Chapter 362

The Western Heaven Demon Lord spoke with a laugh.

“I admit it. You are the very embodiment of supernatural powers.”

He had crushed all four of Jin Taekyung’s limbs with his own hands and inflicted severe Internal Injuries.

A cripple? If things had ended there, it would have been a blessing. The injuries were more than enough to kill him.

And yet the young man, Jin Taekyung, had survived.

He had returned to stand before the Western Heaven Demon Lord with his limbs restored without a single scar and his internal energy more powerful than ever.

Even dozens of sorcerers working together couldn’t achieve this level of recovery.

Was this not the very manifestation of supernatural powers—a miracle?

The Western Heaven Demon Lord trembled with a sudden surge of excitement and wonder.

Seeing him like that, Jin Taekyung tilted his head and sneered.

“What? Thinking about dying soon making you need to take a piss? Why are you shaking so much?”

“Do you know how many years I have lived?”

“No. I don’t want to know, either.”

The Western Heaven Demon Lord nodded.

“Of course. To be honest, I don’t know myself.”

“Are you an idiot?”

“As I grew older, counting the years began to feel meaningless. If I had continued living as I was, I might have grown so weary of boredom that I chose death.”

“Can’t you die now? I’m seriously willing to kneel.”

“I’m sorry, but I’m enjoying myself more than ever. Just as I once met the Lord of Heaven, I have met you today.”

The Western Heaven Demon Lord smiled brightly once more.

For him, the past several decades had been a tedious period of endurance.

He missed war and blood. He wanted something he had never experienced before.

A novelty that even the Poison King and the Heaven-Shaking Venerable Nun had failed to provide.

That very thing the Western Heaven Demon Lord had longed for was present in the young man before him.

“I have only one request.”

The corners of the Western Heaven Demon Lord’s mouth stretched wide.

His grotesquely distorted face looked like a fiend from the Lotus Sutra.¹

“If possible, hold out for a long time.”

Rumble-rumble-rumble!

The ground shook violently.

Black qi streamed from the Western Heaven Demon Lord’s entire body, pressing down on everything around him.

When an absolute master wielding power that could shatter heaven brought down a sword steeped in darkness, ink-black Sword Force surged forward, erasing the space in its path.

Whoooooosh!

“I have one request, too.”

The young man, Jin Taekyung, gripped his spear.

Blue flames wrapped around the spearhead, illuminating the darkness like sacred fire.

“If possible, die quickly.”

KABOOM!

A deafening boom shook heaven and earth, and a massive impact traveled along the spearhead.

Krrrk!

I felt a surge of joy as I looked at the ink-black Sword Force clashing with White Flame.

I have a good chance of winning.

That certainty came from this single exchange.

Sword Force and Spear Energy collided.

If you asked which one was superior, ninety-nine out of a hundred people would answer Sword Force.

The remaining one would probably scold you for asking something so obvious.

But…

This is doable.

During my first battle against the Western Heaven Demon Lord, I had been forced to retreat after suffering an Internal Injury with every exchange.

But the enormous internal energy the Heavenly Power Demon had given me through Transmitting Internal Energy Across the Body changed everything.

I had retreated only a single step.

The Western Heaven Demon Lord, who had seemed impossibly distant, had become someone I could reach simply by stretching out my hand.

“Internal energy sure is nice, huh? Don’t you think?”

Zzzzzzt.

The Spear Energy, massive to the point of absurdity, did not lose even a bit of its light against the ink-black Sword Force.

Between the crossed weapons, the Western Heaven Demon Lord looked at me with admiration.

“I guarantee you, there has never been a Peak master like you in the history of the Murim.”

“Of course not. They probably didn’t have more than three jiazi of internal energy.”

I looked straight at him and added,

“And this ability, too.”

Before I had even finished speaking, I was already giving a command in my mind.

Strength, Agility—fifty points each.

The Heavenly Power Demon had given me more than internal energy.

Through ten Level Ups, I had recovered from all my injuries, and the Stat Points that came with them had remained untouched.

Whoooooosh.

A dazzling halo of light enveloped my entire body.

A change only I could feel happened in an instant.

And now it was time to see that change with my own eyes.

“Put all your strength into your ‘don’t-go.’”

“Your don’t-go?”

“Your asshole, dumbass.”

I would make him shit himself.

I gritted my teeth and put strength into the hand gripping the spear shaft.

Grrrrrk.

What were my stats now?

I didn’t know the exact numbers, but one thing was certain.

At the very least, this body had already gone far beyond the limits of a human being.

Under the tremendous pressure, the smile disappeared from the Western Heaven Demon Lord’s face.

“This is ridiculously crude…!”

“You’re poking me where it hurts.”

It was unbelievably crude, but it was also the most certain method possible.

The proof was that the spear, which had been gradually pushed back under the pressure of the Sword Force, had begun to tilt ever so slightly toward the Western Heaven Demon Lord.

If I lack martial arts, I make up for it with my body.

It was a method only I could use in this world.

At the same time, it meant that the Western Heaven Demon Lord possessed martial arts several levels above mine.

“Ha!”

Krrrk!

The moment a short shout burst from the Western Heaven Demon Lord’s mouth, the sword in his hand traced a strange line and coiled around the spearhead.

It was a redirection technique based on the principle of Four Ounces Deflecting a Thousand Catties.

When the spearhead stabbed into empty air, compressed air exploded.

As I staggered for an instant, the Western Heaven Demon Lord reached out.

Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!

Invisible, formless qi.

I couldn’t see it, but I could feel it—the moment it would come and the direction it would take.

Along with that realization, my body moved like flowing water.

I bent backward until my back nearly touched the ground.

Pfft!

Five strands of Finger Qi fired by the Western Heaven Demon Lord grazed my philtrum.

Blood spattered, and the coppery scent of it filled my nose.

When I rose with a carp-leaping maneuver, the ink-black Sword Force was already slicing diagonally toward my body.

Whoooooosh! Shhk!

The Sword Force missed me by the width of a hair and tore through space.

That alone was enough to bring down a pillar three zhang away and split the bars of the underground prison like tofu.

It was too close a distance to swing my spear.

But I already knew how to move.

Inventory open. Store.

White Flame disappeared from my hand, and I thrust both arms toward the Western Heaven Demon Lord’s chest.

Whooosh!

Hot air mixed with my exhalation.

Just as my two palms, imbued with the power of Flame Divine Palm, shot forward, the Western Heaven Demon Lord released his grip on the sword hilt.

His hands blurred, and he suddenly slammed both palms forward.

KABOOM!

The moment our four palms, each carrying tremendous internal energy, collided, a violent gale erupted around us.

The rocky ground caved inward, and the force of the collision was strong enough to blow apart everything nearby.

But that was not the real problem.

Hngh!

I suppressed the groan trying to escape.

A massive wave of energy poured forth from our touching palms and intertwined fingers, making my vision swim.

This bastard, Western Heaven Demon Lord. What the hell is with his internal energy…?

The internal energy I currently possessed amounted to three jiazi.

In terms of internal energy alone, I was more than qualified to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Sect Leaders of the Nine Sects and One Gang and the Five Great Families.

But the Western Heaven Demon Lord—the monster standing before me—was on an entirely different level.

This is insane.

Hissssss.

The heat gathered in my hands gradually faded, and darkness began to swallow the flames.

The Western Heaven Demon Lord’s quiet voice slipped between his lips.

“You have no need to feel so wronged. A tower built easily is bound to collapse just as easily.”

“……!”

“You are merely a strong child. That is the limit of those who have failed to cross the wall.”

Limit?

At that single word, my teeth clenched on their own.

It was a word I had heard to the point of exhaustion throughout my life.

A bastard raised without a father. A bastard from a poor family. A bastard doomed to remain an F-rank Hunter until the day he died…

At the end of every sharp word aimed at me, the word limit had always been attached like a tag.

Even now, after I had accomplished so much.

“I swear, I’m going to…”

A question mark appeared over the Western Heaven Demon Lord’s face at my suppressed voice.

I held back the endless flow of his internal energy and muttered as though groaning,

“I’m going to circumcise that mouth of yours.”

“……!”

It did not take long for the question mark to become an exclamation mark.

I ground my teeth and summoned every last bit of strength I had. My body, which had been pushed backward, began to move forward little by little.

I slowly bent the Western Heaven Demon Lord’s intertwined fingers.

Crack!

The sound of bones twisting out of place made him frown.

“Your strength is the greatest beneath heaven. But this is as far as you go.”

Crack-crack-crack!

It happened in an instant.

The Western Heaven Demon Lord stepped on empty air and launched himself into the air, driving his knee into my face.

The bridge of my nose, which had only just recovered, caved in, and several broken teeth flew through the air.

I hurriedly pulled my hand away and wiped the blood covering my eyes.

“Ghk!”

“Your limit is clear.”

Whoosh—bang!

A fist flew toward me with a powerful crack through the air.

I raised my arm to shield myself, but the shockwave ruptured my eardrums.

As I staggered for a moment, punches and kicks poured down on me like rain.

Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!

My chest, stomach, legs.

The attacks came without pause, battering my entire body.

But unlike in our first battle, I did not allow the attacks so easily, nor did I fall.

I’ve already been through this once. I’m not going to take it twice.

I reached toward a pale afterimage and caught something solid.

The Western Heaven Demon Lord’s arm—the part even the Black Dragon Armor did not cover.

Without the slightest hesitation, I twisted his arm.

No.

I wrung it out like laundry.

Krrrk!

His skin tore, and splintered bone protruded.

No matter how great a master someone was, pain could still be felt.

With a suppressed groan, the Western Heaven Demon Lord threw a punch.

Unlike before, his movements had become duller and rougher.

There was no reason I could not avoid it.

Bang!

Compressed air exploded half a span away from my face.

The instant I shot out my arm like lightning and caught his fist—

“Huh?”

I discovered something familiar and froze in place.

A ring set with a small gemstone that radiated a mysterious light.

It was strange that I had only noticed it now.

Why does he have the Myriad-Poison Ring…?

In that brief instant, split into countless smaller moments, all kinds of thoughts flashed through my mind.

And after the flash of insight came the Western Heaven Demon Lord’s attack.

Crack!

I had been distracted at a time like this.

Of course I couldn’t avoid it.

After being sent tumbling, I rose while clutching my ringing head.

I had been hit, but I began laughing like a madman.

The Western Heaven Demon Lord frowned at me.

“Why are you laughing? Have you lost your mind?”

“Lost my mind? You’re the one who’s lost his mind, dumbass.”

Laughing, I shook the object in my hand.

Can you see it?

The brand-new Item I had just stored in my Inventory and pulled back out. Still warm.

“What are you going to do if you lose something important? Huh?”

“……!”

A multitude of emotions crossed the Western Heaven Demon Lord’s face when he saw the Myriad-Poison Ring.

Shock. Surprise. Confusion.

And anger.

The Western Heaven Demon Lord looked down at his suddenly empty hand and spoke in a heavy voice.

“How?”

“Who knows? Maybe it’s the power of supernatural powers you’re so fond of.”

A single brush had been enough.

The Myriad-Poison Ring had left the Western Heaven Demon Lord’s hand, been safely stored in my private secret vault—the Inventory, which no one else could access—and was now being slipped onto my middle finger.

“Since it’s a sacred treasure, it certainly has a different look to it. Don’t you think?”

“Give it back. It is not something the likes of you can possess.”

I raised my middle finger toward the Western Heaven Demon Lord.

“What do you think? Pretty?”

“……!”

The Western Heaven Demon Lord’s body trembled with rage.

His usual composure had vanished without a trace.

And seeing him like that, I was finally certain.

“The Myriad-Poison Ring. This was your objective from the very beginning.”

The moment I saw the ring on the Western Heaven Demon Lord’s finger, the first thing that came to mind was the Green Jade Buddha Staff, the sacred treasure of Shaolin Temple that the Blood Lord had stolen during the massacre at Shaolin.

“I figured there had to be something important when that bastard clung to it while running away… Are you guys collecting orbs or something? I heard that if you gather seven, a dragon appears and grants you a wish.”

The Western Heaven Demon Lord’s eyes sank into darkness.

“I told you to give it back.”

“Yeah. Fuck off.”

I waved the middle finger wearing the Myriad-Poison Ring for him to see.

At the same time, I muttered inwardly.

Inventory open. Store.

The Western Heaven Demon Lord’s eyes widened as the Myriad-Poison Ring vanished without a trace, as though erased by an eraser.

“You…!”

Rumble-rumble-rumble.

The qi surrounding the Western Heaven Demon Lord surged violently.

The sword he had pulled through Seizing an Object Through Empty Space flew into his hand.

Tss-tss-tss-tss!

Along with the ink-black Sword Force burning more fiercely and violently than ever, the Western Heaven Demon Lord spoke.

“This is the last time. Hand it over.”

The Western Heaven Demon Lord was different now that he had lost the most important object.

With his composure shaken, his sword was bound to waver as well.

At this level, the tide could still be turned.

“I’ll answer one last time. No.”

The moment the Western Heaven Demon Lord’s eyes sank deeply at my answer—

“You brought this upon yourself.”

Along with his emotionless voice, the ink-black Sword Force coiling around the blade shot out like an arrow.

But the destructive force was not aimed at my arms, legs, or neck.

At the end of the devastated corridor stood the treatment room.

“No!”

I launched myself forward with a scream.

The muscles throughout my body, swollen as though they might burst, cried out in pain.

The internal energy I desperately dragged up scraped against my heart meridian.

But it was fine.

As long as I could block it.

As long as I was not too late.

Old Master!

Along with a cry that never escaped my lips, I kicked off the ground once more.

KABOOOOOM!

In the slowed world, a deafening roar like the splitting of heaven filled my ears, and a blinding flash flooded my vision.