Chapter 550

On either side of Qing, there were two types of monsters passing by.

One group turned their heads like they had seen something horrifying, screaming and skirting away from the scene.

The other group didn’t try to avoid it but wore looks of fear, even bowing politely when their eyes met.

Qing’s eyes narrowed.

Well, it was understandable for the former; they had already faced him in Gwangju.

Did the members of the Blood Sect fear that Seomun Qing existed?

Thinking about it, I wondered how the Blood Sect intended to use so many monsters.

Even if they managed to control the monsters, who were salivating at the prospect of hearts, they couldn’t distinguish between friend and foe—it had to be a matter of separating enemies to make them fight.

No need to think too hard; wasn’t it about the existence of the Heart Consumption Technique?

The types fleeing would probably be those Blood Ghouls I saw in Gwangju, while those blankly staring at me were likely a different breed of heart-eating monsters.

So? I’m fine with that.

Qing glanced at the Blood Sect master, Chang Sanya, and noticed he hadn’t caught on yet, so he immediately crouched down to hide.

In truth, there wasn’t a single part of him that wasn’t in pain. After all, he had been slashed, stabbed, and beaten while taking the lives of enemies.

With his torso lacking any medicine, bandages, or needles to treat his wounds, and his body robust enough to avoid infections, he had no means of treating himself.

But there was a way to sort out the subtly throbbing Dantian and the pressure on his Qi.

Qing quietly controlled the surging energy within him.

This was a maneuver to maintain balance right in the midst of enemy territory.

No matter how far he had wandered from his target, there couldn’t be a heart as steady as his.

In the meantime, the Sapa Warriors had isolated themselves like a round island, facing the horde of monsters rushing in from all directions.

“Heart! Fresh heart!” “Just one bite! Just one bite!” “Just a taste, please! I’m so hungry! I don’t even know how long it’s been since I’ve eaten!”

The poison-crazed Blood Ghouls charged in without caring for their own bodies, yearning for hearts.

Whether stabbed or not, they willingly gave up a limb to plunge their blades into bodies and greedily grabbed at hearts.

Even as they tangled up and fought over hearts, it was a chilling spectacle to witness.

It was like those hellish beasts, more eager to tear out hearts than to cling to their own lives.

Some even hopped on their companions’ shoulders and heads, throwing themselves into the enemy ranks, a daring strategy, or rather, a mad craving for food.

The exchange ratio between Sapa Warriors and Blood Sect members was a dismal five to one, maybe six to one, yet the sheer numbers were overwhelming.

Simply put, from the numbers alone, it seemed the Sapa Warriors were on the brink of collapse, unlikely to last much longer; but not quite.

Warriors who fell to monsters were merely low-skilled fighters.

Even if the numbers of the Sapa Warriors dwindled quickly, they remained capable fighters in their ranks.

The Vice Leader of the Heart Consumption Technique, Chang Sanya, could only let out an uncomfortable groan.

The sight of the Blood Ghouls amassed over twenty years was melting away before him.

Creating Blood Ghouls wasn’t difficult.

Feeding ten spirit hearts made by a supreme method would instantly create one; once a heart was given, for ten days the being prioritized commands over hunger—a Blood Ghoul would emerge in no time.

But those which had received orders gradually became unresponsive, which meant they were incomplete to the Blood Sect, who aimed for ambitious undertakings but lacked usable assets now.

Thus, they kept them drugged and in a condition that limited their feedings.

They taught them to suppress hunger and appetite so that after ten years, they’d become perfect replicas of humans, genuine Blood Lords.

The males were used as Blood Demon Sect members, and the females were given beast hearts to enhance their wild nature, making them serve in roles as Beast Warriors, Courtesans, and more—truly, it was a well-cared-for menagerie.

How could they just watch the fruits of their labor dissolve into nothingness?

Chang Sanya’s eyes focused on a point.

The target was where the damage from the Blood Lords was palpable, right between the chunky one and the scrawny middle one.

The chunky one was taking the Blood Ghouls’ attacks with his bare body, his clothes in tatters, barely leaving any underwear, yet he had no visible injuries.

While the scrawny one kept showering the area with blood, clearly a master technique of the Westland Martial World—hit the head, the head comes off; hit the arm, the arm comes off; hit the leg, a leg comes off.

Thus, the surrounding warriors held their ground and prevented the valuable Blood Ghouls from being piled atop corpses.

Then suddenly, wait, why are they fighting over there?

Where did that Cheonhwa-geom go?

Chang Sanya turned his head sharply.

Oh no! Did they escape?

His heart sank as clarity struck him.

The Demon King had already lost his daughter; would he let the enemy slip away too? That anger would surely fall upon me.

“Cheonhwa-geom! Where is that Cheonhwa-geom! Find her!”

Although the soulless lower Blood Ghouls wouldn’t pay attention, those closer to completion responded.

Specifically, they just reacted.

Cheonhwa-geom? What’s that? Is it edible? Oh, a sword, a sword? Why the famous sword?

The blank faces of the bewildered, newly awakened Blood Lords turned to their master, clearly clueless about what Cheonhwa-geom was.

“Damn it, Cheonhwa-geom! Her name is, yes, Seomun Qing! Find that Seomun Qing!”

Seomun Qing? Who’s that? Edible? Know her? Not me. You? Not me. Wow, I don’t know her.

Chang Sanya slammed his palm against the ground in frustration.

These ignorant beastly bastards!

“Just go back to what you were doing! Wipe out those Sapa bastards!”

Chang Sanya stomped down, shaking the floor and creating a deafening crash.

His body soared with exceptional martial prowess, hopping over rooftops and heading outside, when suddenly he spotted someone sitting cross-legged all alone on the battlefield.

On one side, the chaos of death and bloodshed engulfed the scene; naturally, anyone would look at the lone figure seated calmly amid it all.

Initially, Chang Sanya dismissed it as a dead body.

Surely, the Blood Ghouls wouldn’t turn their backs on a living heart, so this one must have dropped dead like that.

But after jumping over two roofs, a thought occurred.

Wait, if someone died at the hands of a Blood Ghoul, their body would be shredded into bits; it wouldn’t be normal for a corpse to be sitting cross-legged, especially since Blood Ghouls love intact hearts.

Chang Sanya’s feet landed on the roof, and as he squinted to get a better look, he saw a figure covered entirely in blood, unrecognizable.

Oh no, oh no…!

In that instant, Chang Sanya exploded with anger.

You killed Mahee and brought back Sapa soldiers to ruin two decades of efforts, and now you’re calmly nursing your injuries as if this fight were none of your business? Right now?

“You! Seomun Qing!!”

“Oops. I’ve been spotted.”

On sensing the murderous aura, Qing swiftly stood up and plunged into the Blood Ghouls, unleashing a brilliant aura of Qi.

The low Blood Ghouls shivered as they scattered, while the others couldn’t even retaliate and were shredded apart, finally making Chang Sanya comprehend the situation.

This… she’s mastered Heart Consumption Technique!

And seeing how the monsters could barely resist is no small feat!

How could that woman of the orthodox faction! Those detestable bastards!

Chang Sanya adopted a stance, sending debris flying from broken roofs as he launched himself like a cannonball.

Qing split into eight clones, dodging smoothly, when suddenly there was an ear-shattering explosion behind her.

Memories of misfortunes surfaced—ick! I can’t stand it when those things drop from the sky.

Before long, a Blood Ghoul appeared right before her, staring blankly.

What’s this guy doing? Qing turned sharply to behead the Blood Ghoul.

But with no resistance, it felt strangely—

“That girl, that girl is the Cheonhwa-geom! Oh no, stop her, don’t kill her! No, just break her arms and legs! That’s the top priority!”

And thus, all the upper-ranked Blood Ghouls turned to focus their attention on Qing.

“Lady.”

Why did I think that?! Just blabbering!

“Break her arms and legs!” “Don’t kill the Cheonhwa-geom, just hinder her!” “That’s the Cheonhwa-geom!” “Break her, break her!” “I’ll be the one who breaks her!” “Me too, I’ll break her!”

All the Blood Ghouls rushed in.

But their speech seemed, I don’t know? It sounded odd for sure—the ones that avoided her because they sensed danger were just blind with heart lust, not outright dumb.

Does obeying perfectly reduce intelligence?

As Qing took a step forward, invoking the Divine Maiden Sword, she sliced through monsters diagonally.

It wasn’t the most refined technique, but with that aura of fear, she struck terror into her enemies—it was one of her favored methods.

However, with their kin split apart, Blood Ghouls relentlessly extended their blades.

One ghoul swung at her wrist with all its might.

Clang! The blade broke, grazing against the monster’s cheek, leaving a long gash but—

“My wrist is tough! Not cutting through!”

Qing realized instantly.

These bastards have lost their fear!

They don’t respect danger just because they’re fearless?

Qing instantly split into eight once more.

The Blood Ghouls seamlessly scattered into eight directions, and as Qing appeared right in front of one, it was pushed back, losing its balance; in that moment, Qing struck a blow at its thigh.

“Ugh!”

Qing screamed, but her cries were the kind you release when you can endure the pain.

That’s because thigh muscles are definitely among the toughest parts of the human body; Qing’s thighs are among the most well-protected spots after the elbows she’d honed through Supreme Hand-to-Hand Combat.

“My thighs also are tough!”

“Feet! Targeting the feet!” “I’ll go for the shoulder!” “Me for the thigh!” “Hands!” “Upper arms!”

Qing felt the absurdity—these bastards act like kids, but they’re not outright stupid!

She readied another swing of her blade.

A diagonal slash, slicing through the monster’s palm, right up to its elbow, halving it.

Then, the monster’s left hand latched onto Qing’s forearm.

“That hurts! But I caught you!”

They were incapable of feeling pain, gripping her relentlessly even after severing her right arm.

In an instant, fire erupted in her shoulder as the ghoul clung onto her for vengeance. Following, they latched onto both her legs, pulling on her arms tightly—what a nasty lot.

Each one of them isn’t particularly significant, but the sheer fact they had no fear and did not yield to pain posed a huge problem.

“You!”

Qing twisted her body, dragging the monster with her.

With the semblance of a human-shaped shackle around her body, she felt encumbered and looked up to see the energy blasting right at her!

As Qing’s clones scattered into eight once again, she had four monsters latched onto each limb, and with a crash, she faced-plant to the ground.

Sickly scents and sticky fluids rolled from her nose, accompanied by a brain-wrenching agony, as if needles, no, spears were jabbing through her skull, trying to open her eyes, but all she could see was a thin line, she couldn’t even make sense of things, oh god, am I dying?

Hanging onto one while using Nengpa Mibo sent torrents of pain throughout her head, and having four latched on only magnified that backfire.

That wasn’t a choice she could normally rely on within her current level of martial arts.

Qing reached out, grabbing a Blood Ghoul’s hair that was hanging onto her leg, yanking it off.

With all her might holding the ghoul, Qing twisted in the opposite direction, then—crack! The spine snapped, and finally, it went slack.

Following that, the one hanging onto her left foot had its neck cracked as she sprang back up, soaring high using Moon Lady’s Step.

“I can fly!” “Stop the Cheonhwa-geom!”

The Blood Ghouls leaped after her.

But when one rises, they inevitably fall back down; Qing opened her mouth wide and sent her foot crashing into the face of an incoming ghoul!

Pachen Magi unleashed from her sole, smashing straight into the ghoul’s skull as she propelled back into the sky.

With her heavier right hand, she threw a punch into the side of another ghoul clinging to her left arm.

Ugh! As its body crumpled under just that one strike, the ghoul released its grip and fell.

As Qing finally broke free from the shackles; now, she darted agilely between the monsters.

Concentrating solely on evading, her movements incorporated the peculiar knacks of Yulryu Yeonryeon, the world-watching of Awakening Skill, and movements of Mugeong Shinsu; she skillfully wound her way around the Blood Ghouls.

Leaning back, sneaking through openings, her flailing arms barely evaded capture.

Slithering between their sides, sometimes gliding smoothly between their legs, she dashed forward, swiftly dropping back.

Blood Ghouls collided and toppled over, sprawling on the ground.

Yet she only focused on avoiding them.

Because when the opponent risks life and limb, no matter how forcefully one attacks, the only openings one reveals will be themselves; and they piled onto her without caring if they were slashing or breaking anything, clawing at her limbs.

“You!”

“Stop running like a rat and face me already!”

“Are you serious? You want me to face a rat like you? What kind of senile old fart asks a young one to deal with a rat?”

Luckily, each time Chang Sanya shot aura towards Qing, the limbs of countless Blood Ghouls flew off, or else they might have fallen into an endless game of tag.

But she was starting to feel weak and dizzy.

Despite their minor cuts, they had been running around for over an hour, and she felt her limbs growing weaker, surely from blood loss.

Did I bring myself into this?

I thought I could quickly cut ties with the Blood Sect and these pesky energy seekers.

But how was I to know that monsters would accumulate by the hundreds?

Qing clenched her teeth.

No room for grievances, no room for weakness.

This was my choice, by any means,

That very moment.

“Qing!! Get down! Hurry! Seomun Qing!!”

A pleasant, deep voice rang in her ears, accompanied by desperate pleading.

Recognizing the clearly pointed voice, Qing reflexively threw herself to the ground—

—!!!!

The earth itself trembled, and the entire building shook fiercely, shedding layers of dust, as if the very will of heaven had come down in a ghastly roar.

A ground-shaking boom echoed, transcending all boundaries of sound—a thunderous explosion that hammered her skin everywhere!

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