Chapter 235 - If the World Cannot Kill You

Five people followed Yelü Han over the broken wall.

The first to enter and take his place beside Yelü Han was Cha Hwan, his body covered in dragon tattoos. His expression stiffened at the sight of the Divine Sword of Five Thunders' gruesome remains.

He had said that giving the man ten-thousand-year snow ginseng was a waste, but he knew better than anyone what a formidable master the Divine Sword of Five Thunders was.

Who in the world could kill him like this?

And his was not the only corpse. His disciple, Sa Hyo, lay dead as well. Had Yelü Han, the Three Evils, and the Blood-Wheel Calamity not been here with him, Cha Hwan would have fled without a backward glance.

Cha Hwan glanced at Yelü Han, trying to gauge his mood. As always, he was watching their opponents with an expression devoid of emotion.

Beside him stood the Blood-Wheel Calamity.

The old man was as skeletal as a dried-up corpse, with a huge iron disc fitted with serrated blades strapped to his back. The disc looked heavy even at a glance. It was his signature weapon, the Blood Wheel, said to shatter any weapon it encountered.

Finally, Cha Hwan turned his gaze to the Three Evils.

They were triplets. Their faces and clothes were identical—so identical that they looked like a single person split into three.

Knowing what they had done, Cha Hwan shuddered whenever he saw them. Their grotesque atrocities were things no human being could ever commit.

Yet they were scarcely known in Murim, because they killed everyone connected to their crimes, without a single exception. Looking at them felt less like seeing three evil men together than encountering evil three times as vicious.

In any case, with them here as well, today's opponents would never leave this place alive.

Cha Hwan stepped forward to speak for them all.

"Who the hell are you?"

The Three Evils recognized the masked man and answered simultaneously.

"The Wicked Laughing Demon."

Their perfectly synchronized response, as though rehearsed beforehand, was uncanny.

Yelü Han, too, spoke calmly, as though he had recognized the Wicked Laughing Demon long ago.

"Your cult leader would not have authorized this. Are you acting on your own?"

The Wicked Laughing Demon gave no answer. Once again, Geom Mugeuk handled the conversation.

"Does a white mask make everyone the Wicked Laughing Demon? We aren't from the Demonic Cult."

"Then who are you?"

"That bastard was ninety fucking years old and still throwing a goddamn fit about getting younger, so the King of the Underworld sent us to fetch him. He's got ninety thousand years of suffering ahead of him."

Geom Mugeuk swept his gaze over them all, then made sure to add one more remark.

"You poor souls look like you've sinned plenty yourselves. How about it? Join us on the boat to hell. We happen to have six seats left."

Yelü Han's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes grew colder.

"Yes, if you're skilled enough to kill the Divine Sword of Five Thunders, you're entitled to that much arrogance."

Yelü Han did not send his subordinates out one by one to die. These men had killed the Divine Sword of Five Thunders and his disciple.

He took the lead, stepping forward as he spoke.

"We attack together and kill them!"

The six masters formed up at once.

Geom Mugeuk sensed that this would be his hardest battle yet, across both his lives before and after regression.

Geom Mugeuk drew the Black Demon Sword in one clean motion.

"Fine. If the world cannot kill you, we will."

The Wicked Laughing Demon's eyes blazed fiercely. The stronger his enemies, the more frenzied the Laughing Demon became. He looked at Geom Mugeuk and said,

"One more time!"

Understanding what he meant, Geom Mugeuk held out the Black Demon Sword without another word.

CLANG!

This sound differed from its usual bright ring. Just as their enemies had changed, and their relationship had changed, a deeper resonance spread outward.

Both sides strode toward each other.

At least in this moment, not a single person gathered here felt afraid.

* * *

Go Wol had been eating when he suddenly ran outside and vomited up his meal.

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader followed and patted his back.

"It's my fault for forcing you to eat."

Go Wol had been so tense since yesterday that he had eaten nothing, so the cult leader had made him eat.

"Cult Leader, I want to hear the Thunderous Sound Bell."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader snapped at him for no good reason.

"Aren't you sick of it? After spending all that time chained to it!"

Thinking of that left him with plenty to feel guilty about.

"I'm not saying it to make you feel bad. I really do want to hear it. Listening to the Thunderous Sound Bell always put my mind more at ease."

"Not because you want to talk to the demons engraved on it?"

"I miss them a little, too."

"Dream on. You'll never see or hear them again."

SHHHH.

Their surroundings changed, and the two stood in a field. The cult leader had used the Art of Space-Time Transposition to bring them to the field Go Wol liked.

"I'd meant not to come here anymore."

"Then why did you open it?"

"You seemed too anxious."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader looked up at the distant sky.

"They must be in the thick of the fight by now, right?"

"Probably."

"Should I go help them?"

Go Wol shook his head.

"Leave it to those two. This is their battle."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader spoke, gazing at the distant sky.

"It's a battle for three."

"What do you mean?"

"You're fighting right now, too, aren't you? Even starving yourself."

"By that logic, aren't you fighting too? And the Poison King, the mistress of Thousand Flowers Pavilion, Investigator Seo. Everyone waiting at the Divine Cult of the Heavenly Demon. We're all fighting together."

The Wind Heaven Cult Leader suddenly declared,

"Don't worry. My disciple won't lose."

"Your disciple?"

"It's a long story."

He shouted as though Geom Mugeuk were standing right before him.

"You brat! After taking so much from me, you'd better not lose! Don't you dare die!"

He had even passed on the Secret Art of Heavenly Time, after all.

He was blustering to cheer Go Wol up, but Go Wol remained full of worry.

Looking out over the brilliantly clear sky and the vast field, Go Wol asked,

"Will Murim ever know a day as peaceful as this place?"

"It mustn't!"

"Why not?"

"You'd be the first to lose your job."

At last, Go Wol laughed. In a situation where he could not even swallow water, the man had made him laugh. Yes, Cult Leader, you win.

"Today is going to be a long day."

* * *

Yelü Han coordinated their attacks without letting the fight descend into a melee.

They stayed tightly grouped, fighting as though they were one person. Judging that they held the advantage, they had no intention of creating opportunities for unforeseen developments.

That was why Geom Mugeuk decided Yelü Han had to die first. He was the cleverest among them, and defeating their leader would naturally break the others' morale.

The problem was that if Geom Mugeuk went after Yelü Han, the other five might attack the Wicked Laughing Demon together instead of helping their leader.

Could the Wicked Laughing Demon withstand all five of them? If so, for how long? The trouble was that Geom Mugeuk did not know exactly how skilled those triplets were.

WHIRRRRR!

The Blood-Wheel Calamity attacked first. His Blood Wheel hurtled toward Geom Mugeuk with tremendous force.

It was not only large, but fast.

The power carried by the Blood Wheel was too great to knock aside with a sword or internal energy. The Black Demon Sword would not break, of course, but using a sword against that heavy disc was far too inefficient.

WHIRRRR!

As though alive, the Blood Wheel turned and attacked again.

Geom Mugeuk dodged left, and it changed direction to follow him.

He hastily twisted the other way, and the Blood Wheel skimmed past his face. Its blades were so sharp that they looked capable of slicing clean through a human body.

Retrieving the Blood Wheel, its wielder sneered.

"Soon you'll be dancing with the Blood Wheel."

He meant he could move it however he pleased.

In a situation like this, the answer was not to struggle to evade the wheel, but to kill its wielder.

The problem was that the enemy anticipated that, too.

PING!

First Evil blocked the Blood Calamity Finger fired at the Blood-Wheel Calamity. Second Evil and Third Evil stayed close as well, protecting him. When an opportunity arose, they would attack together.

Watching First Evil move reminded Geom Mugeuk of Sa Hyo, the Divine Sword of Five Thunders' disciple. His skill was on Sa Hyo's level, which meant there were three Sa Hyos here. And as identical siblings, their coordinated attacks were bound to be exceptional. These were no ordinary enemies.

Geom Mugeuk made an instinctive decision about whom to kill first.

If Yelü Han was out of reach, he would strike while the others still believed they would not be his first target.

—Let's kill the triplets first.

—Understood.

The Wicked Laughing Demon followed his decision without question.

WHIRRRRR!

The Blood Wheel came flying in for a second attack. Just as it swept past and began to return, Geom Mugeuk charged at First Evil.

ROOOAR!

At the same time, the Wicked Laughing Demon unleashed Ultimate Demonic Rampage Palm.

Its target was the back of Geom Mugeuk as he rushed at First Evil!

It was as though Geom Mugeuk were charging with the palm force at his back like an army following him.

First Evil faltered, not having expected such an unconventional attack. Worse, Geom Mugeuk's body blocked his view, leaving him momentarily unsure what to do.

CLANG!

As they exchanged a single clash of swords, Ultimate Demonic Rampage Palm engulfed the spot.

Geom Mugeuk escaped with Flicker Step and rushed at Second Evil on his right.

First Evil, who had been facing him, leaped left a moment too late.

The Black Demon Sword slashed at Second Evil in a flash.

It was Azure Heaven, the swift-sword fifth form of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art.

CLANG!

Sword struck sword!

Yelü Han had blocked Azure Heaven. He had discerned Geom Mugeuk's intention to engage First Evil, then kill Second Evil.

Their eyes met across their clashing blades.

A heart-freezing chill flowed from Yelü Han's sword.

His martial art was the Primordial Light-Splitting Sword Art, founded on extreme-yin internal energy.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

The light cast by their swords flashed through the air.

"Argh!"

At that moment, First Evil collapsed with a short scream.

Yelü Han had prevented Geom Mugeuk from killing Second Evil, but the Wicked Laughing Demon had killed First Evil.

When Geom Mugeuk escaped with Flicker Step, First Evil had dodged a moment too late, and Ultimate Demonic Rampage Palm had swept away one of his arms. The Wicked Laughing Demon seized that opening, attacking relentlessly until he killed him.

At his death, Second Evil and Third Evil went berserk.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

Sword qi flew at the Wicked Laughing Demon in rapid succession.

Their stable formation broke, and the melee Geom Mugeuk wanted began.

The fiercely loyal Cha Hwan joined the fight to help Yelü Han.

He thrust his sword at Geom Mugeuk's back, but Geom Mugeuk turned the attack into an opportunity. Dodging the strike from behind, he brought all three swords into a momentary tangle.

This time, he used Dark Shadow Step. In an instant, he vanished from Yelü Han and Cha Hwan's sight. Such was the power of the Wind God's Four Steps at complete mastery.

At the very moment Yelü Han sharpened his senses, believing himself to be the target, Geom Mugeuk was stabbing someone else in the back.

It was Second Evil, who had been charging madly at the Wicked Laughing Demon to kill him.

For this single move, Geom Mugeuk used Dark Shadow Step and Underworld King's Step in succession. In that moment, he was the god of wind.

WHOOOOSH!

Once again, he unleashed Azure Heaven.

This time, Yelü Han could not block the attack for his subordinate.

SLICE!

Second Evil was cleaved in two through the back and died on the spot.

Meanwhile, the Wicked Laughing Demon was firing finger force at Third Evil in rapid succession.

PING! PING!

Geom Mugeuk added his powerful sword qi to the Wicked Laughing Demon's Blood Calamity Finger.

It was Blazing Heaven, the fourth form of the Heaven-Soaring Sword Art, which released sword qi.

After firing it, Geom Mugeuk turned and raised his protective concentrated qi.

The incoming Blood Wheel struck him in the chest.

BOOOOM!

Geom Mugeuk skidded backward with the Blood Wheel driving against him, then was flung away and rolled across the ground.

"Got him!"

The Blood-Wheel Calamity shouted in triumph.

"Fucking bastard! Who do you think you're showing off in front of?"

The Wicked Laughing Demon leaped over and landed in front of Geom Mugeuk.

The Blood-Wheel Calamity addressed him with a self-satisfied smile.

"He's already dead. Anyone who's survived a hit from the Blood-Wheel Calamity—"

He abruptly stopped speaking.

Geom Mugeuk had risen unsteadily like a ghost.

"Here's someone who survived."

The Wicked Laughing Demon turned his head, asking with his eyes whether he was all right.

Geom Mugeuk rubbed his chest and nodded.

His chest ached as though it would burst, but fortunately he had avoided a fatal internal injury. With the Heavenly Demon’s Body-Protection Art, the Ghost-Guard Robe, supreme-grade heavenly silkworm silk, and protective concentrated qi all at work, even the Blood Wheel had failed to kill him.

The Wicked Laughing Demon's arm was soaked in blood. While he was fighting Third Evil, sword qi fired by Yelü Han had nearly severed it. Judging by the blood flowing from it, the wound was far from shallow.

This time, Geom Mugeuk asked with his eyes whether he was all right, and the Wicked Laughing Demon nodded in turn.

But thanks to the risks they had taken, Third Evil also lay dead. He had failed to evade the combined assault of Blood Calamity Finger and Blazing Heaven.

Though they had been injured, they had eliminated the greatest unknown in this battle.

The Blood-Wheel Calamity was the most astonished of all. He could not believe that someone struck squarely by his Blood Wheel was still standing unharmed.

"Who are you?"

His voice trembled.

He was not the only one shocked. Cha Hwan, too, stared at Geom Mugeuk in horror.

The footwork that had made him vanish before both his and Yelü Han's eyes was astonishing enough, but he could not believe that the Three Evils, in whom he had placed such faith, were dead.

'The Three Evils are dead? Those terrifying Three Evils? Those devils?'

He could not grasp that the corpses sprawled on the ground were theirs.

Yet the technique their opponent had just used was an attack that would have defeated not merely Three Evils, but even Ten Evils.

For the first time, emotion appeared on Yelü Han's face.

With the battle no longer going his way, the corners of his mouth curled into a self-mocking sneer.

Geom Mugeuk spoke to him with the Black Demon Sword hanging at his side, blood dripping from its blade.

"That's right. Life makes you smile bitterly several times a day. You've had it far too easy until now, haven't you?"