Chapter 423: Azure Dragon River (4)

Countless disasters occurred in the Central Plains when Red Demons started appearing.

Red Demon Gates only unleashed one Demon unlike Green or Blue Demon Gates, but the damage it caused was unbelievably horrifying.

Just reaching Peak Realm made a martial artist practically invincible against Demons, but that was no longer the case once Red Demons made their appearance.

The peace that was maintained for a long time finally started to crack.

The reason for it was simple.

It was because Qi didn’t work against the Red Demons.

This one reason alone was enough to turn the world into a disaster.

Swordsmen that were responsible for hunting down Demons, used their Qi in order to do so.

They needed to have strength to cut through Demons’ thick and hard leathers, and they had to be capable of breaking their bones.

Because of that, it was obvious for martial artists to use Qi in order to reach that strength.

However, Red Demons completely broke this logic.

They had a strange barrier that protected their body, and it had the horrifying ability to absorb Qi.

Any attack enhanced with Qi was easily going to be blocked by the barrier, which meant that martial artists weren’t capable of cutting through their skins.

They had an incomparable size and strength to Blue Demons, but they were even immune to martial artists’ attacks. It was obvious for them to go wild and cause disasters in the world.

Even with only one of them appearing at the time, the lands of the north were completely destroyed because no one was able to stop a single Demon.

That’s what it meant for a Demon to have Qi immunity.

Because of that, martial artists in my past life felt powerless against Demons for the first time, but they were eventually able to find a solution in the end.

It was true that Red Demon’s barrier absorbed Qi, but there was a limit to it.

This was figured out when the Heavenly Venerable was trying to hunt down a Red Demon in my past life.

The barrier starts to crack once it absorbs a certain amount.

Then, it was possible to hunt Red Demons down like other lower-ranking Demons, but the problem was how much Qi it took to break its barrier.

To give an example of the amount, it took all of a Fusion Realm martial artist’s Qi in order to form a crack in the barrier.

In other words, it meant that it was impossible to hunt down a Red Demon without having multiple Fusion Realm martial artists around who also possessed a great amount of Qi.

Despite having found hope, the requirement of hunting down these Demons was too high.

In the end, everyone started falling back into despair.

Then, one piece of news arose.

Supposedly, a Peak Realm martial artist was successful in hunting down a Red Demon.

This happened around a year after Red Demons started appearing.

Many people asked the person. How did they manage to do it? They wondered if the martial artist had more Qi than average compared to others at his level, but that wasn’t the case for the young man who came from a Tao clan.

People asked him again, and the young man answered this way.

[It’s not all the same. Just like the ocean, if there are deep parts in it, there are bound to be shallow parts as well. You just have to aim for that spot.]

Everyone wondered what he meant by that at first, but those words turned into hope not long after.

Not all barriers were the same.

Just like the ocean, there were deep and shallow parts.

It meant that there were weak spots in the barrier that absorbed Qi.

It was possible to afflict damage to Red Demons after finding the weak spot, and it was much more efficient in breaking the barrier.

The young man hunted down Red Demons this way.

People finally began to hope. It took them a year to figure out this method.

However, another problem arose.

It was very difficult to find the weak spot in the invisible barrier.

How was anyone supposed to figure that out when it was invisible?

When people asked the young man about this, he responded with a sleepy expression.

[I just used my feelings.]

It was a rather absurd response.

The Peak Realm martial artist who hunted down Red Demons in my past life, the Water Dragon Woo Hyuk responded that way.

Swish-!

Sword strike enhanced with Tao Qi showed no flaw in its movement.

Shortly after, it struck the snake’s scales.

Crack-!

Clang-!

The sound that came from it was harsh for a blade clashing against something,

Kyaaaak-!

But it was enough to damage the Demon to the point it made it scream and twirl around.

It was annoying to maintain balance every time because of how much the snake shook the waters.

I focused and observed the barrier around the Demon.

It’s slowly starting to crack.

The barrier surrounding the Demon started to form cracks.

It became more damaged after Woo Hyuk’s attack just now.

After seeing that, I spoke without hesitation.

“From the side of its head, strike a little towards the right.”
Namgung Bi-ah immediately unleashed lightning strikes right after hearing my command.

I wasn’t being detailed with my command, but Namgung Bi-ah showed no hesitation.

Her lightning attack struck the exact position I wanted her to hit.

Zaaaap-!

Her attack faded away after being absorbed by the barrier, but it didn’t matter.

“Stab through.”

Swish-!

Right after I spoke, Wi Seol-Ah used her sword enhanced with golden light and quickly pierced through.

Once her sword made contact with the barrier, it cracked a little and showed an opening.

There was no need for me to speak as someone already charged towards the opening along with Wi Seol-Ah.

It was the prodigy from Wudang Sect. Woo Hyuk unleashed an attack enhanced with Tao Qi.

Crack-!

Swish-!

A long cut was made into the snake’s body.

A strange bluish-green colored blood started to leak from the cut.

The snake screamed shortly and curled itself right after.

It already had many similar cuts to its body.

I became satisfied after seeing the sight.

They are way too fast at improving.

I may have been the one giving the commands, but the chemistry between the three was improving rapidly.

I was shocked by how well they worked together at first, but now they were almost perfect.

At first, it felt like they were taking turns unleashing their attacks after hearing my command, but now they saw through the opening themselves and they only needed my confirmation before attacking.

Despite them already knowing when and where to attack, they waited for my command just to be sure.

It was scary.

It hadn’t even been fifteen minutes now that I think about it.

Yet they were already getting used to working together.

I didn’t even tell them how to see through the weak spots yet.

This is why natural talents are scary.

The weak and strong spots in the barrier that the Water Dragon figured out in my past life.

Just like the description, it meant that the barrier had weak and strong spots and it was necessary for martial artists to take advantage of the weak spots in the barrier to hunt down these Demons.

Without this method, it required way too much Qi usage which was technically the easiest way of hunting down these Demons. If it was impossible to see where the weak spots in the barrier were.

However, there was of course a problem with this method as well.

Rather than seeing it with eyes, you had the feel it.

It required a martial artist to figure out where the weak spots were in the invisible barrier.

It’s easy to say, but how is such a thing even possible?

It was hard for others to do what the Water Dragon did.

There was no time to figure out where the weak spots were when these giant Demons went wild.

I was reminded of the conversation I had with the Water Dragon in my past life.

[Just try to listen to it, then you’ll know. I swear.]

[You bastard… you think that’s an instrument or something? What do you mean by listen to it!?]

[Oh hey! Dodge!]

The Water Dragon’s horrible explanation made me grind my teeth.

People praised the Young Prodigies in this generation calling them the Meteor Generation, but I only felt this after the Red Demons started appearing.

That was when true talents started to show.

In order to figure out the weak spots in a Red Demon’s barrier, it required a martial artist to have a very sharp sense and control of it.

The difference it made was so big that even if two martial artists were on the same level, one with a sharper sensing ability took much less time to find the weak spots.

This was crucial when it came to hunting down Red Demons.

It meant that the longer it took, the higher the possibility of one dying by exhaustion.

It was common for them to die even if they managed to figure out the weak spots of the barrier just because they ran out of energy.

Fusion Realm martial artists ran away or were eaten by these Demons, but Peak Realm martial artists successfully managed to hunt these Demons down.

Geniuses of the Meteor Generation started to show their light.

This happened at the same time as the Red Demons appeared.

With that said, the three in front of me possessed talents that would represent this generation.

Even without me telling them, they slowly learned to figure out the weak spots by themselves.

It was probably the same for the Poison King and the White Ripple Sword.

Just them being Fusion Realm alone meant they had incredible talent.

Now then,

“From there, go slightly towards left.”

One may ask what I was doing when I wasn’t a genius, or even a prodigy.

“Use more Qi than last time.”

However, I was confidently able to say that there wasn’t anyone who was more professional than me in this regard.

The three moved in an orderly matter after hearing my command.

I looked around and observed the Demon’s movement as they charged forward.

I wasn’t a genius.

There was a reason for why I continued to say this.

I wasn’t able to sense the slight difference in the barrier in my past life, and I had to get help from the Water Dragon or others as there was a time when I struggled to hunt Red Demons despite being one of the Alliance’s swordsmen.

I wasn’t able to achieve anything through hard work.

This wasn’t something that could’ve been achieved through training alone.

No matter what, I wouldn’t have been able to sense the difference in that barrier.

Even other martial artists who were slow at learning managed to feel a difference in the end, but I wasn’t able to.

I really couldn’t feel any difference, and everyone looked at me in a poor light because of it.

A bastard that leeched off of the Water Dragon.

I heard something like that as well.

I wasn’t going to deny it though.

I wouldn’t have been able to survive without the Water Dragon at the time.

Because of that, I couldn’t help but despise myself for lacking talent.

“Two of you distract from the left, and the remaining one goes around to the right.”

However, I was now capable of doing all of these things thanks to the power of my Demon Absorption Art.

The power that Demons possessed was Demonic Qi in the end.

That was why Demonic Qi was held inside Demonic Stones, and my Demonic Absorption Art absorbed its energy from it.

Was that what influenced it?

I was able to feel Demonic Qi.

It may look like an invisible barrier to the others, but in my eyes, it looked like a nasty black barrier.

What about the weak and strong spots in the barrier though?

I didn’t even have to feel the difference in it as I was able to see it clearly with my eyes.

Once I was given the Heavenly Demon’s authority after becoming a Demonic Human, I was able to grow in strength faster than anyone.

I was able to become stronger than anyone as long as I ran into Demons that possessed those traits and they were at similar levels as I was.

I hunted down them countless times in my past life, so how could I not know how to?

The bastard is reaching its limit.

Because only its weaknesses were targeted, the monster’s barrier was about to be destroyed.

Once one spot breaks, then the areas around it also weaken.

All we needed to do was find the weak spots and continuously break them.

Shaaaaaa-!

The monster screamed loudly as if it was tired of the three martial artists’ attacks.

Thankfully, this bastard wasn’t too powerful.

I only sweated nervously because of the fact that a Red Demon appeared, not because I was scared of its strength.

This much should be enough.

I turned my head around as I saw the barrier shattering.

“My Lord.”

“…!”

I called out to the Poison King who was staring at me in shock.

For some reason, his pupils were shaking as he had his gaze on me.

Hmm.

It seemed like it was because of how I was able to hunt the Demon down…

I was bothered by everyone around me witnessing it all, but I couldn’t do anything about it.

“I think we can start charging in as well.”

“…Is it because… the barrier disappeared?”

Woah…

So he saw it as I expected.

It seemed like the Poison King figured out about the Qi-absorbing barrier surrounding the Demon.

Was that why they were all standing there in shock?

“It didn’t completely disappear, but I think we can all work together to bring it down. It should collapse right away.”

“…Expert Gu.”

“Yes?”

“Just what are you?”

I tilted my head confusedly after hearing him.

I swear I’ve been asked that question a lot recently.

I was then reminded of when Tang Duk asked me the same question, and I introduced myself as the Heavenly Demon.

Why did I do that?

I still didn’t know.

Why did I give such a response like that?

Was it because I was bothered by the fact that it felt like the world wanted to turn me into the Heavenly Demon?

I wasn’t sure, but I felt like I had to respond like that at the time.

“I’m not sure what you mean by that. I’m just a martial artist that came from Gu Clan.”

“…You should know I’m not asking such a question.”

“Nope, I do not.”

Right as I shook my head after responding to the Poison King,

Crash-!

Kyaaaaa-!!

The Demon let out a roaring scream.

I checked to see what happened, and it was because someone unleashed their attack in Wi Seol-Ah’s place.

It was the White Ripple Sword.

…When did that woman go there?

“Hahaha!”

The White Ripple Sword started to laugh out loud cheerfully as if she was having a good time.

Sigh.

I let out a deep sigh after seeing the sight.

It was a weak spot the White Ripple Sword landed an attack on.

Did she figure it out too while watching?

If that wasn’t a coincidence, it seemed like the White Ripple Sword also figured out how to hunt Red Demons down.

Was it because of the difference in level?

The snake’s balance started to break after being hit by the White Ripple Sword’s attack.

Rustle.

The barrier around the Demon crumbled and scattered away in clouds of dust. The barrier had finally been destroyed.

I started to walk towards the Demon after seeing the sight.

Splash.

It felt pretty awkward since it’s been a long time ever since I last walked on water.

This was a fairly sophisticated technique that required precise control of Qi.

But those guys are way crazier than I am.

Unlike me who reached Fusion Realm, those three bastards successfully managed to walk on water despite being Peak Realm which I found absurd.

I briefly taught them how to do it and I planned to scratch the plan if it wasn’t going to work, but they all managed to do it.

As always… their talents never failed to shock me.

Splash.

I took another step forward and wrapped myself in flames.

Blaaaze-!

I was rather bothered by the environment since I was on water, but it wasn’t too big of a problem.

This much should be enough.

Swoosh-!

I leaped forward.

I had to jump high because of the snake’s massive size.

There was one reason why I didn’t join in the fight and only gave commands until now.

The first reason was to give them experience in hunting these types of Demons down, and the second was…

I didn’t want to waste my energy in breaking the barrier.

It wouldn’t have been too big of a problem if I did, but I had to be as safe as possible. I had to prepare for unexpected emergencies after all.

However, I was only going in now for one reason.

I need that Demonic Stone.

How could I ignore a Demonic Stone from a Red Demon?

Even if the situation flowed weirdly due to the Demon’s appearance, I couldn’t afford to miss that Demonic Stone from that bastard. There was going to be a ton of energy in that stone, and I wasn’t going to let this chance escape especially when I was desperate for strength.

As the monster became dizzy after being hit by the White Ripple Sword’s attacks, I exploded my flames and quickly approached the bastard.

I gathered flames into my hand.

I didn’t feel any barrier in my way.

Thankfully, it seemed to have been completely shattered.

After reaching the snake’s scales, I sharply struck my fist enhanced with a great amount of Qi.

Pwoosh-!

My arm stabbed through the snake’s scales.

It didn’t seem like it was going to cause any damage because of our difference in size, but it didn’t matter.

The important part was that my arm successfully managed to go through the bastard’s body.

I gathered my Qi into one spot and flames started to form in my hand.

A Flaming Sphere was made, and I exploded it in the snake’s body without hesitation.

Kwaaaaak-!

Kyaaaaaa-!!!

The bastard twirled around and went straight into the water after feeling heat inside its body.

It was to extinguish the flame, but my flame made with Qi wasn’t going to be extinguished that easily.

I expanded my flames after exploding my Flaming Sphere.

Tsk.

I wasn’t able to breathe as I was in water, but I was more than able to endure thanks to my level.

All I had to do was focus on ending this bastard’s life for now.

[…W…Whyyy…]

I then suddenly started to hear a voice.

Huh? Was it a telepathic message?

[Oh, great one… why… why are you abandoning us…!!!]

The voice of despair was loud enough to destroy my eardrums.

At first, I wondered what this was at first.

Huh?

Then, I was able to see it after moving my gaze a little.

The Demon that was dying by being swept by my flames, was weeping tears of blood while looking at me.