Heavenly Demon's Descent
Explosions boomed one after another. The darkness itself seemed to scream and tear apart under the intersecting blasts of palm strikes and sword slashes. It was only because Gal Ye-ryeong was deftly guiding the man's sword away from Cheongpyo and Jeokjo that their blades weren't turning toward them.
Clearly, Gal Ye-ryeong was at a disadvantage. Every exchange pushed her back, proving the point. It was evidence of just how formidable this blood-robed man, dubbed a heretic priest of the Blood Cult, truly was.
Tch…
With every clash, vibrations rattled through her entire body. Even protected by her inner energy, his strikes pierced through, delivering bone-jarring shocks. It showed his inner energy cultivation wasn't low by any means. No wonder he was called a heretic priest.
Among the Blood Cult's warriors, excluding the high priests, heretic priests were mid-tier masters. Their skills reached at least the peak realm, with many at the pinnacle of maturity. Without the insights she'd gained from reading Wudang Sword Hero, Gal Ye-ryeong would have been utterly overwhelmed.
Times like this, being around Teacher Baek really pays off!
Gal Ye-ryeong cupped her hands, drawing in the man's sword strike and instantly dissolving its momentum. Using the signature technique of the Mingwang Society, Mingwang Jin-gyeol, she erased his sword intent, then swiftly crossed her palms.
Gal Ye-ryeong pushed her Red Thread Blood Shadow Art to its limit, the crimson aura enveloping her body transforming into eight serpentine forms.
Pure inner energy formed those eight snakes. Each brimmed with immense power, and since they'd taken physical shape, it was clear she'd reached the realm of manifesting heart-images through her inner energy. Yet the forms were unstable, hazy at the edges.
The blood-robed man's eyes narrowed.
"Manifesting sword aura into form? You're forcing your realm higher. To think Haomen has such forbidden arts."
The power accumulated within the body is inner strength. Transforming that accumulated merit into force yields internal force. Commonly called qi, internal force, or inner strength—the foundation of all martial prowess that murim warriors draw forth.
When that invisible power wraps around you, it's force exertion. When channeled through a weapon to make it visibly manifest to others, it becomes what we call sword qi, blade qi, and so on—collectively qi force.
The realm commonly termed sword qi formation or tangible sword qi refers to this stage. Advance further, gain full control, and you condense inner strength into condensed qi aura—wielding aura force.
A warrior's path inevitably starts from internal force and progresses to aura force. An unavoidable sequence for any who cultivate inner arts.
But manifesting aura into form, as Gal Ye-ryeong was doing? That was different.
"So?"
Gal Ye-ryeong grinned. She couldn't even handle one Blood Cult heretic priest, leaving Cheongpyo and Jeokjo on the brink, forcing her to face him alone. No time to pick and choose.
Typically, reaching the peak realm lets one wield aura force, and mastery of it marks the pinnacle. That's how the jianghu judges masters.
Manifesting aura into form? It signaled breaking past peak into super-peak. Exaggerating a bit, it meant she'd set foot on the threshold of that nebulous realm beyond even super-peak.
"I've changed my mind."
The sticky, blood-like sword qi coating the man's blade sharpened into a vivid crimson blaze, brimming with clear killing intent like roaring flames. His sword, infused with Blood Heaven Demonic Wave Art, trembled with eerie vibrations.
"I'll capture you and drag you back."
If Haomen had a forbidden art to forcibly elevate one's realm, it could yield massive gains in short decisive battles. And if taught to all Blood Cult warriors...
I could land a solid blow on that traitor.
Thinking of the Sun Moon Demon Lord, the man stepped forward. Amid the spreading net of viscous killing intent, the eight-headed serpents around Gal Ye-ryeong lashed out like whips, lunging at him.
Kwajajak.
The fangs of aura-formed snakes shredded stone and wood alike. Undeterred, they slithered like true serpents, intertwining to envelop the space around her, dominating the area.
A massive sphere of aura serpents wove together in midair. Even slashing them away with his sword only sprouted new heads like branches from a felled tree, lunging anew.
"Krraaah!"
A guttural roar erupted from the man as a scarlet flash cleaved the serpentine sphere in two. Hot on its heels came Gal Ye-ryeong's sharp cry.
Aura shards scattered like exploding embers, shredding the air into thousands of blades.
A heavy boom hurled Gal Ye-ryeong's form tumbling across the ground. Her appearance was a wreck—hair disheveled, body scratched and bleeding. Her limbs trembled faintly from the wounds.
But beyond the shattered buildings, a silhouette flickered. Dodging a blood-red slash that cleaved through the dust cloud, Gal Ye-ryeong bit her lip.
"Kekekekeke, damn wench. Did you think that would finish a heretic priest like me?"
He was a mess too. His crimson robe torn to shreds, one arm cleanly severed—yet blood from all directions swirled back, flesh regrowing grotesquely in the stump.
This was why the Blood Cult was shunned, why even the reformed Sun Moon Divine Cult—despite cutting ties with the old murim's Moon Worship Cult—was still branded demonic. Demonic powers unfit for the mortal world. Unexplainable without invoking yokai essence.
"Gal Sojeo!"
"Teacher Baek?"
"What is this... Are you alright?!"
Baek Su-gyeong's startled shout twisted Gal Ye-ryeong's face into a scowl. Why was he here, of all places? No Namgung So-min, no So Ssaang-a either.
Only then did she realize she'd been flung into the heart of the battlefield. Clashing weapons rang out everywhere, sparks flying like fireworks.
"Teacher Baek, get away...!"
"Oh, so you're Baek Su-gyeong!"
The Blood Cult heretic priest grinned ear to ear. Gal Ye-ryeong's resistance had been tougher than expected, promising a hard fight—but his prime target had waltzed right into view.
How could he not rejoice? Recovery incomplete, but snatching this one would turn the tide. The Central Plains folk treasured Baek Su-gyeong so. Capturing him would bolster the Blood Cult's forces, perhaps even conquer the Central Plains in time.
"Come quietly...!"
"Teacher Baek!"
The heretic priest lunged in an instant, so fast even Gal Ye-ryeong barely tracked him. His hand speared toward Baek Su-gyeong's throat like a hawk snatching prey.
But Baek Su-gyeong, stumbling back in apparent shock, comically toppled over. The priest's hand whistled through empty air, and as he overshot, Baek Su-gyeong's toe slammed into his groin.
"Kraaaak!"
No martial master could temper that spot. A direct kick there nearly blacked him out, momentarily forgetting his goal of capture. A building wall rushed up to meet him.
Kwajik.
Smashed into the stone like a squid on a grill. Gal Ye-ryeong grimaced at the sight.
"Of all the...?"
Coincidence? Feigned clumsiness? No time to debate. Crucially, Baek Su-gyeong had flattened the heretic priest in one go. Intentional or not, misunderstandings about him were piling up.
"Urk."
Wincing at the stinging pain in his back, Baek Su-gyeong rose. The chaos everywhere meant not everyone had witnessed it. Only Gal Ye-ryeong had clearly seen him unwittingly wall-slam the priest.
"Teacher Baek!"
"Gal Sojeo!"
Gal Ye-ryeong vaulted over in a flash, furious.
"What are you doing here?! Why didn't you run?!"
"This isn't a situation to run from. Besides, you vanished without a word!"
"I had things to—!"
The bickering pair, like lovers quarreling, ignited fury in the Blood Cult warriors' eyes.
"The heretic priest is down!"
"Revenge!"
"Kill them all!!"
Absurdly, the sight fueled their morale. Treating their still-living priest as dead, Gal Ye-ryeong let out a hollow chuckle—
Then a crushing demonic aura pressed down from above.
"Teacher!"
"Gwanju-nim!"
Namgung So-min and So Ssaang-a rushed to the fallen Baek Su-gyeong's side. Gal Ye-ryeong, still maxing her Red Thread Blood Shadow Art, slowly looked up.
Namgung So-min eyed the red aura rising from Gal Ye-ryeong, who shielded Baek Su-gyeong, with a puzzled expression—but only briefly.
"Namgung, incoming."
"That heavy demonic qi..."
The Blood Cult warriors sensed it too, gathering warily. The aura was so overwhelming, it erased the heretic priest from minds.
Baek Su-gyeong shivered with chills; So Ssaang-a fared no better.
"For the scraps of the Asura Cult to set foot in the Central Plains... How laughable."
A voice laced with cold laughter echoed, drawing every eye skyward. Its owner materialized in the air, flanked by a hundred black-robed warriors who parted like an honor guard, shouting in unison.
The left flank knelt, their chant shaking the entire arena.
"Eternal Dominion!"
The right flank knelt in response, faces hardening.
"All Peoples Bow in Awe!"
Finally, both sides chorused.
"We serve the sole sovereign of the Sun Moon Divine Cult!"
With that—
Thud.
A low footfall as the man's toe touched ground. Holding a book in one hand, lips curled in amusement, his gaze swept the Blood Cult warriors.
"Yanwang Corps."
"We await your order!"
Seo Ryang, Lord of the Sun Moon Divine Cult, grinned with volume 8 of Wudang Sword Hero in hand.
"Clear out the Asura Cult trash. They're in the way of seeing Su-gyeong."
"As you command!"
Hundreds of black-clad warriors rose in perfect unison at their lord's order, their suffocating demonic aura engulfing the arena.