Mastered in a Single Glance
The guandao was the Eastern counterpart to the Western halberd—a weapon capable of thrusting, slashing, and hooking.
In other words, it could deliver attacks in countless ways depending on the user’s skill.
Kaisent hurled his bow into the dimensional warehouse and charged straight at the clone gripping the guandao.
The clone thrust like a spear, lightning-fast, trying to keep him at bay, but Kaisent used his small frame to duck low and slip inside the reach.
Yet as the clone yanked the shaft back, the axe-blade came whipping around for the back of his skull. Unable to drop any lower, Kaisent seized the shaft itself and vaulted upward.
The instant he rose into the air, the twin-sword clone lunged in, abandoning all defense for a pure offensive flurry.
Clones felt no pain; in a short fight where they had no need to conserve strength, defense was unnecessary.
Fly!
Thanks to the magic Akina had taught him, Kaisent soared freely through the air, casually slipping past the clone’s strikes while swinging his own blade.
The moment the twin-sword clone’s body split in half and dissolved, Kaisent felt the structure that composed it.
It demanded extreme concentration and technique to weave one’s will into a clone’s form—and a vast quantity of an energy he had never sensed before.
This energy is completely different from any magic I’ve learned so far. But—!
He could still copy a technique this advanced.
I can become anything! Artemis! Bow!
After finishing the twin-sword clone, Kaisent rapidly opened distance and reopened the dimensional warehouse.
The mechanical arm that had been holding the bow tossed it the instant the warehouse opened; Kaisent caught it, formed mana arrows, and loosed a rapid volley straight into the ground beneath him.
Hm? What is he doing?
Blood Zen frowned at Kaisent’s bizarre behavior.
Looks like some kind of trick, but it doesn’t matter.
Trap or not, his clones would handle it.
Then a familiar energy radiated from the mana arrows, and his face twisted in shock.
The arrows—formed entirely of internal energy from tip to fletching—transformed into streaks of light, and each became a perfect copy of Kaisent himself.
The sword-wielding Kaisents charged Blood Zen’s clones.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
Clone against clone, the one-on-one duels instantly collapsed into a chaotic free-for-all.
“Impossible!!”
Blood Zen screamed before he could stop himself.
“I spent twenty years mastering this technique even after devouring the talent of the Kunlun Immortal and countless Taoist masters! And you copy it after seeing it once?!”
Blood Zen’s method of devouring others’ talents looked omnipotent, yet it carried many flaws.
He could never absorb talent at a full hundred percent, and once he possessed talent above a certain threshold, weaker talents yielded only negligible gains.
Even when he consumed someone, he took only their talent—never their techniques or experience—so raising his realm still required training.
That was why, after devouring thousands or even tens of thousands, he had only reached his current level.
He had abandoned the path of humanity, committing countless atrocities to walk this road… and now this boy was simply snatching his techniques and using them without any of that evil. Rage boiled up inside him.
“Kill him!!”
Blood Zen’s clones and Kaisent’s clones collided.
Both sides had their specs halved, yet Blood Zen’s clones—each armed with different martial arts—overwhelmed Kaisent’s clones, who possessed only a single sword.
Whenever Kaisent’s clones began to lose ground, however, Arty struck at Blood Zen’s clones in support.
Blood Zen wanted to exploit the opening and attack Kaisent himself, but Arty—whose structure was utterly unlike a human’s—kept her body facing the clones while her head remained locked on Blood Zen’s true body.
Damn it! Does that doll see differently from humans?
Arty’s gaze was fixed on him, yet she attacked the clones as if she had eyes in the back of her head.
He edged sideways just to test it; her neck tracked him, fixed like a turret, ready to spring the moment he made a move.
Artemis was feeding her visual data from every direction, but Blood Zen had no way of knowing that.
Shhhk!
Even with Arty’s support, the guandao clone cleaved one of Kaisent’s clones in half.
Just as the balance seemed about to tip, Kaisent fired several more mana arrows into the ground.
New clones formed—yet this time they gripped guandaos instead of swords.
Th-this… this can’t be…!
What followed left Blood Zen speechless with horror.
Kaisent’s clones began wielding the guandaos with the exact techniques Blood Zen’s own clones had been using.
When a clone vanishes, its memories and experience flow back into me! Then—!
Having realized that a clone’s disappearance returned its memories, Kaisent deliberately dissolved the clones that had been fighting Blood Zen’s varied specialists.
He digested the flood of memories and experience in mere seconds, then unleashed a storm of arrows into the earth.
Kaisents armed with the same weapons Blood Zen possessed, using the exact same techniques, charged forward.
Perfectly mimicking Blood Zen’s arts, Kaisent’s clones turned a one-sided beating into an even stalemate.
My techniques… are being stolen…!
He had become a public enemy of the murim for his crimes, abandoned by the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions alike, forced to flee for his life.
Had he not fallen into this world, the agony and terror would have killed him for certain—yet this brat had casually stolen the techniques he had suffered so much to obtain.
I must never show this little bastard any more of my techniques!
Anyone watching would assume he was simply enraged that the boy possessed talent he himself had never had.
At first, that had been true.
Now, however, fear outweighed rage.
His one year and my one year are not the same!
With that immature body he could already fight him as an equal.
What would happen once that body matured with age?
If he continued to grow steadily while absorbing others’ techniques…?
If I don’t kill him here, I’ll be hunted for the rest of my life!
The Outer God Alliance had promised full support; he could further refine his techniques and raise absorption efficiency.
But by the time he finished that development, this monster would have finished growing as well—and would come hunting him.
That fucking doll! I’ll smash it and gouge out those eyes!
The problem was that Arty was watching his every move.
To kill Kaisent he either had to overwhelm him with raw power or finish him in a single surprise strike.
Even a power push met desperate resistance, and any clumsy exchange only produced new clones that had already absorbed the experience—making a frontal contest of strength too dangerous.
Damn it. Creating clones has left me short on internal energy. If I can just create one opening, I can finish him in a single blow… an opening?
Outwardly Blood Zen kept scanning for any gap he could exploit, while expanding his sensory field.
There!
The boy who had trembled under his curse after his companions were wounded had still charged in.
That meant his attachment to his companions ran deep.
And Blood Zen knew exactly how to cook people like that.
“Haaah!”
“!!”
The moment Blood Zen roared and lunged at Kaisent, Arty immediately stepped into his path, ready to intercept.
Having predicted and guided Arty’s movement, Blood Zen flung a throwing knife with a talisman attached.
A water sphere bloomed from the talisman and engulfed Arty’s entire body.
Suddenly trapped inside a giant water droplet, Arty tried to force her way out, but the surface tension had turned rubber-like; no matter how she stretched her limbs, only the shape of the sphere changed.
He’s coming!
Believing Blood Zen would target him the instant Arty was neutralized, Kaisent created clones and prepared to counter.
Blood Zen threw another talisman-tipped knife.
Ziiing!
“Ugh?!”
A searing flash of light forced Kaisent’s eyes shut—yet inside he smiled in triumph.
Artemis was already feeding visual data through the device.
If he pretended to be flustered and then counterattacked…
What?!
Blood Zen was not attacking Kaisent at all—he was racing toward the cave.
“No!!”
Knowing Lillian and the others waited outside the cave, desperately hoping for his victory, Kaisent screamed.
Yes! Chase me! Come running like a dog!
If Kaisent failed to follow, Blood Zen fully intended to kill them.
“I-Inside!”
“Defensive formation!”
Akina’s knights tried to hustle Merencia and Patisha deeper into the cave, but Merencia judged that only by combining everyone’s strength could they hold, and she ordered them to stand and defend.
“I’ll start by killing you four bitches first! Hahahaha!”
To shatter Kaisent’s reason, Blood Zen ignored the knights in formation and aimed straight at Lillian’s group.
Flash!
“Huh?”
“Uwaaaaaaah!”
Suddenly Kaisent appeared above him, roaring with pure rage as he brought his sword down.
KRAKOOOM!
“Guhk?!”
“Again! My companions!!”
Dragon blood awakened from the fury of someone once more targeting his precious treasures. Kaisent pushed Helix Flow to its absolute limit and unleashed overwhelming physical power that crushed Blood Zen.
A swirling barrier of mana erupts around the body at full force, amplifying both defense and raw physical might.
If I hadn’t known Teleport, someone would have died!
He had never told Lillian and the others that he had taught them Teleport for the worst-case scenario. If this was not the worst case, what was?
“Is that the only way you know how to fight?!”
“Grrrk!”
“Die! Die! Dieee!”
Fueled by rage, Kaisent hammered his sword down again and again until one of Blood Zen’s knees buckled.
Yet rage, while granting momentary explosive power, simplified both muscle and thought, reducing attacks to one-dimensional strikes.
Now!
Blood Zen deliberately offered his shoulder.
The translucent blue blade punched through flesh tempered by external energy; his face twisted in pain, yet he smiled.
The wound sealed almost instantly, locking Kaisent’s movement. From a subspace Blood Zen drew a spear and thrust it with full force at Kaisent’s head.
This ends it!
He had succeeded in the classic “flesh wound for a killing blow” gambit—yet his excessive caution backfired.
The blade suddenly separated and shot forward, dragging Blood Zen’s body along with it.
“Uwaaagh?!”
Had he not left the wound unsealed in order to pin his opponent completely, he would never have been pulled.
He activated Thousand-pound Weight to minimize the drag, but distance had already opened.
A martial technique that temporarily multiplies the user’s physical weight.
“Haaaah!”
Kaisent reformed his sword and charged, attacking without pause.
D-dangerous! My internal energy is…!
Between the trap that had held Charlize and the various techniques he had used, even the energy reserved for escape was gone.
How much internal energy did this child even possess?!
“Finished?”
“What?”
“Are you done resisting? If you’ve got any more cute tricks left, go ahead and show them.”
The rage of an evil man who had dared touch his treasures had broken through its limit and turned ice-cold. Kaisent openly mocked him.
“If that’s all you’ve got, then it’s time you paid the price for laying hands on my companions.”
“Kh… uh…!”
Unbelievable.
In his original world he had been a public enemy of the murim, a living nightmare who forced the orthodox, unorthodox, and demonic factions to unite against him.
Even in this world his power and techniques had so terrified the Outer God Alliance that they had begged for his help.
And now he was being pushed this far by a single brat who had not even undergone a coming-of-age ceremony!
I can’t win…!
Faced with talent that overwhelmingly surpassed everything he had accumulated by devouring countless people, Blood Zen’s will to fight collapsed.
Retreat for now. I’ll explain the situation to the Outer God Alliance and make them kill this little bastard!
Thud!
Having decided, Blood Zen turned his back and fled.
Kaisent immediately prepared to Teleport after him—
“Well done, little one.”
“Ah!”
A familiar voice rang out.
“Lady Charlize!”
“You’re here!”
“Sorry~ I got caught in an unexpected trap~”
Having finally smashed the trap and escaped, Charlize appeared via Teleport.
“Eii~”
With a playful shout she flicked her fingers lightly; a colossal barrier unfurled directly in Blood Zen’s path.
“Kh?!”
“Fufufu~ It was a rather peculiar feeling~ falling into someone else’s trap. As a reward for the fun experience, big sister will give you something enjoyable~”
“U… uuh…!”
Too late.
He had wasted too much time trying to kill Kaisent, and the witch had escaped.
“Just a moment, big sister.”
“Hm~? What is it? Big sister is a little busy right now, so maybe later?”
“It’s important.”
“Important? What is iiiit~?”
Charlize, who had been spinning cruel fantasies of how to dismantle the man who had trapped her, temporarily set aside her killing intent for whatever important matter Kaisent wished to discuss.
“Please let me handle him.”
“…Huh?”
The content of his request shattered her poker face.
“Handle him? That thing?”
“Yes.”
“…Little one. I don’t know how you all survived, but that is not something a child like you can—”
“He can!”
Merencia cried out.
“Until now Kaisent has been fighting that man completely alone!”
“Alone? Truly?”
“Yes! At first we stepped forward, but we lost, and then Kaisent took over!”
“…All right. Then let’s see little one’s skill, shall we~?”
She had no idea why Merencia would say something that tarnished their own reputation, yet the atmosphere made it clear the girl was telling the truth.
Thus the one-on-one duel with Blood Zen was established. Kaisent formed a sword and walked toward him.
“Hah! Hoo! Huk!”
More than the humiliation of becoming a spectacle, Blood Zen gasped for breath at the sight of Kaisent—whose talent already overwhelmed him—approaching with naked murderous intent.
A thick aura of death he had never felt before pressed down on him.
“Heh… heheh… heheheheh…”
No matter how he searched, not a single escape route remained. A laugh of pure resignation slipped out.
If he was going to die anyway, he would take the brat with him!
With his own life he would ensure this world-shaking talent never bloomed!
Burning even his Innate Qi, Blood Zen unleashed an aura so fierce that even Charlize’s expression hardened, and he pulled every last talisman from his robes.
Vital life force ignited without restraint, granting temporary transcendent power at the cost of lifespan.
“Dieee!!”
Dozens of talismans transformed into razor ice spikes, searing flames, tornadoes that could shred iron bars, and boulders the size of a grown man—all crashing down on Kaisent.
Each carried tremendous power, which was why he had hoarded them for escape, since they also consumed Taoist energy and the talismans themselves.
“Hyaaaaah!”
Kaisent poured everything into Helix Flow while layering holy power on top, armoring himself against elemental assault.
KRAKOOOOOM!
The four elemental torrents roared toward him like a tidal wave, yet Kaisent—shielded by Helix Flow and holy power—shattered every obstacle and charged straight through.
“You at least! I will definitely—!”
Having exhausted every talisman, Blood Zen burned more Innate Qi to form Sword Gang around his twin blades and swung them in a desperate flurry.
An advanced stage of sword qi in which energy solidifies around the blade.
Kaisent still had one trump card he had been saving.
The ultimate technique he could use only now.
Deadly Impact.
An advanced martial technique of the Karayden family that stores and explodes mana inside a weapon during an attack.
Clang-clang-clang-clang! BOOOOM!
While receiving Blood Zen’s twin blades, Kaisent suddenly unleashed Deadly Impact.
“Gahk?!”
Caught by two unexpected shocks, one of Blood Zen’s arms was blasted aside—
Crack! Crunch! Snap! Squelch!
—and Kaisent immediately drove the blade into his side, releasing Deadly Impact in rapid succession.
“Guh… aagh…!!”
Never imagining the boy had still been hiding a finishing technique against him, Blood Zen’s waist was savagely torn apart by the successive impacts; upper and lower body separated and tumbled across the ground.
“Die.”
Pouring out every drop of rage for the women he loved who had been wounded, Kaisent drove his sword through Blood Zen’s brain and delivered the finishing blow.
Blood Zen—who, given time, would have become a catastrophe—vanished, having fed his power to a young talent through nothing more than his own selfish desire.