Chapter 435: Do-ol (2)

“Until when do you plan to humiliate me with your incomprehensible nonsense?!”

Do-ol was furious.

As if responding to his emotion, a black thundercloud unleashed a deafening roar.

“Black Annihilation Thunder!”

Flash—!

Rumble—!

Black lightning surged across Golden Thunder Demon Peak’s entire expanse.

The thunder strike, clearly of power far beyond human caliber, crashed into the earth.

Boom! Boom boom!

In an instant, the surrounding area burst into flame; smoke billowed up from every direction.

The force of his black thunder was more significant than expected.

Had I not consciously erected a protective barrier, I would have taken serious damage.

Yet…

For some reason, I sensed something complex and artificial in that lightning.

“As if a combination of more than dozens of types of jing”—

Something only detectable from beasts that indiscriminately pillage other martial energies.

I quickly realized why.

“He stole the ‘brain qi’ from the Saha warriors!”

What came to mind first was the direct lineage technique of the Black Gold Clan: Cheon U Divine Thunder Demonic Art.

Even without that, the Heukgeum clan was famous for thunder-based kung fu.

Among their core warriors, many surely mastered high-quality thunderstrike techniques.

“Spiral Weave Thunder!”

This time he targeted me precisely, summoning spiraling lightning.

That wasn’t all.

“Necrotic Tremor!”

Evil-qi-infused true lightning from Do-ol merged with the spiral, striking in tandem.

Kwak kwak kwak kwak!

Black lightning formed pillars, relentlessly hammering me.

The shockwaves shattered parts of Golden Thunder Demon Peak’s terrain.

“Hahaha! How could a mere person made of flesh withstand this? Just char and vanish!”

The moment it hit, the absolute firepower capable of erasing even an exalted master emerged.

It wasn’t quite divine art that bent the world’s laws—but that was Do-ol’s specialty: Black Evil Tremor, which stretched known laws to their extreme.

Do-ol was convinced the enemy had blackened and died upon impact.

Black Evil Tremor, bound by numerous limitations, was stronger in pure firepower than many divine arts.

But…

“Oh?”

Crackle! Pop!

When Necrotic Tremor subsided, my body, chillingly blackened, was revealed.

Acrid smoke drifted from my entire form, but sparks of residual lightning flickered across me.

Expected though it was, what surprised Do-ol wasn’t that…

“You’re alive?”

“……”

“You’ve got damn luck. But your life will soon reach its end… hmm?”

A strange sensation crept through my body, and Do-ol cocked his head in confusion.

“What’s that glow in your flesh?”

Usually, flesh struck by Black Evil Tremor would not exhibit such sheen.

But instead… my skin was smooth, like a finely polished gem…

“It’s not charred?”

As Do-ol realized the truth, his eyes widened.

Bright Net Ascending to Heaven

Thud!

A colossal pillar, originating from the Heavenly Record Immortal Sword, rammed through, ripping open Do-ol’s abdomen.

“Kyaaah!!”

Taken by surprise, Do-ol screamed.

Normally, even when ambushed, he would quickly begin repairing his body with rapid regeneration, but…

“His re… regeneration?!”

For some reason, the energy that penetrated his wound was interfering with regeneration.

“Could this be… the power of the Earth Sage?”

Memories of a severe defeat a thousand years ago resurfaced vividly.

“No way! To manifest the power of a demon sword sword to this extent!”

Ignoring the confused Do-ol, I flexed my hand around the Heavenly Record Immortal Sword.

“Indeed, one needs at least the Bright Net Ten Sword Technique to reliably hinder regeneration. At this level, it will work even on that palace rat.”

“You… how are you still alive within that thunder?!”

I let the corners of my blackened mouth twitch.

“Asura God Stage Three, Demon Sky God.”

The third stage of the Asura God from the Machunjin family’s ultimate secret art was essentially a kind of spirit embodiment—granting near-complete freedom within physical force alone.

“If you intended to kill me, you should have used divine art even if weaker—or at least a highly refined transcendental weapon.”

“What?!

“If it were the Earth Sage Body, I might be able to block Divine Sorcery, but my Earth Sage Body is still incomplete… Either way, you no longer have a chance.”

Transcendent Technique

Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment

A Sword Levitation Technique that surpassed space lodged itself squarely between the brows of the one wearing Cheon Jumun’s face.

-Keurgh! Wh-what is this?!

Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment. An inevitable strike that completely disregarded all limitations of time and space.

-Is that the monster’s technique?!

“You’re slow to catch on. Gunggi realized it quite quickly.”

Was it because he’d suffered less relatively?

A drawback of Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment when unleashed from the Transcendent Demon Realm was that too much power was consumed in transcending space, thus its actual destructive power was low.

However, now that I had broken through the limits of output, I could unleash the full potential of Heart’s Path Transcending Resentment.

-Kuaaaaaagh!

Riding along the blade of the Ten Heavenly Record Immortal Sword, another current of energy surged into the enemy’s brow.

Death King’s True Qi

Black Darkness Turning Wheel

The energy of Salma, So Jeong, which I named Death King Qi, began to pierce through Do-ol’s brow.

Do-ol screamed, resisting with all his might against the energy of death that was drilling into his bones.

-Wh-what are you all doing?! Stop him!

Do-ol’s subordinates, who had been recovering from the aftershocks of the lightning strike, rushed toward me all at once at that command.

But no matter how many of them there were, they could never match me.

Hwaruk!

Above the black-gold light, a pure white flame blazed to life.

I took a stance and initiated the starting form of my blade technique.

Sacred Blade Bright Net Thousand Loves

Sword Levitation Technique… No, a thousand levitating blades surrounded me and the enemies like an arena.

“……!”

“……!!”

“Die.”

The Sacred Blade’s unique energy of Evil-Banishing began to dance, and the flying swords tore through Do-ol’s subordinates rushing at me.

In an instant, blood and flesh sprayed across my field of vision.

All the various poisons those bastards harbored erupted at once, but none could affect me.

Having ground down Do-ol’s subordinates in a flash, I immediately charged toward the suffering Do-ol.

-How dare a mere human…!

Crack! Crackle!

Do-ol shed the visage of a human-faced tiger and began reverting to the grotesquely swollen mass of flesh from before.

-I shall confront you with the full might of me, one of the Four Atrocities, Do-ol!

“……!”

Was he aiming for mutual destruction? His sorcery and physique were rapidly amplifying to a level far beyond before.

However—

I sensed a discrepancy between his words and the intent leaking from his Sword Intent.

-He’s planning to abandon his body and flee!

Yorang must have sensed it too, as she quickly warned me.

-No matter how strong you are, it’s hard to capture a spirit body that’s fleeing! Unless you’ve mastered capture-type Divine Sorcery!

“Divine Sorcery…”

As someone ignorant of sorcery, there was no way I could use Divine Sorcery, which belonged to the realm of Transcendents.

However—

“There’s exactly one thing I can use regardless of my sorcery attainment.”

Gathering my index and middle fingers, I pointed toward the fleeing Do-ol and murmured lowly.

“Divine Sorcery.”

A massive amount of energy drained from me, to the point even I found it burdensome.

Dozens of gigantic wolf fangs manifested to devour Do-ol.

-How, how can you use that sorcery?!

Do-ol instantly recognized the sorcery I had activated.

But it was already too late.

“Original Sin of Devouring Flowers.”

Yorang’s Divine Sorcery, Original Sin of Devouring Flowers.

The power of Gluttony, which devoured everything, combined with an inevitable effect, engulfed Do-ol’s spirit body.

***

A dilapidated house in a remote corner of the Cheon Clan.

In the backyard of that house was an entrance leading underground. Now, fewer than five people in the world knew that a massive laboratory once existed beyond it.

The entrance to the lab was sealed by a nearly three-foot-thick iron door, and even within the Divine Cult, only a rare few could open it by force.

Before that very door, one of those rare few, a young scholar, exerted his strength toward it.

Creakkk!

With a sound like a giant mass of iron being pushed aside, the door opened, and Cheon Jumyeong, the thirty-first prospective Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, stepped into the inner chamber of the laboratory.

“…You’ve come?”

From within the darkness where no one should have been, came the voice of an aged man, hoarse from long disuse.

“Yes, First Elder.”

First Elder of the Council of the Seven Elders.

The one who had gone missing after falling victim to Cheon Juchun’s Heaven-Destroying Poison long ago, was now welcoming Cheon Jumyeong while seated in a wheeled chair.

“You’ve aged quite a bit since I last saw you.”

“……”

“Keulkeul! Even someone like you who lived as if you were the center of the world is finally beginning to feel the ups and downs of life.”

Cheon Jumyeong didn’t find those words worth responding to.

“How is Juchun?”

“Well… doesn’t seem to have changed much.”

The First Elder closed his eyes, his voice trembling slightly.

“To these old eyes, whether back then or now, he still looks like some grotesque tripe.”

Right behind the First Elder, floating in a massive glass tube, was a human ‘brain.’

“I still can’t believe it… that this is Juchun…”

In truth, even for the First Elder, it was his first time seeing a human brain this vividly.

No matter how many people the First Elder had seen bleed as a demonic practitioner, it was rare to witness a brain in such a clear state without losing one’s mind.

“……”

Cheon Jumyeong remained silent, unable to come up with a response.

In truth, even he hadn’t expected Cheon Juchun to end up like this.

The First Elder wheeled his chair closer to Cheon Jumyeong.

“So, this will eventually transform into the legendary Docheol, one of the Four Atrocities?”

“Most likely, not long from now.”

“And you intend to stop that transformation.”

“That’s right.”

“If you were going to complicate things this much, why did you betray Juchun in the first place?”

“Because I was betrayed.”

Cheon Jumyeong answered without a moment’s hesitation.

Though he didn’t say ‘by whom’, the First Elder could easily fill in the blank.

“So in the end, you never recovered the order…”

“……”

“And yet I still don’t understand.”

A sharp glint passed through the First Elder’s eyes.

“No matter how thoroughly you were stabbed in the back, you’re not the kind of man to be used and discarded so easily. Why did you act so naïvely?”

“I never acted naïvely.”

“……!”

“From that moment until now, I’ve simply been preparing to make them realize, beyond a doubt, what it costs to betray my trust.”

“I see. So this isn’t the end of it.”

The First Elder chuckled briefly before his expression hardened.

“Let me ask you just one thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“If you quietly obey them now, the seat of supremacy over all will be yours.”

“……”

“According to your words, they have no interest in the affairs of the Divine Cult. So even if its scale diminishes somewhat, in the end, your own century-long kingdom will be complete.”

“You’re about to throw all of that away. Not just wealth and glory—but even your life.”

Cheon Jumyeong and the First Elder’s gazes met in midair.

“Do you truly have the resolve for that?”

“I never made any such resolve to begin with.”

“What?”

“Whatever happened with the Order aside, from the moment she died, their fate was already sealed.”

From Cheon Jumyeong’s eyes, the First Elder sensed a fleeting glimmer of madness.

“They will be destroyed. Completely.”

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