Chapter 83: Judgement (2)

Chwarara!

The Heavenly Net moved ceaselessly, as if it were alive.

It scattered and gathered all over Sewoon’s body, repeating the cycle of splitting and reuniting.

“Kwaaaah!!”

Pabat!

At that moment, Heo So-chang, who had been beaten mercilessly, lunged at Sewoon in a spasm.

He was in a truly wretched state.

His face was drenched in blood from Sewoon’s relentless strikes.

Swaeek!

Krr!

Heo So-chang swung down his left hand, overflowing with Demonic Qi, from above with ferocity.

The Ghost King’s Hand, exuding a sinister ghostly energy, came crashing down with the momentum to cleave Sewoon in two.

Kkang–!

“?!”

But the attack did not penetrate at all.

Above his head, his arms crossed in an X-shape, the Heavenly Net gathered and reshaped itself anew.

The second variation of Flawless Heavenly Garment, Circular Wing, perfectly blocked the enemy’s strike.

Since he had defended the attack, now it was time for the counterattack.

Paat!

Sewoon took half a step forward and spun his body like a top, pivoting on his left foot.

Swaeek!

The sound of the air being torn apart reverberated.

Sewoon swung his elbow toward the enemy’s temple.

Kwa-ga!

The Black Threads that composed the Circular Wing now surged up sharply, forming a pointed vortex.

It was an offensive aimed to blow the enemy’s head apart.

‘D-dangerous!’

Sensing danger instinctively, Heo So-chang snapped back to his senses.

Pat!

‘Khh!’

With all his strength, he bent his body backward like a shrimp.

Hweaek!

“……!!”

By the width of a sheet of paper, the attack sliced through the air.

In Heo So-chang’s vision, everything unfolded slowly, as if time itself had slowed.

In that fleeting moment, a chill ran down his spine.

Weeeing!

Only then did he notice the Black Threads swirling menacingly above his opponent’s elbow.

Had those pierced his temple……

The horrifying outcome flashed in his mind, and Heo So-chang shrank back further.

Whik! Whiwhik!

Heo So-chang shifted his stance to focus on evasion.

And Sewoon also shifted his stance accordingly.

Bang! Kwabang!

His attacks were now solely geared toward crushing the fleeing rat beneath his feet.

Each time Sewoon stretched out his fists and legs at the retreating Heo So-chang, violent explosions erupted.

Peng Daeho and the other Young Successors looked shocked as they watched the pavilion’s fragments shatter through the walls and scatter outside.

‘No, what on earth is going on?’

‘That scream just now was clearly the enemy’s.’

‘……But is this really the kind of fight that could happen between a Supreme Peak master and a Transformation Realm martial artist?’

The doubt never left their faces.

But there was a reason why this unbelievable result unfolded.

As he chased the enemy, Sewoon thought inwardly.

‘Heo So-chang. You cannot defeat me.’

The reason for his confidence was simple.

The difference in compatibility between Sewoon’s martial arts and Heo So-chang’s was so severe that it could only be called the worst possible match-up.

There was an old saying in the jianghu: “There may be martial arts that are the greatest under heaven, but there are no invincible martial arts.”

It meant that even the greatest martial arts under heaven always had at least one art that countered it.

And so—

Heo So-chang’s Black Heaven Yacha Art and his main weapon, the Ghost King’s Hand, were natural enemies to Sewoon and the Heavenly Net.

Though the Black Heaven Yacha Art, passed down by the Yacha Sect Leader, was an ultimate demonic art, its function was simple and clear.

It poured Demonic Qi from the dantian into the limbs and body to strengthen the demonic practitioner beyond human limits.

It also granted strong resistance against interfering factors in combat.

The Ghost King’s Hand, his primary weapon, followed the same principle.

By feeding on the master’s Demonic Qi, it strengthened both the hardness of the hand and the power of its techniques.

Normally, this combination would have a synergistic effect, reinforcing strength upon strength.

But against Sewoon, it was the worst possible weapon.

“Die-!”

Suddenly, the Ghost King’s Hand let out its eerie cry and lunged toward Sewoon.

Demonic Qi concentrated into the claws of the hand, which had risen sharp like an eagle’s talons.

It was an attempt to slice through the Heavenly Net by increasing its cutting power.

Chiiiik!

Pajik!

“!?”

But it was in vain; only orange sparks flared in the air.

Not a single strand of the Heavenly Net that Sewoon unfurled was severed.

The Ghost King’s Hand, which devoured Demonic Qi, could not surpass the ability of the divine weapon, the Heavenly Net, which ranked above even the Ten Demonic Weapons.

The power enhanced by the Black Heaven Yacha Art—

Was utterly trampled beneath the Reverse Heaven Qi.

In the end, every means Heo So-chang possessed was nothing but an inferior version of Sewoon’s.

This meant that, in this fight, Sewoon held an absolute advantage.

Charak!

“!!”

Then, in that moment, Heo So-chang’s form staggered amid his fierce assault.

It was as if a snake had struck, for suddenly something unknown had wrapped around his left foot.

Alarmed, Heo So-chang hastily looked down.

‘What!?’

A single Black Thread, which he hadn’t even realized had been laid there, was coiled around his foot.

It was a trap.

Pabat!

“-!!”

The moment he realized it, the enemy had already reached right before his eyes.

Puh-eok!

Sewoon struck Heo So-chang’s ribs with his knee, wrapped in the Heavenly Net.

“Keugh!”

Kwaduk!

The horrible sound of bones shattering mixed with Heo So-chang’s final deathly scream.

But it wasn’t the end.

Sewoon’s offensive had only just begun.

Chwara!

Kung!

The Heavenly Net binding the enemy’s foot recoiled at tremendous speed, throwing Heo So-chang onto his back.

Like a dog with its belly exposed, he lay defenseless.

Sewoon raised his foot high, straight up to his own head.

“……!!”

In that instant, the enemy’s eyes widened as if about to burst, foreseeing his own future.

Swaeek!!

With a sound like splitting the air, Sewoon’s kick came down from above like lightning striking from the sky, driving straight into the man’s abdomen.

Quang!

Kwaquang!!

With a violent roar, Heo So-chang’s body broke through the third floor’s ground, plummeting all the way to the first floor.

Pain. Pain.

The only sensation his body could feel was pain.

‘……Where, am I?’

A cloud of dust, rising thick and gray, obscured Heo So-chang’s vision.

Just as his mind refused to return—

Sssaaa!

“……!!”

Through the slowly parting dust, a chilling pair of glowing eyes appeared.

Heo So-chang felt his blood freeze cold.

The one standing tall on the third floor above, staring down at him.

It was a gaze he knew well, one he had seen before.

For the first time in his life, he was seized by a terrible humiliation.

It was the same gaze he had always used when looking down on others.

In that moment, Heo So-chang’s eyes turned bloodshot with madness.

“Do not—look down on me!!”

Kwaaarr!

Kwaggagag!

Heo So-chang burst forth with an aura unlike anything he had released before.

Then he leapt up the collapsed floor, charging straight for Sewoon.

Having lost his sanity, Heo So-chang finally unleashed the last of the strength he had been holding back.

Woooong!

From both hands, the Ghost King’s Hand overflowed with a vivid, blood-red energy.

This was the supreme skill that made the Manifestation Realm be called the realm of “Stepping into Divinity.”

A prodigy’s culmination of all insight and understanding attained up to that point, infused into all his martial arts.

Qi Projection manifested.

Unlike sword qi, which shimmered like a mirage, Qi Projection materialized distinctly, visibly.

Qi Projection maximized the destructive force of inner qi into a new domain beyond its limits.

Ordinarily, Qi Projection could only be countered with Qi Projection.

That was why a martial artist of the Manifestation Realm completely outclassed even a Supreme Peak master.

Yet until now, Heo So-chang had refrained from using Qi Projection for one reason.

If word spread that he had needed Qi Projection against such a brat, his elder ranking would certainly fall from ninth to last place, tenth.

Failing to subdue a mere Supreme Peak youth without Qi Projection would be enough to make him a laughingstock within the Blood Cult.

Furthermore, unless one reached the pinnacle of the Manifestation Realm, all demonic arts carried unavoidable backlash on the body when using Qi Projection, making it impossible to conceal.

But now—

‘Even if that Poison Demon surpasses me, I don’t care. That brat must die here and now!!’

Heo So-chang resolved himself to accept it all.

All for the sake of killing Sewoon.

……Yet something was strange.

‘At last.’

The very one facing this deadly threat, Sewoon—

Welcomed it, even rejoiced in it.

Cheocheok!

In the blink of an eye, Heo So-chang leapt back up to the third floor.

“Die-!!”

Swaeeak!

His twin fists, wrapped in scarlet-red Fist Qi, rushed toward Sewoon.

“Struggle all you like.”

So thinking with confidence, Heo So-chang believed victory was assured.

Now that he had unleashed Qi Projection, losing was impossible.

Qi Projection could only be stopped by Qi Projection.

Even if his opponent possessed a divine weapon greater than the Ghost King’s Hand, it could never block this strike.

“-!”

……Yet something was wrong.

Though his fists of Fist Qi were surging to crush the enemy’s skull—

Sewoon stood still like a statue, making no move to evade.

For a moment, Heo So-chang faltered.

‘He must have resigned himself before the overwhelming might of Qi Projection!’

So he concluded, and extended his full-powered strike straight into Sewoon.

Puh-eong!!

Kwaaang!

In the next moment, a massive explosion burst forth.

Fragments shattered and rained from the sky.

Half of the third-floor pavilion vanished without a trace.

The destructive power of the compressed Fist Qi exploding at once was utterly overwhelming.

“Keghhk!!”

At the same time, a pained groan echoed amid the ruins.

“Kki-geuk, guehhhk, keok!!”

The cry was far more wretched and miserable than anything before.

But what unfolded was astonishing.

The one writhing in agony, the one screaming—

“Kwaaaagh!!”

Was not Sewoon, who had taken no defensive stance.

It was Heo So-chang himself, the one who had unleashed the Fist Qi.

Foam spilling from his mouth, he rolled pathetically across the ground in disgrace.

A sight completely at odds with the fierce warrior who had just unleashed such a mighty strike.

But it could not be helped.

Biiiiii!

Right now, nothing reached Heo So-chang’s ears.

No thoughts formed in his mind.

There was only one thing left—an all-encompassing, vicious pain.

Bubbling—

Across Heo So-chang’s body, grotesque blisters swelled like boiling lava.

It was as if the tears of a god of calamity were burning his flesh and soul alike.

This was the supreme poison scattered around by Sewoon.

The source of the pain beyond all comprehension that Heo So-chang now endured.

It was such a dreadful sight that even one’s greatest enemy might inspire pity.

Yet Sewoon’s gaze, fixed on the convulsing foe, held no regret or compassion.

‘The pain you feel is only beginning.’

Against the one who dared lay a hand on his family—

He would now make him taste the depths of hell.

And then.

Clang!

Once more, the Demon’s Gate within the Upper Dantian shook violently.

And then—

Crack!

A fracture spread across one of its chains.

Pakang!

One chain snapped and fell away.

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