Chapter 180
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 180
Chapter Title: The Best Solution (5)
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CLAAAANG!
The Dark King Sword, having deflected the hidden weapon, trembled slightly.
‘Incredible.’
The sleeve arrow, fired from over fifty yards away, was faster and stronger than a regular arrow. Moreover, it was imbued with such immense internal energy that just deflecting it sent a shock through his hand.
‘The aura of a transcendent master, comparable to one of the Seven House Lords. Could the Tang Clan Lord have come himself?’
Ma Dongpil's feet moved swiftly.
BOOM!
Reaching Yeo Gang-hui's side in an instant, he shouted.
“They're closing the distance! We need to go faster!”
A pure white, cold energy and a golden demonic energy erupted from the two.
KABOOOM!
With their newfound speed, the distance between them and the pursuing Tang Clan forces gradually widened.
Yeo Gang-hui spoke, sounding exasperated.
“They say they're the most venomous in all the Central Plains, and here they are, attacking without even assessing the situation.”
“They must have sensed my demonic energy.”
Seeing the Tang Clan group get within a certain distance, they had intended to signal Seo Ryang.
But just before they could, they were attacked by the Tang Clan. Their hidden weapons, fired from dozens of yards away, were impossible to easily dodge or block.
“What should we do?”
“At this rate, we'll have to use a shockwave...”
It was then.
BOOOOM!
In the distance, a massive pillar of fire shot up from the Forest of Ten Thousand Demons.
Even from this far away, the fiery energy was so immense it sent shivers down their spines. And even more intense than the fire was a bloodlust and demonic energy that made their hair stand on end.
Yeo Gang-hui's eyes widened.
“A fire bomb...?!”
“No.”
Ma Dongpil's eyes grew heavy.
“That is the Young Master's martial art.”
Yeo Gang-hui's face was a mask of shock. He couldn't believe a human was capable of wielding such a technique.
‘This is bad. No matter how high the humidity, a fire of that magnitude will dry out the area in an instant. The entire Forest of Ten Thousand Demons could burn down.’
Of course, the Young Master will control the range. But the flame itself was proof that the situation over there was anything but ordinary.
FWIIIISH!
From behind them, two hidden weapons shot forward at a terrifying speed. Ma Dongpil and Yeo Gang-hui took a step to the side.
THWACK!
Even though the distance had increased, the power of the hidden weapons was undiminished.
White smoke billowed from the hidden weapons embedded deep in a giant tree. They had attached poison sacs to them.
KABOOM!
Holding their breath, the two unleashed their internal energy. Their only option now was to run toward that place.
How long did they run?
KABOOOM!
A massive explosion erupted, powerful enough to shake the entire mountain.
The pillar of fire that had been shooting into the sky swirled into a vortex and vanished. A powerful shockwave had been generated from within.
Ma Dongpil's face filled with shock.
‘How can this be?!’
Having witnessed Seo Ryang's martial arts many times, he could instantly tell that the power of the Ultimate Avici Saber had been artificially dispersed.
The shimmering golden demonic energy grew even denser.
FWAAASH!
Ma Dongpil's movements became urgent.
At that moment.
CRUMBLE...
Beneath the vanished flames, shattered rocks rained down everywhere.
Tssssss!
On the scorched black earth, a fully coiled Cheonho was trembling violently. And in front of him, the half-burnt corpse of Gwi-eung lay sprawled.
Seo Ryang's eyes flashed.
‘What?’
Cheonho's right arm, tattered with burns and sword wounds, was healing at a visible rate.
‘The Demonic Transformation Art!’
The speed at which a body heals depends on the nature of its ki. Of course, a higher density of ki didn't necessarily mean faster healing.
Grrrrr!
From the bottom of the cliff, the Tiger King's roar could be heard. The blood-soaked killing intent was even thicker than before.
Just then, a strange groan was heard.
Seo Ryang turned to see the woman who had been lying quietly behind Geumho, now sitting up and clutching her head.
“Ugh... my head.”
The woman shook her head, and her gaze fell upon Seo Ryang.
Her eyes widened.
“Who are you?”
The tension suddenly dissipated.
Seo Ryang grumbled.
“Never mind that, just stay unconscious.”
He raised his index finger. He intended to strike her fainting acupoint with a finger gust.
At that moment, a look of horror spread across the woman's face.
“Huh? Huh?”
She shot to her feet.
“That son of a bitch!”
A thunderous curse erupted from the lips of the dizzyingly beautiful woman. Even the great Seo Ryang was momentarily stunned by the strange dissonance.
“What the hell did you do to my head! Ah, it's throbbing.”
Curiosity flared, but now was not the time to indulge it.
Seo Ryang flicked his finger.
Thump!
“Guhaa...”
With a strange groan, the woman collapsed. Seeing her fall with the whites of her eyes showing was strangely eerie.
‘A peculiar one, indeed.’
Seo Ryang turned back to Cheonho. Cheonho was still crouched, radiating a powerful aura.
‘In any case, I can't just leave him be.’
He's showing a clear opening. I can't pass up such a good opportunity.
Seo Ryang kicked off the ground.
FWAAASH!
Closing the distance in an instant, he swung the Dragon Scale Saber.
Just as the heavy blade reached an inch above the crown of Cheonho's head.
CLANG!
Seo Ryang retreated frantically.
‘...!’
His expression hardened.
‘What?’
His hand trembled from the tremendous impact. The Dragon Scale Saber, which should have cleaved Cheonho in two, had been sent flying over ten yards away, where it now stuck out of the ground.
‘A palm technique?’
No.
‘He just slapped it away with his hand. And yet the impact was this strong...’
Cheonho was still crouched. He looked the same as before, except for his right arm, which hung limply, its shoulder dislocated from striking Seo Ryang's Dragon Scale Saber.
But that was only for a moment.
CRACK! CRUNCH!
His right arm twitched erratically, and the dislocated shoulder snapped back into place.
‘He didn't do it consciously. The Demonic Transformation Art manifested subconsciously and reset his arm on its own.’
The light in Seo Ryang's eyes flickered.
“Honestly, one guy's as bad as the next.”
I don't know what kind of Demonic Transformation Art he's using. But one thing was certain.
Cheonho used his disciple as a stepping stone for his own growth. The shriveled state of Gwi-eung's burnt corpse was proof. It seemed his life force had been drained as well.
‘Is it similar to Gwan Pyeong's technique?’
To take another's power as one's own without any side effects.
It was a more advanced technique than even the Essence-Devouring Demonic Art. Of course, I'll have to wait and see if there are any side effects.
Vwoooom.
The distant Dragon Scale Saber appeared in his right hand, and the long, sleek Seven Nights Saber in his left.
“You bastards, you think martial arts are that easy!”
FWAAASH!
Approaching Cheonho once more, he swung the Dragon Scale and Seven Nights sabers. A tremendous vortex of saber wind swirled from the two deliberately swung blades.
KRA-KA-KOOM!
It seemed he couldn't block the emission of saber ki. Covered in sword wounds, Cheonho coughed up blood and tumbled across the ground.
Seo Ryang did not let his guard down.
A situation he couldn't comprehend was unfolding. He had no intention of being caught off guard by complacency.
BAM! BA-BAM!
The Dragon Scale Saber and the Seven Nights Saber were swung like mad. Cheonho's body was constantly jolted by the ruthless saber wind and saber ki.
Seo Ryang's eyes wavered.
‘As I thought.’
His skin was cut, and his muscles were torn. Dozens of sword wounds were etched across his body like a net.
That was the problem.
He had unleashed dozens of strikes, each capable of easily splitting a boulder. And yet, his body wasn't being torn apart. In fact, the wounds were even fading with time.
‘It's like he has an Adamantine Body.’
Just then, the Tiger King's roar echoed from the distance.
ROOOOAR!!
It was louder than any roar it had let out before. The shockwave was so powerful that even Seo Ryang flinched.
SHUDDER!
The beasts attacking the Hundred Kings Guard faltered and retreated.
FWAAASH!
The Tiger King launched itself.
Its massive body kicked off the cliff and leaped in an instant. Its weight was enough to shake the cliff, yet it scaled the great height in just five steps.
Whoosh.
Soaring high into the sky, the Tiger King opened its maw wide and charged at Seo Ryang. It looked ready to swallow him whole.
In that moment, Geumho's five-colored eyes flashed.
Geumho, who had been sitting and looking down the cliff, vanished from its spot.
KABOOM!
The Tiger King, about to devour Seo Ryang, was sent flying sideways. Geumho had appeared out of nowhere and rammed into it.
RUMBLE!
The impact of the thousand-pound behemoth tumbling to the ground was immense. The ground where the Tiger King had rolled cracked and splintered.
Grrr.
Geumho stood before the Tiger King and bared its teeth.
Grrr.
Shaking its head, the Tiger King got up, its red eyes blazing. Its massive fangs glinted white in the sunlight.
FWAAASH!
Geumho charged.
Its speed was truly incredible. Moving like lightning, Geumho rammed the Tiger King and then swiped at its head with a forepaw.
The Tiger King didn't just stand there. It swung its massive forepaws mercilessly, striking at Geumho with a sound that tore through the air.
BAM! KABOOM! THWACK!
The sounds of paws striking and heads colliding were nothing short of explosive.
A head-on clash between the golden divine beast and the black-and-yellow demonic beast. A bloody life-or-death battle between beasts, the likes of which would never be seen in the wild, was unfolding.
Th-th-thump!
At the same time, the members of the Hundred Kings Guard scaled the cliff. They seemed exhausted from the bloody battle, their breathing uneven, but their ferocious momentum was unchanged.
Seo Ryang let out a short sigh.
“I wanted a chaotic battle, but not like this.”
Grip.
Veins bulged on the back of the hand gripping the Dragon Scale Saber.
“Palace Lord!”
“Kill him!”
The Hundred Kings Guard charged, shouting.
Seo Ryang's gaze turned cold.
FLASH! SPLAAAT!
With a single strike, a dozen members of the Hundred Kings Guard were sliced in two.
Fwhoosh.
Using telekinesis to pull the fallen woman, Yeo Sang-rin, toward him, Seo Ryang threw the Dragon Scale Saber.
The spinning Dragon Scale Saber swept through the Hundred Kings Guard. It was the final form of the Heaven-Sundering Three Sabers: Whirling Rend.
WHIIIIR! SHL-SHL-SHLKT!
A spray of blood erupted. Severed limbs and chunks of flesh flew in all directions.
But the Hundred Kings Guard did not stand idle. Their Palace Lord's life was on the line. They could not give up, even if their opponent was a peerless master.
Vwoooom!
The explosive force unleashed by the fifty remaining members of the Hundred Kings Guard.
He could scoff and cut down one or two, but even Seo Ryang could not ignore the combined force of fifty masters. Their joint attack, honed from the same martial art and internal energy, was powerful enough to bind the attention of even a master who had reached the pinnacle of demonic arts.
“Shit.”
THUD!
Drawing power from a ground stomp, Seo Ryang unleashed the Thunderbolt Fist. The attack's range was too wide to block with his saber.
KABOOOM!
The Hundred Kings Guard faltered. Seo Ryang, too, lost his balance for a moment and staggered.
Th-th-thump!
The Hundred Kings Guard charged again. Their flushed red faces and ragged breathing showed they were far from normal. They were advancing with their lives on the line.
Seo Ryang's face twisted.
“...These bastards are really...!”
VWOOOOOM!
The Dragon Scale Saber and the Twin Meteor Sabers floated above his head. No one saw when he had pulled them with telekinesis.
Tszzt-tszzt.
An extraordinary demonic energy gathered on the three blades.
The ultimate destructive power: Phantom Soul Ascension. He intended to wipe them all out, despite the extreme consumption of internal energy.
It was then.
‘...!’
A familiar aura, and an unfamiliar poisonous presence, approaching from the distance.
FWAAASH!
Quickly slinging Yeo Sang-rin over his shoulder, Seo Ryang shouted.
“Geumho!”
BOOOOM!
After landing a powerful blow on the Tiger King's face, Geumho instantly appeared before Seo Ryang.
Seo Ryang forced Yeo Sang-rin into Geumho's mouth. As if understanding his intent, Geumho relaxed its jaw.
“Shit, I kept my promise anyway, icicle.”
He slapped Geumho's back. Geumho glanced back at the Tiger King with a look of regret, then plunged into the forest.
ROOOAR!
The roar of the bloodied Tiger King, the charge of the panting Hundred Kings Guard, and the gradually stabilizing condition of Cheonho.
Gripping the Seven Nights Saber in a reverse hold, Seo Ryang growled.
“Since it's come to this, I'll deal with the Tang Clan separately.”
FWHOOOOSH!
Demonic energy, flaring up like a flame, was imbued into the Seven Nights Saber.
CRUNCH!
Seo Ryang stabbed the Seven Nights Saber into the ground.
The solution to this unexpected predicament was to force everyone onto the gambling table, with their lives as the stakes.
As the Nine Hells Demonic Art was pushed to its absolute limit.
FLASH!
At last, Cheonho's eyes opened.
Seo Ryang grinned.
“Too late, Mr. Meow.”
The Nine Hells demonic energy contained in the Seven Nights Saber spread throughout the ground.
KABOOOOOOOM!!
The entire ground on the clifftop collapsed.
