SYM 123

Jeong-hyeon was taken aback and stepped back.

Until just now, Cheong-un seemed to agree with his words, so why was he suddenly acting like this?

Did something he said offend him? Or, as rumored, had Demonic Energy infiltrated his brain, driving him mad?

Jeong-hyeon, seeing Cheong-un lunging towards him, quickly retreated using Divine Shadow.

“Ugh!”

Blocking the attack with his scabbard while dodging was an instinctive reaction honed over many years.

Clang, clang, clang, clang!

The scraping sound of metal colliding echoed loudly.

Jeong-hyeon gritted his teeth.

His strength wasn’t in external Martial Arts, but he hadn’t neglected it either. Even excluding the Reversing Heaven Energy he had accumulated since joining the Hongbaek Sect, as the leader of Kunlun, he wouldn’t be easily pushed around.

Yet, to be driven back like this without even using his qi… It was an absurdly powerful force.

With no time to draw his sword, Jeong-hyeon blocked Cheong-un’s blade a couple of times with his scabbard before quickly retreating. He realized he couldn’t compete with Cheong-un in terms of raw power.

In truth, Jeong-hyeon hadn’t believed the rumors of a Heavenly Demon being born in the Demonic Sect, despite all the commotion. He thought it was just boasting since Cheong-un hadn’t had any real opportunity to show his skills in the current Central Plains.

The title of Heavenly Demon was reserved for those who had mastered the Demonic Divine Art, passed down only to the Demonic Sect’s leader, and it was absurd to think that a leader who wasn’t even thirty yet could be a Heavenly Demon.

But now, actually facing him with swords, he realized that the title of Heavenly Demon wasn’t just empty bravado.

“What are you doing!”

Jeong-hyeon spat out the dirt that had gotten into his mouth and shouted. His appearance was a mess from rolling on the ground while retreating.

“Today, I’ll expose your hypocrisy.”

Cheong-un flicked the sword he was holding, as if waiting for Jeong-hyeon to draw his own.

“Hah. Since my junior apprentice-brother is asking for a punishment duel, I have no choice.”

In the darkness, Jeong-hyeon’s eyes gleamed.

At the same time, an unpleasant, sticky energy began to emanate from him.

* * *

Before clashing with Jeong-hyeon, Cheong-un was searching for Amhon to protect Eun-hyeon from any potential danger.

[Amhon! Yoon Ju-myeong! Is anyone there?]

But there was no response, either because they weren’t around or because they were dead.

Cheong-un suppressed the creeping unease and looked at Jeong-hyeon.

He was certain that Jeong-hyeon needed Eun-hyeon, so he wouldn’t have harmed him. At most, he would have knocked him unconscious and hidden him somewhere.

Cheong-un stared at the black energy swirling within Jeong-hyeon.

Jeong-hyeon hadn’t unleashed it yet, but Cheong-un could clearly see the ominous black energy filling and overflowing inside him.

So that’s what they call Reversing Heaven Energy.

He was convinced that the reason he couldn’t freely unleash his own energy here, and why Jeong-hyeon’s figure appeared distorted and painted black, was all due to that energy.

While he was pondering what to do, Cheong-un felt a scorching heat behind him.

Fire.

Cheong-un flinched involuntarily.

He couldn’t see outside from here, so he didn’t know the situation, but with this kind of heat, it seemed like the fire hadn’t been contained in time.

Jeong-hyeon was closer to the inside of the Barrier than Cheong-un, so he probably didn’t know yet, but the flames had clearly reached the Barrier.

If more time passed, the fire would intensify, and eventually, this place would be affected as well.

For him, such flames wouldn’t be a big problem, but the issue was Eun-hyeon. It was dangerous for him to be unconscious, inhaling smoke, and suffering from a lack of air.

Cheong-un decided to end things quickly with Jeong-hyeon. He didn’t want to risk anything without securing Eun-hyeon’s safety, but it seemed like dragging things out would be more dangerous now.

Having finished his calculations, Cheong-un pretended to listen to Jeong-hyeon’s words and then seized an opportunity to attack. He drew his sword in an instant and smoothly slashed down from above.

Jeong-hyeon, hastily retreating, quickly raised his scabbard to block.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

“What are you doing!”

Jeong-hyeon, who had rolled on the dirt floor, spat out saliva mixed with dirt.

Cheong-un clicked his tongue briefly at the sight.

He had intended to split his head open in one go, but he had failed. So, the leader of a major sect is still a leader, huh?

“Today, I’ll expose your hypocrisy.”

Cheong-un deliberately wore an arrogant expression to provoke Jeong-hyeon and beckoned with his hand.

“Hah. Since my junior apprentice-brother is asking for a punishment duel, I have no choice.”

Jeong-hyeon was enraged.

As soon as Jeong-hyeon finished speaking, Cheong-un launched Divine Shadow towards him. His movements were so fast that to the average person, it would have looked like he suddenly popped out of nowhere.

A bluish aura surrounded Cheong-un’s sword. When he swung it, it felt like will-o’-the-wisps were flashing.

Cheong-un swung his sword with the feeling of cutting off Jeong-hyeon’s head with every strike. But Jeong-hyeon didn’t easily show an opening.

Clang, crash!

The moment Jeong-hyeon’s sword and Cheong-un’s sword met, a deafening sound, as if a thunderclap bomb had exploded, rang out. The air trembled every time the blades collided.

Then, the swords clashed and locked in a contest of strength. A sharp screeching noise leaked out as the metal interlocked. Jeong-hyeon’s expression hardened with each screech.

“I know quite a bit about Kunlun’s swordsmanship, you see.”

Jeong-hyeon’s eyes trembled as he looked at Cheong-un, whose lips were twisted into a smirk.

Originally, Kunlun and the Demonic Sect knew each other’s Martial Arts well. Cheong-un was now facing Jeong-hyeon, the leader of Kunlun, with Kunlun’s swordsmanship.

“…Are you trying to mock me?”

“How about receiving the Supreme Purity Sword this time? Ah, I also like the Supreme Void Dragon Slayer Sword or the Fiery Dragon Demon Subduing Sword.”

As Cheong-un swung his sword with a grin, Jeong-hyeon bit his lip hard.

Cheong-un deliberately used Kunlun’s sword techniques to fight Cheong-un. If Cheong-un used the Supreme Purity Sword, he would also use the Supreme Purity Sword, and if he used the Cloud Dragon Thirteen Swords, he would also use the Cloud Dragon Thirteen Swords.

Jeong-hyeon’s face flushed red with anger.

To engage in a fight with him, the leader of Kunlun, using Kunlun’s swordsmanship… This was beyond mockery.

At this point, it was clear that he was being toyed with.

“You insolent bastard! Shut up!”

“How did I, the Heavenly Demon of the Demonic Sect, end up in this situation? Being lectured by a pervert.”

He wanted to separate Cheong-un’s head from his body right away, but Jeong-hyeon knew better than anyone that it wouldn’t be easy.

“You! I’ll make you regret your reckless words for the rest of your life. How dare you, a bastard who’s horny for his own master!”

Jeong-hyeon had been chosen as Kunlun’s successor since childhood and had never been subjected to harsh words from others. Perhaps that’s why Jeong-hyeon easily lost his composure to Cheong-un’s vulgar words. It was almost embarrassing to even call it a trick to provoke him.

Sparks flew wildly every time the two men’s swords collided.

“Yes, I’m horny for my master, but aren’t you horny for your young junior apprentice-brother? You’ve known your master since you were a snot-nosed kid, and you’re horny for him? Aren’t you a real pervert?”

“You filthy bastard, you only pick the dirtiest things to say!”

As Jeong-hyeon shouted, the black energies within him burst out as if overflowing.

The unpleasant black energies didn’t attack Cheong-un immediately, but they were spreading around.

He wasn’t sure what those black energies could do, but he felt an instinctive aversion to them.

Cheong-un’s sword cut through them as if parting them, but they didn’t suffer any damage.

“Hahaha, you tried to cut those with your sword? How amusing. That’s Reversing Heaven Energy, in other words, the energy of all things in the universe. It’s not an energy that can be cut by some blade.”

Cheong-un narrowed his eyes as he watched the black energies flowing somewhere.

At first glance, it seemed like they were flowing randomly, but upon closer inspection, the black energies were moving with a certain regularity, as if they were finding their place.

The black energy, which had been drawing a circle as if creating a formation technique, suddenly blazed like a flame.

The jet-black flames were eerie just to look at.