Chapter 80
Chapter 80
The White Night Demon (1)
Suddenly, Seo-un—who had been darting through the forest—came to an abrupt halt.
Thump.
Thump.
His heart began pounding like mad.
It was because the Reverse Heaven Energy had suddenly begun convulsing within him.
But it didn't feel like it was trying to consume him.
Rather, it was as if it was ecstatic—
Thrilled at the prospect of being unleashed soon.
It was the inherent nature of the demonic energy manifesting itself.
Tap. Tap.
The violent throbbing in his upper dantian was so intense that he feared it might shatter, bringing with it a splitting headache.
But—
'There's something there!'
His heightened spiritual senses, opened wide without his conscious effort, whispered to him that something lay beyond—something connected to the Blood Cult.
Since ancient times, the upper dantian had been known as a sacred place where mysteries and the unknown dwelled, where gods occasionally descended.
And now, the Reverse Heaven Energy borrowed that divine voice to spur Seo-un forward.
Go. Hurry.
Set me free.
The one you must tear apart is there.
"......."
Seo-un clenched his fists. Pushing aside the unbearable headache, he stomped the ground violently and launched himself forward.
BOOM!
Was it because of the Reverse Heaven Energy?
His speed had increased exponentially compared to before.
Where he passed, long trails of demonic energy lingered like tails before vanishing silently into the shadows.
The gate to the demonic entity within his upper dantian—
The one he had tried so hard to keep shut since his regression—
The one he had bound with chains and locked tight—
Now rattled violently, as if it might burst open at any moment.
Clang! Clang!
[Young Master Namgung, fall back and tend to your wounds before returning.]
[...Thank you.]
At Se-rin's suggestion, Nam Mu-jin withdrew momentarily.
He needed time to recover from the internal and external injuries accumulated while fighting an opponent of higher cultivation.
"Hah!"
Peng So-hye swiftly filled the gap he left behind.
CRACK!
Her iron fists, imbued with thunderous energy, rained down upon the enemy like a storm.
Peng So-hye was at the peak of the Extreme realm.
Under normal circumstances, landing effective blows on such a superior opponent would have been impossible.
But—
[Right side! Upper left, half a step!]
[Yes, sister!]
With Se-rin's precise guidance—predicting the enemy's movements and directing her attacks—she was performing her role flawlessly.
What was even more astonishing was that while Se-rin issued rapid commands like a general—
CRACK!
BOOM!
—she was also executing her own offense perfectly.
Every time Se-rin's Iron Wire clashed with the enemy lieutenant's sword, the sound of lightning striking erupted between them.
Se-rin was holding her own, fighting on equal footing against an opponent who should have overwhelmed her.
Both Se-rin and Nam Mu-jin were at the initial stage of the Pinnacle realm, yet the results of their battles were polar opposites.
The reason was simple.
While mastering a Poison Art was difficult, once achieved, its destructive power rivaled that of a higher cultivation stage.
In other words, Se-rin possessed destructive force equal to her opponent's perfected Pinnacle realm strength.
'I still can't believe it.'
She was stunned anew as she confirmed that she truly wasn't being overpowered by an opponent at the perfected Pinnacle realm.
As everyone knew, she had been stuck at the perfected Extreme realm for a long time.
But during her first trip to the abandoned mine in Wol Mountain with Seo-un, she had broken through that barrier.
And later, with her brother's help, she had surpassed the Extreme realm and stepped into the Pinnacle realm.
The process had been so smooth and natural that it left her bewildered.
-Of course it was easy.
-Huh?
-The martial principles and insights you had already accumulated were already at the Pinnacle level. The only thing lacking was the absolute quantity of internal energy.
-...!
Her brother had said this while endlessly feeding her the mineral toxins accumulated in the abandoned mine.
It had been a painful experience, but at the same time—
CRACK!
THUD!
—Se-rin's Iron Wire struck the enemy lieutenant's shoulder blade with pinpoint accuracy.
"Guh—!"
...It had been an intoxicatingly sweet experience.
CRUNCH!
Seeing the enemy stagger from the pain of shattered bone, Se-rin unfurled her fan wide.
WHOOSH!
HUM!
A clear resonance echoed from the Iron Wire.
The Poison Cloud Art energy radiating from her body instantly concentrated into the weapon.
SWOOSH!
In moments, multiple whirlwinds began swirling violently atop the Iron Wire.
The enemy lieutenant's eyes gleamed like a venomous serpent's as he witnessed this spectacle.
Gritting his teeth against the pain, he channeled even more strength into his sword grip.
'Poison Art!'
He had already seen his subordinates succumb to poisoning after being struck by those whirlwinds.
But this was actually an opportunity.
Unbeknownst to his foes, he carried an antidote in his pocket.
He planned to feign poisoning, lure them into carelessness, then counterattack when they rushed in.
Just as the lieutenant was plotting his retaliation—
[So-hye, fall back!]
[Yes!]
SWOOP!
Peng So-hye immediately retreated out of range.
Se-rin had ensured she escaped the whirlwind's radius.
WHOOSH!
Simultaneously, Se-rin swung her Iron Wire with ferocious speed.
SWOOSH!
WHIRR!
The five whirlwinds spinning atop the fan shot toward the lieutenant like arrows.
CRACK!
Without hesitation, the lieutenant slashed downward with his sword.
He intended to cleave through the incoming whirlwinds while pretending to be exposed to the hidden poison.
GRIND!
CRACK!
"—!!"
But his sword froze mid-air.
Though his Extreme realm subordinates had easily sliced through these whirlwinds earlier—
Now, they stood firm like immovable boulders, blocking his blade without leaving a trace.
"Kh—!?"
SLASH!
CLANG!
Unable to withstand the overwhelming force, the lieutenant's sword was sent flying from his grip.
'Got him!'
Se-rin's eyes gleamed with predatory sharpness as she confirmed her plan's success.
The whirlwinds she had unleashed this time were fundamentally different from the poison-laced ones before.
These whirlwinds carried Sword Threads—the hallmark of the Pinnacle realm—woven into their currents.
The enemy had lost his weapon precisely because he failed to anticipate this hidden power within the wind.
-We can call this Wind Thread.
Her brother had named this new martial principle—the first of its kind in the martial world, created by Se-rin herself.
Disarmed, the lieutenant panicked.
He wanted to retrieve his sword immediately, but—
"Take this!"
"?!"
SPLASH!
Peng So-hye swiftly kicked the fallen blade into the sea.
WHOOSH!
In that instant, Se-rin performed an enchanting dance reminiscent of blooming flowers.
Celestial Maiden Scattering Flowers.
As the enemy hallucinated heavenly robes fluttering before his eyes—
SHWAAA!
SWOOSH!
Wind Threads rained down in rapid succession.
'Ha.'
Watching the dozens of wind blades descending upon him like a storm, the lieutenant wore a resigned expression.
This was unblockable.
As despair flickered in his eyes—
SHWAK!
CRUNCH!
Countless Wind Threads pierced his body simultaneously.
In that moment, the light left the lieutenant's eyes.
CRACKLE!
SNAP!
Like tightly woven threads of energy within the wind—
His body split into dozens of pieces before collapsing.
SLASH!
With a gruesome slicing sound, the last enemy met a horrific end.
After Se-rin's decisive victory over the lieutenant, the three Pinnacle realm experts joining forces made quick work of the remaining foes.
A newfound hope shone in everyone's eyes—different from before.
'With this, we might resolve the situation without the Demon Doctor's help...!'
If they now moved to assist their allies at the ship's bow, they could completely turn the tide.
Not just surviving—they might even avenge their fallen comrades.
"If this is the case, the murderer who killed Il-ryun must be at the bow."
"Yes. For now, it's highly likely to be Blood Sea Dragon King's disciple, so we must be wary of his signature technique—Jiao Dragon Finger."
"Understood. Let's move immediately!"
Just as everyone prepared to rush toward the bow—
"Ugh... Grk."
"......!!"
An eerie, unrecognizable sound sent chills down their spines.
A new enemy?
When they turned toward the noise, confusion flashed across their faces.
"Young Master Namgung!"
Peng So-hye shouted.
The figure that emerged was none other than Namgung Jun.
Had the battle at the bow concluded?
As she moved to approach—
GRAB!
Peng Dae-ho suddenly seized her arm.
"Brother?"
"...Too late."
"What do you—?"
"Cough!"
Before Peng So-hye could finish, Namgung Jun vomited a mouthful of black blood.
Her eyes widened in horror as she properly assessed his condition.
'Wh-what?'
A woman's arm protruded like a spear through Namgung Jun's abdomen.
The savagely mangled limb belonged to none other than Namgung Ho-yeon.
Frozen in shock, everyone stood like statues—
SLASH!
A sharp cutting sound echoed as Namgung Jun's body collapsed.
"Heh heh... Finally got him."
A chilling voice rang out.
A man slowly walked into view from the bow.
Appearing to be their age, he had stark white hair and sharp, neurotic features as he chuckled.
"A righteous sect bastard using his own sister as bait while he ran away. What an amusing guy."
The man showed no remorse for his horrific actions.
At the sight of him, everyone instinctively realized—
The four at the bow were all dead.
Then, the man's gaze landed on them.
"Hm? Well, well."
"!!"
The moment his eyes met theirs—Se-rin and the others instinctively recoiled.
But the man merely curled his lips in amusement.
"Hey now, you can't just slaughter my precious subordinates like this."
"......."
"Heh heh... Just kidding. It's fine. They weren't my direct subordinates anyway. Just brought them along as 'witnesses.'"
The term "witnesses" was suspicious, but no one dared respond.
WHOOSH!
The oppressive energy radiating from him was overwhelming.
Even without actively releasing his power, the mere leakage of his aura made their skin feel scorched.
'Th-this can't be...'
'Transcendent realm...?'
'Transcendent. And beyond the initial stage.'
'The Blood Sea Dragon King himself...? No, he should be well past fifty.'
The man openly sneered at their shocked reactions.
"I can hear your brains grinding from here."
"...How dare you commit such atrocities. Aren't you afraid of retaliation?"
"......."
"The Martial Alliance will never let this slide."
"Kahaha!"
The man clutched his stomach, laughing uproariously at Peng Dae-ho's words.
"Ah, sorry. That was just too ridiculous."
"......."
"Kehehe... The mighty Martial Alliance threatening me with retaliation? Give me a break."
Arrogance bordering on madness.
In that instant, Peng Dae-ho realized—
This man's backer wasn't just some unorthodox faction.
Something far greater and more sinister loomed behind him.
A darkness beyond his comprehension.
"...Just who are you?"
"Hmm? No need to tell dead men."
"—!"
"Well then, time for you all to die. I've got a long way back."
With that, the man took a step forward and spread his arms wide.
WHOOSH!
Instantly, his ten fingers darkened to pitch black.
The Blood Sea Dragon King's signature technique—Jiao Dragon Finger—was being unleashed.
CRACK!
RUMBLE!
The shockwaves of his energy shook the deck violently.
The overwhelming disparity in power was enough to crush their fighting spirit—
But—
[...Is that really possible?]
[Yes. If you two can buy me just a little time.]
[If that's truly feasible, we might have one chance.]
[...We'll stake our lives on it.]
Through Se-rin's Sound Transmission, they steeled their resolve to resist until the end.
And finally—
"Don't resent me. Your deaths will mark the first step toward a new order!"
SWOOP!
One of the Blood Cult's Ten Great Elders—
The Ninth Elder, White Night Demon Heo So-chang—
Pounced on them like lightning, scattering killing intent.