Chapter 75
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 75
Chapter Title: I Closed the Door, Not Knowing the Demon Had Escaped (5)
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Ma Dongpil's face filled with surprise and emotion.
"Young Master!"
Seo Ryang didn't look at him. His gaze was fixed on the distant hill.
Dressed in his usual white robes. The sleeves were soaked in blood of unknown origin, and in his hand was a longsword shimmering with a faint, precious light.
"Jeong Illyong."
The Grand Elder of the Righteous Heaven Alliance, finally in sight.
The bastard who had blown off his right leg, his eyes gleaming with greed, was right there.
*Crackle! Flash!*
Demonic energy surged without conscious effort.
The hair on his head stood on end. Fury toward his foe made the skin beneath his eyes burn. He wanted to rush over and tear the man to shreds right this instant.
*Clang!*
Seo Ryang drew his sword and aimed it at Jeong Illyong. The blade, five feet long and three or four times as thick as a standard broadsword, exuded an incredible power.
The killing intent emanating from its tip screamed a single purpose.
‘Just you wait.’
Jeong Illyong's expression hardened with each passing moment.
Yullang frowned.
"A demonic practitioner."
A young man generating intimidating bolts of lightning.
Was it because of the suppressed killing intent, or his youthful appearance? Yullang judged him to be dangerous, but not enough to change the tide of the battle.
"I don't know where you popped out from, but if you're a demonic practitioner too..."
*Thwack!*
Yullang's eyes widened as if they would tear.
"What are these bastards? Why are they so tough?"
Seo Ryang massaged his right wrist with his left hand. As his hand flexed, the large sword bobbed in tandem.
And that sword was drenched in crimson blood. In an instant, he had moved to the rear and lopped off the head of a Blood Wolf.
Ma Dongpil stared blankly. The fallen Juhwa, as well as the transport unit and the Protectors, gaped in astonishment.
‘H-how?’
The bodies of those red wolves were as hard as steel. They were monsters that could barely be scratched even with a sword.
Weren't they beasts that even a peak master would struggle against?
To sever such a wolf's head in a single strike? Even with a heavy weapon, was that even possible?
But their surprise was nothing compared to Yullang's.
"...What?"
Even with his eyes wide open, he hadn't seen how the man moved. Though not yet perfected, he had effortlessly decapitated a Blood Wolf trained with the Beast King's Arts.
‘A master!’
*Whimper.*
The Blood Wolves lowered their heads and backed away.
This too was astonishing. These beasts would charge into a sea of fire if commanded, yet now they were retreating in fear.
Seo Ryang frowned.
"All bark and no bite. Just big dogs."
Wrong. Blood Wolves were not creatures that feared the death of their kin. Besides, they were spiritually connected to Yullang. Therefore, it wasn't Seo Ryang they feared.
*Rustle.*
A fox had appeared at Seo Ryang's feet.
Boasting a soft golden sheen, Geumho's eyes glowed with five colors as it watched the wolves.
Its usual cuteness was gone. A profound dignity emanated from Geumho as it surveyed its surroundings, its tail as large as its body swaying gently. Even a human would feel their legs tremble.
*Vwoom.*
Seo Ryang gripped his sword in a reverse hold.
"In any case, I can't just leave you be."
*Crackle!*
A red glow coursed along the blade.
Startled, Yullang moved.
"You bastard!"
*Fwoosh!*
Yullang charged at Seo Ryang at high speed, but the sword had already left Seo Ryang's hand, spinning rapidly towards the Blood Wolves.
*Thwack-thwack-thwack-thwack!*
Ten large wolf heads shot into the sky. It was the final form of the Heaven-Sundering Three Sabers, Whirlwind Rend.
*Pow!*
Simultaneously, Yullang's fist flew toward Seo Ryang's face.
Seo Ryang scoffed.
*Crack!*
"Kuh!"
Yullang stumbled back to the left.
‘Heavy!’
A single kick had sent his massive body flying ten feet to the side. If he hadn't instinctively defended, all the ribs on his right side would have been shattered.
*Clang!*
The sword, having decapitated ten wolves, returned to Seo Ryang.
*Shiver.*
The Blood Wolves trembled.
Seo Ryang nodded.
"Good, stay just like that."
*Vwoooosh!*
The greatsword spun and flew again.
Once again, Yullang couldn't block the merciless attack.
*Sploosh!*
Gushing blood soaked the ground, and headless bodies collapsed in a heap.
With two moves, over twenty Blood Wolves had met their end. It was hard to believe these were the same monsters that had just been overwhelming more than eighty demonic practitioners.
An utterly anticlimactic death.
*Crackle!*
Lightning flashed from Seo Ryang's body once more.
It wasn't killing intent, but demonic energy sparking from excessive internal energy consumption. Slaying over twenty Blood Wolves in just two moves was no easy feat, even for him.
"I've seen some strange monsters in my life, but these take the cake."
Seo Ryang turned his gaze to Yullang.
Yullang flinched. His opponent had amply proven his strength with two sword techniques and one kick. It was difficult to attack recklessly.
"But what are you? You're damn huge."
"..."
"Then again, what's the point of exchanging names with someone I'm about to kill?"
It wasn't indifference, nor was it a sneer. He was utterly nonchalant, as if he were just talking about chopping firewood for the night.
A languid ease that tore a man's pride to shreds.
"...How dare you."
*Hiss!*
A feral, gamey scent emanated from Yullang's body, along with a primal ferocity one would only expect from an actual beast.
His eyes flashed.
*Flash!*
The one survivor, the Blood Wolf Alpha, leaped toward Seo Ryang's back at a terrifying speed. The plan was to use the Alpha as bait to create an opening and attack.
Just then, the bridge of Geumho's nose wrinkled menacingly.
「*Kaaaaang!!*」
"Gah!"
"Ugh!"
"Aaargh!"
Every demonic practitioner in the area clutched their ears and ducked.
Geumho's roar, clear and explosive, spread out.
*Crunch!*
The Blood Wolf Alpha, which had been leaping with its jaws wide open, rolled its eyes back and collapsed. It had been running so fast that its two front legs broke the moment it hit the ground.
*Slink.*
Geumho walked up to the Alpha, sat down, and snorted. It had upheld the pride of a true spirit beast, one worthy of being called a Beast God.
*Drip.*
Blood trickled from Yullang's lip. He had bitten it without realizing.
‘That beast?’
Seo Ryang's presence was so overwhelming that he had only just noticed it. And now that he had, an unbelievable shock washed over him.
Geumho looked at Yullang.
*Flinch!*
Yullang instinctively took a step back.
The pair of five-colored eyes radiated a divine light, far surpassing the realm of mere beasts.
‘This is no ordinary beast. No, it's not a beast at all, merely wearing the guise of one.’
Yullang's face turned pale.
‘A spirit beast?!’
A true spirit beast, the kind only talked about by gossiping storytellers. It was clearly a divine or demonic beast from myths and legends, capable of performing all sorts of miracles.
‘Such a creature actually exists?’
The Beast Palace, which went beyond communing with beasts to dominate and breed them, creating beings that were halfway to becoming spirit beasts themselves.
This creature was incomparable to any of the beasts from the Beast Palace.
Even the Tiger King, which communed with the current Palace Lord, seemed shabby in comparison. And this fox was still just a cub.
Seo Ryang smiled.
"So you really aren't just an ordinary fox."
He was completely unaffected by Geumho's roar, which would make any living creature, regardless of species, tremble in fear.
It wasn't because he was strong, but because he shared his ki with Geumho.
"Well, we can talk about this later."
*Sizzle!*
White smoke rose from the greatsword.
Seo Ryang's eyes flashed.
"Now, once I clean you up too..."
"Who are you."
"What?"
Yullang shouted.
"Just what is your identity! What are you that you travel with a monster like that?!"
It was a shout close to a roar. But his voice was trembling violently.
The corners of Seo Ryang's mouth lifted.
"I said I wouldn't be exchanging names."
*Fwoosh!*
Seo Ryang leaped at Yullang in a single bound.
Due to the excessive consumption of internal energy, he couldn't reach his previous speed. But the level of his martial arts and his blazing killing intent were unchanged.
His very approach was a threat, a terror.
Yullang shouted once more.
"You bastard!"
*Wham!*
Vicious true energy streamed from the fists of Yullang as he charged to meet him.
A greatsword the size of a man's torso and a giant fist the size of a child's head exploded against each other.
*BOOM!*
With a loud explosion, Yullang staggered back.
A fairly deep sword wound was carved into his fist. The shock traveled from his fist up to his elbow and shoulder, making his whole body creak.
Yullang, about to press forward, flinched at a sudden pain shooting up from his ankle. The impact had reached his lower body.
‘This!’
He had prided himself on being second to none in strength, save for the Tyrant Bear Clan, but he had been mistaken. This wasn't a matter of internal energy or skill; he was purely outmatched in strength.
*Vwoom!*
Yullang lifted his head.
Unlike him, who had taken the brunt of the impact, his opponent showed no signs of strain as he rose into the air and immediately brought his massive sword crashing down.
Yullang threw out both palms. There was no time to even let out a kiai.
*CRASH!*
His body was thrown backward. It was a blow he simply couldn't withstand.
*Splat!*
As Yullang retreated, vomiting blood, he saw that Seo Ryang had already closed the distance and was right in front of him.
‘Th-this...!’
What kind of maniac fights without even breathing?
‘Hup!’
*THUD!*
He sustained internal injuries just from planting his feet to brace himself. That's how great the impact was, and it was also a sign that he had to do so just to block his opponent.
Having steadied himself, Yullang immediately swung his fist.
*Whoooosh!*
The air seemed to be sucked in by the massive fist. It was the fist art Yullang was most confident in, the Southern Wolf Divine Fist.
Seo Ryang's eyes glinted.
*F-f-f-flicker!*
Yullang's eyes went wide.
Before the fist wind of the Southern Wolf Divine Fist could even be unleashed, Seo Ryang's body scattered like a ghost. The Nine Heavens Earth-Shrinking Step had manifested.
*BOOM!*
The powerful fist wind gouged a crater in the earth.
‘Where?!’
*THWACK!*
Yullang's mouth fell open.
The pain was so intense that he couldn't even scream. A single kick had folded his waist in half. Strength drained from his limbs, and even his dantian felt paralyzed.
*Thunk.*
The heavy blade touched the nape of his neck.
"Now I remember. The mysterious sect that commands beasts, one of the strongest factions beyond the Central Plains, comparable to the great sects within it."
Seo Ryang grinned.
"The Southern Barbarian Beast Palace... Then again, it has nothing to do with me."
"Cough!"
"Farewell."
Words utterly devoid of mercy.
Yullang hurriedly raised his head. He wanted to say, *wait a moment, I'm not ready yet.*
But Seo Ryang's sword strike was as merciless as his words.
*Slice! Fwoosh!*
Blood spewed from the severed neck like a fountain.
It was an anticlimactic end for Yullang, the successor candidate of the Beast Palace who had incapacitated Juhwa in a single blow and seized control of the battlefield in an instant.
He died without ever getting to use his prized technique, the Heavenly Wolf Eye.
A fight between a successor candidate of the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon and a successor candidate of the Beast Palace.
The outcome was decided far too easily. It was an overwhelming victory for Seo Ryang, as if to declare the difference in level between the two factions.
Naturally, Seo Ryang felt nothing about this fight. He had only intervened and wiped them out because Ma Dongpil was about to die; his true objective lay elsewhere from the start.
Ma Dongpil staggered over.
"Young..."
In that instant, his face turned pale.
Once again, Seo Ryang did not look at him.
His eyes were focused on only one place: the old man standing on the hill, looking down at him.
With the demonic eyes of a death god—fierce like the first time Ma Dongpil had felt a chill from him, no, far more vicious and heated than before.
He glared. At one of his many enemies.
*Billow.*
Rising killing intent, surging demonic energy, and waves of power spreading in all directions.
"Jeong Illyong!!"
It was a shout filled with overwhelming rage. Standing on the hill, Jeong Illyong flinched involuntarily.
As Seo Ryang grinned, revealing his white teeth, the illusion of a demon flickered across his face.
He had closed the Ghost Gate to the Underworld prison again, but the demon that had escaped when it opened was still melded into his very presence.
"I've waited a long time, you son of a bitch!"
*KWAAANG!*
Seo Ryang's charge began, faster and more furious than ever before.