Chapter 265

I was certain—absolutely certain—that he was dead.

Even if he had not breathed his last, I was convinced he could no longer be called a living human being.

But…

Slither. Crack-crack!

I could hardly believe what I was seeing.

Pale new flesh spread over skin that had been burned black and looked ready to crumble at the slightest touch. Protruding bones slid back into place and disappeared beneath it.

What the hell is this?

What was I supposed to call it? Recovery?

No. This was regeneration.

Regeneration beyond anything human—like something out of a monster.

Cheongpung let out a strangled gasp at the horrifying sight.

“Ah… Aah…”

Meanwhile, the last of the changes came to an end. The face that had been stripped down to the muscle rapidly regenerated.

Crack.

The Blood Lord rubbed his neck and flashed us a crooked grin.

“You should have crushed my head. Made sure of it.”

Jeok Cheongang had gone rigid as a statue. He barely managed to part his lips.

“How?”

The Blood Lord answered casually.

“For now, let’s just call it demonic martial arts. It’s all the same to orthodox bastards like you anyway, isn’t it?”

“You… Cough!”

“Old Master!”

I was startled and hurried to support Jeok Cheongang. His face had gone pale, and a stream of red blood ran down his chin.

This is bad.

Jeok Cheongang had already exhausted all his strength.

Even the Dance of the Fire God and Demon, unleashed by wringing out the last of his power, had come to nothing. The man in my arms was no longer the Fire King, merely an exhausted old man.

“R-Run…”

Jeok Cheongang could not finish. His head drooped.

I hurriedly checked his pulse. It was faint, but still beating.

He’s all right for now.

But it was far too soon to breathe a sigh of relief.

“From the look of things, even the great Fire King has reached his limit.”

The Blood Lord stepped forward with a delighted expression.

“This was more entertaining than I expected. No, to be honest, it was even frightening. I never imagined things would reach this point.”

“You smell like shit. Shut your mouth.”

I rose to my feet and tightened my grip on White Flame, which I had set down for a moment.

Jeok Cheongang was already out of the fight. If he used any more strength here… something truly irreversible would happen.

“You intend to stop me alone? How admirable.”

“Did you trade one of your eyes for taffy¹ or something? There are two of us.”

The Blood Lord shook his head.

“No. There’s only one. I don’t count terrified little rats as people.”

Terrified little rat?

I turned my head.

Cheongpung stood frozen beside me.

His pupils shook uncontrollably, and the hand clutching his sword hilt trembled violently.

Fear.

That was the only emotion I could sense from him.

“To send a wet-behind-the-ears brat out into the martial world… The Sword Saint spoiled his Disciple far too much.”

Step.

The Blood Lord was still more than fifty paces away. But when he took a single step, Cheongpung flinched as though burned and retreated.

This is…

My heart sank.

I knew exactly what it meant.

The path I had experienced myself, the path countless others had walked—Cheongpung was only now beginning to walk it.

Of all times, why now?

It was a growing pain every martial artist and Hunter had to experience, but for the genius standing before me, the timing was unbearably late.

The Blood Lord read the realization on my face and grinned.

“You know it too, don’t you? He’s already finished. That helplessness he’s feeling for the first time. The fear of death. Once those things take hold of you, they’re not easy to escape.”

“…Jongni Chu.”

There was no doubt.

This was because of Cheongpung’s duel with Jongni Chu.

Jongni Chu was the one who had planted the seed of fear in Cheongpung. And that seed had sprouted after meeting another powerful figure—the Blood Lord.

“Exactly. I have no idea where that fellow came from, but he did quite a job. He drew the attention of the orthodox factions and even neatly disposed of the Sword Saint’s Disciple. Ha-ha!”

My mouth felt gritty, as though I were chewing sand.

Cheongpung was still paralyzed with fear, while the Blood Lord leisurely closed the distance between us.

Damn it.

Fortunately, I still had one final move left.

The problem was that it really was my final move.

Even if it succeeded, there was no guarantee what the outcome would be. If it failed, all that awaited us was death.

But I have no choice.

I slowly drew up what little internal energy remained—not even ten percent.

One Annihilation.

My only hope was to pour everything I had into a single strike and crush his head.

I folded up the question Can I do it? and burned it away.

I have to. Somehow.

I had to choose certainty over doubt, and desperate resolve over certainty. Only by staking my life on every tiny movement would I have even the faintest chance.

“Young sir.”

Click. Clack.

I knew what it was without looking.

Cheongpung’s teeth were chattering.

I shouted with all my might.

“Cheongpung!”

He gasped and jerked his head up.

“I won’t say this twice. Listen carefully and decide for yourself.”

“Y-Yes?”

“You have two choices. First, carry Old Master and run as far away as you can.”

“Benefactor!”

“I’m not finished. Second, stop shaking like a fucking coward and fight that bastard beside me with everything you have.”

“……!”

His trembling breath betrayed the turmoil inside him.

Then the feet that had retreated several steps began moving forward again.

Step.

We stood side by side in front of the unconscious Jeok Cheongang.

“Your answer. I haven’t heard it yet.”

“This is my answer.”

“Be honest.”

“I’m scared, Benefactor.”

“Fuck. You’re brutally honest.”

“But I really am scared. I’ve never felt anything like this in my life.”

I kept my eyes fixed on the approaching Blood Lord.

“If you’re that scared, why not run?”

“I don’t know. I just feel like if I run away now… I’ll regret it for the rest of my life.”

That regret.

I knew what he meant.

I glanced at Cheongpung. He was still terrified, and his hands still trembled, but the step he had taken forward was firm. His feet were rooted in place, refusing to retreat.

Yes.

For now, that was enough.

I had just given a small nod when—

“Regret? Run away?”

Twenty paces away, the Blood Lord stopped and laughed aloud as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world.

“What audacious nonsense from a pair of fledglings. I’m the one who decides whether you run. That is the right of the strong and the inevitable fate of the weak.”

“Well, you’re partly right…”

I raised my spear and aimed it at him. White Flame’s transparent spearhead shattered the sunlight into countless fragments.

“But why does every word out of your mouth sound so fucking disgusting?”

“The truth is uncomfortable. Especially for the weak.”

“This won’t do. Open wide, patient. It’s time for your circumcision. It might hurt a little—I’ll be using a spear without anesthesia.”

“Puhahaha!”

“You’re laughing? You think it can’t happen to you? That’s how life gets you. I should’ve known something was up when Mom said we were going out for something delicious.”

The Blood Lord’s smile deepened.

“Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi. The more I see of you, the more entertaining you become. Those bizarre martial arts of yours that I can’t identify, that spirit… I like you.”

“And if you like me?”

“Come under me. I might even spare the Fire King.”

“Why don’t you eat a dick, sir? After today, I’ll never have to deal with a bastard like you again.”

“Someone once said that the first meeting is coincidence, the second is a connection, and the third is destiny.”

“Listen to this son of a bitch, writing a goddamn romance novel.”

The Blood Lord shrugged.

“Perhaps. It isn’t a relationship between a man and a woman, but if we’ve crossed paths twice in this vast world, wouldn’t you call that a connection?”

“Twice?”

For a moment, I didn’t understand.

What the hell was this bastard talking about?

“Did you see me at the Star-Array Grand Banquet or something?”

“Of course I saw you.”

His playful voice continued.

“At Eight Spring Gorge.”

“…What?”

“It was quite a spectacle. Corpses piled into mountains, blood flowing like a river… Watching you take Jin Baekyang’s life was especially memorable. Wasn’t that when they started calling you the Sleeping Dragon of Shanxi?”

“What are you talking about…”

“Jin Baekyang, the Blade of Flowers. What a useless bastard. At first, he acted as though he would tear out his own liver and gallbladder for us, but as he grew older, he must have developed some pathetic doubts. Ruined the entire job. What incompetent fool recruited such a half-assed bastard? Tsk, tsk.”

I stared blankly at the Blood Lord as he clicked his tongue.

Every word coming from his mouth sounded hollow and alien.

“Oh, what about that Third Rate sect called the Mount Heng Sword Sect? Is it still around? I did hear from one of my subordinates that one of its Sect Leader’s sons had been killed. I lost interest after Eight Spring Gorge, so I haven’t paid much attention.”

“……!”

A shudder shot along my spine like a bolt of lightning.

“Then… it was you?”

“I told you.”

The Blood Lord’s eyes curved into crescents. His next words came in a gentle voice that did not suit him at all.

“The first meeting is coincidence, the second is a connection, and the third is destiny. What do you think? Wouldn’t you say you and I have a connection?”

My breath caught.

The bastard standing before me was the one who had started that war.

The Blood Lord saw my expression and roared with laughter.

“Why the long face? Things worked out smoothly thanks to me. The Jin Family of Taiyuan is the foremost family in Shanxi. You became the Fire King’s Disciple and even seized victory at the Star-Array Grand Banquet. Shouldn’t you thank me?”

I did not answer.

One thought filled my mind.

How many people died again?

I didn’t know.

A thousand? Two thousand?

Countless people had died in a Great War that had been meaningless from beginning to end. There had been no true victor or loser.

Martial artists who had merely swung their weapons when ordered died. So did innocent commoners who had nothing to do with the conflict. Even more children were left orphaned by the war.

When the Murim of Shanxi began to reel, the mounted bandits of Gaoyuan ran rampant.

The war had barely ended before the same history repeated itself.

And he expects me to thank him.

I licked my dry, cracked lips. My grip around the spear shaft tightened on its own.

An unknown strength filled my exhausted body.

A stat that did not appear in the System window.

Anger.

“Hey.”

“Hmm?”

“That bullshit about once being coincidence and twice being a connection.”

I took a deep breath. Without it, I felt as though fireballs might pour from my mouth.

“You and I are different. Let’s skip all that and go straight to destiny.”

“Destiny?”

“Yeah. The destiny where one of us dies.”

Before I had even finished speaking, I kicked off the ground.

The distance vanished in an instant, and his smiling face appeared before me.

One Annihilation.

Gooooong!

The spearhead cleaved through space.

Crack!

“Gaaaaah!”

The young man’s arm broke, and white bone burst through his skin.

He screamed at the agony, worse than anything he had ever experienced. Spurting blood splattered across his own face.

The foul reek made bile rise in his throat. The instant he bent over to retch, a thick leg slammed into his abdomen.

Thud. Boom!

“You pathetic fool. I pity the Sword Saint for having a half-wit like you as his Disciple.”

The young man—Cheongpung—went flying. He struggled to turn himself over.

It hurt.

He wanted to collapse.

His entire body screamed in pain, and a deep despair weighed upon him.

My body… My body won’t listen to me.

In the end, he could not rise. He collapsed, and the vast sky filled his vision.

The sky above Lotus Peak on Huashan had always been clear and beautiful. By day, the clouds gleamed; by night, the stars glittered. Roe deer and rabbits bounded energetically across the mountain.

But…

Why is the sky here so red?

This sky was different.

Red and bleak.

Cheongpung blinked and realized that the tiny blood vessels in his eyes had burst. It was the first time that had ever happened, but he was not surprised.

I’ve already broken bones for the first time, and I’ve lost so much blood.

Thinking about his condition made his breathing quicken without him realizing it.

As he lay sprawled on the ground, gasping for breath, a chilling sound pierced his ears.

Whoosh—crack!

“Urk!”

“You bastard!”

Cheongpung turned toward the sound. Two figures locked in a bloody struggle came into view through his tilted vision.

No.

It could no longer be called a fight.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

“Hngh!”

“You’re still not dead? Even after this? Even after this?”

Bam-bam-bam! Crash!

His nose collapsed. His ankle broke, and his shoulder was wrenched out of place.

Once. Three times. Ten times…

Yet no matter how badly he was injured or how many times he fell, he rose again.

He would do the same a hundred times.

That was the kind of man Cheongpung knew him to be.

Benefactor.

But reality was merciless.

The outcome had been decided almost immediately.

Cheongpung did not know what martial art Jin Taekyung had used, but the power of that one strike had been unparalleled. It had shattered the Blood Lord’s Red Blade, infused with Sword Force, and wounded him.

Yet in less than a moment, the Blood Lord regenerated and drove them both into a corner.

“You lunatic… I’ve never seen a more tenacious bastard.”

Everything was about to end.

The Blood Lord shook his head, looking thoroughly appalled. His entire body was drenched in blood as well.

Unlike before, however, his wounds no longer healed. The easy smile he had worn throughout the battle was gone, and he breathed raggedly as he pulled Jin Taekyung’s spear from where it stood embedded deep in the ground.

“Huff, huff… Fine. I’ll kill you.”

Kill.

The moment Cheongpung heard that word, his palm pressed against the ground.

The pain from his broken arm and leg faded, along with the smell of blood.

A strange, floating sensation spread through his entire body.

What is this?

He did not know.

At the end of his staggering steps stood the Blood Lord.

“Huh. What’s this now? Do you want to die too?”

His hands trembled when he met the Blood Lord’s ferocious gaze.

But then he saw Jin Taekyung lying behind him, and the trembling slowly subsided.

“Benefactor… Benefactor.”

“What a pair of lunatics…”

The Blood Lord let out an incredulous, hollow laugh and swung the spear.

Slash!

Cheongpung staggered aside, twisting his body. Blood sprayed from his chest.

It hurts.

But he did not stop.

He did not fall.

The sword hilt had slipped from his powerless grip long ago.

“What the…”

The Blood Lord stared at him in disbelief, then seized Cheongpung’s throat with one powerful hand.

“Ghk!”

“What the hell is wrong with you people? Why are you both so desperate to die first?”

His voice held genuine curiosity.

As his consciousness faded, Cheongpung opened his mouth. A strained voice escaped him.

“Because… I think I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I backed down.”

“That’s your reason? A cowardly bastard like you refuses to retreat for such a pathetic reason?”

The Blood Lord’s killing intent grew even more savage.

But something was strange.

Cheongpung was not frightened at all.

It felt as though he had returned to his days on Lotus Peak. Before he knew it, the corners of his mouth had lifted.

“Hehe. Yes.”

The Blood Lord’s face twisted viciously.

Cheongpung had smiled.

He had smiled while standing before him.

It was impossible.

It was something that should never have happened.

“I heard your last words loud and clear.”

The Blood Lord was about to drive the spearhead into Cheongpung’s chest when—

“You’ve broken free of your shell.”

A clear voice rang out.

A voice exactly like the blue sky over Huashan that Cheongpung remembered.

A voice he felt he finally recognized.