episode_0053

Commander Black Ox of the Bima Unit.

He was the one who led the Bima Unit of the Demonic Heaven Cult’s Inner Hall, and his other title was Blood Blade Claw Demon.

He was one of the few absolute masters in the cult who had broken through a barrier.

However, no matter how much of a master he was who had broken through a barrier, he didn’t have the guts to commit a massacre in the middle of Sichuan Province.

He had snuck in here with the sole intention of quickly killing Cheongun, who had dared to kill a demonic leader of the cult and steal the demonic sword.

As he moved around the manor, heightening his qi sense, he finally found Cheongun.

It wasn’t difficult at all. No matter how well he concealed his qi, it was virtually impossible to escape the qi sense of someone who was, by name, the Bima Unit Commander.

But something was strange.

‘Rampage?’

Black Ox’s gaze turned towards a private room. The door was closed, but an indescribable vortex of energy was rising from within. It felt especially like energies of different natures were colliding violently. It was an overwhelming momentum, as if two fierce beasts were fighting to the death in a narrow cage.

Black Ox immediately opened the door. A young man sat cross-legged, his upper body bare, drenched in sweat. He seemed to have consumed an elixir and entered a state of qi circulation.

‘Good.’

This was a martial artist’s most vulnerable moment. If one’s concentration wavered even slightly during the process of absorbing a vast amount of energy, they would fall into qi deviation.

He walked slowly, stood before Cheongun, and drew his sword. At the same time, he infused sword energy, intending to cut the boy in half.

It was at that moment.

— Zap!

Something radiating a flashing, bluish-green light burst forth from the empty air without warning. Along with it, a bluish-green beam of light spread across the entire scabbard, then wrapped around his wrist, which held the scabbard.

— Sizzle!

“Ugh…!”

As the blue beam of light, entangling him like vines, flashed with a bluish-green glow, a stinging sensation pierced his skin. Without a doubt, it was lightning energy.

Black Ox’s eyebrows twitched at the lightning energy suddenly wrapped around his hand. A lightning bolt had clearly burst forth from the empty air, and as if it had a will of its own, it stopped the falling sword. Moreover, its internal energy was so profound that it completely overwhelmed his sword energy.

‘How stimulating.’

To shake off the electric current, Black Ox enveloped his right hand in a qi aura and sent out a rebound force. But instead of being repelled, it stuck to the qi aura barrier like a magnet, showing no intention of letting go. No, it wasn’t just sticking. It was clearly digging into and gnawing away at his protective qi aura little by little.

‘…Lightning energy against a qi aura?’

His eyes narrowed. The energy, reminiscent of thunder and lightning, was pushing back Black Ox’s dark qi aura, little by little. Even if lightning energy possessed the nature of dispelling evil, could it truly repel a qi aura?

That wasn’t all. The lightning energy that had seeped in before he deployed his qi aura was now swirling through his acupoints, disrupting his internal energy. An energy that nullifies internal energy? It was truly a fatal power for a martial artist who relied on internal energy.

“Hup!”

Black Ox let out a shout and raised his cultivation base. At the same time, he forcefully expelled the lightning energy remaining in his acupoints with vast internal energy. However, as the lightning energy was expelled, it caused minute burns in various parts of his meridians, and for a moment, his blood flow reversed, causing a trickle of blood to spill from the corner of his mouth.

Of course, it wasn’t unbearable, so Black Ox spat out the blood pooled at the corner of his mouth.

“…”

At that moment, Cheongun, who had been sitting cross-legged, opened his closed eyes. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled. As he breathed, lightning bolts shot out from his entire body, sending blue sparks flying everywhere.

Black Ox’s eyes lit up with surprise.

‘Purple Lightning Demonic Art?’

As far as he knew, the only martial art that handled this much lightning energy was the Purple Lightning Demonic Art. But for that to be the Purple Lightning Demonic Art, its energy was too pure, even for pure qi. …Were there any Daoist martial arts that handled lightning energy? The Namgung Family’s Lightning Sword Art or the Peng Family’s Primordial Thunder Saber Art handled a little lightning energy, but this was on a completely different level.

“Hoo.”

Cheongun, who had regained his composure, swept his sweat-soaked hair back. His sharp yet soft facial features, combined with a neatly furrowed brow, were striking. From his appearance, he looked barely past twenty, if even that young.

“Tsk.”

Cheongun clicked his tongue once, then pushed off the ground and stood up. And just as he was about to raise his internal energy…

Flash!

Black Ox’s figure vanished, leaving only an afterimage.

Feeling killing intent from his right, Cheongun dug his heel into the ground, used it as a pivot, and quickly spun his body to evade. At the same time, long, blackened claws grazed the back of Cheongun’s ear by a span’s distance.

But that wasn’t the end of it. The black hand that had just grazed him abruptly curved like a hook, then began to rush towards the back of Cheongun’s neck.

‘What kind of movement is that?’

Cheongun was flustered by the claw technique that came in at an angle impossible for a human wrist. Moreover, the shape of the hand itself was far from human. The back of the hand was withered, the flesh gone, leaving only bone, and the fingers were long, with claws curved like sickles.

— Swish!

As the claw technique came from his blind spot, Cheongun executed the Shadow Flicker Steps, moving at super high speed.

Cheongun, who had instantly put distance between himself and the man, asked, “Who are you?”

“This master is Black Ox, the Blood Blade Claw Demon.”

“…Black Ox?”

Cheongun blinked his eyes, a surprised look on his face.

“Your name is Black Ox?”

“That’s right.”

“No, how can a person’s name be Black Ox?”

“What?”

“If your name is Black Ox, is your alias ‘Malangcow’? Seriously, this naming is insane…”

“Shut up!”

Before he could even finish speaking. Black Ox kicked off the ground and launched himself forward. So enraged was he that his speed was too fast to follow with the naked eye.

His two hands, completely black and rotted away, swung downwards, leaving blood-red trajectories. The moment he swung his claws, a blood-red claw qi formed into the shape of a massive talon and slammed down with tyrannical force.

— Crash!

The claw qi, stretching over ten *jang* (approx. 30m), scratched the ground, sending fragments flying everywhere. The air was instantly filled with dust, but when he waved his black hand, a gust of wind swept through and cleared the dust.

Black Ox’s eyes narrowed. Around Cheongun, a bluish-green lightning qi flashed in the form of a spherical barrier, blocking the claw qi. The fact that it blocked the claw qi meant it was a qi aura. In other words, it was a protective qi aura.

“…Impressive.”

As far as he knew, Mad Heaven No Sword’s level was deep, but he thought he hadn’t broken through the peak barrier. The fact that he was wielding a qi aura meant he had broken through the peak barrier and reached the transcendent peak realm.

Black Ox’s sharp gaze turned towards Cheongun’s right hand.

‘…Where’s the sword?’

The demonic sword that had clearly been in his right hand was gone, replaced by a fishing rod.

It was then.

“…!”

Without even looking back, Black Ox suddenly raised his black right hand.

— Clang!

Abruptly, he blocked the demonic sword flying on its own from behind with his claws.

As the flying demonic sword collided with his black claws.

“Gah!”

— Crash!

A tremendous rebound force burst forth from the demonic sword’s blade, pushing Black Ox’s figure backward. His feet scraped against the ground wildly as he was pushed back several *jang*.

Black Ox’s right hand, having been pushed back, trembled wildly.

And a moment later.

— Crack! With a cracking sound, minute cracks spread like a spiderweb across his entire claw.

“…”

He was internally astonished. He had cultivated the Black Corpse Demonic Claw, considered the cult’s top claw technique, up to the 6th level. This meant his claws were already harder than ordinary steel.

Yet, for his claws to crack after just one collision… Regardless of his realm, the internal energy infused in that sword was astonishing. Moreover, the sword flew on its own from empty air. What that implied was clear.

‘Remote Object Manipulation…’

The realm where one could move objects solely by emitting qi. Although it wasn’t Qi-Controlled Sword, it meant his ability to control qi reached at least the late stage of the transcendent peak realm.

On the other hand, Cheongun was equally surprised.

‘He blocked that?’

Damn it, does that bastard have eyes in the back of his head?

As Cheongun clicked his tongue internally. His figure vanished, leaving only an afterimage, then instantly reappeared to Cheongun’s right.

— Whoosh!

Purple light shimmered from his raised black claws, then a crimson claw qi burst forth like an explosion. The pouring claw qi, breaking the air with a piercing sound, descended on Cheongun as if slamming down.

In that instant, Cheongun took a slight step back. He then wildly swung his right hand, which held the fishing rod. The fishing line tangled intricately in the air, crossing like a net. Soon, it took on a blue glow.

Crackle!

Dozens of sword auras flew along the trajectory of the intersecting fishing line.

“!!!”

Launching sword auras with a fishing line? Startled by Cheongun’s skill, Black Ox stomped his foot and shot upwards. Then, bounced back, he somersaulted in the air.

— Whoosh!

He dodged the incoming sword auras by a hair’s breadth.

At that moment.

— Swish!

From somewhere, five prayer beads flew in a fan shape, slicing through the air and sweeping towards Black Ox. Bang Jongdae, who had arrived late, had flicked the prayer beads from afar using the Flick Finger Divine Art.

Whoosh!

Black Ox lightly tilted his head, dodging the prayer beads. The prayer beads barely grazed the tip of his nose.

But that wasn’t the end of it. The prayer beads, which he thought had merely passed by, suddenly stopped in mid-air. Along with that, a bluish-green lightning qi infused into the prayer beads. Soon after.

Whirring!

The prayer beads spun wildly like a top caught in a whirlwind, then suddenly changed direction and shot towards Black Ox’s teeth.

And then.

— Thwack!

“Argh!”

Black Ox cried out with a groan and clutched his mouth. And when he slowly removed his hand, a prayer bead and broken teeth dropped out, one by one.

“Who is that?!” The enraged Black Ox bellowed resonantly.

At this, Bang Jongdae hesitated for a moment. Although he had gotten involved without realizing it, interfering in a fierce bloody battle between martial artists usually went against etiquette and could even lead to criticism from Young Master Cheong.

But then, Cheongun bluntly shouted at Bang Jongdae.

“Damn it, finish this bastard!”

“…”