Chapter 77

## Chapter 77: Soul Seizing Great Technique (奪魂大法)

At the mention of the Blood Cult, the young man's eyes suddenly rolled back, and he let out a wild scream as he lunged at me.

"Kraaaah!"

I released my grip and quickly stepped back.

I had been holding his neck firmly to prevent him from acting recklessly, but he seemed to be acting as if he didn't care if his neck broke.

'You can't die yet.'

As I stepped back, the young man lowered his posture like a beast, growling.

"Krrrr…."

His eyes were completely bloodshot, as if filled with blood.

Dark red veins prominently protruded across his entire face, and saliva dripped from his open mouth.

Tsu-tsu-tsu…

A grayish sword aura about an inch long emerged from his sharply raised fingernails.

I narrowed my brows as I confirmed his martial arts technique.

"Do you know what this martial arts technique is called?"

"Krrrr… Kraaaah!"

At that moment, the young man leaped and attacked me.

A gray line sliced through the night sky.

A part of the alley wall was split by the sword aura and crumbled.

I leaped up and lightly landed on the remnants of the collapsed stone wall, looking down at him.

"Black Blood Demon Technique (黑血魔功). That's the name of the demon technique you've mastered. Do you know why it's called a demon technique?"

"Kraaaah! Shut up!"

The young man, who seemed to have almost lost his mind, didn't listen to me and tried to tear me apart with the gray sword aura from his fingernails.

I dodged all his attacks and continued speaking.

"The biggest side effect is that it turns your personality into a hot-tempered one. Eventually, you'll lose your sanity and become a madman."

"Shut up! I'll kill you!"

The young man, who had almost lost his mind, but I didn't stop talking to him.

If I didn't talk to him, he would go completely insane.

"I need to subdue you first."

Although I had used a sound barrier to minimize the noise, there was a possibility that someone would come if it took too long.

I formed a sword seal with my left index and middle fingers and quickly pressed it on a few of his acupoints.

Puk! Puk-puk-puk-puk!

The young man, whose acupoints were pressed, trembled and then fell to the ground like a wooden log.

I stood in front of him and said,

"I won't talk for long. Tell me everything you know about the person who taught you the Black Blood Demon Technique."

Guk, guk-guk!

Suddenly, the sound of bones twisting was heard, and the young man abruptly got up.

I was startled by his bizarre appearance.

"Such madness… Did you force your acupoints open?"

"Kukukuk…."

The dark red veins on the young man's face bulged even more, as if they were about to burst.

Some had already burst, turning his entire face into a bloody mess.

Drip… Drip…

Blood tears streamed from his eyes as the young man, now twisted like a dislocated doll, looked at me.

"Kukukuk…."

Seeing him laugh like a madman, I stiffened.

"You'll really die if you keep this up."

"Kukukuk… Kukukuk! The power, the power is overwhelming! I'll kill everyone with this power! Those who looked down on me as an orphan! I'll tear them apart and scatter them as dog food!"

The gray sword aura from his fingernails grew longer, and his disheveled hair turned white.

His already thin body was becoming emaciated.

It meant he was pouring out all his remaining innate energy.

The young man, now a complete demon, had transformed by consuming his own life force.

'Is this the Black Blood Demon Technique?'

This was different from what I knew.

The Black Blood Demon Technique doesn't transform like this, nor does it emit such a thick demonic aura.

"Kukukuk! I'll rip out your heart and chew it!"

The demonized young man reached for my heart. His speed was like a flash of lightning, and his hand was instantly at my chest.

Sssss!

I dodged quickly, but my shirt was torn. I drew out Yueying and slashed his arm.

Thud!

The sword infused with sword aura was deflected. A long blood trail remained on the young man's arm, but it wasn't completely severed. My grip felt like it was about to tear.

"Kukukukuk!"

The young man, bleeding black blood from his arm, rushed at me. Demonic aura poured out from his entire body.

"Die!"

His eyes, filled with madness, showed no fear.

I clicked my tongue and pushed off the ground, leaping into the air. The young man followed, pushing off the ground as well.

We briefly intertwined under the moonlight.

The young man's remaining arm aimed for my heart and neck, while I targeted his lower body to incapacitate him.

Puk! Puk!

The young man, whose thigh was pierced, staggered and then used the technique of Gongsintan to close the distance.

'If he had this level of skill in a sparring match, even Qianyi would have been in trouble.'

The demonized young man's skill was beyond that of an average peak expert. He could freely control sword aura, his body was as solid as to withstand sword aura, and his mind knew no fear.

"Kukukuk!"

But such a shortcut can't last long. Innate energy is not infinite. As expected, his momentum clearly diminished.

I didn't miss this opportunity.

Swoosh!

The sword I drew from my sleeve cut off the young man's right arm. He didn't care and continued to charge at me, his mouth wide open as if he intended to bite me.

Crunch!

I thrust the scabbard into his mouth, struck his chest with my palm, and tripped him with my sword, causing him to fall to the ground.

Kwaang!

The young man, who had fallen to the ground, twitched. Only after breaking a few more of his bones did he finally calm down.

"Huff…."

It would have been easy to kill him, but I had to subdue him, which made me break a sweat.

There was still something I needed to hear from him.

I pressed my foot on his neck and asked in a cold voice,

"Speak. Who taught you the Black Blood Demon Technique?"

"Kukukuk! I'll kill, I'll kill everyone. Those who looked down on me as an orphan…!"

"You're completely gone."

I clicked my tongue and placed my hand on his head, pushing my inner energy from the Reverse Heaven Art into him.

Since the demonic aura had seeped into his bones, causing him to lose his mind, I needed to resolve this first to have a conversation.

'After doing this a few times, I'm getting used to it.'

I extracted the demonic aura from the young man's brain but didn't absorb it.

The turbid energy accumulated over a lifetime and the demonic energy generated from practicing demon techniques are similar but different.

The latter was of no use to me, so I pulled it out and burned it.

Sssss…

As the demonic aura in his brain diminished, the young man regained his senses.

"Why…? Cough! It hurts, it hurts too much…!"

The young man, suffering from the aftereffects of the demon technique, looked pitiful.

His body was so emaciated that he could be mistaken for a mummy, and blood was still flowing from his burst blood vessels.

The remaining innate energy in his body was almost depleted, and his life was on the verge of extinguishing like a candle in the wind.

'He's beyond saving.'

This is the typical end for someone who has mastered a demon technique.

I had seen countless cases in the past, so I didn't feel much emotion, but it was still bitter.

"I… I don't want to die like this…."

The young man, aware of his condition, looked up at me with tears streaming down his face.

"…Tell me about the person who taught you the Black Blood Demon Technique. I'll help you die peacefully."

"Demon technique? I, I don't know… I don't know anything…."

"Are you still trying to keep loyalty to the Blood Cult even in this state?"

"Really, I don't know, I don't know! Blood Cult? I was an orphan… Cough! I learned martial arts at the orphanage, and later at the Nan Gong family…."

I listened to the young man's story, which he slowly uttered in pain, as if listening to his last words.

In summary, he was abandoned at the age of five and learned the basics of martial arts at an orphanage sponsored by the Nan Gong family, where he caught the eye of Nan Gong Shou.

He claimed he had never learned the Black Blood Demon Technique from anyone and that he could use it naturally.

"Could use it naturally? Do you really think that's possible?"

"Cough, cough. I, I never thought it would be a demon technique…."

"Why didn't you tell Nan Gong Shou?"

"Because, like you, he would have questioned where I learned it…."

"You did realize it was strange, didn't you?"

Seeing the young man, who was laughing and crying, I paused in thought.

'He doesn't seem to be lying.'

From his personality and actions, he didn't seem to be good at acting or lying.

'But is it possible to master a demon technique without being taught?'

I thought the young man was a spy sent by the Blood Cult or a derivative organization.

But could a spy act so foolishly and know nothing?

He even claimed he had naturally realized the Black Blood Demon Technique.

It wasn't as if it had been forcibly implanted in his mind at birth…

'Forcibly implanted?'

At that moment, a very old memory surfaced.

-Cluck, cluck. This? It's a secret weapon for the Blood World.

The Demon Brain.

The old man I hated the most in my past life.

The Demon Brain, the elder of the Blood Demon Sect, proudly showed me this scene with a hideous smile.

-Look. Isn't it beautiful?

Many children lay on stone beds. Their foreheads were sharply split, exposing their brains.

All the children were alive.

-It's a miracle achieved through ancient rituals and the power of artifacts. I will implant the sect's ultimate techniques into the minds of these children.

I reached out and grabbed the young man's hair, then used sword aura to shave off all his hair.

"What, what are you doing…?"

"Stay still. I need to check… Damn."

On the exposed forehead, there was a faint scar that was barely noticeable.

A scar from a surgical incision.

-The children who succeed in the great technique will have their memories sealed and be sent into the martial world. They won't remember anything at first. That way, they can enter other sects and take important positions without any guilt.

The face of the Demon Brain, who looked up at the sky with a gleeful expression, came to mind.

-These children will gradually recall their roots. That way, our sect's demons will grow in the heart of the righteous martial world. Cluck, cluck, cluck!

The Demon Brain named this evil technique himself.

-It's called the Soul Seizing Great Technique (奪魂大法). The children who undergo this technique will be called Soul Seizing Demons (奪魂魔人).

The old monster, who had abandoned all sense of righteousness, laughed evilly and looked at me.

-On the day your four great demons are completed and the Soul Seizing Demons awaken, our sect will dye the martial world in blood.

The Demon Brain, unable to contain his joy, burst into maniacal laughter.

He died by my hand.

…No, he should have died.

"I clearly crushed his dantian and severed his limbs…."

I couldn't finish him off completely. The Blood Demon arrived just before, and I had to fight.

But the possibility of the Demon Brain surviving such severe injuries was almost zero.

'What if he's still alive? Or what if someone inherited the Demon Brain's Soul Seizing Great Technique?'

As I thought this, the young man's body suddenly began to tremble.

"Ugh, ugh, it's cold…!"

His emaciated body suddenly swelled.

Realizing what this meant, I immediately pushed off the ground and stepped back.

"Save… me…."

At that moment, the young man's body split open, and light seeped out. The remaining innate energy inside him exploded with its last bit of strength.

Pew!