Chapter 156
“H-hey. Pinch my cheek. I must be dreaming.”
“Did we really call a Master like that a Scholar Bastard?”
“M-my neck is still attached, thank goodness.”
The Peng Family warriors stared at Yeo Un-hwi, who stood some distance away, unable to close their mouths.
But among them,
“Ha, hahahaha... hahahaha!”
No Il-bong, who had occasionally taught Yeo Un-hwi the Peng Family's Martial Arts, was laughing with a half-crazed expression.
His past self, who had lectured Yeo Un-hwi about what Martial Arts were and how Internal Qi functioned, felt so ashamed that he wanted to crawl into a mouse hole, especially when Yeo Un-hwi was now effortlessly overwhelming these powerful Masters renowned throughout the Murim.
He had even told Yeo Un-hwi that it was too late to start at his age, so he shouldn't train with high expectations but rather calmly and comfortably accept his own limitations.
Thus, every member of the Peng Family was utterly astonished.
The Family Heads of the Five Great Families were no different.
“How could he have reached such a realm at such a young age?”
“Astonishing” didn't even begin to cover it.
Yeo Un-hwi hadn't even used any special Martial Art Techniques yet.
He was simply overwhelming them with basic movements and attacks.
Martial Prowess is truly befitting the term Divine Might.
Even the Demonic Cultists, already incapacitated by Yeo Un-hwi's Striking Kill Finger, were pale-faced and utterly silent.
“Incredible, truly incredible.”
Not only had he so easily defeated the Ten Great Demon Stars, each of whom could rival him, but he was also completely overwhelming the Former Demonic Cult Leader, who, though now insane, had once held a seat among the Twelve Venerables.
And this was being done by a man known as the mere Commander of the White Wolf Unit, the Son-in-law of the Peng Family, who was supposedly ignorant of Martial Arts.
They desperately wanted to ask Peng Mugang what in the world was happening.
“Huh...”
but seeing Peng Mugang's jaw-dropping astonishment, which seemed even greater than their own, made that desire vanish completely.
It was clear that he, too, had no idea.
No, could this even be real?
But then,
“Not yet, not yet.”
Tang Jinwoo muttered with an uneasy gaze.
Hwangbo Gyun asked, as if wondering what he meant.
“What do you mean?”
“We can't relax yet. Even if that fellow is overwhelming them right now, that Monster will surely pull out some absurd trick.”
Why else would he be called a monster?
Humans, by nature, don't unleash power to the point of irreversible damage to their own bodies.
But a Monster who has lost his reason is different.
He will undoubtedly disregard his own body and attempt some unimaginable move.
And sure enough.
*Clang. Clang. Clang.*
Gwak Un-do rang a bell frantically, his face pale.
He had never imagined such a situation.
The Ten Great Demon Stars would be so easily annihilated.
What bewildered him even more was that the Monster, despite giving his all, was being helplessly beaten.
This was not good. This was truly...
At this rate, before they could even deal with the Five Great Families or the Peng Family, they would have to worry about their own survival.
“Get up! Get up! Break the Taboo and defeat him now!”
In his desperation, Gwak Un-do issued a command that should never have been given to the Monster.
*Whoosh.*
The Taboo.
At those words, the Monster's body began to writhe.
His body turned completely red as if burning hot; then, small black spots appeared all over him.
“*Kuoohhhhhhh!*”
The surrounding air vibrated violently.
The Monster began to use all his power. No, more than that—power that would cause his own body to collapse.
The veins bulged all over his body as if they would burst.
But his power grew even mightier. No, “mightier” didn't seem to be enough to describe it.
It was only natural.
For it was a power that even the body of one once called one of the Twelve Venerables could not withstand.
The Monster stretched his arms out to his sides, his eyes glowing red.
Great Super Blood Serpent
Soon, an overwhelmingly massive red serpent, on a completely different scale than before, uncoiled and raised its head behind the Monster.
It was large enough to be called a dragon.
*Hiss, hiss, hiss.*
“Ah. Ah...”
The faces of all who witnessed it turned pale.
People trembled at the Demonic Energy emanating from the red serpent.
But
*Swoosh.*
As Yeo Un-hwi waved his hand, severing the Demonic Energy that was heading towards the people, those trembling in fear quickly calmed down.
Yeo Un-hwi looked at the giant serpent staring at him and subtly curled the corner of his lips.
“You're putting on quite a show. Good. Then I'll show you something interesting too.”
*What is he thinking?*
Yeo Un-hwi sheathed his Blade slowly.
Then, after taking a short, deep breath, he slowly closed his eyes.
He intended to use a power he hadn't used until then.
The moment Yeo Un-hwi opened his eyes again,
“L-look there!”
The clouds in the sky above split wide open, and something slowly descended through the gap.
It was the form of a sword, enveloped in brilliant golden light.
As Yeo Un-hwi reached out and grasped the Sword, his entire body began to glow with golden light.
As if his very existence had become the sun.
“*Kuaaaah!*”
Sensing an ominous presence from that sight, the Monster let out a monstrous roar and unleashed all his power.
*Kieeeeeeek!*
Its Aura/Energy lunged fiercely towards Yeo Un-hwi, the red serpent twisting its body and soaring high into the sky.
As if to devour everything in the world.
Death loomed wherever the serpent passed.
At this rate, not just the Peng Family, but everyone present seemed destined to be swallowed by the serpent's maw.
*At that moment,*
“I shall cut down all evil that exists in this world.”
Facing the colossal Evil rushing towards him, Yeo Un-hwi quietly spoke.
Then he swung the sword-shaped form he held in his hand.
At a speed that was neither fast nor slow.
*Whoosh.*
The golden Aura/Energy, shaped like a Sword, drew a single line across the world.
It was the Good that annihilated Demonic Force.
Mind Sword
The supreme realm known as Formless Sword, or Mind is Kill, had just unfolded in Yeo Un-hwi's hands.
Instantly, the world was filled with golden light.
*Whoooosh!*
Before that light,
*Kieeeeeeeek...!*
The colossal serpent, which had charged as if to destroy everything in its path, vanished without a trace.
“*Kuaaaaaaaah!*”
Simultaneously, the Monster—no, the Former Demonic Cult Leader, Gwak Cheon-gang, the Pajeon Suraje, who had briefly regained his sanity in his final moments—also met his death without leaving any trace.
*Crumble.*
The bell Gwak Un-do was holding also completely crumbled, as if it had served its purpose.
A perfect silence descended upon the battlefield.
Faced with such an overwhelmingly powerful sight, everyone, allies and enemies alike, was speechless.
It was a shock incomparable to anything before.
It felt as if all the common sense they had known and the entire world had been turned upside down; they had truly witnessed the pinnacle of Martial Prowess.
What more could be said?
It went beyond astonishment, reaching a point of reverence.
But that reverence soon turned into extreme terror for the surviving Demonic Cultists.
*Thump-thump.*
While everyone held their breath, Yeo Un-hwi approached Gwak Un-do, the Third Young Master, who had been controlling the Monster.
“Ah, ah.”
Gwak Un-do's eyes trembled with extreme fear.
He's a Monster, an absurd Monster.
Gwak Un-do trembled all over.
He prided himself on having witnessed all sorts of horrific sights in his life, but this was a first.
Soon, as Gwak Un-do faced Yeo Un-hwi, Yeo Un-hwi appeared as a colossal Golden Dragon in Gwak Un-do's eyes.
And the eyes of that giant Dragon were fixed on him.
This was not a being one could simply decide to defeat or not.
But he couldn't just die so meaninglessly.
If he could somehow use his identity, he might survive.
He opened his mouth, pouring all his strength into his words.
“I-I am the Third Young Master of the Demonic Heavenly Cult. I am to become the Young Cult Master soon. So if you kill me, the entire Demonic Heavenly Cult will not stand by...”
But,
*Slice.*
He couldn't finish his sentence.
His head fell to the ground.
“Nonsense. You were the ones who started it.”
Just then,
*Thwack!*
The Red Demon, who still had a breath left, attempted to flee.
He instinctively turned to escape, trying to save his life.
But,
“I never permitted that.”
With Yeo Un-hwi's chilling words.
Yeo Un-hwi's blade flashed.
“*Cough...*”
The Red Demon's body collapsed to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
Excluding the regular Demonic Cultists, only Demon Chaser, one of the Ten Great Demon Stars, remained alive.
“Ugh...”
His body trembled uncontrollably.
He was rolling his eyes with all his might.
He wanted to survive, no matter what.
But just moments ago, he had clearly seen with his own eyes that neither fighting, nor fleeing, nor even attempting negotiations would work.
So how... Ah!
He suddenly remembered the Guardian Mirror he had kept hidden in his robes.
Immediately, Demon Chaser pulled out the Guardian Mirror.
But the problem was that he didn't yet know how to activate it.
Simply taking it out didn't seem to activate the protective Formation/Array.
*Meanwhile, Yeo Un-hwi's face twitched when he saw Demon Chaser holding the Guardian Mirror.*
“Why are you holding that?”
But Demon Chaser didn't answer Yeo Un-hwi's question, instead screaming desperately in his mind.
*Please! Please! Please! Pleease!*
Then, the sound burst from his lips.
“Please!”
At that, the Guardian Mirror began to glow.
Demon Chaser knew.
The Formation/Array had begun to activate.
“It's done!”
But the light emanating from the Guardian Mirror quickly faded.
“H-how?”
“The Guardian Mirror only activates if its owner is alive.”
“What?”
That meant,
“*Gasp...*”
Suddenly, his vision felt strange.
The world flipped, and then Demon Chaser saw his own body from beyond.
Only then did he realize.
He was already dead.
Thud.
Immediately, Demon Chaser's headless body collapsed to the ground.
Thus, four of the Demonic Cult's proud Ten Great Demon Stars, along with the Former Cult Leader—now a mere biological weapon driven insane—were all annihilated in the blink of an eye.
By a single person.
*At that moment, Yeo Un-hwi's power was revealed to the world.*
Everyone who witnessed it was speechless.
Sword Emperor Namgung Hwan, Gale Divine Fist Hwangbo Gyun, Poison Rain Tang Jinwoo, Heavenly Brain Jegal Sung, Sect Master Jin So-baek of the Hao Sect, and everyone else present, all wore the same expression.
It was a power that completely transcended the scope of Martial Arts they had ever known.
Indeed. It was divine. Martial Prowess was truly worthy of being called that of a Martial God.
“Hoo.”
Yeo Un-hwi slowly turned and spoke, looking at the Peng Family members and his friends.
His face was no different from how they usually knew him.
“Is everyone alright?”
What should they say in response?
Everyone wore a bewildered expression.
Soon, leaving everyone's gaze behind, Yeo Un-hwi approached Peng Seo-yeon.
“It took a bit longer than I expected.”
“You...”
Yeo Un-hwi smiled faintly at the confused Peng Seo-yeon.
By then, Yul was asleep in Peng Seo-yeon's arms.
For some reason, Yul hadn't trembled or shown any anxiety from the moment Yeo Un-hwi arrived.
as if she had known this outcome would occur
“Actually, I have a lot to tell you, though I didn't expect it to happen like this.”
After a long, winding journey, the moment had finally come for him to tell her.
The secret he had painstakingly hidden until now remained.
It was a longer story than she might expect.