Chapter 217
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 217
Chapter Title: Myriad Phenomena of the Universe
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A strange tension swirled through the air of the small ravine.
The one to first shatter the utter silence was...
"...Who the hell are you?"
It was Cheon Siu, voicing a perfectly reasonable question.
From the very moment he'd first laid eyes on the man.
For some inexplicable reason, an indescribable sense of dissonance had welled up from deep within his chest.
It was a bizarre emotion he'd never felt before in his life, one that couldn't be captured in a single word.
But right now.
The origin of that feeling wasn't what mattered.
He had made a promise to the fox demon.
That he wouldn't abandon her first.
To him, a promise was absolute.
The moment it was broken, his very sense of self would come crumbling down.
That was why the Blood Cult's followers obeyed him as their Blood Lord.
First things first—he had to get her back.
"Heh heh... Good question. It's only proper to answer when asked so nicely!"
The masked man suddenly burst into mad laughter, continuing to dangle the fox demon by her scruff as he spoke.
"To prevent the destruction of this world, to protect its peace! The salt of the martial world, spreading love, truth, and darkness everywhere! The Unrivaled... no, the Heavenly Soldier... hmm, nah, they call me Dugomu the Invincible!"
"Kyau! Kyau!"
In the midst of that ridiculous skit, even a white wolf pup had popped out from who-knows-where to chime in.
Cheon Siu was left momentarily speechless.
"Uh...?"
Baek Liyeon's eyes widened slightly as she recognized the wolf pup.
Only then.
Did Dugomu the Invincible—Geum Sihyeon, who had been spouting all sorts of nonsense while hiding behind the anonymity of his mask—regain a sliver of his senses.
"Ahem. Anyway, get away from that guy."
"That guy?"
"Yeah. I've had my eye on him for a while now. If not, the fox's life is forfeit!"
"Kyeng...!"
The fox demon's body spun in a full circle through the air.
"Kyau!"
Perfectly naturally, the wolf pup bit her scruff, slammed her to the ground, and smacked its lips while landing lightly on the dirt.
Cheon Siu was utterly dumbfounded.
No matter that she'd lost a couple of her tails, Ho Yeonhwa was still one of the ancient fox spirits who'd lived for ages.
How could she be so easily subdued and staggering like that by this white-furred pup?
And Dugomu the Invincible?
He'd never even heard of a surname like Dugo before.
"...You're taking this joke too far."
Along with the growing displeasure stabbing at his heart, Cheon Siu slowly began to build his aura.
The overwhelming presence of the Heavenly Demon, which pierced the heavens and none could easily challenge, started to envelop the ravine.
However.
"Oh, resorting to threats right away?"
Geum Sihyeon responded in kind, unleashing the aura he'd been suppressing until now in a wild surge.
The moment their auras first clashed.
"...!"
Cheon Siu was stunned.
How—how could this man have mastered the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?
There shouldn't be any surviving males of the Cheon bloodline besides himself.
Could it be that this man was a bastard child like him?
Even as those thoughts raced through his mind, their auras continued to collide ceaselessly.
By nature, demons bowed before stronger demons—that was the law of the world.
Even the Heavenly Demon Divine Art was no exception.
That was why he hadn't clashed with the current cult leader until reopening the Heavenly Demon Cave.
And.
"How...!"
Cheon Siu swallowed another gasp of surprise.
The unfamiliar man's demonic energy was devouring his own.
Clearly, his total internal energy output was greater.
And the grim, murder-tainted malice of his demonic energy held the advantage as well.
Yet it felt as if, even though it was the same Heavenly Demon Divine Art, a clear hierarchy had been established between them...
His thoughts reached that point.
And suddenly, Cheon Siu's mind cleared with perfect clarity.
Previously.
He'd heard from Ho Yeonhwa's message that the Heavenly Demon Cave had reopened, and someone claiming to be the Heavenly Soldier seemed to have fully cleared it.
And also.
That there was a man in the Central Plains called the Little Cult Leader's husband, Cheon Luri's spouse.
It all made perfect sense now.
"So you're the Heavenly Soldier—no, Geum Sihyeon."
"Tch. It's rude to call someone by their real name. Anyway, mind sending that junior behind you over here first?"
Cheon Siu obediently released the qi bindings on Baek Liyeon.
The moment Baek Liyeon, still a bit dazed with her eyes spinning slightly, walked forward and reached Geum Sihyeon's side.
Geum Sihyeon's hand gently stroked her head.
His righteous energy suppressed the heavenly kill star's influence once more, steadying her senses further.
"We'll catch up later, junior. Don't follow weird guys around, grab that whimpering little kid over there, and head back to the city."
"...Okay."
She had a mountain of questions she wanted to ask.
But Baek Liyeon swallowed them down, walking over to Dang Narin, who was peeking out with just her face, gauging the situation.
.
.
.
The moment the two women fully departed.
"A promise is a promise."
Geum Sihyeon grabbed the wolf pup by the scruff—it had been mounting the fox demon, growling and slobbering all over her fluffy fur—and lifted it up.
"Kyeng...!"
After the fox demon staggered back to Cheon Siu, she flopped over flat.
Unable to withstand the dual pressure of the Heavenly Beast Heart-Returning Art and Heavenly Demon Divine Art, she'd already spilled everything she knew.
Geum Sihyeon didn't particularly regret releasing the hostage.
"How long do you plan to keep that ridiculous mask on?"
"Eh, no one's around to see anyway."
At Cheon Siu's words, Geum Sihyeon readily removed the mask.
Thus, the two men faced each other truly for the first time.
And.
They both felt it simultaneously—a strange sensation surging from the depths of their chests. Even Geum Sihyeon.
It was like staring into a mirror, yet locking eyes with someone who wasn't himself.
An realm beyond reason or logic.
Geum Sihyeon saw the image of himself, born into misfortune, of unlucky blood, struggling desperately just to survive.
Cheon Siu saw the image of himself, born into privilege, of ordinary blood, struggling desperately just to survive.
And they instinctively knew.
That they could never understand each other.
Before the proposition of survival.
One who sought to rule the world.
One who sought to burn it down.
How could they ever understand one another?
Thus.
The two drew their swords simultaneously.
"Mm. As expected, men should converse with weapons."
"Not a bad sentiment. I agree."
In a lighthearted atmosphere, their utterly unlighthearted swords clashed.
The one who came out at a loss in that exchange was.
"Damn, shit. Profound Realm?"
"Where's a demon like me gonna get Profound Realm? Call it Transcendent Demon."
Naturally, Geum Sihyeon.
He grumbled for a moment—Why the hell does this dogshit martial world have so many Profound Realm experts, fuck—despite having devoured Fire Realm in a year and a half.
"How about we drop the internal energy and settle it with pure swordsmanship?"
"Would you, if you were me?"
"Mm, don't wanna do anything that'll put me at a disadvantage."
At Geum Sihyeon's words, Cheon Siu chuckled lowly.
"Nothing more frustrating than a losing hand."
Though if comparing just the Heavenly Demon Divine Arts themselves, a hierarchy was established.
Unfortunately for Geum Sihyeon.
Cheon Siu had plenty of other means beyond demonic arts.
A blood-red aura leaked from his body, gradually devouring the world and revealing its ominous hue ever more vividly.
In response, Geum Sihyeon withdrew his Heavenly Demon Divine Art, facing it solely with the Northern Bright Divine Art.
The utterly vile blood qi clashed against the utterly pure righteous energy, painting the space around them.
In the battles of absolute masters, clashes of aura and presence held greater weight than weapons colliding.
"Quite the peculiar technique."
Geum Sihyeon's fingers danced ceaselessly, forging formless swords, while Cheon Siu's shed blood drops became writhing blood lances that met them.
Boom, kwang, boom!
Each clash of opposing forces erupted in deafening blasts.
In those exchanges, the one clearly taking losses was.
"Ow, shit."
Obviously, the Fire Realm scrub Geum Sihyeon.
His eyes flashed momentarily toward the still wheezing fox demon.
"Forget it. I've memorized the face of a Heavenly Kill Star already—do you really wanna go there?"
"Tch."
Hostage tactics were for those with nothing to lose anyway.
Before it escalated to mutual assured destruction, Geum Sihyeon quickly changed his mind.
He'd only wanted a quick peek at Nangong Hwi's face before heading to the Nangong Family with light heart, so why the hell did he run into a final boss type here?
But there was no time for sighs.
The surroundings had already transformed into a hellscape of swirling blood mist, like when he'd first met Hong Sundok.
Tricky to escape, tricky to handle casually.
All he could do was keep clashing head-on.
Geum Sihyeon expanded his thinking.
What moves were available against an overwhelmingly superior foe?
Not enough time to forge Invincible Meteor Strike. He'd considered Spiral Ring form, but no confidence it'd land.
Poison? He'd already deployed it.
Cheon Siu's skin was indeed cycling purple tinges, so upping the dosage wouldn't yield much.
If it stayed an internal energy duel like this, he'd be crushed by sheer force.
From a few sword exchanges.
He could dominate in swordplay, but afterward, the opponent deliberately avoided blade clashes, committing to qi strikes instead.
Only one option left.
"Guess I'm gonna have to reveal a lot of my hand."
Murmuring with a hint of lament.
Geum Sihyeon quietly raised his sword vertically.
In the endless path of martial arts, where one hones oneself, transcending human flesh and soul to finally manifest one's pursued direction of the blade to the world.
That was the unique mind-image.
What Geum Sihyeon, who had forged a star, proclaimed was.
The arrogant will to become the world itself, so that none could invade or shatter the realm comprising his very being.
Thus.
All he'd seen, heard, felt until now was fully embedded in his mind, his sword.
And it would remain so henceforth.
How could he, aspiring to become the world itself, fail to capture the intents of the stars touching that world?
Thus, if defining his unique mind-image in words.
The vast forest unfolds with all phenomena.
—Myriad Phenomena of the Universe.
His lips moved softly.
"Martial Arts Return to Origins."
He infused his master's intent into the sword.
"What—"
Cheon Siu, having clashed swords with even Wijiryang before, understood the meaning clearly and filled his eyes with disbelief.
But a dark energy bloomed from the sword, surging toward the heavens and tearing spacetime as it drew a massive circle around them.
The natural qi that filled heaven and earth vanished as though it had never existed—along with the overflowing internal energy within their bodies.
Geum Sihyeon's lips twisted into a smirk.
"I said I don't do losing propositions."