Chapter 197
Chapter 197
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: 197화
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 197
Chapter Title: Challenging the Heavenly Demon
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"My opponent is…."
Lee Soo-hyuk didn't pay much attention to the many participants around.
From the very start, he had someone in mind deep in his heart.
"The Heavenly Demon, Jin Ha-ryeong."
"…What?"
"What did that bastard just say?"
"Did I hear that right?"
The surroundings erupted in murmurs.
One simple declaration had caused such a ripple. It was all because of the name that had come from Lee Soo-hyuk's mouth.
Of course, the stream was in chaos too.
In that brief moment, viewers surged in rapidly. They must have come over after seeing the official channel.
One minute.
After that, the match with the Heavenly Demon would begin.
Even before the nomination, and right up to now after it, Lee Soo-hyuk had been locking eyes with Jin Ha-ryeong the whole time.
A twitch-.
The corner of Jin Ha-ryeong's otherwise expressionless mouth moved ever so slightly.
As expected.
'We were thinking the same thing.'
Even if he hadn't nominated her first, it probably would have been the same.
Jin Ha-ryeong had entered this showdown precisely to fight him.
"Hey, have you really lost it with the concept?"
At this point, even Hails was confused.
The familiar vibe and aura he sensed from Lee Soo-hyuk.
Maybe it wasn't from the concept he'd meticulously crafted after years of research.
"What made you think of fighting that?"
"You don't think I'm trying to win, do you?"
"Then what?"
"With my current skill level, winning is impossible anyway. And I don't want to just participate and find meaning in that alone."
Lee Soo-hyuk needed a big splash.
"Nothing beats the Heavenly Demon's name for sticking in people's memories, right?"
In other words, he was using the Heavenly Demon to draw viewer attention.
Anyone could think of it.
Not everyone in the showdown aimed for victory; they all flailed desperately to etch their exploits into people's memories.
But no one could attempt it.
Because the opponent was the Heavenly Demon.
A monster with the power and malice to wipe out the Heavenly Demon Cult—not to mention any Murim faction—overnight if displeased.
"This guy's crazier than he looks…."
A blur-.
His vision blurred.
The entire world vanished like a mirage. When the floating sensation of his body regained gravity, Lee Soo-hyuk found himself in an entirely different world.
A new field for the match.
Coincidentally, it was the upper reaches of a steep mountain range with sheer cliffs.
No one expected Lee Soo-hyuk to win.
Not just the outcome, but not even a respectable loss—a so-called "good fight despite defeat."
But whatever.
"Let me plug one ad here."
Lee Soo-hyuk started the ad he'd taken for this match.
"This here is the Denma sword, made by the renowned blacksmith guild 'Iron Mine'."
Lee Soo-hyuk drew the new sword at his waist to show it off.
A crude gray-bladed sword. The design wasn't particularly pretty, but he'd accepted the ad for its options.
"It's an item faithful to the basics any sword needs: stamina, durability, cutting power. I tried it out before taking the ad, and it was solid."
A bold pre-fight ad. And no matter how good the item, it was mid-match—hard to grab attention.
'Eh, that's enough.'
The item ad was sufficient at this level.
Whether it shone now depended on his performance.
'Jin Ha-ryeong.'
Lee Soo-hyuk's eyes gleamed as he gazed down the mountain range.
A coincidence?
He recognized the place immediately.
'The Tianshan Mountains again.'
This was where he'd first fought Jin Ha-ryeong in the initial showdown: the Tianshan Mountains.
The old location of the Heavenly Demon Cult in the Murim world.
Whether this stage was chosen by chance or some inevitability, he couldn't say.
'Back then… I lost.'
Memories of his first fight with Jin Ha-ryeong surfaced.
It had been a shock to Soo-hyuk, who climbed the tower fearlessly, unaware of defeat.
A crushing loss.
Jin Ha-ryeong hadn't even used the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, the symbol of the Heavenly Demon.
He'd faced Soo-hyuk with just a single sword, and the result was the Heavenly Demon's overwhelming victory.
And now, Jin Ha-ryeong was even stronger than back then.
Much stronger.
Step-.
He slowly made his way down the mountain range.
Viewers began recognizing the stage as the familiar landscape came into view.
An endless mountain range stretching to the blue sky and distant horizon.
A beautiful place.
Hard to believe it was once said to be dyed in blood.
As he walked, admiring the scenery for a while.
Sizzle-.
In the distance.
A crimson aura staining the blue sky rose toward the heavens.
Quite a distance away.
Lucky or unlucky, it was far off.
"Looks like I have to go to him."
For Jin Ha-ryeong, this trial wasn't a fight.
It was a challenge.
A challenge thrown at the world's pinnacle by the rookie Lee Soo-hyuk.
It was only natural for the challenger to come personally. Knowing this, Lee Soo-hyuk gladly accepted Jin Ha-ryeong's provocation.
Crackle-.
He accelerated rapidly, chasing the aura.
The red energy spreading high in the sky closed in instantly, and Jin Ha-ryeong's figure atop a tall peak entered his view.
"You've come?"
Jin Ha-ryeong's voice rang clear from afar.
Still astonishing, even on second hearing.
A whisper, yet it came through so vividly.
Snap-.
Lee Soo-hyuk halted at a suitable distance before her.
Lee Soo-hyuk charged without hesitation, arriving before Jin Ha-ryeong. Viewers panicked seeing her go from distant speck to right in front in an instant.
Jin Ha-ryeong nodded without a hint of disturbance.
"Quick on your feet."
"Feet only?"
"Got more to show?"
Jin Ha-ryeong looked down at Lee Soo-hyuk from the peak.
From her few words, he was certain.
'She has no intention of just killing me outright.'
To Lee Soo-hyuk, the Heavenly Demon was special; to the Heavenly Demon, Lee Soo-hyuk was special.
They were each other's only defeats. To them, the other was a one-of-a-kind existence in this world.
That was why.
Jin Ha-ryeong was exchanging words instead of severing his neck in one stroke.
"Shall I show you?"
Crackle-.
Without drawing his sword, Lee Soo-hyuk formed a spear in his hand.
Sizzle-!
A spear blending golden and blue light took shape in his hand. Toward Jin Ha-ryeong, who watched silently, Lee Soo-hyuk hurled it.
Flash-!
Boom-!
The world turned white in an instant.
The thunder didn't stop at one peal. Deafening roars chained together, flaunting their power.
The peak vanished.
A spear with terrain-altering might in one strike.
To conjure it in mere seconds showed how much his mana and stamina had grown.
Sizzle-.
But it was futile.
Atop the vanished peak, Jin Ha-ryeong stood in midair, utterly unchanged.
No.
Something had changed.
"…Impressive enough."
Jin Ha-ryeong's eyes shifted.
A flicker of interest sparked in her previously bored gaze.
Not due to raw power. Rather, the long-forgotten potential of lightning's force.
"You won't be disappointed."
Thump-.
He felt his heart pounding.
Thump, thump-.
Two hearts.
As Lightning and Thunder revved up, Lee Soo-hyuk's eyes glowed in different colors.
"That's why I challenged you—with full confidence."
After arguing with Cheongryang, Unhyang sought a place no one could find her.
She ended up on the rooftop of a locked building.
"Jerk."
Perched on the railing, she swung her legs idly.
The conversation with Cheongryang on the way here cluttered her mind. No matter how she thought about it, she was still mad.
"Happy just managing some money-grubbing fake. That fun for you?"
She could have endured if not for that one line.
But for some reason, "fake" was unbearable.
Deep down, she knew.
"It's not wrong…."
Cheongryang was right.
Lee Soo-hyuk wasn't the real deal.
The image, actions, even fighting style he showed on stream.
All crafted for the broadcast, and the world calls that a fake.
That was why Unhyang was so furious.
"Makes it worse that he's real."
She knew, yet she didn't see him as a fake.
But she couldn't pinpoint why. Maybe because he resembled him so closely—but even so, he wasn't the dead man come back to life.
The feeling of her heartfelt intuition being denied.
And the helplessness, shattered fandom when she couldn't refute it.
Cheongryang had ruthlessly struck that sore spot.
"No contact either."
Unlike usual, she'd even turned off the stream and fiddled with her kit. She believed Lee Soo-hyuk wouldn't drop in the first trial.
Unhyang waited for Cheongryang's message.
Normally, at least a "Sorry" would come, but not today.
Should she message first?
As she pondered, sitting on the railing.
"Waiting for someone's call?"
A voice from right above her head.
Startled, Unhyang vanished from the spot.
She reappeared on the rooftop of the opposite building.
Unhyang looked up at the owner of the voice from above her previous spot.
'What?'
Someone stood behind where she'd been sitting.
Black hair, an excessively ordinary "fake" face.
She'd definitely seen it somewhere before.
"You…."
A memory flashed by.
"What's your name?"
"Yejeong."
Name: Yejeong.
"Fine. I won't ask why you're here."
"What else? Just to watch the matches."
They'd met at the Blue Zone tournament audience seats.
"…Sister Yejeong?"
She'd appeared again, wearing that fake face.
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