Chapter 87

Struggle for Supremacy (6)

"......"

Jungyeonshin, wearing a pure blood robe and an evil spirit mask, slowly took a step.

At this moment, he had to act as one of the distinguished disciples of the Blood Flame Sect. He had heard this from the Seven Demon Blades.

The pure blood robe was said to be a treasure bestowed upon the Demon Blades.

'I haven’t yet reached the level of a Demon Blade. I should act like Goh Jonghak.'

There were also nobles in the Blood Flame Sect. Families as old as the main hall naturally formed a privileged class.

The son of the Third Demon Blade, Goh Jonghak, was one of them. He was the one who constantly tried to check Jungyeonshin in the main hall.

He had died by forcing a young boy who hadn’t even learned martial arts to absorb his inner energy, his throat slit.

Jungyeonshin decided to impersonate him.

Thud.

His steps were leisurely, his upper body straight.

He displayed a demeanor as if he were ruling the world, giving himself a mental suggestion.

There is no one more noble than me outside the main hall. They are all insignificant vermin.

He approached Namgung Mi, who was seated at the head table, without hesitation, subtly measuring the distance.

"Hmm......"

"You don’t seem to be of ordinary status......"

The guests who claimed to be righteous martial artists were unable to move. Even though they knew it was the Blood Flame Sect.

They were overwhelmed by Jungyeonshin’s appearance and aura.

There were few in the local martial world who could stand against him. He was cultivating the Mara Blood Suction Technique at the Blue Rank level.

He lowered his eyes. The Hidden Sand Sect had long been suppressed by the Blood Flame Sect.

Namgung Mi’s sudden outburst was not what he expected. There was no martial artist who could show any spirit in front of Jungyeonshin.

The Namgung Clan was different.

"An evil spirit here?"

"Are you a blood relative of the Demon Blades?"

The martial artists of the Namgung Clan immediately stood up, ready to draw their swords, but Namgung Mi raised her hand with a strange smile.

Her smooth, white fingers stopped them.

"I like the color of the peach flesh."

Jungyeonshin said, still containing his true energy at the廉天 (Yeoncheon) point on his neck.

His voice came out with a deep resonance, deliberately distorted.

He leisurely approached, stopping at a diagonal position to Namgung Mi’s left.

Swish.

He picked up the peach flesh. Rather than fighting recklessly, he wanted to distance himself from the identity he was currently assuming.

Even if the aura was different, he couldn’t change his physique. He had to prevent them from thinking of the Blue Rank level of the Hidden Sand Sect.

'I need to act in a way that is disconnected from myself.'

Jungyeonshin, for the first time, intended to provoke someone. He wasn’t confident. Could he pull it off?

"This fruit is too precious for these lowly creatures."

He slightly raised his indifferent tone, trying to sound arrogant. It felt natural.

To his surprise, it felt quite comfortable.

"......"

No one except the experts of the Namgung Clan raised their heads. It seemed to work unexpectedly well.

He wondered how he appeared to them, wearing the precious pure blood robe and the evil spirit mask, cultivating the Mara Blood Suction Technique.

Did they see him as a true noble of the Blood Flame Sect?

At that moment, Namgung Mi moved her lips.

"You don’t seem to have deep cultivation in the art of movement."

Approaching slowly, she spoke.

"Your sense of distance is quite remarkable. You measure gaps well. Is it a natural talent?"

Her tone was relaxed, having confirmed the increasingly slow movements of the evil spirit mask.

The energy from the Ice Puppet, refined through pain, was indeed powerful. It was a level of cultivation that had reached a different realm.

Jungyeonshin stood still, staring at her.

A sensation like being frozen swept through his body. Despite being exposed to her energy just once, the aftereffects were significant.

As he had expected, if he hadn’t mastered the True Eye Technique, he wouldn’t have even considered a confrontation.

'I can’t use the unique martial arts here.'

He couldn’t display new palm techniques in this situation. They were too distinctive.

He could only use them when it was safe to reveal his true identity.

Thud. Thud.

Namgung Mi approached with a smile.

She didn’t appear to be letting her guard down, yet she boldly closed the gap.

Her confidence in her cold energy cultivation was truly immense. It was a formidable martial art.

She had a complete grasp of her own energy. She accurately perceived Jungyeonshin’s deteriorating condition, making it increasingly difficult for him to maintain his composure.

"Let’s see."

She extended her snow-white hand, as if to remove his mask. "Let’s see that ugly face."

Her lips formed a thin curve. Her gesture seemed completely defenseless.

Her malevolent nature was evident.

It was a humiliating act, showing the utmost disrespect to a martial artist.

'Enough.'

Jungyeonshin thought. Discussing seconds was for formal duels.

He had no intention of facing her with a righteous attitude. He had intended to lure her in by exposing a weakness, but he didn’t expect her to come this close.

His world of martial arts was different from hers. It was a struggle for survival.

'I can do this. Tai Yanlong is even stronger.'

Hwangbo’s inner energy, cultivated from the innate heat of the Solar Divine Vein, was even denser.

Jungyeonshin recalled a technique he had learned from him.

It turned out that most of the so-called experts in the martial world knew this martial art.

'The Three Purifying Fires.'

He had been cultivating it since she took a step. It was a technique that vibrated the smallest units of energy.

His movements immediately generated heat. Unlike Tai Yanlong’s immediate heat emission due to his innate Solar Divine Vein, this was a subtle energy manipulation technique for high-level cultivators.

Hum.

The resonance within his body was clear.

The cold energy in his meridians crackled and burned.

His body, hardened by the True Eye Technique, easily withstood the heat and vibration, and the destructive flow of the Mara Blood Suction Technique swirled through his entire body.

A crackling sensation came from his twelve regular meridians and the eight extraordinary meridians.

He could maintain this for a long time. The thawing within his body remained hidden from the enemy.

Jungyeonshin immediately activated the Demon Light Knot.

The upper dantian in his brain emitted a fierce light, and the unique technique of the Demon Light Knot absorbed all the information.

The positions of the two people, Namgung Mi’s breath laced with a smile, and her gaze fixed on the mask.

Within that.

An invisible trajectory emerged. A mental light visible only to Jungyeonshin.

It was the Demon Light Knot technique. The boy followed it. A move starting from his right elbow, ending with a slight shoulder movement.

Swish.

Just as Namgung Mi was about to remove his mask, he grabbed her neck.

It was a very natural movement.

Her firm confidence, the Demon Light Knot technique from the corner, the gap converging to nothing, and the sudden acceleration of his movements due to the cold energy all combined to create a scene of instantaneous suppression.

The Demon Light Knot technique was a fighter.

"......!"

Her smooth neck was firmly in his grasp. Namgung Mi’s eyes widened to their limits.

Had she ever been so absurdly suppressed in her life? She had neither heard of nor seen such a thing.

Jungyeonshin slowly opened his mouth.

"By the command of the noble of the Blood Flame Sect."

"Ah......!"

"Kneel, you lowly Namgung scum."

As he spoke, his blood technique responded. He felt his body, refined by the True Eye Technique, open up.

The mental image of the moment added to the formation of the technique.

'They said you inflicted all kinds of humiliation. To the mother of Young Master Namgung.'

They said a person with no shortcomings had inflicted all kinds of malevolence. Jungyeonshin thought.

Was he, Jungyeonshin, more dignified than this Namgung Mi? It was a thought he had never entertained.

A sense of arrogance welled up in his mind.

He spoke again, this time with complete disdain.

"What can you do, vermin?"

"Y-You......"

Namgung Mi couldn’t continue. She showed no signs of movement.

It was because he had sealed her acupoints when he grabbed her neck, paralyzing her body.

Even if she wanted to kneel, she couldn’t. Control of her body was in Jungyeonshin’s hands.

"You can’t move. You are quite stubborn, aren’t you?"

"Ugh......"

The boy, holding Namgung Mi’s neck, laughed lowly under the evil spirit mask.

The hem of his pure blood robe fluttered like scattered blood, creating a bizarre and mysterious scene.

"Can’t move, can you? You are quite stubborn."

"Ugh......"

The boy, holding Namgung Mi’s neck, laughed lowly under the evil spirit mask.

The hem of his pure blood robe fluttered like scattered blood, creating a bizarre and mysterious scene.

"......"

In front of many spectators, as he spoke with genuine intent, he felt a strange sensation.

The energy flow of the Mara Blood Suction Technique slightly amplified. It meant the amount of energy he was accumulating had increased.

The flow of energy seemed to laugh wickedly, as if saying this was the correct way to cultivate the blood technique.

'This is also enlightenment.'

Jungyeonshin spoke again, this time with complete contempt.

"What can you do, vermin?"

"Y-You......"

Namgung Mi couldn’t continue. She showed no signs of movement.

It was because he had sealed her acupoints when he grabbed her neck, paralyzing her body.

Even if she wanted to kneel, she couldn’t. Control of her body was in Jungyeonshin’s hands.

"You can’t move. You are quite stubborn, aren’t you?"

"Ugh......"

The boy, holding Namgung Mi’s neck, laughed lowly under the evil spirit mask.

The hem of his pure blood robe fluttered like scattered blood, creating a bizarre and mysterious scene.