Chapter 1
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Prologue
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"Gasp... gasp!"
It was agonizing.
His stomach had been churning for a while now, and his lungs felt like they would tear apart. His limbs, pushed to their absolute limit, swayed uselessly like floating weeds.
Even his longsword, once as light as a switch, now felt like a block of iron weighing hundreds of pounds.
He waited for his chaotic breathing to settle, but something suddenly surged up from deep within his chest.
"Gwaaargh!!"
Damn it all. Had he eaten blood soup for breakfast?
His vision swam. He must have lost too much blood at once; it was hard to stay conscious.
*Move, damn it, move!*
He bit his tongue. The excruciating pain jolted him back to his senses.
*Fwoosh!*
As he began to run forward again, the scenery on either side of him blurred past.
*Just a little further...*
Just beyond this forest was a safe house he had prepared in secret.
He had stored all sorts of rare elixirs and medicinal herbs there. If he could just make it safely, he would be able to breathe life back into this worn-out body.
It was then.
*Urk?!*
Someone leaped down, eclipsing the brightly shining moonlight.
*Damn it. What impeccable stealth.*
Appearing without a trace, a black sword swung at his shoulder like a bolt of lightning.
Cheon Hajin’s eyes wavered.
*The Lord of Death!*
The strongest assassin in the southern Central Plains, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
Cheon Hajin instinctively twisted his body.
*Shhhlick!*
A deep gash was already carved into the chest of the masked man as he fell.
He had killed one of the top three assassins in the world in a single blow. Normally, he might have spared the feat a glance, but this was not the time.
His situation was far too grim to savor any accomplishment.
*Th-th-thump!*
How long had he been running like that?
*Hah!*
At some point, Cheon Hajin stopped and surveyed his surroundings.
A forest at night. His vision was obscured. Though his eyes could pierce the darkness as well as anyone's, the massive trees stood densely packed.
*...*
His ragged breathing came to a halt. Pushed into extreme danger, his body had paradoxically calmed itself.
Cheon Hajin exhaled slowly and closed his eyes.
A moment later.
"Come out."
After he uttered that single, calm word, a voice filled with admiration drifted from far ahead.
"Impressive."
*Step, step.*
A woman approached, revealing herself completely as if she had no reason to hide her presence.
*Vmmmmmm.*
Her aura was so immense that it created the illusion of the thick trees on either side of her path bending away as she walked.
Cheon Hajin’s face crumpled like a piece of paper.
There were many people in the world he didn't want to see, but one of the absolute worst had just appeared.
"The Flying Demon King."
The woman smiled faintly.
"I'm honored you remember me. We met about five or six years ago, wasn't it?"
She was a peerless beauty with the appearance of a woman just past thirty, exuding an air of grace, but Cheon Hajin was not fooled by her looks.
On the outside, she looked as if she couldn't harm a fly, but in reality, that woman was a deranged murderer who suffered from insomnia if she went a single day without killing.
*Shing.*
Seeing Cheon Hajin aim his sword at her, the Flying Demon King chuckled.
"You want to fight?"
"I'm not in the habit of quietly offering up my neck."
"Why not make it easy on yourself? It doesn't look like you'll last more than a few exchanges anyway."
"We won't know until we cross blades, will we?"
"Are you only satisfied after testing the obvious?"
"Must be nice, knowing so much. Will I be as wise as you when I turn sixty?"
The Flying Demon King's face turned cold.
Though she appeared to be in her thirties, she was actually over sixty years old. She maintained the beauty of her youth with age-defying arts.
Naturally, she was sensitive about her age.
The Flying Demon King scoffed.
"A man on death's door will say anything."
"And if I beg, you'll let me live?"
"I might show you the mercy of not tearing out your ribs before you die."
*What a cruel bitch.*
Cheon Hajin's eyes became bloodshot.
"Enough. If you're going to attack, then hurry up and do it, you hag."
"Oh? You really sound like you have a trick up your sleeve."
"Why would I be afraid of a sixty-year-old crone who only knows how to run her mouth?"
The Flying Demon King stared intently at Cheon Hajin, who was deliberately spewing harsh words.
*...This is bad.*
A cold sweat ran down Cheon Hajin's back.
The Flying Demon King was one of the Ten Grand Masters of the world. To be ranked among the top ten on the vast continent of the Central Plains meant she was nothing short of a monster.
Of course, Cheon Hajin was no different.
He too was known as the King of Slaughter and ranked among the Ten Grand Masters.
The problem was that his martial arts were specialized for assassination rather than direct confrontation. To make matters worse, his body was in its worst possible condition after days of being pursued.
It was a fight with a foregone conclusion.
Of course, that would change if he used the one technique that had helped him overcome every crisis until now.
*Vwoooom.*
As a pale blue energy gathered on Cheon Hajin’s longsword, a strange light appeared in the Flying Demon King’s eyes.
The energy emanating from the blade was extraordinary.
To draw out that much power from a body that looked ready to collapse at any moment—he was truly worthy of being called one of the Ten Grand Masters.
But she wasn't surprised by Cheon Hajin's resilience.
"So it was true."
"What?"
"That you were an assassin deliberately raised by the Righteous Heaven Alliance."
"...!"
Cheon Hajin's face hardened.
The Flying Demon King smiled.
"I see. There was a reason the Iron Blood Fortress commissioned me."
While the Righteous Heaven Alliance strictly pursued the path of righteousness, the Iron Blood Fortress followed the path of supremacy, which straddled the line between good and evil.
The reason such a power would directly hire the Flying Demon King.
"Your true energy is steeped in disgusting righteous energy and immortal energy. It's definitely from the Nine Great Sects."
It was because the Flying Demon King had inherited the ultimate arts of the Heretic God, who was once called the hero of the Unorthodox Faction.
With the exception of the Demonic Arts of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon, which had ceased public activities some thirty years ago,
her martial arts were the most sensitive and accurate at detecting the arts of the Orthodox Faction.
"What changes now that you know?"
"It changes things."
The Flying Demon King's eyes gleamed ominously.
"Many things can change."
Cheon Hajin didn't ask what those things were.
He steadied his breath slightly and spoke.
"So it was the Iron Blood Fortress that recruited the Lord of Death and the Slaughter Tower."
The Flying Demon King grinned.
"That's right. And the elites of the Eight Iron Powers you slaughtered over the past three days were all from the Iron Blood Fortress."
"..."
"Truly amazing. Even if their goal was to capture you alive, I was curious how you managed to kill so many masters."
It was no wonder the Flying Demon King was astonished.
The Eight Iron Powers were the eight factions that supported the current Iron Blood Fortress.
Though their individual numbers were small, each was an organization composed of peak masters. He had single-handedly killed two hundred of them and escaped.
Just a day ago, he had even butchered the Heaven and Earth Fiends—whose skills were said to approach the level of the Ten Grand Masters—in less than half a moment.
Considering his body was not only drained of stamina and internal energy but also suffering from both internal and external injuries, it was a truly terrifying feat.
He was worthy of being called not the King of Slaughter, but the God of Death.
There was only one reason that was possible.
"You definitely learned the martial arts of the Nine Sects. Their secret techniques, at that."
Cheon Hajin didn't answer. She wouldn't believe him even if he denied it, and besides, it was the truth.
Staring silently at the Flying Demon King, Cheon Hajin suddenly let out a smirk.
"I see now why a wench like you, who prefers spilling blood to talking, has been chattering on and on."
"Why is that? Take a guess."
"It's an extension of the Iron Blood Fortress's reason for wanting me captured alive. They want the Nine Sects' martial arts and confidential information about the Righteous Heaven Alliance from me."
The Flying Demon King smiled.
"Clever."
It was something anyone could figure out with a little thought, unless they were a complete idiot.
But this was Cheon Hajin, who had been fighting without sleep for three days.
The ability to calmly observe the situation in a body that could drop dead at any moment was not something just anyone could display.
But Cheon Hajin's insight didn't end there.
"Of course, you don't plan on stopping there, do you?"
"What?"
"Aren't you planning to ignore the Iron Blood Fortress's request and take the Nine Sects' martial arts and secrets all for yourself?"
The Flying Demon King's face stiffened.
Cheon Hajin looked up at the sky and sighed.
"Honestly, why is the martial world so full of disloyal bastards?"
The Righteous Heaven Alliance wore a mask of justice while secretly training assassins like him.
And they didn't just train them; they threw them into a hell where they couldn't survive unless they killed each other. Cheon Hajin was only thirteen at the time.
There was only one reason the Righteous Heaven Alliance had trained assassins so ruthlessly.
It was to kill the leaders of the Iron Blood Fortress and the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon—the other two of the Three Great Powers of the martial world. It was to create a world ruled solely by the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
And Cheon Hajin had grown exceptionally strong, just as the Alliance had wished.
The Flying Demon King licked her lips.
"You're incredibly quick on the uptake."
"Thanks for the compliment."
For some reason, his expression was one of resignation.
The Flying Demon King tried to coax him with kind words.
"I don't need anything else. The Alliance's secret documents are nice, but what would a lone wolf like me do with them? However..."
Her eyes sparkled.
"The martial arts of the Nine Sects. Just give me those, and I'll let you live."
"I'm already a dead man walking. That's not a very attractive offer."
"Is it because of the Blood Gu?"
Cheon Hajin's eyes widened.
"You know of the Blood Gu?"
The Flying Demon King snorted.
"I inherited the arts of the Heretic God. I'm well-versed in all sorts of poisons, not to mention heretical sorcery."
"...I see."
"And with my heretical arts, I can even remove the Blood Gu nesting in your body."
The Blood Gu.
It was the worst measure the Righteous Heaven Alliance had used to control Cheon Hajin, who had grown too strong. As long as the Blood Gu lay dormant in his body, he could never betray the Alliance.
That's right. As long as the Blood Gu was there.
Cheon Hajin smirked.
The Flying Demon King flinched.
"Why are you laughing?"
"Hey, Granny Biyo."
"..."
"Did you really think I was being chased by the Iron Blood Fortress?"
"What?"
Cheon Hajin playfully tilted his longsword.
"You kept saying three days, three days, and I was wondering what that was about. Right. For three days, I was chased 'only' by the Iron Blood Fortress."
"Then?"
"Today marks the seventh day and night. I've been on the run from the Righteous Heaven Alliance."
The Flying Demon King felt a chill at Cheon Hajin's words, which he spat out while grinding his teeth in disgust.
Did that mean he had killed all those masters after shaking off the Alliance's forces?
"Why would the Alliance...? Don't tell me you neutralized the Blood Gu?"
Cheon Hajin remained silent.
She was right. Seven days ago, he had neutralized the Blood Gu.
The Alliance had realized it immediately.
Like other Gu poisons, the Blood Gu was divided into male and female; if one died, the other could not survive.
*Damn it.*
He gritted his teeth.
He had endured for thirty years to escape the hell that was the Righteous Heaven Alliance.
He had figured out how to neutralize the Blood Gu five years ago. But back then, he hadn't been confident he could escape if he were caught in their inescapable net.
That was why he had trained, shedding blood and sweat, for five years.
In any case, he had broken through the Alliance's inescapable net in four days.
He never imagined the Iron Blood Fortress would jump into this mess.
*A damn life in a damn world.*
At first, he despaired.
As time passed, he even considered giving up on life.
But now?
*Sssssshhhhhh.*
The Flying Demon King unknowingly took a step back.
A terrifying killing intent flowed from Cheon Hajin as he gripped his longsword and closed his eyes. It was the killing intent of the King of Slaughter—the greatest assassin in the world and the secret successor of the Nine Great Sects.
Cheon Hajin opened his eyes.
*Flash!*
An explosive rage smoldered in his blazing eyes.
"The Nine Sects' martial arts? You'll let me live? Don't make me laugh. You think I can't see the scorpion-like venom in your heart?"
The Flying Demon King swallowed without realizing it.
If they fought, she would surely win. But in the face of this overwhelming spirit, her body momentarily froze.
"For thirty years, I lived with my life in the hands of others. It's gotten to the point where I feel sorry for my own life."
*Vrooooooom!*
The light blazing from his longsword intensified until the blade itself was no longer visible.
"I'll say this one last time. Step aside. Get off this stage quietly."
"..."
"Then you might at least be able to save that filthy life of yours."
The Flying Demon King's face twisted into a demonic mask.
"A dying man has no right to bluff!"
Cheon Hajin growled.
"You stupid bitch! I'm not the problem! The Alliance forces I shook off are back on my tail because of those bastards from the Iron Blood Fortress!"
"Wh-what?!"
"And if you have a brain in your head, use it! You think the Iron Blood Fortress doesn't know about your greed? They'll obviously cast you aside when you're no longer useful!"
The Flying Demon King's eyes wavered.
Perhaps due to her immense skill and arrogance, it seemed she had never considered that she could be discarded, no matter how powerful the organization.
"Get out of the way! Let's go our separate ways and survive!"
"..."
"If you don't move, we'll all d—"
"Don't worry."
The Flying Demon King grinned.
As she slowly raised her hand, her well-manicured nails grew long and turned red.
"I'm not an idiot like you. And I've never let anyone who insulted me live."
*Fwoooosh!*
A dense, heretical energy erupted from the Flying Demon King's body.
An energy far more unique than killing intent. Sensing that heretical energy, masters from far and wide began to converge on their location.
"You're not going to tell me, are you? I can see it in your eyes."
*Flash!*
Beyond the suffocating heretical energy, a ferocious killing intent also began to flow.
"Then die, you useless bastard."
Cheon Hajin grinned.
It was a grin mixed with all sorts of emotions—anger, sadness, resignation, despair.
"I'll prove my own worth, you bitch."
*Craaaack!*
Cheon Hajin charged toward her.
The Flying Demon King rushed to meet him.
The man's sword and the woman's claws clashed head-on.
*KABOOM!*