After asking around, I finally found Bing Yerin and the Haomun Leader.
The two of them were cornered, surrounded by Demonic Cultists.
…Demonic Cultists using a martial art that looked familiar.
"Blood Flame Death Cultivation?"
The Blood Flame Fist Demon, whom Seol Ri-hyang and I had taken down together long ago. This was the martial art that had kept him alive as a Martial World Criminal for so long, and a demonic art that no one besides the Blood Flame Fist Demon himself had ever mastered.
His disciples were no exception, so I couldn't help but be startled for a moment.
Because every single Demonic Cultist surrounding Bing Yerin and the Haomun Leader appeared to be a Transcendent Peak martial artist, just like the Blood Flame Fist Demon.
But it wasn't long before I understood what was going on.
Even accounting for the demonic art, their energy was unstable. And their faces twisted in pain with every movement, as if they had swallowed burning flames.
Just like the Sword Demon, every one of them had risen to a level beyond their own capabilities.
Their limbs moved as if shoved from behind, because they were being wielded by their own martial arts rather than the other way around.
And the reason even the slightest movement caused them such agony was that they couldn't withstand the side effect—the pain of their blood turning to fire and melting their internal organs from within.
Still, a Transcendent Peak martial artist clinging to the threshold was still a Transcendent Peak martial artist.
Six… no, now that I looked, one had fallen back and was only watching, so five, then.
It was a wonder Bing Yerin and the Haomun Leader had held out this long against five Transcendent Peak martial artists.
It was probably because the martial arts Bing Yerin had learned from the North Sea Ice Palace were the polar opposite of the Blood Flame Death Cultivation, and the Haomun Leader, true to his position as the head of Haomun, had also mastered a martial art filled with life-saving techniques.
But even that was gradually reaching its limit. Their breath had risen to their chins, and they stood back to back as if there was nowhere left to retreat.
Moreover, the one who had been watching from the sidelines had an aura that was unmistakably Harmony Realm.
Like the Sword Demon… no, judging by how much more unbalanced and twisted his aura was than the Sword Demon's, it seemed he hadn't reached Harmony Realm through proper means.
"Seol Ri-hyang."
"Yeah. I'll help Bing Yerin and the Haomun Leader."
"I'll leave it to you. I'll finish up quickly and join you."
Of course, that bastard had reached a level beyond his master, the Blood Flame Fist Demon, but he wasn't a difficult opponent for me now.
"————!"
Seol Ri-hyang infused her voice with internal energy, conjuring a small storm of cold air.
The searing heat of the Blood Flame Death Cultivation that had been swallowing the surroundings cooled in an instant. The gazes of everyone focused on the battle turned to Seol Ri-hyang.
"I'll go ahead!"
Seol Ri-hyang brushed off those stares as if they meant nothing and charged toward the encirclement.
The internal energy rippling like flames. The clear murderous intent and heat within it were extinguished one by one before Seol Ri-hyang's steps.
Of course, it didn't disappear completely. It was just that the heat that had been scorching the entire area subsided, leaving only herself as fuel.
With this, the fight should be worth attempting now.
Seol Ri-hyang, who freely wielded a cold energy so vast it defied comparison with Bing Yerin's, grinned at the sight of Bing Yerin's sparkling eyes.
"The ice arts. That's not how you use them."
"…What?"
Bing Yerin, who had been moved to tears, gaped blankly. But Seol Ri-hyang, who had glimpsed part of the Heavenly Demon Divine Art and grasped the workings of the Force Qi Skill, answered not with words but with action.
"————!"
A high-pitched voice erupted from her throat. At the same time, Seol Ri-hyang's cold energy went beyond simply bursting forth—it took on a form of its own.
A long shape that resembled a whip, and also brought to mind the Azure-White Flood Dragon she had summoned to block the enemy earlier.
Though she was still at the Transcendent Peak realm and had executed this using internal energy carried in her voice rather than Aura… it would be more than enough to deal with a fellow Transcendent Peak Martial Artist.
As if responding to Seol Ri-hyang's voice, a mass of cold energy writhed and flew forward. Whether they realized they couldn't face it head-on, the Blood Flame Fist Demon's disciples dissolved the Unity Formation and scattered.
Kwaaaaang!
The cold energy spread half a beat behind the loud noise. The frozen ground shattered and burst in all directions.
The Blood Flame Fist Demon's disciples gritted their teeth at the sight of Seol Ri-hyang, one of their master's enemies, and their internal energy flared violently… but.
Seol Ri-hyang wasn't fighting alone—Bing Yerin and the Haomun Leader were there too. They could handle that side without much trouble.
I confirmed that Bing Yerin and the Haomun Leader, having caught their breath, were steadying their stances and taking position behind Seol Ri-hyang, then turned my gaze forward.
There stood a disciple of the Blood Flame Fist Demon who had been holding back from the fight all along, stepping aside—yet watching only me. He had reached the Harmony Realm.
That one, who had stayed silent until now, finally opened his mouth with a thoroughly hoarse voice.
"…White Moon Sword Lord. There is something I wish to ask."
"What a coincidence. I was about to say the same."
"Then shall we trade, one question at a time?"
"Not a bad idea."
Unlike the others, he was not yet channeling his internal energy in earnest, yet his brow kept twitching and contorting.
Even standing still, the pain of the side effects rising through him was considerable. And why not? If his Aura was even more unstable than the Sword Demon's, he must have forced his realm up by some reckless means—only natural, then.
With my hand resting on the sword hilt, I quickly scanned him, and before long he spoke again.
"How did your master die?"
"After neutralizing the heat with Seol Ri-hyang's martial art, my sword severed her neck."
"…Did she leave any last words?"
"I don't know. She seemed to want to say something, but I had already completely taken her head off by then."
"…"
"Whether you know it or not, that woman burned an entire village—and everyone in it—to death for no other reason than to hide her tracks."
"I have no intention of condemning you, White Moon Sword Lord, for killing my master. It was a battle where both of us staked our lives, and I knew well that both my master and I were people who deserved to die."
"Then why are you asking all this?"
"Is that your question?"
"No. I was just saying that."
"…Well, fine. I'll answer that freely. I merely wanted to know. How a master who trained in martial arts without resorting to tricks like mine, feeding solely on his own wounds, could die in battle."
"I wasn't particularly curious, but I understand. Most who touch demonic arts wonder how their own end will come."
Demonic arts are martial arts that hasten achievement even at the cost of harming one's own body. And on top of that, blinded by vengeance, he had cast aside all principles.
What awaits at the end of that path—one hopes, if possible, that it will be worth burning one's entire life for… I suppose it's a kind of compensation psychology.
I tapped the hilt of the sword in my hand and continued.
"Then it's my turn now. What is the Heavenly Demon plotting these days?"
"How could I presume to fathom the will of the Supreme One?"
"What…"
He had heard everything he wanted to hear, and now that it was his turn to answer, he was trying to weasel out of it. I drew my sword. His words weren't finished yet, though.
"All I know is that the Supreme One gave every cultist sent to the Central Plains the same command He gave me."
"…And what is that?"
The man, who had kept a composed expression at my question, gave a faint smile.
"Permission to throw away our own lives as recklessly as we wish, should we so desire."
The moment those words left his mouth, his Aura exploded outward, and his entire body became engulfed in blue flames.
This was no Protective Qi condensed from pure Yang energy. This was true fire, kindled with his own body as fuel.
Thanks to Seol Ri-hyang, the air around me had cooled, but it heated up again in an instant. I reflexively swung my sword.
Ssshhhiiing!
The blade split the air. The white sword, its edge already stained white, drove straight toward the bastard's heart. But—
"…You've got to be kidding me."
Through the Heavenly Eye, I saw his chest. A massive surge of internal energy was swirling within, as if it would burst out at any moment. I twisted the tip of my sword.
Thunk!
Even with his shoulder pierced, the bastard swung his other fist as if the pain meant nothing.
The blue flames born of his fire aura didn't just burn the surroundings—they exploded along with them.
KWAANG!
I immediately widened the distance with the Thunder Step and let the exploding internal energy flow out of me.
It wasn't a difficult task.
Blocking the burning fist, cutting his neck or piercing his heart before the bastard could launch his next move—that much was easy.
Truly, it wasn't difficult. The problem was…
"The Blood Explosion Art, is it."
Using the heart as a Dantian, the blood vessels as Meridians, dissolving internal energy into the blood… turning one's own body into a single bomb.
A martial art premised on suicide that, even at first-rate level, could inflict serious wounds on a master if used well.
Even if it was a shortcut, this was unleashed by someone who had set one foot into the Harmony Realm and had mastered a demonic art that burned even his own blood.
Because he had touched a realm beyond his own limits, his internal energy had been rampaging from the moment he drew it up, so it seemed impossible for him to self-destruct at will…
But when the rampage of his internal energy reached its peak, or the moment his life came to an end, that vast surge of Force Qi would blow this entire area to pieces.
It wouldn't just be a few pillars flying off. Not only the pavilion we were in, but many of the surrounding buildings would be shattered as well.
The only one who could survive that explosion… would probably be me.
"What a madman."
"What's there to be surprised about now? You know very well that I, my master, and everyone in the Demonic Cult are just revenge-obsessed lunatics."
"I thought I already said I had nothing to say about you killing the Blood Flame Fist Demon."
"I never said I wouldn't hold a grudge. More than anything… you, White Moon Sword Lord, may not know this, but the Haomun is an enemy I would never forgive even unto death, so please, die with me."
"I refuse."
Wreathed in the blue flames born of his rampaging internal energy, I swung my sword as if to shove away the man spouting such madness.
But when he thrust his neck toward my blade, swung only as a feint, I had no choice but to hastily pull the sword back.
I lightly deflected the fist that came flying next, along with the energy wrapped around it, and focused my internal energy not into my sword but into my eyes.
This can't go on. If I drag out time, he'll explode, and if I cut his life short with my own hands, he'll explode all the same.
The only way is to read the chaotic flow of rampaging energy precisely with the Heavenly Eye and scatter it all before it bursts.
"Keugh."
But that flow is too complex and too fast. I can see it with my eyes, but seeing it and cutting through it with a sword at the precise grain is practically impossible.
If he had only mastered the Exploding Blood Art alone, it might be different, but with the Blood Flame Death Cultivation added on top, predicting his movements becomes incredibly difficult.
The Heavenly Demon probably knew this and sent the Blood Flame Fist Demon's disciples.
In the end, all I can do is endure the onslaught as much as possible and somehow read the grain to cut through it precisely.
…No, grabbing Seol Ri-hyang and Bing Yerin with both hands and quickly pulling back is also an option.
He can light the fuse, but he can't cut the fuse to whatever length he wants.
There's still time before the internal energy reaches its peak of rampage. And with the Thunder Step, I can leave this place faster than anyone.
However, the Haomun Leader, not to mention the entire Haomun, will be shattered.
This would mean failing to keep the promise I made to the Haomun Leader, and at the same time, starting the coming war with the Demonic Cult by throwing away one of our intelligence organizations…
But it's better than me and my people dying.
That was the moment I steeled my resolve.
"Cheon Hwi!"
It was Seol Ri-hyang, who had already taken down the Blood Flame Fist Demon's other disciples, who shouted.
"That flame! If we cool it down for a bit, we can do something with it, right?!"
"Can you do it?!"
"I don't know! But we've done it before, haven't we? It'll work out somehow!"
The cold air flowing from Seol Ri-hyang cools the blazing hot air.
Just like the day we brought down the Blood Flame Fist Demon.