Gyo Cheon’s heart grew cold under Geom Mugeuk’s icy gaze.
The Young Cult Master should have been laughable to him, but his words must have struck a chord.
‘I should have come back even crazier?’
Looking at the corpses and the vividly standing Geom Woojin, he thought that perhaps he should have.
Just as the Geom Woojin he had investigated was different from the real one, this Young Cult Master also felt different from the one he had researched.
He knew the blood was smeared on his face playfully, but the sight of him staring back with a face full of blood sent a chill through his heart.
Gyo Cheon’s gaze naturally shifted to Geom Woojin beside him.
‘Like father, like son, is it?’
Geom Woojin, on the other hand, was looking at his blood-smeared son with a pathetic expression.
Having only seen the stern Geom Woojin, this current appearance felt a little unfamiliar.
Gyo Cheon did not know.
This change was the biggest reason among many why Geom Woojin had grown stronger.
Because he did not know the process, only the result astonished him.
‘He is much stronger than the previous Cult Master.’
But how? He knew better than anyone how difficult it was for masters at the level of a Cult Master to enhance their martial arts.
Gyo Cheon painstakingly hid his doubts and looked at the remaining masters.
Of the twelve masters, five were dead, and now seven remained.
“Who’s next?”
It was a show of his will to push forward with the original plan to kill him by depleting his inner energy.
Seeing this, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon sighed inwardly.
His master was rigid.
When the situation changes, the plan should change too.
But his rigid mind only thought of pushing forward.
‘Will these people accomplish what the first five could not?’
At a moment when anyone would have hesitated, one person strode forward.
He was Mad Heavenslayer.
The very one who had first felt fear at the cry of the Heavenly Demon Sword.
Now, his eyes were overflowing with confidence.
He had spent his life killing people like a madman starved for blood.
He realized that in this moment, only that madness could save him.
‘Fear is your burden, not mine.’
Another person stepped forward beside Mad Heavenslayer.
It was the Ghost Sword Master, who had been flustered when his Ghost Sword cried out in fear.
Mad Heavenslayer and the Ghost Sword Master.
They were symbols of fear in their respective domains.
With his son present, he could have told him to take one.
But Geom Woojin walked forward as if to face them all himself.
Geom Mugeuk could feel it.
This battle was important to his father as well.
His father was also settling the accounts of that day.
While being considerate of the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's feelings.
For Geom Mugeuk, it was a good opportunity.
He intended to commit this entire fight to memory, from beginning to end.
He would review it over and over, like replaying a game of Go, and add it to his own martial skill.
Mad Heavenslayer put on a pair of gauntlets made of steel.
His treasured weapon, the Wolf Fang Iron Fist.
As its name suggested, sharp blades like a wolf's fangs protruded from each knuckle.
Judging by the sharp energy flowing from them, they were not made of ordinary metal.
“With these fists, I've beaten to death everyone who displeased me!”
His voice, filled with inner energy, echoed loudly.
When he wore the Wolf Fang Iron Fist, he changed.
Because his fists remembered.
The countless people he had killed.
‘I can win! I'll kill the Demon Cult Master and chew him up raw!’
Madness poured from his eyes.
Geom Woojin, who had been staring at him silently, sheathed the Heavenly Demon Sword.
Then, he beckoned with his hand.
A sign that he would fight with his bare fists.
Mad Heavenslayer smiled triumphantly.
He was confident that with the Wolf Fang Iron Fist against bare hands, he stood a chance, even if his opponent was the Demon Cult Master.
Whoooosh!
His steel fist flew toward Geom Woojin with tremendous power.
Madman’s Killing Strike.
It was the move he was most confident in.
Geom Woojin also rushed forward, throwing a punch.
Fist against fist.
Mad Heavenslayer poured all his inner energy into this punch.
‘Your fist is the one that’s going to shatter!’
Gyo Cheon was hopeful.
Even if this one move didn't kill Geom Woojin, he hoped it would at least inflict an internal injury.
That it would drain his inner energy as much as possible.
But Geom Woojin never fought in a way his opponent predicted.
Just before the fists collided.
At the very last moment, Geom Woojin twisted his body.
The moment the incredibly powerful fist grazed his face, Geom Woojin had already closed in on Mad Heavenslayer.
‘Damn it!’
Not only had he never imagined the Heavenly Demon would avoid a direct confrontation, but Geom Woojin's movement as he evaded and closed in was too fast and exquisite.
Mad Heavenslayer raised his protective energy all over his body, preparing for Geom Woojin’s strike.
But the powerful blow never came.
In the instant their gazes met!
Tap.
Geom Woojin lightly tapped Mad Heavenslayer on the head.
It was an action that seemed to say, “Snap out of it, you fool!”
Mad Heavenslayer’s face contorted viciously.
‘You dare look down on me?’
Even if he had been hit hard on the head, he would never have fallen.
His protective energy was perfectly guarding his head.
Or so he thought.
“Guuuh!”
Mad Heavenslayer, who was about to launch a second attack, let out a strange scream and fell backward.
His eyes had rolled back into his head; he was already dead.
His body appeared unharmed.
There were no injuries, no bleeding.
Even in death, he would never know.
That Geom Woojin was not the kind of person to simply tap a fighting opponent on the head.
If he did, there was surely a reason.
That light tap was a move that gently penetrated the opponent's protective energy, only to belatedly become a great shockwave that completely scrambled his brain.
It was Geom Woojin's Internal Crushing Technique, a martial art that strikes the outside to damage the inside, which he had reached the ultimate state of.
The Ghost Sword Master, Gyo Cheon, and the other masters all wore expressions of utter shock.
They would have been less surprised if Geom Woojin’s fist had shattered the iron gauntlets.
It was the same when he killed the first five; Geom Woojin did not show off his strength.
He focused only on how to kill the enemy most efficiently.
He was an absolute being who was never careless, an absolute being who used his head.
He used the Nine Calamities Demon Art decisively when he had to, and at other times, he killed with so little inner energy.
While fully immersed in his own fight, it also seemed as though he was showing his son.
Son, if you ever have to fight twelve supreme masters in a gauntlet, fight like this.
The Ghost Sword in the Ghost Sword Master's hand began to cry with a ghostly wail.
It was a mournful, eerie cry, as if foretelling someone’s fate.
He hadn't just been watching while Mad Heavenslayer died.
He had been raising his inner energy, preparing to unleash his greatest ultimate technique.
He had seen that if he didn't do it with his first move, he would never get the chance.
Shwaaaaaa!
A black ghostly energy erupted from his sword and poured toward Geom Woojin.
Ghost Sword Primordial Slash!
The ghostly energy swirled around Geom Woojin like a vortex.
It looked as though a giant black snake was coiling around Geom Woojin's body to crush him.
‘It worked!’
Once his first move landed, the Ghost Sword Master pushed his inner energy to its limit.
‘Demon Cult Master! Just die like this!’
The swirling black energy tightened around Geom Woojin, and his figure disappeared from sight.
A flicker of hope appeared in the eyes of Gyo Cheon and the other masters.
‘Even if it doesn't kill him, he'll suffer a serious internal wound!’
It was at that moment.
Swoooosh!
A light seeped out from between the black vortex.
Like the parting of the sea, the black energy split, and something shot out.
It was the Heavenly Demon Sword, shimmering with pure white demonic energy.
At that sight, the Ghost Sword cried out even louder.
It was a wail of shock and horror, reflecting its master's heart.
The next moment, a rain of Sword Qi poured down from the sky.
The Fifth Form of the Nine Calamities Demon Art, Soul-Severing Demon Strike.
The attack came as if it had been announced, so the Ghost Sword Master instinctively threw himself aside to dodge the Sword Qi falling toward the crown of his head.
‘I dodged it!’
But his joy was short-lived.
There was more than one falling Sword Qi.
Puak!
Another Sword Qi falling from the sky pierced his shoulder, and,
Puaaaak!
The next one pierced the crown of his head.
As he fell, killed instantly, Sword Qi continued to rain down on his body with a delay.
Puk! Puk!
Originally, the Soul-Severing Demon Strike was an attack that brought down Sword Qi on the heads of multiple people at once.
He had even trained with Geom Mugeuk to rescue hostages using it.
This time, the attack was concentrated solely around the Ghost Sword Master.
With a time lag, to make it absolutely impossible to evade.
Geom Mugeuk could see it.
The decisive difference from his own Soul-Severing Demon Strike was not the number or power of the falling Sword Qi.
The time lag.
His father's Soul-Severing Demon Strike fell with a delay, anticipating the opponent's evasion.
Geom Mugeuk knew better than anyone how difficult a level of mastery this was.
‘Could I truly dodge my father's Soul-Severing Demon Strike?’
Geom Mugeuk could not dare to claim that he could.
‘This is a level of mastery I must achieve.
No, I must reach an even higher level.
Because if I ascend, my father will too.’
As his master fell, mangled, the black vortex swirling around Geom Woojin also vanished in an instant.
Gyo Cheon's face hardened even more.
No matter how strong he was, this was not right.
Mad Heavenslayer and the Ghost Sword Master, killed in a single move? What kind of plan could he possibly make against such an opponent? The word that came to his mind now was not number one under heaven, but Greatest of All Time.
Geom Woojin asked him.
“Will you step forward yourself now?”
Geom Woojin still treated him with courtesy.
Because the Blood Heaven Blade Demon still considered him his master.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon spoke to his master, who was glaring silently at Geom Woojin.
“It's still not too late.”
Gyo Cheon then glanced at the corpses and snorted.
“You can still say that after seeing them?”
“The dead are the dead, and the living must live. Please, beg the Cult Master for forgiveness even now.”
Gyo Cheon felt it.
Unlike the Cult Master or the Young Cult Master, his disciple wanted him to survive, no matter what.
Even though he felt it, no kind words came out.
“A traitor like you, pretending to care for me in front of the Cult Master.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon offered no excuse.
Geom Woojin simply watched him in silence.
It was Geom Mugeuk who spoke up for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“That's enough.”
Everyone's gaze turned to Geom Mugeuk.
At first, they thought he was speaking to Gyo Cheon.
Telling him to stop.
But his words were not for Gyo Cheon, but for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“That's enough, Elder.”
As the Cult Master was present, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon replied respectfully.
“Young Cult Master, do not interfere.”
“No, this is a problem the involved parties cannot solve on their own.”
Geom Mugeuk knew.
If Gyo Cheon died again today, it would leave another deep scar on the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's heart.
Because it would be like watching his master die twice right before his eyes.
“Your master will pretend not to know your heart until the very end. That's the only way he can justify what he has done.”
At that, Gyo Cheon shouted furiously.
“Shut up! What do you know!”
Compared to the agitated Gyo Cheon, Geom Mugeuk was calm.
“You keep talking about betrayal, but by that logic, haven't you also betrayed the Main Sect? If your disciple betrayed you, you should have just called him out for revenge. Why did you drag my father into this? Why did you tarnish the Main Sect's honor and try to start a war with the Righteous Path? Why did you drag the Elder's disciple into this?”
Gyo Cheon could not immediately refute the flood of accusations, and Geom Mugeuk’s assault continued.
“Honestly, your disciple's betrayal isn't that important to you, is it? It was more like, ‘Good, since things have turned out this way, let's take over the entire Martial World.’ Isn't that the mindset you've had while building your power?”
Geom Mugeuk's gaze shifted to the remaining masters.
“What did you promise them? After you consumed the Righteous and Unorthodox Factions through discord, what did you promise to give them?”
The moment he heard those words, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon felt that his master might truly have harbored such thoughts.
That the plot to create discord with the Righteous Path might not have been just for revenge.
That he might have gathered the ambitions of these old villains to truly achieve his unfulfilled dream.
“So stop using betrayal as an excuse.”
Geom Mugeuk did not really know what was in his heart.
Nor did he want to.
The reason he was pushing him was not to attack him.
It was for the Blood Heaven Blade Demon's sake.
Don't dwell on the past.
His master is not worth it.
Geom Mugeuk looked at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon and said.
“Do you feel sorry for your master? No, the one you should feel sorry for is not your master, but your own disciple.”
“!”
“Because he took a risk alone for the sake of this worthless master-disciple relationship. For such a master, your disciple came all this way by himself. Your timid, cowardly disciple.”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon's eyes trembled.
With his master and the Cult Master, he realized he hadn't even spared a thought for Seo Daeryong.
“Do you still think this is a master-disciple relationship worth valuing?”
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon turned his head to look at Gyo Cheon.
Gyo Cheon’s gaze was cold, but the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s eyes were still warm as he looked back at him.
After a long moment of staring, he finally conveyed his last thoughts.
“That's right. It probably wasn't for you, Master, but to lessen my own guilt. That's why I wanted to save you. And for that… I am even more sorry.”
Gyo Cheon's eyes flinched.
“I will see you off on your final journey. I will live with that guilt for the rest of my life. The problem started because I tried to cast away something I should have carried.”
With that, he bowed respectfully, as a final farewell to the man who was his master.
Only then did he answer Geom Mugeuk's question.
“This is not where I should place meaning.”
His voice trembled as he spoke before, but his next words were resolute.
“From now on, I only have one master-disciple relationship.”
Geom Mugeuk smiled brightly at the Blood Heaven Blade Demon.
“Elder!”
There was a reason he had pushed him like this.
Because Gyo Cheon had to hear those words before he died.
After Gyo Cheon's death, the Blood Heaven Blade Demon would never have been able to say what he just said.
A fight against the dead is the most difficult fight in the world.
Even someone this smart and wise could not easily escape when entangled in the wounds of the past.
The wounds of the past have nothing to do with present intelligence.
No, in fact, the smarter one is, the harder it might be to break free.
The Blood Heaven Blade Demon smiled faintly back at Geom Mugeuk.
‘Thank you.’
‘Elder, please hurry back so we can sit side by side and read by that sunny window.’
Geom Woojin gave Geom Mugeuk a slight nod.
He could tell from his expression.
His father was praising him for a job well done.
His father, too, had hoped that no scars would remain on the Blood Heaven Blade Demon’s heart.
Now, with a relieved expression, Geom Woojin faced his enemies.
His eyes met those of a white-haired old man among the five remaining masters.
“It has been a long time.”
The old man asked, his face surprised.
“You remember me?”
Geom Woojin nodded.
“A remarkable memory. I saw you when you were just a child.”
Surprisingly, he was a demonic practitioner of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
Soul Demon.
The old man was a retired demonic practitioner of the Heavenly Demon Divine Sect.
A man of great skill, he had held several key positions within the sect.
And at the time, he had been a close acquaintance of Gyo Cheon.
“He asked me earnestly, so I had no choice.”
Geom Woojin asked bluntly.
“Did you know that I was the target?”
After a brief pause, Soul Demon replied.
“I knew.”
Geom Woojin no longer tried to converse with him.
This betrayal was far worse than Gyo Cheon's.
“Then there is no need for you to step forward.”
Once the Blood Heaven Blade Demon had cleared his heart, Geom Woojin began to clean up in earnest.
A single evil spirit appeared silently before Geom Woojin.
It was an evil spirit more terrifying and with a more intense presence than the one from his Annihilation Form.
Sssssssss.
The evil spirit began to divide.
This was the reason he'd said there was no need to step forward.
“Die together over there.”