"Die! Die! Dieee!!"
The sound of fists pounding was so fierce that it almost sounded like a lively rhythm. Ma Dongpil grew anxious.
"Young Master!"
The crowd murmured.
"Get out of the way!"
With a whoosh, he sent another member of the Demon Cavalry flying. The startled members of the Demon Cavalry reignited their murderous intent. It was almost a reflex.
Ma Dongpil spat out foam.
"You crazy fools! Step back! This is not the time for us to be fighting among ourselves!"
"What the hell is this guy talking about!"
It truly felt like he was going insane. How could they live so simply?
"Your leader is dying!"
This was enough to snap the Demon Cavalry back to reality. With a bang, Ma Dongpil charged into the kitchen.
"Iiiik!"
Just then, Wei Honglian, who was in a pitiful state, gritted her teeth and swung her leg.
Wham! Seolang staggered.
But that was all. Even though it was a strike filled with her internal energy, it couldn't push Seolang back. If he had been in his right mind, he wouldn't have even been hit by that blow.
Seolang swung his leg.
Crack!
Blood burst from Wei Honglian's mouth. It was a merciless kick. If she hadn't instinctively turned her head, it would have knocked out not just her teeth but her jaw as well.
Wei Honglian felt her mind clear. 'I'm going to die!' She had intended to half-kill this guy, but she never truly wanted to kill him.
It wasn't something that could be resolved with just her life. But this guy was different. Until now, he had only received her martial arts, but now he was genuinely trying to kill her.
With his bare hands, no less.
"You!"
The moment surged with the power of the Qingxian Demon Art. She wasn't afraid that her opponent was trying to kill her. She had been through too many life-and-death battles.
Instead, it invigorated her. Realizing that her opponent was serious, her madness was layered with fighting spirit.
Boom!
Seolang took two steps back. Wei Honglian unleashed the Demon God Fist she had created herself. However, she couldn't help but be surprised when her fist struck his chest.
'Is that all there is to it?' She hadn't thought she could take him down with that one move, but she had expected to at least inflict some internal damage. Seolang growled, "You're dead!"
Bam! Boom!
"Gah!"
Though it was the same punch, the power was different. Wei Honglian smashed into the wall, breaking all the kitchen utensils. Blood came up involuntarily.
Her head was spinning, and she felt dizzy. This brute was so strong?!
Bam!
Seolang staggered again. Wei Honglian's knife hand struck his collarbone. But that was all.
A strike that would have shattered the collarbone and ribs of an ordinary master only made Seolang falter slightly.
Seolang grinned.
His bright smile, showing all his teeth, made Wei Honglian flinch without realizing it.
"…Crazy."
Normally, she would have mocked him, saying, "That guy has quite the healthy teeth," but now she couldn't even do that. She realized that her opponent was just as deranged as she was.
"I am the Demon Cavalry Leader, you crazy bastard!"
Boom!
The two erupted into a fierce exchange again. Ma Dongpil, who had been there for a while but couldn't dare to stop them, looked around and peered outside the kitchen. The Demon Cavalry members were staring at him blankly. '…Damn it.'
Common sense had no place here. Even if he asked them to help, they would just tilt their heads in confusion. 'What should I do?'
A little injury was fine. As long as he could stop the Young Master, bleeding a bit wouldn't be a problem. The real issue was that he couldn't stop them at all.
'It was like this back then too.' When he had almost died trying to catch the three from the Ghost Forest, Seolang had shown him what true madness was. After cleanly taking down three, Seolang had made five of the Ghost Forest members vanish without a trace.
Of course, Seolang hadn't been unscathed either. 'What should I do? What to do?'
Crack!
"Kraaaah!"
Wei Honglian screamed. Her face was so mangled it was hard to recognize, and her whole body was drenched in blood. She looked like someone who could send chills down anyone's spine.
"This bastard, I'm really going to kill him!"
Ma Dongpil's face turned pale. The murderous intent radiating from Wei Honglian was on a whole different level from before. After being pushed to the edge, she had made up her mind to kill her opponent.
Whoosh!
She drew out her large, oddly-shaped sword. Ma Dongpil shouted, "Demon Cavalry Leader!"
"Aaaah!"
Whoooooosh!!
Wei Honglian swung her sword. With a flash, a blue sword energy that looked almost gentle flew in a crescent shape. Seolang's eyes widened.
The blue sword energy shot toward him like a beam of light. It was a level of sword intent that surpassed what Ma Dongpil had unleashed in the Ghost Forest.
'Impressive.'
Contrary to Ma Dongpil's worries, Seolang was not going insane. No, he had been at first, but now he was not. If the madness he had shown at the beginning had continued, they wouldn't be exchanging blows like this.
He would have buried her right then and there. Naturally, the murderous intent he was showing now wasn't genuine either. 'Ah, maybe a bit of sincerity has mixed in.'
The thought that Jin Ho might have been hurt made his blood pressure rise sharply.
'Anyway…'
Even though the speed of the sword energy was fast, he still had the presence of mind to think. It was thanks to maintaining the second form of the Celestial Six Paths, the Super Observation. Those who had not refined their upper dantian could not even dare to attempt it.
The reason was that if the Super Observation was opened without refining the upper dantian, the brain would turn to mush before one could even take a breath. Though it was the second form, the Super Observation was ten times more dangerous than the first form. Seolang locked eyes with Wei Honglian.
In the illusion that the world had slowed down, he could clearly see the intense gaze of the Demon Cavalry Leader. Above the Super Observation, the highest level of demonic martial arts, the Shadow Demon Art, descended upon him. 'Anger, anxiety, confusion, stubbornness…'
He quickly read the emotions and state of his opponent. 'Competitive spirit, sense of defeat, acknowledgment… acknowledgment?'
Acknowledgment? 'Oh?
What do we have here?' The face twisted with rage felt new. Beneath the fury, murderous intent, and madness, a hint of wounded pride peeked through.
Seolang smiled.
It was not a mocking smile but a genuine smile of a warrior. His left foot stomped the ground.
Boom!
A powerful force surged from the ground, through the lower dantian and middle dantian, all the way to the upper dantian. The blue sword energy was now right in front of him. Seolang reached out toward the sword energy.
It looked almost like a gentle gesture, as if he were trying to grasp something.
And then…
"…?"
The sword energy vanished without a trace. Wei Honglian's eyes widened.
"…What?"
What just happened? She had merely reached out her hand, so why did the Qing Wing Sword Energy disappear?
"Ouch, that stings."
Seolang shook his hand. A red mark ran straight across his palm where he had caught the sword energy.
"Did I break through the Steel Wall Technique? Impressive."
The Steel Wall Technique was the opposite of the Explosive Mountain Technique, maximizing the dark energy of the Heavenly Origin Technique. It turned the hand itself into steel, smashing through from the outside to the inside. Even though time was short, he had unleashed it with vigorous dark energy, yet a mark remained.
This meant Wei Honglian's understanding was beyond what Seolang had anticipated. Wei Honglian's face twisted in pain. She already looked swollen and distorted, but now it was even worse.
"This…"
She wanted to curse but couldn't find the words. The martial arts she had been exchanging blows with until now were on a completely different level. She thought they were climbing the same hill, but it turned out she was facing someone who walked the ridges of Mount Tai.
With a whoosh, as she clenched her fist, the sticky blood-red demonic energy transformed into a brilliant flame-like energy.
"It was impressive, but this is where it ends."
"Ugh."
"I'll give you a moment to catch your breath and choose."
Swish.
The demonic energy swirling around Seolang vanished, and the mark on his palm was completely erased.
"Do you want to confess to the charges of corruption?"
"……."
"Or would you rather be dragged away for the crimes of disrespecting the Third Young Master and attempted murder, ending your life after only thirty years? Huh?"
"……."
"You know you can't win, and you probably know which choice is better, so why are you hesitating?"
"……."
"Ah, is that it? You don't like being told what to do by someone you think is beneath you?"
Swish.
Seolang drew the sword at his waist. It wasn't a rare divine weapon, but it wasn't something any ordinary craftsman could make either. Despite its plain appearance, the blade overflowed with a precious light.
"I may have been a bit rude to the Demon Cavalry Leader, who lives by his pride. I was just toying with you with a question that already had an answer."
Swish.
He pointed the sword at Wei Honglian. Seolang's eyes held seriousness.
"There's no need to say more. Let's end this."
Whoooooosh!!
Wei Honglian's eyes widened. The sword in Seolang's hand vibrated on its own. It wasn't that the energy was infused into the sword, but the sword itself seemed to resonate with a clear sound.
'Sword Resonance!'
It was a level of mastery akin to the Sword Resonance of swordsmen. Only those who had perfectly unified their external weapon, body, and mind could achieve this life-like resonance. When everything became one, the sword finally gained a soul and could blossom its own spirit.
This proved that depending on the level of refinement, one could reach the highest realm of swordsmanship, the Sword Control.
Swish.
The blade grew larger and larger. Though it hadn't actually grown, Seolang's figure was obscured by the shape of the sword. Wei Honglian's eyes shook.
It felt like someone had to die for the madness to settle.
'That…'
It was a level of unity between body and sword that couldn't even be compared to any peak master. Seolang's gaze blazed with fire.
"Farewell."
Whooooooosh!!
The massive blade descended like an illusion. Just then, clang. The oddly-shaped sword fell to the ground, letting out a deep wail.
Thud.
A stream of fresh blood crossed Wei Honglian's forehead. She did not panic. No, she stood there calmly, even closing her eyes.
And at the tip of her forehead was Seolang's sword point. Seolang coldly asked, "Why didn't you dodge?"
"…Because I couldn't." "Have you accepted death?"
"If I can't dodge, then I must die."
"So you're just going to let the sword go?"
"I haven't lived a life good enough to leave regrets. Like the countless people who died at my hands, I too will eventually die at someone else's." "Is today that day?"
"I don't know. Knowing wouldn't change anything."
Her words starkly illustrated how she had lived. The Heavenly Demon Cult was still an organization within the martial world. She had likely been underestimated simply for being a woman.
To break that gaze and prejudice, she must have worked ten times harder than others. Moreover, she was of the bloodline that had opposed the Heavenly Demon Cult. Naturally, she had to struggle fiercely to survive.
As Seolang gazed at her, he sheathed his sword. Wei Honglian slowly opened her eyes.
Bam!
She collapsed into the corner of the kitchen. Seolang had thrown a punch.
"Let's consider the charges of disrespect and other minor offenses as nullified with this one blow."
Wei Honglian looked up at him, stroking her cheek.
"Let me tell you in advance, just because you let me off this time doesn't mean I'll do what you want."
"I won't, you brat."
"……."
"I crushed the bait on the needle; do you think a fish will be caught?"
"…What do you mean by that?"
"I don't know! Why do you think I went through all this trouble to pull out my sword?"
Seolang, who had been grumbling, took out a golden pouch and handed it to the fainted Dou Weijing.
"I'm sorry. I don't know if you'll hear this, but this should be enough for repair costs."
He shot a glance at Wei Honglian.
She flinched.
"If I hear even a whisper that you took this money, I'll smash your head."
"Do you think I'm some street bum? I won't take it."
"From what I've seen, a street bum would be more of a gentleman than you, you ignorant brat."
Seolang shouted, "Dongpil!
Let's go!"
"Huh? Oh, yes!"
"Sorry for just stirring up interest. I thought it would get pretty heated."
"If it had gotten any hotter, I might have had a heart attack."
"Stop whining."
The two stepped out of the kitchen as if nothing had happened. Before long, Jin Ho climbed onto Seolang's shoulder, whining. Wei Honglian, who had been watching the broken kitchen, was approached awkwardly by Cha Kwang after a moment.
"Are you alright, Leader?"
"Not alright."
"Ah… yes."
Wei Honglian stood up.
"Clean up and order some drinks."
"Huh?"
"We can't end it like this without even starting the feast, can we? The kids are waiting. Hurry up and clean up."
"Yes."
Wei Honglian looked back at Seolang's retreating figure. He looked like an ordinary young man scratching his head, appearing weary, just like anyone else in the neighborhood.
"…Who says I'm ignorant and uneducated, just a strong brute?"