Ouyang Do stared at the black mass that was pushing its body up.

He fixed his gaze on that never-to-be-forgotten qi pouring out of the lump.

The blood-qi that had taken one of Gyeongcheon’s arms and driven him himself to the brink of death.

Blood Demon.

Elder. That man was once Mount Hua’s elder, Plum Blossom Divine Sword.

At Sect Leader Nok Woon’s Voice Transmission, Ouyang Do’s brows twisted.

This thing?

This was Plum Blossom Divine Sword?

Ouyang Do knew Nomon.

The arrogant brat he had met long ago on the rivers and lakes.

But for all his arrogance, his swordsmanship had been outstanding, and his attitude as a martial artist had been earnest, so Ouyang Do had never found the younger man of the martial world particularly hateful.

They said that kid had been a spy planted by Great Blood Cult.

Even when he had heard that story, it had been hard to believe.

Just what was this appearance supposed to be?

This form that was neither human nor demonic beast.

Master...!

“...!”

Beyond the scattered martial artists, Ouyang Do instantly found Yu Gang, leaning his body against a tree.

At the sight of his disciple, a wreck at a single glance, Ouyang Do’s brow knit faintly and crumpled.

That man targeted your martial power, Master. Please, be careful...!

You...

He had been about to ask what kind of state that was supposed to be, but Ouyang Do swallowed the words.

There was no need to ask to know.

Because Yu Gang was the kind of brat who would readily stake his life for his lacking master, simply because he was his master.

RRRRRRRUMBLE....

The sunlight-type martial power around Ouyang Do surged out even more violently.

“I don’t care what you are.”

RRRRRRRUMBLE....

O Blood Lord likewise let his qi ripple as he lifted his gaze toward Nomon.

But even though his qi was clearly fiercer than just before, in front of Ouyang Do’s qi it seemed endlessly small.

“You dared to lay a hand on someone else’s precious disciple, so you’ll have to take responsibility.”

SHIIING—

Ouyang Do drew his saber.

The tip of the massive greatsaber pointed toward O Blood Lord.

“Your life won’t be enough to pay that price.”

WHOOOOOOOM....

The sunlight qi and the dark-red qi faced each other like two colossal beasts baring their fangs.

Just by emitting qi, the air around them was being sucked into the space between the two.

Sect Leader Nok Woon of Mount Hua Sect urgently shouted for Mount Hua’s martial artists to fall back, and the area grew noisy with the commotion.

But around the two of them, a quiet stillness of silence lay.

For a moment, the two men faced off in a dense, taut standoff.

Ouyang Do Exclusive Saber Art.

Ouyang Do Canon, Second Formula — Sun-Saber Annihilating Flash.

KWA-A-A-A-ANG!!

Ouyang Do’s greatsaber poured down toward O Blood Lord with a momentum that seemed about to cleave the world in two.

At that same instant, O Blood Lord’s sword also moved.

The sword-path his blade traced was Mount Hua’s sword.

A sword-probing move of the Seven-Plum Sword.

KWA-A-A-A-A-ANG—

But what bloomed from his sword was not plum blossoms, but a blood-curdling scream.

A flower of death that thirsted for blood.

KWA-GWA-GWA-GWA-GWANG!!!

The two qi streams tangled together and began to shake heaven and earth.

KWA-GWANG! KWA-GANG!

Each time saber and sword clashed, the ground shuddered and black clouds rolled in.

Get back! Quickly! Gang! Yu Gang!!

Run!! You’ll be swept up in it! Get away!!

From the sheer collision of the massive qi that felt as if it would rip their flesh just by being near it, the Mount Hua martial artists who had been facing Nomon hastily fled down the mountain.

Yu Pyo also tried to get Yu Gang, who could not move easily, and escape from the spot.

KWAANG-!

“!”

O Blood Lord’s qi cut across in front of the two of them. Yu Pyo turned startled eyes back toward O Blood Lord.

At first he thought it was just a coincidence, but he soon realized it was real.

O Blood Lord was preventing Yu Gang from leaving this place.

However.

“Where do you think you’re going!”

FWOOOOSH—

Ouyang Do swung his greatsaber at O Blood Lord, who was threatening Yu Gang while leaving him.

BANG— KWA-GWA-GWANG! KWA-GA-GA-GA-GANG!

In an instant, saber and sword exchanged hundreds of blows.

It was power on a scale that no mere human could possibly produce.

For a brief moment they simply stared blankly at that unreal clash of two powers.

“...!”

Yu Pyo hastily came to his senses and once again supported Yu Gang.

While Ouyang Do was holding off O Blood Lord, the two of them safely descended the mountain.

After he confirmed that the traces of the remaining martial artists had retreated far enough not to be swept up in the exchange, Ouyang Do drew up his qi even further.

His eyes flashed with golden light.

KWA-A-A-A-A-ANG—

Ouyang Do Exclusive Saber Art.

Splendid-Sun Saber Canon.

Brilliant sunlight whipped into a frenzy.

Mount Hua Sect Sword Art.

Falling-Flower Sword.

A rain of blood-colored plum blossoms poured down.

BANG— KWA-GWA-GANG— KA-GANG-!

Ouyang Do’s saber and O Blood Lord’s sword poured toward each other without yielding even an inch.

But there was no way the gap could be the same between someone unstable, pouring out qi without control, and a Heaven-Beyond-Heaven expert who had only just finished recovering.

The longer the exchange dragged on, the more stark that difference became.

And at last—

SHRRRRIP-!

The saber-qi of Ouyang Do’s blade suddenly curved right before O Blood Lord’s eyes and slashed his left shoulder.

Blood sprayed, and O Blood Lord’s body tilted.

It’s over.

Ouyang Do was certain of his victory.

With a saber-strike deep enough that bone showed, there was no way he would be able to use that arm any longer—

That was when it happened.

“!”

Right before Nomon’s eyes, something horrifying took place.

The gaping wound suddenly slid, knitting together, and then began to heal in an instant.

“What...!”

At that shocking sight, Ouyang Do could not help but freeze where he stood.

The qi and the form already made it hard to think of him as human, but to have recovery ability that transcended even the limits of humanity—

Was such a thing even possible?

But the shock did not end there.

KWA-A-A-A-A!!

Along with the healing of the sword-wound, the qi O Blood Lord was unleashing grew fiercer than before.

As if in the meantime he had piled up martial power.

It was hard to believe that he was pouring out such a dense and enormous amount of qi when he had already been spewing it out like a waterfall.

....

In that moment, Ouyang Do felt the fuzz of the hair on his body stand on end.

He remembered this kind of opponent.

Qi that grew ever fiercer and stronger the more the fight continued.

Recovery that only became faster the more he was wounded.

“You... you’re the Blood Demon.”

At that moment, O Blood Lord’s red lips twisted into a wide grin.

Buried within the surging dark-red qi that rose like a blaze, that thing finally bared its fangs.

Even without hearing an answer, he could tell.

One thing.

Just how...?

Ever since he had felt the Blood Demon’s qi from Nomon, he had thought it strange.

But he had never ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) imagined that the thing slowly eroding Nomon’s body would turn out to be the Blood Demon himself.

A spell? Hypnosis? Control Poison?

He could not know the method.

But what was certain was that the current owner of that body was the Blood Demon.

“I have been looking forward to meeting you again.”

Ouyang Do lifted his saber horizontally.

His blade hummed in a fine vibration.

“Now that I know you are the Blood Demon, you absolutely must die here.”

The saber’s resonance traveled up Ouyang Do’s arm, then into his body, then his legs, slowly spreading through his entire frame.

As sunlight-type martial power radiated out, golden qi swirled around his saber and his body.

It was proof that he had drawn his martial power up to the extreme.

Ouyang Do stared at O Blood Lord with a slicing gaze and moved his saber.

Ouyang Do Exclusive Saber Art.

Ouyang Do Canon, Ultimate Secret — Heaven-Pond Descent.

WHOOSH—

For an instant, as if the time of the world had stopped, everything around the two of them froze.

Time, space, sound, even the air.

A fleeting halt that felt as though it would stretch on forever passed.

PWEEEEEEN-!

The cleaving strike Ouyang Do swung flew toward O Blood Lord as if a beam of light had been fired.

It was a blow into which Ouyang Do had poured his entire being, one that even the Blood Demon’s true body would not easily be able to block.

But just before that strike could reach O Blood Lord—

TIK—

Those red lips curved in an arc.

Ouyang Do’s eyes slowly widened at that chilling smile.

“You...!!”

The red lips moved slowly.

[Too late.]

And then that tearing grin again.

“!”

In that moment, Ouyang Do felt a stab of realization.

The bastard had never been targeting him from the beginning, nor had he been targeting Mount Hua.

The target he had been striking at all this time—

Gang.

WHOOSH—

O Blood Lord’s body vanished from before his eyes in an instant.

It was not that Ouyang Do’s strike had gone wide.

His blow had cut away half of O Blood Lord’s body, but at that same instant, O Blood Lord had moved.

Because the blow had been deflected off-course, it had failed to cleave O Blood Lord’s body cleanly in two.

O Blood Lord, taking the strike, restored his body as he sprang away.

TAP-!

Ouyang Do likewise reflexively chased after him.

SHWIIIIIP—

A razor-sharp wind tore past his ears.

Without taking his eyes off the fleeing O Blood Lord ahead of him, Ouyang Do swung his saber once more.

Ouyang Do Canon, Ultimate Secret — Heaven-Pond Descent!

PWEEEEEEN—

This time, Ouyang Do’s cleaving strike flew toward O Blood Lord’s legs.

And at that same moment, Yu Gang and Yu Pyo came into view in the distance.

“Gang!!”

Yu Gang and Yu Pyo turned back at the same time.

“Get down!!!”

****

“I’m sorry, Senior. Because of me....”

“If you’ve got the strength to say that, use it to take one more step. Do you know what kind of chance Elder Ouyang Do carved out for us? We need to run for our lives.”

Yu Pyo’s face twisted in a grimace.

“That lunatic. I knew his head had gone bad seven years ago, but to actually choose to become a monster himself. That bastard is the disgrace of Mount Hua.”

At his unvarnished words, Yu Gang turned startled eyes toward Yu Pyo.

Yu Pyo gave Yu Gang a sidelong glance and spoke curtly.

“What. Does it make you feel bad to hear me curse him, since he was still your master?”

Yu Gang let out a baffled laugh.

“How could that be.... I have only one master, Elder Ouyang Do.”

“Right. Good thinking. What could you possibly learn from someone like that? He’s not even worth pitying.”

At Yu Pyo’s words, Yu Gang couldn’t hold back and let out a soft, stifled laugh.

Right. Senior Yu Pyo has always been like this.

All at once, memories of childhood bubbled up and brought a smile to his face.

“Let’s hurry. He’ll chase us down and scold us for badmouthing him.”

“Yes.”

They spoke that way, but the two of them were desperately putting distance between themselves and the place where O Blood Lord and Ouyang Do were fighting.

Just when they thought they had run to a place where neither side’s qi could reach—

SWEEEEEEESH—

Some unknown qi rushed toward the two of them at tremendous speed.

“Gang!!”

The moment he felt that qi and turned back, Ouyang Do’s urgent shout reached them.

In Yu Gang’s eyes, a dark qi and a red arm, rapidly closing in, came into view.

Just as that red arm was about to seize Yu Gang’s face—

TUK—

Yu Gang shoved Yu Pyo away.