Chapter 103
Chapter 103
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 103
Chapter Title: Chapter 12 - Mission, Investigation (10)
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Yeon Ri-geon wiped the dripping blood from his blade as he gazed at Mok Ri-won.
‘He’s finally reached it.’
Complete Peak Realm.
The realm where one draws out the intent existing within the mindscape and manifests it.
He had anticipated it, but Mok Ri-won had ascended to that realm even faster than expected.
This was troubling.
‘However, my task remains unchanged.’
His orders were to capture Mok Ri-won.
Yeon Ri-geon regripped his cracked sword and overlaid it with Demonic Qi.
“Impressive display.”
“I didn’t do it for your praise.”
“Impressive nonetheless. So…”
Whoosh!
Yeon Ri-geon’s Demonic Qi enveloped his entire body.
“…I’ll humor your antics no longer.”
Yeon Ri-geon shot forward.
Mok Ri-won responded by unleashing his internal energy once more.
Kwaaaang—!
The space trembled.
*
While Mok Ri-won clashed with Yeon Ri-geon.
Dang Hwa-seo was pushing forward, cutting through the surging enemies.
“Gah!”
“Kek!”
Dang Hwa-seo handled the rabble.
She unleashed poison mist everywhere, sweeping the surroundings.
Namgung Jincheon’s role was to protect Seo Ye.
Whenever someone pierced through the poison to reach for Seo Ye, Namgung Jincheon swung his sword mercilessly.
Slash!
One demon was cleaved from the crown of his head down the middle.
Seo Ye swallowed dryly at the sight and said.
“Thank you.”
“It’s my duty. And don’t cling to me. It’s unpleasant.”
Veins bulged on Seo Ye’s forehead.
Even in this moment, Namgung Jincheon’s scoffing and taunts grated on her.
Generously put, it was composure; harshly, arrogance.
As if sensing Seo Ye’s inner curses, Namgung Jincheon stepped ahead once more and swung his sword.
Slash!
Another clean strike felling the enemy in one blow.
But there were too many foes.
Kwang!
“Gurk…!”
Dang Hwa-seo smashed her fist into a demon’s throat.
Surveying the battlefield, she bit her lip.
‘Too many.’
She had judged the inner sanctum lightly guarded, yet they had already faced over fifty.
Had they concentrated forces inside beforehand?
‘No.’
Dang Hwa-seo considered another possibility.
The powerhouse in the direction Mok Ri-won had gone to intercept.
That explained the reinforcements.
At this rate, they wouldn’t reach the end in time.
With that in mind, Dang Hwa-seo shouted.
“Sword Dragon! Take the Sect Leader and head to the core first! I’ll hold them here!”
From here to the Sect Leader’s chamber was a straight path.
If forces were massing, they’d come from behind, so it was faster for her to stay and block while sending Seo Ye ahead.
Namgung Jincheon nodded and scooped Seo Ye into his arms by the waist.
“Eek!”
“Hold on.”
Ignoring Seo Ye’s surprise, Namgung Jincheon erupted his internal energy and shot forward.
Dang Hwa-seo finally caught her breath and faced ahead.
She gave a wry smile.
“Coming at me like a pack of wild dogs.”
She had already slain dozens, yet the passage was filled with demons glaring at her.
Dang Hwa-seo cracked her knuckles with a series of pops.
“Don’t think you can overwhelm me with numbers.”
Against multiple foes of lower realm, this was what Dang Hwa-seo was most confident in.
Moreover, she no longer needed to moderate her poison for allied poisoning.
Shaaa—
Dark green poison mist flowed from Dang Hwa-seo’s body.
Love Heart.
The poison she had awakened upon reaching Pinnacle Realm began filling the space.
“Come.”
Dang Hwa-seo stamped her foot.
The poison mist surged outward like waves.
“Kill her—!”
The demons roared in fury, and Dang Hwa-seo’s solitary defense began.
*
They arrived at the Sect Leader’s chamber door after a nonstop sprint.
Namgung Jincheon furrowed his brow.
“He’s inside. A powerhouse.”
“It’s probably the Lust Demon. Are you alright?”
“A ridiculous question.”
Namgung Jincheon kicked the door with an internal energy-infused foot.
Bang!
The scene revealed was thus.
A fairly spacious room.
The walls were lined entirely with bookshelves, ending with a bed instead of a desk.
A woman lay sideways on the bed, beneath which was a shriveled, twisted corpse. Namgung Jincheon said.
“You’re the Lust Demon?”
“You’re the Ink Dragon? Uglier than I imagined.”
Twitch—
Namgung Jincheon’s fingertips trembled.
His expression darkened deeply.
The Lust Demon, Yang Go-hye, continued.
“This is the unparalleled beauty never seen before? The Little Cult Leader would be better.”
“Little Cult Leader…”
Namgung Jincheon mulled over the words.
He tried to shake off his anger, but failed.
“Filthy whore…!”
Bloodshot veins filled Namgung Jincheon’s eyes.
Whoosh—!
Deep blue internal energy began pressing down on the space.
Seo Ye gasped for breath.
Even though it wasn’t directed at her, the sheer weight made her body scream.
Tap.
As Namgung Jincheon took a step, Yang Go-hye smirked.
“Ah, the Sword Dragon? The wretch pushed to second place the moment the Ink Dragon appears. Well, you do look like runner-up.”
“Shut your mouth.”
His sword rose upward.
Then slashed downward.
Namgung Jincheon’s unleashed energy transcended space, baring its fangs at Yang Go-hye’s waist.
In that instant, Yang Go-hye extended her hand.
Bang!
In Yang Go-hye’s hand burned ominous white flames.
Namgung Jincheon’s power was blocked by that hand.
“Bare-Hand Demon Art.”
One of the signature demonic arts that came to mind when speaking of Demonic Arts in the jianghu, which even Namgung Jincheon knew.
Yang Go-hye narrowed her eyes into crescents as she rose from her seat.
Her attire was so scant it was hard to tell if she wore or shed clothes.
Her long legs glistened, flaunting bare skin.
“Mmm, chicken instead of pheasant. I’ll have to suck your energy dry. Then the Ink Dragon might come riding in too?”
“I’ll sever your neck first.”
“You’re the virgin who gets severed.”
Veins throbbed in Namgung Jincheon’s neck.
Yang Go-hye cackled and said.
“No? Virgins reek of virginity no matter what. You too. Obsessing over purity while cursing whores—that’s peak virgin behavior.”
“Noisy whore.”
Bang!
Namgung Jincheon swung his sword again.
It was blocked once more, but he paid it no mind.
“Filthy whore. You die here.”
His gritted words, spat through bulging eyes, revealed his rage plainly.
Even as she struggled for breath, Seo Ye said.
“Don’t fall for the provocation! The Lust Demon’s arts…”
“I’m not swayed by provocations!”
‘He’s fallen for it!’
How could he claim that with veins bulging in his neck?
With bloodshot eyes?
Seo Ye let out a frustrated sigh.
The Lust Demon Yang Go-hye’s arts operated on a mechanism akin to evil sorcery.
The more intense the emotions, the more reason clouded by them, the easier it was to seduce the opponent.
That was why the Hao Sect had fallen so easily.
Yang Go-hye had torn apart disciples before the others, inciting rage and clouding their reason.
This wouldn’t do.
As Seo Ye’s mind raced with that thought.
“Die, whore!”
Namgung Jincheon swung his sword again.
He seemed half-lost to reason already.
“Rotten-smelling vermin!”
Bang!
“Disgusting bitch who’d even fuck her father!”
Bang!
“Shameless slut with husbands in the triple digits!”
Bang!
With each successive strike, Namgung Jincheon’s momentum grew more ferocious.
Even amid it, Seo Ye felt a chill down her spine.
“Sword Dragon!”
“Don’t talk to me!”
Bang!
Once more, Namgung Jincheon swung, and Yang Go-hye blocked.
The heaving of his shoulders showed how much power he had invested in the prior assault.
Yang Go-hye smirked.
[Hey.]
She spoke with an eerie resonance.
Flinch—
Namgung Jincheon’s body shuddered.
His eyes began to glaze over blankly.
[Come closer.]
Evil sorcery.
Seo Ye had experienced this sorcery once before.
Thus, she grabbed Namgung Jincheon’s waist.
“No!”
But she couldn’t stop him.
Namgung Jincheon, caught in her grasp, took a step forward.
[Closer.]
He stepped forward again at her words.
[Closer.]
He advanced once more.
Seo Ye’s face paled.
‘How…!’
Seo Ye’s eyes darted.
A way to break this situation.
A way to awaken Namgung Jincheon from his clouded mind.
Her racing thoughts sought it.
Then, a fleeting idea crossed her mind, and she seized it.
-Virgin.
The taunt the Lust Demon had used to provoke Namgung Jincheon.
The words that had shaken him.
Light flashed in Seo Ye’s mind.
Hesitation flickered in her eyes.
But it vanished soon after.
‘Not the time to overthink!’
Seo Ye flushed red.
Releasing Namgung Jincheon’s waist, she stepped before him, rising on tiptoes to press close.
Her eyes squeezed shut.
Smack—
Seo Ye and Namgung Jincheon’s lips met.
Namgung Jincheon jolted.
‘He’s reacting!’
Seo Ye trembled as she pressed on.
Chomp!
She bit his lip hard and thrust her tongue in.
Slurp!
As their tongues touched, sending an inexplicable tingle up Seo Ye’s spine.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Yang Go-hye, sensing Seo Ye’s intent, unleashed Demonic Qi.
The white flames gaped wide, targeting the pair.
Seo Ye’s eyes caught it.
‘We’re done for…!’
Crisis surged as she realized they might burn in those flames.
“…Slow.”
Such words burrowed into Seo Ye’s ear.
Looking back at Namgung Jincheon, he stared ahead with lips still caught in hers.
His face was beet red.
Seo Ye startled and pulled back.
Namgung Jincheon then swung his arm wide.
Kwaaaaang—!
The flames scattered under Namgung Jincheon’s erupted energy.
Seo Ye cried out with a brightened face.
“Sword Dragon! You’re back!”
“…”
Namgung Jincheon couldn’t reply.
His flushed face and quivering lips betrayed his shame delaying the answer.
In truth, Namgung Jincheon wanted to drown in a vat of vinegar.
Reality crashed back in an instant.
The pain and soft sensation lingering on his lips.
Seo Ye’s flushed face filling his vision.
Thump— thump—
Recalling it made his heart pound fiercely.
‘To think I…!’
To yield his lips to some strange woman under sorcery!
Like one struck by calamity, Namgung Jincheon first sought excuses above all.
Fortunately, he had one.
“…You scattered Bewitching Incense.”
Only then did he realize the space was filled with mind-clouding Bewitching Incense.
Yang Go-hye clicked her tongue.
“Pity. Thought I could end it right there.”
“Despicable wretch. Resorting to such cheap tricks.”
“Got any words after falling for it?”
Yang Go-hye scoffed, and veins rose on Namgung Jincheon’s forehead.
Seo Ye tried to restrain him again.
“Sword Dragon!”
“I know.”
Namgung Jincheon ground his teeth, glaring at Yang Go-hye.
He wasn’t fool enough to fall for the same provocation twice.
A bizarre standoff.
Yang Go-hye sighed deeply and began unleashing her Demonic Qi.
“Playtime’s over.”
Roar!
The blazing Demonic Qi gradually took form.
The symbol of Peak Realm: qi manifestation.
Seo Ye felt her heart sink as she asked Namgung Jincheon.
“What now?”
“I’ll shatter it.”
“But the qi manifestation…!”
“Shatter it, and done.”
Namgung Jincheon glared at Yang Go-hye and unleashed his internal energy.
His cultivation, grown by pickling his dantian in elixirs, had long surpassed Pinnacle Realm.
“Peak Realm? Touch it, and done.”
“As if it’s that ea—!”
“Easy.”
Hummm—
Namgung Jincheon’s hair began to float in the space-shaking power.
“The star speaks.”
Emperor Star.
The star that earned him the title Next Greatest Under Heaven whispered.
A new blueprint.
“Now is the time to break through the wall.”
Seo Ye swallowed dryly.
Namgung Jincheon stepped forward and said.
“So stay out of the way.”
Amid the internal energy storm pressing down anew, Seo Ye obediently retreated.
She felt inexplicable anticipation at his clearly changed demeanor from before.
But even then, a thought arose.
‘…Something.’
After feasting on temptation and showing every disgrace, now he acts cool.
It wasn’t handsome.
“I’ll end this quickly.”
Not even a little.