Chapter 100
**
The True Blood Forbidden Emperor.
Gukcheong gasped for breath as his body trembled.
The energy is surging wildly. I thought I could control it, but this is a completely different force than I expected.
It’s strange. What is this? This energy… it’s almost like it’s alive…
This is nothing like what the Blood Sect Leader described?!
“This… this is…?!”
Another wave of blood rises. The backlash from forcing through the threshold sends shivers throughout my body.
The more I use the unfamiliar Heart Sword, the more intense it becomes. My whole body trembles as I struggle against the reaction of the power.
My vision distorts. Something feels wrong with my body.
I clearly followed my master’s words, so why…?!
He said that the body to complete the True Blood Forbidden Emperor would be as good as created, so why…?!
“I…”
Beyond just feeling strange, something twists inside me.
Something is crawling up from within. Is it a vengeful spirit? Or perhaps a wail?
In the midst of this cacophony, Gukcheong gasped.
This is… this is…
“It’s trying to… devour me…?!”
True Blood.
It’s rather seeking out my body.
“Do you think it will go your way…?!”
I brace myself. Amidst the eerie noises, I expel everything that’s gathering inside me.
I am myself. I am Gukcheong. The minor sect master of the Blood Sect.
I am the one who shall become the Blood Demon. I will escape from the fear of death and make all bow to me.
I will transcend! I must transcend!
“I will swallow it all and desire it all! I am… different from the me that looked down on others! I am… I am…!”
I suppress what is surging up with all my might.
“Blood Demon!!!!!”
—KWA-AAAAAAAANG!!!!!!
The surging energy consumes structures. The uncontrollable force bursts forth uncontrollably from outside.
An unmanageable killing intent crawls up. For now, I need to quickly suppress this killing intent, so I drink blood.
I reach out.
The Heart Sword engulfs the area.
—Kwadakakakakakakakakakak!!!!
Countless amounts of blood shatter, unable to even scream, scattering before my eyes.
My senses become muddled. Now, all I can do is laugh.
The flickering lights of countless lives beneath my feet. They now vanish with a single gesture.
This is power… this is violence.
“No one…!”
I recall the memory of when I was a pickpocket. I remember the gazes of the guards looking down on me in disdain.
I taste the remnants I had to scavenge when there was nothing to eat. I remember the beatings for encroaching on territories.
I think of the friend I had to kill to survive. I chew over the blank stare of that last gaze I received.
“No one can…!”
I recall those days, trembling before death, having to stain my hands endlessly with blood.
“No one can laugh at me!!!!”
My clenched fist swings down once more. The blood snake form of energy prepares to strike towards the people again.
But in the next moment, its head is severed.
“…What?!”
“Gukcheoooorrrrrrrrrrrr!”
The one who should have died is right in front of me. Among countless warriors, he is the only one glares at me with bared teeth.
That chilling smile. A person now gazing upwards, no longer below me.
“There’s still something to talk about… ugh…?!”
“This… crazy woman…!”
Wolhyang. A member of the Blood Sea Organization.
Her body, which should have been broken, how is she not dead?!
…No matter!
I just need to crush her now!
“I will crush you!!!!!”
Gukcheong grips his energy tightly. I prepared to crush her.
But before that, I spotted another man.
The first man I crushed to obtain True Blood. The warrior I had thrown into the pit, unable to move his limbs.
In an instant, my grasp on the Heart Sword flickers. I can’t believe what I see and ask.
“Y-you… how…?!”
His whole body is covered in blood.
His steady hand grips the sword.
There’s no answer. He gazes at me as if it’s only natural.
Does he trust the sword in his hand? Or is he believing in something else altogether?
Either way, it’s irritating. It is unbearable!
The one standing before me right after he gained power is someone like you… I can’t stand it…!
“Don’t… you dare crawl up…!”
Energy surges within my clenched body.
My reason flies away, a vein pops on my forehead.
The ground howls.
And I strike down.
“Don’t you dare think you can crawl up!”
.
.
I grasp the sword. I think of my next move.
I recall what Wolhyang said.
“Heart Sword is not a simple thing. If the first one who handles it is clumsy, it will only end in disaster. You can tell just by looking at it. Because you can’t control it, it slashes broadly like that.”
“Then what should I do?”
“I will manage the Heart Sword, so look for an opening and charge in. You only need to get the sword in properly. This has to be a short battle. The opponent is in a state comparable to someone who’s gone mad. A small strike will break their balance. Then, BAM! Everything you believed in will devour that person. To survive, you must throw away everything you’ve gained.”
“So…”
“We’ll draw attention; just think of it as poking the side. There’s only one chance. Remember. If you fail, everyone dies, got it?”
Wolhyang charges in. The black and white mix with the soaring sword.
Gukcheong raises his hands. The energy exuding from his body becomes red blood snakes that envelop Wolhyang.
She’s being devoured. But in the next moment, she leaps out and spits blood.
With just a single touch, her body is once again covered in blood. Yet she smiles.
“Is this Heart Sword?!! Ahahahaha!!! Gukcheong!!! Is this the Blood Demon?!!! This is not even as good as your family’s red mutt!!!”
“I’ll split that mouth open!!!”
Wolhyang declares.
She says an opening will appear. It can’t be helped.
I had to believe her words. I couldn’t recklessly charge in, only measuring the distance.
The noise exploded. The building crumbled. Wolhyang crawled out of it, drenched in blood.
The massive blood snake moved. With that single movement, the ground flipped. She alone bore that burden.
A solitary fight.
Blood from her own mouth.
There’s no way that just the Turtle Messenger Black Wild Dan could return her body to normal. But despite that, she’s enduring.
To provide an opening.
I grasp Bai Ya just for a single moment.
My hands aren’t trembling.
But my heart is.
The opening still isn’t visible. Gukcheong’s back, seemingly defenseless, was instead protected by a solid energy.
Though my gaze fixed on Wolhyang, nothing could still be seen. Can her body withstand this?
Can Wolhyang accomplish what’s needed now?
Unknowingly, I pivot my feet. Wolhyang’s voice rings out fiercely.
“Don’t come out!!!”
Gukcheong’s gaze once again pierces through to me.
“You bastard! You’re scheming something! You think everything will go as you like?!”
“Don’t speak ill of my disciple.”
In an instant, a massive turquoise light shot up between the buildings. The Nine Heavens Jade Woman with one eye injured moved her sword.
A gigantic aura filled with energy collided with the blood snake. Gukcheong flinched for a moment and ground his teeth.
“How dare that stubborn woman!”
“If I’m not dead, the duel isn’t over. Normally, I would charge in alone until my life ends, but… this is different. I am now the Leader of the Wima Sect. Since I carry the weight of many lives, this isn’t just about martial arts; it’s about life and death. Since I’ve realized my identity late, it can’t be helped.”
Rolling away from the surging blood, the Nine Heavens Jade Woman stood next to Wolhyang.
“I will support you. Blood Sea Member Wolhyang.”
“Nine Heavens Jade Woman? Such a big shot! Ahaha!”
“These… lowly pests… how dare…!”
“Don’t forget about me!!!!”
In an instant, the side of the blood snake burst open. Burning blue flames, and between that stands a martial artist.
Huachun Quenma stepped out, covered in wounds while engulfed in blue flame.
“Damn it! How dare you harm Milyeong!”
“Don’t butt in, Huachun Quenma.”
“That was originally my prey! You crazy woman!”
“With so many enemies, you better watch your back while sleeping! You might catch a cold!”
“…How dare…”
A crack appeared on Gukcheong’s brow.
“Are you joking around in front of me?!!!!”
The boiling energy sealed everything around. The sound of human voices was consumed, as a massive blood snake coiled itself.
Its size grows. The contained energy also amplifies. The condensed and shaped Heart Sword moves into the form of a snake.
“I will wash everything away with blood! At the front will be your corpses first!”
—KWA-AAAAAAAANG!!!!!!!!!
The energy consuming three people intertwined as three colors of auras mixed together.
Naturally, it was the latter that was pushed back.
But at that moment, a gap finally opened.
“……!”
I dashed in. Leaping over the building, I slipped through the gap.
The blood snake’s energy brushed past me. Even though I wasn’t directly hit, blood splattered everywhere.
My defensive skill was useless. Even just a brush made everything I had built useless.
But even so, I moved. If I didn’t move, nothing would change.
Chase it.
Grinding my teeth to push through.
Hang on somehow. Even for just one person.
Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique.
First Form.
Ilma.
I swat away the falling shards of energy with my hands. Blood flows from the torn flesh, and chunks of flesh drift in the wind.
Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique.
Second Form.
Dan Hoon Choo.
I ride onto the scales of the blood snake made of the Heart Sword. I pierce through all the blades of blood energy flying at me.
Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique.
Third Form.
Overlord Demon Technique.
I grab my sword with a searing body. Crying out as I surpass the pain threatening to tear me apart.
Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique.
Fourth Form.
Flash Dispersal.
The burst of the sword burst through the scales. I locked gazes with the man on it.
Nine Heavens Blood Demon Technique.
Fifth Form.
Blood Shadow Two Flowers – Ten Thousand Punctures.
The advanced martial art handling the new technique flowed through my fingertips and landed on the sword.
The logic harmonized with the sword to pull forth the energy needed to shatter the wall of the Heart Sword.
I reached it.
I resisted and climbed up…
The sword appeared before my target.
—KAA-AAAAAANG!!!!
With the chilling sound echoing, blood scattered.
Beyond the red aura, Gukcheong gnashed his teeth.
“Did you think a mere sword like yours could reach my toes?!”
Yes. That’s true.
There’s a difference in levels of mastery of more than two stages already.
I’m not even qualified to step in this place. This is…
A place overflowing with people stronger than me several times over.
But still, I grip the sword. I inject my strength into it.
Bai Ya howls. Inside, I reflect on what I need to do.
“If you cannot draw it when you want to, can it still be called a sword?”
I swore. In front of her.
To become a single sword.
And to prove that, I came here.
My feet stepped into Eungmin to save Wolhyang.
In that journey, a lot has happened.
“Did you hear about how to make dried fruit? Did my sister tell you?”
I met Ju Ryeongryeong.
“First, I should probably state my name. Black Wind. Call me that.”
I met Black Wind.
“I’m counting on you, friend.”
I met Black Danhwa.
“My name is Gun Ho-kwang.”
I met Huachun Quenma.
“But I’ll do my best to help indirectly.”
I met the Nine Heavens Jade Woman.
And finally…
“Wolhyang.”
I met the one I was searching for.
All of these are tied here. They’ve all entered Eungmin with me.
If I don’t do it, who will?
If I don’t succeed, who will?
I grasp the shaking sword with both hands. I delve into the creepy voice of Ear Sword Bai Ya that runs through my body.
“Your sword is somewhat detached from reality.”
The man in front of me said to me.
Perhaps those who brushed by also thought the same.
But…
But I have already experienced the sword that compromised with reality. I knew what it had brought me.
Powerlessness.
Pain.
A hollow emptiness.
I discovered nothing in that void. In the end, there was ultimately nothing.
Strength?
It’s important. Survival is also important. Because you are alive, you can draw anything.
But just being alive… merely having strength… was that all that it took to solve everything?
No.
I know it isn’t like that.
What made my heart start beating again? What caused me to grit my teeth against the agony of Heavenly Demons and write down the character for ‘endure’?
Dreams.
For a person to live, they must carry dreams.
I look back at the path everyone turned away from. I recall those who called me foolish.
I put even more strength into the sword I grasped. I whisper amidst the crumbling energy.
His words might be true. There will be times when you have to bend.
To survive, there will come moments when I must inevitably stain my hands with blood. There will be times when I need to struggle to survive, clinging to what I can.
But…
“I am the Heavenly Demon. Jeok-un. The Red Cloud. You must have resented your name. But now, you can take pride in it. You stand beneath the Heavenly Demon who roams the skies.”
I decided not to.
“That may not be the very highest in the heavens…”
I swore to grasp the ideal sword.
Because I know that a colorless world holds no meaning for me…
I dreamed of infusing it with color.
I am slow.
Slow and dull, and foolish.
But didn’t I choose to walk like this?
“The so-called geniuses will never look down upon you again.”
I swore that with this sword given to me, I would catch up to you, didn’t I?
So.
So.
“AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Change your grip. If one way doesn’t work, change how you hold it.
Pour in your strength. If I don’t do it, no one will do what needs to be done, so grit your teeth and get it done.
Reveal your intentions. Struggle against the world.
Even if you die hundreds of times, grasp the sword again in the next moment. Bite through every fiber of your being to regain your consciousness.
Protect! The intention you wish to convey!
Even if you can’t do it, push through! Though it may bend, do it for the sake of showing!
Reaching out without bending!
“What…?!”
A tremor. The collapse of energy.
The supremacy of the Heart Sword. The low state of mastery.
Don’t fall apart from wordplay; run forward!
The story has piled up enough! I’ve built it up abundantly!
Trust that all of that will fuse into a single blade for just one moment!
In this moment…!
With all the time I dedicated to just that one moment…!
Draw it!
Shattering White Blood Demon Technique.
The Outer Sword.
Giant Crushing Power Strike.
One day, I will surpass the Heavenly Demon’s sword!
“What…?!”
The scenery shifts.
The place I stood feels tremendously far away as the sword I grasped cries out. Amidst the fog of blood rising at my lips, Bai Ya’s eerie voice added ice to the blood energy.
The spiral white energy emitted from the tip of the sword. The sword tip settled within it.
Within the tangled world, my jaw gleamed.
The beast that sought to rise.
And the moved Heart Sword.
In the next moment.
A red flash swallowed me.
—KWA-AAAAAAANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
