Chapter 147
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 147
Chapter Title: Forsaking the Name of the King of Killers (1)
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An ear-splitting roar and a cloud of dust that covered dozens of yards in every direction.
The shattered stones and the ground, cracked as if by an earthquake, devastated everyone’s senses.
Go Gu shouted.
“First Lieutenant!”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Report on all personnel!”
“Everyone is unharmed!”
It was a stroke of immense luck. Had the order to fall back been even slightly delayed, more than a third of the Black Sun Guard would have been killed or seriously injured.
A martial art of such destructive power.
‘No, can that even be called a martial art?’
Even a typhoon would struggle to produce such force.
It had shattered the outer walls, blasted away buildings, and shaken the very earth. Anyone caught within its range, even a supreme master, would not have survived.
‘A saber wind… could it be?!’
Go Gu’s eyes trembled faintly.
“Third Young Master?”
*Fwoosh!*
He quickly headed toward the entrance of the inner courtyard.
Then he saw it.
“...!”
Go Gu couldn’t hide his astonishment.
The path leading from the inner courtyard to the outer one.
Everything in that direction had been utterly shattered and obliterated.
The scar left by the saber wind, over a hundred feet long and two hundred feet wide, looked as if a mountain-sized beast had swiped its paw.
Nothing remained in the wake of that destruction.
“Hoo.”
Startled, Go Gu turned his head.
There stood a young man, holding a treasured weapon that looked like a horse-slaying saber, guarded by three other blades.
His pants were torn to shreds. His shirt was almost nonexistent. As a result, his chiseled, rock-hard muscles and the myriad scars covering them were in plain sight.
Yes, they were scars.
On the body of a man who had been on the verge of death just moments ago, only reddish scars remained. There was no sign of torn skin or bruises, no matter how hard one looked.
*Swish.*
Seo Ryang looked at Go Gu.
His eyes held a hint of surprise, but within them also lay an inexplicable transcendence and ease.
An absolute demonic energy that surpassed all imagination.
‘Super-fast regeneration!’
Those who had reached the zenith of the demonic path, absolute masters who entered the Pinnacle of the Demonic Path, could use Innate Demonic Energy to maximize their body’s healing speed.
But even a master at the pinnacle of demonic arts couldn't heal their wounds so quickly.
Then what?
‘He has, at this very moment, ascended to the Pinnacle of the Demonic Path!’
When one enters a new realm, a new dimension, the body undergoes mysterious changes. If the realm transcends martial arts itself, the changes would be even more drastic.
A re-establishment of the physical body.
His scarred, blood-and-grime-covered body didn’t look much different from before, but the inside was another story.
His muscle tissue, skeletal structure, joints, and even his internal organs had been completely transformed. It was no exaggeration to call it a naturally achieved complete metamorphosis.
“Head of the Hall of Punishments?”
Go Gu knelt.
And he shouted, more intensely than ever before.
“Divine Cult, Undefeated! Ten Thousand Demons, Bow in Submission! I, Go Gu, Head of the Hall of Punishments, greet the Third Young Master!”
Following him, all the members of the Black Sun Guard knelt.
“We greet the Third Young Master!”
It was a truly magnificent sight.
The members of the cult's Hall of Punishments, the ones most avoided and feared by other demonic practitioners, were offering a fervent greeting to a single young man.
At this scene, both natural and strangely gratifying, Ma Dongpil felt an odd emotion rising from deep within his chest.
Seo Ryang smiled faintly.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”
Still in a bow, Go Gu spoke.
“The Grand Marshal dispatched us. We received an urgent message from the Yeoju branch chief and were able to find our way here.”
“I see.”
“I apologize for our tardiness. Please punish us.”
The Black Sun Guard shouted in unison.
“Please punish us!”
Go Gu, a supreme master exuding a powerful aura.
And two hundred members of the Black Sun Guard, all boasting the skills of peak masters, asking for punishment in one voice.
Their voices, their actions, their very atmosphere elevated Seo Ryang into a being of supreme nobility.
Seo Ryang shook his head.
“It's embarrassing with everyone watching. Get up.”
His manner of speaking was pure Seo Ryang. Even though he had become a completely different being, his demeanor hadn’t changed.
Go Gu rose to his feet.
Standing tall and looking directly at Seo Ryang, a stark contrast to moments before, he opened his mouth.
“You have grown stronger, Young Master.”
Was he being careful with his words because others were watching?
No. Go Gu was completely unaware that his tone had changed.
That was how astonishing Seo Ryang's presence was.
The solemnity of a Grandmaster and the dignity of a transcendent being emanating from him had unconsciously made Go Gu’s speech and actions more cautious.
Seo Ryang turned his head and looked at the scene of destruction he had created.
Mok Gang-in was not there. Not a single piece of his flesh, not a single drop of his blood remained.
The true power of the Six-Fold Hell Wind had torn apart and annihilated everything.
“I was lucky.”
“I am aware that luck alone cannot build such a realm. Especially at your age, Young Master.”
Go Gu’s words had a point. But Seo Ryang’s words were also true.
He had indeed been lucky. He had met an opponent who provoked his rage just when he needed a catalyst, and that opponent happened to be his equal, or perhaps half a step stronger.
Thanks to that formidable foe, Seo Ryang had been able to reach his current state.
And one more thing.
*Slink.*
Geumho approached him and rubbed its head against him.
Geumho’s body, now much larger, was reminiscent of a great tiger. Its tail, as large as its torso, made its already massive frame seem even bigger.
“Geumho.”
*Grrrrr.*
The rumble in its throat was now considerably deeper. Once, it had seemed merely mystical and sacred, but now, both its appearance and its aura were incredibly heavy and fierce.
Even the stoic Go Gu couldn't help but express his wonder at this moment.
“This beast is…?”
“That’s right.”
“How did it get so big?”
“I don’t know. It probably grew because it wanted to.”
It sounded like a joke, but Seo Ryang was serious. Geumho was a spiritual beast that couldn't be understood by human common sense in the first place.
Go Gu nodded. In any case, Geumho wasn't the important thing right now.
“Are you alright?”
“Couldn’t be better.”
That was to be expected.
After watching Seo Ryang for a moment, Go Gu spoke in a slightly subdued voice.
“My sincerest congratulations on reaching the Pinnacle of the Demonic Path.”
“Right.”
“You have come one step closer to the position of the cult’s successor.”
“It’s quite funny hearing you say that. You don’t particularly like me, do you?”
“That is a misunderstanding.”
“A misunderstanding?”
*Swish.*
In an instant, Seo Ryang was right in front of Go Gu.
The eyes of a demonic king stared into Go Gu’s. For a moment, Go Gu felt the urge to look away.
“Yes. A misunderstanding. You don’t particularly dislike me.”
“…”
“But you don’t like me either. Your thoughts seem incredibly complex.”
Go Gu’s gaze wavered.
Seo Ryang turned away.
“I don’t care how you see me. I’m not particularly interested in you, anyway.”
Not interested, he said.
What a way to talk. No matter how much he was the Cult Leader’s disciple, it would be difficult for anyone to say such a thing to the Head of the Hall of Punishments so easily.
Go Gu, who would normally not have paid it any mind, was now shaken by those words. For a moment, he felt a surge of anger, as if he had been unfairly dismissed.
“For now, let’s start with the cleanup.”
Seo Ryang aimed his Dragon Scale Saber forward.
Everyone’s attention was focused on him.
*Wooooong!!*
A crimson demonic energy enveloped the massive blade of the Dragon Scale Saber.
It was the Nine Hells Demonic Energy, boasting an absolute sense of pressure. Having evolved into Innate Demonic Energy, his Nine Hells Demonic Art could forcibly freeze the bodies of everyone in the area just by being intentionally released.
*Swoosh.*
Ma Dongpil, Jong Risan, and the demonic practitioners of the Giant Whale House behind them.
Furthermore, the members of the Black Sun Guard all fell to their knees. They had acted unknowingly upon facing that powerful demonic energy.
*Chiiiiik!*
Raindrops falling on the energy-infused blade evaporated completely.
Seo Ryang’s demonic eyes flashed.
*Fwoosh!*
The wind blowing from all directions created a massive saber wind, and the enlarged saber wind shot the surrounding air toward the sky.
*Whoooosh!!*
A red wind spiraled upward.
Contained within that wind was all the residual poison of the Immortal’s Ruin and the Seven Steps Soul-Severing Powder. Engulfed by the Nine Hells Demonic Energy, the two deadly poisons would no longer function.
“There.”
As if to show off, he slung the Dragon Scale Saber over his shoulder and extended his left hand.
*Srrrr.*
The Seven Nights Saber and the Twin Meteor Sabers, which had been floating in the air, gathered before him.
Seo Ryang looked around. Everyone was watching him, but he paid their gazes no mind.
“None of the Red Snake House members have regained consciousness. They’re all lying in their buildings as if dead.”
He looked toward the inner courtyard.
“That thief bitch has collapsed too.”
Seo Ryang shrugged.
“Well, there’s no one to talk to even if I wanted to.”
He approached the Lord of the Giant Whale House.
Jong Risan flinched involuntarily.
“Lord.”
“…Speak.”
Even after saying it, Jong Risan felt a strange sense of awkwardness. A sudden thought occurred to him that he shouldn't be speaking to this person in such a manner.
“I plan to go to a nearby branch to recuperate for a while. Would you care to join me?”
He wasn’t telling him to return to the Giant Whale House, but asking him to come along.
After staring at Seo Ryang for a moment, Jong Risan finally turned around and shouted.
“The Sea King Guard and the Third Division are to return to the House.”
The demonic practitioners of the Giant Whale House were taken aback.
“My lord.”
“It is the Lord’s command. All of you, return and await orders.”
At his cold tone, the practitioners bowed their heads. They realized their lord’s mind was made up.
Seo Ryang smiled.
Jong Risan was a man with good instincts. He didn't know why Seo Ryang wanted him to come along, but he knew that there was nothing to be gained by bringing his House members with him.
“Shall we go?”
“I understand.”
Ma Dongpil approached Seo Ryang.
“Young Master.”
“You’ve worked hard.”
“Not at all. I have done nothing.”
“Nonsense. If you hadn’t escorted me this far inside, I wouldn’t have been able to eliminate them, nor would I have become this strong. You did more than your share.”
Ma Dongpil bowed his head respectfully.
“I am simply grateful.”
Seo Ryang spoke to Go Gu.
“What are you going to do?”
“What do you mean, sir?”
“The bastards who took over the Red Snake House were minions of the Sword Palace. They’re all dead, but one survived.”
“...?”
“I left the Sword Palace’s successor, the Young Palace Lord, alive.”
Go Gu’s eyes lit up.
“Excellent.”
“Take him and return to the cult. I still have things to do.”
“…I understand.”
Seo Ryang spoke to Jong Risan.
“Please leave a few of your men behind to deliver a message to the young mistress of the Red Snake House when she awakens. Can you do that?”
“Of course.”
“Good.”
After exchanging a few words with Jong Risan, Seo Ryang turned his body.
“Let’s go.”
From somewhere, Ma Dongpil produced a large black cloak and draped it over Seo Ryang’s exposed shoulders.
And so, Seo Ryang, Ma Dongpil, Jong Risan, and Geumho left the Red Snake House.
Watching them walk away, Go Gu murmured softly to himself.
“A peerless genius who has mastered the Pinnacle of the Demonic Path in his mid-twenties.”
A hint of bitterness flickered across Go Gu’s face.
“Our beginnings may have been similar… but he is so very different from me.”