Kuuuuuu-!
After a tremendous wave of heat swept through.
The heat quickly subsided in the still-cold spring breeze.
More precisely, I had drawn it back into my dantian before it could spread.
Crackle… crackle.
The sound of glowing embers reached my ears.
Traces of the remaining flames lingered on the ground, burning faintly.
While calming the internal energy that had run rampant.
I checked my condition.
‘More than half of my internal energy remains.’
Unlike before, when using a secret technique left me completely wrecked.
Even after using Jeokcheon and recklessly unleashing Flame Prison in succession, more than half of my internal energy remained.
This was thanks to my realm reaching Hwagyeong, which had opened my upper dantian and widened my vessel, making it far easier to apply my power efficiently.
I looked around.
The black membrane still stretched across the sky.
Even the opening I had made while applying Jeokcheon had quickly filled in, leaving not the slightest gap.
‘What in the world is that power?’
I examined it closely, but there was no way to determine it for now.
Strange.
It was too subtle to be called a formation, yet too alien to be martial arts.
Could it be the power of a ghostly object?
It was possible.
I shifted my gaze.
Crackle.
The Shenlong Academy building, which had been cracked and on the verge of collapse.
Now that half of it had been blown away, it was difficult to call it a building anymore.
The explosion of the Great Flame Prison had utterly wrecked it.
‘...’
A bead of cold sweat trickled down my back as I wondered if I had gone too far.
They weren’t going to make me pay for this later, were they?
Snap.
I stepped forward, crushing a burnt branch beneath my foot.
At the site where the explosion had passed.
Dust filled the air.
I swung my hand, creating a burst of wind pressure.
Whoosh-!
When the dust was all blown away by the wind.
A huge crater, filled with traces of flame, came into view.
I walked toward it.
At the center of the crater.
Something black was writhing.
It was the Hwagyeong martial artist I had been fighting moments before.
‘He’s alive.’
Fortunately, it seemed he hadn’t died.
I hadn’t thrown that attack with the intention of killing him in the first place.
If there had been a slight mistake.
It was that I had used my power immediately after raising my realm, so I hadn’t been able to control it properly.
It would be troublesome if he died.
I hadn’t learned anything yet.
“Cough… hu… huff….”
The old man repeatedly spat up blood.
Fortunately, he seemed to have avoided the worst and escaped a fatal injury.
But even with gang qi wrapped around him, he had been caught in the explosion and was clearly in no condition to fight.
“…You… you bastard….”
The old man’s face was half melted.
He glared at me with murderous eyes.
It would be wrong to say the old man was weak.
He was a powerful man.
It was doubtful that anyone who had reached Hwagyeong could be called weak.
But he had reduced the Azure Sea One Sword to that state, and the instant I encountered him, I could tell he was no ordinary expert.
Just as there were enormous differences even among those in the same realm.
Once one reached Hwagyeong, those differences became extreme.
Judging by the gap between the old man and me, the difference must have been considerable.
Even so.
Even so, the reason I had been able to reduce the old man to that state was ultimately because—
‘Demonic energy works even on Hwagyeong martial artists.’
The demonic energy I had embedded in a corner of my dantian had seeped into the old man.
‘…It’s not as if I’m perfectly fine, either.’
When I fought the assassin from the Hwangbo Clan last time.
That old man had only recently reached Hwagyeong, so it hadn’t been particularly difficult for the demonic energy to infiltrate his dantian.
But this time was different.
‘It was close.’
I had to mix in the demonic energy without him noticing during the battle.
Yet because the old man’s realm was so formidable, infiltrating him had been far from easy.
Moreover.
If I hadn’t crossed the wall, the demonic energy would never have entered so easily.
This meant—
‘The demonic energy was strengthened when I reached Hwagyeong.’
In the instant I crossed the wall, the demonic energy within my body had grown stronger as well.
Was that really something I should regard as a good thing?
‘No. It’s not something to be happy about.’
It had allowed me to win the fight.
But more than winning through the realm I had established and advanced into.
The greater reason for my victory was the assistance of the demonic energy.
I couldn’t help being left with an unpleasant aftertaste.
Furthermore, the backlash from using the demonic energy was still circulating through my body.
‘There’s no internal injury, but a murky sensation remains.’
It hadn’t mixed into my energy, but if I made even the slightest mistake, it might invade me.
Especially now that I had reached Hwagyeong.
Perhaps because of that, the corruptive nature of the demonic energy felt particularly intense.
What had happened to the purification speed of the Nine-Flame Wheel Art?
I would have to investigate that carefully later.
For now, I approached the old man.
“What are you?”
“Cough….”
I grabbed the old man by the hair and lifted his face.
There was no respect for the defeated.
Even less so if they were from the Unorthodox Faction.
In the first place, whether they belonged to the Orthodox or Unorthodox Faction, bastards were bastards, so I didn’t particularly distinguish between them.
“Why did you come here?”
“…You bastard….”
I noticed a long series of scars running along the old man’s neck.
Sword wounds? Judging by how deep they were.
They must have once been quite serious injuries.
Besides, why would someone of this level attack the Shenlong Academy?
“Are you not going to answer?”
At my question, the old man’s body trembled faintly.
Was it anger or fear?
From what I could see, it was the former. It didn’t look like fear.
This wasn’t good.
If things went this way, I would have to torture him.
‘He probably didn’t attack alone. I need to understand the situation.’
The problem was that I wasn’t in a situation with enough leisure for that.
To be honest, I didn’t particularly care what happened to the others.
‘…But not the children.’
I couldn’t be indifferent to those connected to me.
The reason I had rolled around in the Demon Realm and desperately raised my realm was for their sake.
For my sake.
And for theirs.
Since the situation appeared to have become chaotic.
I needed to find out what condition the children were in.
Even as I thought that, I couldn’t help frowning.
‘It’s not good that I have so much more to protect.’
Unlike what I had originally planned.
The number of people around me whom I had to protect had increased.
I viewed this life, which had diverged from my previous one, favorably enough.
But when I thought about the future, I couldn’t help feeling somewhat stifled.
There wasn’t much time.
‘Should I torture him?’
There wasn’t enough time to torture him.
More than anything, I was still having difficulty controlling my strengthened power.
That made delicate torture rather difficult.
Especially when dealing with someone who had already been reduced to that state.
As I pondered what to do for a moment.
“…Heh… heh.”
The old man suddenly let out a laugh.
“Why are you laughing?”
Was he losing his mind because he was dying?
That wouldn’t do. He had to tell me what he knew before he died.
“…You have frightening eyes.”
“What did you say?”
“Those eyes are wondering how to kill me…. I have seen countless men with eyes like yours. They had no choice. They were all members of the Unorthodox Faction.”
“So?”
Was he trying to insult me by criticizing my fierce-looking eyes?
“Children with eyes like that…. I buried every one of them with my own hands. And now I have become just like them. Heh heh….”
“So what? Should I spare you because you’re pitiful?”
Had he grown senile?
The old man was saying ridiculous things.
Whoosh.
Flames coiled around my hand.
Unlike when I had been at the Peak Realm, their color and intensity were noticeably different.
Looking at the flames winding around my hand, the old man spoke hollowly.
“You…. Are you truly a child of the Orthodox Faction?”
“Of course. Where would you find a more upstanding member of the Orthodox Faction than me?”
I even cleaned up Unorthodox Faction bastards like these. If I wasn’t Orthodox, who was?
After a moment’s consideration, I reached a decision.
‘I’ll kill him.’
I decided to kill him without torturing him.
The situation was unfavorable, and he didn’t look like someone who had anything worthwhile to offer.
Rather than waste time keeping him alive only to gain nothing, I judged it better to dispose of him without leaving behind any trouble.
Besides, among the countless energies caught by my senses, I could feel one that was repeatedly pricking at the top of my head.
I reached out my hand.
“This Black Dragon Sword is going to be killed by a brat who isn’t even Wei Hyogun.”
‘Black Dragon Sword…?’
I almost stopped at the words that reached my ears, but I didn’t halt my hand.
Instead, I increased its speed.
My hand touched the old man’s face.
No—it was just before it did.
“That can’t happen.”
Crack-crack.
“…!”
I sensed a change.
I withdrew my hand and leaped backward, putting distance between us.
I drew up my gang qi to the fullest and heightened my tension to its limit.
At the unknown energy caught by my senses, a reaction arose in my dantian.
[...Grr… rrr….]
“You…?”
At the cry that rang out a moment later, my eyes widened.
The creature that had never appeared—not in the Mortal Realm, nor while I had been crawling through the Demon Realm—had suddenly opened its eyes.
[Grrr….]
Its growl was exceptionally rough.
It had clearly bared its teeth at something.
And that something was—
‘…That?’
It was probably the old man who had called himself the Black Dragon Sword.
“You’re the Black Dragon Sword?”
The name seemed vaguely familiar, as though I had heard it somewhere, but I couldn’t remember the details.
If it were a famous sobriquet, I should have recalled it immediately.
I wondered how I could have failed to know the title of a martial artist of this level.
But now was not the time to think about that.
“What is that?”
A transformation was taking place in the old man’s body.
“Cough… huuu….”
Beginning with the scar on the back of his neck.
Something began to leak out.
It writhed as it emerged, revolting enough to make me sick just looking at it.
If I had to describe the sensation, it resembled a gigantic earthworm.
Whoooosh-!
I drew up flames and gathered them at my fingertips.
Leaving it alone was clearly dangerous, so I couldn’t simply stand by.
I felt the internal energy gathered in my dantian rapidly drain away.
Even as I activated my martial art, I watched the old man’s transformation.
‘What in the world is that…? A monster?’
If it was a monster, it was a form I had never seen before.
A monster that parasitized humans?
I didn’t know what it was, but it obviously wasn’t anything good.
Flames gathered in my palm.
I intended to unleash Flame Prison once more, just as I had moments ago.
I planned to burn the thing away entirely.
Its form was gradually taking shape.
The sight was indescribably grotesque.
Even the energy it gave off felt murky and dark.
Perhaps it was somewhat different from the demonic energy possessed by monsters.
Whoosh-!
The preparation of Flame Prison was complete.
I immediately shifted into position to release it.
[Growl!]
Snap-!
“What?”
Along with the growl that came from within my body.
I felt the energy gathered in my hand vanish in an instant.
“That crazy bastard.”
The beast had arbitrarily interfered with my energy and released it.
It could do something like this?
It could interfere with the energy I used?
More importantly, I had to understand why it had suddenly intervened.
“Why did you suddenly wake up after doing nothing but sleep and interfere…!”
Just as I was about to demand an answer.
Kiiiiiiiiii-!
Along with a sound that seemed capable of splitting my ears.
The thing that had once been the old man shot a massive tentacle toward me.
It was remarkably fast.
I drew up my gang qi to respond.
‘…Huh?’
Suddenly, my energy seemed to be completely blocked and refused to move.
Had my internal energy run out?
That was impossible.
When I had checked moments ago, more than half of it had remained.
Regardless of my confusion, the tentacle rapidly flew toward me.
This was no ordinary attack.
Just as I wondered whether I should draw up some other kind of energy if my internal energy would not respond.
Slash-!
The tentacle that had flown right up to my face was severed in an instant and crashed to the ground.
The tentacle lying on the ground vanished as though melting away.
In a sense, it looked as if it were being absorbed into the earth.
“What…?”
Just as I wondered what had happened.
I sensed a reaction from the center of the crater.
I immediately turned my gaze toward the monster.
‘Someone’s there.’
A stranger was driving a sword into the monster.
Apparently, that person was the one who had blocked the attack the monster had sent toward me moments ago.
‘I didn’t sense his presence.’
Even if my energy had been blocked.
My senses were still spread throughout the surroundings.
Yet if I had failed to notice anything about this person.
There was a high chance he was an incredibly powerful expert.
‘Who is he?’
I couldn’t see him clearly.
His presence was vague, and I couldn’t properly perceive him.
That meant he was deliberately concealing both his energy and his presence.
He wore pure-white martial robes.
His hair was white as well, matching his clothing.
Kii… kiiiiaaak-!
The monster began shrieking repeatedly, apparently suffering from the sword lodged in its torso.
Where was its mouth, anyway? How could it scream like that?
The man, as I presumed him to be.
Moved his hand as if responding to the monster’s cries.
Slash-!
The sword embedded in the monster’s torso swung, lightly slicing it apart.
The reason I instinctively held my breath as I watched the movement was simple.
Even though I could see the man’s actions with my own eyes, I couldn’t properly perceive them.
After cleaving the monster apart once, the white-haired man.
While the monster’s movements had quieted as though it had been incapacitated, reached out and placed his hand against its body.
The sticky, oil-like liquid covering it should have been unpleasant, yet the man showed no hesitation.
Then.
“…Huh?”
I saw something move.
Not the man, but the man’s shadow.
The shadow began to squirm, then sprang outward and started wrapping around the monster.
—Kii… aarrgh….
The monster’s not-inconsiderable body was bound tightly by the shadow, without a single opening.
It thrashed repeatedly from within, pounding the ground with dull thuds.
But that movement lasted only briefly before it soon fell silent.
I couldn’t understand the situation that had unfolded in an instant, so I could only stare at the man.
What in the world had just happened?
Perhaps he had sensed my gaze.
The white-haired man slowly turned his head toward me.
His eyes were white, the same color as his hair.
His skin was just as white.
So white that I wondered whether he was truly human, like me.
His appearance was so mysterious that I found myself staring blankly for a moment.
“Are you going to keep watching?”
The man was asking me.
Contrary to my expectations, his voice was much deeper than I had imagined. I flinched at the sound.
“…Who are you?”
It seemed he had saved me, but I didn’t know his identity, so I raised my guard.
As though prepared to respond should anything happen.
When I asked him the question while remaining tense.
The man looked at me and slowly opened his mouth.
Just as I was about to hear his answer.
Boom….
“What?”
I instinctively turned around at the energy I felt behind me.
It was in the direction of Taesan.
The energy coming from there made my body tremble involuntarily.
Was that all?
Sweat even began to bead across my forehead.
“…Why?”
Without even taking back the words that had slipped from my mouth.
I drew up my internal energy and leaped away, leaving the monster and the man behind.
It was a sudden, unexpected action.
But the white-haired man made no attempt to stop me.
I rapidly increased my speed.
The reason I was moving so urgently was simple.
From somewhere on that towering, lofty Taesan, I had begun to sense an energy far too familiar.
An energy I never wanted to feel again.
‘No way…. That can’t be.’
I wanted to keep telling myself it wasn’t true.
But the energy engraved into my body had already given me a definite answer.
There was no doubt.
From distant Taesan.
I could sense the demonic energy of the Heavenly Demon.