"....Ha..haha....ahahahhaha!" Elder rock laughed out loudly, as a strong killing intent leaked from his body.
" I'm happy to see you again, Levi!" Elder rock said with a tender smile.
"..." Levi silently watched elder rock.
' Hey, hey, why did you reveal yourself?' The demon saint asked in a bored tone.
He wanted to find out if Levi did it for a reason, or if it was done on a whim.
"...A sneak attack wouldn't work him, so the only option I had was to reveal myself." Levi said softly.
" Even if I got close to him, and surprised him with an attack, the chances of me injuring or killing him would be very low....." Levi explained.
" Remember when I stabbed the heaven and earth stage cultivator from behind on desolate mountain?" Levi asked.
' Uh-huh?' the demon saint answered.
" That was only possible because he was focusing fully on me. On what was in front of him."
" The idea that I could somehow stab him from behind didn't even pass through his head."
" He thought that he would be able to kill me easily and let his guard down."
" You probably already know, but from what I have seen, defensive qi doesn't activate automatically."
" But when it comes to this guy, he always has his guard up....so killing him by surprise would be very difficult." Levi explained softly.
' Is that so? Hehehe...' The demon saint laughed curiously.
" On the other hand, if my sneak attack failed, he would have attacked me before I could properly defend myself..." Levi continued.
' Hehehe...' The demon saint laughed in response.
" I really missed you, you know!" Elder rock shouted, covering his eyes as if to hide tears.
" Knowing that you were still alive, I have been sleeping with one eye open, just in case!" He continued.
" Other people might have put you in the back of their minds, but not me! Forgetting about someone like you would be stupid..." he said, as his gaze landed on Levi.
"...That is why I am overwhelmed with joy now that you are here....Now, I can kill you....And don't even think about escaping this time." Elder rock's voice was overflowing with emotion until he reached the final sentence.
As he spoke the last sentence, his eyes became bright red, as a black qi forcefully poured from his body.
" See what I mean? The thought of sneak attacking him gives me the chills..." Levi mumbled.
'...' The demon saint grinned silently.
"...These things are strong against blunt force attacks, huh..." Levi mumbled softly, as he recalled the pieces of silk to his body.
" You stole the old man's cultivation technique, didn't you?" Levi asked.
" Stole? No, no, no, nothing of the sort!" Elder rock waved his hands in refutation.
" The dead have no belongings, do they?" He asked as he glared down provokingly at Levi.
"..." Levi's gaze chilled, as all 24 levels of blood energy exploded from his body.
" Hahaha, you have gotten stronger since the last time I saw you, but in front of an elephant, no matter how strong an ant, it will still be crushed all the same!" Elder rock shouted.
"..." Levi kept silent.
' Hehehe, what will you do? Explode in anger in reaction to his provocation? Or try to suppress your anger?' The demon saint thought silently, his grin widening.
" Haha, was that supposed to make me explode in anger?" Levi asked dryly.
" If you are trying to piss me off by talking shit about the old man, then don't. It is pointless." Levi shook his head lightly.
" Now if you are trying to piss me off by telling me how weak I am in comparison to you...hahaha!" Levi laughed loudly.
" I just came from killing a few heaven and earth stage cultivators, so I know that I AM getting stronger."
" The only thing I could say I am dissatisfied with, is the fact that their blood either evaporated or they turned into ash."
" So please, when I kill you, don't turn into ash." Levi said with a pleading gaze.
' Haw haw haw, he's a natural at provocation. Although what he said was true, who would believe it? Hehehe...' The demon saint commented.
"...Humph!" Elder rock looked down at Levi coldly, as he swiftly formed an anchor-like hook.
The hook shot towards Levi, but was intersected by Levi's blood energy sword shape.
Boom!
The two clashed, as a small shockwave rippled out.
After a few second clash, Levi's blood energy sword shape was pushed back, as the hook shot towards him.
"...Tch!" Levi clicked his tongue, as the saber appeared in his hand.
Clank! Crack!
He easily shattered the hook with his blood energy coated saber.
" I guess I should only do what I am used to doing..." Levi mumbled.
"...Just don't know when to die.." Elder rock spoke with annoyance.
"...You took the words out of my mouth!" Levi's cold gaze expressed his irritation.
"...alright...Alright....ALRIGHT!" An annoyed voice caused both Levi and elder rock to shift their gazes.
" Who is he- who are you?" The slim man asked elder rock as he pointed at Levi.
"..."
"..."
Both elder rock and Levi kept silent.
".....ha....Haha.....HAHAHAHAHA! I look funny, don't I? I LOOK LIKE A FUCKING JOKE DON'T I?!" The man shouted as a maelstrom of light-green qi erupted from his body.
" First! This fucking bastard kills my people in front of me while disregarding what I said!"
" And then, whoever this fucker is, comes out of nowhere, and blows up THE REST of my men, except for the one I was barely able to drag to safety!"
" So I have to know, I look hilarious, DON'T I?!" The man shouted with bloodshot eyes.
"..."
"..."
Elder rock and Levi still kept silent.
"..." The man's gaze shifted between the two of them.
" Ahahahahaha! ok, ok...." He paused.
".... I hope you made peace with your lives and asked for forgiveness, because while god might forgive, I fucking don't!" The man shouted, as two large sword lights shot towards elder rock and Levi respectively.
Booom!
The ground shook as debris flew.
The wooden platform was broken into multiple pieces, as a large dust cloud loomed.
Where Levi stood, only a large cloud of dust could be seen.
"..." The dust slowly cleared, revealing elder rock and the four girls floating safely just above the demolished platform.
"..." Elder rock's jaw was clenched tightly, veins bulging visibly on his forehead as he glared murderously at the man.
".....Why are you lashing out at me? He killed 10 times more of your men than me." Elder rock said while forcing down his anger.
" Humph! And now he is dead, which leaves only you! he got off easy, but I will make you suffer!" The man shouted, as his ink-black eyes locked onto elder rock.
" Him? Dead? From just that? Don't flatter yourself!" Elder rock sneered.
" Who are you trying to fool? This might not be enough to kill someone like you, but a weakling of his level would be killed instant-" Before he could finish, the rest of the word got stuck in his throat.
The dust around Levi slowly cleared, revealing his wounded figure.
He stood with his saber at an angle in front of him.
His left hand supported it from behind, coated with blood energy.
"....Hou?" Levi said softly, as the blood energy left both his arm and the saber.
A light gash went across his left forearm, while the blade of the saber was chipped deeply.
" Why do you people always destroy my robes?" Levi asked with irritation, as he looked down at his sleeve.
"...Ok, I will come and kill you when I am finished with this one." Veins bulged on the slim man's forehead, as his bloodshot eyes widened.
"....Do you know, boy?" The man asked.
"..." Levi kept silent, as the man walked step by step toward him.
" About that place?" He continued.
" About that treacherous land of martial arts?!" The man shouted.
" I obtained a few skills from that place....." He paused.
"....From that supercontinent, the Jade Sword Continent!"
"...!" Levi tensed slightly.
" And trust me when I say..." The man paused.
" ?!"
"....They are nothing like the shit skills you see on this cloud continent!" The man appeared in front of Levi, leaving a string of afterimages in his wake.
" Grim reaper sword!" He shouted as he slashed out.
Booom!!
In the blink of an eye, Levi was sent crashing through a building on the left side of the street.
The building couldn't withstand the force and collapsed in on itself.
"...This brat....he blocked it.." The man glared down at his blood-soaked sword as he mumbled.
"...Humph, I doubt that fool is dead, but in the meantime..." Elder rock mumbled as he turned around to face the four girls.
" Where do you think you're going?" The slim man asked coldly.
"..." Elder rock glared over his shoulder at the man, as he lowered himself and the girls out of the sky.
" You seem to think that you are what is keeping me here, but let me make something clear, that undying fucker over there is the only reason I am here!" Elder rock pointed to the collapsed building.
" I don't care who kills him, as long as he ends up dead! So if you are going to kill him, then do it quickly so that I can go home to my wife!" Elder rock said arrogantly.
" What makes you think that you will be able to leave?" The man's expression darkened.
" Because I know for a fact that you are easier to kill than him!" Elder rock shouted confidently.
" Yo- " The man was about to retort but was interrupted.
boom!
Everything from broken wooden beams to roof tiles flew, as debris exploded outward.
"..." Levi looked down at his right forearm.
' Fast....Extremely fast!' He thought silently.
' I wanted to block with the saber, but his attack was so fast that I was forced to shield myself with blood energy. And even with that, I still got this deep gash on my arm....' Levi thought silently.
' Another thing was its power....this guy doesn't look like a fleshly cultivator, so that leaves only one possibility...' Levi paused.
"....A skill!" He shouted.
"....That's right, it was a skill...." The man paused.
"...The problem is, you should be dead...." He finished.
" Dead? Hahaha, I can't die yet!"
" I haven't done any of the things that I promised myself I would do! So, of course, I'm not going to die." Levi grinned, as the blood flowing down his face seeped back into his body.
" Humph!" The man snorted.
"!"
Boom!
A multitude of after images lined the street, as the man once again sent Levi soaring.
He rolled on the street for a while before stopping.
"..hmm..."
Levi got up much faster this time.
'....He is doing something....what is it...' Levi thought silently, as he stretched his neck.
' Want this demon to tell you? Hehe.' The demon saint asked.
' Demon saint....' Levi mumbled softly.
'...If this crafty bastard could do anything, he would have done it already... I shouldn't worry too much about this. Let's just focus on what is before me right now...' Levi thought silently.
' What is he doing?' Levi asked.
' Qi control!' The demon saint shouted.
' Qi control?....' Levi thought back to when he practiced controlling his qi.
' He is using qi to control on his body, to a certain extent.' The demon saint said.
'...' Levi kept silent.
This just confused him even more.
" Tch, just die!" The man left behind after images, as he appeared beside Levi.
"....hmm?"
Boom!
"....So that is why!" Levi shouted.
He stood in place, as his wings shielded his neck from the man's sword.
" I felt the impact!" Levi shouted.
"....So what?" The man asked coldly.
" I don't know about this qi control, but.... I know the secret to the power behind those attacks." Levi said as he cast a sidelong glance at the man.
" Humph! Like hell you do! Grim reaper sword!" The man shouted.
" Blood gate!" Levi shouted, as the blood gate formed behind him.
Clank! Shatter!
" So I was right! You swing your sword twice, at a speed impossible to see!" Levi shouted with understanding.
"..." Veins bulged on the man's forehead, as he looked at the chip in his sword.
" When I blocked you with my wings just now, it was faint, but I felt the impact of your sword twice." Levi said calmly.
"...Thanks.." Levi dropped the hilt of his broken saber.
" So what if you know?! Did you think that you would be able to do it just after finding out how it works?!" The man shouted.
" I just did it. Oh, but it was a good thing I used the blood gate too, otherwise I might have been cut in half..." Levi mumbled to himself with almost sparkling eyes.
" I wouldn't have been able to do it with my body's physical strength alone, after all." Levi said.
".....Fine, then! keep mocking me!" The man shouted, as he held his sword with both hands and lifted it over his head.
" Grim Reaper's Sword: Heaven Cleaving Scythe!" The man shouted as he lowered his sword.
As it lowered, the sword left behind multiple after images.
" !" Levi was extremely alarmed.
The air around the man was in disarray, as stuff and small rocks were blasted away from his sides.
Vivivi!
A large, green sword-light lowered from the sky at an angle.
"!!" As Levi saw this, he instantly sprung into action.
His hands became black, as they doubled in length.
the blood gate behind him dissipated, as he channeled blood energy through his body.
Vivivivivi!
The sword light slammed down toward him, causing his body, from his knees up, to bend back.
He blocked with his wings as blood energy coursed through them, along with his hands which were strengthened with blood energy.
His wings were his first layer of defense, while his hands were the second layer and the leftover blood energy shielding his body was the third layer.
Boom!
" Kuh!!"
Even with all of that, he was slammed into the ground by the sword light.
" Haaaaaaa!"
He pushed back against the sword light with everything he had.
Crack!
" Haaaa!" His gaze shifted for a few seconds.
He quickly mended his broken bone and continued to push back against the sword light.
" Cough! I will not die!" Levi shouted, ignoring the blood that was spat onto his face, as his eyes shined resolutely.
" AHHHHHHHH!!" He shouted as he pushed against the sword light.
Light cracking sounds rang out as some of his ribs broke from the pressure of being forced into the ground by the sword light.
" aaaaaaAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Levi's voice became hoarse from shouting, but he still continued.
BOOOM!
" Huff!! Huff!! Huff!!" Levi lay on the ground breathing heavy after redirecting the sword light.
" Huff!! Huff!" He glanced down at his right arm which was now broken.
He then glanced beside himself, only to see a wide and deep crevasse.
" So...Huff!! This is what a skill is like!! Huff!! That old man from desolate mountain had to give up his life for this amount of power!! Huff!! haha!" Levi's body was in a state, but he laughed from the bottom of his heart.
" Cough! Heuk! Cough! Cough!" The man began coughing mouthful after mouthful of blood.
He was barely standing with the help of his sword.
" That technique is still too much for me...." He mumbled.
"....tsk, he's still alive....but I can't be worrying about that now...that bastard over there will definitely attack now that I have expended my strength..." The man mumbled to himself.
" Ugh...Hehe...." Levi groaned softly as he slowly got up from the ground.
He clenched his broken right arm, as he looked at the man with a smile.
The blood around his mouth seeped back into his body.
" Humph, I will let you smile for now...hypnotizing steps." The man said, as after-images followed his retreating figure.
Fwoosh! Boom!
With a flap of his wings, Levi arrived beside the man easily, leaving a small shockwave behind him.
Blood energy swiftly gathered at his back.
" You can't run after reducing me to this state!" Levi shouted as he kicked out.
Boom!
With his physical strength increased by the blood gate, and his wings that were boosted with blood energy, the man was sent crashing into a building.
The fingernails on his left hand grew out, as he slashed out, sending large wind blades embedded with blood energy towards the building.
This sped up its collapse.
Boom!
" Cough! Ugh...."
Bang!
The sound of something dropping heavily rang out.
As the dust cleared, the man's figure could be seen.
The rubble surrounded him, but it looked like only one wood beam had hit him.
" Huff! Huff!" He leaned against the only wall that was still standing, clutching his sword in one hand, and his broken leg in the other.
" Hehehe." Levi laughed as he walked toward the house.
" Are you afraid? Of death, I mean." Levi asked, as his grin widened.
" Are you going to beg for your life? That would be pointless." Levi said.
" Hahaha, the demon saint might be rubbing off on me, because I can't seem to stop laughing." Levi rubbed his temples, as he continued to walk.
".....Any last words?" Levi asked as he looked down at the man.
'... I only saved a bit of qi to escape, but I had to use it just now to protect myself from the collapsing building....' The man thought silently.
' Even with that though, my leg was broken by that wooden beam when my qi ran out....' He looked down at his leg.
'....There is no way for me to get away from here, not with this leg....that guy that I saved...his life is probably forfeit too...' The man thought calmly.
" Any last words...huh.." He mumbled as he squeezed his eyes shut.
".....Fuck you...you monster!" As he looked into those glowing golden eyes, and at the bloodthirsty grin plastered on Levi's face, these were the only words that came to his mind.
Puchi!
One of Levi's wings stabbed through the man, killing him instantly.
" I will make sure to carve that on your tombstone." Levi said, as the grin slowly disappeared from his face.
" Demon saint...." Levi called out.
' Hmm?' The demon saint answered.
" I....can't seem to smile.....if I am not in this kind of situation....what does that mean? Am i....some kind of monster?" Levi asked.
That line, " a demon hated by all" still haunted him.
He pushed it to the back of his mind multiple times and even convinced himself that it didn't matter, but he still couldn't get it out of his head.
'.....Hehehe, I can't answer that question. only you alone can answer that particular question, Hehehehehe....' The demon saint said.
"..." Levi stood in silence for a few seconds, before lightly shaking his head.
" There is still time....I can put off answering that question for a while more, I am not at that stage yet...." Levi mumbled.
The man's body shriveled, as Levi absorbed his blood with his wing.
Ba-dump!
" H-Huh?" Levi found himself in a dark place as his body pulsed.
In the center of this place, a small ball of light sat, with one leaf sticking out from it on a stem.
The ripples emanating from the ball of light increased, as an identical leaf slowly formed.
Along with the leaf, roots began growing under the ball of light.
Instead of growing straight down, these roots spread out wide, with some just below the surface of the water-like darkness.
" Did I just....absorb his skill along with his blood?" Levi mumbled.