Chapter 483

The place was pure chaos, a real shock to the senses.

Who is the Mount Tai Demon Lord, you ask?

A master of Claw Techniques in the later stages of the Realm of Transformation!

Claw Techniques are a branch of Martial Arts that involve attacking by scratching with the hands, and the Mount Tai Demon Lord is the top master in that field.

They say when he swings his hands, a person’s form is shattered into pieces—hence the name ‘Mount Tai’!

Sure, he’s known for being eccentric, with brutal hands that tear people apart—hence the title ‘Demon Lord’—but that’s just how it is.

But the biggest shock came from Lee Hye-hye.

Even if her technique resembles some bat-like combination of metal and martial arts, she’s trained in these Claw Techniques!

Hadn’t the head of her senior comrades just been torn off?

People from the Central Plain look down on those who practice Martial Arts.

Even among martial artists, it’s a division filled with mutual disdain.

At the top, there’s Fist Techniques—the highest form of Martial Arts is found in the fist, so this is the true way of the martial artist, say the practitioners of Fist Techniques.

If someone asks about the greatness of Fist Techniques, just point them towards Mount Song!

In truth, this was not just an excuse for martial artists, but a good excuse for all Central Plain warriors.

Those who mocked the primitive aspects of Fist Techniques would choke on their words when it came to Mount Song.

This insufferable brat dares to mention Shaolin while still mastering some unfounded Fist Techniques?

Next down the line is the Palm Techniques.

Palm Techniques include the famous Buddha’s Physical Body and various Divine Skills.

This is truly derived from the ultimate Qi Mastery, as using the palm—closest to the Dantian—offers the highest efficiency.

Of course, the top is the Crown of the Head, where one could get the most powerful output.

But the Crown of the Head is a critical spot—hit it right, and instead of dying, one would end up a drooling idiot, defecating on the walls.

It may be the most protected place in the body, but using the Crown isn’t exactly glorious, is it?

Then there are the Gold-Ready Palm Techniques that put forth strong moves and long-distance capabilities.

And amongst all martial arts, Claw Techniques were rated as the lowest.

They aren’t even considered real martial arts, and anything other than fists is just lumped together as manual techniques.

So separating Claw Techniques makes it the most despised group even among Fist practitioners.

After all, attacks made with fingers are probably only good for scratching.

How powerful could an un-feline human scratch be?

On top of that, Claw Techniques were basically seen as wicked.

Starting from the Demonic Arts known as the ‘Nine Sounds and White Bones Claw,’ even disciples in the orthodox sects must have murderous intent to study them.

If it weren’t for the Supreme Demoness, no pure practitioner of Claw Techniques had ever reached the high realm.

So the Mount Tai Demon Lord, approaching the high realm in the later stages of transformation, was a big hope for all Claw practitioners!

But that hope is now gone.

The Mount Tai Demon Lord is no more.

He met a shameful end, rendered a castrated fool by a girl young enough to be his daughter!

In that moment, Qing delivered a crushing blow of despair to the world’s Claw practitioners.

Yet, Qing remained oblivious to it all.

If anyone complained, they’d probably just scoff.

“Pfft, a Claw practitioner? Their name says it all.

Better watch the pronunciation.

The Mount Tai Demon Lord, it figures, was all about those Claw Techniques.”

But don’t get too disheartened!

After all, this was the end of a great martial artist who had ventured far!

To Qing, who still finds the martial world challenging, the Mount Tai Demon Lord was just an old weirdo packed full of malice.

What, did they think it was normal for martial artists to lose their heads everyday?

Anyway, with everyone in shock, Qing couldn’t miss this great opportunity.

The remaining disciples of the Mount Tai Demon Lord were still dazed, their eyes trembling, questioning whether this was a dream or reality.

The Moonlight Sword sliced through the air.

Why did the Mount Tai Demon Lord die?

Because he let his guard down.

Why did his disciples meet such a tragic fate?

Because they let their guard down.

Qing’s sword was long, and its trajectory was thick.

These fellows were similar in height, practically presenting their necks to be sliced!

Three martial artists’ heads adorned the crescent moon made of starlight.

There was an exhilarating jolt that tingled down Qing’s spine.

How could one get tired of this?

Now, only one disciple of the Mount Tai Demon Lord remained.

Finally, the shadow of the sword split his face cleanly in half, and he regained his senses.

The Moonlight Sword, lifted high, came crashing down onto the crown.

In a panic, the disciple raised both his hands to block its trajectory.

Not quite tempered steel from tough training—the fingers he raised were more like weak iron, barely holding onto their strength as they intertwined overhead.

In that moment, Qing’s Qi suddenly vanished.

No need to use his Qi against such weaklings.

It was like a fisherman, intent on maximizing his catch, using a soft lure.

Thud, the sound of steel striking the ground.

Four fingers from the Mount Tai Demon Lord’s disciple flew into the air as the Moonlight Sword impaled itself between his fingers.

He had managed to hold the blade, but surely underestimated the raw power behind it.

As he swung his hands, still gripping the blade, he was pulled down by the force, splitting him from the crown to the belly.

And down he fell, face-first into the ground.

Yeah, this is it.

His Qi was too sharp, he just didn’t have that satisfying bite.

A sudden jolt of electric thrill surged through Qing, stretching his smile wide enough to reach his ears.

However, Qing was wearing a hideous mask, making him look grotesque with a terrifying grin, glaring intensely.

“Huff. W-what…!”

The men were swallowing hard, horrified by the nightmare figure before them.

Could they really freeze like deer in headlights? It might just make them want to run.

But encountering a grotesque thing they called the “Uncanny Valley” could freeze even the most fearless warrior in their tracks.

“Vile beasts! I won’t forgive you!”

Fueled by anger, Qing dashed forward.

“Damn! What is he doing?” “Aah! Young Lady!” “Sister!”

“Haha! That’s right, come out like that! My sword—no, it’s my sword buddy!”

Three shocked normal folks followed behind the ecstatic abnormal one.

Especially Namgoong Shin-jae, affected by the thrill of a single strike that could take three heads.

Isn’t that exciting for a swordsman?

And thus, five charged bravely at nearly twenty warriors, a brave scene to behold.

The party behind Qing, who was accompanied by a female warrior, snapped out of it.

They’d only seen Qing’s back, so their shock was much less.

“Damn! What are we doing!?”

Lee Hye-hye swallowed her curse, leading the second wave.

And so, the bloodbath began!

It was indeed the moment the Blood Sect Technicians had long awaited!

The technicians who had been manually triggering traps were now huddled together to watch the warriors tear each other apart.

And there they were, peering into hidden windows beneath every torch, not missing a thrilling show.

For anyone from the Blood Sect, one of three things applies: grievance against the martial world, the government, or both—so they’re all just really eager to watch!

But for the Blood Sect Technicians, the ratio drops to one in a hundred—they eagerly awaited the moment when warriors would clash swords!

In truth, regardless of grievances, what could be more fun than a safe show of fights?

“I wonder if the Mount Tai Demon Lord went too easy on himself? He was a strong contender.”

“Who the heck is that from the late Realm of Transformation?”

“Oh, it’s you. Haha, already out of the running.”

“Damn. But who’s that girl? Does anyone know her? A martial artist, perhaps?”

“Um, looks like Moon Lady Sword? I’m not sure. Was the Moon Lady Sword always such a gruesome killer?”

The Blood Sect Technicians focused on Qing’s erratic swordplay, pulling off wild maneuvers.

Every now and then, they glimpsed Moon Lady Sword’s movements, but that wasn’t enough.

It looked like a child wielding a sword, innocent—if we can call it a swordplay at all!

Innocent? The technician shuddered at the thought.

Stabbing, extracting, slicing, and cutting viciously—that’s pure malice!

Occasionally showing that distorted grin.

Isn’t that the kind of innocent malice one would expect from a child playing with bugs?

Then suddenly, with a swift motion, one dude who had been leaning into the blade flew backward headfirst!

Thanks to that, the guy with the leash survived but ended up awkwardly, clearly outmatched, and faced the enemy again.

Each time danger struck, that Moon Lady’s deadly skills would yank him back, making him roll and tumble, but crucially, when truly threatened he’d leap into the air.

One hand cleaving bodies in two, seemingly aware with some elusive sixth sense.

“Did you see that fella? Can’t ignore such a brutal woman in our ranks.”

“How could she not make a name for herself? Maybe related to that cult?”

“In a big plan, why would they cross in? Like, say, the Demon Cult?”

“Can we even bring down the map for a visit? Takes a year just to go there. Huh? That little kid is definitely from the orthodox sect! So why the hell is this young lady roaming with these monsters? The rest? Well, that’s a bit hazy.”

One unusually small figure—viewed clumsily—clearly showcases the aura of orthodox martial 학.

But what about the others?

The woman wielding twin swords stood steady beside the kid, and the middle-aged guy kept close to them, looking mostly passive.

However, one of the crew, swinging twin swords with a broad grin, kept chatting away.

“Unexpectedly, the fight isn’t too interesting? Jo Ah-yo is as legendary as ever.”

To be precise, it’s not Jo Ah-yo but her notorious gang of three that truly shines.

In fact, Lee Hye-hye is more well-known for her amusing followers.

Those three have taken it upon themselves to be her slaves.

Rumor has it Lee Hye-hye actually comes from a rare background with these guards.

So the situation swiftly tilted in favor of the scouting party accompanied by the female warrior.

From the perspective of the Blood Sect Technicians, this is utterly disappointing.

They’d hoped for a tougher battle, where half would remain, with all shapes and sizes of injuries!

They could’ve seen interesting spectacles with injured folks pushing through!

“Wait a minute, the numbers! Aren’t we down to twenty-one left? One, two, three, four…”

“Who’s got time to count?! Open the door! Open it!”

As they got lost in their thrill, the Blood Sect Technicians quickly raced towards the mechanisms.

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