Chapter 355 |
Chapter 355
Record of the Demon Sovereign's Retur
As a heavy silence settled over the scene, the gazes of the demon cultists naturally shifted towards the left and right guardians.
"Are you believing the words of that despicable heretic!!"
The shout, imbued with internal energy from the Bright Right Envoy, shattered the silence, but the responses varied.
Confused by the unexpected atmosphere, the Bright Right Envoy shouted once more.
"Execute those heretic bastards immediately!"
Despite the order from one of the highest authorities of the demon cult, everyone should have rushed at the heretics.
But before that could happen, a voice imbued with internal energy echoed.
The owner of that voice was none other than the Sword Demon.
"Are you saying that the head of the Sword Sect stands with the heretics?"
The Bright Right Envoy, glaring as if branding him a heretic, questioned, but the Sword Demon remained composed.
"The Celestial Ceremony is a solemn ritual. Besides, as the Seventh Young Master's words imply, when have we ever convinced opponents with words in our Sacred Cult? The fact that the Bright Right Envoy is trying to avoid the Celestial Ceremony is highly suspicious."
"!!!"
As the Sword Demon pointed this out, the Bright Right Envoy was momentarily speechless. The Sword Demon declared with internal energy.
"Followers of the Sword Sect, listen! If the left and right guardians refuse the Celestial Ceremony, the Sword Sect will henceforth treat them as heretics!"
The shocking declaration from the Sword Demon deepened the confusion among the demon cultists.
And amid that confusion, the one who calculated the situation the fastest was the Hwan-ma.
"The Sword Demon is correct. How can those who are the left and right guardians of our Sacred Cult fear to distinguish right from wrong through strength?"
After all, if Ou-yang Pae loses in the Celestial Ceremony, he would die as a heretic. Conversely, if the Seventh Young Master wins and becomes the Celestial Demon, his words would become law. The left and right guardians would be executed as heretics.
In the end, it was a battle where the loser would become the heretic.
And judging by the way Ou-yang Pae had suppressed the Dao Demon earlier, he seemed to have a good chance.
'The Seventh Young Master has made a very skillful move.'
It was a timely intervention.
If the Sacred Cult had remained unmoved and stayed at its headquarters, it would have been difficult to reach this point.
Before challenging the left and right guardians to the Celestial Ceremony, they would have had to fight numerous battles due to the stigma of being heretics to reach the headquarters.
Furthermore, the bold speech that won the Sword Demon's favor played a significant role.
Having calculated this far, the Hwan-ma threw his final card.
"Our Hwan family, too, will have to doubt the guardians if they avoid the Celestial Ceremony. What will you do?"
As both the Sword Demon and Hwan-ma sided with Ou-yang Pae, the face of the Bright Right Envoy turned red as if it was about to burst.
However, unlike him, the face of the Bright Left Envoy remained calm.
nn
No, behind his indifferent face, countless scenarios were being calculated.
But no matter how much he thought, no particular solution came to mind.
'Checkmate.'
They could provoke a civil war within the demon cult.
Even if the heretic faction combined forces with the Sword Sect and Hwan family, they still had a certain chance of winning.
But if the demon cultists started fighting among themselves, it would disrupt the Celestial Lord's plans.
The demon cult needed to keep its full strength to use as a sacrifice to overthrow the Jeongmumaeng.
In the end, the best option was for him and the Bright Right Envoy to fight Ou-yang Pae and win.
"As the Sword Demon and Hwan-ma have said, the Celestial Ceremony is a solemn ritual. Very well. Although they are heretics, we will accept their challenge."
The Bright Left Envoy's declaration surprised the Bright Right Envoy.
But after making eye contact with the Bright Left Envoy, he sighed and stepped forward.
As both the Bright Right and Left Envoys stepped forward, the demon cultists and heretics led by Ou-yang Pae spread out to create space.
In the meantime, an elder of the Dao Sect rescued the defeated Dao Demon, drawing attention for a moment.
Bam!
The Bright Right Envoy suddenly lunged at Ou-yang Pae.
After all, it was a life-and-death duel, and the demon cultists revered strength.
Unlike the unarmed matches of the orthodox sects, there was no need for a referee to mediate or someone to announce the start.
In a life-and-death duel, the one who let their guard down was at fault, and there was no one stupid enough to call it dishonorable.
Naturally,
Bang!
Ou-yang Pae was no fool.
After easily deflecting the Bright Right Envoy's sudden attack with his sword, he quickly moved.
At that moment,
Boom!
The spot where Ou-yang Pae had been standing exploded with a blast of earth and dust as the Bright Left Envoy's internal energy-infused attack struck.
Though Ou-yang Pae managed to evade the Bright Left Envoy's attack, he had no time to relax.
As the Bright Right Envoy swung his sword in mid-air, dozens of sword energies flew sharply towards Ou-yang Pae.
Ou-yang Pae swung his sword to deflect only the sword energies aimed directly at him.
Swish!
But astonishingly, the deflected sword energies twisted oddly to target Ou-yang Pae's forearm.
"Hup!"
Breathing shortly, Ou-yang Pae urgently dodged sideways, and as another sword energy approached, he swung his sword to deflect it.nn
Though he narrowly avoided the crisis, the Bright Left Envoy closed in and struck with a powerful energy attack.
Having just turned his body urgently, Ou-yang Pae couldn't avoid it easily, so he quickly moved his internal energy to deploy the Primordial Chaos Divine Art.
Boom!
As the heavy energy and grey lightning clashed, a violent explosion occurred.
Swish!
Amid the dust storm, the Bright Right Envoy's sword energy flew again.
Clang!
As the Bright Right Envoy's sword energy swept away the dust, it revealed Ou-yang Pae, who was deflecting the attack with his sword.
As the Bright Left Envoy moved in again to strike, the Hwan-ma frowned.
'As expected, it's not going to be easy.'
At a glance, Ou-yang Pae seemed superior to either the Bright Right or Left Envoy individually.
He was exchanging blows with the Bright Right Envoy and even slicing through the Bright Left Envoy's energy attacks with ease.
However, one-on-one and two-on-one were different scenarios.
In reality, Ou-yang Pae was barely able to counterattack, continuously being pushed back.
If Ou-yang Pae were to lose, he would be deemed to have chosen the wrong side.
Suddenly, a wave of anxiety washed over the Hwan-ma, almost making him revert to his childhood habit.
Managing to catch his hand with the other before he could bite his nails, Hwan-ma turned his gaze.
His eyes landed on the Sword Demon.
Amazingly, the Sword Demon, who had orchestrated this situation, was watching the life-and-death duel without a twitch.
Upon closer inspection, it seemed as if the Sword Demon's fingers were repeatedly grasping his sword, as if trying to gain some insight from the high-level fight.
Though this could be considered a typical stance for a demon cultist, it was incomprehensible from Hwan-ma's perspective.
While Hwan-ma was struggling with anxiety and the Sword Demon was focused on gaining enlightenment from the duel, there were others who were equally anxious.
These were the people who had followed Ou-yang Pae to this place, the demon cultists branded as heretics.
Among them, a woman with a special relationship with Ou-yang Pae, Dan Seo-yoon, felt an overwhelming urge to draw her weapon and join the fight.
In front of her eyes, the Bright Left Envoy's palm techniques clashed with Ou-yang Pae's sword.
At that moment, sword energies sent by the Bright Right Envoy flew towards Ou-yang Pae's back.
Even though Ou-yang Pae deflected the Bright Left Envoy's palm techniques and dodged, the Bright Right Envoy's sword energy grazed his left forearm.
"!!!"
Startled, Dan Seo-yoon almost leaped forward but managed to hold herself back.
"Are you nervous?"
It was Geum Yang-hwi who asked Dan Seo-yoon this question.
"No, I'm not."n
At her response, Geum Yang-hwi chuckled and turned his gaze to Ou-yang Pae, saying,
"Do not worry. Everything is going according to the Young Lord's plan."
"???"
Dan Seo-yoon, not understanding, looked at Geum Yang-hwi, who replied nonchalantly,
"Do you know what the most terrifying talent of the Young Lord is?"
"…Isn't it his unparalleled five senses?"
"Indeed. Using the same move against the Young Lord more than once is akin to suicide."
Dan Seo-yoon knew this much. However, there was another reason she couldn't shake off her anxiety.
"But, aren't masters like the Bright Left and Right Envoys beyond being bound by mere techniques?"
At her question, Byeok Ga-wan, who was also watching the duel, nodded.
"You are half correct. However, no matter how much one isn't bound by techniques, habits formed over decades of training and real battles do not disappear easily. Especially in life-and-death battles."
It was the primary reason why Byeok Ga-wan and Geum Yang-hwi, despite teaming up, were easily defeated by Ou-yang Pae.
At the beginning of their joint attack, they seemed to be winning.
But as the rounds piled up, winning became increasingly difficult, and now they were frequently defeated as if their wrists were being twisted by a child.
All their techniques and habits were read by Ou-yang Pae.
The more they fought, the more daunting it became to think of how to counter him, a feeling incomprehensible to those who had not experienced it.
"It was for the same reason that the Dao Demon was defeated so easily."
The Ilgongja, First Young Master had learned the same martial arts as the Dao Demon.
Though there was a difference in skill, Ou-yang Pae already knew all the techniques the Dao Demon would use.
Ou-yang Pae simply gauged the Dao Demon's level and combat style in the first few exchanges and then subdued him instantly.
This applied equally to the Bright Left and Right Envoys.
"Look."
At Geum Yang-hwi's words, Dan Seo-yoon turned her gaze back to the battlefield.
"Ugh!"
The Bright Right Envoy groaned lightly as his forearm was cut by Ou-yang Pae's sword.
Immediately after, the Bright Left Envoy struck with both palms at Ou-yang Pae, who swung his sword.
"!?"
As if he had predicted the movement, Ou-yang Pae's sword flowed like a single technique, slicing through and deflecting all of the Bright Left Envoy's attacks.
It was an extraordinary sight.
It was as if the Bright Left Envoy's techniques and Ou-yang Pae's responses were occurring simultaneously as if pre-arranged.
"The Bright Left and Right Envoys miscalculated."
n
"If they wanted to win against the Young Lord, they shouldn't have engaged in such meaningless probing battles but aimed for a decisive strike from the beginning."
Thanks to the unwavering gaze of the two men, Dan Seo-yoon regained her composure.
In the eyes of the two men, there wasn't the slightest doubt that Ou-yang Pae would lose.
And as predicted, the atmosphere of the life-and-death duel changed.
Though Ou-yang Pae was initially pushed back by the joint attack of the Bright Left and Right Envoys, evading and defending, he soon began to counterattack.
Surprisingly, unlike the Bright Left and Right Envoys, who couldn't inflict significant damage, every counterattack from Ou-yang Pae left a mark on their bodies.
'This is ridiculous!'
As he was about to strike, the Bright Left Envoy's eyes widened as his side was wounded.
'Is he reading my mind or something!'
As he prepared to launch an internal energy strike, it was as if Ou-yang Pae knew what technique he was going to use, moving to a position just out of reach while swinging his sword in an instant.
It felt as if he was deliberately offering his side to Ou-yang Pae's sword.
Though the Bright Left Envoy managed to avoid a fatal injury by changing his move midway, he couldn't help but be astonished.
'I must kill him no matter what!'
The Bright Left Envoy felt a foreboding that if Ou-yang Pae grew stronger, he would become an obstacle to the Celestial Lord's future.
As the Bright Left Envoy stepped back and pressed his acupoint to stop the bleeding from his side,
Clang!
Ou-yang Pae, who had approached and swung his sword at the Bright Right Envoy, began to exchange blows with him.
'Let's see you predict this!'
Determined to kill him this time, the Bright Left Envoy rushed towards Ou-yang Pae, sending a telepathic message to the Bright Right Envoy.
However, the message was quite peculiar.
- Om Ah Ra Neuge Zimi Savaha.
It sounded like a chant.
At the moment when Ou-yang Pae and the Bright Right Envoy clashed swords again,
- Sacrifice yourself and grab him!
The Bright Left Envoy's command struck the Bright Right Envoy's mind.
Simultaneously, the Bright Right Envoy, whose eyes briefly blurred, let go of his sword while clashing with Ou-yang Pae.
"!?"
Naturally, Ou-yang Pae's sword passed through the Bright Right Envoy's sword and pierced his torso.
Grab.
Immediately after, the Bright Right Envoy grabbed Ou-yang Pae's sword with one hand and Ou-yang Pae's opposite arm with the other.
"Die!!"
The Bright Left Envoy's powerful internal energy attack flew towards Ou-yang Pae's back, with his sword and arm firmly held by the Bright Right Envoy.