Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Busted?
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Caught, huh?
Oh dear...
Tried to hide it, but no dice.
Caught, huh?
"What kind of nonsense is this? If my name's Yeon Un-hwi, then yours must be Destiny, right?"
"Don't play dumb like you don't get it!!"
Rumble!
A blizzard whipped up around Gu Min-chae, shoving the entire snowy plain aside.
Tsss...!!
A fierce aura swirled around him.
"At first, I just thought you were some unlucky bastard with a crappy name and the same bad fate! Then I figured you knew way too much about the Divine Cult for it to be normal! Hell, you even rescued the devotees of the Angma Mythical Beast Sect!!"
"...."
"But now I see it clear as day!"
The sword in his grip trembled violently.
It was as white as the snowfield, making the demonic energy flowing along the blade feel all the more sinister.
The North Sea Sect's greatest treasure—one that had earned him the overly grand moniker of Seven Strokes Life-Stealer—the Demon Blade Life-Stealer.
Forged by fusing and carving dozens of millennium ice crystals, it was an elixir I absolutely had to claim, given my lacking inner energy.
*The North Sea Sect's millennium ice crystals are considered the finest among all ice crystals in the world—*
*Warriors who wield yin-cold arts have always bowed to the North Sea Sect because of them, no choice.*
*Even Black Bone Ghost Valley pledged loyalty after getting nabbed by them—for that very reason, no?*
Six years ago, those ice crystals had been a huge boon to me too.
The sorceries I wielded all carried yin attributes, after all.
I'd granted their requests more than a few times because of it.
Good thing I held the Vice Cult Leader position; otherwise, they might've used me endlessly.
And now.
I needed those ice crystals again.
To cultivate the Heavenly Demon's Vast Heart Art, I required that much inner energy.
And here was an ice crystal right in front of me?
The finest kind, a North Sea millennium ice crystal, no less?
Ah, no way I can pass this up.
Not a chance.
"That cocky attitude, speech, gaze, habits, even your walk... If you're not Yeon Un-hwi, then what the hell are you!!"
But here's where the problem hit.
Gu Min-chae making his move was fine.
But what if he wouldn't give me a chance to separate from him?
What if he was only focused on avenging Baek Mountain and had no intention of dragging me off somewhere private?
Then that Life-Stealer Blade might end up in some other bastard's hands.
At least if it fell to Dang Gon or another Right Wind Pavilion agent, I'd count my blessings.
I could lure them and snatch it midway.
But if it went to some other sect's hands, or some guy I barely knew claimed it as spoils? Disaster.
To me, the Life-Stealer was just an elixir, but to others, it'd be an unparalleled divine weapon.
So I had to lay another scheme atop the board I'd set with Lord Jeon Je-gal.
One only Gu Min-chae would notice.
Doubts about my true identity.
*The Seven Strokes Life-Stealer has harbored a massive inferiority complex toward you from way back—*
*He probably thought the fortified Nine Dragons Branch Family kidnapping was his ploy to draw you out, but it was all in your palm in the end—*
*Toss out some bait, and he'd bite on his own, we figured—*
*Gah! What a monster catch—*
*Even us watching from the sidelines get this thrill; wonder what it's like for you, Vice Leader.*
*Now I get why you fish for humans so damn often.*
This area was sealed in the North Wind Cold Ice Jade Formation anyway.
No worries about word leaking out.
So no need for me to keep up the annoying act.
"Hey, frozen corpse. I've got something I've been wondering about—"
Gu Min-chae's rage-filled eyes went even wider.
Frozen corpse.
The nickname I'd often teased him with.
His pale face and skinny frame made him look like a walking corpse, even alive.
It was as good as admitting I was Yeon Un-hwi.
"You wanted my seat that bad?"
"!!"
Gu Min-chae's face hardened instantly.
"Well, isn't that the truth? All this rampaging, barging into the Central Plains where you never cared before, flailing to catch the North Sea Sect Leader's eye. Hell, even now with your inferiority complex exploding at me—it's all 'cause you covet my spot, right?"
I curled one lip in a sneer.
"Why didn't you just say so sooner? Who knows? Maybe after I became Cult Leader, I'd have put you there. Should've wagged that tail of yours."
"...You ran away with your tail between your legs, and now you say that crap—"
"So the guy who tucked tail and fled ends up taking the warm seat I kept cozy?"
"...."
"Couldn't hack it, huh? Knew you couldn't. Otherwise, you wouldn't be racing around a dump like this."
"...Don't talk like you know shit."
Crunch!
*He's gonna pop a vein and fall to qi deviation from sheer fury?*
*Dumbass thinks he can win a war of words with the Vice Leader.*
*You think anyone spent the last six years pounding his solar plexus with words like our Vice Leader?*
The wraiths cackled.
I laughed right back.
"So who ended up in that seat now? Hyeok Wol? Gye Ryeong? You were always a step behind those guys, cracking pumpkin seeds from the back."
"Yeon Un-hwiiiiii!!"
Boom!
Gu Min-chae couldn't hold back anymore and stomped the ground hard.
Snow shot up over ten張 high.
The blizzard intensified, thickening the demonic energy on the Life-Stealer Blade.
Whoa, scary.
But unlike my grinning face, I calmly faced him down.
His current realm was peak transcendent entry: Three Flowers Gather at the Summit.
Even a loser bundled up in inferiority complexes, the guy had been one of the Divine Cult's top prodigies for a reason—raw talent and thirst for martial arts.
He hadn't just lounged around eating for six years; his aura was far stronger, too much for my current self to handle comfortably.
So only one way for me to stand against him here.
Flip this board in my favor.
"Stupid punk, you suspected me but still lured me into your formation. That's why you'll never make it."
The Purple Demon Eye flipped.
Ghost King's Purple Writ
Demon Eye: Purple Delusion Shift
The moment I flung open my upper dantian with all my might, the world inverted.
Ownership of the North Wind Cold Ice Jade Formation fell wholly into my hands.
The snow wind now flowed not toward me, but toward Gu Min-chae, and one by one, the blade ghosts hidden across the snowfield revealed themselves.
The pristine white snowfield was gone.
Only a pitch-black dead zone remained.
Groooan...!
Kieeeek!
Eerie wails like ghosts and specters trapped in hell echoed out.
—Evil Ghost Hell Array.
A formation and ghost arts array I'd often used in my past life.
With my Ghost King Purple Writ realm elevated, I could deploy it again.
Flash! Flash flash flash!
Despite the sudden formation shift, the blade ghosts showed no panic, hurling themselves at me.
They knew giving me time would only hurt them.
Seventeen blade ghosts in total.
The sight of ice ghosts charging me en masse with Gu Min-chae was enough to raise goosebumps.
But I'd already laced the snow wind with ghost fog, blowing wraith poison all over their bodies.
Feeling their power wane, I unleashed the Threefold True Qi in unison.
Boom!
Whoooosh...!
Ghost King Purple Writ sorcery, Black Dragon Qi Art's yin qi, Venom Dragon Heart Formula's inner energy—all merged, amplifying dozens of times over.
My robe dyed an ominous purple, an evil ghost silhouette manifesting on my back.
Clad in the Evil Ghost Battle Robe, I scourged the evil ghost-choked land.
Kaaaaboom!
I appeared before the lead blade ghost in an instant.
Screeech!
It swung its blade with full force.
Frostwhite Divine Sword.
Same technique Baek Mountain used.
Meaning this one's skill was on par with his.
But the difference between then-me and now-me? I wielded a sword.
And that difference was huge.
Like two different people.
Why?
Simple.
I was now the true successor, carrying my master's legacy.
They had no clue what it meant to inherit the Divine Sword Heavenly Demon lineage.
Slash!
Fear Wind Sword burst into the air.
A single flash deflected the blade ghost's sword.
A strike laden with valorous might.
"!"
The blade ghost's eyes widened as its hood tore.
I smirked.
"Surprised by this?"
My smile twisted into an evil ghost's grin.
"It's just the start."
Swish swish swish—
Fear Wind Sword whipped endlessly.
Sharp sword winds flashed, hacking the blade ghost's sword and arms nonstop until it finally decapitated it.
Splaaat!
"One down."
Flash flash flash!
Others lunged from both sides.
I blocked one with Fear Wind Sword, spun to cave in another's chest with a left palm.
The two lifeless blade ghosts crumpled.
"Three down."
Despite losing three in seconds, the rest kept their sharp momentum.
Ice-cold rational soldiers, born without emotion.
No trace of feeling.
They circled me.
Sensing my superior strength, shifting to wheel tactics.
But I wasn't about to let that slide.
"Hup—!"
One breath, and I etched dozens, hundreds of flashes in the air.
Fear Wind Sword wove countless sword qi like warp and weft, binding into one.
"I-is that—"
Gu Min-chae, realizing what it was, yelled urgently.
"No! Everyone, dodge—"
No time to hear him.
Mara had already blanketed the world.
Rumble! Boom! Boom!
Splatter splatter splatter!
Hundreds of flashes slamming down en masse—an overwhelming slaughter show.
Over a dozen blade ghosts exploded like fireworks.
Flesh sprayed, brains spilled. Blood pooled on the ground.
*Is elsewhere hell, or is this hell itself—*
*Blade ghosts can't escape the evil ghost's clutches; true to their name, they'll become ghosts and return to hell—*
Only the wraiths' sorrowful curses mixed with mockery and lament flowed like a river.
Spurt!
The few surviving blade ghosts toppled like rice stalks, necks severed by the oncoming sword wind.
*Hoo, what a massive haul after so long?*
*What're you waiting for, kid! Recruit the newbies!*
*Woooo! Newbies incoming! Newbies raining down!!*
In this hell, only two still breathed: me and Gu Min-chae.
"!!!"
Amid the chaos, Gu Min-chae's Life-Stealer—aimed at my neck—was blocked by Fear Wind Sword's forefront.
I grinned at his shock-frozen face.
"Wasting a fine blade like this. You're as hopeless as ever."
In Gu Min-chae's pupils.
Me, grinning ferociously like an evil ghost.
"So I'll put it to good use."
I swung Fear Wind Sword.
Slice!
Sword wind sheared off his right arm.
I thrust my left hand toward the flying Life-Stealer.