Chapter 416: For a Drunkard, Whatever’s in Hand is a Weapon
Seo Nak was shaken by the appearance of the Ice Palace Master.
He was more shocked than when he had realized that the Drunken Demon had come to kill him.
“Palace Master.”
At first, he had intended to make excuses for what he had said just moments ago. No matter how much his true nature had been revealed, they still had years they had shared together.
But from the cold gaze in the Ice Palace Master’s eyes, he could tell that any excuse was already too late.
“Was this your doing, Palace Master?”
“You haven’t answered my question yet. Was killing the Former Master Brewer also for the sake of the Ice Palace?”
If it had come to this anyway—
“It always is. Every choice I make is for the Ice Palace. I am the Ice Palace.”
The Ice Palace Master’s eyes sank even colder. Declaring oneself to be the Ice Palace in front of her was beyond insolence—it was a challenge.
Naturally, the air around them chilled. In the midst of that, the Drunken Demon silently raised his glass and drank.
Seo Nak had already overturned the drinking table, but the Ice Palace Master still maintained proper manners toward him. After all, he had done many things in the past.
“Joining hands with those who use Blood Arts—was that also for the sake of the palace?”
After a brief pause, Seo Nak spoke in a low voice.
“So you knew all the way up to that point?”
You pretended not to know, even though you did? Seo Nak hardened his expression, now showing clear displeasure.
To the Ice Palace Master, this face of his felt unfamiliar. The thought that he had lived all this time hiding his true face made her sick.
She recalled the image of Seo Nak making that fragile Former Master Brewer write her will—it sent shivers down her spine.
“I won’t ask why you joined hands with them.”
She repeated the exact words that the Drunken Demon had said to Seo Nak earlier.
“Because I know it must’ve been for a petty and selfish reason.”
At that, Seo Nak shouted in fury.
“Shut up! How dare you! Even if the whole world curses me, you shouldn’t.”
He lashed out with raw anger and resentment.
“Who do you think you owe that seat to?”
This was what Seo Nak had truly wanted to say all along.
“When you rose to the seat of Palace Master, if I had harbored a different intention—!”
The Ice Palace Master understood. This betrayal had started from here. He regretted it. He regretted not having seized the position of Palace Master back then.
“So what now? Did they promise you the Palace Master’s seat?”
Seo Nak gave no answer, but the Ice Palace Master knew. It was the silence of affirmation. He wouldn’t have joined hands with them unless he had received such a promise.
When had his heart changed?
Having known him for so long, she thought countless questions would flood her mind. But when the moment came, they didn’t.
Rather, she had no desire to engage in conversation. It was obvious that they would only scratch at each other’s emotions with all sorts of petty words. The bridge back had already been burned—what use was there in arguing across it?
The Ice Palace Master looked at the Drunken Demon. She had decided to leave Seo Nak’s disposal to him, just as Geom Mugeuk had asked. She believed it was better that way—for herself, too.
As the Drunken Demon set down his glass, he said,
"It won't take long."
"Let’s wait outside."
The Ice Palace Master walked back into the mist she had come from.
"You selfish wench who can't even fathom another's feelings! You ice-cold wench!"
At Seo Nak’s curses, the Drunken Demon laughed mockingly.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Because it's pathetic. Now I understand why they chose you."
A chill of killing intent tinged Seo Nak’s cold smile. He still showed no fear. He seemed to think he could handle a fight against the Drunken Demon.
Even so, with the Ice Palace Master right outside—what on earth was he relying on?
Harboring that doubt, the Drunken Demon closed the stopper on the Blood Calabash.
Seo Nak eyed the Blood Calabash carefully.
"Is that your secret weapon?"
The next moment, the Drunken Demon flipped the table in front of him.
Bang!
As Seo Nak’s palm shattered the table—
Crack.
A chair flew and struck Seo Nak’s shoulder. It was the very chair the Drunken Demon had been sitting on, now smashed against him.
Seo Nak was taken aback. The attack had been completely unexpected. It wasn’t like a wooden chair could truly harm him; only the poor chair ended up shattered, scattering to pieces. Did the Drunken Demon not know that?
The Drunken Demon’s next words answered Seo Nak’s doubts.
"What else would a drunkard use as a weapon? Anything within reach is a weapon."
The Drunken Demon laughed like a scoundrel, but Seo Nak did not laugh.
What kind of scoundrel could strike someone down with a chair like that? In fact, it showed greater skill than simply stabbing with a fine sword.
If one were to name the Demon Supremes that martial artists feared the most, there would be fierce competition among the Poison King, the Evil Smiling Demon, and the Soul Reaper Demon Supreme. No one would pick the Drunken Demon first.
But if someone asked Seo Nak that question now? It would require serious thought.
Swish!
This time, Seo Nak launched a surprise palm strike, unleashing powerful internal force.
The Drunken Demon lightly twisted his body to the side and dodged.
Crash!
The rear wall of the hall shattered, and the decorative cabinet placed there was smashed to pieces. Seo Nak’s gaze, for a brief moment, flickered toward the scattered ornaments rolling across the floor.
He would no longer care about such things.
It was a scene that marked the beginning of a new life.
Shaa!
As the second surge of energy flew toward him, the Drunken Demon disappeared into the mist. Since no scream was heard, he must have dodged once again.
Suddenly, Seo Nak felt that his body was different from usual.
‘This isn’t ordinary mist—it’s Liquor Qi.’
That was why his body grew light-headed and languid. His vigilance naturally dulled. This wasn’t a matter of willpower or the amount of internal energy. His body was instinctively reacting to the drunken energy.
As Seo Nak drew upon his internal energy, a chill rose from both his hands.
‘Stay alert! If you get drunk, you’ll die!’
Seo Nak’s secret martial art was the Cold White Divine Palm.
Even a light hit would cause cold energy to seep into one’s organs, resulting in lifelong suffering; a direct hit would freeze the entire body solid, causing instant death—a terrifying martial art.
"Hey, Demon Supreme. Don’t hide cowardly in the mist—come out and face me honorably…."
Swish!
Seo Nak twisted his body to dodge something flying from ahead.
Bang!
The object that smashed into the rear wall was a metal bead, one that had fallen from a broken ornament earlier.
As the Drunken Demon had said, he was using anything he could get his hands on as a weapon. But even the junk he picked up from the floor was flying more threateningly than the finest golden hidden weapons of the martial world.
"The great Demon Supreme, resorting to such cowardice…."
Swishhh!
This time, an attack flew from behind. It was too late to turn around. Seo Nak raised his Protective Energy to guard with his back.
Thud!
At the moment of impact, he realized—it was the Drunken Demon’s fist.
Seo Nak was thrown forward and tumbled before quickly twisting to his feet. His back ached as if it had been crushed, but it was still bearable.
The Drunken Demon stood where he had been, calmly drinking.
He was looking at Seo Nak while drinking, and the moment Seo Nak met that gaze, a chilling wind swept through his heart. In those languid yet decadent eyes burned a killing intent and madness unlike anything he had ever seen before.
At that very moment—
Whoooosh!
Seo Nak launched a sudden surge of palm force, ripping through the mist as it rushed forward.
But the Drunken Demon lightly evaded with nimble steps and disappeared once more into the mist. This place, overflowing with Liquor Qi, was the Drunken Demon’s domain.
The more skilled one was, the more they would realize how terrifying this mist was. For those like them, even the smallest difference decided victory or defeat.
At that instant, something flashed through the mist and came flying at him.
Swish! Swish!
Thud! Thud!
Sharp strikes stabbed into Seo Nak’s shoulder and arm. The Drunken Demon had revealed himself from the mist, wielding daggers in hand. It happened so fast that Seo Nak couldn’t dodge.
He swung a palm strike a beat too late, but the Drunken Demon had already vanished back into the mist.
‘He’s strong—stronger than I had expected.’
Seo Nak also tried to move quickly to hide himself within the mist. However, the mist was not his ally. As he leapt, the mist scattered, exposing him.
Swish!
Crash!
He managed to block the palm force flying toward him, but because he was overwhelmed in sheer power, his arm throbbed as if it would fall off.
‘Even palm techniques!’
And that was not all.
Swish!
The Drunken Demon’s fingers, emerging from the mist, raked across him. Flesh was torn, and blood splattered.
‘This time it’s claw techniques!’
Now Seo Nak understood clearly. The Drunken Demon had mastered every kind of martial art.
That was how a drunkard’s martial arts should be.
Punching, stabbing, grappling, throwing.
This was the Drunken Demon’s martial art.
The chaotic martial arts of a drunkard were now breaking his bones and tearing his flesh apart with terrifying skill.
The Drunken Demon reappeared. He was drinking boldly from afar, right in front of him. The more he drank, the stronger he became.
Seo Nak gathered every ounce of internal energy he had. The aura rising from both his hands, once a blue hue, now turned pure white.
He was about to unleash the White Annihilation Palm, the most powerful technique among the forms of the Cold White Divine Palm.
‘He’s not dodging? He’s going to take the White Annihilation Palm head-on? Perfect!’
Just as Seo Nak was inwardly exulting—
He saw it.
The mist surrounding the Drunken Demon surged toward him, instantly forming a single shape: the back view of the Wine God, standing with his back turned.
It was a brilliant manifestation of the Drunken Demon’s secret martial art among the many arts he had mastered.
Swishhhhh!
The White Annihilation Palm was unleashed. The floor was overturned, the air shredded apart, and a massive force rushed toward him.
At the same time, the Wine God who had been standing behind the Drunken Demon turned and lunged forward.
From the Drunken Demon’s secret martial art, Wine God Arts—
The Fourth Cup, Wine God's Berserk Drunkenness.
The Liquor Qi that had been flying forward in the form of the Wine God gathered into a single beam of light.
Boom!
The two massive energies collided, producing an earth-shattering explosion.
The shock obliterated the entire hall.
As the dust settled, the two figures were revealed.
The Drunken Demon was still standing exactly where he had been.
On the other hand, Seo Nak had been pushed back more than ten steps.
Wine God's Berserk Drunkenness had completely overpowered and crushed the White Annihilation Palm.
Seo Nak’s entire body was battered and torn.
"Keuhh."
Blood gushed from his mouth. It was a fatal wound—there was no hope of recovery.
The Drunken Demon had defeated him without even using his secret weapon, the Blood Calabash. Seo Nak was strong, but the Drunken Demon was stronger.
The Drunken Demon took a drink. The final sip was a drink for the Former Master Brewer.
Facing his imminent death, Seo Nak burned with fury—not because he had lost, but because of the betrayal of those he had trusted.
"They said they would protect me…."
Blood dripped from Seo Nak’s mouth. He had not relied solely on his own strength.
At that moment, a new voice echoed into the place.
"They didn’t break their promise."
Something flew toward Seo Nak. What was flung at his feet were two corpses.
The one who had entered was none other than Geom Mugeuk.
"You must have been quite important to them."
The two martial artists had been lying in ambush in a secret spot within Seo Nak’s residence.
They were no ordinary fighters. Not only were their martial skills impressive, but their stealth and lightness techniques were also exceptional. They had been prepared to spirit Seo Nak away if necessary.
As Geom Mugeuk walked toward the Drunken Demon, he asked,
"Are you alright?"
"I’m fine. What about you?"
Geom Mugeuk nodded, saying he was fine, then turned his gaze to the opposite side.
"They're coming!"
Something was rushing toward them from beyond the mist.
Fwiing!
The Drunken Demon instinctively twisted his body. Something grazed past his face.
It was a droplet of blood.
What had flown like a hidden weapon was unmistakably a drop of blood. But it wasn’t an ordinary blood droplet—it was Blood Energy shaped into a droplet.
Immediately after, the attacker who had launched the blood revealed himself, charging toward them.
His pupils, face, neck, and hands were grotesquely red.
"Dodge!"
At Geom Mugeuk’s shout, the two split to the sides.
Boom!
The charging man exploded, spraying blood everywhere. The blood that burst forth even pierced through the collapsed wall. It was a Self-Destruction Art. The force of Blood Energy unleashed at death was tremendous.
This was why Geom Mugeuk was wary of, and hated, the Blood King. He used the lives of his subordinates like this.
These weren’t people who had hastily learned a simple self-destruction technique. They were martial artists who had trained for a long time to master this art solely to use it effectively. After all that effort, what awaited them was a single moment of self-annihilation.
That was why battles against the Blood King became so gruesome.
This time, he had to ask.
"Are you alright?"
Just as the Drunken Demon nodded in response to Geom Mugeuk’s question and was about to say something—
The two men’s gazes turned simultaneously in the same direction.
Another wave of figures was rushing toward them. And it wasn’t just one or two.
"There’s a lot this time!"
The Drunken Demon cleared the mist that had been spread before them to secure their vision.
In that instant, the two of them saw it.
The dozen or so attackers who had been charging suddenly leapt into the air.
Boom!
They all self-destructed at once, unleashing the Self-Destruction Art. They had been trained solely for this one moment, without a shred of hesitation.
The Self-Destruction Art was configured to focus the Blood Energy entirely forward.
Fiiiiiieeeek!
Hundreds of streams of Blood Energy flew toward them!
They came so densely packed, with a shrieking sound tearing at their ears, that there was no place to dodge.
There was no way to evade the massive spread of attacks.
The Drunken Demon stepped in front of Geom Mugeuk.
"Young Cult Leader! Get behind me!"
The Drunken Demon blocked the front, raising his Protective Energy to the extreme, crossing his arms to shield his face.
In that critical moment, the Drunken Demon called Geom Mugeuk "Young Cult Leader." In this moment, he was not just his younger brother but the Young Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, someone he must absolutely protect. And he was the Demon Supreme assigned to guard him.
The Drunken Demon pulled all his internal energy to the limit. Judging from the power of the blood droplets that had flown at them earlier, injury was inevitable. Even if he were wounded, he would not let even a single hair on Geom Mugeuk’s head be harmed.
This was the pride of a Demon Supreme who served the Young Cult Leader.
Thudthudthudthudthudthudthudthudthudthudthud!
The sound of Blood Energy streams colliding with something echoed.
The next moment, a brief silence passed.
The Drunken Demon slowly uncrossed the arms he had raised before his face.
With a surprised expression, he looked up ahead. The terrifying surge of Blood Energy had not touched him.
Something had been erected in front of him.
A wall of brilliant energy, gleaming dazzlingly under the sunlight.
Though the Blood Energy rained down thick and mercilessly from all directions, not a single stream had pierced this shining wall of energy.
The massive wall of energy—the greatest shield for all demonic cultivators.
It was the Great Demon Wall of the Nine Calamities Demon Art.