May You Rest in Peace
"May you rest in peace."
‘...Where the hell did a monster like him come from?’
Tension flooded the eyes of the demonic cultivators. Even though they were bloodthirsty devils who slaughtered people as easily as eating a meal, they were nothing more than greenhorns compared to the man standing before them.
“You were so noisy earlier. Why have you all gone quiet now?”
William spoke in a lower tone than usual as he scanned the demonic cultivators. Ten insignificant small fries that weren’t even worth paying attention to. Three that were mildly annoying. ‘I’ll clean this up as fast as possible.’
If they were enemies that had to die anyway, killing them quickly was simply the most efficient option. Having already slain one Peak realm expert with a single strike, he leisurely turned his gaze toward his next target.
“Hah. I don’t know who you are, but I won’t go down so eas—!”
“Shut up. I’ll at least let you leave a last will.”
With words that essentially declared the man’s death was already decided, William raised his right thumb and pointed it forward.
“No matter how skilled you may be, if all of us attack together, victory is not guaranteed.”
The older of the Black and White Twin Demons, Black Ghost, poured internal energy into the claw weapons on his hands as he glared at William. ‘We have to kill him if we want to get out of here.’
Escaping this tightly sealed space in a short time was impossible even for most high-level experts. And there was no way the bizarre man before them would kindly allow them to escape.
“Little brother. In the worst case…”
“Don’t worry, older brother. Even a Super Peak expert wouldn’t be able to win easily if all of us attack together.”
“Are you done chatting? Then…”
William’s thumb rotated inward half a turn and pointed downward.
The demonic cultivators didn’t understand the meaning of the gesture, yet they could somehow sense that it was a death sentence passed upon them.
“Die.”
The moment the words left his mouth, William’s body shot toward the Black and White Twin Demons. The two barely dodged his charge, which seemed intent on ending things in a single rush like a bloodthirsty demon, and swung their claws at his vital points.
‘He’s underestimating us!’
Even a Super Peak expert couldn’t be completely free from attacks that used internal energy. The Black and White Twin Demons assumed the masked monster would either dodge or block the attack and prepared their next moves.
‘The moment he blocks, I’ll aim for his heart with my spear!’
A human only had two arms. There was no way he could easily defend against attacks coming from three directions at once. Blood Fiend Spear thrust his spear forward without hesitation—the weapon that had accompanied him for half his life.
‘What the—!’
The Hao Sect Leader watched William with wide, shocked eyes. His palms were already drenched in cold sweat.
Yet even in such a desperate situation, William didn’t even pretend to defend himself.
There had never been any need to block in the first place.
“What the hell is this…!?”
Broken fingernails. A spear repelled by a powerful rebound. A hand that ruthlessly seized White Ghost’s arm.
Before White Ghost could even resist, William’s body pressed right up against him. In a final desperate struggle, White Ghost unleashed a series of rapid palm strikes toward William’s face, but every strike was blocked before it could reach him.
‘This is not an opponent we can handle!’
Fear naturally filled his face. A pair of eyes filled with killing intent stared at his heart without the slightest hesitation.
“I’ll send your little brother first.”
“Older brother…!”
William and White Ghost’s bodies clung tightly together. If it had been a man and woman, it might have been a pleasant sight, but their embrace was no different from a death sentence.
“Let go of my brother!”
Black Ghost’s half-broken claws flew toward William’s face. It was a vicious strike filled with demonic energy, but to William it was no more threatening than the flap of a butterfly’s wings.
Whether Black Ghost attacked or not, William simply lifted White Ghost’s body upside down.
“Damn it…! What kind of monster is this!”
What kind of people were Peak realm experts? Even if they couldn’t reach the absolute pinnacle, they were still among the strongest in the martial world.
‘Even against a Super Peak expert, several Peak experts attacking together shouldn’t be handled this easily. How did the Hao Sect Leader manage to bring someone like this?’
It was incomprehensible. Was a Super Peak expert really someone who would come just to help the Hao Sect Leader?
In the Central Plains, Super Peak experts were beings like that. Overwhelmingly powerful martial artists. Their value was beyond imagination—offering a hundred gold bars might barely convince them to move, and even then, most belonged to specific sects and could not be swayed by money.
That was why they had never imagined that the Hao Sect Leader would bring not only a Super Peak expert, but possibly someone even stronger.
“Monster, huh. Hearing that from a demonic cultivator feels strangely amusing.”
A smile formed on William’s lips. It was a smile brimming with murderous intent.
Though no one could see it behind the mask, the demonic cultivators felt a chill run down their spines.
“You damn bastards! Stop hesitating and help me already!”
The remaining demonic cultivators were at most First-class. They weren’t exactly weak, but unable to release their internal energy like Peak experts, they could only falter before William’s overwhelming presence.
“One down first.”
Fear and despair filled White Ghost’s face as it was pressed against William’s chest.
“I-I don’t want to d—”
“Behave yourself in the afterlife.”
Before he could even finish speaking, William and White Ghost’s bodies slammed backward at tremendous speed. The impact sent White Ghost’s body bouncing off the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust.
But even if his form was obscured, the sickening sound of a human body being crushed could not be hidden. Black Ghost let out a beast-like howl upon realizing his brother was dead.
“Little brother!”
“It’s been a while since I used it, so it came out a bit sloppy.”
Two had fallen, but only one rose.
William felt a twinge of disappointment at the wrestling technique he hadn’t used in a long time and drew the sword hanging at his waist.
It was a short, sharply pointed blade unlike a longsword.
“Little brother…!”
“Instead of worrying about the brother who’s gone to meet the Grim Reaper, shouldn’t you worry about yourself?”
“I’ll kill you, you bastard!”
“The brothers and sisters of the people you killed probably thought the same thing.”
Blood vessels burst in Black Ghost’s eyes, turning them crimson. A dark, murky energy began to envelop his body.
The Reverse Blood Grand Technique.
The final resort given to demonic cultivators.
William observed Black Ghost’s Reverse Blood Grand Technique with interested eyes.
‘If I had still been at the level of a direct disciple, this would have been difficult.’
He wouldn’t have lost, but it would have been a hard fight. The Reverse Blood Grand Technique was a secret art that drew out even the user’s innate true energy to unleash tremendous power.
But that no longer applied to him now.
Because he was a Master.
“Uwaaaaaaaaah!”
“Wait!”
Despite Blood Fiend Spear’s desperate attempt to stop him, Black Ghost scattered black afterimages as he charged at William. Blood Fiend Spear had no choice but to leap forward as well and thrust his spear.
If he did nothing, there wouldn’t even be the slightest chance of victory.
Watching them, William slightly bent his knees and raised the sword in his hand to chest level.
Then he swung the sword at Black Ghost.
Or rather, he swung the fist gripping the hilt toward Black Ghost’s face.
The response was far too simple and crude for a swordsman. The two demonic cultivators saw it as an opportunity and unleashed their ultimate techniques with all their might.
“Die!”
“Die already!”
Strikes filled with a silent scream of desperation flew toward William’s neck. The thrusts were as fast as flying arrows, yet William’s eyes calmly tracked the tip of the spear aiming for his throat.
Then, without even bothering to pay it any mind, he mercilessly slammed a straight punch—one of the basic techniques of Roman gladiatorial combat—into Black Ghost’s face. At the same time, Blood Fiend Spear’s weapon scraped against William’s neck with a scratching sound before sliding off to the side.
“Just who the hell are you? Is this the legendary Diamond Indestructible Body I’ve only heard about in stories?”
What kind of insane martial artist in the world would take an incoming attack with his body? Blood Fiend Spear couldn’t help but think of the Diamond Indestructible Body after seeing William’s response.
The legendary external technique that made one’s body as hard as diamond.
Otherwise, there was no way he could take a spear thrust filled with internal energy without any defense and not even suffer a scratch.
“Diamond Indestructible Body? Hardly.”
William looked at Black Ghost, who had been sent flying by the punch. His face was swollen like a balloon—he clearly hadn’t managed to dodge the attack properly.
He had tried to trade blows in a suicidal exchange, but unfortunately for him, that level of attack meant nothing to William.
Before the faint layer of Aura Armor covering his body, mere spear qi and claw energy couldn’t even leave a decent wound.
“Damn it…!”
Despair washed over Blood Fiend Spear’s face.
‘Even when I faced the higher-ups’ experts, I never felt this much of a wall. Just what kind of monster is this guy!’
A body that didn’t even get scratched despite being stabbed with a spear filled with full-power internal energy. Even if it was protective energy, wasn’t this too much?
No, protective energy couldn’t possibly be that sturdy in the first place. If it were some half-baked expert it might be different, but a fully matured Peak expert’s all-out spear thrust was not something even a Super Peak expert could easily ignore.
“You wait your turn. I’ll finish that guy off first and come back for you.”
‘Damn it!’
Blood Fiend Spear thrust his spear desperately. He had already confirmed several times that it didn’t work, but what did that matter?
If even Black Ghost died, he would have to face this monster alone.
His spear, filled with desperate longing, shot toward William’s face once again.
A thrust without the slightest tremor.
But William’s response was simple.
“Hah…”
“If you’re that eager to die first, then by all means.”
His beloved weapon, even though wrapped in spear qi, was caught without any resistance. William grabbed the spearhead with his left hand and slammed the pommel of the sword in his right hand down onto Blood Fiend Spear’s shoulder.
An unavoidable strike unless he let go of the spear.
A desperate situation where a spearman had to release his weapon.
In the end, Blood Fiend Spear couldn’t let go in time.
“Uwaaaak!”
Blood sprayed out. A scream filled with despair. Without even giving him time to scream, William thrust his gladius toward the man’s neck, whose shoulder had been shattered.
Soon after, the sound of flesh being pierced rang out, and Blood Fiend Spear’s body collapsed to the floor.
Thus, the lineage of the Blood Mist Spear was severed forever.
“May you rest in peace.”
“D-damn it…”
The remaining demonic cultivators stumbled backward in terror. It was hard to believe these were the same men who had confidently come to raid the Hao Sect. But what could they do?
Even to demonic cultivators, life was precious.
William pulled the sword from Blood Fiend Spear’s neck, walked over to Black Ghost, and sent him on the same journey to the afterlife.
Four coldly cooling corpses of Peak realm experts.
William’s gaze turned toward the small fries.
“Looks like it’s just you guys left.”
“T-this can’t be happening…”
‘After everything I’ve done to get this far!’
A rebellion prepared over many long years, stopped by a single man!
Yun Cheol collapsed to the floor, trembling.
For him, who had lost everything, there was only one ending left.
“You probably believed everything would go smoothly. However… it seems Heaven is on my side.”
The Hao Sect Leader’s voice wormed its way into Yun Cheol’s ears.
“You will have to spit out everything. How you colluded with the Demonic Cult. And exactly how many others cooperated with them.”
“D-damn…”
‘I-I have to commit suicide…’
It would be better to end his life with the poison hidden in his clothes.
But his body refused to obey his will.
“Men! Restrain him so he can’t try anything foolish!”
“Yes, sir!”
The Hao Sect Leader’s guard warriors reached him in the blink of an eye and sealed Yun Cheol’s pressure points. Having had his acupoints struck, Yun Cheol soon lost consciousness and slumped over.
In the meantime, William, who had sent all the demonic cultivators to the afterlife, approached the Hao Sect Leader.
“I believe that should be enough work done.”
“I truly thank you. I swear on the name of the Hao Sect Leader that you will receive appropriate compensation.”
‘This worked out perfectly.’
William smiled with satisfaction at the thought of squeezing every last drop out of the Hao Sect Leader.