episode_0054

He knew that since he had struck the Bima Unit, a day like this would naturally come. However, he didn’t expect it to be this fast. He had erased all traces, and there should have been no proper physical evidence. Moreover, wasn’t this the center of Sichuan Province? No matter how rogue the Divine Cult was, they couldn’t rampage like this in the Tang Family’s territory without any justification.

It was at least one of two things. Either those bastards had already broken away from the Divine Cult and become independent. Or the Divine Cult, unable to tolerate it any longer, had finally ordered Cheongun’s purge.

Naturally, it was unlikely those bastards had already become independent from the Divine Cult. That meant there was a high probability that the Divine Cult had intentionally sent that black ox—or whatever it was—with the intention of killing Cheongun.

This is strange. Was it something to get that infuriated over?

Indeed, thinking about it, from the Divine Cult’s perspective, it was something to be infuriated about. Having taken a triple hit—from the Blood Affinity Pavilion, the Black Forest Gate, and then the Bima Unit—they couldn’t help but feel extremely unpleasant. Thinking that way, he understood it a little.

In any case, Cheongun had a lot to do. First, he needed to fully integrate the new enlightenment and insights gained with the help of the Ice Crystal’s power. Next, he had to reach the Hwakyung, Hyeonkyung, and other stages. Once he reached an appropriate level, he ultimately had to settle things with the Demonic Cult Leader. Because as long as the Demonic Cult bastards weren’t annihilated, he couldn’t live in peace due to constant anxiety.

It was while he was thinking that.

“CRAAAACK!!”

The black ox, with its broken tooth, suddenly became enraged. Its tooth wasn’t just broken; there was a perfectly round, rosary-bead-shaped hole cleanly punched through its center.

Then, without fail, another rosary bead flew toward the black ox’s glabella.

*WHOOSH—!* It quickly dodged by tilting its head back, but Cheongun, not letting it escape, swung his fishing rod. The swung fishing line, imbued with internal energy, soared. Controlling the fishing line, which held sword energy, with *Gyeokgong Seopmul* meant this could also be called sword energy.

As the fishing line imbued with sword energy flew *swishing* to entangle the creature, it also unleashed its ultimate claw technique, swinging its claws to deflect the line. However, it was impossible for the fishing line, imbued with Cheongun’s intent, to fail to avoid such a simple trajectory. The fishing line deftly changed its path, evading the creature’s attack, then began to circle around it, spinning.

The black ox clicked its tongue inwardly. Because the fishing line, imbued with sword energy, had surrounded it as if to siege it, the area where it could employ its movement technique was restricted. Moreover, with some monk bastard constantly flinging rosary beads from afar, the black ox was practically going insane.

Furthermore, those rosary beads weren’t just ordinary rosary beads. What on earth were they made of that mere rosary beads possessed the nature of demon subjugation? Because some fishing line had surrounded it on all sides, it couldn’t easily create distance, and every time it tried to deal with the fishing line, rosary beads flew in to disrupt it.

And then. “!!!” *SWISH—!*

A demonic sword, lying on the floor in the distance, floated up and suddenly flew toward the black ox as if to pierce its neck. The black ox twisted its body sideways, evading the demonic sword, and the sword plunged into the wall, making the wall vibrate. But at that moment, a rosary bead flew in a parabola from another direction.

*CLINK—!* The black ox tilted its claws to deflect the rosary bead. Then the demonic sword, which had been stuck in the wall, floated up on its own again, this time surging toward its glabella.

Fortunately, as he had only recently surpassed his level, the output and accuracy of his *Gyeokgong Seopmul* were diminished. So, dodging itself wasn’t very difficult. The black ox evaded the demonic sword once more by sharply turning its head sideways.

But it didn’t end there. Cheongun continuously floated, flung, re-floated, and re-flung the demonic sword without pause. With each repetition, the trajectory became sharper and the speed increased. Furthermore, thanks to Bang Jongdae’s coordinated attack, flinging rosary beads with his *Tanji Singong* from a distance, the trajectories became even more complex and precise.

If it dodged a rosary bead, the demonic sword would surge in, and if it barely evaded the demonic sword, another rosary bead would fly at it again. Yet, if it tried to use a movement technique, the fishing line imbued with sword energy was surrounding it as if to besiege it.

‘Damn it all…’

As time passed, it grew more agitated. It was obvious that if it remained on the defensive like this, its stamina would eventually run out. Meanwhile, Cheongun was constantly flinging the demonic sword with *Gyeokgong Seopmul*, spouting things like, “Ah, a mistake,” and “Damn, it dodges really well,” which infuriated the black ox to no end.

The black ox gnashed its teeth. Fury surged at Cheongun’s attitude, as if he were using it as a target to practice *Gyeokgong Seopmul*. Its judgment began to cloud due to its agitation.

Maintaining protective internal energy around its entire body constantly consumed a great deal of internal energy and mental power. It was when it released its protective internal energy to catch its breath for a moment.

“COUGH!” *THWACK—!*

A rosary bead, flying from a blind spot, accurately struck the black ox’s glabella. Upon losing its concentration for a moment due to the sudden impact, the incoming demonic sword immediately pierced through its shoulder.

“UGH!” The moment the demonic sword pierced through its shoulder, Cheongun’s mental energy, imbued in the sword, infiltrated and agitated its vital points. Every time it tried to raise its internal energy, blood trickled from the corners of its mouth.

Seeing that, Cheongun shouted. “Finish him!”

As if that were a signal, Bang Jongdae blinked, then pushed off the ground, extending his body forward. He then pulled the rosary, which had been between his fingers, onto his wrist and spread his palm. It was the preparatory stance of the Shaolin’s secret technique, the Subduing Tiger Palm.

As Bang Jongdae extended his palm to unleash his palm technique, the black ox also extended its palm in response. Just as palm and palm were about to meet.

*WHOOSH—!* Bang Jongdae, who had been extending his palm with a resolute expression, suddenly shot up into the air.

“???” The black ox blinked blankly, its face bewildered.

But he clearly acted as if he was going to unleash a palm technique, what is this?

However, for Bang Jongdae, it was a natural choice. He was at most at the late peak level, but his opponent was an expert who had already surpassed a wall, wasn’t he? It was common sense that when palm techniques clashed, the one with more internal energy would win. That’s why he chose to flee.

But the one who was flustered by Bang Jongdae’s sudden action couldn’t help but lose concentration for a moment.

And then, Cheongun’s voice came from behind. “Black ox bastard. Did you fall for it again?”

*WHIP—!* As it sharply turned its head back, Cheongun’s sword strike surged, cutting through the air. Immediately, it turned its head sideways, imbued internal energy into its claws, and struck the sword.

*CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG CLANG—!* The black ox’s claw energy and Cheongun’s sword energy clashed for about five exchanges.

The black ox, exchanging blows, couldn’t believe the current situation. ‘I’m being pushed back?’

He had mastered the Black Corpse Demonic Claws, considered the strongest claw technique of the Divine Cult, up to the 6th star. Compared to the Lesser Demonic Cult’s techniques, it had the disadvantage of making the hands look gruesome, but its destructive power was exceptional, even surpassing the Lesser Demonic Cult’s techniques. Its power was such that it could slice through rocks like radishes with its claws and tear even steel like paper. Furthermore, the hands themselves contained an extreme poison called Corpse Poison, capable of instantly killing anyone with just a graze.

With internal energy imbued in such hands, it was almost impossible to find an opponent of the same level. Yet, that flashing, bluish lightning energy was pushing back the black ox’s dark internal energy. Cheongun was merely at the early stage of Transcendent Peak. Moreover, wasn’t he just a youngling not even twenty yet? But to be on par with someone who had been notorious in the martial world for decades?

“Son of a bitch!” At that moment, a dark aura surged from the black ox’s entire body. Its true energy was so strong that even wind pressure was generated.

Then, the fishing line that had been floating in the air, surrounding the black ox, suddenly flew toward it. The fishing line imbued with internal energy surged, piercing through a total of seven points on the black ox’s body, starting from its shoulder, then collarbone, navel, ankle, thigh, and philtrum, stitching it through as if with a needle.

“URGH…!” Instantly, with its demonic and auxiliary vital points pierced, the black ox groaned, paralyzed, and only its mouth gaped open. The moment the dark aura surging from it began to fade.

*SLASH—!* Cheongun’s sword directly severed the creature’s body and head.

“Young Master Cheong!” Bang Jongdae, who had been watching from afar, approached Cheongun.

“Are you alright?”

“What about the others?”

“The others, you say? When this humble monk arrived, there was no one else besides this one.”

“That can’t be.” Cheongun shook his head.

The Bima Unit’s method of purging was always the same. First, one incredibly strong individual infiltrates and assassinates the target. Then, they kill everyone involved or who witnessed it without exception. Those who try to escape during the process are ambushed and dealt with by individuals hidden in advance all around. It was a crazy method befitting the Divine Cult, obsessed with the law of the jungle. Certainly, many others, including this one, must be hidden somewhere in every nook and cranny. They had to catch all of them before anything else happened.

It was then.

“Haha.” A man walked *ploddingly* from beyond. It was Lee Gunbaek, the Head of the Ten Thousand Dragons Escort Agency.

He was covered in blood, dragging several individuals tied up like a string of sausages. The moment Cheongun saw them, he knew. Those bastards were demonic cultivators.

Then, Lee Gunbaek spoke. “It seems these are the insects the Vice-Head is looking for.”