The Pinnacle of Martial Arts (2)
Myeong-yun's broadcast viewership was steadily climbing toward its peak.
The discovery of a new route called the "Murim Public Enemy" in Sapeong Murim, along with the battle clips beginning to spread everywhere, drew viewers in as though raking them together with iron claws.
As a result, the current viewer count had surpassed thirty-six thousand.
"Try harder."
While the crowd poured in, Myeong-yun toyed with the assassination squads.
He met their endless charges, redirected them, and laid them out across the ground.
The fact that no one had died yet—aside from the very first man whose neck he had snapped—only made the scene more horrifying.
"Damn it, why can't I reach him!"
"It feels like if I just stretch one more inch I'll touch him, so why?!"
"Oh God!!!!!!!!!!! Why are you giving me this trial!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
One of the assassins even seemed to have a broken AI, screaming his prayers to the heavens.
The assassination squad drew on every last ounce of their internal energy and unleashed their most lethal techniques.
All manner of dazzling effects poured toward the motionless Myeong-yun, yet when the rising clouds of dust cleared, he stood there without a single scratch.
Lightly brushing the dirt from his clothes, he took a step forward.
With each step he advanced, the assassins retreated one step back.
Facing dozens of assassins alone, killing none and sustaining no wounds—this was a reality even the artificial intelligences could not process.
Even when they charged with blades leading the way, they were sent rolling across the floor in the blink of an eye.
After the phenomenon repeated again and again, those who knew nothing of true martial arts could only feel terror.
"Why do you all cower so?"
Myeong-yun continued advancing without pause.
Each time he did, the assassins fell back, so the distance between them never narrowed.
"Where has your earlier arrogance gone? Retreating like frightened dogs—do you still dare call yourselves martial artists?"
No one refuted Myeong-yun's words. Perhaps they felt too pathetic for being intimidated by a single man.
As if his taunt had instead given them courage, the man who appeared to be the captain of the Demonic Cult's assassination squad stepped forward and roared.
"How dare you spout such drivel! You truly are an impostor pretending to be the Heavenly Demon! I cannot overlook this. I shall show you the martial arts of our cult!"
The captain's roar signaled the others. Crimson energy erupted from their chests and spread across their entire bodies.
"All units, release the Reverse Heaven! Kraaaaaaaaah—!!"
At the captain's command, red energy surged from the internal energy storage in their chests. The other Demonic Cult assassins did the same. Crimson aura poured from their chests and bodies, turning their skin a violent red.
The momentum they emitted swelled in an instant, and steam began rising from their skin.
It was the heat generated by their rapidly reversed blood flow escaping the body.
Seeing this, Myeong-yun spoke.
"Reverse Heaven? No, it is the Reverse Blood Demonic Art. By forcing the body's blood flow to travel against its natural order, one gains immense power in a short time. It is not a bad technique, but are you aware that using it will kill you?"
"Heh heh, of course we know. Consider it an honor! We determined that nothing short of our strongest demonic art could kill you!"
"...How pitiful. To choose death before you even understood the art."
"Shut up! Now we'll kill you! Everyone charge! Offer this bastard to the Demon God!"
"These juniors refuse to listen even when spoken to. What am I to do with them?"
The viewers who had begun to over-immerse alongside Myeong-yun.
Myeong-yun offered them a single piece of advice.
"My dear children, I hope you do not follow in the same footsteps as these fools."
Myeong-yun lightly ignored the viewers' nonsense.
He had learned by now how to mute their chatter.
The assassins who had completed their demonic art activation charged toward Myeong-yun.
They approached at twice the previous speed and swung their fists.
The Reverse Blood Demonic Art amplified physical ability at the cost of all reason needed to wield a blade.
They forgot every martial form and became nothing more than rampaging monsters.
They've implemented it rather realistically. The Reverse Blood Demonic Art...
They called it Reverse Heaven, yet the technique granted no power capable of overturning the heavens.
It was simply a suicidal art that dragged the enemy down with them.
"This Seat forbade the Reverse Blood Demonic Art in his own era. To think later generations would revive it."
The fists of the demonic cultivators who had activated the Reverse Blood Demonic Art came flying with menacing force.
A single hit would be powerful enough to drain every last point of Myeong-yun's stamina according to the system.
Yet Myeong-yun simply extended his hand and gently redirected them.
The trajectory of every fist aimed at him was altered, striking other demonic cultivators instead.
All the fists changed direction in this way—some collided with each other, while others sent their owners crashing to the ground.
Within the storm created by the fists, the space where Myeong-yun stood remained perfectly calm.
Like the eye of a typhoon, not a single fist could reach him.
It was as if eyes grew on the back of his head; he sensed every surprise attack from behind and redirected it with ghostly precision.
The fists of those who had lost their reason only led to self-destruction once they left the proper path.
Before long, every member of the Demonic Cult's assassination squad had collapsed.
Myeong-yun watched them slowly groan and die from their reversed blood flow before he spoke.
"Now I understand why only the demonic side remains in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult."
Time flows and eras change.
"The era in which This Seat lived valued nothing more than martial prowess, righteousness, and martial arts above all. Yet this era has become one where only money remains, and even martial arts are bought and sold with it."
Not all of Myeong-yun's viewers were familiar with VTubers, so some questioned his setting.
Even so, most of them were falling deep into the immersion.
Myeong-yun smiled bitterly and approached the dying men, raising his fingers.
...If they have fully implemented the acupoints, then perhaps.
His fingers moved at blinding speed, striking vital points all over the dying man's body.
Starting from the head and moving downward, he sealed every acupoint up to the abdomen. The man coughed up a mouthful of black blood, and his expression grew much more peaceful.
"It works. They have made it quite detailed."
"I stimulated the acupoints to reverse the reversed blood flow back to its proper direction and made them expel the stagnant blood. If they are unlucky they will die. If they are lucky they will live. It would help if they had eaten plenty of seaweed and liver in the past."
Myeong-yun performed the same treatment on the other demonic cultivators as well.
Though the cult had changed, they were still members of the Demonic Cult.
Even if they bared their fangs, they were still believers of the Divine Cult.
They had simply lost their way for a moment.
Leaving the viewers' usual heated debate behind, Myeong-yun slowly walked forward.
His destination was the assassination squads of the Righteous Faction and the Evil Faction, who had been watching the Demonic Cult's squad.
"I showed mercy to those children because they are mine, but I shall show none to you."
It was a warning that they should leave if they valued their lives.
The assassination squads from the Namgung and Evil Alliance who had just witnessed the Demonic Cult's Reverse Blood Demonic Art users fall helplessly wore expressions of pure shock.
A monster.
They had thought him a madman pretending to be the Heavenly Demon, but in reality he was a monster who rivaled the title.
The thought that he might truly be the Heavenly Demon began to dominate their minds.
After all, he was a natural-born martial artist with no internal energy storage.
"If you are confident, come."
At Myeong-yun's words, the Evil Alliance and Namgung assassination squads turned and retreated as if they had no choice.
The very squads that would normally fight to the death even if it killed them were now tucking their tails and running.
The viewers expressed confusion at the unfamiliar sight.
Myeong-yun let the fleeing enemies go and approached the demonic cultivators who still lay groaning on the ground.
They seemed to have regained some of their senses and were slowly rising to their feet.
Yet even though Myeong-yun had saved their lives, the killing intent in their eyes had not disappeared.
That was how grave a sin pretending to be the Heavenly Demon was to them.
Myeong-yun told them,
"Return to the cult. This Seat will neither hide nor run, so go back and bring even stronger experts. Bring before This Seat masters that you cannot possibly face."
"Damn it... what is your goal! Just kill us already!"
"As one who has become the Heavenly Demon, I cannot take the lives of those who devote themselves to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult. Unless it is for their education, that is."
Myeong-yun turned away from them, his long black coat fluttering in the wind.
His hair danced as well. He glanced back over his shoulder and continued.
"This Seat wishes to teach you what true martial arts is. If it cannot be restored, then it must be built anew."
Therefore—
"Train harder. This Seat has personally destroyed every last one of your unnecessary internal energy storages, so go and build a new tower from the ground up."