Chapter 682
Swish!
Staring at Jin Taekyung, who was rushing straight at him, Great Snow Demon muttered inwardly.
‘Yes, come.’
He felt a long-lost tremor at the young brat’s glib tongue, but nothing changed.
He had long since erased from his mind that his opponent was a callow youth, barely more than a blood clot. How could he dare? Jin Taekyung, as Great Snow Demon understood him, was a monster unprecedented throughout history.
Considering that even the giants who had left enormous footprints in the distant history of the Murim, the Three Stars and the Ten Kings, had reached the pinnacle of their skills only after passing at least thirty years of age, it was even more so.
Terrifying talent. And an absurdly young age.
Along with Cheongpung of the Mount Hua Sect, another genius who inherited the legacy of Sword Saint Ma Jonghak, he was sure to become the most dangerous obstacle.
‘At least within the next fifty years, he will grow into a monster comparable to the Martial God and the Heavenly Demon. I must deal with him now.’
Great Snow Demon did not know the exact details of what Southern Demon Empress, his direct superior, intended by ordering Jin Taekyung to be captured alive.
However, at this moment, he was only certain of his own judgment.
‘Demon Empress, you are wrong this time.
He is… an existence that must never be allowed to live.’
With a silent word, Twin Wheels spewed out a rough cry from between Great Snow Demon’s sleeves.
Now that his martial arts and identity had been revealed, there was no benefit to be gained from hiding his strength.
Great Snow Demon’s eyes flashed as he focused all his senses and watched Jin Taekyung’s figure rapidly approaching.
‘Now!’
It was at that very moment.
Whoosh!
The Twin Wheels, spinning rapidly, left his wrinkled hands.
Swoosh!
The Twin Wheels, filled with extreme Yin Cold Energy, froze the space as they shot out.
The two blades, drawing bizarre movements according to Great Snow Demon’s will, fell to the ground, where Jin Taekyung had already arrived, only three zhang away.
Clang!
A roar and a mixture of blue and white flashes.
Jin Taekyung, who had deflected the Twin Wheels with a single swing, burst out through the mist-like steam.
Swish!
A swift movement that seemed no different from the beginning, but Great Snow Demon’s sharp eyes were grasping everything in detail.
‘He’s just suppressing it for a moment. The aftereffects of the internal injuries are definitely still there.’
It was a very subtle difference, but it was definitely visible. Unlike the beginning, his movements were subtly disordered and his momentum had become rougher.
At this moment, Jin Taekyung, reflected in Great Snow Demon’s eyes, was a wounded beast. Although he still had sharp claws, he was rapidly tiring.
And Great Snow Demon was a skilled hunter who knew better than anyone how to hunt such beasts.
‘At this rate, it’s only a matter of time before I defeat him.’
Even now, Black Hand Demon Fist was with him as a hunting dog.
Although not strong enough to sink his teeth into the beast’s neck, he was a violent hunting dog enough to rush at the beast on behalf of the hunter.
Flash!
“Black Hand Demon Fist!”
The hunter retreated, the hunting dog advanced.
Exactly the distance Jin Taekyung was approaching, Great Snow Demon, who had stepped back, shouted, and Black Hand Demon Fist rushed towards Jin Taekyung.
Roar!”
With a roar full of anger, dozens of palm strikes imbued with powerful internal energy were fired.
Kwarooo!
Black Strong Energy crashing like a wave. At the same time, the spear in Jin Taekyung’s hand became blurred.
Swoosh!
The realm of the transcendent, where only the chosen can set foot.
The young monster, who had reached that realm at the tender age of adolescence, thrust out his spear without a moment’s hesitation, and the blue-white flames coiling around the blade pierced the center of the black wave.
Boom!
A strike that accurately pierced one point.
Great Snow Demon, seeing Jin Taekyung splitting and bursting through the wave of strong energy, stretched out both hands towards the sky.
At the same time, the Twin Wheels, which had been deflected by the spear blade earlier and were wandering somewhere in the air, plunged downwards.
Whooooosh!
Movement like a living creature.
Some would call this Telekinesis, or Silk Sword using strings or threads, but both were wrong.
What moved the Twin Wheels was Great Snow Demon’s will itself, and the Twin Wheels, moved only by the power of the Middle Dantian, contained only one goal.
‘Die.’
A chilling murderous intent, like ice, directed at only one person.
The two wheels, bending in different directions and falling like flashes of light, and the figure of Black Hand Demon Fist, shooting out with a violent momentum.
Whoosh! Swish!
Three flashes of light simultaneously attacking from three sides.
Looking at Jin Taekyung, who existed at the intersection of that death, Great Snow Demon was certain.
‘If he confronts Black Hand Demon Fist like this, he won’t be safe. He will definitely retreat, so I’ll take advantage of that gap…’
But at that moment, Jin Taekyung’s movement rendered Great Snow Demon’s thoughts completely useless.
Flash!
Jin Taekyung advanced. Without an inch of retreat or hesitation.
He swung his spear like lightning at the Twin Wheels flying overhead, and unleashed a fist like the forepaw of a tiger driven to the edge of a cliff.
Clang! Crack!
Soon after, Great Snow Demon could see clearly.
Thump!
Amidst the roar and flashing light that seemed to split the sky, a spear soared over Jin Taekyung’s shoulder.
Whooooosh! Thud!
And Jin Taekyung’s shoulder, which collided with Black Hand Demon Fist, was crossed like lightning by the Twin Wheels, leaving behind his beloved weapon that he had let go of.
Thud! Splatter!
A fountain of bright red blood gushing out and a staggering figure.
In this unexpected situation that unfolded in an instant, even the usually cold-blooded Great Snow Demon paused without retrieving the Twin Wheels that had penetrated deep into the stone wall.
‘Why on earth did he make that choice?’
It was something Great Snow Demon could not understand. If he were in the same position, he would have chosen to evade without a moment’s hesitation.
However, his thoughts could not continue any further.
Rumble!
The shockwave that erupted around Jin Taekyung and Black Hand Demon Fist, the two transcendent masters, shook the space.
Each of their fists, meeting in the air, trembled without retreating or advancing, evenly matched.
With three words flashing through his mind, Great Snow Demon’s figure blurred.
Whoosh!
The current Jin Taekyung was exhausted from successive injuries.
The fact that Black Hand Demon Fist, who was clearly a level below despite being the same transcendent master, was momentarily on par with him was proof of this, and Great Snow Demon was not a clumsy hunter enough to miss the opportunity that had come earlier than expected.
‘Now is the perfect time.’
Even if it was a wounded and bleeding beast, a beast was still a beast. The hunting dog called Black Hand Demon Fist could never defeat that young beast.
If the only one who could cut off the beast’s breath, the hunter, did not step forward.
‘I must kill him. Right now.’
The judgment made in a fleeting moment was cold, and the advancing figure was like lightning.
Swish. With each step he took, the Yin Cold Energy flowing from Great Snow Demon’s entire body froze the air.
Closing the distance of twenty zhang in just three steps, he could confirm the one person visible over Black Hand Demon Fist’s shoulder.
‘Jin Taekyung.’
He could see him. He could feel him.
Haa. Haa.
Rough breathing and a pale face. The upper body, where the Twin Wheels had brushed past, was soaked in bright red blood, and the eyes of the beast, who had discovered the presence of the hunter who had already arrived right in front of him, were trembling slightly.
‘My judgment was correct.’
Certainty settled in Great Snow Demon’s eyes, which had been coldly sinking.
Blazing Fire Dragon Jin Taekyung. The successor of the Blazing Flame Sect and the descendant of Fire King Jeok Cheon-gang.
In the distant future, the divine dragon of the Central Plains, who would one day become the new Martial God and look down upon the world, would die before becoming an existence above the clouds.
On this very day, in this very place.
The time for the hunt had come.
Swoosh.
The wind blew. A wind that would blow cold air into the air and land that had been briefly heated, and cover the mountains, rivers, and trees with frost.
And it was a Snow Wind that gave despair to some and hope to others.
‘He’s here. He’s here!’
Black Hand Demon Fist barely suppressed the cheers that were about to burst out from between his lips.
He didn’t usually like Great Snow Demon. No, considering the attitude Great Snow Demon had shown him in the past, even this expression was generous.
Always speaking in an overbearing tone as if he were dealing with a servant, and looking at him as if he were far beneath him. If his martial arts had been up to par, he might have killed him long ago, hiding from Southern Demon Empress’s eyes.
But in a situation like this, Great Snow Demon’s existence was like a thousand troops and ten thousand horses.
Black Hand Demon Fist smiled madly as he looked at Jin Taekyung, who was already trying to quickly withdraw.
‘You disciple of the Blazing Flame Sect, who I can’t even feel relieved to tear apart and kill. You will never escape.’
Crack!
In a fleeting moment, a hand that had spread out like a hook wrapped around Jin Taekyung’s fist, which was about to fall.
It was the Seizing Hand that Black Hand Demon Fist had mastered for as long as he had practiced his fist techniques.
Crackle. It felt as if his hands would burn up at any moment from the lava-like heat, but Black Hand Demon Fist didn’t care.
A single moment was enough. Then this pain, and Jin Taekyung’s life, would be over.
Black Hand Demon Fist looked at Jin Taekyung’s wide eyes and shouted as if cheering.
“Sunbae!”
And Great Snow Demon responded to Black Hand Demon Fist’s call even before his shout was over.
By shoving the Ice Sword, made only of extreme Yin Cold Energy, into Black Hand Demon Fist’s back.
Thwack!
“!”
In a slowed-down world, Black Hand Demon Fist’s figure froze at the same time as a single sound of flesh tearing.
But for Great Snow Demon, the reaction of the hunting dog who had fulfilled his mission was of no concern.
His coldly sinking gaze was directed only at one place, at Jin Taekyung, whose eyes were wide with pain and shock.
No, it should have been.
Just like the former sect leader of the Jongnam Sect, whom he had encountered in the distant past in the Great Snow Mountains.
And like Black Hand Demon Fist, who had already met his death.
He should have died pierced by an Ice Sword containing powerful Yin Cold Energy.
But…
‘What is this?’ Great Snow Demon’s eyes, which had been motionless as if frozen, trembled.
At the place where his slowly lowered gaze arrived, he saw someone’s hand touching his chest.
The hand that had pierced Black Hand Demon Fist’s chest at the same time as the Ice Sword that Great Snow Demon had unleashed, no. Slightly ahead of that, that hand was red and blue, and blue and dazzling.
Hwareuk
Hot. Flesh and bone. Even the soul inside the body seemed to be burning.
Looking at the blue-white hellfire burning while containing blood, Great Snow Demon muttered in a voice that seemed to be boiling.
“How on earth?”
And the next moment, Jin Taekyung’s calm voice pierced his ears.
“You should have stabbed higher. Unless you weren’t planning on giving me experience points.”
What?
Great Snow Demon wanted to ask again, but Jin Taekyung did not allow his question.
Boom!
Beyond the terrible heat that seemed to burn his entire body, Great Snow Demon could see.
‘That’s…’
The collapsing body of Black Hand Demon Fist, and the unidentified red armor draped over Jin Taekyung’s upper body.
Crack!