Chapter 62: The Great Battle of Moon and Blood Bamboo (2)
'Demonic Master! You old geezer! Get out here now!'
But the Demonic Master showed no sign of coming out.
'I know what you're thinking! If you don't come out right now, I won't grant a single thing you want! I’ll make sure your soul is completely annihilated!'
Desperation overtook me, and I hurled curses at him in my mind.
I knew exactly why the Demonic Master's soul wasn’t responding to my consciousness.
He was waiting for a desperate moment to appear and make himself seem more indispensable.
Only after I said that did the Demonic Master slowly respond from within.
'Huhuhuhu, you little brat dare speak so rudely to me!'
'Cut the crap, stop with that “I” nonsense. I was trying to show some respect for your age, but not anymore! You're just a soul parasitizing my body! Bring out the full power of one cycle right now!'
'Hmph, do you think your body can handle the energy of my full three cycles? Why do you think you've only been using half a cycle of my power? Because that’s all your abilities can withstand. If you try to draw out even one full cycle, your blood vessels will rupture and you'll die. Do you get it? You'll die, you disrespectful bastard.'
To hold the power of three cycles within the body meant the body itself had to change accordingly.
To store and circulate such an amount, the meridians needed to expand and enlarge so that the energy could flow smoothly.
But I wasn’t ready for that. Just as the Demonic Master said, if I used more than half a cycle all of a sudden, my meridians would burst and I’d die.
'Then just one full cycle. Otherwise, everyone’s going to die.'
'Fine, I’ll draw out one cycle. But don’t blame me if it goes wrong, you damned bastard.'
The Demonic Master cursed right back at me, not tolerating the way I hurled insults at him.
The next moment, the Demonic Master’s hidden energy surged toward my lower dantian.
Unfortunately, his energy was different in nature from mine, so the two couldn’t merge.
I realized trying to fuse them would be even more dangerous, so I considered it fortunate that at least they didn’t clash.
The expert from the Law Enforcement Council, standing in front of me, seemed both impressed and dumbfounded that I sat with eyes closed in meditation as if nothing was happening.
“You’re looking down on me. I was going to kill you cleanly, but now I’ll make you suffer a bit.”
Brushing off Mo Biyoung and Jong Seok who were barely holding him back, the Law Enforcement Council expert swung his sword.
Just before the blade touched my head, I sensed the force and snapped my eyes open.
At the same moment, the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword unfolded.
Clang!
As our swords collided, I was helplessly pushed backward while the Law Enforcement Council expert’s body wavered.
Seeing that I had taken no damage, the expert clicked his tongue.
“Damn, I can't tell if I’m weak or if you're strong. You’re the first young punk to take my sword and remain unscathed. You’re becoming more and more interesting.”
He stepped forward again, sword moving.
This time, it wasn’t a straight strike—it was an illusory sword technique.
The illusory sword, unpredictable in its trajectory, was even harder to block as its changes became more complex the more skilled the user was.
However, I blocked each strike properly by using the Eye of Clarity technique.
“How interesting!”
Though he said that, the smile on the expert's face faded. His expression only grew more serious.
My expression also hardened.
Even though I was blocking his attacks with one cycle of energy, my hands were wracked with pain, as if they might fall off.
And as time went on, the continued use of one cycle of energy began to cause pain in my blood vessels.
As the expert's power increased, my right arm began to tremble violently.
'Just a little more... I need a bit more power!'
In response to my thoughts, the Demonic Master replied.
'You insane bastard! You’re going to die before the fight’s even over!'
'I don’t care! I refuse to die helplessly!'
In my previous life, I had painfully learned that living powerlessly was worse than death.
The more such a powerless life dragged on, the more life itself became hell.
'I can’t live like that ever again. Not after getting this second chance!'
It was only a thought I repeated inwardly, but to the Demonic Master, it sounded like a scream. He couldn’t stop me anymore.
'Damn it, do whatever you want!'
The Demonic Master drew out another half cycle of energy.
Just in time, I barely blocked the incoming sword from the Law Enforcement Council expert.
The expert looked completely bewildered.
He was suppressing me with the equivalent of one cycle of energy, and yet I was enduring it.
Some children of prestigious clans might have taken miraculous elixirs that boosted their energy to absurd levels, so that might explain it—but for someone to perfectly see through and block all his sword techniques? That was beyond understanding.
Energy and martial comprehension were entirely different realms.
At this point, it wasn’t just interesting—it was downright baffling.
“You're not someone I should just kill. I should capture you and study you.”
The expert muttered as he took his stance. The energy flowing into his sword now was far beyond anything he had released until now.
And then, in the next instant, I suddenly stomped forward and charged at him.
It looked less like bravery and more like reckless madness.
“No!”
Even with a wound on her side gushing blood, Mo Biyoung couldn’t stop me and shouted instead.
It was clear I was charging to take him down with me.
But as I dashed forward, I was still speaking to the Demonic Master.
'What’s his weakness? Aren’t you his master in the demonic arts or whatever? You should know his flaws!'
The Demonic Master didn’t answer.
He was scanning the expert’s sword techniques through my eyes to find an opening.
'He’s underestimating you. He thinks he can kill you with one strike. That’s why he’ll pour all his energy into a single sword. That’s your chance. Dodge that one blow, then strike back with everything you have.'
'But how am I supposed to dodge that one sword!?'
'Don’t yell, you rude bastard! His sword technique is the Yang Energy Sword of the Law Enforcement Council. It’s a style with no weakness. But once he pours all his energy into a strike, he lowers his guard for about half a breath. He drops into a low stance. Aim for his head—evade upward!'
Just as the Demonic Master finished, the Law Enforcement Council expert, as he predicted, poured all his energy into a downward slash.
No matter how strong I was, charging head-on into that would have split me in two.
But at that moment, I used the Ascending Dragon Art and sprang up at a right angle.
This technique used the force of running and leaping to strike the ground with the right foot and launch upward—it was the pinnacle of techniques, called the Waterfall-Reversing Ascending Dragon.
Its brilliance lay in letting one evade the enemy’s sword while reaching the perfect spot to attack their head.
As the sword descended, I shot into the air with the Waterfall-Reversing Ascending Dragon, and while airborne, I used the Soaring Dragon Emperor Sword’s technique, “Dragon Rends the Mountain.”
The tip of my sword was aimed directly at the expert’s head.
"That… was sword energy?"
Even before Yong Hwarin’s sword touched his body, the enemy’s skin split open — a clear sign of sword energy, no doubt about it.
“This little brat is full of surprises!”
Just as the enemy raised his sword again, Jong Seok and Mo Biyoung had already swung their blades at his back.
Attacking from behind was a cowardly move, but they couldn’t afford to miss this perfect opportunity.
Stab!
“You cowardly bastards!”
Yong Hwarin’s sword split the man’s head open with a final strike.
It happened because the man couldn’t stop the force of his descending sword in time.
Thwack!
Yong Hwarin only released his sword once it reached the base of the man’s throat.
“Huff, huff, huff…”
Catching his breath, Yong Hwarin scanned his surroundings.
Jong Munhye stood frozen, not knowing what to do. The Two Wook Sword Demon was lying on the ground, watching the Law Enforcement Council’s expert die, grinning as if amused.
Mo Biyoung’s body trembled uncontrollably, seemingly out of strength. She had lost too much blood and her stamina was depleted.
The one in the best condition among them was Jong Seok.
“Seok, treat them.”
“What about you, hyung?”
Yong Hwarin’s eyes were fixed on Pang Giyok.
The Pang Clan’s warriors had suffered the most damage. They were fighting against Chief Enforcer Zhao Qiansheng, and already, half of their warriors had been sacrificed.
It was a critical moment, yet with Yong Hwarin killing the Law Enforcement Council’s expert first, a moment of silence briefly settled over the battlefield.
“That brat killed Guardian Meng?”
Zhao Qiansheng scowled in disbelief.
To make it worse, the arrogant one who had killed him was now running at Zhao with sword in hand.
Did this brat think he was an easy target just because he killed one Law Enforcement Council expert?
Fury bubbled within Zhao Qiansheng.
“Fine! Come on then! I’ll kill you all!”
Zhao still seemed confident.
Thanks only to the Pang Clan’s elite and warriors risking everything in a desperate struggle were they barely able to keep Zhao tied down.
If it had been warriors from any other clan, they wouldn’t have even dared attempt to restrain him. Even so, fifteen of the Pang Clan’s top warriors had been turned into lost souls under his flesh-smashing palms.
Pang Cheollyeon’s shoulder throbbed with pain — she could no longer hold her blade.
Tears streamed down her cheeks.
But not out of sadness.
Zhao Qiansheng had killed her beloved uncles and brothers of the Pang Clan.
She had been prepared for this, but to be overwhelmed so completely by a single opponent — it was maddening, and that fury turned to tears.
Then, after a brutal struggle, she saw Yong Hwarin split the skull of one of the demonic monsters — and in that moment, she felt a rush of joy.
‘Who… is that person? Even the masters of my family fell helplessly to those people…’
Pang Cheollyeon suddenly became curious about where Yong Hwarin’s limits lay.
And then, Yong Hwarin began charging toward them once again.
Even if he wasn’t doing it just for her, for some reason, just seeing him gave her strength and filled her with renewed fighting spirit.
“Urgh…”
Pang Cheollyeon grit her teeth and stood back up.
She didn’t want him to see her collapsed and broken.
“Lady Pang, you were incredible. Please rest for a moment. I’ll definitely finish that bastard off.”
Yong Hwarin found it admirable that Pang Cheollyeon tried to stand and fight again. Seeing her refuse to give in, even in this state, he thought, ‘She truly is of the Pang Clan.’
Although she had steeled her resolve, his praise made her knees weaken, and she collapsed to the ground.
Oddly enough, hearing his voice brought her peace.
And Pang Cheollyeon’s gaze couldn’t tear away from Yong Hwarin.
Pang Giyok had raised the might of the Pang Clan’s “Broken Line Saber Technique” to its absolute peak after watching two of his uncles die protecting him.
Of the thirty Pang Clan warriors who had come here, fewer than ten were still alive.
The damage had been immense from clashing with Zhao Qiansheng.