Chapter 145 - An Asshole, but He Looks Delicious

The Seductress of Supreme Bliss was the first to speak. Gently fluttering her pale pink fan, she called out,

"You there, handsome little brother!"

Her gaze oozed lust as she looked at me.

"Why don't you come outside with me, little brother? Things are about to get ugly in here."

I smiled at her.

"What a shame. You're not my type, madam."

"Oh my! Madam? I'm not that old. Just call me big sister."

I asked the Wicked Laughing Demon,

"How old is she?"

"Well over sixty, I'd say."

The Seductress of Supreme Bliss shouted angrily,

"Shut up, you ugly demon bastard! I'm still twenty-eight."

She wasn't afraid of even the Wicked Laughing Demon. She truly was a fearless villainess.

"Didn't you say you were twenty-eight ten years ago, too?"

"You remember that?"

"You looked over forty even then."

The Wicked Laughing Demon seemed to know full well that remarks like these offended her most. An eerie energy seeped from the enraged Seductress of Supreme Bliss.

"Today I'll finally see the face behind that mask. If you hadn't crawled into the Demonic Cult, I'd have killed you long ago."

Their conversation alone made it clear that the two were on bad terms.

Then the third of the Three Warriors of the Bloody Path, who was nearby, unexpectedly took the Wicked Laughing Demon's side.

"That old crone's sinister qi grows more uncanny by the day."

The second, standing beside him, mocked the Seductress of Supreme Bliss while pretending to restrain him.

"Brother, watch your mouth, or that monster will suck your vital essence dry, too."

As the Seductress of Supreme Bliss turned toward them with a stony expression, the eldest of the Three Warriors of the Bloody Path spoke up.

"My brothers have always had loose tongues. Just think of it as a passing dog barking."

She snorted.

"Why do those fucking dogs bark whenever they see a person?"

Still, she seemed to be on somewhat friendly terms with the eldest. It was obvious that the calm eldest brother led the Three Warriors of the Bloody Path.

"I'll bring them out in muzzles next time."

The youngest then made a show of whispering. Of course, his voice remained loud enough for everyone to hear.

"Seeing how you always take her side, eldest brother, have you spent a hot night with that monster bitch?"

"Then we'll have to treat her as our sister-in-law."

The eldest gently closed his eyes and told the Seductress of Supreme Bliss,

"Just assume they've gone senile."

On the surface, they appeared to be exchanging nothing but idle banter, but they were ready to strike at any moment. Even the second and third brothers, who ran their mouths like thugs, each possessed an extraordinary qi presence. Otherwise, the Seductress of Supreme Bliss would already have torn them to pieces.

I sent out strands of qi like a spiderweb to examine their qi presences. Just as a web vibrates when prey becomes ensnared, I monitored every change in their qi presences with keen sensitivity.

They were relaxed. They gave the impression that they believed they could easily kill the Wicked Laughing Demon if they attacked together. Their banter reflected that confidence.

Then the Divine Lord of Yama, who had been the last to enter, spoke.

"If they've gone senile, they ought to die."

He deliberately altered his voice, speaking in a gloomy tone like an emissary of death. He took a booklet from inside his robe and opened it. It was the death register he carried around.

"You wicked bastards should have fallen into the Eight Hot Hells long ago. I'll send you there now."

The youngest and second of the Three Warriors of the Bloody Path clicked their tongues.

"That lunatic's illness still shows no sign of improving."

"You fool, don't write our names. Write the name of that masked bastard over there."

Guessing that they knew one another well and even met frequently, I sent the Wicked Laughing Demon a sound transmission.

"Do you know where these people came from?"

"They came from Villains' Valley."

The Wicked Laughing Demon's residence within the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon was called Villains' Valley. But the valley he had just mentioned wasn't where he lived. There was a real Villains' Valley in the Central Plains, where villains gathered to live.

No one knew when Villains' Valley had first come into existence. It had formed as criminals fleeing their crimes began settling there one by one. The terrain teemed with swamps, venomous snakes, and poisonous insects, and all manner of traps had been laid throughout it. Anyone who ventured in recklessly would die before taking more than a few steps.

Even if someone successfully navigated the dangers and made it inside, villains of every sort awaited them. A child giving directions would stab them in the throat with a dagger; a kindly-looking old woman would poison their food. That was Villains' Valley.

The Orthodox Martial Alliance had tried several times to subjugate the place, but every attempt had failed. There were simply too many villains, and each time the Alliance had been forced to retreat after suffering heavy losses.

Yet there was one reason Villains' Valley had never united into a single force and emerged into Murim.

They were villains.

Whenever someone tried to rally them, someone else inevitably betrayed them. They spent every waking moment robbing, fighting, and killing one another, making it impossible for them to unite into a single force.

And yet people from that very valley had banded together to kill the Wicked Laughing Demon. They weren't ordinary villains, either. The fact that the mastermind had mobilized figures of this caliber was enough to suggest just how formidable that person was.

"What's our plan?"

The Wicked Laughing Demon answered my sound transmission without hesitation.

"Wipe them all out."

"Can we do that?"

"We can. They've left the most important factor out of their calculations."

"Me, of course?"

"No. They've ignored the fact that I don't like falling into traps."

They had truly provoked the Wicked Laughing Demon.

How dare they lay a trap to kill him? And use the Coin of Gratitude and Grudges to do it?

The Wicked Laughing Demon was furious. Of course, these weren't opponents he could deal with on anger alone, so he would be waiting for an opening.

Just then, the Blood Wolf Saber, who had been sitting alone, sprang to his feet and declared,

"Wicked Laughing Demon. You and I will fight to the death."

The Divine Lord of Yama immediately stepped forward.

"The Wicked Laughing Demon's name is already in my register. I'll take him."

He opened his register of life and death, revealing the Wicked Laughing Demon's name written in red.

The Seductress of Supreme Bliss licked her lips, coveting the Wicked Laughing Demon.

"He's an asshole, but he looks delicious."

The Three Warriors of the Bloody Path felt the same way.

"If those bastards kill him, we'll never hear the end of their bragging. Let's take the lead."

They all seemed eager to fight the Wicked Laughing Demon. After all, killing him would give them something to brag about for years to come.

Watching them, I told the Wicked Laughing Demon,

"You're popular."

"This is nothing. It's absolute mayhem among the orthodox factions. The line of people wanting to kill me stretches ten li."

I burst out laughing at his joke. Naturally, the villains turned their eyes toward me. From their reactions, they still didn't know who I was.

The Blood Wolf Saber asked me,

"Who are you, brat?"

Instead of answering, I told him,

"I heard you were a man who walked his own path. I never thought you'd come to kill someone at another person's bidding."

Stung by how closely my words struck home, the Blood Wolf Saber stared at me coldly. I didn't know how he had ended up here, but I knew he was a man who had lived for his pride alone.

"I asked who you are."

"Geom Mugeuk."

"Geom Mugeuk?"

Behind him, the eldest of the Three Warriors of the Bloody Path recognized me.

"The Heavenly Demon's second son."

His previously calm expression immediately twisted into a scowl.

"Damn it! That fucking bastard! He sent us somewhere the Heavenly Demon's own flesh and blood was waiting."

The second brother took up where he left off.

"He'll flatly deny knowing the boy came with the Wicked Laughing Demon. But we can't back down now, either. This is a predicament."

I didn't know why, but they, too, seemed to have been driven into a situation where they had to kill the Wicked Laughing Demon. Otherwise, they wouldn't have dared contemplate killing a Demon Supreme.

The Blood Wolf Saber, on the other hand, showed no fear even after learning my identity.

"You run your mouth because you trust your father to protect you. Do you think I'm afraid of him?"

That, too, was his pride asserting itself. He lived for pride alone and would die for it. But how could this really be called pride?

"A man with nothing to protect has nothing to fear."

At my words, his oppressive presence intensified. Just as he seemed ready to draw his saber at any moment, I broke the momentum by stepping back behind the Wicked Laughing Demon.

The Blood Wolf Saber didn't draw recklessly. Since he couldn't yet know my true abilities, he was probably wary of the Wicked Laughing Demon.

I openly questioned the Wicked Laughing Demon, making sure everyone could hear.

"The mastermind behind this is someone capable of mobilizing these people, correct?"

"As you can see, yes."

"Then why send them instead of coming in person?"

"Probably... because of you, Second Young Master."

"Because of me?"

"They'll be hoping one of these people kills you. Then whoever does it will bear responsibility for your death."

"What a coward."

I looked at the villains.

"Well, who's going to be the first to play along with this cowardly scheme?"

Silence fell for a moment. Even in Villains' Valley, the name Heavenly Demon inspired fear. If Father became truly enraged, he could attack the valley itself. The only reason he had left it alone until now was that it posed a greater burden to the Orthodox Martial Alliance.

The villains began exchanging sound transmissions. On the surface, they bickered as though they were desperate to tear one another apart, but these were villains hardened by long years in the martial world. They were extremely cautious when dealing with matters that put their lives at stake. That was also why they had survived this long despite their countless atrocities.

After a moment, the Seductress of Supreme Bliss stepped forward, her eyes curving in an uncanny smile.

"Little brother, you really must come outside with me. How could someone so precious be allowed to get mixed up with these filthy villains?"

The instant I saw her eyes, I could tell she had decided to kill me. Apparently, the mastermind nearby frightened her more than the Heavenly Demon far away.

The Seductress of Supreme Bliss gently fluttered her fan.

"Shall we go outside, little brother?"

The moment a scarlet energy flowed from the fan, a sinister qi enveloped me. She had used soul-seizing sorcery on me—the same sorcery with which she had stolen the internal energy of countless martial artists.

As a scarlet light settled into my eyes, the Seductress of Supreme Bliss shouted at the Wicked Laughing Demon,

"Move, and the Second Young Master dies!"

The Wicked Laughing Demon didn't budge. In truth, he wouldn't have moved even without her warning. He was convinced that I had killed the Soul-Seizing Demon. Why, then, would I be unable to handle the Seductress of Supreme Bliss's soul-seizing sorcery? That was how much he would have trusted me.

Once she believed I had fallen completely under her sorcery and lost my reason, the Seductress of Supreme Bliss approached me and pressed her palm against my dantian.

"Shall I have a taste of my little brother's fresh internal energy?"

WHOOOOSH!

I heard the sound of internal energy draining from a dantian. The Seductress of Supreme Bliss cried out in an ecstatic voice,

"Sucking the Heavenly Demon's vital essence dry has been my lifelong wish! By devouring his flesh and blood, I've fulfilled half of it!"

Her expression changed from moment to moment, showing joy, anger, sorrow, and delight. The Wicked Laughing Demon and all the other villains in the room merely watched.

The youngest of the Three Warriors of the Bloody Path ran his mouth at the Wicked Laughing Demon.

"You heartless bastard! You're just standing there watching while your Heavenly Demon's own flesh and blood suffers."

The Wicked Laughing Demon calmly asked them,

"Can you handle the consequences?"

"All we have to do is hide in Villains' Valley. We'll burn your corpses and dispose of them, and no one will know it was us. Even if they find out, would your Demonic Cult really accept all those casualties to attack Villains' Valley?"

At the third brother's reply, the Wicked Laughing Demon said nothing more. He simply watched the Seductress of Supreme Bliss steal internal energy.

Then, a short while later...

THUD.

The Seductress of Supreme Bliss crumpled to the floor.

Startled, the eldest of the Three Warriors of the Bloody Path checked on her.

"Old hag, what's wrong?"

As he examined her, he cried out in shock,

"She's dead! Her internal energy was drained dry!"

At that moment, I snapped my eyes open.

"Ah, I'm full! An asshole, but absolutely delicious."

I had reversed the process and absorbed all her internal energy. I had deliberately pretended to fall victim to her, but sinister sorcery didn't work on me. Soul-seizing sorcery in particular had absolutely no effect.

On top of my recent insights into martial arts, I had the Blood-Eye Purifying Water, the Heavenly Demon’s Body-Protection Art, and the Thousand-Meridian Strengthening Art. Stealing internal energy from my body had been impossible for her from the outset.

In the end, the Seductress of Supreme Bliss met a miserable death, falling victim to the very method she had used to prey on men all her life.

As I gathered the internal energy I had gained from her into my dantian, I addressed the Divine Lord of Yama with an even deeper gaze.

"What are you staring at? Aren't you going to write my big sister's name in your register?"