SYM 125
by Emerlyn“What are you doing!”
Cheong-un was about to use his body movement technique towards Jeong-hyeon but stopped abruptly.
Jeong-hyeon was holding the unconscious Eun-hyeon by the neck, who was limp.
Seeing the unconscious Eun-hyeon, Cheong-un felt his heart sink.
Cheong-un quickly spread his Inner energy, examining the unconscious Eun-hyeon’s body. He confirmed the heart was beating, weakly but definitely.
“Do you think anything will change by doing this?”
Cheong-un glared at Jeong-hyeon with fierce eyes.
Jeong-hyeon was absorbing Inner energy from Eun-hyeon, who was in his grasp. He was using the star absorbing art, which allowed him to absorb Inner energy without the other person’s consent.
“…You! You’re a righteous martial artist, yet you’ve learned the star absorbing art?”
“This is all because of you, Cheong-un. I didn’t want to go this far either. Apologize to Eun-hyeon when you meet him in the afterlife.”
A faint silver Inner energy was continuously being drawn out of Eun-hyeon’s body.
Cheong-un struck down on Jeong-hyeon’s arm, which was holding Eun-hyeon.
Clang—!
It was a sword imbued with solid sword energy, but instead of Jeong-hyeon’s arm being cut in two, there was a loud sound like striking an iron plate.
“What is this…”
Even as Cheong-un stared at Jeong-hyeon with a bewildered expression, Eun-hyeon’s Inner energy continued to be sucked away.
Cheong-un gritted his teeth.
Eun-hyeon was already physically weak, so he didn’t know what would happen if his Inner energy was sucked away like that.
Cheong-un increased the speed at which he swung his sword. If once wasn’t enough, he would swing twice, and if twice wasn’t enough, he would swing three or four times.
Cheong-un, gritting his teeth, continued to strike the same spot on Jeong-hyeon’s arm.
Clang, clang, clang—.
Jeong-hyeon, who had been stubbornly resisting, was forced to retreat after it was repeated several more times. Seeing that, Cheong-un raised the corner of his lips.
He still didn’t know exactly what the Reversing Heaven Energy could do, but it wasn’t invincible.
He could feel the Reversing Heaven Energy being depleted each time he clashed with the Demonic Divine Art.
Of course, Cheong-un’s own Inner energy was also being consumed, but it seemed that the Reversing Heaven Energy that Jeong-hyeon possessed was being consumed much faster.
Cheong-un, worried that Eun-hyeon might get hurt, surrounded himself with a protective Inner energy and swung his sword dazzlingly.
The flustered Jeong-hyeon staggered and retreated further and further.
The star absorbing art was a measure prepared to forcibly take the Inner energy if Eun-hyeon refused to give it willingly until the end.
Jeong-hyeon wasn’t satisfied with using such a crude trick as the star absorbing art, which was criticized even in the Demonic Faction.
Moreover, the Inner energy absorbed in this way was less efficient than when the other party directly gave the Inner energy. The Reversing Heaven Energy that came in was smaller and slower than he had expected, and Jeong-hyeon clenched his teeth.
Jeong-hyeon kept trying to distance himself from Cheong-un, but Cheong-un persistently followed him.
Jeong-hyeon bit his lip.
He never imagined he would be pushed back this much…
Boom boom boom!
A huge explosion was heard from the Barrier that had been spread out behind Cheong-un.
At the same time, black smoke and scorching heat rushed in.
“What, what is this…!”
The Barrier, which had been suppressing the heat that had been accumulating all along, had burst because it couldn’t handle it anymore.
Jeong-hyeon, who had been so focused on dealing with Cheong-un that he hadn’t noticed any of these signs, was flustered.
“You vicious bastard! I’ll let you off if you retreat now!”
Jeong-hyeon shouted out a bluff and looked at Eun-hyeon.
His mind was complicated.
He had meticulously prepared for this for a long time, but where exactly did things go wrong?
It seemed that the origin of the mistake was Eun-hyeon.
He thought he could easily persuade Eun-hyeon, who had followed him around with pleading eyes when they were studying in Kunlun, seeking affection.
Eun-hyeon had to lie down for several days after giving him Inner energy once, but he had never refused his request. So he thought that this time too, he would easily agree and help.
Jeong-hyeon looked at Eun-hyeon, who was in his hands, with resentful eyes.
And at that moment.
“Leader!”
He heard something running towards him from the front and shouting.
“Ah! Eun-hyeon!”
Jeong-hyeon was delighted and raised his head. Cheong-un also had no choice but to turn his head for a moment at the word Eun-hyeon.
And what came from outside the Barrier, which was filled with smoke, was Seo Eun-hyeon’s Undead. Seo Eun-hyeon ran to where Jeong-hyeon was, looking terrible with soot on his face.
“Cheong-un, you bastard! How dare you try to interfere with the Leader!”
The Undead Seo Eun-hyeon drew his sword and glared at Cheong-un.
Cheong-un glanced back and forth between the Undead Seo Eun-hyeon and Jeong-hyeon and chuckled.
“Is this your last resort? Do you think I came all the way here because I couldn’t cut that down?”
No matter what Cheong-un said, Seo Eun-hyeon’s Undead was pointing his sword at Cheong-un. The unwavering eyes reminded him of the real Seo Eun-hyeon, which made Cheong-un feel disgusted.
“Cheong-un! Are you trying to kill your Master with your own hands! You ungrateful bastard!”
Cheong-un frowned at the sound of Seo Eun-hyeon’s Undead shouting.
Perhaps because Seo Eun-hyeon’s martial prowess was not very high in the first place, Seo Eun-hyeon’s Undead was not very strong. The reason he was stepping forward like this was because he thought Cheong-un would be weak against him. That made him feel unpleasant.
“To think I was seen so lightly. I have nothing to say.”
Cheong-un swung his sword at Seo Eun-hyeon’s Undead without hesitation.
With a simple thud, Seo Eun-hyeon’s body was split in half.
Since it was a body that had been dead for a long time, blood didn’t flow, but it wasn’t a pleasant sight.
Cheong-un soon turned his head and looked at Jeong-hyeon.
Jeong-hyeon, whose face was covered with black Inner energy on one side, felt more like something other than a person.
It seemed that he had prepared something while Seo Eun-hyeon had briefly caught Cheong-un’s attention.
The Reversing Heaven Energy covering Jeong-hyeon was fluctuating wildly. Each time, Jeong-hyeon’s body was dyed black and then returned to normal.
The moment Cheong-un felt Jeong-hyeon’s eyes flash ominously, Jeong-hyeon threw Eun-hyeon away.
Cheong-un’s body shot out like an arrow and reached out towards Eun-hyeon. It was an action that was done before he could think or calculate anything. And right then, Jeong-hyeon suddenly appeared in front of Cheong-un.
It was as if he had folded space, Jeong-hyeon, who had been at the other end, came out without any warning.
Cheong-un knew that Jeong-hyeon had done this with the remaining Reversing Heaven Energy.
The moment he reached out and caught Eun-hyeon, a long blade cut through Cheong-un’s side with a poof. The moment he felt a burning pain, he held Eun-hyeon in his arms.
All of this happened in a very short moment.
Cheong-un held Eun-hyeon with one hand and covered his open side with the other.
“Hahaha! How does the taste of Reversing Heaven feel? I have personally shoved the Reversing Heaven Energy into you for your sake!”
He had taken advantage of the gap when Cheong-un was briefly distracted to catch Eun-hyeon and shoved the Reversing Heaven Energy into him.
Cheong-un surrounded his Inner energy and forcibly stopped the circulation to prevent bleeding, but his condition was not good.
“Master. Are you alright?”
Cheong-un whispered softly in Eun-hyeon’s ear. Eun-hyeon’s eyebrows, which had been closed without any movement until now, trembled.
Seeing that, Cheong-un smiled gently. He could finally feel relieved when Eun-hyeon showed a reaction.
Eun-hyeon’s eyebrows slowly rose. His eyes were still unfocused, as if he hadn’t fully regained consciousness yet. But that alone was enough for Cheong-un to breathe a sigh of relief.
“Cheong-un. I have a proposal for you. Put down Eun-hyeon and leave. Then I won’t chase after you. You won’t be able to recover your original martial prowess because you were cut by the Reversing Heaven Energy, but you will be able to save your life.”
Cheong-un looked at Jeong-hyeon, who was standing with a triumphant expression.
He had only managed to wound Cheong-un by using Eun-hyeon as bait, but it seemed that he wanted Eun-hyeon again.
“Jeong-hyeon.”
“As you know, I need Eun-hyeon. So I won’t harm Eun-hyeon. Making him an Undead is to keep Eun-hyeon alive for a long time, not to harm him. If you just hand over Eun-hyeon, we don’t necessarily have to be enemies.”
“……”
When Cheong-un didn’t answer, Jeong-hyeon seemed to become anxious and took a step closer, glancing at the flames.
“It’s not a bad deal for you either, is it? Just hand over Eun-hyeon. After Eun-hyeon’s Undead is completed, we can even have meetings from time to time. If you give up on Eun-hyeon and leave, Eun-hyeon will also cooperate with me.”
It wasn’t Cheong-un who reacted to Jeong-hyeon’s words, but someone else.
Eun-hyeon, who had been blinking, got up from his seat.
“…Cheong-un. Accept that offer.”
Eun-hyeon said in a terribly cracked voice.