Chapter 31
Episode 31
Master and Disciple (3)
The reason major sects didn't tamper with their signature divine techniques wasn't solely out of respect for their founders or tradition.
It was because the techniques already hailed as divine were near-perfect as they were.
And altering such techniques was something only the greatest masters—those who had fully mastered their sect's martial principles—could even attempt.
Yet, Se-woon was perfectly reinterpreting and recreating the Divine Maiden Sect's techniques.
It wasn't because his congenital disability had granted him the talent of a grandmaster.
The only genius-level talent Se-woon possessed was that of a Divine Craftsman.
And yet, this feat was possible solely due to the manifestation of the Reverse Heaven Energy's power.
'The Reverse Heaven Energy, the Blood Demon's martial art, pushes all of the user's latent potential to its absolute limit.'
And that potential wasn't limited to physical ability—it also included the mental capacity to comprehend and reinterpret martial techniques.
Just as, in his past life, once the Reverse Heaven Energy reached completion, every martial principle embedded in the Divine Righteousness Unbound had become fully visible to his eyes.
But the Reverse Heaven Energy was undeniably a demonic art.
The price for unlocking one's potential was an equivalent loss of lifespan.
In his past life, the Golden Arm Cave had mitigated the backlash to some extent, but an ordinary martial artist would have died within a year.
Perhaps the Blood Demon had handed over his martial art so easily because he expected Se-woon to die soon anyway.
At any rate, the result of Se-woon's recreation—the Anti-Divine Righteousness Unbound—was exactly that:
A new martial art born from Se-woon's complete inversion of the Divine Maiden Sect's principles.
As was well known, all of the Divine Maiden Sect's techniques were founded on the tenets of non-lethality and neutralizing enemies without killing.
Thus, the philosophy behind Se-woon's Anti-Divine Righteousness Unbound was simple:
'Only absolute killing and extreme retaliation.'
Unconditional slaughter and destruction.
And Poison Demon Yayul Seung had obligingly walked right into the trap.
'The moment he sees the throwing daggers, his first instinct will be to destroy my weapons.'
In Se-woon's past life, Dokma's habit when facing opponents who used concealed weapons was to immediately target and destroy their armaments.
Knowing this, Se-woon had drawn his twin daggers the moment he revealed himself.
Since he had already used an intangible dagger earlier, Dokma's mind would be firmly locked onto the idea that Se-woon relied on dagger techniques.
And that was exactly what Se-woon needed to exploit.
While exchanging words, Se-woon had secretly begun wrapping countless golden threads around the hilts of his daggers.
And now—the moment had arrived.
Swish!
"—!"
The golden threads of the Heavenly Net ensnared Dokma's right hand as he tried to hastily retract it.
Spider's Shackles.
True to its name, this technique ensured that once prey was caught, it would never escape.
The only way to break free from these black threads was...
To abandon the limb they had coiled around.
'This is... dangerous!!'
Sensing an instinctive threat, Dokma swiftly withdrew his Blue Ghost Claw and unleashed the Red Silk Hand.
Shifting from an aggressive claw technique focused on his nails to a palm technique that enveloped his entire hand in energy—all in an effort to repel the threads.
But—
Sschk!
A chilling slicing sound rendered his efforts futile.
Thud.
Something small hit the ground.
Dokma's ring and little fingers had been cleanly severed.
Splurt!
Blood gushed from the exposed bone and muscle of the severed fingers.
"Ghk—!"
"Ugh!"
Overwhelmed by the agony, Dokma let out an involuntary groan.
The lingering effects of the Angsinru poison in his right hand had prevented him from switching techniques swiftly enough.
Dokma hastily circulated his energy to stem the bleeding.
Se-woon smirked as he watched.
"Hoh, fascinating. Even your groans come in pairs."
"You little—!"
A murderous aura erupted in Dokma's eyes.
If he could, he would have lunged forward and torn Se-woon's head apart with his teeth—but that wasn't an option.
Creak!
Crunch!
'What the hell are these damn threads?!'
The same threads that had devoured his fingers were now tightening around his right hand with terrifying force.
Despite his Red Silk Hand reaching near-perfection, hardening his skin to diamond-like durability...
He couldn't even cut the enemy's threads—merely holding them off was a struggle.
'If I can't sever them—!'
But drawing from his decades of experience, Dokma quickly devised another method.
He forcefully twisted his ensnared right arm upward in a full rotation.
Twang!
The threads connected to Se-woon's hands were pulled taut in response.
Rumble—!
A monstrous demonic energy surged from Dokma's entire body.
'—If I kill the source, this ends!'
Even injured, the sheer disparity in internal energy between them was vast.
With the threads unable to dig deeper, Dokma intended to drag Se-woon in and crush his skull.
'Kihihi. No, I can't kill my dear disciple just yet.'
Right—he'd just sever all ten fingers first.
Screech!
Se-woon's feet scraped against the ground as he was slowly pulled forward.
But Se-woon had no intention of playing along.
'Two fingers gone. That's enough.'
With his left hand still crippled by Angsinru's poison...
Losing two of his five fingers meant Dokma's combat strength had effectively been halved.
'Then—!'
Time to go all out.
Fwip!
At that moment, Se-woon suddenly splayed all ten fingers and flicked them lightly.
"Huh?!"
A bewildered gasp escaped Dokma's lips.
His stance collapsed as if he were about to topple over.
The threads connecting them had all snapped the moment Se-woon flicked his fingers.
And the force Dokma had been using to pull Se-woon in rebounded onto himself.
'This easily...?'
It made no sense—why would someone discard a weapon worthy of being called a Divine Artifact so casually?
But.
The reason soon became clear.
Drip.
'What?!'
The threads still coiled around his right hand were melting away.
With their master's energy severed, the black threads had reverted to ordinary silk.
As Dokma's balance faltered—
Swish!
Se-woon, who had maintained a fixed distance, suddenly raised both hands high and slashed downward.
His body arched like a drawn bow before carving an X in the air—
A motion eerily similar to how Dokma wielded his Poison Claw.
But Dokma noticed nothing beyond that.
'Here it comes.'
Because what followed was a storm of dozens of slashes surging toward him like tidal waves.
Shink!
Swish!
The air itself seemed to tear apart as threads shot forth, targeting every direction around Dokma.
Like a volley of arrows unleashed by archers.
Yet, Dokma remained utterly unfazed amidst the silk downpour.
'You brat! You must think me a complete fool!'
Thud!
His body twisted in grotesque directions again.
No footwork was needed.
Clang! Clash!
With his Red Silk Hand active, he deflected every incoming thread with just his right hand.
A martial artist at the pinnacle of their craft moved with blinding precision.
Crack! Snap!
Amidst the cacophony, the threads Dokma repelled embedded themselves into the cave walls.
Having nullified the assault in an instant, Dokma curled his lips into a vicious grin.
"Kihihi! Did you really think such petty tricks would work on me?!"
"How crude your energy control is."
"......"
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Se-woon—who had been silent—charged at Dokma like lightning.
To Dokma, it looked like a moth recklessly diving into a flame.
Having tapped into his innate life force, Se-woon must have grown desperate, knowing he couldn't afford to waste time.
'Kihihi, but do you really think you can match my speed?'
Dokma retreated at an incomparable speed, intending to toy with his opponent.
Screech!
But then—
A sharp, unfamiliar noise reached Dokma's ears.
Nothing like footsteps.
A sound that shouldn't exist in a cave.
Like metal wires grinding against each other.
Shink!
'What?!'
Dokma was stunned.
Because Se-woon's approach speed had just skyrocketed insanely.
Overlapping his senses, Dokma analyzed Se-woon's movement—
'...He's on par with me?'
It was unmistakably equal to his own.
How could a mere brat keep up with him, who had mastered the Divine Thief's movement techniques?
It was unbelievable—but undeniable.
Shink!
"Ghk—!"
Because Se-woon was already in front of him, slashing down with his daggers.
Somehow, he had drawn a fresh pair mid-charge.
Hummm!
An eerie resonance, like a ghostly wail, echoed through the air.
A vile demonic energy seethed along the blades.
'One-Point Kill!'
Se-woon had seamlessly switched weapons mid-motion and unleashed an assassin's secret technique.
Shink!
The twin daggers crossed like interlocking gears.
Dokma, who had been focused solely on countering the golden threads, hastily raised his right hand to block—
Ting!
'Damn it!'
One of the threads anchored to the wall obstructed his arm's movement.
Swish!
A flash of light cut through the darkness.
"Guhk—!"
Two blades tore into Dokma's chest, leaving behind a gruesome, crater-like wound.
The demonic energy infused in the daggers invaded his body, ravaging his meridians.
Mixing with the Angsinru poison, it triggered excruciating agony.
'You little bastard—!'
An ordinary martial artist would have long since fainted from the pain, but—
Swoosh!
Swish!
Dokma, still fully conscious, didn't retreat—he counterattacked.
His Blue Ghost Claw lashed out like a living serpent, aiming straight for Se-woon's heart.
Screech—!
Then, that same strange noise echoed again.
"—!"
Whoosh!
Se-woon's figure abruptly accelerated away from Dokma.
The Blue Ghost Claw only clawed at empty air.
Finally, Dokma realized the source of the eerie sound.
'This brat—he's using the threads to reel himself back and boost his speed!'
Exactly. The threads Se-woon had fired earlier weren't for attacking.
They were solely for acceleration.
The black threads embedded in the walls were now retracting, pulling Se-woon back at incredible speed.
Dokma's face twisted in disbelief.
Even after decades of weathering the martial world's storms, he had never seen speed amplification like this—achieved not through movement techniques, but through Divine Artifacts.
Meanwhile, Se-woon was thoroughly satisfied.
'This terrain is the perfect environment for me.'
Combat utilizing the Heavenly Net relied heavily on terrain.
Its effectiveness varied drastically depending on the battlefield.
And this cave?
Optimal conditions.
By embedding countless threads into the cave walls—
'I can disrupt the enemy's movements and attacks while maximizing my own mobility.'
He had accelerated by retracting the threads at extreme speed.
Just as the battle seemed to tilt decisively in Se-woon's favor—
"Kuhahaha!"
"—!"
Dokma suddenly burst into maniacal laughter.
His eyes, now nothing but whites within the red sclerae, gleamed with unmistakable madness.
"Remarkable. I never thought I'd genuinely want to take the Poison Lord's grandson as my disciple."
"Kihihi! Even if my body melts into a puddle of blood, I'll drag out every last bit of power you've hidden!"
Whoosh—!
An overwhelming energy erupted from Dokma's body.
He had withdrawn all the energy he had been using to suppress Angsinru's poison and poured it into himself.
With the poison unchecked, his skin bulged with grotesque veins.
Recognizing this transformation, Se-woon instantly knew what Dokma was attempting.
'Supreme Poison Technique!'
The most vicious poison art bestowed upon Dokma by the Blood Demon himself was being unleashed.
Whoosh—!
The blood mist swirling around Dokma suddenly surged back into his body.
Absorbing the blood mist—infused with lethal toxins—was tantamount to suicide.
Yet—
Crack!
Contrary to expectations, an even more terrifying demonic energy erupted from Dokma's body.
The gap in their power widened drastically.
And yet, in this precarious situation—
'He took the bait.'
Se-woon smiled faintly.
Four Sichuan Overlords.