Chapter 905: A Lucky Day (5)

Transcendent Realm strength wasn’t, in itself, something to be newly shocked by. If the opponent was Transcendent Realm, and they displayed Transcendent Realm power, what reason would there be to act surprised?

And yet—while she kept yielding ground without pause, Qing still ground her teeth and batted away the countless afterimages of the Ghost-Head Saber that came driving at her in an endless torrent. That sight alone looked like something divine. Was it not, truly, a startling struggle?

So maybe the playful label Qing liked to use for herself—Transcendent Harmonization Realm—really was something people had every right to acknowledge.

But Qing’s expression kept rotting.

Forced onto the defensive against Transcendent Realm?

What reaction was Qing supposed to show? What reaction had she shown until now?

After dodging with Ripple-Wave Footwork, she’d always wound up like a rat with its tail on fire—springing this way, leaping that way, scrambling off in an ugly panic just to survive.

But now, Qing was somehow managing to strike back.

Why?

Because the Plunderer Demon was going easy on her.

The Plunderer Demon’s goal was Qing’s martial arts. He didn’t have even a shred of intent to kill her.

She’d heard that other unit commanders in the Cult were apparently screaming things like, “KRRRRAAAAGH! I’ll kill Seomun Cheong! I’ll kill her no matter what!” and burning with hatred so hot it might set the world on fire.

But that was their business, not something the Plunderer Demon needed to care about.

If anything, rather than killing her...

He had to be even more careful, because if he inflicted a severe wound or permanent damage and Qing dug her heels in—You made me like this and you think I’ll still hand over my martial arts? Kill me instead. Cut me open. Go on.—then he’d be the one in trouble.

It was always the desperate one who had to fold first.

And right now, the desperate one wasn’t Qing.

It was the Plunderer Demon.

Qing knew that fact very well.

The enemy can’t use a killing move on me... but I can use one as much as I want.

That kind of calculation was part of what lay underneath, when the vile, star-cursed Qing accepted those conditions without hesitation.

And yet—

Qing’s expression kept rotting.

This... is pissing me off?

It was an unavoidable trait of martial artists.

Qing had swallowed enough of the martial world’s dirty water by now that she’d started thinking like a martial artist, at least roughly.

She was lunging in with the intent to kill, while the other side responded with the bland calm of someone handling a routine errand—like he was saying, Go on. Swing until you’re tired. Of course her temper was going to explode.

KRA-KOOOM!

At its owner’s fury, Violet Rotation Demonic Aura gladly surged—and spat violet lightning.

Lightning was something you only heard after it was already too late—after it struck.

Violet Rotation Aura lashed down and smashed the Plunderer Demon’s shoulder.

It wasn’t enough to pierce the Transcendent Realm’s protective aura, but it was a shock strong enough to carve out the smallest gap—just for an instant, a split second.

Qing, who’d been retreating, suddenly loaded her weight onto her back foot and braced—then stomped her front foot down with a heavy THUD.

At the same time, Moonlit Night drew a diagonal line.

The most perfect straight line connecting enemy and self.

Emperor Sword Form.

An emperor simply sat above and pointed at the enemy’s destruction. Because an emperor was one whose simple fingertip, once it pointed, moved the world itself.

In that instant, the Plunderer Demon’s body split in two.

One remained in place and was cut by Moonlit Night.

The other hopped back in a clean retreat, opening distance.

It was the phenomenon where an afterimage remained because you moved too fast—an art called Afterimage Displacement.

The Plunderer Demon abruptly felt something cool.

His chest-front clothing tore, and the chill of early-spring Liaoning pressed against his skin.

But a smile bloomed at the corner of the Plunderer Demon’s mouth.

That move just now had nearly put even him in danger.

Overwhelming majesty unfolded in a single beat of manifested thought.

Offense and defense fused as one—flow severed in a single sword, the situation dominated by a perfect stroke.

It had to be a technique from some extremely lofty divine art.

The Plunderer Demon couldn’t hold it in any longer, and barked—

“Good!”

“LIKE HELL!”

The furious shout that answered him.

But it came from above the sky.

The Plunderer Demon lifted his head—and there, in midair, Qing’s body was crouched upside down.

Then Qing poured down toward the earth like a cannon shell, with the momentum of a falling star.

A supreme technique of Heaven-Shaking Great Sage Demon Staff Art—Falling Meteor.

BOOOOM!

A massive roar—frozen ground flipped inside out and shattered, dirt-dust blasting up in a choking cloud.

And cutting through that dust, the Plunderer Demon burst out first—sliding backward in the same posture, a long saber thrust forward, SKREEEEEING across the earth.

Right after, Qing’s body chased him down.

Still airborne, she drove her upper body forward—her right hand gripping the sword, pulled all the way back behind her left shoulder.

On Moonlit Night, a sunset-colored aura flared.

Over it, red lightning crackled and coiled, SNARLING as it wrapped the blade.

The instant Qing swung down, a single line of savage crimson lightning linked sky and earth and slammed down.

Blood-Heat Lightning Blade Art: Blood-Thunder Dragon Mountain-Shatter.

The Plunderer Demon braced the Ghost-Head Saber’s edge with his left hand and snapped it up.

At the collision, the contest of strength began—as if Qing, mid-swing, had frozen in the air.

But Moonlit Night’s edge began to be pushed back, slowly.

Then—

Behind Qing’s face veil, where her eyes should be, blue Ghostfire ignited—three rotating Soulflames rising in each eye and beginning to spin.

At the same time, along Moonlit Night’s edge, aura rippled like countless waves—and then began to rotate with brutal force.

The Revolving Wheel Aura of the world’s ten great demonic arts—Revolving Wheel Demon Calamity!

In both density and output, the aura of Harmonization Realm and the aura of Transcendent Realm were worlds apart.

And yet, despite that—

Qing’s Harmonization Realm aura began, little by little, to burrow into the Ghost-Head Saber—into the Plunderer Demon’s aura itself.

Startled, the Plunderer Demon flipped his saber.

And Qing’s body spun with it—whirling—

Despite having just been forcing a savage strength contest, she landed with astonishing elegance.

Then a massive afterimage of a hand filled the entire field of view—endlessly white and pristine, yet at the same time twisted and grotesque beyond measure.

“Minor Water Demon Art!”

The Plunderer Demon barked it out, and only then did it click:

So that strange aura just now wasn’t Revolving Wheel Demon Calamity—

And if that was so, then the technique that had whipped him with violet lightning earlier was Violet Rotation Demonic Aura?

Qing pressed harder, driving the attack.

DING-DING—bell tones rang as an air-shockwave palm unfolded: Vacuum Palm.

At the same time, she threw her body forward and stabbed with the sword.

Sometimes she extended the fist holding the sword in a straight punch—an annihilating strike from something that no longer existed.

And that bizarre swordsmanship—touching the enemy’s blade, flowing along it with a slick slide, then passing through like a ghost—was a technique of Life-Stealing Blade Art.

Every kind of martial art roared through the air, each flipping its manifested thought again and again.

When she surged, it surged like a violent gale.

And the quiet methods mixed in between were silence like a still forest.

The killing intent that scraped the skin burned hot like fire—yet it was also stubborn and unmoving like a mountain.

Truly—ever-changing.

Perhaps this was what it meant, to surge like wind, forest, fire, and mountain.

*****

Meanwhile, the Plunderer Demon’s subordinates were watching this earth-shaking battle, utterly spellbound.

And among them, a single corpse zombie—something not quite human—was also watching with keen interest.

Not just watching.

Its mouth moved nonstop—lip-smacking, flapping—chattering without sound.

“Willow Flower, older sister, Heavenly Flower Sword and the Sword Demon are fighting here—if any sisters are curious, can you connect them? I’ll relay it live.”

—Really? It’s Heavenly Flower Sword?

—Whoa, where? Changbai Mountains? Wow, that’s far.

—Is she really that beautiful? You saw her yourself?

—Everyone shut up. The master is speaking. Oh my, this sounds fun. So what’s happening? Also—Willow Flower, are you imitating my voice right now—no, cancel that. Anyway.

And so Gongryang Sayoon began transmitting, in meticulous detail, the duel she could see between Qing and the Plunderer Demon to sisters all across the Central Plains.

Was it possible that—while Qing didn’t even notice—her full combat strength was leaking out like this?

“Uh, Heavenly Flower Sword is slashing really fast. Like, yes, really fast. The Sword Demon is also fast so it’s really loud. CLANGCLANGCLANGCLANGCLANG, like that.”

“Ah—Heavenly Flower Sword is getting pushed back.”

“Ah, lightning just struck. That’s amazing. Heavenly Flower Sword is flying around and slashing, wow—an enormous palm just smashed the Sword Demon. Oh—and then the swordsmanship, wow, it’s fast. It’s really fast. Like, um, SHASHASHASHK—fast.”

—Sayoon? Is that really your best?

—Gongryang, older sister, you’re calling that a “description” right now?

—Uuuugh! If you’re going to do that, why did you even say you’d relay it! You’re just bragging that you met Heavenly Flower Sword!

—The master is speaking. Oh my. Sayoon, is that truly your best?

“Uh, I’ll do better. Uh, so—Heavenly Flower Sword jumps and swings the blade, just now three times, four? It’s extremely fast. The Sword Demon keeps blocking, yes, he blocks well. The ground is rumbling here, it’s a duel that makes your chest swell.”

—No one swings a sword slowly!

—Older sister, you’re doing this on purpose, right? A person’s expressive ability can’t possibly be this tragic.

“Slander. I merely conveyed what I saw without so much as an inch of error, so do not pin your impoverished imagination on me.”

—Uuuugh! What are you even watching! Gongryang, older sister, explain yourself! Explain yourself!

—The master let out a long sigh, then went out to play pitch-and-toss and take a walk.

—Ah, Chase. I miss Chase. Is he really that ugly? How ugly does he have to be? I like ugly dogs too, though.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like Qing’s strength was actually leaking out.

*****

The Plunderer Demon’s condition wasn’t good.

His clothes were rags, and on the bare skin exposed beneath, his flesh was split with long tears, blood running down in streams.

Compared to him, Qing was only caked in dirt—still, relatively clean.

If someone saw them, they’d think Qing had won, but—

Damn it. I lost.

Qing twisted her face.

By orthodox means, Qing had no way to beat a Transcendent Realm opponent.

More precisely, the Transcendent Realm enemy would need to be so enraged their eyes flipped over—I’ll kill you even if it costs me, even if I take a loss—and charge in like that, for there to be any hope.

Then, by offering flesh to take bone, she might find an angle to cut their breath off.

But if the Transcendent Realm enemy stayed calm, with no agitation at all?

Then Qing had no choice but to have no real way to contend.

If Qing were around late Harmonization Realm—if the road toward Transcendent Realm were faintly visible and she were at the stage of verifying what that realm truly was—maybe it would be different.

But to Qing, Harmonization Realm was still a vague unknown.

Transcendent Realm monsters were simply monsters that existed in the human world.

“Is this the end?”

“No, seriously—aren’t you even mad? Getting hit around by a scrub, shouldn’t a Transcendent Realm have some pride? Shouldn’t you explode and go nuts like you’re going to kill me, eyes flipping over and all that? How are you so inhuman?”

“What reason do I have to be angry at you? I’m Transcendent Realm and yet I look like this. That’s because I’m lacking. There’s no reason to blame you.”

If it weren’t for his evil karma, it might’ve sounded like the bearing of a peerless master.

But coming from a martial-arts thief who stole other people’s arts, it wasn’t exactly persuasive.

“Rather, thanks to you, I’ve gained certainty. If anything, I’m glad. I have no reason to be angry.”

“Certainty?”

Then the Plunderer Demon’s eyes blazed.

“That’s right. Certainty that I was correct. You may be a demon-deviated demonic practitioner, but you possess the strength to subdue even late Harmonization Realm—because you’ve learned and mastered countless demonic arts. Isn’t that proof that I’m on the right path, gathering martial arts to break through my realm?”

As he spoke, even a solemn madness flickered in the Plunderer Demon’s gaze.

And yet, it was a somehow familiar madness—Qing stared, thinking hard for a moment, and then—

Ah. He’s the same type as Sword Rain. A martial-arts lunatic. A guy who’s crazy about martial arts.

Of course I can’t beat a lunatic when I’m stuck dealing with one.

Qing immediately understood the Plunderer Demon’s abnormal patience.

But—

“Demonic practitioner?”

“Then what—are you going to claim you aren’t? You looked like you were going to collect all ten of the world’s great demonic arts. But I’ve fought you myself and confirmed your level far surpasses Harmonization Realm, so among demonic practitioners you’d be a great demonic practitioner. Of course, I understand you might feel ashamed—being the kind of martial artist that calls itself ‘righteous’ while learning demonic arts.”

“Damn... is ‘great demonic practitioner’ even a real phrase?”

He’d clearly misunderstood something, but—

Did she really need to correct him?

Then the Plunderer Demon’s eyes flashed.

“Now, it’s your turn to keep your promise.”

“Mm, I don’t remember making a promise. I do remember being threatened, though.”

“Then will you die?”

Qing crumpled immediately.

“Do you know the Supreme Yin Jade Maiden Divine Art? In case you don’t, I’ll explain—this is a divine art that originated from somewhere in the Northern Sea, and it’s reeeaally, freakishly, strong. And on top of the power, it has incredible beauty benefits—”

“What would I do with an internal cultivation method? Break the disciplined power I’ve built and learn something new?”

“Ah.”

She’d originally meant to toss something out and get sent on her way, but when she thought about it, he was right.

Unless it was a higher art of the same type that could be layered in, what martial artist would just pick up a new method the moment they found something better?

Not unless they were wandering vagrants starving for divine arts—

Or Qing, who built internal power through cheating.

Qing checked what martial arts she had.

“Um... do you take Eastern Isles Sword Art? There’s a style called Chusang Style that I obtained from a sword master of the Eastern Isles after what was probably a seven- or eight-day, sweat-in-your-palms showdown—”

“No.”

“Then Vast Sea Sword? The vast, vast sea—”

“I know that one too.”

“Returning Current Saber?”

“I already know it.”

“Sky-Returning Spear?”

“Not a bad spear art.”

Even when Qing rattled off blue-bordered martial arts, the Plunderer Demon knew them as if it were obvious.

Well—if he’d played the role of martial-arts robber long enough to accumulate that much evil karma, how could he not have gathered blue-bordered arts?

So she’d have to hand over a red-bordered martial art.

“Then maybe Eon Family Fist—”

“No fist arts.”

“Eon Family Fist is famous.”

“I know. It’s a divine art. If I wanted to learn it, I could’ve learned it long ago, but what would I do with fist arts?”

“Huh. You could’ve learned it? Well, the Eon Family collapsed, so maybe it leaked. Then—what about Mount Tai Blood Claw?”

“I personally don’t like claw arts. What kind of man uses claw arts? Strapping iron talons onto your hands and swinging them around—it’s embarrassing and shameful.”

“Damn, you’re picky. Hm.”

That left... what?

Life-Stealing Blade Art, and Heaven-Shaking Great Sage Demon Staff Art?

But Heaven-Shaking Great Sage Demon Staff Art had a miraculous technique that could change direction midair—

It was far too dangerous to hand to a demonic master.

So that meant there was only one thing left.