Chapter 94: Yin Blood Heaven-Shaking Dance
Darkness had undoubtedly blanketed Jan Hon Do.
And yet, an ominously vivid red energy covered the entire world.
Yin Blood Heaven-Shaking Dance.
The ultimate blood art that made the world and heavens tremble with blood.
All that red energy had erupted from Jin Yeong Ryeong. It pulsed explosively like a beating heart, expanding and contracting in rhythm.
Sa Wol leaped back to evade it, positioning herself in front of Sado Hwan to block his path.
"Ahh... this is no fun at all. Sado Family Head."
The verbal tics she'd used moments ago were gone; now Jin Yeong Ryeong spoke in full, coherent sentences. Her voice was eerie and sticky-sweet. Just her words alone carried a thick stench of blood that assaulted the nose.
"Family Head, are you all right?"
"I'm fine."
"I'll handle this."
Sado Hwan nodded. Sa Wol gripped her dagger tightly.
He must have called me specifically... to give me this chance.
Sa Wol thought to herself.
Sado Hwan existed in a realm so lofty she couldn't even dream of grasping it. She was certain he could easily defeat even the head of the Jin Family.
Yet he'd summoned her through Tak Horak.
I have no experience fighting a Super Peak expert.
Experience was the greatest asset to any warrior. Sado Hwan was giving her that opportunity now.
It wouldn't make sense if he wasn't trying to help her.
Not all Super Peak experts are the same.
After her audience with the Heavenly Demon, Sa Wol had come to feel this truth in her bones. "Super Peak" was merely a catch-all term for realms beyond a certain level.
"Aww, how touching. You two don't seem like just a family head and retainer, do you? The vibe is so~ weird."
Jin Yeong Ryeong sneered with a pout. Sa Wol replied politely.
"Any further attacks will be regarded as a declaration of war against the Asura Demon Envoy, Lady Jin Yeong Ryeong."
"What? War? Ahahaha!"
Clutching her stomach in laughter, Jin Yeong Ryeong suddenly turned serious.
"And what will you do if it's war? What can trash like your Sado Family even accomplish?"
"......"
"Sa Wol, was it? I heard rumors you've recently reached Super Peak. So, you're going to take me on? Me, Jin Yeong Ryeong, ranked 14th in the cult?"
With her martial arts fully engaged, Jin Yeong Ryeong acted like her personality had flipped.
"If you threaten the Family Head."
"See? Definitely not just a family head and retainer. Sado Hwan, is that why you rejected me?"
"I will ignore any further provocations."
"Hmm. Will you now?"
Jin Yeong Ryeong narrowed her eyes.
"Then come at me, whelp."
Biting her lip, Sa Wol observed Jin Yeong Ryeong.
The living mist of the Yin Blood Heaven-Shaking Dance now enveloped her like armor. She'd overcome the heart demon from the mist, so that was no issue. The problem was not knowing what might burst from within it.
I'll measure the distance.
The moment Sa Wol steadied her breath, her figure vanished cleanly. She reappeared right behind Jin Yeong Ryeong.
Squeak—!
Sa Wol's arm whipped like a lash, her reverse-gripped dagger stabbing toward Jin Yeong Ryeong's nape at blinding speed.
"Too slow."
But the strike didn't land. The red mist fluttered like tentacles, blocking the dagger. Jin Yeong Ryeong hadn't even turned around.
So even this won't work.
Sa Wol kicked high, smashing the tentacle. Freed, she pressed forward again. Her body flickered in and out like time itself was stuttering.
Nine Swamps Ghost Step.
Shadowless Ghost Soul.
Her footwork at its peak made even Jin Yeong Ryeong lose track for a split second. But Jin Yeong Ryeong showed no worry.
"No matter where you are—"
Kwachuk!
Sa Wol's midsection thrust was caught by another tentacle.
"—I can sense you."
The tentacle coiled around the dagger and swung sideways. Sa Wol was flung back. She twisted midair, landing lightly with perfect balance.
"Enough games... why not get serious?"
Jin Yeong Ryeong stomped. An invisible shockwave erupted, shaping the mist around her.
Yin Blood Heaven-Shaking Dance.
Jin Yeong Ryeong Style.
Yin Blood Heaven-Shaking Bat.
It formed a massive bat. Its wings weren't membrane but hundreds of writhing tentacles, repulsive just to look at.
The Super Peak master had begun manifesting her simsang in earnest.
"Hup—!"
Sa Wol didn't stand idle. A burning orb rose behind her head like a rising sun—or a halo.
"Mental interference type? Too bad. It's so hazy; you haven't fully blossomed it yet. If it had, it might've surpassed mental interference."
Sa Wol bit her lip at Jin Yeong Ryeong's words.
She was right.
Sa Wol's simsang was nearly absolute against weaker foes.
But against fellow Super Peak masters, it had zero effect.
"Want some advice? Name your simsang. Until then, it's not truly yours."
"......Thank you for the advice."
"That's that."
Heh.
Jin Yeong Ryeong lifted the corner of her mouth and extended her right hand.
"Time for the whelp who dared challenge me to pay the price."
She swung her outstretched hand lightly. The red mist around her transformed into hundreds of cone shapes, all hurtling toward Sa Wol.
Kwagwagwang!
Each blood cone packed devastating power. Those Sa Wol dodged tore up the earth of Jan Hon Do, reshaping the terrain like an earthquake.
In this natural disaster of destruction, Sa Wol couldn't even approach; she could only evade with footwork.
"Ahahaha! Scurrying like a rat... hm?"
But at some point.
Sa Wol began deflecting the cones. Her dagger now gleamed with brilliant sword gang. The cones it struck burst with a pop, dissolving into red liquid.
......She's deflecting them?
Jin Yeong Ryeong's cherished technique, Blood Awl, fired hundreds of blood cones infused with gang qi. They flew at irregular intervals and distances.
To the victim, it felt like being besieged by hundreds of Super Peak experts.
The only ways to counter Blood Awl are to escape its range entirely or clear a safe path by deflecting them. Otherwise, you're swept away like quicksand. Realizing that means—
Jin Yeong Ryeong's lips twisted.
She's a genius like that damn bitch?
One genius who rose above her was enough. She couldn't tolerate more.
She's holding up well, so time for a variation?
Her gaze fell on Sado Hwan, arms crossed and watching.
The one Sa Wol was protecting.
Sado Hwan's nature was a mystery. His movements screamed amateur, and there was no trace of the sensory aura only simsang manifesters could detect.
Yet he'd defeated even Kwak Ri Yeon, whom she couldn't take lightly, in sparring. And he'd uncovered the secrets of the Muhonjibyeok hidden for decades.
But above all—
He smells delicious.
That blood scent was maddeningly sweet. No delicacy could compare.
Just one bite.
Jin Yeong Ryeong swung her hand. The blood awls shifted from Sa Wol toward Sado Hwan.
Sa Wol bit her lip and tried to deflect them, but it was futile. Like trying to redirect a torrent, the awls poured toward Sado Hwan.
Meanwhile, Sado Hwan, standing blankly without a change in expression, extended his hand. The massive wall rose again, blocking the awls.
Pabababak!
The awls that pierced rocks shattered against it. The wall was drenched in red liquid, like burst blood-mosquitoes. Red pools formed on the ground.
Yet the Guardian Armored Wall remained unscathed.
Sa Wol stared blankly before snapping back and turning toward where Jin Yeong Ryeong had stood.
She's—gone.
No one was there.
"This has to be Cheol Mu Geuk's work, right? Tricky."
From the red pool.
The pool formed by the shattered blood awls—Jin Yeong Ryeong's upper body emerged from it.
It wasn't proper martial arts, but that was the hallmark of the Yin Blood Jin Family's blood arts.
Jin Yeong Ryeong crawled out leisurely. The red pool slithered up her body and vanished in an instant.
"Frozen stiff? Not even twitching?"
She approached right in front of Sado Hwan. Due to their height difference, she looked up at him naturally. Sado Hwan remained expressionless and still.
"Jin Family Head!"
"What is the meaning of this?!"
The other Six Families' members arrived late. The commotion had been too great; it would've been weirder if they hadn't come amid the blood awls and wall activation.
Jin Yeong Ryeong grinned again at the family heads.
"Just following the true purpose of the Six Families' gathering. Thought I'd spar a bit? Didn't expect you'd chicken out."
She grabbed Sado Hwan's hand. Since he'd activated the Guardian Armored Wall, blood dripped from the vivid wound on his palm.
"I win, so I claim the victor's rights."
Jin Yeong Ryeong licked his palm.
"Haa... this is truly sweet......"
Her ecstatic expression.
It hardened in an instant. Soon, she staggered back.
"Wh-what the hell! What did you— Aaaagh!?"
Clutching her head, Jin Yeong Ryeong screamed. It was a scream so agonizing it hurt to hear.
"Kuhuk!"
Blood erupted from her mouth. Not just spitting—it gushed like a waterfall. An impossible amount for one body.
Because it wasn't ordinary blood. It was the blood essence absorbed via Yin Blood Heaven-Shaking Dance.
The art built realms by accumulating blood essence.
In other words, her cultivated power was collapsing.
"Please, please! Forgive me! Mercy! Mercy! Mercy! From my head! Please!"
Covered in blood, Jin Yeong Ryeong knelt and begged.
Her target was, naturally—
"The victor's rights."
Sado Hwan, with his aloof expression.
"An interesting talent."
And that Sado Hwan was.
What the actual fuck just happened?
Struggling with all his might to hide his panic.