonsense! He couldn't believe the idea of stirring a blood wind in the Central Plains martial world—against whom he held no grudge—based on such haphazard logic.

"What grounds do you have? I can't accept your baseless conviction that a peerless expert will emerge from the bloodshed."

"I don't expect understanding. I'm just going to implement my theory. That's how the martial world of my Eastern Seas developed."

"Hmm."

The Sword Demon let out a groan.

"You're insane."

And he confirmed that Miyamoto Musashi was truly a martial arts lunatic to his bones. An immense genius, but one who had transcended mortal perspectives. His willingness to let thousands or tens of thousands die for his own martial advancement was utterly incomprehensible.

"With the Eight Guardian Divinities and the Imperial Palace about to rampage, you have no plans to fight them?"

"Why would I?"

"Your path will inevitably clash with them."

"I've considered that, of course. But I won't collide with the Eight Guardian Divinities."

"...?"

"I have no reason to stop them. And they'll likely ally with me if I handle the troublesome

"I've considered that, of course. But I won't collide with the Eight Guardian Divinities."

"...?"

"I have no reason to stop them. And they'll likely ally with me if I handle the troublesome martial folk for them. I'm confident I can do as I please."

"..."

"And once my power grows stronger, I can storm the Imperial Palace and destroy it. Then eliminate the Eight Guardian Divinities one by one."

The Sword Demon's face hardened. Only now did the full outline of Musashi's thinking crystallize.

'This man's mind... holds no regard or mercy for the weak... no sense of justice!'

Not an innate villain, but arrogantly dismissive and exploitative of all for his goals.

The arrogance of one born a genius.

Feeling that mindset fully, the Sword Demon's chest tightened.

Shing.

The Sword Demon drew his sword. He aimed it at Miyamoto Musashi.

"Miyamoto Musashi."

"Decided, have you?"

The Sword Demon unleashed genuine killing intent. Any gratitude for Musashi's teachings vanished from his mind.

"I'll kill you."

Sword Demon Seo Moon Dae-ryong resolved to stake his life on severing Musashi's head.

This wasn't a matter for sparring.

With the Twelve Yul Lord gone, Musashi was merely an unleashed colt.

'Martial arts without chivalry is mere violence.'

The Sword Demon instinctively knew that slaying Musashi would aid Baek Woong's path in this life. Such an attitude would only empower the most vicious forces.

The battle-mad Musashi to his core grinned.

Finally, he could fight the now-serious Sword Demon. Joy surged within him.

"That's the spirit."

And on that nameless riverbank, the duel between peerless swordsmen began.