Chapter 277
Kwaang!
Although it seemed like he was excited, the timing and speed of closing the distance were surprisingly cold and calculated.
Fast!
Jinhyuk dodged the attack with a hair’s breadth to spare.
Once. Then twice.
The dagger skimmed past his hair.
Boooong!
This time the dagger described a semi-circle before swiftly altering its course towards his thigh.
It was a move aimed more at landing a hit than causing fatal damage.
‘Poison…’
Jinhyuk’s eyes narrowed.
Upon closer inspection, a faint trace of translucent liquid could be seen on the pair of daggers.
As expected of a disciple of the Poisonous Dragon, poison was his main weapon of choice.
“Slippery as an eel, aren’t you? Then how about this?”
[Paegak has activated ‘Poisonous Cloud Mist’!]
A cloud tinged with green appeared at that moment.
Paegak’s figure momentarily blurred.
Boooong!
Grasping the timing, the dagger slashed sideways.
“…!”
He dodged the trajectory of the attack again, but this time the timing was off by about 0.1 seconds.
It was a very close call.
Jinhyuk expanded the distance between them.
‘Is it the kind that affects the senses?’
Being made up of molecules, the effect would be lesser, but…
Extended exposure would have a critical impact on the outcome of the fight.
“Hehe. It’s called the calculation poison. When mixed with the basic poison, it disturbs the flow of qi and seeps into the dantian, making it quite effective against peak experts. Ah, but don’t worry too much. I have an antidote so there’s no need to fear death.”
“That’s very reassuring to hear, Senior.”
Jinhyuk readied himself.
A measure of restraint here would only leave room for them to test his limits again.
So, he had to decisively press down hard.
Overwhelming superiority was the most certain way to get recognized in the Heavenly Demon Cult.
Poisonous Dragon, Paegak, and Jasohui…
Roles and circumstances. The martial arts of each and the corresponding countermeasures were synthesized.
Good.
Jinhyuk moistened his lips with his tongue.
The plan for the most perfect stage had been set.
Just then.
Paegak closed in behind Jinhyuk.
A series of baiting attacks followed.
But.
Sseuk!
Unexpectedly, Jinhyuk was caught by the first move.
A thin stream of blood scattered onto the floor.
“This is… too anticlimactic. Is this really the disciple of Uhwobup you’re talking about?”
The calculation poison and basic poison on the blade seeped into the wound.
With this, the fight was decided.
Or so he thought.
“How… How can you be fine after being hit with my poison?”
Paegak’s pupils quaked.
By now, his opponent should have been frothing at the mouth and collapsed.
But there he was, standing unharmed as if nothing happened, and even smiling calmly.
“There’s nothing particularly impressive about it. It’s almost embarrassing to call this poison. I just lightly detoxified the foreign substance that entered my body. That’s all.”
[Unique Ability ‘Thousand Poisons’ has been activated!]
[Unique Ability ‘Star’s Blessing’ has been activated!]
[Unique Ability ‘Mandala’ is reinforced!]
‘Thousand Poisons’ analyzed the type and mix of the poison.
‘Star’s Blessing’ optimized the healing.
Furthermore, ‘Mandala’ removed impurities flowing in the dantian and protected the dantian itself, making him able to handle a significant amount of poison.
‘If I didn’t know the type of poison, it would’ve been a bit of a headache.’
This is why you shouldn’t be overly confident.
Why give away such valuable information?
“Low level? My poison?”
“Ah. I apologize. For someone of your caliber, it might be quite high… Haha.”
“Y-you dare mock the poison directly passed down from the Poisonous Dragon himself! Alright, let’s see how far that confidence of yours goes.”
Paegak’s dagger began to imbue with a different kind of sinister energy.
A completely different mix of poison from what he used earlier.
No need to confirm that it was much deadlier.
“Here I come!”
With a voice filled with killing intent, Paegak disappeared.
However, in his overexcitement, he failed to see.
The thin layer of ice beneath his feet.
“Huh?”
Paegak had managed to dig into Jinhyuk’s side, but the landing spot was far too slippery.
Paegak’s body staggered significantly.
Exactly as planned.
‘Icy Sculpting’ had done its job perfectly.
‘The angle and speed… and the direction.’
Everything flowed flawlessly as Jinhyuk had designed.
Having lost his balance, Paegak’s elbow was twisted, causing him to drop the dagger. Even the direction in which the dagger flew was all accounted for.
Fwook!
The stray blade buried itself in the flesh of another person nearby.
“Ah…?”
Jasohui looked down in shock at the dagger embedded in her shoulder.
It was an attack perfectly executed from a blind spot, and she had not anticipated that an assassin’s weapon would be coming her way.
If she had been one of the top ten experts, she might have somehow avoided or countered it, but her lack of skill contributed significantly to this tragic finale.
“Wow, Senior. No matter how angry you are, how can you take it out on the innocent? Or perhaps, were you ordered by Poisonous Dragon to dispose of a rival competitor?”
At a glance, it looked as though Paegak had deliberately thrown the dagger at Jasohui.
“Ju-just wait!”
Paegak tried to desperately offer an explanation.
But it was his turn to open his mouth.
Wooowooong!
A dark energy gathered at Jinhyuk’s fist.
The fist that drew the ‘Black Heavenly Demon King’s Power’ shattered the dagger and plunged into Paegak’s abdomen.
Kwoooong!
“Kuuurgh!”
Paegak’s body bent into an L-shape as he crashed against the opposite pillar.
＊＊＊
“Jas…ohui!”
Soho-hyang quickly checked on Jasohui’s condition.
Due to the use of a poison close to lethal, they needed to act fast to save her life.
Meanwhile.
“You bastard!”
Poisonous Dragon screamed uncontrollably, full of rage.
He had realized that Jinhyuk had deliberately created this situation.
Kukukukuku!
The entirety of Cheonma Hall resounded as if it could collapse at any moment, pillars shaking from the explosion of qi.
“For this prank, I will make you pay!”
Greentopped hands surged towards Jinhyuk.
However, just before Poisonous Dragon could penetrate Jinhyuk.
“Surely, you were the one who intervened first, weren’t you?”
Someone appeared between the two.
It was Ellis, angered at the killing intent shown towards her contractor.
Kwadeuk!
Ellis blocked Poisonous Dragon’s wrist.
At the same time, her other hand aimed for his throat.
[Blood Lord ‘Golden Circle’ is activated!]
Behind the mask, Ellis’ red pupils turned gold – a change hidden from view.
A type of blood magic.
A power only manifested in close combat.
“Hup!”
Feeling the threat, Poisonous Dragon flailed his hands wildly.
Kwakwakwang!
Kwooooong!
In less than a second, an invisible exchange of blows ensued.
They exchanged only about five moves.
But Poisonous Dragon instinctively realized.
His opponent was certainly not beneath him.
“You… just who are you…”
“The intent was to drill a hole in your throat with a single strike.”
An exchange of words with starkly different temperatures crossed.
Right then.
“Ellis.”
Jinhyuk grabbed Ellis’s shoulder.
“Hmm?”
“Enough is enough.”
“Ha, but that guy started the attack first, right? He really aimed for it.”
“Come on, would he really cheat in the match out of spite? It’s not like we’re in a righteous faction where backstabbing is common whenever you’re bored. There’s no way the grand Heavenly Demon Cult would harbor such a petty person among them.”
“Is that so?”
“Yeah, absolutely. Isn’t that right, Master?”
“Puhahaha! It seems it’s truly your victory. Yes. This duel was strictly between you and Paegak. No one else could intervene.”
Amhwang’s gaze shifted to Poisonous Dragon.
“If you persist, I will not stand idly by.”
“…Cough.”
Poisonous Dragon reluctantly retreated.
Though humiliated, he had no further justification to step forward.
“Well then, I shall leave the minor cleanup to you. It seems Cheonma won’t be showing today either. I will be taking the eastern training ground for a while. It seems I’ll need to spend some time dillydallying with this disciple of mine.”
Amhwang turned away, having finished his business.
“Thank you for your hard work, seniors. It was quite entertaining.”
Jinhyuk and Ellis followed suit.
＊＊＊
The three left.
Inside the Cheonma Hall, there was a deep silence.
Even if Paegak was caught off guard, he shouldn’t have been so easily defeated.
It was merely a lack of anticipation for the opponent’s expertise in poison.
However…
As everyone else thought so, only Poisonous Dragon was watching the blade fragments on the floor with a stern face.
‘Paegak’s dagger was made from refined meteorite iron.’
But…
It broke?
‘That old man picked up a dog cub thinking it was nothing, but it turned out to be a tiger cub instead.’
Ouch!
The woman in the mask who came with him was also a threateningly high-level martial artist.
The lingering pain in his wrist was a sensation Poisonous Dragon had long forgotten.
A primal instinct that kept him alive in this hellish place was now sending full-strength warning signals.
This is dangerous.
‘I must report to the Left Protector…’
No matter what new variables had arisen.
No matter if Amhwang or any other person intervened.
They could not let them impede the plan they had been preparing for ten years.
＊＊＊
Typically, one imagines training as exhausting to the point where one’s breath is shallow and sweat soaks the whole body.
Enjoying the setting sun while uttering exclamations, ‘Today, I became this much stronger,’ right?
The achievement and growth that come after pain and endurance.
Although cliché, it’s as essential as a nation’s staple soup.
But…
The training Jinhyuk was currently undergoing was far from that poignant and warm experience.
“Hak. Huk. No, wait. Isn’t this really too much, Master?”
Jinhyuk gritted his teeth.
The second prison located in the underground of the Heavenly Demon Cult.
For seven hours straight without any break, he was fighting goblins to the point where his mouth tasted sweet.
“Maah! Mwah!”
Chubby goblins kept pouring in.
Cute in appearance, but tricky to deal with since they were over level 80 and acted in groups.
Especially the mid-level goblins who could also utilize goblin spells.
“Heh. Is a mere hundred goblins too tough for you to groan over? Still to come is the drawing of water from a lake with a teacup, handstanding and walking across the ten thousand mountains ten times, smashing one or two branches of the Wulin Alliance, and so on. A mountain of tasks awaits.”
“Isn’t that just asking for death?”
“Hahaha! Would I, the only master you have, truly seek your death? For the Black Heavenly Demon King’s Power to reach its peak, you must first increase your basic stamina. This training will benefit you like flesh and blood.”
Amhwang burst into hearty laughter.
Talking about basic stamina as if fighting non-stop for seven hours isn’t enough…
Back when he met his master in the Tower of Trials, it was exactly like this.
He overcame his limits while overcoming preposterous tasks, shaking with rage, swearing that if he did this training again, he wouldn’t be human. But he hadn’t imagined he’d break that oath once more.
“Contractor! Put in some effort. Five more are coming over there.”
Ellis sat smiling a little distance away.
“Mogi Mogi!”
“The master seems to be having a hard time. We’re not tired at all.”
“It’s just cool enough for a rest. It’s like we’ve come to have a picnic since we’ve brought so much to eat.”
“Give me some ice too. I want to put it in my lemonade.”
Even the sweet potato and the water spirits gathered snugly.
Judging by the way they were munching on snacks and milk, the world seemed to have crumbled.
“Hmm.”
Amhwang stroked his chin.
“No. No, no, no.”
“Please, please please.”
“Please say no. Quick!”
Everyone’s wishes reached Amhwang.
Of course…
They only reached him.
“Indeed, it’s important to grow together with your companions. Alright. However, since the number has increased, you’ll have to deal with all the goblins inside the prison.”
“There’s no question about that. Go and take care of your work.”
“Just a moment…!”
Ellis hastily tried to hold onto Amhwang, but it was too late.
The master was no longer here.
Only his disciple remained, with nothing but evil left behind.
“Now…”
Jinhyuk loosened his stiff joints.
“Shall we start by spitting out the snacks you’ve been chewing?”
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