The Terminally Ill Young Master of the Baek Clan

Most of the people there instantly thought of an intruder’s presence.

Someone realized the Sword Emperor’s condition was critical and thought it was an attack.

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Could it possibly be that the Demon Cult has even reached out to Wudang?

But that wasn’t the case.

The one who burst through the walls of the straw hut was the Sword Emperor himself.

He was holding a pine-patterned sword.

After glancing around at the group that had come to the straw hut, he contorted his face and shouted, “You’ve come all the way here!”

He fled without hesitation.

He started running in the opposite direction of the group, utilizing extreme light footwork.

Among the stunned group, the first-generation disciple Hyun Cheol realized what was happening and chased after the Sword Emperor.

“Ah, S-Senior Elder!”

But the Sword Emperor had already disappeared among the trees.

Neung Ji-pyeong asked in confusion, “He saw us and ran away… no, left?”

The expression was revised midway, but the absurdity of the situation remained unchanged.

“It seems so.”

“Why…?”

“He must have felt our presence and mistaken it. He thought we were attacking him.”

“Attacking him?”

It was true that the Sword Emperor’s mind was clouded.

It was also unexpected that he didn’t attack but fled.

“We must pursue him. His mind is still unstable, and something might go wrong…”

“L-Let’s do that!”

A sense of urgency was present on Hyun Cheol’s face.

“It’s dangerous unless one is a master. The disciples should stay here!”

“Yes, Senior!”

Cheong Su and Cheong Hye bowed with a fist salute.

The task of tracking the vanished Sword Emperor was taken up by Hyun Cheol, Golden Needle Phantom, Neung Ji-pyeong, and Go Yo-ja.

Whoosh—

They pursued the Sword Emperor with swift light footwork.

The remaining members of the group stood dumbfounded.

「It’s truly regrettable to see the one called the greatest master of Wudang in such a pitiful state.」

Zhang Sanfeng clicked his tongue in pity.

Yi-gang also couldn’t hide his astonishment.

However, Cheong Su and Cheong Hye appeared somewhat accustomed to this.

“Perhaps he felt suspicious because too many came at once?”

“It seems so, Senior Brother.”

“The weather has turned gloomy. It would be bad if it rained and he got wet. He’s elderly and might catch a cold…”

The way they talked about the Sword Emperor was as if they were talking about an old man in the back room.

But the concern in their words didn’t make it sound bad.

Cheong Su suggested to the group, “It looks like it might rain, why don’t we go inside and wait?”

“I-is that really okay?”

Peng Gu-in seemed to have great respect for the Sword Emperor usually.

Seeing Peng Gu-in hesitate, Cheong Su nodded.

“It might take a while, and that’s okay.”

As disciples of the Wudang Sect, it would be improper for outsiders to continually refuse their offer.

The group entered the straw hut.

The interior of the straw hut was more spacious than expected.

There were six remaining members of the group, and even with all six seated, it didn’t feel cramped.

“Wow…”

Peng Gu-in looked around with eyes full of wonder.

If you thought of a room where a senile old man lived alone, the image wasn’t usually a pleasant one.

However, the room didn’t have a musty smell, and all the furnishings were neatly arranged.

“It seems you serve the Sword Emperor with utmost dedication.”

Peng Gu-in praised Cheong Su and Cheong Hye.

But Cheong Hye, feeling a bit embarrassed, scratched his neck as he replied.

“We do our best, but the Great Senior Elder also has a neat personality.”

Occasionally, he might do something rash like throwing a chamber pot, but it’s not always like that.

The Sword Emperor was originally considered to have a noble and gentle character.

When he came to his senses, he always tidied up the surroundings while feeling gloomy.

“Indeed… he is remarkable.”

Yi-gang thought so too. The Sword Emperor’s mental strength seemed extraordinary.

However, the behavior seen just before didn’t seem to reflect a ‘noble and gentle’ personality.

‘The Sword Emperor’s personality changes back to how it was in the past, so was it different back then?’

「Of course, it makes sense. When one is young, it’s natural to be spirited.」

The Sword Emperor’s youth was not without its trials either.

The hastily broken and escaped through wall seemed to prove that.

Yi-gang suddenly thought, “How did he break it?”

“How? He must have smashed it with his body.”

It would be possible for Peng Gu-in’s burly body. But the straw hut was better made than expected. It was constructed with wood frames and layered with mud.

He might have infused his inner power into his body to break through and escape…

“He cut through it with a sword.”

“What…?”

Yi-gang picked up a piece of the broken wall.

Some parts appeared rugged as if twisted by physical force, while others were smooth as if cut by something sharp.

However, cutting through a wall like this could be done by a Supreme Peak master. There was no reason for Yi-gang to be so surprised.

“Why would that… Ah!”

Peng Gu-in was puzzled and then burst out in admiration.

“The sound of the wall breaking was heard all at once. That means… with one strike, so much…”

He shattered the wall into pieces with a single swing.

It was hard to even guess how much intricate skill was embedded in that single strike.

Even though not fully sane, the Sword Emperor remained powerful.

Yi-gang’s gaze stopped near his feet.

Two sheets of paper had fallen among the debris of the wall.

Could the Sword Emperor have read them?

Carefully picking them up without tearing the weathered paper, Zhang Sanfeng exclaimed in surprise.

「Oh, isn’t this the diary I wrote!」

‘Diary?’

「Yes, I don’t remember when I wrote it, but… I didn’t expect to see it here.」

It was written in Zhang Sanfeng’s rather majestic handwriting:

Today, I spent the day watching the stream from sunrise to sunset.

Even in the living, breathing Mount Wudang, watching the water is particularly enjoyable, and it’s clear that observing water can also be a path of cultivation.

Raindrops pierce through rocks, and stream water carves its path.

The way of the sword is similar…

The content seemed profound yet utterly trivial.

Because it ended with ‘It was a fulfilling day. Tomorrow, I shall continue to watch over the valley here.’

‘You must have had a lot of free time.’

「Hehe…」

However, it seemed the Sword Emperor earnestly studied this writing.

The paper behind was not written by Zhang Sanfeng but by the Sword Emperor himself. He had analyzed Zhang Sanfeng’s diary and tried to grasp the intricate skills of martial arts contained within it.

Yi-gang quietly arranged it in a corner of the room.

Meanwhile, Dam Hyun was throwing questions at Cheong Su.

“How many personalities?”

“Huh? Oh…”

Cheong Su and Cheong Hye pondered deeply over Dam Hyun’s question.

“It’s not exactly a separation of personalities but rather a temporary regression of memories. Once regressed, the state often remains stable; it’s rare for it to fluctuate back and forth.”

“I see.”

“You should know if you’ve been observing for a long time. What have you been doing all this time?”

Although Cheong Su was taken aback by Dam Hyun’s arrogant tone, the other members just took it as typical of Dam Hyun.

Then Cheong Hye cautiously interjected, “Primarily, the most frequent is reverting to a child. When he regresses to about ten years old, the danger level is medium; when he changes to around fifteen, the danger level is low.”

“Danger level?”

As Dam Hyun asked this, Cheong Hye hesitated and stumbled, “So, since we’ve been taking care of him continuously, we’ve set specific times to be cautious. It’s fine when he’s calm. But when he regresses to about ten years old, he struggles to control his strength.”

“Ah, I see. It’s not easy taking care of an elder whose mind isn’t fully intact.”

“E-Elder…”

Yi-gang called out to Dam Hyun, “Senior Brother!”

“Oops, I misspoke. Sorry.”

“Mm.”

Though it seemed Yi-gang would say more, he just quietly nodded his head in approval.

It was a compliment for the immediate apology. Dam Hyun grinned and nodded back.

Cheong Hye looked dumbfounded.

“Well, anyway. Is that all?”

“It’s okay when he regresses to his twenties when he was roaming the Jianghu. The problem is he calls us his junior brothers.”

“Hoo…”

“That way, it seems there are roughly five or six types of personalities.”

Dam Hyun suddenly remembered to confirm one thing.

“There were medium and low danger levels, right? What about high?”

“There is no high danger level.”

“Huh?”

“Instead, there’s a special level.”

He skips the medium danger level and goes straight to special.

It’s to emphasize the danger of that particular personality.

“I’ve only experienced it once, but…”

“Tell me in detail.”

“Back when the Great Senior Elder was about to reach the Absolute realm, during the great expulsion of the Demon Cult.”

If it’s the great expulsion of the Demon Cult, that’s an event from the distant past.

“Which expulsion?”

“Probably around the Third Great Expulsion. When the Great Senior Elder went to the Kunlun Mountains.”

That was when the Sword Emperor, along with the Divine Monk, was defeating the fiends and became renowned throughout the martial world.

It’s said that he faced death dozens of times.

“There was a time he alone was chased and chased fifty fiends.”

“Hoo.”

“When that time comes, the atmosphere changes completely. Usually gentle, he becomes as terrifying as a ghost then.”

Cheong Hye’s face turned slightly pale, as if recalling that situation.

However, Dam Hyun paid no attention to that.

“Terrifying like a ghost. Why?”

“Why, you ask…”

Instead, it was a look as if he had found some clue.

“His expression changes first… and a murderous intent appears in his eyes.”

“It’s not just the personality changing, but his awareness of his surroundings also regresses to that time.”

“That’s right.”

“Has there ever been an instance where he killed someone after such a change?”

“Sorry?”

“I mean, has he ever swung his sword and cut someone?”

Cheong Hye’s expression turned displeased.

Dam Hyun’s question implied asking if the Sword Emperor had ever killed a disciple of Wudang.

“There has absolutely never been such an incident!”

“Why?”

“Why, you ask! How could the Sword Emperor ever direct his sword against a disciple of his sect?”

“Even if his personality and cognitive abilities revert to that time?”

Contrary to Cheong Hye’s misunderstanding, Dam Hyun was not trying to insult the Sword Emperor or be malicious.

It was a curiosity that could even be described as pure.

“If he completely reverts to that time. If he thinks the people around him are the fiends he was chasing… he would have had to kill.”

“That’s…”

“Just like he did in the past, tearing through mountains while being chased and chasing. Stabbing anyone he saw from behind.”

Long ago in the Kunlun Mountains, the Sword Emperor did just that.

Until then, he was a young Taoist who knew nothing but fair duels, but he became a true Jianghu martial artist.

When swords of fiends intent on killing him swarmed, there was no time to consider righteousness or moral duty.

If surrounded, he fled; if he found an isolated fiend, he killed them.

“The more I hear, the stranger it seems.”

Dam Hyun’s doubt was entirely normal.

Cheong Hye and Cheong Su were at a loss for words. Until now, they were just grateful that the Sword Emperor was at least keeping a minimal grip.

But thinking about it now, as Dam Hyun said, there were many strange aspects.

Then, Tang Eun-seol quietly spoke up, “What about now, then.”

Everyone turned their attention to her.

“What era does the Sword Emperor seem to have returned to now?”

“Perhaps…”

He sensed the approach of several martial artists and made a swift escape.

The face he turned back to glance at the group was not gentle at all; it was distorted like a ghost.

“It seems he has returned to that time.”

“It seems so.”

Yi-gang thought so too.

It was the right choice that not everyone pursued, but only the strongest masters followed.

“He should regain his senses in about fifteen minutes. Probably.”

About fifteen minutes had passed by now.

The group remained silent with slightly tense expressions.

「Hmm, strange.」

Only Zhang Sanfeng, with a relaxed attitude, idly stroked his beard.

He glanced back at Yi-gang and asked, 「What would the young priest do?」

‘What do you mean?’

「If you were being chased by fifty fiends in the rugged mountains. How would you handle it?」

‘I would have to defeat them one by one.’

「Right. That’s the correct approach.」

Avoid being surrounded and deal with those you can eliminate first.

That would create gaps among the pursuers.

「It’s right to deal with the strongest ones later.」

Facing a Supreme Peak master like Go Yo-ja was more difficult than facing ten of the Peak masters.

「First, start with the scoundrels.」

“…”

「Like a tiger curling up to avoid hunters, then pouncing on the unsuspecting common folk from behind.」

It wasn’t just because Zhang Sanfeng had said so.

Yi-gang’s body reacted first.

Could it be due to some extraordinary intuition that made him seem unlike a normal human now?

His response to danger manifested as a physiological phenomenon.

“…”

Cold sweat formed droplets on the back of his neck.

The hair on his arms and legs stood up, and he felt a heavy tension that weighed on his heart.

Yi-gang was frozen, unable to even blink.

It was as if someone had placed a blade at the end of his spine, sending chills down his back.

The problem was, no one else but Yi-gang seemed to notice it.

Peng Gu-in was the first to spot Yi-gang’s unusual symptoms.

“Hey, are you okay?”

But Yi-gang dared not even open his mouth.

“…”

“Why are you sweating so profusely?”

Why are they not noticing this terrible hostility?

An invisible sword seemed to be flying around the room.

It brushed past Peng Gu-in’s nape and passed by Tang Eun-seol’s ear.

At least, that’s how Yi-gang felt.

And then, a low voice came from behind.

“Is there only one who has noticed?”

It was a gloomy voice, as if murky blood had been sprinkled into once clear water.

Through the gaping hole in the wall, the Sword Emperor was standing outside.

He had shaken off his pursuers and had returned here instead.

“Starting here is the right thing to do.”

According to the logic from the days when he faced fiends. Thinking of cutting off the tails of those he was chasing.

As the Sword Emperor raised his sword, a wave of murderous intent surged in.

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