Chapter 516: I Want to See More

TL: FoodieMonster007

Those were truly arrogant words. Who could possibly face such masters and command them to attack all at once?

And yet, nobody present dared to laugh out loud. Their opponent was, after all, the Demonic Cult Leader of this era.

The demonic qi that shimmered around his body was unlike anything they had ever witnessed. It was a potent demonic energy that looked like it could incinerate anything it touched.

Of course, this didn't mean the gathered masters were afraid. The group assembled here was far too formidable for that. There was a staggering number of them, twelve in all.

Gyo Cheon erupted in laughter. It was not the grating laugh of an old man, but a loud, powerful sound infused with inner arts. He laughed on purpose, intending to shatter Geom Woojin's momentum.

"Do you even know who these people are, to be spouting such arrogance?"

Geom Woojin replied calmly. He still showed Gyo Cheon a degree of respect for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's sake. He believed only the Blood Heaven Blade Demon himself could make him retract that courtesy.

"Aren't these the people you gathered?"

The wrinkles around Gyo Cheon's eyes twitched. To him, the words sounded like, 'Even so, aren't they just people you managed to scrape together?'

"Yes, you've been arrogant since you were young."

As he listened to their conversation, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon studied the faces of the newcomers.

First, he saw those whose identities he could discern from their appearance alone. A man stood behind the Crazy Slayer, the first to emerge when the wall fell. His face was entirely red, not merely flushed, but crimson as if stained with blood. Among masters of this caliber, only one man was known for such a face. The Red Faced Gentleman.

He was known for the insane claim that the splattering blood of his enemies had permanently stained his face red. The 'Gentleman' in his name was misleading, as he was an old monster well over seventy years old.

Another figure stood a short distance away. He was identifiable by the sword at his hip. Its scabbard and hilt were decorated with a garishly colored painting of a ghost. The Ghost Sword.

He was a murderous fiend, famous for the saying that when his Ghost Sword wailed, his opponent was guaranteed to die.

Both of these men had skills comparable to the Black Emperor or the Qilian Demoness, who had shown up earlier.

It couldn't have been easy for the Master to gather them all as subordinates, no matter how much he used his status as a former Demon Supreme or how long he prepared. These were not the kind of men who would willingly serve under anyone.

What did you promise them?

Whatever the promise was, it must have been the reason he could bring these masters together in one place.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon turned his gaze back to Geom Woojin. He couldn't sense even a trace of fear from the Cult Leader.

He was enjoying this. His eyes, as he looked at them, were filled with a fervor he rarely displayed. This was the face of the Cult Leader on the battlefield.

He wouldn't have destroyed that wall just to show off his power. There was no room for bluffing in the Cult Leader's fights, or in his entire life for that matter.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon could guess the Cult Leader's intentions.

Facing them one by one would be easier, but it would become a battle of attrition. This meant he would have to use his inner arts for every opponent. By fighting them all at once, however, he might kill two with a single strike. Of course, this was also much more dangerous.

Geom Woojin slowly drew the Heavenly Demon Sword. The motion was neither fast nor slow.

A stream of sharp energy flowed along the extended blade, glowing at its tip. Then, the Heavenly Demon Sword began to wail.

GOOOOOOOOOO.

It was a resonance that seemed to come from the deepest, bottomless pits of hell.

Hearing the wail of the Heavenly Demon Sword for the first time in a long while, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's heart pounded. He wanted to fight alongside the Cult Leader. Just as the Fist Demon and the Cult Leader had in their youth, he also longed to fight by the Cult Leader's side.

However, this was the Cult Leader's battle. It wasn't his place to interfere.

GOOOOOOOOOO.

As the Heavenly Demon Sword wailed, the Crazy Slayer shot from his seat. He had lived his whole life as a mad butcher and was a man who feared nothing. Even after hearing the Demonic Cult Leader tell them to attack all at once, he had remained defiantly seated.

But the wail of the Heavenly Demon Sword stirred an emotion he had never experienced before.

Fear.

He was startled and bewildered by this unfamiliar feeling. He glanced down at his hand. It was trembling.

My hand is trembling just because a sword is wailing?

The fear he felt now didn't come from his mind or his heart. He had lived his entire life with the mindset that 'everyone dies eventually, so there's nothing to fear'. This tremor wasn't a product of his mind, but a primal fear his body was experiencing.

He wanted to charge forward, to hell with the predetermined order. There were only two ways to get rid of fear. Flee from its source, or destroy it. He had always lived his life by the second principle.

His body wouldn't move.

"Damn it!"

The Crazy Slayer spat, his fists clenched so tightly they looked like they would burst. The curse was aimed at himself and at Geom Woojin.

Behind him, the Ghost Sword's own blade began to wail with a ghostly cry.

HIIIIIIIIII.

In that moment, the Ghost Sword sensed it. The wail was different than usual.

The Ghost Sword is frightened!

It was the first time the Ghost Sword, which had spent its existence striking fear into opponents, had ever felt fear itself.

At the wail of that sword.

The Ghost Sword started to inject his qi into his blade, attempting to soothe it.

However, one man showed the complete opposite reaction of the other two. A man slowly walked forward. He was someone who had never been intimidated by anyone in his life. He had the type of personality that couldn't stand being ordered around.

"If you're telling us to step forward, then I'll step forward."

He was a large man, built like a member of the Demonic Army. His shirtless, muscular body resembled that of a Vajra warrior. The Vajra Sex Fiend.

He was known to have a body that couldn't be cut even by sword qi or enhanced sword qi. He was a master of monstrous strength, said to be able to shatter boulders and break treasured swords with his bare hands.

He went around crushing the skulls of countless martial artists with his bare fists. His infamy was so great because he did it all just for fun.

However, the true testament to his depravity was the tattoos on his body. Small tattoos were etched into his massive frame. Upon closer inspection, they were revealed to be figures of women. They were portraits capturing their features.

He tattooed the images of the women he had raped and killed onto his skin. While assaulting his next victim, he would show her the tattoos and wouldn't hesitate to say things like, 'This woman was like this, and that one was like that.' He was a true madman.

"It's a shame you're not a female Cult Leader. You would've been pretty attractive."

Just then, another person moved from behind him.

"Such ill-mannered bastards, these Demonic Cult folk!"

The presence in his voice alone marked him as an extraordinary old man.

"Even your father wouldn't dare treat me, the Star Reading Sage, so carelessly! Who do you think you are, running your mouth about who should step forward?"

He too was a master from a previous generation, an infamous figure in the murim. His martial arts were formidable, but he was equally cunning and shrewd.

Even as he shouted, he was cleverly hiding himself, half-concealed behind the Vajra Sex Fiend. If Geom Woojin launched a surprise attack, he planned to hide behind the Vajra Sex Fiend. As long as the Vajra Sex Fiend was his shield, he was certain he wouldn't die.

As the two men stepped forward, the others slowly moved to stand beside them. Their collective momentum started to build, but Gyo Cheon held them back.

"Wait! Stick to the plan."

At those words, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon asked the Master.

"Have you decided on the fighting order?"

Gyo Cheon didn't answer. It was the Vajra Sex Fiend who replied.

"Everyone tried to avoid being first or last. It's hard to kill you when you're at your peak, and the last one to fight won't get the glory of killing the Demonic Cult Leader."

In other words, while many of them might die, they were confident that someone here would eventually kill the Demonic Cult Leader.

You're only human. How can you withstand so many masters? Eventually, your inner arts will run dry.

This was their plan for dealing with Geom Woojin.

"So, Demonic Cult Leader, stop your arrogance and just wait for your turn to die. I'd prefer it if you died by my hands, but I was unlucky and drew number eight. Think you can last until my turn?"

In response to the Vajra Sex Fiend's shout, Geom Woojin told him.

"No, you're number two."

Number two? Not number one, but number two? The Vajra Sex Fiend couldn't understand. If he was angered by the taunt, shouldn't he have said number one?

At that very moment!

Suddenly, the surroundings plunged into darkness.

The world went dark, as if someone had snuffed out an oil lamp. Even the sharp eyes of masters like them couldn't pierce the blackness.

Gyo Cheon quickly pulled out a Night-Luminescent Pearl and shouted.

"Prepare for a surprise attack!"

Something astonishing happened. The moment the Night-Luminescent Pearl's light lit up the area, the darkness began to swallow the light once more.

The Night-Luminescent Pearl isn't working?

It was a darkness that no light could penetrate, a blackness unlike anything they had ever experienced.

The next moment, the area brightened as if nothing had happened. It was over so quickly that they wondered if they had imagined it.

Gyo Cheon scanned the area, but no one was injured or had collapsed.

Then, the Star Reading Sage tilted his head in confusion.

"I thought I heard something."

The Star Reading Sage looked around. When the darkness fell, he had distinctly heard it. A sound like cracking ice had echoed right next to his ear.

What was that sound?

Then, the Star Reading Sage flinched.

Why are they looking at me like that?

Everyone was staring at him. Their gazes were fixed on his body.

The Star Reading Sage slowly looked down at his own body. For a moment, confusion flickered in his eyes.

His body was misaligned. A single line ran from his right shoulder down to his left waist.

His misaligned upper torso began to slide down along that line.

Huh? Uhh?

SSSRRRRK.

I've been cut?

There was no pain, nor had he felt the sensation of being cut by a sword. Most importantly, he had been standing behind the Vajra Sex Fiend.

He stared at Geom Woojin.

How on earth?

The speed of his descent seemed to increase, and then his vision lowered. The fleeting darkness had now given him an eternal one. Blood gushed from his body, soaking the ground.

The Vajra Sex Fiend was just as shocked.

But I was standing in front of him.

Could it be? Did the Demonic Cult Leader's technique let him attack through obstacles? Unfortunately for him, however, that wasn't what this technique did.

JJIIK.

A red, diagonal line started to appear, stretching from his shoulder to his flank.

His eyes flew wide open.

It can't be!

SSSRRRRK.

His body also began to shift and then slide apart. Both men had been cut, but his sturdier physique had just reacted more slowly.

This was a body that neither sword qi nor enhanced sword qi could penetrate.

And there wasn't just one line on him.

JJIK, JJIIIIK, JJIIIIIIK.

On his arms, his waist, his shoulders. Red lines started to spread across his entire body like a spiderweb.

"Uwaaaaaaak!"

With a monstrous scream, he spewed blood and collapsed into a heap.

At the sight, Gyo Cheon and the other masters wore expressions of complete disbelief.

There hadn't been a frantic battle. It had just grown dark, then light again.

Then, as they stared at the corpse, a strange light entered their eyes. They weren't shocked because he had killed a man immune to sword qi and enhanced sword qi.

Everyone's eyes started to widen. It wasn't even because he had known the Star Reading Sage would die first, and had therefore called the Fiend 'number two'.

All eyes were drawn to the floor.

On his dismembered body, the images of the women remained perfectly intact.

The Demonic Cult Leader hadn't just sliced him apart randomly. He had shredded the man's body to pieces while leaving the tattooed women completely untouched. All of the women's faces remained intact.

Floating in the pool of blood, they looked as if they had finally found peace, their grudges now avenged.

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon understood. The Cult Leader had mourned those women in his own way.

All eyes turned to Geom Woojin. In that brief moment, inside that darkness, without making a sound the others could hear. He had killed the man without desecrating the images of the women.

The Nine Calamities Demonic Art, the Fourth Technique, the Darkness Flash.

This was the Darkness Flash of a Geom Woojin who had achieved complete mastery.

It was Gyo Cheon who broke the heavy silence.

"Didn't we expect him to be strong? Every time he uses the Nine Calamities Demonic Art, he uses up a huge amount of inner arts. So don't be afraid!"

It was at that very moment that another voice was heard.

"You should be afraid."

Simultaneously, the person who descended from behind was none other than Geom Mugeuk.

When Geom Mugeuk had returned to the safehouse with Seo Daeryong, his father had left a message for him to come here. Using the Swift Step, Geom Mugeuk had rushed here like the wind and had been watching his father's battle from a hidden spot.

After politely greeting his father and the Blood Heaven Blade Demon, Geom Mugeuk turned to their enemies and declared.

"Why do you think my father broke the wall? Just to avoid a battle of attrition? If that's what you thought, you've severely underestimated him."

At his words, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon flinched. Geom Mugeuk didn't miss the expression.

"So that's what you thought, Elder."

The flustered Blood Heaven Blade Demon looked troubled.

"Our Elder is too honest to even lie and deny it!"

The Blood Heaven Blade Demon looked dumbfounded.

You brat, you're still making jokes in a situation like this?

Soon, a faint smile touched the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's lips. Yes, that was Geom Mugeuk, making jokes even in a situation like this.

Geom Mugeuk's gaze returned to their enemies. He knew his father's intentions perfectly.

"Father intended to make a calculation. He wanted to size you all up to properly allocate his inner arts. How to kill this one, how to kill that one. He's already mapped out the entire battle for today."

His expression now devoid of playfulness, Geom Mugeuk said to his father.

"I won't miss a single one of your movements, not a single breath."

He didn't know about others, but for him, watching his father fight was a greater opportunity than any miraculous encounter the murim could offer.

"So please, show me more. I want to see more of your fight, Father."