"Damn it! Damn it!"
I must be insane. I let my guard down because I thought we had become somewhat friendly after the sparring session. I was a fool.
Seo Ryang, who had been moving at an insane speed, suddenly stopped and looked around. In the center was a massive statue of an evil spirit, with paths leading out in all directions. This was the central plaza, the heart of the inner palace.
Seo Ryang closed his eyes and expanded his energy sense. But...
"Damn it! How am I supposed to find anything like this?!"
The inner palace was as wide as three or four villages combined. No matter how much his martial arts had improved, it was impossible to locate Wi Hong-ryeon using just his energy sense in such a vast area.
'Should I go directly to the Demon Lord? But that would be too much for me alone. He must have sent his minions out by now.'
Then should I head to the Demon Army first? Wait, where is the Demon Army located?
'No! That troublemaker must be itching for a fight. He probably didn’t even think about sending his minions and went out searching himself, all worked up.'
If that’s the case, then heading toward the Demon Lord’s side makes sense. He must have caused a ruckus there first.
'...No. If he had caused a commotion there, I would have sensed even a faint trace of his battle aura.'
This wasn’t just one or two people—it was an organization of over two hundred. If they had unleashed their demonic energy collectively, there’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed.
'Should I start by interrogating the Demon Army members? Surely not...'
Seo Ryang bit his lip.
'...He wouldn’t be so excited as to lure me into a brothel.'
At that moment, Ma Dong-pil came running from a distance.
"Huff, huff! Young Master!"
It had taken him this long to catch up, showing just how fast Seo Ryang had been moving. Even with his steel-like stamina, honed in the dense bamboo forest, he couldn’t help but be out of breath.
Seo Ryang shouted, "Dong-pil! Where’s the Demon Army?!"
"Th-the Demon Army? If you head northeast, you’ll see the gathering marks of the inner palace troops. If you read the signs there..."
"I’ll head to the Demon Army. You search the nearby brothels!"
"Huh?!"
"Shut up and move quickly!"
"Y-yes!"
Whoosh!
Seo Ryang moved before Ma Dong-pil could even react, his face twisted with urgency.
'You bitch! If you’re really fishing in a brothel, I’ll break your legs!'
But one thing was certain—it wasn’t the Jade Pavilion. Anyone with common sense wouldn’t go there waving a fishing rod.
"Dong-pil! Skip the Jade Pavilion and search the other brothels first! Got it?!"
"Understood!"
"It’s been a while since we’ve faced each other one-on-one, hasn’t it?"
Screech!
The swords clashed, emitting a strange friction sound. The two blades, locked in a fierce struggle, trembled faintly as neither side gave an inch.
Song Gyeong growled, "Wi. Hong. Ryeon."
"Your damn mouth still stinks as usual."
Whoosh!
Wi Hong-ryeon took a few steps back. Song Gyeong did the same.
Whoosh!
A powerful demonic energy surged from Song Gyeong’s longsword. It seemed he was going all out from the start, as the sword trembled relentlessly. The demonic energy that erupted in an instant spread in all directions, creating a menacing atmosphere.
Wi Hong-ryeon smirked.
"How did you hold back in the place where you were paid to eat? You want to kill me that badly?"
"Shut up!"
Whoosh!
From that short distance, he unleashed his full power and charged forward.
It was a mad, suicidal charge. For someone like Song Gyeong, who valued living a long and thin life above all else, this kind of reckless attack showed just how much he wanted to kill Wi Hong-ryeon.
"Tch."
With a short scoff, Wi Hong-ryeon also charged forward.
Boom!
The two swords collided, creating an ear-splitting explosion.
Typically, a woman’s martial arts are more delicate and swift than a man’s. The demonic martial world was no different. It wasn’t a difference in martial arts but in the physical differences between men and women, as well as the societal expectations that shaped their personalities.
In that sense, Wi Hong-ryeon was indeed a unique woman.
Her sword techniques shattered the conventional wisdom of women’s martial arts, being even more ferocious and brutal than Song Gyeong’s. It was a martial art specialized for direct confrontations and chaotic battles, befitting the leader of the Demon Army.
Song Gyeong’s face twisted.
Clang! Clang!
The swords clashed dozens of times in mid-air.
The flashing light was as intense as the sun. The shockwaves from the clashing swords caused cracks to form on the walls of the alley, and stone fragments flew up from the ground.
Whoosh.
Wi Hong-ryeon’s pupils turned blue.
The true opening of the Blue Demon Art. A deep blue light emanated from her unique weapon, the Bao Ya Sword.
She swung her sword and shouted, "Take this, you bastard!"
Boom!
The overwhelming sword energy sent Song Gyeong flying backward.
It was a sword technique that condensed multiple layers of sword energy into a single strike, not meant to cut or pierce but to utterly destroy the target—the Phantom Beast Great Sword Technique.
Song Gyeong smirked.
"Good! That’s more like it!"
"Don’t act tough, you bastard! Your legs are shaking!"
Boom!
This time, it was Wi Hong-ryeon who stumbled back.
Following the Blue Demon Art was the Phantom Beast Great Sword Technique, and then the Frost Sky Demon Power and the Snow Mountain Ghost Sword.
If Wi Hong-ryeon’s demonic arts and sword techniques were born from desperate battles, Song Gyeong’s Frost Sky Martial Arts were a renowned orthodox demonic art from the Divine Sect.
In terms of purity, the Frost Sky Martial Arts were superior, but in terms of unpredictability and lethality, the Blue Demon Art and Phantom Beast Sword were a step ahead. Since their levels of mastery were similar, a prolonged battle was inevitable.
And both of them knew this better than anyone.
"Just die already!"
"You die, you damn bastard!"
Boom! Clang!
As time passed, their sword techniques became increasingly wild.
There was no dodging or parrying. In this chaotic battle, there was no room for finesse.
The fight itself was proof of the anger they had built up toward each other. Even martial artists far weaker than them wouldn’t engage in such reckless combat, knowing the consequences of such a brutal fight.
Drip, drip.
Blood trickled from the corner of Wi Hong-ryeon’s mouth. Song Gyeong’s nose was also bleeding profusely.
These weren’t injuries from direct hits. They were internal injuries from failing to withstand the powerful shockwaves.
But neither of them had any intention of backing down. In fact, they didn’t even realize how injured they were.
Their consciousness was focused solely on one thing—the complete annihilation of the other.
Whoosh!
External injuries followed the internal ones. A long sword wound appeared on Song Gyeong’s chest.
Song Gyeong’s eyes were bloodshot.
Crack!
Wi Hong-ryeon’s head snapped to the side as Song Gyeong’s leg kicked her face.
Whoosh!
Their fists collided mid-air, sending both of them flying back several feet.
"Huff! Huff!"
"Gasp! Gasp!"
Their breathing was ragged, their energy chaotic.
But their killing intent and madness only grew stronger with time. Even in such a short but intense battle, demons began to peek out from their hiding places.
"What’s going on?"
"Ah! Be careful!"
Crash!
A flying rock embedded itself into a building wall.
"Ugh! I almost died!"
"What kind of lunatics are fighting at this hour...?"
For a moment, Wi Hong-ryeon and Song Gyeong’s eyes flashed.
Whoosh!
Half of a building’s roof flew off. The two had combined their sword energies to unleash a devastating attack.
"Shut your mouths, you bastards!"
"If you don’t want to die, keep your heads down!"
The demons’ faces twisted.
"Where did those guys come from...?"
"Hey! Shh! Shut up! Come here!"
"What? What’s wrong?"
"Th-the Demon Army Leader and the Demon Lord!"
"Gasp!"
Only then did the demons realize who they were dealing with and quickly retreated.
While watching a fight might be the most entertaining thing in the world, it wasn’t worth risking your life over. If you were lucky, you’d die cleanly, but if you got caught by these two, you’d end up as fish food while still alive.
The demons, driven by curiosity, scattered like cockroaches.
Wi Hong-ryeon laughed as she roughly wiped the blood from her mouth.
"Can you keep going?"
"I’m the one who should be asking that!"
"But before we go into the second round, can I ask you one thing?"
"Why? Are you already out of breath?"
"Is your other testicle still intact?"
"You crazy bitch!!"
Whoosh!
Wi Hong-ryeon coughed up blood. This strike had been particularly powerful, and she hadn’t been able to dissipate most of the impact.
Thud!
But even Song Gyeong, who had launched the attack, couldn’t follow up. His left middle finger had been bent backward at some point.
The sharp pain momentarily dampened his rage. Wi Hong-ryeon’s reflexes, which had allowed her to block the follow-up attack in that brief moment, were truly commendable.
Crack!
Wi Hong-ryeon’s eyes narrowed. Song Gyeong was laughing as he reset his dislocated finger.
Wi Hong-ryeon knew exactly how painful that was. It seemed his hatred for her was so great that he didn’t even care about the pain.
Crash!
The two, now one body in their mad charge, smashed through the outer wall of a building. Unfortunately, it was the first floor of the Jade Pavilion, which was under renovation.
At least it was fortunate that no one was there due to the construction.
"Die! Die! Die!!"
Grabbing her collar, he stabbed relentlessly with his sword, but Wi Hong-ryeon miraculously dodged every strike. Her reflexes were truly divine.
Song Gyeong’s eyes gleamed with excitement.
'Got you!'
Though he hadn’t landed a solid hit, he was clearly pushing her back. He had gained a slight upper hand.
'Finally! Finally, this day has come!'
The sect leader had clearly ordered him to bring Wi Hong-ryeon back to the Punishment Hall. In other words, her survival was a prerequisite.
But Song Gyeong had no intention of following that nonsensical order. He planned to tear her to pieces and kill her.
"I’ll turn you into jerky and feed you to the fish...!"
That’s when it happened.
Without any warning or killing intent, Song Gyeong felt a chill run down his spine.
An extremely unpleasant sense of danger, and fear.
'Her eyes...?'
Even while being pushed back, her eyes seemed oddly relaxed.
No, they were more like eyes that were cheering, as if things were going well.
'Those eyes... I’ve seen them somewhere before...'
...Huh?
"Ugh!"
Whoosh!
Song Gyeong hastily retreated. He moved so quickly that several tables and chairs on the first floor were shattered.
"Too bad."
Wi Hong-ryeon wiggled her toes. Her leg, stretched out flexibly, reached up to Song Gyeong’s head.
"I was going to smash the other one since it didn’t match."
"......"
Her calm demeanor as she uttered those terrifying words, which would make any man, young or old, shudder, was like a vision of the Heavenly Demon revered by the Divine Sect.
Zing!
A blue light emanated from Wi Hong-ryeon’s fist. Though her internal energy was significantly depleted, it wasn’t enough to stop her from fighting to the death.
"Shall we start again?"
Whoosh!
Song Gyeong stood up from the shattered table pieces, his eyes now completely bloodshot.
"Today, you will definitely die."
His anger had reached its peak, making him eerily calm.
Wi Hong-ryeon smiled brightly.
"I’ll finish you off."
A moment of silence.
Whoosh!
The two charged at each other once more.
In an atmosphere several times more ferocious than before, the battle between the two leaders of their respective forces escalated to new heights.