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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 119
Chapter Title: The Mad Gallant Sword Demon
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Seonwoo Jin stepped through the gap in the stone wall and was hit with a wave of dizziness, as if the world had turned upside down.

It felt as if he had entered another world entirely.

Looking around, Seonwoo Jin realized it wasn't just a feeling.

He muttered blankly.

“What in the world…”

Dang Yeo-eun, who had entered holding his hand, was the same.

She looked around with a dazed expression and asked, bewildered.

“What’s happening?”

A forest stretched out around them.

A vast, seemingly endless forest.

He could perhaps understand that much.

There could be a large open space inside a cave, after all.

But the sky stretching above their heads was utterly incomprehensible.

They had clearly passed through the inside of the stone wall, yet now they stood in the middle of a forest under a gray sky.

Seonwoo Jin muttered.

“This is impossible.”

If the stone door they'd entered had faced the outside of the circular passage, he might have thought this was the forest on the other side of the cave.

But the door was on the inner side of the passage, meaning it led deeper into the mountain's core.

Therefore, it was absolutely impossible for a forest with an open sky to appear after going inside.

Just then.

More people jumped in from behind them.

Two of them, in fact.

“You bastards!”

The first was Mak U-jeon.

Hearing his voice, Seonwoo Jin quickly pulled Dang Yeo-eun back.

As soon as he entered and spotted them, Mak U-jeon shouted with a ferocious expression.

“Azure and Crimson Twin Swords! I've finally caught you!”

Right behind him, a man named Ga Yu-ak followed.

He then shouted to Mak U-jeon.

“Society Leader!”

Mak U-jeon, in turn, saw him and shouted gleefully.

“Oh, Vice Leader! Perfect timing! We must kill those bastards!”

Seonwoo Jin's eyes filled with confusion as he watched them.

‘What in the world is going on?’

He couldn't make any sense of the situation.

Just moments ago, these men had been consumed by madness, acting like beasts...

And now, the two of them had suddenly regained their senses.

‘Does the madness disappear once you come in here?’

The thought crossed his mind, but it was still strange.

Seonwoo Jin could still feel the energy inside him, blocked by the wall of the Grand Harmony Mind Art, unable to penetrate.

The feeling was about the same as before—no, to be precise, it felt even stronger.

So there was no reason for the madness to be cured just by coming here.

Besides, while not as intense as before, Mak U-jeon and Ga Yu-ak's eyes still held a reddish tint.

It meant they weren't free from the madness yet.

But there was no time to think about it in detail.

Mak U-jeon and Ga Yu-ak were radiating killing intent, ready to pounce at any moment.

‘Tch!’

After circulating his energy to check his condition, Seonwoo Jin sent a mental message to Dang Yeo-eun.

- Young Lady, we have to fight for now. We need to look for a chance to escape.

- Yes, I understand!

His check revealed that his internal injuries had healed to some extent.

Besides, if their madness had subsided, their martial prowess would have returned to normal. In that case, they weren't entirely without a chance of winning.

Just then, Mak U-jeon and Ga Yu-ak charged first.

“Try running away again! Haaaah!”

“Die!”

*Fwoosh!*

As Mak U-jeon and Ga Yu-ak rushed him, Seonwoo Jin's sharp gaze assessed them, and he immediately decided on a countermeasure.

‘First, I'll confuse them with Heavenly Wind Transforming Leaves, then follow up with Illusory Sword Mirror and Emptiness is Form…!’

Just then.

*CRASH!*

With a loud crash, the two men charging at Seonwoo Jin were sent flying backward.

They had been struck by something that appeared out of nowhere.

“Keuk!”

“W-What was that?!”

As they staggered back, Seonwoo Jin and Dang Yeo-eun stared at the being that had just appeared and knocked them away. They were frozen stiff, their eyes filled with terror.

The same was true for Mak U-jeon and Ga Yu-ak, who had been thrown back.

They barely managed to regain their balance and land on their feet.

And the moment their angry eyes fell upon the being, they too froze solid.

He opened his mouth.

“Who dares cause a ruckus in my domain?”

The low voice pierced their ears.

It was a voice that seemed to resonate with their very souls.

Mak U-jeon and Ga Yu-ak couldn't help but tremble.

He was a middle-aged man with sharp eyes.

A middle-aged man of average build, dressed in common gray martial arts robes.

But to those looking at him, he seemed anything but ordinary.

*Gulp!*

Seonwoo Jin swallowed without realizing it.

It felt like he was standing before a mountain that pierced the clouds. A mountain with such an overwhelming presence that its peak seemed to touch the sky, its full height immeasurable.

This presence was in no way inferior to that of the Lust Demon Son Eun-sang or the Four Evils Blood Demon Jeon Mu-gwang, who he had previously felt were above the clouds.

No, in fact, the chilling killing intent radiating from him like a blade felt far more dangerous than theirs.

He was like a demon king descended upon the mortal world.

Barely withstanding the crushing killing intent, Seonwoo Jin asked with difficulty.

“Senior… who might you be?”

The demon king turned his eyes to Seonwoo Jin and replied.

“I am Jeong Myeong-gang, the one who created this place.”

“!”

Jeong Myeong-gang?

What?!

The moment they realized who that name belonged to, the four of them felt a shock as if they'd been struck hard on the head.

It was an unbelievable story.

Jeong Myeong-gang was the name of the Mad Gallant Sword Demon, who was known to have died at least thirty or forty years ago.

For him to be alive and well like this…

Of course, the man could be lying.

But the overwhelming presence he was currently exuding told them otherwise.

It was proclaiming the absolute truth.

Mak U-jeon stammered, his face pale with fear.

“S-Senior, you were still alive and well. W-We juniors, without knowing…”

Jeong Myeong-gang shook his head with an expressionless face and said.

“No, I am already dead.”

“…Pardon?”

It was a very strange answer.

The man standing perfectly alive before them had answered that he was dead as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

Hearing this, none of them knew how to take his words.

Seonwoo Jin carefully asked again.

“Senior, what did you just say…?”

He replied again in a matter-of-fact tone.

“I am already dead. This is a space I created before I died, a place somewhere between dream and reality. That is why I can exist here.”

“Ah!”

Only then could Seonwoo Jin understand the current situation.

The forest with an open sky inside a cave, the appearance of the Mad Sword who was said to have died decades ago—it all made sense now.

Mak U-jeon also looked slightly relieved and cautiously asked Jeong Myeong-gang.

“Then… you are a being within a dream, Senior. Not real.”

He seemed greatly relieved by the fact that Jeong Myeong-gang, who radiated the killing intent and presence of a demon king, was not real.

And Seonwoo Jin felt the same.

The feeling of being before Jeong Myeong-gang was precarious, like standing on the edge of a thousand-foot cliff, about to be pushed off.

It felt as though his life could be extinguished like an ant's with a mere flick of the man's finger.

But the relief that he wasn't real was short-lived.

To Mak U-jeon's question about being a dream entity, Jeong Myeong-gang once again shook his head.

“No, it is not a dream. To be precise, it is halfway between dream and reality. Therefore, if I kill you here, you will die in reality as well.”

“…Pardon?”

At his words, the four of them froze instantly.

His statement that dying here meant dying in reality sounded like a declaration that he intended to kill them here.

And in the next moment, the Mad Sword's already immense killing intent began to pour out like a violent storm.

*FWOOOOSH!*

Faced with the sudden wave of energy, the four of them couldn't help but let out pained groans.

“Kuk!”

“Agh!”

“Gaaah!”

“Keoheok!”

They realized that the killing intent they had felt until now was merely the pressure he naturally emitted.

The moment the Mad Sword unleashed his killing intent in earnest, the formless aura became tangible, lifting the four of them into the air and starting to choke them.

“Ghhhk!”

Jeong Myeong-gang was merely watching, yet the four people were flailing in the air like insects, dying.

A pressure so immense that they couldn't even move a finger, despite there being nothing to grasp.

It was a desperate helplessness they had never felt before.

A moment later, just as their vision began to turn yellow from lack of air, Jeong Myeong-gang's killing intent returned to its formless state.

The four of them immediately fell to the ground.

*Thud!*

“Cough! Cough!”

“Gasp! Gasp!”

“Heok, heok!”

It felt as if they had gone to the gates of the underworld and back.

The four of them had to cough and gasp for a long while to catch their breath.

Then, Jeong Myeong-gang asked again with an expressionless face.

“Does this still feel like a dream?”

Startled, Mak U-jeon frantically shook his head and exclaimed.

“No, sir! Absolutely not!”

The Mad Sword, Jeong Myeong-gang, slowly nodded.

And spoke again.

“Good. In that case, let's begin our talk in earnest. You are the ones who have passed the first stage, the Gate of the Mad Soul, to receive my Moonlit Illusion Sword Dance. And now you have entered the second stage, the Gate of Two. Is there anyone among you who has no interest in my martial arts and entered by mistake?”

At his question, the four of them glanced at each other before cautiously shaking their heads.

Mak U-jeon, of course, wanted to obtain the Mad Sword's legacy, and Seonwoo Jin could not let that happen.

Thus, no one could afford to give up here.

Of course, Mak U-jeon wanted to emphasize that Seonwoo Jin's group were intruders who had barged in, while Seonwoo Jin wanted to point out that Mak U-jeon and Ga Yu-ak hadn't properly passed the Gate of the Mad Soul.

After all, they had both lost their sanity and gone mad.

But neither side dared to speak up.

They couldn't predict how the Mad Sword would react, or when he might suddenly turn on them and kill them.

So, when both sides quietly nodded, Jeong Myeong-gang spoke again, his face still expressionless.

“Good. I will give a fair chance to both sides who passed the first gate. But remember, only two people can pass the second gate. Only two of you will survive.”

Seonwoo Jin and Dang Yeo-eun, Mak U-jeon and Ga Yu-ak glared at each other with tense eyes.

Only two of the four would survive, meaning only one side could make it out alive.

So, whatever the contents of the second gate were, they had to pass it before their opponents.

The Mad Sword spoke again.

“Now then, I shall move you to your respective second gates.”

And when he snapped his fingers, Seonwoo Jin and Dang Yeo-eun realized the space around them had changed once again.

They were no longer in the forest, but on a hill overlooking a country village.

A cozy mountain village bathed in the light of a red sunset.

On the peaceful hill overlooking the village stood Seonwoo Jin, Dang Yeo-eun, and the Mad Sword, Jeong Myeong-gang.

Dang Yeo-eun whispered quietly.

“Mak U-jeon and Ga Yu-ak are gone.”

Seonwoo Jin nodded slightly and replied.

“It seems we'll be taking the second gate separately.”

Just then, Jeong Myeong-gang looked down at the village and began to speak.

“This is the village where I lived. It is also the place where my greatest regret remains.”

As he spoke, a storm-like killing intent began to pour from his body, growing stronger and stronger.

Even though it didn't seem like he was intentionally trying to harm them, it was difficult to even stand properly.

“Keuk!”

“Hup!”

Seonwoo Jin and Dang Yeo-eun had to clench their teeth to keep from collapsing.

But the Mad Sword paid no mind to their condition and continued speaking.

“When I lived there, I had two friends with whom I had trained in martial arts since childhood. They were like brothers to me, so I used to share everything I had with them.”

A strange thought occurred to Seonwoo Jin.

It was somehow surprising that this man, who seemed like a demon king from hell, had also had such times and such friends.

But strangely, as he spoke, his killing intent only grew thicker.

He continued his story.

“So, when I happened to obtain the Moonlit Illusion Sword Dance, it was the same. I wanted to share it with them.”

He tried to share the secret manual with his friends.

For some reason, Seonwoo Jin felt he could guess what was coming next.

And also why Jeong Myeong-gang was radiating such killing intent as he told the story.

His story continued.

“But one of them wanted it all for himself. So he ambushed me, trying to kill me.”

It was just as he had expected.

Seonwoo Jin and Dang Yeo-eun felt a deep sense of pity.

“But the bastard failed. He had underestimated my skill, as I had already mastered the first form of the Moonlit Illusion Sword Dance. I should have killed him then. But like a fool, my heart was weak, and I hesitated. He seized that opportunity to land a fatal blow on our other friend and fled. I couldn't chase him because I had to save my injured friend.”

Now, his killing intent had become completely tangible, constricting their bodies.

They felt a pain as if their entire bodies were being crushed.

“Gaaah!”

“Aaargh!”

But Jeong Myeong-gang ignored their groans and continued speaking.

“That wasn't all. By the time I managed to treat my friend and return to the village, the bastard had already done that to it.”

At that moment.

As soon as he finished speaking, the peaceful village was instantly engulfed in flames.

*FWOOOSH!*

The beautiful village, which had looked like something out of a painting just moments ago, was now collapsing, consumed by a sea of fire.

Trapped in the flames, the villagers screamed for help from all sides.

As the two watched the scene with pity, the Mad Sword's voice continued.

“It was to stop me from chasing him. Just because he feared my pursuit, the bastard turned the village where he had lived his whole life into this. And… he actually succeeded in stopping me. Like a fool, I lost him because I was busy saving the villagers.”

Until now, although he exuded the killing intent of a demon king, his tone and expression had always been as impassive as a statue.

But not at this moment.

From his demonically contorted face and agitated voice, a rage that boiled like lava could be felt.

That rage and killing intent materialized, squeezing Seonwoo Jin and Dang Yeo-eun. They had to scream from the pain, feeling as if their bodies would crumble to dust.

“Gggaaaaah!”

“Aaaaargh!”

But Jeong Myeong-gang continued to spit out his words in an agitated tone.

“And do you know what happened in the end?! The rumors that bastard spread drew countless martial artists! And in the end, the villagers I had saved were all murdered! My parents, my wife, and even my child! I had to wait ten long years in patience and hatred to repay all that bloodshed!”

A moment later, as if a storm had passed, his killing intent subsided again.

Seonwoo Jin and Dang Yeo-eun could finally breathe again.

“Huuuu.”

“Haa, haa.”

Then, the Mad Sword, his face now as expressionless as before, looked at them and said.

“This is the second gate. What will you do? Will you save the village, or will you catch the bastard? Resolve the regret of my lifetime.”

Having spoken, the Mad Sword vanished from the spot.

All that remained were Seonwoo Jin and Dang Yeo-eun, and the village below the hill, which had become a scene of utter chaos.

Chapter 119