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Chapter 59. The Cold Glint of a Well-Polished Sword (6)

“So no matter what sort of unfortunate past you may have, you’re not worth anyone’s pity. You’re still nothing more than a blood-crazed monster and a murderer.”

The Blood Cloud Devil Emperor was definitely strong. But, even though he felt the threat of death, Woo-Moon would never hold back from saying what he wanted to say.

He chuckled at Woo-Moon’s cold words.

“You really are the grandson of the Palm Martial Emperor, aren’t you? You’re exactly like he was when he was younger So, what’s your name?”

“Song Woo-Moon.”

“Song Woo-Moon... Good. So, you’re learning Daoist martial arts, right?”

“That’s right.”

“So Daoism, huh? Then, do you also want to become an immortal, too?”

‘An immortal?’

“I’ve never thought about something like that. I just want to walk the path of the sword. I want to see what’s at the end of the path.”

“So you dream of becoming a Sword Immortal, then. But what a pity. You’ll never be able to see what lies at the end of the path.”

“What makes you say that?”

The Blood Cloud Devil Emperor laughed, his voice rising.

“Hohohohohohohoho!”

The sound of his mysterious laughter filled the heavens and earth. The water of the trembling Yangtze River gushed out like a fountain as if blasted by an explosion. At the same time, a terrifying, deadly force bloomed from the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor\'s body.

“You didn’t think there was any way I’d let you live once you bared your teeth at me, right, brat?”

Everything before Woo-Moon’s eyes turned red.

The ground had turned crimson, and the trees and stones in the pavilion were mired in blood. It was by no means an illusion, as the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor had unleashed a demonic qi created by the Merciless Blood Devil Art that overwhelmed the surroundings and impacted the landscape.

However, Woo-Moon was confident that the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor wouldn’t kill him at this time.

‘If you were planning on killing me, you wouldn’t have bothered to tell me every detail. Right, Blood Cloud Devil Emperor?’

Indeed, Woo-Moon’s thoughts were correct.

The Blood Cloud Devil Emperor, who looked like he was going to make a move to kill him at any moment, suddenly stopped emitting bloodlust and said, “How boring. You’re still too weak. Good, I’ll wait exactly three years for you. In three years, I’m going to take your life.”

“Why?”

“Didn’t I just tell you? This is boring. It’s better to catch a carp than to catch a minnow.”

Although that was what the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor had said, Woo-Moon was sure that the man had another reason to give him this deadline. It wasn’t that he knew what his opponent was thinking, but cultivating the Forbidden Divine Art had granted him an increasingly sharp sixth sense.

Knock, knock.

The Blood Cloud Devil Emperor knocked on the railing twice. It was a bizarre contrast—the railing had partially melted because of the corrosive blood and was now distorted into a grotesque shape, while the fingertips touching it were thinner and whiter than a young lady’s.

“Hmm, let’s make it more fun, if possible. Good, good, let me help you.”

“Help?”

“Didn’t you say that you wanted to see the end of the path of the sword? I’ll pass on my Merciless Blood Devil Art to you.”

‘What?’

As Woo-Moon was taken aback by the completely unexpected sentence, the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor laughed and shouted once more.

“You called me a monster, right? I only learned the Merciless Blood Devil Art just to survive and escape from that hell! I had no choice but to learn the Demonic Art and I was forced to kill people because of it. Just what on earth is so wrong with that?”

As soon as the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s chant pierced Woo-Moon’s ears.

‘NO!’

He didn’t want to learn it! Even among all of the demonic arts of the Blood Cult, the most horrifying was the Merciless Blood Devil Art. While its power was astounding, in its essence, it was a demonic art that brought the user not only qi, but actual pleasure from absorbing the blood of others.

Even if Woo-Moon didn’t want to memorize it, he may still end up recalling it after hearing it. No, he definitely would recall it.

Woo-Moon had such an excellent memory that he had been called a genius when he was young. He could remember nearly anything anyone had said to him without making a single mistake. Moreover, perhaps because Seop Un-Ha was imbuing his voice with a significant amount of qi, the sutra of the Merciless Blood Devil Art inscribed itself into his mind more clearly than the things he usually heard.

Woo-Moon hurriedly tried to cover his ears with his hands and circulated his qi, trying to block all sounds. Nevertheless, the chant still rang in his ears. He even went as far as blocking the acupoints in his ears, trying to prevent any sound from entering his ear canals. It was useless.

‘W-what the hell...!’

He felt like he was going crazy. Even though he had completely blocked all meridians and acupoints in his ears, the words of Seop Un-Ha were still clearly audible.

Then, something suddenly occurred to him.

‘Heart to Heart Transmission!’

It was a form of transmission that was used to convey intent rather than words. It could be said to be the highest form of mental transmission, something only an Absolute Master could use. It wasn’t just about conveying sounds but rather the entire meaning, the true value of one’s heart, directly into the other’s mind.

Even more horrifying to Woo-Moon was that the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor was not only teaching him the Merciless Blood Devil Art through such a difficult to see method like the Heart to Heart Transmission, but also saying something completely different with his mouth at the same time.

“I’m just an evil murderer? Fine. Then, let’s see what happens to you after you learn the Merciless Blood Devil Art. Hehehe. It’s going to be one interesting sight. I wonder what sort of expression that asshole Palm Martial Emperor will have when he finds out that his beloved grandson learned a demonic art and became a devil!”

Alongside Seop Un-Ha’s endless rant of hatred toward the world, the Merciless Blood Devil Art continued to be engraved in Woo-Moon’s mind.

‘You son of a bitch...!’

He stopped trying to block the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s voice and instead tried to use the Northern Wind Steps to rush at him.

“Ugh!”

However, it wasn’t an easy thing to do. Before he knew it, the formless qi of the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor covered him, restricting his actions.

Clench!

Biting his lip to the point of bleeding, Woo-Moon raised all of the qi within his body, planning on exploding forth with all of the qi he could muster and flee.

Suddenly, behind the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor, a middle-aged man appeared. He was wearing a black magistrate uniform and seemed to be using a unique movement art. As Woo-Moon was taking up all of the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s attention, the man was able to sneak up unnoticed.

‘Shh!’

The magistrate put his index finger to his mouth, motioning at Woo-Moon to pretend not to notice. He was holding a saber, or rather half a broken saber, and his target was the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor!

He rushed forward, leaving a thick cloud of dust behind him. He was moving in an interesting zig-zag pattern, and every time he changed direction, his speed seemed to double. Yet, his movement art allowed him to be so silent that even an Absolute Master

No...there was no way that a movement art could be that stealthy and give rise to so much dust. At a closer look, Woo-Moon realized that the man was covered in some kind of qi membrane that didn’t let sound escape.

‘Who is that guy...’

Woo-Moon saw hope in the midst of his despair.

Meanwhile, the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor continued to pressure Woo-Moon using his formless qi and imprint the Merciless Blood Devil Art onto his mind using the Heart to Heart Transmission.

Suddenly, as he looked into Woo-Moon’s eyes, he noticed a glint—the reflection of the broken saber! He looked behind him, only to belatedly notice that he was being attacked. Surprised, he had no choice but to give up on transmitting the Merciless Blood Devil Art with only three lines left.

“Rat, you dare?!”

The moment the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor turned around, the magistrate, understanding that he had been discovered, drove an immense amount of qi into both legs and leaped forward.

Bang!

His already incredible speed increased several times in an instant, and dust was blasted away by the sonic boom that his movement caused.

“Take this!”

When Blood Cloud Devil Emperor saw who his opponent was, his expression turned ugly.

‘Of course, it’s this iron-headed leech! I’ve wasted too much time here!’

His hands were stained with blood as he used the Bloody Aura Hands Art to gather all of his strength. He swung his bloody fist and just barely made it in time to block the saber, which was enveloped in a clear aura.

Clang!

The clash was deafening, and the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor staggered back three steps.

The two men were actually at a similar level of strength, but the attacker had used his unique movement technique to maximize his speed and focus all his strength into the attack. Meanwhile, the defender’s move was instinctual and hasty, so it only made sense that he suffered a loss.

As soon as the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor retreated, the magistrate followed up, skillfully spinning his broken blade and swinging forward once more.

“Ugh!”

The Blood Cloud Devil Emperor barely managed to stop him. However, the magistrate\'s barrage of attacks didn’t end there. Possibly because it was only half the length of a normal saber, the magistrate’s broken blade seemed to spin endlessly in his hands and launched attacks at incredible speed.

Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang—

The rings on the spine of the saber clattered against the blade. Along with the dazzling light reflecting off the blade, the sound distracted the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor.

The magistrate continued to push the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor back, and the speed of his Swift Blade Technique kept increasing, to the point where the blade turned into a blur.

In the blink of an eye, the saber in his hand spun hundreds of times. Displaying a light and rapid movement technique, he appeared on the front, back, left and right of the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor so quickly it almost looked as if he was using clones. And wherever he appeared, he unleashed terrifying blows!

He had reached the pinnacle of speed!

However, his opponent, the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor, was also just as shocking. Even though he had been surprised by the ambush from behind, lost out on the first move, and was forced on the defensive, he still defended himself with a perfect combination of the Blood Cloud Vampiric Membrane and the Bloody Aura Hands Art.

Of course, it was inevitable that his injuries would only increase with time.

Fortunately for him, the Blood Cloud Vampiric Membrane was the perfect shield. It could freely shrink, expand, condense, and even multiply, so it covered every angle.

Bang, bang, bang, bang!

Continuous small explosions rang out like the sound of roasting beans.

In the meantime, Woo-Moon had suffered internal injuries and had retreated while vomiting blood. He now watched their battle with admiration.

‘As expected, a battle between Absolute Masters is amazing!’

The magistrate had been attacking without a single pause. Suddenly, he drove his momentum even higher and delivered a powerful blow.

Clang!!!

With another roar, the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor stumbled and took twenty steps backward. At the same time, with a sharp ringing sound, the broken saber in the magistrate’s hand flew forward, shining with saber aura as it aimed for the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor’s neck.

“Ugk!”

Although the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor barely managed to avoid it, the blade suddenly shifted directions as if it were alive and cut off his arm from his shoulder before returning to the magistrate’s hand.

This was the supreme form of saber martial arts—the Flying Saber, controlling the saber using qi.

The shocking magistrate, who had cornered the Absolute Master Blood Cloud Devil Emperor and even cut off his arm, plunged his broken saber into the ground.

“You mannerless brat! Why the hell are you making your father here go around the gangho at this age to catch a runaway slave like you?”

A power that seemed to be able to crush Mount Tai exuded from the magistrate’s sturdy body.

Woo-Moon, who had been watching what seemed to be a mere magistrate fight against the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor, finally blurted out a name.

“The Saber Emperor Jeong I-Moon!”

Indeed, it was Jeong I-Moon, one of the two officials among the Eight Heavenly Martial Emperors. He was known as the Saber Emperor.

The Blood Cloud Devil Emperor gritted his teeth and concentrated his qi, and his face suddenly regained its color. The next moment, his fallen arm flew back to his shoulder and reattached itself, spraying blood everywhere in the process.

‘What the hell...’ Woo-Moon’s jaw dropped as he witnessed this formidable regeneration ability.

“You damn old hound, have you found a brain somewhere?” spat out the Blood Cloud Demon Emperor.

In truth, it wasn’t that the Saber Emperor had been one-sidedly beating the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor. As the latter had been defending himself, he had also been secretly gathering the energy of the Merciless Blood Devil Art into his right leg and preparing to use the most destructive of his techniques, Explosive Blood River.

However, Jeong I-Moon had sensed this, and he had used a powerful attack to put some distance between the two of them right as his opponent was about to launch the Explosive Blood River. At the same time, he had taken advantage of this gap in defense to gravely injure the Blood Cloud Demon Emperor.

Although his arm had been reattached, it was still unusable for the time being. This was clearly a significant loss for the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor.

The Saber Emperor pointed at the Blood Cloud Devil Emperor with his blade.

“You self-regenerating lizard, I’m not sure if you’re a man or a woman, but you sure talk like a bunch of them together!”