I never expected to be this happy to see that dumpling ghost. With even a cat’s paw being welcome at a time like this, Cheongpung joining us could be an enormous help.
Before I knew it, a cry of delight burst from my lips.
“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 been hoping otherwise, but it was just as I feared. That was all the Blood Lord knew about Cheongpung’s identity.
It had been revealed during the duel that Cheongpung was a disciple of Huashan, but there was no way he knew that Sword Saint Mae Jonghak had raised his youngest disciple with the same love he would have shown his own blood.
This was the perfect chance to lull him into carelessness…
“Or should I call you the Sword Saint’s Disciple? Or perhaps his grandson?”
“……”
That son of a bitch. There was nothing he didn’t know.
Then again, Dark Heaven had recruited and planted the Head Elder decades ago. The Blood Lord was clearly one of Dark Heaven’s highest-ranking members.
It would be strange if he didn’t know.
The Blood Lord gave a quiet laugh at my disappointed expression.
“You don’t have to look so disappointed. It wouldn’t change anything even if that friend of yours joined you.”
Look at this guy…
Although Cheongpung and I had yet to move beyond the upper reaches of Peak, neither of us could be compared to an ordinary Peak master.
I had overwhelming stats and abundant combat experience. Cheongpung had innate martial talent and a genius-like combat sense that allowed him to combine dozens of martial arts at exactly the right moments.
And on top of that, we had the Fire King Jeok Cheongang—the greatest of the Ten Kings.
I thought this was a fight we could win.
“You’re underestimating us too much.”
“It’s 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 to do.”
The Blood Lord answered in a relaxed voice 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 Yama, 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 an incredible Quest title.
I kicked off the ground and charged forward. I did not forget to call out someone’s name in place of a curse.
“Cheongpung! Now!”
Cheongpung flinched, bit down on his lip, and charged as well. The blue-steel sword in his hand danced smoothly, drawing plum blossoms through the air.
Fwoosh! Shhhhk!
On a quiet mountain path, Scorching Yang Qi heated the cool mountain breeze, while spear and sword tore through the burning air.
The Blood Lord watched us charge from the front and rear before his lips moved.
“Well then… Let’s see what you can do.”
Crack-crack-crack!
Jeok Cheongang flicked his hand. A palm force filled with Scorching Yang Qi burst from his wrinkled palm.
It was 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’s entire body—
Whoosh!
A single gust of wind blew.
A saber had appeared in the Blood Lord’s hand. Before the saber force blazing an ominous red, the palm force of the Flame Divine Palm split 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.
And two streaks of light pierced through it all.
Whoosh! Shhhk!
A spear and a sword shot forward from the front and rear.
The Blood Lord twisted up the corners of his mouth and released the saber. At the same time, his newly freed fists struck the empty air.
Boom!
Compressed air exploded outward, unleashing a violent gale. Both the viciously thrusting spearhead and the plum blossoms blooming from the sword’s tip were 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 twisted his neck and retrieved his saber from the air. He had fought the two of us while using 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 that the Blood Lord was an even greater master than he had imagined.
His words about bringing the Sword Saint if we wanted to kill him… They weren’t empty boasts.
His opponent was a master who could easily be compared to 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.
On top of that, the Blood Lord possessed a young, vigorous body capable of unleashing all of it without the slightest deficiency.
That day, Jeok Cheongang felt that his wrinkled hands looked 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 had acquired that enlightenment, his body had grown too old.
Water leaked from an old jar full of holes.
That was what Jeok Cheongang was like now.
Perhaps this place will become my grave.
The Blood Lord did not miss the way Jeok Cheongang’s eyes sank into silence.
He twisted up the corners of his mouth and chuckled.
“Old man. Are you starting to understand now? Do you grasp the situation?”
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.”
“You three have, perhaps. But I haven’t even started yet.”
“What did you say?”
“I heard that the orthodox factions show courtesy by allowing a master to yield three forms to a junior. I decided to imitate them.”
“……!”
The Blood Lord pointed one long finger at each of them in turn.
The three of them had each unleashed one form, making three in all. Just as he said, he had yielded three forms without moving from his spot.
“Now I’ll be going first. Go ahead and struggle.”
A red glow surged from the Blood Lord’s eyes. At the same time, his whites became stained red, and a massive, terrifying qi spread outward from his body.
And then—
Rumble, rumble, rumble!
Mount Song trembled.
Shhhhk! Boom!
Streaks of light filled every direction. A dazzling cluster of radiance, bright enough to blind anyone watching, accompanied the nonstop thunder of explosions.
The most overwhelming sight was a single saber scattering black-red qi.
Boom!
Powerful saber force swung through the air, leaving behind a pale trail of light.
Its destructive trajectory erased everything that stood in its path, and the attacks flying toward the Blood Lord were helplessly knocked aside.
Mine, of course, was among them.
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 difficult to believe it belonged to a human being.
What a monster.
I gritted my teeth and twisted my body around.
Whoosh!
The black-red blade passed within a hair’s breadth of my head, slicing off a few strands of hair.
But the skin that could not withstand the wind pressure split slightly, and blood began to flow.
I caught the droplets running down the bridge of my nose and swallowed them before swinging my spear.
“Hah!”
Whirrrrrl!
The violently spinning spearhead aimed for 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 then—
Crack!
The Blood Lord’s free hand snatched the spearhead out of the air.
It was a bare hand, but not truly bare. Immense internal energy blazing black and red enveloped his palm.
“This won’t do.”
Along with his low voice, tremendous force pulled the spearhead toward him.
Then the Blood Lord’s eyebrows shot upward.
The spearhead that had been caught in his grip only a moment ago had vanished.
It was as if it had never existed in the first place.
“You—!”
Before his startled voice could escape, I had already plunged deep into his reach.
Inventory Open. Summon.
In the space of an instant, White Flame—heated by Scorching Yang Qi—was back in my hand.
Ten-Thousand-Year Cold Iron, harder and sharper than anything else in the world, tore through his Body-Protecting Qi and pierced the flesh concealed beneath it.
Thud! Boom!
The Blood Lord shook his sleeve, and a powerful penetrating 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.
It was an attack only I could have pulled off—and one that had worked because I was nothing more than me.
It had landed because I used the System, which no one could have anticipated, and because the Blood Lord had not considered an attack from someone like me worth guarding against.
This is my chance.
This was perhaps the perfect opportunity that would never come again. The last lifeline I could not afford to let go.
I swallowed the blood rising in 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 shooting toward the Blood Lord had transformed into the Fire King.
Boom!
An enormous blaze of heat burst 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.
“Fucking hell…”
The Blood Lord muttered the words like a groan.
But it was already too late. He did not know, but I did. I knew what Jeok Cheongang was doing and what kind of power that technique possessed.
He had used it only once before, becoming a legend by killing a thousand members of the Demonic Cult.
Dance of the Fire God and Demon.
At that moment, Jeok Cheongang’s figure 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 the entire area. It was a beautiful flash of light, but 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…
It was an exchange of attacks that was difficult even to follow with my eyes. It lasted for less time than could be called a moment, but I still understood.
Hundreds of attacks carrying tremendous power 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.
The man who should have been holding it 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.”
Along with his quiet voice, a palm struck 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 it.
Jeok Cheongang stared down at the Blood Lord’s motionless crown before his figure began to stagger.
“Old Master!”
“Grandpa Jeok!”
Cheongpung and I hurried over, supported Jeok Cheongang, and moved him to a nearby patch of grass that was still more or less intact.
The Dance of the Fire God and Demon.
There was no flame that burned forever. When the dance ended, the fire went out and the heat faded.
That was why Jeok Cheongang, who had lived through an age-spanning lifetime, had only been able to use it once.
“How was it? Wasn’t it exactly 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 along with him.
“It was incredible.”
I meant it. Everything about it had been incredible.
If not for the voice that came from behind us the next moment.
“The Dance of the Fire God and Demon… That’s one cool name.”
We slowly turned our heads.
Our eyes filled with the sight of the Blood Lord standing up as if nothing had happened.
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