Chapter 172: Hae-il (7)

Slice.

The Heavenly Demon, the Sword Saint, and the young Blood Demon candidate…

The spot where the three of their auras converged was easily sliced again.

"You-"

The Heavenly Demon's gaze headed toward Sui Khan.

There was only one thing he knew about Sui Khan.

Lee Soo Hyuk.

It was just his name.

He had never paid any special attention to this person.

He had not seemed very strong. He thought that it was this person's years of experience that made him get a decent level of treatment in young master Kim's group.

"What is that?"

However, the power he was using right now was odd.

This was different from the typical martial arts.

Choi Han and Choi Jung Soo. Unlike the two of them, who seemed to use some sort of aura with their sword, he did not feel any sort of aura from this person.

Instead, this-

'Will?'

I will slash it.

That will was the only thing he could read from this sword.

There was no sword art or stylish movements. The way it simply slashed through efficiently made the Heavenly Demon feel fear.

'Putting your will, your desires into a sword.'

Wasn't that truly reaching the level of the Formless Sword?

The Formless Sword was the highest level someone could reach with the sword.

The Heavenly Demon had only seen it described in books, and had never reached that level despite arriving at the Profound Realm.

He simply thought that once he arrived at the Nature Realm, he would be able to observe nature and be able to place his will into the sword.

But to be able to see something that he believed to be the Formless Sword like this…

'Lee Soo Hyuk.'

This person was definitely not in the Profound Realm or even the Unrestrained Realm.

However, his will was in his sword.

"Ha!"

The Heavenly Demon laughed.

'The world truly is vast.

All sorts of different kinds of strength that I have never experienced before exist in the world.'

Just realizing this made this trip to the Martial Arts world worth it for the Heavenly Demon.

The Heavenly Demon made eye contact with Lee Soo Hyuk.

"Are you slacking off?"

The Heavenly Demon could not stand still after hearing those nonchalant words.

He laughed and immediately started moving.

Being around young master Kim Hae-il's group gave him many reasons to laugh.

"Slacking off? Of course not."

The position of Heavenly Demon was not something he could gain by slacking off.

Oooooo-

His sword started roaring again.

The Sovereign Steps of the Heavenly Demon, which was called the steps of a supreme ruler… He used those steps as he headed toward the young Blood Demon candidate.

Lee Soo Hyuk leisurely followed behind him before making eye contact with the Sword Saint.

"You can't lose to him, right?"

His words stirred a fire in the Sword Saint's eyes.

"Of course."

The golden light that came out of the Sword Saint's sword headed toward the young Blood Demon candidate, Hoya.

Boom.

As if to prove that he rose to the position of the greatest swordsman in the Orthodox faction with his greatsword, there were strong vibrations each time he swung his sword.

Sui Khan briefly observed Hoya, who was fighting against the Sword Saint and the Heavenly Demon, before making an assessment.

"Based on this world's viewpoint, he should be at the initial stages of the Profound Realm."

To reach the Profound Realm in his late teens or early twenties…

Although this was definitely an extremely high level of arts, he should not be able to handle the Heavenly Demon, who had reached the middle stages of the Profound Realm, and the Sword Saint, who, despite being in the late stages of the Unrestrained Realm, has faced all sorts of hardships in his life.

Baaaaang! Baaaaang!

Sui Khan's gaze moved toward the direction of the loud explosions.

The other young Blood Demon candidate's blue aura was spreading out in all directions.

Ring ring!

He couldn't tell whether she was trying to cast a formation or some sort of spell, but the endless attacks of the white yong and the black yong were restricting her movements.

"I guess they will finish soon."

Choi Han and Choi Jung Soo worked better together than he had expected.

But it made sense as their styles had the same roots but grew in different directions. They would be able to support each other's lacking areas to fight better together.

"...."

Sui Khan then made eye contact with someone.

It was the man with the half-white hair, Ron. Beacrox was standing next to him as well.

Sui Khan quietly observed Beacrox, who had his greatsword on his back while looking out into the battlefield, before turning his gaze.

He then started to walk.

"There are a lot of places to slash."

Slash.

His sword moved to find another spot to slash.

Beacrox was staring at his movements.

"I'm heading out now."

After nodding his head at his father, Beacrox was left alone for the first time in a long while.

He would usually have Toonka, Durst, or Number 7 with him.

Beacrox somehow ended up cleaning up after the troublemakers.

However, Toonka was not here yet and Durst was coming with the rear group because he thought that he might throw up and faint because of all of the jiangshis.

Furthermore, Number 7 was in the Pinnacle Demon's hands and he had no idea whether that guy was dead or alive. Well, he was probably alive, but he had no idea what kind of condition that man would be in.

According to the Pinnacle Demon, he was begging her to knock him unconscious, but she didn't care about what he had to say.

The only thing on Beacrox's mind right now was a single person's voice.

Slash.

Sui Khan, who was still slashing the auras of the martial artists…

His voice was echoing in Beacrox's ears.

'My original plan was to ask little Han what he thought, but… I think it would suit you well.'

'Beacrox. Do you want to learn how to use my sword?'

Sui Khan had asked so casually, as if he was asking Beacrox what he wanted to eat.

'Of course, I can't give this ability to you. I need to use it as well. However, I think I know the conditions required to awaken this ability. But I have no idea whether you will also awaken it.'

Beacrox also asked back nonchalantly since Sui Khan was asking so casually.

'Why me?'

Sui Khan smiled at that question.

He looked at Beacrox with an entertained gaze as he responded.

'Rather than Choi Han, who knows how to look around, I think it is right for you. In my opinion, of everybody here, you are the most-'

He trailed off for a bit before answering without any hesitation.

'You look the most stubborn.'

Sui Khan said that Beacrox seemed to be the most stubborn in the group.

'I used to be quite the stubborn person. You resemble how I used to be.'

Sui Khan then told him to think about it and never brought it up again.

However, Beacrox knew that the offer was still on the table.

He also knew that he should give him an answer soon.

"...."

What should he do?

His contemplative gaze noticed the blue aura that was brutally being ripped apart by a black aura.

'They got her.'

He could see that Choi Han had one of the young Blood Demon candidates by the collar.

Beacrox looked at him and thought to himself.

'Either way, I can't just stay as is.'

He needed to do something.

The others were all geniuses whose growth speed was much faster than his own.

Of course, he thought that he was also quite skilled.

However, if he was said to have a brilliant mind, these people were geniuses.

That fact didn't make him feel a sense of inferiority. However, it did not fit his personality to do nothing like this.

That was all.

That was the reason Beacrox decided to chat with Sui Khan about this.

'He's here.'

His body moved.

Cale Henituse.

He had entered the castle.

Wind was wrapped around his legs.

Beacrox was certain that this was the invisible Raon's magic.

The seal on Cale's wind power had yet to be released.

"Mm."

Beacrox stopped for a moment.

"This is weird."

young master Cale Henituse.

"…Is it okay for him to be feeling this normal?"

Shouldn't he have coughed up some blood after using so much of his strength?

Beacrox looked unsettled.

He subconsciously felt that something big was about to happen.

However, he could not just open his mouth to ask about it.

Either way, things were progressing well right now.

However, Cale flinched.

As he leisurely entered into Yunnan Castle…

Once he walked past the broken castle wall… Cale tried to take a look around.

"Hae-il-nim."

But he couldn't do that.

Choi Han walked toward him.

He was holding Yoon by the collar, dragging her on the ground.

"Uhh….ugh."

The young Blood Demon candidate could not fully maintain her consciousness. She had a deep cut on her side and quite a bit of the accessories on her body were destroyed.

Choi Han nonchalantly dragged her over and placed her in front of Cale.

"Ugh!"

The young Blood Demon candidate let out a pain-filled groan.

'He doesn't usually treat people so crudely?'

He was surprised at Choi Han acting so harshly, but he soon accepted it.

'Well, she probably ran her mouth off and made Choi Han angry.'

There must be a reason for this innocent punk to get so angry. Furthermore, Cale didn't really care since she was the enemy anyway.

She was one of the people who tried to turn the residents of Yunnan Castle into jiangshis.

Choi Jung Soo came over at that moment and opened his mouth.

"Hey. This girl said that she was going to turn Raon into a jiangshi!"

"…What?"

Cale was silent for a moment and then responded. Choi Jung Soo flinched after seeing Cale's gaze.

"Uhh, mm. That's what she said! I definitely heard it! My uncle heard it too!"

He then quickly disappeared, saying that he would go help the others.

– Human! I won't turn into a jiangshi! I am great and mighty! But why is Choi Jung Soo suddenly running away like that? Did he do something wrong?

He let Raon's comments in one ear and out the other.

Instead, Cale crouched down to look down at the young Blood Demon candidate who was groaning and unable to fully maintain her consciousness.

Pat pat.

He patted her cheek.

"Ugh...."

That action made Yoon barely open her eyes. She was currently full of rage.

The pain from having her side cut was not that bad for her.

'They dare, they dare-!'

How could they do such things to someone who might become the master of the great Blue Bloods?!

The two swordsmen had leisurely attacked her as if they were fighting against a child.

Yoon could not release her anger after feeling like she had ended up as the prey.

'After everything I did to get this far?!'

A young Blood Demon candidate. She had overcome numerous pain and suffering to rise to this position.

Her side bleeding like this was nothing in comparison.

'…I won't let them get away with this.'

She got swept up in an attack and lost consciousness, which allowed her collar to get caught by the enemy, but there was still a chance.

'Plus, I'm dead if I return like this.'

What followed her anger was anxiety and fear.

There was only one result for young Blood Demon candidates who failed.

She did not want to meet such an ending.

'I still have enough strength.'

Half of her accessories were destroyed, but she could use the other half to cast a spell and a formation.

She would then retreat before aiming for another opportunity.

"… Oo ..."

She let out a fake groan before raising up her eyelids, which she had struggled to lift, a little more. She wanted to see what kind of situation she was in right now.

"...!"

She then made eye contact.

Those dark brown eyes looking down at her…

Yoon suddenly felt an immense aura overwhelming her.

It was a thick pressure that made her feel suffocated.

"Ugh, ugh!"

She felt suffocated despite nobody choking her.

She could not think about anything.

Wrath.

Fear.

Anxiety.

This was an emotion that a person would only feel after thinking about and recognizing all of those emotions.

However, her mind could not even think about that right now.

Her mind was just completely white and she could not process anything.

There was nothing she could do right now.

Helpless.

That was the only word to describe her current situation.

"...."

She could not even speak.

She felt as if she was going to die.

This was also not a conscious thought.

It felt like the absolute truth and the only logical thing.

She felt that acting rashly against the owner of these eyes would make her die.

– Hahaha! This is it! Cale, let's use this power properly for once! It will even make a god cower!

Cale ignored the Dominating Aura and opened his mouth.

An extremely small aura was roaming around him.

"What is the goal of the Blood Cult?"

No.

Cale didn't care about the goal of the Blood Cult.

He observed the young Blood Demon candidate who supposedly said that she would turn Raon into a jiangshi and asked.

"Hey. Where is your house?"

Yoon, who was completely stiff and could not say anything, could finally breathe out once Cale looked away from her.

Cale was looking at the other young Blood Demon candidate, Hoya, who was captured by the Heavenly Demon and being dragged over.

"You live in the same place as her, right? You both live in the Blood Cult?"

Cale would not be satisfied with capturing a portion of the Blood Cult at Yunnan Castle.

There was only one thing he wanted.

Completely wiping out the Blood Cult at once.

That was the only thing he wanted.

"Huff, huff."

Cale looked at Hoya, who was breathing heavily and shaking. Once his gaze returned to Yoon…

He smiled and asked.

"Either of you can spit out where you live."

If you want to live.

Cale didn't say those words but Yoon felt as if she heard it clearly.

"H, Hainan-"

She ended up answering the question.

It could not be helped.

The only thing that a prey that wanted to survive in front of an overbearing predator could do was to follow their orders.

"Hmm?"

Cale was surprised.

"Not Nanman?"

Yoon was shaking and unable to answer because of his aura. The other candidate, Hoya, quickly shouted.

"Nanman is just a cover! T, that place is a trap that was created in case we were found-"

Yoon was flabbergasted.

She could clearly feel Hoya's desire to live from his answer. However, she kept quiet.

Young master Kim was right in front of her.

"Wow."

Cale was amazed.

They had thought that Nanman was where the core of the Blood Cult would be located.

But that was also a trap?

'They are definitely a step higher than the Black Bloods we met in Xiaolen.'

As expected of the people who planned to start the Great War of the Triumvirate, they were cautious and extremely great and hiding themselves.

– Human, where is Hainan?

Cale nonchalantly commented.

"An island."

Hainan was the name of an island.

It was an island farthest south of the Central Plains and the home of the famous Hainan Clan.

There were many islands around Hainan.

– …An island?

Cale flinched.

The Sky Eating Water cautiously asked in an extremely upbeat and excited voice.

– If it is an island, it is going to be surrounded on all sides by the ocean?

Uhh, mm…

– It is surrounded by water?

'Mm.'

– Cale, we really might be able to sweep them away at once. Don't you agree?

'For now… Let's ignore that.'

Cale pretended not to hear the Sky Eating Water's extremely excited voice.

—

Translator's Comments

More water to splash around?

***

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]