Chapter 136

Baek Museon glared at Lee Sungmin from the center of the drifting fog . There was no gap for Lee Sungmin to penetrate through, so he simply took a stance with his spear in front of him .

‘You are strong . ’

Baek Museon had to admit it again . Three years had passed since his arm had been cut off by Wijihoyeon . At first, he had sworn revenge and practiced like crazy, but after a long time, Baek Museon had stopped practicing martial arts entirely . It was useless . He had already faced that reality .

Since then, he had drowned himself in alcohol . He tried drugs and had women accompany him all night . He knew that in time that it would happen . One day, when he strengthened his heart and stood up to practice martial arts again, his body would be too dull and hardened by laziness – making him resentful and depressed by the way he was living .

‘But, no . Not today . ’

Baek Museon clenched his right fist as he thought to himself . Was it Lee Sungmin? He admits that his achievements were high for his age, to the point that they were dazzling . Baek Museon had not even reached that level ten years ago, when he was Lee Sungmin’s age .

But it wasn’t surprising, or even absurd . Although he had become rusty, Baek Museon was still the Bloody Heavenly Demon . Even if his left arm was crippled, he was still Bloody Heavenly Demon Baek Museon .

The floating fog expanded even more . Baek Museon looked down at Lee Sungmin, and it wasn’t just because of his age .

It was pride .

Before meeting Wijihoyeon, Baek Museon used to think that he was the best . He thought that there was no one at his age who was better than himself . He did not doubt that he would enter the Transcendental realm soon . After he suffered defeat at the hands of Wijihoyeon, his high pride crushed him like a large boulder .

It was because Wijihoyeon was an outstanding figure . She was a genius at an absurd level .

‘You aren’t Wijihoyeon . ’

He made a quick judgment .

Then it happened . It was such a fast attack that there was no sound, moving forth with a fierceness as if to reproach Baek Museon’s rashness . At that point, Baek Museon, who believed in his blood ring techniques, was convinced that Lee Sungmin’s strength was just superficial .

Kuuuuung!

Lightning Annihilation moved faster than sound . The rapid sting, which was difficult to track with the eyes, shook Bloody Heavenly Demon’s defenses because it was shallow when he thought it would go a little deeper .

‘It’s difficult to destroy with a single blow . ’

Lightning Annihilation’s aim was to only throw off the opponent, so it was bound to be a little difficult to penetrate a strong defense . Lee Sungmin pulled his spear back without regret and moved his foot forward . Two-step Calamitous End . It sought to kill an opponent in just two steps . Lee Sungmin did not learn Qigong, which only dealt with inner force, but Shadowless was a method of inducing strength naturally by walking .

The power of Two-step Calamitous End exploded fiercely . Baek Museon was stunned by its sweeping powers as Two-step Calamitous End and the Blood Ring crashed . Baek Museon clenched his teeth as he saw the fog disperse . He hurriedly swung his right hand to try to block Lee Sungmin’s path, but the spear had been fired out before he could punch at Lee Sungmin’s chest first .

“You-!”

Baek Museon roared out in anger . He brought his right hand in front of his chest and turned his wide-open hand half a turn . The distracting fog rotated and enveloped the flow of Lee Sungmin’s spear . Lee Sungmin rotated the hand holding the spear and swung it . He did not hesitate to change his move . He rotated the spear, and took a step further, while Baek Museon stepped back a couple more steps .

Kkwaang!

Their inner forces clashed and exploded everywhere .

The level Baek Museon assumed Lee Sungmin was at had to be greatly revised after the exchanges in those few seconds . He could not gain an advantage on him during the fight . Baek Museon couldn’t help but be astonished .

‘This is ridiculous… !’

He clenched his teeth and increased his inner force even more . The Blood Rings spread out dramatically . The color of the red fog being emitted from all directions became darker . It was now no longer a fog, but more like red paint pouring from the air . Baek Museon moved forward boldly . His left arm sleeve fluttered as he jumped over to Lee Sungmin . Every time he stepped on the ground, the surroundings shook and the fog shook as if there was an earthquake . Baek Museon’s wide-open palm shot at Lee Sungmin’s body .

It was less severe than Crazy Heavenly Demon’s method, but the strangeness of the fog that followed was disturbing . Lee Sungmin turned the spear in his hand, and began using the moves of the Nine Heavenly Spears . They were not as fast as Lightning Annihilation, but they were moves with good versatility because they could be used without any other preparation .

Kkwaang!

The spear force and palm collided . The resounding sound overlapped greatly, but neither the palm nor the spear broke . Baek Museon’s left shoulder flinched . He intended to add to the move using his left hand, but there was no left hand on his current body . He was used to daily life without a left arm, but fighting without his left arm was still awkward for him .

‘I’m not accustomed to it… !’

Such a regret came to him belatedly . Baek Museon raised his foot after realizing that he had no left arm . He was good at fighting with his whole body instead of using weapons . Lee Sungmin lowered his posture to avoid the foot . At the same time, both of his hands holding the spear lowered deeply, aiming at Baek Museon’s lower body . A spear was not just for stabbing . If there was no way to shoot it out and retrieve it, he could always simply swing it around to attack .

Although he blamed himself for being unused to it, Baek Museon wasn’t exactly an easy opponent to fight either . Baek Museon, once called the Bloody Heavenly Demon, was still an excellent master . He jumped into the air by propelling himself from the ground using his left foot . As soon as he left the ground, Baek Museon completely changed his posture by twisting his waist in the air . Then he lifted his right foot up high and kicked downward toward Lee Sungmin’s head .

Lee Sungmin avoided Baek Museon’s attack by using Shadowless . Baek Museon’s feet crushed the afterimage’s head and fell to the ground, shaking the whole ground and making a crack in it . Baek Museon jerked to a stop and turned around . As the red mist shot forth, it tried to hit Lee Sungmin . Lee Sungmin immediately shot a lightning bolt to interfere with Baek Museon’s attack .

Baek Museon tried to narrow the distance between him and Lee Sungmin without any regret for the wasted move . He wanted to make it impossible to make full use of the spear’s advantages . Lee Sungmin held his breath as he watched Baek Museon jump in, channelling inner force into the hand holding the spear as he did so . That was the beginning . There were numerous changes in the spear in Lee Sungmin’s hands . Baek Museon put more force into his Blood Rings while staring at the spear covering his field of vision .

Kkwaang!

The moves collided, and the fog he was using to defend and attack scattered away . Usually, if the fog was scattered like that, it would disappear shortly after, but Baek Museon’s Blood Ring moves were different .

The scattered fog spread out, mostly leading back to Baek Museon, while some went behind Lee Sungmin . Before he knew it, Lee Sungmin was standing at the center of the fog . That was what Baek Museon wanted . He stretched his right palm and clenched it into a fist . The fog around Lee Sungmin’s surroundings rushed toward him as-

“Blood Mist Explosion!”

Baek Museon roared . It was a bloodthirsty cry . There were no openings . Should he break through with Void Rendering? No, rather than that . Lee Sungmin lifted his feet . It was his first time using the move with this body, but for some reason he had the unfounded conviction that he could use it . No, there was a basis for his belief . It just had not been proven yet .

He believed that he could .

Shadowless’ fourth move, Two-step Soft Ripples .

The two steps taken in rapid succession distorted the landscape . The mist that was rushing over entangled with the flow created by the Two-step Soft Ripples . Lee Sungmin drew a circle with his footwork . The red fog entangled itself with the flow of the circle and completely deviated from the form of the attack intended by Baek Museon .

Paaang!

The fog scattered and disappeared without any connection to Baek Museon as before . It was completely destroyed . Baek Museon couldn’t help but open his mouth, feeling alarmed, because he didn’t think that Lee Sungmin would be able to destroy the blood mist .

However, he came to his senses too late . Lee Sungmin’s spear shot out at him with a roar . He hurriedly raised his right fist, but Lee Sungmin twisted his wrist slightly, rather than colliding head-on with Baek Museon’s fists . As the trajectory of the spear changed upward, Baek Museon’s fist also rose up . In the meantime, Lee Sungmin stretched his feet forward . The spear force went up to the sky, but the spearhead became a blunt weapon as Lee Sungmin pushed it with his hands .

Kkwaang!

The fog of the Blood Mist Explosion that surrounded Baek Museon’s body was scattered . Baek Museon took a few steps back, feeling the shock of his internal organs shaking . That’s alright . He could handle this much . However, before he could gather the scattered fog, Lee Sungmin’s spear moved again . Lee Sungmin focused on wielding rather than stabbing and used the entire spear as a weapon .

“Keueueub!”

Baek Museon could not respond to the attack hitting his left shoulder . If he could use his left arm, he would have been able to hold it . But there was no left arm . Instead of the missing left arm, Baek Museon twisted his back . It was so he could respond with his right hand, but Lee Sungmin pulled the spear back as if waiting .

‘It’s too crude . ’

Baek Museon’s Heavenly Demon Blood Ring was an excellent martial art, but Baek Museon was not used to fighting after being crippled . He did not know how to fill the gap made by his left arm . The fact that he had never fought properly ever since his arm was cut was highlighted with each move they exchanged .

Before unfolding the blood rings, Baek Museon staggered with his right arm swaying as he attacked the spear Lee Sungmin was wielding .

“This brat… !”

It wasn’t a fatal attack, but the shallow, offensive attack angered Baek Museon . Unlike Baek Museon, who was shaking with anger, Lee Sungmin was calm . Lee Sungmin pushed the spear through the gap between Baek Museon’s legs, which stretched greatly . Baek Museon was taken by surprise and tried to pull his legs out, but Lee Sungmin twisted the spear toward Baek Museon’s back . Then, Baek Museon collapsed to the ground without any balance .

“I could have pierced your legs . ”

Lee Sungmin said as he looked down at fallen Baek Museon . Baek Museon looked up at Lee Sungmin with trembling lips .

“I could have pierced your left shoulder, your chest, or your side… Or even your head . I could inflict fatal wounds on you, over and over again, and kill you . ”

“This… This…”

“How do I compare to Minor Heavenly Demon?”

In response to Lee Sungmin’s question, Baek Museon remained silent . He stared at Lee Sungmin, biting down on his lower lip till it bled .

“Earthworms… Do you think dragons are comparable to them?”

“Then, you are worse than earthworms . ”

Lee Sungmin replied as he shook his head at Baek Museon’s words . Baek Museon’s body trembled . He glared at Lee Sungmin with fierce eyes . Lee Sungmin turned away, ignoring Baek Museon, who was glaring at him .

Crazy Heavenly Demon looked at Lee Sungmin and Baek Museon with a complex look in his eyes . He had expected Lee Sungmin’s victory . However, he didn’t think it would be this kind of an easy, one-sided victory .

‘Baek Museon’s left arm was cut off… That must be it . ’

The technique was better than when he fought him three days ago . In particular, he didn’t know what method he used to destroy the blood mist . Footwork… that’s what he thought it was . He wasn’t certain of it . Of course, even if he saw it with his own eyes, he couldn’t be sure .

“There must be something else . ”

Lee Sungmin did not want to talk about anything else with Baek Museon . Dragons and earthworms . The words spoken by Baek Museon lingered in his ears, but he didn’t care much .

‘I’m glad I got an earthworm at least . ’

That was what he thought . Rubia didn’t know what to do and simply followed Lee Sungmin back to the restaurant, Crazy Heavenly Demon sighed and approached Baek Museon .

“Don’t be too disappointed . It’s just that the world is wide . ”

“… Hahaha… ”

Baek Museon stumbled and stood up with a sullen laugh .

“What do you mean because the world is wide? The country has only saved the existence of being insignificant and small . ”

Baek Museon turned around while saying such words . Crazy Heavenly Demon wanted to grab hold of Baek Museon, but he put his hand down because he knew that he couldn’t do anything for Baek Museon .

Overcoming defeat was a task for oneself . If he had been ruined for three years and he couldn’t climb out of the defeat… He must try to overcome it . He had to do it .

‘You will be able to do it . ’

That was the kind of martial artist Crazy Heavenly Demon remembered Baek Museon to be .

Baek Museon staggered and stared around . The people who were standing around to watch his fight against Lee Sungmin saw his ferocious expression and flinched to avoid his gaze .

There was a boiling rage in his eyes . He felt like they were laughing at him . Baek Museon clenched his teeth and hurried his steps . It was the last bit of restraint he had left .

‘Quickly . ’

He wanted to leave this place .

If not, he thought he would kill everyone here .