Seo-jun, having ascended to an unknown realm, moved swiftly.
The moment he intended, his body reacted, and the sensations his body received were instantly recognized by his soul. Not only had his physical speed increased, but his reflexes had also become exponentially sharper.
In essence, the gap between thought and action had vanished.
"You damn… bastard…!"
Shihyeol Mancheon, his body riddled with holes, roared. Squelch —his blood-formed body instantly began to heal his wounds.
He released all the blood he had confined within his body at once.
Crash!
A sea of blood filled the skies. Seo-jun looked at it with indifferent eyes. Then, he took a step forward.
Swish—
Seo-jun appeared right in front of Shihyeol Mancheon. Startled, Shihyeol Mancheon quickly unleashed an attack while simultaneously activating his Qi technique.
Hissssss—
The crimson sea descended.
Seo-jun responded with ease. His two hands deflected Shihyeol Mancheon’s palms, while his remaining four hands pummeled the rest of his body.
Bam, bam, bam! Shihyeol Mancheon’s shoulder dislocated, and his cheekbone shattered.
“Gah…!”
Seo-jun kicked him, sending him flying, and directed his gaze sharply toward the sky above.
Crack!
With a thought, the Piercing the Heavens technique shot out, punching a massive hole in the sea of blood above.
Shihyeol Mancheon, who was sent tumbling through the air, quickly steadied himself. No matter what that guy had done, he had grown overwhelmingly stronger. This was no time to hold back.
“Blood Sky Poison Sea!”
Gurgle— Shihyeol Mancheon’s body rippled like liquid, spreading outward.
While martial artists in the Transformation Stage possess domains, those at the Blood Human Realm possess True Blood .
A wielder of True Blood cannot die easily from any injury and can control all blood that their intent touches.
In Shihyeol Mancheon’s case, there was a twist—he was originally a master of poison arts, and his blood was infused with venom.
Shihyeol Mancheon’s body and the sea of blood above turned into thousands of spears, aiming at Seo-jun.
Seo-jun gazed up at the oncoming storm of blood and venom, his lips slightly parting.
“[Rise.]”
At his command, the Qi in the surroundings obeyed his will.
Boom!
Without any visible process, a technique manifested, raising the ground to intercept the descending sea of blood.
However, Shihyeol Mancheon’s main body still attacked. Seo-jun’s Qi moved to his sword, sheathed at his waist.
Shiiing—
The sword unsheathed itself. It was Qi-Controlled Swordsmanship
.Seo-jun’s gaze directed the sword forward, and it shot out.
Swish!
Everything along the sword’s path was erased. Shihyeol Mancheon gritted his teeth, using his power to repair the gaping holes in his body.
“Foolish bastard…!”
Those attacks were mere distractions. That idiot had dug his own grave. Donning a robe of blood in front of a master of the Blood Human Realm? It was suicide.
Huff—
Shihyeol Mancheon extended his intent deeply. The blood covering Seo-jun’s body was touched by his will.
Bang!
“Guh…!”
His intent rebounded violently. Shihyeol Mancheon spat out a mouthful of blood.
“What… is this…!”
He couldn’t understand it. Nothing was working. And why wasn’t that bastard being poisoned? He had already landed several attacks.
Shihyeol Mancheon’s poison wasn’t ordinary. Like all poison arts perfected at his level, his venom had transformed into Qi Poison .
An average peak-level martial artist could easily expel ordinary toxins, but Qi Poison was different.
It fused with their Qi, eating away at them throughout the battle.
That’s why no one in the martial world wanted to clash with poison users. Even if they won, the damage was severe.
“Then why…!”
As Shihyeol Mancheon screamed in frustration, Seo-jun appeared in front of him. All six of Seo-jun’s fists executed the Powerful Tyrant’s Demon Dance .
Boom, boom, boom—!
Shihyeol Mancheon’s limbs were torn apart, and a massive hole was blasted through his solar plexus.
Even so, Shihyeol Mancheon did not die.
“Damn it…!!”
Using all his strength, he repaired his body and hurled a massive quantity of previously reserved blood forward.
Blood Wheel Divine Palm .
Giant rings of blood layered over one another, emitting a bizarre noise. Seo-jun’s hand reached toward them.
Fwoosh!
The disassembled blood scattered like rain.
It was broken.
Shihyeol Mancheon didn’t even have time to process it.
Slash—
Seo-jun’s sword returned, slicing through Shihyeol Mancheon’s neck.
“Arghhh…!”
Shihyeol Mancheon let out an anguished scream and swung his hand toward the sword.
Bang!
Instead, his hand was deflected.
Squelch— His severed neck reattached, but the damage was extensive. Shihyeol Mancheon’s vision blurred for a moment.
“That damn Qi-Controlled Swordsmanship …!”
He had no choice but to admit it. In his current state, that bastard was stronger than him. His pride was thoroughly shattered. Escape was the only option.
However, Seo-jun wouldn’t allow it.
Slash! Seo-jun’s six hands detached, leaving thirty fingers connected by streams of blood.
Guided by the principles of Qi-Controlled Swordsmanship , the floating fingers created an intricate formation.
Heaven-Denying Reverse Tai Chi, Convergence.
The Qi of the Reverse Celestial Sun and Moon Art enveloped the space around Seo-jun and Shihyeol Mancheon.
But Shihyeol Mancheon was distracted by something else.
“As expected…! You’re also a blood arts practitioner! Why would you betray your kin? Don’t you understand the dangers of Divine Blood ?”
Divine Blood. Seo-jun’s eyes glinted briefly.
"[As expected, you…]"
No trace could be left behind.
****
Pae Jin-gwang finished dealing with the four living Jiangshi and quickly rejoined the group.
“So, what the hell is that?”
He stood there, staring blankly at Seo-jun as the battle unfolded. Shihyeol Mancheon’s body was being torn apart piece by piece.
“Argh…!”
A chilling scream echoed through the air. The barrier enclosing them had gaps, like loosely woven threads, allowing them to clearly see what was happening.
Seo-jun was using his six hands to methodically disassemble Shihyeol Mancheon’s body.
“Ha…”
Pae Jin-gwang’s expression turned peculiar. He had thought he had reached a new pinnacle, but watching Seo-jun, he realized his own achievements didn’t seem so grand anymore.
“Well, it’s not the first time the lord’s done something outlandish, is it?”
“Still, I’ve never seen anything like that before.”
“No, I mean he’s like a monster, not that he’s in the habit of tearing people apart.”
Jang Geuk grumbled as he glanced around inside the carriage. His body was drenched in cold sweat, not just from pain but from other concerns as well.
“So, is she going to be okay?”
Jang Geuk asked Namgung Su-a. She shook her head.
“…I don’t know. She’s been like this ever since.”
Chun-bong was frozen, staring blankly into the air. She hadn’t moved from the spot where Seo-jun’s body had exploded earlier. Her golden, radiant eyes neither wavered nor closed.
Her condition seemed too severe to risk touching her.
In the end, all they could do was leave her be, which unsettled Jang Geuk deeply.
She was someone the lord cherished greatly. What if something happened to her?
Terrible futures played out one after another in Jang Geuk’s mind.
“Damn it…”
He let out a deep sigh, but nothing changed. Shaking off his unease, Jang Geuk focused on his surroundings.
“No wounded survivors… All right, don’t touch the corpses for now.”
All the injured among the Namgung clan’s warriors had died—Shihyeol Mancheon’s poison had claimed them.
After gathering the remaining survivors, Jang Geuk turned to Namgung Hyeok and asked, “So, what have you been staring at this whole time?”
“Sa Cheon Dang Ga.”
“What?”
“That guy. He’s from Sa Cheon Dang Ga.”
Namgung Hyeok fixed his gaze on the shredded remains of Shihyeol Mancheon.
Even though Namgung Hyeok himself was severely injured and exhausted, he couldn’t bring himself to tend to his wounds.
From the moment that man had used poison arts, he had been suspicious, but now he was certain. Though much of the technique’s signature traits had faded, it was undoubtedly martial arts from Sa Cheon Dang Ga.
“What’s going on? I’ve never heard of a master of this caliber coming from the Dang Ga…”
There was no particular enmity between the Namgung clan and the Dang Ga. The Dang Ga had no reason to target the Namgung clan.
Furthermore, this man’s objective wasn’t the Namgung clan but the daughter of the Geum family.
‘Even though the Dang Ga straddles the line between orthodox and unorthodox factions, they don’t do something as insane as this.’
Namgung Hyeok’s brow furrowed deeply.
Pae Jin-gwang, on the other hand, was relatively unbothered. The Geum family’s daughter might just be in shock, and as long as Seo-jun was fine, she would likely recover.
Scratching his head, Pae Jin-gwang asked, “Doesn’t any of this bother you?”
“What do you mean?” Namgung Hyeok replied absentmindedly.
“That guy, Lee Seo-jun. Don’t you see him using demonic energy?”
“So what if he does? As long as it’s not used for evil, does it matter?”
“Fair enough.”
That’s the Namgung clan for you. Their reasoning is always a little unhinged.
Pae Jin-gwang chuckled as he checked on the juniors.
“Get some rest, all of you. The battle seems to be over, and especially you two—calm your minds, or you’ll end up in a state of inner turmoil.”
As he said, Namgung Su-a and Namgung Myung looked pale, their expressions far from normal.
Namgung Su-a, in particular, seemed deeply shaken, her energy visibly unstable.
“Yes…”
Namgung Su-a answered weakly, but her eyes remained fixed on Chun-bong.
And soon, the battle was over.
It could have ended much sooner, but Seo-jun, venting his fury, repeatedly tore apart and reassembled Shihyeol Mancheon, prolonging the fight.
“Shihyeol Mancheon, huh? What a fitting nickname,” Pae Jin-gwang said with a laugh.
Shihyeol Mancheon— Corpse-Blood Fills the Sky . True to his nickname, he had filled the heavens with his blood and body.
The sight of his shredded body flying about wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it was undeniably satisfying.
At last, Seo-jun used the Absorbing Star Technique to drain every bit of vitality from Shihyeol Mancheon’s corpse and discarded it onto the ground.
Thud.
The broken body crumbled into dust, scattered by the wind.
“Well, you’re here. And your condition…”
Pae Jin-gwang chuckled again.
“It’s fucked.”
Anyone could see that Seo-jun had lost his composure. In his current state, it wouldn’t be surprising if he attacked his own allies.
Even worse, his body was beginning to dissipate. No matter how you looked at it, he wasn’t in good shape.
Jang Geuk quickly thought on his feet.
“Lord…! Your sister is not in a good state!”
At those words, Seo-jun’s head slowly turned. Chun-bong, still staring blankly into the void. Just as a glimmer of light began to return to Seo-jun’s eyes—
Creak—
Chun-bong’s neck moved stiffly.
Seo-jun’s and Chun-bong’s eyes met.
“Well… what’s this now?”
It was Chun-bong’s voice. A murderous intent flickered in Seo-jun’s eyes.
[Who are you?]
Three flowers bloomed behind Chun-bong, staring at her with countless eyes. Chun-bong let out a dry laugh.
“So, the seed of the Ten Thousand Demon Sovereign was here.”