Chapter 2564 – 2564. Ascending To The Light

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功), Heavenly Demon Overlord Step (天魔君臨步).

An unprecedented pressure bears down from all directions.

The energy dissolved in the void churns, and the Heavenly Net of Earth (天羅地網), the massive barrier enveloping this city, ripples violently.

The warriors preparing their formations involuntarily hunched their shoulders and trembled. I knew their inner energy was shaken. It wasn’t enough to subdue them with just one Heavenly Demon Overlord Step.

I raised my foot again to perform the Heavenly Demon Overlord Step, but frowned. My whole body tingled, likely due to the barrier’s influence.

‘Using a powerful technique always comes with a burden. Normally, it’s a negligible level… but now, I’d suffer 100% internal injuries. Is this also the effect of the Heavenly Net of Earth? At this rate, even if I use the Heaven-Shattering Strike (破天荒), it might not unleash its full power, or worse, it could fail.’

I drew out my Heavenly Demon energy and coated my blade. Jet-black, intense energy surged forth relentlessly.

Then, I looked at Plum Blossom Paragon and Grandmaster Taeheo and was slightly surprised. Their reactions were the opposite of what I expected.

Plum Blossom Paragon maintained his composure despite being directly affected by the Heavenly Demon Overlord Step. A red energy resembling plum blossoms and a strong plum fragrance emanated from his body.

Conversely, Grandmaster Taeheo, who had been calm, contorted his face like a fiend. He glared at me, displaying emotions that could have been fear or rage, and shouted, spitting as he spoke.

“Kill him! He must be killed here and now!! That man is not human!! He’s a demon descended upon this world!! He must be killed for the sake of the world before he grows stronger!!”

Plum Blossom Paragon was taken aback by the hate-filled outburst.

“Grandmaster Taeheo! Calm yourself! Why are you suddenly like this?!”

“Didn’t you see his technique just now?!”

“Wasn’t it the aura of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art? It was certainly a powerful aura. It even shook my inner resolve. But if I gather my mind, it’s nothing.”

“Aura? Gather your mind? No! Absolutely not! That’s the power of a demon! A terrible sorcery that stirs up anguish! I’m not the only one who felt it. Look around! Some of the True Dragon Corps warriors have already lost their will to fight!”

Plum Blossom Paragon looked around and frowned. As Grandmaster Taeheo said, some of the warriors were collapsed on the ground, trembling. They were sweating profusely and seemed terrified of something.

“…But Grandmaster Taeheo, weren’t you saying we should capture him alive until just now?”

“I’ll take responsibility! I’ll explain to the Clan Leader and the other elders! Kill him here! It’s for the sake of the world!”

Grandmaster Taeheo screamed and swung his sword. The wind blew. One gust of wind split into dozens and flew towards me. Even if I couldn’t see them, I could feel them through my senses.

‘There’s no need to take a hit when it’s coming straight at me.’

I dodged to the side. Plum Blossom Paragon closed the distance as if he had been waiting for it. I blocked Plum Blossom Paragon’s sword with my blade. Energy clashed against energy.

“Damn it. Can’t you get rid of that plum blossom smell?”

“As the plum fragrance spreads, evil will feel fear!”

“What the hell are you talking about? You plum-scented jizz-face!”

“…How do you know that?”

“Namgoong told me!”

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功), Heavenly Demon Palm (天魔神掌).

While clashing swords, I extended my left hand towards Plum Blossom Paragon’s shoulder. Plum Blossom Paragon quickly dodged to the side. But it didn’t matter. The Heavenly Demon Palm was a qi technique.

My palm struck the air.

*KWAANG!*

Energy exploded. It didn’t inflict much damage on Plum Blossom Paragon. It wasn’t a direct hit, and he blocked the aftermath of the explosion with his protective energy.

He immediately counterattacked. As he embroidered the air with his sword, red plum blossoms bloomed profusely. Despite their beautiful appearance, their essence was pure energy, and one would be cut the moment they touched them. I smelled blood in those plum blossoms.

“Your plum blossoms reek of blood. Has your mental state influenced them?”

“My plum blossoms will bloom upon the corpses of heretical scum!”

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功), Black Flame Demonic Dragon (黑炎魔龍).

My energy transformed into black flames. The plum blossom petals flying towards me were burned away the moment they touched the black flames.

Plum Blossom Paragon didn’t back down. He gritted his teeth and swung his sword. His sword became a single plum blossom.

“Plum Blossom Burst (梅花裂開)…!”

The single plum blossom surprisingly endured the black flames and approached me.

[Using Moment (刹那). Remaining stacks: 11]

My thoughts accelerated. Even so, Plum Blossom Paragon’s sword approaching me was quite fast. I didn’t have the luxury to keep this up for long.

‘Should I try a mutual destruction tactic? No, I can’t be 100% sure it will work. And the battle hasn’t been going on for long.’

The mutual destruction tactic works best when the opponent is careless. Plum Blossom Paragon and Grandmaster Taeheo weren’t careless in the slightest.

Full Recovery and Heavenly Mind, my trump cards, weren’t cards to play now. I’d keep them hidden.

I quickly retreated and dodged. However, a plum blossom petal touched my shoulder. It cut through the black flames and sliced my shoulder. Blood splattered. Fortunately, the wound was shallow. There was no problem moving my arm.

I swung my sword in all directions. Slashes of black flames flew towards the warriors around me.

“Guard Wall!”

The sorcerers shouted in unison. A transparent energy barrier appeared and blocked the black flames.

“The eyes of heaven see all!”

Grandmaster Taeheo’s voice boomed. Immediately after, golden light shot towards me from the Heavenly Net of Earth.

[Using Moment (刹那). Remaining stacks: 10]

I barely dodged it. It wasn’t as fast as real light, but it was a speed that was difficult to react to with pure physical ability alone. The ground where the light had struck was deeply pierced. It seemed to have been gouged at least 30 meters deep.

‘Grandmaster Taeheo is using an attack spell that utilizes the Heavenly Net of Earth. It’s obviously hard to block with protective energy.’

Grandmaster Taeheo, who was far away, was annoying, but I couldn’t ignore Plum Blossom Paragon. Plum Blossom Paragon was catching his breath. I tried to seize the opportunity to launch a barrage of attacks, but… the warriors who had completed the Hundred Fiends Extermination Formation (百人惡滅陣) interfered with me. They suddenly popped out and attacked me. When I tried to block and counterattack, another one popped out from the side.

‘Damn it! They’re not giving me a break! That’s how sword formations are, but… combined with the Heavenly Net of Earth barrier and the sorcerers’ support, it’s a real pain in the ass.’

I knew it was inevitable. I was fighting hundreds of people alone. If they were just low-level trash, it wouldn’t matter, but there were two absolute masters who had reached the same level as me. It was inevitable that I would struggle.

*Clang! Clang!*

One attacked from the front, and another attacked from the side. I responded by swinging my sword and fists. Then, they simultaneously attacked from the front and back, swinging their swords. It was impossible to dodge everything, so I allowed non-fatal attacks.

‘They’re not even giving me time to breathe….’

At this rate, I’d be worn down to death.

‘Time for a change of plans. I’ll kill the annoying trash first…!’

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功), Heavenly Demon Overlord Step (天魔君臨步).

*THUD!*

The moment I stepped on the ground, a shockwave swept through the surroundings.

“Cough?!”

The trash stopped moving. Before they could reorganize their formation, I swung my Fiery Lotus Flying Blades.

Heavenly Demon Divine Art (天魔神功), Heavenly Demon Sword (天魔劍), Demonic Wind (魔風).

Just as the black wind was about to sweep them away, dozens of plum blossoms bloomed and blocked my attack. They emitted a normal plum fragrance, not a bloody one. Although Plum Blossom Paragon’s mental state wasn’t imbued in them, those plum blossoms were enough to block the black wind.

“Did you forget that I’m here?!”

“…You damn bastard!”

Plum Blossom Paragon’s attack began again.

Plum Blossom Paragon unleashed his ultimate techniques with all his might, without thinking about the consequences. I used Moment to somehow dodge or block them. The problem was what came next. When I tried to counterattack, Grandmaster Taeheo attacked with his spells. If I managed to dodge or block that, the warriors in the sword formation would attack as if they had been waiting for it. Then I would use the Heavenly Demon Overlord Step. After that, Plum Blossom Paragon would attack again.

The increasing number of wounds wasn’t a big problem.

‘The real problem is that I can’t catch my breath.’

The foundation of martial arts was breathing. You had to be able to breathe properly to unleash your full power. But I couldn’t breathe. The moment I tried to take a breath, they would attack.

‘These motherfucking bastards. Did they spend all their time practicing ganging up on people? Their ganging up skills are fucking artistic.’

I couldn’t help but praise them.

“You’re reaching your limit, Little Heavenly Demon! I can clearly feel your momentum waning! Where did that ferocious aura from earlier go?!”

“……”

I gritted my teeth and endured. I wanted to use the Heavenly Star of Slaughter, but… things could get too big if I did.

‘The only good thing is that these guys are starting to relax a little, confident in their victory.’

They were letting their guard down.

Full Recovery and Heavenly Mind. I still had cards left to turn the situation around.

*Clang! Clang!*

While mindlessly blocking attacks, the strength in my left leg faltered slightly. It was the moment my balance was broken. One of the warriors in the sword formation suddenly popped out. He charged like a boar, overtook Plum Blossom Paragon, and pulled out an axe from his spatial storage, aiming for my neck.

The power and energy I felt from him were those of a Three Peaks.

“Little Heavenly Demon Seong Yoojin! I, Chae Mahong, the new Mountain King, will take your head!”

The man tore off his disguise and proudly revealed his name.

“When did you infiltrate the True Dragon Corps?!”

“Stop, Mountain King!!”

Plum Blossom Paragon and Grandmaster Taeheo shouted, but there was no way the Mountain King would stop.

The Mountain King swung his energy-enhanced axe.

I felt it instinctively. Moment alone wouldn’t be enough. At the same time, I knew it was a golden opportunity. The Mountain King, confident in his victory, was completely unguarded.

[Using Time Acceleration. Remaining stacks: 0]

I moved forward.

The Mountain King’s axe pierced my neck. I didn’t care and aimed my Fiery Lotus Flying Blade at the Mountain King’s chest. The Fiery Lotus Flying Blade, fueled by my squeezed-out strength, aimed for the Mountain King’s heart. But my strength was lacking. The blade couldn’t pierce the Mountain King’s skin, which had been hardened through external training.

‘Heavenly Mind.’

[Activating Heavenly Mind (天心). Duration: 1 minute.]

The effect of the Heavenly Net of Earth, which had been suppressing my body, disappeared. Heavenly Demon energy surged into the tip of my Fiery Lotus Flying Blade, and it pierced the Mountain King’s heart.

“You were hiding your power even at this point? You crazy bastard…. You should have just died quietly….”

The Mountain King collapsed.

I collapsed to the ground. 70% of my neck had been sliced by the axe. This was bad.

[Death Resistance has activated. You will not die for the next 15 seconds.]

[Trial – Martial Arts Journey.
3/3 Completed.]

[Trial completed.]

[As a reward for completing the trial, an enlightenment of the mind is granted.]

Enlightenment struck my mind like a bolt of lightning.

The enlightenment was surprisingly simple.

What was important was the essence. Not martial arts, but my essence.

‘If I had to give up either the Thunderous Flow or the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, I would have thought about it a lot. Maybe I would have just kept thinking about it without making a decision.’

I thought martial arts were my mental state.

But it wasn’t.

Martial arts were just a means. The Thunderous Flow and the Heavenly Demon Divine Art were just martial arts. Even if I gave up those two, I already had something I could never give up.

Not lightning, not a demon, but my true essence.

‘Dick.’

My mental state.

At its center was a giant dick.

A dick with lightning (雷) in its right testicle and a demon (魔) in its left testicle.

Mind Dick (心奀).