Chapter 173
Chapter 173
The sound of bones and muscles snapping echoed through the forest. It was a sound so chilling that it bordered on terror.
In the brief instant it took to blink, a series of events unfolded. And even within that fleeting moment, Cheon Muback’s arm had already begun to regenerate.
‘Even basic Demonic Arts have regenerative ability, but the Heavenly Demon Divine Art is on a whole different level!’
Having retrieved her sword, Kang Chowon gripped the sword hilt so tightly that an eerie sound of bone creaked from her hand as she sprang toward Cheon Muback.
—The greatest advantage of Demonic Arts is their unique regenerative ability. As a martial art that defies the heavens, it goes against the natural order of the world.
Suddenly, the words Youngho had once said flashed through Kang Chowon’s mind. And she clearly remembered asking him at the time if that meant the Heavenly Demon was invincible.
Leaving others aside, the Heavenly Demon’s regenerative ability must surely be on a completely different level from other demonic practitioners.
At that time, Youngho had said she was half correct. Then, with his characteristic wicked smile, he answered like this.
“Just cut off their breath before they regenerate!!”
Recalling those words, Kang Chowon spoke aloud the knowledge Youngho had taught her.
“I’ll pierce your heart!!”
The madness-filled words from Kang Chowon sounded sincere, but they were a lie. The regenerative ability of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art allowed survival even if the heart was crushed.
What she was truly aiming for was the neck. From the knowledge Youngho had given her, she knew that among demonic practitioners there were some who deliberately exposed their hearts.
Kang Chowon’s sword shot toward Cheon Muback’s neck at a speed surpassing the speed of sound.
Although it was not the legendary Silent Sword said to leave no sound at all, it still imitated it in that it produced no sound for a brief moment.
Just before the sharp blade touched Cheon Muback’s neck, goosebumps spread across Kang Chowon’s entire body, and she hurriedly withdrew her sword and deployed a Qi Barrier.
KWAANG—!!
The moment Kang Chowon deployed the Qi Barrier, abnormal demonic energy burst out of Cheon Muback’s body in an instant.
“Keugh!”
The tremendous shockwave of Qi sent Kang Chowon flying. Her body smashed through two trees before finally stopping at the third.
Ignoring her dizzying vision, Kang Chowon struggled to steady her trembling pupils as she looked ahead.
There stood a beast that had lost all reason, staring directly at her.
Seeing that, Kang Chowon let out a hollow laugh. Soon, in a voice that sounded somewhere between mockery and trembling, she spoke.
“Did it hurt your pride that much?”
He could no longer hear her. Cheon Muback’s reason had long since vanished, leaving behind only the will to kill Kang Chowon.
That was precisely why she could not endure it.
She had come this far, yet in the end her opponent had chosen to lose his sanity rather than acknowledge her.
Kang Chowon vented the rage she could no longer suppress.
“Was it that unbearable that I could stand on equal footing with you?! Are you saying you’d rather fall into deviation than admit it?!”
Because she was a woman, she had always been dismissed. Even after proving her strength, people still looked at her sideways for dedicating herself to martial arts.
“Answer me! Cheon Muback!!”
Her desperate cry did not reach him, and the ominous demonic energy only grew stronger.
Her shout no longer reached the opponent before her. Realizing this, Kang Chowon let out a small laugh.
Take care of your body. Shouldn’t you pay more attention to your appearance? When are you getting married?
No matter how high her realm became, those were the words people around her constantly said.
If they were joking, it might have been fine, but they were all sincere. Everyone wished for things she had no need for.
Even her master Horyeung and her older brother Kang Hosan had refrained from saying it outright, yet inwardly they wished the same.
She did not hate them. She merely felt disappointed.
However, there had been one person who never treated her as a woman.
Youngho.
Kang Chowon glanced briefly at the countless scars etched across her hands. Every one of those wounds had been made by Youngho.
While others hesitated to scar these delicate hands, Youngho had cut them without hesitation.
Each time the blade grazed her flesh it hurt, yet it made her just as happy.
Youngho never cared about gender. In fact, he behaved as if he had forgotten she was a woman.
For Youngho, people were very simple.
Did they have value or not? Were they someone worth protecting or not?
That was all.
She had believed that being acknowledged by Youngho was enough. But after seeing Cheon Muback’s attitude, she realized something.
She still wanted to be acknowledged by many others as well.
She was greedy.
At that moment, Kang Chowon made a vow.
‘I’ll kill him.’
She would kill Cheon Muback, take his head, and throw it before the Heavenly Demon.
Originally, it should be offered to her lord…
‘He’ll probably overlook this much.’
The moment the thought ended, Kang Chowon gripped her sword hilt tightly with both hands.
Cheon Muback stared at her with clouded pupils.
Though he had lost his reason to deviation, his body instinctively warned him that Kang Chowon was dangerous.
That hesitation bought Kang Chowon time.
She slowly exhaled and imagined something.
Once, when she had been blocked by a wall she could not overcome, Kang Chowon had pleaded with Youngho.
Just once—she begged him to show her his true sword.
Youngho kept refusing, saying that seeing his sword would raise her standards too high.
Yet Kang Chowon pleaded with him earnestly, like someone suffering from lovesickness.
In the end, Youngho surrendered with both hands raised.
And after seeing Youngho’s true sword, Kang Chowon finally understood why he had said that.
Since that day, she had never been satisfied again.
Not with her own sword, nor with anyone else’s.
The moment she saw that sword, she had been captivated beyond recovery.
And now, Kang Chowon tried to recreate even a fragment of that sword.
She slowly relaxed the strength in her entire body.
Her once-raging blood flow stabilized, and the heat boiling within her body began to cool until it felt almost chilling.
Her senses sharpened to a degree incomparable to before.
Then she poured everything into the sword.
Mindscape, intent, internal energy—similar yet entirely different aspects that together formed the entirety of Kang Chowon.
Though her life had been short, she had experienced more than many old masters.
Sensing the danger contained within the sword, Cheon Muback unleashed a Lion’s Roar.
“KRAAAAH!!”
In contrast to Cheon Muback, whose violent demonic energy surged wildly, Kang Chowon’s presence was calm beyond measure.
Not even the slightest ripple stirred.
It showed how tranquil her mind had become.
Kang Chowon simply stared at Cheon Muback with eyes as cold as ice.
The two faced each other and realized the same thing.
From here on, the outcome would be decided in a single strike.
Either kill—or be killed.
Cheon Muback’s body naturally assumed a stance meant to kill in a single blow.
A basic fist technique containing the essence of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art.
A stance that could even be called its secret art.
Heavenly Slaughter One Fist.
KUGUGUGUGUK!!
Demonic energy began to compress.
The energy gathered in Cheon Muback’s fist grew smaller and smaller as it compressed.
It was far too powerful to simply be called Hardened Force, yet far too crude to be called Hardened Force Manifestation.
All preparations were complete.
Realizing this, Cheon Muback charged toward Kang Chowon without a moment of hesitation.
Like a bolt of lightning, he rushed forward and wrung every muscle in his body as he threw his fist.
Kang Chowon, who had seen everything, slowly raised her sword.
Compared to Cheon Muback’s speed, it looked insignificant.
It was unbearably slow.
Yet strangely, the sword that looked slower than Cheon Muback actually surpassed his speed.
Pulling the sword behind her head, Kang Chowon suddenly tightened the muscles she had relaxed.
KWA-AAAK!!
The force was so great that the sound of muscles tightening echoed through her body.
Using that elasticity, Kang Chowon swung her sword down from above.
It was a simple downward slash.
Compared to Cheon Muback’s technique, it seemed like nothing at all.
The demonic energy around Cheon Muback’s fist surged forward like an evil dragon descending upon the world, ready to devour Kang Chowon.
Just as the dragon’s maw was about to swallow her—
Cheon Muback saw it.
The presence of Kang Chowon, which had seemed insignificant compared to his own, suddenly grew overwhelmingly immense.
The human named Kang Chowon had become far larger than the human named Cheon Muback.
And she held a gigantic sword.
By the time he recognized that overwhelming presence, Kang Chowon’s slash was already complete.
SHRHK!!
A chilling sound of flesh being cut rang out.
No—more than just flesh.
Bones, muscles, and countless other things were severed all at once.
Cheon Muback’s gaze naturally fell to the fist he had thrown.
It was cut—no, split.
Dark red blood gushed from the fist that had been severed vertically.
His mouth opened and closed silently.
As realization dawned upon him, the top of his head split apart, and his body was cleaved in two.
Even the regenerative ability of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art—called the martial art of a god—could not save him.
His brain had been perfectly cut in half, and along with it the organs and every essential part needed for life.
Unfortunately, Kang Chowon did not witness Cheon Muback’s fall.
She did not see the expression on his face in his final moments.
Nor did she hear any last words he might have spoken.
Instead, she struggled merely to stabilize her body after forcing it to perform a technique far beyond her capacity.
Blood repeatedly surged up from her throat.
She had squeezed out every last bit of internal energy from her Dantian, leaving her with overwhelming exhaustion.
More than anything, a horrific headache struck her—so severe that she thought cutting off her own arm might hurt less.
It felt as though a raging fire had erupted inside her skull.
Unable to withstand the shock, Kang Chowon lost consciousness while still standing.
Black blood streamed from her eyes and nose, and the injuries Cheon Muback had inflicted finally began to reveal themselves.
At that moment, two figures who had been watching the entire battle from afar slowly stepped forward.
The Heavenly Demon and Youngho.
The Heavenly Demon stared at Kang Chowon with eyes filled with exhilaration.
Youngho looked at the Heavenly Demon with killing intent in his eyes and smiled faintly.
“This should be enough, don’t you think?”
“How amusing. I never expected to meet such a strong martial artist with your level of venom and obsession. Twenty years… no, perhaps ten? At the very least, you’ll keep me entertained.”
“Hey.”
KUGUGUGUGUNG!!
Killing intent erupted from Youngho’s entire body.
The Heavenly Demon looked at him with revived excitement.
Youngho spoke in a chillingly emotionless voice, as though he had no interest whatsoever in the Heavenly Demon’s feelings.
“That’s enough. We’re leaving now. Don’t even think about stopping us.”
Hearing that, the Heavenly Demon burst into mad laughter.
It felt too good.
Finally, someone existed who could fight him.
Seeing Youngho grow strong enough to threaten his life filled him with overwhelming delight.
He wanted to fight immediately, but if he wished to savor the true taste of a martial artist like Youngho, it was not yet the time.
The Heavenly Demon grinned.
“Do as you wish.”
As if he had expected that answer, Youngho carefully lifted Kang Chowon into his arms.
Then he met the Heavenly Demon’s gaze once more and spoke with emotion so intense it was chilling.
“Keep waiting. Now it’s your turn.”
With nothing more to say, Youngho returned to his companions.
The Heavenly Demon stared blankly at the spot where Youngho had stood.
Then he burst into insane laughter.
The Heavenly Demon’s laughter echoed for a long time without end.