Caused Another Ruckus
The moment the name Absolute Martial God left Mak Ri-u’s lips, the air around them froze solid. The plaza before the West Lake Number One Inn fell so still it seemed time itself had stopped. The fallen members of the Blood Shadow Ten, Ak Hu who had subdued them, and even the former Black Wind Association fighters gathered in front of the inn—everyone held their breath and stared at Kang Yeon.
Kang Yeon let out a long breath. Being called by that name—one he did not particularly welcome, one he might have preferred the world to forget forever—brought the old memories surging back.
“Absolute Martial God, is it…”
Mak Ri-u took a step forward. The aura of the Blood Demonic Art rising from his body thickened. Crimson-black mist writhed as though it were alive.
“Three years. I spent three years searching for you.”
Kang Yeon’s expression remained calm. He lightly dusted off his apron and spoke.
“So? Now that you’ve found me, what do you intend to do?”
A red light flashed in Mak Ri-u’s eyes.
“Obviously, I’m going to take your head.”
A deep, resonant boom rolled out as Mak Ri-u’s presence exploded. The murderous intent unique to the Blood Demonic Art blanketed the plaza. The ground trembled; the windows of the surrounding buildings rattled.
“Ugh…”
Jang Mu-eon and the Black Wind martial artists dropped to their knees under the crushing pressure. Even Ak Hu frowned and retreated a step, his body shuddering as he recalled the legends of the Blood Demonic Art.
This strong… The Blood Demonic Art really is a terrifying demonic art.
Yet Kang Yeon, standing closest to Mak Ri-u, did not so much as flinch. Instead he sighed.
“I thought that forbidden demonic art had been sealed away forever.”
Mak Ri-u ground his teeth.
“Did you think the Blood Demon’s will would vanish so easily?”
In the next instant Mak Ri-u vanished.
A thunderous crash split the air as his strike slammed into the spot where Kang Yeon had been standing. The stone paving shattered into fragments, leaving a massive crater. But Kang Yeon was already several paces to the side, standing there as naturally as if he had been there from the start.
“So this is the Absolute Martial God, after all?”
Mak Ri-u spun around again. This time he unleashed Blood Demon Palms from both hands.
A low hum filled the air as crimson palm energy surged forward like a tidal wave—one of the ultimate secrets of the Blood Demon Palm Art: Boundless Blood Sea.
“Boundless Blood Sea… It’s been a while.”
Kang Yeon even knew the name of the technique Mak Ri-u was using. He raised his right hand lightly.
A simple motion.
Yet in that moment Boundless Blood Sea halted as though it had slammed into a wall.
“Wh-what…?”
Mak Ri-u reeled in shock. An attack laden with the power of the Blood Demonic Art, stopped so easily?
“The Blood Demonic Art is certainly strong. But…”
Kang Yeon flicked his hand as if brushing away dust.
A sharp detonation rang out. Boundless Blood Sea scattered into nothing. The crimson energy vanished like smoke.
“You still haven’t mastered it properly. Well… of course not. The Blood Demon who could have taught you died long ago.”
Mak Ri-u’s face flushed scarlet with rage.
“How dare you speak my father’s name!!”
A barrage of crushing blows exploded outward. Mak Ri-u poured every secret of the Blood Demon Palm Art upon Kang Yeon without mercy.
Blood Explosion Shatter.
Myriad Blood Ghost Wail.
Blood Demon Heavenly Dance.
Palm after palm crashed down toward Kang Yeon.
Thunderous rumbles rolled across the plaza. Thick blood qi from the Blood Demonic Art enveloped the space around Kang Yeon until it looked as though the gates of hell had opened. Nang Hyeon cried out in panic.
“Y-Young Master!”
But Ak Hu steadied him.
“Don’t worry. There’s no way Yeon-hyung would lose to something of that level.”
Ak Hu was right.
A breeze swept through, clearing the dust, and Kang Yeon’s figure was revealed. He still stood in the exact same spot. Not a single fold of his clothes was out of place.
“Finished?”
Kang Yeon asked in a languid voice. Mak Ri-u, who had retreated after unleashing the assault, stared with eyes full of disbelief.
“Impossible…”
“If you’ve done enough, is it my turn now?”
Kang Yeon took a single step forward. That alone made Mak Ri-u instinctively fall back. An overwhelming pressure crushed down upon him.
So this… is the power of the Absolute Martial God.
Mak Ri-u clenched his teeth. When he first heard that the Blood Demon had died at the Absolute Martial God’s hands, he had refused to believe it. His father, Mak Cheon-gang, lord of the Blood Demon Cult, had been the strongest martial artist in the Central Plains. That such a man could fall to a warrior who had not even reached thirty was unthinkable.
Surely he had been killed by some underhanded alliance of the Murim. And then they had dressed it up as the work of the Absolute Martial God.
That was how the Murim created a single hero in times of crisis and used that hero to protect their vested interests. Therefore the Absolute Martial God’s power must have been exaggerated far beyond the truth.
But it seemed that was not the case.
Still, Mak Ri-u could not accept it.
“Not yet! It’s not over!”
He pulled something from his robes—a black pill.
“That’s…”
Ak Hu’s face hardened.
“The Blood Demon Pill! You madman, if you take that—”
Mak Ri-u swallowed it without hesitation.
A raw, animal scream tore from his throat. Explosive blood qi erupted from his body. The power of the Blood Demonic Art multiplied several times over—at the cost of his life force being rapidly consumed.
“Absolute Martial God! Today I will die here with you!”
Mak Ri-u gathered every last shred of his strength. The sky turned blood-red. A colossal form of the Blood Demon materialized behind him.
The highest and strongest secret of the Blood Demonic Art—a final technique activated at the cost of one’s life.
“What in the world is that…?”
Jang Mu-eon recoiled in horror. The overwhelming demonic energy made even breathing difficult. For the first time, Kang Yeon’s expression turned serious.
“Staking your life… Just how deep does this grudge run?”
Mak Ri-u coughed up blood as he roared.
“My father, whom you killed! My brother, the Blood King, who died by your hand at the Heavenly Demon War! I will avenge my family!”
“The Blood King…”
Understanding flickered in Kang Yeon’s eyes.
“So that’s it.”
A glance at Mak Ri-u confirmed the striking resemblance to the Blood King. They were clearly brothers. That the Blood Demon’s son was the Blood King had been public knowledge.
“There was another hidden son.”
“Shut your mouth!”
Mak Ri-u vomited his rage. The giant Blood Demon formed of pure sword qi crashed down upon Kang Yeon. Heaven and earth dyed themselves scarlet.
Then Kang Yeon spoke.
“I understand. Wanting to avenge your family is only natural.”
He slowly raised his right hand.
“But you should also know this: how many families your father and brother stole while pursuing their own revenge, and what they did with those people’s blood and souls. The Blood Demon Pill you just swallowed is the crystallized essence of those sacrifices.”
A soft light bloomed at Kang Yeon’s fingertips. An ordinary, unremarkable light—yet the moment it spread, something astonishing occurred.
A deep, resonant hum filled the air. Warm energy flowed outward around the inn and began erasing the blood qi Mak Ri-u was releasing. The suffocating blood energy that had blanketed everything melted away like snow. The light soon enveloped Mak Ri-u himself.
“This is…”
Mak Ri-u’s face filled with disbelief. The blood qi boiling inside his body began to fade little by little. Even the life force the Blood Demon Pill had been burning started to settle.
“Hmm. Being the second time, it’s not difficult.”
Kang Yeon’s right hand moved lightly—as casual as brushing dust from a sleeve.
A clear, ringing detonation. The colossal Blood Demon vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed at all.
“Hah… hah…”
Mak Ri-u fell to his knees.
“How… my Blood Demon Descent…”
Kang Yeon stood before him.
“I went through something similar when I fought the Blood Demon. Back then he also tried to kill me by burning his own life force.”
Mak Ri-u lifted his head, spitting blood.
“Yes! My father died by your hand!”
Kang Yeon looked up at the sky. The clouds parted, revealing the stars.
“Well… on the surface it may be known that way.”
“What do you mean by that?”
Kang Yeon gazed quietly at Mak Ri-u.
The story everyone knew—and the truth hidden behind it.
“I have no particular desire to explain myself.”
Tears spilled from Mak Ri-u’s eyes. Whether they were tears of rage or sorrow was impossible to tell.
“I resent it! I resent that I cannot kill you!”
His body slowly toppled. Even though Kang Yeon had stopped the process midway, the amount of life force the Blood Demon Pill had burned was considerable. The backlash had begun collapsing his physical form.
Kang Yeon looked down at him and spoke.
“You and your family were all trapped in the tragic cycle of the Murim. It’s time to break that cycle.”
He extended his hand toward Mak Ri-u.
A clear, pure energy poured from Kang Yeon’s fingertips into Mak Ri-u’s body. The collapsing flesh began to reconstitute itself.
“Good heavens. What is that…?”
Nang Hyeon and Jang Mu-eon could not hide their shock. What was happening before their eyes was beyond human power. A body that had burned its life force—no, its innate qi—being restored to wholeness was something that should have been impossible. Even a great immortal of the highest realm could not have performed such a miracle.
Yet it was happening right before them.
A deep hum resonated as Kang Yeon finished restoring Mak Ri-u’s body and withdrew his energy. Mak Ri-u’s eyes grew unfocused. Faced with his mortal enemy while his life guttered out, he had felt only rage and despair. But the moment life force returned to his body, the emotion that rose was relief.
Clinging to the last shreds of consciousness, a bitter smile touched Mak Ri-u’s lips.
“Absolute Martial God… you truly are strong…”
He collapsed.
Silence settled over the plaza.
A breeze stirred, fluttering the black robes of the fallen man. Looking at him now, it was hard to believe this was Mak Ri-u—master of the Blood Shadow Tower that would assassinate anyone for the right price, the strongest killer who had plunged the present-day Murim into terror. He looked utterly pathetic.
Kang Yeon turned and asked,
“Is anyone hurt?”
Ak Hu shrugged.
“Of course not. As if I’d get injured fighting a mere Blood Shadow Ten.”
Nang Hyeon approached and asked,
“Young Master, are you all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. More importantly…”
Kang Yeon looked at the fallen members of the Blood Shadow Ten.
“We should treat these people. Then hand them over to the authorities.”
Jang Mu-eon asked,
“You will not kill them?”
“There’s no need for any more killing here. These men didn’t come on an assassination mission—they simply followed the Tower Lord’s orders.”
Jang Mu-eon nodded as though he had expected exactly that answer. Yeong-ho spoke in admiration.
“As expected of the Young Master.”
Jo Seol burst out of the inn. She had been holding her breath inside because Kang Yeon had strictly ordered her not to come out.
“Oppa! Are you okay?!”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry—I caused another ruckus.”
Jo Seol’s eyes brimmed with tears as she threw her arms around him.
“You idiot… I was so worried…”
Kang Yeon gently stroked her hair.
“I’m sorry. I keep making you worry.”
The threat of the Blood Shadow Tower was over.
The West Lake Number One Inn could finally reclaim its peace.
Kang Yeon started walking toward the inn, still with his unhurried gait.
“All right, everyone inside. We’ve got breakfast to prepare.”