episode_0040

This place was a world inside a game.

Cheongun couldn’t possibly not know that.

With system windows floating in the air, how could he not know it was a game world?

But at the same time, it was also reality.

If he didn’t eat something, he would starve to death. If he was cut by a sword, blood would gush out. Even ordinary passersby, when he actually talked to them, lived with their own life stories.

So, having lived as a beggar for a long time, Cheongun had learned a new method.

It was selective perception.

When it was advantageous, he would act cool-headedly, telling himself this was reality. When it was troublesome, he would roughly brush it off, telling himself this was a game world.

So, he decided not to worry.

He couldn’t distinguish between reality and a game anyway, so why bother deliberating?

What was important now was simply that his mood was incredibly foul, the reason being those bastards, and if he let this slide, he would obviously spend several nights restless with an inexplicable uneasiness and his appetite would plummet.

Wasn’t this enough reason to kill them?

It was a game anyway, so what did it matter?

Those guys were performing human sacrifices, claiming to be crazy themselves, so what was the big deal if he killed them?

Hmm, screw it, let’s just kill them all.

Are you the only crazy ones? I’m crazy too.

Let us equally crazy bastards just kill each other.

Yes, this was a life-and-death struggle.

“Alright, let’s die.”

“Kill them!”

He lifted his head, and the men lined up on both sides swarmed forward like an army of ants.

From behind trees and between rocks, the ambushing men leaped from all directions like a swarm of locusts.

Cheongun swung his sword, meeting them with the Red Night Sky-Cleaving Sword.

His Primal Chaos Qi reacted with the natural energy, and Azure Thunder Qi rose as if drawing a large circle in the air.

It had been a while since he’d abandoned his fishing rod and swung a sword, and it inexplicably invigorated him.

Cheongun slowly unfolded the Red Night Sky-Cleaving Sword, which he had inherited from his master.

Each move of the sword art was close to a profound technique, so even after just a few swings, his internal energy drained rapidly, the ground was deeply gouged, and it was utter chaos.

Of course, the effect was excellent.

Hidden weapons flying from all directions were spun away by the raging sword wind, and blades rushing swiftly were deflected or dispersed as he deftly dodged them.

Then, a gap would appear. If a neck was exposed, he would wrap sword energy around his hand and slice the carotid artery. When he sharply bent his waist, he saw their ankles and promptly stabbed them.

Oh, a gap!

“Gasp!”

He stabbed an ankle and leaped into the air with a whoosh.

Hidden weapons, whips, sand steeped in poison—all sorts of nasty things flew at him, so he immediately unleashed his protective energy and pushed them back with repellent force.

Anything that managed to pierce through was knocked away with his sword, one by one. A palm strike flying from behind was awkward to dodge, so he grabbed the neck of a man rushing from the side and used his body as a shield instead.

Thud thud thud—!

The man, who had been subjected to a sudden palm strike from his own comrade, spat a mouthful of blood and died.

Cheongun flung the demonic cultist’s body, which had served its purpose, with a whoosh and shouted,

“How dare you kill your own comrade, you brutal Demonic Cultists!”

“You lunatic!”

A sword strike extending out aimed for the center of Cheongun’s neck.

He swiftly turned his head to the side.

The gleaming blade missed his neck by a hair’s breadth.

Then, a shadow descended from above his head.

Another man had leaped from the sky, as if striking down with a sword.

Damn it, why are there so many?

Cheongun channeled internal energy into his soles and stomped the ground.

Boom—! The ground cracked open in a radius of about three meters, and sharp rock fragments shot up like spears.

A thick cloud of dust billowed up, momentarily obstructing their vision, and the men who had lost their balance hastily retreated.

Soon, when the dust momentarily cleared, Cheongun’s figure had already vanished.

‘…Where is he?’

The man who had been continuously throwing hidden weapons from atop a tree turned his head swiftly, searching for Cheongun’s trace.

Then he looked to his side and met Cheongun’s eyes, who had appeared beside him.

“So you were hiding here?”

“Wa-wait…”

Cheongun swished his sword through the air.

This was utterly unavoidable.

It was sudden, as if he had warped through space, and entirely unpredictable.

Swish.

A thin red line was drawn horizontally across the neck, and diagonal, triangular marks appeared on both arms and legs.

— Splat!

The man’s head separated from his body, and his cleanly sliced arms and legs dropped to the ground with thuds.

— Flash!

Again, Cheongun’s figure vanished, leaving only an afterimage.

In the empty air, Azure Thunder Qi sporadically crackled, and whenever Cheongun reappeared, ear-splitting screams echoed from all directions.

The masked men’s faces turned ashen.

This was because Cheongun’s martial prowess was stronger than they had imagined, and his methods were too brutal and cruel.

What on earth was he?

Hadn’t they said all the captured demonic cultists had been kept alive until now?

The men in red masks gulped, their eyes fixed on Cheongun.

Among them, a few tried to flee in fear.

“Where do you think you’re going to run?”

Seeing this, Cheongun reached for a pine tree.

He grabbed a pine branch, infused it with sword energy, and threw it like a hidden weapon. It pierced the necks of the fleeing men with rapid thuds, and they collapsed.

“…Move aside.”

The voice of the Soul-Devouring Devil Head was heard.

That was the man who had invited him.

The fact that his alias contained the two characters “Devil Head” meant he was a demonic cultist, and furthermore, one who was old and held a considerably high rank.

A quick glance showed a face that hadn’t even imagined he’d have to step forward himself.

Yet, he didn’t appear particularly flustered; in fact, the situation seemed rather amusing to him.

The man asked,

“May I ask you something?”

“No.”

“……”

That was the end of it.

Cheongun unfurled his Lightweight Movement Technique and charged towards the man.

However, for some reason, the man’s subordinates cleared the way instead of interfering.

Surely they weren’t actually moving aside just because he said ‘move aside’?

Cheongun felt a pang of regret.

He needed them to swarm him like an army of ants to maximize his unique abilities!

So he changed direction.

The Soul-Devouring Devil Head, who naturally expected a dignified one-on-one battle, was flustered when Cheongun abruptly changed course.

Whatever.

Cheongun began tearing apart the remaining subordinates, one by one, as he saw them.

“Let’s die.”

Clang! Crunch! Shriek!

“You die too.”

Slice! Splat! Choke!

Each time Cheongun swung his sword, their bodies were sliced into pieces.

The Soul-Devouring Devil Head’s veins bulged as he roared,

“You scoundrel! How dare you!”

“Why? Didn’t you say you needed demonic cultists as sacrifices? Can’t you see I’m personally making them into sacrifices for you?”

“As for you, I will surely hammer iron nails into every one of your bones while you’re still alive! You will groan in pain for the rest of your life, unable to die or live!”

The Soul-Devouring Devil Head leaped, closing the distance.

Cheongun subtly examined the man’s posture.

He sprang into the air, then threw seven iron fans simultaneously, as if striking downwards.

A sharp, dark qi concentrated vividly in each fan.

It was unmistakably Sword Qi Projection.

“Oh, Sword Qi Projection.”

“Shut up!”

Cheongun spread his Lightweight Movement Technique, increasing the distance.

He diligently executed his footwork, hastily adopting a Qi technique stance.

Wielding Sword Qi Projection meant one was a master who had surpassed the peak and entered the realm of transcendent masters.

And to imbue Sword Qi Projection so easily into fans meant he was a master around the late stage of the transcendent realm.

In terms of cultivation realm alone, Cheongun could not defeat him.

It was the same even if Cheongun had superior internal cultivation.

To defeat that man, he would need to at least transcend the Primal Chaos realm and achieve great mastery of the One Qi realm.

But there was no particular problem.

[Unique Trait: “Annihilate the Demonic Cult!” is active!]

If he couldn’t overcome such a small difference…

How could that be a cheat mode?

The Soul-Devouring Devil Head propelled himself off the ground with his toes, unleashing his Lightness Skill, and charged at Cheongun.

Cheongun clicked his tongue, swatting away the incoming fans as he countered and dove in.

The man swung the iron fan in his hand horizontally.

Cheongun, ignoring it, clashed his Red Night Sword against it.

Grinding—!

Sword and fan collided.

In terms of qi manifestation, the Devil Head’s dark Sword Qi Projection, extending straight out, was overwhelmingly larger, but Cheongun, undeterred, poured his internal energy forward as if unleashing it.

[Demon-Shattering True Body (破魔眞體) is activated!]

Demon-Shattering True Body.

It was a constitution where one’s own qi inherently took on the property of ‘demon-shattering’.

Sword Qi Projection, after all, was merely sword qi compressed to its limit, evolving into a higher stage.

Its essence was ultimately the clash of qi against qi.

However, when Thunder Qi, which burned and purified evil qi, and Primal Chaos Qi, which contained such Thunder Qi, also took on the property of ‘demon-shattering’, it meant nothing less than ‘demon extermination’.

“!!!”

Roar—!

Natural energy was sucked into the sword edge as if swept away by a storm.

Sharp, azure sword energy stretched out in strands, clinging to the man’s Sword Qi Projection like a magnet, then slowly began to coil around it.

It was as if a boa constrictor was swallowing an elephant.

The sword energy rotated madly like a pinwheel caught in a whirlwind, eventually forcing its way into the man’s Sword Qi Projection, creating a gap.

The infiltrating azure Primal Chaos Qi caused ripples like waves.

At the same time, as if a drop of blue paint had fallen into black water, the man’s dark Sword Qi Projection slowly began to turn blue.

And then.

Crackle—!

…It continued to stretch out, sticking firmly to the man’s wrist like a spiderweb.

“What?!”

The Devil Head was shocked.

For mere sword qi to swallow Sword Qi Projection was impossible.

Moreover, for sword qi imbued with sharp energy to writhe like a snake and cling to his wrist?

It was an art he had never seen or heard of in his long life.

In response, the man desperately raised his internal energy, but the clinging azure sword energy stretched endlessly, beginning to wrap around his entire body.

Starting from his wrist to his shoulder, from his shoulder to his head, chest, and legs.

The sword energy completely enveloped the man like a living, moving net.

——————!!

In the tranquil silence.

A sword cry, clear as a bell, echoed like a phantom sound.

As if that were a signal, the net of sword energy clinging to the man gleamed, beginning to release extreme sharp energy.

A vivid blue flame, like flowing electricity, flared up.

Red Night Sky-Cleaving Sword, Third Form.

Pulverization.

Countless thin lines intersected across the man’s entire body like starlight.

Beyond the intersecting lines, droplets of blood boiled up.

And then.

Splat—!

The man’s corpse shattered into pieces, crumbling to the ground.