Chapter 52 : A Single Slash

Chapter 52: A Single Slash

Uuuuuung.

Jang Woo-hyun, who had been completely absorbed in his training, unknowingly passed through a formation.

It was a formation designed to confuse and deceive the senses of outsiders, but it was of no use to someone at the Absolute Realm.

“Hm?”

Just as he was immersed in training the Transcendent Sword, a sudden ripple of energy vibrated through his body, and only then did he finally observe his surroundings.

In the distance, a massive building came into view, with hundreds of martial artists lined up before it. Their strength must have been considerable—despite the distance, he could still feel their energy.

“So this is the place.”

His thoughts had wandered, but he had still arrived at his destination.

hough the formation tried to conceal it, he had felt the intense energy radiating from that location and was naturally drawn in that direction.

He halted briefly to survey the area before resuming his steps.

He had barely taken a few more when—

The doors of the distant building opened, and a man emerged. As he took the lead, all the martial artists followed behind him.

At the sight of him, Jang Woo-hyun understood instantly.

That man was the cult leader of the Demon Cult.

Energy that transcended space and pierced through it.

Despite the vast distance, Jang Woo-hyun’s body tensed instinctively.

Staring at the Demon Cult’s leader, Jang Woo-hyun reached toward Flying Swallow Sword.

‘Will it work?’

The Transcendent Sword he had trained on his journey here—he was about to use it.

At first, he questioned whether it would truly work, but the moment he focused his mind, those doubts vanished.

His consciousness slowly sank.

He no longer registered who he was or where he stood. The only thought that remained was to slash.

To cut.

To slice through everything.

He wasn’t thinking of killing the Heavenly Demon, nor was he thinking of attacking the approaching cultists.

There was only one thought—to cut.

Only the thought of unleashing a single sword strike.

He took a slow breath in and naturally wrapped his fingers around Flying Swallow Sword’s hilt.

Held his breath—and drew the sword.

No—that was what he thought he was doing, but the sword had already been swung. At some point, his arm had extended fully to the right.

A single line filled his vision.

It felt like everything visible had been sliced in an instant.

As he exhaled the breath he had been holding, it felt as though heaven and earth had been severed.

And now—

The distant pavilion struck by the sword collapsed.

Krrrummmble.

Simultaneously—

Everyone standing on the plains between Jang Woo-hyun and the pavilion fell, their bodies split cleanly in two.

The cult leader of the Heavenly Demon Cult and his elite force of three hundred.

All of them died with a single slash from Jang Woo-hyun.

Fwoooooosh!

Hundreds of bodies were severed, and a flood of blood erupted.

“Huh?”

Only then did Jang Woo-hyun snap out of his trance.

Switching his gaze between the countless corpses and the sword in his hand, Flying Swallow Sword, he let out a hollow chuckle.

‘What was that?’

The martial technique he had just used—

It had been unleashed unconsciously, in a state of immersion. He still retained the sensation, but he was sure he wouldn’t be able to perform it again if asked.

And what was this overwhelming power?

The Demon Cult's elite force had been annihilated in an instant.

As strong as Jang Woo-hyun was, he wouldn’t have been able to deal with them this easily under normal circumstances.

He stood frozen for a moment.

‘I don’t even know anymore.’

How did things come to this?

And just how strong was he going to become?

When he had first started learning martial arts, he never imagined he would become this powerful.

‘So the beginning was…’

It was when he first entered the White Tiger Martial Hall.

“Graaaaagh!”

Just as Jang Woo-hyun was about to lose himself in thought, a scream yanked him back to reality.

Amidst the carnage of the split cultists, one person was rising.

Though his upper and lower body had been severed, the upper half floated in midair while the lower stood firm on the ground. Black energy wafted from the severed area, and the two halves began to rejoin.

“Grrrrrr…”

Watching this, Jang Woo-hyun’s eyes lit up.

‘Yes, if it’s demonic martial arts, then this is how it should be!’

The origin of all demon arts.

The bastion of heresy that fought against the entire Central Plains. The home of countless bizarre techniques and sinister spells—Tianshan Demon Cult.

If someone died just because their body was cut a little, the name Demon Cult would be a joke.

Jang Woo-hyun pushed off the ground.

In a flash, he closed the distance and stood before Cheon Mu-yeol.

Shrouded in black mist, he was already turning into something beyond human.

“Can you speak?”

He tried to start a conversation.

“Grrrr…”

The beastly sound that came in response told him conversation was impossible.

“Jang Woo-hyun.”

He introduced himself and thrust forward his sword, humming with a low, vibrating sound.

It was a technique that sealed internal energy and released it in a burst—Destructive Slash of Evil, a reinterpretation of the Fist of Evil Annihilation.

Kwoooom!

A massive pillar of light erupted from the tip of Jang Woo-hyun’s sword.

It passed through Cheon Mu-yeol, cloaked in dark mist, cleaving through the already-halved elite troops behind him, and reached the collapsed building in the distance.

Boom!

After the beam of light surged forward and vanished, nothing remained.

Neither the cult leader cloaked in shadows nor the corpses of the Demon Cult's elite.

What remained was only a shattered part of what had once been a building.

The Demon Cult, which had aimed to destroy the Martial World and shatter the sword of the Central Plains’ strongest warrior—

Was no more.

The divine sword had severed the Heavenly Demon’s neck.

“Hmph.”

Jang Woo-hyun didn’t take this battle lightly.

The leader of the Demon Cult.

A battle against the absolute figure feared by the entire Martial World.

Yet it had ended far too easily. As if it were all a lie.

The battle between the Demon Cult’s leader and its elite. Something no one dared to predict victory in—Jang Woo-hyun had accomplished it.

‘It ended too quickly…’

Of course, he hadn’t come expecting to lose. He had assumed he would win, but not this easily.

Even from Jang Woo-hyun’s own perspective, the war had ended far too quickly.

‘Only they are left now.’

The four organizations including True Demon Palace.

The ones called Heaven Beyond Heaven.

Other than them, there was likely no one left who could match blades with him.

After standing there for a while, Jang Woo-hyun finally began to walk.

Perhaps it was due to the great expectations he had.

Unlike when he had arrived here, his steps now looked incredibly heavy.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have attacked during the transformation.”

He muttered to himself while lying on a bed.

After the long, sluggish walk following the battle with the Demon Cult, Jang Woo-hyun entered Qinghai Province. When a city appeared, he booked a room and unpacked.

He hadn’t properly washed or rested since entering Xinjiang, so he intended to get some rest.

It wasn’t physical fatigue—it was the mental exhaustion of having lost his goal.

Still lingering regret over how easily the battle had ended, he lay there, blaming himself for attacking during the transformation.

“Great Hero, are you awake?”

As he lay blankly, the inn's errand boy knocked on his door.

“What is it?”

“Someone has come to see you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. May I open the door?”

Responding, Jang Woo-hyun slowly sat up.

When the door opened, a middle-aged woman in lavish clothes stepped inside.

“A pleasure to meet you. I’m Hwa-wol from the Hao Sect.”

“Hao Sect?”

“Yes. We’ve been following your movements.”

“You’ve been tracking me? Why is the Hao Sect suddenly doing that?”

Jang Woo-hyun asked casually, but Hwa-wol seemed to misunderstand and quickly spoke, thinking he was offended.

“Master Chilbi from Chengdu has requested your presence. He believes we’ve found something related to your request… Hic!”

Hwa-wol abruptly recoiled in shock.

Though the room was quite large, Jang Woo-hyun, who had been near the bed just moments ago, had appeared directly in front of her in the blink of an eye.

“You said you found what I was looking for?”

There were two things he had asked the Hao Sect to find in Chengdu.

The traces of the Demonic Divine Fist Kim Min-soo, and the locations of the four Heaven Beyond Heaven factions.

She was here to report that they may have found one of them.

“Y-yes. It’s not confirmed yet, but Master Chilbi wishes to speak to you in person…”

“Alright. I’ll go myself.”

As he spoke, he began to pack his things. Though, all he had to gather were the two swords he had unpacked, so he was ready in no time.

“Um… Excuse me, Great Hero.”

Hwa-wol cautiously opened her mouth while watching Jang Woo-hyun prepare.

“What is it?”

“There is… one more message I need to deliver.”

“Can’t I just hear it when I get to Chengdu?”

“Oh, it’s not from Master Chilbi. This is separate. Information we discovered independently… We weren’t sure, but…”

“What is it you’re trying to say?”

“We heard… that the Great Hero was once affiliated with the Demon Extermination Sect…”

“Just get to the point.”

“Ah! Understood. The Thousand Demon Sect is making suspicious moves. Two branches of the Demon Extermination Sect have already fallen, and there are rumors they’re targeting the main sect. Some even claim to have seen hundreds of monsters.”

Jang Woo-hyun furrowed his brow slightly.

Before he left the Demon Extermination Sect, the Thousand Demon Sect had already lost its main force.

Only one remained among the Five Monsters—First Monster.

He was the one leading the remnants of the Thousand Demon Sect. If he were captured, it should have all been over. But now, things seemed to be spiraling in an odd direction.

‘Demon Extermination Sect…’

It would be a detour, but the sect was located on the border of Sichuan and Qinghai, so it wouldn’t be too far out of the way.

And he had connections there, so he decided to head there first.

“Thank you for the information.”

Jang Woo-hyun nodded slightly to Hwa-wol and immediately set out. The heaviness in his steps lifted once more.

‘Damn it, this thing is heavy as hell!’

Gwak Dong-ha cursed inwardly as he deflected an attack from the Iron Armor Monkey.

After completing a mission with Jang Woo-hyun—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity—he had earned tremendous credit within the Demon Extermination Sect.

Using that, he acquired elixirs and rare martial techniques, growing stronger and reaching the peak of the Gold Token level, now aiming for the position of Sect Leader. And then it happened.

The Thousand Demon Sect attacked.

First Monster led monsters the likes of which Gwak had never seen before, and the Demon Extermination Sect was engulfed in flames.

He fled with the help of the brothers Seon Chan and Seon Min, along with others, but they were being pursued by nearly a hundred monsters. Worse yet, three Iron Armor Monkeys were among them.

‘How the hell did the Captain kill this thing so easily?!’

According to the rumors, Jang Woo-hyun simply thrust his spear and pierced the Iron Armor Monkey’s chest with a single strike. But at Gwak’s current level, it was impossible.

‘If only I wasn’t so worn out…’

He might have been able to take down one of them, but he had used up most of his strength saving people along the way.

A large city had developed near the sect since its founding, and the monsters attacked it as well. Gwak had to rescue those people.

Even while fleeing with dozens of civilians, monsters kept catching up—and now they were here.

“Hyungnim!”

“Don’t come! Protect the people!”

Gwak Dong-ha stopped the brothers Seon Chan and Seon Min, who were about to help him after seeing his exhaustion. If they moved, no one would be left to stop the remaining two Iron Armor Monkeys. It would end in slaughter.

‘This can’t go on.’

Everyone was too exhausted. In contrast, the monsters were still full of vitality.

‘Two of them.’

He decided to kill at least two of the Iron Armor Monkeys before dying. That way, the others and the twin brothers might just survive.

“I’ll take down two of these bastards no matter what!”

He gathered his latent strength and was about to unleash his innate qi—

At that moment—

Fwooooosh—

An overwhelming force surged from behind. Dozens of slashes swept through the sky and targeted the monsters.

Splurt! Thud! Slice! Slash!

The ferocious monsters were shredded to pieces.

Ong-hwa, who had been about to strike down a fallen Silver Token warrior, was cleaved in two.

Another Ong-hwa aiming at a trembling tavern owner had its head fly off. An Iron Armor Monkey attacking Seon Chan had its limbs severed, and its body torn apart.

Dozens of slashes tore only through the monsters—leaving the terrified townspeople and exhausted warriors completely unharmed.

And then—

Crack!

The Iron Armor Monkey Gwak Dong-ha had been fighting had its head crushed under someone’s foot. He had seen something similar before—though the size and situation were different.

Boom!

As the massive creature collapsed, a man descended atop it. Time had passed, but he looked exactly the same.

“Captain!”

“Captain-nim!”

The hero of the Demon Extermination Sect.

And the man who was once their commander.

Jang Woo-hyun, the One Sword, One Kill Monkey Slayer, had returned.