"Aaah…"
A suppressed groan escaped from Jo Gul's lips. He wanted to shout in excitement or curse at the top of his lungs, but doing so would disturb the energy surrounding Baek Cheon. So, all he could do was silently groan.
'That damned bastard!'
However, the only part of his body that was free to move were his eyes, and they were trembling uncontrollably.
"Ch-Chung Myung!"
Baek Sang, who had been staring blankly at Chung Myung's back, suddenly stood up. His face was twisted with a mixture of relief and resentment.
"You… you bastard. You…"
Without realizing it, Baek Sang reached out and grabbed Chung Myung by the collar.
"Why… why only now… you bastard!"
He didn't know why. He should have been cheering and happy to see Chung Myung. But the moment he faced him, the feelings that surged in his heart were a confusing mix of sorrow and resentment.
The expressions of the Mount Hua swordsmen wavered slightly. They could somewhat understand Baek Sang's feelings, but his actions were excessive. Especially in such a tense situation, with the enemy right in front of them, it was certainly inappropriate.
However, Chung Myung didn't get angry at Baek Sang's excessive behavior. He simply turned his head and looked behind him.
Beyond the swordsmen of Mount Hua and Wudang, toward Baek Cheon and those surrounding him.
"..."
Chung Myung's gaze deepened. The chilling coldness in his eyes was enough to make the Wudang swordsmen unconsciously step back, even though they knew that his hostility wasn't directed at them.
"Chung Myung…"
"Step back, Sasuk."
Chung Myung placed a firm hand on Baek Sang's shoulder.
"..."
"For now."
His icy cold face slowly turned forward again.
"Let's deal with those bastards first."
Baek Sang's grip loosened. Only then did he realize what he had just done.
The enemy threatening Baek Cheon was still right in front of them. Yet he had acted disgracefully. And perhaps it wasn't even because of resentment toward Chung Myung but rather the overwhelming relief that had filled his mind the moment Chung Myung appeared.
Chung Myung swung his sword onto his shoulder and pointed his chin toward Blood Palace Lord.
"You seemed to have plenty to say earlier. Why so silent now?"
"..."
The bandaged face of the Blood Palace Lord twisted slightly. The bandages unraveled bit by bit between his hands, making his appearance even more eerie.
"You bastard…"
A sharp pain.
Fresh, hot blood trickled down over the dried, dark red blood. As the blood dripped from his chin to the ground, a fierce blue aura erupted from Blood Palace Lord's eyes.
"Hoo…"
Blood Palace Lord's tongue slowly licked the blood-soaked bandages. As the sickly taste of dried blood and the sharp tang of fresh blood hit his tongue, his entire body shuddered briefly.
"Mount Hua… Chivalrous Sword?"
His rough voice sounded like scraping against an old tree. But rather than becoming wary, Chung Myung only let out a faint, mocking laugh.
"These outsiders have been taking a lot of interest in The Central Plains lately. Even bothering to learn the nicknames of people they haven't even met."
"Hmph."
Blood Palace Lord's eyes turned a deep red.
"You're full of yourself."
His face was now filled with an intense murderous intent.
That previous strike had been impressive. Even if it was an unexpected attack, the fact that he had allowed a blow to his face was proof that the opponent's swordsmanship had reached an extraordinary level.
But that was all.
"You don't know your place. If you had stayed hidden, you might have kept your head."
*Crunch.*
Blood Palace Lord slowly began walking toward Chung Myung, his killing intent surging. The overwhelming aura spreading from him made even the Wudang swordsmen flinch. The phrase 'feeling suffocated' seemed to have been made for moments like this.
Different, yet not different.
The aura was distinctly different from the mountain-like presence of the Sun Sovereign they had faced before, but the dark, heavy energy emanating from Blood Palace Lord was, in some ways, even more terrifying.
But what scared them even more wasn't his aura.
'His face…'
In that moment, the disciples of Wudang saw it.
The face of Blood Palace Lord, whose hand had dropped, revealing his torn bandages and corpse-like, bluish face, was boiling and writhing as if it was alive.
"T-That…"
The wound inflicted by the sword.
A deep cut that exposed the bone was healing. The change was happening so quickly that it was visible to the naked eye.
'How is this possible?'
Is something like this really possible?
"Did you think that landing one lucky strike would change anything?"
The Wudang disciples' eyes widened in shock.
As Blood Palace Lord took a few more steps, the torn flesh on his face began to mend, and his skin quivered. The sight was so grotesque and incomprehensible that it evoked nausea and fear.
The martial arts of the outsiders were said to be different from those of The Central Plains, but could this even be considered martial arts?
'Incredible…'
Could it be?
It was hard enough to deal with his aura, but now, with a sorcery that allowed him to heal wounds instantly, how could even Mount Hua's greatest swordsman, Chung Myung, hope to defeat such a monster?
Unable to find the answer in Chung Myung's back, the Wudang swordsmen reflexively turned their gaze toward the disciples of Mount Hua. And then they were shocked.
'No way…'
There wasn't.
Not a single one of the many disciples of Mount Hua showed any sign of doubt on their faces.
They believed. Without wavering. No matter who the opponent was, no matter how formidable they were, they believed that no one existed whom Chung Myung couldn't defeat.
Seeing such unwavering faith, the Wudang disciples were the ones who were left speechless.
Could they have such faith? Even if the person in question was Heo Dojin or Heo Gong, could they show such perfect trust?
Which is it? Are they foolishly blind, or is Chung Myung truly someone deserving of such faith?
Now, it was time for Chung Myung to answer that question.
"Why are you so surprised?"
Blood Palace Lord sneered as he took another step toward Chung Myung.
"To our sect, this is just a natural thing. It might be unimaginable for you, who worship the insignificant martial arts of The Central Plains."
Chung Myung let out a short laugh at those words. But anyone who was looking directly at Chung Myung's face would never describe that as a laugh.
It was too cold and chilling to be called a laugh.
"You're just spouting nonsense."
Chung Myung's sword, which had been resting on his shoulder, slowly lowered.
*Click.*
The tip of Chung Myung's sword dragged along the ground, scratching it slowly. It was like a beast dragging its claws to intimidate its prey.
"Now you're using the word 'sect'?"
"What… did you just say?"
At that moment, Baek Sang saw it.
The expression on blood palace lord's face, which had remained calm and composed since his appearance, twisted into something indescribable.
"Literally. It seems they've decided to start calling themselves a church now, huh?"
"...What nonsense are you spouting?"
"I said it literally, you idiot."
Chung Myung bared his teeth in a smirk.
"I'm asking if you, who were too scared of the Heavenly Demon and the Demonic Cult to even dare call yourselves a church, and instead ran away under the pitiful name of a palace, have now mustered even a sliver of courage to use the name 'Blood Sect' again."
"How, how do you know..."
The face of the Blood Palace Lord twisted horribly.
"How dare you spout such insolence!"
"Or maybe..."
Chung Myung's voice dripped with mocking disdain.
"Do you only miserably call yourselves a church when they're not around? Which is it?"
"You...!"
A tremendous fury erupted on the face of the Blood Palace Lord.
No, it was something beyond simple anger. It was a mix of humiliation, rage, and countless other filthy emotions all roiling in the depths.
"I'll strangle you with your own intestines and kill you!"
Kwaaaaaaa!
A tremendous surge of dark energy erupted from the entire body of the Blood Palace Lord. It was beyond just ominous—it was a vile, black tide of blood energy that spread like ink, enveloping Chung Myung.
At the same time, the Blood Palace Lord charged toward Chung Myung with terrifying speed.
Paaat!
In that moment, Chung Myung's sword instantly flew toward the Blood Palace Lord, moving with a speed that even the word "swift" could not adequately describe, like a bolt of lightning.
Kwa-kak!
Chung Myung's sword, the Plum Blossom Sword, swiftly cut through the hand of the Blood Palace Lord. The hand, wrapped in bandages, was split open to the wrist in a single stroke.
"Useless! You fool!"
Blood surged in the eyes of the Blood Palace Lord.
His hand, exposed through the torn bandages, was covered in countless scars, each telling the story of his martial arts Lordy.
Paaat!
The Blood Palace Lord's hand descended with the intent to split Chung Myung's head open.
Just as Chung Myung took a step back to avoid the blow, the blood pouring from the Blood Palace Lord's wound wriggled as if alive and started to envelop Chung Myung's entire body.
"Die!"
There was no escape.
The Blood Palace Lord was certain. At this distance, his attack would never miss. He would crush this arrogant brat, tear open his belly, and pull out his intestines, just as he had said. Then he would strangle him with them and watch his face as he died.
Just as he was about to give in to the base pleasure of murderous intent, something caught the Blood Palace Lord's eye.
It was the sight of Chung Myung's mouth, barely visible under the blood that covered him, twisting into a strange smile.
Kwaang!
The blood that had covered Chung Myung's entire body suddenly burst outwards in all directions.
'What?'
Kwa-deuk!
At the same time, Chung Myung's Plum Blossom Sword shot out like lightning, piercing the Blood Palace Lord's shoulder. Chung Myung's foot then kicked the Blood Palace Lord's abdomen, sending him flying back several meters, where he hit the ground.
"Huff…"
He couldn't understand.
Why had he been pushed back? What had happened during their exchange just now?
Throb!
The only thing he could comprehend was the pain radiating from the wound in his shoulder.
"Ha… ha…"
But instead of becoming enraged, the Blood Palace Lord began to laugh mockingly.
"I told you... it's useless..."
At that moment—
"Kuk!"
The Blood Palace Lord's eyes widened in disbelief as he turned his head to look at his pierced shoulder. He quickly grabbed at the gaping wound in his shoulder.
"Krrrr… Krrraaaagh!"
He screamed in agony, his body convulsing.
"Wha-what is this... what is... ugh... ughhh!"
His shoulder, which should have already begun to heal, wasn't recovering. Instead, the wound was worsening, and the indescribable pain was intensifying.
"Krr... ugh…"
"It seems those foolish predecessors of yours didn't teach you properly. Or perhaps they couldn't pass it on because they got their heads cut off and died?"
Chung Myung looked down at the Blood Palace Lord, his eyes heavy and cold as he spoke.
"Let me teach you in their stead. Remember this well. You don't pick fights with Taoists who can wield Immortal Qi. Especially not someone like you who uses such filthy techniques."
Ka-kak.
At the tip of Chung Myung's sword, which scraped the ground, a clear and pure energy began to coalesce.
Seeing this, the Blood Palace Lord's already pale face turned an ashen gray.