Chapter 498

The culmination of over twenty years of blood, sweat, and tears from the Blood Sect Technicians, the Blood Ruin Grand Scheme had initially begun with the leak of the Secret Manual.

Who could find solace watching martial artists split into factions, all while we stood divided on the lines of power?

If the scheme had been executed flawlessly, the ensuing chaos should have expanded from this narrow Shandong Peninsula to the entirety of the Central Plains, with a battle between those trying to flee with the Secret Manual and those trying to snatch it from them.

Blood Ruin—it was literally a prelude of blood spilling over.

So, what happens now?

When the treasure room’s box opens, it was designed to erupt into a vibrant burst of flames once more.

Thus, on a still brightly lit late summer-early autumn evening, unexpected fireworks lit up the sky.

Beneath the sun’s glaring rays, human-made fireworks could hardly hold their own.

However, their presence was still quite striking.

At night, obscured by the dark sky, you couldn’t see them, but real fireworks spouted thick billowing smoke alongside the flames.

Even in broad daylight, the moment the fireworks shot up, the acrid smell of gunpowder filled the air, making anyone aware that something was happening.

Just like now.

“Look, look at that!”

“That’s Divine Skill! No doubt the Divine Skill has been unearthed!”

“Divine Skill? Then that means someone is trying to take it, huh?”

Whether they had been aiming to attack from the start or simply getting caught up in the chaos, martial artists spread throughout the mountains immediately flocked to the scene, their side nudging them with every blink.

At least there were originally four Stone Doors; now there were only three, so maybe it was a good thing that the crowd had dispersed a bit.

Though from the perspective of the martial artists at the doors, it was somewhat ambiguous; the reduced number of Stone Doors drastically increased the chance of encountering the owner of the Divine Skill or perhaps increased the competition.

And then, from the South Gate, a woman suddenly popped out, arms spread wide like she was worshiping the sun.

“Dare to face me, arrogant world! I have returned!”

“…?”

A cold silence fell over the gathering.

Amid the uncomfortable silence, Qing sheepishly lowered her arms.

Her face heated up with embarrassment, then suddenly, the mask of the Mighty Taemon echoed her with encouragement.

“Don’t be discouraged, keep your chin up! This is nothing!”

“You are not just Seomun Qing!”

“You are the Supreme Brain-slaying Young Lady, Unyeonjeong!”

“Ladies and gentlemen! Run away! Jeolnak-seong Lord! Pobidon! And that, what’s his name, that scrawny Barbarian! They are stirring up bloodshed to monopolize the Divine Skill! They are right behind us! Everyone run away!!”

As Qing spoke, she took off running once more.

“Wait, stop!”

“This is exactly not the time! Run! Everyone run! They are not just from the Realm of Transformation, they are Demons, real Demons coming after us!”

“Pobidon!? The infamous Pobidon is a Demonic being!?”

None of the martial artists were particularly surprised that someone from the Sado Ten Great Stars, Jun Gi-chung, or some scrawny Barbarian could be Demonic.

However, everyone knew that Jun Gi-chung was in Demonic territory—it was common knowledge, just lacking evidence, and as for the Barbarians, well, they’re just Barbarians.

“Run for your lives!”

Qing screamed, weaving her way through the martial artists.

“You useless Midlanders! You morons! You should have cut off their legs!”

“You scrawny Barbarian, why didn’t you do it yourself instead of just standing there watching!?”

“They’re brilliant decorations! Great Buddha follows! Buddha is compassionate! I am compassionate!”

“What!?”

Jun Gi-chung’s head felt like it was ready to explode.

Why hadn’t they cut off any legs?

Because they couldn’t!

Even if the presence of the Secret Manual is shrouded in mystery, everyone had personally experienced the wrath of the Divine Skill swirling in that insane woman’s head.

And when reading a human Secret Manual, the usual way was to treat it as a rare delicacy and an enchanting beauty while carefully building connections.

Because blindly following the techniques taught by others was almost a suicidal act.

Twisting a few energy channels could lead to dire consequences, causing no issues at first but turning into a major catastrophe later on.

Even with good luck, you could end up as a broken husk or trampled underfoot during a confrontation, or your body could twist horrifically, leading you to a miserable death.

Unless cosmic forces validate whether Qing’s martial arts were complete or not.

When Qing attempted to escape as her hands slipped away, she was left no choice but to aim for their legs and launch a strong strike.

But honestly, even being hit by a tiny pebble-like projectile wouldn’t do much harm; it would only leave a small hole, nothing that some healing couldn’t fix.

But weren’t they just stuck in that massive and heavy state of butt shuffling?

Why go out of their way to cause harm and make enemies?

So, Jun Gi-chung remained cautious of the pursuers, and instead of engaging, attempted to negotiate with the place-south.

A-mook-hap-rab, aware of this truth, kept his mouth shut and just observed, but now the so-called Supreme Brain-slaying Young Lady was asking why he hadn’t cut any legs.

“Right! I’ll send this fool to the Buddha right now! I’d bet even the Buddha would want this idiot gone from the world! In the first place, what does a Barbarian even know about Buddha? Even the Buddha wouldn’t recognize Barbarians as people!”

“Foolishness! The Buddha was a true Barbarian!”

“Gosh! What? Even a self-proclaimed monk is calling the Buddha—huh?”

Just as Jun Gi-chung was about to blow his top, he hesitated.

“Wait a second; the Buddha was indeed a Barbarian, wasn’t he?”

Since the scriptures originated from the West, wasn’t that the case?

Oh no, have we been serving a Barbarian deity all this time!?

Jun Gi-chung fell into confusion!

“Taehyo, Taehyo! Be patient! This is not the time for us to fight among ourselves! And there’s no need to get angry with Barbarians! Let’s just break down the door and chase them!”

Taehyo was Jun Gi-chung’s nickname.

At the right moment, the man named Place-South halted Jun Gi-chung.

Sharply turning towards the wall, Jun Gi-chung prepared to spring into action.

And so, the three of them simultaneously started hacking at the doors.

It was quite a scene, seeing three individuals, who had formed a non-relationship, cutting down the Stone Door together once again.

If someone from two thousand five hundred years ago, the first Barbarian prince to reach enlightenment, had witnessed this, he would surely smile mysteriously and say this was the essence of the Law of Causation.

Yet, calling it being together might be an exaggeration.

Everyone was just paving their own way without genuinely collaborating.

Thus, when the three of them hacked at the Stone Door, it didn’t speed up threefold but only drew out their individual strengths.

At that moment, quick footsteps followed behind.

It was the former Dokkogyeom Jeong Jong-phil.

Place-South’s expression soured as he turned.

“Hey, Jong-phil! Can you not be so smug? Why are you so relaxed alone over there?”

“Brother Jang. After contemplating the Supreme Brain-slaying Young Lady’s eloquence, I realized if it were not a thought I harbored from the beginning, it would not have emerged in such a grand vision. Now, I may have momentarily cast aside the spirit of the times in the allure of Divine Skill, but ultimately, it shall return to the oppressed!”

“Jong-phil? Did you hit your head or something?”

“My mind is clearer than ever, and my heart has just begun to beat truly. Surely, that Supreme Brain-slaying Young Lady is merely wandering temporarily, and with my earnestness added, she will find her way back towards the greater path—a straight path towards a world enveloping all martial artists striving for advancement!”

“That—”

In an instant, the sounds of the Stone Door collapsing reached Place-South’s ears, and he swung around with an “Oh no!” expression.

Through the large round hole at the center, if someone compared the size to that of a large rear end, everyone would surely be astounded as they sidestepped to escape through passages by the sides.

“Oh no! Leaving me behind!”

Place-South hurriedly retreated and darted towards the wider corridor to escape.

BAM! A massive hole burst open in the Stone Door as Pobidon’s monstrous figure squeezed out.

Qing’s attempts to flee were quickly thwarted.

Regardless of how realistic the act, would they honestly let someone slip away from the fiery grand scheme?

“Wait! Stop right there!”

And just like that, Qing stopped.

The martial artist who called for her looked a bit flustered.

He had not expected her to actually halt.

However, Qing’s cooperative demeanor softened the stance of the martial artist just slightly.

“What happened inside?”

“I—I’m not too sure. They kept fighting each other, traps rained down like storms. The girl lost her way and, at some point, Demons massacred people, saying no one would return alive…”

“Demons…!”

“Exactly, Demons! They are right behind us! If we don’t run immediately…!”

“Calm down, first calm down. So, these Demonic beings, the Jeolnak-seong Lord and Pobidon, and that scrawny Barbarian, who exactly was that Barbarian?”

“Some fishcake, fishcake trio? With hands that burst crimson from tearing apart people-”

“Demonic Hands! A-mook-hap-rab! The Strange Monk A-mook-hap-rab!? ”

The martial artists, pretending not to hear, echoed his moniker and name aloud.

Wait, so he was a famous Barbarian!?

“Yes! That was the name!”

Qing was indeed captured attempting to escape for a simple reason.

If she fled now, she’d just raise suspicions and attract them, maybe even leading to chasing her.

But by merging with these martial artists and causing a commotion while also matching their tempo, she could quietly sneak away when the time was right.

It was the perfect chance to escape, throw away the mask of the Mighty Taemon, and don the persona of Seomun Qing—no, not even as a disguise; she’d have all the time she needed to return to her true self.

Then this whole ruckus would come to an end!

“What on earth—”

“Unyeonjeong!” “Midlander scum!”

In that moment, two Demonic beings jumped out and let out ferocious howls.

But just then, squinting against the dazzling sunlight, adapting to the martial prowess around them, they hesitated as they faced the encircled crowd.

At that moment, Qing shouted.

“Brothers and sisters of the Blood Sect! They are enemies! Attack!”

Blood Sect? Brothers and sisters? Attack!?

The martial artists momentarily paused in confusion.

“Go! You Blood Sect bastards! Pff, you scrawny Barbarian! We won’t join forces this time!”

“Agreed!”

Since the Blood Sect didn’t communicate well, it was common sense in the martial world to engage as soon as they were discovered.

A-mook-hap-rab began to rain hits into the air.

Countless red handprints marked the space in front of him like fingerprints on clear glass.

“It’s Demonic Hands! Take cover!”

“The Strange Monk is attacking! Kill him!”

As alarms of retreat and assault rang out, some martial artists lunged forward while others turned to flee, creating pandemonium all around.

With his hands streaking through the air, A-mook-hap-rab propelled the blood-stained void ahead.

Countless handprints shot out and crashed into the martial artists.

“AHHH!” “Damn it! Kill them!” “They’ve got the Divine Skill!” “Kill or be killed!”

Amid this chaos, Qing pushed and squeezed through towards the outer edge.

Indeed, she, yet again.

Trying to be humble in perspective, but she was just too exceptional for that.

Honestly, who would come here looking for Demonic Arts?

As Qing gradually emerged outside, she tapped her foot lightly, enjoying the breezy moment.

Not wanting to be too conspicuous while fleeing, she made sure to blend adequately with the crowd.

And Unyeonjeong would already be waiting above with her master and kids, right?

Ah, it was time to head home.

I miss my Master. I really miss my Master.

Qing wore a playful smile.

Unyeonjeong is now done!

The Supreme Brain-slaying Young Lady, service closed!

“Oh my, is the impersonation over? Hmm, it was rather amusing.”

Suddenly, a soft, serenely sweet voice whispered in her ear.

“But to end things here would leave me feeling rather unsatisfied, don’t you think? The tragic end of the Supreme Brain-slaying Young Lady—oh, yes. That would be perfect.”

Chills raced down Qing’s spine.

It was not merely a sound, but a genuine, whispering voice.

Though it laughed, it wasn’t laughing at all; it was a voice, sweet yet laced with distinct malice.

“Behead, smash, incinerate, flay—what kind of ending do you prefer? Ah, there’s no need to pick. I find them all delightful.”

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