Chapter 176
Chapter 176
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 176
Chapter Title: Capture (1)
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‘If the subjugation squad or the Black Wind Unit had said that, I would have thought they were just greedy for merit…’
But since it was Liu Zhangming who had spoken, Ouyang Jue believed it was no lie and leaped into the thicket.
Why his senior brother possessed a keener sense than his own was a question for later.
For now, he just had to find the enemy hiding thirty feet to his left and subdue them.
Ouyang Jue’s eyes flashed as he employed his Gleaming Eyes technique.
‘Where are you?’
Who on earth could be watching the battle between the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon and the Martial Alliance?
Ouyang Jue’s form melted into the forest.
* * *
“Aren’t you going to help him?”
The Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon scoffed lightly at Liu Zhangming’s question.
“Why should I?”
“…It seems he wasn’t your comrade.”
A comrade.
The Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon recalled the meaningful glance the Demonic Doctor had given him.
The man had brought him a prosthetic leg, one crafted by the blacksmith once known as the Three-Fingered Iron King.
The Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon still did not understand why the Demonic Doctor had presented it to him.
But one thing was certain.
He wanted the Crow and him to clash, leading to their mutual destruction or at least severe damage.
As he recalled that moment, the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon looked at Liu Zhangming with renewed surprise.
“By the way. Even I was unaware. How did you sense that presence?”
“…”
But Liu Zhangming did not answer the question, instead swinging the Dragon's Tear Sword with an indifferent expression.
*Clang!*
At that moment, Nameless, positioned behind the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon, witnessed a bizarre spectacle.
Although Liu Zhangming had clearly struck first, the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon's technique was being perfectly met by the Dragon's Tear Sword.
This wasn’t a spar between fellow disciples, but a fight for their lives. How could such a thing be possible?
The strangeness Nameless felt manifested as a profound displeasure for the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon.
No matter what variation he attempted, it was blocked by the path of the sword Liu Zhangming had already set forth. Worse, he was even being counter-attacked.
It was like swinging his fists uselessly in the palm of the Buddha.
As if he could read the doubt and shock in the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon’s eyes, Liu Zhangming spoke.
He murmured the name of his ultimate technique in a low, unhesitant voice.
“Fathoming the Heavenly Will.”
He had begun learning the sword to know the Will of Heaven, and he still did not know its meaning.
But to realize and fathom that will, Liu Zhangming had agonized endlessly.
In that process, he had reached a state where he could grasp the intentions of men.
Liu Zhangming felt every single one of the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon’s movements with all five senses, sharing his breath.
If the Path of Zen Scripture was about reading the concept of ‘lines’ in advance, Fathoming the Heavenly Will was about feeling the ‘flow’.
If the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon was dark and damp, Nameless, true to his usual nature, was like an unpredictable bolt of lightning.
In a flow where he couldn’t be certain of who was who, finding the right and wrong answers was solely up to Liu Zhangming's judgment.
The reason he could coordinate so seamlessly with Ouyang Jue without exchanging a single word was that he had learned and mastered Fathoming the Heavenly Will.
“Heavenly Will… Fathoming it…”
Despite being in the middle of a fight, the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon let out a hollow laugh.
How dare someone like Liu Zhangming, who hadn’t even lived a hundred years, speak of Heaven’s will.
To the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon, Liu Zhangming was a being who simply bloomed and withered with the seasons, not even worthy of a laugh.
At least, that’s how it should have been.
‘But why?’
The Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon glared at Liu Zhangming.
It was as if a talent worthy of being called an incarnation of Martial Arts itself was blazing fiercely behind his back.
Just then.
*Slash!*
A blind blade cut across the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon’s back. It was a blow he had allowed because he was too focused on Liu Zhangming.
“This Clear Stream Sword—!”
A warrior from the subjugation squad, overjoyed at having landed a strike on the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon, began to speak with confidence.
But his moment was short-lived.
*Crack!*
A light kick from the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon crushed the Clear Stream Sword’s cheek, shattering his bones to pieces.
Seeing this, Peng Tian-yu trembled slightly.
No matter how wounded, one of the Eight Evils was still one of the Eight Evils.
He was made to realize anew that they were not beings that could be overcome by human strength.
His gaze naturally turned to Liu Zhangming.
‘Why is that young man….’
Why was he facing the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon without any sign of agitation?
As Peng Tian-yu’s eyes remained fixed on Liu Zhangming, Nameless let out a fierce roar.
“Hyaap!”
As if on cue, it became a signal that made Liu Zhangming’s sword dance.
Sometimes fast, sometimes solemn.
The dance of the two warriors against the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon continued without a moment’s rest.
*Clang, clang-clang!*
In the flood of demonic energy that seemed to have no end, the subjugation squad trembled.
Even the Black Wind Unit, who had vowed to avenge Jeok Sa-goeng, clenched their teeth.
They had not retreated from the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon, but they were gradually feeling a sense of powerlessness.
‘How are we supposed to fight something like that?’
Soon, they realized the gap.
The gap between themselves and Liu Zhangming, who possessed a heavenly martial talent, and Nameless, who was a born martial genius.
The fortitude of the spirit they had built up over their lives.
They felt a sense of respect, especially for Liu Zhangming.
At that moment, the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon muttered a small complaint.
“This is not the sword art of the Mount Hua Sect, is it?”
“…Hmph.”
Nameless’s lips curled before Liu Zhangming could answer.
He assumed the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon’s words were meant to disturb Liu Zhangming’s state of mind.
“What does it matter what martial art he uses? Are you trying to make excuses because you think you’re going to lose?”
Then, Liu Zhangming lightly swung the Dragon's Tear Sword.
“Heavenly Prison Sword.”
“…?”
“It is a sword art created from the collective minds of the entire Mount Hua Sect to deal with demonic creatures like you, and it is my own personal enlightenment.”
Liu Zhangming stared at the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon’s demonic energy and sneered softly.
“How could you, who merely wields a wicked aura, possibly withstand it?”
At those words, a menacing energy began to swirl around the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon’s entire body.
Simultaneously, Liu Zhangming glanced at the right leg that Ouyang Jue had been targeting all along.
‘If I can just create a slightly bigger opening, it’s possible.’
Plum Sword’s Heavenly Chase.
That was the name of the technique that would sever the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon’s life.
* * *
‘Looks like he’s losing.’
The Demonic Doctor released his Art of the Stolen Eye from the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon with an indifferent face.
He hadn't had high expectations in the first place.
He had met a formidable foe named Seo Mun-hwi and lost his right foot, and as soon as he entrusted his body to the Crow, he was used as a disposable pawn.
It was a fate that naturally led to death.
He had given the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon one chance on a whim, but in the end, the absence of a leg could not be overcome.
For a moment, the Demonic Doctor’s expression turned grim, wondering if even one of the Eight Evils was no match for a warrior blessed by the Plum Blossom Cave.
Then, his gaze shifted to the right.
—Are you there?
A chilling voice, like a blade scraping against marble.
The Demonic Doctor realized that danger was upon him and rose to his feet.
*Rustle.*
Was the mere sound of rustling leaves meant to be enough?
*Shh-shh-shh-shhk!*
The Demonic Doctor sensed the sound approaching rapidly.
‘Did the Crow betray me too?’
The moment the thought crossed his mind, he shook his head slightly. While it might be true for the one-legged Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon, there was no reason to discard him yet, as he was still useful.
Above all, unlike the Buddha-Slaying Divine Demon, he himself posed no real threat to the Crow.
Which meant it was someone else.
‘…Don’t tell me.’
Had Ouyang Jue, who had disappeared, not gone to rest but had actually been searching for him?
The Demonic Doctor leaped down from the tree and pulled out the stone staff he had planted in the ground.
With his other hand, he grabbed a handful of talismans, having no time to even count them.
He couldn't predict the moment of Ouyang Jue’s arrival with a shaman's senses.
“…”
Just as the Demonic Doctor finished his silent preparations, not letting a sound escape.
Severing Manifestation abruptly appeared above his head.
…*Slash!*
Despite taking every precaution he could, the Demonic Doctor felt the prayer beads around his neck being sliced apart.
*Step, step.*
Watching Ouyang Jue emerge from the dark thicket, the Demonic Doctor wore a faint sneer.
“Do you think capturing me will change anything?”
“…”
A brief silence.
It was only the time it took to blink three times, but Ouyang Jue and the Demonic Doctor focused all their senses on each other.
Who would swing their blade—or staff—first?
That difference would surely decide their fate. The Demonic Doctor taunted Ouyang Jue with a cold gaze.
“To the Eight Evils, I am less than a speck of dust. No matter how much physical pain you inflict, you’ll only get fragmented information. You will never reach their core.”
At those words, Ouyang Jue casually flicked his ear.
“Is that all you have to say?”
“…What?”
“Whatever you say, whatever you do, my course of action is set. You know that, don’t you?”
“Foolish man.”
“We’ll see.”
Ouyang Jue tapped the Demonic Doctor’s shoulder with a faint smile.
“Whether you’re foolish or wise will probably be decided by your mouth and the torturer assigned to you, don’t you think?”
“And you still call yourselves a righteous sect?”
“A righteous sect… Those are nice words.”
Ouyang Jue looked back on his past actions.
Deceiving his own sect, annihilating the Zhenzhou Yan Clan through wrongful means, and watching the person who helped him die.
If he were part of a righteous sect, or at the very least someone who knew morality, the only thing left to do would be to take his own life.
In that process, his guilt had not just hit rock bottom, it had long since dug its own grave.
Ouyang Jue was not foolish enough to repeat his past mistakes.
Especially when his opponent wasn't a fellow disciple, but the Demonic Doctor.
“I wonder if splitting your head open will yield information or just blood. I’m getting a little curious.”
“A warrior of the Mount Hua Sect, yet you speak like a demonic fiend!”
“You didn’t know?”
Ouyang Jue recalled what Cheol Pung-gae used to tell him often.
“I’ve always been a piece of trash.”
“…!”
“I’m also enough of a scoundrel not to show you respect, even if you are older than me. Drinking wine through your nose might not be so bad, would it?”
The Demonic Doctor’s face grew stiffer than before as he asked.
“Do you think your senior brother will condone this?”
“No.”
Ouyang Jue’s shoulders shrugged cheerfully.
“I plan on doing as I please.”
With that single phrase, the Demonic Doctor’s face was momentarily submerged in bewilderment.
Seeing this, Ouyang Jue naturally grew suspicious.
The Demonic Doctor, who had hidden his intentions behind a mask of indifference until now, was shaken by a mere declaration that he would act on his own?
Ouyang Jue’s eyes glinted sharply.
‘Don’t tell me… he thought I’ve been moving here and there under Senior Brother Liu’s orders this whole time?’
The Demonic Doctor’s wise mouth would have to confirm it, but a gut feeling that sparked in a situation like this was rarely wrong.
Ouyang Jue decided to ask the question that had been nagging him, just in case.
“You asked me before.”
“…”
“Why were you so curious about my senior brother’s martial prowess?”
A subtle smile touched Ouyang Jue’s face as he watched the Demonic Doctor closely.
“Your face looks wiser than before. Good. Shall we continue this conversation elsewhere?”
At his words, the Demonic Doctor shook his head slightly.
“That won’t be happening.”
“It seems your confidence is overflowing.”
As they exchanged these brief words, Ouyang Jue tried to probe for an opening in the Demonic Doctor’s defense.
But the experience the Demonic Doctor had accumulated was too solid to be broken by a silver tongue alone.
‘When we met in Huguang, there was a distance of dozens of yards between us, but…’
Now, it was barely ten to twenty paces.
If there was a chance, this would be the last one.
*Whoosh!*
Having made his decision, Ouyang Jue swung Severing Manifestation lightly.
“How about you play with me for a bit?”
“…Hmph.”
The Demonic Doctor let out a small sneer.