Chapter 46
Despite this, Lee Sung-joon's face shows no sign of disturbance as he forcibly pushes the violent blood energy imbued with Asura's power into his heart and constrains it.
If he hadn't been confident of success from the start, he wouldn't have even attempted it in an unprepared state.
'I've done this countless times before.'
There was no reason to think about failure.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
The sound of his heart pounding fills his ears, struggling to expel the blood energy that has filled it.
Following this, unbearable pain surges relentlessly from his heart, which feels like it might burst at any moment. However, he must not let fear take over and allow the blood energy to be expelled.
To control it more perfectly, he needs to wrap the heart with the blood energy that has settled there now, and tame it decisively by making it settle in.
Thump! Thump!
'Kuugh...!'
Lee Sung-joon suppresses the scream that's about to escape him.
He then spreads the blood energy settled in his heart throughout his body.
The heart, losing its usual pattern, begins to palpitate, continuously resisting and rejecting the blood energy seeping in.
Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump!
Just as the sound of his heartbeat seems to echo in his mind and his consciousness is about to fade,
'Now...!'
Lee Sung-joon quickly expels the forcibly constrained blood energy into his blood vessels and takes another deep breath.
This task was inherently difficult, as even a moment's delay could lead to immediate death.
It wasn't for nothing that there were so few supreme masters in the Blood Sect.
If one couldn't skillfully handle blood energy like this, they couldn't even attempt it.
It was a tense battle of nerves, with one's own life at stake.
If one stopped out of fear of death, they could never overcome this barrier.
However, if one pushed too boldly, their heart would stop, leading to a terrible death.
One had to take careful steps, as if walking on thin ice.
"Heuup..."
Having regained some stability, Lee Sung-joon inhales through his nose and once again fills his heart with blood energy.
His heart, which had found momentary peace, swells and palpitates again.
Immediately after, he spreads the blood energy throughout his heart once more.
Thump! Thump!
His heart rapidly repeats contraction and relaxation.
And so, once, twice, ten times, twenty times, a hundred times, a thousand times...
Counting the repetitions becomes meaningless.
As he continues to repeat this process in what feels like an eternity,
Thump-!
Along with a strong heartbeat, he senses that the carefully spread blood energy has settled throughout his heart.
'Now halfway there.'
He's ready to seriously battle with his heart for control.
Indeed, the blood energy that had been continuously rotating now slowly gathers towards the heart, seemingly building a siege and slowly approaching.
Thump. Thump.
As the blood energy that had surrounded the vicinity slowly closes in, it finally reaches the heart.
As if it had been waiting, the blood energy burrows deep into the cells, encroaching.
Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumpthump!
The heart, sensing the threat, palpitates violently, trying to resist.
However, the blood energy that had already seeped into every part of the heart and was lying in wait wasn't about to just watch.
As if it had been waiting, the blood energy rises and quickly takes control of the heart.
It's not just about taking control. It needs to completely subjugate the heart without any side effects, making it a nest for blood energy.
As this isn't an easy task, normally one would have to repeat this process endlessly, just like when first injecting blood energy into the heart.
In fact, when first reaching the supreme realm, he had maintained circulation for three days and nights.
But now it's different. He has the experience and memories of being revered as the Blood Demon and even as an Evil God.
Therefore, he could confidently assert that he could perfectly control his heart and fulfill the essential requirement to become a supreme master with just one attempt.
Indeed, his skilled technique and solid physique control and harmonize the blood energy and mind trying to settle in the heart.
Eventually, as the blood energy begins to coil and settle in the heart, control of the heart naturally passes to him.
Now, no matter how much it's pushed to the limit, as long as Lee Sung-joon, who has control, wills it, it no longer resists.
However, it's still too early to celebrate.
'I'll finish it.'
If one becomes complacent just because they've gained control, the heart that has lost its autonomy might suddenly stop, leading to a terrible death.
Therefore, while maintaining control, one must clearly command and imprint on the heart to beat naturally.
'Minimize the heartbeat, send large amounts of blood at once.'
The moment he gives the command.
Thump-! Thump-!
The heart slowly begins to beat, fully obeying Lee Sung-joon's will.
Finally, the long battle has ended.
"Phew..."
The moment he exhales once, he feels a large amount of blood energy spreading throughout his body due to his violently palpitating heart.
A bright smile naturally forms on Lee Sung-joon's lips as he opens his eyes.
"I did it."
The moment he lets out a joyful exclamation, a familiar green hologram window appears before his eyes.
Ding-!
[Blood Demon Asura Divine Technique (Sutra) has reached 5 stars and evolved to SS+ rank.]
[A new change occurs in your body.]
[The Middle Dantian has been opened!]
[All stats (Strength, Agility, Vitality, Blood Energy) increase by 7.]
[The absorption rate of ambient energy greatly increases, and your Blood Energy stat will periodically increase!]
A smile forms on Lee Sung-joon's lips as he confirms the message window that has appeared before his eyes.
"Excellent."
By successfully growing the Blood Demon Asura Divine Technique as he had aimed to do, his Middle Dantian naturally opened.
It means his realm has ascended.
'...I've reached the supreme realm.'
He has become a martial artist who would be called a master even within the Thousand Continent.
Naturally, the growth from this was also tremendous.
Due to the changes in his body, all stats increased by 7, his muscles and skin became even firmer and tougher, and his senses expanded much further.
Moreover, the amount of blood energy, which had always felt thirsty, was somewhat replenished.
This alone could be considered a satisfactory achievement, but the gains from this growth weren't just limited to stat increases.
'I can overlay materialized blood energy one more time.'
From once to twice, it might seem like just a single number increase, but compared to the blood energy he handled as a first-class martial artist, the cutting power and durability were as different as heaven and earth.
'The power of the martial arts I perform will be completely different.'
In fact, now he could subdue C-rank monsters like Blue Tigers just by firing projectile techniques like Blood Flower Wild Dance.
Moreover, the speed is also overwhelmingly faster.
Previously, blood energy would surge after he thought about it.
Now, the moment his thought reaches, red blood energy immediately rises from his hand like a heat haze.
This was a natural result.
Energy spreading from the heart, which could be called the center of the body, was bound to be faster than moving from the dantian located in the lower abdomen.
This means that the destructive power, speed, and efficiency of the blood energy he can handle have clearly changed.
Combined with the previous stat increases, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that his combat power itself has entered a completely different league.
He has achieved truly tremendous growth.
However, the greatest advantage gained from this growth wasn't the basic physical abilities mentioned earlier or the enhancement of existing abilities.
'...Finally, I can perform the Blood Demon's martial arts.'
He can now handle the power from that time when he was called the strongest Blood Demon during the War of Orthodoxy and Heresy.
Naturally, the Blood Demon's martial arts had power on a different dimension compared to the martial arts he had used before.
This meant that all preparations to take first place in the Raid Gate were complete.
* * *
Perhaps because he was participating under the name of 'White Tiger', one of the top 5 guilds?
From pickup service during travel, to schedule management, appearance maintenance, and custom attire, White Tiger Guild provided full support.
There were some annoying parts in between, but since they were being considerate and showing sincerity, he didn't refuse.
And fortunately, it could be said that the results were not bad.
"Among the people I've styled, this is really one of the best results!"
"..."
Lee Sung-joon turns his head to look in the mirror at the hairdresser's words.
The saying that a man's hair makes a big difference wasn't just empty words.
Due to the just-right two-block haircut, his high nose bridge and large eyes, which were hidden behind his hair, are clearly revealed.
His somewhat stuffy-looking face has completely disappeared, replaced by a bright and clear impression, so it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that his image itself has greatly changed.
Of course, if it was just the hairstyle alone, he wouldn't have felt such a big change.
'...Clothes are important indeed.'
Thanks to wearing a black suit and white shirt instead of his usual tracksuit, his masculinity seemed to be even more emphasized.
Moreover, they seemed to have paid a lot of attention when fitting the suit, as there was no noticeable restriction in movement.
It meant they had caught both rabbits of style and practicality.
'Not bad.'
A satisfied smile forms on Lee Sung-joon's lips.
"Thank you, good work."
After finishing his greeting with a nod, Lee Sung-joon leaves the hair salon, and a White Tiger Guild member waiting outside immediately opens the car door.
"I'll escort you."
Although it was a completely different situation from when he usually went hunting in gates, since these were things that had been coordinated in advance with White Tiger Guild through messages last night, Lee Sung-joon got into the vehicle without much concern.
Vroom.
The black luxury sedan, emitting a smooth exhaust sound, begins to run on the road.
After about 10 minutes, the vehicle stops and the White Tiger Guild member sitting in the driver's seat carefully opens his mouth.
"We've arrived."
Thanks to his sharpened senses from reaching the supreme realm, he can somewhat picture the outside scenery even from inside the vehicle.
'There are more people than I thought.'
Is it because it's an arena of competition for the top 5 guilds and a battle of rookies that can determine future value?
Despite being near the entrance of the Raid Gate, he could sense the presence of many people in the vicinity.
Tap.
The moment Lee Sung-joon gets out of the vehicle, he accurately realizes what the numerous presences he just sensed were.
Click. Click.
Reporters begin to shower him with flashes incessantly.
It felt like he had become a celebrity that he had only seen through TV or smartphones.
'Well, it wouldn't be wrong to call me a celebrity.'
In a world where humanity's land is constantly threatened by monsters, Hunters with strong powers were as popular as celebrities.
In fact, the departure ceremonies of famous guilds or events held by some famous Hunters were even more sensational than those of celebrities.
However, since it was his first time experiencing it directly, it was inevitably a somewhat confusing situation, but White Tiger Guild wouldn't have left Lee Sung-joon unprepared without any countermeasures.
"I'm Hwang Sung-wook, the head of HR Team 2 at White Tiger Guild. It's an honor to meet you in person."
Hwang Sung-wook, the head of HR Team 2 at White Tiger Guild who was waiting at the entrance of the vehicle, immediately speaks to him.
"Nice to meet you."
"I'm sure you're feeling pressured by all the cameras around, so I'll quickly escort you to the waiting room first."