Chapter 264

I never expected to be this happy to see that dumpling ghost. At a time when even a cat’s paw would have been welcome, Cheongpung’s arrival could be an enormous help.

A delighted shout burst from my lips before I knew it.

“Cheongpung!”

“Yes, Benefactor.”

As Cheongpung answered hesitantly, the Blood Lord recognized him.

“Oh-ho. I was wondering what kind of rat it was, but aren’t you Huashan’s Invincible Divine Sword?”

I had hoped otherwise, but it was just as I feared. That was all the Blood Lord knew about Cheongpung’s identity.

The duel had revealed that Cheongpung was a disciple of Huashan, but there was no way he knew that Sword Saint Mae Jonghak had raised his youngest disciple like his own flesh and blood.

This was the perfect chance to lull him into carelessness…

“Or should I call you the Sword Saint’s Disciple? Perhaps his grandson?”

“……”

Son of a bitch. There was nothing he didn’t know.

Then again, Dark Heaven had recruited the Head Elder and planted him there decades ago. The Blood Lord was clearly one of Dark Heaven’s highest-ranking members.

It would be stranger if he didn’t know.

The Blood Lord gave a quiet laugh at my disappointed expression.

“No need to look so disappointed. That friend of yours joining you won’t change anything.”

Would you look at this bastard…

Although Cheongpung and I had yet to advance beyond the upper reaches of Peak, neither of us could be compared to an ordinary Peak master.

I had overwhelming stats and extensive combat experience. Cheongpung had innate martial talent and a genius for combining dozens of martial arts as the situation demanded.

And on top of that, we had the Fire King Jeok Cheongang—the greatest of the Ten Kings.

I thought we had more than a fair chance.

“You’re underestimating us.”

“I’m only stating a fact.”

“What?”

“If you wanted to kill me, you should have brought the Sword Saint instead of his Disciple.”

“……You little bastard.”

“There’s only one thing left, then.”

The Blood Lord spoke with casual confidence and beckoned to us with one finger.

“Prove it with your martial arts.”

That was the only thing he had said so far that was actually right.

He was correct. A martial artist had to prove himself through martial arts.

Victory would prove our strength. Defeat would prove our weakness.

“When you meet Yama¹, tell him the Fire King sent you.”

Whoosh!

Along with his dry, ashy voice, Jeok Cheongang’s figure shot forward. At the same time, a familiar alert pierced my ears.

Ding.

System

• A sudden Quest, Life-or-Death Crisis, has been generated!

• You cannot refuse the Quest. The Quest will be forcibly accepted!

Damn it. What a perfect title for the Quest.

I kicked off the ground and charged. Instead of cursing, I remembered to shout one name.

“Cheongpung! Now!”

Cheongpung flinched, bit his lip, and lunged forward. The blue-steel sword in his hand danced gracefully, tracing plum blossoms through the air.

Fwoosh! Shhhhk!

On a secluded mountain path, Scorching Yang Qi heated the cool breeze as spear and sword tore through the burning air.

Watching us charge from the front and rear, the Blood Lord parted his lips.

“Well, then… Let’s see what you can do.”

Crack-crack-crack!

Jeok Cheongang flicked his hand. Palm force brimming with Scorching Yang Qi burst from his wrinkled palm.

The Flame Divine Palm, already at Great Completion.

Just as the Extreme Yang palm technique—said to burn even the soul—was about to engulf the Blood Lord—

Whoosh!

A single gust of wind blew past.

A saber had appeared in the Blood Lord’s hand. Its saber force blazed an ominous red, cleaving the Flame Divine Palm’s force in two.

Whoom! Boom!

The massive trees lining both sides of the path exploded.

Flames surged into the air amid a thunderous roar, while dirt, roots, and splinters of wood poured down like a sudden rainstorm.

Two streaks of light pierced through the debris.

Whoosh! Shhhk!

A spear and sword shot toward him from the front and rear.

The Blood Lord curled his lips and released his saber. At the same time, his newly freed fists struck the empty air.

Boom!

Compressed air exploded outward, unleashing a violent gale. The viciously thrusting spearhead and the plum blossoms blooming from the sword’s tip were both swept away by the wind pressure.

Jin Taekyung and Cheongpung’s eyes widened as their bodies were pushed back against their will.

“……Fuck. He’s insanely strong.”

“H-How can this be?”

Crack.

The Blood Lord rolled his neck and drew his saber back into his hand. He had fended off both men while controlling it with Seizing an Object Through Empty Space.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

“……!”

Jeok Cheongang’s eyelids trembled.

Who would have thought that a single form of the Flame Divine Palm at Great Completion could be defeated so easily? The Blood Lord had not dodged or deflected it.

He had cut it apart.

Jeok Cheongang’s heart sank as he realized the Blood Lord was an even greater master than he had imagined.

When he said we should have brought the Sword Saint if we wanted to kill him… That was no empty boast.

His opponent was a master who could easily stand beside the Three Saints.

No—perhaps he was even stronger.

Neither his internal energy nor his enlightenment in martial arts fell short of Jeok Cheongang’s own.

And on top of that, the Blood Lord possessed the youthful vigor and strong body needed to unleash both without the slightest loss.

Today, Jeok Cheongang’s wrinkled hands seemed smaller and more wretched than ever.

If only I were thirty years younger… No, even twenty…

When his body had been whole, he had lacked enlightenment. By the time he attained that enlightenment, his body had grown too old.

Water inevitably leaked from an old jar riddled with holes.

That was Jeok Cheongang now.

Perhaps this place will become my grave.

The Blood Lord did not miss the shadow that settled over Jeok Cheongang’s eyes.

His lips twisted into a sneer, and he snickered.

“Old man. Starting to get the picture? Do you understand the situation now?”

Jeok Cheongang calmly shook his head.

He knew that Jin Taekyung and Cheongpung were watching his mouth. He could not destroy their morale with careless words.

“You talk too much. We have only just begun.”

“Maybe you three have. I haven’t even started.”

“What?”

“I heard the orthodox factions like to prattle on about courtesy and have masters yield three forms to their inferiors. I thought I’d give it a try.”

“……!”

The Blood Lord pointed a long finger at each of them in turn.

All three had unleashed one form apiece, making three in total. Just as he had said, he had yielded three forms without taking a single step.

“Now it’s my turn to go first. Struggle all you like.”

A crimson gleam flared in the Blood Lord’s eyes. His sclera flooded bloodred as a vast and hideously ominous qi erupted from his body.

And then—

Rumble, rumble, rumble!

Mount Song trembled.

Shhhhk! Boom!

Streaks of light filled the air in every direction. Blinding flashes erupted amid the ceaseless thunder of explosions.

Dominating them all was a single saber scattering black-red qi.

Boom!

Powerful saber force swept through the air, leaving a pale trail of light in its wake.

Its destructive arc erased everything in its path, knocking aside every attack sent toward the Blood Lord.

Mine included, of course.

Boom!

The spearhead of White Flame rang sharply. The shaft I gripped with all my strength vibrated violently in my palm.

Even though I had poured an enormous amount of internal energy into it, the force was unbelievable.

It was hard to believe such power belonged to a human being.

What a monster.

Gritting my teeth, I twisted around.

Whoosh!

The black-red blade passed within a hair’s breadth of my head, slicing off several strands of hair.

The wind pressure alone split my skin, sending blood trickling down my face.

I caught the drops running along the bridge of my nose in my mouth and swung my spear.

“Hah!”

Whirrrrrl!

The spearhead spun fiercely toward the Blood Lord’s chest.

Perhaps because I had poured in all the Points I had received as the reward for winning the Star-Array Grand Banquet, my movement and strength had risen another level.

But—

Crack!

The Blood Lord’s free hand snatched the spearhead from the air.

It was a bare hand, but not truly bare. Immense black-red internal energy blazed around it.

“That won’t be enough.”

With those quiet words, he pulled the spearhead toward him with tremendous force.

Then his eyebrows shot upward.

The spearhead that had been trapped in his grip a moment ago was gone.

As if it had never existed.

“You—!”

Before the startled word had fully left his mouth, I had already plunged deep inside his reach.

Inventory Open. Summon.

In the blink of an eye, White Flame—burning hot with Scorching Yang Qi—was back in my hand.

The Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, harder and sharper than anything in the world, tore through his Body-Protecting Qi and pierced the flesh beneath it.

Thud! Boom!

The Blood Lord snapped his sleeve, and a powerful burst of force slammed into my abdomen.

After being driven back ten steps in a row, I saw the Blood Lord’s wide-eyed face—and the fountain of blood erupting from his chest.

I did it.

Only I could have pulled off that attack—and it had worked precisely because I was merely me.

It landed because I had used the System, something no one could possibly have anticipated, and because the Blood Lord had not considered an attack from someone like me worth guarding against.

Now’s my chance.

It was an opportunity that might never come again. Our last lifeline, one I could not afford to let slip away.

I swallowed the blood surging up my throat and shouted.

“Old Master!”

My voice rang across the devastated mountain path. It pierced the air, rode the wind, and reached one man’s ears.

A heated voice slipped between his lips.

“Well done.”

The old man hurtling toward the Blood Lord had transformed into the Fire King.

Fwoooosh!

A colossal blaze erupted from his small body. It burned the air and crushed the wind.

If the Blood Lord’s qi was something so ominous that merely looking at it made one uneasy, then Jeok Cheongang’s was heat itself—as though it could burn the world.

“Son of a bitch…”

The Blood Lord muttered the curse like a groan.

But it was already too late. He might not have known, but I did. I knew what Jeok Cheongang was doing and how much power that martial art possessed.

He had used it only once before and become a legend by killing a thousand members of the Demonic Cult.

Dance of the Fire God and Demon.

At that moment, Jeok Cheongang vanished.

He approached the Blood Lord on light footsteps, as though dancing, while his hands and feet blurred like mist.

Red and blue fire qi filled heaven and earth. It was a beautiful flash of light—and terrifyingly destructive.

“Fire King!”

Whoosh!

At the Blood Lord’s rough shout, black-red saber force mingled with the fire qi. A thunderous roar rang out, as though cliffs were collapsing and the sky itself were being torn apart.

This is…

I could hardly follow the exchange with my eyes. It lasted less than the smallest fraction of a moment, but I still understood.

Hundreds of tremendously powerful attacks had passed between them in that brief instant.

And I knew who had won.

Boom!

A wave of heat swallowed the black-red saber force. Something flashing shot into the sky and plunged deep into the churned-up earth.

A saber.

Its owner was receiving the final blow.

“This old man told you, didn’t he? Even if you were a demon god instead of a human, I would kill you.”

With those quiet words, Jeok Cheongang drove a palm into the Blood Lord’s chest.

Sizzle.

His flesh burned, and his breastbone collapsed. After vomiting a mouthful of blood, the Blood Lord fell to his knees with a hazy look in his eyes.

And… that was all.

Jeok Cheongang gazed down at the Blood Lord’s motionless head. Then his body staggered.

“Old Master!”

“Grandpa Jeok!”

Cheongpung and I rushed over, supported Jeok Cheongang, and carried him to a nearby patch of grass that was still more or less intact.

The Dance of the Fire God and Demon.

No flame burned forever. When the dance ended, the fire went out and the heat faded.

That was why Jeok Cheongang, despite all the long years he had lived, had only ever been able to use it once.

“Well? Wasn’t it just as this old man told you?”

“What are you talking about?”

“The Dance of the Fire God and Demon. Wasn’t it incredible?”

At Jeok Cheongang’s faint smile, I let out a sigh of relief.

Then I smiled with him.

“It was incredible.”

I meant it. Everything about it had been incredible.

Except for the voice that came from behind us the next moment.

“The Dance of the Fire God and Demon… That’s one hell of a name.”

We slowly turned our heads.

The Blood Lord rose to his feet before our eyes, perfectly unscathed.