“You bastard… That sword is forged from Ice Crystal. The very one the Northern Sea Ice Palace sent to White Qilin long ago. You were the one who took it.”

The lightning coiling around his hand subsided, revealing the skin underneath, which was a raw, swollen red. Steam had even begun to rise from the flesh. The innate glacial chill of the Ice Clarity Sword had dealt him damage.

Of course, the Ice Clarity Sword alone could not have inflicted such a wound. It was only possible because Jin Cheon-hee had first shrouded the blade in his his Earth Qi, allowing it to pierce the Dark Lightning Blood Demon‘s lightning.

“My master’s love for his disciple is truly profound, isn’t it?”

Jin Cheon-hee held his sword in a middle-guard stance, his reply leisurely. Inwardly, however, he was activating his Five-Elemental Divine Art at full capacity, drawing in the natural energy from the surroundings. Outwardly, Jin Cheon-hee looked like an arrogant, careless rookie, riddled with openings.

But the Dark Lightning Blood Demon knew better. He knew that the voice, the expression, the very posture Jin Cheon-hee presented were nothing but a facade. If he was fooled by this display and charged in, he would pay a heavy price.

“Kekeke, to think he would just give away the Ice Clarity Sword of all things. The rumors of him being a doting fool must not be an exaggeration.”

The Dark Lightning Blood Demon merely laughed, making no move to attack.

This, too, was part of Jin Cheon-hee’s calculations.

‘One of the other benefits of the Five-Elemental Divine Art is the ability to recover internal energy even in the midst of battle, as it can rapidly absorb natural qi from the surroundings. Unlike the fight with Ancient Wood Blood Demon, a battle of attrition against the Dark Lightning Blood Demon will be to my advantage. Every single one of his attacks consumes a massive amount of internal energy.’

It was a demonic art that wrapped the body in lightning for defense, heightened reflexes to boost speed, and, on occasion, fired the lightning itself as a projectile. On paper, it sounded invincible. And in truth, he was strong.

But for how long could he maintain it?

He was already burning through his internal energy at a rate far exceeding that of a normal martial artist.

‘It’s the same principle as a 16-cylinder sports car being fast and cool, but having absolutely terrible gas mileage.’

Using his Profound Primordial Complete Foundation Divine Art, Jin Cheon-hee was analyzing his opponent’s internal energy with a modern sensibility. Whether it was the principle of thermal expansion or the principle of a lightning rod, this way of thinking allowed him to strike at his opponent’s weaknesses in a way unbound by the Murim’s common sense.

‘To face an enemy stronger than myself, I have to think differently.’

His thoughts continued.

‘The lightning of his Thunder Spirit Divine Art is weak to my Earth Qi, which he’ll find annoying. So, what’s your next move, Dark Lightning Blood Demon? Are you going to pull out that secret weapon described in the novel? I’m already making my own preparations, just in case.’

Subtly, almost imperceptibly, Jin Cheon-hee dragged his foot, leaving a faint line on the ground.

His opponent was the Dark Lightning Blood Demon. It was easy to laugh at the “mid-boss” label, but in truth, any other martial artist in the Gangho would have had their organs fried to a crisp by that lightning already. To defeat such an opponent, he, too, had to give his absolute best.

‘What I learned from my master wasn’t just martial arts, after all.’

While inwardly hatching a wicked scheme, Jin Cheon-hee spoke, “We’re not really in a position to chat, are we? Seeing as you’re here to murder to silence me.”

“Heh… How arrogant you are, to run your mouth in the presence of this old one.”

“Well, it’s a bit late to be concerned with the proper order between elder and junior, isn’t it? If you stop fighting and back away on your own, I won’t stop you.”

“Kekekeke! What a silver tongue. And strong, to boot… White Qilin has truly raised a dragon. This is bad. This is very bad. How can I possibly let a bastard who will interfere with our sacred cult’s great work live?”

‘As expected. He’s using it. This is where it really begins. I have to stay sharp.’

Jiangshi.

There was the Blood Jiangshi that sucked human blood, and the White Jiangshi that moved just like a human. There was even the Adamantine Jiangshi, whose entire body was said to be as hard as diamond.

‘Which one is it?!’

His heart pounded.

Jin Cheon-hee focused his gaze on his opponent, staring even more intently. He continued to back away slowly, never stopping the subtle act of leaving marks on the ground.

“Even if it means casting away my ten years of training, I must kill you here and now.”

‘It’s coming. The Jiangshi! Wait… did he say “ten years of training”?’

HWOOOOK.

The Dark Lightning Blood Demon‘s muscles swelled. The lightning energy flowing from his body began to surge, growing exponentially fiercer.

“Tsk. As I thought…”

Jin Cheon-hee clicked his tongue.

‘It’s Blood Explosion Art, one of the Blood Cult’s secret arts. Well… Blood Explosion Art is also a secret art, true. It’s not a Jiangshi, but… no, this is stronger than a Jiangshi…’

The Blood Explosion Art.

It had a simple name, but its power was anything but. It forcefully detonated the innate Life Qi latent within one’s blood and converted it into raw power. The side effect was severe: roughly seven or eight minutes after its use, the user would collapse into unconsciousness. But during that window, they could wield at least double their normal power.

For a man with ninety years of internal energy, that was like fighting someone with one hundred and eighty.

‘But… the energy he used fighting the Heavenly Thunder Hawk before I arrived, plus the energy he just spent in our exchange… add it all up, and he must have between half a gapja and one gapja left. Which means, even amplified, he has less than two gapja at most.’

The calculation was complete.

‘In contrast, I still have most of my half-a-gapja. In that case… the first strike will be the last!’

Supreme Unity Immortal Severing Sword: Instantaneous Severing Immortal!

The True Qi, starting from his danjeon, dashed like lightning through his waist, shoulder, and arm, transferring to his hand and sword. The blade moved with a speed that seemed to slice through light itself, drawing a line in the empty air. But in response, the Dark Lightning Blood Demon also moved, thrusting his hand forward.

‘Lightning Flash Fist! It’s so damned fast!’

It was the Dark Lightning Blood Demon‘s ultimate technique, the Lightning Flash Fist! A martial art that also focused on pure speed, using Lightning Qi. As the companion art to his Thunder Spirit Divine Art, its power was immense. The black lightning coiling around his hand looked truly sinister.

In response, Jin Cheon-hee forcefully pushed his Earth Qi into the Ice Clarity Sword. The sword, now swirling with white and yellow, emitted a strange light as it unleashed its Sword Qi. And finally, the two collided.

CLANG!

“Keuk!”

The skin of his sword hand tore. The muscular load on his wrist and arm was substantial.

‘He’s not easy! The lightning didn’t invade my body, but the sheer repulsive force is this strong!’

Gritting his teeth, Jin Cheon-hee pushed forward.

The Dark Lightning Blood Demon‘s face was also twisted in agony. A bone from his arm had burst through the skin.

Seeing that, Jin Cheon-hee advanced. ‘The Earth Qi broke through the lightning! The elemental matchup is perfect! I’m going all in!’

Supreme Unity Immortal Severing Sword: Supreme Unity Splitting Lights!

Jin Cheon-hee’s sword split into multiple paths, as if an illusion, and surged forward. In an instant, four blades stabbed at him, targeting four different points! They were not illusions, but forms made of Sword Qi. They were all real. To be precise, only one of the four blades was the true sword, unified with its Sword Qi. But one should never underestimate Sword Qi alone; it had the power to sever steel.

The Dark Lightning Blood Demon knew this. And so, he resorted to an even more reckless method.

“This will not do. You… I must kill you here!”

‘Is the Jiangshi finally coming?!’

Jin Cheon-hee’s eyes flew wide.

“Oh, Thunder Lord Immortal, grant me your strength!”

He suddenly roared. His entire body was enveloped in black lightning, and he no longer looked human.

‘Crazy! That’s the technique used by the Ten Heavenly Lords, the Blood Cult’s top executives! He’s borrowing that power? That means he’s going to self-destruct to take me with him!’

The ‘Blood Immortals,’ worshipped by the cult were not a single entity, but many, and all were described as evil. The novel described them, at times, “lending” a “little” of their power to their followers. It had a fatal drawback: the human who accepted it always died. It was described as the Blood Cult’s ultimate suicide technique.

“Die, young dragon! Become compost for our sacred cult’s great work!”

The Dark Lightning Blood Demon‘s hands writhed like dragons. And then, he launched himself into the air. A black lightning dragon materialized in the sky.

‘So… no Jiangshi, I guess. And that is…’

The speed was absolutely impossible to dodge. Jin Cheon-hee gritted his teeth. ‘I can’t dodge that! I have to block it!

“Lightning-Sealing Formation, open!”

He stomped his foot, activating what he had been preparing. The marks he had been dragging on the ground were, in fact, the Zhuge Clan’s secret formation art: Mystical Gate Formation Art! The formation, which could warp the environment, activated—but the Dark Lightning Blood Demon‘s final attack was faster.

Jin Cheon-hee emptied his danjeon, pouring every last drop of his internal energy into the tip of his sword, infusing it with Earth Qi.

PAJIJIJIJIK!

KWARREUREUREUREUREUNG!

The two energies collided and froze at a single point.

Stasis.

There was no explosion, no recoil. Just a clash of pure power so immense that whichever side was pushed back would be torn limb from limb. Caught in that collision of energy, Jin Cheon-hee gritted his teeth.

Paseuseuseu!

Then, an incredible thing happened. The Ice Crystal, which was fabled to be unmeltable, began to melt, just slightly. For a brief moment, steam rose from the Ice Clarity Sword.

And then, a massive explosion.

BOOM!

“Keo-eok!”

Jin Cheon-hee was thrown back, vomiting blood. He staggered, spitting up another gush. In contrast, the Dark Lightning Blood Demon landed steadily on the ground, already preparing his next attack.

But. Then.

Tseutseutseut!

A thick fog descended from the surroundings, enveloping the Dark Lightning Blood Demon and binding him in its grasp. “What is this?!” he exclaimed in panic as the Lightning Qi that had protected him began to dissipate.

“Lightning-Sealing Formation. A formation that suppresses Lightning Qi.”

“What? You bastard… you even know the Zhuge Clan’s formation arts…?”

“Why wouldn’t I? My master’s love for his disciple is truly dreadful…” Jin Cheon-hee wiped the blood from his mouth and raised his sword. “Inside this Lightning-Sealing Formation, your internal energy has been reduced to less than half a gapja, just as I predicted. As long as you maintain this state, it will continue to decrease. Dispel your Blood Explosion Art and surrender. If you do so now, you might survive.”

Before he could finish his sentence, the Dark Lightning Blood Demon began to laugh maniacally. “Keu… Keuhahahahaha!”

At the unhinged cry, Jin Cheon-hee fell silent.

“I thought you were a child, but you were a fully grown dragon! Hahahaha! Fine! This old one made a mistake this time. But do not think you can stop our sacred cult with this… Puheok…” The Dark Lightning Blood Demon vomited a spray of blood and staggered. The lightning energy that had flowed from his body was now gone. “Our sacred cult… will find you… I swear…” With those final words, he collapsed.

A great evil, who had murdered countless people in his life and would have murdered countless more, had fallen here.

Jin Cheon-hee watched with a bitter expression.

As an avid wuxia reader, he’d seen it many times—villains self-destructing, sacrificing their own lives to kill the enemy. Even the young Sama Hyeon had almost made that choice.

He knew it was a trope.

‘To choose suicide just to kill me…’

But from a physician’s perspective, he couldn’t help but feel a bitter taste.

‘I know it’s a difference in values, but still.’

He didn’t feel sorry for him. He knew exactly how this bastard had captured innocent civilians for human sacrifices.

“May you accumulate good deeds in your next life.”

Jin Cheon-hee said this, then turned away. He also confirmed that the other man, the one Hwang-gu had bitten, had died, caught in the backlash of the Dark Lightning Blood Demon‘s final attack.