Having confirmed that the Black Serpent’s breath had stopped, Seo Gong staggered and collapsed. Like a deflated balloon, his size had rapidly shrunk to about half of what it had been when we first met, down to five feet.
“Seo Gong!”
Hyeok Gi-rin rushed over, while the rest of the group raised their weapons to keep an eye on Blood Ancestor.
Zziik.
Fortunately, Seo Gong still had enough energy to groan, though his wound from the Black Serpent’s bite was worrisome. However, he left it to Hyeok Gi-rin and focused on the front.
It was uncertain when Blood Ancestor would launch an attack.
Blood Ancestor merely looked at me and Seo Gong with a baffled expression, as if he couldn’t understand what was happening.
Amidst this, a sigh of relief escaped from Hyeok Gi-rin behind us.
“Phew, fortunately, it seems he’s not in immediate danger.”
Hyeok Gi-rin carefully lifted Seo Gong and hid him behind a rock.
“This is incomprehensible…”
“What do you mean?”
Blood Ancestor asked as he stared directly at me.
“How did you, who knows nothing of blood techniques, manage to unravel the great spell of Iron Blood Rat?”
“I did nothing at all.”
I answered honestly.
Pretending to know something might confuse Blood Ancestor even more.
“So you jumped in here because it was Seo Gong’s will, right?”
I didn’t want to misinterpret Seo Gong’s determination to jump into this pit just to save me and my companions.
“Will, huh… Hehe, what a ridiculous thing.”
Blood Ancestor laughed, clearly amused.
“Nothing ever goes right when you’re involved. The Heavenly Demon Sect doesn’t even move, yet he jumped into battle against a mortal enemy like the Entity while quietly draining his own blood.”
As he spoke, blood began to writhe within Blood Ancestor’s limbs.
“I’ve finally realized. It won’t end unless I eliminate you.”
“Let’s settle this.”
Having moved Seo Gong to safety, Hyeok Gi-rin quickly rejoined and activated Six Star Chen again.
Could we really face an expert with Six Star Chen?
Though it was certainly agile, it would still struggle against an expert of the Form Realm. If it were Hwa-gyeong, that would be one thing, but with absolute experts like Miss Yeo Il-ye, Dokgo I-seol, Moyong Yeon-hwa, and the Black Cat, one hit from an expert could be fatal.
However, it was hard to see Blood Ancestor as a complete expert of the Form Realm.
After all, he used artificial limbs through blood techniques, and his combat power would naturally be lower than a typical expert.
Considering that even during the dangerous situation with the Black Serpent, Seo Gong had clung to its head until the last moment, the limitations of the artificial limbs might be more severe than I anticipated.
Even if my predictions were wrong, it didn’t matter.
Here and now, I would defeat Blood Ancestor and conclude this.
That thought firmly settled in my heart.
Seo Gong had thrown himself into danger; how could I face him if I couldn’t defeat Blood Ancestor?
“Let’s go.”
Formation was basic. The leaders were Hyeok Gi-rin and me.
I had been hit in the leg by a Blood Bullet, so I couldn’t close the distance to Blood Ancestor very quickly, but it wasn’t a huge problem.
Blood Ancestor hadn’t fired any Blood Bullets yet.
The amount of blood wrapped around Blood Ancestor’s artificial limbs was visibly dwindling.
He must have generously used up his blood to catch me, who suddenly became visible in the gust of wind.
“Hah!”
The first strike came from Hyeok Gi-rin.
As always, his swift and sharp Lightning Palm aimed for Blood Ancestor. The one to block that Lightning Palm was none other than Blood Ancestor’s hand.
Not his artificial limb, but a perfectly intact hand imbued with strong energy.
Kkaang!
Hyeok Gi-rin didn’t overexert himself and pulled back, and I rushed in to take his place. My technique wasn’t the Enlightened Cloud Thunder Technique but rather the First Swing of the Azure Cloud Sword.
Unleashing the Moon’s Blood Flow, I launched an attack on Blood Ancestor’s entire being.
KaKak!!
However, my Moon’s Blood Flow was easily suppressed by Blood Ancestor. After all, dealing proper damage with just a run-of-the-mill technique like the First Swing of the Azure Cloud Sword was unlikely.
Though the attack had been effortlessly blocked, I had still achieved something.
It seemed that the artificial limbs were indeed Blood Ancestor’s weakness.
To be precise, the artificial leg was Blood Ancestor’s Achilles’ heel.
Blood Ancestor had attempted to block the rather clumsy Moon’s Blood Flow attack.
Thinking about it, that was a natural conclusion.
Unlike artificial limbs, which only needed to move when attacking, the artificial legs had to distribute power continuously to maintain the body’s center of gravity.
I had heard tales of martial artists who successfully rebounded despite having lost an arm, but I had never heard of any martial artist who managed to succeed after losing a leg.
That only emphasized how important legs were to martial artists.
Especially in a situation where we couldn’t let ourselves get surrounded, the importance of the artificial leg couldn’t be overstated.
Hyeok Gi-rin and I became the primary attackers while the others supported from the side, driving Blood Ancestor back.
Blood Ancestor kept retreating, receiving our assaults while occasionally eyeing the others who were trying to encircle him.
Sssss!!
It was Black Cat’s Nine Yin that disrupted that balance.
“…Cough.”
The chill of the Nine Yin began to affect the blood within Blood Ancestor. With the blood, which was the driving force behind moving his artificial legs, being exposed to the cold for too long, the flow of blood in the artificial arms and legs slowed.
With that, the reactions of his artificial limbs dulled, and we didn’t miss that opportunity.
“You little brats!”
Perhaps Blood Ancestor felt a sense of crisis.
He unleashed Blood Bullets he hadn’t used even once since the battle started, scattering them in all directions.
“Ugh!”
“Cough..!”
While the others dodged and blocked the flying Blood Bullets, Blood Ancestor quickly jumped back. In the process of taking in those surprise Blood Bullets, Moyong Yeon-hwa and Miss Yeo Il-ye looked somewhat pale, but fortunately, it didn’t seem to have led to any internal injuries.
I was desperate to maintain the upper hand we had scarcely managed to obtain through the Nine Yin, but I stifled my anxiety and took deep breaths.
Even if Blood Ancestor was cornered, we were also just as exhausted and injured.
Dokgo I-seol’s weapon had sustained damage. She had clashed with an expert of the Form Realm using her peak technique, and her weapon had endured too much.
Black Cat didn’t look particularly well either.
Though she hadn’t received any particular injuries from the battle with Blood Ancestor, perhaps the fatigue and shock built up while using the Ice Breaker technique under the attack of the Black Serpent had taken its toll.
I too had sustained an injury to my leg, so it seemed like only Hyeok Gi-rin was unscathed.
Blood Ancestor definitely didn’t seem to be in good shape either.
His artificial limb had gone limp.
He must have spent the minimum amount of blood necessary for using the artificial limb while firing away Blood Bullets.
If we clashed again after this breather, one of us wouldn’t be able to endure it.
“I want to ask you something.”
Therefore, I opened my mouth.
“I could understand why you tried to make me ‘Ho Cheon-an’ a hundred times over. But why did you kill my mother and father and even hurt my grandfather?”
At those words, Blood Ancestor stared fixedly at me. His expression was one of surprise at the mere fact that I had asked such a question.
“It seems Inyeo and Cheon Cheol-jung told you nothing.”
Seo In-yeo. And Cheon Cheol-jung.
Could those be my mother and father’s names?
I had only now learned their names, which they hadn’t even shared to protect me from harm.
While I lost myself in thought, Blood Ancestor opened his mouth.
“What is the pillar and core of a sect? It’s martial arts, of course. To protect the secrets of martial arts, what do martial artists do? Destruction of the lower dantian and severing main meridians are regarded as acts of mercy, and they take lives as though it were nothing.”
“Then let me ask you. What is the pillar and core of the Blood Sect? It’s blood. A woman who ran away from the sect to give birth and raise a child is akin to someone who escapes with a secret text from any other sect, while Cheon Cheol-jung, who married such a woman, and his father, Cheon Song-baek, would be regarded as eternal arch enemies of the Blood Sect.”
Blood Ancestor spoke to me as if asking a question.
“That was the punishment they deserved.”
There was a tone as if he were trying to persuade me.
Was he trying to make excuses now that he had revealed some backstory?
“You never intended to make me your tool.”
“Hehe… back then, yes. But had you grown up normally in the Blood Sect, I wouldn’t have need for such underhanded schemes at all. Why would I bother when the rightful heir of the Blood Sect would mature normally?”
“So you’re saying it’s all my parents’ fault?”
“Come on, let’s be real. If you were to grow up to become the leader of the Blood Sect, do you think that there wouldn’t be a bloodbath in the martial world because of you? Hehe, that’s probably exactly what would have happened. How many martial artists wouldn’t cling to enlightenment? They’d have followed your lead to conquer the martial world.”
Blood Ancestor’s eyes gleamed as he continued speaking.
“For you, it wouldn’t have been a terrible future either. You would have enjoyed power and glory and perhaps even set a reputation that would be forever remembered in this martial world, just like Jang Sam-bong or the Heavenly Demon.”
The notion of an immortal reputation.
That was a tempting line anyone would fall for as a martial artist, yet I couldn’t help but chuckle at Blood Ancestor’s words.
“Now I understand why my mother and father fled the Blood Sect to hide me.”
“…What did you say?”
“If I’d stayed in the Blood Sect, not just I, but my mother, father, and grandfather would have all become your tools.”
The look on Blood Ancestor’s face twisted.
I felt like I finally understood Blood Ancestor’s thoughts. He wouldn’t truly grasp my words.
“Blood Ancestor, I can’t sense any familial affection in what you say. You only spew sweet outcomes that sound nice.”
“What are you talking about…”
“If you don’t value family as family, how can anyone rely on family? I believe my mother felt the same way. What if I failed to meet your expectations, Blood Ancestor? Would you still have refrained from placing a curse on me then?”
“You had what it took.”
“What if I didn’t? I may not remember what age I was when I stayed in the Blood Sect, but since I have no memories, I could have left at the youngest age possible. Who could guarantee the chances of an infant? If I were fifteen, the Blood Ancestor who peered into my future likely thought I wouldn’t even attain Hwa-gyeong at my age.”
He’d probably never thought so. After all, he’d disregarded me as valueless.
Blood Ancestor fell silent. Not having any rebuttals after lecturing me on how harshly the martial artists managed their martial arts would do him no service.
“If you even showed signs of regret for having harmed my parents and grandfather for the sake of the Blood Sect’s regulations, perhaps I would have wavered. But you only speak of the riches and fame I should have achieved.”
I lifted my blade.
“When I was about to be sacrificed in Gangseo and met you, I distinctly felt something. You do not see me as your granddaughter. With this revelation, all my remaining hesitations vanished.”
“Is that how you think? That I am cold-hearted? Hahaha! If you had become the leader of the Blood Sect, you would understand me.”
You think I would have understood you if I had grown up in the Blood Sect?
That was utterly ludicrous.
Even if the Blood Sect’s rules dictated such conduct, was there truly no one within the Blood Sect who valued blood ties?
My mother was proof of that.
My mother chose to abandon all else to leave the Blood Sect for my sake.
Blood Ancestor was merely a person using that position and the rules as excuses.
I clearly realized that fact.
With that, my heart became entirely settled.
There might have been some story between Blood Ancestor, my parents, and my grandfather that I was unaware of.
Even though I had struggled against Blood Ancestor until now, was I simply making presumptions because the situation had become entangled?
Since confronting Blood Ancestor, I had resolved to remain unfaltering, yet there had still been some hesitation that was inevitable.
“Prepare yourself. You are my enemy for having harmed my father, mother, and grandfather, and now I will take my revenge.”
“You will regret it. Ho Cheon-an.”
Blood Ancestor gritted his teeth and took a stance.
As I looked at that figure, I transformed Six Star Chen into the Thunder Formation. Feeling that extraordinary energy swirling around me, I sensed the strong resolve of my companions cheering me on.
The emotions of those who had been silently listening to my conversation with Blood Ancestor were conveyed to me.
Black Cat, worrying for my safety while listening to the dialogue.
Miss Yeo Il-ye, mourning my parents and grandfather.
Hyeok Gi-rin, lamenting our current predicament.
Dokgo I-seol, incensed by Blood Ancestor’s words.
And even Moyong Yeon-hwa, rooting for me to overcome this entire situation.
The feelings of my companions, who thought of me more deeply than I did myself, were conveyed clearly to me. Although their expressions were all different, their conclusion was the same.
Never losing, no matter what.
Being pushed by that encouragement, my body lunged forward.
At the same time, my concentration soared to its peak, making the world feel like it was stretching out.
The truth was.
Facing Blood Ancestor head-on was a dangerously reckless act.
No matter how much Blood Ancestor’s strength had dwindled, he still hadn’t revealed the very bottom, and even if I unleashed my attack with the Thunder Formation, it would be unreasonable to expect Blood Ancestor to fall to merely unrefined strikes.
But.
Even if it was foolish and reckless, I had to do it.
The accumulation of my years and the realms I had experienced were different, but this was a moment that must be transcended.
Even if the consequence of this recklessness led to death, I had to execute my will at this instant.
I unleashed the Thunder Hammer.
Forgetting even the pain arising from my wounds, I controlled the vital energy flooding forth. Although I had handled thunder numerous times before, I had never successfully controlled it to operate fully as my own power.
Had I perhaps recognized the brutality of that thunder while slicing down the Black Serpent?
Blood Ancestor squeezed out the remaining blood and energy to prepare only to protect his vital area.
With my attacks lacking sharpness, his intention was quite clear to hunker down and endure.
This was it. The dual realm of thunder would unfold.
In the slowed time, I attempted to control the stream of thunder energy that flowed like a cascade, yet I still made no tangible progress.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to me.
Was it truly impossible for a single person to control this energy?
If only the Heavenly Demon Wi Ji-cheon were here, would he have been able to fully manipulate the energy like thunder? Perhaps he could.
If only the secret text of the Heavenly Demon Arts had remained in my mind, would I have found some clue to controlling the thunder?
The first Heavenly Demon was truly harsh. Even a restorer would be challenged to preserve the lineage of the Heavenly Demon Arts, yet he didn’t leave a single line of that text behind and took all of it with him.
As I wallowed in such resentments.
A single line of the secret text suddenly surged in my mind.
[What supports humanity is relation.]
It crystallized clearly in my thoughts.
The last line in the preamble of the Heavenly Demon Arts.
That what supports humanity is relation.
What could that possibly mean, and why did it come to me at this moment?
I examined the flowing thunder energy currently pouring out. Black Cat. Miss Yeo Il-ye. Hyeok Gi-rin. Dokgo I-seol. And even Moyong Yeon-hwa.
Each of my companions’ vital energy, imbued with their unique maritial arts, collided and began to move toward one unified direction.
At that sight, I suddenly had a flash of thought.
Did I control my companions to arrive here?
The idea felt deeply wrong.
Miss Yeo Il-ye came to me after completing her revenge. Hyeok Gi-rin too left the palace, having heard rumors intent on assisting me.
Dokgo I-seol and Moyong Yeon-hwa both desired to join me of their own volition.
Though I had provided nothing, my companions stood beside me, even putting aside their own problems.
Recalling that fact, I loosened all the energy of the thunder.
Hesitating for a moment in the swirling, undulating current, I ultimately strengthened my resolve and liberated all the energy.
The chaotic energy that twisted away was now swirling freely. It was as if Blood Ancestor watched me with wide eyes, unsure of what was happening.
The three realms converge. The divine thunder of three appearances emerges, dispersing the energy of thunder.
Yet, there was also a clear sense of direction to that energy.
Even without any restraint, it began to take shape, letting me know that my choice was indeed the right one.
I unleashed the Secret Affinity of the Arts and the Five Shadow Pursuit.
Before long, the thunder began to take on a form. Rather than a form, it was closer to a principle.
Was the first Heavenly Demon rooted in relationships or considered to be a branch?
Or perhaps, he had seen it not as a tree, but something different entirely.
However, if it is true that what supports humanity is their relations, then it must be something that flows naturally.
It was something to let unfold freely.
Just as those who were unfathomably different became companions, journeying together, making a ruckus, and eventually arriving here, such things must have accumulated to lead to now.
The spirits of my companions broke free, following the principle of the Enlightened Cloud Thunder Technique.
Upon recognizing that, it seemed an utterly silly thing.
I had believed without a doubt that my companions were here for me, yet I had never imagined they would follow the flow of the Enlightened Cloud Thunder Technique.
I unleashed a portion of Six Great Evolutions and lifted my sword.
Though it was that simple, the energies of my companions followed behind, creating a singular principle. Feeling that flow, I drove my sword forward.
What should I compare this flow to?
A mountain? A river? The wind?
Soon, I found my answer.
This flow was none other than the world itself.
With the power of Six Star Chen and my companions, I reached the ultimate understanding of the Single Cut Blade Technique.
Kwarrrrl!!!
Thunder rumbled throughout the world.
As I unleashed it along with the Seven Clouds Paradox, the extended energy enveloped Blood Ancestor’s blood and shattered it, sweeping away the strength within the crisscrossing artificial limbs.
I pierced through all of Blood Ancestor’s defenses.
The immense force swept up Blood Ancestor, who sprawled helplessly on the ground. His artificial limbs shattered into pieces, and the artificial leg that had no remaining blood hung lifelessly.
“Cough!”
Real Blood Ancestor’s blood sputtered from his mouth. And as that blood spewed forth, the blade of the Great Sword plunged into the soil.
Even though I had successfully unleashed this thunder, I had faced an expert of the Form Realm directly and my sword couldn’t endure it.
Although I didn’t cough up blood, I could feel it pooling in my throat.
“Senior!”
“Honorable Person!”
“Senior Ho!”
“Yongji Maeng!”
“Great Hero!”
My companions rushed towards me, but I raised my hand to stop them.
There was still more to be done.
With my body crying out in pain from head to toe, I moved in front of Blood Ancestor.
The internal injuries that Blood Ancestor sustained from the Thunder attack were indeed irreparable, even if the great Refined God were to return to life.
The impact of the Thunder was one thing, but Blood Ancestor’s state was already beyond recovery.
It was likely the result of overly relying on blood techniques. Using blood drained from one’s own body couldn’t be beneficial, after all.
“Do you have any last words?”
“Ho Cheon-an, despite losing my arms and legs… I thought heaven had chosen me as I could awaken the blood arts to command spirits… cough, it was all a delusion, wasn’t it?”
As I gazed upon the dying Blood Ancestor, I spoke the words I had wanted to say since I first met him.
“How could one so versed in blood techniques be oblivious to the bonds of blood?”
Hearing my words, Blood Ancestor’s body trembled as he chuckled.
“Haha… Haha! Yes! Perhaps the bonds of blood flow within the blood itself…”
He gazed toward the sky through his dimmed eyes, extending his hand.
“I wanted to… grasp the world…”
With those final words, the light vanished from Blood Ancestor’s eyes. Even the hand he had desperately raised dropped uselessly.
I closed Blood Ancestor’s eyes, which had lost their light.
The sounds of battle rang faintly in my ears. I felt the chaotic atmosphere of the battlefield fluctuate, unsure if Blood Ancestor’s death was tied to the entities.
That noise seemed to whisper to me.
Everything has come to an end.
I raised my head toward the sky that Blood Ancestor had seen for the last time.
A clear day with not a cloud in the sky.
The battle with Blood Ancestor came to a close.
