Boom!

The energy from Woon-seong collided with that of Yeo Moon-rang. As the spear and katana met, sparks flew into the air. 

With this move, it was clear that Woon-seong had become much faster than before. Now, he could move faster than the wind, traveling meters within an instant. The spear in his hand was natural and he looked as if he were dancing. 

Yeo Moon-rang saw the inky black energy that was the Intimidation Dress around Woon-seong. What’s this cold feeling?! Is it this black aura around me…

He woke himself up from the momentary stupor and blocked out this foreign energy from invading his senses.

Once again, he attacked and energy waves spread out with a bang. 

He’s pretty good! As this exchange continued, it became clearer that the Woon-seong currently in front of him was much stronger than Yeo Moon-rang originally thought. Such a complete spear aura at such an age! That is some horrifying talent right there. If I don’t break him now, I’ll regret it later. 

With this in mind, Yeo Moon-rang’s attacks become sharper and even more silent than they were before. He threw some knives with his left hand, then brandished the scabbard of the katana. 

Woon-seong swung his spear. 

Whee!

A knife prevented Woon-seong from forming a shield of energy. Even so, it seemed like Woon-seong had deflected it easily. However,

He’s dangerous. 

Woon-seong watched a knife clatter to the ground.

None of the moves are flashy at all, but each one of his moves are heaps more lethal than whatever Kwak Soo-mil threw at me. If I let him land a hit on me even one, it will definitely block a pressure point, leading to sure death. 

He sure is a master killer.

Woon-seong spat some blood out from his mouth.

But, there’s something odd about his killing intent. I myself am dueling him with the intention to kill…But those eyes! It’s as though he’s simply gazing at prey, not an opponent! And these moves of his remind me of the five assassins that came after me at the Valley. What is the relationship between them…

Energy continued to flow from Woon-seong’s arms into the spear, attempting to maintain a certain level of spear aura. 

But that doesn’t matter. I simply have to win over Yeo Moon-rang here. He’s not an opponent I can afford to fight while thinking about other things. I’ll just ask about it afterwards. 

There was evidence on Woon-seong’s body and clothes of his fight, as blood trickled from the numerous injuries found all over his body. Maybe it was the pain in his body, but Woon-seong’s eyes glowed amber for a moment. At the same time, he erased all useless thoughts from  his mind. 

It was as if the dragon that was slumbering within him had finally awakened.

A strong vortex of white and golden energy swirled in front of the young man. It looked unusual at first, but it was soon clear that Woon-seong was preparing for some final attack. 

He seems to be up to something. Normally, for big moves like that, it’s not necessary to face it upfront and I would rather parry or dodge it… But looking at the scale of it, those don’t seem to be viable options. I would get myself killed trying to dodge it. 

Not only is there overwhelming ‘flow’ and ‘vigor’ in a single skill, but there’s also ‘bewilderment’ in it! It’s simply impressive. 

And against such a powerful force, I should also focus my attack and pierce through it!

Yeo Moon-rang thought quickly and acted just as fast. Instead of moving his feet, he wrapped his energy around his twelve throwing knives and katana. Although it looked less flashy than what Woon-seong was doing, he was also focusing his ferocious energy in order to pierce through anything and everything. 

“Demon Art of Dark Pursuit Special Move ‘Pinpoint Death’!”

Kuaaa!

At that moment, the roaring of a dragon could be heard from Woon-seong’s direction. 

Flow of the Divine Dragon!’Two huge forces of energy collided with each other with a loud boom. An intense, bright light wrapped around the entire stage. Unable to stand the power, the stage collapsed and slowly fell to the floor, causing dust and debris to fly into the air. 

“Who won?”

“What happened?”

The dust rose so high and was so thick that the crowd couldn’t see the results of the match. 

One of the Demonic Kings who had been watching intently swept his hand in an arc, blowing away the sand and dust in the area. 

Down below, on the destroyed stage, there was only one person still standing. The other had fallen to the ground, half of his body mangled and torn. 

“Look! The Captain of the Charred Dragon Unit is still standing! But his wounds seem deep…And the Demon King of Dark Pursuit…”

It was Woon-seong who had won. 

Despite this, Woon-seong did not look good at all. There was a huge gash across his chest, which was bleeding, and many other smaller cuts. 

“Heh heh heh, what a shame. Both of us would have been lying down like this if my attack went a bit deeper…”

“That would’ve been the case if my ‘Flow of the Divine Dragon’ was weaker,” agreed Woon-seong. Yeo Moon-rang was a Demonic King after all. 

Woon-seong pressed his palms onto his chest, attempting to stop the bleeding. The flow seemed to weaken, but it was hard to tell. 

One person falls down, another remains standing. That was the distinct difference between who won and who lost. 

Woon-seong’s position meant that he was now a Demonic King. 

“I see. It’s no coincidence that you defeated the ‘Blood Slaying Five Shadows’ and come back in one piece.”

“Blood Slaying Five Shadows?”

Woon-seong tilted his head, but couldn’t concentrate. The bleeding from the wound on his chest wasn’t stopping and his energy was draining at a rapid pace. 

“However, don’t…think this is…the end of it…”

“What do you…” Woon-seong, who had been trying to speak, stumbled on the spot. “Uagh!” Blood spilled out of his mouth like a waterfall as he coughed.

Baek Woon-ji came running over. “Captain! You need medical attention, now!”

However, instead of looking at her, Woon-seong stared at the dying Yeo Moon-rang. 

What the hell did he mean? Who is he talking about? Is someone in the Cult targeting me? Who and why?

Woon-seong had so many questions he wanted to ask, but they would remain unanswered. 

The only one who could answer was unable to speak and he himself was losing consciousness. 

“Captain!” It was possible that Baek Woon-ji could read the expression on Woon-seong’s face, or was just concerned with how pale it had suddenly become. 

“Kuarg!” Woon-seong fell forward, once again coughing up blood.

Master, am I going down the right path? Someone, please tell me…

.

After Woon-seong fainted and was taken to receive medical attention, the Banquet of the Heavenly Mountain and Divine Flame continued on as scheduled. However, there were no longer any intense fights like that of the previous two. 

There were a number of Demonic Generals challenging to become Great Demons, but a collision between Demonic Kings was never a common occurrence. 

By the end of the Banquet of the Heavenly Mountain and Divine Flame, the ranks within the Cult of the Heavenly Demon had changed. 

A whopping ten members had promoted themselves from Demonic Generals to Great Demons. 

Among them, of course, was Gwan Tae-ryang.

.

When Woon-seong woke up, five days had passed since the Banquet of the Heavenly Mountain and Divine Flame. 

He woke up with a gasp and almost immediately started coughing. 

What happened? My whole body is aching and throbbing with pain….Oh, that’s right. I fought with Yeo Moon-rang…

As he coughed out some blood, he felt a towel pressed to his cheek. Wiping away the blood, he turned to the side only to find Baek Woon-ji. As their eyes met, Baek Woon-ji lowered her head and unknowingly blushed. 

To her, Woon-seong spoke in a small voice, “Thank you.”

There was a small glass of water, which Baek Woon-ji offered to him. “Would you like a glass of water?”

“No, I’m fine.”

She hurriedly lowered the glass. 

At that moment, the door opened and someone barged in. 

“You’re awake!”

It was Gwan Tae-ryang of course, a man who had become as loud as he was burly. 

“It seems like quite some time has passed,” Woon-seong commented. 

“It’s been five days since you lost consciousness.”

“The Banquet must be over by now. How are the results?”

“Results? Which ones are you talking about…?

Woon-seong replied briefly, “The ones of the Charred Dragon Unit.” He wasn’t curious about the results of his own match; Yeo Moon-rang had obviously died. “Because I doubt even a Demonic King would survive after losing half of his body.”

Even if Woon-seong had passed out not long after, it was doubtful that anyone would try to stop his ascension as a Demonic King. If people wanted to argue, Yeo Moon-rang had passed away and ghosts were not allowed to testify. Since his spot would be vacant, Woon-seong would naturally end up filling it. So the important point now was the results of the Charred Dragon Unit. 

The Charred Dragon Unit was a force that only listened to Woon-seong. It was a precious supporting base for Woon-seong, who was now a Demonic King and lacked any real connections in the Cult. 

If the Charred Dragon Unit has shown excellent results in the Banquet, I will also have gained status.

With this question, Gwan Tae-ryang and Baek Woon-ji looked at each other. However, the one who spoke first was Baek Woon-ji.