Chapter 120 : Chapter 120
Chapter 120. Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable (3)
The strongest under heaven.
What an empty phrase it was.
The world was vast, and people were as countless as grains of sand. How could one possibly single out the strongest among them?
Yet the masses spoke with one voice.
Among the Eight Sovereigns of Murim, the Martial Sovereign Castle Lord, the Martial Sovereign, Man Su-geuk.
That man alone, they said, was worthy of disputing the title of the strongest of this age.
The reason the Martial Sovereign Castle Lord commanded such renown was simple.
Unbeaten.
For the past twenty years, he had never once tasted defeat on any battlefield he entered.
Whether the opponent was another of the Eight Sovereigns of Murim, the leader of an Outer Path faction, or even a disaster-bearing monster, it made no difference.
And that unbroken record of invincibility was born of Man Su-geuk’s transcendent martial might. No matter how unfavorable the battlefield, the moment he manifested, the tide of war overturned.
Thus he earned his reputation as the pinnacle of the Eight Sovereigns of Murim, the man closest to being the strongest under heaven.
“Truly… useless.”
Man Su-geuk murmured in a voice as faint as dissipating breath.
What he desired was not fame. He sought only overwhelming strength. Strength great enough to sweep away the Demonic Realms clinging like parasites to barren lands, and to exterminate monsters utterly.
And no such being had ever existed throughout past and present. Or perhaps one had—but at least to his knowledge, there had been none.
Even if he tempered himself for an entire lifetime, achieving such a thing would likely be impossible. At best, he could only barely maintain the status quo.
“However, if it were you…”
The Martial Sovereign Castle Lord’s gaze reached far into the distance.
There, shockwaves red as a sea of blood filled the air.
It meant that the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable’s power had all but claimed dominion over that region.
And Dam Jeok-san and his companions were pushing back against that blood-soaked domain.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been impossible. The Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable’s realm was far too powerful to be described merely as Entering Transformation like Kwon Gi-il’s.
At the very least, he was hammering at a wall that the Eight Sovereigns of Murim had already surpassed long ago. Even that alone made him a calamity to all masters beneath him.
Had the Heaven-Dominating Saber, Kwon Gi-il, faced him alone, his head would have fallen in less than ten breaths.
Yet they were holding on. Not through a miracle that fell from the heavens, but through a struggle they themselves had brought to bloom.
“Prove it. Prove that it is worth my taking a step to save your life.”
And that it is worth staking the fate of the world upon your future.
The Martial Sovereign Castle Lord swallowed the rest of his words. Even he could not yet be certain of anything.
***
The Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable recovered his composure in an instant. As though he had never wavered, he straightened his posture and calmly unleashed killing intent.
That intense will distorted the world, bending space itself and condensing into tangible sharp qi that surged toward Dam Jeok-san.
“You still lack composure.”
Watching the blade-like sharp qi pour toward him, Dam Jeok-san curled his lips into a grin.
If his composure had been fully restored, he would not be flinging attacks made solely of will like this. He would simply unleash a killing move with physical substance.
To manifest an attack with form through will alone was impressive, but this much could be blocked.
‘The spell the Lesser Heavenly Demon placed upon me seemed quite sturdy.’
He advanced in trust.
Sun-Piercing, Space-Shattering.
He unleashed the ultimate technique of the Extreme Heaven Strange Sovereign Technique that he had practiced the longest.
The surrounding scenery repeatedly stretched far away and snapped close again. Proof that he was charging at extreme speed. Yet every shifting vista was soaked in blood-red light.
Even after his momentum had been checked once, this place had already become the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable’s domain.
Ordinarily, Dam Jeok-san should have collapsed before taking even a single step.
But—
One Saber Fills the Heavens.
The saber art deployed by the Heaven-Dominating Saber, Kwon Gi-il, gradually opened a path for Dam Jeok-san.
Only then did Dam Jeok-san fully realize that he was not advancing alone.
His body-protecting qi had been replaced by Bukgung Wan’s sorcery, and the Heaven-Dominating Saber was carving a road ahead.
Then it was only right that he repay that trust and devotion.
He thrust his sword forward. Toward a single point. With the will to pierce through without fail.
KWAANG!!
The first thing to ring out was a thunderous boom.
It was the collision with the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable’s ever-present body-protecting qi.
A treasure armor.
The body-protecting qi, woven as finely as a divine armor, faithfully fulfilled its role even while its master was off balance.
Dam Jeok-san felt a rebound force as though his wrist bones were about to be crushed.
So this was the defensive power of body-protecting qi alone. The phrase “Heaven beyond Heaven” fit it perfectly.
But it was far too early to give up. Sun-Piercing, Space-Shattering—the technique he had unleashed was only just beginning.
[Thousand-Piercing, Single Form.]
One form that pierced a thousand barriers.
On the spot, Dam Jeok-san began refining the shape and form of Sun-Piercing, Space-Shattering.
Dividing a single ultimate technique into multiple moves.
CRACK—!
As the Thousand-Piercing, Single Form seeped in, cracks began to form in the body-protecting qi. Ordinarily, such a thing would have been unthinkable, but it was possible only because the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable’s composure had not yet fully returned.
[Sun-Moon Annihilation.]
To annihilate with sun and moon.
This was a technique Dam Jeok-san could use only because his entire body was now wrapped in a veil imbued with Ming Cult secret arts rooted in the cycles of sun and moon.
If he were performing the move alone, he might have had to use a different method.
‘But right now is what matters.’
Without hesitation, Dam Jeok-san poured out sword techniques that could be unleashed only in this moment.
The body-protecting qi began to splinter, sharp cracking sounds echoing through the air.
This was the final moment.
Seeing a chilling light return to the crimson jade embedded in the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable’s left eye socket, Dam Jeok-san instinctively knew he had less than an instant left.
[Void-Shattering Sword.]
Dam Jeok-san’s blade shattered space itself.
This was different from before, when cracks formed and spread evenly. Silence. Only a profound stillness remained.
The Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable’s body-protecting qi evaporated as though it had never existed.
And in its place, Dam Jeok-san’s sword was buried deep.
He had twisted his body at the last moment, so it pierced not the heart but the flank. Even so, it was more than enough to be a mortal wound.
Moreover, the embedded blade did not stop there. A viscous force imbued with the power of Predation spread outward, greedily devouring the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable.
His firm and lucid will gathered and suppressed the demonic qi within him, so the effect of Predation was minimal—no more than slowing regeneration.
But even that was enough to allow Dam Jeok-san’s group to face a half-demon as though he were an ordinary human.
“I… landed a blow.”
Thus, Dam Jeok-san succeeded in inflicting a meaningful injury upon the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable, the third-ranked figure of the Blood Palace, a supermaster approaching the level of the Eight Sovereigns of Murim.
[…]
The Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable placed a hand on his pierced flank. Dark red blood was flowing.
Under normal circumstances, the blood vessels would already have reconnected, flesh knitting together as the wound healed.
That was the ability he had gained by devoting himself entirely to the Outer Path and offering up his soul.
Yet for some reason, the wound refused to heal like it would have when he was still a mortal. Instead, the blood was beginning to congeal.
[So this is it… the ability that strangled the Reverse-Blood Heaven Fiend. How utterly crude.]
Even so, the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable suppressed his agitation and spoke calmly.
He had wondered how mere Ultra-Peak martial prowess could overwhelm the Reverse-Blood Heaven Fiend. So he had relied on something like this?
“It is laughable. The one relying on a cheap trick is not me, but you.”
[…Cheap trick? Me?]
“Yes. Was not the very foundation of your accumulated power a cheap trick? An Outer Path that drains the living blood of common folk and rips out the three dantians of martial artists to grind them into elixirs dares to speak of crudeness?”
Dam Jeok-san unleashed the words as though he had been waiting for this moment.
The Blood Palace was an Outer Path sect that originated from the Ming Cult, with a history far longer than the Yin God Cult. Perhaps because of that, their methods surpassed the Yin God Cult in cruelty and refinement alike.
The Sword Ghost had merely drained the living blood of young men and women to temper his sword. These monsters tore out martial artists’ dantians and meridians to grind them into pills.
‘As though imitating the power of Predation.’
For a fleeting moment, an uncomfortable feeling brushed past his mind, but he quickly shook it off. No matter how much Predation applied only to monsters, this was undeniably a sin that defied the natural order.
And Dam Jeok-san was willing to shoulder the sins of this life.
To grow stronger. To survive. And in doing so, to save even more lives.
[Your mouth is lively.]
The Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable frowned as he stared at the sneering youth.
The place where he had been struck throbbed incessantly.
Since becoming the Left Protector of the Blood Palace, he had possessed a monstrous body that regenerated most internal and external injuries in an instant.
Only the will of a transcendent being could halt that regeneration.
In truth, this was the first time he had felt pain of this magnitude since an arrow imbued with the Unorthodox Alliance Leader’s will had pierced his shoulder.
[Could it be… the Martial Sovereign Castle Lord…?]
A sinister thought flickered through his mind.
If that monstrous being’s will were embedded in Dam Jeok-san’s sword, then the failure of this wound to regenerate would make sense.
Of course, embedding one’s will into another’s weapon was a feat even the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable could not attempt.
But if it were the man called the strongest under heaven, the Martial Sovereign Castle Lord, he could not say it was impossible.
And the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable knew of one more being capable of such a miracle.
A transcendent figure whom rumor-lovers placed opposite the Eight Sovereigns of Murim—the Blood Palace Lord, the Blood God.
He would certainly be capable of it.
[Are you watching?]
As expected of a master who had reached a transcendent realm, he completely misread the context—yet leapt straight to the truth without following the steps.
Dam Jeok-san looked at him with a curious expression.
Was it the function of an upper dantian activated at the extreme limits of the Outer Path? Or perhaps mere coincidence.
Either way, the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable’s words were correct.
From the moment he shattered the body-protecting qi, Dam Jeok-san had felt it.
The Martial Sovereign Castle Lord’s solemn gaze.
He was looking down upon the disciple who had asked for help, asking him—
Do you truly have the qualification to move me?
And Dam Jeok-san swung his sword to prove that qualification.
Yet for now, the Martial Sovereign Castle Lord’s presence remained silent.
[…Very well. If I tear you to pieces, I will find out. And if the Martial Sovereign Castle Lord emerges then… well, I will die.]
The Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable shook his head lightly and reached his conclusion.
For someone who had devoted himself to the Outer Path, one would expect a fierce attachment to his own life. In that sense, the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable was truly an unusual being.
[Die.]
As though passing sentence, the Heaven-Transcending Blood Venerable extended his hand toward Dam Jeok-san.
From his palm unfolded one of the Four Great Profound Intents—
[Blood Cocoon, Exploding Tears.]
Unlike the other three profound intents, which possessed wide-area destructive power, Blood Cocoon, Exploding Tears was a technique specialized in instantaneously killing a single target.
One person. It caused all the blood within the person standing before him to boil violently and explode—a martial art of true instant death.
Yes. His command to die was nothing more than a sentence.
Dam Jeok-san felt all the blood within his body begin to boil.
If things continued like this, he would die. A death that could not be avoided by any means.
However, it could be delayed.
Dam Jeok-san immediately drove his sword toward his own heart.
No—he was about to.
[Fast. You pass.]
Before a single strand of telepathy could descend into his mind.