The Blood Demon Hand—
It was a martial art with the properties of the Dragon Blood Poison which could poison an opponent with just the slight touch of one’s fingertips.
As the name suggested, the martial arts was not one which involved the sword but one’s hands.
They covered their hands in poisonous sand known as the Red Sand Palm and repeated the training constantly. Then they would use dozens of poisonous leeches which would drain their blood.
The Blood Poison which was in the Red Sand Palm, it was not just any regular poison. It would cause itching, swelling, and a mucus-like discharge, and sometimes it would also be accompanied with an increase of heat in the body.
Although Seol-Hwi was invulnerable to poison, the pain was something he still felt, and in addition, the leech in the jar that was sucking out his blood and counteracting his swelling instead managed to only add more pain.
It made the senses of his hand many times sharper than before, but most people would give up halfway due to the process being far too painful.
In addition, Cho Ah-ran added this method of stimulating the acupoints using her whip. As a result, the circulation of energy flowing through his body was increased several times, and because of that, Seol-Hwi was able to move like lightning.
This is faster than I thought?
Cho Ah-ran, who was watching Seol-Hwi’s movement, was a little flustered.
She stimulated the blood vessels and activated the energy points in the lower part of his body according to the cultivation method, but this level of growth was not what she expected him to show in the slightest.
Was this not the movement of someone on the verge of reaching the peak of Peak Demon?
I need to confirm this a bit more.
Shhh
She picked up some of the sand in the jar and put some distance between her and Seol-Hwi.
As soon as she went reached around five meters distance she said,
“I will drop the sand here. Some will fall and some will be blown away by the wind. Show me the technique you learned.”
“…!”
Seol-Hwi understood her intentions at once. She meant for him to use energy arts.
It was a test to see if one could use the Blood Demon Hand’s energy which was one of its main features.
But most of all, this stuck in his mind,
Speed is what I should focus on.
The Blood Demon Hand, although he did not hear it directly from her, Seol-Hwi had an idea on what it was. It was from the internal energy that began to flow from the dantian and the explosive power which followed whenever he willed it to.
The sensitivity of the reaction of the energy inside his body was the best among all martial arts that Seol-Hwi had learned so far.
Then what was the basis of the Blood Demon Hand?
It is this bloody natured energy, a harbinger of death, but also it is not. Rather, it possesses life as well. Its nature produces a great level of intimidation, but it can also be called something based on resuscitation.
In the Demonic Sect, this was called a change and in central plains it was known as enlightenment.
Demonic arts transformed the energy of nature into an enhanced energy. To this, the Blood Demon Hand would then be added.
By maximizing the senses within the body, once again another powerful force would be pushed forward.
So now he understood that as someone experiencing it for the first time.
“Ready?”
“Yes.”
When Seol-Hwi answered, Cho Ah-ran raised her hand.
Shhhh
After roughly seeing the distance, Seol-Hwi concentrated all his senses.
He knew better than anyone that it would be too late if he reacted after watching the sand.
Moreover, he was not sure if he could get rid of the falling sand in a situation where the distance was too great.
Shhh
At that time, she spread out her palms making the sand scatter everywhere.
The internal energy was concentrated on the knuckles. However, different from the usual energy, this had a bloody color.
Swish
The cold wind blew.
Seol-Hwi was holding out his arms and fingers together, and Cho Ah-ran looked at her hand and then the below.
There was pure white snow on the ground with no trace of the sand she had released just a moment ago.
The energy of the man on the other side split the sand into numerous miniscule forms.
She had to consider if the sand was burned away with flame or other energy based arts, but she was sure of one thing.
What the guy just showed now was the basic power of the Blood Demon Hand.
But it makes no sense. He didn’t even properly learn…
Although she used the whip to hit the blood points, it was to make him have a better circulation of energy. She taught him the core technique for optimizing the energy within but never anything regarding how to actually use it.
The use of the power was a different thing to teach. Unlike others, she did admit this guy was quite unique.
She had never seen a human immune to poison before.
So she wondered if the method being used was the Blood Demon Hand even though it was something not so easily manipulated or imitated.
“Master. Do you like it?”
Cho Ah-ran was lost in thought until she heard this, and she frowned at this man who was clearly not normal.
“There is no more training for the time being.”
“Uh…?”
“That isn’t end. We will hold a lecture on the Blood Demon Hand, know that for sure.”
As the word “lecture” came out, the face of Seol-Hwi widened. Now he had an expression of relief on his face due to the hellish practice being put on hold.
Cho Ah-ran glared at Seol-Hwi at how happy he looked, and the moment they met their eyes, he turned his head away.
On that day, Seol-Hwi took a rest for the first time in a long while.
“So? Anything else after this?”
Wheik. Wheik.
Started a little past midnight—
There was a long single rope connecting the cliffs together.
Ack Bi was asking about it, and a man who was standing calmly on the single rope answered his question.
“There was nothing else, so for the first time I got to take a nap.”
“Is that so?”
“…”
After a moment of silence, Seol-Hwi tilted his head.
“Come and see.”
At the call of Ack Bi, Seol-Hwi easily crossed the rope and approached him.
“As you can see, it seems that you have achieved some success in the martial arts known as the Blood Demon Hand. That is probably why that old woman stopped her training.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Of course! How can I not know about that hag!”
Ack Bi was looking excited as he spoke. Though he seemed annoyed for no reason, he did not like Seol-Hwi achieving such progress on her side.
As expected, she was making herself look young.
Seol-Hwi nodded.
He roughly thought it, but as expected, it seemed that she had turned young like a girl due to her skilled martial arts.
Ack Bi soon changed to a serious expression and spoke,
“Hmm. Still, we came this far… let us see your achievements now.”
“But our training isn’t done yet?”
“Huh. Such foolish words!”
Ack Bi smiled as he said,
“Did we play around while you were making achievements on her side? Every time you passed out, I checked the condition of your body and starting with ice packs we kept you at a steady pace countless times.”
“Ice packs…”
“Your stamina is in considerably good condition now. You can look forward to it.”
Seol-Hwi nodded at it—
At the absolute body he now had from enduring it all.
“Now, then. Let us check the results of the training. Try distributing your energy in the dantian. But, do not sit down and stand instead.”
“Yep.”
Seol-Hwi was about to sit cross legged but instead stood tall.
And he circulated the energy in the dantian and looked at him.
“Most of the cultivation techniques of ice arts are similar. Think of it as accepting the opening into the dragon heavenly point in the foot.”
“I understand.”
As he said, Seol-Hwi focused on the sole of his foot.
And he started tapping a few points.
“Here and here and here. Send your energy here. And know that it should be rotated continuously.”
“Yes.”
When he artificially pushed the flow of energy, his body suddenly shook as if the energy was running out of control.
“Do not press down, and straighten your body!”
Seol-Hwi hurriedly stretched out both hands at the cry of Ack Bi. Then the energy moved furiously to the hand.
Jkkkkkkkk!
A white ball of ice burst out, and it froze everything that it passed by.
“Ah…”
Seol-Hwi was stunned the moment he saw the ice arts he used. As he poured out all the energy inside the body, the ball of ice stretched out endlessly. Even the effect of ice crystals which froze the air scattered.
“Wow, that is great. Master.”
Unknowingly, Seol-Hwi’s insides were a raging power different from the White Light Body Demonic Martial Arts. If that was a sharp knife, then this felt like a waterfall.
It was truly an ice art which could knock the opponent down.
What…
On the other hand, Ack Bi was looking like he was panicking.
He knew the power of the ice arts would surely be manifested. But this was an endless one. this was not something which could be done just because there was a lot of internal energy
Rather it was because the power was dispersed and did not spread out too carelessly.
“Where do you think the power of Ice Moon Divine Arts is?”
Ack Bi asked.
And this was at this realization, it seemed that this child had some understanding of the ice arts.
“I think it is the bondage of the movement.”
“Why?”
“Most of what I practiced was just training my body, and my master thought of it as important. It seemed to be training to create a state of mind which was probably on the level of strengthening it like Buddha. Not anymore.”
“And this bondage? What of it?”
“Time.”
“…”
“Ice arts are to freeze. However, the inside of the dantian is so fast that it almost explodes. The time given in nature is constant, so when the circulation of the body becomes extremely fast, it gets into tampering with time.”
Seol-Hwi looked at him and continued.
“You will see the effect of time being slowed down.”
“Huh…”
Ack Bi turned to Seol-Hwi.
Definitely different from the wrong person. He was thinking about the reason his body was being trained and even the source of martial arts.
It was that moment when he finally realized why Cheon Miryo took this guy as a disciple.
Was the middle level fine?
From that day, Seol-Hwi was no longer put through tough training.
Rather, he sat comfortably in the seat and learned of the two martial arts the people taught and how they would be effective.
By the time a few days passed.
“Master, I have a question.”
At Seol-Hwi words, Cho Ah-ran nodded and said,
“What is it?”
“Didn’t you say that Blood Demon Hand at the ninth level makes you become a Supreme Demon?”
“Right.”
“Then what should I do to reach a higher level than that?”
“Higher level?”
As if this was an unexpected question, Cho Ah-ran tilted her head. Then after understanding the question, she asked again.
“Are you talking about Profound Demon?”
“Right.”
It was the part which Seol-Hwi wanted to know about, the path from the Supreme Demon level to the Profound Demon level.
In the past, it was difficult to know the way.
The martial arts of all those he competed against and the Profound Demon level of the person he fought at the end were hard to obtain.
“Hmm…”
Cho Ah-ran seemed worried. Since she was not normally the one to stop herself from answering, Seol-Hwi focused more than usual. So she spoke after a long bout of silence,
“That… we need another martial art.”
“Uh?”
Martial art? This was an unexpected answer.
As Seol-Hwi blinked and continued to stare, she added,
“Supreme Demon, is a great stage. To the extent that it is said that there is nothing more to get. But that state means that one’s studies are over but not their research.”
She stretched out her hands from side to side. Then she opened her palms as she continued,
“Nature. After studying our body, we should study the nature which made us exist and that is the start.”
“What does it mean to study nature?”
“It isn’t difficult. Even if the body doesn’t have internal energy, nature has it. One can make sure of that power. Making a calm wind into a typhoon and turning the sunny sky into darkness.”
Every word was a shocking explanation.
What was visible to see and use everything that exists.
Cho Ah-ran continued to explain while watching Seol-Hwi,
“At that time, the body will change. It is to become a body which can handle the change of mother nature. At that time… you become Profound Demon.”
Nature.
It was still odd to say that the self turns into something else, but it was surprising that such an idea could be conceived.
“Does Master think so?”
Seol-Hwi asked.
Seeing that she knew the way to reach there, he realized her ability was more amazing than he thought, even more so than the abilities the system taught.
“No, I heard these words from one of the reclusive warriors.”
“Ah, who…”
“You know the person well.”
“…Uh?”
Looking at the puzzled Seol-Hwi, Cho Ah-ran smiled gently. It was the second time she smiled.
“Cheon Miryo. It was your master’s words.”