Chapter 493

The warriors gathered in search of the Heart Consumption Technique felt as if someone had just slapped them across the face for no reason at all.

They were left utterly dumbfounded, as if they’d just been hit.

“What did you just say?”

Usually, who goes around calling themselves the Supreme Brain-slaying Young Lady, or even referring to themselves as a ‘young lady’ in the first place?

And to boast about being beautiful, elegant, and noble? Who does she think she is?

Of course, that’s just absurd.

Who goes around saying that about themselves?

A nickname that would suit such a brazen woman would be something like ‘Thick-Skinned Crazy Lady’ instead of the Supreme Brain-slaying Young Lady.

Everyone was in shock, mouths agape, words utterly failing them.

It was quite the rare sight of unified disbelief in the Martial World.

Meanwhile, Qing was rolling her eyes around earnestly.

Where to escape to?

Which direction had the easiest targets gathered?

Now that I think about it, maybe it was for the best that the ladder broke.

At least my companions could safely slip out through the hidden exit made by the Blood Sect technicians.

As for me, I’d just have to slip away somehow.

Hmm, as long as I play my cards right, it should work out, right?

Qing felt an inexplicable good vibe without any solid reason.

Just like when I wore military uniforms, I could easily lay down anywhere, no matter how filthy the ground.

Wearing Unyeonjeong’s disguise, it felt like I could boldly ignore any gaze from the world; a surge of confidence bubbled within me.

Transformation, yes, this is transformation!

“Alright, everyone! It’s a magical performance! Let me show you something!”

Before the scouts of the Divine Skill could start thinking, Qing shouted without giving them a moment.

Give them time to think? They’d all rush me in a pack.

Everyone has known the method of dealing with the masses since two thousand years ago.

Divide and conquer!

Qing lightly grabbed the secret manual with both hands, using only her thumbs and index fingers, and tore it in half!

“Gasp, wh-what are you doing?”

“Come on, tearing a book in half isn’t rocket science! Next!”

Qing then bundled up the torn half and tore again, left and right!

Half the audience was shocked, and the other half held back gasps.

Half of the warriors, horrified by the act of tearing apart a precious secret manual.

And the other half, stunned by the sheer grip strength that ripped paper apart like it was mere pancake batter.

“Hey, if this is the end, that would be disappointing, right?”

“No way…!”

Without giving them a second to breathe, Qing kept ripping the manual.

In her eagerness, she ended up squeezing it with her fists instead of fingers, lessening the shock factor, but everyone breathed a sigh of disbelief as they saw the manual get shredded live.

“Wait! Stop! What are you doing?”

Someone couldn’t contain themselves, lifting a foot, prompting Qing to desperately shout out.

“Want power!? If you do, then catch it! I’ll throw the whole manual here!”

With that, Qing raised her hand in the air.

Fragments of the manual scattered like plum petals, beautifully spread around, fluttering down slowly.

It was indeed a flurry of falling blossoms!

“Damn it! What are you doing? Gang Pae-cheon! Secure the manual!”

“The manual! It’s the manual!”

If you sprinkle coins in a box, this is the kind of chaos you’d get!

Everyone dove in, bending and bowing as they scrambled to pick up the paper scraps.

In the midst of pushing and hitting, suddenly weapons were drawn.

Qing’s eyes sparkled.

Now!

With a loud stomp, Qing sent shockwaves through the ground.

Black mold rose up, and deep footprints imprinted on the stone chamber floor.

The Heavenly Demon’s descending shadow was in full effect.

With a swift motion, Qing shot forward like an arrow.

Wang Woo-ram was bending down to pick up the fragments of the manual.

Having obtained about a thousandth of the Heart Consumption Technique, was it worth it after passing through all sorts of traps and treacherous arenas?

And just like that, sensing an ominous feeling, he lifted his head and found a shoe filling his vision.

That was Wang Woo-ram’s final moment.

Thud. The rough Pachen Magi shattered Wang Woo-ram’s head like a watermelon.

What’s this bastard doing suddenly raising his head!

I was planning on stepping on his back and accelerating to my second stage.

Yet he abruptly decided to look up.

Thanks to this, my foothold went from horizontal to vertical.

Naturally, the path I had been aiming for veered off at a right angle and shot up toward the sky.

And then, bang!

Crown of the head against the ceiling in a fierce collision!

Lightning flashed in Qing’s vision.

It felt like her spirit was leaving her body in familiar agony!

An absolute shock to the system!

Debris flew everywhere as she collided with the unyielding stone walls.

Qing landed heavily on the floor.

Was my head really smashed? This feels serious.

But escaping is the priority now.

Determined, Qing grit her teeth, stood up, and stomped the innocent floor to break free once more.

Her spirit surged again, shooting forth like an arrow.

Qing tore through the slow passage of time, taking a second step, picking up speed when suddenly—

A powerful tug yanked her leg!

What happens when you get caught while trying to leap?

Ah, the scream was momentary as she saw the ground rapidly approach.

She was hurled to the ground at the same speed she had been running.

Crash!!

This time, her forehead roughly hit the ground.

A small dent appeared as pain like a nail being driven in surged through her forehead.

A shocking blow to the system yet again!

“Ugh.”

Both the crown of her head and forehead felt like they’d been hit with an explosive strike; they throbbed painfully.

Which little punk did this to me?

Qing’s eyes blazed with fury.

An ominous color burst forth, and in her rage, she directed her glare down at the figure lying on the ground beneath her.

A whip wrapped around her ankle.

And following the long length of it, there was a man who appeared to have fallen drunkenly on the ground, barely managing to keep his foothold.

“Uh, uh?”

The man was clearly dazed.

Qing’s anger flared.

That bastard threw it and didn’t even know how to catch it, so he ends up all dizzy!

Truly a case of getting tangled up with a blind whip!

“Gasp! Gotcha!”

As if coming back to his senses, the man tightly wrapped the whip around his wrist and started yanking.

Qing was dragged along while lying on the floor when suddenly, a massive sword slid into her grasp.

Qing rolled her body.

Clang! The blade clashed with the ground, creating a spray of sparks.

In that instant, Qing’s eyes lit up.

She sprang up and snatched the whip.

Such force that even the legendary Hongwu Emperor would have to respect!

The man lunged forward, arms outstretched as he flew through the air.

The sound of bodies colliding erupted.

Qing bounced back onto her feet and voiced her anger!

“Do you punks think I’m some kind of joke?!”

Her beautiful, almost transparent hands drew four lines in the air.

With one hand shattering a shoulder blade, the other plunging into his chest like a sword into a scabbard.

“Ahhh!” “Ouch!”

As warriors rushed in, some cried out names.

Everyone forms bonds throughout their lives, and taking a life means accumulating all that resentment.

“Oh yeah! Today’s the day of collective sacrifice!”

Qing’s eyes glimmered with an otherworldly hue, a blend of blue, red, purple, and green—a color that resembled all yet none.

The most ominous star of ill omen appeared in the sky.

And as that unfolded, the Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat, Master of Dark Demon Arts, and Master of Thunder Arts reacted, squirming with anticipation.

Born from murderous intent and solely forged to hinder humanity, the demonic arts manifested in her grasp.

With hands dyed dark, she crushed bones, while slender fingers dug into flesh, baring teeth like a claw, flesh splattered and blood erupted all around.

Lightning in shades of purple shot forth, piercing through space and time to latch onto her enemies.

A hand whizzed past the shivering enemies like a whip.

After caressing their napes, it left behind massive gashes, like beasts had savagely mauled them, blood gushing forth like a fountain.

Qing’s world began to constrict.

Thud, thud, thud, her realm shrank in a circular pattern, a blood-soaked land beneath her feet while the sky was filled with a swirling purplish-black haze revealing shimmering otherworldly nuances.

And then the universe began to flow.

With every blink, the dark entity surged and filled the sky before disappearing into the void, all while starlight danced chaotically until a horrific dawn broke and the darkness resurfaced…

Time seemed to accelerate like it was moving thousands of years in a heartbeat.

Within that chaos, enemies began to rise.

Blood-made foes.

Yet unlike the rhythm of time flowing for tens of thousands of years, the enemies moved as if stilled for eternity.

Is there anything easier than facing frozen foes?

In this moment, Qing felt a rush of emotion—a bubbling exhilaration? How to express this?

And then suddenly.

Oh.

Qing realized what this feeling was.

This is what they call omnipotence.

Just then, the dark entity responded.

-Do you desire power?

In an instant, a spout of blood erupted right in front of Qing.

A massive wall made of blood rose, blocking her path, reaching beyond sight.

Then the grotesque sun stretched out a hand and ripped the wall in two.

Beyond the wall lay a calm, blood-red abyss.

In that instant, Qing realized she was at a crossroads.

Ah, so this is the entrance to demonhood.

Martial arts are techniques meant to kill others.

Thus, to dive headfirst into that sea of malevolence was the method of becoming a demon.

And then, a fleeting face brushed by.

Ah, Master, I miss you.

If I cross this line of corruption, you might energetically unleash backlash that magnifies to infinite levels.

Qing’s lips curled slightly upwards.

“Want power? Isn’t that a bit cliché?”

Then the dark entity cracked open, revealing countless teeth erupting between the fissures of the planet.

Was it a sneer or a sorrowful sigh?

-Have you truly not given up on kindness? The world is cruel; ties are illusions. The flowers that bloom bear fruit before succumbing to rot. Only fear will grant you freedom in this world.

“Who’s scared of eternity? Those who thrive with swords ultimately fall to them. If I get stabbed in the back at the end of my life, will that be freedom?”

-Humans are inherently wicked and weak. Kindness crumbles easily before profits, as those whom you hold dear are the first to betray.

“Well, if it comes to that, what can I do? I’ve decided to take that risk.”

Then the dark entity began to shimmer.

It felt both like a sneer and a sorrowful sigh.

The ambiguous star that had been shining gradually began to dim.

-How long will you refuse your fate? The door shall remain open. Come to me whenever you desire. I shall await you.

“Enough! What do you mean I’ll come to you? That will never happen! Never!”

In that moment, Qing’s world righted itself.

Surrounded by shocked warriors staring at her, a middle-aged man with his sword raised yelled furiously.

“You! You’re the wicked Supreme Demoness of the Blood Sect! Just how many demonic arts have you mastered?”

“Gasp.”

Qing was genuinely shocked.

“Demonic arts? I’m not using demonic arts!”

“What do you mean? The Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat, Master of Dark Demon Arts, Wheel of Law/Great Wheel of Time, and Master of Thunder Arts are all in play!”

“That’s not it! Uh, no, wait.”

Qing instinctively rejected it, only to remember she was wearing Unyeonjeong’s disguise and not Seomun Qing.

“Ha-ha! Now you see! This here is the true power of the Supreme Brain-slaying Young Lady, Unyeonjeong! Power as formidable as my beauty! I am the number one beauty throughout history, this body! Ho-ho-ho! If you dare take me lightly, prepare for a rude awakening! Step aside immediately!”

The faces of the warriors soured drastically.

Just hearing her absurd ramblings felt like their souls were about to take flight, and what’s with that laugh?

“A witch of the Blood Sect, huh? In that case, we have no reason to show mercy.”

The middle-aged man, Jeolnak-seong’s Jun Gi-chung, raised his qi fiercely.

On the right, a similarly stout man named Wang Woo was brimming with strength, while on the left, a gaunt Lama Monk finished wrapping his energy around his staff.

Further back were unknown warriors poised with ferocious qi directed at her—

You can tell the strength of a realm with just your eyes.

The auras here were different in quality.

Three powers formed a realm; why are the fools from Seomun all gathered without fighting each other?

Add to that how many Supreme Martial Artists are present now?

What is this, this can’t be right.

Qing closed her eyes quietly.

Somewhere deep inside her, within the flowing blood and the rising dark realm, she directed her thoughts toward that world, where the dark entity contemplated her.

“I need power! Please grant me strength!”

-……? Didn’t you just say you would never come to me, never?

“Shut it! I’m in a hurry! Quickly! Give me the power! Please!”

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