The Trap Snaps Shut
At first, Hoyeon Sin hadn't even deigned to reply, his face completely expressionless. Now, however, he was showing a remarkably human reaction. It meant he was finally growing desperate.
Jekyeong spat fire at the dozens of light beams Hoyeon Sin unleashed in a fit of rage. Most of them were swept away and consumed by the Yokai Fire, but a few attacks that carried genuine weight struck Jekyeong's head and body with immense force. Scales shattered, and flesh was torn to tatters.
The enraged Hoyeon Sin spared no strength. He poured out every ounce of his power, which he was already struggling to control properly. Such reckless waste was proof that his mind was wavering.
"Khehehe." So, Jekyeong laughed. Suppressing the agonizing pain that felt as if his innards were being turned inside out, he was genuinely amused.
"The Hoyeon family will fall because of you. Every single one of you will die here. Perhaps one or two of you might luckily escape alive, but even then, nothing will change."
His malice-filled mockery pierced the ears of Hoyeon Sin and all the other cultivators of the Hoyeon family.
Whoosh! Since Hoyeon Sin had unleashed his power, Jekyeong also erupted his reserved monster power. The wall of fire, which had visibly weakened compared to the beginning, surged high once more. Hundreds, thousands of fiery tentacles whipped out, targeting the Hoyeon family cultivators.
"Ugh!" A cultivator caught in the grasp of hundreds of fiery tentacles thrashed violently.
"Aaaargh!" The thin, overlapping layers of translucent armor protecting his body shattered and melted away in an instant before the fiery tentacles.
Jekyeong watched as Hoyeon Sin rescued another cultivator who had fallen into the same predicament. He could have pressed the attack to finish them off, but he chose not to. It was a matter of conserving his monster power. The energy that had felt so abundant when the battle first began was now nearly depleted.
That wall of fire hadn't been raised merely to threaten his enemies. Hoyeon Sin mistook it for a formation, and in truth, he wasn't entirely wrong. Through that wall of fire, Jekyeong could amplify the ambient fire energy, thereby increasing the power and control of his Yokai Fire. He took pride in this technique, believing its profound nature was not inferior to a Divine Ability, but unfortunately, it had one fatal drawback: the consumption of monster power was far too immense.
It's fine. There isn't much left. He saw Hoyeon Sin panting heavily, along with the physically and mentally exhausted state of the remaining cultivators. They were worn out, and Jekyeong could feel the seeds of fear, anxiety, and doubt sprouting within their minds.
When do you plan on stepping in? Jekyeong quietly gnashed his teeth, thinking of Myeong-ha, who was undoubtedly watching this situation unfold at his leisure.
And at that very moment...
Tap! The sharp leg of a spider struck down upon the prey tightly bound in its web.
Ever since the battle began, Myeong-ha had been observing the cultivators of the Hoyeon family, waiting for even the slightest opening to present itself. At first, it was boring. His business partner, who was currently fighting a bloody battle, might have felt slighted had he known, but it couldn't be helped. To Myeong-ha, combat was a hunt, hunting was waiting, and waiting often bred boredom. He knew that if his partner collapsed, things would become complicated in many ways, but sitting idly by and just watching made him feel sluggish and restless.
Fortunately, however, the boredom did not last long. After a full day had passed, Myeong-ha's eyes widened, and he focused intently on the astonishing battle unfolding in the distance.
The Hoyeon family's side was neither surprising nor impressive. The man named Hoyeon Sin was certainly outstanding, but even so, he was merely average by the standards of a late Foundation Establishment cultivator. As for the rest of them, they weren't even worth looking at. What captured Myeong-ha's attention was his business partner.
How is that even possible? Facing seven Foundation Establishment cultivators head-on all by himself was impressive enough, but what was even more striking was his incomprehensibly powerful physical body. The way he stood firm despite being battered relentlessly for over two days was beyond amazing—it defied understanding.
Myeong-ha even suspected for a brief moment that the Hoyeon family cultivators were holding back, but he quickly dismissed the foolish thought upon remembering that they were in a position where they had to squeeze out every drop of energy they didn't even have.
What an utterly ridiculous body. He had felt it before, but his partner's way of fighting was... to put it nicely, crude, and to put it bluntly, incredibly ignorant.
Generally, unless a cultivator held an overwhelming advantage over their opponent, their combat focused more on defense than offense. They prioritized dodging, and if they couldn't dodge, they blocked. The so-called strategy of sacrificing flesh to take the bone was rarely seen. The reason was simple: a cultivator's physical body was not as strong as the power they unleashed. Attempting to sacrifice flesh would more likely result in having their bones severed as well, so they never dared to try it in the first place.
But his partner was different. He truly sacrificed flesh to take the bone. His abnormally powerful physical body made it possible. Combined with that ignorant frame, his rough and simplistic attacks—typical of the Beast Race—produced a remarkably formidable power.
Excellent. Was it thanks to his partner's hard work? He could feel the souls of the cultivators caught in his Heavenly Cursed Thread beginning to waver. As their fighting spirit crumbled and their minds shook, even the steadfast Foundation Establishment cultivators slowly began to show openings.
Should I wait a bit longer? His Spiritual Awareness captured a soul wrapped in the Heavenly Cursed Thread. It belonged to the fellow who had just witnessed his companion vanish right before his eyes. He could make a move on this one right this instant.
Hmm. But Myeong-ha hesitated. It's a bit of a waste. They weren't just random rabble. They were considered elites among the Human Race of Yang-seo-ho, so once he made a move, it would be difficult to find another opening in a short amount of time.
Well, it seems my partner can still hold out, so... Myeong-ha was an experienced hunter. And without exception, all experienced hunters possessed outstanding patience. He focused his gaze not on the prey immediately in front of him, but on the most desirable target.
Hoyeon Baek. The Young Patriarch of the Hoyeon family. The eldest son of Hoyeon Sin, who was currently flaunting the majesty of a late Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Good. The Heavenly Cursed Thread wriggled like an earthworm, gradually wrapping around the point of light that represented Hoyeon Baek's soul. It was just as Myeong-ha had expected. Even if he was the heir of the Hoyeon family, he was ultimately only an early Foundation Establishment cultivator. In the face of such a stagnant and bleak battle, he couldn't maintain a mind state of steel forever.
Tap! The moment the Heavenly Cursed Thread wrapped halfway around the point of light, the sharp tip of a leg struck down upon it.
"Ugh?!" When Hoyeon Baek suddenly turned pale and stumbled, Hoyeon Sin and Jekyeong reacted simultaneously. However, while the former's expression shifted drastically as he hesitated, the latter lunged toward Hoyeon Baek without a moment's hesitation.
"Damn it!" There was no time to think about what was happening. Hoyeon Baek instinctively threw his body aside, but even so, the distance between them did not widen. Realizing he couldn't escape, he gnashed his teeth and channeled his Dharma Power. At that, a sharp, tangible aura, like a faint line, whipped up around him.
Boom! Hoyeon Sin shot forward like an arrow. Unity of Spear and Body. At this moment, he became a single spear. His extremely condensed momentum was so fierce it seemed capable of piercing through anything that stood in his path.
However, his Unity of Spear and Body was incomplete. The swirling sharp aura affected not only his enemy but also himself to some extent. Furthermore, because he was forcing himself to maintain the state of Unity of Spear and Body, the consumption of Dharma Power was immense, and its power was somewhat inferior compared to a proper execution of the technique. Nevertheless, even this much was enough.
Hoyeon Sin believed the Black Flood Dragon would undoubtedly react. Looking at the pattern of the battle so far, the beast had clearly distinguished between attacks it could withstand and those it could not. Even an incomplete Unity of Spear and Body possessed enough power to pierce through that Black Flood Dragon's abominable body. The beast would surely know this and back away.
But Hoyeon Sin's prediction was off. The Black Flood Dragon neither stopped nor changed direction. It was as if the beast was determined to reduce their numbers by one more, no matter what.
When he realized this, Hoyeon Sin's mind grew complicated. This was his firstborn son, the successor he had raised with utmost care. Naturally, grief and anger welled up within him. Yet, at the same time, a strange sense of ecstasy reared its head. If he could sever the Black Flood Dragon's breath with this single strike, the gamble upon which his family's fate rested would succeed.
He was a father, but he was also a cultivator. Thus, the moment he sensed his son's impending death, his trembling spear tip actually grew resolute.
The distance closed in an instant. Just as he thought the Black Flood Dragon would swallow his son and his spear would pierce the back of the beast's head—
The Black Flood Dragon suddenly curled its body. Coiling itself tightly like a ball, it looked as if it were nesting.
Hoyeon Baek, who had narrowly escaped death, hastily retreated, and Hoyeon Sin's spear struck the coiled body of the Black Flood Dragon.
Screeech! A strike delivered in the state of Unity of Spear and Body was truly on another level. Unlike before, the spear dug into the Black Flood Dragon's body as if meeting no resistance at all. Though the width of the spearhead barely exceeded a hand span, the wound it carved was easily ten times larger.
Crack! Not only that, but a wide web of fractures spread out from where the spear had struck. The scales, which had only suffered minor damage even when the other Foundation Establishment cultivators poured in all their strength, now shattered and split in countless places.
"Aaaaargh!" A wretched scream of mixed pain and fury echoed. Even the Black Flood Dragon could not withstand a strike infused with the Dao Rhyme of Unity of Spear and Body, and its entire body writhed in agony.
Though he had succeeded in inflicting a heavy wound on his opponent, Hoyeon Sin could not rejoice.
Whoosh! Yokai Fire erupted explosively from the thrashing body of the Black Flood Dragon. Hoyeon Sin tried to retrieve his deeply embedded spear, but the weapon, wedged tightly within the beast's flesh, did not budge in the slightest.
"Tch!" Straining with all his might until the very moment the Yokai Fire was about to consume him, Hoyeon Sin ultimately failed to retrieve his spear and hastily retreated.
"Cough!" After putting some distance between himself and the thrashing Black Flood Dragon surrounded by Yokai Fire, he coughed up a bowlful of dark, stagnant blood. Suffering from internal injuries caused by forcing the Unity of Spear and Body, compounded by a backlash of his Dharma Power, his physical condition was now no different from that of a mortally wounded man.