Chapter 246

Chapter 246
## Chapter 246. Today’s Fortune (5)

Demon Brain was well aware that his profound insights, which far outstripped normal human understanding, could not possibly be completely passed down to just one successor. Because of this, he educated students who would each receive a specific fraction of that wisdom.

They were known as the Seven Demon Wisdom Lords.

Je Geum-hak was the despicable wretch who held the position of the Vicious Lord among those Seven Demon Wisdom Lords.

Of all the individuals among the Seven Demon Wisdom Lords, it just had to be this piece of trash…….

He was the very same villain who, in the days ahead, would assassinate Jegal So-myeong, the Grand Strategist of the Murim Alliance, and serve as the critical catalyst for the ultimate downfall of the Murim Alliance.

To think I would encounter a scoundrel whom I had never even crossed paths with in my previous existence, standing right before my eyes in this current life.

Did an event like this make any sense from the perspective of likelihood?

There was no way Il-myeong had brought a hex upon me simply because I had played around a bit regarding the Mind-Reading Art, right?

Barring such an absurdity, an encounter like this should have been impossible.

“……Hmm. Who exactly are you, Black Flame Dragon?”

Gun Yu-hyeon…… or rather, Vicious Lord Je Geum-hak tilted his head to the side.

“Not just the Twin-Shadow Vicious Demon Brigade, but you even recognize the Devouring Gauntlet and my true name……. How did you find out?”

“……”

If only there existed a fatal illness that struck down individuals out of sheer inquisitiveness. If that were true, I wouldn’t have to bother dealing with this garbage.

Seeing my absolute quietness, he gave a slow nod of his head.

“As I thought, you have no intention of speaking?”

Crack, crack. Crack.

Je Geum-hak unfurled his curled-up fingers one by one, and then commenced gathering distinctly contrasting forces in each of his palms.

“You will be singing a different tune very shortly.”

These miserable bastards. I had been told before that even the famed Two Principles Heart Method of the Wudang Sect was incapable of managing two completely contradictory forces in that manner.

Yet I couldn’t just stand here venting my frustrations indefinitely.

No savior was going to drop from the sky and fix this situation just because I whined about it.

He proceeded to fuse the two clashing forces into a single entity.

Even though Fire Qi and Water Qi, two elements inherently at odds with one another, had collided, through some bizarre equilibrium, the raw power radiating from him intensified significantly.

It appeared dangerously volatile, resembling a sparked Thunderbolt Bomb.

Three Forms of the White Moon Governing Heaven.

First Form.

‘Extreme Swiftness’

I launched an assault at him while he was preoccupied with drawing out his technique.

At the bare minimum, I calculated that he wouldn’t be capable of utilizing the Devouring Gauntlet while both of his hands were fully occupied.

WHOOSH—

The sharp Sword Qi tore through the atmosphere, aiming directly to cleave his chest open.

Clap—

He slammed his palms together.

In that very instant.

PIIING—

A massive wave of force erupted outward, saturating the entire vicinity.

“Kuaaaaaak!”

This wasn’t the kind of strike that could be shrugged off merely by employing internal cultivation techniques.

The offensive rushed forward by literally displacing the air itself, possessing a magnitude that didn’t pale even when measured against the Radiant Heaven Divine Palm.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

Likely due to the confined nature of the environment, the concussive force was unable to dissipate outward and instead ricocheted back toward the center.

The backlash of the explosion snapping back inward delivered such a devastating impact that it felt as though every single bone inside me was fracturing into dust.

‘This is madness…….’

If Dam-ak were to be hit by an assault of this caliber, there was absolutely no scenario in which he could come out alive.

I twisted around instantly and shielded Dam-ak from the oncoming shockwave.

“Just what are you trying to……?”

Dam-ak stared up at me with a gaze that reflected a total lack of comprehension regarding my actions.

To be perfectly honest, I wasn’t entirely certain of my own reasoning either.

If I was going to perish in this spot regardless, what difference did it make if Dam-ak survived or met his end?

Nevertheless, Dam-ak was the very individual who had extended the survival of the Murim Alliance in the absence of Jegal So-myeong during the bleakest periods of the Great Righteous-Demonic War.

My physical form simply reacted on instinct to protect him.

From behind my scorching back, the derisive tones of Je Geum-hak drifted over to me.

“Endeavoring to rescue someone who might very well turn into your foe later on. Is that the celebrated righteous chivalry of the Black Flame Dragon?”

Righteous chivalry? Give me a break. Had I ever actually aspired to be some noble champion of justice?

Back during this period in my previous life, when Gye Cheol-yeong had callously usurped my spot in the Special Admission Track, any lingering fantasies of being a righteous hero had been abandoned long ago.

“I am not acting out of some grand sense of righteous chivalry.”

As if reacting directly to my inner resolve, the Taeul True Scripture swirled fiercely and gradually mitigated the blistering heat radiating across my wounded back.

Fortunately, the harm done was minimal, courtesy of the protective Heavenly Silkworm Treasure Robe that Wang Geum-san had gifted me.

A wry smirk pulled at the corners of my mouth before I could even stop it.

“I am driven purely by malice.”

Even if Dam-ak eventually turned his blade against me, if he could make life a living hell for the Demonic Cult down the road in my stead, I was perfectly fine with putting my life on the line for him right now.

“Go to hell, you son of a bitch!”

Utilizing my left arm, I unleashed a barrage of the Ten Thousand Transformations Invincible Fist, while my right arm deployed the intricate patterns of the Twin Heaven Sword Formula, driving him back ruthlessly.

Je Geum-hak persistently conjured barriers of solid ice to intercept the oncoming Sword Qi, all while snapping his fingers to shatter the authentic blades and concentrated Fist Force concealed within the optical illusions.

The very second my offensive wavered, he would undoubtedly unleash a torrent of fiery projectiles to turn the tables.

I had already mapped out a general understanding of the tactical approach this bastard utilized in battle.

TING— TING— TING-TING-TING-TING.

Exactly as I had anticipated, Je Geum-hak shifted his position to deflect the true blades and Fist Force, and the precise instant a orb of flame materialized in his left palm.

I hurled the Black Dragon Sword straight at the growing sphere of fire, while simultaneously executing the rapid steps of the Taeul Eighty-Thousand Divine Steps to reposition myself directly at his rear.

The villain, who had kept his composure until now, bellowed out,

“As if a transparent maneuver like that would ever work on me……!”

And the very second he manifested an ice barrier and spun his gaze around.

HISSSSSS!

I unleashed the fully charged Holy Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand that I had accumulated with every ounce of my strength, shattering right through the icy obstruction.

“What on earth is this……!”

“Did you honestly assume that you were the sole individual capable of manipulating Fire Qi?”

The icy barrier dissolved into nothingness as steam under the scorching intensity of the Holy Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand, leaving his torso completely defenseless.

Even so, the moment Je Geum-hak intercepted one of my Holy Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hands using his Devouring Gauntlet, the blazing warmth dancing upon my palm shriveled instantly and vanished without a single trace.

Man, this guy is seriously a nightmare to fight against.

Even with that being the case…….

“I still have another arm available!”

I lunged forward with my remaining hand utilizing all the momentum I could muster.

With one instance of the Demon-Extinguishing Hand neutralized by the Devouring Gauntlet, I aimed to drive my free hand straight through his ribcage to pierce his heart.

“You think I will just stand still and let you have your way?”

Je Geum-hak met the incoming Holy Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand head-on with the sphere of fire dancing in his own palm.

Fwoooosh.

The two competing infernos unfurled with flawless accuracy, appearing to slice the surrounding air cleanly down the middle.

“What in the world……”

Je Geum-hak’s pupils dilated in utter disbelief, as though he couldn’t comprehend the sight before him.

Shortly after, the immense compression of force originating from his palm slipped past his capacity to govern it, detonating violently in every conceivable direction.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM.

I frantically channeled my internal cultivation to shield my face from the blast.

I could feel the searing heat washing over my arms, shoulders, calves, and thighs.

As the blinding radiance receded, the landscape of the enclosed area revealed a stark transformation from moments prior.

Gaping dark voids had been carved into the deep red walls that previously acted as enclosures, and the interior was now completely blanketed in soot, stripped of anything left capable of catching fire.

I rapidly surveyed my own physical condition.

Short of a few minor superficial burns, I hadn’t sustained any debilitating trauma.

I quickly retrieved the fallen Black Dragon Sword and shifted my focus to evaluate how Dam-ak was faring.

“Can you hear me? Are you alright?”

“……”

Just as expected, Dam-ak had already lost consciousness.

At the very least, his chest was still rising and falling, which was a relie—

Twitch, twitch.

Detecting a sudden movement, I snapped my head around.

“No fucking way…….”

Are you kidding me, he’s still breathing?

Je Geum-hak’s frame, which had dropped to the floor after being reduced to scorched soot, was beginning to shudder.

And the movement didn’t stop at mere twitching.

Drop, drop. Drop, drop.

The charred residue flaked off his skin bit by bit, and Je Geum-hak gradually pushed himself back upright.

This is getting profoundly disastrous.

His jaw moved as he exhaled slowly.

“……Hoo.”

Crack— Crack—

Je Geum-hak stood fully erect and stretched out his torso and shoulders to loosen up.

Despite the fact that the concussive blast had utterly vaporized his garments, there wasn’t so much as a single blister visible on his flesh.

“The execution and flow of this particular martial style bear characteristics remarkably akin to our own order. What is the explanation for this?”

It was a massive stroke of luck that Dam-ak was completely knocked out right now.

In all honesty, if I ended up perishing here anyway, what did any of these secrets actually matter?

Even so, the reality that I was actively fretting over such details was undeniable confirmation that I desperately desired to make it out alive.

As I stood there silently gazing down at the unconscious Dam-ak, the furrow between Je Geum-hak’s eyebrows grew progressively more pronounced.

“……Could it be that you are an unacknowledged scion of our sacred cult?”

This lunatic was taking his wild assumptions entirely off the deep end.

“If that happens to be the case, perhaps there is a reason for us to converse a bit further…… Kish”

Since I was far too dumbfounded to even offer a reply, the bastard apparently interpreted my silence as validation.

“Why the hell is this psychotic bastard trying to label a perfectly normal guy as some hidden child of the cult?!”

A grueling, exhausting battle of attrition commenced once more.

He parried and countered my strikes, and minor lacerations began to manifest across my flesh one after another.

On the surface, it appeared as though our martial capabilities were roughly on par, but the harsh reality was that the wretch didn’t seem to be draining his internal reserves in the slightest.

In stark contrast, I was forced to expend my internal cultivation at maximum capacity and burn through my physical endurance just to barely deflect his incoming strikes.

‘If this continues much longer…….’

I shook my head vigorously to dispel the grim thoughts creeping into my mind.

Pessimistic thinking was completely useless in a predicament like this.

It would do nothing but sap the precious little vitality I had left.

I needed to focus on something positive instead…… something encouraging…… I’ve got nothing. Damn it all.

Right at that critical juncture.

Crackle, crackle.

Amidst the scorched and battered Mystic Gate Formation, a brilliant golden radiance flickered, and a reflective, clean-shaven head popped into view.

“Benefactor Jin…… what exactly is the nature of this location……?”

It was, without a doubt, the most beautiful bald head I had ever set my eyes on in my entire existence.

PING—

I rapidly deployed the Flying Dragon Claw, snagged Dam-ak’s form, and propelled him straight toward Il-myeong.

The monk, who caught the flying form of Dam-ak in utter bewilderment, bellowed out in frantic confusion,

“B-Benefactor Jin! If you abruptly hurl this(?) in my direction, what am I supposed to do to assist……?”

Your primary method of assisting is getting the hell out of here!

A mere moment after Dam-ak’s body slipped through the breach that Il-myeong had created, the dark opening shifted back into a solid crimson hue once more.

A mocking chuckle echoed from behind my position.

“How incredibly brainless. Your odds of walking away from this alive would have been substantially higher had you chosen to flee yourself.”

Je Geum-hak shook his head from side to side as though feeling a sense of pity.

But I wasn’t about to be tricked by his words.

If I ended up trapped within the mechanisms of the Mystic Gate Formation while attempting to force an exit, handling this freak would become exponentially more problematic.

There was absolutely no probability that the bastard had deployed a Mystic Gate Formation whose inner workings he wasn’t intimately familiar with.

I fired back with a derisive grin of my own.

“How profoundly benevolent, a feline weeping over the fate of a rodent.”

Because deceit was their inherent quality.

—

Blood Battle, who had stationed himself at Dam-ak’s quarters, wrinkled his brow deeply in irritation.

“Should we still refrain from making an entrance? A full half-hour has already slipped by.”

He had traveled all the way to Dam-ak’s private quarters precisely because Jin So-un had requested it, yet for some inexplicable reason, Jin So-un had given strict instructions merely to prevent anyone from gaining entry from the perimeter.

Dang Seo-hui shook her head with absolute conviction.

“Jin So-un is not the type of person who would task us with doing something completely devoid of purpose.”

“Hm?”

Dang Seo-hui, whose expression typically remained so utterly vacant that it was impossible to discern her internal thoughts, began retrieving an assortment of mother-of-pearl containers and throwing blades from the folds of her garments, gripping them tightly in her fingers.

Following her lead, even Ak Byeong-bi, who had far from fully recuperated from his prior injuries, tightened his hold on a heavy iron spear and shifted into a combat stance.

Blood Battle inquired, his voice betraying his lack of understanding,

“What exactly are you getting at?”

“Jin So-un explicitly stated that an incredibly perilous individual would be arriving at this location.”

“A perilous individual?”

Blood Battle pushed his Sensory Perception to its absolute limits, yet the only presences he could detect in the immediate vicinity were low-tier martial artists belonging to the Black Path moving about.

And yet, she was insisting that a formidable foe was present.

WHOOSH.

In that very moment, Flame Ghost Consort flinched in sudden recognition and immediately began conjuring intense Fire Qi within both of her palms.

“From underneath.”

“Underneath?”

The precise moment Blood Battle dropped his gaze to the ground.

The silhouettes casting shadows beneath the flickering illumination of the torches began distorting into an unnatural configuration.

The absolute instant he recognized that something was horribly amiss and propelled himself off the earth.

SHK-SHK-SHK-SHK──

Jet-black spikes erupted violently from the ground, launching a coordinated assault against them.

“……You miserable, cowardly bastards!”

Blood Battle wiped away the crimson stream trickling from his exposed ankle bone, his voice dripping with pure rage.

Nevertheless, breaking from his typical behavior, he didn’t blindly rush back into the fray.

Through that singular brief collision just now, he had come to the stark realization that these adversaries were far from ordinary cutthroats.

The spike that had targeted Blood Battle’s ankle receded smoothly back into the darkness of the shadow, and immediately following that, obsidian figures began twisting into solid form all around their perimeter.

These were entities shrouded from head to toe in dark fabric.

The torches danced and cast their illumination across the area, yet for some bizarre reason, the interior of the deep cowls pulled over their skulls remained entirely obscured in pitch blackness.

“Reveal yourselves, you freaks!”

“……”

The shadowy figures offered no response to Blood Battle’s fierce demand, maintaining a silence that felt heavy with calculated intent.

Roughly ten of these individuals fractured into two distinct units, with one half attempting to force their way into the perimeter of the Mystic Gate Formation.

Blood Battle along with his allies swiftly moved to intercept them, but the sudden, unorthodox strikes from the remaining half of the shrouded figures effectively ground their advance to a halt.

“What kind of trick is this……?”

Each of their voluminous robes abruptly billowed outward, completely neutralizing and redirecting both the launched fireballs and the concentrated Force Qi aimed at them.

While the offensives launched by Blood Battle’s vanguard were rendered entirely ineffective in an absurd fashion, the other half of the shrouded entities successfully penetrated the boundary of the Mystic Gate Formation.

“How dare you…… you utter trash!”

A crimson aura of blood energy began to swirl intensely around Blood Battle’s right foot, the very one that was currently dripping with blood.

Dang Seo-hui, who was monitoring the frontline directly alongside Blood Battle, spoke up, her voice carrying a faint tremor.

“We must proceed with extreme caution. Jin So-un explicitly warned that these were terrifying monsters.”

That guy, who behaved as though he had left every shred of fear behind at the Murim Academy, had explicitly labeled them as terrifying monsters…….

Well, given that they had only engaged in a single exchange of moves, it was already abundantly clear that their combat methodologies were anything but conventional.

Blood Battle could feel an unusual surge of power concentrating heavily into his foot.

—

I possessed a profound fascination with tactical frameworks that integrated the use of Mystic Gate Formations.

If an individual engaged in combat while utilizing a Mystic Gate Formation, they gained the ability to pull their adversary onto a customized playing field of their own design and dictate the terms of the engagement there.

Even common swindlers took pleasure in fleecing marks on a gambling table they had rigged themselves, so why should martial artists be any different?

The instance where I had deployed the Boundless Indestructible Soul-Destroying Formation back at the Murim Academy to give people a firsthand taste of a Mystic Gate Formation had likely been groundwork for the distant future, when we would eventually stand shoulder-to-shoulder against the Demonic Cult.

While our adversaries would find themselves ensnared within the shifting layout of the Mystic Gate Formation, blindly stepping one after another toward the jaws of perdition, our own forces would retain the ability to navigate through the matrix without restriction, offering reinforcement and pulling casualties to safety.

Irrespective of whether one faced an overwhelming disparity in raw combat capability or the bizarre mechanics of Witchcraft, the primary benefit was that we could effectively manage the threat so long as the playing field was configured correctly.

And witnessing a concept I had previously only conceptualized in my mind materialize into concrete reality made me appreciate its immense utility with even greater clarity.

‘The glaring issue here is that these bastards are currently turning that exact strategy against me.’

Five individuals clad in voluminous dark robes tore through the deep red barrier and stepped into the interior space.

Right when I had been gearing up to deliver a thorough lecture to Je Geum-hak regarding Fixed Will and Principle.

“Haa…….”

The moment my eyes locked onto the newly arrived figures, a weary sigh escaped my lips before anything else.

Because the entities that had just entered were none other than the Formless Flying Demon Unit—the elite shadow collective known far and wide as the personal vanguard warriors of the Demonic Cult.

I had fully anticipated that someone would eventually enter to provide him with reinforcement, but for it to be the Formless Flying Demon Unit was a massive headache.

Then again, they would naturally need to possess that level of lethal capability to bypass the defensive line of Blood Battle, Flame Ghost Consort, and Dang Seo-hui to penetrate the interior of the Mystic Gate Formation.

It appeared that Je Geum-hak’s current standing within the hierarchy of the Demonic Cult was significantly higher than I had initially calculated.

Predictably, Je Geum-hak chimed in the moment he caught my visible reaction.

“Oh, tracking the look on your face, it appears you are well acquainted with their identity as well.”

“……”

Je Geum-hak, who had been oozing absolute tranquility up until this point, was now speaking in the exact same casual cadence he utilized under ordinary circumstances.

Fine, it made perfect sense that he was feeling smug.

If positions were reversed and I found myself in his shoes, I would be rubbing it in the exact same way.

I inclined my chin slightly toward the assembled Formless Flying Demon Unit.

“Isn’t this displaying a bit of a yellow streak? Up until a second ago, we were engaging in a proper one-on-one duel.”

“Is it not a common saying among the mainstream Orthodox Path organizations that the supreme advantage of righteousness lies in superior numbers?”

I had never once seen eye-to-eye with that particular philosophy.

Mainly because regardless of where our Sojeong Squad was deployed, we invariably found ourselves heavily outnumbered by our adversaries.

“Resorting to manipulation and rewriting narratives. Truly fitting conduct for a pupil of the Demon Brain.”

“Hohoho.”

The wretch let out a deeply grating laugh.

No, perhaps it was just his standard chuckle, and it only sounded entirely repulsive because my current state of mind was thoroughly sour.

For some inexplicable reason, I felt as though I was starting to glimpse the looming conclusion of my lifespan even within this current incarnation.

“You truly are a fascinating specimen. It makes complete sense why the Little Demon would harbor an interest in you.”

The specific title “Little Demon” slipping past his teeth caused my thoughts to freeze instantly.

Because in the grand scheme of things, there existed only a single entity whom the rank-and-file of the Demonic Cult designated as the “Little Demon.”

Je Geum-hak, who had been meticulously tracking my rigid posture, shifted his gaze off to the flank.

“In the beginning, my presence here was motivated by an entirely different objective…….”

The villain, who had been staring toward the path where Dam-ak had previously made his getaway, turned his eyes back onto me and flashed a wide smirk.

“It appears this particular option holds far more entertainment value.”

This realization definitely wasn’t a byproduct of me being in a foul mood. =

That bastard was unequivocally projecting an incredibly unnerving smile…….

“How would you feel about accompanying me back to our cult’s headquarters?”

“What did you say?”

Hold on, did my ears actually register that statement correctly just now?

It was literally just a couple of days ago that the Black Thought Alliance had extended an offer to install me as their Vice Alliance Leader.

Now I was actively receiving an open invitation to join the ranks of the Demonic Cult. Wasn’t my professional advancement operating at a borderline ridiculous pace?

“I don’t think I’ve ever encountered an offer so deeply repulsive in my entire existence.”

“Ah, you misunderstand, I wasn’t attempting to solicit your personal thoughts on the matter. I was simply informing you of an outcome that has already been determined.”

“……”

Total psycho.

A completely unhinged lunatic.

I bounced my gaze back and forth between his position and the boundaries of the Mystic Gate Formation.

And while I was weighing my options, the members of the Formless Flying Demon Unit initiated their assault.

Attempting to plunge blindly into a Mystic Gate Formation whose inner blueprint I had absolutely no method of deciphering was tantamount to committing suicide.

Conversely, if I simply remained stationary and passive, there was an incredibly high probability that I would be forcefully bound and hauled off to the strongholds of the Demonic Cult.

Neither path was remotely acceptable to me.

A sudden burst of laughter spilled past my teeth before I could rein it in.

‘It’s truly been quite a while since I was backed into such a brutal, no-win dilemma.’

If both paths were destined to merely accelerate the absolute worst-case scenario for my survival, then I would at the very least select the path that afforded me the opportunity to completely blindside and damage the adversary.

That was the exact philosophy by which I had ground my way through my miserable previous existence.

Tap-tap.

I activated the rapid movements of the Unrivaled under Heaven Movement Art, a technique that was utterly ill-suited for execution within such a claustrophobic environment.

BANG.

Setting aside the sheer velocity of the movement, even managing my directional trajectory proved to be an immense challenge.

Simultaneously as I deflected the incoming blade of a Formless Flying Demon Unit operative, I reached out to seize his dark fabric robe to forcibly arrest my own momentum.

Following that, after contorting my frame to evade a weapon lunging out from the dark silhouette of a shadow, I unleashed a wide spray of the Ten Thousand Transformations Invincible Fist.

BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM.

The concussive waves of the Ten Thousand Transformations Invincible Fist were unable to expand forward, checked not by a wall of ice this time, but by the heavy robes swept forward by the operatives of the Formless Flying Demon Unit.

Worse yet, the very fabric that had absorbed the impact of the Ten Thousand Transformations Invincible Fist began to snake forward toward my position, tightly constricting my fist and forearm.

My left arm was rendered entirely immobile, as though it had been ensnared within a dense mesh net.

I had anticipated that things would play out roughly along these lines.

Growl.

I saturated the edge of the Black Dragon Sword with concentrated Sword Force and discharged the linear trajectory of the Minor Heaven Sword Art.

The Sword Force, blazing forward in a perfectly straight path like a concentrated beam of light, shattered cleanly through the icy barrier and was on the verge of drilling straight into Je Geum-hak’s temple.

Whish— Thud.

The heavy garment of a different Formless Flying Demon Unit operative wrapped securely around my right wrist and locked it in place.

Je Geum-hak tilted his skull slightly to the flank and let out a triumphant smirk.

“Precisely as I suspected, you were entirely ignorant of the specific capabilities wielded by the Formless Flying Demon Unit.”

The wretch gave a satisfied nod and closed the distance between us by a single pace.

He then thrust his face directly into my personal space and flashed a smug smile of victory.

“They possess an exceptionally refined aptitude for taking targets alive.”

A facial expression so thoroughly obnoxious that I felt an overwhelming urge to cave it in immediately.

“Is that a fact?”

Without wasting a millisecond, I triggered the intense heat of the Holy Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand within both of my hands, which were currently pinned by the operatives of the Formless Flying Demon Unit.

WHOOSH.

The instant the brilliant flames began to incinerate the air, the heavy fabric coiled around my wrists slackened for a fraction of a second.

However, almost immediately, an even greater volume of fabric surged forward to bind my hands once more.

Witnessing that desperate struggle, the expression dominating Je Geum-hak’s face grew increasingly unbothered.

“It is completely futile. Once an individual is pinned by their technique, they can never hope to……”

That particular look of absolute certainty really rubs me the wrong way.

“Never, you say?”

I channeled every single drop of my remaining strength into the Holy Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand.

From its very inception, the Holy Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand, which drew its power directly from the divine properties of the Jade Purity Heavenly Image Power, boasted an incredibly potent efficacy for subduing demonic entities.

Grip.

My left palm, which tore cleanly through the burning fabric and lunged straight forward, locked onto Je Geum-hak’s hand.

CRACKLE.

Immediately following that, as if a sudden wave of frost had blanketed the area, the blistering warmth of the Holy Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand began to rapidly dwindle, and the tactile awareness in my fingers grew increasingly numb and unreactive.

Je Geum-hak, maintaining his unbothered demeanor, shook his head in disappointment.

“Furthermore, even that intense heat is incapable of sustaining itself for long.”

This arrogant prick seemed to possess boundless faith in the absolute supremacy of his personal martial arts.

Why on earth did it never cross his thick skull that I might have intentionally snuffed out the fire myself?

I flashed a wide grin right back at him.

“Mainly because I have absolutely no requirement for that heat anymore.”

“?”

In that exact microsecond, I forcefully triggered the hidden mechanism of the Azure Dragon Bracelet resting on my left wrist.

“Hm?”

There it is. That unbothered, smug composure shattered into a million pieces.

SHAAAA—

The crystalline white frost that had crept over my fingers dissolved into nothingness in a mere instant.

Simultaneously, the Holy Flame Demon-Extinguishing Hand crackling in my opposite palm began to skyrocket in temperature, as though it were a volatile bomb on the verge of detonating at any second.

By this point, sheer, unadulterated panic was beginning to manifest across Je Geum-hak’s features.

“Wh-What kind of monstrosity is this……!”

What else could it possibly be, you absolute idiot?

It’s the Great Star-Absorbing Art that you psychos lose your absolute minds over!

Je Geum-hak was completely incapable of masking his horrified expression.

Oh yes, that is without a doubt the most satisfying look to witness after all.