Chapter 96 : Chapter 96
Chapter 96. The Lesser Heavenly Demon (4)
The Lesser Heavenly Demon’s eyes flushed crimson the instant he faced the Red–White Extreme Smoke Slash.
This was dangerous. Losing was not the real issue.
If he failed to stop it, he would die.
In that fleeting instant when his life was threatened, the Lesser Heavenly Demon pushed his True Demon Eye to its absolute limit—for the sole purpose of surviving.
‘Crimson Smoke Without End is already broken.’
He had merely modified a spell specialized for mass slaughter on the fly. From the beginning, it had never been a technique capable of confronting that monstrous ultimate art, Red–White Extreme Smoke Slash.
He would have to draw forth something stronger. Something far more dangerous.
Snap!
The moment Bukgung Wan made his decision, he muttered something under his breath and crossed his thumb and middle finger, snapping them together.
The world began to ripple.
It was the sign that the boundary between the manifested world and its hidden underside was breaking down. A spell that was nearly impossible for a sorcerer who had only reached the Ultra-Peak to succeed with. Failure meant death. But defeat also meant death.
In other words, this was a gamble with his life as the stake.
Without hesitation, Bukgung Wan tore open the wavering world with his long fingers.
Pajijijijik! Kwajijik!
A rift formed, crimson and dark like an abyss itself. From within it, blood-red lightning flashed without end.
Thirty-Six Crimson Smoke Paths
Gate of the Desire Realm
The Desire Realm lay at the very bottom beneath the Daoist Thirty-Six Heavens, a chasm where Asura—the demonic god worshipped by the Ming Cult—resided.
To open the gate to the Desire Realm was, in effect, to unleash Asura’s power upon the world. Even Bukgung Wan could barely endure the madness saturating that power.
“Khh… hhh….”
With bloodshot eyes, Bukgung Wan let out a groan filled with pain.
His head felt as though it would burst apart. This was no mere sensation—if his concentration wavered even slightly, his upper dantian would run wild and blow a hole straight through his crown.
But the greater the backlash, the greater the price it exacted.
Blood-red lightning born from the rift gathered endlessly into both of Bukgung Wan’s hands.
That lightning stood half a step into a transcendent domain—power utterly beyond Bukgung Wan’s ability to control.
All he could do was fire it forward.
Extending both hands as though unleashing a palm technique, Bukgung Wan thrust them straight ahead.
Pajijijijijik!!
The blood-red lightning surged forth toward the shockwave of the Red–White Extreme Smoke Slash, which crashed forward like a tidal wave.
Regardless of victory or defeat, this was a scene no one would believe had been created by Ultra-Peak masters.
Somewhere, someone watching the spectacle let out a sigh.
***
Atop the roof of a building in the Northern Branch.
From there, a man and a woman looked down upon Dam Jeok-san and Bukgung Wan.
“…At this rate, they’ll destroy the entire branch. Don’t you think so, Severing Sword Leader?”
Seated with one leg crossed, the Northern Heaven Sword Venerable, Un Wol-hyang, spoke as she glanced at Lee Myeong-gi, who had just returned.
He had led the Severing Sword Squad on a campaign and annihilated a mid-ranking officer of the Yin Spirit Cult—a half-demon—and the monster army under his command.
Though he had failed to rendezvous with Un Wol-hyang in time, preventing the enemy from expanding their forces meant he had fulfilled his duty.
“…Indeed. Youthful vigor, I suppose. Power overflowing to the point I couldn’t hope to imitate it.”
Lee Myeong-gi answered with a dry chuckle.
Both Red–White Extreme Smoke Slash and Gate of the Desire Realm clearly exceeded the realms those two stood upon. Truly worthy of disciples of the Martial Sovereign and the Heavenly Demon.
At that level, envy itself became meaningless.
“So, old man—which one do you think will win?”
Un Wol-hyang asked, propping up her chin.
“Hmm….”
The wrinkles etched into Lee Myeong-gi’s brow deepened.
The moment he saw Red–White Extreme Smoke Slash, it felt as though his entire life as a swordsman had been denied in one fell swoop.
Was that really the same young man who had once crossed blades with him?
There were limits even to phrases like renewed each day or advancing by leaps and bounds. Dam Jeok-san seemed almost like a completely different person.
Were it not for the flashes of genius that kept erupting mid-battle—so unmistakably Dam Jeok-san’s—he might have truly believed the man had been replaced.
Yet the Lesser Heavenly Demon’s unknown sorcery was no trifling thing either. One might attempt to confront Red–White Extreme Smoke Slash, but once caught in that spell, death without resistance was the only future imaginable.
And yet—
“The Monster-Suppressing Squad Leader will win.”
After brief contemplation, Lee Myeong-gi spoke with conviction.
“Oh? And why do you think so?”
Un Wol-hyang asked with interest, just as she had long ago when he faced her himself.
“He fully controls his sword. The Young Cult Leader does not control the power he has summoned.”
“Exactly. Experience truly is something nothing else can replace.”
Un Wol-hyang nodded readily.
In truth, Lee Myeong-gi had already been overtaken by those two youths. And yet, the reason he could still read their moves and glimpse the future lay in the immeasurable years he had accumulated.
But—
‘Is that truly the limit for them?’
She was not so sure.
From the vantage point of someone who had once watched the Martial Sovereign Castle Lord in his prime, Un Wol-hyang thought differently. If they truly sought the place their masters stood—
‘This isn’t enough.’
They would need to go further. Not merely pour everything out, but make what they poured out bloom into something greater.
The victor of this battle would be the one capable of doing that.
Un Wol-hyang’s aged gaze settled upon Dam Jeok-san. To expect yet more from a disciple who had already achieved feats bordering on miracles did not sit comfortably with her heart.
But this was the path he himself had chosen.
He would have to bear it.
***
“Hah.”
Dam Jeok-san let out a short, hollow laugh.
The gate to the Desire Realm had opened, and from it erupted terrifying blood-red lightning.
The Lesser Heavenly Demon absorbed that lightning—and fired it.
The entire sequence unfolded in an instant. A hidden trump card, sharp and merciless. Truly befitting the Young Cult Leader of the Ming Cult.
That lightning felt like a single beam of light defying the tidal wave of Red–White Extreme Smoke Slash.
A beam may pierce through spray, but it does not stop the wave itself. Yet the one who raised the wave would be pierced through.
Clever. Red–White Extreme Smoke Slash was Dam Jeok-san’s sword strike. If he fell, the technique would end as well.
There was little he could do in this situation. Recalling his blades to block the lightning was impossible. Retracting the unleashed energies of the Extreme Heaven Strange Sovereign Technique and the Prajna Heart Technique would inevitably plunge him into qi deviation.
The solution was simple.
Raise the output of Red–White Extreme Smoke Slash until even that condensed beam could not pierce it.
Whooooooom!!
The flames roaring from both swords blazed with an intensity beyond comparison.
To sustain such power required a will equally firm and blazing. Dam Jeok-san recalled the day he first took up a sword. Back then, he had believed that if he swung it without cease, he would one day reach the ultimate end—able to cut through anything.
That belief still supported him deep within his heart.
Cut—
Dam Jeok-san poured every last drop of his internal energy into Red–White Extreme Smoke Slash, guided solely by will.
He felt his dantian emptying rapidly. The same must have been true for the Young Cult Leader.
This strike would decide everything.
Jeeeeeeong!!
The slash of Red–White Extreme Smoke Slash surged forth madly, swallowing the lightning climbing toward it without leaving even a trace.
I’ve won.
Thinking so, Dam Jeok-san drove both swords forward to the very end.
But at the final instant—
“Explode!!”
The Lesser Heavenly Demon roared with desperate resolve.
The gate to the Desire Realm, which had been spewing blood-red lightning, ran out of control and vomited forth an overwhelming surge of power.
Kwaaaaaaang!!
Dense explosions and countless shockwave fragments blasted outward in all directions.
Most of them crashed back toward the Young Cult Leader himself.
Tsspat! Slash!
He was torn to shreds, but managed—barely—to protect his vital points.
Uweeeeegh—!
A waterfall of bright red blood poured from his mouth. Forcing an already uncontrollable power into rampage could only end this way.
And yet, clenching his fists, he charged Dam Jeok-san.
A single punch, concise and refined—proof that he had reached the Ultra-Peak in martial arts as well as sorcery.
But—
“Slow.”
Dam Jeok-san judged calmly.
He, too, had expended most of his internal energy, but suffered no internal backlash.
To him, Bukgung Wan’s movements were unnatural and sluggish. And yet, they inspired a certain awe.
That body should not have been able to move. To throw such a punch meant wielding the mind itself as a weapon, driven by a single obsession: to strike his opponent.
That much deserved acknowledgment.
But—
“Slow is still slow.”
Dam Jeok-san muttered and swung his fist.
Bam!
A clean blow that snapped Bukgung Wan’s jaw aside. It should have knocked him unconscious—
“Grrrkk….”
Yet Bukgung Wan, foaming blood, lunged again. Now he lacked even the strength to throw a punch and simply slammed his body forward.
Among all those Dam Jeok-san had faced, he ranked among the most savage and tenacious—especially for someone who was not fighting a battle to the death.
At this rate, he was even worse than the second senior brother whose throat Dam Jeok-san had cut.
With a sigh, Dam Jeok-san clenched both fists.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Thud! Crack!
A barrage of punches struck Bukgung Wan’s body. Each landed on points that would normally cause instant unconsciousness. With so little internal energy behind them, he would not die—but—
Thud.
Only then did Bukgung Wan finally lose consciousness.
This was the forecourt of the Northern Branch of the Martial Sovereign Castle—watched not only by the Castle, but by righteous sects, unorthodox factions, and the imperial court alike.
Anyone who witnessed this, even from afar, would send word back to their sects.
The Lesser Heavenly Demon had provoked the Sword Dragon—and the Sword Dragon had beaten him to a pulp.
‘Good. That’s enough.’
Catching his breath, Dam Jeok-san looked down at the fallen Bukgung Wan.
‘Madman.’
He had heard that Bukgung Wan, though born of a collateral line rather than the Heavenly Demon’s direct blood, had risen early to the position of Young Cult Leader.
The Ming Cult was as brutal as the Martial Sovereign Castle. That path could not have been easy. True to someone who had endured all that, Bukgung Wan was completely unhinged.
And that madness—
“That was fun.”
—had amused Dam Jeok-san.
“R-Really…?”
A weak voice came from Bukgung Wan, whom Dam Jeok-san had thought fully unconscious.
His hand grabbed Dam Jeok-san’s ankle. He could have shaken it off easily, but Dam Jeok-san did not bother.
“It was.”
He answered plainly. There was no falsehood in it. Chances to clash so completely with a peer—staking everything without killing each other—were rare.
“Th-then… may I… ask one favor…?”
Bukgung Wan squeezed out the words with what little consciousness he had left.
“Go on.”
In a surprisingly good mood, Dam Jeok-san replied lightly.
“There is… land near the North… that must be purified of demonic qi.”
Recalling the task left by the Cult Leader, Bukgung Wan spoke. Though on the verge of collapse, his words grew strangely clearer—almost eerie.
“I wish to go with you, Sword Dragon. If you do… I will grant you one request later.”
With those words, Bukgung Wan did not even wait for an answer before collapsing into unconsciousness.
Demonic qi. Purification.
Dam Jeok-san rolled the two words around in his mouth.
He knew well that there were many such lands scattered throughout the Central Plains.
Places where massacres by monsters had occurred—difficult even to discover, and far harder to purify.
That was common sense.
But—
‘Not for me.’
Perhaps—
‘This is an opportunity.’
He had only ever thought about devouring monsters. He had never considered dealing with land itself tainted by demonic qi—largely because the “corrupted lands” he had seen were mostly Demonic Realms or places akin to them.
Those were beyond even him, devouring ability or not. But what the Young Cult Leader spoke of was different.
‘This is… intriguing.’
He needed to head south to Shanxi anyway, where the main castle lay. Traveling together for a while would not be a bad idea.
Having reached that conclusion, Dam Jeok-san hoisted the Young Cult Leader over his shoulder like a sack of luggage.
Then he looked up toward the rooftop and asked,
“Is it acceptable if I bring him inside the branch?”