Chapter 167
Chapter 167
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 167
Chapter Title: The Ghost Appears
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Like thunder shaking the heavens.
A fist like a fierce, pouring meteor.
But it was useless against Mu-heun.
After parrying all of Eon Hwa-taek's fists with one hand, Mu-heun began to overwhelm him with the tyrannical sword of the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon.
Not only that, he formed a sword seal with his fingers and struck Eon Hwa-taek’s pressure points.
*Flick! Flick!*
Striking pressure points with perfect accuracy while blocking a torrent of fists. It was a feat one wouldn't dare attempt without having reached the pinnacle of mastery, yet Mu-heun accomplished it as if it were nothing.
“Cough, ugh!”
Eon Hwa-taek’s eyes turned bloodshot as his body refused to obey him.
He struggled desperately to release the pressure points and break free. However, a sinister aura soon materialized from Mu-heun into a violet-black dragon and began to coil around Eon Hwa-taek.
“Kugh!”
Eon Hwa-taek was instantly captured by Mu-heun’s black dragon.
“As expected…”
“That man has transcended the power of the rising generation.”
“Indeed. Who would dare call him a mere prodigy? To have achieved so much at his age… he’s nothing short of a monster.”
“I agree.”
The elders marveled at Mu-heun’s skill, one after another, and some among them even acknowledged that Eon Hwa-taek was also quite strong.
Just then.
The head of the Jinju Eon Clan, Eon Jwa-ryang, shouted to Eon Hwa-taek.
“Now!”
“...!?”
Hearing Eon Jwa-ryang’s cry, the heads of the various sects and clans turned to look in his direction. Eon Hwa-taek did not miss the opening created by the distraction.
*Gurgle. Crack.*
*Crrrack, crunch! Sp-l-lit!*
Then, Eon Hwa-taek, still ensnared by Mu-heun’s black dragon, began to transform. It was a change of a different nature than a simple disguise technique. The sound of his bones twisting, flesh tearing, and skin splitting echoed out.
It was a horrifying sound that sent a chill down the spine of all who heard it. The sound of life being warped.
“Keeeheeeek!”
At the ghastly noise, an elder shouted as he looked at the stage.
“Wh-what is that?”
Everyone was watching.
But no one answered.
No, no one *could* answer.
“...!?”
“Wh-what in the…!?”
Someone turned back to Eon Jwa-ryang and said.
“Family Head Eon?”
However, Eon Jwa-ryang merely watched, his expression unchanged. It was the same for the five elders assisting him by his side.
The elders of the Eon Clan, all known to have reached the state of enlightenment or the Mastery Realm. All of them had attended this Dragon and Phoenix Assembly and followed Eon Jwa-ryang here.
Eon Hwa-taek’s skin split from head to toe, and blood poured out. Amidst the carnage, bones fell away as something emerged from within.
“Th-that’s…”
“Kuaaargh! What is that thing!?”
It was a truly grotesque sight.
At that moment, the Plum Blossom Sword Venerable, Jin Hong, and the Martial Alliance Leader, Du Baek, tried to ascend the stage.
However, Mu-heun raised a hand, refusing their intervention.
He then sent a telepathic message.
[I will handle this. It is not yet time for you two to step in.]
“…”
Du Baek and Jin Hong stared strangely at Mu-heun, who remained composed even when facing such an unknown enemy. They were also amazed by his calm judgment in a situation he was surely experiencing for the first time.
Sensing a sinister presence, Mu-heun immediately charged at Eon Hwa-taek, igniting a violet flame on his Sun and Moon Sword and striking down.
‘Heavenly Demon Slash.’
*CRASH!*
The martial stage cracked and shattered.
However.
All that remained was Eon Hwa-taek’s skin. He had been dead for some time, his skin used as a vessel… he was Eon Hwa-taek in appearance only. His true identity was, as suspected, a Skin Ghost.
But…
‘Where is it?’
The Skin Ghost had vanished, leaving only Eon Hwa-taek’s skin behind. Mu-heun began to track it, following the ghostly energy.
And then.
‘Ah!’
The ghostly energy enveloped the entire stage. By shedding its skin, the Skin Ghost that had used Eon Hwa-taek had simultaneously activated a ghostly art, using itself as a sacrifice.
The Skin Ghost, having offered itself as a tribute, instantly melted into blood and seeped into the entire stage.
Just then.
*BOOM!*
Walls of red energy erupted from all four sides of the stage where Mu-heun stood. The red walls formed an enclosure around the platform. Soon, the energy even blocked off the sky.
The perfect form of a cage.
It all happened in an instant.
Four red walls surrounding the rectangular stage.
They were crafted from a chilling energy unknown to the martial artists of the present day.
*Shimmer—*
It was a scene as if a wall of blood had enveloped the stage. It was a transparent structure, allowing a clear view of the inside, yet it covered even the ceiling, exuding an ominous aura.
‘Could it be…’
The Plum Blossom Sword Venerable, Jin Hong, and the Martial Alliance Leader, Du Baek, who were watching the scene unfold, immediately struck the red walls that had isolated Mu-heun.
However.
The sword strikes they unleashed passed right through and emerged from another red wall, hitting a completely different spot. Seeing this, Du Baek’s eyes widened.
“Sp-spatial distortion!?”
The sword attacks of two masters who had reached the Profound Realm passed straight through the red wall and emerged on the opposite side. Jin Hong approached the wall again and reached out his hand, only for it to protrude from a different wall.
In other words, no matter how profound one’s internal energy, it was impossible to inflict any damage or even enter.
“Dammit…! Is it impossible to get inside?”
Something that defied common sense had occurred.
Even in this situation, Jin Hong and Du Baek made a quick decision. The why and how of this event could be figured out later.
The incomprehensible technique and the ghost spirit that had worn human skin were beyond their ability to handle at the moment.
The only thing they could do now was to capture the elders and the head of the Jinju Eon Clan, to which Eon Hwa-taek belonged.
Just then.
“Go!”
The elders and the head of the Jinju Eon Clan charged toward the red walls surrounding the stage.
“Stop them!”
Du Baek shouted, and the leaders of the various sects and clans immediately leaped forward to intercept the Jinju Eon Clan members heading for the stage.
However, the five elders assisting Eon Jwa-ryang formed a defensive formation with fists imbued with the energy of the Mastery Realm, protecting him. All of them seemed to have reached at least the middle stage of the Mastery Realm.
But their opponents were of the same caliber. The leaders of the other sects and clans fearlessly drew their beloved weapons and countered with profound martial arts, making it impossible for the Eon Clan elders to even buy time.
At that moment.
The skin of the Eon Clan elders split open, and they began to spew massive amounts of blood.
The bizarre actions of the Eon Clan elders created a great crimson vortex, its power so immense that even masters who had reached the Mastery Realm hesitated.
An aura as chilling as the red walls.
*WHOOOOOSH!*
To the family heads, sect leaders, and elders, it seemed impossible to break through it and capture the head of the Eon Clan. The fierce blood vortex created a path, protecting Eon Jwa-ryang as he flew toward the stage.
“Dammit! They were all in on it?”
“The entire Eon Clan!?”
A clan that might have one day stood alongside the Five Great Families had been completely turned. The shock was beyond words.
The reason why Eon Jwa-ryang was rushing to the stage where Baek Mu-heun stood alone was all too clear. Considering the purpose of the tournament, it was easy to guess.
However, the strange and powerful barrier protecting him made it difficult to stop him.
Only the Plum Blossom Sword Venerable was different. He immediately rushed into the blood vortex and unleashed the Twenty-Four Plum Blossom Sword Technique.
He cut through the vortex of blood without hesitation. He slashed through the powerful energy with an even stronger force, breaking it and killing the Eon Clan elders blocking his path with single strikes.
However, just before he could catch Eon Jwa-ryang.
‘Dammit…’
Eon Jwa-ryang passed straight through the red wall and entered the stage.
‘Ah…’
Jin Hong had missed Eon Jwa-ryang by a hair's breadth.
Even Du Baek was speechless with despair.
‘No. It can’t end like this.’
And so, inside the stage enclosed by the red walls, only Baek Mu-heun and Eon Jwa-ryang remained.
“Kikikikakakakakakak!”
Left alone on the stage with Mu-heun, Eon Jwa-ryang began to laugh maniacally. It was all going according to plan. After blending in with the foolish humans, they had found one who would interfere with their grand design.
It was all thanks to that idiot, Paeng Mu-seon. Thanks to him, they found Baek Mu-heun, who was certain to obstruct their plans. They had even gotten the chance to trap and kill him using Eon Hwa-taek.
He was tired of pretending to be human.
If he killed this Baek Mu-heun here, ‘He’ would surely let him go.
“Kyakakak!”
So, how could he not laugh?
Just then, Mu-heun spoke in a chilling voice.
“What’s so funny?”
Mu-heun’s eyes, as cold as fallen frost, and his voice, laced with a fury simmering from deep within, were incredibly grating to Eon Jwa-ryang.
“A man about to die shouldn’t be so curious.”
The Skin Ghost wearing Eon Jwa-ryang’s form drew upon his internal energy, causing it to explode. Eon Jwa-ryang’s own energy was at the middle stage of the Mastery Realm. But this body was already dead.
Using his innate true energy with the resolve to perish together, it was possible to ascend to a higher realm. If he drew out his own energy and what little life force remained in the man’s body, raising him from the middle stage of Mastery to its peak was a simple matter.
*RUUUMBLE!*
His energy surged, erupting like a volcano.
“Kuhahaha, and on top of that…!”
The Skin Ghost began to devour Eon Jwa-ryang’s body from the inside, fusing with it.
*Crack! Crunch!*
Eon Jwa-ryang’s bones, flesh, and skin split and burst, and he began to transform into a hideous figure.
However, Mu-heun merely watched.
‘So that is the Skin Ghost’s true form. I should observe it.’
The Skin Ghost completely fused with Eon Jwa-ryang’s body, becoming strong enough to rival the energy of the Profound Realm.
“Kuaaaargh!”
The stage was currently experiencing spatial distortion due to the ghostly art manifested by the death of a single Skin Ghost. Although it was impossible to enter from the outside or leave, everyone could feel the energy radiating from the figure that looked like Eon Jwa-ryang.
“Kuhahahaha! How’s this!”
“…”
But Mu-heun only continued to glare with fierce eyes.
“You bastard… You may be strong, but that only works on the whelps of the younger generation.”
“…”
“We’ve already finished our investigation of your so-called Orthodox Sects. This body I’ve taken is among the strongest of you lot. After pushing it to its limits and absorbing it, I have already surpassed your power.”
Mu-heun didn’t answer the Skin Ghost’s words, merely staring with undisguised hostility.
“You bastard, still! The only ones who could truly subdue me now are, at best, the Plum Blossom Sword Venerable or the Martial Alliance Leader. In other words, you will die by my hand! Do you still not grasp the situation!?”
It was true. This creature, this Skin Ghost, was now touching upon the Profound Realm, albeit imperfectly.
If Mu-heun were to use the Divine Arts of the Heavenly Demon recklessly, he wouldn't be completely outmatched. He could probably muster a similarly incomplete power of the Profound Realm. But even so, the outcome of the fight was far from certain.
However.
Mu-heun continued to exude a savage hostility and said.
“You sure do run your mouth.”
“Wh-what?”
“Just answer the question I asked earlier.”
“The question you asked?”
“I asked what was so funny. You son of a bitch.”