The Hunt
"Huff... huff."
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor fled in a panic.
He had neither the time nor the energy to care what was chasing after him.
With his internal energy refusing to gather, nothing came to mind about what he should do.
"Damn it, damn it!"
He spat the curses violently.
He had always prided himself on toying with his opponents from a position of absolute superiority.
He had left behind no evidence whatsoever, yet somehow the Ju Family had been targeting him all along.
"Buy us time. Destroy every last piece of evidence and withdraw before the Ju Family's dogs come swarming in."
"Understood!"
At the Blood Hand Poison Emperor's command, the Black Water Unit and Red Water Unit moved to seal the entrance to Jade Flower Mountain.
Six Blue Water experts led them.
And what they saw was not a force of Ju Family warriors, but a single small child strolling up the path as if out for a leisurely walk.
"Keuk."
Crack!
A gruesome tearing sound shook the battlefield.
The five Blue Water experts flinched.
I observed their reactions closely.
The surroundings had fallen so silent it seemed even the mice had died.
"D-demonic energy..."
Someone finally spoke.
The fierce aura rising from my entire body gradually coalesced into the shape of a dragon, as though it meant to soar into the heavens.
This was no ordinary demonic energy.
The demonic cultivators realized it instinctively.
It was supremely pure, and paradoxically, despite being demonic energy, it radiated an extremely refined power.
An aura this profound could only belong to the chosen few within the Demonic Cult.
The Four Fiends, or the supreme Cheonma himself.
"You... just what are you? How can someone from the Ju Family possess this much demonic energy..."
"I don't take questions."
Boom!
The downside of demonic energy was its extreme consumption of internal power.
Which meant I had to seize control of this battlefield quickly.
The demonic cultivators are ruled by the logic of power.
At the appearance of demonic energy at its peak, they could offer no resistance.
I set down the Blue Water expert whose neck I had broken and moved on to the next target.
Blue Cloud Step.
One of the Ju Family's secret light-body techniques, its movements resembled riding upon blue clouds.
Its flaw was that the blue currents left visible traces, but that only applied to novices who had just learned the technique.
To me, with my profound understanding of martial theory and the unique characteristics of the footwork, it manifested in an entirely different way.
It deceived the opponent's eyes and created openings to strike.
"Keuk!"
One of the Blue Water experts vomited blood and dropped to his knees.
I had driven my fist precisely into his abdomen.
A punch infused with nine-star power.
I didn't stop there. Grabbing a handful of his hair, I lifted him up and slammed my fist into his fully exposed throat.
Crack!
The sound of his neck bone shattering rang out clearly.
At the sight, the surrounding demonic cultivators flinched and retreated.
Instinct.
Whether they were demonic cultivators or orthodox ones, it was an instinct every human possessed.
I was striking that instinct directly.
Delivering the most certain, most fatal fear possible.
By killing the Blue Water experts, who were stronger than them, easily and without mercy.
For demonic cultivators ruled by the logic of power, it was inevitably devastating.
Thud.
Another Blue Water expert collapsed.
Four left.
But the real problem was still my internal energy.
The dantian that had been full was already running dry after only two exchanges.
At most two more? No, perhaps only one.
Only then did the demonic cultivators regain their senses and begin to move.
The realization that they would die if they remained passive had finally struck them.
"Your movements have slowed."
One of the Blue Water experts issued a quiet command.
At his order, the Red Water Unit slowly moved to seize my rear.
"Don't approach carelessly. That bastard... he's exhausted."
The one who had seen through my condition perfectly.
You're already my target.
Soon the Black Water Unit began advancing cautiously.
Shhh.
I drew up my energy.
The Dragon Heaven True Qi surged like a dragon's roar, pouring out heavy power.
I took one light step and pierced straight through a single point.
A brutal close-quarters body technique from the underworld that destroys the opponent's insides through internal vibration. Fast. Agile. Cruel.
I grabbed the first opponent's arm, twisted it backward, and unleashed a continuous barrage of strikes.
Shattering joints, targeting only the weakest points of the bones, I used every opening to close in on the Blue Water expert.
Sring!
A sword flew from its sheath.
Thick, ink-black sword energy poured toward me.
Not even close.
I had already anticipated and induced this.
Deflecting the entire barrage of sword energy with Blue Cloud Step, I drove my fingertips into the Blue Water expert's collarbone.
Crunch!
Another gruesome tearing sound.
This demonic energy... it's incredible.
Its utility far exceeded my expectations.
It had reached the supreme realm of utterly scorning the opponent's own energy.
"Glk... glk..."
I poured in more force and ripped his collarbone free.
A storm of blood erupted.
"......"
The battlefield fell silent once more.
I didn't bother dodging the spray of blood.
"This should be about enough."
I glanced around and muttered.
The demonic cultivators flinched again at the sight.
With three Blue Water experts down in the blink of an eye, they were now watching me with serious wariness.
Here it comes.
I smiled, focusing on the new presence my senses had caught.
It was a little later than expected, but this was sufficient.
"Young Master!"
Muyoung.
His red sword energy trailing behind him, he burst onto the battlefield.
He severed the necks of the Red Water Unit that had taken my rear in a single stroke and took position behind me.
"Perfect timing."
"I was slightly late. My apologies."
I patted Muyoung's shoulder as he expressed his regret.
The situation was over.
Because Muyoung wasn't the only one who had arrived.
Whoosh!
Rough yang energy that seemed hot enough to scorch the skin made its presence known.
"Chief of the Red Dragon Unit."
"Hmm? It looks like an explanation will be necessary, Young Master."
Beneath her languid tone lay a lethal killing intent.
It was Ju Yu-ran, Chief of the Red Dragon Unit.
I had asked Muyoung to persuade her, and she had moved exactly as I anticipated.
Above all, for someone who harbored extreme hatred toward demonic cultivators, even if she couldn't fully believe it, Muyoung's words, coming from a warrior of the Seungryongdae, provided more than enough reason to act.
"I'll explain once we return home."
"Very well. Then..."
Sring!
A sharp short sword peeked out from the end of her sleeve.
Bursting into wild laughter, she charged straight at the Black Water Unit.
A dragon drenched in blood.
Ju Yu-ran was the Red Dragon incarnate.
The Red Dragon Unit warriors followed her lead and began literally butchering both the Red Water and Black Water Units.
"Let's go, Muyoung."
"Pardon? Where to, sir?"
"To catch the mastermind."
I crossed the battlefield and headed for the summit of Jade Flower Mountain.
It was time to capture the Blood Hand Poison Emperor.
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor's hiding place was located at the peak of Jade Flower Mountain.
Truly, it had been lurking right under the Ju Family's nose.
"In the end..."
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor turned to face me.
I approached slowly and sat down before him.
"Since when? How did you find out?"
"Who knows."
I gestured for him to sit.
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor seemed to have given up on everything and obediently sat across from me.
"This poison..."
The poison that had not been detoxified.
No, a poison that could not be detoxified.
"This is a formula only I knew. No... it was merely a theoretical poison art I had once conceived."
"Does that matter?"
"It does. To me, it is more important than my life!"
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor growled.
A small hyena wounded in its pride.
To me, his desperate struggle looked nothing more than that.
"Shut your mouth and prepare to answer my questions."
With those words, I slowly raised my energy.
Boom!
Immense demonic energy flooded the interior of the hall.
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor's eyes widened at the murderous aura.
"Th-this... what is this... d-demonic energy...!"
In extreme confusion, he looked around frantically.
It seemed he could not comprehend the situation.
"How can you possess an aura so similar to 'that person'? Just what are you?"
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor could not move a single finger.
The overwhelming energy was more than enough to bind his entire body and suffocate him.
"Clean out your ears and listen well."
"......"
"Even if I asked for Cheonma's location, he's currently in seclusion, so you wouldn't know it anyway."
"......!"
At those words, the Blood Hand Poison Emperor's pupils trembled violently.
As if asking how I could possibly know that.
"Why the Ju Family?"
"Wh-what?"
"Why did you choose to target the Ju Family? There are plenty of other families. Many that pose far greater threats. So why was the Ju Family first?"
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor remained silent for a long time.
Then, as if he had calmed down, his aura visibly subsided.
Like someone who had resigned himself to everything, a voice laced with ridicule slipped from his lips.
"Because they were annoying."
The reason was that simple.
They had simply been annoying.
Because they annoyed him, the Ju Family had to be the first to face extermination.
And it had to be utterly miserable.
The reason he had killed everyone except me was nothing more than that.
"I see."
I responded calmly.
"Don't think this is the end, you brat. His Majesty, the supreme ruler of ten thousand demons, will devour the entire Central Plains martial world."
Blind loyalty.
The Twelve Demon Emperors were strangely obsessed with Cheonma.
They treated him as a god, worshiped him, and were intoxicated by the ideals he offered.
Even when death stood before their eyes.
I stared directly into the Blood Hand Poison Emperor's eyes and tilted my head.
"What misunderstanding did I just have?"
My hollow eyes gripped his heart.
Insanely empty, unfathomably deep eyes.
It's like...
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor unconsciously swallowed dry saliva.
They're the same as that person's. What kind of eyes are these for a mere child...
Those two pupils that reminded him of someone.
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor lacked the courage to meet them and quietly lowered his gaze.
His mind was in chaos.
It's the demonic energy that person showed us. It was definitely that same aura.
Why? How? Just what was this bastard's true identity?
Why do I feel the same demonic energy that His Lordship possesses coming from this guy!
Everything was incomprehensible.
How had the Ju Family learned of his plan? How had they grasped the Demonic Cult's ten-year scheme? And how did they even know that Cheonma was in seclusion?
To the point that even this young child knew.
"Is your head spinning?"
I smiled at the confused Blood Hand Poison Emperor.
At last, a genuine laugh broke free.
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor, whom I had barely managed to kill in my previous life without even being able to question him.
To capture him so easily this time.
"I felt the same way. You poison bug."
"......!"
Poison bug.
A nickname that had come from demonic cultivators who disliked the Blood Hand Poison Emperor.
The fact that I knew and used that name must have been shocking to him as well.
"Let's finish this."
I rose from my seat.
His internal energy had already scattered into nothing.
He no longer had the strength to resist.
"Ha, to die like this. How utterly hollow. Then the medicine I prepared for my brother..."
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor let out a hollow laugh.
I placed my hand on his head and whispered softly.
"In your previous life, you died by my hand once before. Don't feel too wronged."
"What?"
"Farewell."
Crunch!
Before he could react, I poured energy directly into his skull.
The Blood Hand Poison Emperor collapsed instantly, dark red blood pouring from all seven orifices.
"Hoo."
A sigh of relief finally escaped me.
Beyond simply preventing the Ju Family's destruction, I had effectively stopped the bloody festival the Blood Hand Poison Emperor would have unleashed in the future.
Yet even so, I felt no joy.
"The road I must walk stretches eight thousand li."
I knew all too well that this was not the end, but merely the beginning.