Guyangdo gathered every last shred of his qi.

To kill this man, there was only one way left—detonate all the qi in his body and perish together with him.

When he had set out for Hwaoru, he had never imagined things would come to this, but to drag a monster who threatened the martial world down with him—that was death enough to be worth the price.

As a martial artist, it would be an end he could face without shame before all the warriors of the world.

Without a trace of hesitation, Guyangdo drew his qi to its peak.

But—

Bwooom—

“Kh...!” 𝓯𝓻𝒆𝙚𝒘𝓮𝙗𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝒍.𝙘𝓸𝙢

His body went limp.

Before he could even set his qi in motion, the man’s hand had already robbed him of consciousness.

“It’s about time you stopped making trouble. Sleep for a while.”

The man muttered something incomprehensible, but Guyangdo could no longer hear it.

Fwoooong—

Blood-red Energy of Blood coiled around the man’s hand and Guyangdo’s head.

Hwoooosh...

Through the Baihui point atop his head, Guyangdo’s sun-bright qi was drawn into the man’s hand.

“Since we’ve shared life-and-death, I’ll send you off in peace.”

The man watched the dazzling light of Guyangdo’s qi flow into him, his expression unreadable.

The instant it touched his Energy of Blood, the once blazing yang energy dimmed and turned the same deep, blood-red hue.

Even the qi itself was stolen away, mingled with his own bloody aura.

As the qi flowed into the man, Guyangdo’s body shriveled little by little.

Then—

Hwoook—

“....”

The man released his grip, turning his gaze to the right.

Guyangdo’s body plummeted to the ground, and the man raised a hand to block the black streak of force that had come flying at him.

Kwooom—!

Where his gaze landed, a masked figure wreathed in qi darker than darkness itself hovered in midair with sword in hand.

The man’s lips curled upward.

“Shadowless Demon God, is it not?”

****

[Don’t speak such nonsense. You said yourself you might die! Putting qi in is nothing like pulling it out!]

Even as the Imoogi railed against her, Seolhwa did not yield.

Tat— Tatat—

She made her way toward Hwaoru.

Guyangdo and Gwangcheon would only have one lead—Hwaoru—so she knew they’d head there first.

As expected, though it was an hour when the brothel should have been bustling, all its lights were out.

A quick check of the concealed entrance to the underground base revealed a chaotic scene.

The air was thick with the scent of blood not yet faded, and injured men were scattered about.

It was the aftermath of a fierce battle.

The elders were here.

Looking back, she remembered—this was the time in her previous life when the place had been attacked.

Back then, she had been in Anhui in a standoff with the Namgoong Clan and had only received reports.

The damage had been minimal since most of the key people, like her, had been away, and the intruders had been repelled.

So it was this period.

If those intruders were the elders...

She swept her gaze around.

If masters of their caliber had fought here, the place wouldn’t be standing intact.

They moved the fight elsewhere.

And not too far—

The battle between masters of the Profound Realm would send out powerful ripples of qi. If she pushed her qi senses to the limit, she could find them.

Tap—

Seolhwa set out at once, praying the two were still alive.

****

Three days.

It took her three whole days to find them.

The complex terrain of Yunnan, with its deep valleys and countless mountains, made the search far from easy.

But at last, she found them.

Kwoooong—

She steadied her breath, eyes fixed on the distant place from which massive waves of force pulsed.

It’s not...

It wasn’t over yet.

The two elders were still alive.

Kugugugung—!!

Lightning flashed, and the ground shook even here from the battle’s aftershocks.

A battle between Profound Realm masters—

Even at ten li away, their qi made her skin prickle.

The Blood Demon was there.

Realizing it sent a tremor through her hands and an uncontrollable shiver through her body.

Her instincts—and the terror carved into her by her past life—were screaming.

[Are you listening to me? I said I don’t want to! I told you I wouldn’t do it!]

The Imoogi’s voice still pressed at her relentlessly.

[Look at yourself! You’re shaking! If you rush in there, you’ll die! You won’t be able to do a thing!]

Seolhwa clenched her fist tight.

She knew it too—

All she could do now was imitate a master of the Flower Realm; she wouldn’t truly be able to fight.

But—

“If I don’t, I will die.”

If she didn’t go, the two of them would surely die.

[You won’t die right now! Live first, find another way! Surely there’s another way this time—]

“To win, we need the elders. Otherwise, the past will repeat.”

Even knowing they were alive, she couldn’t stand by and let them die.

Right now, they might still lose, but they were the only ones in the martial world capable of standing against the Blood Demon.

“If I save them, you’ll be saving the world, Imoogi.”

[I don’t care about the world. I told you. I only want to fulfill your wish.]

“My wish is to save the world.”

Because only by saving it could she live with her family—

Live a simple life full of smiles.

The Imoogi knew that better than anyone.

That the road to Namgoong Seolhwa’s modest dream was harsher than any other.

[If I’d known this, I’d have gagged Guyangdo.]

If it had been before, when even the thought of manifesting was beyond her, she would never have dared such recklessness.

[Wretched girl...]

Tadat— Tak—!

Seolhwa saw Gwangcheon snatch the falling Guyangdo from the air, then fixed her gaze on the man before her.

The Blood Demon.

A cruel, persistent thread of fate.

Once her master—now her mortal enemy.

“Shadowless Demon God, is it not?”

The man greeted her with a smile.

The Energy of Blood radiating from him was deeper and heavier than it had been four years ago.

The Blood Demon had grown stronger still—in just four years.

The realization filled her with despair.

She had clawed her way upward over those same four years, yet he had only widened the gap.

But now was ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) not the time for despair.

Now, she had to save the elders.

“I’ve been wanting to meet you at least once.”

The Blood Demon showed no overt killing intent.

But one did not need to show killing intent to kill—

Not him. She could not let her guard down.

“Me....”

She had no desire to talk to him, but right now she was glad he was speaking—

Every moment he spent talking was time for Gwangcheon and Guyangdo to flee.

“And why did you want to see me? I’ve heard from the Blood Butcher, by the way.”

“Ah, so you’ve heard that he’s met you.”

That confirmed it—Blood Butcher was a member of the Blood Demon Cult.

And if he was, then the Assassins’ Den must also be one of its subordinate forces.

So one of the Six Blood Lords commands the Assassins’ Den.

She’d uncovered another piece of their hierarchy.

“As for why I wanted to meet you... I’m not quite sure how to explain it.”

“....”

“You’re something that wasn’t meant to exist. Call it a variable... yes, a variable.”

Beneath her mask, Seolhwa’s expression hardened.

A variable—

Exactly what she had sought to become, to twist the fate of her previous life.

Why was he using that word?

“Variable...?”

She feigned ignorance, but her fingertips trembled.

“You wouldn’t understand even if I told you. In any case, I only had one question—but with you showing up here, I now have two.”

“...And they are?”

“Where did you come from? And...”

His gaze sharpened suddenly, carrying a chill.

“...why would you stand in my way with such a pitiful scrap of strength?”

Blood-red qi welled from him—his killing intent, his power, his very being.

“Your courage is commendable, but your recklessness is not. Recklessness is worse than hiding. Out of regard for your effort, I’ll spare those two for now, but I cannot let you go.”

Fwooom—

Like shaking blood from his blade, the Blood Demon swung wide.

Kwa-kwa-kwa-kwang—!

A deep gorge split the mountains along his sword path.

“Well? Do you feel like answering me now?”

Seolhwa swallowed dryly and raised her sword.

From her body rose the thickest, blackest qi she had ever summoned.

“Interesting. You’re an intriguing one. I’ll grant you that much. But—”

Whoosh—

“...!”

She only blinked, yet the Blood Demon was suddenly right before her.

Just as with Gwangcheon and Guyangdo, she couldn’t even track his movement.

“Did I not say? Recklessness is worse than hiding.”

He raised his hand.

She saw it, but too late to block—

His hand reached for her mask.

“Let’s see who hides beneath this—hm?”

His hand froze midair.

The instant his fingers touched the Shadowless Demon God’s head, her qi surged like a living thing, blocking his hand.

“What is this...?”

Fwoosh—

As if shoved by some great force, the Blood Demon was blasted backward.

He halted in midair at a distance.

“Ohh.”

Surprise flickered across his face.

In his eyes, black as ink, her shadowy aura filled his vision.

His gaze toward her now rose a fraction higher.

“Well, this is unexpected.”

Behind the black-misted Shadowless Demon God, a massive black form appeared.

“How dare you lay hands on what is mine?”

The Imoogi.