Chapter 33 – Great Demon (2)

One of the Great Demons, the one who had received the challenge of the boy, trembled with rage and contempt. 

“This fucking brat!”

The man who could not wait to kill Woon-seong was named Ah Neung-so, better known as the ‘Shadow Ghost of Flying Blades’. He was currently trying to glare Woon-seong to death. There were 300 Great Demons gathered here today. Since he had been challenged, he felt that Woon-seong found him to be the weakest among them.

Ah Neung-so’s conclusion was not exactly wrong. 

I would have preferred to fight someone stronger, but not in this situation.

That would be inconsistent with Murim’s dictum of keeping one’s skills hidden.

There’s no need to show my true capability in front of all these master martial artists.

Rather than go all out, it would be better for Woon-seong to obtain the rank of Great Demon by defeating someone who he could comfortably deal with. After all, what he wanted was not glory but status.

Whether he knew the idea of the boy or not, Ah Neung-so stepped forward slowly from the ranks. The two swords in his hands were already buzzing with energy.

“I’ll show you how wide the world outside is today.”

That was a familiar phrase. Woon-seong had said the same to Gwan Tae-ryang back during the Strife of Life and Death.

Hearing them, Woon-seong could not help but laugh. He wasn’t like the Gwan Tae-ryang of back then.

“Pfft, haha.”

“You dare laugh?”

The laughter made Ah Neung-so more irritated. The moment he stepped up he tried to attack the boy. 

But… 

“Wait a moment.”

It was the Heavenly Demon who stopped him. He raised his hand, restraining Ah Neung-so, and stared at the spear on Woon-seong’s back. 

“That spear is broken.” 

As he reached out, the spear floated into the air and was sucked into his hands. 

Woon-seong inhaled sharply.

Telekinesis (以氣御劍)! 

Cheon Hwi’s expression was still very placid, as he stared at the spear with an unchanging dry gaze. “I remember. You had an extra achievement for assisting the 2nd Squad. I shall reward you by giving you a weapon afterwards.” 

He touched the spear’s crushed tip with his finger. 

Shing—!

With a flick of his hand, a new spear point was revealed, smooth like it had been originally. 

Molding the flame patterned black iron with his bare hands! 

“This will do for now.” 

Nodding, as if satisfied, he threw the spear back to Woon-seong. It landed with such momentum that it had dug into the ground deeply. 

Shhh!

Despite Woon-seong’s strength, he struggled slightly pulling the spear out of the ground. Hiding how surprised he was inside, the boy observed the new speartip. Some of the weight had been removed, so it was lighter in his hands, but the center of gravity was still well established. 

It’s sharp enough…He did that in a heartbeat!

Cheon Hwi ordered them again, “Resume the fight.”

Woon-seong removed one of the iron rings. 

Bang!

Strictly speaking, Ah Neung-so was a half-step weaker than the Blade Ogre. In addition, Woon-seong had raised his odds against the Blade Ogre through image training. 

One bracer should be enough, he decided.

The spear of the boy and the Great Demon’s blade collided with sparks of fire. At that moment, the boy rotated and penetrated into the other’s defensive area. 

Huh-

With the same speed, Ah Neung-so swung his other blade. His two blades orbited in the air in front of him, covering both offense and defense. 

Woon-seong swiftly stepped backwards, nimbly avoiding this attack. 

In the meantime, however, Ah Neung-so had also distanced himself from the boy. Looking at that, Woon-seong cooly gauged his opponent’s skills. 

Quick and irregular attacks using the characteristics of flying blades and maintaining a distance. It’s not as easy as I thought. However…

There was no need to use ‘intimidation qi’. He had reached a new level thanks to reviewing his fight with the Blade Ogre. In addition, his wounds were almost all healed. As proof, his inner qi space was almost full!

Woon-seong shifted back once more. With that, he rushed back towards his opponent like an arrow. 

Boom!

Ah Neung-so’s blades were comparatively weak in offensive strength and had points where the defense was shaky. Woon-seong aimed at those areas without hesitation. Ah Neung-so continued to move backwards, as if to escape, as the boy chased after him with his spear. 

“Hmm.”

The other Great Demons were already aware of who was better, as anyone watching could. And it was needless to say that it was actually Woon-seong who was superior. 

In fact, many in the audience looked uncomfortable. It could be said that Woon-seong had chosen to fight against a seemingly weak Great Demon, but there were quite a few weaker than him. In terms of ranking, Ah Neung-so was around 230. The number of Great Demons similar or weaker than Ah Neung-so was about 80. All of them were nervous about the emergence of a new powerhouse called Hyuk Woon-seong. 

In the meantime, the boy in question was slowly driving his opponent into a corner. The most terrifying thing was the spearmanship he showed. He used only simple moves with nothing special, but each one fell with pinpoint accuracy. This was the result of his study after the fight with the Blade Ogre.

Shifting his hands and feet little by little, Woon-seong did not rush. It seemed careless, but he was slowly laying down the paving stones for victory. Each attack was increasingly difficult to avoid, so his opponent would be tangled. His appearance was reminiscent of a seasoned martial artist. 

His indifferent gaze was still there, but the Heavenly Demon continued to observe the movements of the boy. 

The same was true for Ah-young. As far as she knew, she and the other members of the Cave of Latent Demons were not at the level of Great Demons. 

The gap between me and Number 900 has become wider again. And it only took ten days this time.  The gap keeps widening…!

She shifted her eyes to her father, the Cult Leader. He looked uninterested, but his eyes were still chasing the movements of the boy. She needed the ability to be recognized by him. Ah-young bit her lips. 

Half a year in the Valley of Thousand Spirits, I cannot lose anymore after that!

The fight between Woon-seong and Ah Neung-so was slowly running towards the conclusion. 

It’s not as easy as it looks, Woon-seong sighed to himself.

Woon-seong slowly regulated his breathing while driving his opponent into the corner. No ‘intimidation qi’ was used and he was still wearing three iron rings. It really was not easy for Woon-seong to push a Great Demon in that state. Behind his vicious offensive was hidden careful calculation. His spear rained down, becoming like a tsunami that would strike down the incompetent. 

Huahuahua-

“You brat!”

This wave swept over Ah Neung-so, who swung his swords to slash away at the spear.

But even if you tried to cut a tsunami, how much water would disappear? 

Woon-seong had completely trapped Ah Neung-so, who continuously tried to escape. 

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

With another step, Woon-seong reduced the radius that Ah Neung-so could move and in a violent sweep, smacked one of the blades away. His spear was now aimed at the neck of his opponent. If it pushed forward, Woon-seong would win, and he would not hesitate. 

“I lost.”

The Great Demon was the first to admit defeat. 

Ah Neung-so looked at his blade on the floor and admitted defeat with a bitter expression. Like this, he would fall to the rank of Demonic General. If he thought about the position and reputation, he had built up so far, it was all a waste. But was it worth losing his life over? 

Ah Neung-so surrendered but soon turned his head and stared at the other Great Demons. This was a warning that he would return to the rank of Great Demon by taking one of them down.

I’ll be back.

Some of the Great Demons weaker than Ah Neung-so flinched.

Looking at him, Woon-seong slowly moved his spear away. It didn’t matter what the Great Demons weaker than Ah Neung-so thought, he had already gotten what he wanted. 

“Huff, huff.”

Little by little, his breathing evened and he smiled, satisfied. 

Great Demon. 

This rank was neither too low nor too high, he had even shown his skill in front of the Heavenly Demon. 

In order to become the Young Leader, I need skill as well as contribution.

And he had shown his skills. This was basically hitting two birds with one stone. 

Cheon Hwi spoke, looking at Woon-seong, “You’ve become a Great Demon at a young age. Congratulations.”

In the midst of regulating his body, Woon-seong bowed his head and thanked the Cult Leader, “I thank the Leader.” 

The Heavenly Demon spoke to another, “You also deserve to challenge the Great Demons. Who will you challenge?”

Dal Mu-ji’s abilities were technically inferior to a Great Demon’s. Thus, he was unable to know who was stronger or weaker among the ranks and was unwilling to gamble. 

However, there was one Great Demon who was currently weakened and had consumed qi. 

Dal Mu-ji smiled and asked, “Am I allowed to challenge any Great Demon in this place?”

“Of course. No one here is an exception.” 

Hearing this question, Cheon Hwi nodded and smiled for the first time. He was aware of Dal Mu-ji’s idea. 

“Then my opponent shall be this man.” 

Dal Mu-ji was pointing at Woon-seong. 

At such an occurrence, Woon-seong picked up the iron ring he had removed earlier. 

The chance came earlier than I thought, he thought, chuckling to himself.

Life or death. The fight to become a Great Demon was technically one of life or death. Woon-seong had been looking for the chance to get rid of Dal Mu-ji since climbing up the Peak of the Heavenly Demon’s Majesty. Now, Dal Mu-ji was offering his head on a silver platter. 

Killing intent radiated from his smile.

Snap-

The sound of an iron ring snapping back into place echoed through the room.

***

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

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Il-Hwang, 일황]

[Translator – moonchildkhz]

[Proofreader – Mayank]