Chapter 37 : Jaseung, Stalls Time

Chapter 37: Jaseung, Stalls Time

Tree root-like tendrils rose from the ground and wrapped around Lee Jaseung’s ankles and body.

Whirrrrrr.

They had no thorns, but a sinister and powerful Qi radiated from them.

Lee Jaseung tried to move his body, but it wouldn’t budge. He attempted to draw his inner Qi, but he couldn’t use that either. The force flowing from the roots had completely suppressed his Qi.

Yoma let out a sly, eerie laugh.

“Hohohohoho! Don’t bother. You can’t use your Qi, and no one else can get in here either. For the next quarter-hour, this place is mine.”

This technique was her secret trump card. Many people of the Orthodox Faction had lost their lives to her because of it.

Yoma narrowed her cold eyes at Lee Jaseung and asked,

“There were people guarding you nearby. What’s your true identity?”

Lee Jaseung calmly met her gaze and opened his mouth.

“A Yoma I see.”

He was completely cut off from Mook Young who had been guarding from the outside. Lee Jaseung knew that among all the Demonic Humans, the only woman who could evade Mook Young’s eyes and use dark arts was Yoma.

Yoma was quietly startled at how quickly he saw through her identity.

“Not bad.”

And despite his inner Qi being suppressed, he remained calm. Such composure didn’t come from martial skill alone. It was the kind of poise one gained only after countless real-life battles.

“I thought you might be hiding a trick or two, but it seems you’re even better than I expected.”

“Why did you come to me?”

In truth, Lee Jaseung already had an idea why she had appeared.

From what she had just said, it was clear she didn’t know his true identity. She had come looking for Seop Mu-pyeong, not Lee Jaseung.

One of the Asura Demon Sect’s eighteen Elders appearing before a finalist?

Yoma’s specialty was a powerful soul-capturing technique used to seduce and dominate her target. She had come to make Seop Mu-pyeong her own.

It was just as Lee Jaseung had suspected.

Yoma licked her lips like a viper facing its prey.

“Good thing you made it this far. From what I’ve seen, your martial arts don’t seem to be Orthodox.”

Those trained in Orthodox martial arts were much harder to ensnare with her technique.

And someone strong enough to reach the finals of the martial arts tournament was nearly immune. Even if it did work, serious side effects could follow.

If she forced the technique, her involvement might be exposed. That was also why the Great Demon had warned her about complications.

“Why show up now, instead of after the final? I could still lose, you know.”

Yoma made a baffled face.

“Of course you’ll lose. Don’t tell me you think you could beat the Greatest Sword of Central Plains? Hohoho, don’t be ridiculous.”

Even Yoma acknowledged the strength of Jin Yang.

“But with my help, you’ll be able to win.”

Her plan was to use her powerful technique to make Lee Jaseung win the final. It was a shortcut.

By making Lee Jaseung hers beforehand, she could lend him her power and have him take victory. One decisive, unexpected move would be enough.

Fwoooooosh!

Red energy burst from Yoma’s eyes and shot into Lee Jaseung’s.

His ankles were bound, and his Qi was sealed, so the force flowed straight into his eyes.

How long did it last?

Red light swirled in his pupils.

With a proud smile, Yoma approached.

“Hohoho. Let’s see how well it worked.”

It happened right when she stepped up to his face.

Snap!

Like lightning, Lee Jaseung thrust out his hand and struck her pressure point.

Startled, Yoma tried to release a hidden weapon from her mouth. Though her limbs were paralyzed, her mouth was still free.

She was nearly as skilled in hidden weapons as in seduction techniques, which was why she could react so quickly.

But before she could spit it out, Lee Jaseung covered her mouth and gripped her jaw tightly.

Crack.

“Ugh!”

The weapon shattered inside her mouth, slicing her flesh. The poison on it seeped into the wounds.

‘No!’

She did have an antidote, of course, since it was her own poison. But with her body constrained, she couldn’t move a finger.

“...Please! The antidote.”

Tap tap tap.

Lee Jaseung struck her acupoints again, temporarily halting the poison’s spread.

His eyes still glowed red. That meant he had been hit by the soul-capturing spell yet he was moving of his own will.

“...How?”

The red glow vanished from his eyes.

“Why am I not affected by your technique? I once told the Phantom Demon the same thing. When it comes to dark arts, we’re above you.”

Yoma didn’t understand what he meant. She didn’t know he was the Lord of the Black Way Alliance, so it only seemed shocking to her.

Her technique leaned more toward Unorthodox arts than Demonic arts.

In becoming Lord of the Black Way, Lee Jaseung had fought and overcome countless forms of Unorthodox arts. As a Lord, he had also mastered techniques only the Leader of the alliance could learn.

He had become immune to all forms of dark arts.

With a flick of his hand, he declared,

“And this space belonged to me from the start.”

Riiiiip.

The barrier that had blocked them was torn and vanished.

Yoma’s eyes widened. She had never imagined her secret technique could be broken so easily.

But she was one of the eighteen Elders of the Asura Demon Sect.

Her eyes turned evil.

“Fine, I admit you’re impressive. But you’re still going to die!”

Fssshhh.

Another technique activated. Even with her Qi sealed, it was a move usable at death’s door.

“Kaaak! Kaaak!”

Hundreds of crows emerged on the tree branches around them. Demonic Qi poured from their eyes.

“They’ll return to the cult and report exactly what happened. Even if it’s you, you can’t catch them all!”

Flap flap flap.

The crows burst into the air all at once. They were incredibly fast.

It was then.

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

Dozens of daggers shot into the sky.

Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk! Thunk!

Each crow struck disappeared in a puff of black smoke.

The ones who threw the daggers were Mook Young and the martial artists of the Guard Hall.

They had used all the daggers they had to wipe out the crows.

Dozens of masters landed around the lakeshore.

They were the strongest of the Guard Hall, so not a single crow escaped. Their pride had already been wounded by letting Yoma through. Letting even one crow get away was unacceptable.

Despair flooded Yoma’s eyes. She had forgotten about the ones guarding Lee Jaseung.

Even if she had remembered, she never would have imagined they could stop all the crows.

“Who... are you?”

Just then, the red glow left Lee Jaseung’s eyes and was replaced by a dark aura.

It surged from his eyes into hers.

Fwoooooooosh!

A foreign presence filled her vision. Yoma screamed.

“Dark Soul-Bewitching Art! But that belongs to the Black Way Alliance Leader…?!”

But she had no time to think further. Her pupils were already swirling with black.

* * *

In a cave two hundred li from Heaven’s Gate, a serious conversation was taking place.

“We haven’t found anything special about this man called Hae Ryang.”

At the subordinate’s report, the Great Demon’s eyes turned cold.

“That can’t be.”

If there wasn’t something going on, that greenhorn couldn’t have taken down the Phantom Demon. Whether behind the scenes or nearby, someone powerful enough to kill him must have been involved.

“Shake down the entire Righteous Chivalrous Sword Clan if you have to. Find out what’s behind this.”

“Understood.”

“What’s the current state of the tournament?”

“Jin Yang and Seop Mu-pyeong have advanced to the final.”

“Hmm.”

The Great Demon’s gaze sharpened.

Jin Yang making the final was expected.

But Seop Mu-pyeong reaching it was a massive twist. He began to wonder if this too was connected to everything.

“This Seop Mu-pyeong fellow...”

Just as he was about to order a full investigation, his eyes narrowed.

Someone stumbled into the cave and collapsed.

Startled, the Great Demon sprang up. To his shock, it was Yoma. He rushed over and caught her in his arms.

“What happened to you?”

Her body was filled with poison, and she was on the verge of death.

She coughed violently and spat out black blood. The stench from it was overwhelming.

It was so foul that the Great Demon had to back away.

“What happened?”

Struggling greatly, Yoma spoke.

“...I was ambushed while on my way to use the soul-capturing technique on Seop Mu-pyeong.”

“By whom?”

“...Shadow Demon.”

She barely managed to say that before breathing her last.

Chhhhh!

Her body dissolved into black smoke in the Great Demon’s arms.

The moment she delivered the message given under the Dark Soul-Bewitching Art, she released the poison stored in her body and killed herself.

Because of the overpowering stench, the Great Demon never thought to examine her body more closely.

Immense killing intent exploded from his eyes.

“That bastard!”

The Shadow Demon was a direct subordinate of Vice Cult Leader, Elder Demon Lord, his political rival within the Asura Demon Sect.

“So this is how you want to play?”

The Great Demon grinded his teeth.

With both Phantom Demon and Yoma dead, the entire plan surrounding the martial arts tournament had failed.

“I see. The Phantom Demon’s death was your doing too.”

The idea that someone like Hae Ryang could have killed the Phantom Demon was hard to believe.

It had to be the Elder Demon Lord’s plot. Kill Phantom Demon and pin the blame on Hae Ryang.

Everything suddenly made sense.

He expected interference, but never such a direct and blatant move.

‘If it’s a war you want, I’ll gladly oblige.’

His gaze turned ice cold. But now was the time to stay calm. If he couldn’t prove Elder Demon Lord was behind this, overreacting would only make him vulnerable to counterattacks.

Striding out of the cave, he said,

“For now, we return to the main cult.”

His subordinates, overwhelmed by the violent killing intent, finally exhaled and followed. .

Two people watched their retreat from afar.

They were Lee Jaseung and Dan Woobin.

“Thanks to that, we bought some time.”

“It’s thanks to Yoma showing up.”

Just as her technique didn’t work on him, his Dark Soul-Bewitching Art wouldn’t normally affect ordinary Elders of the cult.

But there were exceptions.

Namely, the Phantom Demon and Yoma.

Their Demonic arts were rooted from Unorthodox arts. Because of that, his art had worked on them, and successfully managed to trick the Great Demon.

“But eventually, the truth will come out.”

Right now, the Great Demon was too enraged to think clearly. But he would soon start to notice something was off. Both he and the Elder Demon Lord were far from ordinary men after all.

And once they connect the dots with what happened with Yoma and Yang Sebang, the cult would realize that something had been wrong. The key was to keep them from knowing the Black Way Alliance was behind it.

Lee Jaseung took something out from his robe and handed it to Dan Woobin.

“Here. What you wanted.”

It was one of Yoma’s signature poisoned hidden weapons.

After subduing her, he had contacted Dan Woobin, who had expressed interest in her weapons.

“This’ll make dealing with Yang Sebang much easier.”

The plan was to eliminate Yang Sebang and pin it on Yoma. Since the cult’s involvement in the tournament was already public knowledge, it would be a believable setup.

Lee Jaseung smiled and spoke.

“Buy time, take out Yang Sebang. Killing two birds with one stone.”

Dan Woobin, looking slightly flushed with excitement, replied.

“Tomorrow’s finally the final match.”

At last, the first official step toward unifying the world had begun.

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