Chapter 662: Waves Aren't Meant to Be Avoided; They Are Meant to Be Crossed
Chapter 662: Waves Aren't Meant to Be Avoided; They Are Meant to Be Crossed
"You want to live a different life?"
To Jin Hyu, those words didn't carry an ounce of weight.
"What kind of bullshit are you spewing now? So? Are you satisfied with a life where you've thrown away your position as Cult Leader just to run errands for the Young Cult Leader?"
He likely wanted to see a reaction of denial; he was certain that couldn't be the case. However, the Pungcheon Cult Leader replied with a bright, genuine smile.
"I am truly satisfied. Heaven has given me a gift."
Jin Hyu could tell he meant it. How could such soaring joy be faked?
"Why are you telling me this? Are you suggesting I live like an idiot too?"
Whether the Pungcheon Cult Leader had gone senile or was simply drowning in belated sentimentality, Jin Hyu expected him to say something like, 'You should try living like this too.' Instead, cold words flowed from the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s mouth.
"What are you talking about? You’re going to die by my hand today."
"Then why say it?"
"Why else? I wanted to brag."
A curse reflexively escaped Jin Hyu’s lips. "This crazy fat bastard, seriously..."
"If you call me a fatty one more time, you’ll regret it. Oh, wait."
The Pungcheon Cult Leader, who had been standing at the bow, turned around. The warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad were fighting for their lives against tentacles sprouting from all directions. One of them was in a moment of extreme crisis. A tentacle had coiled around the warrior and was attempting to rip his leg off raw, and there was no one nearby to help.
Boom!
The tentacle exploded under the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s palm strike. It vanished so completely that not even a drop of blood splashed onto the warrior. After bowing his head in gratitude, the warrior limped away and began swinging his sword once more.
Without looking back, the Pungcheon Cult Leader spoke softly.
"Don't be so impatient, old man. You’re dying today anyway."
Thick killing intent, as if a strike would fly at any moment, surged toward the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s back.
"Once you die today, the era of my disciple will finally begin."
A master of the Soul-Seizing Technique like Jin Hyu appeared only once or twice in a generation. Jin Hyu sneered coldly. He intended to kill both of them today and become the supreme master of the Soul-Seizing Technique himself.
"Once you two are dead, my era will begin."
"If that happens, the Soul-Seizing Technique will likely be lost to the world for a very long time."
At Jin Hyu’s questioning gaze, the Pungcheon Cult Leader mentioned one person.
"Because you will die at the hands of the Young Cult Leader."
"You two couldn't even kill me, yet the Young Cult Leader will? Have you perhaps fallen under his Soul-Seizing Technique?"
A strange smile played on the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s lips.
"It’s because you haven't experienced it. Yes, it’s something our meager imaginations could never grasp. I was the same way."
"You speak so boldly even after sending your disciple into the jaws of death."
At that, the Pungcheon Cult Leader shook his head. "She won't die."
"How can you be so sure?"
"You saw it earlier. Those young people jumping into that water one after another without a moment's hesitation. Could you do that? I couldn't."
"In this world, it’s usually the foolish ones like that who die first."
The Pungcheon Cult Leader nodded slowly. "But this is my world, isn't it?"
To say something so brazen in a world he himself had created—Jin Hyu snapped.
"You insane fatty! This is my world!"
"I clearly warned you, yet you did it again."
Jin Hyu frowned. Even though he was the one spitting insults, he strangely felt worse. He didn't like that look in the other man's eyes—the look of someone who had realized a fundamental truth.
It was then.
Pop! Bang! Boom!
Tentacles began to explode all around them. They were things that had kept regenerating no matter how many were killed, but now, just as the hand seals had burst into water droplets, they exploded into beautiful clusters of light.
Just as the warriors on the ship finally caught their breath and felt a sense of relief—
Splash.
The Soul-Seizing Demon Lord emerged from the water. Soon after, Jin Ha-gun came out exhaling sharply, followed by the warriors of the Demon Extermination Squad. Some were injured, but fortunately, they had avoided fatal wounds.
"I have dispelled it."
The Pungcheon Cult Leader smiled proudly and praised her. "Well done, my disciple."
The Soul-Seizing Demon Lord beamed. She felt best when she received recognition from her master. She looked at Jin Ha-gun, who was floating beside her.
"Captain Jin was a great help."
When the Pungcheon Cult Leader looked at Jin Ha-gun, the captain shook his head.
"Your disciple did everything. We only played a supporting role."
Though he said that, it would have been much more difficult to dispel the technique without Jin Ha-gun. They leaped up onto the ship.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader spoke to Jin Hyu. "See? In my world, they don't die."
Jin Hyu no longer claimed it was his world. Those brats should have died just to shut that annoying mouth up. Jin Hyu surged his internal energy. A blue aura began to emanate not only from his body but also from his eyes.
Crrraaaaaaash!
The waves began to rise sharply. Jin Hyu, standing atop them, looked small in the distance as the sea swelled. The Pungcheon Cult Leader looked up at him and shouted.
"Hey, man! If you overexert yourself at your age, you'll collapse!"
The angry waves rose even higher. Jin Ha-gun and the Demon Extermination Squad warriors stared at the towering wall of water. It looked as if this large ship would be helpless once that wave crashed down. And in this situation, there was no telling what else might attack them if they fell into the water.
"Disciple, what should we do in a situation like this?"
"I believe we should avoid it first."
At the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord’s answer, the Pungcheon Cult Leader shook his head.
"Waves aren't meant to be avoided. They are meant to be crossed."
The Pungcheon Cult Leader stomped his foot.
Thump!
An impact spread out in all directions.
Crack! Snap!
The deck of the ship shattered and flew upward. What fell back down were wooden planks, just the right size for one person to ride.
"Now, everyone, disembark!"
The moment he finished speaking—
Flash!
The large ship they had been on vanished in an instant. Upon the swaying sea, everyone stood atop the wooden pieces the Pungcheon Cult Leader had created. Jin Ha-gun took care of Gwak Ju, who knew no martial arts.
"Now, when a wave comes, you have to ride it."
Whooooosh!
The wind and waves created by the Pungcheon Cult Leader pushed everyone on the planks into the heart of the surge. The Pungcheon Cult Leader took the lead, heading toward the incoming wave. His boisterous laughter rang out loudly.
Swoooooosh.
Everyone following behind saw it. They saw the Pungcheon Cult Leader ascending the massive wave, cutting through it diagonally. The Soul-Seizing Demon Lord, Jin Ha-gun, and the Demon Extermination Squad warriors rode the wave together on their planks. The wind raised by the Pungcheon Cult Leader pushed them powerfully from behind.
They never imagined they would be surfing within a world of the Soul-Seizing Technique. Instead of fear, Jin Ha-gun felt his heart racing. Gwak Ju, who was clinging tightly to him, was also certain this would be a moment he would never forget for the rest of his life—though, of course, no one would believe him.
Splash!
And then, they all saw it. The Pungcheon Cult Leader reached the crest of the massive wave. He kicked off that peak and soared into the sky toward Jin Hyu.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader’s red energy and Jin Hyu’s blue energy collided in midair. It looked as if two immortals were clashing in the heavens.
K-Boom!
Using the clear sky as paper, the two colors spread out; red and blue light embroidered the heavens. In the moment of the first collision, the thought that occurred to Jin Hyu was this:
He’s strong!
Perhaps the man's frivolous words had made Jin Hyu underestimate him. But with just one exchange, he knew. This man was surprisingly powerful.
As the two clashed in the air, the waves subsided as if by magic. Everyone stood on their wooden planks and watched the battle. The Soul-Seizing Demon Lord, in particular, did not miss a single movement of her master.
Sh-sh-sh-sh-sh!
Jin Hyu’s body split in an instant, creating clones. They immediately surrounded the Pungcheon Cult Leader in a circle.
True Soul Clone Technique.
These weren't just illusions. They were clones that actually attacked with one-third of Jin Hyu’s power. It was one of Jin Hyu’s ultimate secret techniques. However, none of them managed to attack.
Slice, slice, slice, slice!
Jin Hyu’s divided bodies were shredded into dozens of pieces. Before anyone knew it, dozens of lines were stretched across the air. The No-Form Qi created by the Pungcheon Cult Leader was spread out everywhere like a spiderweb.
Liquid dripped from those lines where the clones had been cut. Among the spray was real blood. Jin Hyu, staring at the Pungcheon Cult Leader with his head tilted back in shock, had shoulders drenched in blood. If he had been even a moment later in raising his Body Protection Qi, or a moment slower in tilting his head back, his neck would have been severed instead of his shoulder.
"No-Form Qi?"
It was the Pungcheon Cult Leader’s signature martial art, using invisible energy as a weapon. The No-Form Qi he had shown during his fight with the Illusion King was being unleashed once again.
The Pungcheon Cult Leader’s gaze was chilling. The man speaking from below and the man fighting now were two completely different people.
The next moment—
Whirrrr.
The surrounding space began to distort and spin. Those standing on the sea felt a wave of dizziness and fell from their planks. It was a vertigo that could not be blocked by mental strength. However, they did not fall into the water.
Before they knew it, they were in a new space. The area was filled with mirrors on all sides. The Pungcheon Cult Leader’s reflection appeared in every single one.
A single mirror floated in front of the Pungcheon Cult Leader. He was staring blankly at it as it emitted an eerie energy. Jin Hyu’s signature martial art, the Soul Demon Mirror, had been unleashed.
It was the ultimate technique for dominating an opponent. The moment one falls into the Soul Demon Mirror, they unconditionally follow the opponent's instructions.
Sensing the gravity of the situation, the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord tried to find her master immediately, but the surroundings were a labyrinth of mirrors. The Demon Extermination Squad warriors appeared and disappeared in the reflections; she couldn't tell where her master truly was.
‘...Master!’
Jin Hyu’s figure now appeared within the mirrors.
"The deep darkness within your heart shall lead you to a new world; now, heed my command!"
Jin Hyu’s oral formula echoed through the space. He wore a satisfied expression.
"Kill everyone here and then take your own life!"
At that command, the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord, Jin Ha-gun, and the warriors were all horrified. If the Pungcheon Cult Leader followed those words, no one here would survive.
Having received the command, the Pungcheon Cult Leader slowly opened his mouth. Normally, he should have been looking at Jin Hyu, but his gaze remained fixed on the mirror.
"When did I get so many gray hairs? This is all because of the Young Cult Leader."
In that instant, Jin Hyu’s eyes widened in horror. His expression contorted.
‘He looked into the Soul Demon Mirror, yet it didn't work?’
He couldn't believe it. The Pungcheon Cult Leader glanced at Jin Hyu from beyond the mirror. In that moment, Jin Hyu felt as if he were standing before a massive precipice. He had thought this was a fight he could win, but the man was far stronger than he had imagined.
‘I can't win like this!’
Only one method remained.
Cr-cr-cr-crack.
Cracks began to appear in the mirrors, and the surroundings started to change. Suddenly, they were all standing in the original Main Hall.
Now, the light in Jin Hyu’s eyes changed. In the place where killing intent had been, a tragic resolve took hold.
"So it ends like this after all."
As Jin Hyu chanted an incantation, the objects around them began to move. The framed calligraphy on the wall tilted, and the flowers in the vase withered. The windows opened on their own, and incense began to burn.
"The Mad Soul Art has been activated."
The Mad Soul Art was a technique that exerted far more power than the Heaven Extermination Soul-Strengthening Art he had used previously. However, there was a fatal cost. If he used the Mad Soul Art, he could not survive. It wasn't a simple death, either; he would die after experiencing horrific agony.
"Damn it! I didn't endure all this time just to end like this. Curse it all!" Jin Hyu shouted, his voice filled with bitterness. But as long as the Soul Demon Mirror didn't work, he had no other choice. "That damn Young Cult Leader!"
He blamed everything on Geom Mu-geuk.
Then, the Pungcheon Cult Leader roared. "Shut up! He is not someone for the likes of you to mention!"
The Soul-Seizing Demon Lord and Jin Ha-gun were both inwardly surprised by the thunderous rebuke. This was the same Pungcheon Cult Leader who was always badmouthing the Young Cult Leader.
Jin Hyu drew out all his power, intending to explode his strength in a single blow for a mutual destruction technique. But then, his expression froze. The Mad Soul Art did not activate.
He was shocked and flustered. He tried to rouse the energy again, but the technique wouldn't trigger at all.
"You dispelled the Mad Soul Art? Just how?"
The other man hadn't interfered at all while he was activating it. The Pungcheon Cult Leader walked slowly toward him.
"If it were the old me, I would have made the same choice. Even if I had to die in horrific pain, I would never have wanted to die alone. That’s who we are. Selfish things who only think of ourselves."
"Shut up!"
Just as Jin Hyu tried to rouse the Mad Soul Art once more—
Gush.
Blood erupted from his mouth. Jin Hyu slowly looked down at his chest. Something invisible was embedded in his punctured lungs.
"A No-Form Spear?"
He had been too agitated by the failure of his technique. To be so careless in front of a master who could take a life with a single misplaced breath was fatal.
"...How did this happen?"
At Jin Hyu’s question, the Pungcheon Cult Leader snapped his fingers.
Snap!
The surroundings began to change. Surprisingly, it was the space where the mirrors had been. The most shocked person was the dying Jin Hyu. This space was the one he had opened earlier. He hadn't reopened it.
"Why is this place...?"
"Yes, that place earlier was one I opened."
The Pungcheon Cult Leader had used the Space-Time Displacement Technique to open a place identical to the Main Hall outside. The appearance was the same, but it was a completely different space. That was why no matter how much Jin Hyu moved the objects there, the Mad Soul Art wouldn't activate.
Because the art failed, Jin Hyu hadn't been able to give his best in the final struggle due to shock and confusion. If he had kept his wits, he could have at least taken the others with him.
Blood poured from Jin Hyu’s mouth. Even as the victim, he couldn't believe it.
"...You realized the Mad Soul Art was prepared, and you calculated everything down to this?"
"I told you beforehand, didn't I? That this is my world."
Jin Hyu realized only at the moment of his death that this was an opponent he could never have defeated. His dying eyes filled with rage and regret.
"...'Living a different life,' my ass. You, who have lived your whole life inside an illusion!"
"That illusion was my world. And it still is." Then, the Pungcheon Cult Leader said something unexpected. "Shall I tell you why I became this strong?"
His gaze was fixed not on Jin Hyu, but on the Soul-Seizing Demon Lord. He passed his realization on to his disciple.
"Because I tried to live differently, my world within the Soul-Seizing Technique became stronger."
The Soul-Seizing Demon Lord’s eyes trembled. It was the moment her master set a milestone on the path she had to walk.
On the other hand, Jin Hyu’s eyes shook with fury. Because he felt the words were sincere, he was even angrier. Prattling about a different life until the very end—he hated it.
"...You're full of shit until the end."
"No, this is being full of shit."
The Pungcheon Cult Leader forcibly pried open Jin Hyu’s eyelids, which were slowly closing. The last thing Jin Hyu saw and heard before his breath stopped was the Pungcheon Cult Leader asking cheerfully while stroking his belly fat:
"I should probably lose some of this weight, right?"