Chapter 152: Pincer Attack (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 152: Pincer Attack (2)
"Daehyeop!"
"Daehyeop Seok!"
The onlookers cried out in alarm, but their voices failed to reach Seok Myeong’s ears.
He gripped both of the monster’s hands, glaring fiercely into the beast's bared teeth and predatory eyes.
Ssssssssss.
Seok Myeong felt an intense heat concentrating in the creature's palms. The Azure Wind Qi flowing through his meridians began to surge toward his hands all at once.
"Get away from it!"
"Hurry, move!"
"Kugh!"
At that moment, the face of the Giant Demon—which had been attempting to drain his internal energy—twisted into a look of pure confusion. It was an expression remarkably similar to a human who had no idea what was happening.
"…?"
Seok Myeong was equally bewildered.
The beast, which had been ravenously consuming the internal energy of the Little Divine Monk Beopgye only moments ago, wasn't using its absorption art on him.
No. It wasn't that it wasn't using it.
What is this?
Rather, the flow of qi was reversing. The Giant Demon’s formidable internal energy was surging into Seok Myeong through his palms.
"Grrrr!"
"Where do you think you're going!"
Grip!
The Giant Demon tried to break free from his grasp, but Seok Myeong held on even tighter, refusing to let go.
Thud.
"Kugh!"
The Giant Demon, struggling against Seok Myeong with locked hands, fell to its knees.
The onlookers' eyes widened in shock.
"How can this be?"
The monster’s arms had drained the energy from Beopgye’s right hand in an instant. Everyone had assumed Seok Myeong’s internal energy would be devoured as well, but instead, it was the Giant Demon’s yang qi that was being depleted.
"The Demonic Energy Absorption Art is…"
"Being absorbed!"
As the tide of the battle turned, Jin-cheon, Yu Yeok-gil, and Yu Hwa held their breath.
The Giant Demon was trembling violently, and Seok Myeong was pushing back against the creature even more fiercely. It was a sight they couldn't believe, even as they watched it with their own eyes.
*
Crack! Snap!
Contrary to what the onlookers thought, the clash of internal energy was becoming unpredictable.
In terms of raw internal energy, the Giant Demon was actually stronger. Though Seok Myeong had reached the level of Five Cycles, for some reason, his opponent possessed far more internal energy than he did.
However, in the end, Seok Myeong held the advantage.
"Grrr! Grrrrk!"
The Giant Demon had lost control of its own energy, its mind wavering, while Seok Myeong had concentrated his entire being into his hands, maintaining perfect control. That was the reason he could overcome an enemy despite having less internal energy.
"Kh-ugh."
But it wasn't an easy fight for Seok Myeong, either.
What was currently seeping into his body was pure demonic qi. It was a horrific energy, a hundred times more agonizing than the terrible pain he had felt when he first accepted demonic arts into his body.
"…it," Seok Myeong groaned through gritted teeth. "Someone! Cut off this thing's head! Now!"
"Ah!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than Jin-cheon’s brilliant blue sword aura slashed through the Giant Demon’s body like a bolt of lightning.
It split the creature exactly in half.
"Kyahhhhk!"
With a final shriek, the Giant Demon died instantly.
Seok Myeong, reeling from the shock, took a step back and collapsed onto the ground.
Splurt!
He vomited up a large mouthful of blood.
"Hey!"
"Are you alright?"
Jin-cheon and Yu Yeok-gil rushed toward him. Just as Yu Hwa reached out with a worried expression to support him—
"Do not touch me!"
"Huh?"
Seok Myeong hurriedly waved his hand as Jin-cheon approached.
The demonic qi he had absorbed from the Giant Demon was currently rampaging inside his body. He was using every ounce of his strength to purify that energy; if someone touched him now, a disaster might occur where he accidentally absorbed their energy as well.
"Haah, haah…"
Seok Myeong lay there, trembling for a long time.
While the purification was underway, Seok Myeong’s eyes took on a greenish tint, and his clothes tore from the sheer heat radiating from his body.
"This energy is…"
"…"
Seeing the transformation taking place, Jin-cheon and Yu Yeok-gil couldn't bring themselves to step closer. They realized that Seok Myeong was enduring the demonic qi within his body and attempting to overcome it.
As for how such a thing was even possible, that remained a mystery.
After some time had passed, Seok Myeong regained his composure and looked up. He could feel that the way they looked at him had changed.
He had blocked the Giant Demon’s attack. He had used an absorption art and survived even after taking demonic qi into his body. These facts had clearly sparked their suspicions.
This is bad.
Seok Myeong smiled bitterly. To make matters worse, he sensed people approaching from a distance.
Whoosh. Flicker.
Silk robes shimmered in the firelight.
Judging by their attire, they were experts of at least the Elder level, and they were approaching in a group.
"I… I will go and recover for a moment."
Seok Myeong staggered to his feet.
In this situation, meeting them would bring more harm than good. They would likely interrogate him about his connection to demonic arts, and in the worst-case scenario, it would bring disgrace to the name of the Qingcheng Sect.
"Go ahead. Hurry and look after yourself."
"Let us meet again if the opportunity arises."
"Thank you."
"…"
Surprisingly, the others did not stop Seok Myeong from leaving. They seemed to understand—or rather, they were prioritizing the well-being of a comrade who had fought alongside them.
"My thanks…"
Swish!
Before he could even finish his sentence, Seok Myeong leaped away, quickly vanishing into the night.
Jin-cheon, Yu Yeok-gil, and Beopgye sighed as they watched Seok Myeong’s hasty exit.
"He said his name was Seok Myeong, right?" Beopgye asked.
"Rumors in the Jianghu are often exaggerated, but in this case, it seems the rumors didn't do him justice. That man… I don't think he belongs among the Five Dragons."
Jin-cheon nodded.
"He certainly seems different from us," Yu Hwa agreed.
She had felt it during the fight as well. Seok Myeong’s martial arts and his quick wit belonged to a realm they had never experienced.
"I will say this with certainty."
Yu Yeok-gil spoke quietly, his voice calm.
"He is one of the Hundred Great Masters. And before long, he will rise to become one of the Ten Great Masters."
Everyone nodded. There was no room for doubt.
*
"What happened?"
Two elders of the Diancang Sect rushed toward Lee Gon. They were Nok Gwi-bo and Gwi Cheon-neung, their eyes sharp and predatory like vipers.
"First, let us go over there."
Lee Gon pointed toward the site where the fierce battle had taken place. He had been near that area until just a moment ago.
"What could be so important that you summoned even us?"
"The Giant Demons and the Rising Stars are fighting."
"The Rising Stars?"
When Nok Gwi-bo looked puzzled, Lee Gon nodded.
"Yes. Beopgye of Shaolin, Jin-cheon of Wudang, Yu Yeok-gil of Mount Hua, and Seok Myeong of Qingcheng."
The moment they heard the name Seok Myeong, the two elders frowned. It looked as if fire might erupt from their eyes.
"Good. This is our chance to hold him accountable."
Gwi Cheon-neung gritted his teeth.
He had tried to eliminate him earlier, but there were too many eyes watching. However, in a chaotic situation like this, without the other elders present, it would be entirely possible.
"Let's go!"
At his command, the two figures blurred into motion. Lee Gon, who had slipped away from the Martial Alliance, also turned back and began running toward the scene.
Meanwhile, in a different location, five elders were gathered around a fallen Giant Demon.
Elders from Shaolin, Wudang, and Mount Hua stood at the front, while the elders of Kongtong and Kunlun watched from behind.
"So this is the monster that absorbs internal energy."
It had a human shape, but it was different in several ways. Its skin was swollen as if it had been seared by fire, and its blood was a strange hue—a mixture of red and green.
A sword wound ran through the monster’s body, piercing from its chest to the top of its head. Taoist Unyang of Wudang had finally succeeded in slaying it after a desperate struggle.
"What do you make of it?"
One of the elders addressed Taoist Wongang, who was standing in the back.
Wongang approached the corpse. After staring at the body for a while, he placed a hand on the monster.
"Half demonic qi. Half ordinary energy."
"…!"
"…!"
The observing elders all frowned. They had suspected as much, but hearing it confirmed as demonic arts was devastating.
"How could a creature possessing demonic arts appear here?"
"Has the Demonic Cult truly resurfaced?"
"What do you mean, half demonic and half ordinary?"
As shocked voices murmured around them, Wongang continued his explanation.
"It died just moments ago, but it is aging at an incredible rate. However, traces of blood remain in certain parts, and the bones, which have melted beyond decay, stopped at this point. It seems the energy within its body had not yet fully converted into demonic qi."
"…"
"If these creatures were first discovered in the Inner Court of the Martial Alliance and nowhere else, it means they didn't break in from the outside."
As he trailed off, Elder Gu Jong-myeong of Mount Hua looked around with a grave expression. He was looking for the Alliance Leader.
If they hadn't broken in, it meant they were already inside the Martial Alliance, which would only be possible with the Leader's permission.
"We have no choice but to ask Alliance Leader Go Ju-gang about this."
The Shaolin elder, who had been silent, spoke slowly.
Everyone remained silent in unspoken agreement. The matter had become so volatile that no one knew which way it would turn.
*
Step. Step.
A middle-aged man and an elder with his mouth covered by a cloth were passing through the main gate of a massive pavilion.
This was a secret chamber constructed with intricate mechanism traps.
However, the entrance to the building was already smashed to pieces, and several warriors lay scattered on the floor, vomiting blood. Some had their chests pierced through, some had their heads missing, and others lay in heaps of broken bones and flesh, dripping like liquid, their forms unrecognizable.
As the middle-aged man and the elder passed through the triple-layered gates, they saw that the iron bars installed for the final defense had been brutally torn away. It appeared someone had escaped by ripping the bars apart with raw strength, not a blade.
They passed that area and stopped at a certain point. It was a terrain where the ground had caved in like a massive crater.
"They likely escaped from here," Ji Jung said cautiously.
"Most likely."
Go Ju-gang nodded. He stepped into the ruined cave, and Ji Jung followed behind him.
Nothing inside the cave remained intact. The iron bars were all twisted, and the bricks were shattered and blown away. The ground they stood on was covered in layers of debris from the broken walls.
Go Ju-gang’s eyes began to move rapidly as he scanned the interior. He moved deeper as if searching for something, but upon reaching a dead-end wall, he realized something and stopped.
"There are no corpses."
"Yes."
"Perhaps…"
"That is likely the case."
Ji Jung seemed to know what the Alliance Leader was thinking. Only he and the Alliance Leader were privy to this truth.
"I underestimated them. It's not as if I didn't know their martial arts."
"It couldn't be helped. Who could have predicted they would manifest so perfectly?"
Ji Jung offered words of comfort, but Go Ju-gang was already blaming himself.
He had expected the captured Giant Demons to learn the Demonic Energy Absorption Art. But he never imagined the art would have such an effect. He hadn't considered that they would devour each other to transform into even more powerful Giant Demons.
After a long moment of contemplation, Ji Jung asked, "The problem is what comes next. This was unexpected. The elders of the various sects gathered at the Alliance will surely be suspicious."
"I suppose so."
Go Ju-gang looked up for a moment and said, "But do we not have an excellent shield? Furthermore, we have obtained that which no one else possesses."
He smiled faintly. Under the lamplight, the Alliance Leader’s eyes glinted with cunning.
"I will handle this incident myself. As for the aftermath, Qingcheng will take the fall for us."