The biggest change of terms :
Gumiho = Kumiho (sound the same) : this means literally a nine-tailed fox in hangul
Kumiho* real name = Yana
Zoan (sword master in beyond the heavens) = Wolhu
Amzone = An Zun
—
Chusung had to admit, this guy had balls for a human. Not many ever dared to try and provoke Chusung let alone try to fight him. He was a monster nearing the top existences in all of Eria. But, a human? Absolutely wicked and crazy indeed.
He had to admit, for a human, this guy was strong.
But it was nothing but a joke to Chusung. His power was nearing the realm just underneath the level of the Great Yoka,i Heoju.
Therefore, Chusung had no choice but to laugh. He acknowledged the power of the Crazy Heavenly Demon, but found it hilarious that a mere martial artist of the Peak Realm tried to attack him.
In fact, Byuk Won-Pae knew the reality of the situation as well as Chusung did.
The flames of internal energy that coated around Chusung burned fervently in the darkness of the night. Even if the Crazy Heavenly Demon somehow was able to break through the coating of internal energy surrounding Chusung, it would be impossible to penetrate, let alone scratch the firm and tempered body of the Great Monster, Chusung.
Even though he tried using various techniques that he had developed himself, he ultimately failed to deal a significant blow to Chusung.
The longer the battle lasted, the more exhausted the Crazy Heavenly Demon became.
'Can I even do this?'
He had these recurring thoughts when thinking of revenge the past few weeks. Whenever he leaned towards such a negative thought, the Crazy Heavenly Demon immediately thought of Dersia.
How did Dersia die? How did the other villagers die? They must have died painfully. Their body burning in the flames, screaming, crying out for any kind of help, only to see their loved ones burning to ash right in front of them.
His faltering will was once again restored.
Chusung laughed while watching the Crazy Heavenly Demon building up a coating of internal energy around his body again.
"What the hell's the point of all this?"
Chusung was really curious about this man's reasoning, so he asked him.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon's eyes were blazing in a crimson hue. He replied with a venomous glare and curt tone.
"It was a few years ago. I don't know if you remember it."
"What happened?"
"Near this city... There were people who lived in the forest. I don't know why, but you attacked and slaughtered them."
"I do that all the time, so I don't remember what you're talking about too well."
"You met Yana in the forest, and ran with your tail tucked away in fear of her."
Chusung's face hardened coldly at those words. He would always go on rampages and massacre humans; but the one time that Yana, the Gumiho, was involved?
There was only one precedent.
"Okay... I remember."
Chusung gnawed his teeth, seething in anger.
"I heard stories of a strange tribe. A tribe that full of humans, but somehow dealt with The Great Yokai's powers. There was a rumor that began to circulate among the roots of Predator, but most of the Heads of the group didn't care. However I wasn't so sure it was a false rumor, so I went to go over and check."
It wasn't a big deal for Chusung. It was just a light outing, no different from the usual.
"The rumors were true. Just looking at those disgusting bugs... I didn't like them. So I killed them! I don't know why that damn bitch suddenly appeared just to ruin my moment. But... seeing you mention this to me, are you perhaps a survivor of that tiny little village?"
"No."
There wasn't even a real reason as to why they were killed. This was a heavy statement in it's own right.
Just because he felt like it. That was Chusung's reasoning for massacring so many innocent human lives.
"You aren't? Then why the fuck are you here messing with me?"
"I was close with the villagers you slaughtered..."
"HAHAHAHA!"
At the Crazy Heavenly Demon's answer, Chusung tilted his head and burst into laughter.
"Is that all? You were close with them? You're planning on dying just for that? PFT- I really can't understand human beings."
'Smile and laugh all you want.'
The Crazy Heavenly Demon thought coldly to himself while staring at Chusung.
Regardless of whether it was possible or not, his will was already set in stone. The Crazy Heavenly Demon would attack Chusung. This was his vengeance, and his alone.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon shot forwards at Chusung.
Chusung laughed at the sight of The Crazy Heavenly Demon's rash and obviously angered movements.
"How stupid."
Chusung mumbled and swung his hand.
Kuaruru!
A wave of red flames hit the Crazy Heavenly Demon. The Crazy Heavenly Demon struck at the bright flame without avoiding it.
Guaang!
From the beginning of his attacks, the Blood Rings techniques were being unfolded one after the other. When the misty rings made of blood, hit the flame, the flames scattered in all directions.
As big as the gap between the two was, It was impossible to stop the Crazy Heavenly Demon just by throwing out little sparks.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon didn't slow down his running speed at all, but rather lifted his head and pursued Chusung persistently.
Strong bursts of auras from the internal energies attacked at close range to hit Chusung.
However, even though the techniques scattered the flames and hit Chusung's body, it did not deliver any pain whatsoever to Chusung.
Chusung laughed away and swung his wide open hand to hit the Crazy Heavenly Demon's head.
If he got hit once with that kind of power, The Crazy Heavenly Demon would surely die.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon clenched his teeth and twisted his waist.
The trajectory of Chusung's hand was dyed red with flames.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon's red aura coating his body and Chusung's flames collided.
It wasn't just a spark, it was a flame with magical and mystical properties. Just by colliding with the flame head-on, it shook the Crazy Heavenly Demon's body.
A tear popped in his throat and blood spurted. The Crazy Heavenly Demon swallowed the blood, clenched both hands and struck Chusung's chest with all his might.
"HAHAHA!"
Even though he was finally hit properly, Chusung laughed. The fist that the Crazy Heavenly Demon threw with all his might was light like a being hit with a cotton pillow for Chusung.
Chusung had been reigning tall for a long time. The strength of Chusung was comparable to a martial artist in the Transcendence Realm.
'No.'
There were two Transcendence Realm experts that Crazy Heavenly Demon had experienced fighting with up until now.
Both of them were a part of the 6 divinities in 'Beyond the Heavens'. Wolhu and An Zun.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon felt that the strength of Chusung was probably closer to An Zun's.
Though, when the Crazy Heavenly Demon and Lee Sungmin fought with An Zun, An Zun was not trying his best at the start, so it would be difficult to say which one was superior if one were to compare the two.
But one thing was for sure.
Chusung was weaker than Wolhu.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon fought with Wolhu 10 years ago and suffered an overwhelming and terrible defeat.
If Wolhu had not shown mercy, the Crazy Heavenly Demon would have died on that day to Wolhu's sword.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon spent 10 years waiting for the day to fight Wolhu again, but he had not yet reached the realm of Transcendence.
Even so, he could clearly see who was stronger between the two. Chusung was weaker than Wolhu. Wasn't that more important? That meant there was still some possibility.
Quaang!
Chusung's kick shook the Crazy Heavenly Demon's coating of aura.
There was little skill in the attacks from Chusung. Ignorantly strong power and treacherous heat were all that made up Chusung's strength.
However, due to the large difference in power, it was difficult for Crazy Heavenly Demon to handle even Chusung's low-skilled attacks.
'Even if he is weaker than Wolhu, he is clearly stronger than me.'
The Crazy Heavenly Demon's body rolled over the ground. His left arm was feeling stiff. He tried not to get hit, but ...... he was still hit.
The last 10 years he spent were mostly in madness and full of resentment, unable to even process one rational thought. Would it have been possible to achieve the realm of Transcendence if he had focused on martial arts during those 10 years straight with a clear mind?
No, it was funny to think that way. After meeting Dersia and leaving the village, he went mad.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon did not want to deny his time together with Dersia. Even if it was a very short period of time that took place over 10 years ago.
His left arm hurt. Was it broken? Regardless, It wasn't a good thing.
He couldn't afford to drink an elixir in time.
Chusung, who made a big leap forward, struck his foot wrapped in flames toward the Crazy Heavenly Demon.
It wasn't even a matter of honor, and in the first place, Crazy Heavenly Demon was a great man who didn't care about that.
Without hesitation, he rolled sideways to avoid Chusung's feet.
"You're like a bug!"
Chusung burst into laughter.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon rolled several times, raised his body and touched his left arm with his right hand.
Fortunately, the bone was not broken. Although it was painful, it wasn't too difficult to move his arm now. The Crazy Heavenly Demon was relieved about it.
He decided to make a choice. If he continued like this, he would not be able to beat Chusung. At the moment of life and death, he wanted to gain enlightenment, although...
The Crazy Heavenly Demon was well aware that enlightenment was not something that could not be obtained unconditionally at the moment that came from life and death.
Therefore, when Crazy Heavenly Demon saw Lee Sungmin, he was so surprised. It was a miracle to gain continuous enlightenments at near-death moments.
He couldn't rely on something like enlightenment. The Crazy Heavenly Demon was already painting his own death.
So, realizing the options he had left, The Crazy Heavenly Demon made his decision...
...If you were a warrior who had followed the path of martial arts, opened a dantian, and built an inner circuitry inside, then at the very bottom of one's dantian, everyone has something very precious to keep hidden there.
It was something that everyone had, and that nobody wanted to get rid of. Utilizing this power would surely have severe consequences to any martial artist. It was their life force.
It was the very essence that served as the foundation to any and all martial artists, internal circuitry.
When one circulated their internal energy, they would circulate around the dantian like a pulsating heart. However, what made the heartbeat was the life force. Burning up this sacred energy, traded explosive power and one's potential as a martial artist. Meaning, if one used all this up, they would die, or become severely crippled.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon started to circulate his internal energy violently focusing on the untapped nucleus of his dantian. A huge surge of powerful internal energy started to rampage forth in a controlled manner. This was Byuk Won-Pae's final card to play.
The scarlet-red internal energy wrapped itself around the Crazy Heavenly Demon with a peculiar sheen. It wrapped around him in a bright light, as if the internal energy were boasting it's very brilliance.
The brilliant red energy permeated and floated around Byuk Won-Pae, and then slowly started to rise up into the air.
It was the accumulation of decades of training as well as an even higher amount of internal energy. Byuk Won-Pae was shining like a bright red star. It was him in all of his brilliance. A man who created his own martial arts, A man who had traveled the world, learned to love, learned what it was to feel pain in the heart, and a man who had reached the very brink of the peak realm.
"..What did you just do?"
Chusung asked as he noticed something was incredibly off at that moment.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon did not even spare Chusung a glance, let alone a word. He never expected that today was the day he would lay down his existence. He had finally found something he wanted so genuinely, and needed to pursue his will at the cost of his life.
Lately, as the party traveled and more had become revealed in the past few weeks. Byuk Won-Pae had a feeling. He knew himself better than anyone else, and he just had a gut feeling that the fight with Chusung, may be his last.
There was no regret to be seen on his face. Rather than that, he felt at ease finally.
Whether he failed or not, he wouldn't have to regret anything knowing he put his very life as the wager.
Either way, the Crazy Heavenly Demon would die here today.
Of course, the Crazy Heavenly Demon was planning to succeed. He knew it was still going to be difficult, but he just knew he felt like he would succeed.
He was thinking of dying together in the fight with Chusung.
Chusung knew that something had changed, but he did not understand what exactly had changed for the man in front of him. He blinked repeatedly as he watched the Crazy Heavenly Demon wrap an untapped source of power, coated in red, wrap across his body.
Chusung looked at The Crazy Heavenly Demon's facial expression, which for the first time in their fight, had become calm. He then tilted his head, and opened his mouth to repeat his question.
Before the sound of his voice could even surface from his mouth, The Crazy Heavenly Demon narrowed the distance to Chusung in an instant.
All of his martial arts techniques were unfolding at an incredibly high level that nobody would have ever been able to witness.
Chusung dropped his jaw and immediately forgot about what he was going to say as he looked at the Crazy Heavenly Demon that had already appeared right in front of his face. The Crazy Heavenly Demon's extended hand hit Chusung's chest with a ferocious impact.
Kwoong!
There was a heavy sound that shook in the area from the point of impact. It was a fundamentally different sound from before. Chusung grunted and lost his breath as the hit met his body. The heavy blow shook Chusung's heart.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon swung his fist toward Chusung's face, who was staggering back. Chusung could not even respond to the speed presently being shown from The Crazy Heavenly Demon.
Quazzik!
Chusung's head swung sideways and a snapping sound was heard. The Crazy Heavenly Demon wanted to smash his head in one blow, but he knew it was being greedy if he tried.
Still, it was a powerful attack, and it was enough to temporarily break off the layer of coated internal energy on Chusung's body.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon's face was calm as he glanced at Chusung's eyes that were dazed. He knew he still had a lot more power within himself.
The power gained from burning his life force was still far from being extinguished at this point.
Kwakwakwang!
A series of attacks from the Crazy Heavenly Demon successively struck Chusung's body and forced it up into the air.
Chusung's eyes widened in shock, as the pain was still being registered to his brain.
"Uhhhh!"
An outburst of anger came before his pain though. Chusung jerked round in the air while his face contorted in sheer rage.
The first thing Chusung saw was the appearance of The Crazy Heavenly Demon facing his side with both hands raised up and clasped together.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon lips fluttered.
Crazy Heavenly Demon's Blood Ring Martial arts : Blood River Predation (혈류추살)
A Red River of internal energy rose from under the feet of the Crazy Heavenly Demon. It shook the ground violently and soared out in all directions.
Before long, a huge vortex of golden and scarlet-colored blood was formed around him.
The storm of the raging red river shook and collided with Chusung's body. The Crazy Heavenly Demon raised his hand a little higher.
Chusung distorted his face and opened his mouth wide. A bright light flashed in his wide open mouth.
Red flames poured out of Chusung's mouth with a wild roar.
The flames poured in a straight line above the Crazy Heavenly Demon and tried to swallow his body in the raging heat.
Therefore, The Crazy Heavenly Demon clenched his outstretched hand to a fist as the internal energy within him surged and coalesced around it.
Crazy Heavenly Demon's Blood Ring Martial arts : Blood Gale Nova (鲜血新星)
Chusung's body, caught in the scattering storm of the vortex, soared high like a broken kite, and the flames he tried to shoot at the Crazy Heavenly Demon's body, didn't even come close to reaching him.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon exhaled a rough breath and lowered his hand.
Kwa-Aang!
Chusung's body, which fell at high speed into the ground, cracked and created a crater around it . The Crazy Heavenly Demon looked to behind him, to see if there was anything he had missed.
Rubia was looking at the Crazy Heavenly Demon with a blank expression. The Crazy Heavenly Demon smiled bitterly at Rubia and turned his head back to focus his attention on Chusung.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon lifted up his slightly heavy feet and approached Chusung.
Chusung, buried deep in the ground, was in a terrible condition.
The iron armor that covered his whole body was torn to pieces by the Blood Gale Nova, and red blood was flowing through the cracks.
The Crazy Heavenly Demon did not let go of his guard and approached Chusung.
Chusung's eyes, which were closed, opened up.
"AH!"
Chusung woke up with an angry yell and The Crazy Heavenly Demon rushed toward Chusung as if he was waiting.
Chusung acted quickly to kill The Crazy Heavenly Demon even in his current state of immense pain. His iron armor quickly regenerated, and Chusung's quickly struck the Crazy Heavenly Demon with a burning flame.
Still, there was no skill in the attack. The monster's strong body and power didn't exactly have a need for skills or techniques, but it was that missing component that Chusung desperately needed in this current situation.
If they had the same power, the one who had better techniques would clearly have the visible lead in a fight.
Chusung also knew that. Even in theory, there was no way he could completely overturn the tables without it.
But, the situation was not terrible for Chusung just yet.
"Keugh!"
Blood spurted from Crazy Heavenly Demon's mouth.
His end was drawing near.