Chapter 413
Chapter 413
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>Translator: Ryuma
>Chapter: 108
>Chapter Title: Encounter (4)
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[Chapter 108: Encounter (4)]
As the entities with eyes in their eyes appeared, bringing an unexpected third enemy and plunging the Heaven-Earth Society headquarters square into fresh chaos, the ground had been soaked in crimson blood on all sides, leading to a temporary lull in the fighting.
Amid that turmoil, a sudden colossal clash erupted.
Everyone was forced to halt their battles momentarily, inevitably drawn to the confrontation between these overwhelmingly powerful beings.
“What the hell is that?”
“Blood swirling like a whirlwind?”
The abrupt phenomena unfolding within the blood realm left everyone stunned beyond measure.
Even the Heaven-Earth Society's executives were no exception.
What in the world was happening?
It was hard to guess, but one thing was clear: those two men stood at the center of this massive battle.
-Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing! Shing!
Dozens of swords floated around Mok Kyung-un and Na Yul-ryang, who were locked in sword-to-sword combat, their tips now aimed at the pair.
‘Controlled flying swords?’
Handling this many?
Even practitioners of the Wudang Sect—one of the Nine Great Sects—or the bizarre Dual Heart Method of the now-extinct Forward Sect, which split the mind in two, couldn’t control this many.
Soon, Na Yul-ryang slightly squinted his left eye.
In that instant, countless illusions flashed through his mind.
They were fragments of memory.
He had only just seized control of this body, but he hadn’t fully absorbed its memories or ingrained habits.
Yet the moment he took in some of those memories,
‘Heavenly Demon?’
[No, Mok Kyung-un, Heavenly Demon... It doesn’t matter if you forget them all.]
This guy called himself the Heavenly Demon.
That meant he was the one who had earned the title of the Seven Heavens?
His fame was so immense it had reached even Na Yul-ryang’s ears.
No, it was impossible for it not to.
He had shattered Shaolin’s One Hundred Eight Arhats Formation in a single step and forced the Sacheon Tang Clan to seal their gates.
Regardless of anything else, the Tang Clan had been guarded by that monstrous bloodline for generations.
So when word spread that a lone individual had subdued the Tang Clan, even Na Yul-ryang couldn’t help but be shocked.
He had two hypotheses back then.
Either the clan’s bloodline had thinned over time, weakening them far more than before, or this Heavenly Demon was a monster beyond imagination.
He had leaned toward the former, but if this guy was the Heavenly Demon...
‘This strength is certainly real...’
In Na Yul-ryang’s memories, Mok Kyung-un had started at the Transcendent Realm.
Yet in that short time, he had risen to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the pinnacle of the current martial world, the Six Heavens, becoming a new heaven?
It was a terrifying pace of growth, hard to believe from a mere human.
‘No way?’
It was right then.
-Woooong!
Black sword auras formed on the controlled flying swords encircling them.
The moment he sensed the ferocious, destructive energy within that black sword aura—different from ordinary ones—the pupil of the eye embedded in Na Yul-ryang’s forehead turned pure white.
A bizarre transformation.
[Is that him?]
[I’m not certain.]
[What do you mean?]
[His energy is阴 and savage, unlike ordinary humans—superficially similar at a glance, but different. He’s completely lost his power, but he was once a ruler. Yet the one before us is a complete human.]
[What? A complete human?]
[Yes. No doubt about it. My eye can detect their cores. But he has no core. His energy merely resembles theirs greatly; the nature itself is entirely different.]
The voice echoing in his mind refuted Na Yul-ryang’s speculation.
That couldn’t be.
How could a mere human, no matter how prodigiously talented, grow this strong so quickly?
As he struggled to comprehend, the voice rang out again.
[More importantly, you should hurry. This body can’t endure us for long yet.]
-Tremble!
Na Yul-ryang glanced at his faintly trembling fingers.
Even this vessel couldn’t hold out anymore?
If the guy hadn’t stubbornly clung to his nonsense about truth, they wouldn’t need this roundabout approach; it was just causing headaches.
-Clench!
Na Yul-ryang balled his fist, his gaze fixing on Mok Kyung-un.
If he was definitely human, then what the hell was this guy’s true nature?
How had he made Ryu So-wol his food soul?
Was fate, karma, heaven—those damned things—throwing up yet another variable to block her from returning to him?
-Grind!
If so, he absolutely wouldn’t forgive it.
Even if everything stood in his way, he would destroy it all and claim her this time.
Having sorted it all in his mind in a flash, Na Yul-ryang spoke.
“Fine. As you said, I won’t care what your true identity is. You’re just a variable anyway. I’ll sever So-wol’s bond from you and make you beg for death...”
-Slash!
Before he could finish,
Mok Kyung-un’s left-hand demon sword, Terror Reaper, thrust toward his brow. Na Yul-ryang tilted his head aside to dodge, then clamped the blade between two fingers.
-Clasp!
“Did you think thrusting would force distance?”
“......”
“If you don’t pull away up close, all these controlled flying sword auras become meaningless.”
Na Yul-ryang sneered.
As long as their swords were locked, Mok Kyung-un couldn’t fire the flying sword auras.
They were too close; he’d risk hitting himself.
It would just waste energy.
Inefficient...
-Shwoooosh! Shwoooosh! Shwoooosh! Shwoooosh! Shwoooosh! Shwoooosh! Slash!
In that moment, Na Yul-ryang’s eyes widened.
The sword auras loaded on the dozens of surrounding swords surged toward them all at once.
This guy didn’t care if he got hurt?
‘Huh?’
He really seemed unrelated to the being in his memories.
There was a raw, brutal edge to him.
Ferocious, even tinged with madness.
-Swish!
Na Yul-ryang swiftly unleashed a deflecting stance to redirect the incoming dozens of flying sword auras.
But then,
-Woooong!
Mok Kyung-un countered simultaneously with an anchoring stance, neutralizing them.
“Annoying bastard!”
If you want chaos, fine—I’ll indulge you.
Let’s see what you’ve got.
-Clang!
Na Yul-ryang knocked aside Mok Kyung-un’s locked sword and unleashed peerless sword strikes.
They were the Heavenly Vein Sword Forms, far more intricate and profound than those of the Society Leader.
Mok Kyung-un met them with the second form of the Demonic Sword Art.
-Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
Their peerless sword techniques clashed fiercely, blue sparks flying everywhere.
Meanwhile, dozens of black streaks from the flying sword auras closed in on them.
-Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
-Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
An astonishing sight unfolded.
Amid the furious sword exchanges, Mok Kyung-un used his opposite hand’s demon sword, Terror Reaper, to bat away the incoming flying sword auras, redirecting them straight at Na Yul-ryang.
Na Yul-ryang did the same.
He extended his left hand in a gentle palm technique, altering their paths to rush at Mok Kyung-un.
-Boom! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
The redirected flying sword auras collided, creating another wave of nullification.
Gray dust sprayed, shrouding them.
The experts under Mok Kyung-un, who had been dealing with the eye monsters, watched in awe.
‘A feast of transcendent arts.’
‘Ha! I’ve never seen such a high-level duel.’
‘Monsters clashing.’
Everyone shuddered at the sight of these masters wielding flying sword auras amid peerless sword strikes, turning them against each other with seamless redirection.
This was the clash of grandmaster-level transcendent experts.
Yet the onlookers shared two baffling observations.
One was how Na Yul-ryang the Eldest Young Master’s martial prowess had suddenly skyrocketed, as if he were someone else entirely.
The other was...
“No. Why isn’t he using the Formless Sword?”
Go Chan, the escort possessing the Second Young Master Jang Neung-ak’s body, wondered aloud.
If Mok Kyung-un, at the Life-Death Realm, used the Formless Sword, he could dominate even more—yet he seemed to be holding back.
Someone answered his question.
-Thud!
“Heh heh. It’s not that he won’t. It’s that he can’t.”
“Huh? Y-You startled me.”
It was the Broken Precept Monk and Demon-Subduing Fist Master, Ja Geum-jeong.
Startled by the fierce-looking Ja Geum-jeong’s sudden appearance, Go Chan patted his chest inwardly.
Ignoring him, Ja Geum-jeong continued.
“His internal energy’s been depleted from the previous fights.”
“Ah!”
Now that he mentioned it, Mok Kyung-un had unleashed several energy-intensive transcendent arts even before facing the changed Eldest Young Master Na Yul-ryang.
To the point where his internal energy seemed limitless.
Yet fighting like this without the Formless Sword meant the depletion was severe.
“Simpleton. Heh heh.”
Ja Geum-jeong opened his gourd with blood-soaked hands and gulped down the liquor.
Go Chan frowned and said.
“Wait. Hey. Who the hell are you? I get that you’re the master’s new subordinate, but your tone for a first meeting...”
“Shut it. This is our chance.”
“What?”
“The monsters’ duel has even those damn eye freaks distracted. Now’s the time to regroup and strike them.”
“......”
Go Chan, about to snap at the rudeness, closed his mouth.
True enough, the protruding-eyed freaks had turned the battlefield into total chaos, allies and enemies indistinguishable.
They needed to regroup now.
But there was one problem.
Thanks to the Second Young Master Jang Neung-ak’s body, he had some influence, but organizing allies would draw those guys to eavesdrop and interfere.
Did they have to risk that?
“If those bastards mix in, regrouping won’t mean shit.”
“Take this.”
The Broken Precept Monk Ja Geum-jeong shed his tattered monk robes and handed them over.
“What for?”
“Flip it, and you’ll see.”
“Flip it?”
Go Chan reluctantly flipped the robes.
Revealed inside were densely inscribed red characters.
The moment they appeared,
“Keeek!”
“Kek!”
Nearby eye monsters grimaced, shrieking and recoiling as if repelled.
“What... what the hell is this?”
“It’s worn out, but these are robes inscribed with the Anti-Demon True Word Scripture. Perfect for driving off evil spirits or stray ghosts. Heh heh.”
“Anti-Demon True Word Scripture? But one set won’t cut it. Got more?”
“One’s enough.”
“What?”
“Stay still. Hup!”
“Huh?”
With that, Ja Geum-jeong hoisted Go Chan onto his shoulders like a piggyback.
Momentarily flustered, Go Chan realized the hulking monk’s height gave him a clear view over the protrusions.
“When you see fire, shout for everyone behind you to regroup.”
“Fire?”
“Shut up and hurry!”
Urged by Ja Geum-jeong, Go Chan infused his voice with qi and bellowed.
“Everyone listen! Those with eyes bursting from sockets are no longer allies! When you see the fire, regroup behind this young master!”
His shout drew puzzled looks from those around.
Regroup behind him when they saw fire? What did that mean?
Right then.
-Clap!
Ja Geum-jeong clapped his palms together in prayer position and began chanting sutras.
Then,
-Fwoosh!
The Anti-Demon True Word Scripture robes Go Chan held burst into flames.
“W-What?”
Fire meant this?
But the flames on the burning robes suddenly shifted to blue.
The blue fire blazed as brightly as holy light.
-Sizzle!
“Guh!”
“E-Eyes!”
The socket-eyed monsters covered their eyes, writhing in agony at the blue flames.
Seeing this, the Society members seized the moment and shouted as they dashed forward.
“Now! Regroup behind Young Master Jang Neung-ak!”
“Waaaaah!!!!”
-Shwoosh! Shwoosh! Shwoosh! Shwoosh! Shwoosh!
The blue flames from the burning Anti-Demon True Word Scripture robes halted the monsters temporarily, allowing the Society members to swiftly reform their lines.
“Heh heh, how’s that? Thanks to this monk... Huh?”
Then Ja Geum-jeong furrowed his brow.
-Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
Jang Neung-ak’s hands and arms holding the burning robes were charring blackish-red, his eyes rolled back in a soulless expression.
No, his soul really was gone.
Above Jang Neung-ak’s head, Go Chan’s resentful spirit ascended in majestic light, on the verge of enlightenment.
“......What? You were the ghost?”
[Chapter 108: Encounter (4)] End
ⓒ Han Jung-wol-ya