For the first time, he admitted it.
He had never been a match for him in the first place. That bastard’s technique already stood above Maeng Jeung’s own.
At such a young age.
It was truly absurd.
Then—
Unhwi’s sword flowed left.
A clear opening.
An opening caught by a master of Manifestation of the Boundless.
It might be a trap.
But he had no other choice.
I have to counterattack.
Maeng Jeung waited for his chance.
The opening.
He would aim for that opening.
Maeng Jeung’s eyes flashed.
Unhwi’s sword had flowed left.
That was clearly a preparatory motion for the next attack.
In that fleeting instant, Maeng Jeung’s sword shot forward.
Iron Chain Linked Strike.
A secret form of the Jin family that shifted from defense into offense.
Three consecutive thrusts that pierced into an opponent’s opening.
The first thrust aimed for Unhwi’s throat.
Unhwi turned his head. He avoided it. But it grazed his cheek, and blood sprayed.
The second thrust aimed for Unhwi’s heart.
Unhwi’s sword rose.
Blocked.
But his arm was driven back.
The third thrust.
He could not block this one.
Unhwi’s sword had not yet returned.
The corner of Maeng Jeung’s mouth lifted.
Got you.
The sword flew toward Unhwi’s chest.
At that moment—
Unhwi smiled.
Maeng Jeung’s eyes widened.
Unhwi’s left hand moved.
Barehanded.
He caught the sword.
Sssrk.
Blood flowed.
His palm split open. The blade dug into flesh.
But Unhwi did not stop.
With his left hand gripping the sword—
He swung the sword in his right.
Maeng Jeung’s eyes went wide.
God... God help me...
Only then did he realize.
It had not been an opening.
It had been bait.
From the beginning, that opening had been shown deliberately. To lure out Iron Chain Linked Strike. To catch the third thrust.
He read me...!
He could not dodge.
His sword was caught.
He only had to let go.
Let go of the sword and retreat.
But telling a martial artist to let go of his sword was no different from telling him to let go of his life.
A moment’s hesitation.
But life mattered more.
So he let go of the sword.
Yet the hesitation had been too long.
And that became death.
Thuk.
Unhwi’s sword carved through Maeng Jeung’s shoulder.
Deep.
So deep the bone showed.
“Kgh...”
Maeng Jeung groaned and staggered back.
Blood poured from his shoulder.
No strength entered his arm.
Unhwi moved at once.
Slash—!
His sword cut across Maeng Jeung’s chest.
It was not over.
Slash—!
His blade changed direction in an instant and cut through Maeng Jeung’s left shoulder.
His arm fell to the ground.
Unhwi rotated and thrust his sword forward.
Thuk—!
The sword drove into Maeng Jeung’s solar plexus.
“Cough...”
It was over.
When Unhwi pulled the sword free, Maeng Jeung collapsed where he stood.
Unhwi opened his left hand.
Maeng Jeung’s sword dropped to the ground.
A sharp clang rang out.
Blood dripped steadily from Unhwi’s left hand.
The cut was deep.
Bone showed.
Yet Unhwi’s expression did not change.
“So this is all.”
His voice was calm.
Maeng Jeung clenched his teeth.
“...You’re insane.”
“I hear that often.”
Unhwi raised his sword.
“Any last words?”
Maeng Jeung gave a faint laugh.
It was not laughter.
It was self-mockery.
“...Last words? I have them.”
He glared at Unhwi.
“If you kill me, the Jin family will not stay still. The family head will move personally.”
“And?”
“The Murim Alliance Leader will move as well. He knows better than anyone that the Blood Heaven Sect does not want war. Today’s events will become justification to pressure you—”
“Pressure?”
Unhwi gave a faint laugh.
“Thank you for your concern. But Gun Mugeol will move differently from what you expect.”
“...Even if there is a debt between you and him, you will regret today for a long time.”
Unhwi’s smile remained.
“You are the ones who will regret it.”
“...What?”
“Even if the madness of provoking the Blood Heaven Sect began from Gun Mugeol’s mouth, the responsibility will be limited to your level.”
“...What are you saying...?”
“It seems Gun Mugeol found the Jin family troublesome.”
At the abrupt statement, Maeng Jeung’s eyes widened.
What kind of nonsense was this?
“The way the martial world works as you understand it—Gun Mugeol is someone who uses and denies the common sense that exists beyond it.”
Unhwi raised his sword.
“Go on ahead and wait. I’ll send the rest of them to you soon enough.”
He swung.
A single line was drawn.
With a slicing sound, Maeng Jeung’s head fell.
It rolled across the ground.
His body crumpled.
Unhwi turned his head.
He looked over the battlefield.
Chief Seong and the Red Demon were finishing things.
Most of the Jin family martial artists had fallen.
Almost none remained alive.
Unhwi looked down at his left hand.
Blood was still flowing.
A deep wound.
The effect of the Ten-Thousand-Year Ice Crystal was also beginning to wear thin.
It was fine.
He had won.
Unhwi drew a cloth from his robes and wrapped it around his left hand.
A rough attempt to stop the bleeding.
Then he walked.
He crossed the battlefield.
Stepped over corpses.
The Red Demon and Chief Seong approached him.
“Blood Heaven Arbiter! Your hand...!”
“It’s fine.”
“But...!”
“For a martial artist to be wounded, especially in battle, can that not be called an honorable wound?”
“...Ah...”
Unhwi looked around.
The wooden barricade had collapsed.
Corpses lay everywhere.
Blood ran like a river.
“Chief Seong.”
“Yes, Young Mas—no, Blood Heaven Arbiter.”
“Send a letter to the head of the Jin family.”
“...A letter, you say?”
“Tell him to come personally and apologize. And send that head lying over there with the letter.”
“...Understood.”
Unhwi turned and looked at the Red Demon.
“Red Demon.”
“...Yes.”
“Clean this place up now.”
“What?”
“Clear the corpses and tear down the wooden barricade. The trade route must be reopened, must it not?”
The Red Demon stared blankly at Unhwi.
How could he remain so calm with that wound?
“...Yes. Understood.”
“And once this place has been put in order, I will connect you to a new trade route as well.”
“...Ah...”
“I said as much in the grand hall.”
“I... remember.”
“Then that is enough. Finish it.”
Unhwi silently turned away.
The Red Demon watched his back with a strange expression.
He was far more impressive than expected.
So much so that no words came.
Soon, Mak Hwicheon approached the Red Demon.
“Are you all right, Master?”
“...What do you think?”
“What do you mean?”
“The Blood Heaven Arbiter.”
Mak Hwicheon shifted his gaze to Unhwi, who sat on the collapsed wooden barricade in the distance and looked out toward the desert.
His assessment was very brief and very plain.
“He seems like a monster.”
“A monster... yes. A monster.”
For a while, the Red Demon silently watched Unhwi.
After some time passed, he slowly turned his head.
He saw Chief Seong collecting Maeng Jeung’s head.
As a master of the Five Realms of Martial Divinity, the Red Demon had eyes sharp enough to judge.
That movement earlier... it was too swift to call him merely Heaven-Human realm.
Without question, that man called Chief Seong would soon reach Unity of Heaven and Man.
He was certain of it.
And that was not all.
He looked toward Ju Soa.
They said the Snow Mountain Demon Lord has four loyal retainers.
Some were in other regions.
They had not come with Unhwi.
But Ju Soa had.
Ju Soa was one of those four.
Her beauty did not even register.
The Red Demon was not a martial artist who lusted after appearances.
If anything, though he belonged to the Blood Heaven Sect, he was closer in spirit to the Buddhist path.
From his perspective, Ju Soa’s talent was far from ordinary.
He understood her to be at the Harmony realm.
Setting aside the genius required to reach that realm so young, her movement and judgment were deeply strange.
It felt like watching a smaller Seol Unhwi.
Extremely bold.
And fast.
The spirit of a martial artist who did not fear death.
He had seen all of that in a brief instant.
That alone was enough.
Within half a year, she’ll rise.
He knew she was not even thirty.
If she advanced from the Harmony realm to the Four States of Heaven and Earth, the martial world would be in an uproar.
And then, inevitably, another rumor would spread.
That Seol Unhwi had a fine eye for people.
Finally, he turned his gaze toward Namgung Wonyang.
The previous two were impressive, but unexpectedly, the Red Demon showed great interest in Namgung Wonyang.
Her talent seemed even greater than theirs.
Her realm was Five Energies Returning to Origin.
Because the Blood Heaven Sect and its branches were full of martial artists at that level, he could tell all the more clearly.
It could be described in one word.
Exceptional.
What would happen if the Namgung sword walked the tyrant’s path?
Or if it walked the demonic path?
That woman was showing him every answer.
She was bold, swift, and broad in vision.
Even while facing two or three opponents at once, she was seasoned.
He knew she was around two years older than Seol Unhwi. She had merely been overshadowed by him, but Namgung Wonyang’s talent was unmistakably the kind that belonged to a genius.
More than anything—
They said she has a poor relationship with the Blood Spirit Regiment’s commander.
He did not know the details.
Nor did he want to.
But as he watched the absurd sight of a Five Energies Returning to Origin martial artist displaying power on the level of the Four States of Heaven and Earth, his conviction only deepened.
He must not become Seol Unhwi’s enemy.
Becoming his enemy would be madness.
He had no confidence in facing that man.
Then Chief Seong approached the Red Demon.
Smiling lightly, he asked a short question.
“I need to write a letter. Do you have ink and a brush?”
“...I’ll have them brought.”
At that, Chief Seong raised both hands.
“Oh, please don’t do that. You are far more senior than I am, and now that the work is done and there are no eyes around us, please speak comfortably at times like this.”
“May I?”
“Of course. Haha. Then I should greet you properly first.”
After saying that, he casually tossed Maeng Jeung’s head onto the ground and offered a formal fist salute.
“Let me introduce myself again. I am Seong Yangho.”
“...Good to meet you. I am the Red Demon of Red Spirit Court.”
Why was Chief Seong suddenly doing this?
The Red Demon was no fool.
The moment their brief greetings ended, Chief Seong asked,
“The new trade route will connect to the Soul-Killing Gate of the Great Desert. Would that be acceptable?”
The Red Demon nodded.
Soul-Killing Gate.
The ruling power of the Great Desert.
Its master was the king of the Great Desert, who had joined hands with Heaven’s Will Alliance.
“And when we go to the Soul-Killing Gate, you will need to accompany us. Would that also be acceptable?”
The opening of a new trade route.
If this succeeded, it would count as a major achievement for Red Spirit Court.
And naturally, considering the importance of the matter, the Red Demon himself had to go.
“Ah, you will be going with our Blood Heaven Arbiter.”
Even if that meant traveling with someone uncomfortable and difficult to deal with, he still had to go.
The Red Demon forced a smile.
“How could I refuse?”
Chief Seong smiled as well.
“Then once matters here are handled, let us depart immediately.”
In any case, it would take time for the letter to reach the Jin family and for their reply to return.
If they opened the trade route before then—
They could deal with matters far more swiftly.
The Red Demon nodded.
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