Geom Mugeuk and Geom Woojin silently looked at each other.
Between their gazes, which seemed to convey their thoughts without words, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon found himself envious of the Cult Master.
He had never been envious of the Cult Master for any reason other than him being the Cult Master.
But now, he felt a pang of envy because he was a ‘father’.
As a martial artist, if his son said he wanted to watch his father fight, wouldn't he be more than willing to show him?
Geom Woojin’s gaze returned to the enemies.
He said nothing, but his cold eyes looking at his opponents were answer enough.
Geom Mugeuk also looked at the enemies with him.
Two were dead, but ten enemies still remained.
And Gyo Cheon on top of that.
They were not to be taken lightly.
There were more masters from the previous generation than the current one among them.
Moreover, they were men who had committed all sorts of slaughter and evil deeds, possessing more battle experience than anyone.
And then there was Gyo Cheon, who had harbored a lifelong grudge.
But even so, he did not have such worries.
What if his father is in danger?
His father was said to be the most martially talented among all past Heavenly Demons.
And that same father had recently elevated his martial arts mastery.
This meant the power of the Nine Calamities Demon Art would also be different from before the regression.
He could tell just by seeing the Dark Sun Slash from earlier.
‘You bastards, this won’t be easy for you.’
Geom Mugeuk relayed one piece of news to his father.
“Oh, and the issue with the Righteous Path has been resolved. We’ve cleared up the misunderstanding, so no matter what happens in the Central Capital, they will know it wasn’t our doing.”
He spoke loudly on purpose, for Gyo Cheon to hear.
Just in case he tried to pull any useless tricks if this fight turned against him.
Gyo Cheon’s expression hardened, while his father gave a slight nod, a look of satisfaction on his face.
The person even happier than his father was the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“Well done.”
This whole affair had started because of his own master.
Geom Mugeuk had resolved it well before an extreme situation like a war between the demonic and righteous factions could break out.
At the news Geom Mugeuk delivered, not only Gyo Cheon but the other masters also grew more somber.
Now, no one dared to run their mouth recklessly like the Lustful Vajra or the Starfire Lord.
To boost their morale, Gyo Cheon encouraged them.
“The two who fell earlier were taken by a surprise attack, so do not be shaken!”
But everyone here knew.
Even Gyo Cheon, who shouted it, knew.
It was a move that had nothing to do with a surprise attack.
Even if the Demon Cult Master had announced, ‘I will attack now,’ could they really have blocked that attack?
Having seen the bodies of the Starfire Lord and the Lustful Vajra get sliced apart without them even being able to lift a hand, no one could confidently say they could have blocked it.
However, just as Gyo Cheon had said when they died, using such a tremendous move must consume an immense amount of inner energy each time.
‘We have to make him use up his inner energy.’
And a new variable had appeared in this fight.
The appearance of the Demon Sect’s Young Cult Master.
Was it a boon or a bane?
Viewed negatively, it meant there was one more master to kill.
Viewed positively, it meant they had a potential hostage.
A definite hostage, at that, being the Demon Cult Master’s own blood.
He had heard rumors that the Young Cult Master was no ordinary talent, but it surely couldn’t compare to facing Geom Woojin.
Everyone’s eyes turned to the Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress and the Black Emperor, who were originally supposed to go first.
What was once number one and number two had now become number three and number four.
“Let us all attack together!”
At the Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress’s words, no one moved.
In truth, she had suggested it but hadn't expected much.
She wouldn't have stepped forward either, if it were her.
The Black Emperor and the Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress faced each other, exchanging glances.
Without needing to send a telepathic message, the two knew how they had to lead this fight.
Go all out from the start.
If Geom Woojin unleashed the Nine Calamities Demon Art again, they would die a dog’s death without being able to lift a finger.
That was the meaning behind attacking together before that could happen.
The Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress used a Claw Technique, while the Black Emperor used swordsmanship.
The first to move was the Black Emperor.
He kicked off the air and rose, immediately unleashing Sword Qi toward Geom Woojin.
What he unleashed was a move from his signature martial art, the Black Heaven Sword Technique, and one of his most confident forms at that, the Black Heaven Strike.
Swish!
It was Sword Qi like a lightning bolt striking down.
Geom Woojin twisted his body to dodge the Sword Qi that came crashing down on him.
Boom!
The Sword Qi that struck down left a deep mark on the floor.
It was right next to his foot.
Swish! Boom! Swiiish! Craash!
The Black Heaven Strike fell consecutively, and Geom Woojin did not block with his sword but used his footwork to evade.
A move to minimize the consumption of inner energy.
The Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress attacked at the same time.
Her fingernails had suddenly grown long, as if they hadn’t been trimmed in years, and the sharp, hideous things were emitting a red light.
Chwaaaaaak!
What shot out from both her hands looked like red threads.
But they were a type of force called Blood Threads, capable of slicing through steel.
The strongest form of her signature martial art, the Blood Thread Divine Art, the Spider Blood Threads, had been unleashed.
Her Blood Threads were special.
They would shoot out straight like a spear, then writhe like a cloth.
That was why they were both strong and unpredictable.
The red lines spread out like a spiderweb, flying toward Geom Woojin.
The Black Emperor's Sword Qi and the Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress’s Blood Threads.
It was a moment that called for raising one's protective energy to block or unleashing Sword Qi to dissipate the opponent’s attack!
But Geom Woojin still used his footwork to evade.
Like a predator waiting for a single moment, he conserved his inner energy and watched for an opportunity.
Geom Mugeuk did not take his eyes off his father’s fight for a single moment.
His father did not fight with an awareness of others. ‘My son is watching, so should I finish this stylishly?’ Such a thought might have crossed his mind.
‘How can I kill all the enemies with the inner energy I have?’
His father fought a thoroughly calculated battle.
He was a man who could afford to show off all sorts of style and bravado.
What if this father was his enemy? Just imagining it made his chest feel tight.
Papapapapapak!
Deep marks left by the Blood Threads and Sword Qi scarred the floor and walls.
At first, the two were elated, thinking they had the upper hand.
If they both furiously poured it on, he would eventually get hit squarely at least once.
But as the attacks continued, they grew more and more anxious.
Geom Woojin found gaps to slip through amidst attacks that seemed impossible to dodge.
The attacks were dazzling, but his evading steps were calm.
The Black Emperor, the Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress, and those watching couldn’t count how many times they had shouted or thought these words.
‘Got him! It hit! We did it!’
But it was an illusion, attacks that missed by a hair's breadth.
Not a single attack managed to touch Geom Woojin’s body.
Watching the fight, Geom Mugeuk imagined.
How he would dodge, and how he should react.
And so, in his eyes, he saw two figures.
His own figure overlapped with his father's.
He moved identically to his father at times, and subtly differently at others.
And at certain moments, he moved in the opposite direction before they merged into one again.
‘This is impossible to dodge!’
In his imagination, his overlapping self drew his sword and struck away the incoming force.
But his father's movement was different.
He unleashed an unexpected footwork and dodged the attack.
“Ah!”
Each time his father found a path he couldn't, a shiver ran through Geom Mugeuk’s body.
The lesson from their difference was not just about learning something he didn't know.
By seeing a method he didn't know, he thought of another method.
Truly, if it weren't for this situation, he would have wanted to ask his father.
What about this method? He would have shared a deep discourse on martial arts with his father.
They had tried to make Geom Woojin expend his inner energy, but instead, their own consumption was severe.
At the end of his patience, the Black Emperor unleashed a move he had been saving.
Black Heaven Abyss.
The blue Sword Qi that shot from the tip of the Black Emperor’s sword split into eight streams and flew toward Geom Woojin.
Swiiiiiiish.
The Sword Qi sliced through even the Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress’s Blood Threads as it poured down.
And this was the very moment Geom Woojin had been waiting for.
The moment the Blood Threads were cut by the Black Emperor’s major attack!
Geom Woojin launched his body forward as if exploding.
He charged through the severed Blood Threads.
His target was the Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress.
The Black Heaven Abyss should have hit Geom Woojin, but instead, it missed by the widest margin.
Shhhk!
Instantly charging in, Geom Woojin slashed at the Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress.
‘He’s fast!’
The Spirit Fox Demon Enchantress pushed her inner energy to its limit and desperately swung both her claws.
Paaak!
But her claws were sliced off.
Then, without giving her time to dodge, Geom Woojin inflicted a deep gash on her shoulder, sending a spray of blood.
In her moment of crisis, the Black Emperor did not help her.
‘Why isn’t he helping?’
He must know that if she dies, he’s next.
Could it be? He got scared and ran?
‘Coward!’
She couldn't block the third attack.
Puk!
Her waist half-severed, she could no longer stand and collapsed on the spot.
Only then could she see it.
The Black Emperor hadn't run away; he couldn't come to help her.
Saaaaak.
The Black Emperor was surrounded by someone and was being butchered.
What surrounded him were evil spirits.
The First Form of the Nine Calamities Demon Art, Annihilation Form.
It was after Geom Woojin had unleashed his Annihilation Form.
When the evil spirits first appeared, the Black Emperor thought his heart had stopped.
They were not just masses of force in a scary form.
The immense demonic energy constricted him from all sides, preventing his own energy from flowing smoothly.
He raised his protective energy and unleashed all his finest techniques, but it was useless.
Geom Mugeuk saw it.
They were certainly larger and felt more solid than his own evil spirits.
The four terrifyingly-faced evil spirits were hacking the Black Emperor to pieces.
Slice! Slice! Slice! Slice!
It wasn't over with a single strike.
As if they were alive, they kept striking down.
This meant that if the opponent withstood the first attack, they could deliver a second, and a third, hacking away.
It was clearly different from the Annihilation Form he unleashed.
But the real difference was something else.
Originally, Geom Woojin's evil spirits had no expression.
His evil spirits being different in appearance and possessing emotions was what made them special.
But today's evil spirits were different.
He felt a certain emotion in the gaze of the evil spirits as they looked at his father.
‘It’s different from back then!’
His father’s gaze as he looked at them had also deepened.
Annihilation Form in a real battle.
Perhaps this was a change and a communion his father was also feeling for the first time.
Soon, the four evil spirits completely vanished.
In the silence that fell, only a thicker scent of blood filled the air.
The surroundings were a mess.
Countless marks were left on the floor and walls.
Marks left by the Blood Threads, marks left by the Black Emperor's Sword Qi.
Truly like a spiderweb, or even more densely packed than a Go board, the marks remained.
‘How on earth did he dodge all that?’
For them, they were marks of failure; for Geom Woojin, they were marks of success.
Geom Woojin hadn't even a single tear on his robe.
And in that one moment, when the enemies’ weakness was exposed, he never missed the opportunity.
Geom Woojin glanced at Geom Mugeuk.
His father's gaze seemed to ask, ‘The fight you wanted to see, are you watching it well?’
Geom Mugeuk answered with his eyes.
‘Yes, I have seen it clearly.’
Geom Mugeuk looked at the enemies.
Now two more were dead, leaving eight.
That's when Geom Mugeuk realized.
There should have been eight enemies, but there were seven.
Where did one go?
At that very moment, someone suddenly appeared right in front of him and thrust a sword.
Swiiiiiish!
It was none other than the Red-Faced Young Master.
This technique, which allowed him to move through space in an instant, was his ultimate move, the Corridor Extreme Step.
A user of the Fast Sword Technique, he possessed incredible movement arts.
He was confident.
As long as he attacked first, his opponent could never block it.
‘To kill the Demon Cult Master, I must take his son hostage!’
Since killing was not the goal, his sword flew toward Geom Mugeuk's shoulder.
He had heard rumors that the Young Cult Master was formidable, but to him, he was still just the Young Cult Master.
Clang!
But his sword was blocked.
Surprisingly, the person who had deflected the incoming sword was Geom Woojin.
Faster than the Corridor Extreme Step, the movement art that flew in like a flash was the Heavenly Demon Flying Technique.
“As expected! I knew you would save me, Father.”
At Geom Mugeuk's relaxed reaction, the Red-Faced Young Master had a momentary doubt.
‘Could it be? He knew he would be saved and deliberately didn't dodge?’
That would be a level of mastery even more astonishing than dodging.
But now was not the time for such thoughts.
The Red-Faced Young Master swiftly swung his sword, launching a surprise attack on Geom Woojin.
Swiiiiiiish!
Again, he struck first.
Clang!
But it was blocked again.
Geom Woojin’s sword was just as fast as his Fast Sword.
“Thanks to you, I get to see my father’s fight from right beside him.”
The moment Geom Mugeuk finished speaking, the swords of Geom Woojin and the Red-Faced Young Master clashed.
Geom Mugeuk did not step back, but stood like a pillar on the spot, watching the two fight.
He had no worry of a stray blade flying his way.
With swords moving that fast, if one's attention strayed, their throat would be pierced by the opponent’s sword.
The two swords were so fast it created the illusion of dozens of swords being wielded at once.
But they each held only one.
The Black Demon Sword seemed to overlap the Heavenly Demon Sword.
The two swords moved identically, then differently, then together again.
Even in a moment where the Fast Sword exchange was almost invisible, in Geom Mugeuk's mind, he could see both his father's sword and his own.
He instinctively felt and learned the difference between the two swords.
It was a speed that the mind could not follow.
‘Father, we’ll have to sit down someday and talk all night about today’s fight.’
That was how much he was learning from his father's battle.
And he had a feeling that if they talked all night that day, his father would surely achieve an enlightenment as well.
Today’s realization was that kind of realization.
As fast as their swords were, the result of the fight came just as quickly.
Scrrk!
With the sound of bone cracking, the fight was over.
An unsurprising result.
The Red-Faced Young Master clutched his chest and staggered back.
Blood seeped from between his fingers.
The Red-Faced Young Master staggered towards Geom Mugeuk, who was standing beside him.
His eyes were full of resentment, as he was about to die for trying to take him hostage.
He grabbed Geom Mugeuk's clothes.
Geom Mugeuk let him do as he pleased.
“I should have killed you, you bastard.”
He knelt, but did not let go of the clothes he clutched.
Geom Mugeuk looked down into his fading eyes.
He wiped the blood from the man's face with his hand and smeared it on his own, painting it red.
“From now on, I am the Red-Faced Young Master. What kind of young master are you at your age?”
Glaring with a face full of anger, the Red-Faced Young Master died.
Geom Mugeuk looked at Gyo Cheon and grinned, his face stained with blood.
“I am your Red-Faced Young Master, so don’t even think of taking me hostage.”
A mix of anger and bewilderment crossed Gyo Cheon's face.
“You crazy bastard.”
At that, Geom Mugeuk's gaze turned ice-cold.
“If you intended to mess with the Demon Cult Master, you should have come here even crazier than I am.”