Chapter 171: Hae-il (6)

The two people with blue hair…

Cale could see Choi Han and the Heavenly Demon running toward the two young Blood Demon candidates who were still on top of the castle walls.

– Human, should we go?

"Yeah."

Swoooooooosh-

Wind swirled at the edge of his ankle.

Cale rode on the wind that Raon created to quickly approach the castle.

He had to stop for a moment.

Baaaaaang-

He saw something black shooting up into the air with a loud noise.

It was sparkling.

The black Yong.

It was the black aura shooting out of Choi Han's sword.

And next to it…

Ooooooo—

There was a strong impact as a white Yong revealed itself.

It was Choi Jung Soo, the one called the Sword Demon in this world.

Choi Han and Choi Jung Soo.

The two of them had climbed over the wall to charge toward a single person.

It was the young Blood Demon candidate with sky-like blue hair.

She had to take on Choi Han and Choi Jung Soo.

Cale had asked the two Chois to do just one thing.

'In order for there to not be an opening to create another formation… Take down the person who created the formation.'

Cale and the two Chois had clearly seen it.

They saw her, with her numerous accessories, handling the formation.

That was the reason the two of their yongs were aiming for her.

"...!"

Yoon's eyes opened wide.

She quickly used a foot technique. The moment her figure instantly moved to another location…

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—!

The black yong swallowed up the spot she had been standing.

Boom. Boom.

The broken debris of the castle walls fell to the ground.

The violently fluctuating black Yong raised its head.

The tip of Choi Han's sword headed toward the young Blood Demon candidate Yoon.

"!"

However, Yoon could not keep looking at that.

She dodged.

Ssssssssss-

The white yong that had stealthily and quickly attacked at that location looked at her with disappointment.

Choi Jung Soo's eyes did not move away from her.

Now that Choi Jung Soo's usual clueless look was gone from his face and Choi Han's innocent smile was gone, the two of them had very similar expressions on their faces.

It was at that moment.

"S, Sword Demon-nim!"

Choi Jung Soo turned his head after hearing a familiar voice.

He saw the Dokgo Clan's young clan leader, Dokgo Ryeong, rushing toward him with her hands still bound.

The Dokgo Clan was the only family to treat the Sword Demon as their benefactor and tried to rescue him while everybody else shunned him and tried to capture him.

The young clan leader of that clan shouted as soon as she made eye contact with the Sword Demon.

She needed to get this message to him.

"That person is in the Profound Realm! All of the young Blood Demon candidates are in the Profound Realm!"

The Profound Realm.

How high was that level of martial arts?

It was quite lacking compared to young master Kim who was in the Nature Realm, but if you consider that the Elders of most sects and clans were in the Unrestrained Realm…

The Profound Realm was extremely strong.

Considering the fact that most people could barely reach the Unrestrained Realm let alone the Profound Realm despite dedicating their whole lives to martial arts, it was easy to tell how scary these young Blood Demon candidates were to reach such a level at their young ages.

That was the reason Dokgo Ryeong did everything she could to run out as soon as she realized that the castle walls were destroyed.

She had to tell the martial artists who came here the strength of the young Blood Demon candidates.

"There are lots of Unrestrained Realm and Peak Realm experts here as well!"

She needed to prevent the people who came here to help them from dying meaningless deaths.

She knew that the things that she was saying, despite not sounding like much, was extremely important to this fight.

That was why she was feeling so rushed.

Based on what she knew, the Sword Demon, Choi Jung Soo, was also in the Unrestrained Realm.

Furthermore, she had never seen Choi Han's sword art.

"Be careful-"

Please be careful as you fight.

That was what Dokgo Ryeong was about to say before she flinched.

Choi Jung Soo was suddenly in front of her.

"Thank you for the information."

Slice.

The bindings around Dokgo Ryeong's hands were sliced off.

He also took off the gag that was dangling on her neck.

"You be careful as well, young clan leader-nim."

Choi Jung Soo then turned around without any hesitation. Dokgo Ryeong subconsciously shouted once more.

"They are in the Profound Realm-"

"It's okay."

Dokgo Ryeong and Choi Jung Soo made eye contact.

He calmly commented.

"We won't lose."

His voice was gentle but it was stern.

Dokgo Ryeong closed her mouth as she did not know what to say.

She then saw something.

Baaaaaaaaaang–

There was a loud noise and Choi Han, who had clashed against Yoon, was ruthlessly swinging his sword.

He was not being pushed back at all.

Bang, baaaaang! Bang!

Yoon swung a staff with a luxurious jewel on it.

There was a blue light glowing on the staff.

Furthermore, a blue light was coming off her body and her eyes turned blue.

Her expression was quite relaxed.

"You are not bad. You would be great to turn into a True Jiangshi."

Choi Han silently swung his sword as she licked her lips.

Baaaaang!

The black aura crashed against the blue aura.

Neither side was pushed back.

Of course, the blue aura was slowly getting bigger.

"Kim Hae-il? That guy, the divine beast, and even you. There are quite a lot of useful bodies."

Choi Han's eyebrow twitched at that moment.

However, Yoon had no idea and did not hide her gaze that looked extremely greedy as if she found a prey as she drew a line with her staff.

That line looked almost like a sword art.

However, the whole image could not be drawn.

Baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaang—!

Yoon swung her staff to stop the white Yong attacking her before flinching.

Baaaaang!

"Ugh!"

She groaned for the first time.

The black yong was behind the white yong, trying to bite her.

If she dodged the precise and clever sword attacking her, the violent and ruthless sword aimed for her neck.

"Ha."

Yoon let out a sigh-like laugh.

"I guess I have no choice. I didn't want to damage a body that would turn into a True Jiangshi."

Ooooooooong-

There was a strong vibration as blue aura shot up from her body.

"I guess I will need to be a bit rough to suppress you."

The moment she smiled and said that…

Baaaaang!

The black yong immediately charged at her.

As Yoon frowned at these attacks that continued without giving her time to even talk…

Bang!

The staff and sword slammed against each other.

Choi Han and Yoon made eye contact beyond the staff and sword that were diagonally pressed against each other.

His black eyes were staring at her.

He opened his mouth and nonchalantly commented.

"Do you use blue aura because you are the Blue Bloods?"

"…What?"

Yoon's eyes opened wide.

"That should be the case. The Hunters have their own family characteristics."

She looked behind her in shock. Choi Jung Soo was approaching her.

She quickly moved back.

She looked anxious for the first time.

Choi Jung Soo smiled in response.

Oooooo-

His sword started to roar.

The white yong, the white aura, slowly started getting stronger. It seemed almost as if everything until now had just been a warm-up.

"You won't be sad about this, right, uncle?"

Choi Han fixed his grip on his sword as if to answer his question.

The black aura almost exploded out of it.

It was almost as if he was releasing the anger that he felt the moment he heard her say that she would turn Cale and Raon into jiangshis. Choi Han released an aura so strong that even Choi Jung Soo flinched before starting to walk.

"Let's finish this quickly."

"Yes sir~"

Choi Jung Soo answered jovially before following behind him.

"W, what are you guys?"

Yoon questioned the identities of the people in front of her for the first time.

Choi Han quietly answered.

"Hunter."

"…What?"

"We are Hunters who hunt Hunters like you."

Yoon finally realized it.

Choi Han. This guy was the one who was looking at her as if she was prey.

Furthermore, Choi Jung Soo who was walking next to him… He was the same.

"Pfft."

Choi Jung Soo chuckled after hearing Choi Han's answer.

However, he liked that answer quite a bit.

He charged toward Yoon and happened to see Dokgo Ryeong's shocked face.

She seemed shocked at his strength.

'I guess it can't be helped.'

Choi Jung Soo had been looking into the Hunters after making a deal with the God of Death.

That was why he had to stealthily assimilate into the Central Plains.

He ended up with the title of Sword Demon as a result, but…

He had never used his full strength during his time in the Central Plains.

Of course, although it was only for an instant, he did use quite a lot of his strength during his spar with Choi Han.

But aside from that, he always kept it average in front of so many people.

People still revered him for being in the Unrestrained Realm, but…

'I am that way and so is my uncle.'

Whether it was the Unrestrained Realm or the Profound Realm… was there a need for them to consider the level of martial arts of the Central Plains?

The way they had lived their lives was different from the ways of this world.

They had their own unique type of strength.

Their strength could not be divided into levels.

"Let's quickly catch this twerp."

The young Blood Demon candidate. There was no reason for Choi Han or Choi Jung Soo to lose to a mere candidate. It wasn't as if she was the entire Blood Cult organization or the Blood Demon.

Choi Jung Soo leisurely mumbled almost as if he was humming as he aimed for Yoon's openings as she dodged Choi Han's attacks.

Choi Jung Soo had lived much longer than the age he looked.

The young Yoon, no matter how strong she was, was just a little twerp in his eyes.

That should be the same for his uncle Choi Han.

He was truly someone who had lived a very long life.

There was no way that he would leave someone alone when they threatened to turn the new precious people in his life into jiangshis.

This was the same for Choi Jung Soo.

Baaaaaaaaaang—–!

The two yongs started running wild.

"Ugh!"

Yoon's face turned pale.

There were also others who were looking at them with disbelief.

"How is that possible?"

They were the martial artists.

"The Sword Demon was this strong?"

"…Young master Kim-nim's group is quite strong as well."

The Profound Realm.

The Sword Demon and Choi Han had no hesitation while fighting against someone in the supreme level of martial arts.

They were shocked by this and some people also got the chills.

This was especially true of the martial artists who came from Sichuan.

The Tang matriarch bit down on her lips.

"How is that-"

Young master Kim's powers were shocking but what about these people's level of strength?

They had to move as quickly as possible right now but she could not even move a step.

It was at that moment.

"Shouldn't you go help the Pinnacle Demon?"

They heard a slow and relaxed voice.

Lee Soo Hyuk.

It was another one of young master Kim's people.

He walked past her and calmly commented.

"You should do what you need to do, ma'am."

Tang Yu could not retort and nodded her head.

She was about to turn her head toward the direction he was walking in when she flinched.

'Mm!'

An aura that made her feel fear touched her.

Why did she feel that way?

The sudden odd feeling soon disappeared.

She saw a person surrounded in dark red aura with his robe fluttering.

The sky of the Demon Cult…

The Heavenly Demon.

He was currently fighting against the other young Blood Demon candidate.

Crack. Crack.

Each of his steps made everything crack and break around him.

Tang Yu recalled the single word the Orthodox faction used to discuss the Heavenly Demon and the Demon Cult.

'Calamity.'

Yes, they called these people calamities.

It was because they fought violently without looking back.

However, she had not felt that way while looking at the current generation's Heavenly Demon.

The reason was simple.

He gave off dignity and power but, for some odd reason, he did not seem that scary.

However, looking at the Heavenly Demon right now, the only thought on her mind was that he was definitely someone who deserved to receive the position to be called the sky of the Demon Cult.

For the Demon Cult to have such a strong person-

Tang Yu felt scared.

She was scared about what would happen after they took down the Blood Cult.

However, she soon snapped back to her senses.

On the other side of the Heavenly Demon…

Although he was not at the Heavenly Demon's level at the Profound Realm, the weight of the aura that this person carried, the person who came off like an Emperor, was also approaching the young Blood Demon candidate.

The Sword Saint.

The Ancestral Patriarch of the Namgung Clan and one of the strongest experts of the Orthodox faction…

His personality was exactly like the Heavy Blade he uses.

People talked crap about how he was a stubborn old man but looking at his golden sword made people automatically think of the title of the 'Monarch of the Sword.'

"Ha."

She let out a deep sigh.

The Heavenly Demon and the Sword Saint…

The blue aura that shot through those two suffocating auras…

It was the young Blood Demon candidate's power.

He was said to be in the Profound Realm as well, so he was not being pushed back by them.

In fact, it was the Sword Saint who was scowling and finding the situation to be intolerable.

"Wow. I guess the Central Plains is not weak?"

The young Blood Demon candidate, Hoya, looked at the Sword Saint and Heavenly Demon as if he was entertained.

The three of their auras were fiercely contending.

They slowly started getting stronger.

The Sword Saint seemed as if it was a bit much for him but, at this point, nobody was being pushed back yet.

That situation made the people around them urgently move back.

They felt as if they would get suppressed by those auras if they tried to intervene.

"I guess I'm going to have a fun fight for the first time in a long while."

The Heavenly Demon slowly responded to Hoya's comment.

"I guess so."

Babababang—

The three of their auras released loud explosions just by touching each other.

The peak of the Unrestrained Realm and the Profound Realm…

The blades of these people at such unbelievable levels of strength were vicious.

As the air around them became heavier…

Slice.

They heard the sound of someone gently slashing down with his sword.

A portion of the three auras was cut off.

The suffocatingly tense auras were so easily cut.

All three of them looked in the same direction.

Lee Soo Hyuk received their gazes and gently sliced his sword down from top to bottom.

"Let's not do some unnecessary peacocking of your strengths. Let's quickly take care of our task."

He spoke leisurely to the Heavenly Demon and Sword Saint.

"We still have a lot to do, don't we?"

Slice.

The intangible auras that had been suffocating people were sliced by a simple iron sword.

Team leader Sui Khan… He was using his slashing ability without any restraint as he approached the person.

He was walking toward the young Blood Demon candidate, Hoya.

—

Translator's Comments

The title probably could have been tsunami, but if the author intended a pun, I didn't want to give it away, hence it being hae-il (Korean for tsunami and also Cale's name in the Central Plains) vs tsunami.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]